Speed of Weight loss

MaddieHard

Hi there!
I have started losing weight, but the progress has been slow!!
I was just wondering if anyone has noticed that the weight started dropping quicker after a few months? Or was it always slow but steady?
If the weight did start dropping at a faster pace was it just because of consistency and time or was it due to something else you changed?

Thanks Guys

DeguelloTex

My weight didn't start dropping quicker. It slowed a bit as the same amount of exercise burned fewer calories as I got lighter.

tiptoethruthetulips

Exactly how long since you started? And how much weight lost in that time?

michelle_816

When I started last year with 40+ lbs to lose, I was pretty steadily losing 1.5-2 lbs per week. Some weeks it was closer to a lb, some weeks it was just over 2, but it always averaged out. I was eating around 1460 calories at that time, more when I exercised.
I am around 10-15 lbs away from my final goal now, and I am realizing that weight loss is much slower. I average anywhere between .2 lbs to a 1.2 lbs given the week. Some weeks I don't lose. But I figure if the scale is ever slowly creeping in the right direction, I am doing something right.

How much are you looking to lose and how much are you losing on average per week?

4legsRbetterthan2

A few things:

what is your definition of slow? Yes, they say that 2 lbs a week is healthy, but thats a generalization and what they don't always explain is that is highly dependent on your goal. For people who are not morbily obese to start with, 2lbs of loss a week might be an impossibly large deficit to maintain. Make sure you check your math and expectations. MFP bottoms out at a 1200cal/day goal because it is typically considered unhealthy to eat below this. If that is the goal you were given it is very possible you do not actually have the deficit built in to lose at the rate you selected. That is not to be taken as advice to cut out more calories, more so you can adjust your expectations for progress accordingly.

Typically with time you weight loss will slow down. This is because as you get smaller you require fewer calories to maintain your weight. If you do not continue to decrease your daily goal your deficit will shrink and you will lose slower. Typically a heathy weight loss plan will have you losing faster in the beginning and slowing your loss as you get closer to goal. This is helpful for two reasons: it keeps you from eating really low calorie amounts which can have negative side effect, and it can help with a smooth transition into maintenance.

If you are not seeing the results you should then review the accuracy of your logging. For more information and great tips for success check out these two posts:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide#latest


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

jemhh

For me it slowed down.

From 1/2/14 to 4/27/14 (~ 4 months) I lost 30 pounds.

From 4/27/14 to 4/25/15 (~ 12 months) I lost 25 pounds.

sevenactual

I had to learn about my body and exactly how many calories I really needed. I started out with my activity setting at Sedentary. I had low energy to work out - did not feel like I had the energy to work out - and I was only losing about a 1/2 pound a week. So I changed my settings to Active and had energy work workout but was gaining weight...about a 1/2 pound a week. So I changed my settings to Lightly Active and found I had the energy to exercise everyday and more left over AND I began losing two pounds plus a week.

For me I started seeing results when I found the right combination of caloric intake and exercise. It took a month to figure this out.

elliej

It's a cliche but weight loss is a marathon not a sprint. Slow and steady means that you're less likely to be burning lean body mass (your muscles) and your skin has a chance to keep up with your shrinking body