What is a safe amount of weight to lose in a week?

PattyTheUndefeated

I'm getting mixed answers from the googles I've done. Some say you can lose as much as you like, as long as you eat enough calories and don't over do it. Others say that a pound a week it recommended, but don't exactly say why. But then again, I'm an avid biggest loser fan, and they all seemed to lose huge amounts of weight from week to week and it all seemed perfectly okay. What's the deal? I'm asking this because I'm losing quite a bit fast and don't wanna drop dead of a heart attack. :embarassed:

BrenNew

I'm getting mixed answers from the googles I've done. Some say you can lose as much as you like, as long as you eat enough calories and don't over do it. Others say that a pound a week it recommended, but don't exactly say why. But then again, I'm an avid biggest loser fan, and they all seemed to lose huge amounts of weight from week to week and it all seemed perfectly okay. What's the deal? I'm asking this because I'm losing quite a bit fast and don't wanna drop dead of a heart attack. :embarassed:

It depends on how much you have to lose. If you need to lose a LOT, then you should try for 2 pounds a week. Likewise, if you don't need to lose THAT much, only go for 1.
EVERYONE loses the most their first few weeks into it, that's mostly due to water weight.
Eventually, you will level off and start losing at a slower rate. I've even had like 5 weeks of staying exactly the same! But, I never gave up, and it has totally paid off!
I can't say enough good about MFP and all it's wonderfully supportive members!
Stick with it, and you WILL lose the weight that you want to.

amymeenieminymo

One to two pounds a week is the safest, best way to go. That being said, even though my profile is set for 1 pound a week, that doesn't necessarily mean that I always lose 1 pound.....sometimes I stay the same, sometimes I gain :grumble: , but when I lose it's typically anywhere from 1-3 pounds. But I'd say it all averages out to 1 a week.

Unless you have a LOT to lose (like over 100) it's really not safe or healthy to strive to lose more per week. Plus, the slower you lose, the more likely you'll keep it off, and reduce the chances of having saggy skin.

I've only seen Biggest Loser a few times, but from what I can tell, A. they all have a lot of weight to lose so they lose a lot quickly, B. it's not exactly going to be realistic (I mean in real life who has time to do nothing but work out and prepare special meals all day?) and C. On top of being rather unrealistic, it's TV so they're going for entertainment and shock value and not so much teaching the most healthy ways to lose weight.

KatWood

First I just want to say that it is refreshing to hear that you recognize the importance of losing weight at a healthy pace. I agree that it does depend on how much you have to lose and that usually the first few weeks are usually when you will see your biggest numbers. Aiming for 1-2 lbs per week is probably a good goal. However, your body will likely not follow that schedule exactly. Some weeks you will lose more, some weeks less. Just use it as a guide to understand how much you need to eat and exercise. Biggest Loser is a great show but remember that they have all day every day to concentrate on weightloss. I suspect their days are mostly spend exercising and eating. It is also supervised by their trainers and doctors. I'm not saying what they are doing is unhealthy, just unachievable in a healthy way for most of us regular 9-5 people :happy: Also, losing weight that fast results in a lot of extra skin which is definitely noticable on the show.

Good luck. You can do this. It will take time but this isn't a race. :flowerforyou:

PattyTheUndefeated

Thanks everyone!!! :happy: