Quick synopsis: I'm 48, need urgent neck surgery or could end up paralysed. In Ireland, private hospital. I was told to get below BMI 50. Did it. Then told 47. Did it. Then told I had to lose 10% body weight compared to my last appointment.
I'm 7.5lbs away from that. My pre-op appointment when I'll be weighed is in less than 4 weeks. A dietitian from the hospital told me to increase protein when she got involved a couple of weeks ago so I went from 500/600 calories per day to 800. I lost 21lbs in 22 days.
I gained 3.5lbs last Saturday (I weigh daily), put it down to my period starting. Lost 3.1 by Tuesday. Lost 0.8 by Wednesday. Gained 0.8 this morning.
I'm only 1lb less now than I was a week ago. I will be turned down for surgery again if I don't lose 7lbs. Realistically, I need to lose more than that as I weigh first thing in morning in just my underwear. At the hospital, it will be in the afternoon/evening and wearing the lightest clothes I can find but still more than what I wear when on my own scales.
I am weighing and tracking and drinking lots of water. I spend the first few hours after going to bed getting up and down to the loo, it's exhausting.
Breakfast: 2 eggs, hard boiled or scrambled, tea
Snack: Fridge raiders or a cheese stick
Lunch: 100g cooked chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion
Snack: Easy peeler orange 🍊
Dinner: 100g cooked chicken, stir fry veg or salad
Two litres of water at work plus what I drink when I'm at home or on lunch break.
I have one slice of dry toast on a Sunday as a treat. Pretty much no carbs outside that. I tried protein yogurts but I don't like them. I add cottage cheese to scrambled eggs occasionally.
I really can't miss this surgery again. I will end up paralysed without it.
Has anyone any idea what I'm doing wrong? I was doing great but everything has ground to a halt.
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Weight loss has stalled even on 800 calories
Sylver75 · 21/03/2024 22:52
JordanPeterson · 22/03/2024 04:50
Milk has a lot of sugar & imagine there is milk in both scrambled eggs & tea
How many teas with milk are you taking a day?
Can you cut out the tomatoes (sugar) vegetables (sugar in many) & bread (carb converts to sugar) and swap it with protein?
Not sure what fridge raiders or cheese sticks are but they sound processed & likely unhealthy, best swap the cheese stick for a slice of tasty cheese
In your position with that BMI number I personally would just drink water with electrolytes (magnesium) & go on a fast
JordanPeterson · 22/03/2024 04:50
Also when you say "stir fry" what sauces & oils are you adding to cook with?
Do you free pour the oil or measure it by the teaspoon?
Airworld · 22/03/2024 05:54
Have you looked at the principles of Michael Mosley’s The Fast 800 programme? It’s around 800 calories but also highly recommends intermittent fasting 16:8 to help control blood sugars and speed up weight loss.
In a nutshell - skip breakfast and eat at 11-12noon instead, and then eat your second meal within 8 hours of the first meal.
The basics are:
No snacks
Drink 2-3 litres water (can put a slice of lemon/cucumber etc to liven it up), herbal teas. No sugary drinks, incl diet versions
High protein, low carb, medium good fats (ie avocado, olive oil)
Limit fruit to 1 portion a day and only eat berries, or pear/apple and always eat them with a protein food (so no tangerine as it only makes your blood sugar spike)
Get a couple of the Fast800 books (library?) that explain the principles but also give a traffic light guide to the best to eat, what to limit etc. Some vegetables are definitely better and lower in sugar than others / I’ll see if I can find the list for you.
Try not to use shop-bought sauces as they can be full of sugar if they also claim to be low-fat
There are some Fast800 threads on MN, Facebook etc for advice and support.
With this plan you can easily lose that weight and more (I’m doing it).
Airworld · 22/03/2024 05:54
Have you looked at the principles of Michael Mosley’s The Fast 800 programme? It’s around 800 calories but also highly recommends intermittent fasting 16:8 to help control blood sugars and speed up weight loss.
In a nutshell - skip breakfast and eat at 11-12noon instead, and then eat your second meal within 8 hours of the first meal.
The basics are:
No snacks
Drink 2-3 litres water (can put a slice of lemon/cucumber etc to liven it up), herbal teas. No sugary drinks, incl diet versions
High protein, low carb, medium good fats (ie avocado, olive oil)
Limit fruit to 1 portion a day and only eat berries, or pear/apple and always eat them with a protein food (so no tangerine as it only makes your blood sugar spike)
Get a couple of the Fast800 books (library?) that explain the principles but also give a traffic light guide to the best to eat, what to limit etc. Some vegetables are definitely better and lower in sugar than others / I’ll see if I can find the list for you.
Try not to use shop-bought sauces as they can be full of sugar if they also claim to be low-fat
There are some Fast800 threads on MN, Facebook etc for advice and support.
With this plan you can easily lose that weight and more (I’m doing it).
strawberryandtomato · 22/03/2024 06:10
800 calories too low. You need to up your calories to kick start metabolism.
Well done for the weight loss so far. Can you up to 1200-1500?
I also agree with weighing daily to see the fluctuation
strawberryandtomato · 22/03/2024 07:38
@Vegetus 🙄 actually yes it can.
The body goes into starvation mode when on such low calories for such a long time.
It will hold on to as much energy as it can and slow metabolism.
Increasing calories can have a positive effect on weight loss. As it will kick start metabolism.
Been there, done that. It's a real thing. Research it
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soupfiend · 22/03/2024 07:35
OP you already have a thread about this
If you're on around 800ish cals a day, you will easily lose the 7lbs in 4 weeks, just keep going
strawberryandtomato · 22/03/2024 07:44
It is not nonsense. A quick fix yes. But as OP said. Weight loss has stalled. So up it by 200-300 and see if there is a loss.
It is called reverse dieting.
And sarky replies are not helpful either...
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