And I really do appreciate what you're saying, but that science also pretty much diminishes 15 of the 35 lbs I've lost. I will gain it RIGHT back when I go off diet. It's not real loss. So I've lost twenty pounds over six months, and that's pretty good, but my net loss over the past three months is five lbs or less.
So whereas I WAS making great progress, the truth is I've been pretty stagnant for a long while now.
It's still better to be stagnant than go off diet and gain it all back, but my pride is hurt and I am very discouraged. I just don't know if I can do this anymore. I've poured my heart into this thing and tried EVERYTHING. I don't know how much longer I can keep that up with no real gains to show for it.
I think you're conflating two different things here. (1) the human body will retain water, particularly when faced with the need to dilute some dietary load like a high salt intake, (2) the change in base mass of the body.
Assuming a consistent pattern of weighing at the same body state (ie equivalent hydration, equivalent amounts of "goods in transit" in your digestive system), any change in weight
is a change in the base mass of the body. The fact that loading an amount of food and water into the body raised the nett weight doesn't alter the fact of the change in the base mass, nor should it diminish your achievement in shifting 35 pounds from your body's mass. So, yes, if you weigh-up in a morning after you've consumed (whatever it is that you're eating / drinking at the weekend), you
are going to show the weight of your body
plus that food mass and retained water, but the fact that this
does come down during the week shows that it
isn't part of your body, it's just passing through.
Now, if you're retaining some of that weight after a couple of days, you're either (a) maintaining that enhanced level of water retention and/or (b) haven't delivered the "goods in transit" yet and/or (c) have stored some of that excess as additional weight. The fact that in previous weeks you've been able to return to your pre-weekend weight over the course of 2 or 3 days suggests that most of what you've had previously was mostly (a) and (b).
So, will you gain weight back if you go off your current diet? Well, that depends on the balance between what you consider "normal" and "diet" - if your weekend consumption is what you're going to call "normal" then yes, you're probably going to gain back some weight, but this in itself is where I see the big challenge for you. My interpretation of what you've shared about your diet is that you're eating a
really low calorie total during the week (I would guess somewhere around 1000-1200 kCal, depending on the exact composition of your salads and yoghurt/cereal mix) and then something way in excess of that at the weekend.
If that works for you, then great (you're essentially doing something like the 5:2 diet plan, but in reverse), but my own perspective is that that is
really hard to sustain for two reasons - (1) your eating pattern isn't consistent, so your body doesn't get used to eating less/different food and so you crave the forbidden stuff / additional quantity and will struggle with hunger and need a lot of willpower to stick to the restricted diet, and (2) you
may be going low enough on the mid-week days that your body's starvation response is kicking in causing a dip in metabolic rate and consequently any additional calories to be stored (primarily as fat, rather than easier burnt glycogen)
I'll give you an example of a couple of days of my diet from this week:
Wednesday:BreakfastEnergy bar (135)
Home-made banana bread (~200)
Lunch[/b]
Tuna Nicoise sandwich (405)
Picnic bar (225)
SnackRaspberry Giant bar (405)
DinnerThai green curry with rice & vegetables (~850)
ExerciseSpinning bike + 75 mins walking (~670)
NettAbout 2200 kCal, ~220 below exercise-adjusted target, ~720 below maintenance level
Thursday:BreakfastGrape Nuts / Oatbran / Skimmed Milk (465)
LunchChicken/Stuffing sandwich (327)
Brunch bar (125)
SnackRaspberry Giant bar (405)
DinnerSpaghetti Bolognese, boiled vegetables, small portion of garlic bread (~850)
Exercise40 mins walking (~275)
NettAbout 2000 kCal, 0 below exercise-adjusted target, ~500 below maintenance level
I'm eating substantial meals (though slightly smaller portions than when I was a rather larger portion myself), but I'm not eating much differently from day to day. The only rule I'm making is that if I eat more, I have to exercise more - that snack bar costs me 40 minutes of walking to (mostly) balance it out; knowing the effort cost also helps to make the additional food less tempting! I'm also considering this a
permanent change of diet rather than being
a diet that I'm on - I'm content with the food that I'm eating, barring occasional chocolate craving, and will be happy to eat at this level for ever.
This is what works for me, and it's not perfect - erratic days with family events or going to the football have a cost, but I find that keeping a relatively consistent level of intake is less painful than high/low mix - I could never do the 5:2 diet, or your 2:5 pattern.
Maybe it's the changing of the seasons and my body naturally trying to store fat for the winter.
You are (presumably) not a bear!
Maybe it's a plateau that's about to give way. And maybe it's not. I just don't know anymore.
you've shifted as much as you can for the winter and can have another go, starting from a better start-point in Spring, or
maybe the dam is about to burst, and another surge or weight is about to pour out of you (and if that's not a disturbing image, I don't know what is!
)
Do whatever you're comfortable with to regain your enthusiasm - being hacked-off about weight every day isn't a productive way to live, but be proud of what you've lost so far - that's not water, that's real body mass reduction - and try to avoid giving it all back if you do take a break, because that really is dispiriting (been there, done that, got the T-shirt - in several increasing sizes)
)
?
