Who uses MFP with 2 lb week loss - Hows it working for you?

johnguitarman

I'm currently using the 2 lb loss a week on MFP. WHo else has used the 2 lb loss and what kind of results have you been getting? How much have you lost? I've heard different suggestions saying its better to go for a pound loss a week as opposed to two. Its great losing 2 lbs a week but I wonder if its better for the long run to lose a pound a week. What are your thoughts on the matter?

newdaydawning79

From what I understand, if you have a lot to lose, there's nothing wrong with 2lbs/week. I've had mine set at that and I've been losing about that every week without fail thus far (for the past 4 months). I figure once I get a little further along I'll drop it down to 1.5 and then 1, etc, so that I'm losing at a healthy rate for my body.

Live4theLift

I do it, I eat roughly 1600 a day. I needed to lose weight quick so from jan until now I've lost 50. I will bulk/ repair my metabolism once my vacation is over in jun.

KatLifter

I'd suggest going more by your own TDEE than MFPs recommendations. Theirs were too low for me (1,200 calories a day? Please!)
Check out this calorie calculator, http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Annie83uk

my profile is set on 2 pounds but i prefer it to be more, i have been losing between 1 and 4 pound a week at the moment

iamkass

2lbs a week is fine if you have a lot to lose, but it'll eventually stop working because it's not enough food. Eat more, it works.

scribega

I am doing that...but only been doing it for a few weeks My calories are set at 1560 but I exercise every day and eat back my calories.

luziferl

im only on MFP for two weeks now, but so far, it's going well (been with weight watchers before... did not really lose, so I really love MFP)

I lost approx. 700 gramm per week, which is nearly 2 lbs... so I think its working (ive often eaten over my calories, munching on chocolate or drinking alcohol,( but been within my BMR - 30 %) so it's working quite well for me

elysehunt

In 2011 I lost 18 lbs in a little under 16 weeks. The funny thing is, some weeks I wouldn't lose any weight and other weeks I lost 2-4lbs! Each body/metabolism is different and as long as you aren't feeling sluggish or overly-exhausted then the 2lb/week plan might be right for you. I am currently trying to lose last 10lbs that never came off & I am incorporating a lot of strength training into my workouts to help my metabolism stay high.

crystalflame

General guidelines on how much you should be set to lose per week:

More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

You want to retain lean mass and prevent as much loose skin as possible. Losing too quickly will cause both of those things.

MicroHez

Mine is set at 2 lbs/wk, and I usually lose right around that amount. But, I also have about 100 lbs to lose. I will cut it back to 1 lb/wk once I meet my inital goal, because at that point I will probably only be looking to lose no more than 30 more lbs. But, for now, it seems to be working!

lmbame905

I have mine set at 2 lbs per week now. I did have it set for 1.5 lbs and I saw no change. I've had it set at 2 now for about a week, and I've lost 2.

jmc0806

I had it set for 2lbs a week for a little over a year and lost about 130lb during that time span. Now I have it set to 1lb a week and keep upping my intake

CM9178

General guidelines on how much you should be set to lose per week:

More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

You want to retain lean mass and prevent as much loose skin as possible. Losing too quickly will cause both of those things.

This does no apply to everyone. I have 40 lbs to lose, and the most I can do without being below BMR, is .8 lbs per week.
Rather than saying "I want to lose x amount per week", you should use the calculators, determine BMR and TDEE and then use the biggest deficit you can, without being below BMR.

MFP will just let you set it to 2 lbs and ignore the fact that it may be way too low for you, as long as it is above 1200, they don't care.

iwantdesperately

I got mine set at 2 lbs per week. I don't lose two pounds every week. Some weeks I lose more than two pounds and some weeks I don't lose anything. I started on January 14th,2013 and have averaged about 2.5 lbs per week. I have lost 30 lbs thus far with a weigh in coming in a few days.

dmikulin

I'm using it and it is working amazing for me - better than anything I've done in the past. I've lost 30.4 lbs over 99 days = 2.15 lbs / week.

My goal (generated by mfp) started with 1490 calories / day, but when I recently updated my goal, it reduced me to 1390 calories / day. I find I am eating closer to 1600 - 2000 calories (and sometimes way more on cheat day), so use daily exercise to reduce my net down to the goal. The daily exercise also functions as stress relief.

When I switched from daily cardio to weights 3 times / week + cardio 6 days per week (less on days I do weights), I noticed the weight to really start coming off consistently, not to mention some serious toning happening.

About a week ago, I customized my goal to 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein as well based on comments in mfp forums and other weight loss / fitness books.

CM9178

I'm using it and it is working amazing for me - better than anything I've done in the past. I've lost 30.4 lbs over 99 days = 2.15 lbs / week.

My goal (generated by mfp) started with 1490 calories / day, but when I recently updated my goal, it reduced me to 1390 calories / day. I find I am eating closer to 1600 - 2000 calories (and sometimes way more on cheat day), so use daily exercise to reduce my net down to the goal. The daily exercise also functions as stress relief.

When I switched from daily cardio to weights 3 times / week + cardio 6 days per week (less on days I do weights), I noticed the weight to really start coming off consistently, not to mention some serious toning happening.

About a week ago, I customized my goal to 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein as well based on comments in mfp forums and other weight loss / fitness books.

There is no way you should only be eating 1390 calories per day.
I am a 5'2, 34 y/o woman with 40 lbs to lose, and my calorie goal without any activity at all, is 1550.

jimshine

I set it to two pounds and it has been coming off at 2 pounds, but it isn't precise on a week span. It may be a day or two more, and I swear it doesn't reflect slowly. The scale will read the same, then I will feel my pants suddenly feel like they fit different, weigh and see the loss.

sunflowerhippi

General guidelines on how much you should be set to lose per week:

More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

You want to retain lean mass and prevent as much loose skin as possible. Losing too quickly will cause both of those things.

This does no apply to everyone. I have 40 lbs to lose, and the most I can do without being below BMR, is .8 lbs per week.
Rather than saying "I want to lose x amount per week", you should use the calculators, determine BMR and TDEE and then use the biggest deficit you can, without being below BMR.

MFP will just let you set it to 2 lbs and ignore the fact that it may be way too low for you, as long as it is above 1200, they don't care.

So true, for me I had 50-60 to loose and 1.5 would put me below BMR, so did I do it. Nope!

johnguitarman

Sounds great everyone. Thank you for your comments. I am currently a bit confused. I keep reading about staying above your BMR under your TDEE but I am losing consistent weight just by using MFP at the 1900 calories a day it says I should be on now. I see there are alot of opinions on the two approaches and it kind of makes things a bit confusing on which a person should be using. I always thought that a 500 cal deficit a day meant a pound loss a week. So if you just take your BMR subtract the 500 you would lose a pound a week. Simple and easy. Add some exercise and thats additional weight lost. I now read alot about TDEE and I do wonder if I should switch things up to get over my BMR but then I say I'm losing weight at a good pace, I feel strong and healthier than I have in a long time so why shake things up?

My ultimate goal is to drop another 60 pounds or so and get down to about 200 and then start lifting to put some muscle mass on. At the rate I'm going I should hit that goal around Nov or Dec. I currently do cardio/weight training so I can burn fat and keep as much muscle as I already have.

KatLifter

Sounds great everyone. Thank you for your comments. I am currently a bit confused. I keep reading about staying above your BMR under your TDEE but I am losing consistent weight just by using MFP at the 1900 calories a day it says I should be on now. I see there are alot of opinions on the two approaches and it kind of makes things a bit confusing on which a person should be using. I always thought that a 500 cal deficit a day meant a pound loss a week. So if you just take your BMR subtract the 500 you would lose a pound a week. Simple and easy. Add some exercise and thats additional weight lost. I now read alot about TDEE and I do wonder if I should switch things up to get over my BMR but then I say I'm losing weight at a good pace, I feel strong and healthier than I have in a long time so why shake things up?

My ultimate goal is to drop another 60 pounds or so and get down to about 200 and then start lifting to put some muscle mass on. At the rate I'm going I should hit that goal around Nov or Dec. I currently do cardio/weight training so I can burn fat and keep as much muscle as I already have.

So your BMR is the number of calories you would burn just to stay alive laying in bed.
TDEE is how many you burn from your daily activities.
It is suggested you don't eat below your BMR or yu can damage your metabolism. Your deficit should come from your TDEE. So you're eating more than required for living, but thess than you burn in a day.

Hope that's helpful.

CM9178

Sounds great everyone. Thank you for your comments. I am currently a bit confused. I keep reading about staying above your BMR under your TDEE but I am losing consistent weight just by using MFP at the 1900 calories a day it says I should be on now. I see there are alot of opinions on the two approaches and it kind of makes things a bit confusing on which a person should be using. I always thought that a 500 cal deficit a day meant a pound loss a week. So if you just take your BMR subtract the 500 you would lose a pound a week. Simple and easy. Add some exercise and thats additional weight lost. I now read alot about TDEE and I do wonder if I should switch things up to get over my BMR but then I say I'm losing weight at a good pace, I feel strong and healthier than I have in a long time so why shake things up?

My ultimate goal is to drop another 60 pounds or so and get down to about 200 and then start lifting to put some muscle mass on. At the rate I'm going I should hit that goal around Nov or Dec. I currently do cardio/weight training so I can burn fat and keep as much muscle as I already have.

You should really not eat at more than a 20% deficit from your TDEE number.
Yes, a 500 cal deficit/per day would equal roughly a 1lb loss per week, however, for many people, a 500 cal deficit would be wayyyy too low calorie wise. Also, that deficit comes off your TDEE, not your BMR number - you should not eat below BMR.

So for example, if your TDEE is 2000, then 2000 - 20% = 1600 (that is obviously only a 400 calorie reduction, so you would lose less than 1 lb per week in this example.) If your BMR is higher than 1600, then you should not eat at the 20% deficit, and adjust accordingly.

Also, check this out, it will explain things a lot more http://eatmore2weighless.com/

Keep in mind, MFP assumes you will eat back all of the exercise calories you burn, whereas, when using a TDEE calculator, your expected calories burned will be included in the number it gives you.