goal question

ladytwilight72

I've had my goal at 2 lbs a week and did quite well for a while. Then I slacked for a couple of weeks. Now I'm trying to get back in the swing of things but finding the 2lb a week goal kind of daunting. I changed the setting to 1.5 but feeling like a failure by doing so. So I'm curious what most of you use for your settings.

ForeverSunshine09

Mine is set to .5 lb and I get 1370 for cals. I have only 20 lbs til my goal weight.

ladytwilight72

Wow congrats for being so close to your goal

shadow2soul

I have custom goals (different for different days), but I have it so that at the end of the week my deficit will be large enough for 0.5 lb loss.

I stuck to 1 lb per week for most of my loss and only decreased it about 5 lbs ago (I'm at the lower end of healthy bmi now). I was for a long time going with the no more than 1% of body weight loss recommendation, but about 5 lbs ago it just became to hard to stick to a 1 lb per week loss.

Usual recommendations for goals:
- No more than 1% of your body weight per week
- 0.5 lbs per week if 25 lbs or less to lose
- 1 lb per week if looking to lose 25-50 lbs
- 1.5 lb per week if looking to lose 50- 75 lbs
- 2 lbs per week if looking to lose 75+ lbs

ladytwilight72

shadow2soul wrote: »

I have custom goals (different for different days), but I have it so that at the end of the week my deficit will be large enough for 0.5 lb loss.

I stuck to 1 lb per week for most of my loss and only decreased it about 5 lbs ago (I'm at the lower end of healthy bmi now).

Usual recommendations for goals:
- No more than 1% of your body weight per week
- 0.5 lbs per week if 25 lbs or less to lose
- 1 lb per week if looking to lose 25-50 lbs
- 1.5 lb per week if looking to lose 50- 75 lbs
- 2 lbs per week if looking to lose 75+ lbs

Thank you for the info

BeYouTiful94

1. Don't feel like a failure. 2 pounds a week is a very aggressive goal, and it's probably the biggest mistake most people, myself included, make when trying to lose weight. We want it gone and we want it gone now, so we choose the highest amount and go hardcore, but then get "burned out" quickly. Choosing a smaller goal is not bad, and actually allows for you to make lifestyle changes that you can maintain in the long run, rather than just hop and a diet for the short term only to gain everything back.

2. To answer your question, I began with a 2 pound a week goal, which gave me 1200 calories. I did well for a while, and then got to a point where I felt like I was starving all the time, which lead to me eating everything in sight. I adjusted my goal to 1 pound a week. I now have 1560 calories and everything is much more manageable. Some days I actually only eat 1200, and others I eat every bit allotted. I've lost 14 pounds, and am 10 away from my goal

BlueMacaroniArt

I have probably close to 100 to use and I have mine set to 1 a week. Knowing that I can leave more out there and it not be terrible but if I don't I will still lose a pound. Might not be fast but it's easier for me to sustain this way and so far I've been at 2 lbs a week anyway without the pressure to do so.

Merkavar

I have heard .5 pound for every 25 pound your trying to lose. Make sense to me, big loses when you have a lot to lose and small losses when you approach goal.

pebble4321

I have mine set to 0.5lb/week.
I prefer to have a higher goal so I can eat a realistic amount of food. And when I exercise I get to eat more.
I just don't see the point in trying to lose weight so fast, it's never going to work for me if I'm hungry every day.

BlueMacaroniArt

And You're not a failure. This is your journey, you do it how you want and it will be fine! At least you are doing it. Slow changes are easier sometimes than the big ones all at once.

ladytwilight72

Thank you all I think your right. I have a lot to loose and I think my focus was on flooding the most I could and not really what would be effective and realistic

MonCheri

My goal is set for 2 pounds a week and I limit myself to 800 calories per day. It used to be that I could manage this with no problems, but lately I'm finding it very difficult. I want to lose 20 pounds but calories scare the crap out of me. I eat pretty healthy (lots of fresh veges, fruits, very limited dairy (mostly in the for of cheese). I love my coffee and dirty chai (chai tea with a shot of coffee 16 oz with almond milk = 187 calories)..I know..I should probably cut those out. I hired a personal trainer and I work out a lot..zumba, weights, etc. My scale isn't moving and I am feeling less and less comfortable in my skin. I hate the way my stomach looks. I have lost 90 pounds since 2010, had a few weight ups and downs but nothing terrible. Had several major tragedies in my life this past year and half with the death of my daughter and during that time I dropped down to 103 pounds. I want to be that size again. Do you think my metabolism has gone hay wire? I am up for any suggestions, ideas that you can offer.

arditarose

My goal changes. Sometimes I choose a slightly aggressive deficit, then back off. Maybe even hit maintenance for a week or a more moderate deficit.

miztessbert

Failure to me is quitting and completely giving up. Winning is changing your strategy so that you can achieve success in the end. Lowering your goal so that your weight loss plan is more doable sounds like a winner to me. Good luck achieving success!

WinoGelato

MonCheri wrote: »

My goal is set for 2 pounds a week and I limit myself to 800 calories per day. It used to be that I could manage this with no problems, but lately I'm finding it very difficult. I want to lose 20 pounds but calories scare the crap out of me. I eat pretty healthy (lots of fresh veges, fruits, very limited dairy (mostly in the for of cheese). I love my coffee and dirty chai (chai tea with a shot of coffee 16 oz with almond milk = 187 calories)..I know..I should probably cut those out. I hired a personal trainer and I work out a lot..zumba, weights, etc. My scale isn't moving and I am feeling less and less comfortable in my skin. I hate the way my stomach looks. I have lost 90 pounds since 2010, had a few weight ups and downs but nothing terrible. Had several major tragedies in my life this past year and half with the death of my daughter and during that time I dropped down to 103 pounds. I want to be that size again. Do you think my metabolism has gone hay wire? I am up for any suggestions, ideas that you can offer.

First, I'm very sorry about your daughter and other issues you've been dealing with.

However, with only 20 lbs to lose there's no way you should be eating only 800 cals/day.

Have you tried setting MFP to lose 0.5 lb/week, logging everything you eat (ideally weighing solid foods with a scale), and eating back a portion of those exercise calories?

There's no reason you shouldn't be able to work in a chai tea into a moderate calorie deficit and still reach your goals.

Good luck.

ladytwilight72

MonCheri wrote: »

My goal is set for 2 pounds a week and I limit myself to 800 calories per day. It used to be that I could manage this with no problems, but lately I'm finding it very difficult. I want to lose 20 pounds but calories scare the crap out of me. I eat pretty healthy (lots of fresh veges, fruits, very limited dairy (mostly in the for of cheese). I love my coffee and dirty chai (chai tea with a shot of coffee 16 oz with almond milk = 187 calories)..I know..I should probably cut those out. I hired a personal trainer and I work out a lot..zumba, weights, etc. My scale isn't moving and I am feeling less and less comfortable in my skin. I hate the way my stomach looks. I have lost 90 pounds since 2010, had a few weight ups and downs but nothing terrible. Had several major tragedies in my life this past year and half with the death of my daughter and during that time I dropped down to 103 pounds. I want to be that size again. Do you think my metabolism has gone hay wire? I am up for any suggestions, ideas that you can offer.

I'm so sorry for your loss. My guess is your calories are way too low and perhaps your body is holding on to the weight because of that

LivingtheLeanDream

Don't let the word failure be in your vocabulary! you did the right thing, a less agressive deficit is easier to stick to and will still get the results you're after.

Sorry about the loss of your daugther!

sallygroundhog

miztessbert wrote: »

Failure to me is quitting and completely giving up. Winning is changing your strategy so that you can achieve success in the end. Lowering your goal so that your weight loss plan is more doable sounds like a winner to me. Good luck achieving success!

+1000
This is an excellent way of looking at changes in plans.

cbelc2

I'm set at 2 lb per week with 36 lbs to go until final goal. I'm 7 lbs away from 7% of my body weight. I have 5.5 weeks to do that in. I have myself on a short leash and it makes be feel so in control! I got off the treadmill dancing this morning!

_lyndseybrooke_

If I ate so little that I lost 2lbs per week with only 20lbs to lose, my husband would probably divorce me because I'd be a huge b*tch. I have custom goals, but I'm happy with 0.5lb/week. What's the rush?

Meganthedogmom

My goal has changed over the years. 2lb a week was easy enough when I was 100lb overweight. Now that I'm only 20-25lb overweight I'm struggling trying to lose .5-1lb per week. It's okay to change your goal. If it's not sustainable or realistic for you, then do something that is. Otherwise, you won't stick with it in the long run.

echofm1

Losing slowly is still losing. At the end of a year you'll be 20-25 pounds lighter than where you're at now even if you're only losing half a pound a week. Isn't that worth being proud of?

I started off at 2 pounds a week, then 1.5, then went down to 1 pound when it got more challenging. Then I started exercising more and went up to 1.5 again because I could handle it. Listen to your body, don't make things harder on yourself than you need to. I'm only able to handle such an aggressive goal because I've got nearly 100 pounds to lose (after having already lost 100 pounds), and even with that much to lose there are times I struggle.

bigorange70

Everyone is different. It all depends on CICO as we get told everyday. I have 13.5 lbs left to lose. I had 35 lbs total I wanted to lose. I still have mine set to 2 lbs a week and I get 1500 calories a day. It depends on your personal needs for food. Some.people need more food because of the exercise they put in. Some people need more food because they are still having cravings that are hard to deal with. I say just set your goal where it is manageable for you and log everything. Even if you slip up and eat to much as long as you are logging it can correct your craving days. Just my 2 cents.

WinoGelato

Also, just as an FYI for those who still have themselves set at a pretty aggressive deficit while nearing their goal weight - that approach can make the transition into maintenance a bit more challenging. If you are set to lose 2 lbs/week you are at a 1000 cal deficit from your maintenance number. When you reach your goal weight and suddenly have 1000 cals extra to eat every day, a lot of people are overwhelmed. Transitioning into maintenance often brings an increase in scale weight as glycogen stores are replenished, the bigger your deficit while losing the more those stores have been depleted so that is another reason it is recommended to slow down your rate of loss and ease back into maintenance.

These were stated above but deserve repeating...
- 0.5 lbs per week if 25 lbs or less to lose (250 cal deficit)
- 1 lb per week if looking to lose 25-50 lbs (500 cal deficit)
- 1.5 lb per week if looking to lose 50- 75 lbs (750 cal deficit)
- 2 lbs per week if looking to lose 75+ lbs (1000 cal deficit)

bigorange70

WinoGelato wrote: »

Also, just as an FYI for those who still have themselves set at a pretty aggressive deficit while nearing their goal weight - that approach can make the transition into maintenance a bit more challenging. If you are set to lose 2 lbs/week you are at a 1000 cal deficit from your maintenance number. When you reach your goal weight and suddenly have 1000 cals extra to eat every day, a lot of people are overwhelmed. Transitioning into maintenance often brings an increase in scale weight as glycogen stores are replenished, the bigger your deficit while losing the more those stores have been depleted so that is another reason it is recommended to slow down your rate of loss and ease back into maintenance.

These were stated above but deserve repeating...
- 0.5 lbs per week if 25 lbs or less to lose (250 cal deficit)
- 1 lb per week if looking to lose 25-50 lbs (500 cal deficit)
- 1.5 lb per week if looking to lose 50- 75 lbs (750 cal deficit)
- 2 lbs per week if looking to lose 75+ lbs (1000 cal deficit)

So let me ask. So you are saying that I will have to eat 2500 calories a day to maintain once I lose my other 13.5 lbs I have to lose?

WinoGelato

bigorange70 wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

Also, just as an FYI for those who still have themselves set at a pretty aggressive deficit while nearing their goal weight - that approach can make the transition into maintenance a bit more challenging. If you are set to lose 2 lbs/week you are at a 1000 cal deficit from your maintenance number. When you reach your goal weight and suddenly have 1000 cals extra to eat every day, a lot of people are overwhelmed. Transitioning into maintenance often brings an increase in scale weight as glycogen stores are replenished, the bigger your deficit while losing the more those stores have been depleted so that is another reason it is recommended to slow down your rate of loss and ease back into maintenance.

These were stated above but deserve repeating...
- 0.5 lbs per week if 25 lbs or less to lose (250 cal deficit)
- 1 lb per week if looking to lose 25-50 lbs (500 cal deficit)
- 1.5 lb per week if looking to lose 50- 75 lbs (750 cal deficit)
- 2 lbs per week if looking to lose 75+ lbs (1000 cal deficit)

So let me ask. So you are saying that I will have to eat 2500 calories a day to maintain once I lose my other 13.5 lbs I have to lose?

I'm not sure, without knowing more of your stats (height, current weight, activity level). You said you get 1500 cals to lose 2 lbs/week. Are you losing 2 lbs/week currently? Consistently (aside from normal fluctuations)? Are you logging your food accurately? Eating back exercise calories?

But yes, in theory, if you are losing 2 lbs/week eating 1500 cals/day then that indicates that your maintenance number would be close to 2500 cals.

If you have less than 15 lbs to lose, it is a good time to start trying to figure out what your maintenance plan would look like. As I mentioned, many people find the transition a bit challenging. For example, most people are shooting for a goal weight, but maintenance is usually a range of about 5 lbs because scale weight does fluctuate normally. Some people are discouraged when they hit their goal weight, add back in extra calories, and then the scale jumps up.

ScoobaChick

My goal is set at 0.5lbs pounds per week. I need to find something sustainable where I still have energy to work out and where I can try to lessen muscle loss. I certainly do not feel like a failure!

0.5lbs per week when you are nearing your goal makes a lot of sense.

bigorange70

WinoGelato wrote: »

bigorange70 wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

Also, just as an FYI for those who still have themselves set at a pretty aggressive deficit while nearing their goal weight - that approach can make the transition into maintenance a bit more challenging. If you are set to lose 2 lbs/week you are at a 1000 cal deficit from your maintenance number. When you reach your goal weight and suddenly have 1000 cals extra to eat every day, a lot of people are overwhelmed. Transitioning into maintenance often brings an increase in scale weight as glycogen stores are replenished, the bigger your deficit while losing the more those stores have been depleted so that is another reason it is recommended to slow down your rate of loss and ease back into maintenance.

These were stated above but deserve repeating...
- 0.5 lbs per week if 25 lbs or less to lose (250 cal deficit)
- 1 lb per week if looking to lose 25-50 lbs (500 cal deficit)
- 1.5 lb per week if looking to lose 50- 75 lbs (750 cal deficit)
- 2 lbs per week if looking to lose 75+ lbs (1000 cal deficit)

So let me ask. So you are saying that I will have to eat 2500 calories a day to maintain once I lose my other 13.5 lbs I have to lose?

I'm not sure, without knowing more of your stats (height, current weight, activity level). You said you get 1500 cals to lose 2 lbs/week. Are you losing 2 lbs/week currently? Consistently (aside from normal fluctuations)? Are you logging your food accurately? Eating back exercise calories?

But yes, in theory, if you are losing 2 lbs/week eating 1500 cals/day then that indicates that your maintenance number would be close to 2500 cals.

If you have less than 15 lbs to lose, it is a good time to start trying to figure out what your maintenance plan would look like. As I mentioned, many people find the transition a bit challenging. For example, most people are shooting for a goal weight, but maintenance is usually a range of about 5 lbs because scale weight does fluctuate normally. Some people are discouraged when they hit their goal weight, add back in extra calories, and then the scale jumps up.

I am 5' 10" weigh currently 173.5 with a goal weight of 160 lbs. I am lightly active and that is what I have it set on and now on a regular basis I get 10000 steps a day. I want to maintain at 160.