Been losing 6 pounds per week - is this safe?

eazy_

Congrats for losing over 100 pounds this year.

Hildy_J

I will try upping my calories to 1800 for awhile

Good plan! Make sure that's your 'net' though (ie food calories minus exercise calories) not just your daily intake. Once you feel better doing that, you can up it again so it's in the 2,000 range, this will still give you a calorie deficit at your height and weight. It may sound a lot/too much - it actually isn't. x

cingle87

Thanks for all the replies. I will try upping my calories to 1800 for awhile and do 3x cardio instead of 6x cardio every week. I'll do weights on the off days. I was lifting pretty well for awhile but pulled/strained my hamstring 2 months ago doing deadlifts so I stopped. I appreciate the kind words and encouragement. Thank you.

First congrats on the firs 105lbs gone.

Second don't suddenly jump from 500 net to 1800 net in one day, every day add 200 cals or so and work your way upto 1800 net. Going from 500 net to 1800 in one go could have negative affect on your body, its been use to 500 cals for a prolonged period.

Third lift lift lift, you will have got to th point close to your goals, you might not like the way your body has shaped up. If you have done little to no resistance while dieting, all you have become is a smaller version of your fatter self. You might still have soft part of your body, saggy skin etc this can only be changed by adding a few lbs of muscle, you can be suprised what a little lifting can do for the look of your body.

One of my favourite quotes ive seen posted on here and I can't remember who by "you diet to look good in clothes, you lift to look good naked"

soyum

Dude...you're only 15lbs over weight now!! SLOW DOWN!!!! Like some people who lose alot of weight, when the checkered flag is in sight they kick it in to over drive and this is when things can get scary. Seriously....slow down, get up to at LEAST 1800 calories. If it takes a few months or more to lose the last 15, so what!!

Congrats...you WON the battle!!! Now slow down, get into a "maintenance" mode, add some weight lifting, a little less cardio, and enjoy life.

Guinivere

I agree with those who say its time to drop the cardio and go weight lifting. You get tone, definition, strength, it's fun, endorphins feel great, it takes less time than the 90 mins cardio you are doing. You will be building muscle and burning fat thereby moving towards your lean goal but you must eat more food and I'd recommend you eat more protein to push up those cals, protect your muscle mass and feel fuller for longer.

Well done on your achievement so far, you are now at the fine tuning stage!

Ant_the_old_keith_lemon

yesterday i netted 650 calories, not by choice!

usually i nett 1500 but my intake is 2000 ish...


i have done what you describe above and i lost 70lbs, i needed caffine like it was water to keep me going!.... looking back on it i had an eating disorder and excercise addiction because i considered myself fat.

nowadays i look at cardio as the thing that will keep my heart strong, there is no need to do more than 30 mins a day in an endurance zone and one or two anerobic workouts a week. i`ve realised the workouts that will give me the looks l was orriginally fixated with is resistance training.

ehimass

Thanks for all the replies. I don't always log my water - but I drink over a gallon of water per day. I don't drink caffeine and try to limit my alcohol intake.

The reason I have been continually agressive thus far is that I've always read that it's impossible or very difficult to build muscle and burn fat simultaneously. My idea was just to tear my body down to 170 then go on a bulk.

I do think I'm skinny fat. This what I looked like without a shirt on a week or so ago, at about 190:



As you can see, just pretty flabby still around the midsection (gut/love handles).

So yeah, I guess 1800 calories and alternating days of lifting and cario will be the plan for now.