Am I Losing Weight Too Fast?

thomregan

Hello all!

I've been using MyFitnessPal for 67 days so far, and I've lost 41 lbs in that time, a rate of a little more than four pounds a week. I feel great and of course, I think that I look a lot better. I've gone from 334 lbs to 293 lbs.

However, I'm not stupid, so I realize that four pounds a week is not a good goal, nor will it be possible to maintain that rate of weight loss all the way down to my goal weight of 220 lbs. I have my goals set to two lbs per week, although I try to stay an extra 1750 calories below my weekly goal. I drink lots of water (I have a 48 oz Nalgene bottle that I empty at least once a day, sometimes twice) and if you look at my food diary, I'm not starving myself. I expected a lot of muscle loss in my first month, because on day three of the diet I was hit by a car while going for a run, and was almost completely immobile for a month. However, I've been walking for probably five weeks now, and was cleared to start doing light cardio and strength training in the last few weeks, and the rate of weight loss still hasn't slowed to what would be predicted by my caloric deficits.

I think my diet is pretty healthy, as I've gone vegetarian in the last two weeks because I wasn't eating a lot of meat anyways, and when I did, it just felt like a bunch of calories that didn't actually fill me up very much. I think the meat free diet has been a big part of what makes me feel so great, in addition to the weight loss. I eat lots of carrots, bell peppers, chickpeas, black beans, polenta, squashes, brown rice, etc., so I don't think I'm starving myself.

Anyway, I just wanted to see if anyone here thinks I might be doing something dangerous, or if I ought to be forcing myself to eat one hundred percent of my daily goal for two lbs of weight loss a week - which is 1990 calories. A friend of mine said that a 1.2% of body weight loss per week isn't that much more than the maximum recommended, but I am still a bit worried, but I love losing weight so I don't want to eat more food if I don't have to.

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone might have!

shonj85

I'm sorry to see no one else has responded. I weigh 357 and have finally decided to get serious about my weight loss. I seem to be losing about four pounds a week. For people with a lot to lose that isn't bad. It isn't maintainable in the long run but initially i think it is okay. Good luck!

StarFall90

I started at 364 and I am down to 333. I have been here for 7 weeks. I am losing about 3.5-4 pounds a week. I am thinking it is normal for how heavy I started out.

mrsyee313

If you are not feeling hungry, and you are getting enough fat and protein, you should be okay. Don't stress about losing too quickly, as you near your goal you will gave the opposite problem! Congrats

hellomanen

well... because of the ammount of weight you want to lose I dare to say you are ok! (the first weeks are the ones you lose the most since is such a dramatic change and mostly you get rid off is water weight) but you are right in the "not being able to keep that rate up" now THAT would be dangerous!
also walking burns a hole lot of calories! adding you are vegetarian you are fine
as long as you are getting all your protein and not neglecting your daily calorie intake or hungry feels (real hungry no "omg i would kill for an oreo rn" "hungry") you should be fine!
Try to get a proffesional who can help you (not those 1200 calories nutshells that's a big no no) as you start working out more, how your calorie intake changes and stuff!
good luck with everything!

EpsilonGamma

I think you are fine. Keep doing what you are doing because it works. You are losing so much because your starting weight is so high.

Eventually it will taper to about 1-2lb a week.

When it gets below 1lb, then you can start changing what you are doing.

Keep up the good work

flatlndr

I can't see your diary, so I can't comment on what you are actually eating, but I will say that I started at 279, and I was losing 4-5 lbs in a week, eating good quality and quantity, and getting in lots of walking. It's down to 2 a week now, and I expect it will drop to 1 a week next month. You're probably ok, but if you opened your diary, folks could have a closer look, and make some constructive comments on your behalf.

BelindaComedy

It will slow down naturally as you lose, then you'll be on here asking how to break a plateau. As long as you are eating most of your calories, and getting enough protein you should be fine. Great job on 41 pounds!

2013sk

I don't think there is anything wrong with a 4lbs loss a week!

I am sure the more you lose, and the lower your weight is, you wont lose as much as this a week so I would make the most of it hahahah!!!

The less you weigh the harder it is to lose weight.

I have 5lbs to get off - But maybe I should aim for 0.5lb a week instead of say 2lbs etc??

Well done for your weightloss - I am sure your going to be very happy with your results in the end - Take before & after pics to post on here : )

thomregan

Huh, I thought my diary was open. I'll keep searching through the settings to make that visible.

Good to see that I'm not crazy, though. Thanks for responding, everyone!

EDIT: And, after a few moments looking through the settings, my diary is now open. Boy, do I feel slow.

Keepcalmanddontblink

The bigger you are, I think the losses are greater at first. You will slow down a bit as you get closer to your goal, so as long as your not starving or anything, keep going.

carlysc9

I don't think you are. The more weight a person has to lose, the faster it comes off at first, because its such a big lifestyle change. Losing weight is 70% diet and 30% exercise, so it doesn't surprise me that you were still shedding pounds after not being able to exercise for a couple weeks. And because you've been changing up your system (ex going vegetarian the last 2 weeks, starting to exercise again about a month in), your body is reacting by dropping more and more weight because it's experiencing multiple lifestyle changes. As long as you feel healthy and energetic, you should be on the right path! Congrats and great job! Keep it up; you got this!

shmulyeng

I started at 310 on 10/20/13. I initially was losing about 4 pounds a week as well. I felt fine and was only hungry before meals. At one point I listened to those telling me I'm losing too fast and speed losing completely. If you feel fine, keep it up.

BrittneyJ2006

It seems fine for now. Heavier people can lose more than the recommended 1-2lbs per week, at least when first starting out. And drinking the water definitely helps out. It’s working for you and you aren’t seeing any negative effects, so I’d say keep doing what you’re doing. But if you wanted to be sure you could always check in with your Dr. Congrats on your weight loss thus far!

Jacob021

I started about two weeks ago at ~273 lbs with a goal of 200lbs in about 10-12 months.

Problem is, that today I already weight at 258 lbs... so I am loosing at rate of 7 lbs per week.
Way too fast!!!
(This also proved that my weight gain was purely bad habits, and not my metabolism or other lame excuses)

I am afraid loosing too fast will result in Loose skin or Gallstones... so I want to stop it.
However I feel great. I have more vitality and energy than I can remember in the last 10 years or so.

My options now...

a) I should be eating more food,
b) I should stop my night walks
c) give-up dieting for sometime to create an artificial plateau maintaining weight loss

What do you think ?

PS. Anyone can friend me. I keep an open-updated diary.

DoNotSpamMe73

I think if the doctor doesn't say you are losing weight too quickly, your health isn't degrading in general, you aren't getting loose skin (which happens with sudden large losses often) and feeling well... I think you will be fine.
We all support you.

beautifulwarrior18

I think you are fine. Keep doing what you are doing because it works. You are losing so much because your starting weight is so high.

Eventually it will taper to about 1-2lb a week.

When it gets below 1lb, then you can start changing what you are doing.

Keep up the good work

^^^^ agreed

xsmilexforxmex

If you feel good and you're eating within 50 of your meal plan, I say you're fine with that much to lose. If you only had 40-50lbs to lose I'd say more than 1.5 would be excessive - BUT changing your diet and excercise can be a dramatic change for your body and have the weight come off quickly. Big thing - lift weights so you don't lose too much muscle, and if you start feeling fatigued then add 100-200 calories for a few weeks and see if that helps. And if your insurance allows or you can afford it, I always say get checked by a doctor so they can monitor *just in case*