Why 2 pounds/week max of weight loss?

2

Replies

  • dapzzz
    dapzzz Posts: 15 Member
    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

    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
    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
    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
    to reduce muscle loss.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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

    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
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member

    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.

    Hey I've been managing ~10 cals per minute on the elliptical. I would imaging after 100 minutes my burn/minute would have declined as I wouldn't exactly have a lot left in the tank to bust my *kitten* to the tune of 10 calories/minute.
  • VTSarah07
    VTSarah07 Posts: 35
    1. Your body needs fuel, there is no signal because your lifting that tells your body to use more fat.. Large deficits = Muscle loss.
    2. Some of those BF% scales are not very accurate but you will have an idea.

    Please don't post when you hit a plateau in your weight loss.

    1. So our bodies are too dumb to figure out that it should burn the fat for fuel, rather than muscle, especially if someone needs that muscle for weights? OK, I can buy that...sounds unfortunate though. I've not noticed myself getting any weaker though with my weight-training exercises.

    2. Yeah, that is the sense I get. But hopefully the overall trend will be accurate. I will take *tons* and tons of measurements, hopefully this will give me the basic trend.

    3. I hope to reach a plateau at some point :) I'm 230 and my target weight is 210-215.


    Its not that our bodies are "too dumb to figure out that it should burn fat for fuel," our bodies are actually quite SMART and are aware that muscle is filled with the nutrients it needs, where fat is not. Therefore, if you are not getting the proper nutrition after a workout and/or while trying to lose weight, your body is going to go after the muscles, not the fat, because the muscles are packed with the "good stuff".
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    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! :)

    Guaranteed you aren't actually burning 2000 calories a day... and if you are you are just setting yourself up for failure. You can injury yourself from cardio. Exercise can harm your joints. You need to give your body rest days to repair itself.

    You are not fueling your body correctly.; You will be losing muscle mass in the process
  • dapzzz
    dapzzz Posts: 15 Member
    1. Regarding cardio:

    When I use the elliptical, I'd raise the resistance really high, and be able to do ~850 calories in 1 hour. I said "~1 hour in the original post", not 1 hr exactly.

    Lately I've been doing the treadmill a bit more, which is an even more time-efficient way to burn calories.

    Again, keep in mind that i'm a 6'1 ~225 man....so I'll definitely burn a lot more than say a 150 pound person.

    2. I am eating a lot of protein and vegetables, drinking a lot of water, and lifting weights just as heavy as when I started. So if I am indeed losing muscle mass, it must be a negligible amount...not enough to worry about.
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
    Folks he's only trying to lose 15 lbs.

    Your not going to convince him that overtraining to a large calorie deficit isn't the way to get there. He will likely lose that much before he plateaus or stalls doing it the way he is doing it. He likely won't have to worry about loose skin because he isn't trying to lose a lot of weight. He is likely building stronger muscle at the same time that he is losing muscle. He is getting stronger and lighter therefore he feels quicker.

    I predict he is going to injure himself, have to stop training for a while, then gain back more than 15 lbs. That is what he is setting himself up for. No amount of logic or science is going to talk him out of this.
  • dapzzz
    dapzzz Posts: 15 Member
    Lol. Well, the probability of me getting injured on something as low-impact as an elliptical or treadmill is pretty low.

    I do agree that there is some risk associated with weight-training and with playing pickup basketball. But...that is life, I suppose. Hard to eliminate risk entirely.
  • Rhonnie
    Rhonnie Posts: 506 Member
    Bottom line - it's not that one can't, it's that it is not healthy long term and harder to keep off if you lose it faster then that.
  • CongoClark81
    CongoClark81 Posts: 95 Member
    I started Jan 7th with 88lbs to lose. I have busted my butt watching what I eat, tracking my calories, walking 2-3hrs a day and exercising for almost 2hrs a day and I have lost 1lb a day. Weighed myself today and I have 72lbs left to lose!
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
    Lol. Well, the probability of me getting injured on something as low-impact as an elliptical or treadmill is pretty low.

    I do agree that there is some risk associated with weight-training and with playing pickup basketball. But...that is life, I suppose. Hard to eliminate risk entirely.

    Planar Faciatias can happen just running on treadmills and the ellipticals if you do too much too soon or you don't stretch it can happen to you and it SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS and BLOWS.

    Don't dismiss the possibility, PF is awful.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    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.

    BECAUSE IT'S NEITHER HEALTHY NOR SUSTAINABLE. (Excessive cardio exercise is NOT healthy either.) But I guess if being here is neither about your health, nor fitness, then by all means give it a try.
  • phildawson75
    phildawson75 Posts: 205 Member
    So I see that 1500*7 = 10500. Then 10500/3500 is 3 lbs.

    My TDEE (1900) + 1000 exercise = 2900 cals burnt
    My TDEE (1900) - 500 deficit = 1400 cals consumed

    I don't know about anyone else but I'd be totally knackered after 2 days trying to live like that on that amount of cals.

    I would always advise never to use exercise as a way of creating such a huge combined deficit. It would be fine to eat an extra 1000 to compensate. That way you still have a 500 deficit and you'll be getting a nicer body.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    My TDEE (1900) + 1000 exercise = 2900 cals burnt
    My TDEE (1900) - 500 deficit = 1400 cals consumed

    I don't know about anyone else but I'd be totally knackered after 2 days trying to live like that on that amount of cals.
    TDEE includes exercise.
  • phildawson75
    phildawson75 Posts: 205 Member
    My TDEE (1900) + 1000 exercise = 2900 cals burnt
    My TDEE (1900) - 500 deficit = 1400 cals consumed

    I don't know about anyone else but I'd be totally knackered after 2 days trying to live like that on that amount of cals.
    TDEE includes exercise.
    No TDEE includes what you expend in your daily activity. Unless your typical day is always doing 1000 cals of exercise then its in addition. If it was the case my TDEE would be 2900 not 1900.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    You could also cut off all your limbs and lose like 50 to 100 pounds instantly!

    You could stop eating all together and sprint 24 hours a day every day!

    Just saying... you could....
  • Maidofmer
    Maidofmer Posts: 908 Member
    it's good in theory but it would seem that getting 1000 a night as well as not eating as much would burn a lot of people out
  • Maidofmer
    Maidofmer Posts: 908 Member
    You could also cut off all your limbs and lose like 50 to 100 pounds instantly!

    You could stop eating all together and sprint 24 hours a day every day!

    Just saying... you could....

    that works too
  • prudism
    prudism Posts: 149 Member
    I agree loose skin is not what I am aiming for and dread ending up with loose skin
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    My TDEE (1900) + 1000 exercise = 2900 cals burnt
    My TDEE (1900) - 500 deficit = 1400 cals consumed

    I don't know about anyone else but I'd be totally knackered after 2 days trying to live like that on that amount of cals.
    TDEE includes exercise.
    No TDEE includes what you expend in your daily activity. Unless your typical day is always doing 1000 cals of exercise then its in addition. If it was the case my TDEE would be 2900 not 1900.
    No, TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure, it's a medical term, not something made up, and it includes exercise, it includes everything.
  • Tanja_CHH
    Tanja_CHH Posts: 216 Member
    My TDEE (1900) + 1000 exercise = 2900 cals burnt
    My TDEE (1900) - 500 deficit = 1400 cals consumed

    I don't know about anyone else but I'd be totally knackered after 2 days trying to live like that on that amount of cals.
    TDEE includes exercise.
    No TDEE includes what you expend in your daily activity. Unless your typical day is always doing 1000 cals of exercise then its in addition. If it was the case my TDEE would be 2900 not 1900.
    No, TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure, it's a medical term, not something made up, and it includes exercise, it includes everything.

    Only if when you calculate the TDEE you add exercise. When I do mine I do, as I tend to know roughly how much I burn a week, however if its different from week to week you might chose to only add daily activity outside of exercise.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    My TDEE (1900) + 1000 exercise = 2900 cals burnt
    My TDEE (1900) - 500 deficit = 1400 cals consumed

    I don't know about anyone else but I'd be totally knackered after 2 days trying to live like that on that amount of cals.
    TDEE includes exercise.
    No TDEE includes what you expend in your daily activity. Unless your typical day is always doing 1000 cals of exercise then its in addition. If it was the case my TDEE would be 2900 not 1900.
    No, TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure, it's a medical term, not something made up, and it includes exercise, it includes everything.

    Only if when you calculate the TDEE you add exercise. When I do mine I do, as I tend to know roughly how much I burn a week, however if its different from week to week you might chose to only add daily activity outside of exercise.
    You don't add exercise to TDEE. If you expended less energy on a particular day because you didn't exercise the total calories you burned is still referred to as your TDEE.

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