Why 2 pounds/week max of weight loss?

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  • 2013james
    2013james Posts: 24
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    So I was/am somewhat concerned by the point you guys raise about cardio killing muscle, not fat.
    1. I try to counterbalance this by lifting throughout the week. Hopefully this sends the right signals to my body to keep the muscle and not lose the fat

    Cardio itself doesn't necessarily kill muscle instead of fat, it's not that simple and your calorie deficit will influence how much muscle you consume.

    Lifting weights isn't going to give your body a signal to keep muscle and lose fat unless you feed your muscles/body appropriately and enough.
    Also, this is MFP, not The Biggest Loser :smile:

    LOVE IT!
  • crazy4fids
    crazy4fids Posts: 173
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    Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but the faster you loose the weight, the greater the chances of putting it back on. I can't vouch for this info, I read it in the book Burn Fat, Build Lean Muscle by Tom Venuto
  • sudowpa2
    sudowpa2 Posts: 70
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    You should eat under your TDE, but over your BMR (net). Which means, if you're working out, you should eat more to make up some of the deficit in order for your organs to still have the right fuel to function.

    Also, whilst I'm sure some people could burn 1000 cals in an hour, I use a heart rate monitor and even when I'm working very hard, only get to about 400 per hour. So for a lot of people, burning that much a day just isn't possible.

    By eating too little and pushing yourself too hard in the gym, you're just asking for your body to feel unwell.

    It is possible. I am 5'9" at 255lbs and My heart rate stays around 165 BPM on average. If I am on an elliptical or walking up hill on a treadmill then I can reach around 947cal per hour. I am using a heart rate monitor as well. If you are smaller then you don't burn as much as someone has indicated. The bigger you are, the faster it looses until it starts to even itself out.
  • orangelobster
    orangelobster Posts: 151
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    Then you do 1000 calories of cardio a day (roughly 1 hour say on an elliptical machine).


    It would take upward of 2 hours to burn 1000 calories on an elliptical, I hate to tell you.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    First, your deficit is deducted from your TDEE, not RMR/BMR.

    Secondly, starving has to do with energy availability (net calories), not just the amount of food you eat.

    My body requires 2900 calories to maintain itself while lifting five days a week. If I create a deficit from eating 1000 calories without any additional exercise, it is the same as if I were to eat 2900 calories and burn off an additional 1900 calories from additional activity. I would still be starving myself since they both equal to the same energy availability.

    Finally, there is a limit to how much fat mass that can be oxidized in a 24-hour period which is based on total fat mass. The closer you get to that individual limit, the higher the ratio to meet energy demands comes from fat-free mass. Any deficit beyond that limit will not result in further fat loss within that same 24-hour period.
  • dapzzz
    dapzzz Posts: 15 Member
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    Then you do 1000 calories of cardio a day (roughly 1 hour say on an elliptical machine).


    It would take upward of 2 hours to burn 1000 calories on an elliptical, I hate to tell you.

    I weigh ~230 pounds, so the machine reports a pretty decent amount lost per minute. I guess for people who weigh less, they'll burn less.
  • orangelobster
    orangelobster Posts: 151
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    Then you do 1000 calories of cardio a day (roughly 1 hour say on an elliptical machine).


    It would take upward of 2 hours to burn 1000 calories on an elliptical, I hate to tell you.

    I weigh ~230 pounds, so the machine reports a pretty decent amount lost per minute. I guess for people who weigh less, they'll burn less.

    Ah, I never thought of that. I'm only 152 or so, it takes me _forever_ to burn 500 cal.
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Then you do 1000 calories of cardio a day (roughly 1 hour say on an elliptical machine).


    It would take upward of 2 hours to burn 1000 calories on an elliptical, I hate to tell you.

    I weigh ~230 pounds, so the machine reports a pretty decent amount lost per minute. I guess for people who weigh less, they'll burn less.

    I'm 226 pounds and the most I burn on the elliptical in an hour if I go balls to the wall insane is 700 cals, tops. That's according to my Polar HRM. It was about the same when I was 230, give or take 10 or 20 cals. You can't really trust exercise machines for an accurate cal burn, they usually overestimate. If you really want to know what you're burning your best bet is an HRM (the ones with the chest straps). They still have a small margin of error but they are more correct than the machine or MFP.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    It doesn't really make sense to me. You can lose a lot more if you incorporate cardio.

    Like, suppose you do a 500 calorie deficit each day from eating 500 less calories than your base metabolic rate.

    Then you do 1000 calories of cardio a day (roughly 1 hour say on an elliptical machine).

    That is 1500 calories lost per day...3 pounds per week.

    And obviously, some people can do more than one hour of cardio per day, and other are will to create larger food deficits than 500 calories/day.

    So it seems to me that if you have a LOT of free time to do cardio, you could shed weight quite a bit faster, without starving yourself.


    When I joined MFP I got the feeling it was designed to help with sustained wieght loss...like over several months. And once you reached your goal it would help you stay there.

    Do it your way for three weeks and see how you feel and get back to us on wheather you think you can keep up that routine for several months.
  • dapzzz
    dapzzz Posts: 15 Member
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    I'm 226 pounds and the most I burn on the elliptical in an hour if I go balls to the wall insane is 700 cals, tops. That's according to my Polar HRM. It was about the same when I was 230, give or take 10 or 20 cals. You can't really trust exercise machines for an accurate cal burn, they usually overestimate. If you really want to know what you're burning your best bet is an HRM (the ones with the chest straps). They still have a small margin of error but they are more correct than the machine or MFP.

    Dang. That is super crappy if it turns out i've been overestimating..
  • dapzzz
    dapzzz Posts: 15 Member
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    After googling, I came across the following two resources that suggest that trusting the treadmill isn't necessarily too far off:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/468963-are-treadmill-calorie-counters-correct

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/calories-burned-during-exercise-it-s-the-intensity-not-the-heart-rate-that-counts-26524

    Looks like the calories you burn per hour for certain exercises is purely a function of your weight and speed...not a function of heart rate.
  • tynahhhh
    tynahhhh Posts: 10 Member
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    Then you do 1000 calories of cardio a day (roughly 1 hour say on an elliptical machine).


    It would take upward of 2 hours to burn 1000 calories on an elliptical, I hate to tell you.


    I have burned 800+ on the elliptical in an hour. I'm not saying it happens regularly but definitely not two hours. It all depends on how hard or fast you are going or what the resistance settings are, and even more the weight of the person performing the exercise.
  • dapzzz
    dapzzz Posts: 15 Member
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    Update: So far, it appears to be going pretty well for me. I doubled my cardio last Wednesday to 2000 calories a day, in addition to the 500 calorie deficit that MFP suggested.

    On 1/04 I weighed 234 pounds.

    As of today (1/23) I weighed in @ 225.1 (Fitbit Aria scale).

    I've not noticed any loss of physical strength...still lifting at the same levels I was before at the gym.

    The one physical setback i've had is injuring myself while squatting last week Monday. But this had nothing to with my cardio regimen...just was trying to lift too much weight. I'll be fully recovered from that within the next couple days and will be back to the squat rack...this time, with a lifting belt.

    I am very happy with the results so far. I left campus December 19th, and I've gotten several comments so far from my friends (school started against just today) on my improved physique. I'm a lot faster on the basketball court too...had two very nice weak-side blocks in one game :-) And I was a monster rebounding on yesterday too.

    Needless to say, I love myfitnesspal! :)
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
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    If you lose weight too quickly then your skin probably wont have time to adjust. No one wants flabby extra skin hanging every where do they.
  • bdamaster60
    bdamaster60 Posts: 595 Member
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    to reduce muscle loss.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    So, is it a myth that any more than 2 lbs a week is muscle IF you do have a large amount to lose?

    Pretty much. Altho if you simply cut your calories down and don't exercise, then your muscles will atrophy as you lose weight. A 400 pound man has a lot more muscle mass just to carry around his body weight, so he can handle some muscle loss while he gets back to a healthy weight. Getting in some exercise will help him save quite a bit of it tho.

    Could you post your evidence that this is myth? I'm curious because I've generally heard it presented as fact.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    So, is it a myth that any more than 2 lbs a week is muscle IF you do have a large amount to lose?

    You can lose muscle if you lose less than 2lbs a week. It is all dependant on how much of a deficit you have, how much weight you have left to lose, how much protein you are getting daily and how much lifting you do. Everyone will lose some muscle while losing weight... it's just something that happens regardless of how big you are.

    To the OP, generally if someone is very obese they can sustain larger losses for the first part. The smaller you are the smaller of a deifcit you should have to lessen the amount of muscle you will lose. If your deficit is too big a good portion of your loss won't be from fat but instead from muscle. Losing muscle lowers your metabolism.

    It isn't a race.. don't try to lose the weight too quickly. Losing too quickly also makes it more likely that you will have loose skin as it doesn't have a chance to shrink back as well.

    Also, I'm not sure how you think you can burn 1000 calories in an hour on the elliptical. I am 200lbs and with working hard I can burn maybe 550 cals in an hour on mine.. if that.
  • Annaruthus
    Annaruthus Posts: 301 Member
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    Losing more than .5-1 lbs per week risks also losing muscle in addition to fat. This obviously depends on how much you want/need to lose. This pace is also easier for people to safely maintain, and still be healthy. I don't have the time to spend 60 minutes on cardio alone, so I'll stick with the slow method :-)
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    Looks like the calories you burn per hour for certain exercises is purely a function of your weight and speed...not a function of heart rate.

    Excellent point. Calories is a measure of energy. What goes into calculating energy? Mass (weight), Force (speed) over time. It's not sweat, it's not heart rate, it's not rasberry keytones, it's just physics. (You're V02 max has a little to do with it, but the energy equation is the over-riding factor) This is why people who weigh more will burn more calories for the same time & distance.
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
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    Then you do 1000 calories of cardio a day (roughly 1 hour say on an elliptical machine).


    It would take upward of 2 hours to burn 1000 calories on an elliptical, I hate to tell you.

    I have burned 800+ on the elliptical in an hour. I'm not saying it happens regularly but definitely not two hours. It all depends on how hard or fast you are going or what the resistance settings are, and even more the weight of the person performing the exercise.
    Resistance level is a factor

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