I can't lose 2lbs a week?

Fashionista8818
Fashionista8818 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 5'5 and 150lbs. I want to lose 15lbs. I would like to lose 1.5-2lbs a week, but I'm being told that I should only try for .5lbs a week. That means it will take over 7 months for me to lose only 15lbs? That's crazy right?!?!
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Replies

  • love8383
    love8383 Posts: 169
    at only 150 lbs it would be hard for you to lose 2 lbs per week and get enough calories..try for 1 lb a week.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Why is it crazy? It took you over 7 months to GAIN that weight, so why should you need to take it off any faster?

    Be fair to your body. You're not doing yourself any favors by rushing things. There's no fire, it's not a race, there are no winners or losers. Take the weight off slowly, and you'll look better in the end, and feel better while you're doing it.
  • FatJockSing
    FatJockSing Posts: 164 Member
    Why is it crazy? It took you over 7 months to GAIN that weight, so why should you need to take it off any faster?

    Be fair to your body. You're not doing yourself any favors by rushing things. There's no fire, it's not a race, there are no winners or losers. Take the weight off slowly, and you'll look better in the end, and feel better while you're doing it.

    ^^^^^THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! 100% THIS!!!! ^^^^^
  • He1loKitty
    He1loKitty Posts: 212 Member
    I've been losing about 2 pounds a month on average. It feels slow but it keeps going in the right direction so I figure that's better than nothing. It feels more sustainable losing at a slower pace, at least for me.
  • Fashionista8818
    Fashionista8818 Posts: 6
    Ok, when you put it like that it does make sense. However, if a deficit of 1000 cals a day is needed to lose 2lbs a week. My maintenance cals is 2200 and I net 1200. Why can't I lose the 2lbs?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Do what you want, but that loss is not going to come just from fat. The amount you have to lose, with that high of a deficit, it will come in part from muscle as well. You will likely end up being a smaller version with the exact same body composition you have now.

    Just my two cents.
  • He1loKitty
    He1loKitty Posts: 212 Member
    Maybe you can lose two pounds a week but I'm not sure you could sustain that kind of deficit consistently? But also, it's not automatically guaranteed that you will lose two pounds a week every week if you eat a certain amount. Some weeks you lose, other weeks the scale is stubborn and won't move despite your best efforts. The important thing is to consistently eat at a deficit and you will lose, whether it's half a pound or two. It might be slower than you want, but it's a loss all the same, so I have learned.
  • TwistedSpinster
    TwistedSpinster Posts: 30 Member
    1200 calories a day with a workout 3 times a week is a bit low. Not trying to be mean but I know If I did that to myself for 7 weeks; I would feel deprived and gain it all back in a hurry. Plus doing that consistently for 7 weeks, what kind of effect would that have on your metabolism, would you not have to lower your maintenance calories from 2200 in order to not gain any weight. Wouldn't your body get use to that kind of intake?
  • DeeJayShank
    DeeJayShank Posts: 92 Member
    You can and will lose 2lbs a week if you maintain a 1000 calorie deficit.

    But 2lbs of what? Just body fat? Probably not.

    If you only have 15 lbs to lose and you take on a 1000 calorie deficit, you will lose increasing amounts of muscle mass the leaner you get.

    It is generally accepted that losing 1lb per week is safe and minimizes muscle loss. Muscle is what gives you a healthy, thin, "toned" look that women are always after.
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    Only the morbidly obese are capable of losing several pounds a week. It's because they are accustomed to concurring 4 to 7 thousand calories a day and have no problem with restricting their calories to less than 1500 a day. The pounds drop off quickly at first, but as they continue to lose, it slows down.

    At your weight, you can expect a 1 to 2 pound loss per week, at first, and as you continue, you will have to be happy with a 1/2 and then even a 1/4 pound per week loss to get to your goal weight. And yes it's going to take time. Just remember you didn't gain this weight overnight, it's not going to come off overnight.

    Good luck, you can do this, just stick with it.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I'm 5'5 and 150lbs. I want to lose 15lbs. I would like to lose 1.5-2lbs a week, but I'm being told that I should only try for .5lbs a week. That means it will take over 7 months for me to lose only 15lbs? That's crazy right?!?!
    1-2 pounds a week is too aggressive for so little to lose and will not be sustainable in the long run. Yes, it will take you about 7 months or thereabouts, but that's a good thing.
  • amy8400
    amy8400 Posts: 478 Member
    Something else to consider is that the more drastic your efforts to lose the weight fast, the less likely you'll adopt a healthy eating pattern afterward and may be inclined to gain it all back. Like others have said, it's not a race and slow, steady weight loss is less likely to take muscle plus you'll be eating at a level that you can learn to live with and enjoy. Reaching your goal is half the equation...keeping it off is the other and probably more important aspect.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    If I had known it would take me almost a year to lose 25 lb I probably wouldn't have started, but between MFP and my dietician, that's what happened. In the long run, it doesn't matter how long it takes as long as you're headed in the right direction. My intent was not to do this again, and the result was that I had to change the way I lived in addition to focusing on my weight. If you're like I was, you have probably been yo yo dieting your whole life. Up 15 down 15. Isn't it time to stop that? Spend the rest of your life dealing with other issues and deal with this now or you will deal with it again.

    If you set a reasonable deficit and, yes, as has been suggested to you, aim at losing about 1/2 lb a week, it may take 15 weeks (it may take more or less), but you will learn something about losing weight, and yourself. I raised my goal to 1450kcal a day plus exercise calories, usually didn't get the whole amount eaten, but it gave me a healthy amount to eat. My dietician would have set me at 1500, Anyway, I only weighed myself every other week, so I wouldn't get depressed. Sometimes I went down, sometimes stayed the same. My body changed and so did my eating habits.

    I don't expect to have to deal with a weight loss again. Plus I have so much time to worry about something else. lol.

    Best wishes.
  • DeeJayShank
    DeeJayShank Posts: 92 Member
    Very well said, Amy. The habits you build are more important than the weight you lose.
  • Keepcalmanddontblink
    Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
    I'm 5'5 and 150lbs. I want to lose 15lbs. I would like to lose 1.5-2lbs a week, but I'm being told that I should only try for .5lbs a week. That means it will take over 7 months for me to lose only 15lbs? That's crazy right?!?!
    It might sound crazy, but you will keep it off, rather than crash dieting, possibly losing the weight quickly, stopping the diet, gaining it back plus, and coming back here again to start over.
  • aedreana
    aedreana Posts: 979 Member
    A half-pound per week? OMG. That can be called only "crazy" or "maintenance."
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    I'm 5'5 and 150lbs.
    My maintenance cals is 2200

    This sounds a little hinky. Is this your TDEE with a bunch of exercise calculated in?
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
    I lost 20 pounds at 2 pounds per week using MFPs preprogrammed advice. It worked great for me. Be sure to work out and eat back your exercise calories. Thats how I kept from feeling hungry.
    I'm a 6 foot tall man.
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    i dunno. maybe a pound. you can TRY for two pounds a week but dont expect it to always happen EVEN IF YOU DO EVERYTHING RIGHT.

    personally i try for one pound a week. sometimes its less. never more. and i am not hungry. and i feel like i am doing something i could do forever. (hopefully someday on mainatainance but i have a couple years to go)

    you should do something that is a lifestyle you want to live, that way when you get where you want to go, you keep living it (with a bit more food of course)
  • natadriane
    natadriane Posts: 4 Member
    someone here be my weight loss buddy
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    I'm 5'5 and 150lbs.
    My maintenance cals is 2200

    This sounds a little hinky. Is this your TDEE with a bunch of exercise calculated in?

    You beat me to it! I'm the same height and weight and MFP has my maintenance calories at around 1750 (net).

    So if instead she means that with exercise, she can eat 2200 calories and maintain, then to lose 2 lbs a week she would have to eat 1200 calories and not eat back exercise calories. This is where the being run down, losing muscle etc could all come into play. Among other things stated, losing muscle is also bad because muscle does burn more calories than fat, so you're setting yourself up for a tougher maintenance if you needlessly compromise your lean body mass
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    A half-pound per week? OMG. That can be called only "crazy" or "maintenance."
    Nope. It's called sustainable and healthy. :wink:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Ok, when you put it like that it does make sense. However, if a deficit of 1000 cals a day is needed to lose 2lbs a week. My maintenance cals is 2200 and I net 1200. Why can't I lose the 2lbs?
    Where did you come up with 2200 maintenance calories?
  • Yurippe
    Yurippe Posts: 850 Member
    Surprised that no one has been in to bring up body composition yet. Do you want to weigh less or be smaller? Queue heavy lifting advice in 3...2...1...
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    And? How long do you want to keep that weight off?
  • thecrushinator
    thecrushinator Posts: 76 Member
    Yes it is possible for you to lose 2lbs a week, live off protein shakes, meat, raw veggies and absolutely NO wheat / soy products. The weight will fall off. However the faster you lose the weight the harder it will be to maintain over the long term.
  • Mariachicat
    Mariachicat Posts: 311 Member
    You absolutely can do it. Exercise every day, don't phone it in, really work it out, and cut your calories to the minimum required by MFP and if you eat your calories back, only eat a portion of them. Change your attitude to "I CAN lose 2 lbs a week". IMHO. Good luck!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    So if instead she means that with exercise, she can eat 2200 calories and maintain, then to lose 2 lbs a week she would have to eat 1200 calories and not eat back exercise calories. This is where the being run down, losing muscle etc could all come into play. Among other things stated, losing muscle is also bad because muscle does burn more calories than fat, so you're setting yourself up for a tougher maintenance if you needlessly compromise your lean body mass

    This. I assumed that she meant TDEE when she said her maintenance calories were 2200, but then I don't know where the "net" 1200 comes in.
  • 7elizamae
    7elizamae Posts: 758 Member
    You COULD lose 2 pounds per week, but I bet you'd feel so miserable. I was trying to lose ten pounds. I tried to do it the 'fast' way and all I could think about was food. I was aiming for 1200 calories per day and just felt like hell. It was kind of like being sick. I was a cranky, nasty, middle-aged grump.

    Thanks to lots of excellent links here on MFP, I switched to aiming for 1/2 pound per week. My calories are 1540 per day, but I add another 400 exercise calories, so I don't feel deprived.

    I'm eating lots more fruit and vegetables, have cut out (most of) the mindless carby snacking (which is how I gained in the first place), and am LOVING my new HIIT workouts with my personal friend Jillian Michaels. :wink:

    I have lost seven pounds since Memorial Day weekend. I feel so good I may not even keep going for the next three, but we'll see.

    (Of course, you may feel fine on a 1000 calorie deficit and I'm sure some folks will share that they had no trouble with it...just sharing my experience.)
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    I gained it much faster than I lost it. People who can lose as fast as they gain obviously weren't trying hard enough in the pigout phase. Oink oink!

    That said, I ended up averaging pretty close to 2 pounds a week lost over a year and a half (I started at 245). And as you can see by my profile pic, I also lost a lot of the muscle mass that was supporting my heavier weight. I'm now what they call skinny fat, and to correct that, I'm having to go very low in the normal weight range. I used to look good at the weight in my avatar pic. Not anymore.

    If I could go back and do it again starting from 150 (and pretending I don't have joint and spine problems that make it impossible) I'd have a very moderate deficit, toss the scale and take measurements instead, and go crazy at the gym five or six days a week with weights and jogging instead of worrying about how many pounds I lost each week. If you're healthy enough and you have the time, I suggest you shoot more for fit than thin.

    Also, if you don't already know how, I suggest learning to cook from scratch and finding the best foods for you that really fuel your energy and make you feel good.

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