12 weeks left in the year! Can we lose 2 lb per week?
krazykarenn
Posts: 20 Member
If we start today and lose 2 lb per week, we will start the new year 24lb lighter than we are now. Anyone want to join me in actively working towards this goal? Let's share what is working and what we need help with!
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Probably not likely. Remember the closer you get to your goal weight the rate of loss goes down. So if you are only 26 pounds away from goal then the most your probably going to be able to do is 1/2 to 1 pound per week.0
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I'll try!!!!0
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To be honest I will be happy with 1lb per week, but aiming for 2, knowing that it will get harder as I get closer to my goal!0
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With only 26lbs to go, you probably don't want to be targeting 2lbs/week.0
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Unless someone has a significant amount of weight to lose, 2 lbs a week is more like a plan for frustration than reality. Too many newbies set the goal so high that it's simply not attainable. They lose faith, motivation, and quit. Not a good way to head towards the holidays. Set your sights to a more realistic goal. Work towards something attainable. Forgive yourself if you don't make it. Don't quit.0
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Unless someone has a significant amount of weight to lose, 2 lbs a week is more like a plan for frustration than reality. Too many newbies set the goal so high that it's simply not attainable. They lose faith, motivation, and quit. Not a good way to head towards the holidays. Set your sights to a more realistic goal. Work towards something attainable. Forgive yourself if you don't make it. Don't quit.
yep yep0 -
Unless someone has a significant amount of weight to lose, 2 lbs a week is more like a plan for frustration than reality. Too many newbies set the goal so high that it's simply not attainable. They lose faith, motivation, and quit. Not a good way to head towards the holidays. Set your sights to a more realistic goal. Work towards something attainable. Forgive yourself if you don't make it. Don't quit.
Cosigned.
Also? Weight loss is frustratingly not linear. Our bodies don't act like bank accounts with debits and credits. So many things influence the number you see on the scale that aren't really under your control.
It really is best to be patient and play a long game with weight loss.
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I think a more fun game would be: "Let's try to super-accurately hit our daily calorie goals for the next 12 weeks"!
I'd totally play that with you.
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Yass I have so much more than 24lbs to lose tho
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Count me in...I'll be happy with half that lol!0
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I'm consistently losing 2 pounds a week by sticking to a 1,200 calorie diet and exercising everyday (mostly cardio). I started at 299 and am now at 241. I eat a lot of low calorie foods so I can stay full. I also try and eat "healthier." I cut out all soda and fried foods and greatly cut back on fast food, sweets, and red meat. Just sharing what works for me! Good luck to you!0
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It's great to have goals, and to motivate each other. Just be cautious to set reasonable goals. If someone is in the upper 200s, 2 pounds a week is not unreasonable. For someone who is starting at 150 pounds, 2 weeks is pretty ambitious.
KrazyKarenn, if you would be happy with 1 pound a week, make that your goal, and work every day to meet THAT goal. I think you'll find yourself more confident in your efforts. Especially heading into the holidays, I fear you are setting yourself up for frustration if you restrict so aggressively.0 -
If I succeed I will be pretty close to a goal weight I can live with and 13 pounds shy of my UGW0
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kshama2001 wrote: »
Me too. Process goals are such a good approach, IMO.0 -
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Since I'm at 1270 to lose a pound and a half a week, it's pretty impossible for me to do that without starving myself.0
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theawill519 wrote: »I'm consistently losing 2 pounds a week by sticking to a 1,200 calorie diet and exercising everyday (mostly cardio). I started at 299 and am now at 241. I eat a lot of low calorie foods so I can stay full. I also try and eat "healthier." I cut out all soda and fried foods and greatly cut back on fast food, sweets, and red meat. Just sharing what works for me! Good luck to you!
Do you eat back your exercise calories? I'm 218 and I don't think I'd survive on 1200 Cal lol. Great job on your weight loss!
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Wow, so much unexpected negativity here. I'm of the "reach for the moon and you will land among the stars" mentality, but if everyone picks the goal they are comfortable with and shares what helps them reach it we will all win. I have added more weight training to my routine and I'm curious as to how it will help me.0
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_flawedperfectly_ wrote: »theawill519 wrote: »I'm consistently losing 2 pounds a week by sticking to a 1,200 calorie diet and exercising everyday (mostly cardio). I started at 299 and am now at 241. I eat a lot of low calorie foods so I can stay full. I also try and eat "healthier." I cut out all soda and fried foods and greatly cut back on fast food, sweets, and red meat. Just sharing what works for me! Good luck to you!
Do you eat back your exercise calories? I'm 218 and I don't think I'd survive on 1200 Cal lol. Great job on your weight loss!
Not often, because 1,200 usually fills me up. Like I mentioned, I try to stick with low cal stuff like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. I find that if I endulge in higher calorie foods, it's definitely hard to stay full because you can't eat as much.
If I'm feeling particularly hungry and have earned exercise cals, I'll eat some, but never more than half of them.
Thanks!
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krazykarenn wrote: »Wow, so much unexpected negativity here. I'm of the "reach for the moon and you will land among the stars" mentality, but if everyone picks the goal they are comfortable with and shares what helps them reach it we will all win. I have added more weight training to my routine and I'm curious as to how it will help me.
I don't think anyone means to be negative. It's just that a goal like that is likely unattainable for many.
This time around with my weight loss I decided to do more weight training than cardio, and I absolutely love it. I've been at it for two months and over that time I've gotten definitely gotten stronger and I'm more toned. Even though I only do 15-20mins of cardio 3xs/wk I've still lost weight consistently too. And besides all that, it's important for us in order to keep our bones strong for the long haul.
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krazykarenn wrote: »Wow, so much unexpected negativity here. I'm of the "reach for the moon and you will land among the stars" mentality, but if everyone picks the goal they are comfortable with and shares what helps them reach it we will all win. I have added more weight training to my routine and I'm curious as to how it will help me.
I don't think anyone means to be negative. It's just that a goal like that is likely unattainable for many.
This time around with my weight loss I decided to do more weight training than cardio, and I absolutely love it. I've been at it for two months and over that time I've gotten definitely gotten stronger and I'm more toned. Even though I only do 15-20mins of cardio 3xs/wk I've still lost weight consistently too. And besides all that, it's important for us in order to keep our bones strong for the long haul.
Thanks for the input! I feel so good after weight training!0 -
krazykarenn wrote: »Wow, so much unexpected negativity here. I'm of the "reach for the moon and you will land among the stars" mentality, but if everyone picks the goal they are comfortable with and shares what helps them reach it we will all win. I have added more weight training to my routine and I'm curious as to how it will help me.
Strength training + a moderate weekly weight loss goal + eating enough protein = keeping a larger percentage of lean muscle, while losing fat. This lowers your body fat percentage.
Cardio burns calories & increases endurance (both good things). But, if one is doing hours of cardio a day (and not fueling that), then they are basically working out to increase muscle loss. Google skinny-fat. This is when you lose weight, but still have that (smaller) yet still jiggly look when you are at goal.0 -
theawill519 wrote: »_flawedperfectly_ wrote: »theawill519 wrote: »I'm consistently losing 2 pounds a week by sticking to a 1,200 calorie diet and exercising everyday (mostly cardio). I started at 299 and am now at 241. I eat a lot of low calorie foods so I can stay full. I also try and eat "healthier." I cut out all soda and fried foods and greatly cut back on fast food, sweets, and red meat. Just sharing what works for me! Good luck to you!
Do you eat back your exercise calories? I'm 218 and I don't think I'd survive on 1200 Cal lol. Great job on your weight loss!
Not often, because 1,200 usually fills me up. Like I mentioned, I try to stick with low cal stuff like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. I find that if I endulge in higher calorie foods, it's definitely hard to stay full because you can't eat as much.
If I'm feeling particularly hungry and have earned exercise cals, I'll eat some, but never more than half of them.
Thanks!
The closer to goal you get the more important it becomes to eat enough to support existing lean muscle mass. You body won't "trigger hunger signals" because it's catobolizing existing lean muscle. So not eating because of hunger signals....isn't terribly relevant.
Not everyone will be a volume eater. Plenty of people need calorie dense foods to stay full longer. Low fat diets are satiating for me (they are for some).
1200 gross calories AND 5'10".........is less than MFP guidelines, not a good idea IMO.
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theawill519 wrote: »_flawedperfectly_ wrote: »theawill519 wrote: »I'm consistently losing 2 pounds a week by sticking to a 1,200 calorie diet and exercising everyday (mostly cardio). I started at 299 and am now at 241. I eat a lot of low calorie foods so I can stay full. I also try and eat "healthier." I cut out all soda and fried foods and greatly cut back on fast food, sweets, and red meat. Just sharing what works for me! Good luck to you!
Do you eat back your exercise calories? I'm 218 and I don't think I'd survive on 1200 Cal lol. Great job on your weight loss!
Not often, because 1,200 usually fills me up. Like I mentioned, I try to stick with low cal stuff like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. I find that if I endulge in higher calorie foods, it's definitely hard to stay full because you can't eat as much.
If I'm feeling particularly hungry and have earned exercise cals, I'll eat some, but never more than half of them.
Thanks!
The closer to goal you get the more important it becomes to eat enough to support existing lean muscle mass. You body won't "trigger hunger signals" because it's catobolizing existing lean muscle. So not eating because of hunger signals....isn't terribly relevant.
Not everyone will be a volume eater. Plenty of people need calorie dense foods to stay full longer. Low fat diets are satiating for me (they are for some).
1200 gross calories AND 5'10".........is less than MFP guidelines, not a good idea IMO.
I'm still 241 pounds. I think I'm okay for now.
I didn't suggest that anyone do exactly what I'm doing or that it would work for everyone else. The OP asked us to share what works for us- that's what I did.
MFP calculated 1,200 cals a day for me, so how could it be below the MFP guidelines? I put in all of my stats, including my height and that I work at a desk 9 hours a day, and that's what it gave me.0 -
krazykarenn wrote: »To be honest I will be happy with 1lb per week, but aiming for 2, knowing that it will get harder as I get closer to my goal!
THIS, is a great plan.0 -
theawill519 wrote: »I'm consistently losing 2 pounds a week by sticking to a 1,200 calorie diet and exercising everyday (mostly cardio). I started at 299 and am now at 241. I eat a lot of low calorie foods so I can stay full. I also try and eat "healthier." I cut out all soda and fried foods and greatly cut back on fast food, sweets, and red meat. Just sharing what works for me! Good luck to you!
It is excellent news that you are doing this while still obese because your body can actually tolerate these deficits (and associated loss rate) without significantly impacting your lean mass. You may or may not trigger issues with your gallbladder (a common problem for women and associated with rapid weight loss).
You may or may not be comfortable with such a large deficit long term (for the amount of time it will take you to reach normal weight) and, based on what you said, for fear of over-indulging you are definitely avoiding goods you will eventually want to eat again.
In other words you are not yet learning how to move and eat at maintenance.
Hey: I can't blame you: I did the exact same thing when moving from 280 to 230 before joining MFP!
I joined MFP when looking for a longer term solution, after coming to the realization that the rates of weight loss I was subjecting myself to by eating subway and salad every day and moving around for multiple hours at a time were not going to be sustainable forever.
My first discovery was that the olive oil I was using in my salad was more calories than the can of Salmon... and that the subway subs were not as filling as a lot of other food that was just as few/many calories.
But I also slowly discovered that I don't have to starve myself to lose weight.
And that I SHOULD NOT starve myself to lose weight if I don't want to throw away lean mass I don't have to!
And as to these consistent 2lbs a week... what's the plan on the week the two lbs don't roll around as expected?
So, in terms of the OP: I would love to see someone propose a challenge to meet our own targets, because that's what we should be aiming for.
This is not a game where we try for 50lbs in order to succeed in getting 25lbs!
Absolutely, you mean the challenge well. But, it feeds right into the dieting approach followed by thousands of people who regularly fail!
"I am macho woman and I will power through adversity: eat nothing, go to the gym 24/7, shed weight fast". And be back doing the same next year.
So change the game!
Change it to one where you hopefully get to understand more about how your body operates, the inputs, the outputs, and their effect on your fat mass, and weight.
Change it to one where the whole thing is easy. Where you slowly shed the weight and you imperceptibly slide into maintenance without changing anything in terms of how you eat and move.
Hey: maybe that won't work either... but we already know for sure the first game seldom works!
Anyway: my $2 worth of info is quite simple:
Eat 10% to 20% less than TDEE (up to 25% less than TDEE while obese).
Make sure that this adds up to at least your BMR.
Dip below BMR for short periods of time; but not for months or years at a time.
Eat at least 0.45g of fat per lb you should weigh at a BMI of 22
Eat about 1g of protein per lb you should weigh at a BMI of 22.
(hey these things are approximate and stand in for % of body fat: if you know that BMI is not accurate for everyone you also know why I picked 22)
Also, while extra protein does preserve lean mass, eating high levels of protein is hard on the kidneys, could contribute to gout and might even contribute to skeletal calcium loss. So you want to increase protein, but not to insane amounts.
Eat a good 25g of fiber a day as a woman, 38g of fiber for guys.
Engage in strength training in addition to cardio.
Start easy and protect your joints (esp knees) while you weigh a lot... you will have plenty of opportunity to engage in more strenuous cardio when you weigh less.
There are no bonus points for losing weight while eating the least amount possible! I would like to argue that there might be some bonus points for losing weight and learning how to control your weight while eating as much as possible and continuing to live life with friends and family as fully as possible.
Good luck and congrats on your success so far!
PS: Scale weight is an extremely unreliable indicator of your actual weight level.
You are much better off to start using a weight trend tracking app such as Libra for Android, Happy Scale for Iphone, or www.weightgrapher.com (allows for manual entry or integration) and my favourite: www.trendweight.com (integration with free fitbit account).
These apps show you your weight overall weight trend and are less sensitive to daily water weight variations.0
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