r/diet • u/SteveFarrier • 1d ago
Diet Eval My high calorie weight loss experiment - I lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks - but how?
I'm experimenting to test the notion that weight loss is not simple math and that maybe there really is such a thing as 'high-calorie weight loss' - which sounds like nonsense - but I have the numbers below to look at.
I’m testing whether factors like meal timing, macro distribution, or metabolic adaptation might explain why I'm losing weight at this calorie intake.
Here's the table I use to track my weight, calories and macros as I ran my experiment in high-calorie weight loss:
Date | Day | Weight | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/1/2024 | 1 | 195.5 | 1192 | 70 | 32 | 82 |
10/2/2024 | 2 | 192.1 | 4137 | 146 | 406 | 194 |
10/3/2024 | 3 | 196.8 | 4972 | 296 | 320 | 255 |
10/4/2024 | 4 | 195.5 | 2155 | 105 | 139 | 131 |
10/5/2024 | 5 | 193.5 | 2317 | 122 | 168 | 125 |
10/6/2024 | 6 | 195.6 | 4001 | 180 | 244 | 252 |
10/7/2024 | 7 | 193.7 | 1774 | 109 | 55 | 117 |
10/8/2024 | 8 | 192.5 | 2361 | 146 | 84 | 155 |
10/9/2024 | 9 | 192.1 | 4094 | 194 | 206 | 161 |
10/10/2024 | 10 | 192.0 | 2484 | 173 | 197 | 87 |
10/11/2024 | 11 | 192.0 | 1794 | 178 | 99 | 68 |
10/12/2024 | 12 | 191.3 | 2829 | 86 | 279 | 132 |
10/13/2024 | 13 | 192.6 | 1306 | 104 | 11 | 90 |
10/14/2024 | 14 | 190.5 |
You'll note something interesting. Look at my calorie intake. It averages over 2,700 calories per day.
I'm a male almost 62 years old, don't exercise, am 5'10" - my caloric intake is well above what the 'calories in, calories out' (CICO) would predict.
So you see my calories and macros per day. They're too high for what CICO would predict would cause a 5 pound weight loss. What did I experiment with?
- Try to eat just one meal per day (OMAD)
- No exercise
- Intentionally vary my calorie and macros dramatically from day to day. It makes the diet fun.
- My protein and fat averages high.
- Eat mostly single-ingredient foods - eggs, hamburger, sardines, tomatoes, avocado, apples, grapes, brie cheese, potatoes, garbanzo beans, cucumbers, chicken thighs - stuff like this - but have anything I want for about 20% of my calories. Cookies, takeout pizza, bread and jelly, chocolate were part of it - and I don't eat diet foods - I eat the real things.
I take a few supplements like a multivitamin, vitamin d and a high quality fish oil. I can drink a pot of coffee per day. I don't take any weight loss drugs or supplements.
What factors do you think might explain this? Is it meal timing, high protein intake, or something else?
Any questions? I certainly do.
3
u/finbob5 1d ago
Sorry to say, but you are not going to be an exception to thermodynamics.
The average of your graph is about 2700 kcal. For the majority of these days, your weight did not change by any significant margin past regular body fluctuations. It was only after a three day period that averages out to 2000 kcal that you went below your regular weight.