5lbs/week healthy or nah?

moniquebravo1011

I am 205 lbs at 5'9". In the obesity range. They say loosing 2lbs is healthy way to go per week but i want to lose 4-5lbs. Considering my excess body fat, anyone thinks this is dangerous?
Calories: 1000-1500/day
Workout: 2-5 times/week

LazSommer

Nah

malibu927

Yes, it's dangerous. Absolute maximum should be 1% of your weight. Higher rates of loss lead to more muscle loss and other serious health issues from malnutrition.

SarahPeters3

Stick with the 1500 calories and you'll at still lose weight as long as you're tracking everything correctly! You didn't gain 4-5 pounds a week it won't be that fast to lose it thats just how the body works.

emdeesea

According to BMI you are indeed in the "obese" range - but just barely. So no, that rate of weight loss is not a good idea at all. Stick to 1-2 a week, otherwise you're going to lose muscle mass.

This process takes time. There's no way around it, unfortunately.

choppie70

I started at 227 lbs on a 5'2" frame. I set my calorie goal to lose 2 lbs per week. If you are eating less than 1200 calories it will be hard for your body to get the nutrition that it needs.

Losing weight too fast can mean less fat being lost and more lean tissue mass being lost. It can also cause gal stones, liver issues, kidney issues, heart irregularity, etc.

shadow2soul

Not a good idea. Your body can only use so much of it's fat stores a day (i think it's like 30 calories per pound of fat). Once you exceed that your body starts using your lean body mass for fuel (muscle, organs, ect). The max you should aim for is 1% of your bodyweight loss per week.

eeejer

not that you could do it, but nah.

LivingtheLeanDream

To lose 5lbs in one week would mean you'd have a deficit of 17500 cals in a week.... ie 2500 cals deficit per day!!

Its just not doable or healthy to aim for more than 2lbs a week loss.

auddii

Nah.

brb_2013

If you were severely overweight 5lbs a week might be safe for the first few weeks but you're not nearly that heavy. Let MFP do the calculations for you and you'll see progress!

violet_wister

I only lost 5lbs a week for the first few weeks of weight loss AND I started at 100lbs heavier than you, so again, no.

moniquebravo1011

Thanks everyone you comments are very useful, I'll stick to the healthy way, God knows i dont wanna end up with complications in the future.

andysport1

moniquebravo1011 wrote: »

I am 205 lbs at 5'9". In the obesity range. They say loosing 2lbs is healthy way to go per week but i want to lose 4-5lbs. Considering my excess body fat, anyone thinks this is dangerous?
Calories: 1000-1500/day
Workout: 2-5 times/week

I see you have chosen but thought I'd pop this in for reference.

If your consuming 1000/1500 cals a day that would leave you with a 5000/week deficit approx. that would leave 12500 cals to burn which assuming your not an athlete would probably take about 21 hours exercise, I'd say give it a go, so 2 workouts a week =10.5 hours each, up to 5 workouts a week = 4 hours each, I know I couldn't manage 5 x 4 hour workouts and eat at least twice as much as you propose.

Good luck.

MissusMoon

I've lost 20lbs in a month..just last month, but I started in the extreme obesity category. I also know I'm not going to have another month like that. It was the drastic change of lifestyle and high starting weight. 1-2lbs a week is what you need to focus on.

cwolfman13

I don't know mathematically how you could get to a 2,500 calorie per day deficit to achieve this without actually and literally starving yourself...as in not eating a damn thing...I'm not sure how long you can not eat anything before you actually start dying.

jennifer_417

Nah

cavia

Not possible. Adjust your expectations. 1-2lbs/week is normal excluding the first week where you'll see a drop in water weight of a few lbs.

kmbrooks15

moniquebravo1011 wrote: »

Thanks everyone you comments are very useful, I'll stick to the healthy way, God knows i dont wanna end up with complications in the future.

Good idea. Stick to 1-2 pounds per week. And if you're concerned about losing muscle mass, add some strength training to your exercise plan. Even when the pounds are slow coming off, you'll see progress in inches lost.

moniquebravo1011

Good idea. Stick to 1-2 pounds per week. And if you're concerned about losing muscle mass, add some strength training to your exercise plan. Even when the pounds are slow coming off, you'll see progress in inches lost.[/quote]

Thank you!

moniquebravo1011

andysport1 wrote: »

moniquebravo1011 wrote: »

I am 205 lbs at 5'9". In the obesity range. They say loosing 2lbs is healthy way to go per week but i want to lose 4-5lbs. Considering my excess body fat, anyone thinks this is dangerous?
Calories: 1000-1500/day
Workout: 2-5 times/week

I see you have chosen but thought I'd pop this in for reference.

If your consuming 1000/1500 cals a day that would leave you with a 5000/week deficit approx. that would leave 12500 cals to burn which assuming your not an athlete would probably take about 21 hours exercise, I'd say give it a go, so 2 workouts a week =10.5 hours each, up to 5 workouts a week = 4 hours each, I know I couldn't manage 5 x 4 hour workouts and eat at least twice as much as you propose.

Good luck.

Dang! Now that's unrealistic for me.