Can I even lose 2 pounds a week?

kibummie

I am really confused as to all of this BMR, TDEE, calories deficit business! I am 18 years old, 5"1, 129 pound female. For the most part I am sedentary, and do cardio every weekday, burning roughly 500 calories every time. I want to lose 2 pounds a week, but I don't know how many calories I should be eating. Help anyone?

sagetracey

Put all of that information into your Profile Settings, set two pounds per week as your weight loss goal and MFP will tell you how many calories you should be eating. Then you can choose whether or not to eat your exercise calories back. Be warned, this is an area of major debate on this site with many people for eating them back and just as many against!

MFP is set up to make it quite easy to use so give it a go and see how it works for you. Just remember, we are all different and a computer program, even one as clever as MFP, cannot take into account other factors such as your general health, accuracy of your calorie counting, metabolism etc.

klynn08

I'm 5'1 118 lbs and i wanted to lose 2 lbs per week, i worked out and ate 1200 cals per week and sometimes lost .5 sometimes gained. I have never been able to lose 2 lbs a week

chevy88grl

At your weight, the chances you'll be able to lose 2lbs a week safely are quite low. Your body is going to fight you every step of the way. If I were you, I would aim for something a bit more reasonable - like .5lb a week. Put all your information into MFP and let it generate a calorie goal for you. Now, some people find MFP's recommendations to be too low (I'm one of those people), some people find it to be too high and some find it works perfectly. Unfortunately, it is going to give you a general place to start and not something that is set in stone. Remember that a computer program isn't perfect and works on generalizations - which means it won't always work for everyone. You have to take the information it gives you and adjust it to what works for YOU.

Here's a good (and easy to use) website to help you get an idea of your BMR, TDEE, etc.

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators.html


Good Luck!

iwantahealthierme13

You could. Just eat when you're hungry, don't eat when you're not. Depending on your calorie goal and what you eat if you do this you may be under a lot of the time and if you exercise don't eat all your calories back if you're not hungry. That should do it!

I've lost 6 pounds in 2 and a half weeks.

chevy88grl

You could. Just eat when you're hungry, don't eat when you're not. Depending on your calorie goal and what you eat if you do this you may be under a lot of the time and if you exercise don't eat all your calories back if you're not hungry. That should do it!

I've lost 6 pounds in 2 and a half weeks.

She's very close to an ideal weight range for her body though. By not eating enough, she's setting herself up for a loss of LBM and for yo yo dieting (since when she tries to move into maintenance, she'll gain again because her calories were so low to lose the weight).

Eat less. Eat better. Workout. Be patient and understand a lean body won't lose weight as quickly as a body with a lot of extra fat on it.

kibummie

Thank you all for all of your opinions! Hmm I think I will end up shooting for .5 lbs a week. I for sure am a yo yo dieter, and have gained 9 pounds in the last 5 months its really frustrating and I really just want to lose the jiggle I have and maintain a healthy, slim weight and figure! I am trying hard to go for a lifestyle change as opposed to momentarily solutions like I have had in the past. Thanks again!

michellekicks

Thank you all for all of your opinions! Hmm I think I will end up shooting for .5 lbs a week. I for sure am a yo yo dieter, and have gained 9 pounds in the last 5 months its really frustrating and I really just want to lose the jiggle I have and maintain a healthy, slim weight and figure! I am trying hard to go for a lifestyle change as opposed to momentarily solutions like I have had in the past. Thanks again!

Definitely aim for slower then. You won't notice the lifestyle changes as much... you won't be hungry if you only have a 250-500 calorie deficit per day.

skierxjes

When you don't have much to lose, you will not lose 2lbs a week. Not in a healthy way, anyway.

If you're only trying to drop 10-15lbs, set your MFP to lose .5-1 lb a week.

Mrfuzbear

I wish the best of luck for you on your .5lbs a week. I understand yo-yo dieting, I got as low as almost 220lbs, and within 3 months I gained over 90lbs of weight. (Yeah I know that's horrible)
Please oh please, be careful. Lose it naturally like these good people are telling you ^,^