Has anyone set their goal to lose .5 per week?

Julem22

Hello, Just wondering if anyone has set their goal to only .5 a week. I thought maybe the slow and steady approach will prevent me from giving up (as I have so many times in the past). Just starting out (once again) and I am curious if anyone else has had success with a slow and steady approach? Thank you

walk757

You bet. I still get to enjoy lots of foods, in moderation of course. It also depends how much you have to lose. If you do not have lots of weight to take off you may starve if you set it over one pound per weekly. I am a thyroid sufferer with slow metabolism so any loss is a good thing.Slow and steady. Good Luck!

cwolfman13

You'll need to keep a couple of things in mind here...for one, it's a very small cut from maintenance...a 1/2 Lb per week is about 250 calories and that's it....so you have very little margin for error.

Also, it can be difficult to see scale losses over the short run due to the fact that natural body weight fluctuations are generally 3-5 Lbs day to day...so you might lose say 3 Lbs of actual fat over the course of 6 weeks or so but it may not actually show up on the scale as such because that loss is being masked by water weight and waste fluctuations among other things. You really have to be able to look at the overall trend when you're going this slow...if you're someone who obsesses over the scale as many here do then going this slow may be very difficult for you because you'll be needing to look at things in monthly chunks really rather than weekly or daily.

I am currently in such a cut because I'm already at a healthy BF% but just want to cut it down a couple more points...I don't have the fat stores to go any faster without burning up a bunch of muscle along the way...I will tell you that at times it is painfully slow and you really have to stay focused on the bigger picture and overall trend over numerous weeks.

It's all really up to you...you should do whatever is going to result in the best dietary adherence...consistency is the key to weight loss. When I really needed to lose weight I found 1 Lb per week to be a very good way to go...not too fast, and not too slow....I just can't go that fast anymore without the fat to burn. Personally, if it were me, I'd go at about a 1 Lb per week clip for now because you're going to have to dial that back to 1/2 Lb per week down the road anyway. Plus you get a little more wiggle room in RE to estimation error until you really dial things in pretty tight.

merisaOct3

I have my "goal" set at 1 lb per week, and in reality have been totally okay with a half pound per week. I only have about 20 lbs more that I want to lose (and really only 30-35 if I wanted to be thin), so it is just Ya slower process at this point. Plus I'm much more focused on building muscle mass and creating a body that I like - not just a number that is meaningless. But I agree with the poster above that setting your goal to only 1/2 lb/week will leave little room for error.

Also, remember that weight loss isn't necessarily linear - you may see some great drops in the first few weeks, and then you may plateau relatively quickly depending on how much you have to lose, water weight, hormones, exercise, etc. You can always allow yourself a little more flex room down the road if you're comfortable with the weight loss you're at.

harlanJEN

Wolfman just gave you great advice.

Lasting fat loss = it works. Fast weight loss = usually fails to work because it usually doesn't last. Go for lasting fat loss : )

the key is changing lifestyle habits for Life. One step at a time. it truly isn't a race and the scale is certainly not the best tool to use to gauge progress if one is not morbidly obese. As we get leanER, the fat burns off slower. If we try to " force it" by eating less and less and or exercising more and more = usually a FAIL. a fail because our bodies seek balance and those measures are not lifestyle sustainable. I certainly don't want to live like that.

So - a more moderate approach with emphasis on mindfulness and creating lasting changes to the way you eat and move is what I advocate. CONSISTENCY and PERSISTENCE are key.

Create a plan that works for you - for life. Don't be scale obsessed. focus on health. Your energy. How you feel overall. How your clothes fit. Your body composition. Your strength of body mind & spirit aka do you feel BAMtastic! Or dare I even say? BADASS : )

Personally - I go for sleek BadAss myself. ROCK ON!

wyattj99

Heck now...slow and steady wins the race or in our case a healthier life style

Elsie_Brownraisin

I use TDEE, so MFP tells me every day that I'll only lose something like 0.25 lb a month! My weight loss has worked out at around half a pound a week and I'm ok with that.

I love food, take medication that is notorious for weight gain and have hypothyroidism that can be a bit wobbly at times due to the medication.

The condition I take the medication for also leads to weight gaining behaviours for me. When I have gone off track and slipped into old ways, the gains are nothing like what they used to be when I was yoyo dieting on unsustainable very low calorie diets.

I've gone from a UK 24-26 to 14-16, I have had a lot of weight and body fat to lose and am afraid of loose skin.

ETA: I've noticed that you do not have much to lose though.

arewethereyet

Yes! I have since the beginning, but I am not a good candidate for 2lbs a week even when I was 50 lbs over weight. I get migraines, low blood sugar and I LOVE to pass out and go to the ER:laugh:

I use those few extra calories (plus most of my exercise cals) as a buffer. I end up with a wobbly line of the amount of food I eat. From 1250-1800 depending on day, illness and exercise.

Thank goodness it has been pretty steady to get to goal weight.

Now I have decided to not change my weight goal, but my body comp goal. I am skinny fat right now! Lift weights as you go and you may not have this same issue as me at this time :drinker:

Anonycatgirl

I set up that way, knowing I wouldn't stick to it if I tried anything more drastic. I've been averaging closer to 1 lb. a week loss so it's worked for me. (I think my real activity level must fall somewhere between "lightly active" and "active," though, so my maintenance may be slightly higher than MFP thinks.) The downside is that since it's pretty close to maintenance, it's easier to stall due to a bit of careless logging--the story of my last few weeks! The positive side is that you can net less than your goal calories some days to balance out an indulgent day and not start thinking your cat looks mighty tasty.

EDIT: My original goal was to lose 20 lbs, so I figured I could take the time. Might be another story if you have a lot to lose.

sarafischbach9

Yes, it does work!

However, I didn't start doing the 1/2 lb per week until I got closer to my goal weight. I've been losing at 1/2 lb per week on roughly 1600-1700 calories per day, so I'm finally going to increase to 1900 for my maintenance. But I was at 1-1.5 lbs a week in the beginning.

Just keep in mind when you do the 1/2 lb per week that some weeks it might not show on the scale. So you may need to look at your progress on a monthly basis, rather than a weekly basis.

paperpudding

Yes I set my loss rate to 1/2 lb a week and I lost 10 kg in 10 months which I think works out to roughly 1/2 lb week over that entire time frame.
Have kept it off for another 6 months since then.

carrieous

im only looking to lose about 3 more lbs but I prefer to just get it over with and then maintain. Why drag a diet out if you don't have to?

palanca1419

Yes because I wanted to be able to eat lots of food and not feel like I am dieting. It's working great and I've lost a little more than that- 5 lbs in 6 weeks. I'm set at 1400 calories a day and that's easy to do but it's in the fat category that I sometimes go over. I hate that red number and it keeps me honest. After breakfast I enter my planned dinner and know how much I can eat for lunch and a snack.

merisaOct3

im only looking to lose about 3 more lbs but I prefer to just get it over with and then maintain. Why drag a diet out if you don't have to?

This isn't what the OP asked. Your ticker indicates otherwise. But if you've been at this for a while, then do whatever the heck you want. If you can drop the last three quickly (which will probably be due to waste and water and not actual BF), then go ahead.

palanca1419

It depends why you gained those 3 lbs. If bad habits are beginning it is not going to teach you anything to diet strenuously. It it was a one time thing, like a cruise, I agree you may as well get it over with. Also 3 lbs won't take long but it you want to lose 20 it's too hard to stay on a strict diet for that long and then you feel deprived and binge.

Zee48

Actually a very good average is 1/2# - 1# average per week. Some weeks you will lose more, but hopefully not more that 2# on average. Quick weight loss isn't good ~ after all we didn't get to MFP overnight so we shouldn't expect to get to goal overnight.

I think your choice is a good one - IMHO Also, remember to measure yourself and record your measurements just like your weight because there will be a time when you won't lose in numbers on the scale but you will notice a difference in the mirror and in your clothes.

Shropshire1959

Hello, Just wondering if anyone has set their goal to only .5 a week.

.5 What? .. Kg or Lbs?

sabrandon

If you lose weight slowly, you will keep the weight off. I lost 60 pounds, and I have kept it off for 25 years. All my friends have lost weight and put it back on because they lost weight too quickly. Now that I am older I use Fitness Pal to maintain my weight. Good luck and go slow!

Julem22

thanks to all the replies. My apologies for being vague. It is .5 pounds a week and I have about 25-30 pounds to lose.

Springfield1970

If you have 25-30 lb to lose then if I were you I'd go to lose a lb a week.

When you get a few pounds away from goal then slow it down, though it will be hard.

I've done both, but because I was close to goal anyway and wanted to lose body fat and gain muscle, losing fast was just eating into my lean body mass.

I'm cutting since February at 100 calorie deficit per day and it has been dead dead slow, and controlled. I've fallen off the wagon a few times, but generally I've lost about 2lb of fat. I waver between maintenance, days off and spurts of 100 cal deficits. It's hard work but not nearly as hard as the misery of being overweight. It's worth every mouthful (not eaten!)

Edited to add that it's best to just see this as a lifestyle you will follow forever and just eat less quantities of all your normal and favourite foods.

I'm a reformed comfort eater. I do triathlons, and some days get to eat 2600 plus calories to fuel training. It's still not as much as I would regularly eat but it's ok for now!