Hello all. It has been very inspirational for me to read this sub, and I was hoping to contribute to this sub.
If you have not seen part 1 yet, here is the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/a6yl89/81kg_to_57kg_1785lbs_to_1255_lbs_my_scientific/
Here, I discuss in brief, caloric restriction, my experience with the weight loss plateau and the effects of caloric restriction on BMR, and the importance of being physically active(this is not the same as exercise, although closely related).
Now for the second part.
I don't have much else to post on my transformation, as it is a short period of time, with minimal weight change, however I do have pictures of my current weight and waist size as proof i am not pulling a fast one.
https://imgur.com/a/xh9r11I
As you probably are aware, caloric restriction works, and it is a significant factor in weight loss, as shown in a 217 participant study funded by the National Institute of Health.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-calorie-restriction-lowers-some-risk-factors-age-related-diseases
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/calorie-restriction-and-fasting-diets-what-do-we-know
The question then becomes, what happens when caloric restriction is not possible?
As many have experienced, including myself, caloric restriction is not possible 100% of the time. Even logging food items is not possible 100% of the time. Is there a way out?
In my opinion, there is a way out. That is through being more active for that period of time. This is not the same as physically working out until you collapse. Rather, it could be as simple as sitting down less.
I found a study that involved 303 Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass patients,
Here is the link: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11695-014-1212-3.pdf
Here is the short version incase you can't access the full study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24682779
It might be difficult to access due to pay wall issues, but if you wish to see the study in it's entirety, please drop me a message.
Here is the image of the results: https://imgur.com/a/OnNENxj
Only 48 % of patients reported ≥1 session/week MVPA, and mean reported sitting time was 7±4 h/day. Neither MVPA nor sitting time was associated with weight loss outcomes at patients’ lowest weight postsurgery. However, both MVPA and sitting time were independently positively and inversely, respectively, associated with total (kg) weight loss, % weight loss, and % excess weight loss at current weight, as well as weight loss maintained vs. regained, controlling for age, sex, surgery type, presurgery BMI, total initial weight loss, and time since surgery
Conclusion: Results demonstrate associations between MVPA and high sitting time and weight loss outcomes among bariatric patients in the long term.
This study is unique as caloric restriction is controlled for due to the nature of the operation.
In my anecdotal experience, due to unforseen circumstances and a general lack of self control, during the holiday period for 24-30 Dec, I doubled/tripled my caloric intake every day. eating 2800 at minimum, and 4700 at maximum.
https://i.imgur.com/EDaZTTx.png
My RMR is 1400 when I was 62 kg, and given that I was around 57kg at that point in time, this would have given me aestimated TDEE of lower than 1600.
This means that the excess caloric intake would have led to a gain of about 2kg. However, this did not happen. In fact, i maintained my weight.
During the same period, I walked a total of 151,643 steps or 21663 steps daily. This is about 10 miles a day, at 4.8km/h or 3mph, which is not a fast speed at all for most people.
https://i.imgur.com/iE5CuO2.png
This isn't anything out of the ordinary for me, as that is the amount that i tend to walk on a daily basis.
However, conditions during the trip are much harsher than normal. First, the steps were done in a -4 to -6 degree environment, with about an estimated 10kg of additional clothing(that is about 18% of my body weight)
Given that cold weather tends to increase fat metabolism, that may be a possible explanation
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/cool-temperature-alters-human-fat-metabolism
However, since a month of exposure only increases metabolism by 10%, it is not significant enough to outweigh my excess caloric intake of 100-200% daily.
My new focus, is on weight maintenance, as losing more weight is definitely out of the question.
I looked into studies on weight maintenance, and found two important points. There is an emphasis on reduced sitting time and proper nutrition(lack of fast food).
The biggest predictor of losing the weight and keeping it off according to a 4 year study published in nature of 8726 women, from ages 18-23, was spending very little time sitting.
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/0802150#t3
Similarly, compared with the women who spent least time sitting, those who reported moderate and high sitting times (eg 33– <52 h,>52 h) were 17–20% less likely to have maintained their weight, and women who reported eating takeaway food occasionally were 15% less likely to be weight maintainers than those who rarely or never ate takeaway food.When these socio-demographic and health behaviours were taken into account, the factors associated most clearly with weight maintenance in the present study were initially healthy BMI, low sitting times and low consumption of takeaway food
This is very similar to the findings of the study of patients who went for a gastric bypass.
Conclusion: Results demonstrate associations between MVPA and high sitting time and weight loss outcomes among bariatric patients in the long term.
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11695-014-1212-3.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24682779
