Losing Weight Faster Than I Thought Possible
 

I started Fitday and my diet/excercise routine on 1/6 and weighed in at 261. This morning I weighed 248.4. I am not complaining but it seems too fast and I really hope I can sustain it.

Anyone else take off a big chunk of weight when they first started?

> I started Fitday and my diet/excercise routine on 1/6 and weighed in at
> 261. This morning I weighed 248.4.

If you have plenty of weight to lose (you and me both) and you are strict on restricting your intake and excersizing it's quite possible to lose quite a lot inthe first couple of weeks. I'm down 10.5 since the 9th, so about the same weight loss. You will probably find that the rate will drop considerably next week and hopefully you'll be able to lose 1-2 pounds over time. It's even easier to have a big initial loss if you go on a low carb diet. Keep up the good work and you'll do well.

I started fitday, diet, and exercise on 1/3 and was 415.8 and have gone to the gym 6 days a week doing cardio for an 1 hour to 1:30 hours. This morning I weighed 383.4.

I am a little surprised how much weight I have been able to lose but hope that I am able to continue to lose weight as I diet and exercise, even if it not in big cunks like it has been so far.

That is really awesome! Impressive..... Would you check in from time to time so I can see how you are doing? It seems like you are really committed and it would be fun to track a good success story.

In my first day of weight loss, I weighed in at 398. I am now down to 391. I think 7 pounds, a pound a day, is great for my first week. But I know it's going to slow down after a while and I'm ok with that. My doctor said it was ok as long as I was still eating healthy and not over exercising. This is my first day of FitDay.

Welcome Nathan. Your off to a good start. Keep up the good work.

I have been dieting about 5 weeks now. VERY LOW CARB. And i have dropped from 260 down to 230. still have another 40-45 lbs to go.

All of you guys are an inspiration. I have been at it since November 6 and down 30, 310-280. It has slowed down but if we can drop 1-2 pounds a week after those first few weeks of higher losses, we are doing great.
You guys keep at it and stay strong.

Have you been working out as well? How many carbs do you eat?

BTW- My weight loss has curtailed quite a bit. Only two pounds in the past week.

I started at 251 pounds on 1/7, and as of last friday was down to 232. (1/29)
The first ~6-8 pounds or so are probably water, but it still counts. ;)
This is basically on a low-carb diet with cardio and weight training 5 days a week.
(Goal weight is 220 pounds by 3/28, which seems very doable at this rate.)

Good Stuff! As of today I am going to restrict my carbs and eat much more lean protein and vegatable. Maybe it will get me off of this plateu I am on.

Yeah, I've cut all bread/potatoes/rice out of my diet and mostly eat tonnes of vegetables and meat. (~50-60 grams of carbs a day)
Haven't noticed any decrease in strength either, which I was pretty worried about.

Hey Mariush,

I took your advice and combined it with a piece of advice from the owner of a local Max Muscle store. He told me that I should be ingesting 1 gram of protein for each pound I weigh. I cut way back on the carbs and upped my lean protein to about 200 grams per day. Blew right through my plateu and am losing weight again at a good clip.

Thanks for tip!!

Fantastic! Happy to help

Remember, 3500 calories = one pound. If you are a large person, your basal metabolic rate probably dictates that you need 3000-4000 calories a day just to sit on the couch. If you severely limit your calories, even to 1200 calories per day, that still leaves a calorie deficit of around 2500 calories per day. That equates to 5 pounds per week. If you add physical exercise, the amount goes up. This rapid weight loss has its risks, so do some research and make sure you're taking supplemental vitamins, etc.

Suggested Calorie Intake Seems High
 

After filling out my profile information, the suggested calorie intake seems alot higher then other websites. Even after I lowered my daily activities to the absolute lowest, it still seems to be about 250 calories more than several other websites.

Great job!! It is perfectly normal to take a huge drop initially. Your body is scrambling to adjust to your new diet and exercise program, so it is burning calories like crazy and dumping excess water. Now... After a few weeks the losses will slow, almost to a stop. The key here is to keep up the exercise and adjust your calories accordingly. Believe it or not you make have to increase them slightly and for a short time to "restart" your calorie furnace. Make small changes of around 250 calories and maintain that for a couple weeks. If a reduction reveals no changes in losses the increase your caloric intake. This increase should be done periodically regardless simply to keep the furnace hot AND MAKE SURE that these increases come from protein. Be careful with low carb ratios. These will lend themselves to greater losses but can be damaging and are hard to maintain. I recommend a 1-2-3 ratio, 1 part fat, 2-protein, 3-carbohydrates. Good luck!!

It's been almost two months now (started 1/3). I have gone from 415.8 down to 363.8. So I have lost 52 pounds and am still working hard.

At the beginning I was losing more than 8-10 pounds a week now I am down to about 4-5 pounds a week. So I have slowed down but am still losing a good amount of weight each week.

My next goal is 340 on 4/28, so 23.8 pounds in 2 months.

Hope everyone is doing well and keeps up the good work.

Yes. I think losing weight fast at the beginning of any diet is normal. You will 'plateau' , but hang in there. If after a while you get 'tired' of dieting, consider a lap banding procedure. Thus far it's the only thing that has worked for me. Best of luck & be well.

My bariatric surgeon wants an average of losing 2# per week. I easily maintain a 1k cals/day and averaging 1.75#/week. I've lost 49# since my lap band surgery on 10/21/09.

lose 10 pounds in a month is certainly possible, especially with a trainer, but not easy. Remember the formula is 3500 calories down will lose you 1 pound... this includes both training (additional calories burned) and eating. So if you want to lose that kind of weight, doing the math you need to either excerise off or eat 8000 calories less per week. That's quite a few; especially when your intake was probably somewhere between 1800 and 2000 before.

Odds are if you're at the weight you're at, you probably have been taking in far more calories than you think. A safe rule of math, btw; is you should never really take in less calories than your body weight (in lbs) X 10 over an extended period; and really X 11 is about right (X15 would be your standard "break even", so if you weigh close to 140 at this point you could eat ~2000 calories per day and be semi-active and maintain your weight).

This is where this is tool is truly starting to help me. I realized I had been taking in ~3400 calories, which is why (similar to you) I had gained about 12 pounds over the last year and a half (since my workout partner had a baby and stopped working out with me). I also hadn't been working out enough. I also got an addiction to sugary beverages (specifically Starbucks Frappucino's and Fat Free Whip Free Rasberry Mochas... 200 calories per drink X ~4 a day adds up), and I randomly snacked a good bit.

Being consious of what you eat is a GREAT start. Cardio should be the crux of your focus but don't forget the muscle work (if you have a good trainer they'll take care of all of this for you, but the bottom line is if you cut that many calories and don't do serious muscle work, you'll burn your muscle frame and weigh less but still not look any better).

Whew! Just some advice; while I've only been "back on dieting" for a week (I look good, but a little bit is "starting to form" on my tummy area, and I don't want it to expand. Plus I got in a bet with some friends :)), I've previously had two other phases (one about 12 years ago when I lost 50 pounds, and one 3 years ago when I lost 20; every now and again I just "slip" and have to get refocused). On this week I'm already down 4 pounds. There is straight science and math in losing weight; don't fall for some of the fad diets people want to do, shortcuts never work for anything in life. Just eat healthy, track your calories on here, and work well with your trainer, and you'll hit your goals.

Good luck :).

1992 study on initial rapid weight loss
 

There is a publication in the 1992 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1992;56;2925-2935, entitled "Glycogen storage: illusions of easy weight loss, excessive weight regain, and distortions in estimates of body composition"

The article discusses a study of glycogen,a hydrated molecule (lots of water), which stores energy in the liver, muscles and fat cells. The study examined the glycogen depletion that occurs during initial dieting and the glycogen replenishment after dieting. Because glycogen contains three to four parts water, its loss can mistaken for dramatic fat loss. Further, it is quickly replenished after dieting, causing exaggerated weight gain.

From wikipedia: Glycogen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Glycogen is the molecule that functions as the secondary long-term energy storage in animal cells. It is made primarily by the liver and the muscles, but can also be made by glycogenesis within the brain and stomach.[2] Glycogen is the analogue of starch, a less branched glucose polymer in plants, and is commonly referred to as animal starch, having a similar structure to amylopectin."

From the abstract:
"Glycogen is stored in the liver, muscles and fat cell in hydrated form (three to four parts water ... "

From the intro:
"The utilization of glycogen stores during weight reduction can have a significant effect on the apparent weight lost and the degree of recidivism after a period of dieting. The energy deficit required to reduce weight with glycogen as fuel is far less than fat due to both the difference in energy contributions of fat versus carbohydrate and, even more, the large amounts of water associated with storage glycogen. Small energy deficits, therefore, early in a weight-reduction diet, can produce the illusion of significant fat lost. The ease with which this weight will be regained can be disheartening to a dieter. The apparent ease of early weight losses can also lead to unrealistic expectations of the ability of a modest energy restriction or even exercise to achieve significant weight losses."

From the results discussion:
"Glycogen losses or gains are reported to be associated with an additional three to four parts water, so that as much as 5 kg (11 lbs) weight change might not be associated with any fat loss. As glycogen stores are readily replenished after conclusion of any weight-loss program, it is necessary to account fro these losses before comparing the effectiveness of weight-loss methods, before assessing recidivism, and certainly before criticizing dieters for lack of post-diet control."

Very interesting and very helpful!

I started Jan. 9 and have lost 36lbs to date. 3/6/10, but I havn't weighed in since 3/1/10 so it could be more??? You always lose big in the beginning. That is when your the most motivated and your losing a lot of water weight!! When you start to see the numbers lessen (I know from experiance) don't get discouraged, just continue on and maybe restructure your diet, and excercise routine. In the past when that has happened to me I gave up. This time I am resolved to continue on. So Good job, keep goin' and I will keep you in my prayers.

I started fitday on 3/1/2010 and weighed 368 lbs. I weighed myself this morning (3/15) and I am down to 348 pounds. 30 minutes of exercise six days a week and maintaining around a 2100 calorie a day diet. Watch the calories and try to balance them appropriately.

Sounds like a sensible plan, very much like my own regimen, I try to keep the calories under 1800 a day, and use my nordicTrack about 30 minutes a day. I have been abstaining from alcohol, and sugary foods. I count calories and grams of protein.

2/18/10 263.0 #
3/15/10 250.4 #

Well my second goal arrived today and I beat it. I set it for 340.0 and weighed 339.0!

When I started fitday on January 3rd I weighed 415,8 pounds now I am down to 3339.0 so I have lost a total of 76.8 and have more to lose.

I haven't decided what my next goal will be and when it will end because I am off to Florida for a week and will have to see what the scale says when I get back.

Hope everyone is keeping up the good work and the scale keeps moving in the right direction.

Tremendous weight loss! Awesome!

I wonder if you or anyone else has found a way to make "friends" in fitday; you have to be friends to see another's journals. [email protected] will not answer.

keep up the good work I have not been as hard working on cardio but I do walk 6 flights of stairs once a day and 3-4 miles a week. Since (Jan-2010) I have lost 24lbs, and have about 50+ to go. The weight loss has slowerd down and I reached a plateau but gained only a few back. I am still on a goal of 1-2 a week! Keep on working at it, we all will get there if we try!

I was 126kgs, at 18 and within the first week of cutting out crap food and doing small exercises I lost 7ish kgs in the first week. So I wouldnt freak out about it if I was you. Just keep up the good week mate, its so worth it. Mad props to you.

I would be careful about very rapid weight loss. If it is all fat you are losing it can be bad. The reason the recommended weight loss is 2 lbs. per week. is because the chemical breakdown of fat causes ketones to be released in your body. Now, with a small amount of ketones your body can excrete them without harm. But, if you breakdown a lot of fat, and thereby release many ketones, they can build up in your bloodstream and cause ketoacidosis, which is basically your blood Ph has become too acidic. Ketoacidosis is not a good thing, which is why we all need to be careful. However, some people can lose lots of fat and have no problem, everyones different. And if you do have ketoacidosis you will know, your gona feel like crap. So don't worry that you have it;)

Josh, I think you're confusing ketoacidosis with ketosis. When you break down fat for bodily metabolism, the body does turn it into ketone bodies. However, these ketone bodies are then rapidly burned off as fuel much like glucose. The products of this metabolism are mainly water and acetyl-CoA, an intermediate in the same pathway used to burn glucose. If you can train your body to burn ketones preferentially (by limiting carbs), you can burn off a lot of fat this way — particularly if you've got a lot to lose.

However, excess ketone bodies can have an impact on blood pH. Luckily, this can be easily offset by the reckless consumption of mineral-rich leafy greens. So, eat your vegetables!

Yes, you are correct, I did mean ketosis. However, your body does not use ketones as a form of energy. They are a byproduct that results from an incomplete breakdown of fat. Rapid weight loss can cause ketones to build up in the blood stream and the urine....not good for your health.
To try and combat this make sure you incorporate a balanced amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Carbohydrates can help the fat to breakdown correctly and completely.

I'm afraid your statement is factually incorrect. Ketones are most commonly used as energy in the brain alongside glucose, although they can be used as energy in any other organ tissue as well. They are how fat is used as energy — "burned" — during long-duration cardio past the point of glycogen depletion. The other products of fat breakdown via a separate pathway, glycerol and free fatty acids, have other functions in the body, but not as energy.

Diabetic or alcoholic ketoacidosis is what happens when ketones build up in your bloodstream because of an inability to clear them due to a pathological or self-induced condition. In the case of uncontrolled diabetes, chronically high insulin levels hinder the use of ketones as fuel in favor of glucose that simply isn't available. The body then breaks down even more fat to be used as fuel, which the body still cannot assimilate into the tissue, because of the free insulin. That's when free ketones reach a high enough concentration to cause dangerous acute acidosis. With alcoholism a similar scenario develops, except that the mechanism organ tissues use to convert ketones into acetyl-CoA is hindered due to all the free ethanol floating around.

Ketosis is a natural process developed to sustain us through periods of scarcity. If you had a lot of fat to lose and you kicked your body into ketosis, this isn't dangerous in any way as long as you continue to stay active, so that the ketones can continue to be used as fuel.

I'm sorry but you are incorrect. I do not want people reading this forum to be mislead by your statements and have health problems. Ketones are NOT energy they are excreted by our kidneys as waste. Fat gets turned into glucose for energy, energy is not released via ketones. I do not get my info from wikipedia. My source is the book Foundations of Nursing 2nd edition by Lois White publish date of 2007.

Well, you are both right to a point.

Ketones are a by product of buring fat. This is most commonly seen when insulin levels are very low, not allowing the body to use glucose for energy. So, instead the body burns fat and ketones are created as a by product. When the body cannot utilize glucose for energy (like when insulin is too low), the brain (and to a lesser degree other organs) use ketones as energy.

Ok here is a direct quote from the book i stated earlier, word for word.

"A mild deficiency of carbohydrates can result in weight loss and fatigue. A diet seriously deficient in carbohydrates causes extra fat to be metabolized to meet the body's energy needs. Without carbohydrates, fat is incompletely oxidized, producing ketones, an acid by-product, which accumulates in the blood and urine causing ketosis."

Ketones cannot be used as energy. In the case of diabetes, the body thinks it does have enough glucose and so breaks down more fat, to provide more glucose, which releases ketones, those ketones then build up, if used as energy they would not build up, and cause ketoacidosis.

Watch who you accuse of wiki-ing. Fat is utilized as energy in three different ways.

Direct quotes from Human Physiology, 10th Ed. by Widmaier, Raff, & Strang, Pub. 2006, "Ch. 16 - Regulation of Organic Metabolism and Energy Balance:"

Gluconeogenesis
"The 180 g of glucose per day produced by gluconeogenesis in the liver (and kidneys) during fasting supplies 720kcal of energy. Normal total energy expenditure for and average adult is 1500 - 3000 kcal/day. Therefore gluconeogenesis cannot supply all the body's energy needs."

Which leads us to...

Fatty Acid Metabolism
"Now we focus on the liberated fatty acids, which circulate bound to plasma albumin. (Despite this binding to protein, they are known as free fatty acids because they are "free" of glycerol). The circulating fatty acids are taken up and metabolized by almost all tissues, excluding the nervous system. They provide energy in two ways: (1) they first undergo beta-oxidation to yield hydrogen atoms, which go on to oxidative phosphorylation, and (2) acetyl-CoA, which enters the Krebs cycle and is catabolized to CO2 and water."

"The liver is unique, however, in that most of the acetyl-CoA it forms from fatty acids does not enter the Krebs cycle but is processed into three compounds collectively called ketones. Ketones are released into the blood and provide an important energy source for the many tissues, including the brain, capable of oxidizing them via the Krebs cycle."

"The net result of fatty acid and ketone utilization during fasting is the provision of energy for the body and sparing of glucose for the brain. Moreover, as just emphasized, the brain can use ketones for an energy source, and it does so increasingly as ketones build up in the blood during the first few days of a fast. The survival value of this phenomenon is significant: when the brain reduces its glucose requirement by utilizing ketones, much less protein breakdown is required to supply amino acids for gluconeogenesis. Accordingly, the protein stores will last longer, and the ability to withstand a long fast without serious tissue damage is enhanced."

A substantial caloric deficit during fat loss can be interpreted by a body as a fast or partial fast, throwing it into ketogenesis. This process is a survival mechanism, and as I said before, unless you have some serious, uncontrolled pathological condition that would prevent the above from happening, you aren't in any serious danger from your subsequent rapid weight loss.

Sorry for the long physiology lesson, but this should help everyone all around get a better picture of how ketogenesis really works in the body.

Where in there does it say ketones cannot be used as energy? Just because ketones are a by product of fat oxidation does not mean they cannot be used as energy.

Yes, your basic idea that if ketones are used up then they wouldn't build up is correct. However, you cannot make simple statements an ignore the complete view on the topic.

In the case of ketones in diabetes building up (thus by your logic cannot be, being used for energy): No they will build up because the total amount of ketones created by fat oxidation far out the amount used for energy.

You really love to grasp at things that are not addressed in what you read.