Unrealistic weight loss?

austinmclark

Hey everybody. I have been watching calorie intake and exercising (almost every day) for about 2 weeks now. Before I started, I weighed 310 pounds. I'm 19 years old and 6"6. I regularly work out at my University's gym, and first weighed myself on their scale. But I have been home for spring break and have worked out at a nearby gym, which doesn't have a scale. So I came home after my exercise today and used my sisters. Which said I was 294 pounds. I don't know about you all, but to me that sounds absolutely crazy. Is it possible for someone to lose so much weight so quickly? I'm not starving myself by any means. I think maybe the scale is broken, but I won't be able to check until I go back to school in a week! What do you all think?

cassondra1370

It seems completely possible to me. 16 pounds in two weeks for a bigger person often happens, especially at the very beginning of weight loss. I have lost 8 pounds in the first two weeks of exercising/watching what I eat, and I started a little above 150. Good luck with your weight loss!

1ConcreteGirl

Completely possible.

Those with more weight to lose can lose weight very quickly at first. You may have a couple more weeks like this before your loss slows down to a more sustainable rate.

moontyrant

Your first couple weeks are going to see impressive results, especially if you have more than a few pounds to lose. It may be an accurate count; you'll see when you return to your university. I wouldn't worry about it.

Doctorpurple

You used two different scales to weigh yourself. It's possible that there is a discrepancy between the two which can be up to about 10 pounds or so. Another factor is you could have weighed yourself in the gym with more clothes, more food, etc. than your sisters scale. The solution is get your own scale and start weighing from there track your progress with one form of measurement.

1ConcreteGirl

Wow, I just read that a little more closely. You're 6'6"! You are definitely not eating enough calories.

I ran your numbers and found that to maintain your current weight you'd need to eat around 3400 calories per day. Even slashing 1000 calories off that, you should be eating at least 2400 calories per day. I bet you'll be happier than with your 1500, too!

Try this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

jmc0806

I lost about 25lbs in my first month just by changing my diet and walking daily

cjh022

In my experience scales rarely agree, gym scales are used way more and could be worn out or home scales may not be calibrated etc etc etc... whatever the reason it may not be accurate. HOWEVER extreme amounts of weight loss in the first couple weeks is not unheard of as it may be a very drastic change for your body and you can lose quite a bit of water weight and such. This is more common i think for people with more to lose overall. Whichever the reason, it feels good now to see that number use it as motivation! Great job on your changes already and good luck on your journey

Also if you have a dumbbell or something similar you could weigh it on your sisters scale to check its accuracy...

austinmclark

Thanks so much for you input everyone!

Do you all have a specific brand of scale that you recommend? I want the most accurate measure possible.

dcuevas6235

Also if you have a dumbbell or something similar you could weigh it on your sisters scale to check its accuracy...

Its a good idea to use the same scale when officially comparing because there will be a difference between in accuracy between a gym's scale and personal scale.

On a side note, I would suggest talking to your primary dr. about your weight loss goals. There is such a thing as loosing too much weight at once.

austinmclark

Wow, I just read that a little more closely. You're 6'6"! You are definitely not eating enough calories.

I ran your numbers and found that to maintain your current weight you'd need to eat around 3400 calories per day. Even slashing 1000 calories off that, you should be eating at least 2400 calories per day. I bet you'll be happier than with your 1500, too!

Try this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

I am finding myself eating from 1500-1700 calories per day. Is this bad? The first few days I felt relatively hungry, though I suppose that was getting used to not overeating. And now 1500-1700 is enough for me. I don't feel too bad at all. I suppose I COULD eat more, but would it hurt me to not?

1ConcreteGirl

Wow, I just read that a little more closely. You're 6'6"! You are definitely not eating enough calories.

I ran your numbers and found that to maintain your current weight you'd need to eat around 3400 calories per day. Even slashing 1000 calories off that, you should be eating at least 2400 calories per day. I bet you'll be happier than with your 1500, too!

Try this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

I am finding myself eating from 1500-1700 calories per day. Is this bad? The first few days I felt relatively hungry, though I suppose that was getting used to not overeating. And now 1500-1700 is enough for me. I don't feel too bad at all. I suppose I COULD eat more, but would it hurt me to not?

Yes, it would, for several reasons. First, though, you need to understand why you're not feeling hungry.

The hunger-regulating hormone in your body is called Leptin. It is producted in direct proportion to consumption. If you eat more, Leptin production increases and makes you more hungry. If you eat less, it decreases and you feel less hungry. This is how anorexics can eat 600 cals a day and say they don't feel hungry. Your leptin production has decreased because you are eating less, so your brain is receiving skewed messages.

This is why it is important to go by science, rather than how we feel and "listening to our bodies," which, let's be honest, is usually how we ended up weighing more than we'd like.

Next, you need to know two numbers. Your BMR: Basal Metabolic Rate. The number of calories it would take your body to properly function in a coma: organs, breathing, etc, but nothing else. The bare minimum of functional survival. Using your height, weight, and gender, your BMR is 2500 calories.

Eating below BMR for an extended period causes significant loss of muscle tissue/lean body mass, and ends up damaging your metabolism, which makes you more likely to gain weight in the future.

The second number, your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the number of calories it takes for a person of your height, weight, and gender, to live life: so it's your BMR and then added onto that, the number of calories you'd burn walking around, talking, getting the mail, going to school, whatever. Your TDEE is 3450 calories. TDEE is your maintenance calories. If you eat approximately 3450 calories, you will neither gain nor lose weight. If you eat below that, you will lose weight. Above, you will gain.

So basically, for the healthiest weight loss that preserves muscle and promotes only fat loss, you want to eat between your TDEE and BMR. The general wisdom is TDEE-20%, which for you would be 3450-20%, or about 2750 calories a day.

This puts the least amount of stress on your body, preserves muscle, and makes it likely that you will maintain this loss in the future. To increase your calories, just add 100 or 200 calories per week to your intake until you hit around 2700 cals, so that your body will slowly adjust to it.

You can play with the numbers here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Hope that helps.

Sunny____

Hey everybody. I have been watching calorie intake and exercising (almost every day) for about 2 weeks now. Before I started, I weighed 310 pounds. I'm 19 years old and 6"6. I regularly work out at my University's gym, and first weighed myself on their scale. But I have been home for spring break and have worked out at a nearby gym, which doesn't have a scale. So I came home after my exercise today and used my sisters. Which said I was 294 pounds. I don't know about you all, but to me that sounds absolutely crazy. Is it possible for someone to lose so much weight so quickly? I'm not starving myself by any means. I think maybe the scale is broken, but I won't be able to check until I go back to school in a week! What do you all think?

It sounds fine to me. For one you are only 19, your metabolism is high. NUmber two the more you weigh the faster you lose, YOu always typically lose more in the beginning, bc you are losing water weight and some real weight too.

But you are not consistently using the same scale and that can make a difference. I have two scales at home and weigh differently on each one. YOu need to use the same scale to measure true weight loss.

j4nash

Perfectly normal. My weight can sway as much as 7-8 pounds in a day. I'm 6'11", and agree with above poster, eat more.

ninerbuff

Hey everybody. I have been watching calorie intake and exercising (almost every day) for about 2 weeks now. Before I started, I weighed 310 pounds. I'm 19 years old and 6"6. I regularly work out at my University's gym, and first weighed myself on their scale. But I have been home for spring break and have worked out at a nearby gym, which doesn't have a scale. So I came home after my exercise today and used my sisters. Which said I was 294 pounds. I don't know about you all, but to me that sounds absolutely crazy. Is it possible for someone to lose so much weight so quickly? I'm not starving myself by any means. I think maybe the scale is broken, but I won't be able to check until I go back to school in a week! What do you all think?

1%-2% of your bodyweight lost isn't abnormal.

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