2lbs a week?

ObviousPanda

I’m 5’6 159lbs. I want to get down to 140lbs. So I have 19lbs to lose. Is 2lbs a week a good goal or should I be set to 1lb a week?
People on here say the closer you are to your goal you should change your settings, but how close? I’ve lost 25 lbs so far.
Thanks!

diannethegeek

A general rule of thumb is no more than 1% of your body weight per week. In your case that would be 1.59 pounds per week, which still seems a little high to me with only 19 pounds to lose. I'd probably aim for 1 pound a week but accept that it might be more like 1/2 pound some weeks.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

I would probably aim for 1lb per week in your situation.

jemhh

One half to one pound per week is a good goal for you. Two pounds is really for people who are heavily overweight/obese. You are *just* outside of the healthy weight zone so your goal needs to be more conservative.

steveko89

General advice copied from an old thread I bookmarked:
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal

2lbs/week is too aggressive of a goal deficit and make compliance very difficult. Personally, I'd start with 1lb/week and see how you do. My personal experience is that shooting for anything lower makes things frustratingly slow. I'm in a spot now where I'm trying to get to a point where I'm lean enough to execute a lean bulk most effectively, which equates to losing ~8 lbs when already firmly in the "healthy" weight range for my age/height, and my calorie goal is set for a little more than 1lb/week. However, that's what I plan for and pre-log to, which gives me a buffer for when I invariably consume little extras here and there throughout the day. For the most part, as long as I hit that range between my set goal and maintenance level I'll call it good day. YMMV, that's just how I've learned I operate best in the 6+ years I've been using MFP.

reposadojo

After reading this I feel like I might have been too aggressive with my weight loss,, oops

jemhh

reposadojo wrote: »

After reading this I feel like I might have been too aggressive with my weight loss,, oops

Let me back up a little and rephrase my first post to say that "Two pounds is really for women who are heavily overweight/obese." It could be different for men; I don't really pay attention since that doesn't apply to me.

steveko89

reposadojo wrote: »

After reading this I feel like I might have been too aggressive with my weight loss,, oops

If you were successful it's not really that big of a deal. The 1% limit is usually what's cited as the maximum rate to lose without losing too much muscle, though there have been studies on bodybuilding prep showing up to 1.3% loss /week without negative effect. For most users it's about setting attainable goals and expectations that best help them succeed. This also isn't adequately explained through guided setup which leads to a litany of new users coming in, setting their loss rate at 2lb/week with not that much weight to lose, getting target of 1200 calories that might not even achieve the requisite 1000 cal/day deficit, and result the user feeling deprived, frustrated with unmet expectations, and prone to binge cycles.

pinuplove

steveko89 wrote: »

reposadojo wrote: »

After reading this I feel like I might have been too aggressive with my weight loss,, oops

If you were successful it's not really that big of a deal. The 1% limit is usually what's cited as the maximum rate to lose without losing too much muscle, though there have been studies on bodybuilding prep showing up to 1.3% loss /week without negative effect. For most users it's about setting attainable goals and expectations that best help them succeed. This also isn't adequately explained through guided setup which leads to a litany of new users coming in, setting their loss rate at 2lb/week with not that much weight to lose, getting target of 1200 calories that might not even achieve the requisite 1000 cal/day deficit, and result the user feeling deprived, frustrated with unmet expectations, and prone to binge cycles.

I do wish there was a function to warn users when they choose a rate of loss too aggressive for the 1200-1500 floor that their goal is unsuitable and can't be accomplished while eating the minimum required calories.

But this would probably just lead to more people thinking they need to under-eat so nevermind...

reposadojo

Well.. I have lost 42pounds in roughly 3months.. But I'm not struggling and have been quite happy with the food intake and eating around 1200 plus calories daily. Just another 14 to 21pounds to go now..

cwolfman13

reposadojo wrote: »

Well.. I have lost 42pounds in roughly 3months.. But I'm not struggling and have been quite happy with the food intake and eating around 1200 plus calories daily. Just another 14 to 21pounds to go now..

Dude...you're a dude...1200 calories is an aggressive weight loss target for small, sedentary women...it is not an acceptable calorie target for a male.

CSARdiver

2 lbs/week is very aggressive and will also result in loss of muscle mass, which is why people caution against such an aggressive deficit as you get closer to your goal weight. The goal is to reduce body fat %, not weight. Weight is often a good benchmark, but you want to do your best to preserve your muscle mass during this process.

reposadojo

I have been able to keep my muscle mass and I'm not the tallest guy either. I eat my protein goal every day too. And play football, soccer competitive too.. I just seem to loose weight quickly.. And at weekends I eat out and eat waffles and syrup and other treats.

jemhh

reposadojo wrote: »

I have been able to keep my muscle mass and I'm not the tallest guy either. I eat my protein goal every day too. And play football, soccer competitive too.. I just seem to loose weight quickly.. And at weekends I eat out and eat waffles and syrup and other treats.

So you eat 1200 during the week and don't count on weekends?

MichelleSilverleaf

reposadojo wrote: »

I have been able to keep my muscle mass and I'm not the tallest guy either. I eat my protein goal every day too. And play football, soccer competitive too.. I just seem to loose weight quickly.. And at weekends I eat out and eat waffles and syrup and other treats.

Eating at 1200cal a day, yeah you would lose weight quickly. That's not always a good thing. There's a reason for the minimum recommendations, and unless you're getting a reliable body scan you honestly can't be sure that you're not losing any muscle mass. It's not always immediately noticeable.

L1zardQueen

reposadojo wrote: »

I have been able to keep my muscle mass and I'm not the tallest guy either. I eat my protein goal every day too. And play football, soccer competitive too.. I just seem to loose weight quickly.. And at weekends I eat out and eat waffles and syrup and other treats.

Yea, how do you know that you kept your muscle mass? Dexa scan?

racheladleruk

When people warn against losing too much muscle it isn’t because they’re concerned about your biceps. The heart is made of muscle and too fast weight loss can impact it. Weakening your heart is no joke.

reposadojo

Just to put it out there as people keep quoting.. Originally I posted I eat minimum 1200plus. Not just a flat 1200.
I can't be hundred percent I havnt lost any muscle mass but most of the weight loss I can see is from my stomach. My arms shoulders. Legs still look good muscle wise and they still look defined. And to answer another question.. Yes I don't really count on a weekend. I eat what I want but I don't go crazy.. But I eat out and, eat waffles and such... Tgi friday's. I just mainly diet Monday to Friday.

try2again

racheladleruk wrote: »

When people warn against losing too much muscle it isn’t because they’re concerned about your biceps.

Lol... I want to save that and use it whenever someone has a "but my muscles look good" excuse for pursuing an overly-aggressive calorie deficit. Which sadly would be a lot

try2again

reposadojo wrote: »

Just to put it out there as people keep quoting.. Originally I posted I eat minimum 1200plus. Not just a flat 1200.
I can't be hundred percent I havnt lost any muscle mass but most of the weight loss I can see is from my stomach. My arms shoulders. Legs still look good muscle wise and they still look defined. And to answer another question.. Yes I don't really count on a weekend. I eat what I want but I don't go crazy.. But I eat out and, eat waffles and such... Tgi friday's. I just mainly diet Monday to Friday.

Doesn't matter. Your weight loss bears out that you have lost at a rate of 3.5 lbs/week, which means you are in an average deficit of 1750 calories a day. That's healthy and appropriate if you are 300+ lbs... not so much if you are 20 lbs from goal. That was your choice, but others need to know it's unwise.

shaf238

1-2lbs a week is generally accepted as a healthy weight gain/loss target.

kimny72

sharifsahmed wrote: »

1-2lbs a week is generally accepted as a healthy weight gain/loss target.

Generally. But if you are already in the healthy weight range, you may need to undereat to lose more than 1 lb per week, and for some short women, even 1 lb per week is too much of a deficit to carry. With OP's stats, 2 lbs per week is aggressive and likely not possible in a healthy fashion.