Quote:
Originally Posted by Angela  How are you feeling, Paul?
P.s. I've read that any loss over 2.5 lb in a week is not fat loss, but water/lean tissue loss. Are you ok with that? |
I'm feeling great. Here's what I've hard from different people over the last year regarding diet and muscle gains:
- "There is no healthy way to lose more than 1lb/week. If anyone loses more it's due to water loss."
- "A weight loss of 0.5-1lbs/day is healthy if the body has lots of toxins and fats to lose."
- "Any more than 2.5lbs/week is not fat loss, but water/lean tissue loss."
- "If you lose too much weight too quickly, you'll just gain it all back and more."
- "Diets don't work."
- "You can't gain more than 5-10lbs of muscle per year, it's impossible."
- etc. etc. etc.
This is from books, doctors, naturopaths, as well as regular people who tell me this stuff with good intentions. I really don't believe any of them because none of them are consistent.
Here's my point of view on it.
Right now, in the last 8 days, I've drank MORE water that in the last 2 years on a daily basis. Also, I've eaten MORE water rich foods than ever in my life. If what I'm losing is water weight, then I am ok with my body making that decision. It must have a good reason for it. I know I've giving it enough water, in fact more than ever before, so I really doubt I'm losing water weight.
Secondly, I really don't think I'm losing lean tissue because I can FEEL my muscles growing underneath my fat when I do my workouts, and I've been able to push more weight during my strength training. I've worked out before and I know what it feels like to build muscle. There is a certain weight different and a tightness that you feel when building muscle.
I am certain that my weight loss will slow down at a certain point as my body sheds itself of toxins, having less and less to get rid of, but in the beginning I am not worried one bit about losing 7.4lbs in 8 days.
Think of it this way. I read somewhere that average adult on the SAD diet carries around something like +10lbs of fecal matter (toxins) in their colon stuck to the walls of the colon. If you provided your body with the resources necessary to get rid of that fecal matter, why wouldn't the body want to get rid of it as fast as possible. If it did, then you would lose that 10lbs as quickly as it took the body to get rid of it. So how can it be unhealthy to lose more than 2.5lbs/week?
Long term, I agree. If I average it out over the next 3 months for example, I bet it will come out to something like that. In the short term though, I'm absolutely not worried. I'm giving the body healthy, nutritious foods and plenty of water. I'm not starving it, I eat however much food I want, whenever I want it.
I really doubt that my body would need me to eat junk foods like McDonald's or Chocolate bars to maintain it's weight.