Am I losing weight too fast?

kapzilla

I'm following MFP guidelines, and I eat back most of my exercise calories, but I'm dropping weight like crazy!

Last Thursday I weighed 162, yesterday I weighed 161. Now today I weigh 160.2! Many women would probably be feeling great about this, but I'm concerned that I may be losing too fast.

I live a fairly sedentary lifestyle. I'm a stay at home mom, and I do basic cleaning and stuff like that, but I sit around A LOT (I'm a serious couch potato). I think one big factor is the fact that I breastfeed my youngest son, but he's almost a year and a half so he nurses only a few times a day now. I wouldn't think that could affect it that much, could it?

Now that I'm trying to do regular exercise, should I change my lifestyle in my MFP settings? I log all my exercise, and like I said earlier in the post, I do try to eat most of my exercise calories back. Could it be that my metabolism finally jump started and is kicking into gear now?

This isn't just for weight loss, I've got high cholesterol (doctor said I'm like at twice the risk of having a stroke, it's that high...), and my family is heart issues all throughout. I do NOT want to make myself sick.

Bobby_Clerici

I have what is called "rest day calorie dump" where I add random calories to my daily total whenever I feel I am losing too fast.
You've seen that.
I weigh daily upon awakening before eating or drinking and after a good pooh.:bigsmile:
I can tell when my weight is trending down to fast, and I simply take a day off from exercise and eat more.
Simple.
Some people might welcome more weight loss - YIP YIP YIP YAHOO!
Not me.
I know what's fast on the front end comes back with a little something extra on the tail end.
1 pound per week
That's it.

senyosmom

breast feeding can burn up to 400 calories a day - that maybe whats helping the weigh loss so much. If you rare eating enough and the right foods then let it come off!!

BarbWhite09

Thats not too fast, really...

caraiselite

that sounds very normal. if you lost 10 pounds in a day then i might worry.

anything less than 5 pounds a week isn't a big deal really.

evansproudmama

I would almost bet its the breastfeeding thats doing it for you. If your concerned about losing to fast eat more but If your eating healthy amounts already and dont feel like your tired or lagging at all I would say enjoy the easy weight loss!! Lucky lol

chris1816

You may just be at an optimal point of weight loss. With some folks it can happen very fast. As the other poster mentioned breast feeding burns a great deal of calories since breast milk is mostly composed of fats and carbohydrates. I personally would advise against weighing daily as when that stops you may be setting yourself up for a psychological slump of discouragement by no longer seeing such smooth losses.

Just keep it up, keep exercising, eat mostly clean for the sake of your cholesteral and what not and don't sweat the details so much.

moonspells

You also might try only weighing once a week...your weight can fluctuate wildly day to day and might not accurately reflect your actual loss. If you are still early in the process, you'll probably see more losses too. As long as you're not losing more than a couple pounds a week, I wouldn't worry too much...

kd_mazur

how long have you been adding exercise to your routine? In the beginning of my journey I also posted some 2-3 lb/week losses but they evened out after the first couple months after I developed my routine and lost most of the water weight.

Jxnsmma

Im jealous.... Dont worry, it wont go on like that forever. You will plateau and then wonder WTF like the rest of us LOL! Enjoy it while you can!

TrailRunner61

I don't think it's too fast. As long as you feel well and have energy, don't worry about it. I've been doing this since January and I'll have 2-3 weeks of the scale not moving, then suddenly I drop 2-3lbs in 24-48 hours and it stays off. I've never figured out why that happens but it's better than hitting a plateau and staying there!
Eat healthy and keep up the good work! You're doing fine.

MommaKit79

I have to agree with the breastfeeding.

Also, if you are just starting with better eating habits, that in itself can cause some weight loss, especially if you re talking about sugar or salt intake. EXAMPLE: for me, even if I exercise, if i take in too much sugar, i cant lose weight. BUT, if i cut my sugar intake back significantly, i can lose, even if I am barely moving. Others are like this when it comes to Sodium.

Keep up your "diet" that you need for your Cholesterol and just keep it up. And, with time, you will come to understand your body and what works and doesnt work.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

taso42

The breastfeeding adds something like 500 calories to your daily energy expenditure.
The sedentary setting is not really appropriate for anyone who is active at all.
Bump up the activtiy level, and log the breastfeeding.

BrionyTallis

How do you feel? If you are losing weight too fast you probably won't feel very well. If you're eating well and you have energy to get through the day are the most important issues I would think.

Onesnap

There's settings on MFP to account for breastfeeding. Make sure you check those out to make sure you are where you should be.

Also, 1 pound per week loss is what is suggested by medical experts unless you have a LOT to lose (I forget what the magic number is there--but there's research out there).

You should make sure to speak to your doctor--even more so while breastfeeding to make sure you are on the plan that makes sense health-wise. You don't want to harm your body.

After pregnancy and during breastfeeding the weight can come off very fast. Just make sure to speak to your doctor and adjust your MFP plan settings (if you have not done so already)

TaylorsGranddad

You can gain/lose pounds a day, I lost 4lb yesterday BUT I ran 10k last night, which is why.

If you're exercising and eating back you should be fine.

kiminikimkim

It is nothing to worry about, there is no under-eating involved and you can function at 100%.

Worry only when you are experiencing fatigue, nausea or hunger pains.

Onesnap

The breastfeeding adds something like 500 calories to your daily energy expenditure.
The sedentary setting is not really appropriate for anyone who is active at all.
Bump up the activtiy level, and log the breastfeeding.

Actually, sedentary is for anyone that does not work in an active setting (say a factory or construction). It's based on what you do the majority of the day. So office workers are always sedentary. A stay at home parent would be sedentary as well. Even people that work out an hour/day are considered sedentary. It's what you're doing for the majority of each day. That's according to the MFP guidelines.

scrapbookdiva2

Early on in your weight loss you lose more quickly, also sodium, water, heat, can cause you to swing more and less. I think 2-4 lbs in a week is not to worry about from time to time. If you are hungry or are losing this much for many weeks in a row then I would maybe increase your cals, you may have a higher than average metabolims... I do.

Eleisabelle

To lose one pound in a day, you'd have to have a deficit of 3500 calories. Two pounds in two days, 7000 calorie deficit.

If you sincerely doubt your deficit is that high, you are quite possibly losing water weight. Did your sodium go down over those days?

I agree that daily weigh-ins can lead to discouragement later. However, if you do weigh in daily, use it more as a tool to see how you fluctuate over time rather than to see how much weight you're losing. Measurements are a far more reliable way to see how your change in lifestyle is affecting your body.

Keep steady, and you'll see real results. Just don't count on those daily fluctuations.

Onesnap

that sounds very normal. if you lost 10 pounds in a day then i might worry.

anything less than 5 pounds a week isn't a big deal really.

It depends on the person. I've heard doctors say that 1-2 pounds/week is normal in order to keep the weight off for good and to avoid any organ damage. I would not generalize and say less than 5 lbs/week. It depends on how much the person has to lose, if they are already at a healthy weight etc. In some cases more than 1lb/week is not suggested by a medical professional.

Post pregnancy though (and while breastfeeding) is not a typical weight loss scenario. There's other guidelines to follow, but a medical professional should be consulted because every person is different.

KimH313

Im jealous.... Dont worry, it wont go on like that forever. You will plateau and then wonder WTF like the rest of us LOL! Enjoy it while you can!

took the words right out of my mouth! i lost pretty much all my weight in about 4 months and have been the same ever since. enjoy it while you can lol

Homa24

I'm still nursing as well, starting from a similar point as you with a similar goal. Feel free to add me if you'd like! I think losing quickly at first is pretty normal, I set my MFP to "maintain" at first just to get a feeling for what I was eating calorie-wise. I lost anyway with exercise and the night nursing. I then started to eat junk in the evenings to catch up on calories so I changed my settings to 1/2 a pound a week and it has worked out much better. Good for you for being mindful of your body and wanting gradual loss! My first 10 lbs. took 70 days but I think these last 20 or so will take much, much longer.

RealWomenLovePitbulls

your weight can fluctuate like that from day to day depending on water and all that other stuff, i wouldnt worry about it, if it was a more dramatic difference, then i would, but i think it is good.

taso42

The breastfeeding adds something like 500 calories to your daily energy expenditure.
The sedentary setting is not really appropriate for anyone who is active at all.
Bump up the activtiy level, and log the breastfeeding.

Actually, sedentary is for anyone that does not work in an active setting (say a factory or construction). It's based on what you do the majority of the day. So office workers are always sedentary. A stay at home parent would be sedentary as well. Even people that work out an hour/day are considered sedentary. It's what you're doing for the majority of each day. That's according to the MFP guidelines.

Yep but the guidelines don't work. Technically I should be set to Sedentary, but I need to have it set to Very Active in order for the MFP numbers to match reality.

benich3043

Like everyone else says, if you don't feel like you are starving yourself and are staying hydrated then it's just simply weight loss. There were a couple of weeks where I lost 6 pounds in a week when I first started. It'll slow down when your body catches up with your increased activity level.

On another note, you should start Insanity today!

christiangandy

dont worry, your body will fluctuate on a daily basis, up and down by an average of 2.2lbs per day, depending on food intake, water retention etc, so weigh urself in a week or so, it should even out

secretlobster

1. A lot of people see a large initial loss in terms of water weight. I'm not saying you aren't losing mass in the form of fat, but I don't think you're necessarily losing too much mass too rapidly.

2. If you plan on eating your exercise calories back, sedentary is a good option. A lot of people get very personally offended by the idea of labeling themselves as "sedentary", but it's not an emotional thing, it's just a modifier to estimate how many calories you typically burn in a day. Even if you plan on exercising more often, unless you're completely overhauling your lifestyle (by several hours a day at least), I would probably not change your activity modifier. Some of this is experimentation, and the activity level modifiers are not entirely accurate, but I personally find it simpler to set my activity level to "sedentary" and then eat more when I'm active.

3. Edited to add the most important thing: If you're seeing the results you want, you feel good and energetic and you're happy, then why change anything?

ceannesjourney

Don't worry, it'll slow down soon--unfortunately ;o). It's just the initial change in lifestyle. Take care!

felice03

it is the body giving you motivation to keep going...but do not fear, in the very near future, you will slow down...then level out...then maybe even struggle to get going again. It is a vicious cycle....

caroleslaststand

You're fine. I lose it fast sometimes and slow sometimes and it all adds up to good news. If you know you're eating enough and not over doing it with exercise, then love the results and stop worrying.