Concerned with my rate of loss
pfeiferlindsey
Posts: 163 Member
Alright, so I started on Jan. 1 at 187 pounds; I'm 5'7" and my goal is 145. My weigh in day is Friday and this is how it's gone this month:
Jan. 1 - 187 lbs.
Jan. 8 - 185 lbs.
Jan. 15 - 184 lbs.
Jan. 22- 181.4 lbs.
Jan. 29 - 177.2 lbs.
I have my goal set at 1 pound a week of loss. I weigh everything and create recipes for everything. I do have one "whatever" meal a week and I don't log it (it's what works for me mentally). I try to eat as many exercise calories back as I can.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy with the loss, but I have a goal to preserve as much muscle as I can. I wonder if for the next 4 weeks I should put my rate as half a pound a week and see how that affects my loss. My diary is open.
Thoughts?
Jan. 1 - 187 lbs.
Jan. 8 - 185 lbs.
Jan. 15 - 184 lbs.
Jan. 22- 181.4 lbs.
Jan. 29 - 177.2 lbs.
I have my goal set at 1 pound a week of loss. I weigh everything and create recipes for everything. I do have one "whatever" meal a week and I don't log it (it's what works for me mentally). I try to eat as many exercise calories back as I can.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy with the loss, but I have a goal to preserve as much muscle as I can. I wonder if for the next 4 weeks I should put my rate as half a pound a week and see how that affects my loss. My diary is open.
Thoughts?
0
Replies
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Or you are not giving yourself credit for exercise calories. How are you calculating those? I’m on the app and can’t see your diary. Sorry. One more thing, do feel hungry at any time?2
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L1zardQueen wrote: »Or you are not giving yourself credit for exercise calories. How are you calculating those? I’m on the app and can’t see your diary. Sorry. One more thing, do feel hungry at any time?
I have my Garmin watch connected to the app. Wrist based heart rate.
Honestly, not hungry when I am eating the majority of my exercise calories back.0 -
Are you getting adequate protein? Again sorry. I can’t see your diary.
This same thing happening to me, I think my Apple Watch is not giving me enough credit for my exercise. I also fidget a lot. Lol
I would change it to a slower weight loss, for sure. When you reach your goal weight, your maintenance calories will be easier to figure out.
Congrats on your weight loss so far!1 -
A few options:
- you don't seem to be weighing your food, I see units (number of slices etc), cups, etc. You might be one of the few people who are eating less than they think because they aren't weighing their foods. Solution: try weighing your foods to see if you aren't overestimating your calorie consumption
- your activity level is higher than the one you chose on MFP (but since you mention a Garmin, I presume you have it linked to MFP? In which case you would get a calorie adjustment, so this wouldn't be an issue)
- you are not statistically average and actually have a faster metabolism than most other people with your stats. Solution: choose a slower weight loss seeing and see if that helps. (Or just aim to go over your current calorie goal by 250-500 calories.)
You're losing more than 2lbs a week on average instead of 1lb per week, which would indicate you're eating 500 kcal under what you should be eating for a 1lb/week weight loss rate. Some people do lose some water weight in the beginning, so it might not be that much in reality.2 -
A few options:
- you don't seem to be weighing your food, I see units (number of slices etc), cups, etc. You might be one of the few people who are eating less than they think because they aren't weighing their foods. Solution: try weighing your foods to see if you aren't overestimating your calorie consumption
- your activity level is higher than the one you chose on MFP (but since you mention a Garmin, I presume you have it linked to MFP? In which case you would get a calorie adjustment, so this wouldn't be an issue)
- you are not statistically average and actually have a faster metabolism than most other people with your stats. Solution: choose a slower weight loss seeing and see if that helps. (Or just aim to go over your current calorie goal by 250-500 calories.
Your losing more than 2lbs a week on average instead of 1lb per week, which would indicate you're eating 500 kcal under what you should be reading for a 1lb/week weight loss rate. Some people do lose some water weight in the beginning, so it might not be that much in reality.
I can assure you I am weighing everything I eat. Even if it says "slices", I weigh it and compare against the nutrition label. If I'm making a meal, I create a recipe with all the weights.
I work in purchasing, so my activity level is set for sedentary. I think I will just set it for half a pound a week and assess again in a month.3 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »Are you getting adequate protein? Again sorry. I can’t see your diary.
This same thing happening to me, I think my Apple Watch is not giving me enough credit for my exercise. I also fidget a lot. Lol
I would change it to a slower weight loss, for sure. When you reach your goal weight, your maintenance calories will be easier to figure out.
Congrats on your weight loss so far!
Thank you! I'm pleased with it, but really want to be sure I'm not losing muscle. I'd like to say I'm getting enough protein; I shoot for 100 g+ a day if at all possible. Some days are easier said than done with that, but I try hard to make sure I get protein in every meal.
I am going to set my loss at half a pound for the next 4 weeks and access again after 4 weeks.4 -
pfeiferlindsey wrote: »L1zardQueen wrote: »Are you getting adequate protein? Again sorry. I can’t see your diary.
This same thing happening to me, I think my Apple Watch is not giving me enough credit for my exercise. I also fidget a lot. Lol
I would change it to a slower weight loss, for sure. When you reach your goal weight, your maintenance calories will be easier to figure out.
Congrats on your weight loss so far!
Thank you! I'm pleased with it, but really want to be sure I'm not losing muscle. I'd like to say I'm getting enough protein; I shoot for 100 g+ a day if at all possible. Some days are easier said than done with that, but I try hard to make sure I get protein in every meal.
I am going to set my loss at half a pound for the next 4 weeks and access again after 4 weeks.
I think you're doing a very reasonable thing, FWIW.
What's the worst that could happen by resetting? Losing more slowly, maybe "too slowly", or not at all. What's the worst that could happen by sticking with what's currently looking like a faster rate than you personally prefer? Higher risk of the lean tissue loss that you want to avoid.
With your goals, slowing down is rational, IMO.
Most people find that MFP and fitness trackers are close to accurate for them, over the long haul. That tends to create a level of trust in the estimates, on most people's part. (Also rational.) But the estimates are meaningfully off, high or low, for a few people . . . and quite far off for a very rare few.
That's the nature of statistical estimates, and that's all that MFP and trackers are doing, providing statistical estimates based on large-group research. The spit out averages, and IMU it's a fairly tall, narrow distribution (bell curve with a relatively small standard deviation), so most people are close to that average. Not many are outliers.
The trackers almost get treated as gospel, when it comes to calories, by some people, it seems like. It's just an estimate - a very personalized estimate, which tends to be better (more accurate), but still is subject to some statistical variation.
I'm saying some of this because I'm one of the people for whom MFP and a good brand/model tracker (also a Garmin) are quite dramatically incorrect in their calorie needs estimates, and in the direction that doesn't typically correlate with poor logging practice. I've been logging most days for 5+ years now, through about a year of losing 50+ pounds, and the remainder maintaining within a health weight range (normal BMI).
My Garmin, which I wear 24/7 unless it's briefly charging, sees my calorie expenditure as in the vicinity of 14-1600 or so. (Last 7 days' Garmin daily average right now is 1498, but today's still partial - not quite noon here.) MFP would estimate similarly. (I'm 5'5", 125ish pounds, age 65, pretty sedentary - like 4000 steps or fewer most days in Winter - outside of exercise.) I've been eating around 1850 net for months now, which is 2100 or more gross on exercise days (most days). I've been losing weight at a rate that suggests that I'm at about a 100-200 or so calorie deficit. So, Garmin is low by 500 calories or more, maybe around 30%. It can happen, it's just not common. And the "why" may or may not be obvious.
Now, you may find that your first few weeks were unusual (faster loss than later) - also possible. Sometimes there's an adjustment of water weight that causes scale weight weirdness, at first. It's especially possible for premenopausal women, since fat loss sits behind normal monthly hormonal fluctuations in water weight that can be fairly large, for some, in comparison to the fat loss rate. Those things, water & fat, play peek-a-boo on the scales, sometimes for weeks. But, by eating more now, at worst, you've only slowed loss for a few weeks by finding that out. As long as your weight isn't high enough to be health threatening in itself, that's really no big deal.
Best wishes!4 -
am I missing something here? you have lost ten pounds in five weeks, which is two pounds per week...
IF you want to preserve muscle then you need to keep your protein intake high, and get on a structured lifting regimen with progressivity built into it, meaning you lift heavier things as they get easy to lift.2 -
In my mind I was reading it as she thought she was not losing enough ...
My expectation is that the quick drop off will slow down as some of what OP lost is water weight...1 -
am I missing something here? you have lost ten pounds in five weeks, which is two pounds per week...
IF you want to preserve muscle then you need to keep your protein intake high, and get on a structured lifting regimen with progressivity built into it, meaning you lift heavier things as they get easy to lift.
Yes, lifting 5 days a week (4 on my own and 1 with a trainer) and am increasing the weights as they get easier. Run 4 days a week as well. I do try my best to keep the protein high.
4 -
Can I just divert a moment and say how happy I am to see a new member actually sit down and analyze results versus plan, and ask questions?
I am quite sure you will be one of the successful ones.
Go, you!!!
9 -
pfeiferlindsey wrote: »am I missing something here? you have lost ten pounds in five weeks, which is two pounds per week...
IF you want to preserve muscle then you need to keep your protein intake high, and get on a structured lifting regimen with progressivity built into it, meaning you lift heavier things as they get easy to lift.
Yes, lifting 5 days a week (4 on my own and 1 with a trainer) and am increasing the weights as they get easier. Run 4 days a week as well. I do try my best to keep the protein high.
What kind of program does he have you on? Does it incorporate deadlifts, squat, rows, etc?0 -
pfeiferlindsey wrote: »am I missing something here? you have lost ten pounds in five weeks, which is two pounds per week...
IF you want to preserve muscle then you need to keep your protein intake high, and get on a structured lifting regimen with progressivity built into it, meaning you lift heavier things as they get easy to lift.
Yes, lifting 5 days a week (4 on my own and 1 with a trainer) and am increasing the weights as they get easier. Run 4 days a week as well. I do try my best to keep the protein high.
What kind of program does he have you on? Does it incorporate deadlifts, squat, rows, etc?
I love my trainer. She has incorporated all of the above into my workouts.1 -
pfeiferlindsey wrote: »A few options:
- you don't seem to be weighing your food, I see units (number of slices etc), cups, etc. You might be one of the few people who are eating less than they think because they aren't weighing their foods. Solution: try weighing your foods to see if you aren't overestimating your calorie consumption
- your activity level is higher than the one you chose on MFP (but since you mention a Garmin, I presume you have it linked to MFP? In which case you would get a calorie adjustment, so this wouldn't be an issue)
- you are not statistically average and actually have a faster metabolism than most other people with your stats. Solution: choose a slower weight loss seeing and see if that helps. (Or just aim to go over your current calorie goal by 250-500 calories.
Your losing more than 2lbs a week on average instead of 1lb per week, which would indicate you're eating 500 kcal under what you should be reading for a 1lb/week weight loss rate. Some people do lose some water weight in the beginning, so it might not be that much in reality.
I can assure you I am weighing everything I eat. Even if it says "slices", I weigh it and compare against the nutrition label. If I'm making a meal, I create a recipe with all the weights.
I work in purchasing, so my activity level is set for sedentary. I think I will just set it for half a pound a week and assess again in a month.
When I first started, I also had my activity level set for sedentary because I'm an accountant and work at a desk...I was also losing quite a bit faster than I had elected (1Lb per week) or wanted...I was losing right around 2 Lbs per week as well. I ultimately figured out that even without my exercise, I was light active rather than sedentary because of other things I did outside of work like working in my yard, fixing this and that around the house, and at the time chasing around a 2 year old and helping care for an infant. I found I was also more active at work in general as well because I get up a lot to go talk to colleagues and whatnot.
Probably six of one either adjusting your activity level or rate or loss target.2 -
pfeiferlindsey wrote: »pfeiferlindsey wrote: »am I missing something here? you have lost ten pounds in five weeks, which is two pounds per week...
IF you want to preserve muscle then you need to keep your protein intake high, and get on a structured lifting regimen with progressivity built into it, meaning you lift heavier things as they get easy to lift.
Yes, lifting 5 days a week (4 on my own and 1 with a trainer) and am increasing the weights as they get easier. Run 4 days a week as well. I do try my best to keep the protein high.
What kind of program does he have you on? Does it incorporate deadlifts, squat, rows, etc?
I love my trainer. She has incorporated all of the above into my workouts.
good to hear...some trainers steer people away from the basic compound movements..0
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