Is it more practical to lose 1 pound per week?
Loveedove1
Posts: 40 Member
I'm 5 8, and if I want to lose 2 pounds per week I have to eat 1200 cals.. If I want to lose 1 pound per week, I can eat about 1700. I'm just so impatient, but I feel like im starving if I only eat 1200 a day. I'm an emotional eater, and I also eat when I'm bored.. What do you guys think??
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Replies
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If you feel better at a pound a week, go for it. Especially if you have less than 50 pounds to lose.2
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How much do you have to lose?
The less you have to lose, the harder it will be to hit 2 lbs a week.
Also keep in mind that severe calorie deficits, like one needed for someone with a little weight to lose trying to lose 2lbs a week would require, often have other consequences like losing more muscle mass. It can also make it harder to stick to the diet.
You don't mention if you are active, that is another consideration.
My opinion has always been aim for a reasonable deficit and eat as much as you can while still losing weight and trying to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.
Pushing weight loss might take less time but if you crash and burn, it might end up taking longer in the long run.
ETA - I read this the opposite way, that you wanted to up weight loss goal to 2lbs a week.
In that case, my answer is yes, it is likely more practical. Especially if you find 1200 hard. But all of the above still applies.2 -
I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?0
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I stuck to 1 lb a week the whole time. Lost a bit more at times though!1
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If you feel deprived eating only 1200 calories then it might benefit you to go at a slower pace eating 1700 calories.
You have to be patient with weight loss. I know you may want it right now, but putting the time and effort in will be worth it in the end.1 -
I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
If 2lbs a week puts her at 1200 , that's a calorie deficit of 1000. 1lb a week puts her at 1700, with a deficit of 500.
1.5 lbs a week would be a deficit of 750, so she would be at 1450 for 1.5 lbs a week.2 -
I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)2 -
I'd sim for a midpoint and try to keep active.1
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3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
Yes, 1450. Which is what I'd do.0 -
I get your math. I just know that when I first started I got 1200 for 2 pounds a week and 1240 for 1.5 pounds a week so that would make sense too.3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
OP, you should definitely go for 1 pound a week if you don't get 1450 for 1.5 pounds a week. 2 pounds a week won't be beneficial if you can't stick with it.
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Goal for 1 lb/wk. Eat that. Exercise for another lb per week. Don't eat that.1
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I get your math. I just know that when I first started I got 1200 for 2 pounds a week and 1240 for 1.5 pounds a week so that would make sense too.3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
OP, you should definitely go for 1 pound a week if you don't get 1450 for 1.5 pounds a week. 2 pounds a week won't be beneficial if you can't stick with it.
No, you're just burning less than the op and you bottomed out at 1250 for a pound and a half. This person said at the top that she was 1700 to lose a pound, so 1450 for 1.50 -
Completely forgot about that, you're righteveandqsmom wrote: »
I get your math. I just know that when I first started I got 1200 for 2 pounds a week and 1240 for 1.5 pounds a week so that would make sense too.3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
OP, you should definitely go for 1 pound a week if you don't get 1450 for 1.5 pounds a week. 2 pounds a week won't be beneficial if you can't stick with it.
No, you're just burning less than the op and you bottomed out at 1250 for a pound and a half. This person said at the top that she was 1700 to lose a pound, so 1450 for 1.5
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3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
No you're right. I mathed wrong. This is why I shouldn't math.2 -
VintageFeline wrote: »3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
No you're right. I mathed wrong. This is why I shouldn't math.
I swear, I took honours math in high school but my math skills are extremely questionable now.
Do you know how many times I've calculated my turn around distance for a run and got it wrong? I always question my math.1 -
If 1200 is too difficult, than switch to 1700 and go from there. You can always create an additional deficit by exercising a bit here or there and losing a bit more while still feeling satiated.3
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3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
No you're right. I mathed wrong. This is why I shouldn't math.
I swear, I took honours math in high school but my math skills are extremely questionable now.
Do you know how many times I've calculated my turn around distance for a run and got it wrong? I always question my math.
I have this weird mix up in my head with 1500 and 1700. I don't know why but they are interchangeable and really mess with me, I have to count up from 15 to 17 to make it clear in my head. It's the weirdest thing! Just those two numbers, mostly everything else I am good with (even if I have never actively enjoyed maths as we call it in the UK).1 -
But the OP isn't you, and the OP said that she can eat 1700 calories for 1 lb loss a week (although OP doesn't say where she got the 1700 number -- I was assuming either from MFP or from her own empirical data).
I get your math. I just know that when I first started I got 1200 for 2 pounds a week and 1240 for 1.5 pounds a week so that would make sense too.3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
OP, you should definitely go for 1 pound a week if you don't get 1450 for 1.5 pounds a week. 2 pounds a week won't be beneficial if you can't stick with it.
1 -
Lol I'm pretty sure we already got that covered. Thanks though, I didn't know OP wasn't melynn_glenmont wrote: »
But the OP isn't you, and the OP said that she can eat 1700 calories for 1 lb loss a week (although OP doesn't say where she got the 1700 number -- I was assuming either from MFP or from her own empirical data).
I get your math. I just know that when I first started I got 1200 for 2 pounds a week and 1240 for 1.5 pounds a week so that would make sense too.3dogsrunning wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
1lb = 500 calories. So it would be 1250. MFP bottoms out at 1200 so she wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week anyway.
I've only ever set my goal to 1lb. For a variety of reasons, sustainability (I have never found this hard), aesthetics (losing a higher proportion of fat to muscle when combined with strength training) and overall aesthetics (I started at 220lbs, I wanted to minimise risk of loose skin, so far so good but it's genetics too).
And at 5'8 1200 is actually far too low and you'd feel like crap pretty quickly I'd imagine. Adjust your expectations and eat more.
Did I math wrong? LOL.
For 1lb a week she would get 1700. So 500 less than that, for 2lbs a week would be 1200. So 1.5lbs would be 1450 wouldn't it?
(I am not being snarky, I'm really trying to figure out if I am looking at this wrong)
OP, you should definitely go for 1 pound a week if you don't get 1450 for 1.5 pounds a week. 2 pounds a week won't be beneficial if you can't stick with it.
1 -
3dogsrunning wrote: »I have the same exact problem lol, wanting to eat more but being impatient. How many calories can you eat to lose 1.5 pounds a week?
If 2lbs a week puts her at 1200 , that's a calorie deficit of 1000. 1lb a week puts her at 1700, with a deficit of 500.
1.5 lbs a week would be a deficit of 750, so she would be at 1450 for 1.5 lbs a week.
This helped me so much thank you
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Probably obvious, but, OP: None of these are irrevocable decisions. I gather you've tried 1200, and aren't really loving it. So, try 1700 for a while, and see how that goes. You can always change back later, or split the difference and to to 1450.
But +1 to the idea that 1700 is smarter if you don't have a lot (say 50+ pounds) to lose.
And having a little extra energy may help you work on finding replacements for the emotional eating/bored eating . . . like, say, exercise.4 -
I'd say you should give yourself the maximum number of calories you can eat while still losing some weight (0.5 to 1 pound a week)-- and then, if you have days where you feel like you can be happy with less, you can still eat less. In fact, eating more some days and less on other days (calorie cycling) can help with your weight loss.0
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Eat somewhere in between and see how you feel. Second option... Maybe two weeks at the higher and every two or three weeks take 100 calories off until you're down to 12000
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