Should I be satisfied with 1-2 lbs a week?

schustc

I know, that's the goal supposedly. But being that I am heavier (244), Should I have higher expectations? I've got split views on this. Part of me thinks if I upped my cardio (I am working with a trainer 3 days a week already with weights) - I think my Diet is actually pretty good right now - productive without being too restrictive. I'm hitting anywhere between 1 and 3 lbs a week depending on the week, and I think it's averaging around 1-2 on the whole.

Part of me thinks I could be losing 2-3 lbs a week, which would make me happier. I am worried about saggy skin issues though, so am tempering my desire to push harder, with the rationalization that if I do lose faster, I'll be stuck with more of a sag issue.

What do you think? is 1-2 per week good for even the morbidly obese as a goal?

or should I set my goal higher and push harder? if so, should I not worry about skin sag?

I'd LOVE to be hitting that 10 lb a month goal, but at this rate it's going to be closer to 6/month. It's a bit of a dilemma. What do you think?

Tina

SueGremlin

It's healthy and sustainable. That is how I have approached it. If I have to look at my watch, constantly starving, and think "Is it over yet? Can I go back to normal now", I will not maintain any weight loss. Slow and steady is the way to do it!
In a year, you'll be a year older, thin or not. Right? RIGHT! :flowerforyou:

MsNewBooty83

i would be thrilled! lol. thats healthy loss

jjohnboy2000

Yes in a word. Let your body adjust. It may take longer but will be worth the effort. Good luck

Jo2926

Stick with the goal you have - but you can always push your exercise harder if you think you can. Higher weights or harder moves depending on what your trainer thinks best. I think thats the best defence against saggy skin myself.

Any more than what you are loosing now is not sustainable long term, you are doing a great job. Keep this up and you will be at your goal before you know it, and be looking amazing!

sagetracey

You are doing really well and achieving great results. If you strive for higher, less realistic goals, then you are more likely to fail and then become discouraged. I'll bet you didn't gain all that weight overnight (I certainly didn't so understand that it will take time to lose it.

Good luck and keep up the great work.

gpstrucker

That is a healthy rate of weight loss. If you're anything like me you may find that certain weeks you will see a bit bigger loss than that without doing anything different than other weeks just by your body doing it's thing. From everything I have read it just isn't very healthy to lose weight too fast.

Tickateeboo

Yes - the best thing to do is lose about a pound a week - that means you get a long time to get used to the routine of eating well and exercising regularly and are less likely to fall off the wagon, or even worse put the weight back on! That said, the heavier you are then the quicker it comes off to start with - as you get towards your goal it will take a little longer.

mom2gar

I think that's a great weekly rate. More than that, I would be concerned about over all health if weekly I lost more than 2 pounds max. There are some weeks I'm thankful for no gain. Keep up the great work.

nailqueen74

I have always been told taking the weight off slowly is a lot more healthier and beneficial than losing a ton in a short amount of time. This isn't Biggest Loser where you are literally living in the gym all day. I mean, really? Who wants to do that, no matter how heavy you are. I have lost 20 pounds in 9 months. I am at a plateau right now...but I am not stressing about it. I would like to lose another 10 pounds but we will see. Keep doing what you are doing.

ProTFitness

If it is a consitant 1-2lbs a week and not an up and down loss. Plus If you have more to loose then 2-4 is possible to. If your smaller 1-2 is great!

MsTT80

Yes, stick with what you are doing, as others have already said, that's a healthy weight loss and you are more likely not to put it back on at the end.

It's about long term lifestyle changes, not just weight loss. I'm loosing 1lb a week roughly (although not lost this week) and happy with that as I see this as a lifestyle change not just a diet.

Good luck, I am sure you will get to your goal as you seem to have a great attitude and are doing this the healthy way :flowerforyou:

jendarlin

This is absolutely a healthy amount of loss per week as most have already said! You are doing well be proud! :drinker:

jennkain97

I agree. 1-2lbs a week is a healthy goal. What no one else has touched on though, is the fact that you are doing strength training 3x/week. Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may very well be losing 3lbs of FAT per week, while gaining MUSCLE. This is a double bonus, as more muscle will burn more fat! The best way to judge results is with a tape measure rather than a scale. I bet if you started taking regular measurements you'd look at your progress a whole lot differently. Keep up the good work!!

Qatsi

YES. Gradual and sustainable is better than trying to lose it too quickly. If you try to do too much too fast, you'll end up making yourself miserable, and THAT'S when you get frustrated and give up. (Been there, done that.)

I started out having a deadline for reaching my goal, and stressed about the fact that I wasn't on track to hit the deadline. Once I ditched the deadline and realized that it doesn't matter WHEN I get there - that the important thing was GETTING there, I was a lot happier. And the happier you are, the more motivated you will be to continue.

Dulcislim

Also keep in mind that weight loss isn't a steady progression. Some weeks, you may not lose at all. I tend to plateau for a few weeks, have a bigger drop, then plateau again.

Keep at it. Slow and steady wins the race!

imogenjade

yeh its good. you should be very proud, keep it up

llkilgore

I think you're right to be worried about sagging skin if you lose weight too rapidly. People complain that their hair falls out if they lose weight on too high a deficit, or that their fingernails don't grow right. That's because they don't have the resources to maintain normal growth. Think about it. Your hair follicles and nail beds aren't the only parts of your skin that are constantly renewing themselves.

LovingLisa2012

I have done the quick weight loss thing b4 .. guess what I couldn't sustain it, regained it all back and plus some

now I am losing an average of 1 pound a week and I love it ( im currently 292)

by losing it slowly, I know I can maintain this life style and keep it off for good (and hopefully, reduce the saggy skin, I will have some, that is unavoidable at this point, but I am hoping slow loss = a lil less of it)

schustc

Thank you everyone for all of the Great replies! I really do appreciate it.

I am not really dreading the process, just the time it will take. I hate to think it's going to be a full on effort for maybe 2 more years. That's a reality if it is only one pound a week. so potentially 1 year, if I do hit the 2/week .

Just makes me mad I let it get this bad - I was just a few pounds under this weight after my daughter was born 4 yrs ago. To think, I could be around 220 by now if I hadn't gained that extra, or even less if I had caught it sooner , is frustrating.

Thanks again!

Tina

KevDaniel

If it is going down.. be happy

2lbs is the recommended so yes.. perfectly executed

orr_stacie

You are losing weight at a healthy rate. You are doing great. Dont get down about any weight loss even if its a half a pound. I also worry about sagging skin but I worry more about just getting healthy. You are getting healthier and thats all that matters.

LesIsMoreXX

I think that sounds perfect. I know it's kind of annoying because you'll want a more noticeable result faster but trust me, when I've lost more weight per week than that it usually just ends up right back on shortly after. But if I lose about 1-2 pounds per week it's much easier to maintain that weight.

Robin_Bin

Your choice. But I'd suggest you be satisfied with 1-2 lbs/week. Sure, if you lose faster, it may also be fine. But read some of the other chats around here... people who worry about their skin sagging because they lost quickly, people who have successfully lost weight in the past with faster diets, and are here because they yo-yo'd back up. There are probably others for whom a faster weight loss worked, and we just don't hear from them. As you state, when you start heavier, it may work to start off losing faster, but eventually you would need to level off and lose more slowly. It may make sense to start off fast, that is, to kick off your weight loss with a motivating speed, making it easier for you to continue by making some other things like exercise easier. For some people that fast start may be motivating. But, if you're the kind of person who will be disheartened when you need to slow down, then it may not be good for you to start off in "overdrive".

IvoryParchment

The "ladies" magazines are full of diets that promise to help you lose 10 lbs in two weeks and stuff like that. They print a new one about every month. Why? Because they aren't having any long term impact on their readership. The people following those diets keep gaining it back and never make long term progress.

If you set modest goals, you will find you are not hungry after the first couple weeks. You will not feel you are depriving yourself at all. It is completely sustainable. You won't be miserable waiting for your "diet" to be over. Instead of climbing on and falling off a diet and continuing to gain over time, you will be eating a new way and losing at a steady pace. So don't just look at how fast you are losing from your current weight; look at how much less you will weigh than you would if you continued to gain at your current pace.

With modest weight loss, you will also feel good. You won't be tired and lacking in energy. You will have a healthy appetite, though you will eat only your measured portions and will learn to consider them adequate through practice. As you start to actually weigh less, you will feel like gravity has less of a hold on you, and you'll enjoy moving around. If you try to lose fast and burn a lot of fat fast by sparing the carbs, you will feel tired and have bad breath from the fat breakdown products.

tenunderfour

It's really friggin hard to lose weight. REALLY hard. Everything about your biology wants you to hold onto that weight. You should be celebrating a 1 or 2 lb lose per week!!!!

eso2012

It's healthy and sustainable. That is how I have approached it. If I have to look at my watch, constantly starving, and think "Is it over yet? Can I go back to normal now", I will not maintain any weight loss. Slow and steady is the way to do it!
In a year, you'll be a year older, thin or not. Right? RIGHT! :flowerforyou:

Totally agree. I don't weight myself on a weekly basis and frankly don't believe your body works with precise numbers like that. I would focus on doing what is right for you (body and mind) and weight in occassionally.