After 6 months of maintaining, how quickly can I try to lose weight again?

lauramillat

Hello,

First of all, I am a 5' 6" and 25 year old female. Since highschool I have been trying to lose weight and along the way I figured out how to do it SAFLEY (slowly). I made it to about 130 lbs and have been maintaining for the past 6 months to a year.

My question is, how quickly should I try to lose weight again? Is it ok to lose by a deficit of about 250 cals a day? Or should I do it more slowly by about 100 cals a day?

My goal right now is to lose body fat and get down to about 18%. I think I am currently around 23%.

Please note that everyday I DO track how much protein I eat, I get atleast 1g per lb of bodyweight every day. I will also continue my weight training and walking.

Thanks!

kristen6350

No need to wait. Start today. 250 calorie deficient from your maintenance is perfect. Your plan is pretty sound.

Go for it!

nathan_haveagoodday

I would say a 100 calorie a day deficit is too low mainly because your margin of error for calorie counting needs to be higher. Even if you weigh your food exactly and get the right nutrition information there is a 20% deviance allowed by law on the labels. A 250 calorie deficit is much more forgiving.

TimothyFish

1-2lbs per week

erickirb

TimothyFish wrote: »

1-2lbs per week

I disagree, with only a few lbs left to lose 0.5 lbs/week (250 cal/day) would be ideal. If you follow TDEE do TDEE -15%

lauramillat

I agree with the 0.5 lb mark. Thanks!

Unknown

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itschanelle

Why not strength train first to add some muscle and then cut to lean out? Depending on your current muscle mass, fat loss still might not get you to the physique you have in your mind.

Sarasmaintaining

I'm getting ready to also go back into a short period of weight loss (I prefer to be leaner in the summer and then relax a bit during the fall/winter). I'm also 5ft, 6in and my current maintenance range is 120-125lbs I'll be adjusting that down to a new maintenance range of 118-121lbs (low point for a healthy bmi for my height). I'll be working towards a .5lb per week loss.

TimothyFish

erickirb wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

1-2lbs per week

I disagree, with only a few lbs left to lose 0.5 lbs/week (250 cal/day) would be ideal. If you follow TDEE do TDEE -15%

Assuming exercise, TDEE-15% would be more than 0.5 lbs. And at a 1200 calorie diet, there is plenty of room for more than 1 lb.

arditarose

TimothyFish wrote: »

erickirb wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

1-2lbs per week

I disagree, with only a few lbs left to lose 0.5 lbs/week (250 cal/day) would be ideal. If you follow TDEE do TDEE -15%

Assuming exercise, TDEE-15% would be more than 0.5 lbs. And at a 1200 calorie diet, there is plenty of room for more than 1 lb.

What? How do you know that? I'm 5'4" and about the same weight as her. With no cardio, my TDEE is 1800-1900 calories.

TimothyFish

arditarose wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

erickirb wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

1-2lbs per week

I disagree, with only a few lbs left to lose 0.5 lbs/week (250 cal/day) would be ideal. If you follow TDEE do TDEE -15%

Assuming exercise, TDEE-15% would be more than 0.5 lbs. And at a 1200 calorie diet, there is plenty of room for more than 1 lb.

What? How do you know that? I'm 5'4" and about the same weight as her. With no cardio, my TDEE is 1800-1900 calories.

For some reason, the TDEE estimator I used puts her numbers lower than yours. At this rate, we'll have her losing at 2 lbs a week yet.

arditarose

OP, you should be fine to jump into a 250 calorie deficit. 100 won't do much, too much room for error. Congrats. I'm taking a break before I dip into the 120's as well.