Slow down or keep at same pace?

batorkin

Since I joined MFP 40 days ago i've gone from 252 to 233.8 with a goal of 180. I'm nearing 20 pounds loss at about 3.15 pounds a week average. No loose or sagging skin yet, everything actually feels more firm. I'm 6'1" so I am still considered "Obese", but only barely.

I don't log calories anymore because I am not struggling to lose the weight at all (quite the opposite). I started eating healthy, mostly non-processed fresh foods, and listen to my body's hunger cues. I exercise 20 minutes a day of high intensity interval on an elliptical, and lift heavy (6-12 rep sets) for about 30 minutes every 3 days. I do planks and push-ups daily.

I've noticed no loss of fatigue, so I don't think I am eating too little to cause problems? Should I keep going at this pace, or should I start eating (when already full), to slow my weight loss down a bit?

jemhh

40 days is about 6 weeks. How many pounds have you lost during each of the last three weeks?

batorkin

jemhh wrote: »

40 days is about 6 weeks. How many pounds have you lost during each of the last three weeks?

245 to 233.8. 11.2 pounds, 3.73 pounds per week. The thing is I am not hungry, I eat 5 small meals a day, and I don't think 20 minutes a day of high intensity exercise is too much. I had an extremely bad diet before, and when I lost 32 pounds back in 2012 (219 to 188), I also averaged about 3.5 pounds a week without starving myself.

Dunno what to think, maybe I got the gene jackpot and the only reason I got obese is because I was eating entire family meal boxes, and large pizzas in one sitting for years. Now that I am exercising and eating healthy, it seems to be melting off at an alarmingly fast rate. I'm lifting weights, and not noticing any fatigue or degradation so I don't think it's coming from muscle....

lorrpb

Congrats on you loss! With 50 lbs to goal it is best to target 1-1.5 lb per week. When you lose too fast, you risk losing too much muscle mass & inadequate nutrition that shows up later on. There are always threads on here about people having such consequences-low energy, hair loss, skin and nail issues, digestive issues, etc. By the time you see the effects, you're in a bad place that takes a long time to correct.
You don't have to eat "less healthy", whatever that means to you, just up the quantity a bit. Add in more healthy calorie dense foods like olive oil, avocado, nuts, nut butter, etc. 3 lbs per weeks is a deficit of 1500 per day which is huge. To go from 3 lbs per week to 1 or 1.5 you need to add back about 750-1000 cals per day. If that seems like a lot, try adding 200 per day each week for 4-5 weeks.

RoxieDawn

Larger deficits are not always the best. While you may feel no fatigue, have become comfortable with the lower amount of calories and reporting 0 side effects, if you stay at this pace you will eventually.

There are many stories here in MFP of those that under went very aggressive calories deficits to lose weight and all but regret losing muscle, losing their hair, their hormones tanking, immune issues, etc. Your are in this to be healthier and feel better, not the other way around.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

vismal

I wouldn't worry about the rate of loss. It's going to slow down on it's own, it almost always does. Faster rate of loss at the beginning isn't a huge concern either. You are least likely to be losing muscle when you have the most fat to lose. A big portion of what you initially lost was also water weight/glycogen. You are doing resistance training which helps with muscle loss as well and you aren't feeling any of the negative symptoms associated with too low of a caloric deficit. If you continue to lose at this pace for several weeks longer I'd consider eating more but for the time being, especially since you feel fine, I'd hesitate to mess with what's working. If you start feeling symptoms, you start losing strength, etc, eat a bit more but my guess is that you will settle into a slower rate of loss naturally.

batorkin

lorrpb wrote: »

Congrats on you loss! With 50 lbs to goal it is best to target 1-1.5 lb per week. When you lose too fast, you risk losing too much muscle mass & inadequate nutrition that shows up later on. There are always threads on here about people having such consequences-low energy, hair loss, skin and nail issues, digestive issues, etc. By the time you see the effects, you're in a bad place that takes a long time to correct.
You don't have to eat "less healthy", whatever that means to you, just up the quantity a bit. Add in more healthy calorie dense foods like olive oil, avocado, nuts, nut butter, etc. 3 lbs per weeks is a deficit of 1500 per day which is huge. To go from 3 lbs per week to 1 or 1.5 you need to add back about 750-1000 cals per day. If that seems like a lot, try adding 200 per day each week for 4-5 weeks.

I was already bald going into this. Haha.

Prior to starting my diet/exercise, I had white spots on all my nails and the doctor told me it's because lack of nutrition. I started taking a multi-vitamin at his request, and they are gone completely now.

I'm not sure what to do. I basically need to eat when I am already full, and that's hard to do, especially 750-1000 more calories a day! I'm thinking I need to start snacking, or have a cheat day on the weekends to slow it down a bit.

vismal wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about the rate of loss. It's going to slow down on it's own, it almost always does. Faster rate of loss at the beginning isn't a huge concern either. You are least likely to be losing muscle when you have the most fat to lose. A big portion of what you initially lost was also water weight/glycogen. You are doing resistance training which helps with muscle loss as well and you aren't feeling any of the negative symptoms associated with too low of a caloric deficit. If you continue to lose at this pace for several weeks longer I'd consider eating more but for the time being, especially since you feel fine, I'd hesitate to mess with what's working. If you start feeling symptoms, you start losing strength, etc, eat a bit more but my guess is that you will settle into a slower rate of loss naturally.

That's more or less what I plan on doing since I am still considered Obese.

At 227, I will finally move from Obese to Overweight BMI. That's probably about 3 weeks away at current rate, and if it doesn't slow down by then I may need to rethink my diet, or include a cheat day to slow it down a bit.

I thought about drinking another protein shake every day instead of another glass of water. I really like them, but they are kind of expensive!