Losing too fast

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ColetteM6
ColetteM6 Posts: 138 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm getting concerned that I'm losing weight too fast. Worst fear is that it's muscle weight. I was off my feet for 3 weeks because of an ankle injury so I was doing a lot of upper body resistance. I get my macros in every day (about 1400 calories plus exercise cals- but I have been more concentrated on my calcium, fiber, iron and sodium intake).
I was 165lbs just 5 weeks ago and today I am 142. When the first 5lbs dropped off I thought, "great! There goes the water now let's see the fat go!" but have consistently seen 5lbs/week lost per week. I know that that is too fast and the numbers do not equal fat loss. Should I proceed with caution? Am I losing muscle? Also reeeaaally worried that I'm headed for a massive plateau or weight gain
5'3" female 142lbs Goal is 125lbs

Replies

  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    23lbs in 5 weeks is pretty alarming. Especially since you have your deficit at 400 calories a day, which is a little less than 1lb per week. It doesn't seem possible to dump muscle since you're netting really close to your BMR. So unless you were some how under eating while logging your calories, or doing massive burns during exercise without knowing... No idea.

    The only thing I can think of is that your original weigh in weight wasn't true. What I mean by this is that you could have eaten a lot of sodium + been on your period before stepping on the scale, thus retaining between 5-10lbs of water weight. But even that puts your loss at over 2lbs a week.

    The only way to know if you lost a lot of muscle would be if you had known your BF% before you lost weight and could obtain your current BF% now that you've lost weight.
  • ColetteM6
    ColetteM6 Posts: 138 Member
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    That makes a lot of sense. I know I was eating too much sodium (a scary amount actually). And looking back I was definitely bloated from my period. Many thanks!!
  • teamstanish
    teamstanish Posts: 274 Member
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    My best guess is water weight. Quick losses and gains are almost entirely water. You must burn off 3,500 more calories than you take in to lose a pound of fat and you must eat 3,500 calories more than you need to gain a pound.

    If it continues at such a rapid rate, I would consult your physician to ensure there is nothing else going on.

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