Thread: Stalls and Gains. Need help

Psychology might not be your field but you sure know how to think! LOL!
I have to say- you seem to have thought this through really well? You know the problems you both have, and have looked for ways to 'beat' them. You have a plan in place for when you get near to goal to ready yourself for the rest of your life. You listen (even if you don't agree ) to other peoples musings, and take on board what you feel is relevant and will work for you. Your devotion to your sister and her battle is touching, and shows what a selfless person you are!
You have my utmost respect.

I wish you and your sister all the luck inthe world. I am sending my good vibes to you both in hopes that you both will succeed. I am sure with your support and help she will make it and so will you. Good luck to you both and continued success.

Nerys, good on you for kicking your sisters butt too. Maybe she and you should go and have a couple of counselling sessions. Your sis sounds like she has issues to realise and resolve. Just a thought.

Glad you gave the higher cals a go, I really am.

Irishmum, agreed that the dinner should have a protein. If not and vege only on the days nerys is already full at the end of the day. And congrats on your loss also!

Bren
XX

oh We love meat so will always have some protein. Hmm I never actually thought about it or checked I assume fish and chicken have plenty of protein? We avoid any beef since its more than twice the cals by volume and a 2oz piece of beef would be an insult more than anything else so we just don't have any.

She has beat the FIRST massive hurdle though. "SHE IS DOING IT" so while she may be thinking about food at pretty much all times of the day "SHE IS RESISTING IT" and succeeding. That has got to be a pretty huge step forward.

That is why I am SO worried about stalls etc.. I prep them and tell them they are normal. In our journals I gave instructions never to record "gains" only losses. so as they review the journal they only see the numbers going down. :-) got to fight the mind game as well as the body game as the mind will always beat the body except in death :-)

I can handle stalls. it just makes me angrier and more determined to defeat them.

Well you summed it up you are both doing this and it's working. Lets hope the thought's about food change along the way so your sister can maintain at goal.

Chicken and fish l have a lot of protein. Two serves of protein a day is okay. Some people are strict about incorporating it at every meal. I did today;
yogurt, then cheese at lunch and legumes for dinner.

Nerys hope all is going well! Xx

still stuck at 369

I went up to 373 374 twice and then back down but I can not seem to get past 369 for some reason. Driving me to insanity. I am sticking to the 1200-1400 cals a day to see if the problem will resolve itself. I am also going to try removing the rice and upping the veg intake and see what happens.

there is something about 369 I keep hitting it but it won't stay. one time I said screw this and ate 900 cals on that third day (hit 369 two days running so I wanted to force it under 369 even if it was just .1) third day 370.6

how is that even possible? even if my body used ZERO calories 900 calories would only equal .26 pounds. so clearly for some reason I am retaining fluid and then letting it go but NOT losing any mass.

suggestions?

Originally Posted by IrishMum

OMG. You are seriously undereating. You have lost a massive amount of weight very quickly- but I have a feeling your 'stalls' are going to become a lot more common as your body begins to think theres a famine going on.

I think your body is catching up with your losses, as I feared.

I hope I'm wrong, but the evidence is pointing towards starvation mode....

But I am not GAINING weight either. Just bobbing between 369 and 373 or so

right now I am 370.2

its as if I am on no diet. No hungriness no aches no pain and oddly no cravings lately either or at least very mild cravings. I think I "broke" the cravings issue at this point.

I am not weaker BP Cholestrol Sugar all normal all within tolerances of what it has been all along since before dieting.

I never went back above 376 and that was after thanksgiving and to be expected. 1 day later I was 373.

At this point I don't care too much about starvation modes. What are the pros and cons? Damage potentials?

What can I eat so that lower calories do NOT cause "starvation" mode. ie how is it that gastric bypass patients eat 800-900 calories but do not damage themselves?

Could it be the rice? as of yesterday I dropped the rice from the menu. A pity I like it and its basically FREE (comes with my chicken chop suey so I pay for it whether I use it or not)

I have even gone back to eating NORMAL foods. Wawa Turkey sandwiches (no stuffing or mayo etc.. just 6") and a few normal restaurent meals here and there but in SANE quantities. no "extra" anything etc..

No change!! same fluctuations between 369-373

A few days I upped things to 2000 calories still No change.

what gives?

I am going to start keeping a detailed journal of everything that goes into my gut and post it here. maybe you guys can spot something I am not seeing.

If it takes "starvation mode" to get rid of the weight SO BE IT. ramifications be damned whatever they may be they are less damaging than being 400 pounds. BUT if there is a healthier way to do it I would prefer to try that route first.

If I can gain 200 pounds in 9 months I should be able to lose 200 pounds in 9 months. thats only .7 pounds a day which should be doable. I know its not as straightforward as that but you get the idea :-)

any help would be greatly appreciated.

I can't wait till spring comes. I should be able to drop another 50 pounds by them and then I can start some hard core increases in my activity levels.

I am even considering a gym membership but fear lack of time will result in wasted money.

One thing I have learned. We stopped at boston market one night on the way home from work. I would usually order whatever I order in the large size with sides and an extra large side.

this time I ordered the regular serving of the beef brisket (insanely good BTW) with red potato's and green beans (I can eat an unlimited quantity of their green beans yummyumm) and thats it.

Not only was is amazingly good as expected but the portion and quantities were fine and I was sated. I had little desire for any more.

I have done this 2 or 3 times at different places so I know I can handle NORMAL portions of Normal food without heavy cravings to overdue things. I am very pleased by that discovery.

I apologise if this has been said alread, I don't have the time to read carefully right now but I just wanted to say that protein is what counts most if you'll choose between macronutrients and if you want to ensure you are not losing muscle mass. Also, supplements -eg Magnesium, Potasium, etc- are crucially important along with the vitamins if you will do such a vlcd in a non-food-replacement regimen.... Last but not least.... you are running a risk of messing up your thyroid with this. Do start reading on hormones and then at the same time either look at a meal replacement vlcd or at low carb alternatives such as paleo, zero carb, carb cycling, etc.

Good luck and please be safe!

what will mess up the thyroid? the low cal ? the toggling between low and normal cals? definately want to avoid that.

how does the meal replacement thing work? I used to get lots of protein from yogurts but I got sick of buying them and other people eating them (but magically everyone feins ignorance) so I stopped buying them.

I will have to check my protein and make sure its high enough (whats a good number?)

How much do meal replacements COST. money is one thing I do not have so I have to be careful in that regard.

In my opinion and experience, a very lengthy calorie deficient regimen does. As for the number on protein, I'd guess that 1 gram per lbs of lean body mass is the guiding principle and a bit under that is fine but under 50% of that is certainly dangerous enough to have muscle mass vanish.

I wouldn't be able to tell you what LighterLife or Cambridge or Modifast cost where you are at but surely it's easy to find out online and it is not as expensive as Low Carbing -which incidentally I believe is the better option for long term weight loss and mainainance-

so would using my goal weight be close enough? that can't be right that would be 225grams of Protien. not sure if I could eat that much :-) so how do I figure out lean body mass?

would 6 months hurt my thyroid? in theory I should be able to lose the bulk of my mass in 6-7 months.

Nerys, great to hear from you.

Keep sticking at the 1200 - 1400 cals a day. This is not too low at all and I agree that your body is catching up.