MFP Liars?

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erco1
erco1 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Question:

Is it possible to lose >1 lb a day WITHOUT massive exercise and starvation or chemical enhancement?- or are there just a few liars here?

From what I understand give or take a little, you need to create a defecit of 3500 calories to lose a pound. So unless you are maintaining a daily caloric burn of >3500 calories - which if you have a normal - i.e. non-physically demanding job and don't do cardio all day everyday, seems virtually impossible. BESIDES that burn, you also need to maintain a daily caloric intake of 0. Or any combination i.e. - 4500 burn and 1000 calories in. This seems like a long term recipe for disaster.

Obviously I know the first week or so you can drop a massive amount as your body sheds retained water, but that is a short term burst. I also understand the heavier you start the faster you can lose - as your base metabolic rate will be that much higher. But still.

Someone tell me I'm wrong. I want to believe people can do this safely (i.e. no chemical enchancements) and are not lying, but I do feel like if they are lying its hurting others who may not have all the base knowledge to understand and feel frustrated with their "only 1-2 lbs" a week loss - which is actually great and a very healthy pace to lose weight at.

Anyway, rant mode off.



(By the way doesn't anyelse else think the caloric estimates in some of the cardio here to be WAAAY high... - you tell me if you think moderate cycling burns a lot more than a slow jog...)
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Replies

  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    The larger the person starting out, the more weight they can lose daily when starting. It is a much smaller percentage of their total weight than say, someone who weighs 140 lbs. It can happen, not to all, or even most.
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
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    Answer:

    uhhhh, yeah it's possible. you ever weight yourself more than one time/day? i've "gained" 3 or 4 pounds in a day. other days i've "lost 3 or 4 pounds. lots of variables in play.

    p.s. lolchemicalenhancements
  • padams2359
    padams2359 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    I can tell you, the first 25 came off pretty easily. The last 5 are just hanging around. My weight can fluctuate 3 or 4 lbs in any direction in a day, so I may weigh myself one day, and weigh 161, and weigh 164 the next. I use no chemicals of any kind. Drinking 64 oz of water a day, if I took a fluid pill, I would probable drop 5 lbs.
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
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    Is it possible to lose >1 lb a day WITHOUT massive exercise and starvation or chemical enhancement?- or are there just a few liars here?

    My weight varies by as much as 3 pounds a day.

    It's either due to water or imprecision of my scale, though I try and get on the scale at least 2 times to verify the reading.

    I've lost 28 pounds over 5 months, or 23 weeks. That is nearly 6 pounds a month, or 1.2 pounds per week, on average.

    I've got MFP set up for a 2-pound-per-week loss, but I suspect I do not accurately log my food amounts and some days I blow it, so I am not surprised that I am not hitting 2 pounds per week.

    But I am pleased with over 1 pound per week. It means that within a year I should hit my first goal weight of 200 pounds.
  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
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    I think for people who are larger, it can come off easier. I'm small, but I can even fluctuate 2-3 lbs a day even though it takes me a good couple of months at least, to drop 5 lbs.
  • ctinawilson
    ctinawilson Posts: 127 Member
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    Hello!

    The caloric rates for exercise on MFP are high, I agree, I always assume they are the very upper end of the scale and I'm pretty sure I'm at the lower end of the scale so I dont pay much attention to them.

    I don't know if people lie... weight can vary so much and if a person weighs every day they may take a fluctuation as a loss...?

    But everyone is different, and the closer you get to goal weight, the harder it is to lose, so this should be less common for people nearer to goal weight.

    Interesting point though, we can only assume that people on MFP are telling the truth! If they're not then the only person who they're lying to really, is themselves.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
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    Yes, but only for around a short (3-day-ish) period of time but it can happen at any point.

    It's just the loss of food and water stores from the body's muscles.

    Or

    People could be lying - cos they need weight-loss adulation from others! :-)
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
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    From what I understand give or take a little, you need to create a defecit of 3500 calories to lose a pound. So unless you are maintaining a daily caloric burn of >3500 calories - which if you have a normal - i.e. non-physically demanding job and don't do cardio all day everyday, seems virtually impossible. BESIDES that burn, you also need to maintain a daily caloric intake of 0. Or any combination i.e. - 4500 burn and 1000 calories in. This seems like a long term recipe for disaster.


    Your not looking to have a 3500 calorie a DAY deficit, you should be looking to create a 3500 calorie a WEEK deficit. And yes it is absolutely possible to do this with diet alone. I wouldn't recommend doing it without strength training because you want to at the very least hang onto the muscle you have while dieting.
  • erco1
    erco1 Posts: 10 Member
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    The larger the person starting out, the more weight they can lose daily when starting. It is a much smaller percentage of their total weight than say, someone who weighs 140 lbs. It can happen, not to all, or even most.

    I get that but it's the 1-2 lbs a day AVERAGE for an extended period - not the initial burst I am talking about. Take me for example - I lost like 16 lbs in 2 weeks. Since then I have lost 1-2 lbs a week (not a day). I still have a ton (read 70-80 lbs for ulimate goal) to lose. I am eating in the 500-1000 calorie a day deficit range (compare to approximated caloric use daily) meaning 3500-7000 calories a week deficit which equates exactly to my weight loss. Assuming the approximation for some people maybe off slightly - this could result in losses of 0-3 lbs a week instead. It does not however, make it 7-10 lbs a week no matter how "fast your metabolism" is and how much you have to lose.
  • ksy1969
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
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    I don't know who claimed on MFP you could lose > 1 day but that is ludicrous. The recommended weight loss per WEEIK is 1 to 2lbs. If you are heavier you can safely lose more per week but closer you get to goal the harder it comes off. I have read articles that say the actual number is 1% of your current body weight is what it is safe to lose a week. If you lose anymore than that you are more than likely losing lean muscle mass as well.

    And of those that say you can lose > 1 day, well all I have to say is good luck with keeping it off.
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
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    Maybe if you're on The Biggest Loser ranch, but I don't know if anyone, including those contestants who end up getting sent home, have the discipline and time to work out strenuously for 8 hours a day.
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
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    (By the way doesn't anyelse else think the caloric estimates in some of the cardio here to be WAAAY high... - you tell me if you think moderate cycling burns a lot more than a slow jog...)

    I'm not sure about the calorie estimates on here because I don't log any exercise just food, but contrary to what most people believe 30 minutes of cycling is not going to burn much more or less than 30 minutes of any other cardio activity. The difference in calories burned between most cardio exercises for a given amount of TIME is negligible and not worth worrying if this one burns more than that one. Most calories burned counters on machines and even HR monitors are highly inaccurate.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Question:

    Is it possible to lose >1 lb a day WITHOUT massive exercise and starvation or chemical enhancement?- or are there just a few liars here?

    From what I understand give or take a little, you need to create a defecit of 3500 calories to lose a pound. So unless you are maintaining a daily caloric burn of >3500 calories - which if you have a normal - i.e. non-physically demanding job and don't do cardio all day everyday, seems virtually impossible. BESIDES that burn, you also need to maintain a daily caloric intake of 0. Or any combination i.e. - 4500 burn and 1000 calories in. This seems like a long term recipe for disaster.

    Obviously I know the first week or so you can drop a massive amount as your body sheds retained water, but that is a short term burst. I also understand the heavier you start the faster you can lose - as your base metabolic rate will be that much higher. But still.

    Someone tell me I'm wrong. I want to believe people can do this safely (i.e. no chemical enchancements) and are not lying, but I do feel like if they are lying its hurting others who may not have all the base knowledge to understand and feel frustrated with their "only 1-2 lbs" a week loss - which is actually great and a very healthy pace to lose weight at.

    Anyway, rant mode off.



    (By the way doesn't anyelse else think the caloric estimates in some of the cardio here to be WAAAY high... - you tell me if you think moderate cycling burns a lot more than a slow jog...)

    Losing a pound of body fat in a day is essentially impossible.

    However, it's easy to lose "6 pounds in 6 days" when 4 of those pounds are water and glycogen. Dehydration and starvation will do that to you. It's just not sustainable and isn't a real loss. This is why people get upset and "stall": they do some massive calorie deficit with a ton of exercise and lose 10 lbs in a week. Then over the next week they don't lose anything, because the fat they're losing is offset by a rebound in water weight and other things.
  • igotabulletproofheart
    igotabulletproofheart Posts: 104 Member
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    In one rare day, yes. But 1lb a day, every day, no. At least, not for your typical dieter.
  • blueboxgeek
    blueboxgeek Posts: 574 Member
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    I lost 1lb in weight every day for 8 days. But it was the start of a low carb diet so I guess only like 1lb (possibly less) would have been fat loss.
  • Pfa74
    Pfa74 Posts: 10 Member
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    Who is claiming to lose >1 lbs a day over an extended period of time (outside initial start)? If you see people stating this well,its the old saying, Believe everything on the internet?? You know the caloric deficient basics and are correct. Even with heavy Cardio/Starving its impossible.... 2 lbs a week is a very good number. Usually if you see more its water/food intake in your system.
  • cfamiano
    cfamiano Posts: 5
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    I used to weigh myself everyday religiously. The scale would tell me i gained or loss 1-3 pounds at any given point. I understand now why MFP suggests weighing in 2x per week, because your weight changes and flucutates like water weight , or eating way tooo much one day etc. These are not real pounds lost or gained unless they stay consistently.... does that make snese?
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    I weigh myself every day and log it as soon as I reach a new low. Sometimes this results in several pounds lost per week, which may not be "real," but I don't care. I'm losing a pound per week on average even though I might be logging it in a weird way.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I weigh everyday and like to log every time I reach a new low. Sometimes I end up with up to 3 days with a new low each day and then I seem to maintain right around the last low for a week or so before a new low is reached. I'm sure to some people on my friends list it looks like I'm losing 1lb per day, but the reality is my weight loss is averaging out to be 1.8lbs per week (even though I don't necessarily have a loss every week).
  • teeduran
    teeduran Posts: 54 Member
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    Some of the people have had the surgery to lose weight. this takes the weight off fast, and daily at first then settles downs. I get spurts of weight lose. Then hold for a few days to weeks. My first months I lost fast. I don't think every exercise is right. It's up to everyone to do their own thing. If someone lies they only hurt them self's. Which this doesn't affect me so I don't care what others are doing. I just do me, and help those who ask. Hope this helped you feel better.

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