Realistically how much should I be losing?
Replies
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amusedmonkey wrote: »How much to lose is tightly tied with how many calories you are eating. At your current activity level you can easily drop 2 pounds a week (possibly a little bit more) eating 1800-2000 calories, which is right in line with what would be considered healthy for your weight. I suppose if you're not very accurate with tracking you can do 1500-1700 calories for the same purpose. The maximum acceptable weight loss rate would be about 3 pounds a week, but you risk burning out and some other unpleasant effects, brittle nails and dull hair are not the worst of them. If you're set in your ways, I would take a multi vitamin and watch out how you feel like a hawk for the slightest sign of not being okay. You don't want to pass out on stage, which is a possibility with hours of activity on a 1200 calorie diet.
But my question wasn't how much SHOULD I aim to lose a month it was how much will I lose with my currect plan.2 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »How much to lose is tightly tied with how many calories you are eating. At your current activity level you can easily drop 2 pounds a week (possibly a little bit more) eating 1800-2000 calories, which is right in line with what would be considered healthy for your weight. I suppose if you're not very accurate with tracking you can do 1500-1700 calories for the same purpose. The maximum acceptable weight loss rate would be about 3 pounds a week, but you risk burning out and some other unpleasant effects, brittle nails and dull hair are not the worst of them. If you're set in your ways, I would take a multi vitamin and watch out how you feel like a hawk for the slightest sign of not being okay. You don't want to pass out on stage, which is a possibility with hours of activity on a 1200 calorie diet.
But my question wasn't how much SHOULD I aim to lose a month it was how much will I lose with my currect plan.
Hard to answer. Lower calorie diets are less predictable, both from a fat burn standpoint (slower metabolism on lower calories) and from your ability to stick to it (what you think is 1200 calories may average to much higher due to binges). Theoretically and depending on how accurate you are with your logging, the numbers would add up to about 3-4 lbs per week except for first week which can be higher due to water weight loss. In practice it would very likely be lower, especially beyond the first week.9 -
I see sources saying a person should lose no more than 1-2 lbs a week and others saying heavier people will lose that in 2-3 days.
Im a 23 year old woman, 5'1 and weigh 292 lbs, my heaviest weight.
Because I have chosen musical theater/performing arts as my major I've started training myself for the fall semester doing 2-4 hours of dance, 90 minutes of cardio, an hour of acting and guitar, and 2 hours of vocal training a day. I'm aiming to eat 1200-1500 calories a day. I really wanna feel good and ready in the fall and I just want an honest answer of how much I should be aiming to lose a week. Is it 1-2 lbs or more?
Hi, Typically a healthy loss is 1-2 lbs per week. Another recommendation is 1% of body weight per week. Because of your starting weight, it may come off a little quicker at first.
Good Luck1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Did you put your info into MFP to get your goal? Starting out at 1200 calories puts you at the bottom...you have nowhere to go when you start stalling and whatnot. My guess is that you could quite easily lose steadily at a higher calorie target...and with your exercise you should be eating more than 1200 anyway...1200 is for small, sedentary females.
When i did it gave me about 1850 calories which was too much it made it too easy to slip into binging.
That is why you log your foods. By logging your foods you will be able to see how much you are over eating. Ideally, log your food before you eat it. And when you shop read the food labels. And if you eat fast food, read the calorie counts of the items before making your choice.
A forewarned eater can be a wiser eater, with reguards to his or her food intake.
And should you binge. Log all you ate and drink, and get back on the wagon the next meal and the next day.
1800ish seems more realistic for starting out on your weight loss journey for you. (Dont use that number to excuse a binge either, as you have the power to choose if you are going to overeat a bunch of food).
If after a couple weeks you see a gain, you can adjust if you feel the need to do so.
But don't do a drastic kcal increase or decrease as you find what works for you. That usually does not seem to end well imo.
Many food binge eating behavior imo seem to have emotional issues as triggers. If your eating is out of control, seek some counseling and perhaps keep a journal.
You can use this app and make a note of things going on surrounding your binge eating on your diary (notes). You can note things like mood changes, life situations, stresses, etc etc.3 -
I see sources saying a person should lose no more than 1-2 lbs a week and others saying heavier people will lose that in 2-3 days.
Im a 23 year old woman, 5'1 and weigh 292 lbs, my heaviest weight.
Because I have chosen musical theater/performing arts as my major I've started training myself for the fall semester doing 2-4 hours of dance, 90 minutes of cardio, an hour of acting and guitar, and 2 hours of vocal training a day. I'm aiming to eat 1200-1500 calories a day. I really wanna feel good and ready in the fall and I just want an honest answer of how much I should be aiming to lose a week. Is it 1-2 lbs or more?
Hi, Typically a healthy loss is 1-2 lbs per week. Another recommendation is 1% of body weight per week. Because of your starting weight, it may come off a little quicker at first.
Good Luck
Yes. Heavier people will lose weight faster in the beginning, how fast depends on calories in an calories out, and how much excercise you get in. The 1% body weight loss per week rule probably is a better guide imo, if you are working the program safely/successfully.
Your major is a difficult one because of the higher rates of eating disorders in performance arts like dancing, acting. Be careful about adding cardio to your 4 hrs of daily dancing.
At your higher weight starting point, I hope you work along with a physician from the "get go", so you can be monitored for blood work changes such as electrolyte imbalances, liver profile, cardiac status etc. A lot can happen when you undertake a weight loss plan.
The journey to a healthier weight is worth doing, but your first goal should be to improve your health. Because without good health, you would have a hard time in the performance arts and with life in all.4 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »How much to lose is tightly tied with how many calories you are eating. At your current activity level you can easily drop 2 pounds a week (possibly a little bit more) eating 1800-2000 calories, which is right in line with what would be considered healthy for your weight. I suppose if you're not very accurate with tracking you can do 1500-1700 calories for the same purpose. The maximum acceptable weight loss rate would be about 3 pounds a week, but you risk burning out and some other unpleasant effects, brittle nails and dull hair are not the worst of them. If you're set in your ways, I would take a multi vitamin and watch out how you feel like a hawk for the slightest sign of not being okay. You don't want to pass out on stage, which is a possibility with hours of activity on a 1200 calorie diet.
But my question wasn't how much SHOULD I aim to lose a month it was how much will I lose with my currect plan.
Actually, your question WASI just want an honest answer of how much I should be aiming to lose a week. Is it 1-2 lbs or more?10 -
I see so much good advice and so much rejection of the good advice that there's no point in me adding to the chorus of your under fueling and you're going to just crash and burn and cause yourself damage for no particular reason. Maybe your fear to accept science and the fact that you could be losing at 2000 plus calories based on your current weight and activity level. But, be that as it may.
You can play with this to find various theoretical predictions: https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/
The actual accuracy of your logging and how much your activity level is impacted by your energy availability is not quite known.
As the super tracker website may be discontinued later this year a search for body weight planner may bring up a similar tool at a later date.6 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Did you put your info into MFP to get your goal? Starting out at 1200 calories puts you at the bottom...you have nowhere to go when you start stalling and whatnot. My guess is that you could quite easily lose steadily at a higher calorie target...and with your exercise you should be eating more than 1200 anyway...1200 is for small, sedentary females.
When i did it gave me about 1850 calories which was too much it made it too easy to slip into binging.
That is why you log your foods. By logging your foods you will be able to see how much you are over eating. Ideally, log your food before you eat it. And when you shop read the food labels. And if you eat fast food, read the calorie counts of the items before making your choice.
A forewarned eater can be a wiser eater, with reguards to his or her food intake.
And should you binge. Log all you ate and drink, and get back on the wagon the next meal and the next day.
1800ish seems more realistic for starting out on your weight loss journey for you. (Dont use that number to excuse a binge either, as you have the power to choose if you are going to overeat a bunch of food).
If after a couple weeks you see a gain, you can adjust if you feel the need to do so.
But don't do a drastic kcal increase or decrease as you find what works for you. That usually does not seem to end well imo.
Many food binge eating behavior imo seem to have emotional issues as triggers. If your eating is out of control, seek some counseling and perhaps keep a journal.
You can use this app and make a note of things going on surrounding your binge eating on your diary (notes). You can note things like mood changes, life situations, stresses, etc etc.
Yeah I'm already seeing a therapist about my ED because I used to restrict to like 500 calories and then once I stopped that I started binging so I'm definitely making sure I have professional help with that. Keeping a journal is also a good idea.4 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Did you put your info into MFP to get your goal? Starting out at 1200 calories puts you at the bottom...you have nowhere to go when you start stalling and whatnot. My guess is that you could quite easily lose steadily at a higher calorie target...and with your exercise you should be eating more than 1200 anyway...1200 is for small, sedentary females.
When i did it gave me about 1850 calories which was too much it made it too easy to slip into binging.
That is why you log your foods. By logging your foods you will be able to see how much you are over eating. Ideally, log your food before you eat it. And when you shop read the food labels. And if you eat fast food, read the calorie counts of the items before making your choice.
A forewarned eater can be a wiser eater, with reguards to his or her food intake.
And should you binge. Log all you ate and drink, and get back on the wagon the next meal and the next day.
1800ish seems more realistic for starting out on your weight loss journey for you. (Dont use that number to excuse a binge either, as you have the power to choose if you are going to overeat a bunch of food).
If after a couple weeks you see a gain, you can adjust if you feel the need to do so.
But don't do a drastic kcal increase or decrease as you find what works for you. That usually does not seem to end well imo.
Many food binge eating behavior imo seem to have emotional issues as triggers. If your eating is out of control, seek some counseling and perhaps keep a journal.
You can use this app and make a note of things going on surrounding your binge eating on your diary (notes). You can note things like mood changes, life situations, stresses, etc etc.
Yeah I'm already seeing a therapist about my ED because I used to restrict to like 500 calories and then once I stopped that I started binging so I'm definitely making sure I have professional help with that. Keeping a journal is also a good idea.
If you have a history of binging and restricting, why do you think it's a good idea to eat 1200 calories? That's a restrictive diet that can trigger your binges. Just a thought, hopefully it won't fall on deaf ears.5 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Did you put your info into MFP to get your goal? Starting out at 1200 calories puts you at the bottom...you have nowhere to go when you start stalling and whatnot. My guess is that you could quite easily lose steadily at a higher calorie target...and with your exercise you should be eating more than 1200 anyway...1200 is for small, sedentary females.
When i did it gave me about 1850 calories which was too much it made it too easy to slip into binging.
That is why you log your foods. By logging your foods you will be able to see how much you are over eating. Ideally, log your food before you eat it. And when you shop read the food labels. And if you eat fast food, read the calorie counts of the items before making your choice.
A forewarned eater can be a wiser eater, with reguards to his or her food intake.
And should you binge. Log all you ate and drink, and get back on the wagon the next meal and the next day.
1800ish seems more realistic for starting out on your weight loss journey for you. (Dont use that number to excuse a binge either, as you have the power to choose if you are going to overeat a bunch of food).
If after a couple weeks you see a gain, you can adjust if you feel the need to do so.
But don't do a drastic kcal increase or decrease as you find what works for you. That usually does not seem to end well imo.
Many food binge eating behavior imo seem to have emotional issues as triggers. If your eating is out of control, seek some counseling and perhaps keep a journal.
You can use this app and make a note of things going on surrounding your binge eating on your diary (notes). You can note things like mood changes, life situations, stresses, etc etc.
Yeah I'm already seeing a therapist about my ED because I used to restrict to like 500 calories and then once I stopped that I started binging so I'm definitely making sure I have professional help with that. Keeping a journal is also a good idea.
I am glad to hear you are working with your therapist, sadly many folks that should probably get therapy do not seek it. Hugs.2 -
I agree with those who say that you need to eat more. In my first few months of weight loss, I lost about 1.25 pounds per week while eating 2250 calories on average, and that was with about 45 minutes of moderately intense cardio (mostly cycling) per day, on average. I was a 45-year-old, 215-lb. guy with a mostly sedentary job. You're younger than me, you're starting from a higher weight, and you're much more active. You can, and should, eat more. For a performer, food is fuel. As you're losing weight, you can get some of that fuel from body fat, but most of it should still come from food. As a cyclist, I aimed to keep my weight loss moderate (just over a pound a week at first, then slower as I got leaner), so that I wouldn't starve the motor and lose too much muscle mass.1
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1% of total body weight is a recommended rate of loss.
I’m also concerned by how little you are eating. I broke my knee Sunday and am eating 1200-1500 cals a day hardly moving. I’m not gaining and had a woosh loss this week (probably the water I retained when working out heavily before injury). It really isn’t enough to safely support your activity level3 -
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You have chosen a therapist and doctor whose professional opinions you trust.
It also sounds like you have some fixed ideas about the path you’re going to take, and are not open to the suggestions from members of this group.
My suggestion: print this thread out and take it to your doctor and therapist. Ask them for their input and feedback on what others are telling you here.
Second suggestion: ask your doctor for a referral to a professional nutritionist. You’re going to invest an enormous amount of time and money in your career. I admire your drive and commitment to work hard. But in addition to working hard, successful people seek out qualified professional advice.
Get your doctor’s recommendation and see a nutritionist rather than risking your success.
Good luck to you4 -
What is your plan once the weight loss stalls? Inevitably it will and when you throw everything at it from day one you have no room to adjust. You won't be able to eat less and you won't be able to increase activity.
There's a lot to be said to lose on a minimum effort. You can lose on a much higher calorie intake, I don't really understand why you wouldn't. I know we all want all the weight gone in 10 days but that's just not realistic. Weight loss always takes longer than you think and you will have to adjust as you get leaner.
I remember when I started and I thought 'alright 1% bodyweight per week with this plan, it'll take me this many months'. Except it won't. It'll take double the time and probably triple the frustration with little stalls, weird gains, frustrating pseudo-plateaus, etc. Make it sustainable and realize that you're in for the long haul.3 -
1% of total body weight is a recommended rate of loss.
I’m also concerned by how little you are eating. I broke my knee Sunday and am eating 1200-1500 cals a day hardly moving. I’m not gaining and had a woosh loss this week (probably the water I retained when working out heavily before injury). It really isn’t enough to safely support your activity level
I'm so sorry you hurt your knee I wish you a speedy recovery!2 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Did you put your info into MFP to get your goal? Starting out at 1200 calories puts you at the bottom...you have nowhere to go when you start stalling and whatnot. My guess is that you could quite easily lose steadily at a higher calorie target...and with your exercise you should be eating more than 1200 anyway...1200 is for small, sedentary females.
When i did it gave me about 1850 calories which was too much it made it too easy to slip into binging.
That is why you log your foods. By logging your foods you will be able to see how much you are over eating. Ideally, log your food before you eat it. And when you shop read the food labels. And if you eat fast food, read the calorie counts of the items before making your choice.
A forewarned eater can be a wiser eater, with reguards to his or her food intake.
And should you binge. Log all you ate and drink, and get back on the wagon the next meal and the next day.
1800ish seems more realistic for starting out on your weight loss journey for you. (Dont use that number to excuse a binge either, as you have the power to choose if you are going to overeat a bunch of food).
If after a couple weeks you see a gain, you can adjust if you feel the need to do so.
But don't do a drastic kcal increase or decrease as you find what works for you. That usually does not seem to end well imo.
Many food binge eating behavior imo seem to have emotional issues as triggers. If your eating is out of control, seek some counseling and perhaps keep a journal.
You can use this app and make a note of things going on surrounding your binge eating on your diary (notes). You can note things like mood changes, life situations, stresses, etc etc.
Yeah I'm already seeing a therapist about my ED because I used to restrict to like 500 calories and then once I stopped that I started binging so I'm definitely making sure I have professional help with that. Keeping a journal is also a good idea.
If you have a history of binging and restricting, why do you think it's a good idea to eat 1200 calories? That's a restrictive diet that can trigger your binges. Just a thought, hopefully it won't fall on deaf ears.
Because I'm super paranoid about gaining more weight to be completely honest. This is the highest weight is have ever been. I'm dating a skinny boy who is a picker eater so we always eat pizza or burgers when we hang out. My friends eat whatever the hell they want. I feel like I'm all alone with this. Even my other chubby friends are very fat positive and aren't looking to lose weight. I've spiraled out of control with my eating habits and I need to be fit. I don't want it I NEED it. I need it to be happy. I'm not ignoring what people have to say I am listening I am taking everything in but y'all have to understand I had to quit dance because every made fun of my weight. I quit acting and every thing else because I was so self conscious. I won't let being the fat girl with the pretty face stop me from achieving my goals. This is so so HARD for me. I am taking a huge risk choosing this as my career goal. I have to put everything into it or I will fail and I can't take that. I look kpop idols who eat far less and work more than I am now to reach their goals. So seeing people tell me I need to eat way more than I planned to makes me panic. Because what if I spiral again.4 -
So anyway I'm crying now that was a lot to get out lol6
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What is your plan once the weight loss stalls? Inevitably it will and when you throw everything at it from day one you have no room to adjust. You won't be able to eat less and you won't be able to increase activity.
There's a lot to be said to lose on a minimum effort. You can lose on a much higher calorie intake, I don't really understand why you wouldn't. I know we all want all the weight gone in 10 days but that's just not realistic. Weight loss always takes longer than you think and you will have to adjust as you get leaner.
I remember when I started and I thought 'alright 1% bodyweight per week with this plan, it'll take me this many months'. Except it won't. It'll take double the time and probably triple the frustration with little stalls, weird gains, frustrating pseudo-plateaus, etc. Make it sustainable and realize that you're in for the long haul.
Honestly if I stopped losing I think I would just o on a fast or detox until I started seeing weight loss again. It's what I did before.5 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Did you put your info into MFP to get your goal? Starting out at 1200 calories puts you at the bottom...you have nowhere to go when you start stalling and whatnot. My guess is that you could quite easily lose steadily at a higher calorie target...and with your exercise you should be eating more than 1200 anyway...1200 is for small, sedentary females.
When i did it gave me about 1850 calories which was too much it made it too easy to slip into binging.
That is why you log your foods. By logging your foods you will be able to see how much you are over eating. Ideally, log your food before you eat it. And when you shop read the food labels. And if you eat fast food, read the calorie counts of the items before making your choice.
A forewarned eater can be a wiser eater, with reguards to his or her food intake.
And should you binge. Log all you ate and drink, and get back on the wagon the next meal and the next day.
1800ish seems more realistic for starting out on your weight loss journey for you. (Dont use that number to excuse a binge either, as you have the power to choose if you are going to overeat a bunch of food).
If after a couple weeks you see a gain, you can adjust if you feel the need to do so.
But don't do a drastic kcal increase or decrease as you find what works for you. That usually does not seem to end well imo.
Many food binge eating behavior imo seem to have emotional issues as triggers. If your eating is out of control, seek some counseling and perhaps keep a journal.
You can use this app and make a note of things going on surrounding your binge eating on your diary (notes). You can note things like mood changes, life situations, stresses, etc etc.
Yeah I'm already seeing a therapist about my ED because I used to restrict to like 500 calories and then once I stopped that I started binging so I'm definitely making sure I have professional help with that. Keeping a journal is also a good idea.
If you have a history of binging and restricting, why do you think it's a good idea to eat 1200 calories? That's a restrictive diet that can trigger your binges. Just a thought, hopefully it won't fall on deaf ears.
Because I'm super paranoid about gaining more weight to be completely honest. This is the highest weight is have ever been. I'm dating a skinny boy who is a picker eater so we always eat pizza or burgers when we hang out. My friends eat whatever the hell they want. I feel like I'm all alone with this. Even my other chubby friends are very fat positive and aren't looking to lose weight. I've spiraled out of control with my eating habits and I need to be fit. I don't want it I NEED it. I need it to be happy. I'm not ignoring what people have to say I am listening I am taking everything in but y'all have to understand I had to quit dance because every made fun of my weight. I quit acting and every thing else because I was so self conscious. I won't let being the fat girl with the pretty face stop me from achieving my goals. This is so so HARD for me. I am taking a huge risk choosing this as my career goal. I have to put everything into it or I will fail and I can't take that. I look kpop idols who eat far less and work more than I am now to reach their goals. So seeing people tell me I need to eat way more than I planned to makes me panic. Because what if I spiral again.
I think it's great that you've chosen a path that you love, even if it's going to be hard. I do think there might be one aspect of the "how many calories to eat" question that you're missing or ignoring - those kpop idols you mentioned are probably all much smaller than you and so their bodies need fewer calories to stay healthy. Even when you are losing weight, you simply have to fuel your body sufficiently if you want to stay healthy. In addition to possible nutritional or binging problems, your body will start burning through muscle as well as fat if you try to eat like someone who weighs half (or less) than you do. There's a limit to how much fat your body can burn at once, and muscle is very hard to rebuild once it's gone. You absolutely can and should give this your best, but that should also mean doing it smart - you will not end up "fit" if you sacrifice your health for your goals. Good luck!6
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