Losing 2lbs per week puts me under my BMR?? Safe or not..

njmark72

I can't assume this will work for you but I know exactly what works for me. I wanted to be aggressive and lose my weight fast too, I chose 2 lbs a week and followed MFP a closely as possible. I went over my calories a few times but was always under my net calories.

My philosophy was to eat the suggested # of calories or close to it while exercising (walking at first, then a mix of walking/jogging/running) and now I am running more than ever. I NEVER eat anywhere near my NET CALORIES. Never. There were days I went under 1200 calories when I was supposed to be eating 1500 and I lost less weight when I did that. Believe it or not eating 1500 calories or a little more when I had 1560 calories to eat helped me lose more weight than when I ate only 1200.

I have been at it for almost 4 months and have lost 64 lbs so far. I continue to lose. I exercise everyday (unless I am injured, blisters, achilles, etc). Believe me, exercise is the best thing, it keeps me away from food and feels great especially when I push myself more than before.

So my bottom line suggestion would be -> don't worry about BMR but stay within 10% of your allotted calories and don't eat the NET CALORIES you bank from exercising. You will lose weight faster and healthier this way.

On a side note you will look better and certainly feel better.

Hope this helps, good luck!
Mark

belgerian

From what ive read and understand you wont even get into the so-called starvation mode until your BF hits below 10 percent also it depends on how much you weight and your goals. If you are 500 lbs and looking to loose it and put yourself on a 2000 calorie a day intake you could possible loose 5lbs a week with excercise. If your 180 looking to loose 20lbs and put yourself on a 2000 calorie a day intake with moderate excersise you could probably loose 1 to 2 lbs a week depending on what you do. I say if you feel good and are eating healthy do what is right for you and dont buy into the starvation mode. You will learn more as you go along and come to your own conclusions and do what is right for you. If something is not working for you change it. Also as you loose your BMR will decrease. Eating below your BMR will not put you in starvation mode you will loose muscle with fat just as you gain fat with muscle. Weight training helps maintain the muscle while your eating at a deficit.

Myself I droped to about 1600-2000 a day excercised regulary and I probably lost 2-3 lbs a week and I lost about 100 or so actually pretty quick. Im far from starving or unhealthy.

SideSteel

To lose 25 lbs., set your goal to .5 lb. per week and be patient. 2 lbs. per week is way too aggressive a goal at your size.

Please, read the Sexypants post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

Look more closely... she has more than 25 pounds to lose before her goal weight. She does not need to lose at 0.5 lbs per week, which would take her 3-4 years just to hit her goal weight.

Agreed. It's been a while since I've read that link but I think I suggested about .5-1% change in weight/week. While certainly not perfect, I think that range will spit out a reasonable rate of weight loss for most people. That and I totally stole it from Eric Helms so it's probably even more legit. Obese people could probably go slightly faster provided they're mindful of adherence/etc.

cadaver0usb0nes

I think you're making it too complicated for yourself.

Go in to MFP, enter your weight, age, activity level, and set your goal at 2lbs/wk loss, and just manage your calories.

I have a "sedentary" activity level because i work at a desk all day, and at 250lbs I was eating 1450cals/day, now that i'm near 200lbs it's 1280/day which I boost up by running or walking pretty much daily so I can eat more like 1500-1600 daily. It is completely manageable and i've been losing around 2lbs/wk for the last 4 months, for the first 6-7 weeks it was actually resulting in nearly 3lbs/wk loss.

What I DIDN'T do was worry about all the BMR, tdee, etc stuff. Let MFP worry about that for you. Once you are closer to your goal weight and have to slow the weight loss down then you can worry about it more. At this point, the way I looked at it, not much I could do was going to be more unhealthy for my body than being 250lbs!

xxval21xx

I think you're making it too complicated for yourself.

Go in to MFP, enter your weight, age, activity level, and set your goal at 2lbs/wk loss, and just manage your calories.

I have a "sedentary" activity level because i work at a desk all day, and at 250lbs I was eating 1450cals/day, now that i'm near 200lbs it's 1280/day which I boost up by running or walking pretty much daily so I can eat more like 1500-1600 daily. It is completely manageable and i've been losing around 2lbs/wk for the last 4 months, for the first 6-7 weeks it was actually resulting in nearly 3lbs/wk loss.

What I DIDN'T do was worry about all the BMR, tdee, etc stuff. Let MFP worry about that for you. Once you are closer to your goal weight and have to slow the weight loss down then you can worry about it more. At this point, the way I looked at it, not much I could do was going to be more unhealthy for my body than being 250lbs!

Thank you for your advice!