Mithrandir

So. I've been losing 20 pounds a month for the last 2 months. I really am not sure what I'm doing differently to make such a huge drop in my weight; all I've done is cut out one bag of chips each weekend (from one to zero). And of course ramped up the cycling to my normal summer levels. But whatever. It's working. At first I thought it was a fluke, that maybe my body is simply rejecting retained water, but once it continued past the first month and now fully into the 2nd month, I'm down 44 pounds as of today. I still have a super long way to go, of course, but now I'm a bit concerned that this weight loss is *too* dramatic.

Is this normal? Should I be worried? I want to be ecstatic, but I'm such a worry-wart I can't help it.

WonderMonkey

It's safe if done safely. How's that for an answer? If your nutrition is sound and you are exercising then it is safe, though a bit on the high side. If you are doing nothing beyond ordinary then I'd go in for a general check-up and let your doctor know. In fact, go ahead and do it just to be safe, chances are you are due. Be mindful that most general practice doctors aren't nutritionists but they are good at hearing what is going on and having an informed opinion.

kc0bbq

That would require a huge calorie deficit (2500/day), but it could be as simple as water weight if you had been running a smaller deficit but had plateaued and your body was dumping all of the water that displaced the fat in fat cells. Early in weight loss, though, you can dump a lot of water if you had been much less active, but I have no idea what is normal for any given body.

Possibilities run from harmless to concerning, probably worth a chat with your doctor if that can be done. You'll probably end up with a bit of peace of mind and make your doctor happy.

Mithrandir

I'm eating about 1800 calories a day. Lots of vegetables. Eggs, meat, cheese. Very little carbs, but a few. As far as I can tell I've got all the nutrients sussed out. I'm drinking lots of Nuun-fortified water as well to keep hydrated well. Which to me seems like another argument against the water expulsion idea.

Based on the math, 2500/day deficit matches my numbers when factoring in my bicycling and BMR.

For what it's worth, I've never felt this good in my life before. At least in recent memory.

andr0id

What does this mean in miles and effort?

I'm 6'1" and around 185 lbs. I have a PowerTap, so I know how many watts I'm putting out and total kilojoules expended on a ride.
This can be converted to kilocalories and it is far more accurate than the guess my calories burned numbers on most athletic computers.

The most I can burn is around 600 calories an hour. That's going hard at around 20mph on flat level ground.
I rode 55 miles on Saturday with a group. It took 3:05 (ride time) and I burned 1745 calories according to the PowerTap. We averaged 18.2 and I took more than my fair share of pulls.

I don't think that most people are going to burn up more than about 300-400 calories an hour at < 15mph recreational speed.

If you are riding 2 or 3 hours a day and NOT sucking down Gatorade and Cliff bars, then you could feasibly be exercising away that many lbs.

1000 a day along with a 500 deficit = 1500 a day. That's maybe 9000 calories a week if you take a day off.

jsigone

5lbs a week If you cut that from dieting alone or cutting fatty chips, it tell you how much extra junk you had on the menu. Is it bad to cut them off, NO...IMO. Congrats.

If you counting cals, you should have a ball park of what is burned vs consumed. As you ride less, the key would be cut back on eating junk food some more.

BTW, I did similar weight drop when I started, and it stayed off unless I got injured and couldn't ride. 245#-->195 in 3 months. Still Float around 190-205 these days (10yrs later)

again congrats and keep it up!!

Marcus_Ti

You're riding about as much as I am. With 2000miles on the year so far and increasing, your BMR is going to go up.

Talk to a doc, but I say congrats.

Mithrandir

This is something I hadn't thought of. Last year I drank a lot of Gatorade, this year I switched to calorie-negligible Nuun. I would also typically consume clif bars on long-ish rides (30+ miles), somewhere around 4-5 a week I'd estimate. This year I've had the same clif bar in my bag for 2 weeks now and haven't touched it. Did 220 miles last week without eating a single one. 160 miles this week, though twice the climbing, and I only had a granola bar on the hardest ride of the week.

Maybe that's helping to kick me over that edge finally.


My power meter estimates I get around 800-850 calories per hour. But I weigh a ton, and ride hard.

Judi

20 pounds a month is not a bad thing as long as you're actually trying to lose weight, which you are by eating 1800 calories a day and exercising. Eventually the weight loss will slow down, but it's great while it lasts.

Flatbroke

Good job. I lost 50 pounds in the last 6 weeks doing the same thing. Just eating greens, berries, onions almonds and beans, plus some lean meats. Lots of riding 6-10 hours a week

TrojanHorse

Well then, all that's left to say is congratulations!

It's a little hard to believe you were drinking 2500 calories a day of gatorade & clif bars, but what ever you are doing is having spectacular results.

scrming

Ok, so this thread got me curious... so I went back to my data and looked at how much weight I've lost by month.... Now I was morbidly obese when I started 10.5 months ago. My goal was to lose 100 pounds with a stretch goal of 125 pounds... so yes, very overweight. Here's the data:

Month #Lost
1 26
2 30
3 4
4 13
5 4
6 3
7 6
8 0
9 -1
10 16

So you can see my weight loss has been all over the place... and the hardest part is the plateaus... ugh... they can be very tough mentally! Just have to stick with it...

bassjones

Just know a plateau is likely coming, maybe even a slight bounce back. Don't let it become what gets you to give up. Push through and the weight will start dropping again, though probably at less drastic speed.

Nikon shooter

You don't say what percentage of weight 20 pounds is. If you started at 200 then it's too much, if you started at 500 then it's probably a low amount to lose in the beginning.

Flatbroke

tracking is a pretty good idea. Never thought of that. Also I very seldom get on a scale. Did you weigh daily, weekly or monthly?

incidently I started riding seriously at 360 pounds. Over that cause my scaled stopped at 360 so I don't know the real weight but assume it was close. Any way last I checked I was 309. Hoping to reach 220

Kindaslow

This is the point some folks have missed. And, given the weight you started at, that initial loss is probably safe. The fact you are feeling good is another positive. Prepare yourself for things to slow down. If you stick with the healthy lifestyle, which you can, you will reach and possibly exceed your goals.

scrming

I think the recommendation is to only weigh yourself once a week... but I'm absolutely, horribly obsessed with the stupid scale! I weigh myself every morning and that is the number I record... but then I will also weigh myself before/after a workout/ride... and then of course before I go to bed, so I can dream of being lighter in the morning! LOL!

For the record, I started at 325 pounds... Original goal was 225.. currently at 211... not sure if I can become a sub-clyde but going to have to try!

Mithrandir

Started at 434 in April. Down to 389 this morning.

I have a LONG way to go.

Mithrandir

Don't bother with the after ride/workout measures. They won't give you any meaningful information. I do daily, and then the primary number I track is the 2-week moving average (the average of your weight for the last 14 days). 1 week is probably better though, not sure why I chose 2 weeks. But the moving average smooths out your hydration spikes and drops and makes the number a lot less "noisy".

Mithrandir

I bought a Withings WiFi scale which uploads my measurements to a web service every time I use it. It's great for staying accountable to yourself; you can go back and look at your weight at any given time and try to figure out why you're where you are.

I measure once daily in the mornings after I wake up and go to the bathroom. It's about as scientifically stable as I'm going to get.

Here's an example of the web interface it gives me:

scrming

Agree that before/after isn't meaningful from a weight loss perspective.... But for a workout motivational stand point it's invaluable to me.

WonderMonkey

Agreed. It's what pushes someone forward or tends to hold them back. I weigh myself most days but only use it for trends and possible daily motivation but some may not do that. Some weight themselves once a week but that wouldn't work for me, etc.

Over-fucusing, not focusing enough, etc. You have to find your happy place.

TrojanHorse

That's GOT to feel good though. Keep after it.

JakiChan

One bit of advice:

Dropping a bunch of weight can stress out your gallbladder. Talk to your doctor about prescribing Actigall: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursodeoxycholic_acid

It can prevent you from having gallstones.

HIPCHIP

2-2.5 lbs a week is what is recommended. Any more than that can be too hard on your system.