Too much too fast.

Here is my situation. 16 days ago I was 6'0" 241 pounds. 2 years ago I was 263 pounds. Today I am 231 pounds.I am a 43 year old male

I grew up athletic, playing sports and running long distance. In my thirties I gained a lot of weight. About 2 years ago I was diagnosed with Diabetes and had to inject myself with insulin. I made the decision that I would change my life and do what it took. For about 2 years now I have been exercising often. About 45 minutes to a hour and a half a day. I was running anywhere from 5 miles to 11 miles a day, I was doing that 3 to 5 days a week. Also thanks to diet and exercise I know longer take medication for diabetes. I still monitor myself to make sure I don't slip, but so far so good.

I had hit a wall in weight loss about 6 months ago. I was fluctuating around 240-241. It seem whatever I did I would never get below 238 and rarely below 240. About 16 days ago I decided to start counting calories. I learned many things I was eating like protein bars was hurting my weight. I made some changes like cutting out mayonaise on my subway sandwich, and substituting protein bars with apples/oranges/raisans/carrots etc and 14 of the 16 days I stayed beneath my calorie goal sometimes 500-600 pounds less. I also cut my workout schedule down so I was not overworking myself. I run 4.25 miles a day five days a week instead of 9-11 miles 3 to 5 days a week.. 16 days later I lost 10 pounds and I almost never feel hungry.

My fear is I have lost 10 pounds in 16 days, thats almost 5 pounds a week. It is said you should not lose more than 2 pounds a week. However I am not hungry. When I eat smart and try and reach my calorie goal I feel bloated, like I am eating too much. I feel strongly that my high weight even through exercise was my poor choice of healthy but high calorie foods.

The question is do I continue what I am doing? Should I fear losing too much too quick? Or should I just be happy that I am reaching my goal sooner than later. I can't believe the weight loss is water weight because I have not been eating high sodium foods for a couple of years, and I have exercised on a regular basis for 2 years. I feel good and I don't feel hunger. I am eating probably a 1000 calories less a day than what it takes to maintain my original weight

Thanks in advance to anyone that gives advice.

Jim.

It is not salt that makes you lose a bunch of weight at the beginning of a diet.  I am not entirely sure why the body seems to shed a bunch of water when calories are cut, but it does.  Especially if you are significantly cutting down on carbs and raising protein.

A deficit of 1000 calories a day after you calculate in your exercise is a reasonable goal for you at your current weight.  I ran your stats through http://www.phord.com/cc/ a really good calculator that is quite popular on this site and it says you should eat about 2000 calories a day.  You don't say how many calories you are consuming, but if you are close to that, you are OK.

I wouldn't worry about the rapid initial loss, it is common.  Do not expect it to continue.  You are correct that you should aim for about 2 pounds a week.  If you are not cutting too much, you should eventually settle to an average around there.

Plateaus and loses of weight above what "they" call normal..is okay...

I was over 200 lbs in Jan 2009 and have shed over 20 pounds...My ideal weight is 167 to 174..according to CC...and I expect to reach that goal area by middle of May.

It is how you feel that is important.   Good energy, stamina, sleeping well are all signs your doing fine.

I introduced more grains into my diet to fill that gap...I take 1/2 glass water, add 1 tablspoon, psyllium husks, rolled oats and drink that before all snacks or meals.

The high nutrients in these grains will curb the hungries but also speed up the weight loss.

Here's to you...your doing fine!!

It really depends.   If your deficit is no more then 1000 calories a day after adding in your activity and exercise then you should be alright.   Just make sure your adding all that exercise to your activity log.

If your deficit is coming up more then 1000 calories, then you probably should eat, besides all the nutritional reasons, your body will also be unable to repair your muscle tissue readily and could start breaking down muscle more then fat.  We'd all probably be happier keeping the muscle and lossing the fat.  *chuckle*

In general, you sound alright though.  You might want to switch up your work outs from time to time though.  Try something new, maybe a sport.  Or try lifting weights, that will definately help you keep the muscle.  Good luck!!!

Thanks for the responses. I did not want to eat just to eat.

I'm going to second everyone who says, "Don't worry too much about the rapid initial loss."

People can go through periods with big losses like this; we also experience plateaus.  It will likely even out over time.

Now, if you keep this up for more than a month or so -- then I'd worry!