Not lost anything in 2 weeks, 800 calories

[Nahna]

Hi everyone!
I've been doing 800 calories 5 days a week, with 2 rest days (1800 calories) for 1 month now. I'm exercising 40 mins a day 7 days a week. I'm very overweight, starting weight was 17 stone. In 2 weeks I lost 1 stone but in the last 2 weeks I've not lost even 1 pound! I religiously weigh and calorie count everything so I am absolutely certain I'm not exceeding 800 calories 5 days a week. Will I continue to lose weight? I just feel so despondent and shocked that in 2 weeks on so few calories, that I've not lost anything at all when I'm so fat. I eat at normal times, never later than 8pm. Only drink water. Help!

YABU - You should have lost weight
YANBU - Don't panic, this is normal, stick at it and you will lose weight

Thanks!

800 calories is not enough, your body thinks it’s starving and is keeping the fat reserves.

Do you eat the same meals everyday? Sometimes changing this can boost your loss. Well done on the stone already! Are you very hungry?

I would go for 1200 every day, no 'day off'. I think the day off is causing you the problems, you might be over-egging it on those days.
But make sure you only drink water, no sweetened drinks! People believe sweeteners are calorie free but there is a trade off. Too much to go into here but definitely avoid sweetened drinks.

@Kokosrieksts

800 calories is not enough, your body thinks it’s starving and is keeping the fat reserves.

You have more medical qualifications that the op’s doctor?

Just saw you said you are only drinking water, sorry for not reading properly!

Starvation mode only occurs in anorexics who have nothing left but muscle to burn for energy.
Why would starvation mode occur in a person who has fat to burn?

Ffs there is nothing wrong with an 800 cal diet. It’s hard work but not damaging. It’s recommended by doctors and dieticians everywhere as a way to avoid/reverse T2 Disbetes. Improve blood pressure and reduce cholesterol.

OP - it often works a little better if you keep carbs lower and almost solely from green veg and salad. Lots of water too to keep your kidneys on the job.

Dehydration puts strain on your kidneys, your liver steps in to help and stops doing it’s proper job which slows down weight loss.

1800 calories on your two days off seems excessive given you're mostly on 800. Wouldn't you be better off doing 1000 per day? Obviously I'm not a doctor but 1800 is a lot and it's easy to do less.

Are you fasting too as this helps. 12 hours per day (night) will help.

Much more likely to get saggy skin if you lose too fast and don't allow it enough time to naturally retract.

@LargeInCharge

Starvation mode only occurs in anorexics who have nothing left but muscle to burn for energy. Why would starvation mode occur in a person who has fat to burn?

I thought it was because your body sensed a massive reduction in sustenance and tried to cling onto every calories. Well, that's what people usually say.

So much crappy science on this thread.

Fast800 and VLCDs (which are often 600cals a day) are perfectly fine short term solutions to kickstart weightloss, reverse early T2 diabetes, prepare for certain medical procedures, quickly reduce risk in very overweight people etc. etc. etc.

They are not meant to be used for longer than 12 weeks at a time. They won't mess up your metabolism any more than fasting (which people have been doing for thousands of years) will. Starvation mode isn't a thing or no one would ever starve to death.

OP, I have been nearly 20st and under 10st in my adult life, currently regained from lockdown gorging up to around 12st. Am doing fast800 for a month to start me off then will go back to a normal, sensible diet. I've done them in the past and they work well.

Having lost a huge amount of weight in the past, it isn't always linear. 1st in 2 weeks is huge and a stone a month on a VLCD is more normal so you are actually bang on track overall. Things that cause me to 'stall' are my menstrual cycle, how often I poo and muscles repairing after exercise (which uses water). Basically you will be losing fat at a fairly steady rate (basic physics) but the weight of the fat loss can often be masked or enhanced by your body doing other things. When you look back at the end of the 12 weeks, you will laugh at how silly it seemed to be fretting about stalls.

This happens to lots of people in weeks 3 - 6 it will start coming off again

so glad I saw this..

Im in week 4 of plateau .. soul destroying but sticking with it 🌺

Congratulations - that’s hardcore.

I low carb (50-70g a day so not unbearable) to lose weight but if I stall I have a day where I eat whatever I want and go back to the diet and I start to lose again. No idea why. Feels a bit like turning my body on and off again!

As an example, I had to go on a diet specifically to shrink my liver ahead of a medical procedure once and I lost 10lb in 10 days. Some of that (probably around 2-3lbs) was fat but a lot of it was the glycogen stores in my liver which also have a weight but won't make a difference to the waistline.

@mahrezzy

Congratulations - that’s hardcore.

I low carb (50-70g a day so not unbearable) to lose weight but if I stall I have a day where I eat whatever I want and go back to the diet and I start to lose again. No idea why. Feels a bit like turning my body on and off again!

sounds like you have a good balance too.. thats great

@FijiCavanaugh

As an example, I had to go on a diet specifically to shrink my liver ahead of a medical procedure once and I lost 10lb in 10 days. Some of that (probably around 2-3lbs) was fat but a lot of it was the glycogen stores in my liver which also have a weight but won't make a difference to the waistline.

was it the yoghurt diet.. bariatric surgery 🌸

800 cals and exercise is not going to be kind to your body. If you upped it by 300 cals a day, you would see consistent results.

Agree you are probably going too low and a stone in 2 weeks is too fast loss

True starvation mode is only achieved with sever calorie reduction, think anorexia when you only eat about 400 calories for a prolonged period of time. Most likely it's water weight. When I dieted I remember gaining 5 pounds in a week but lost it and more the next. Also your period can make a big difference in week by week basis. Trust your doctor's and power through.

I know a lot of bodybuilders slightly zigzag their calorie intake to supposedly keep metabolism churning and not just 'adjust' to a new lower intake. I'm not sure if this is 'bro science' though as there is much abound in the bodybuilding world.

If you eat so few calories you will slow your metabolism down which means that when you go back to eating normally you will massively pile the pounds back on. You need to eat more calories and lose weight more slowly.

Im currently on week 4 of the 'fast 800' diet. 7 days a week and very high protein and fat/ low carb and sugar. Are you following a diet plan or could you be eating the 'wrong' kind of calories. I lost 1 stone in the first week but just 7lb in the 3 weeks since, it's slowed down but I am going in the right direction.
Are you eating enough fat to stop your body going into conserve mode?

@Thatnameistaken

Im currently on week 4 of the 'fast 800' diet. 7 days a week and very high protein and fat/ low carb and sugar. Are you following a diet plan or could you be eating the 'wrong' kind of calories. I lost 1 stone in the first week but just 7lb in the 3 weeks since, it's slowed down but I am going in the right direction. Are you eating enough fat to stop your body going into conserve mode?

what are the right kind of calories.. asking for a friend 🥴

Try joining the 'fast 800 community' on favebook its a very friendly group with lots of inspiration. Weeks 3 and 4 or notorious plateaus but don't worry you'll get a whoosh if you stick with it!