sameone

Question
i am the same 5'10 girl of 220lbs who plans on eating less than 500 calories a day. In response to your assumption, yes i have dieted before. last year i weighed in at 245lbs. in about 3/4 months i lost 30lbs by trying to not eat though i was constantly failing and would end up eating and say i'd start again tomorrow. the longest i ever went without eating before was 3 days. after that i started all types of diets, trying a new thing every few days. such as eating only pickles, or only yogurt, i was a vegetarian for a while and tried to eat very little bread at the same time (basically i was living off of potatochips and junk), and for a while i went with out fast food, i've tried not eating after 8pm, and a negative calorie diet. With all this dieting i lost 35lbs, but i never really realized it until i had given up on them all (it wasn't real apparent (i went from a size 18/20 to a size 14/16).  Unfortunately, I gained 20 of the pounds back (originally i only gained back 10 lbs, but within the last couple of months, i've gained an extra 10) the lowest i've ever weighed at this height is 210. I was a skinny child up until age 10 and then i got fat. My extended family is fat, but both of my brothers are skinny. I think i have very large bones and i am strong for a girl (i took weightlifting and can benchpress 150 on a machine) I am normally a fast food eater and i gained weight eating sometimes even 2 meals a day from fast food, but i am well aware of this problem, and am restricting fast food in take to once or twice every two months at least until i am at my skinny goal of 135lbs. i never eat breakfast so i eat 2 meals a day (normally excluding this diet where as long as i eat under 500 calories its fine).  BUT MY REAL REASON FOR WRITING BACK IS TODAY I EXERCISED TWICE! (MORE THAN 2HRS) AND IN TOTAL I WALKED INCLINE 5-15, 3.5-3.8MPH, AND BURNED A LITTLE OVER 2000 CALORIES. I WANT TO CONTINUE THIS. CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH WEIGHT I WILL LOSE NOW. I think i am becoming addicted to the exercise. I just pop on my headphones and start moving for an hour.    

Answer
Hi again,

Thanks for the additional information. I am not a doctor or a nutritionalist, so I am wholly unqualified to calculate the actual weight loss or gain that will result from any given behavior.

I am, however, aware of how diet and exercise affects body weight. I think you are on the right track with the exercise, but feel that your attempts at fasting or very low caloric intake sends your metabolism into chaos. While you do want to burn more calories than you intake in order to force it to consume some of its fat stores will work over the long haul to greatly diminish your excess fat. Be aware that some body fat is actually necessary for good health, somewhere in the range of 8 to 10% of total body weight.

If you fast for very long periods of time, your metabolism believes you are in the midst of a long period of famine, and, as soon as you cease the fasting, the body attempts to use the period of plenty to replace, and maybe add to, the amount of stored fat used as another famine might be right over the horizon and your survival might depend upon your having a large amount of stored fat. Therefore, it is actually more beneficial to make slight reductions in your caloric intake so that your metabolism is allowed to adjust as you adjust your living style.

I am hopeful that you will feel free to get a second opinion from a more highly qualified professional, but believe you will be working contrary to your plan by the drastic reduction in caloric intake.

The very best of luck,

Terence A. Russell

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