Weight Loss and Plateauing

A

AnrBjotk

New member
Hi

So, I'm 22, 5,6" and currently 196 lbs.

I've been dieting lately, loosing 12lbs in two weeks by a fasting-based diet (consisting of work-out, no more than 130gr of whole grain bread a day, and plenty of water)

Unfortunately my body figured out what was up, and must have slowed down my metabolism something fierce, cause the third week there was no weight loss, even with more work out and even less bread.

How can I increase my metabolism again?

Many of you will probably be somewhat...annoyed by my diet, as it isn’t very healthy nor proper, it's a crash diet I know, but... please just accept this and help me from that point.

I have the last three days been eating "normally" (including junk food) in order to kick start my metabolism, but will this help?
 
Well, what might work is changing to a diet you can do for the rest of your life. This site doesn't support harmful weight loss techniques. If all you are eating is bread and water then yeah, your body is going to get messed up due to way too few calories on top of way too few nutrients. You want weight loss, then please for your health and for success, start over.

Forget what you have been doing and take a breath. First, try to eat like a regular person for a week but keep a diary of your food intake. At the end of the week, look at what you ate and seek places for improvement. Try to eat smart with proteins, fruits and veggies and balance what you need to live.

Weight loss isn't about starving yourself nor is it about exercising till you drop. It's life long changes. Just the fact you felt you needed to put a disclaimer about how unhealthy this bread and water fast is should tell you that yes, it's bad. We can't really help you if you want to continue that diet. We can help you if you want to do it a better way.
 
Jericho said:
Well, what might work is changing to a diet you can do for the rest of your life. This site doesn't support harmful weight loss techniques. If all you are eating is bread and water then yeah, your body is going to get messed up due to way too few calories on top of way too few nutrients. You want weight loss, then please for your health and for success, start over.

Forget what you have been doing and take a breath. First, try to eat like a regular person for a week but keep a diary of your food intake. At the end of the week, look at what you ate and seek places for improvement. Try to eat smart with proteins, fruits and veggies and balance what you need to live.

Weight loss isn't about starving yourself nor is it about exercising till you drop. It's life long changes. Just the fact you felt you needed to put a disclaimer about how unhealthy this bread and water fast is should tell you that yes, it's bad. We can't really help you if you want to continue that diet. We can help you if you want to do it a better way.
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I don't see it as harmfull. It is not only a weight loss plan, but I find that on a such limited diet, my mind improves, I think clearer, I have a balanced mood.
This is not a permanent thing. I do take vitamins, and I will not keep this up for more than 3 weeks.

What I asked was, how does one kick-start ones metabolism...
 
Well, honestly? I told you the answer. Eat actual food. Stop cutting your calories down and limiting what you eat. I'm sorry you don't see what you are doing as harmful. I wish you luck and health.
 
Hello Anr....

your personality sounds a LOT like mine... especially when I was younger. Just about everything I do in life is to the extreme ! Car stereos... well, mine is only 2000 watts (not bad for an old, white guy ;)), but if I could afford it, it would be 30,000 wts.
I'd love to have about $50,000 worth of photo equipment.
I got into fishing for big bass about 10 years ago. Ended up catching maybe more over 10 lbs, than anyone in the history of bass fishing in Nor Cal (89 over 10 lbs, PB of 18.4 lbs)

But here's the thing, with health, and weight loss, sure, it's okay to be extreme.....

Extremely sensible, level-headed, reasonable, and over a LONG period of time.... Like say, the rest of your life ! Any other kind of thinking will only result in a worthless slam to your body, with nothing to show for it down the road..... in a best case scenario. Worst case, you could actually damage your body.

Weight loss, and good health, is not a one time thing.... it's a rest of your life thing.

Peace,
Fish
 
Fish Chris said:
your personality sounds a LOT like mine... especially when I was younger. Just about everything I do in life is to the extreme ! Car stereos... well, mine is only 2000 watts (not bad for an old, white guy ;)), but if I could afford it, it would be 30,000 wts.
I'd love to have about $50,000 worth of photo equipment.
I got into fishing for big bass about 10 years ago. Ended up catching maybe more over 10 lbs, than anyone in the history of bass fishing in Nor Cal (89 over 10 lbs, PB of 18.4 lbs)

But here's the thing, with health, and weight loss, sure, it's okay to be extreme.....

Extremely sensible, level-headed, reasonable, and over a LONG period of time.... Like say, the rest of your life ! Any other kind of thinking will only result in a worthless slam to your body, with nothing to show for it down the road..... in a best case scenario. Worst case, you could actually damage your body.

Weight loss, and good health, is not a one time thing.... it's a rest of your life thing.

Peace,
Fish
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Thanx for the empathy Fish, Jericho was getting a bit preachy.

But you can see how when one week of this diet has led to a drop of 11lbs, it's tempting to "follow through" as it were.

However, my question wasnt about "short-term" vs "long-term" diets. As MENTIONED this is a..hmm... way of getting to a better diet. In other words, FIRST cutting out all fat and sugar, THEN slowly easing into to it again, slowly, as if it was the first time.

But my problem is that many websites claims that eating about 500 calories a day, which is where I'm at, will actually not make you lose ANY weight, since it stops your metabolism.

So: Where do I go from here? Eat more fish and meat? Exercise more? Some sites claims that muscle-excercise is good at this point, others mention green tea :p
The problem IS, my body is SO adjusted to taking in so little food by now, I get sick by the thought of a proper meal. All I want is my piece of bread, my 12-13 tall glasses of water and my cigs...

Tried to eat a proper dinner and even some junk food last night, got sick and fell asleep :p

I don't even consider my self fat! But both my parents and my friends are all very happy with me being on a diet, so I guess I am.
Now I walk around looking at all the people with their pot-bellies and man-breasts and think: You lucky S.O.B...
 
You don't have to cut out all fats and sugars. In fact, you really shouldn't cut out all fats cause you need fats to live. You just need to have a balanced diet. This weight you are losing will not stay off. Eventually you have to eat like a real person and the weight will just come right back.

Instead of eating junk food, just try to eat real food. Chicken breast, fish, salad, tuna, potatoes, rice, corn, beets, pasta..you can eat anything you want. It all comes down to calorie control. Stop thinking that losing fast and hard is the right way because it really isn't. You should aim for 1% of your body weight loss a week. More than that is pushing it.


Sorry if you think I am preachy but what I did was lay out the facts. You came here for help and I gave it. Exercise isn't what you need right now, neither is green tea. It's information and knowledge. You need to have an understanding how food works and how your body treats it. Take some time to read the various sticky posts in the forum. They contain a great deal of information. If you feel like you need to take your time working back to real food, then do so but do it soon.
 
Jericho said:
You don't have to cut out all fats and sugars. In fact, you really shouldn't cut out all fats cause you need fats to live. You just need to have a balanced diet. This weight you are losing will not stay off. Eventually you have to eat like a real person and the weight will just come right back.

Instead of eating junk food, just try to eat real food. Chicken breast, fish, salad, tuna, potatoes, rice, corn, beets, pasta..you can eat anything you want. It all comes down to calorie control. Stop thinking that losing fast and hard is the right way because it really isn't. You should aim for 1% of your body weight loss a week. More than that is pushing it.


Sorry if you think I am preachy but what I did was lay out the facts. You came here for help and I gave it. Exercise isn't what you need right now, neither is green tea. It's information and knowledge. You need to have an understanding how food works and how your body treats it. Take some time to read the various sticky posts in the forum. They contain a great deal of information. If you feel like you need to take your time working back to real food, then do so but do it soon.
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I've been trying to find a proper calorie calculator online, I dont know much calories are in a potato, a slice of bread, a chicken breast, etc. Surely someone here knows :D

It's true, I dont understand food, nor do I the body. Therefore I do not know how many calories I am burning on my daily jog or daily muscle-exercises.

So far as the weight not staying off, I can see how that would "work", but I lost 9lbs or so once before this way, and went straight back to bad eating habits without gaining any of it back...
 
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Hey,

It sounds like you are really serious of about losing weight. One thing that I immediately wondered when I read through all of the above is,

1. What it is your basal metabolic rate (how many calories does your body burn at rest)?

2. What is the calorie total that you are actually eating (or planning to eat per day)?

I would be very interested in knowing this.

Frank
 
dobner said:
Hey,

It sounds like you are really serious of about losing weight. One thing that I immediately wondered when I read through all of the above is,

1. What it is your basal metabolic rate (how many calories does your body burn at rest)?

2. What is the calorie total that you are actually eating (or planning to eat per day)?

I would be very interested in knowing this.

Frank
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I would like to know this too! As far as my met. rate, I guess only a doctor would know??...

If these hocum websites are anything to go by I'm eating 6-700 calories at the most. And I KNOW I should eat more. Just need to find out how...
 
Using a BMR calculator (and your data 196 lbs, 22 yo, 5'-6" and male), you have a BMR of 1975.68. That means that your body burns about 1,976 calories per day assuming that you do nothing but lay in bed all day.

Eat like a regular person but stay maybe 500 calories below the above number and you will steadily lose weight. If you are exercising, you are also burning more calories. Think in moderation. No need to be a daredevil and crash diet because 1) it is unstable - you will probably break away from the diet at some point and start eating a lot 2) it isn't healthy to starve your body to lose weight.
 
Is just counting calories really a "safe" method. I mean, in otherwords, I could fill up my remaining 1000 calories with chocolate bars then...that doesn't make much sense...
 
Technically? Yes. As long as your calories in is less than calories out, you lose weight because the body needs a certain amount of calories just to exist. It will get those calories either from eating or from your body. There is no other way for it to get energy.


It's not the smart way though. The real safe way is to increase your calories but eat good foods, a balanced diet. Don't add to your calories with candy or junk, instead look at proteins like fish and chicken, moderate amounts of starches, veggies and fruits...just think about what you are eating.
 
Jericho said:
Technically? Yes. As long as your calories in is less than calories out, you lose weight because the body needs a certain amount of calories just to exist. It will get those calories either from eating or from your body. There is no other way for it to get energy.


It's not the smart way though. The real safe way is to increase your calories but eat good foods, a balanced diet. Don't add to your calories with candy or junk, instead look at proteins like fish and chicken, moderate amounts of starches, veggies and fruits...just think about what you are eating.
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That's what I figured. I stay away from chocolate anyway, if I start I couldn't be able to stop. LOL.
But I NEED some sugar (well, not need in that sense, but my body isnt used to too little sugar, and sugar in fruit don't cut it) so I still have two cups of coffee with sugar.

And now, for some more controversy, I've started on hocus-pocus diet pills! :D Haha
 
Don't know if you are trying to just be playful and start something up or if you are serious.

If you are serious, then would you just send me the cost of the pills? It will be just as effective. You don't need pills. Instead of looking for other answers outside what we said, why not just do what is proven.

Sensible, moderate calorie reduction combined with proper nutrition.
 
Jericho said:
Don't know if you are trying to just be playful and start something up or if you are serious.

If you are serious, then would you just send me the cost of the pills? It will be just as effective. You don't need pills. Instead of looking for other answers outside what we said, why not just do what is proven.

Sensible, moderate calorie reduction combined with proper nutrition.
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Hehe, I don't believe they do miracles. But many people I know have lost weigh on them. They are, obviosly, not diet pills, there is no such prescription-free thing, but a cleansing cure, under the guise of a diet pill. Cheap too, so why not. I am no fool, despite what you think ;)
I mean even the little folder that came with the pills throw the rug from underneath them selves: "Diet Pills must be taken with a healthy diet and excersise. Avoid carbs and red meat" hehe
But, well, see. It's a 1 month thing
 
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