Is it possible to lose a pound a day while staying healthy?

SPCLeague
SPCLeague Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
If I am eating 1,400 calories a day (Healthy foods to) but exercise a lot is it possible? I wouldn't be exercising with extreme intensity but if I devoted a large portion of my day exercising (and I will not be wasting my time I have nothing to do, I have a 4 day break) can I lose a pound a day while still being healthy?

Stats: I am female, 5"10, 190lbs
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Replies

  • tern73
    tern73 Posts: 18 Member
    No. If you have a good bit to lose, then a pound per week. As you get closer, .5 lb per week. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    What's the rush?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    If I am eating 1,400 calories a day (Healthy foods to) but exercise a lot is it possible? I wouldn't be exercising with extreme intensity but if I devoted a large portion of my day exercising (and I will not be wasting my time I have nothing to do, I have a 4 day break) can I lose a pound a day while still being healthy?

    Stats: I am female, 5"10, 190lbs

    You could easily do so, but it wouldn't mean much. You can shift scale weight simply by altering sodium and water intake. You should be after fat loss
  • jdb3388
    jdb3388 Posts: 239 Member
    What? No..

    You need an education on how weight loss works.

    There are roughly 3500 calories in a pound. Meaning you have to burn 3500 calories in order to lose 1 pound. Your body naturally burns calories based on your BMR. You add to that based on how active you are and how much you exercise. It is recommended that a person eat in deficit of no more than 1000 calories per day, meaning that it is theoretically possible to burn 2 pounds per week. This is not healthy for most people. At your height and weight you need to be losing between 1 and 1.5 pounds per week.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,989 Member
    Unless it's water weight, losing a pound of fat and/or lean mass puts a massive energy toll on the body and can disrupt metabolic rate. So, not so healthy.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Mom_of_X
    Mom_of_X Posts: 85 Member
    agreed.

    unless you have 100 lbs to lose, your body can't let go of that kind of weight in any healthy fashion. don't try - you will either not succeed the way you hope, or you will lose weight but it will yo-yo back the minute you attempt maintenance.

    slow and steady - that way, you never have to take any steps backwards.

    good luck!!
  • smanning1982
    smanning1982 Posts: 210 Member
    No. 1-2 lbs per week is healthy. 5-7 lbs a week is an eating disorder, and once you eat again you'll gain it all back faster than you lost it anyways.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    It's likely to lead to incredible exhaustion and be unsustainable for more than a couple of days without you collapsing I would guess.

    The human body isn't made to 'release' energy that quickly.

    So you're likely to cause problems to your body's general running as well being likely to

    You're likely to cause yourself various problems, one of which will be an incredible appetite - a protection mechanism so if this sort of things happened to people 'in the wild' they would try and restore the balance as quickly as possible.
    With easy access to food it could easily end up with you overeating.

    I'm presuming you were only intending to do it for 4 days, but even then, it's not likely to produce the results you want.
    You will easily lose a pound a day, to be fair; it'll just be dehydrating and will come back on when you are eating normally as the body stores water again.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    You can absolutely lose 4 lbs in 4 days if you want without damaging your health, but it will be water weight.

    But increasing exercise will cause your body to retain water. Your best bet would be to eat low carb and exercise normally.

    You should be aware that the weight loss will likely be temporary though. You aren't going to lose much fat in just 4 days.

    If you are talking about trying to lose 1 lb per day long term, then it's unlikely you can do that. And if you could, it certainly would not be healthy.
  • Shuuma
    Shuuma Posts: 465 Member
    If you're just starting out, and you have a considerable amount to lose, you can dump four pounds of water weight in four days, but it's not going to be fat. Do something you can sustain for the rest of your life and just be sensible. Fuel your body enough, hydrate your body enough, and move your body enough. That's all it is.

    Also, and others can correct me if I'm wrong, if you plan on exercising all day long for four days, 1,400 calories a day isn't going to even begin to cover the amount of food you'll need to consume. That MAY cover one meal. Anything less than enough food for the amount of exercise you do and the amount you need to sustain your organ function will not be healthy.

    Check out these links:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/#projectedweightloss

    You have given no information about height, current weight, etc., but I am pretty confident that 1,400 calories isn't going to cover what you have stated as your goal for the weekend.
  • SPCLeague
    SPCLeague Posts: 8
    Yea, I will be honest...I don't have much of a weight loss education xD
  • sixxkitty
    sixxkitty Posts: 27
    What? No..

    You need an education on how weight loss works.

    There are roughly 3500 calories in a pound. Meaning you have to burn 3500 calories in order to lose 1 pound. Your body naturally burns calories based on your BMR. You add to that based on how active you are and how much you exercise. It is recommended that a person eat in deficit of no more than 1000 calories per day, meaning that it is theoretically possible to burn 2 pounds per week. This is not healthy for most people. At your height and weight you need to be losing between 1 and 1.5 pounds per week.

    ↑ EXACTLY THIS ↑
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Yea, I will be honest...I don't have much of a weight loss education xD

    That's okay. Many of us were once where you are now.

    Do read the links that have been given to you above, especially the Sexypants guide. That's a great place to start.

    Your ticker suggests you have 60 pounds to lose. Is that accurate? If so, it's time to stop thinking about quick fixes and magic pills. 60 pounds is going to take a while, but it's worth it. You need to figure out how to be in this for the long haul if you want to do it right and keep the weight off once it's gone.
  • Miska_
    Miska_ Posts: 84
    You can gain and lose up to 5 pounds a day due to sodium and water retention.

    It's also more easy for someone to lose a 1lb a day if they are 300 lbs, versus needing to lose 10 lbs.

    Here's a great site to help you find your TDEE and help you with your goals if interested. It's one of my personal favorites.

    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
  • SPCLeague
    SPCLeague Posts: 8
    Yea my ticker is accurate, I want to be down to 130 :glasses: definitely going to read the links. (I guess I just don't have much of a understanding on weight loss than I thought TBH :noway: )
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    A pound a day is a 3500 calorie a day deficit, more or less.

    Eating 1400 calories, that means you need to burn 4900 calories a day.

    You will burn around 2050 calories a day with a sedentary lifestyle. So you'll need about 2850 calories of exercise a day to achieve your target deficit.

    At your height and weight, that's about 20 miles of running at a sustained 6.5 mph pace.

    So.... if you run 20 miles a day while eating 1400 calories a day you'll lose about a pound of body mass a week.

    You'd probably die on your second day.
  • rebalee8
    rebalee8 Posts: 161 Member
    A pound a day is a 3500 calorie a day deficit, more or less.

    Eating 1400 calories, that means you need to burn 4900 calories a day.

    You will burn around 2050 calories a day with a sedentary lifestyle. So you'll need about 2850 calories of exercise a day to achieve your target deficit.

    At your height and weight, that's about 20 miles of running at a sustained 6.5 mph pace.

    So.... if you run 20 miles a day while eating 1400 calories a day you'll lose about a pound of body mass a week.

    You'd probably die on your second day.

    Yeah, I was just about to say, that in order to lose a pound of actual weight (not water) every day... you'd pretty much have to run a marathon every day while only eating 1400 calories.
  • MrJThomasEsq
    MrJThomasEsq Posts: 144 Member
    If you live in England and make bad wagers you can easily lose a pound or more every day and it won't affect your health at all. At least not until your bookie has to send someone to break your legs.
  • sabrinalee8
    sabrinalee8 Posts: 45 Member
    If I am eating 1,400 calories a day (Healthy foods to) but exercise a lot is it possible? I wouldn't be exercising with extreme intensity but if I devoted a large portion of my day exercising (and I will not be wasting my time I have nothing to do, I have a 4 day break) can I lose a pound a day while still being healthy?

    Stats: I am female, 5"10, 190lbs

    To lose 1lb, you must burn 3,500 more calories than you eat and I'm sorry to say that is just not healthy.

    You may lose a lot to begin with, but majority of the time it is water weight and you will plateau. Average loss is 1-2lbs a week. Be in it for the long haul, not the moment.
  • SPCLeague
    SPCLeague Posts: 8
    :noway: Damn... I don't want to die :frown:
  • rbiss
    rbiss Posts: 422 Member
    Short answer is no. It's a very bad idea to try to eat 1400 calories and exercise. For example, I am about 300lbs, spend 1 hour per day on cardio and eat a NET of 1200, but total it is closer to 2300 -2500 depending on how much i need to replace. My calculated weight loss/week is 2.5 pounds and that is very fast. I think last week I lost 3, but at that rate it will be very hard to maintain any muscle unless I start lifting as well. I feel like I am walking the line, so 1 lb a day would be very unhealthy.

    You might be interested in a long term juice fast like the one Joe Cross promotes, but it would have to be nothing but juice for a prolonged period of time. This is dangerous and probably shouldn't be done unless your health risks outweight the risks of the diet.

    Long term is the best bet. It comes off, but you need good food to fuel the body. I saw a lady at the gym this week who looked amazing and I had trouble recognizing it was the same person. I haven't seen her in about 2 years and she just watched her calories and went to the gym everyday for a reasonable amount of time. She is my inspiration.
  • Megabot
    Megabot Posts: 173 Member
    also 5'10" and want to be 130 pounds? That's the very low range of normal BMI, bordering on underweight for that height. Try to get to 180, then 170, then 160 first, and see how you feel then.

    At my best shape, I was 5'7" and ~140-145...and I looked and felt fantastic. Like, wear a bikini no problem fantastic.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    :noway: Damn... I don't want to die :frown:
    An excellent place to start! And since you're not dead at 190, why don't you try shooting for losing a pound a *week* instead of a pound a day? It's sustainable for most people.
  • samaras
    samaras Posts: 1 Member
    My physician advised a goal of no more than 2 pounds per week as a general rule. Loss faster than that will result in loose skin, fatigue, and quick regain if you go off diet. You should not drop calories below 1200. Eating five times a day with in your calorie limit was advised to me. (This means healthy foods). It takes a reduction of 3500 calories to equal one pound of weight loss. Generally your body needs 2000 calories a day, so if you have reduced 600 (you said 1400 was your goal) multiply that by 7 days and boom you have a pound of loss. NOW, exercise to burn 500 calories a day and Boom boom, another pound in the same week. I hope this helps. :-) I have lost 40 pounds and kept it off for 5+ years. Knowledge is power, keeping a food diary is a great start. Read everything you can get your hands on and don't let people discourage you!!!!
  • HerbertNenenger
    HerbertNenenger Posts: 453 Member
    it MIGHT be possible, although a miracle, to lose a pound a day. Healthfully? Absolutely not.
  • yungibear
    yungibear Posts: 138 Member
    One way I like to think about weight loss is this:

    It took me about 10-15 years to get to the weight I am now. If it'll take me 1-2 years to clean up my act to lose that weight and learn a new lifestyle -- and make it sustainable, I think it's a total deal to be able to lose what I did to myself in this amount of time!

    It's all about perspective.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Okay, so we've established that you're not going to lose a pound a day, and that's okay. Since you want to lose 60 pounds, you can safely and easily, without making yourself miserable, lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week, which would get you almost to your goal by Christmas. You should make it your goal to rock an amazing dress, and an amazing new body, by New Year's Eve.

    You said you have four days off, right? Instead of killing yourself with cardio over those four days, here's what you should do:

    - Read the Sexypants link, many times
    - Get MFP set up so that it gives you a reasonable caloric deficit. Set it to lose 1 or 1.5 pounds per week
    - DON'T go overboard restricting your food! Get in the habit of logging everything, eat things you like, and get as close to MFP's suggested intake as you can. (Under is not better.)
    - Do some kind of exercise each day, because you have the time off, but don't overdo it! If you want to do cardio, fine, but you cannot spend all day on a treadmill like a hamster. Do a half hour, maybe an hour if it feels good. Then go and do something you enjoy. If you don't have access to a gym or cardio machines, just go outside and take a walk.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    All I have to say is I tried the x many pounds thing and felt unhappy. Then I found the lifting weight thing and many people here find it's the best way to trim, if that's what you're worried about.
  • nanadayana
    nanadayana Posts: 14
    If I am eating 1,400 calories a day (Healthy foods to) but exercise a lot is it possible? I wouldn't be exercising with extreme intensity but if I devoted a large portion of my day exercising (and I will not be wasting my time I have nothing to do, I have a 4 day break) can I lose a pound a day while still being healthy?

    Stats: I am female, 5"10, 190lbs
    I've started on last January with the same weight as yours.

    First thing that you have to do is find out how much calorie intake you need per day (TDEE). You can google for TDEE or BMR calculator online. Once you've get the figure, work from there to estimate how much you can eat/have to burn for you to lose a certain amount of weight per week/month. Eat whatever you want (but if you choose to eat healthy, good decision!) and for exercise, I'll say never push yourself too hard. Do it slowly.

    That is the one and only rule for weight loss. As long as you eat less than your TDEE, than you'll definitely lose it sooner or later. I'm doing the same thing and in fact I eat all type of food that I love and I rarely do any exercise other than cleaning and walking from my office building to the car park. The most important thing is, be patient and keep going.

    Good luck!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    NO.

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