Hi everyone,

I will be getting married in July 2006 and to say the least, I should have started somw weight loss plan and stuck to it long ago. I have tried and failed many times. I now am in a groove where I am doing relly good being dedicated to losing weight and looking forward to looking good for my wedding.

The thing is, I have a wedding dress waiting for me from when I bought it before I had my daughter. BEFORE I had these pounds on me. Her dad and I were going to get married then, but we put it off and now we're getting married in July. So, I need to fit into this dress or at least try to.

I have..here goes...about 76 pounds to lose at least. (I already lost about 7-8 in about a week.) A doctor I recently saw thinks I am crazy, I believe, to think I can lose that much in such a short time. I told her I lost 40 pounds in 2 months before.

Anyway, I am on a low calorie, low carb, low fat diet. I am not really starving myself. I actually feel LESS hungry for once in my life. I always have been a very hungry person and now I am just a little hungry or not hungry at all. Here's the thing..I eat less than 1000 calories a day. Like 500-600 calories to be exact. I feel fine too. I am not hungry. I also work out EVERY DAY at the YMCA doing about 50-60 minutes on the treadmill, mostly fast walking (but today I incorporated some jogging). I lose about 700 calories on there and I do about 4 miles. Yeah, I know I burn more calories than I eat, but I am not feeling dizzy or anything. I drink only water and more water than I use to. I am starting to take multivitamins and extra calcium pills.

Three days ago, I went up one pound and have stayed at that weight. It's frustrating not seeing the scale number move when I work my butt off at the gym and eat very little. I know muscle weigh's more than fat but when will I start losing again?? I can tell my pants are getting really loose and I feel firmer and look a little better.

Has anyone went through a period like this of maintaining weight during exercise and then hopefully weight starts coming off again??? Help. Am I just in funk or is my body holding on because of decreased calories? You'd think it could only hang on for so long and then need to start burning something for energy?!

Thanks!

Eeeep. Listen to your doctor. It's not healthy to try and take the weight off that fast. I highly recommend upping your calories to 1200 per day. After the initial water weight drop, a healthy rate of loss is about 1-2 lbs per week.

Please don't damage your health for the sake of quick weight loss. Your body needs proper fuel to function well. Just because you're feeling okay now, does not mean that everything is fine. You can also do serious damage to your metabolism which will make it much harder to *keep* the weight off once you've lost it.

Ok Val ... whew! you've posted a lot of info in your post.
I'm gonna start by suggesting that you take a deep breath. Weight loss is not a constant. It's dips and dives and jumps and plateaus. We all do it.
I'm waaaay behind with my reading here today. But I do want to address your situation.
I wonder if you'd mind posting a link to your fitday or giving us your food diary for the day.
I'll read more carefully and answer you better a little later. OK?

Tani and SusanB~

Thanks Tani for your concern. I really appreciate it.

SusanB, I don't know what posting a link to my fitday means. Sorry. If you wanted to know what I do in terms of exercise, I exercise like everyday doing about an hour on the treadmill (700 calories burned and 4 miles fast walked) and then I do about 15 minutes doing some weights (that is all I have time to do). I do upper body weights (triceps, deltoid (shoulders) and pectoral muscles (chest) and use the abdomen machine. Below is something like what I eat. I know I need to eat more fruits and veggies.

An example of a day for me now is:

Breakfast: Hard boiled egg with 78 calories, 6g protein, 5g fat, 0.5 g carb.
Lunch: "Smart Ones" Chicken Santa Fe Weight loss meal with 140 calories, 2.5 g fat, 20 g protein, 11g carb's and 4 g fiber.
Supper: CHUNKY CHILI with beans (using turkey meat instead)- 360 calories total, 50g carb but minus 14 g for fiber, 28g protein and 5g fat.
Snack: Vlasic Kosher Dill Spears Pickle with 5 calories, 0 fat, 1 g carb, 0 protein, 0 fiber.

or

I substitute a banana for breakfast OR cucumbers and cherry tomato's for breakfast with my egg.

I also substitute my supper with other low calorie things like chicken, etc.

I may have an orange for another snack if hungry.

I take multivitamins too.

I totally agree with what Tani has told you. Eating only 500-600 calories a day is sure to ruin your health. You may get lots slimmer, but you will be (and look!) very unhealthy. Not worth it to wear one particular dress, even if it is a wedding gown. How about if you sell it and use the $$$ for a different one?

Btw, best of luck on your marriage!

Ok, here we go.... First of all, fitday.com is a website where a lot of folks here keep track of their calories and nutrition. If you click on mine you can see. I'm not sure why I assumed you had an account there, sorry.

How old is your baby? How tall are you? How much do you weigh? Nosy, aren't I?

76 lbs in 6 or 7 months may be ambitious. It's been done but it is an ambitious goal. However, there's toning too. You can be heavier than you were when you tried the dress on but be smaller because you are tightly muscled. The weights are great. Rumor has it that a reasonable weight loss averages out to two pounds a week. You've got something like 24 or 26 weeks ... so you can see why some folks are surprised.

And that thought leads me to the 7-8 lbs in one week and then a little rise. In real life fat does not come off in a nice orderly fashion. I wish it would but .... it don't. Some weeks you'll lose like crazy. Some weeks you won't. Then for no good reason you'll drop a bunch again. It comes that time of the month and you can gain a couple pounds of fluid. Don't be discouraged by a stall. If you keep using more calories than you eat, you'll lose.

I'd like you to look for posts by 'MEL' who did begin her weightloss with a very low calorie diet.

The only draw back I consider noteworthy about very low calories ... actually there are two. Now these are just my opinion. I've done a bit of studying but I'm no expert. It's hard to pack all the nutrients you need into very few calories. Your body needs these things to regenerate, build muscle, make new cells. I call food fuel but it's also fertilizer. And the other is fatigue. If you start to feel like you're growing weary, your body is telling you you need more food/fuel/fertilizer. It might be something as innocent seeming as having one day when you just can't lift very heavily or being too tired to get up and at 'em in the morning. Listen to your body for clues to your health. Raise your calories a bit.

Finally, I'm running out of things to say Folks ... your doctor, the people here ... are concerned for your health. They want you to be a healthy weight and to get there in a healthy way. Read all you can about exercise and nutrition. Listen to your body. Weight loss is a journey with a few curves in the road.

Now I really am done my mini novel. I hope I've helped in some way.

Another nosy question: Is this goal to lose 76 pounds just to fit into the dress? What happens after the wedding? I only ask because it seems that many people who try to lose for an event end up gaining it all back and more afterward, because they aren't working with a plan they can do for life. There are certainly exceptions, but I worry that you'll lose on a plan that's not recommended by your doc, not be healthy, and end up boomeranging.

And it's possible that by eating so few calories (esp if your doc doesn't supervise the plan) that you aren't getting enough nutrients and perhaps burning muscle, not fat.

You might want to explore what your long-term goals are. If you want to lose weight in a healthy way -- a reasonable diet and lots of exercise, including the weight training to tone -- that may be the best for your entire future. But maybe you only lose 50-60 pounds before the wedding and need to buy a new dress (or somehow alter the one you have).

I'm just worried you're setting yourself up for an unreasonable goal at the expense of your health. And what's more important to you: your long-term health, or your wedding day?

SusanB, Jane and Wyllen~ (and anyone I am missing)

My daughter is 6 ½ years old now. There has been many obstacles in my way over the years, it seems to have held me back from really focusing on myself and my health. She is legally blind and with it comes other medical issues. I spent a lot of days going to dr’s with her all over the place and the other times, It became hard to find daycares to watch her for 2 reasons: First, who can I trust watching a blind child since they all seem not to know what to do. Secondly, she has behavioral challenges that come with the fact of being blind. She gets frustrated and testy beyond belief sometimes that daycares don’t want her. (Yeah that isn’t right.) So I couldn’t always go work out when I wanted to.

I have always been very athletic. I played basketball in school, which ended like 11 years ago. I am about 5’9 ½. I have a large bone frame, and a LOT of muscle. Arm wrestling my boy cousins and other guys in my class was fun, when I knew I could beat them. I guess I inherited my dad’s gene. I started this weight loss plan about 1 week ago (6 days to be exact). Yes, I have lost about 9 pounds this week. My body is like, “hello, she’s exercising and not eating her whole bag of chips! YEAH!!” I am trapped in this body. I look lighter than I am, everyone says. I carry it well and proportional. I am now, after my weight loss, about 254-255 pounds. Since I have a lot of muscle already (and honestly I wouldn’t mind losing some cuz my arms when I flex look like I can body build- ARGH!) I know I burn quicker. Plus, I quit smoking a year and a half ago and that made me gain another 25+ pounds.

If I cannot lose 80 pounds by July, that is okay! I tried. I am so happy that I feel alive again, lighter and healthy. I don’t mind, either altering it or if I have to, buy a knew one. All I know is, I did try and I will look and FEEL (mostly) so much better than I did. Yet, I think I can come close. I know my body and I know when things are not right. When I felt hungry this past week, I ate. Yet, amazingly, I don’t feel hungry as much. Not to mention, I gave up Diet Coke and I only drink water (lots) so that aspartame isn’t making me hungry like it use to. Plus I think my blood sugar’s and insulin are more regulated and that is why I am not so hungry.

Not once since I started this, do I feel lightheaded/dizzy. I do listen to my body and not starve it if it wants something. I just choose a better option like an orange or banana or cherry tomato’s to eat instead of chips. You have to understand, I snacked a lot at night and that did it BIG time for me.

Now, that I have written my whole life story and all that is hidden is what I look like in my underwear, I will leave it at that. I know some things about health and fitness (graduating soon in Nursing) but not seeing this from the sideline doesn’t always give me the best view, so that is why support groups like this, keep me in line. THANKS.

What happens after my wedding? You better believe that I don’t want to go back to being big again. I hope to start working at the local hospital, keeping me more busy and…… dang, I LOVE their salad’s at the cafeteria! YUM. Plus, my daughter will be in school fulltime and I won’t have to worry about someone to watch her. I go work out on my day’s off if she’s in school and even work out early a.m. if I want to. I do want this long term. The other obstacle in the future will be more kids. I want more kids. I will tackle it then and nip it in the butt when the time comes. Now, I know about health and now it’s even important to work out during pregnancy and how important it is to lose the weight afterwards before letting it pile on like I did with my daughter.

Thanks all….

Hi Val--

I hear your message about not being hungry at the calories you're eating, but....I sort of have a feeling that right now your MIND is so strong that it is over-riding messages from your body. I don't think there is anyone on this board who is going to tell you that 500-600 (or anything under 1200) calories is healthy. Shoot, I got the new People which focuses on weight loss stories this week and even the folks on SURVIVOR average 1,000 calories a day! (and, btw, many of them then suffer from a LOT of adverse side effects from such severe weight loss).

I agree with all the other advice, perhaps most especially that about considering your *long term* health. I agree too that if you continue with weight workouts, you should be able to carry more weight and yet be smaller. A starvation diet (under 1200 cals) is going to do more than stall your weight loss, you can also suffer organ damage. And...if you go 1200 cals, that's not a reason to then up your exercise to 500-1000 calories worth a day. This might be a good time for you to start doing some reading and online research about weight loss and the physiology of it (I always feel like knowledge is power!) so that you understand what is going on. Using some of the metabolic calculators (or even the Calorie Queens' rough 12 calories per pound is what it takes to maintain a weight), you can begin to work out what it takes to lose a couple pounds per week. Just my two cents, but more than a couple pounds/week is not really going to be healthy--there's a reason your doctor balked at your plan and it's probably based on a lot more physiology knowledge

Oh....your vitamins! Shoot, are you even eating enough to stomach those puppies? I swear, I'll never forget the ONE time I took a vitamin on a nearly empty stomach and had to pull the car over on the way to laundromat as I chucked the darn thing up! :LOL:

I think you have a great attitude about it all, but please....eat at least 1200 cals/day (even if your head isn't feeling hungry).

Tracy

Val there sure is some great advice from all those ladies! I couldn't agree with them more. You don't need to have to deal with "health issues" in the future do to the damage you could be doing to your body now . I couldn't help thinking to myself too...what if ya moved the day of the wedding just by a few months....ya know...so instead of the rush to lose the weight you could slow it down a bit...eat more healthy and wear your dress that want to wear instead of buying a new one.

Hi Val,

Hope you don't mind if I throw my 2 cents in here

First I want to say that you sound like you are in a good place as far as motivation goes. Burning 700 calories on the treadmill and lifting weights is awesome! Excellent job, and that part you should definitely keep up!

But I have to agree with the calories thing. It isn't the simple math that you may think it is. Your body knows you are in starvation mode. Your body won't just keep losing 8 lbs a week; it's a lot smarter than that. It will say "holy crap we better keep as much fat as possible on this body and make it HARDER to burn off" and will adjust accordingly.

I have heard of people going on 1000-1100 calorie plans on the advice of their doctor. Maybe talk to him/her about this? Your meals sound like they are consisting of healthy foods, but if you throw a couple more meals in, not only will it increase your metabolism but it will take your body out of starvation mode.

Another way to keep fooling your body is to vary your calorie intake each day. 1200 one day, 1400 the next, back to 1200, etc. That way your body never knows whats coming - but it knows that it's getting enough to make all your organs work and it won't hold on to excess fat.

What you want to be careful of is entering into an Eating Disorder. You don't have to be 90 pounds to have an eating disorder. A classic sign of this would be convincing yourself its ok to be in starvation mode and have your organs slowly shutting down - all because you may lose "weight" faster.

Look at your own words and remember - you are doing this is a life change. A *healthy* life change. Keep in mind you have a 6 year old daughter who needs her mommy's body to live a long life, and you will be doing her and yourself a disservice if you try to starve yourself thin.

I'm proud of you for giving up the junk food and switching to healthier foods. I'm proud of you for all the hard work you're putting in at the gym. Just add in a couple more meals and you will continue to see excellent weight loss - at a healthy rate.

Hey all,

Thanks for your concern. Stern but true. I have up'd my calories to at least 1000. I am going gradually and keeping an eye on my body. Thanks all!!!

Wow, that was a lot easier to convince you than I thought it would be.

You sound like a smart, motivated woman! I'm jealous!!!

LOL.. Motivated?..YEAH. Smart?...I'll have to get back to you on that one. LOL

lol. Glad to hear your going up on the cals Val. Hang in there and keep being strong sounds like your doing great!