[nickilaughs]

Hi just wanted to check in with someone more experienced. I've gone from 201.2 to 195.4 in about 11 days. Losing almost 6 lbs that quick was shocking. I'm assuming most of it was water weight. Should I be worried? I'm eating 1400 to 1500 calories a day. I basically cut the junk-fast food, my daily bag of popcorn and eating veggies with all meals as well as water as my only source of beverage.

Thanks! I know the best way to lose is slow and steady. I'm just worried dropping this much early on is going to set me up for failure later.

[novangel]

Higher weights tend to come off faster at first, and yes there's a good chance some of it was water. It will slow down...Unfortunately. Your caloric intake is fine so just keep on going.

[nonameslob]

Usually when you start a new diet, the weight will fly off at first, typically just water. It will likely even out over the next couple of weeks.

[TheSatinPumpkin]

soak it up as momentum to keep going. Congrats on your progress.

[nickilaughs]

Thanks guys, that's what I figured.

[IanG]

I lost 4 lbs a week all the way down. It was quick. I could feel the strain on my gallbladder (it hurt a little) but all worked out well in the end.

[JohnP]

Sounds like you've done some research to know if what you lost was mostly water weight which is correct. Good job! Since you already answered your own question I'm going to give you a bit of information which seems basic but it is profoundly accurate.

People regain not because they lost too fast but because they return to the habits that got them overweight in the first place when the "diet" is over. Success occurs when people are able to establish dietary habits they can live with forever that keep the weight off.

Your goal shouldn't be to lose weight but rather to figure out a way of eating (WOE) that will restrict intake without you having to obsess over it. Losing weight is easy for most people. Losing a lot of weight is much more challenging but the ultimate challenge is maintaining.

[freelancemomma]

Totally normal. Weight loss in the first week or two is artificially inflated because of the drop in water weight that occurs at the start of caloric restriction. It'll level off all too soon.

F.

[nickilaughs]

Thanks guys! John and therein lies the multi billion dollar weight loss industry. I know I'm not going to be able to resist beer forever, I just wanted to save it for "special occasions" instead of my post work wind down. Everything i cut out was to become a treat as opposed to daily intake as well as to help me no longer feel like Crap.

[df180]

no, it's all good. congrats!!

[IanG]

I know I'm not going to be able to resist beer forever, I just wanted to save it for "special occasions" instead of my post work wind down.

Ahem, I never stopped drinking beer. I am just lucky that I don't feel the compulsion to eat when I do drink beer.

Everyone will disagree with me but alcohol does not cause weight gain. It's the sh!t you eat when you drink alcohol that causes you to gain weight!

Drink and don't eat. Problem solved. I've got 110lbs+ lost under my belt to prove it, and I drink the good stuff way more often than I should.

It's the fact that people go eat a burger or pizza or chips after a beer that causes the problem. Not the beer itself. Don't trust me? Well try it. Beer...no snacks. Let me know what the scale says.

My "bro science" theory is that the body has a hard time turning energy/calories from alcohol to fat. So if you drink but don't eat, any excess energy from the alcohol will not be stored as fat. Body can't do it. But if you eat and drink, the alcohol will be used as energy and the food stored as fat. Try it. Prove me wrong.

For the record, I also think that the body is very inefficient at converting protein to fat as well. But that would be another post.

But that is why I drink a lot of beer and eat a crazy amount of fish.

[novangel]

I can cosign what Ian is saying. There was a time when I had liquid dinners and I was 127p. I couldn't do that now though.

[nonameslob]

As usual, I will entirely disagree with Ian. It may work for him, but it sure as heck doesn't work for me! I hope you figure out something that works for you though, as that's all that matters

[LaurieDawn]

Someone posted a study not too long ago debunking the myth that fast weight loss equals less ability to maintain. What slower weight loss will do for you is to allow you to ingrain habits that may (or may not) last a lifetime. I choose to lose fast (as much as that is a choice for me to make). I have tried and tried and tried the slow weight loss, but it's like SatinPumpkin said, faster losses translate into motivation for me. I have lost 32 pounds in 8 weeks, and though the sharper deficit has its downside, I have also really internalized the whole "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" because I actually feel thin, even though 207 is not "thin" in anyone's world. It is much thinner than I was, and I feel much, much better. Right now, I wouldn't trade that for a lifetime supply of junk food.

[freelancemomma]

Originally Posted by IanG

Everyone will disagree with me but alcohol does not cause weight gain. It's the sh!t you eat when you drink alcohol that causes you to gain weight!.

Hey, I don't disagree with you! I drink 8 oz white wine 6 nights out of 7. I did it throughout my 50-pound weight loss and continue to do it through almost 3 years of maintenance. I don't believe there's any food or beverage that mysteriously "causes" weight gain. It's all about balance: If you want more X, you have to have less Y. That sucks a little, but it is what it is.

F.