It is very difficult
to manipulate one’s body size.

Most obese people find this to be
a laborious task in the short-term.
(short-term = a few years)

As a long-term task,
it is so eternally grueling
that it is almost impossible
for most reduced-obese people.
(long-term = many years). 

Weight-loss is HARD.
Maintaining weight-loss is HARD. 
Being fat is HARD. 

Everyone, … very thin, normal-weight, over-weight, fat, or super-fat, … has the Right to Choose which HARD they can best manage to live with.

I’ve found this past 12+ years of maintaining a very large weight-loss to be a consistently grueling task that has become more difficult each and every year so far.  Keeping my reduced-obese body at or near a “normal” size still requires continual ongoing vigilance and sometimes almost super-human willpower.  Maintaining weight-loss is the HARD that I am currently choosing, but that doesn’t make me superior to other people who choose to live their lives differently.

Here’s an excellent article written from the perspective of someone who has made the choice to Stop Dieting and to Accept and Live With their Body’s Fat.

“It’s Not a Diet,
It’s a Lifestyle Change” is Bullshit.
               
by Ragen Chastain, danceswithfat

You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. We’ve all heard it. Back in my dieting days - before I did my research  - I believed it.

The secret to lasting weight loss, they say, is that you can’t go on a diet, you have to make a lifestyle change.

This is total, complete, utter bullshit. It’s a lifestyle change alright – you change to a lifestyle where you’re dieting all the time, and it still doesn’t work. 

One of the big issues that the weight loss industry has created is a world where any weight loss claim said with authority that sounds even remotely plausible is accepted and repeated as proven fact.  Even in the world of peer-reviewed research, incredible liberties are given to weight loss research when it comes to not having to support their assumptions with evidence.

I was on a panel at a very prestigious school for their Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

At one point the school’s dietitian who was on the panel said that the reason people don’t maintain weight loss is that they lose the weight too fast, that you you should lose 1/2 pound a week and then you would keep the weight off.

I wasn’t surprised to hear it, there have been versions of this going around since I was a kid.

I knew that the students at the school were super smart and data driven so I said “I must have missed those studies, who conducted the research?”  She stammered for a moment, then said “Oh, there isn’t any research.”

Had I not been there those students would have heard only from a professional dietitian employed by their school, authoritatively telling them that they could achieve lasting weight loss by losing 1/2 pound a week -- as if she was stating a fact, despite having not a shred of evidence to back up her claim.

I think that one of the hardest things we have to come to grips with (as we get off the diet roller coaster and start a non-diet path), is the sheer number of times we’ve been lied to, and the extraordinary breadth and depth of people who have done the lying.  

Some Lie because they Believe the lies, some because they Want to Believe the lies (despite that fact that they’ve been weight cycling for years), and many, many of them for Profit.

I hear about far too many people who, on their death bed, regret having spent their entire life dieting.

In order to break free of the diet and weight loss paradigm that holds us down we have to see it for what it is – a lie, created on lies, supported by lies, and perpetuated by those who lie for profit. 

It’s a Galileo issue. = The idea that

"anyone who tries hard enough
to lose weight can do it"

is widely believed, supported fervently
with religious zeal, and
not at all supported by the evidence.



My life got better immensely and immediately
when I stopped buying the lies that I could manipulate my body size,
and that doing so was a worthy pursuit in the first place.
When it comes to diet culture, that’s the only lifestyle change that I’m interested in.

The issue of Projections about the Rate of Weight-Loss has been on my mind for a very long time, and so this article is going to be quite long and detailed.  Those who bear with me and press on through, might learn some helpful information, or at least be exposed to something other than empty promises.

The Diet Industry knows that people want to lose their excess fat ASAP, and that people also want to spend as little time possible on a weight-loss Diet.  It takes advantage of that fact by using the diet-of-the-moment’s maximum 1st week weight-loss number as a marketing tool. 

Typical is: “Lose 15 pounds in 7 days”; or 10 pounds or 7 pounds, etc.  We see that ploy used continually in the media.  It is almost impossible to look at any magazine display rack in a supermarket checkout line without seeing a similar Headline.

What is implied by this claim is that the number of the first week’s weight loss is a prediction of weight-loss for the subsequent weeks. Marketing claims: “10 pounds in 1 week”.  People think, “Wow, If I stick to this Diet for just 5 weeks, I can lose 50 pounds.” 

Then, when they don’t experience that rate of weight-loss, they feel disappointed. Upon expressing their disappointment to the medical doctor, the nutritionist, the diet guru, the group leader, the program counselor, or whoever, the most common response is: “YOU didn’t follow the diet correctly.”  People are blamed for their weight-loss failure; while the Diet Industry gets the credit for their weight-loss success.

This is universal. I’ve never seen or participated in ANY diet program that didn’t follow that line of thinking, and during the past 60 years …from adolescence on… I’ve been involved with a great many of them.  I have personal experience with a great many diets and diet programs, and I’ve closely watched the experiences of many hundreds of other people as they dieted.

People WANT TO BELIEVE the claims of rapid weight-loss that they hear, and they desperately hope that they will personally experience rapid weight-loss by following their latest Diet-of-choice.   Some of these rapid weight-loss claims are based on lies; some are based on ignorance; some are based on personal experience together with poor memory; and a few are based on the real results of very unusual people. There are those who make these incorrect rapid weight-loss projections in good faith; who stubbornly hold onto an unreasonable Belief by stubbornly ignoring the overwhelmingly-vast-weight-of-the-evidence stacked up against it. However, the fact is that almost all of those claims are false, and the rest of them are based on factors that don’t apply the the majority of dieters. 

Almost everyone on a Diet, including me, is curious about their own potential rate of weight-loss.  

Here are a few facts to consider.  Typically… all other things being equal…, males lose weight faster than females; younger people lose faster than older people; larger people lose faster than smaller people; fatter people lose faster than thinner people; athletic people lose faster than sedentary people; people who have gained weight after maintaining a lifetime of “normal” weight lose faster than people who’ve been fat for a long time.  When people become lighter, their bodies require less fuel to function, and therefore after successfully dieting, they must continually eat less than they did to maintain their old weight. 

In addition to the facts mentioned above, different people of the same age and same size naturally have different metabolic rates. The two main formulas that cite Metabolic rates, and list weights and calories together, are the Harris-Benedict formula and the Mifflin formula.  These are similar in that their numbers are based on AVERAGES… which means that there are many people ABOVE that number, and many people BELOW that number. The standard deviation of the Harris-Benedict formula is about 14%, and it is not uncommon for people to be 14% above or 14% below that Average number.  Also, the studies include  “Outliers” which are people who are situated away or detached from the main body and differ from all other members of a particular group.  An Outlier has a metabolic rate very much higher or very much lower than the rest of the Group.

It is important to understand that the calculators, charts, graphs and predictions we see online are based on the Averages used in the above-mentioned formulas, and although they are a good place to start, they may not apply exactly to you personally.  AND, even if they apply to YOU personally, it doesn’t mean that they will apply to EVERYONE personally.

I’m going to show you how this works by sharing about ME, personally.  In order to better understand, it would be helpful if you read or re-read the article: ABOUT ME.  Next read or re-read the article: How Fast…How Much…Weight Lost After Gastric Bypass?  This article contains a detailed chart of my rate of weight-loss during the year immediately after my RNY gastric bypass 24 years ago.

The rate of weight-loss that I experienced during the year following weight loss surgery is extremely valuable information because there can be NO QUESTION of whether or not I was “faithful to the diet”.  I had no other physical option, as my body would not allow me to eat in any other way.  No normal “cheating” was possible, and even a very tiniest amount of extra food resulted in severe physical discomfort, i.e. vomiting and/or other painful symptoms.

It is also important, because my diet after a gastric bypass was an extremely low-calorie diet, from less than 300 daily calories to a maximum of around 600-800 daily.  So, ….other than a total water fast… no other diet exists which would cause a faster rate of weight loss for me.

Here is a summary of my numbers (see the chart mentioned above for details).
Start: 271 pounds; End: 161 pounds.

Information from the first 7 months or so is the most relevant for this article.

Before WLS weighed 271
The first week: … week one I lost 17 pounds.
Start of week 2, weighed 254 pounds
Weeks 2-6 (5 week period) I lost 14 lbs for a 2.8 lb average loss per week.
Weeks 7-12 (6 week period) I lost 15 lbs for a 2 ½ lb average loss per week.
Weeks 13-18 (6 week period) I lost 16 lbs for a 2 ½ lb average loss per week
Weeks 19-24 (6 week period) I lost 15 lbs for a 2 ½ lb average loss per week
Weeks 25-30 (6 week period) I lost 14 lbs for a 2 ⅓ lb average loss per week
End of week 30, weighed 180 pounds.

In the weeks that followed, my body was able to tolerate more food, and my weight loss began slowing to a standstill.  Although this information is not all that relevant to this current article, I include it to satisfy those who might be curious.

Start weight 180 
Weeks 31-36 (6 weeks) I lost 3 lbs = ½ lb average loss per week
Weeks 37-42 (6 weeks) I lost 7 lbs = 1 lb average loss per week
Weeks 43-48 (6 weeks) I lost 5 lbs = ½ lb average loss per week
weight 167
Weeks 49-54 (6 weeks) I lost 1 lb = 1/6 lb average loss per week
Weeks 55-60 (6 weeks) I lost 2 lbs = ⅓ lb average loss per week
Weeks 61-64 (4 weeks) I lost 3 lbs = 3/4 lb per week
Final low weight 161.

So, regarding projections about my own future rate of weight-loss, the  information about myself shows that in the 7 or so months immediately following a RNY gastric bypass, which forced me to eat in a very low-calorie manner …. my average rate of weight loss was about 2 ½ pounds per week.

I am still female, and still 5 ft 0 in tall,
however, at this time……
I am 24 years older. I am physically much less active. Instead of being obese between 254-180 pounds, I am now a “normal” weight - 123.  All of these factors make a difference in my metabolic rate. It is now lower. My body now, simply does not need as many calories as it did before.  Because of this, it is unlikely that any type of diet … other than a total water fast… would cause an ongoing weight loss as high as that previous 2 ½ pound weekly average.

There are very few people who have kept exact and detailed long-term records of their weight-loss histories, or had the same diet experiences. So while my information is relevant to me, personally, it might not be all that helpful to others. Keeping all of that past personal information in mind, now I’m going to move on to share about making personal projections for my FUTURE rate of weight-loss on a very-low calorie diet.


This is an visual of my current weight maintenance graph.

My ultimate goal is to keep my weight within my “normal” BMI range.  At times this involves some rather serious dieting.  Currently, I am doing some more experimentation with “The 5-Bite Diet”, which is a very low calorie diet which mimics the volume of eating immediately after a Gastric Bypass.  This morning the scale said that I weigh 123 pounds.

In the next examples, I’m going to be using the Body Weight Planner Tool.  For my detailed discussion of this tool, read or re-read Body Weight Calculator -Timeline Projections. Remember, the numbers in this tool are based on AVERAGES, and people are commonly both Above and Below these Averages.

  Now, I’m going to use the Body Weight Planner Tool to run some calculations in order to see what a “reasonable” timeline projection of my rate of weight-loss would be if:

(1) I went on a “Total Water Fast”;  or 
(2) I followed the 5-bite diet eating only 2 Snickers bars or their equivalent daily (500 calories); or
(3) I followed the 5-bite diet eating only 1 Snickers bar or it’s equivalent daily (250 calories).

This following information is for those people who might be interested in learning how to use this Calculator to find out what a “reasonable” timeline projection might be for their own personal rate of weight-loss.  BTW, in order to force the tool to go under a 1, 000 calorie diet, you have to use the button “Switch to Expert Mode”. 


Scenario One….. A Total Water Fast.

In this example, I use my own numbers, to see how long it would take for me to lose from 123 pounds to a 105 pound goal on a total water fast. 

Notice the graph gives my total daily energy equivalent (TDEE) as 1,110 daily calories.  It says that after I reach 105 pounds that TDEE will drop to 1058 daily calories. In actuality, from my detailed 10 year history of personal records, my actual TDEE is a couple of hundred calories lower than  Average. 

According to this calculator, it would take 32 days of a total water fast for me to reach 105 pounds.



 Above is a graph of that same information.  Note, however, that immediately upon reaching 105 pounds, and starting to eat 1058 calories, there is a projection of an immediate up bounce, due to the increased weight of food/water/salt/waste. This projected up bounce is almost 8 pounds, leaving the final weight result 113.6 pounds.

Scenario Two….. 5-bite diet - 2 snickers bars per day (500 cal)

In this example, I use my own numbers, to see how long it would take for me to lose from 123 pounds to a 105 pound goal on a perfect 5-bite diet of 2 snickers bars or 500 calories per day.  All of these graphs will give me the same TDEE info.

According to this calculator, it would take 95 days of 2x5-bites (2 snicker bars=500 calories) for me to reach 105 pounds.



Above is a graph of that same information.  Note, however, that immediately upon reaching 105 pounds, and starting to eat 1058 calories, the projection of an immediate up bounce, due to the increased weight of food/water/salt/waste is less. This projected up bounce is about 4 pounds, leaving the final weight result 109 pounds.


Scenario Three….. 5-bite diet - 1 snickers bars per day (250 cal)

In this example, I use my own numbers, to see how long it would take for me to lose from 123 pounds to a 105 pound goal on a perfect 5-bite diet of 1 snickers bar (250 calories) per day.  All of these graphs will give me the same TDEE info.

According to this calculator, it would take 55 days of 2x5-bites (1 snicker bars=250 calories) for me to reach 105 pounds.


Above is a graph of that same information.  Note, however, that immediately upon reaching 105 pounds, and starting to eat 1058 calories, the projection of an immediate up bounce, due to the increased weight of food/water/salt/waste is less. This projected up bounce is about 6 pounds, leaving the final weight result 111 pounds.

  What does all this mean?
First, undoubtedly, it it means that I am a compulsive record keeper, who is obsessed about my weight.

Second, the information in the above pictures does not apply universally. It is applicable ONLY to me personally…. and even then… only to the “average” person whose height, weight, sex, age, and activity level numbers match my own. 

Next, the tool I’ve demonstrated can be used by anyone who wants to input their own numbers, and play the game of “how many calories = how fast a weight loss”.

Finally, my wish and hope is that everyone who is interested in their own rate of weight loss, will not simply take the amazingly erroneous weight-loss projections of any “Expert, including any Medical Doctor” as Truth, and then blame themselves for failing, when even despite their very best efforts, their bodies do not meet those impossible-and-unreal rapid-weight-loss standards.

NOTE:  Originally posted in January 2016. Bumped up for new viewers.

During the years of my obesity, I followed a lot of different diets and eating plans. As part of my long-term Maintenance of a large weight-loss, I still do a lot of personal experimenting with different types of diets and ways-of-eating.

However, all of my diet experiments include the two basic requirements that are necessary for ME personally in my own Maintenance.

One of these requirements is to consistently track all my food intake every day, and log it into a computer food journal that provides me with a calorie count, and the other requirement is to “eat small to stay small”, meaning that I consistently work to keep my personal calorie count as-low-or-lower than my calorie burn.

I have learned to view Dieting as an enjoyable Hobby, see ABOUT ME.  I am very interested in learning and experiencing different ways and methods of “eating small”.  

“Eating small” is not something that is new to me. 

Before my current successful weight-loss, back in the late 1980s, I spent 6+ months on a medically supervised liquid fast which consisted of Optifast and water. 3 meals totaling about 600 calories per day.

Immediately after my open RNY gastric bypass surgery in December 1992, I spent a year of eating only very tiny amounts of food, totaling about 300 to 600 calories per day. 
See: How Fast…HowMuch…Weight Lost After Gastric Bypass?

There are many articles about my prior diets and weight status here at DietHobby in BLOG CATEGORIES, Status Updates.

My current diet experiment is based on eating the way one eats immediately after bariatric surgery, which is something that I actually experienced in my life about 25 years ago. 

My plan uses some of the concepts recommended by Dr. Duc Vuong, a bariatric surgeon who takes a “Tony Robbins” approach to weight-loss education.

For more background details  see: Palm of the Hand, and Eat Small to Be Small.

My current food plan Directly Restricts the total daily AMOUNT of food that I eat, (has a maximum daily calorie number).

It also restricts the FREQUENCY of eating, but it does not restrict the KINDS of food eaten. 

For more information on those 3 food issues, see Calorie Balance.

I like Guidelines rather than Rules. 

When using a Guideline, circumstances direct one’s decisions, but when one lives by a Rule, it gets applied without regard to whether it will make things better or achieve the stated goal.

Following Rules is simpler than making choices based on complex and changing situations, but Guidelines are places where we start to think.

Guidelines give me a starting point.  They are a place to build from, but modifiable when the situation doesn’t fit.

Rules are “Commands” requiring rigid perfection, while Guidelines are “Recommended Best Practices” giving flexibility.

Some people do really well with Rules, however, I do far better with Guidelines.

When I do any diet experiment, I like to set CLEAR and SPECIFIC Guidelines as a Target.

A Target expresses a place where I want to go.   A Target gives me something tangible in mind, so I can easily measure my progress. 

When I have a Target to aim for, I have the possibility of hitting it.  And I can measure by how much I missed, and make adjustments for the next attempt.

So my process is to first determine my Target. I don’t expect to get a Bullseye right away, but I start working toward getting them.  I take a shot. Sometimes I hit the Target, and sometimes I miss it altogether.  I measure the miss.  Then I improve my Methods.  I Shoot again. Repeat.

My current Target is to follow these Guidelines.

As part of maintaining a large Weight-loss for more than 11 years, here at DietHobby I sometimes share my personal weight and calorie numbers, along with Tactics that I’ve used to help me in Maintenance. 


Treating Dieting as a Hobby (see: ABOUT ME) involves the ongoing task of finding or creating ways to keep myself interested in detailed issues involving Weight-Loss and Maintenance, as well as how MY own body responds to those various issues.

As part of my own Maintenance journey, I’ve experimented with many different diets, and as part of that process I’ve created various ways to track my progress.   When I first began experimenting with Alternate Day Fasting, back in 2006, I created a chart like the one on this page in order to better track how my daily weight reacted to UP days and DOWN days.  I liked this visualization and so I continued using this chart format after I completed my first ADF experiments. 

This first chart shows my actual weight and calories from May 23, 2017 through today, June 9, 2017.

The second chart shows a 10 week Summary of those charts from April 2, 2017 through June 4, 2017.

The first chart shows that on May 23, I weighed 131.0 (red shows a gain from the previous day).

This morning, June 9, I weighed 128.2 (green shows a loss from the previous day). 

So, 131.0 minus 128.2 equals 2.8, which means that my weight dropped 2.8 lbs. in the past 16 days.

During that 16 days, my average calorie intake was 594 per day.

The next chart shows that on the week ending on April 2, my 7 day average weight was 134.5.
On the week ending on June 4, my 7 day average weight was 130.7. 

So, 134.5 minus 130.7 equals 3.8, which means that my weight dropped 3.8 lbs. in the past 10 weeks.

During that 10 week period, my average calorie intake was 669 per day.

A 3.8 loss averaged out over 10 weeks is an average weekly weight loss of 0.38.

So this shows that during the past 10 weeks I lost about  1/3 of 1 lb. per week while eating about 669 calories per day.

          
When others look at MY own personal numbers, it is important to remember that I am a small, inactive, "reduced obese" elderly woman. 

It is not a one-size-fits-all-world so my experience may be vastly different from your own.

Even people who are the SAME size, age, and activity levels often have bodies with different metabolisms. Some bodies burn through their fuel like large luxury cars, and some bodies burn fuel like really efficient economy cars.  The Metabolic Process is an involuntary one, like breathing and temperature, and .... despite what many Diet Guru's, including medical doctors, say, ... an individual's voluntary behavior can do almost nothing to change their personal long-term Metabolic Rate.

To see previous detailed information, including more of my thoughts and comments, see my most recently posted charts in Status Update - February 2017, and the DietHobby section:  BLOG CATEGORIES, Status Updates which provides many posts about my personal progress, including detailed charts spanning my past 12+ dieting years.

The number on the scale is only a number.

Only just a number.
It’s not a “Before”.
It’s not an “After”.

Getting that number to a certain set of digits is not an “After”. There is no “After” – happily ever or otherwise. There is only today. Just today – “During”.

There’s no point in associating “After” with a number.  Losing weight doesn’t mean you no longer struggle with your weight.  It's important to understand that. I’ve lost more than 50% of my highest bodyweight, and have maintained that weight loss for more than 10 years, but I still struggle with my food, my weight, and myself every single day.

My “Before” pictures (which I choose to keep private) are ME.  The pictures on this website are ME.

I’ve had People tell me they don’t recognize the woman in my “Before” pictures, but she is me. The fat ME is not an abomination. Don’t congratulate me on no longer being HER; I still am HER.  You can say that I look better,  but actually, I just look different. "Better" is a matter of personal taste, or personal judgment. That “fat” ME wasn’t ugly, or a poor, piteous person. She’s just ME, and she’s still standing right here, only thinner.

There. Is. No. After.
 
There will never be a pot of gold at the end of the weight-loss rainbow because that rainbow is endless. 

There is Today. There is Now.
There is DURING.  It's called Life.

NOTE:  Bumped up for new viewers. Originally posted on 4/22/15