Am I losing weight too fast (2.84lbs/week avg)

LivingtheLeanDream

@animatorswearbras its just too long...and boring....

Edited to add: The aim is to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off for life.

animatorswearbras

LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »

@animatorswearbras its just too long...and boring....

Edited to add: The aim is to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off for life.

@LivingtheLeanDream That's exactly what he says though... at least look up the person giving the lecture, it's not as if I've posted some snake oil salesman or crash diet imbecile, this is a guy who trains trainers for competitve body building and the general public.

Personally I couldn't lose more than half a pound a week because I can't maintain that sort of deficit the OP can and seems to be feeling fine, this lecture was aimed solely at him and those like him and how according to many top trainers it is actually fine as long as you have a plan for maintenance. Watch the lecture at least and then make an informed argument.

Jingsi84

I think it is important to remember that 500/cal per day = 1 lb lost is just an estimate and varies by person. Personally, my maintenance is 1950 (determined during 10 day diet break) but for over three months I have lost 2.88 lbs/week eating 1200 calories per day. If 500/lb were accurate I should only be losing 1.5 lbs/week. (I use a food scale, recognize logging isn't 100% accurate, still no way I am eating 550 cal/day.) Now, I'm not saying it isn't too fast a weight loss. You might get gallstones, etc which is why I've been trying to slow mine down. Also it will likely slow down the less you have to lose. Although I am only 5 lbs away from a healthy BMI and it hasn't slowed down for me.

ETA: Please note that I thought I was sedentary and took a while to accurately estimate my TDEE. That is the only reason I was even eating what should be a 1.5/lb week loss, though I was aiming for .8 lbs/week and less as I lost weight. Depending on how much you have to lose your deficit should decrease.

animatorswearbras

I just listened through the podcast again, the real meat and bones starts about half way in for those who find the lecture "too long and boring" it has a fairly long introduction to be fair, the formula for safe weight loss according to MacDonald and what he uses for his clients is your body fat percentage (pref measured by dexa but you can probably get an idea within 5% using other methods) divided by 15. This is the figure as a percentage of your body weight per week you can lose without losing muscle if you eat adequate protein and resistance train. So for example a male with 15% bodyfat could lose 1% of their body weight a week a women who has 30% bodyfat could lose 2%.

He also stipulates only cut what you can realistically maintain up to goal (and get adequate protein), so noone could realistically maintain 500 calories a day on average (or get enough protein), that's not what he is advocating.

mmapags

PAV8888 wrote: »

Here is a quick over-view as to why the 20% deficit while normal weight/overweight and 25% while obese is advocated by people like myself.

Mainly, as you will see from the link, because it strikes a balance between lean mass lost and potentially longer term deleterious effects on your metabolism.

Yes, there exists considerable debate as to whether these effects are small or large, easily reversible, and how long such reversal can take.

Maybe they exist like I think they do, maybe they don't or are easily reversible like many others do. However, since the only price you pay to substantially mitigate these risks involves simply adhering to a more reasonable deficit (which also makes long term diet compliance easier), while slowing down your weight loss (which also gives you some time to develop a way of eating, moving, and exercising that you will then continue to use into maintenance)...

Well, I don't see this slow down as a being a big price to pay. To the contrary I sometimes see this extra time as a net benefit for people who do not have a team of professionals standing by to educate them and help them modify their lives.

And did I mention less lean mass lost? Why yes, indeed!

https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html/

I would note that in your case we have established an approximate TDEE of ~2920 Cal, so, assuming you have sufficient fat available to lose such that you would be correctly classified as obese, your optimal deficit would be about 730 Cal, or about half of what it currently is.

Consigned! OP, I see you have made adjustments. You are on the right track.

lucerorojo

Definitely eat back your exercise calories and increase your calorie intake. As a man that size who is ALSO WORKING OUT, you need to fuel it. It doesn't make sense IMO to undereat and potentially lose muscle, and lifting weights so as not to lose that muscle. Why not just eat more and lose less, and then your workouts won't be in vain.

I am a 5'4", 52 y.o. woman and I'm at 199 lbs. now and eating 1500-1600 calories per day plus all my exercise calories. I'm losing at 1 lb. a week. But when I think of a larger man in his 30s no less, eating that much (and exercising) it makes me think of the ladies who are eating 1000-1200 calories per day and working out--dangerous unless you are a tiny person with a very low TDEE. 1500 calories if you were sedentary, but that's the lowest advisable for MEN.

DebLaBounty

My experience losing around 2 pounds a week was that it was too aggressive for me. I reached my goal weight, but unfortunately I lost muscle mass in my arms. I was taking an hour long weightlifting class to develop muscle but the final result was my arms now look limp and puny. My bicep skin looks dimply and wrinkled now that the area is not supported by either fat nor muscle. Not exactly the look I was going for! So let me be the cautionary tale, and recommend you slow your loss rate to 1.5 pounds a week.