How many lbs do you usually lose per week?

pjrisher

I feel like I keep seeing people saying that they lost 5+ lb in a week and it makes me wonder, do most people see those results? I've been working hard and eating well and I've been seeing about 1 -1.5 lb off a week. My current goal is to lose 10 lbs to be in the healthy BMI range (I am 5'4 and 154 lb). Has anybody else noticed this?

funkyspunky871

None... Except for this week! 1 pound, 1 pound, 1 pound!! Whoo!

1 -1.5 is GREAT goal though.

funkyspunky871

None... Except for this week! 1 pound, 1 pound, 1 pound!! Whoo!

1 -1.5 is a GREAT goal though.

Oops. I'm so silly today. I was trying to edit a typo!

Kirsty_UK

It depends on the week and how much someone has to lose. The earlier weeks, and people with a lot to lose, or those suddenly doing a massive change to lifestyle (like my husband who has suddenly started proper swim training again and running all in one go from doing nothing), can and will see big drops. But dont feel bad if you don't. I lost 2lbs, then 4lbs, then last week, nothing.

realme56

The more you have to lose and the more drastic the change from earlier eating habits to what we are doing here impacts the #/wk numbers. I lost 13# the first 10 days because I was eating poorly and the first couple weeks often includes a lot of water weight.

Now I lose about 1-2# a week. I am often under my calorie goals but about the 1200 mark. If those folks have their diaries open look to see what they are eating and doing for exercise. The slower you lose weight the better for your body (including skin) to adjust.

Lastly, we don't see each other so some 'fudging" could be going on too.
If you are feeling good just go with it.

Helice

normally i gain a pound ro two -_-

mabear74

My goal is to lose a lb. a week. Sometimes if I have a busy week I surpass my goal and lose 2, but not often. Some weeks I am lucky to lose half a lb.

gargoyle999

I lost 5lbs a week the first two weeks and just hit 20 after 5 weeks so the last 3 weeks avg is 3.3lbs. I still have 50lbs to reach my goal so I had(have) a lot to loose.

crazyeaCHANGED

0-4 lbs. But it all depends on the previous week and what I have eaten in the days prior to weigh in.

I usually have the bigger losses the week after the scale says I didnt lose a thing.

So its safe to say an average loss of 1-2 over the time since I started keeping track.

oreyna49

1 to 2 pounds sounds about right for me...but I stopped worrying about the scale, I use a tape measure to see my progress instead.

theresnoeggs

before it was 2-3 lbs, then I gained back 15. the past 2 weeks has been 4ish.

BeckyKSmith

If you are only 154 lbs, it is almost impossible to lose 2lbs a week. You have to burn 1000 calories a day off of your BMR which is probably under 2000 calories to burn 2 lbs a week. So if you wanted to eat 1200 calories, you would have to aim to burn at least 300 calories a day as well for your total calories used by your body to be 800-1000.........you would probably be miserable.

I say, just lose the 1lb a week so you feel good

The 5lbs people are losing is water the first week. They likely lose a pound or two a week after that.

jackalope28

Depends - the first few weeks had losses of more than 2lbs, but on average a pound a week. That said, I tend to lose weight in chunks. The scale won't budge for 4 weeks, then bam! I lose 4lbs in one "week". Then another scale that won't budge for the next 4 weeks, and then bam! down 3lbs in one "week".

Just the way my body works. Gratifying on the loss weeks, but SOOOOOO frustrating on the "scale won't budge" weeks when I'm working out 5-6 days a week and around 1200 cals!!

A good lesson here for me was that my weight loss rate is relative to ME, not anyone else. I wish I could burn as fast as other are able to, but my body is slow. Instead of fighting that, I've accepted that (mostly), and keep on keeping on. The weight will eventually drop off - even though I might have to wait for another month for it to show up on the scale.

Also - measurements help - seeing progress in losing inches when the scale isn't moving is another data source to consider.

Great q

robertf57

Currently I am average1.5 to 2 lbs/week, although any particular week might be up or down.

ladyhawk00

If you only have 16 lbs to lose, you should NOT be aiming for more than 1 lb per week, and actually should be at 1/2 lb per week. The less fat stores you have, the more difficult and slower it is for your body to access them. IF you did succeed in losing more than 1 lb per week, it would likely be mostly muscle mass, NOT fat.

May help to read these threads that explain how to determine healthy, realistic goals/deficits and how metabolism works. Good luck to you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

fteale

The amount I lose in a week is negligible. If I lost 1 lb a week, I would be ecstatic. I'd also be well past my goal weight by now. I average 1/2 a lb a week, but some weeks I flatline or even go up, despite never going over my daily calories. In all I have lost between 9 and 11 lbs since Christmas. Eating 1220 cals a day plus most of my exercise cals, running 20k a week, doing 2 hour long boot camp sessions a week, and 1 hour of intense aerobics.

cath1024

I am losing 1.5 -2 lbs a week

icerose137

1-2 lbs a week is a very healthy range. Above that and you start getting into the danger zone that could end up hurting the loser in the long run. Quick weight loss has a higher association with quick weight gain than off forever. Gradual comfortable weight loss has a higher association with off for life than quick weight gain.

The reason is this. Diet and excercise are for life. If you do things the drastic way just to get the pounds off now, you are more likely to fall off the wagon, go right back to your old eating habits and get back as much or more within a year. But slow life changes are the ones that succeed in the long run.

Also as others have said if a person has a lot to lose they're going to lose the first section of pounds faster than a person who only has a little to lose, for one thing sheer calorie requirements. All those fat cells need calories to stay full. So if a person has a 3000 calorie maintance mode requirement and they switch to a 1500 calorie a day intake plus excercise, they're going to lose well over a pound a day until that requirement drops. Whereas if a much smaller person only has a 2000 calorie maintance mode, then a 1500 calorie change isn't going to be nearly as drastic and thus the weight is going to come off slower, which is how it should be. You DO NOT want to starve. Otherwise you end up having the opposite effect of killing your metabolism, and in the long run that's just a goal killer.

And on a final note weight is not everything. According to the BMI body builders are overweight and some bordering on obesity! Obviously this isn't true and many have less than 6% of body fat. Their muscles weigh a lot. Your average scale is not going to separate fat from muscle. So you very well could be dropping 4 lbs of fat and gaining 2 lbs of muscle but you'd never know it by looking at that scale number. Make small goals, give them a generous time allotment and keep your eye on the long term goal which is to be fit and feel great, and maybe be able to slip into that outfit you've been eyeing.

heniko

On average I've lost .8kg per week ... so around 1.7lb per week ... 2 times fell off the wagon ... but got back on too ...

RajwaJ

I agree that everyone loses at different rates depending on what they have to lose. I lost almost 10lb my 1st week (mostly water) and then I started losing just under 2lb a week. After week 6 I started to struggle and barely scraped a lb let alone my target 2lb. I changed my goals around to lose 1lb a week and ate 300 kcals more a day. On weigh in day I had lost 4lb. But I have about 40lb to come off still. I am expecting it to get really hard in a month or so when I drop nearly my healthy bmi.

Kezzykezkezkez

Lost 5lbs on my first go, and lost 1lb/2lb since, still waiting for anohter 5lbs to go!

MyNameIsNotBob

I average 1.25 / week... but there will be weeks I lose 3 and weeks I lose 0. So it's not like it's an even process.

RyonsLions2

Out of 72 lbs I had to lose, I only have 28 left to lose. My weight loss has slowed down, but I don't think I EVER lost more than 4 or 5 lbs, and that was probably like over an 8 to 10 day span not a week. Now I'm like 1 to 1.5 every 8 to 10 days or so. It really has slowed, but I am not far from my goal weight compared to when I started. This is the closest I have been to my goal weight in YEARS... like a half or more of a decade!!

momofJandA

I only lose about a pound a week (a really good week maybe 2)
I agree that the tape measure is a better success predictor. The last 2 weeks the scale ddn't move but I lost an inch off my waist- so actually a good 2 weeks although the scale said otherwise

LittleMissVintage

I'm on a cycle of losing 0 or gaining 2 one week end then losing 2-3.5 pounds the next. It's super frustrating but I manage.

infxmous

I have been losing 6lbs a month. So, 1.5 lbs a week for me roughly.

emchen

I've been losing 3-3.6 pounds per week, but I'm on a bit of a stricter program and deadline than most.

Windi38

2.5 lbs a week this past month, but I've got more than 50lbs to lose, and I just started truly working at it. I know that as I lose the weight it will come off slower. In fact, I didn't lose any weight at all this past week, but I feel like my body looks different, and it's my TOM. The good news is that I didn't gain any, and I usually gain at least 3 lbs in my TOM week (bloat!).

So, we'll see what next week brings! I'm thrilled with the progress so far, so I hope that I don't get too frustrated when it starts slowing down!

crazyeaCHANGED

I'm on a cycle of losing 0 or gaining 2 one week end then losing 2-3.5 pounds the next. It's super frustrating but I manage.

In a situation like this I would say you are not really gaining anything, but rather retaining food (bowels) prior to weigh in.

Soon2beskinny73

My average weight loss now is between 2-3 lbs. per week but when I first started my weight loss at 420 lbs. I was losing anywhere from 5-9 lbs. per week but since losing 70 lbs. I am starting to see a slow down. I still have a lot of weight to lose so I am thinking as long as I keep my calories and exercise steady then I will continue to lose between the 2-3 lbs. per week for awhile.