Am I loosing too much too quickly??

Dunc8 · February 2010

Hey,

Started this a week ago today, and I've lost 6 pounds... roughly loosing a pound a day give or take. I'm 26, male, 5.11 and started at 13 stone (182 lb). I was only ever a tiny bit overweight but just fancied getting rid of the belly, love handles and slight man boobs!

I'm on 1270 calories a day, so have a small breakfast, eat an apple and bananna and maybe some other fruit in the day (but no lunch) and a normal meal in the evening and maybe some cereal later on. I sit at a desk all day but walk to and from work (about an hours walk a day, sometimes 2 hours if I walk into town at lunch) and I do about an hour of weights and sit ups/press ups every other day.

I'm just shocked at how fast I seem to be loosing weight- isn't a pound a day a bit too much? Is it unhealthy for the body to be loosing that quick?

Cheers for any advice,

Dunc

Lisa0711 · February 2010

It's pretty typical to see a great loss in the first week. It usually slows after the first week/few weeks. So I would say you're on track there. But 1270 calories isn't much daily for a guy to take in I would think. Is that what MFP recommended for you?

kwardklinck · February 2010

I may be wrong but I think you're eating too little. Is that the target MFP gave you? I thought men had to eat more than that at a minimum.

kwardklinck · February 2010

I just read that a man must have between 1400 and 1500 at a minimum. Need to eat a little more.

Dunc8 · February 2010

Yeah, MFP recomends 1270 Cals if I want to loose 2 pounds a week- which is why I was so suprised to be loosing 6! In the UK the average for a male is 2500 but didn't realise there was a minimum but in hindsight that makes complete sense. Just don't seem to be suffering any ill effects apart from a bit of hunger during the day (fruit doesn't fill me up at all) but thats always sorted by a hearty meal when I get home. Perhaps I will up it a little, would be nice to have sandwitches again! Thanks for your posts!

gary5891 · February 2010

I started using MFP last Monday and i have been eating a minimum of 1200 calories a day too. I weighed myself at the weekend and i had lost 5lbs but the people i have spoken to have said that is normal for the first week of dieting so i won't be expecting to drop another 5lb's this week!

erickirb · February 2010

Try switching to 1 pound per week, this will give you more calories to eat and it doesn't seem like you have much to loose anyway, at your height and weight, 2 pounds per week is aggressive and meant for people that are overweight, not for people looking to loose a few pounds. Keep up the good work.

smae1980 · February 2010

I think losing 2 lbs a week for someone who doesn't have much to lose is too much. Chances are once all the weight comes off, you will go back to eating the same as you did before and gain all the weight back. The important thing is to look as this as a lifestyle change and not a diet. You shouldn't begin something here you won't maintain in the long run and if you're hungry all the time, you probably won't.

smae1980 · February 2010

Just wanted to add that I am a 5'4" woman and I've been here for about a month and have lost 8lbs and I eat way more than 1270 calories a day

Magenta15 · February 2010

I think you should throw a lil healthy lunch in there as well containing some protein, doesn't have to be big, but something to hold you over til supper, even just a whole wheat turkey sandwhich or something to that effect

bexiesbruv · February 2010

I would say yes, probably.
I am part of a running clinic and most Sunday runs are preceded by a talk. Yesterday was nutrition. If you eat less than your minimum required calorie requirement (to survive), so the amount you would need to maintain weight if you just laid on the sofa all day, not moving, then your body will go into starvation mode and use muscle for fuel rather than fat. Initially the weight loss looks great but obviously the effects of this will be entirely negative.
Re-check your numbers perhaps

Bex

dewdrop · February 2010

Have a look at the posts below, especially at SHBoss1673's replies:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81124-daily-calories-really-that-low

Are you guys not exercising at all?! For what I know, 1200 cal is the minimum(!) a girl(!) with a sedentary life should eat, if she wants to lose weight. If she's exercising, she should eat more than that.

spritie · February 2010

at a minimum you should start eating your exercise calories, as you sound pretty active, and are within a healthy weight for your height, you should definatly increase your caloric intake.

Sounds like you just want to lose some body fat, but if your losing weight that quickly at that weight, sounds like your losing both fat mass and fat free mass (muscles, bones etc). Losing fat free mass is a very bad thing to do.

KatWood · February 2010

Weight does tend to come off quick in the first few week and then it slows down. That being said 2lbs per week is too aggressive of a goal considering you do not have that much to lose. I agree that you should change your goal to 1lb per week to increase your daily calories. 1200 is way too low for a male. Also if you are working out make sure you eat at least some of the calories back.

Good luck

Dunc8 · February 2010

Thanks for the replies.

Bexiesbruv- thanks for the info, never heard of BMR before- I looked at my BMR and it's 1800 so definatly need to eat more!

Iamalady bird- You're right, I will be eating more eventually but not like I used to. That's the good thing about MFP. makes you aware of the calories you're eating. I used to eat an entire packet of chocolate bourbons with a hot chocolate, or a huge packet of crisps, or a big bar of choc etc etc. Although it's obvious that stuff will fatten you up I didn't quite realise by how much (especially crisps!)

Thanks to everyone

LittleSpy · February 2010

Yeah, MFP recomends 1270 Cals if I want to loose 2 pounds a week- which is why I was so suprised to be loosing 6! In the UK the average for a male is 2500 but didn't realise there was a minimum but in hindsight that makes complete sense. Just don't seem to be suffering any ill effects apart from a bit of hunger during the day (fruit doesn't fill me up at all) but thats always sorted by a hearty meal when I get home. Perhaps I will up it a little, would be nice to have sandwitches again! Thanks for your posts!

You should only set 2 pounds a week as your goal if you're OBESE. At your height/weight/sex, you certainly are not obese. As everyone else has told you, you need to eat more. And you need to expect a slower weight loss for the long haul.

That having been said, 6 pounds the first week isn't too alarming. When you start a new diet/exercise program, you tend to lose a lot of water (sorry) at first.

FrenchMob · February 2010

Setting a 2lb/wk goal for someone your size is WAY too aggressive. You'll end up losing a bunch of lean mass and that's not good. I wouldn't go any more than 0.5lbs/wk setting, which is what I plan to do once I get to within 10-15 lbs of my goal. I'm currently at 1 lbs/wk & have another 20-25 lbs to go.

msarro · February 2010

At 182 you should *not* be trying to lose 2lbs per week. Its too much. Only the obese should be attempting that much of a calorie deficit, below that you're going to plateau pretty hard. I'd definately ramp it up to 1lb, or even .5 pounds. You should probably be eating closer to 1800-1900 calories a day.

EDIT: Lol, looks like I'm just parroting everyone else

I know the 2lb/week looks attractive because you'd think it would go faster. Honestly though, it only works for people who have an extreme amount of weight to lose.

Am I loosing too much too quickly??

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