Week Two – slower weight loss

Reply • New topic

We have not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you are have any health related symptoms or concerns, you should contact your doctor who will be able to give you advice specific to your situation.

• posted by Tasberry
  on 3 Dec 2017 at 22:57

  

  Week two : I’ve lost 700 grams this week (compared to 1200g last week). In contrast to last week, I’ve frequently been hungry. I think this is because, as the weight loss has slowed, I’ve been cutting calories below 800 in an effort to boost the weight loss. The past few days I have been craving fats. When I look at my diet overall, I am probably getting too few fats but I am struggling to find a way to incorporate more fat and stay under 800 calories.

  My Fasting Blood Sugars have been sitting steadily at 7.4 but this morning, were 6.3 so I’m interested to see if that continues. Also, had a sudden spike of blood pressure yesterday, from an average of 110/70 or lower, to 150/85 along with a pounding headache and the first palpitations in ages. Dehydration perhaps? I am a person who very seldom gets thirsty, no matter how little I drink so it takes a real effort for me to get enough water, and I haven’t been drinking much at all.

  Drank a lot of water. Woke up this morning with only a hint of the headache and BP is 135/80….Still feeling positive and heartily enjoying the food this diet is bringing with it.

  This week, I’m going to concentrate more on making sure I get some good quality fats and enough to eat that I’m not constantly hungry…and plenty of water!

• posted by Flick
  on 4 Dec 2017 at 02:42

  

  Hi Tasberry, I’ve just finished week 3 so I’m no expert. But for what it’s worth I reckon that’s a good solid start. Sad as it is, the loss rate always settles down after the first week or two. Mine did. But it is still steady. I’d suggest not worrying too much. Eat up to the 800 cals, keep the carbs low and proteins moderate. Eat plenty of fat. Sounds like you have enough spare calories to add some more in. Do, and enjoy them.

  Drinking 2-3 litres a day will support the weight loss, though I’m not entirely clear on the science. Others may be able to help there – but from what I’ve read on the forum, there is consistent experience to support this. I measured out one of my larger glasses, 375ml, and I just make sure I drink 6-7 of those within th3 day. Mind you I could win a gold medal for peeing.

  There’s thread covering a December Challenge, that has loads of interesting information and great support.

  All the best, Flick

• posted by Mixnmatch
  on 4 Dec 2017 at 07:25

  

  Hi Tasberry, it is important to average 800 calories even if you have a couple of low calorie days. Fat is absolutely essential as well to stimulate the fat burning mode and adaptations. Can you eat nuts? Avocado? I also love houmous olive oil dressing and of course cream and butter in recipes. Nuts are probably the easiest way to get more fats but some people cannot tolerate them. Avocado is also a great source of healthy fats. You may have to add a little salt to your meals and it is hyper important to keep drinking the water, at least 2 1/2 litres a day.

• posted by Luvtcook
  on 4 Dec 2017 at 13:56

  

  Tasberry, above are all good suggestions. Homemade salad dressing (small blob of Dijon mustard, 1 Tbs vinegar, 2 Tbs olive oil, salt & pepper shaken up in an empty jar…toss in a half a garlic clove smashed or herbs for extra flavor if in the mood) on a large tossed salad gets you a long way. Generous butter on veg, tuna salad made with ample mayonnaise will do it. It ends up looking like not a lot of food on your plate for the number of calories….but that is deciveving because it is so filling due to the extra oil. It is HARD to get used to after decades of listening to the old low-fat preaching….but give higher fat a whirl. Its also great for your skin.

• posted by Tasberry
  on 4 Dec 2017 at 21:54

  

  Thanks for the encouragement and advice, folks. I have actually had excellent fats in my diet for decades now. EVOO has been the only oil in my house, real butter, avocado….but at 120 calories to 1 tablespoon of olive oil, that’s 15% of the daily allowance just on its own….but I know it’s essential to make all this work, so I’m just going to have to find a way. I drank a lot of water the last two days, BP is back to my more typical level of 105/65 but I have gained weight while adhering very strictly to calories and nutrient balances. We’ll wait and see how the rest of the week washes out.

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 5 Dec 2017 at 13:13

  

  Hi Tasberry, there is no need to have a full tablespoon of oil you can just have half of one or even a teaspoon. I make my own salad dressing with 2 tablespoons Greek plain yoghurt, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon a olive oil with some pepper. Delicious. Avocados are very high so I limit it to half a week and the same with apples although they are not high in calories they are high in carbs. My other food to take care with is cheese as it is high in both cals and fats and I have to be careful with nuts as they are so easy to turn from a few to a lot. At least we can have these things, before I never allowed myself anything and now treat these as my treats. You just adjust the plan to fit in with what you have had for the rest of the day / week and average it out to 800 per day.

• posted by Tasberry
  on 5 Dec 2017 at 22:07

  

  Hi sunshine-girl 🙂 Yes, my diet has been including small daily amounts of EVOO, and on some days, some butter, some cheese, nuts, oily fish or avocados, all in strictly weighed and counted portions. I’ve been sticking to the less sugary fruit Michael Mosley recommends – grapefruit, rhubarb, peaches, berries.

  I’ve been averaging 780 calories, less than 20g carbs per day. I have not eaten a morsel of bread, rice, pasta, potatoes or any other starchy thing since I began this diet. I lost 1.2kg the first week, 700g the second week and for the four days of this week so far, I’ve lost no weight at all. Drinking plenty of water, getting heaps of exercise….I’ve lost no cms either. It is difficult to understand how this can be the case when I have spent the past month eating less than 1/3 of my previous daily calorie count and getting around an hour’s exercise a day. On 3000+ calories a day and very little exercise for the past several years, I have neither lost nor gained any weight, and everything I have read suggests that I could certainly expect to be steadily losing weight on 2000 calories a day less than that?!

  Anyway, there seems to be little more I can do except just keep on and see if anything changes with time :/

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 5 Dec 2017 at 22:46

  

  You have said you used to only eat around 1500 cals per day so your body was already used to this plan and like any other diet it will only give big losses for a short period. The first week being 3lbs of water (average) and you lost 2.6 lbs so you probably didn’t have much water to lose, the second week you have lost 2lbs so still a good average. Now no loss but the week is not yet over. Not only that many people hit a plateau around week 3 or 4 when the body needs time to adjust and it will start losing again. Just stick with it and have faith. Like me you started with just over 3stone to lose, for that reason it will be slower than some. Can I just say that one person who lost 10lbs in week 1 and 8lbs in week 2 and so on, in fact had over 100 lbs to lose. That might put it into perspective. Just keep at it.

• posted by alliecat
  on 5 Dec 2017 at 23:26

  

  Solid gold advice from sunshine-girl, Tasberry, on olive oil and every thing else! I would
  only add that there is a learning curve associated with this WOL, and the very best way
  to expedite that is to forget everything you imagined you knew about dieting, as well
  as to join in an active challenge where there is a large population of successful
  maintainers, i.e., Busy, Busy.. We are all passionate about this WOL and there is nothing
  that makes us happier than sharing the knowledge and wisdom we have acquired to
  make us successful. Very best wishes to you on your journey to health and wellness,
  and welcome to the forums!

  Allie

• posted by Tasberry
  on 5 Dec 2017 at 23:40

  

  Yes, thanks to everyone here for advice and encouragement. Over the past twenty years, I have gained 18 kilos in 3 x separate inexplicable episodes of putting on 6 kg in a fortnight despite doing nothing different, and then that becomes my new “stable weight” which refuses to budge in either direction until the next 6kg spike…??!

  At first I dared to hope that this eating plan may actually be different to the numerous ones I’ve tried (strictly and at length) before (even spent a year under regular supervision of a dietician who was mystified why I lost no weight at all after the first month). I ate 1500 calorie for years on end – I lost no weight. I went on a six month holiday, threw all caution to the wind and ate and drank on average 4000 calories a day while getting little exercise : I gained no weight. (I suppose that bit could be considered good news…).

  Now I’m starting to suspect that this will turn out the same as before and naturally, feeling disheartened. But despite it all, I’m going to keep on to the end of the 8 weeks and re-evaluate then.

Reply • New topic