Am I dropping weight way too fast?

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mjd327
mjd327 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
This might be/probably is a dumb question, but whatever. So here's the explanation.

So throughout high school I was always like 170/180 pounds, Im 5 foot 9. I always wanted to lose weight, but now Im a senior in college now, and over the past two years, Ive actually gained a lot of weight, reaching about 200.

Im a huuuuge pro wrestling fan, and about 8 weeks ago my friends agreed that if I lost 15 pounds they would go with me to a live pay-per-view show at the Izod center in jersey, since I really wanted them to go with me and they thought it'd be good motivation. I had to lose the weight by the time of the show, which was 10 weeks from then, (now 1 week from Sunday.) I was 196 then, so had to get to 181.

I had never really lost substantial weight in my life, since I have horrible willpower and love eating. The most I ever lost was probably 5 pounds two summers ago which didn't last very long since I stopped exercising when I went back to school.

Anyways I started doing cardio, and watching what I ate a bit, though not too heavily. Id have bad days and good days. It ended up being that as of last week I was 188 or 189 depending on the day. So that meant I had three weeks to get to 181, which was 7/8 pounds. I didn't think I could do it but I REALLY wanted them to go with me, so I began having the best willpower of my life. because of my schedule I rarely eat breakfast (I usually wake up around noon since I have late classes), and I began either having a fairly big lunch and a lean cuisine dinner or vice versa. Id say I was doing about 900-1000 calories a day which is below my recommended for two pound weight loss. I also increased the intensity of my cardio workouts. So on days I exercised it was probably even lower. It wasn't THAT hard to do. At night I would get very hungry but at that point I wasn't doing anything important anyways, and I was usually fine during the day especially when I had fairly large lunches. It wasn't really healthy foods either Id say it was mostly pasta, pulled pork sandwiches, and TV dinners lol.

Well I weighed in today at 183.4 which was surprising to me, since in like a week I dropped like five pounds. On the one hand this is great, because I have almost two whole weeks to lose about 2 pounds. On the other hand, i know how much people say its bad to lose weight too quickly. The thing is, I imagine that that's talking about larger drops than just 5 pounds. But I dont really know. Im still trying to not have any cheat days and eat low, because I want to ensure I make that 181. I don't intend to continue like this after that, and would go to a more healthier level like 1400 calories a day or something, but is it a problem what I did and will that lead to anything bad?

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  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I would not keep that up long-term. But it sounds like you are young and healthy, and suffering no adverse effects so more power to you. I doubt you're harming yourself in any way.

    The most worrying thing I found in your post (honestly) is how badly you want your friends to go to this event with you. Why not just go on your own and love every moment, if your friends aren't really into it? On the other hand, it's kind of cool that your friends are on board with motivating you...anyway, good luck!
  • mjd327
    mjd327 Posts: 5
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    Eh, I dunno, Id just have more fun getting to go with them. Id go by myself and have fun but Id have more fun with them. Plus I don't see them that much since Im always at school and they go to school at home, so I'd get to come into the city and hang out with them for a bit.
  • mjd327
    mjd327 Posts: 5
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    Also this is a different subject but might as well make one topic...

    When I work out I notice my heart rate goes up to like...180-something. That seems like a lot. I think when I first start its usually like 111 or something and that ALSO seems like a lot. This has nothing to do with the diet it was like this the whole 10 weeks. Is this a dangerous number?
  • mjd327
    mjd327 Posts: 5
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    bump for more opinions
  • mjd327
    mjd327 Posts: 5
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    (Is it considered rude to bring up your topic if nobody responds?)
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
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    When I went through USAF survival school I lost 10 pounds in a week. I lived. People live through much worse situations--it's just uncomfortable and unsustainable. I see nothing wrong with using this as your "kick start" to a longer term, more moderate approach to weight loss and health.
  • roxierachael
    roxierachael Posts: 81 Member
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    Be very careful. You're likely to regain when you start eating normally. Increase your cals slowly when you make it to goal.
  • mistiblake08
    mistiblake08 Posts: 80 Member
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    There are sites on the internet that tell you your target heart rate to lose that weight and that is what you should aim for. Honestly, I am 172lbs and can easily get my heart rate up to 190 with intense cardio. As far as that huge of a loss, it is possible that it is water weight and then again it could be body fat. I don't see it an issue to jumpstart a healthier living as long as you don't try to stick to it. You need to adjust your eating soon. Eat a breakfast even if it's just one or to hard boiled eggs. Get better snacks to munch on like veggies or granola if you want something a little sweeter. Get those daily calories up. Definitely don't take the road you're going down as a permanent solution.
  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,363 Member
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    On average you still have lost about two pounds a week. That doesn't seem to be too much, just make sure your are getting sufficient nutrients. It's tough to do on less than 1200 calories.

    As for heart rate, it is based on your resting heart rate and your age, etc. The younger you are, the higher it can be. There are calculators that will tell you the best heart rate for weight loss. Believe it or not, it isn't the highest on the charts either. However, your resting heart rate seems to me to be a little high. You might want to have your thyroid checked. My daughter had Graves disease which caused an over-active thyroid. She should have actually lost weight (she was already very tiny), but she had totally blown her thyroid and instead gained a lot of weight very rapidly (about 60 pounds in about 6 months). Her resting heart rate was much higher than yours. It is probably nothing, but it wouldn't hurt of have it checked.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
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    Try to eat more, especially if you're working out, you need the fuel.
    If you have 10 weeks to drop the weight, losing 1.5lbs a week should be sufficient, and you can lose that eating more than 1000 calories at your current weight.

    I'm also a huge pro-wrestling fan, I went to a show by myself last weekend and I was really nervous about it... But I had a brilliant time anyway. It's great that the show is your motivation, but I think you should go anyway to reward yourself for finally taking steps to lose weight and be healthier. But please eat more.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • asianrunner
    asianrunner Posts: 42 Member
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    If I'm doing plyo stuff combined with cardio, my HR can get up into the 180s and 190s pretty easily. But it comes down quickly as well! On the other hand, doing steady, slow running will only make my HR go into the 140s and 150s which feels pretty easily.

    My max HR has been 204, after doing hill sprints. My body felt trashed afterwards but it was fun to see how high my HR would go!

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