Not safe to lose 2 lbs/week?

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ohohraptor
ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay so my BMR(I think that's what it's called, correct me if I'm wrong), says I need 1,810 cals a day to maintain my weight at 142 pounds. I want to lose 2 lbs a week, however that would have me dip under 1200 cals. Is it not safe for me to lose any more than 1.2 pounds a week? Is there any way of getting around this?

Replies

  • Crystals422
    Crystals422 Posts: 382 Member
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    At your weight 1 lb a week would be the most you should loose. If you are bigger usally having more that 70 lbs to loose then you can have a bigger calorie deficit.
  • emchamberlain
    emchamberlain Posts: 133 Member
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    Why would you want a way around it? You're thin enough that you don't have to worry about losing 2lbs/week. Sounds like good news to me!
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
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    Gotcha, thanks.
  • elvb
    elvb Posts: 423 Member
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    At your weight 1 lb a week would be the most you should loose. If you are bigger usally having more that 70 lbs to loose then you can have a bigger calorie deficit.

    Yep.
    I actually customized mine. I was at 1lb a week which put me at 1200. I changed it to 1/2lb a week and my calories jumped to 1400! I customized to 1300 just to be safe.
  • beckyboowoo
    beckyboowoo Posts: 16
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    Hi, I'm 145 lbs roughly (66 kg) and wnting to lose too, and 2 lbs per week makes you feel disgusting, I've done it! If you are set in your mind to lose that much a week there are "safer" ways of doing it and a few tips I will happily share but you have to be careful and LISTEN to your body.
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
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    Why would you want a way around it? You're thin enough that you don't have to worry about losing 2lbs/week. Sounds like good news to me!

    I wanted to reach my goal by May, but it's looking like I need to push it to Julyish. :D
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
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    Hi, I'm 145 lbs roughly (66 kg) and wnting to lose too, and 2 lbs per week makes you feel disgusting, I've done it! If you are set in your mind to lose that much a week there are "safer" ways of doing it and a few tips I will happily share but you have to be careful and LISTEN to your body.

    Please share your tips!
    I don't want to feel disgusting!
  • Jessicah1987
    Jessicah1987 Posts: 14 Member
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    If doing so would cause you to go below 1200 calories, then no, you should not even try to attempt it. Remember, numbers (in regards to weight) are arbitrary. Men and women who are incredibly fit (such as football players, MMA fighters, and Olympians) often fall under the "overweight" and sometimes even "obese" category because the BMI scale does not take muscle mass into consideration. You can tone your body with proper diet and exercise, losing those damnable inches that we all want gone, and only lose a few pounds. And if you're already small-framed, which it seems like you are, then your numbers will be a bit slower in going down.

    I think, considering you're already small and that your current weight is many people's goal weight and therefor not unhealthy by any means, you should focus more on inches lost rather than weight lost. Pick a jeans size that you would like to fit into and go for that. It's safer for you, and more fun to try on those jeans every so often to see how far you've come.

    Good luck!
    - Jessicah
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
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    If doing so would cause you to go below 1200 calories, then no, you should not even try to attempt it. Remember, numbers (in regards to weight) are arbitrary. Men and women who are incredibly fit (such as football players, MMA fighters, and Olympians) often fall under the "overweight" and sometimes even "obese" category because the BMI scale does not take muscle mass into consideration. You can tone your body with proper diet and exercise, losing those damnable inches that we all want gone, and only lose a few pounds. And if you're already small-framed, which it seems like you are, then your numbers will be a bit slower in going down.

    I think, considering you're already small and that your current weight is many people's goal weight and therefor not unhealthy by any means, you should focus more on inches lost rather than weight lost. Pick a jeans size that you would like to fit into and go for that. It's safer for you, and more fun to try on those jeans every so often to see how far you've come.

    Good luck!
    - Jessicah

    I think your exactly right actually. My ultimate goal is to actually lose 2 inches off my hips, rather than a number, but losing inches takes so much longer to see a difference that sometimes it's easier to be able to see some progress on the scale. Before I had my son I weighed 10 pounds more than I do now and wore a pant size smaller!
  • Jerri56
    Jerri56 Posts: 5
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    WOW! You are doing awesome! An inspiration for all. You must feel great.
  • beckyboowoo
    beckyboowoo Posts: 16
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    Firstly, SLEEP, 8 hours per night minimum, no exceptions.

    Secondly 8 glasses of water per day, no exceptions.

    Now, if you INCREAASE your total Calorie consumption for the day to say 2000 and incorperate someLIGHT cardio, walking/swimming to burn off those caliries, aim to have that "net" cal number at 1200 which keeps you "safe"

    You will feel like you are forcing yourself to eat (well I do) but if you eat every 2 hours like I do (I consume over 2000 cal per day) and eat protein at every "meal" you should see the results you are looking for. But be realistic too, you have to think WHY you want to drop fat, is it just to see a number you feel "desirable" if so, that's bad news. If you truly want to FEEL good, then EAT HEALTHY CHOICES (think everything in its natural original form) and keep active.
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
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    Firstly, SLEEP, 8 hours per night minimum, no exceptions.

    Secondly 8 glasses of water per day, no exceptions.

    Now, if you INCREAASE your total Calorie consumption for the day to say 2000 and incorperate someLIGHT cardio, walking/swimming to burn off those caliries, aim to have that "net" cal number at 1200 which keeps you "safe"

    You will feel like you are forcing yourself to eat (well I do) but if you eat every 2 hours like I do (I consume over 2000 cal per day) and eat protein at every "meal" you should see the results you are looking for. But be realistic too, you have to think WHY you want to drop fat, is it just to see a number you feel "desirable" if so, that's bad news. If you truly want to FEEL good, then EAT HEALTHY CHOICES (think everything in its natural original form) and keep active.

    Oh, my net is 1200, guess I should have mentioned that. I eat 1300-1600 cals a day depending on how much I burn running/yoga/etc... I'll try to eat cleaner, with more fruits/veggies. I'm always craving starchy carbs though! Thanks for the tips, I really should be drinking more water! I only drink water or tea and I still only get about 5-6 cups a day. :/
  • beckyboowoo
    beckyboowoo Posts: 16
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    You're welcome, for carb cravings I crunch on dry roasted chicpeas (as they also contain protein) and feel a bit naughtier than they actually are. If you remove white carbs from your diet entirely (use brown rice, buckwheat, rolled oats instead) you should stop the cravings too. GOOD LUCK!
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
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    I've heard the rule of thumb being 1% of your total weight. So someone that is 200lbs should lose at most 2 pounds. Any faster than that and it means too much lean body tissue is going with the fat.

    Also BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate - The enegry you need per day if you slept all day or if you were in a coma. So you need more than your BMR just to maintain weight.

    That's why they ask for your activity level (e.g. Sedentary). That activity level represents a factor that you multiply the BMR by. So Sedentary has a factor of 1.2 I think. You multiply the BMR by 1.2
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
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    You're welcome, for carb cravings I crunch on dry roasted chicpeas (as they also contain protein) and feel a bit naughtier than they actually are. If you remove white carbs from your diet entirely (use brown rice, buckwheat, rolled oats instead) you should stop the cravings too. GOOD LUCK!

    The chickpeas sound tasty! Do you roast them yourself or buy them already roasted?
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
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    I've heard the rule of thumb being 1% of your total weight. So someone that is 200lbs should lose at most 2 pounds. Any faster than that and it means too much lean body tissue is going with the fat.

    Also BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate - The enegry you need per day if you slept all day or if you were in a coma. So you need more than your BMR just to maintain weight.

    That's why they ask for your activity level (e.g. Sedentary). That activity level represents a factor that you multiply the BMR by. So Sedentary has a factor of 1.2 I think. You multiply the BMR by 1.2

    Oh right, then my bmr is in the 1,500's, to maintain my weight I need to stay in the 1,800's. Thanks for correcting me, I had a feeling I was saying it wrong!

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