My low losses

spangles

Bouncy Castle
So I've just had my week six weigh in, and I'd lost a pound. Last week, I also lost a pound. I had some decent and some fair losses before that - but the first week, I only lost five and a bit pounds, despite starting at 19 stone 4.

I've been SS, 100% every single day. I drink at least three litres of water a day. Four most days.

I'm a teacher, so i'm a bit active, but i'm not doing loads of exercise. It is not my TOTM for another fortnight.

TBH - i don't find the diet hard, and although losing a pound a week is really dispiriting, my big concern is my CDCs reaction. She was clearly shocked and concerned by my week 1 weigh in. Last week she gave me the third degree cos she couldn't believe i hadn't somehow done it wrong... and the this week she'd saying that if it's low next week she's going to make me have four packs a day, or real food because she thinks my body has gone into 'starvation mode'.

Now - that seems like bad science to me. I'm eating fewer than 500 cals a day. There's no way I can't lose weight. People who are genuinely starving (anorexics, people in famine regions) get very thin and then they die. Their body can't stop that happening. But maybe i'm wrong. Is there a proper scientific reasoning behind the 'starvation mode' theory? Or is it the sort of pseudo science nonsense cooked up by Gillian McKeith (or to give her her full medical title, Gillian McKeith :D)?

And apart from all that - what's your theory as to why I've only lost a pound a week for the last two weeks?
 
I can't offer you any help but I can commiserate! My losses seem to be lower than expected as well. I mean, I can't complain as I AM losing but for example last month I didn't even lose 14lbs. I guess the reason it's irritating is that I could be eating REAL FOOD - like 1200-1400 cals/day and I'd lose at least the same amount. And it'd probably be cheaper too!

That said, have you done an ss+ week yet? My first ss+ week bumped up my weekly loss by 2lbs.

Sorry for being very unhelpful :eek:
 
I can't offer you any help but I can commiserate! My losses seem to be lower than expected as well. I mean, I can't complain as I AM losing but for example last month I didn't even lose 14lbs. I guess the reason it's irritating is that I could be eating REAL FOOD - like 1200-1400 cals/day and I'd lose at least the same amount. And it'd probably be cheaper too!

That said, have you done an ss+ week yet? My first ss+ week bumped up my weekly loss by 2lbs.

Sorry for being very unhelpful :eek:
no. very reluctant to do ss+ because i'm not ready to deal with proper food yet.:(
 
I know how you feel as I stayed the same this week even though I was doing ss 100% I hope someone can answer you as that was one of my questions as I couldn't understand how someone my weight could eat less than 500 cals & stay the same??
Big hugs xxxx
 
So I've just had my week six weigh in, and I'd lost a pound. Last week, I also lost a pound. I had some decent and some fair losses before that - but the first week, I only lost five and a bit pounds, despite starting at 19 stone 4.

I've been SS, 100% every single day. I drink at least three litres of water a day. Four most days.

I'm a teacher, so i'm a bit active, but i'm not doing loads of exercise. It is not my TOTM for another fortnight.

TBH - i don't find the diet hard, and although losing a pound a week is really dispiriting, my big concern is my CDCs reaction. She was clearly shocked and concerned by my week 1 weigh in. Last week she gave me the third degree cos she couldn't believe i hadn't somehow done it wrong... and the this week she'd saying that if it's low next week she's going to make me have four packs a day, or real food because she thinks my body has gone into 'starvation mode'.

Now - that seems like bad science to me. I'm eating fewer than 500 cals a day. There's no way I can't lose weight. People who are genuinely starving (anorexics, people in famine regions) get very thin and then they die. Their body can't stop that happening. But maybe i'm wrong. Is there a proper scientific reasoning behind the 'starvation mode' theory? Or is it the sort of pseudo science nonsense cooked up by Gillian McKeith (or to give her her full medical title, Gillian McKeith :D)?

And apart from all that - what's your theory as to why I've only lost a pound a week for the last two weeks?

Hey, not sure whether its scientifically proven.. But my aunty did cambridge and lost a half a stone if the first month and had 1lb a week after that! Her cdc was convinced she was cheating Not sure hw much she weighed but was quite big and about 5ft 2 or 3 her consultant said the same that it was starvation mode so she did move to 4 aday also her cdc said that she maybe took in too much water to start with I know every1 is advised to drink lots but she was told to cut down to 2 and after that her weight losses weren't massive but went up a a pound or 2 a week .. Maybe worth ago! .. Everyone is different so try not to feel too down! A loss Is a loss and your going in the right direction! Also its fantastic that your finding it easy! I certainly am not!! Hope this helps a tiny bit x
 
I was thinking the same thing spangles cos I only lost 2.86lbs this week after losing 11.9lbs last week. I didnt do anything wrong, exercised x2/day so I wasnt too impressed. I did lose 8cm all over so my CDC said its probably water retention (thank god she didnt say I did something wrong or naughty again cos I would have punched her!)

A few people I know who did CD said some weeks if the loss was really low that the week after they lost double the previous week.

How was your loss in cm?
 
Id like to know what this starvation mode is all about too. It doesn't make sense to me if ur not getting the calories. I'm due to wi tomorrow and haven't lost this wk. Spoke to my cdc last wk who is happy for me to remain on ss+ so why would that be wrong? Is it wrong? Do I need more food? Hopefully someone in the know will help us out in here...:D
Sauce x
 
I think some bodies can "rebell" against starvation mode, shut down the metabolism somehow and just "wait" for better times. I would also guess that this can't stay for more than a couple of weeks, if you don't get food then finally you'll lose the weight. It's mathematical. So you need to become process oriented rather than goal oriented. I know it might be tough. But when you know it's finally going to pay off at some point, it might do the trick. Stick to your diet, don't stress over the results, you'll do just fine.

I think you are actually "feeling" the danger of increasing you calories amount, or eating amount because that is the tricky part. As it can speed up metabolism if done properly, it can also lead to binges that will just mess up everything...you said you are afraid going to proper food as you don't know how you can manage....so just listen to yourself and do what you are feeling to do.

Oh and by the way as a frenchie I love Gillian Mc Keith which I discovered a few weeks ago. I don't know about her scientific non sense but the way of eating she advises makes total sense to me. I want to eat like this after my diet is over, totally ;););)
 
Illa I love Gillian mckeith too lol! I watch You are what you eat every time it's on lol xxx
 
Ahh - gillian Mckeith... There's nothing wrong with the diet she advocates, it's very healthy, and she's entertaining on tv, in her own way. It's just that... actually, I really recommend you read Ben Goldacre's very funny and clever article all about what's wrong with Gillian McKeith.
 
thanks for the article it's fun to read. I actually don't know her on TV as I don't live in the UK and don't have TV anyway ;) She is a total stranger here in Europe. But we have our own "Guru" here, the so called dummy Dukan. And worst even: he IS a doctor, so I would think that he could avoid talking non sense. I'd much rather follow Gillian way of nutrition than Dukan but medias here have been making such a fuss all over him, it's disgusting. Oh well back to the subject, Good luck on your next steps of the diet, whatever they are. We are here to support you ;)
 
:scale: Hi Spangles
I think sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves and look at the scales as tho they are God... Perhaps we need to look at our losses on a monthly basis and not wkly. Us women have the odd blip once a month and i always gain weight around this time ... Try not to be too hard on yourself and focus on the fantastic loss you have had so far....
Have u been measured ? I bet u will be shocked at the inches u have lost.. Keep at it and remember why you are doing this. You are doing so well so dont give up or get too disheartened. :bighug:

 
CDC= supportive fail.

She should never have given you the third degree!! Silly woman.
 
Measure measure measure! And do what feels right!! X
 
When my cdc tlks about starvation mode she saying you body goes into shock, your metabolism slows down to preserve the fat and energy and stores EVERYTHING you consume! Making you sometimes bloated and you retain most water u take in! But as mentioned above. Surely it won't continue after a few weeks! Can only last so long!
 
The body often does 'shut down' or, rather, slow down to an extreme degree in conditions IT regards as starvation/famine. The body has no clue that we would purposely eat almost nothing, day after day; so it tries to save our lives by using the absolute minimum energy needed to keep our hearts beating, our lungs breathing, and our bodies ticking over.

I used to fast years back (crazy I know). I once went ten days on weak tea with a mere dash of milk. I found that I lost NOT AN OUNCE during that period. My body was trying to keep me from dying of starvation. I had been dieting strictly before the fast, say 800 calories a day of regular food.

VLCDs give the correct balance of nutrients for survival but the calorie intake is so low that the body thinks we will perish if we carry on burning fat very fast. So it sorta 'turns down the thermostat'. This is why we get so cold on VLCDs. And why we sometimes lack energy weeks and months into the diet, and feel so terribly tired. It's also why the hair falls out - having hair is not essential for life, so calories that would have been used to keep hair in great condition are instead used for keeping our bodies going.

This is why I think programmes with a bit of food added are much better over the longer term. Try a higher step and see if losses improve. I would!
 
The body often does 'shut down' or, rather, slow down to an extreme degree in conditions IT regards as starvation/famine. The body has no clue that we would purposely eat almost nothing, day after day; so it tries to save our lives by using the absolute minimum energy needed to keep our hearts beating, our lungs breathing, and our bodies ticking over.

I used to fast years back (crazy I know). I once went ten days on weak tea with a mere dash of milk. I found that I lost NOT AN OUNCE during that period. My body was trying to keep me from dying of starvation. I had been dieting strictly before the fast, say 800 calories a day of regular food.

VLCDs give the correct balance of nutrients for survival but the calorie intake is so low that the body thinks we will perish if we carry on burning fat very fast. So it sorta 'turns down the thermostat'. This is why we get so cold on VLCDs. And why we sometimes lack energy weeks and months into the diet, and feel so terribly tired. It's also why the hair falls out - having hair is not essential for life, so calories that would have been used to keep hair in great condition are instead used for keeping our bodies going.

This is why I think programmes with a bit of food added are much better over the longer term. Try a higher step and see if losses improve. I would!
Thanks - I'm going to do four packs next week if things don't improve. This explanation and one on my diary thread have helped me understand what is going on - whereas before I really didn't.

"With food" options are not for me. I have failed at so many diets in the past where I have had to make choices. Cambridge works a) because I never feel hungry, and b) because there's no room to mess it up.
 
Hi Spangles, I found your thread because I was searching for 'slow losses'. I'm not doing CD but I am doing Slim and Save (which is a similar concept - under 500 calories per day) and my losses have slowed right up too (I'm on week 6 currently) and am also feeling a bit disillusioned. I did LT several years ago and had lost 29 pounds in 6 weeks and 3 stone by week 9 (start weight was only 8lbs lower this time) and I was expecting to lose a similar amount to be honest. I feel that I'll be lucky to get to 2 stone by week 9 at this rate. I've been 100% and like you feel a bit cheated that I'm not losing the amount I expected. I've only lost half a pound so far this week with WI tomorrow.

Someone on the Slim and Save forum said that she had a similar issue when she did CD for the second time and her doctor said that it was down to fat cells having 'memory' and filling themselves with water. She said that if you keep on going then that phase will pass. So maybe that's the reason? I'm having a (planned) break from the diet for a week from tomorrow as we have friends staying. I'm hoping it will kick start my metabolism (or something!).

In terms of the body going into starvation mode I guess it's similar to what happened to me over Christmas last year. I got swine flu and became seriously ill with pneumonia and was on ITU on a ventilator for 3 weeks. Apparently my organs started to go into failure as the brain was not getting enough oxygen for survival and the brain is clever and does all that it can to preserve itself and to do that it shuts everything 'it doesn't need' down. I was out for the count so have no memory of this! Like many VLCDers I had hair loss after that episode too. So I guess that although I'm now fully recovered my body is reacting in a similar way and shutting things down that it doesn't need? I'm not 100% sure really but I know that if I keep my intake at under 500 calories my body can't sustain its current weight forever. It's tricking you into being demotivated to force you into taking in more calories ;)

Good luck, and you're not alone!
 
Oh yeah! See the article I posted!!
 
The human body is very, very smart. It is as old as time, pretty much! We are all complex and finely-tuned beings whose biology goes back to the primeval soup. Over countless millennia our bodies have been programmed to survive, to stay alive, to keep going no matter what life, or we, throw at them.

So what we regard as a VLCD or very strict diet plan, and what is to US a 'very good idea', surely strikes our bodies, with all that survival programming, as starvation, or the threat of starvation - no more and no less. No wild animal willingly starves itself. It eats less when for some reason beyond its control food is scarce or even non-existent. Strict dieting is utterly foreign to optimum health and longevity, from the body's pooint of view. For all the body knows the missing calories may never come back! So the metabolism slows down; energy is preserved in order to fuel only the most vital life processes.

Think of how many VLCD-ers post on this site alone about poor or non-existent losses on SS or SS+, even when they are hitting the gym daily. Vigorous exercise is absolutely not advised on TFR, but people work out anyway to speed up losses. And are then mystified when, instead, these losses slow.

The body can only lose so much fat, week by week. The doctor is right when he says that the body 'remembers'. It wants us to stay alive! Never forget how wise the body is, how old, and how determined to keep us from danger of death.
 
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