fast weight loss

Question
Hello and thank you for taking the time to assist people,  my question is as follows,  I am a 21 year old male 5, 6. When I was about 18 I lost alor of weight quickly throug intense dieting ( eating around 700-1200 calories a day ( 60 lbs in 2 1/2 months) I managed to mantain the weight of about 130 for two years. I got married about ten months ago and since then I have been eating about 1800-2200 cals a day and added muscular exercise to my routine and gained nearly 20 lbs which I am now trying desperatly to lose. I am eating maybe 800 -1000 cals at most and exercising every day and I have yet to drop a pound in 3 days. Can you tell me why a) I'm not losing the weight like before and b) how I can lose it quickly? Because the same method that worked very well is seeming ineefective for some inexplicable reason.  I apologize for the lengh of the question.

Answer
Hello Charles and thanks for your question.

Just so I'm clear on what the situation is, you say you gained 2 pounds a month over the last year and now you would like to lose 10 or 20 pounds in the next month?

Hmmm, that's what I thought you said.

I have to say, Charles, the bottom line is, weight comes on slowly and it comes off slowly. If you see a drastic drop (and I believe you probably will when you step on the scale tomorrow) it's not good news. It's not possible to lose fat that fast, so quick weight loss means you are losing water weight and you are losing muscle weight. Why, after all the hard work gaining what I assume is at least partly muscle weight (since you added muscular exercise to your routine) would you try to lose it?  Is it just the scale that changed, or are you also finding your clothing too tight?

My advice is not what you wanted to hear, I'm guessing. But take the time to examine your habits and figure out what new ones would be good for your lifestyle in the long term. Maybe stopping before you're too full, avoiding second portions, limiting sweets and fatty foods?

It's a bit surprising you kept the weight off so long that you lost so quickly, because usually people go back to their old habits and gain back the weight in a short period of time.

This time, make it last. Take your time, eat healthy (not 1000 calories a day, for goodness sake!), exercise reasonably, and focus on being smart and healthy instead of restricting and losing.

Good Luck,
Laurie

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