Losing too fast?

memleyxx

Hey everyone! So I've been at this for about 3 weeks (basically about as long as Lent), and within the first week I lost 7-10 lbs. This week, I haven't weighed in yet, but I know I lost a total of 10.5" overall, 4" off my hips.

So, of course I'm super stoked!! But I've never had success like this before...am I losing too fast? I always eat the recommended calories, I don't starve myself or anything.

themsbauer

What exactly are you doing to lose the weight?

memleyxx

I work out 3-4 times a week (usually burning around 500 calories) and I use the calorie tracker on the MFP app, eating around 1200 calories a day.

atjays

Depending on your weight, it's not terribly uncommon for the first 10-15 to come off that easily. We'd need more info on your height, weight, how much overweight you are and your current diet/exercise routines.

Keep up whatever you're doing for now *assuming it's not dangerous* , just keep in mind it's not REALLY that easy and the weight loss will slow down at some point.

littleline9

If you're burning 500 calories, you should try to eat more than 1200, because eating so few while burning so many leaves you with only 700 net calories and you shouldn't have less than 1000. Great job on the weight loss, just try to be safe

memleyxx

That's just what the app recommended I do.....so I should always net at 1200, regardless of the workout?

Jbradbury1964

Always eat your calories and your exercise calories. It is important for good loss. GL and you are doing fine. I dropped most of mine the first week and a half. Now I am losing inches. Pounds will come later again....

Tami113

You should always eat your exercise calories. Say for imstance you are on 1200 net calories. If you burn 500 calories with exercise then you need to eat 500 more calories to make the net of 1200 calories.
At 500 calories burned you should eat 1700 calories. 1700 calories eaten - 500 calories bruned = 1200 calories net.
Also, depending on your weight, in the beginning the weight might fall off quick. It is recommended to lose no more than 2 lbs per week for healthy weight loss that is easier to keep off.
Good luck on this journey!

nickyfm

Don't worry about it. Mine fell off for the first few weeks, and now it has slowed down to about half a pound a week on average, even though I'm eating 1250 a day, only eating back 10 - 20% of exercise cals.

Don't get discouraged when it slows down though!!

samscaloriechart

No, don't worry at all. It's natural, it is mostly water weight. You are detoxing your body. Definitely stay in the 1200-1500 stage don't eat 1700 calories, that is wayyyyyyy too much, and you will gain. I work with a trainer, I eat 1200 a day, sometimes 1100 a day, and I work out for 1 hour 5 times a week doing full body workouts. It is okay to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. It is natural for a while, once you are about 10-15 pounds from your goal weight you will see your weight loss slowing down. it is completely natural

logicandlove

No, don't worry at all. It's natural, it is mostly water weight. You are detoxing your body. Definitely stay in the 1200-1500 stage don't eat 1700 calories, that is wayyyyyyy too much, and you will gain. I work with a trainer, I eat 1200 a day, sometimes 1100 a day, and I work out for 1 hour 5 times a week doing full body workouts. It is okay to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. It is natural for a while, once you are about 10-15 pounds from your goal weight you will see your weight loss slowing down. it is completely natural

Can I just say, you can't automatically claim that 1700 is "way too much" for everyone, or that it will make you gain. When I was eating 1200-1300 and exercising, I stopped losing after a while. Upped my calories to 1650, and what happened? I'm losing again, and consistently. I'm not saying that what works for me would work for everyone, but thinking that calories are evil is no way to establish a lifestyle you can maintain.

creative1981

I lost 11lbs in my first 3 weeks. I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as you're eating well. Mine has slowed this week and as much as I would love it to continue coming off fast, I know that's unrealistic and unhealthy.

AntWrig

No, don't worry at all. It's natural, it is mostly water weight. You are detoxing your body. Definitely stay in the 1200-1500 stage don't eat 1700 calories, that is wayyyyyyy too much, and you will gain. I work with a trainer, I eat 1200 a day, sometimes 1100 a day, and I work out for 1 hour 5 times a week doing full body workouts. It is okay to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. It is natural for a while, once you are about 10-15 pounds from your goal weight you will see your weight loss slowing down. it is completely natural

Your "trainer" should have his cert taken away.

To the OP. Get your measurements done ASAP. While you're losing weight, you're probably loosing muscle too.

Diggy2011

Its working for you don't change it unless you hit a plateau but be carefull losing fast can also mean it can go back on as fast I think thats why peeps on here encourage you to eat more to slow it down to burn fat and stay healthy

Darkladyv

Hey guys, I have lost 18lb in 3 days!! Which has blown my mind. Clearly my body is enjoying the low carbs and the gym most days and has started to respond. I might increase my carb intake so I don't loose too much too quickly as I don't want to get ill. Has anyone else lost this much so quickly? Is it ok or should I slow it down?

skywa

No, don't worry at all. It's natural, it is mostly water weight. You are detoxing your body. Definitely stay in the 1200-1500 stage don't eat 1700 calories, that is wayyyyyyy too much, and you will gain. I work with a trainer, I eat 1200 a day, sometimes 1100 a day, and I work out for 1 hour 5 times a week doing full body workouts. It is okay to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. It is natural for a while, once you are about 10-15 pounds from your goal weight you will see your weight loss slowing down. it is completely natural

I eat between 1500-2000 cals a day and i have gained a lb. xP

Alachofra15

No, don't worry at all. It's natural, it is mostly water weight. You are detoxing your body. Definitely stay in the 1200-1500 stage don't eat 1700 calories, that is wayyyyyyy too much, and you will gain. I work with a trainer, I eat 1200 a day, sometimes 1100 a day, and I work out for 1 hour 5 times a week doing full body workouts. It is okay to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. It is natural for a while, once you are about 10-15 pounds from your goal weight you will see your weight loss slowing down. it is completely natural

Your "trainer" should have his cert taken away.

To the OP. Get your measurements done ASAP. While you're losing weight, you're probably loosing muscle too.

^ this.

However it's not necessarily mostly muscle mass that she's losing - we don't no how much she had to start with. i would expect it to be mostly the 'shock affect' to the body. But yeah I would say to the OP to also ensure you get plenty of protein so that you are losing fat, not muscle.

Abbdul

and shes worried about losing too fast

AntWrig

No, don't worry at all. It's natural, it is mostly water weight. You are detoxing your body. Definitely stay in the 1200-1500 stage don't eat 1700 calories, that is wayyyyyyy too much, and you will gain. I work with a trainer, I eat 1200 a day, sometimes 1100 a day, and I work out for 1 hour 5 times a week doing full body workouts. It is okay to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. It is natural for a while, once you are about 10-15 pounds from your goal weight you will see your weight loss slowing down. it is completely natural

Your "trainer" should have his cert taken away.

To the OP. Get your measurements done ASAP. While you're losing weight, you're probably loosing muscle too.

^ this.

However it's not necessarily mostly muscle mass that she's losing - we don't no how much she had to start with. i would expect it to be mostly the 'shock affect' to the body. But yeah I would say to the OP to also ensure you get plenty of protein so that you are losing fat, not muscle.

Agreed on all accounts.

DanielleRN8

That's just what the app recommended I do.....so I should always net at 1200, regardless of the workout?

I don't personally believe in always eating back your workout calories but you should always net at least 1,200 calories a day. Anything less can put your body in starvation mode which means it will eat your muscles for energy before it will eat your fat. Now when it comes time that you stall your weight loss for more than a week, I would advise that you increase your calorie intake by 200-300 calories for a few days and then decrease it again. This will shock your body into burning more calories while you are resting (like it did when you first started losing weight.)

As for the validity of what I say, I am a nurse and it has worked for me personally.

danasings

That's just what the app recommended I do.....so I should always net at 1200, regardless of the workout?

I don't personally believe in always eating back your workout calories but you should always net at least 1,200 calories a day. Anything less can put your body in starvation mode which means it will eat your muscles for energy before it will eat your fat. Now when it comes time that you stall your weight loss for more than a week, I would advise that you increase your calorie intake by 200-300 calories for a few days and then decrease it again. This will shock your body into burning more calories while you are resting (like it did when you first started losing weight.)

As for the validity of what I say, I am a nurse and it has worked for me personally.

Agree!

Jeeenjohnson19

No, don't worry at all. It's natural, it is mostly water weight. You are detoxing your body. Definitely stay in the 1200-1500 stage don't eat 1700 calories, that is wayyyyyyy too much, and you will gain. I work with a trainer, I eat 1200 a day, sometimes 1100 a day, and I work out for 1 hour 5 times a week doing full body workouts. It is okay to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. It is natural for a while, once you are about 10-15 pounds from your goal weight you will see your weight loss slowing down. it is completely natural

Can I just say, you can't automatically claim that 1700 is "way too much" for everyone, or that it will make you gain. When I was eating 1200-1300 and exercising, I stopped losing after a while. Upped my calories to 1650, and what happened? I'm losing again, and consistently. I'm not saying that what works for me would work for everyone, but thinking that calories are evil is no way to establish a lifestyle you can maintain.

Agree. I'm around 10lbs away from my goal and am eating 1650 a day, and cos of my work/at uni i'm on my feet a lot so I burn off the majority of these calories. I lost the majority of my weight last year, but this year so far I lost around 10pounds in Jan (net 1200), then in Feb (again net cals 1200) I only lost 2 pounds so I upped my calories and in March i've lost 3 already so something must be working through eating more!

jdavis193

Ok so I was one of those that at 1200 cals doing 20-60 min of workouts a day 5-6x a week. I did lose the weight but I wasn't as toned like I should have been. I also gained back some of my weight I was always moody tired and hungry but I was bound and determined to lose this weight. I was so wrong with not eating more. I would have had more muscle show up. I could kick myself. I am now eating 1600 as of today but I burned 500 today so I will be eating 1800.

seekingstrengthX2

According to your profile, you've lost 27lbs and only have 30 to go. With that in mind, Yes, I would say you are losing too fast. With 30lbs to lose, anything more than 3lbs/week is a lot. If you are eating 1200/day, every day, no matter what exercises you do, you aren't eating enough food.

memleyxx

Those numbers were from my very heaviest, two years ago. I started at 193-5 around the beginning of Lent and I'm down to 180. That's a more accurate depiction of it. Don't worry, I didn't lose 30 lbs in 4 weeks.

bridgie101

Hey guys, I have lost 18lb in 3 days!! Which has blown my mind. Clearly my body is enjoying the low carbs and the gym most days and has started to respond. I might increase my carb intake so I don't loose too much too quickly as I don't want to get ill. Has anyone else lost this much so quickly? Is it ok or should I slow it down?

My guess is that you had a lot of food in your gut to get rid of.

I know I did. My first week I lost 9lb. I know about 6lb will just be food in my gut. But if you had a lot to lose to start with, you might have more food in the pipeline to flush out.

20lbsorless

i'm in my first week and i'm hoping to lose 3 lbs. i'm finding it hard to stick to my 1200 calories a day. the two days i went to the gym i ate way under my recommended as i was given an extra 500-600 calories more to eat and on the day i didnt work out and was at work from 7-7 was carb galore, way over. any suggestions what i can take with me on tuesdays to stop me breaking my diet regime?