Unrealistic?

Can people be unrealistic? Sure. A lot of people do underestimate how much work, effort, and time this potentially can take.

But we also have to define "unrealistic" at bit more clearly. For me a pound a week, at max, isn't going to cut it. If I'm actively losing weight, I'm not interested in the snail's pace. I prefer faster weight loss; I like to be aggressive with mine. I don't buy into the "it took me years to gain, it should take me years to lose" line of thought. I'm one of those people who has had "unrealistic" results. All the talk of slow weight loss somehow being better, or leading to a greater chance at long term maintenance, is actually not backed up by any facts of evidence. Long term maintenance statistics are abysmal across the board, regardless of rate of loss. As someone who has lost at both fast and slow rates, let me tell you that slow weight loss just meant that when I regained it made all the time I put into losing seem foolish. My rate of regain has never been affected by my rate of loss.

I think people should lose at the rate that they like, and that keeps them functional and healthy.

Do what works for you

+1. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to lose it, all that matters is that you are.

I think it's easy to be obsessive about it. Also it feels like it's taking so long and we all want it off NOW. I found myself feeling like it was going so slow and my weight was bouncing up and down the same 2 pounds (I weigh every morning). This morning I looked at my calorie intake and exercise since the first of the year. Turns out that I average 1300 net calories and have lost an average of 2 pounds a week. My TDEE is 2378 so I'm right on track. Stepping back and looking at the big picture helps keep it in perspective.

I'd say sheer, original ignorance for the most part.

People don't know that weight loss is actually fairly slow. They watch the Biggest Loser, or TV and magazine and radio ads which promise things like 7 pounds in a week, etc etc. Lots of people really have no idea what the work behind weight loss really is because our society promotes weight loss as something that can be done with a pill or a shake.

So it's a shock when you find out that it's not like it is on tv. I remember the first time I tried to lose weight years ago was like that. Quite a shock. I lost 10 pounds in two months and yet felt utterly defeated because I was "supposed" to lose faster. Nowadays, that 10 pounds would mean a victory double cheeseburger for dinner that night!

I think its just when you are ready to start this journey you have a plan and a goal and can be very impatient. This was me. I calculated 2 pounds loss per week and this is the weight I will be by this time. Looking back now I should have just been patient and it stops all the getting frustrated, but didnt know that back then. You think to yourself I have followed the rules kept to my plan so why is the scale not moving. So the advice I read back in most success stories on MFP for everyone is to be patient and keep on going regardless of what the scale says.

Its not unrealistic when some get upset over only losing 2 pounds in a week, or what have you. Not everyone starts with the same amount of weight needing to be shed. Some have more than 100+ and the weight, if good effort is put in, should come off at more than 2 pounds at first. So, its understandable to see complaints about that at first.

Everyone is different, and there is no right amount...just doing what is right for you is all that matters.

This is true to some extent...that said, many of these threads I see are from people who are already pretty leaned out and just have completely unrealistic expectations of what should be going on...many of them are already very close to being underweight and don't really even need to lose weight...there is a ton of ED on MFP...a ton.

Then there are a whole lot of people with 10-20 cosmetic Lbs to lose and they go watch the Biggest Loser or something and they think it should be off overnight just like those people...completely unrealistic.

Of course that's true.

But there is likewise a strong contingent on MFP who deem what is "unrealistic" for them to be what is "unrealistic" for all. There is a pervasive attitude around this place that screams "well it took me X amount of months/years to lose my weight, it should take you just as long".

I guess what I am trying to get at is that I am not wondering if 1-ish lbs a week is realistic but why so many think that losing 5+ lbs a week is possible or realistic. And if they are not losing at that pace, there must be something wrong.

So far I am averaging 2 lbs a week which is great and right on target and should get me to my 2014 goal well before the end of the year. But I am trying to stay realistic/pragmatic that this rate won't happen every week. I also know that no matter how "aggressive" I get with exercise and diet, losing at a more rapid pace is not sustainable long term (having tried that in the past with initial success and then gain of even more due to the severe restrictions on foods/calories)

And this is why online communication can be difficult. It is sometimes hard to get across exactly what you mean.

Because some people CAN lose 5+ pounds per week in a healthy fashion. Things work a bit differently if you weigh 500 pounds versus someone who weighs 200 pounds, and someone who is active and morbidly obese can lose weight pretty quickly without a lot of negative consequences. There's absolutely no reason that very large people can't lose more than 1 or even 2 lbs/week, unless they find such a caloric deficit/activity level to be unsustainable. Now, if someone doesn't lose their "target amount" each week, should they freak out or give up? Of course not. But that's an entirely separate issue.

As for it being sustainable long term losing more than 1 lb/week, you need to understand that's entirely dependent on the individual in question. If more than 1 lb/week is unsustainable for you, then stop worrying about what other people are doing and focus on losing your 1 lb/week. Just because it works for you doesn't mean that a more aggressive caloric deficit can't work for someone else.

Honestly nutrition and weight loss are not black and white as many people make them out to be. There is no right and wrong once you get beyond the basic principles like maintaining a caloric deficit. No diet, be it IIFYM, paleo, or whatever is right for everyone, and no particular level of caloric deficit (e.g., -500 or -1000 calories per day) is right for everyone. Just be honest with yourself and create a plan that you feel confident will work for you in the long-term and don't be afraid to alter your plan as needed going forward.