So I've been going to the gym a lot lately, about four times a week. I only do the elliptical machine (for 30 minutes) and leave. I'm not watching what I eat at all, and actually have been going out to eat a lot lately. I still have tried to sub in more healthy food choices (vegetables and shit), but I'm not cutting down how much I eat really. The last two weeks, I have lost about 7 lbs each week. I weight like 360, so I expected to lose some, but this is the weird thing...

I tried doing this a year and a half ago as well. At that time, I really watched what I ate, eating healthy stuff and trying to limit my caloric intake to about 1500 calories a day. I also exercised about 4-5 times a day on an elliptical machine, but for only about 20-22 minutes each time. When I was doing this, I lost 3 lbs on a good week.

Ive been trying to figure out if the past two weeks of weight loss (and they arent my first two so I dont think I can just put it off as water weight) make sense considering the above. Does eating more calories somehow keep my metabolism up (more than when I was eating less), or does that extra 10 minutes of activity actually mean something? My roomate mentioned something about burning through sugar energy and then starting to burn fat stores and maybe that last ten minutes is burning through that more effectively. I wasnt really sure. Didnt know if anyone here might have some input. It's interesting, and challenges what I thought I knew about losing weight.

P.S. The last two weeks could just be a fluke or something. Hopefully not, but who knows.

2/22/2008 12:09:28 AM

It's all about what kinda calories you eat, too - look into the Southbeach diet. It seems counter-intuitive at first but kinda makes sense when you think about it...

2/22/2008 12:23:44 AM

you arent starving yourself

2/22/2008 12:28:07 AM

It takes a lot of energy to move your fat ass around.

2/22/2008 12:46:26 AM

you've said it all

its a fluke

if you eat bad you wont see results in the long run, period.
you'll make small gains but not over a long period of time and those last pounds are going to be hardddd if not impossible to take off

yuore not losing weight, youre losing a unhealthy lifestyle by watching WHAT you eat, not how much and how many calories and all

this thread has been done many times, but what you eat determines how you look and how long the weight stays off and takes to get rid of.

the best advice, stick to eating right and you wont be asking this either way. and you can have cheat meals too even by eating correctly, hell like you say it DOES jumpstart your metabolism, but certainly not by the way you are doing it, seems like a fluke

m2c

2/22/2008 12:51:44 AM

Unexpected weight loss could be a sign of diabetes or pre-diabetes, so you might want to try to rule this out.

For the time you were only eating 1500 calories a day and not losing as much, it was likely because you weren't eating nearly enough for your weight and your body was resisting weight loss.

2/22/2008 7:58:38 AM

Quote :

"# # Unexplained weight loss: People with diabetes are unable to process many of the calories in the foods they eat. Thus, they may lose weight even though they eat an apparently appropriate or even excessive amount of food. Losing sugar and water in the urine and the accompanying dehydration also contributes to weight loss."

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/diabetes/page3_em.htm

also, if you're urinating more or more thirsty... fatigued, etc...

2/22/2008 9:28:22 AM

1. any time you begin a workout program, strength gains/weightloss are quick and easy for a while

2. Cardio is great, but each 30 minute session is probably burning like 500-700 calories. that's not a small sum, but it's still the equivalent of like a sandwich and a cup of coffee or something. You need weight training, even if it's just machines.

2/22/2008 10:41:47 AM

Quote :

"trying to limit my caloric intake to about 1500 calories a day"

Quote :

"you arent starving yourself"

Quote :

"2. Cardio is great, but each 30 minute session is probably burning like 500-700 calories. "

highly doubtful it's over 600 calories... even for someone of your mass... ~556 is what the calorie calculator says.... you should have at least 2 sessions of it, 30 minutes, water break, 30 minutes.


but yeah, you aren't starving yourself anymore + increased activity = your body burns up stores

starving yourself + increased activity = your bodies metabolism shuts down = more fat for that activity later...

2/22/2008 10:52:45 AM

don't look into the south beach diet... don't look into ANY diet for that matter. at 360lbs, you need a lifestyle change, not a "diet"

you're already at risk for diabetes and I would definitely get that checked out.

Quote :

"For the time you were only eating 1500 calories a day and not losing as much, it was likely because you weren't eating nearly enough for your weight and your body was resisting weight loss."

agreed. there are tons of formulas out there for how many calories you need just for your body to function. I'd do a few of those and get an average.

Quote :

"2. Cardio is great, but each 30 minute session is probably burning like 500-700 calories. that's not a small sum, but it's still the equivalent of like a sandwich and a cup of coffee or something. You need weight training, even if it's just machines."

I agree with the weight training thing. You do need a good comprehensive workout plan, but I will add this - it's really awesome that you're taking the steps to get healthy. while only doing 30 minutes of cardio 4x a week is nothing for a lot of the meatheads on here, it's a start. being obese increases your risk for a myriad of health problems, and I'm proud of you for trying to get control of your life

ALSO - there are tons of resources on campus thru the health center and campus rec. check out this site: http://www.ncsu.edu/health_promotion

[Edited on February 22, 2008 at 11:04 AM. Reason : fitnASS]

2/22/2008 10:54:45 AM

^what he said...I started out at 260 lbs and lost 85 lbs in one year...but it has to be from consistency, not spurts.

I started to get up and run every morning 6 times a week and I still do that and even more nowadays.

Invest in a good weigh scale and weight yourself regularly (and at the same time each day). Some people say that its a bad to do that but it helped me because I could visualize my progress....or lack there of if i got off a little.

Don't be discouraged either...keep up whatever you're doing even when you're in a plateau and don't lose for a while...it will eventually all come off if you maintain discipline

2/22/2008 11:11:14 AM

i think hes a she.

^, ^^

2/22/2008 12:58:19 PM

gonna have to side with baonest on this one

2/22/2008 1:00:12 PM

dang, that would explain the screenname then...

[Edited on February 22, 2008 at 2:14 PM. Reason : .]

2/22/2008 2:13:49 PM

gonna have to side with baonest on this one

2/22/2008 2:17:31 PM

my deepest apology, begonias

I fail

[Edited on February 22, 2008 at 2:20 PM. Reason : .]

2/22/2008 2:20:00 PM

Any "unexpected" weight loss should be checked out by a physician.

2/22/2008 2:36:20 PM

good job on getting started

7 lbs/week is too much, though, even at 360 lbs.

definitely incorporate some weight training in there...maybe circuit training.

drink water

KEEP IT UP, be consistant, and don't relapse! getting into shape is gonna take a little while, but you can most definitely do it.

2/22/2008 2:43:01 PM

I went from 360 to 290 in about 18 months. It happens in spurts. To really monitor your progress, you should try to check your BMI every so often. There are machines that do it for you. Its easy to lose weight if you're losing muscle, but thats bad for your base metabolism. Losing weight while trying to gain muscle is real hard though.

2/22/2008 3:00:36 PM

hell yeah, tom

good post, too

2/22/2008 3:01:50 PM

theDuke866 and i went to the gym together for years and now share some of the same physical problems now (right shoulder.) the moral of that is to switch up your workouts pretty often. In order to keep losing weight, your body shouldn't ever get used to your work out. Do different things for cardio and do different things for weight lifting. Compund lifts are crucial for weight lifting. So is doing lower body work. Your quads, hamstrings and glutes are all huge muscles and working them causes tons of calories to be burned.

2/22/2008 3:08:40 PM

I'm guessing it happened in spurts due to you readjusting your diet....ie mant. calories and deficiet total?

Why even track your bmi?

[Edited on February 22, 2008 at 3:10 PM. Reason : hell yea, tom. that's right on]

2/22/2008 3:09:24 PM

Tracking your BMI is important because it gives you a rough idea of what kind of weight your losing. If you lose 20 pounds and your BMI stays the same or goes up, you haven't lost enough fat and probably have lost too much muscle.

2/22/2008 3:15:22 PM

Do you mean BF%?

2/22/2008 3:16:27 PM

i think he means body composition, not BMI

2/22/2008 3:17:14 PM

Oh my bad. Yeah. Whatever that electronic machine you hold tells you. Whoops.

2/22/2008 3:18:28 PM

well first off, I'm a dude. Apparently a dude with a queer ass name, but this is an old one anyway.

Im also 6'5. My weight is still excessive, as I am an obese motherfucker, but its not like I'm 5'11 and 350 or anything.

I've dealt with higher blood sugar before. When this happened, I started cutting out a bunch of sugar in my diet, and it's still pretty much the same. If I drink soda, it's diet, and its rare that I eat something like a candy bar or milkshake - something high in sugar. I also got it checked up on about a year ago, and it was fine. Still, I'll watch my blood sugar and see if it's staying high again. It's possible that that may be the case, but hopefully not.

As far as losing muscle goes, does it make sense to lose muscle because of aerobic exercise? BPM generally stays around 160-170 for pretty much all of the 30 minutes. I lift some weights, but I honestly whether or not I need to is at present a topic of internal contention.

I know there have been a lot of threads and a lot of advice about the right kind of food to eat, the right way to exercise, etc. I think I'm going to stick with what I'm doing because it seems to be working. If I hit a plateau, or somehow these last two weeks have been a fluke and I stop losing weight, I'll probably change it up a little bit, but for now I'm going to try to stay focused on continuing the routine I have going. Since I'm not starving myself, I dont buy that its just quick, reversible weight loss. I have a feeling that what I'm doing is working, might just change up the activity that I'm doing when other activities present themselves.

2/22/2008 4:05:59 PM

Yeah I watch those biggest loser type shows and people normally lose a ton of weight initially. Like you said being 6'5" and 350lbs is different from 5'11" and 350, but being 350lbs and losing 14lbs in 2 weeks is like being 130 and losing 5lbs in 2 weeks. It is all relative, but I think you should still watch what you eat as far as fast food. Try cooking a big batch of smthg and bringing it to work school everyday. How is your cholesterol and blood pressure? According to this picture your BPM of 160/170 is about equal to a person the age of 55 who pushed themselves to the max of their abilities. Someone your age should max out around 195-200BPM. But it is good that you are exercising. Good luck!

2/22/2008 7:31:04 PM

Quote :

"there are tons of formulas out there for how many calories you need just for your body to function. I'd do a few of those and get an average. "

if you use an online calculator and put in your body weight at 360lbs, it's going to give you bullshit numbers. Most calculators fail to mention that you should be entering your lean body mass and not your actual weight. Fat does little to nothing for burning calories, since it's primary function is to serve as a means of energy storage during times of famine.

Since you're about 6.5 feet tall, I'd recommend you put in a LBM weight of 200 pounds. that's probably on the low side, but you can probably get away with that until you get your weight under 300lbs and can get a more accurate body fat percentage reading. Calipers and bio-impedance measurements are not going to be accurate at all at your size right now.

Also, I'd recommend that you adjust your diet to cut out as much sugar and starches as possible since you mentioned that you've had blood sugar problems in the past. if you currently eat rice, potatoes, bread, or pasta; I'd suggest you try to replace them with low glycemic foods such as broccoli, spinach, green beans, peppers, onions, etc.

There is a possibility that you've adjusted your diet to the point that you're not taking in enough carbohydrates to replenish your depleted carbohydrate stores after exercise. When this happens, you can see a significant drop in body weight due to the loss of water in the muscle and liver tissue. For each pound of glycogen stored in the body, there is an accompanying 3-4 pounds of water needed to hold the glycogen. If this is the case, then don't worry about it - there's nothing dangerous or unhealthy about depleted glycogen storage.

If you continue to lose weight incredibly fast, however, there might be something more seriously wrong with you such as type II diabetes. Go talk to a doctor or at the least get some test strips for glucose in your urine if you continue to lose weight rapidly.

2/23/2008 2:45:47 PM

^ kind of like he said, if you keep losing weight that fast for an extended period go see the doc.

I wouldn't worry a great deal about losing 14 pounds in 2 weeks at your weight. Hell, you could probably lose 6 or 7 pounds from water loss just by exerting yourself for an hour or two. I wrestled back in high school and our bigs could fluctuate a lot in their weights (and they were well under 300 lbs).

2/23/2008 4:41:00 PM

never posted the link to that picture I was talking about.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Exercise_zones.png

2/23/2008 7:40:19 PM

you're only gonna lose muscle by eating that insanely restricted diet

2/23/2008 10:40:25 PM

2/24/2008 9:58:49 AM

haha, I was waiting for someone to suggest a tapeworm

as far at the BPM thing, my max is higher than 170-180, I just keep my bmp around 165-170 because that is the natural pace i keep on the machine and so I roll with it... the impression I got was that a slightly lower BPM like that is good for fat burning, but I could be misinformed

^^ What kind of restricted diet you mean?I'm confused. I eat a pretty balanced selection of food. Fruits and vegetables, some carbs, meats, dairy... my diet isnt really heavy on any one thing as far as I know

I kinda think itll drop down and I'll start losing a little less a week.

2/24/2008 11:45:15 AM

your body is more capable of burning fat at a heartrate under 130, but you have to do cardio for much longer periods of time to burn the same amount of calories. You're getting results, so I'd say stick with what you're doing.

2/24/2008 2:53:27 PM

to keep losing weight, you have to keep your metabolism up by exercise and eat the right kinds of calories, not just limit them. the 40/30/30 method works for me... i eat pretty much whatever i want, exercise a few times a week, and my weight has stayed the same for the last 4 months. (106-108 at 5'4".) high fiber is good too, it keeps your system clean, ehe. i raaaarely eat out, if i do, i get the salad bar. i'm also a very strict vegetarian, so i get protein from soy and other beans, which are good for fiber too. 3600 calories makes a pound, so to lose a pound (not water weight or poop) you have to create a deficit. ivillage.com has a bunch of great calculators for how much you should eat to reach your goal weight. about the elliptical... it's a great workout if you put some effort into it. just getting on and riding doesn't count for shit, and don't believe the calorie calculators on there. they are good for estimating but can't take into consideration your metabolism and other factors that increase or decrease your burn rate. you should also consider strength training, the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism goes. if all else fails, just get a tapeworm as suggested. good luck!

[Edited on February 28, 2008 at 11:42 AM. Reason : a;oertvP0N325VHG]

2/28/2008 11:41:06 AM

^^^ not anything you're doing now, what you did before in your example.

you won't be losing any muscle by doing cardo.

2/28/2008 5:23:45 PM

Quote :

"i eat pretty much whatever i want"

Too good to be true

Quote :

"i'm also a very strict vegetarian"

and there it is.



You should have saved the 400 words and just said you were a vegetarian up front so the guy could go ahead and ignore your posts.

2/29/2008 1:12:46 AM

Sorry if this has been said, but it could be excess fluid that your kidneys are finally able to process. At that weight, i imagine you have a lot of fluid built up in your body. A low sodium diet will cause your body to process the wastes more efficiently. What was your blood pressure like before you started eating/exercising? If it has improved, part of it was excess fluid.

My husband started dialysis and lost 10 pounds of fluid in one week.

2/29/2008 9:07:48 AM

for what its worth, im using the scale in the guys locker room in the gym...

i tried weighing myself again this past Monday, and it went way up, like 12 lbs up, then 2 days later it went back down 6 lbs...

I'm starting to think that scale is just throwing out random numbers that are my weight +/- 15 lbs. I'm just going to keep exercising and seeing what happens. There seems to still be a generally slow trend downward.

2/29/2008 12:32:50 PM

you weighed in excess of 350 lbs and you started exercising and changing eating habits

what the fuck did you think was going to happen???

2/29/2008 12:56:39 PM

^

2/29/2008 5:08:05 PM