Pros and cons to slow or fast weight loss

Sarahsteve7kids

I keep reading on her various opinions to losing weight fast or slow. Going low calorie vs 15% reduction! I'm down 40 pounds but on the fence as how to proceed, the first 40 fell off fast at 1200 calories per day! My last month of 1800 calories (with exercise) has showed no loss. 1200 per day is sounding awesome. What has worked for YOU????

marissanik

1200 calories never worked for me personally. Got stuck for months and months on end. High calorie and slow progress is the only way to go. Sure it's slow, but it's worth it in the end and lasts long term.

Sarahsteve7kids

1200 calories never worked for me personally. Got stuck for months and months on end. High calorie and slow progress is the only way to go. Sure it's slow, but it's worth it in the end and lasts long term.

Did you do TDEE minus a certain percent?

spaetlese83

What are you eating for meals & snacks?

hearthwood

Slow weight loss is key to long term success. Taking off weight quickly just guarantees you'll be able to gain it back twice as fast as you lost it.

Yurippe

I keep reading on her various opinions to losing weight fast or slow. Going low calorie vs 15% reduction! I'm down 40 pounds but on the fence as how to proceed, the first 40 fell off fast at 1200 calories per day! My last month of 1800 calories (with exercise) has showed no loss. 1200 per day is sounding awesome. What has worked for YOU????

Eating what I want, when I want. When I count calories I pay attention to the quantity of what I'm eating and it reminds me to eat less. This is the longest I've gone staying on track because I'm not being so restrictive. I could have lost more than 40 pounds this year, but I'm not disappointed at this pace. I'm eating a way that I could maintain the rest of my life.

aleggett321

I started at 1200 and was miserable. Almost immediately switched my goal to .5/week. It's been steady at exactly that. It's taken a year and a half but I have no problem with that. I eat whatever I want to, when I want to. I've never felt like I was "dieting". I just made some healthy changes...eat a little less, exercise a little more. I'm happy.

BombshellPhoenix

Lost all my weight at 1650 net. If you aren't losing. I'd first ensure accuracy, if you haven't, invest in a food scale and weigh all solids, only use measuring cups for liquids. If you still aren't losing after a week or two. Reduce calories by maybe 100. Keep doing that until you see steady loss.

I actually moved to TDEE, so I wouldn't have to deal with not eating as much on off exercise days. I lose at 1900+ average at my stats.

Drastic weight loss often results in muscle loss, which means you'll achieve being a smaller version of your current self instead of leaner. It's why I chose to slowly lose the 53 lbs I did over racing.

Sarahsteve7kids

Lost all my weight at 1650 net. If you aren't losing. I'd first ensure accuracy, if you haven't, invest in a food scale and weigh all solids, only use measuring cups for liquids. If you still aren't losing after a week or two. Reduce calories by maybe 100. Keep doing that until you see steady loss.

I actually moved to TDEE, so I wouldn't have to deal with not eating as much on off exercise days. I lose at 1900+ average at my stats.

Drastic weight loss often results in muscle loss, which means you'll achieve being a smaller version of your current self instead of leaner. It's why I chose to slowly lose the 53 lbs I did over racing.

I'm a fanatic with measuring and weighing with my food scale. I'm not really question 'why' I haven't lost this past month I'm playing with amounts on purpose trying to get an accurate TDEE. My question is more what has been successful for others, long term, for weight loss. High or low calories and why! I'm interested in hearing what others have found as the right solution for their weight loss and health.

gelar93

What are you eating for meals & snacks?

Why does that even matter?

Sarahsteve7kids

What are you eating for meals & snacks?

Why does that even matter?

My thoughts exactly!!!

Sarahsteve7kids

I also do NOT believe losing it fast guarantees it will come back on fast! I lost weight at the age of 14 fast. 50 pounds in three months and kept it off for over 30 years. The weight only comes back fast if you return to the big calories.

gelar93

I also do NOT believe losing it fast guarantees it will come back on fast! I lost weight at the age of 14 fast. 50 pounds in three months and kept it off for over 30 years. The weight only comes back fast if you return to the big calories.

THANK YOU.
Just because you lose weight too fast it doesnt mean it will come back again. I think some people gain the weight back because they lost it too quickly to get used to their healthier eating habits and eventually go back to the old ones. Also if you lower your calorie drastically, instead of upping it all at once when you reach your goal weight, add 50 calories/week until you get to the point where you can maintain so your body has time to adjust.

Stripeness

Lost all my weight at 1650 net. If you aren't losing. I'd first ensure accuracy, if you haven't, invest in a food scale and weigh all solids, only use measuring cups for liquids. If you still aren't losing after a week or two. Reduce calories by maybe 100. Keep doing that until you see steady loss.

I actually moved to TDEE, so I wouldn't have to deal with not eating as much on off exercise days. I lose at 1900+ average at my stats.

Drastic weight loss often results in muscle loss, which means you'll achieve being a smaller version of your current self instead of leaner. It's why I chose to slowly lose the 53 lbs I did over racing.

I'm a fanatic with measuring and weighing with my food scale. I'm not really question 'why' I haven't lost this past month I'm playing with amounts on purpose trying to get an accurate TDEE. My question is more what has been successful for others, long term, for weight loss. High or low calories and why! I'm interested in hearing what others have found as the right solution for their weight loss and health.

??? She answered your questions. Losing slowly means (relatively) high calorie compared with losing quickly. And she's been successful.

Me? I lost 15 pounds that are NOT shown on my ticker very quickly on very low-cal/carb medically supervised diet. And it was fine for that 15, but absolutely the wrong solution for me long-term. For two reasons:
1. I have so much weight to lose that it would take me long enough to possibly cause other health problems.
2. Exacerbated underlying issue of life and food imbalance. I really needed to relearn being okay with feeling comfortable (not starving, not stressed or beating myself up or angsting) and eating a reasonably balanced diet.

Notice I didn't say "eating clean" or specify macros. I will say that my food was off the rails to the extent of eating only tea (w/milk & sugar) and lots of buttered toast as my day's only intake. I'm certainly pro-carb, but think we can all agree that's a far-from balanced diet.

So...the 21 lbs on my ticker have come off fairly slowly and steadily, and I'm very happy with how I'm eating - multiple times a day, and with attention on ensuring I get some veggies worked in there. The carb macro remains a bit of a bugaboo for me, as I'm perfectly happy to ONLY eat bread or pasta. Which are NOT evil...just sayin' that it's important to *also* have fruits & veggies in the mix.

The uber-low-cal diet was tough to come out of gracefully. No feel for how to eat moderately. In contrast, I just had a 2.5 month hiatus from MFP due to some huge and stressful life events. Yet, the practice in balancing things out and using moderation were immeasurably helpful.

I'm happy to be back, and consider the slow/steady approach (high calorie, I guess you'd call it) to be the best one for me. It's sustainable over my lifetime.

wkwebby

I keep reading on her various opinions to losing weight fast or slow. Going low calorie vs 15% reduction! I'm down 40 pounds but on the fence as how to proceed, the first 40 fell off fast at 1200 calories per day! My last month of 1800 calories (with exercise) has showed no loss. 1200 per day is sounding awesome. What has worked for YOU????

1200/ day (base calories that get adjusted with exercise) is the allotted for my calories to only lose 1lb/week, so it is all subjective. This is working for me though. I'm steadily seeing results and when I lose only 1/2 lb because I went over my calories slightly, I don't beat myself up. I'm good with slow and steady.

I will add that I don't use the calorie burns here on MFP. They are way over what is actually burned. I found that they over estimated what was burned and I was eating back too many calories.

P.S. I also adjusted my ratio of macro nutrients. This helped my cravings (I think). I'm pre-diabetic so I cut the carb and sugar allowance a bit to 35% carb, 35% protein, and 30% fat. This seems to have given me a bit more loss as well.

Itslozzamate

Slow weightloss is the key to great long term success!

marissanik

1200 calories never worked for me personally. Got stuck for months and months on end. High calorie and slow progress is the only way to go. Sure it's slow, but it's worth it in the end and lasts long term.

Did you do TDEE minus a certain percent?

My TDEE = 2010 x 15% = 301
2010-301=1709 net for me!

I change it every so often and I started by minusing 20% because I was personally afraid of large numbers.

I'm going to drop it to TDEE - 10% in another 5-10lbs most likely since I don't have much left to lose.

Sarahsteve7kids

I also do NOT believe losing it fast guarantees it will come back on fast! I lost weight at the age of 14 fast. 50 pounds in three months and kept it off for over 30 years. The weight only comes back fast if you return to the big calories.

THANK YOU.
Just because you lose weight too fast it doesnt mean it will come back again. I think some people gain the weight back because they lost it too quickly to get used to their healthier eating habits and eventually go back to the old ones. Also if you lower your calorie drastically, instead of upping it all at once when you reach your goal weight, add 50 calories/week until you get to the point where you can maintain so your body has time to adjust.

Totally agree !!!

Sarahsteve7kids

Thanks for the responses! The ones I don't really agree with I need to look into more! I really am seeking health, I'm no linger obese, just over weight and am looking at all view points!

Walter__

If you've already developed healthy eating habits then you can go ahead and eat at a bigger calorie deficit to lose faster.

The only problem with that is you're going to feel miserable eating so little every day. If I drop under 1700 I start to feel like crap.

marissanik

If you've already developed healthy eating habits then you can go ahead and eat at a bigger calorie deficit to lose faster.

The only problem with that is you're going to feel miserable eating so little every day. If I drop under 1700 I start to feel like crap.

What he said!! The more I can eat and still lose, the better.

MKEgal

What works for me is eating 10x my healthy goal weight (based on BMI) in calories,
not eating back exercise calories (ignore net),
increasing my veggies, fiber, protein, and water intake,
almost daily cardio exercise,
and weightlifting several times a week.

I keep reading on her various opinions to losing weight fast or slow. Going low calorie vs 15% reduction! I'm down 40 pounds but on the fence as how to proceed, the first 40 fell off fast at 1200 calories per day! My last month of 1800 calories (with exercise) has showed no loss.

You started at 197 lb, so you needed nearly 2000 cal per day.
Being down 800 cal per day should give you a loss of a bit under 2 lb per week.
Now it looks like you're at about 155, so you need 1550 cal per day and are eating 1800 so of course you're not going to lose weight. (My doctor says do not eat back exercise calories.)
Eating 1200 now would give you a 300 cal deficit, which would be about 1/2 lb per week.
Since you only have about 25 lb to go, losing 0.5 - 1 lb per week is reasonable, but that will drop as you get closer to your goal.
Don't go below 1200 unless your doctor says it's OK, or you're very short.

Some problems that come with too-rapid weight loss (we're talking like what usually happens after bariatric surgery, or when someone goes on a VLCD) include gallstones, malnutrition, loose skin, and (statistically) being more likely to regain the weight, because you haven't learned healthy eating habits.

"Evidence shows that people who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1-2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off."
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html

honkytonks85

I disagree.
If you lose weight quickly, provided you continue to eat at maintenance you will not just 'gain all the weight back'. I assume the reason people gain back is because they've gone on a restrictive diet then went nuts eating everything in sight.

I actually find that an initial drop of weight is helpful for motivation to keep going. I also think eating 200 calories below TDEE is risky because counting calories isn't an exact science and there is bound to be times when you go out and you just don't know exactly how many calories there are in your food. You need to leave a buffer.

I think you're better off going at least 500 calories below TDEE for weight loss.

ruby_red_rose

I have primarily eaten between 1400 and 1800 calories and lost 59 lbs. I have also eaten as low as 1200 for a few weeks, and as high as 1900 for a few weeks while losing.

H0llyG0lightly

A year ago, I tried doing 1250 net. It worked for a little while, but then the scale didn't seem to budge. Probably because I was cheating, which means I didn't like the program. I'm really into planning ahead of time, so I didn't like having to adjust my intake every day based on whether I was working out or not. Especially when plans changed. I'd have my meals planned out for the day based on jog I was planning to take, then something would come up, I couldn't go for the jog, and I'd have to replan my dinner in the middle of making it. Very frustrating.

Now, I eat about 1550-1600 every day and work out sometimes. I don't eat back my exercise calories, so I'm probably averaging a net intake of 1350 or so. I've lost 10 lbs in three months and haven't cheated too much. It seems to be working.

Sarahsteve7kids

Some problems that come with too-rapid weight loss (we're talking like what usually happens after bariatric surgery, or when someone goes on a VLCD) include gallstones, malnutrition, loose skin, and (statistically) being more likely to regain the weight, because you haven't learned healthy eating habits.

QUOTE:
Loose skin is what has bothered me the most! Yuck!!!