Losing 1-2 pounds every 2 days, bad ?

CelticWarrior

I started exercising a month ago, joined mfp I think 2 weeks ago. I been hitting my target calories every since I started tracking it with MFP, I even started taking vitamins one a day, just to get that extra stuff I miss out on. I been exercising alternating between 1.5 hours a day and 2.5 hours a day. I still kinda eat what I feel is a lot of food, extra broccoli, fishsticks, carrots, veggies is probably whats the biggest portion on my plates now days. So Im doing all this and drinking atleast 8 glasses of water I know for sure, I drink 8 glasses of water during my work out alone. But anyways Im losing 1-2 pounds like everyday or every other day, I read this is bad, but is it really ? I mean if your doing all the right things is it really bad ? I lost 20 pounds I know for sure since I started weighing myself, but I would add another 5 pounds, since I started a week before I started tracking everything.

So is it really bad to lose 25 pounds in a month ? 1-2 pounds every 2 days ?

I started 32 days ago on my journey *

antiadipose

dang thats a lot. i mean usually in the beginning u do lose a LOT but then u stop soon after a week or two and start losing normally... how many calories r u eating??? i think also u might be working out a bit too much.
r u eating ur exercise calories?

TakingMyPlace

I hope not, because I've lost 12 pounds in 10 days.

DanOhh

It does seem a little excessive. Could we have a look at your diary (make it public) to see what you're eating? Losing that avg. in the first month seems normal but people tend to even out after a month.

kdkd722

Usually you lose a lot at first (water weight I'm told) then it slows down, healthy is a steady 1.5 - 2.0 lbs per week. Also, the reason you are only supposed to weigh yourself once a week is because your weight changes frequently within a week, so an accurate measure is about once a week. Good job!

CelticWarrior

Im eating, no lie, was 2000 calories a day, but as my weight dropped, mfp said to eat 1990 calories, so I did, but also my calories burned during exercise dropped, so I picked up an extra 20 minutes of exercise to make up for that. I burn between 1000-1500 calories during exercise.


Seeing the progress, makes me wanna exercise more, Im actually thinking of doing 30 minutes before I go to sleep at night lol

smuehlbauer

I guess it depends on how much weight you have to lose.

CelticWarrior

sure, is public now , I feel like I am still eating very well, maybe even a little more than I should.

toddgaines

The magic number is two pounds a week. When you first start out you will lose more because you will lose some water weight etc, but once your body gets used to working out you should try to stick to the 2 - 3 pounds a week. Any more than that and there is a good chance you are losing lean muscle mass along with fat.

You would need a 3500 calories deficit every day to burn off a pound of fat every day. If you don't have a 3500 calories deficit, then you are likely losing "other stuff". When you are first starting out you have more of the other stuff to lose, but as you get lighter, your body will start to go to your organs for that other stuff, which can lead to serious health issues and eventually death. Not to mention the fact that if you are losing lean muscle mass your fat burning ability is actually going to decrease, so it is pretty counter productive. So if you are losing that much the first couple weeks I would say awesome job, if it continues too long though, I would say be careful.

CelticWarrior

Usually you lose a lot at first (water weight I'm told) then it slows down, healthy is a steady 1.5 - 2.0 lbs per week. Also, the reason you are only supposed to weigh yourself once a week is because your weight changes frequently within a week, so an accurate measure is about once a week. Good job!

Yea I know, and I was just thinking a little earlier, how discouraged some people must feel when they work so hard and lose 1-2 pounds a week, for me that would be discouraging for sure. Im drinking at least -10-12 glasses of water a day, honestly, I feel good, before I started this, I always felt hot inside my body, dehydrated , I have not felt that for the past month.

mamaDaisyJ

Most people do lose more at the beginning.
Men lose faster than women.
I wouldn't workout even more at this point, cause then you just have more calories to eat. I try not to exercise myself higher than my maintenance will be at my goal weight. That way, my body doesn't get used to 3500 calories a day when I will only need like 1850 to maintain (without exercise).
Congratulations on an awesome beginning to your journey! Don't get discouraged when it slows down, just keep in mind what a great jump start ya got

CelticWarrior

I am also using a bowflex 3 times a week, that is when I do the longer workout period, combined with another app call pocket trainer.

angelascott919

I think that as long as you are eating healthy and eating your calories and exercising you are fine. Everyone looses weight differently. Listen to your body, if you feel weak, lightheaded, tired, excessively sore than those could be signs that something is up. Other wise, keep up the work and eat healthy. If you are really concerned than go see a doctor and get a checkup. Souds to me like you have just kicked your body out of park into overdrive and the weight is falling off.


GOOD LUCK!!!

lindsaylee

I was consistently eating 4000-6000 calories a day (so gross) and now that I am on my plan, just by eating 2000 calories, I already have at least a daily deficit of 3500 calories... so people who are larger, or who were used to eating many many calories will lose weight alot more quickly, even without factoring in exercise...

canstey

Because you have a lot of weight to lose and you are a bigger guy to begin with, losing 3-4 pounds a week for the first few weeks is pretty common. Also a fair amount of it may be water weight. I don't like to use absolutes when deciding how much weight loss is too much because it depends on how much you have to lose, gender, and age. I prefer to simply listen to my body. If you are feeling great then keep at it. If you start thinking about food 24/7, binge or nearly binge, start feeling tired or sluggish, and/or start to lose motivation then your deficit may be too high and you need to eat more (or exercise less if you are going at it full bore) so you can stick with it. I do expect your weight loss will slow down to around 2lbs a week if you are at 1000 calories a day or become more difficult to maintain the current deficit if it is >1000 calories a day. Just adjust accordingly.

RedHotRunner

I see you're not eating back your exercise calories. I'm sure that's why you're losing so much weight so quickly. I'm no expert, but I really think you need to eat more. Especially healthy carbs and lean proteins.

I try to eat back all but maybe 200 of my exercise calories if i'm trying to drop a few pounds.

ppiinnkkmmoonn

nothing to really worry about i was the same way when i started out at 323. and rather people know it or not you always always lose muscle when you dieting no mater how you do it. if i go on a protein spar diet i could lose a half a pound day and i m164 and 5'8
congats by the way!

xoxo,
nikki

lina1131

I think it's fine. You're a guy with a little more to lose than your normal overweight female. You're going to lose faster at first and then it will slow down.

Good work!

demsky_04

I think they say that because it's hard on your heart. It's used to working to support all the extra weight and dropping it so fast might add a little stress. Also when you loose that much weight that fast most people (not everyone) will gain it back and then some when they do slow down. I think you are doing excellent and that you are dedicated to living a better life style. Good luck and I hope you meet your goal!

erickirb

MFP already puts you in a deficit to lose weight with the 1900 calories based on your goal when you signed up. If you are burning calories through exercise you are supposed to eat them so you have 0 remaining on the bottom line.

At your current rate you are going to start losing muscle as well as fat and your metabolism will slow down. I would suggest you eat at least half of the calories you burn through exercise or change your goal to maintenance and don't eat your exercise calories (let your exercise create your deficit). But you are def. not eating enough and soon enough your energy levels will drop. Good luck.

CelticWarrior

nothing to really worry about i was the same way when i started out at 323. and rather people know it or not you always always lose muscle when you dieting no mater how you do it. if i go on a protein spar diet i could lose a half a pound day and i m164 and 5'8
congats by the way!

xoxo,
nikki

that is great ! , Im 6'2 and I felt my best weight was at 235 , Im looking to get back there, but now Im just making short term goals, like getting under 300 for the first time in 7-8 years, then I make a new mini goal. People like you give hope to people like me. You see all that weight reality shows and that does nothing for me because I dont have a trainer, can't afford to get all those pretty equipments they use on those programs. So when I read a story of a real person that can go from my weight to 164 pounds, that really inspires me.


and I like to thank all you guys that for the encouragement.