How aggressive is your weight loss goal per week?

TiffanyElaine89

I have mine set to 2lbs a week. I've only been doing this program for 3 weeks but so far so good (5.8 down). However, I do exercise and burn at least 400 calories (5-6 days a week) and then I eat those calories back...because eating 1200 calories a day would make me sad haha. So I would say exercise so you can eat a bit more...it might make you really hungry for a couple of days but then your body will get the hang of it.

maigan_lynn

I have mine set at the max - 2lbs per week. This is my first week and managed to lose 4-5lbs (I have a 20-25lb goal). I know this is probably 'water weight' and definitely not all fat. I'm at the 1200 cal a day point but I do eat back my calories - I find that helps in keeping me from starving. The first few days I was really hungry. It's learning to balance your meals so you're not starving in between. I have my three meals (not massive meals either) and a snack in the evening plus water throughout the day. I got through the first few days of aggravation and *****iness and now I feel much better. I'm also working out quite a bit too. I do cardio pretty much every day - 40 minute fast paced walk with the dog as many days as possible, as well as weight training 2-4 times a week. I would just say balance is the most essential piece to keep from becoming 'pissy pants' lol.

astrampe

I think I just need to get it through my head that a little hunger is not a hardship - it is okay! It's worth the results.

Hunger is NOT OK...your body is telling you something... I lost over 60lbs on between 1600 and 2000 cals a day - it took me a long time - lost it at an average of .4lbs a week....But guess what..
It`s still off three years later, and I was never hungry.... I`m currently eating 2100 and more on high cardio days - don`t lose much weight, but have built a few nice muscles and lost tons of inches....
Got take a look at the eat more to lose weight group - you might get a nice surprise....
good luck

arrawyn79

I have mine set to 2lbs a week and have been losing 2lbs a week, which is nice to see. I'm on a strict diet (well, nutrition regime) of very low carb and high protein with lots of veggies, and eating every couple hours throughout the day to boost my metabolism (and not eating after dinner at 6:30) - coupled with exercise 6 days a week - and that includes cardio and weights/strength training (for example i did an hour on the treadmill today and 30 minutes brisk walking to/from work). So i'm putting in a lot of effort, and am seeing 2lbs a week religiously... and I just hope it stays like that for my next (and final (ish)) 25lbs!

monicamk1975

I have mine set at 2lbs per week. Some weeks its more, some weeks its less, but you just got to keep going to get to finish line

desert_rhino

I started out with it set to 2 pounds per week, but I was averaging 3 pounds per week for the last 10 weeks. I reset it to 1 pound per week about a week ago, but now I'm fasting one day a week. I eat back some to most of my exercise calories (by heart rate monitor), and try really hard to come in UNDER, rather than over every day.

Two things that helped me a lot:
1: drink water. About half the time I felt hungry, I was really thirsty.
2: cut carbs from snacks almost completely, and cut them in general. Sugar (and simple starches) make me HUNGRY within about an hour. I eat carbs mostly with other foods, to blunt the insulin spike.
3: (can't count) Fast for 24 to 36 hours, drinking all the black coffee, unsweetened tea (green is best), and water you want. Just once, or once a week. It helped me reset my "hungry" meter. About 1/4 of the time I felt hungry, I was just bored.

zaithyr

I calculated my calories on another site and manually set my goals. According to MFP I should only be losing .06 lbs a week (they had me set way lower on calories originally) but I've been losing 1 lb a week on average (although I dropped 3 this last week). And that's eating more than what MFP had me set at.

zaithyr

I think I just need to get it through my head that a little hunger is not a hardship - it is okay! It's worth the results.

Hunger is NOT OK...your body is telling you something... I lost over 60lbs on between 1600 and 2000 cals a day - it took me a long time - lost it at an average of .4lbs a week....But guess what..
It`s still off three years later, and I was never hungry.... I`m currently eating 2100 and more on high cardio days - don`t lose much weight, but have built a few nice muscles and lost tons of inches....
Got take a look at the eat more to lose weight group - you might get a nice surprise....
good luck

Yeah, if you are hungry that is your body's way of telling you that you need fuel (if it's genuine hunger and not just an urge to munch when you're bored or something). Gotta work WITH your body- not against it!

tugers2

i aim for 2 pounds a week but i'll take what i can get... certain times of the month (wink) i dont lose anything but the following week or weeks it will catch up to me and i'll lose 3-5 lbs in one week

gatecityradio

I have mine set at 1.5, sometimes I lose more sometimes I lose less.

bikinisuited

I have mine set to 1 lb a week and currently working out 120 minutes a day. Going to bed hungry the last three days, but I don't mind as I am trying to move forward from a plateua for the last 4-5 months.

YoungDoc2B

2lbs a week, calorie goal set @ 1780. Most days, I have a hard time making it past 1200-1300. When you're eating healthy, you can get a LOT of food for 1200 calories.

robot_potato

1 pound/week. 1470 calories. i can't do the 1200 calorie thing.

jumpyjavajawa

I'm in 1lb per week. I get 1600 a day but I get an extra 500 for breastfeeding so technically it's 2100 a day. I don't eat my workout calories, the BF calories help keep me unhungry.

akiramezu

I've lost 18.5 pounds, it is currently the third week. So, that's pretty aggressive

Christine1110

I have it set for 1/2 pound because I try and eat at least 1200 but sometimes I go over a little....I don't like when it sounds bad because I'm just over 1200. I try and lose at least 2 pounds a week.

mustgetmuscles1

I lost the majority of mine at about a pound a week. I could have lost more but was not willing to lose muscle just to see the scale number change. I am now at about .5 per week with only 5 pounds to go. After the initial shock my body took from a restricted calorie diet I have not had many days where I felt hungry.

sabermax

I am set at 1pound per week. I always come in lover. Have 90+ pounds to lose. Lost 4 pounds since last thursday. I also try to exercise a least 40-60min 3 times a week. The more you exercise, the more that you can eat. I could have had 1800 calories today, but came in at 1299. So I wish you well

marylynn85

Mine is set at 2 lbs. I only recently started. After cutting out soda and other junk food, eating better and starting to exercise everyday I lost 7 pounds in the last 2 weeks. So if I have a day that I go over my calories I dont beat myself up to hard for it.

mcarter99

I think I just need to get it through my head that a little hunger is not a hardship - it is okay! It's worth the results.

Hunger is NOT OK...your body is telling you something... I lost over 60lbs on between 1600 and 2000 cals a day - it took me a long time - lost it at an average of .4lbs a week....But guess what..
It`s still off three years later, and I was never hungry.... I`m currently eating 2100 and more on high cardio days - don`t lose much weight, but have built a few nice muscles and lost tons of inches....
Got take a look at the eat more to lose weight group - you might get a nice surprise....
good luck

Yeah, if you are hungry that is your body's way of telling you that you need fuel (if it's genuine hunger and not just an urge to munch when you're bored or something). Gotta work WITH your body- not against it!

Or your body is saying, "I don't want to use this reserve fuel (body fat) anymore. I want to keep this fat on for the next famine and eat more tasty stuff now!" Sometimes you have to listen, sometimes you have to do the best thing for your body and that might be burning the fat for fuel because you know there is no famine coming and that you're overweight and it's bad for you.

zaithyr

I think I just need to get it through my head that a little hunger is not a hardship - it is okay! It's worth the results.

Hunger is NOT OK...your body is telling you something... I lost over 60lbs on between 1600 and 2000 cals a day - it took me a long time - lost it at an average of .4lbs a week....But guess what..
It`s still off three years later, and I was never hungry.... I`m currently eating 2100 and more on high cardio days - don`t lose much weight, but have built a few nice muscles and lost tons of inches....
Got take a look at the eat more to lose weight group - you might get a nice surprise....
good luck

Yeah, if you are hungry that is your body's way of telling you that you need fuel (if it's genuine hunger and not just an urge to munch when you're bored or something). Gotta work WITH your body- not against it!

Or your body is saying, "I don't want to use this reserve fuel (body fat) anymore. I want to keep this fat on for the next famine and eat more tasty stuff now!" Sometimes you have to listen, sometimes you have to do the best thing for your body and that might be burning the fat for fuel because you know there is no famine coming and that you're overweight and it's bad for you.

See I disagree though. Just because you're overweight doesn't mean that your body's cues should be ignored. When you are overweight your body still has to work harder to run itself, and when you exercise your body is working even harder and burning more calories. You still need the proper amount of fuel. That's why an obese person's BMR is higher than a smaller person's. Depriving your body of the fuel it needs can lead to losing more fat but also to losing nutrients and other important things (and kill your metabolism and your energy). If you are still eating at a deficit from your maintenance calories, eating when you are hungry isn't a bad thing for weight loss. You can eat when you are hungry- the change is that you don't OVEReat and you eat healthier. You don't have to go hungry to lose weight and get healthy. Making yourself go hungry is an entirely sucky way to lose weight.

veganpoler

Interesting discussion! Thanks for the input everyone!