Is it impossible to lose 2lbs a week at my size?

heyimhayley

I'm 5'1 and 123 lbs, trying to get to 114. I told MyFitnessPal I wanted to lose 2lbs a week, and it calculated 1200 calories, but told me I would only lose 1 lb/week. I had to drop the calories manually to 700 for it to say 2/week, but that doesn't seem feasible, or healthy.

brynnsmom

I wouldn't say it's impossible, but like you said it's not going to be accomplished in a healthy way. You're better off sticking to the 1200 calories and losing more slowly. I know shedding those last few pounds is really tough but the key is to be patient. Good luck.

emergencytennis

Your question does not jibe with your post.

Is it impossible to lose 2lbs a week at your size? No, as your calculation shows.

Is it healthy to lose 2lbs a week at your size? That is a different question.

ell_v131

Hi ,
I think 1 pound per week is a reasonable pace, more so than 2 pounds per week. you shouldn't really be eating less than your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Look up BMR calculator on google. THat is how much your body needs in a static state to maintain body function. Add to that whatever calories you burn exercising, and you have the maintenance number. A deficit of 3500 calories weekly generally leads to loss of 1 pound, so ideally you should cut 500 calories per day. However you shouldn't ever eat much less than 1200 net calories (after deducting the exercise)

So I guess Fitnesspal is correct. To deprive your body of these calories could have adverse effect, your body might start storing fat instead. Also google the effect of insulin on fat loss, quite enlightening and it's helping me get rid of the extra pounds.

Good luck!

Mokey41

It's possible, anything is possible but do you want to eat 700 or less calories a day or think that's healthy? You already know the answer.

mmapags

I'm 5'1 and 123 lbs, trying to get to 114. I told MyFitnessPal I wanted to lose 2lbs a week, and it calculated 1200 calories, but told me I would only lose 1 lb/week. I had to drop the calories manually to 700 for it to say 2/week, but that doesn't seem feasible, or healthy.

It is not feasible or healthy. You risk metabolic issues and lean body mass loss. What's the rush?

Sabine_Stroehm

I actually DON'T think it's possible. (nor is it healthy)

Julzanne72

I'm 5'1 and 123 lbs, trying to get to 114. I told MyFitnessPal I wanted to lose 2lbs a week, and it calculated 1200 calories, but told me I would only lose 1 lb/week. I had to drop the calories manually to 700 for it to say 2/week, but that doesn't seem feasible, or healthy.

Too much!! You dont have much weight to lose, and 2lbs a week is for someone with 50+lbs to lose.

cdcooper321

I actually DON'T think it's possible. (nor is it healthy)

^this

TX_Rhon

I actually DON'T think it's possible. (nor is it healthy)

^^This!! 700 will not sustain your daily needs for caloric intake. It is better to lose the weight slowing and permanently then to drop it quick to gain it back. Just my 2 cents!

kill3rtofu

you look like a healthy young lass... just stick to 1lb/week if you really think you need to. 700calories a day is way too low

emergencytennis

It probably isn't! BMR at those figures is about 1400. Eat 700. Deficit of 700 per day. 700x7 is 3400 which is only a pound I think.

Check me, please.

littleburgy

As others said, don't go below 1200. As for the rate of loss, I find that the numbers may predict one thing, but the body is going to do things at its own pace anyway.

heyimhayley

Your question does not jibe with your post.

Is it impossible to lose 2lbs a week at your size? No, as your calculation shows.

Is it healthy to lose 2lbs a week at your size? That is a different question.

I guess I meant... is it possible to lose 2lbs/week at my size in a way that would be healthy and maintainable.

heyimhayley

It probably isn't! BMR at those figures is about 1400. Eat 700. Deficit of 700 per day. 700x7 is 3400 which is only a pound I think.

Check me, please.

700x7 = 4900, about 1.5lbs. But considering I exercise regularly, my daily calories burned is closer to 1700 according to the TDEE calculator, so 700 would be a 1000 calorie deficit, which would equal -7000 a week, or 2lbs. 1200 is a deficit of 500...x7= 3500, or 1 lb per week.

emergencytennis

Would someone please tell me if I am wrong.

Your numbers say that your BMR is 1400 calories a day.

To lose a kilo a week you need to have a 7000 calorie deficit a week.

That means you need to have a 1000 calorie deficit a day.

Which means that you have to eat only 400 calories a day whilst staying in bed and not moving an inch.

There is probably a calculation that would tell you how much muscle you would lose but I don't know it.

Sounds like someone wasting away in a comatose state to me.

mike_ny

Slow and easy wins the race. Setting too aggressive a goal can make you frustrated for not seeing immediate results, cranky for being hungry, and more prone to quit or not keep it up. Upping your activity also adds some buffer for calories, and is an incentive in itself when you soon figure out that an hour of intense exercise barely burns one donut, if that much, so you start looking at your food choices with a totally different perspective.

You didn't pack on the extra pounds overnight, so don't expect to lose them that way either. Another problem with losing too quickly is excess skin (which may or may not apply in your case) and your body does have to adjust to the changes. A pound a week is a good compromise. It's not too drastic to not keep up long term and the ability to lose 50 pounds in a year is not too shabby and much easier overall on your body. Also, cutting too many calories can be counter productive if you fall way too far below your TDEE to provide your body with the minimum it needs to stay healthy (as discussed ad nauseum in the numerous 1200 calorie plateau threads). Common advice is to not go below 1200 calories a day other than occasional fasting days. You're really a lightweight in this game, so even at a half to a pound a week, you'll hit your goal fairly soon if you stick to it. The majority of people here seem to be trying to lose up to 50 or more and quite a few in the over 100 range, so to most this is a very long term commitment. Some may even ridicule you for already being smaller than they'll ever hope to be, but your goal to get fit (albeit a shorter trek) is still as valid as anyone's.

I set a goal of 250 deficit calories a day and most days try to exceed it and hit 500 or more and still allow for when I can't help it such as social occasions or a couple days to overeat (which now means to either hit it, have no deficit that day, or Sometimes to just be over up to a hundred calories or so) when I can't help it such as eating out and social occasions. It's still netted out to about a pound a week for almost a year and hasn't been that hard to keep up and to be able to keep up over the long run and into maintenance mode.

conniemaxwell5

Go to www.fat2fitradio.com and calculate what your maintenance calories would be for 114 and eat that. The weight will come off slowly but in a healthy, sustainable way.

judyde

Go to www.fat2fitradio.com and calculate what your maintenance calories would be for 114 and eat that. The weight will come off slowly but in a healthy, sustainable way.

This is a great idea!!

Submariner5

I think it depends on how much you are willing/able to burn above and beyond your BMR in additional cardio. I agree with most who have posted that it's probably not a good idea, and 1 lb per week is probably a better plan, however, 1200 cal per day of intake is the nominal threshold to keep your metabolism from going into "starvation mode." If you eat that much with about 275 cal per day of cardio exercise (probably about 45 min or so at a reasonable level), you can lose 1 lb per week. But if you do something around 700 calories per day of cardio on top of a 1200 cal per day diet, I think you find that the numbers work out and it should be possible without breaking the "starvation" barrier. Keep your diet at or above 1200 cal per day intake though.

Zakiya05

I'm 5'1 and 123 lbs, trying to get to 114. I told MyFitnessPal I wanted to lose 2lbs a week, and it calculated 1200 calories, but told me I would only lose 1 lb/week. I had to drop the calories manually to 700 for it to say 2/week, but that doesn't seem feasible, or healthy.

I was in a similar situation as you. I was 5'1.5 and 121 pounds. IAt last weigh in I was 106.6 pounds I guess I've been counting calories and working out for about 12 weeks up to that point. I started off with Insanity, two week break of Jillian Michaels, then went into Foucs T25 for the last two weeks. Not to mention in the beginning I was not only doing Insanity but also going to the gym and putting in serious cardio at the gym. So I was working out about 2hrs a day, and eating around 1400-1500 calories, but burning around 600 calories a day. So I guess you can say I've lost around 1 lb per week following the 1200 calorie diet, but I put in extra work at the gym. Now that I am only exercising between 30-1hr a day I am loosing weight at a much lower rate. For example, I weigh myself once a month. Last time I weighed myself I was 108.2 that was less than 2 pounds in an entire month.

What I noticed is that you burn less calories the lighter you get and the more your body becomes used to working out. For short people like us, it's going to take some hard work to burn off those few little pounds. For example I do T25 and the max burn I have ever gotten from it was like 220 for 30 minutes of work. My MFP friends that are doing it as well are burning like 300-350 calories a workout. I think it has to do with I weigh less than they do. Lately I haven't even been breaking 200 calories bruned with these workouts, its been a bit discouraging, but I gotta keep reminding myself my fitness level is improving and my heart doesn't need to work as hard to complete the workouts. So that's a good thing.

Can you lose 2 lbs a week on a 1200 calorie diet, no. But if you up your calories (with eating good things) and increase the intensity in your workouts and the amount you are working out...it might be possible to lose 2lbs a week healthy. I just can't see you losing it healthy with calorie deficit only. You will need a combination of healthy calore deficit and intense workout sessions and if you are working out intensely, you need to be eating more than 1200 calories, netting 1200 is fine, but not eating 1200 for the complete day. I can't really say how much I lost weekly, because I was weighning myself bi-weekly with Insanity (which I think I maxed at 3lbs) also I wasn't trying to lose 2lbs a week, I was just trying to do the best I could do. But if I were to attempt to do that, depending on my fat to muscle ratio, I would focus on burning fat with tons of cardio and building muscle with weights a few times a week, some people think you can't do both at the same time, I think you can, especially since you don't weigh that much to begin with. I would make sure my diet had tons of lean protien in it, while still eating well rounded (you need the carbs due to the fact you are going to be working out like crazy). It might not give you the 2lbs/ wk you are wishing for, but the amount of inches loss all over your body would give you the apperance of it, plus building muscle to increase your calorie burn. Good luck!

mmapags

I think it depends on how much you are willing/able to burn above and beyond your BMR in additional cardio. I agree with most who have posted that it's probably not a good idea, and 1 lb per week is probably a better plan, however, 1200 cal per day of intake is the nominal threshold to keep your metabolism from going into "starvation mode." If you eat that much with about 275 cal per day of cardio exercise (probably about 45 min or so at a reasonable level), you can lose 1 lb per week. But if you do something around 700 calories per day of cardio on top of a 1200 cal per day diet, I think you find that the numbers work out and it should be possible without breaking the "starvation" barrier. Keep your diet at or above 1200 cal per day intake though.

Just for clarity's sake, the 1200 calorie threshold for women is the research based recommendation for minimum nutrition and has nothing to do with "starvation mode". Eating below that for an extended period of time could potentially result in adaptive thermogenesis but the recommendation is based on minimum nutrition needed to maintain healthy body function. And that is 1200 calories net. After factoring in exercise calorie burn.

Zakiya05

It probably isn't! BMR at those figures is about 1400. Eat 700. Deficit of 700 per day. 700x7 is 3400 which is only a pound I think.

Check me, please.

700x7 = 4900, about 1.5lbs. But considering I exercise regularly, my daily calories burned is closer to 1700 according to the TDEE calculator, so 700 would be a 1000 calorie deficit, which would equal -7000 a week, or 2lbs. 1200 is a deficit of 500...x7= 3500, or 1 lb per week.

Instead of worrying about calories deficit, I would be more concerned about increading my workouts. There's not much room to move in the calorie department before you start starving yourself and then your body starts holding the fat and eating muscle, becausae it thinks it's in crisis. I say eat more and workout harder. Burn fat (cardio) and feed your body what it needs to increase muscle mass. You will become lean and toned. You might be surpised at how different the same weight can look when you are toned vs. when it's fat.

TR0berts

At your size and goal weight, I'd switch your weekly goal to be only 0.5 lb loss. Anything more and you're likely to lose too much too fast (as in, you'll lose quite a bit of lean body mass), be unhealthy, and be miserable because you're not eating enough.

Ninkyou

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 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


In my opinion, it is not possible for you to safely lose 2 lbs a week. I think you should lower your expectations, as well as your set a smaller, sustainable goal.

auddii

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

mike_ny

Also, make sure you're including enough good fats in your diet. They aren't called essential fatty acids for nothing. A lot of people trying to lose weight quickly try to totally eliminate all fat figuring at 9 cals a gram they can cut the most calories which can put their bodies in a nutrient deficiency both for EFAs and also for fat soluble nutrients. That's penny wise and pounds foolish (pun intended). 700 calories isn't enough to sustain your body in itself and even at 1200, you have to manage your macros to make sure you are getting enough protein and essential fats and not just eating salads and hidden carbs in sweetened yogurt and diet shakes to fill out your numbers in calories alone.

Calories are just a raw measurement and not very valid without context (similar to measuring just weight without regard for a healthy lean to fat ratio). We sustain our bodies most optimally with nutritious food and a balanced diet and exercise while trying to stay within a daily calorie total.

susannamarie

It probably isn't! BMR at those figures is about 1400. Eat 700. Deficit of 700 per day. 700x7 is 3400 which is only a pound I think.

Check me, please.

You are confusing BMR with TDEE. Unless you are comatose, you are burning more than BMR.

davepearson86

Impossible? No

A good idea? No.

More muscle than fat? Yes

KateK8LoseW8

Impossible? No. Unhealthy? Absolutely yes. Also keep in mind that four pounds over one month is going to be a lot more obvious on your body than it would be on an overweight body. I lost four pounds last month and my pictures for the month showed a huge difference in my body, and I'm heavier than you. Four pounds back when I was over 200 pounds looked like nothing. Just keep it slowly and steady, I guarantee you will still be satisfied with your progress.

Legs_McGee

I lost 20 pounds in 2 months, which is an average of a little over 2 pounds a week. I didn't do it by drastically cutting my calories though; I just work out a lot.