ATD: Am I Losing Weight too Fast?
Hello – I have been on a calorie reduction diet for 8 weeks and some new developments have occurred. I am a 5’2 1/2″ tall female, almost 60 years old, and in good health. I began my diet at 129 pounds and the pounds came off very very slowly for the first 7 weeks. When I weighed 122, I lowered my caloric intake by an additional 100 calories (from 1,000 to around 900), started drinking 7-8 glasses of water a day, and walking 1/2 hour and doing a few floor exercises for abs. This week I have lost 4 1/2 lbs! The weight is just falling off all of sudden. Can you explain this? It seems sudden. I am getting up several times a night to urinate. Should I be worried? Thanks for your help! Susan P.
Dear Susan,
I have no logical explanation for why you would suddenly lose 4 pounds or more in one week. I do think that losing 1 pound a week has been a great rate. I would suggest eating a bit more than 1000 calories and consider walking an additional 1/2 hour if you can–It’s difficult to keep up a 1000 calorie diet for long and very difficult to get proper nutrition with this low calorie intake.
A few explanations could be just a “catch-up” reflection of all the dieting you’ve done that hasn’t shown up until now, a broken scale (!), or fluid loss, especially since you mention urinating at night which sounds like a new development.
Having a calorie level that low, depending on what it’s composed of, could throw your body into ketosis. This is nothing serious, it’s just how our body physically compensates for a very low carbohydrate intake. We develop another source of energy from what’s already existing in our body (ketones are manufactured from fat), but it’s not good for us so we flush them out through our kidneys. This leads to a large water loss, sometimes a symptomatic headache, usually a decrease in appetite, and resulting weight loss.
If you continue to lose weight at more than one pound a week for another week or two, or the urination is unusually frequent, I would definitely suggest you contact your physician. Whether it’s body weight being lost or dehydration, the doctor can find an explanation and fix whatever’s causing this issue. Whenever you see unexplained weight loss of 5% of your body weight (which is just about 6 pounds for you) within a month or two, it’s time to find out what the underlying cause is and get it addressed.
I wish you continued good health and success with your new lifestyle habits!
Written by Laurie Beebe
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About The Author: Laurie Beebe has been a registered dietitian for 25 years and is certified in adult weight management. Laurie currently serves as a Related posts:
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