Is it bad to lose more than 1lb/wk?

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DancingMoosie
DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Why are you only supposed to lose a .5 to 1lb a week? Is it bad to lose more quickly? And if so, why?

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  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    The faster you lose weight, the harder it is on your body and the higher the proportion of lean mass you lose.

    People who are obese can generally lose a good bit faster without sacrificing too much. But in general if you lose too quickly you will be sacrificing more muscle mass than you need to, and muscle mass is the key to metabolism, strength, and a bunch of other things.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    So you will lose muscle mass, even if strength training, while eating at deficit?
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    So you will lose muscle mass, even if strength training, while eating at deficit?

    Possibly. Especially if you lose weight over a longer period.
  • zeta30
    zeta30 Posts: 40
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    So you will lose muscle mass, even if strength training, while eating at deficit?

    It depends how you work out and what types of food you are eating. It is very possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Here is a web page that explains how, the video is good but you have to get past the fact that the presenter's voice doesn't match his body...

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat/
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    The general recommendation is .5 to 2 lbs per week. If you are including strength training and appropriate levels of protein, research has shown that even with a loss of 2 lbs (or more) per week muscle mass can be maintained.

    Some people find .5-1lb more sustainable and calorie deficits that allow for 2 lbs/week can lead to under eating and malnutrition as you get closer to your goal. The more weight you have to lose, the easier it is to get larger losses per week while still maintaining good nutrition.
  • marzipan7
    marzipan7 Posts: 8
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    What could be wrong with losing 2 lbs per week? When a person has as much to lose as I do, my body is going to go for the fat stores before muscle. Our bodies are great at conserving energy. Look at the Krebs cycle and other cycles that go on in our bodies and you will see it takes less energy to convert fat to energy than muscle to energy.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    It's best to go for smaller weekly losses for a few reasons.

    First of all, it's easier to maintain those losses. Secondly, faster losses mean more of those losses will come from muscle mass. You will lose some muscle while in a calorie deficit..more if your deficit is too high. Enough protein, a smaller deficit and lifting heavy weights will help to lower the amount of muscle loss and even maintain the amount of muscle you have.

    Finally, slower losses are easier to stick with. Large losses normally mean dramatic changes to your diet and daily life which can be hard to stick with.

    Larger losses and a larger deficit that is needed for larger losses usually will also not leave your body enough to run on.
  • 89nunu
    89nunu Posts: 1,082 Member
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    So you will lose muscle mass, even if strength training, while eating at deficit?

    It depends how you work out and what types of food you are eating. It is very possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Here is a web page that explains how, the video is good but you have to get past the fact that the presenter's voice doesn't match his body...

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat/

    Hahahaha, it cracks me up every time he opens his mouth! He has got some useful tips though...

    To the topic. If you haven't got a lot of weight to loose, slow and steady wins the race and makes life a lot more bearable...
  • swingsintherain
    swingsintherain Posts: 121 Member
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    What everyone else said. While I still have ~35 lbs to lose, I've changed my goals to .5 lbs a week because I was exhausted all the time on a larger (1 lb a week) deficit. This is probably just from not eating the right foods, but the extra 250 calories a day that I'm eating helps me make sure I fit in the good foods with the nutrients! I'm finding it easier to follow, rather than trying to force myself to lose more quickly (because what good is a goal if you're miserable for months in the process of attaining it?)
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
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    It may take less energy to convert fat to energy than muscle to energy, but that doesn't mean your body prefers to do it or will only do that.
  • MrSiJo
    MrSiJo Posts: 25
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    hmm i've only just started doing this and in the last 2 weeks i've lost 10lbs! based on what you guys are saying that could be bad :S

    All i'm doing is calorie counting and walking 2 miles a day!
  • MGSR
    MGSR Posts: 35 Member
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    I saw someone on here say that losing up to 1% of your weight per week healthily, which makes sense to me :)
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    So you will lose muscle mass, even if strength training, while eating at deficit?

    The higher your calorie deficit(less energy you take in) the more likely the body will use internal resources as energy, such as protein(lean muscle mass).

    If you run a calorie deficit, the body must use internal resources as energy. Fatty tissue, muscle, organ mass, bone mass, etc, can all be used to make up that deficit.
  • NanaWubbie
    NanaWubbie Posts: 248 Member
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    Rapid weight loss can cause gall stones. Also, if you lose weight very fast...without getting in the proper nutrition you can experience other negative side effects, such as losing your hair.
  • 30ismyyear
    30ismyyear Posts: 145 Member
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    With how little you have to lose it just doesn't seem that realistic to even aim too much higher.

    Remember, it took time to gain weight... you can't expect to lose it in a fraction of the time!
  • gettingontrack126
    gettingontrack126 Posts: 23
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    it depends on the person. when i first got started with my weightloss i was loosing 1-3 pounds a week ( i was more overweight then). the good amount is 1-2 pounds a week for the average person. people lose at their own pace based on everyones individual metabolism, a person who weighs more will lose faster than someone who weighs less than them. don't worry about it, as long as you feel good, healthy, and energized and you see progress with your weight, i dont think theres a problem.
  • MrSiJo
    MrSiJo Posts: 25
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    it depends on the person. when i first got started with my weightloss i was loosing 1-3 pounds a week ( i was more overweight then). the good amount is 1-2 pounds a week for the average person. people lose at their own pace based on everyones individual metabolism, a person who weighs more will lose faster than someone who weighs less than them. don't worry about it, as long as you feel good, healthy, and energized and you see progress with your weight, i dont think theres a problem.

    I think that's what i think... I wouldn't know how to loose 1-2lbs a week i've been losing 5lbs a week (for the last 2 weeks)!

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