Can you lose weight "too fast"?

73CL350

What's the real risk ? Is it the loss of muscle? Anything else?

I'm down 16 lbs in 32 days and wondering what the potential issues are. Obviously starter water weight is a big chunk.

5' 8" male
SW 186
CW169.2
GW ~149 (acrual goal is 12.5% BF)

Deviette

https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/rapid-weight-loss#1

Rapid weight loss creates physical demands on the body. Possible serious risks include:

• Gallstones, which occur in 12% to 25% of people losing large amounts of weight over several months
• Dehydration, which can be avoided by drinking plenty of fluids
• Malnutrition, usually from not eating enough protein for weeks at a time
• Electrolyte imbalances, which rarely can be life threatening

Other side effects of rapid weight loss include:

• Headaches
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Constipation
• Menstrual irregularities
• Hair loss
• Muscle loss

jemhh

Yes, you can. You will likely lose more muscle than necessary. A lot of what you've lost has been water. Once you start to eat at maintenance, you will gain it back. If your focus is on losing weight, you're doing a great job. If your focus is on losing fat, you need to change what you're doing.

CarvedTones

I lost that quickly for about twice that long. I regret it. It took a lot of work when I got down to goal to get fit again. I had to build back some of the muscle I lost. That was the fist half of my loss and I slowed down for the last half after joining mfp. Besides it being physically better, it made it easier to go into maintenance when I came into it slowly already eating the fod I continue to eat; I was just eating a little less of it.

Tacklewasher

Did you go low carb? If so, then yeah, a good chunk of that will be glycogen and water. Figure 8-10 lbs of water lost, 6-8 lbs of other weight (fat and muscle) and it doesn't look as bad.

73CL350

@jemhh ...I love this! I tell ppl at my office to stop obsessing over weight loss and start talking about fat reduction.
... but it's hard to directly measure : / it's easy to see scale changes.

I'm guessing I just lost a larger than expected amount if water weight. I havent been THAT deficit.

And I'll focus on nutritious foods and wont sweat it too much.

I TRY to go "lower" carbs. Aiming for 50g carbs a day but not worrying if I have a day that's 100.
I'm trying to just keep it simple, and wait until I'm hungry to eat.

I started working out yesterday and my November goal is establish a workout routine so hopefully I can preserve muscle as best as possible and I'll probably hold some extra water for a while.


Thank you all for the thoughtful replies

cariwaldick

I lost the first twenty pounds really fast--almost a pound a day at first. I am not patient with the slower losses now, but I'm getting used to it. I really feel my body needs this time to adjust. My balance is changing, along with my energy, illnesses I was dealing with, and even how I regulate my temperature. I don't ever want to go back, and I've still got a lot of weight to lose. I'm counting calories, and it's working wonders. I have such a tiny allowance I have to be careful with my choices. I've had people warn me about losing too fast, but I needed that at first. Psychologically I needed to know the effort was worth it.

Now that it's slowing down, I'm looking at other things to get me where I want to be. I just started riding my bicycle again. I'm more conscious of my body, and if I'm hungry I eat--regardless of the calories. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

urloved33

I have been associate with TWO individuals who both had fatal heart attacks after losing a tremendous amount of weight. working out very very hard and eating not quite enough in a very short time frame. WITH THE SAME TRAINER...I think that trainer should have his business license pulled.

73CL350

I guess I need to say "yes its 17 lbs in 33 days ... but its 10 lbs of water"

So more like 7 lbs in 33 days which is what I could expect if I just kept everything the same. And is reasonable.

Grace2188

Most of it should be water and will begin to regulate as you get into a more set routine that you body is used to. As long as you are doing it safely and making sure you are hitting your calories and macros each day then all should be good. Well done though, sounds like you are on track to reach you goal wait if you keep working!

CSARdiver

Reasonable, but I would check your overall goals first as you may be sacrificing a larger goal for short term success in a smaller goal. If you intend to retain or develop muscle this may hurt you.

Implementing a progressive resistance program will minimize muscle loss during deficit.

Slow down and ensure your plan suits your goals.

emmamcgarity

I had a friend in college on a very low calorie diet lose 68 pounds in 3 months. At that point she lost her menstrual cycle and her body shape changed to have less curves and look more prepubescent. Her parents pulled her out of school and she was treated for several months for malnutrition and an eating disorder. I saw her a year later back at school. She and I chatted about how she was doing. She said looking back at what she did felt a bit crazy. However she ended up changing her major to Nutrition and had a new found desire to help others avoid her path.

RGv2

73CL350 wrote: »

What's the real risk ? Is it the loss of muscle? Anything else?

I'm down 16 lbs in 32 days and wondering what the potential issues are. Obviously starter water weight is a big chunk.

5' 8" male
SW 186
CW169.2
GW ~149 (acrual goal is 12.5% BF)

See bolded....I hit 12% (or below) at 172 and I'm 2" shorter than you. You may lose weight fast, but BF% change may not be as drastic as you hope.

nutmegoreo

Deviette wrote: »

https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/rapid-weight-loss#1

Rapid weight loss creates physical demands on the body. Possible serious risks include:

• Gallstones, which occur in 12% to 25% of people losing large amounts of weight over several months
• Dehydration, which can be avoided by drinking plenty of fluids
• Malnutrition, usually from not eating enough protein for weeks at a time
• Electrolyte imbalances, which rarely can be life threatening

Other side effects of rapid weight loss include:

• Headaches
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Constipation
• Menstrual irregularities
• Hair loss
• Muscle loss

Decreased sex drive and inability to get the little guy to salute.

jennifer_417

The real risk is the malnourishment that come from not eating enough. I'm not sure about the problems that may be caused by the actual weight coming off of your body, but being malnourished, even when overweight, can cause all kinds of problems.

lynn_glenmont

73CL350 wrote: »

I guess I need to say "yes its 17 lbs in 33 days ... but its 10 lbs of water"

So more like 7 lbs in 33 days which is what I could expect if I just kept everything the same. And is reasonable.

How much of the loss was in the first two weeks, and how much since? If it wasn't heavily front-loaded, you might want to rethink your assumption that it's mostly water.

73CL350

The thing is I'm eating a 500 cal deficit so I dont know why it's such a stark loss.

GottaBurnEmAll

I think you must be eating more than a 500 calorie deficit. You stated in another thread that you're eating 1300-1600 calories a day.

What are your activity levels like?

mmapags

With your rate of loss, you are not eating at a 500 calorie deficit. There is something wrong in the way you entered your data into MFP. Unless you are very short? And the nutritional minimum for a male is 1500 calories.

lynn_glenmont

73CL350 wrote: »

The thing is I'm eating a 500 cal deficit so I dont know why it's such a stark loss.

Why are all the dates on the horizontal axis the same? Over what period did you lose that weight? If that's 33 days, that really doesn't look like it's water-weight driven.

How did you calculate your maintenance level to decide that you're at a 500 cal deficit?

73CL350

Only thing i can figure is i put not active but I am active. I do not eat my exercise calories back.

Here is the chart in a 2 month axis:

73CL350

I WANT to lose the weight ... I just worry about losing muscle and screwing my planned bulk.

Evelyn_Gorfram

73CL350 wrote: »

What's the real risk ? Is it the loss of muscle? Anything else?

I'm down 16 lbs in 32 days and wondering what the potential issues are. Obviously starter water weight is a big chunk.

5' 8" male
SW 186
CW169.2
GW ~149 (acrual goal is 12.5% BF)

Dude, that's a lot. I lost 15 lbs in my 1st 32 days (actually in my first 21 days, and then plateaued for a week and a half, but I started out at 313 lbs and I'm 5'9." I'm also female, so it makes sense you'd lose faster, but still - that's a lot.

To get scare-monger-ey on you for a bit:


Overly rapid weight loss can make your liver deposit extra cholesterol in your gallbladder, where it forms part of what's medically termed "gallbladder sludge." And what may eventually creep forth from the sludge are gallstones - it turns out that most gallstones are made of mostly cholesterol.

The thing about loss of muscle is that your heart is, basically, a muscle. So are a lot of important parts of your other important innards.

It's rare for electrolyte imbalances to get really severe; but when they do get severe, they can lead to kidney failure, liver failure, and/or heart failure. You don't want any of those.

73CL350 wrote: »

I guess I need to say "yes its 17 lbs in 33 days ... but its 10 lbs of water"

So more like 7 lbs in 33 days which is what I could expect if I just kept everything the same. And is reasonable.

We now swap sacre-monger-ey stuff for geeky numbers stuff. The rule of thumb is that you should lose no more than 1% of your body mass per week. For your start weight of 186 lb, that's 1.86 lb/week.

Assuming you lost 10 lbs water weight in your 1st two weeks:

17 - 10 = 7 lbs

32 -14 = 18 days = 0.39 lb/day

7lbs/18 days = 0.39/day = 2.72 lb/week

Or about 1.5 times faster than is considered a safe rate of weight loss. So, depending on just how fast you lost that first 10 pounds, what you're doing now may not be the reasonable way to continue.

And, since you now weigh 169, your current safe-weight loss rate is about 1.7 lb/week. Since 3500 calories excess/deficit = 1 lb gain/loss:

500 calories excess/deficit per day = 1 lb gain/loss per day.

2.72 lb/week current weight loss rate - 1.7 lb/week safe weight loss rate = a very convenient 1 lb/week or 500 added calories/day.


Since this all depends on my assumption about how much water weight you lost how fast, you might want to add just an extra 150-250 calories/day for a few weeks to see how it all plays out.

Early on, people tend to have lots of enthusiasm for their weight loss, but not much data about how the weight loss process works for their individual and idiosyncratic bodies. I'd recommend you take things a bit slower, and pay careful attention to how your body responds.

73CL350

I so deeply appreciate the constructive advice and well thought out replies.

I'm going to add a protein shake at night and see how it changes. (Whey protein, peanut butter powder, whole milk)

73CL350

mmapags wrote: »

With your rate of loss, you are not eating at a 500 calorie deficit. There is something wrong in the way you entered your data into MFP. Unless you are very short? And the nutritional minimum for a male is 1500 calories.

Well this makes a lot more sense.


I've been aiming for a 500 cal deficit off what mfp told me to eat. Huh.


As for activity levels ... office job (engineer) ... some working out and jogging but nothing crazy. I put not very active.

73CL350

As said before ... I WANT to lose the weight... but I want to keep big picture focus and be ready for my bulk as best as possible

singingflutelady

The number MFP gives you already includes your deficit.

mads_o86

There we have it.

mmapags wrote: »

I've been aiming for a 500 cal deficit off what mfp told me to eat. Huh.

[/quote]


I recommend setting your goal calories a little higher that what MFP recommends, but not eat your exercise calories back. The reason for that is that your daily calories may fluctuate wildly if you do eat them back and you'll have a hard time forming good habits that way.

My recommendation for my desired loss is ~1800 calories a day, but I eat 2000. If I were to eat back calories for exercising some days I'd have 1800, other days 3000. That almost seems like a disorder to me. I do have 2500 calories on my long run days so I can have energy gels and a recovery chocolate milk when I get back from the rum.

I'm losing a steady 1,1 pound a weak on average and have lost 60 pounds in 18 months. I've had periods of weight gain when sick (yes, opposite everyone else, but when I'm sick I figure my body needs all the nutrients it can get to become healthy again) and on holidays.

I will say that your aim appears to be pretty low, weight wise. If you want to hit 12 percent body fat maybe you should lift a lot of weights to preserve/gain muscle?

I have a smart scale that measures fat/water/muscle/bone ratios and it's really helpful. In spring 2018 I didn't lose any weight, but I gained 5 or 6 pounds of muscle and lost the same amount of fat and that was really visible. Lately I've been too busy at work to lift as much as I need and have lost muscle while losing fat too, but I've lost too much muscle and have started lifting again*.

It's an withings body+ scale

*note one the lifting: I do my workouts in 20-30 minutes and lift eccentric only, except for core. It is very heavy, but not that hard on the joints. For example instead of Pushups/bench press i do negative push-ups where I only do the going down part, but very slowly. When that became too easy I started doing them one handed on my knees and now it's regular one handed negative push-ups. For chin-ups it's the same. I let myself drop down in 4-5 seconds then stand up using my legs and do it again.

RealWorldStrengthLLC

That first 10 or so coulda been a water drop from burning your glycogen stores and adjusting your salt intake depending on your diet and activity levels before and after you started losing, respectively.

ceiswyn

73CL350 wrote: »

I've been aiming for a 500 cal deficit off what mfp told me to eat. Huh.

So since MFP’s calorie goal already includes the appropriate deficit for the weight loss rate you gave it, you’ve actually been eating at a 1000 cal deficit. And not eating back any calories from jogging and working out.

Well I think we’ve solved the problem of why you’re dropping weight so fast...