3lbs in a week - is it healthy?

FruityLucy
FruityLucy Posts: 14
in Food and Nutrition
I weighed myself on January 1st at 124 lb. I am an eighteen year old woman who is 5"7. I was not going to weigh myself until a week after on January 7th, but the urge became too great. The scale showed up at 122 lbs, which means I lost 2 lbs, which is a pound every 2 days, 7/2 = 3 1/2 pounds a week! I have been eating my TDEE - 500 cals each day, and I weighed both times on WII Fit, so its not that I'm not eating enough and it's not a change in scale, I'm not exercising off more than 100 calories a day and I'm not overweight so I shouldn't be losing at this rate. What should I do? Should I up my calories a little bit?

Replies

  • shazzafly
    shazzafly Posts: 23 Member
    No answer from me but similar question, been to gym last 5 days in a row and working hard as well as watching my calories. Also couldnt wait and weighed myself today and lost 3lb. I think most of it is prob water rather than flab, and the weight loss will slow down now,
    Still made me happy and has spurred me on to carry on being good.

    Well done you !!
  • oc1timoco
    oc1timoco Posts: 272 Member
    Really?
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
    A couple things:

    When you start a new routine for weight loss, it is normal for there to be a large drop in the first week due to differences in water retention. Don't worry yet.

    Also, weight fluctuates a lot during the day. If the first time you weighed yourself was in the afternoon and the second time was in the morning, you will see a larger loss since most people weight more in the afternoon than they do in the morning. I recommend always weighing yourself first thing in the morning, after using the toilet but before eating or drinking anything.

    Finally, it also depends on what you are wearing. Different clothes add different weight. I always weigh myself naked.
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
    You said that you are eating at a 500 calorie deficit. That should be good for a pound a week which is good for many people for weight loss, but at 124 lbs and 5'7" why are you wanting to lose weight? You're actually underwieght. You might be happier eating more and lifting weights to gain muscle.

    Edited: Whoops, spoke too soon. 124 is in the healthy range, but on the very low end. So you are not quite underweight, but you certainly don't need a 500 calorie deficit.
  • birdiecs
    birdiecs Posts: 237 Member
    You're deficit may be to large considering you are already on the lighter end for your height. Maybe bump it to a 250 deficit and see it that works better for you. Of course it may have been water loss as tends to happen when you first start a new routine.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Go see a doctor. It's not healthy to want to lose weight when you're 122 lbs for 5'7".
  • journey_man
    journey_man Posts: 110 Member
    Go see a doctor. It's not healthy to want to lose weight when you're 122 lbs for 5'7".
    This made me laugh. But its a good point.

    OP, learn to lift some weights and build some muscles instead. You will be shocked to see that it won't make you look like some freak. Instead, you will look fit and toned. And it will allow you to eat more. Finally, you will be building a foundation for the future, when a decade from now, your metabolism starts slowing down noticeably you will have the fuel-burning muscle mass to compensate.

    But then you're 18 so asking you to think that far ahead is probably a lost cause. :-p. But you don't have to: the benefits of lifting are also immediate.

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