You need to know why you REALLY lost 10 lbs in one week–your health and your sanity depend on it! Here’s what’s really happening when you see that scale drop…
READ THIS FIRST: Please read through the comment section for some good back-and-forth about this topic. This post doesn’t cover all possible scenarios (even some where losing 10 lbs in a week isn’t actually so bad). Don’t miss out on the great discussion below!
Yay! You did it. You spent a week eating only cabbage soup and lemonade (or was it eggs and chicken breasts?)–and now you’re reaping the rewards.
You step on the scale and WOW, you really lost 10 lbs in one week. The diet book was right! The fat is melting off you… or is it? You may like the number on the scale, but the tale it tells is not a success story. In fact, it’s a serious warning sign from your body.
What are You Really Losing on that Diet?
Nope, it wasn’t all fat. I won’t lie and say none of that weight was fat–but it’s probably a lot less than you think. Just to run the numbers, a pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories.
So even if you’re only eating 800 calories a day for one week (which is HALF of what an average woman IN A COMA needs to maintain proper body functions), you’re not likely to burn more than about 2-3 lbs of actual fat. So where’s the rest coming from? Here’s what really changed the weight on the scale:
1. Water
We can’t live without it, but it’s the first thing the body flushes down the toilet (literally) when we go on a crash diet. Crash diets cause our stress hormones to soar sky high, which in turn leads our bodies to dump water like Niagara Falls.
2. Glycogen
This is similar to water weight, and the two go hand in hand. In very basic terms, glycogen is basically stored glucose, or sugar. (Yes, in spite of what you may have heard, your body does store sugar for energy, not just fat).
This glycogen is very easy for the body to access–in fact, you are burning glycogen between meals, during heavy exercise, and all night long while you sleep. Well, when you crash diet, glycogen is the easiest way for your body to get some energy, and it will consume it all very quickly since you’re simply not eating enough to sustain yourself.
Glycogen is stored with water, so using glycogen can cause quite a bit of water loss. Between water and glycogen, your body can easily shed several pounds in just a few days without burning off an ounce of fat. It makes the scale move, though, so if all you care about is a number then it might make you (temporarily) feel happy.
3. Muscle
High stress hormones help the body access protein stores for quick energy. Not only can your body use the protein as protein is normally used in the body, but it can also break it down into sugar (aka energy) to use while you’re busy depriving yourself of energy from your diet. In the face of starvation (aka crash diets), your body is going to access this protein more readily than it will your body fat.
4. Bone
Yup. Crash diets are linked to higher “bone turnover” — basically your body is pulling nutrients from your bones during a crash diet. This can actually increase your risk of fractures! Scary stuff. If you want strong bones, crash dieting is not the way to go.
What else are you losing when you lost 10 lbs in one week?
When you lost 10 lbs in one week, it doesn’t even take into account the mineral loss that often comes with flushing so much water out of your system–precious electrolytes like magnesium and potassium usually take the plunge, too, which can leave you feeling a little lifeless.
Not to mention the things that are harder to quantify–like your dignity, your self-worth, your body image. Usually these take a serious hit when you subject your body to torture crash diets all in the name of a smaller swimsuit.
Related: How I Finally Stopped Binge Eating
By the Way, Those Aren’t Detox Symptoms
A lot of these popular crash diets masquerade as “cleanses” and “detox diets” that are supposed to rid your body of toxins. Then they claim the headaches, fatigue, and general moodiness are symptoms of your body “cleansing” itself.
Don’t be fooled. These are symptoms of starving yourself. These are symptoms of your body coping with a sudden drop in energy intake. Because the only thing important during a famine (and yes, your body sees a “cleanse” as a famine) is keeping you alive–your body doesn’t care if you have a headache, feel dizzy, and don’t want to get out of bed during a famine.
In fact, its chief concern at that moment is conserving energy as much as possible. Sort of the opposite of what you want if your goal is to lose weight.
The Moral of the Story: When You Lost 10 lbs in One Week…
Crash dieting is a miserable experience. It’s also pointless. You’re suffering a lot, getting nowhere, and probably setting yourself up for failure (and even more serious problems). Skip the crash diets.
Do this instead: Eat balanced. Have dessert. Live healthy. Move your body. Smile. Take a walk in the sunshine. Give your body energy (you know, that stuff called food)–it will thank you in so many ways.
If you like this post, you might also enjoy reading my books The Nourished Metabolism (all about living a healthy, balanced life that promotes metabolic health) and Love Your Body (to help you break free from body hate).
NOTE: Please read the comment section for some good back-and-forth about this topic of when you lost 10 lbs in one week. This post doesn’t cover all possible scenarios (even some where losing 10 lbs in a week isn’t actually so bad). Don’t miss out on the great discussion below!
References:
More Articles on a Nourished Metabolism and Dieting:
- I Stopped Dieting 6 Years Ago, and This Happened…
- How to Stop Binge Eating
- Stop Dieting: Why Giving Up on Dieting Isn’t Giving Up On Yourself
- 7 “Healthy” Habits that Stress Your Metabolism
Thanks for this article. I always new that cutting calories so drastically was not good, but you explain it well why it doesn’t work.
You’re welcome, Rhonda–glad you like the post!
So, I started eating healthy (more fruits and veggies and less junk food) and I went from 211.4lbs to 199.6 lbs. what’s happening? I’m not starving myself, I’m just eating better, so I don’t really understand. In addition to eating better I’ve switched from coffee to green tea.
That’s awesome you’re working on making healthy changes! As long as you feel better and feel like your body is getting plenty of energy, then everything is probably fine. When you change your diet, your weight can sometimes change drastically in the first week due to a shift in your water balance. It’s just not something you should expect to continue, or try to force your body to continue doing, if that makes sense. 🙂
I’m so glad you replied in a positive way to this post. When I read your article I thought that you didn’t know what you were talking about. The first ten pounds drop off when you make positive changes, even for someone like me who is insulin resistant. The body does not go into famine mode when you cut out all the sugar and high calorie carbs, it does just the opposite. It thanks you by unloading stored sugar and fat. I just lost 7 lbs in 5 days from just eating good food all day long. No starvation, just no bloating. It’s not going to last, but the first 10-15 lbs drop off quickly if you cut out everything you don’t much need and replace it with a variety of nutrition dense food like meat, veggies, fruit. That’s all it takes.
It definitely depends on the person, so it’s important to know your body! 🙂
That’s my story too. I realized that I was probably addicted to sugar as well as eating too many high fat, high salt junk food so I cut all added sugar, all junk food (chips etc), and i stopped eating bread. Fruits, veggies, plain yogurt,eggs and meat make up my meals. No starving or fasting. I dropped 10 lbs in 9 days. While I certainly dont expect that to happen every week, I dont see where the harm is
Your body is more capable of processing natural foods, while junk food is not as easy to process through the stomach. You’re losing weight due to your food choices, with the addition of probably when you eat and how much you eat
I calculated my height/weight and set myself on a 1200 calorie a day diet which is for losing two lbs a week for me as a sedimentary activity level. But i work in a tire shop which is pretty active and i do two a days at the gym. I lost around 20 lbs in a week and was monitoring it with a bmi scanner which body fat percentage seemed to be going down as well. My diet consists of mostly protein and simple carbs. Is this a healthy method?
Wow, twenty pounds a week is an extraordinary amount of weight loss. I would check in with a healthcare provider to make sure you’re on track to lose weight in a healthy way. Losing that much weight so quickly may cause imbalances that could negatively impact your health.
This article only looked at the bad reasons. Other reasons are that your intestines were full of hard stool and if you eat right in the transition you lose about 5 pounds there. 3 pounds for afternoon water weight. Normally a person weighs in when they are in the worst place (after huge meals and sodas) and by a week in they weigh in the morning before drinking or eating and after their first restroom break. Everything else I can agree with. This math still works out to a true 2 pound loss. 10 pounds in the first week isn’t the problem. More than 3 in the subsequent weeks is. This is indicative of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Good article with important information that every women should read.
Thank you!
Ok, you are freaking me out – even tho I am telling myself I am not doing any of what you said!! I have lost 60 pounds in the last 8 months (and my husband has lost 40) and we are certainly not starving. We eat mostly pastured, free range meat (or at least organic) and organic local veggies with plenty of (what I consider) good fats – avocado, coconut oil, raw pastured butter, and olive and flax oils in our salad dressing… We eat no dairy except raw pastured butter, no wheat, almost no grains, no soy (never did:-), and the biggie is no sugars (we don’t touch artificial sweeteners either). We drink only water, lemon water, or one daily cup of herbal tea, but we have done that for a long time. We have had a few desserts along the way, but whoever thought I would list a cooked apple (no added sweetener) as a dessert?! We have tried to be flexible along the way, but every time we try a little (raw pastured) dairy or wheat it makes us sick and we are less inclined to do so again. My husband is close to his ideal weight, but I still have quite a bit to lose. The question is WHAT am I losing? I have tried to be healthy about it, nothing drastic or sudden. But I don’t want to end up unhealthy for the effort. And now the added “Catch 22” of not being able to eat things we used to! This has really come to a head the last few weeks as my husband hurt his back at work (lifting a 150 pound pump out of the lake off a dock by himself) and you would not believe the people who have chewed me out for our “diet”!! Like it caused his back issues? So is it ever possible to lose weight naturally and be more healthy, or are we fooling ourselves?
I have lost close to 60 lbs in the past year doing the same thing myself. As long as your food is balanced you are doing just fine! She’s talking about the people that are doing crazy crash diets that don’t include real food or weird juice cleanses or detoxes. You are talking about long term eating habits, basically dumping processed foods, which in term will cause a lot of weight loss. The only thing I would recommend is strength training a couple times a week because muscle is a use it or lose it thing. Plus if you’re like me, if you have that much to lose you need strength training to keep from getting saggy skin. So basically yes you can lose weight in a healthy way and as long as you are balancing it out it sounds like that’s what you are doing. Congrarulations!
I agree with Angela. As long as you’re listening to your body and eating a generally balanced diet (with some flexibility now and then if you need it), it’s not something to worry too much about. I also agree that strength training is an excellent way to help you maintain lean mass (both bone and muscle).
A good idea is to look beyond the scale. It might help to track measurements every few weeks (especially the waist and hips for women). Also, take note of how you feel. Are you sleeping well? Do you have enough energy? You can also track your body temperature as an indicator of how your body is doing. Just take your temperature first thing in the morning before you get up–if you’re under 97.8 that could indicate low thyroid function, which might mean your diet isn’t supporting your metabolic health. The most important thing is to not let the scale get in the way of being truly healthy.
I think your point is moot since 60 pounds in 8 months breaks down to roughly 1.25 pounds per week. I believe the author is trying to tell people to take your exact approach.
I’m not trying to loose any weight i just wanted to stop smoking so flushed my self with lemon water pee a lot every15m also on blood pressure meds nor have I’ve been physically active either could this be my reason of the lost of weightWednesday i was 175.5 yesterday 154.3 then today I’m149.3 whats happening and I’m a 63 male. No HIV for i test regular
That’s a very drastic weight change in a short amount of time. I would recommend checking in with a health professional just to make sure everything is okay.
What is “raw pastured” dairy?? The dairy cows are pastured and the milk is raw when the butter is churned? Or are you saying it is “raw” and “pasteurized?” This is impossible. Raw means it has not been heated up at all. Pasteurized means it has been heated to between 150 and 162 degrees for a period of time to kill any harmful germs. Just thought you should know. 🙂
raw pastured dairy I think means grass fed and not pasteurised . Hope this is helpful xx
THANK YOU for this article. It is sad that we have been taught to focus on a number on the scale when there is SO much more to our health than our weight.
Thanks, Cindy! I agree, focusing on the scale is so detrimental to our health.
Several years ago before I started cooking a traditional diet for me & my husband, we did a lowfat diet( I know 🙁 I didn’t know better) we both walked for exercise and lost weight. I gained some of mine back before I started eating right but my husband did not and even now with adding the traditional fats and healthy grains, his hands and feet are alway freezing. His thyriod has been tested and was normal. I really think our lowfat diet messed him up. His weight is still down but is a normal weight. We drink raw milk and grind our own grains. What can I do?
Eating enough in general, a balance of macronutrients (fats, carbs, proteins), and also enough salt really helps me with cold hands and feet. The salt has been really helpful to me. I also started taking Lugol’s iodine drops and dessicated liver this year, and I feel it’s really helped as well.
I have also had some of the symptoms of thyroid being off with the cold hands and very dry skin. Also, lately, I’ve craved salt, even though I salt food liberally. My Dr. has checked my thyroid several times and it is always normal. I’m not sure he is checking all parts of it. Have read there are other tests dealing with T3 and T4. I purchased the Lugol’s iodine drops, but am unsure how much to use. I don’t want to overdo that either. Any suggestions?
I personally use Lugol’s 2% solution, about 5 drops per day (each drop is equal to 2.5 mg of iodine). It’s usually recommended to start off with 1 drop per day and work yourself up as needed. I’ve taken more, but I don’t tend to notice more benefits. 5 drops a day seems to be just right for me.
Yes, get all those other tests done for a complete thyroid/hormonal function overview. I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis, but my doctor (GP) just wanted me to take a low dose of replacement thyroid hormone. When I went to an endocrinologist to have a more complete workup done, there were issues that needed addressing. I’m addressing them mostly through diet/proper nutrition, but the correct dosage of the hormone was actually 3x the amount the GP had me on. THey don’t see the big picture, and cold hands and feet are one of those tell-tale signs. If it’s not a thyroid issue, sometimes an endo can help see what is out of whack that is causing his temperature changes.
After years of regular exercise and a healthy diet, I could not lose a single pound. I tried going moderately low-carb for one week (100 grams max, I’m Asian so I used to eat a lot of rice before going low-carb) and ate as much as normal as far as calories are concerned. Btw I am already athletic to begin with. I lost 10 lbs in a week. I don’t know how it happened, I never went hungry these past few days, I worked out as normal, and I dropped 10 lbs. Not sure whether I should be scared, I didn’t actively try to lose 10 lbs, I just wanted to lose a pound a week.
Anne, cutting back on carbs will automatically cause your body to dump water, which usually results in a huge weight loss during the first week or so. This is pretty typical and doesn’t reflect how the diet will work for someone long term.
I googled “I lost ten pounds in a week ” and that’s hiw I git here. I googled it cause I wanted to know if I should be concerned. 6 days ago I started changing my diet by eliminating processed foods and keeping my sugar to under 25 grams a day. This from being a heavy soda drinker and earing lots of processed and fast food. I also started insanity and weight training. I have lost ten pounds and I have never once felt hungry. I have huge green smoothies once a day, eat bacon, eggs, chicken, fruit and vegetables, healthy fatty oils, seeds, nuts and healthy grains. As soon as I get a hunger pang, I eat until it’s gone. Does this sound unhealthy to you? I don’t see myself as a crash dieter.
Please excuse my typos. I’m on my phone.
Those are some pretty big dietary and activity changes, which can cause a lot of water loss in the beginning. Depending on your current size, it might not be a big concern. The heavier we are, the more weight we tend to drop at first. It sounds like you’re not doing anything too crazy like cutting out huge food groups or macronutrients, so that’s a good thing. I would encourage you to make sure you know your energy needs with your new activity level (I use this site: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced) and make sure you’re eating enough to fuel that activity. A moderate deficit is usually okay, but it’s something you don’t want to overdo.
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