Is a 1/2lb every two weeks an 'okay' loss?

So, I only have about 7-16 lbs (Depends on how I feel when I get to those goals) left, but I've gotten to the point that I'm only losing about a 1/2lb every two weeks. Is this an okay rate of loss? Should I be changing things up so that I lose more? I am losing inches slowly as well. I think maybe 1" every month to month and 1/2.

I was eating about 1300 calories but wasn't losing anything, it wasn't till I bumped up closer to 1600 that I've actually started losing again. I eat back my work out calories, because not eating them would put me right back at 1300.

TDEE calculators put me at closer to 2100 calories, but thats how I got fat to begin with, eating 2000+. MFP puts my maintinence at 1800. I am 5', 140lbs, with a desk job, a 1 year old, and working out 4-5 days a week for 30 minutes. :)

Just want to know if I'm on track, or if I need to tweak?
Just needing reassurance I guess.

Replies

  • kbanzhaf
    kbanzhaf Posts: 601 Member
    "Slow and steady wins the race" said the tortoise to the hair. :wink:

    If you have such a small amount to lose, then this is a totally acceptable amount of weight to lose every week or so. And as you have, said, you want to re-evaluate how much you actually lose when you reach the first amount. Keep at it, keep exercising, and good luck.

    Kaye
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
    Thanks. I think I just needed reassurance that I was still doing okay!
  • leenie96
    leenie96 Posts: 65
    You are doing wonderful! Congrats on your achievements so far!
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
    Slow and steady. I'm in that same boat. Been at this since mid-Jan, and it's been about 1/2 per week. The way I see it, it's better than going the other way. Or no loss at all.
  • sweetnlow30
    sweetnlow30 Posts: 497 Member
    I am in the same boat this time. When I first lost all my weight it came off at a steady pound a week but after a two year break and a 20 pound gain, it is coming off much slower this time and that is okay with me. Well honestly, a pound a week sound great lol but it is just not going to happen that way since I have mobility issues and can't exercise other than walking. Slow is really the way to go for healthy weightloss you can maintain long term :wink:
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
    I just got to this point. I lost .2 pounds last month! I hope it's not this slow for me for the rest of my last 10 pounds. I hear the less you have to lose, the closer to maintenance you should eat.
  • tsdaughe
    tsdaughe Posts: 88
    I am right about where you are. I have lost 1/2 inch in my abdomen in a about a month. I lost 1 inch in my waist in 1 month. I also have been losing about 1/2 lbs every month or so. I think more recently. I try to avoid the scale. I have days where I get discouraged because I want to lose faster but I also have an appetite and don't want to eat less calories to lose faster.
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
    I am right about where you are. I have lost 1/2 inch in my abdomen in a about a month. I lost 1 inch in my waist in 1 month. I also have been losing about 1/2 lbs every month or so. I think more recently. I try to avoid the scale. I have days where I get discouraged because I want to lose faster but I also have an appetite and don't want to eat less calories to lose faster.

    Thats part of the problem for me too, is that I'm starving. Like, stomach growling, headach inducing hunger. So I do eat, and I often eat 50-100 calories over because I'm starving. :O
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
    Totally in the same boat. When you don't have much to lose, it's best to do it slow, because when you get to your goal, you won't be dying to change how you eat and bounce right back again.

    Sometimes I think maybe I should try to go faster, but then I remember I don't feel like I am on a diet, I could happily eat and work out this way indefinitely, and so I will have no problem maintaining whatever weight I settle in at! Additionally, you won't lose much muscle at a small deficit because you are feeding yourself well.

    It's not very exciting to lose .2 pounds a week, but IMHO you are doing things the right way. You are doing great!
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    With that little to lose, 1/2 pound every two weeks is close to perfect.
  • caspergirl7
    caspergirl7 Posts: 590 Member
    Any lose is good : )
  • sixtyinchesoffury
    sixtyinchesoffury Posts: 321 Member
    we are the same!!!! i'm 5'0 143 and have a 1 year old :-) friend me if you want i'm eating about 1800 calories a day and working out everyday I know if I cleaned up my diet i'd probably see better results but it's not terrible to lose slowly and it's much better for my energy levels. i'm a massage therapist so i'm pretty active at work. good luck :-)
  • aneedell
    aneedell Posts: 46 Member
    Thats part of the problem for me too, is that I'm starving. Like, stomach growling, headach inducing hunger. So I do eat, and I often eat 50-100 calories over because I'm starving. :O

    If at all practical you should arrange to eat enough (quaility) food to not be hungry. What I do on my 1400 plan is leave only 600 or 700 for dinner if I don't go for a walk or get on the elliptical for 40 minutes after work. Its hard to not be hungry on 6-700 calories, so there is great incentive to do some excercise. 1000-1200 calories is quite enough to have a satisfying meal (and even a glass of wine) once I get home.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    17 pounds down and still losing is always good. You can always try doing some small changes - increase cardio, add in (more) strength training, or change calories a few hundred down a day - and see what happens over a month.

    Just keep working along.