Why to not lose 1.5-2 lbs. a week with 15 lbs. to lose?

fourfiftythree

I have about 15 more lbs. to lose. What are the reasons why it is recommended that someone should only lose .5 lb. per week at this point? Muscle loss? I do mostly strength training and have adequate protein intake. I'm surprised that I'm still losing so easily this close to my goal weight (knock on wood). I'm comfortable with what I'm doing and the routine I have. So... I guess I'm looking for reasons to put the brakes on if losing this fast is any threat to my health or lean mass. Any articles / insight appreciated.

I've maintained a 1.5-2 lbs. a week loss since April (when I started logging).

katznkt

If you are happy then I don't know why you shouldn't continue. I know most people sort of ease into maintenance by increasing calories. It sounds like it makes it easier and less scary to move into maintenance than a sudden jump in calories.

But I've struggled with momentum. So I'm planning on pushing hard until I'm at my my goal or within 5 lbs at least.

hwoeltjen

It it is working for you, keep pushing forward.

cajuntank

There is a Youtube video with Eric Helms and Ogus talking about this, but he states it in this Q&A in this link as well.

http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/articles-the-perfect-diet.php

He states that you should be good as long as you are only losing between .5-1% bodyweight per week. But I think you want to slow the weight loss down when you get lower body fat % is so that you are starting to reverse your diet. Being on a caloric deficit for a while will depress your metabolism a little, so steadily increasing your calories slowly will cause the body to adjust back up to equilibrium better than just jumping your calories up to your perceived maintenance.

dustinjohnson1331

I did 2 lbs. per week until I shifted straight to maintenance. There's no issue with it, just keep going if it works for you. You will lose a little more muscle mass than you would by switching to .5-1 lb. per week, but it's not that important. Losing 10 lbs. fat and 5 lbs. muscle doesn't look much different than losing 12 lbs. fat and 3 lbs. muscle. You can always put on some more muscle later if you decide, it's just as simple as losing weight, especially since you're already comfortable with resistance training.

I_Will_End_You

I personally couldn't lose that quickly, because with my BMR it was too difficult to create that large of a calorie deficit. The lighter I got, the less calories I needed. If you're losing, and doing it in a healthy manner, it shouldn't matter.

cajuntank

I did 2 lbs. per week until I shifted straight to maintenance. There's no issue with it, just keep going if it works for you. You will lose a little more muscle mass than you would by switching to .5-1 lb. per week, but it's not that important. Losing 10 lbs. fat and 5 lbs. muscle doesn't look much different than losing 12 lbs. fat and 3 lbs. muscle. You can always put on some more muscle later if you decide, it's just as simple as losing weight, especially since you're already comfortable with resistance training.

Going to have to disagree with you on this one. Gaining muscle is not easy by any means. If this was the case, there would be huge natural body builders on the same stage as the "roided up" guys. The average person could expect to put on at most 1-2lbs a month, maybe just a tad more with everything being optimal...I can guarantee you, I could put fat back on at a faster rate...if I can lose 1-3lbs a week, then I can surely gain that if not more in fat a week if I tried.

gigglesinthesun

most people can't support that big a deficit as they get closer to their goal weight. A 2lbs weekly loss requires a 7000 calorie deficit or 1000 calories daily.

If you take my numbers for example at 5ft and 116 lbs my TDEE is somewhere between 1600-1700 as lightly active. If I were to cut a 1000 calories of this I would end up with only 600 - 700 calories and I couldn't survive on that. If I were to eat 1200 calories I'd need to burn at least another 500 calories a day with exercise that I couldn't eat back in order to have the 1000 calorie deficit. For someone with my stats that would be 2.5 h of brisk walking a day. All in all it would be a recipe of total disaster, because I'd crash and burn within days. As it is I eat 1300-1500 calories a day and the weight loss is moving along nicely without me feeling deprived or anything.

SLLRunner

I am 2 pounds from my goal with a deficit to lose .5 pounds per week. I have been at this level for the last 16 pounds.

The reason is because the jump from losing 2 pounds per week (1,250 calories) to maintenance (1850 or thereabouts) is a 600 calorie jump. Plus, I exercise every day, which I plan to continue, and I eat most of my exercise calories back.

I wanted to ease into maintenance instead of just lunging for it when I get to that point because I am making lifestyle changes so that I, hopefully, will not gain my weight back.

fourfiftythree

Thanks for the responses. Given me some things to think about.

I eat 1400 calories a day and do not eat exercise calories back. My estimated burns are about 200 calories, 5 times a week. I lift free weights (max. 15 lbs.) in isolated and combined movements and do body weight exercises (push ups, pull ups, yoga). This is what I began doing at 219 lbs. when I started logging - and I am still losing the same amount of weight at 155 lbs. The math is kind of eye opening. I can't imagine that I have a 7000 calorie deficit every week. I am 5'5 and work from home - that is to say, sedentary. Working out is the only activity I get most days.

Holly_Roman_Empire

Just speaking from experience, I personally don't think I'd function that well on that few calories. Also, with that little amount of weight to lose, it's unlikely you will lose 1.5-2 pounds per week regardless of how many calories you are eating. So with that perspective, to me it wasn't worth it.

However, if you find you are doing well with that amount of calories, don't change something that is working. Once you get to your goal weight, remember to ease into maintenance calories.

dustinjohnson1331

I agree that once you've been lifting for a while, gaining 1-2 lbs. per month of muscle is about the maximum. In that first year, after losing most of the weight, you could put on more than 2 lbs. of muscle per month pretty easy. It all depends on the person's genetic gifts, lifting habits, and nutrition of course though.

SLLRunner

I agree that once you've been lifting for a while, gaining 1-2 lbs. per month of muscle is about the maximum. In that first year, after losing most of the weight, you could put on more than 2 lbs. of muscle per month pretty easy. It all depends on the person's genetic gifts, lifting habits, and nutrition of course though.

You don't gain muscle eating at a deficit, you must eat at a surplus.

WendyTerry420

I'm not sure what the rush is. For me, after I lost the first 50 pounds, losing about 2.5 lbs/wk, I upped my calories to lose .25-.5 lbs/wk. Then last August, I decided to try maintaining my weight without logging. I plan to begin cutting again in a few weeks. Personally, my goal is sustainable lifestyle changes. It took me 20 years to gain all that extra fat, why try to lose it too quickly just to gain it back again?

fourfiftythree

Meh, not in any rush. This is how I started and it worked and continues to work so I haven't changed anything. The only thing I'm really concerned about is losing too much lean mass. I have no fears or worries about adjusting to maintenance or gaining the weight back - exercise and a healthy diet are part of my life now, but I will worry about the trial and error of maintenance calories when I get there.

I never really got into the numbers until now though - TDEE, BMR and such. I just worked hard and stayed consistent and nothing else mattered. Thought it might be time to re-evaluate.

WendyTerry420

If you are worried about LBM loss, then gradually work up to a deficit of only 300 calories. Loss of LBM is the primary reason that I slowed my weight loss.

Mr_Knight

Going to have to disagree with you on this one. Gaining muscle is not easy by any means.

Gaining back muscles to reach your natural "set point" is easy and will happen quickly once back to eating reasonable macros at maintenance calories, and that's the context of this discussion for the vast majority of dieters.

Gaining back excess muscle derived from vigorous training will of course be just as hard as it was to put on the first time.

As long as the body is in a state of excess fat stores and sufficient protein is being ingested, 85% of LBM loss during dieting is governed by genetics anyway. The "lifting heavy" mantra only impacts 15-20% worth of change.