Tell me 1 lb a week is good; ready to try something more drastic.

Holla4mom

Whatever I do, I like to do it big. I get motivated by big changes, and big results. I'm an overachiever:)

I have lost weight in the pass with Atkins, and by drinking green smoothies for two meals a day- both which were not sustainable for the long term.

I'm here now. I lost 10 pounds pretty quickly earlier this month (Holiday weight/water weight) by cutting out "sugar" for a week or so and found it easy to stay under calories. I realize it's not necessary for weight loss and not sustainable (for me) in the long term, especially in a house with a husband and 4 kids. Now I'm eating different things, including things I love (had banana pudding and cookies last night, key lime pie and pancakes over the weekend) and it takes more thought to stay under calories for sure. It looks like I am on track for a 1 lb a week loss. I know this is Good and sustainable but need somebody to talk some sense into me because this doesn't feel like, "Go Big or Go Home." I like to see that scale drop every other day.

I'm very tempted to just tell hubby to take all the sweets out the house and do no sugar for a week or two (or three?), or make up some smoothies (which I do drink for breakfast) and start replacing some more meals with them so I can lose quickly, because I know I can. Then I could maintain it by doing things the right way, that's my rationalization. Talk me down from the cliff!

Holla4mom

*past* not pass

Sued0nim

How much do you have to lose?

1lb is a very good rate to preserve your LBM as much as possible .. all weight loss is a mixture of fat, water and LBM, you want to lose as little muscle as possible .. weight training helps

Sabine_Stroehm

1Lb a week is GREAT. As rabbit says: you need to preserve lean body mass. 1LB is good!!

Laurend224

Slow weight loss is sustainable weight loss. None of the options you listed above are sustainable in the long term.

You know what to do, and it's working! Good job, keep going!

neanderthin

You mean the road to unsustainability and relapse.

Anonycatgirl

One pound a week is great! The important thing to remember is you didn't gain the weight overnight and you won't lose it overnight either. (We all wish we could, I know.) Taking it slower means you're more likely to stick with it, get the results you want, and be able to maintain them one you hit your goal. Drastic measures often lead to a couple of weeks of big losses and then a "See-Food" diet because your body and brain both feel deprived and can't cope with another green smoothie.

Anonycatgirl

PS: Key lime pie is worth budgeting for.

Sued0nim

Anonycatgirl wrote: »

PS: Key lime pie is worth budgeting for.

I had that for the first time at a friend's house the other week .. ommnommnomm

Holla4mom

Okay, possibly dumb questions, but I have to talk to myself like a two year old sometimes when I get in my mood to see some results "right now". And I am hoping that other newbies and people looking for the quick weight loss will see this thread.

How does losing slowly preserve more Lean Body Mass (muscles?)

Why is that good/ necessary for the long term?

rabbitjb wrote: »

How much do you have to lose?

1lb is a very good rate to preserve your LBM as much as possible .. all weight loss is a mixture of fat, water and LBM, you want to lose as little muscle as possible .. weight training helps

SergeantSausage

Stick with the current program. It's working, and working well.

If it ain't broke ... right?

Holla4mom

I have 30 pounds to lose. I am 5'7", 177 pounds.

Holla4mom

The one DH made was delicious and actually not That calorie dense. It's the Weight Watchers key lime pie recipe. I was leery, but it was delicious. It's actually one of the 5 star recipes with great reviews online about how people who are not watching calories love it.

rabbitjb wrote: »

Anonycatgirl wrote: »

PS: Key lime pie is worth budgeting for.

I had that for the first time at a friend's house the other week .. ommnommnomm

neanderthin

Holla4mom wrote: »

Okay, possibly dumb questions, but I have to talk to myself like a two year old sometimes when I get in my mood to see some results "right now". And I am hoping that other newbies and people looking for the quick weight loss will see this thread.

How does losing slowly preserve more Lean Body Mass (muscles?)

Why is that good/ necessary for the long term?

rabbitjb wrote: »

How much do you have to lose?

1lb is a very good rate to preserve your LBM as much as possible .. all weight loss is a mixture of fat, water and LBM, you want to lose as little muscle as possible .. weight training helps

Actually weight training preserves LBM for the most part and when it a deficit, protein consumption should be looked at as well. As far as deficit is concerned the amount of fat you have to lose is also a factor in retaining lean mass, the more you have to lose the higher the deficit you can manage, but the problem with that is compliance.... your probably not going to like feeling hungry and will more than likely eat back the calories that you budgeted for the increased deficit, which just complicates things.... continue what your doing and lift weights if you don't now.

Sued0nim

the more muscle you preserve the higher your maintenance calories

it is a pain to rebuild muscle you've lost and would involve putting on muscle and fat and losing the fat .. so best to hold on to as much as possible

you know .. I actually don't know the sciency bit behind why the slow loss means a smaller proprotion of muscle is lost... opens the floor

Holla4mom

Higher maintenance calories- BIG incentive!

I am trying to do more resistance training/ bodyweight exercises and will be mindful of protein as well. We have a trainer at church who has had some pretty fantastic results for several of the ladies there (like they have competed and won as Fitness, Figure contestants). I have a question about lifting and will open that up in the appropriate forum.

rabbitjb wrote: »

the more muscle you preserve the higher your maintenance calories

it is a pain to rebuild muscle you've lost and would involve putting on muscle and fat and losing the fat .. so best to hold on to as much as possible

you know .. I actually don't know the sciency bit behind why the slow loss means a smaller proprotion of muscle is lost... opens the floor

Holla4mom

Thanks for the responses!

exstromn

I worry that my flabby bits won't retract accordingly if I loose too quickly, like you sometimes see on people who have gastric surgery. I know some things will never look the same after kids and I accept that. However it is frustrating too when it seems like you work so hard and the scale seems to just creep down or not move at all. Fight the instant gratification you are craving and try to build lasting habits in baby steps. I believe that is what will carry you on your way to your desired result.

middlehaitch

Holla4mum,
Combine your 1lb a week goal with a fitness goal to give yourself the 'go big or go home feeling'. If you are heavy lifting the progression in that will help as you will see success, or if you are running, make it competitive and sign up for a 5 or 10 k.
Switch your focus from weight loss though still counting your calories) to health and fitness.

Cheers, h.

shadowofender

I feel you. I have about 88 more pounds to lose (down 40) and it's been slow going, so it's hard to be positive about it all the time. However, I am finding that with the slower loss, I'm having better energy levels, good workouts, and my skin is shrinking reasonably (Something I was concerned about since I had gained my weight very quickly). My body fat percentage is dropping faster than the scale, so that's a nice way to feel better.

NoelFigart1

A pound a week is fifty pounds a year. Even if you do have a lot to lose, hey, you're cementing habits, neh?

I would say if you need to add some focus and intensity, I agree with @midddlehaitch. Something athletic would be better.

(Nope, not saying it just because that is precisely what I am doing.... Nope, nope, nope)

Johannes1

1 lb a week is good, look at it this way, 52 weeks x 1lb a week= 52lb a year weight loss, well done and keep going

lemon629

Losing one pound a week is great. I would be thrilled to have lost three pounds over the past three weeks. Plus, supposedly if you lose only one pound a week, you are less likely to lose muscle mass which is a good thing because muscle makes your body look better even if you're still overweight, and muscle burns more calories than fat so having good muscle mass helps your metabolic rate.

However, there's no reason not to cut sugar out for a few more weeks. It's really not a drastic thing to do at all. You've done fine so far, why not? It's not like eliminating sugar means you would be eliminating vital nutrients. (Continue to eat fruit, but eat it with meals.) At the end of three weeks, you'll find you no longer like sweet things as much you used to which will probably help you with your weight loss efforts. (My dietitian had me do this several years ago. Cutting out sugar helped me lose weight and get off a weight loss plateau as well as improve my blood numbers. I let sugar creep back into my diet and ended up gaining some of the weight back which is why I am here now.)

cwolfman13

To put it into perspective, think about it the other way around...gaining 1 Lb per week...then it sounds like a lot right?

Also think about it this way...what good is it going to do you to crash your diet and lose more quickly...but then turn around and put it back on because what you're doing cannot be sustained? Wouldn't it be better to eat at a sustainable level and be consistent and stop with the yo-yo crap? IMO, people who go slower actually tend to lose more in the same period of time as people who try to be more aggressive.

This isn't some kind of competition..this is about making life changes...as in for the rest of your life. Ultimately, that's the only way to maintain a healthy weight...you have to adopt a healthful lifestyle (to include energy consumed in appropriate quantities).

Don't focus so much on the number...focus on the process and making healthful decisions and developing healthful habits. One day you wake up and you're like, "holy *kitten*...I actually did this."

segacs

1 pound a week for someone who weighs 175lbs is nearly 30 percent of your body weight in a year! That's pretty good, eh?

I think that our biggest hurdle sometimes with weight loss is that our expectations are completely out of whack with reality. 1 pound per week is GREAT. As you get smaller, expect that rate to reduce -- my current target is 0.8lbs/week and I expect to go down to 0.5lbs/week for the last 10 pounds or so.

The benefits of this sort of approach:

• You're losing nearly all fat, and preserving LBM (especially if combined with strength training).
• You're eating at a deficit that doesn't make you hungry and miserable all the time.
• You're getting enough nutrition and fuelling your workouts.
• You're learning healthy habits for life.
• All the research shows that you're far more likely to be able to keep the weight off permanently if you don't lose it too quickly.

HeySwoleSister

1 pound a week is good and steady. Going too fast is a recipe for not losing all you want, or gaining it all back.

Weight training would be really good for you, I think. It will help you to preserve your muscle mass, but it will also give you some real satisfaction in your "Go big or go home" impulses. Don't think about the scale, think about how badass you are when you are lifting heavier and heavier weights...and a bonus for beginners is that you hit personal bests pretty frequently. (At least I do, because I started with insanely low weights on account of my general wimpiness)

Focus your intensity and competitive spirit on your fitness and not the scale. You'll lose what you lose. But thinking about what your body can DO is not only a more joyful way to walk through life, it has the added bonus of giving more opportunities for "THAT'S RIGHT, I'M AWESOME" strutting.

kommodevaran

Holla4mom wrote: »

Okay, possibly dumb questions, but I have to talk to myself like a two year old sometimes when I get in my mood to see some results "right now".

Some of us need to do that quite often, at least until new habits are formed, and then again occasionally when we are stressed, bored, anxious etc. I think that's normal; our brain consists of many parts that want different things - the more primal parts want instant gratification, whereas the more adult/evolved parts are able to delay gratification, plan ahead, make decisions. We can make our lives easier if we can relieve the higher functions from many of the simple daily tasks and constant arguments with the "child brain" - instead of always relying on will power, make "precommitments", tweak your environment to suit a healthier lifestyle, and above all, make changes you can see yourself live with every day for the rest of you life without dread. And get proper rest, fun and relaxation.

kcjchang

Lean Body Mass (LBM) is everything that is not fat.

When you lose fat, you don't need as much of the connective tissues and other that is necessary to support the engorged fat cells. Some LBM loss is good and necessary but what you want to do is minimize skeletal muscle loss, those that have developed to support the weight (fat), as they are your primary metabolic engine. Eating a higher protein % diet and during light weight/resistance training helps preserve them while improving your metabolic efficiency (increase the number and efficient of the mitochondria organelle in your muscle cells). Not required but good for overall health.

By definition water is a constituent of LBM, dehydrate yourself and you have weight loss; the goal should be fat loss not just weight.

Holla4mom

Great responses and very helpful. Thank you!

mamacoates

One lb a week is AWESOME! And you are doing it while eating real food: EVEN MORE AWESOME! With that said, something I learned from KAIA FIT, is the benefits of a nutritional detox every so often to get our diets back to where they should be. Great opportunity to purge soda, processed foods, etc. and try new things like different combinations of green smoothies, vegetarian soups and dishes, and the like. It gets us back to clean eating which is always a plus. It is also a great little jump start when we need a boost. But keep in mind, it is about health and body recompositon. Not about calories and scale weight. Health is a life long choice so no need to be so quick to get there. Hope this helps put things back into perspective for you. Keep up the good work!

LAWoman72

Losing a pound a week is better than gaining a pound a week.

It's better than just not losing, too.