Is 2lbs per week too much?

JentheN13
JentheN13 Posts: 8 Member
edited November 9 in Health and Weight Loss
I just signed up yesterday as I am starting the advocare 24 day challenge and wanted a way to track my food. My goal is to lose 40lbs. Is 2 lbs a week too aggressive? I was trying to lose 10 lbs by V-day.

Jen

Replies

  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    edited January 2015
    Jen from what I can learn slower is better than faster on the body many think plus the slower the loss the less likelihood of regaining the amount of the loss. At 64 I am losing at the slowest rate ever to try to prevent a regain this time and not to overly stress my body.

    I wish you success with whatever plan you go with.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
    I say go for it. You can do it! You will find the first pounds are the quickest. The closer you get to your goal the slower it will come off. 2 lbs is okay, but bordering on too quick depending on your current size. Be sure to not go too much in a calorie deficit or your metabolism will slow and your body will hold on to fat for dear life. Your better off taking it slow and consistent.
  • Krueger92
    Krueger92 Posts: 109 Member
    Nope 2lbs is good, wouldn't shoot for anymore then that
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
    You will like MFP. Great app. I have lost 65 lbs in about 8 months. It's been great for me anyway.
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    I believe the general consensus on this site is too conservative - i.e., I believe you can lose more quickly than many others might suggest. However, if you really only have 40 lbs to lose, than you probably can't maintain 2 lbs per week for very long without losing more lean mass than you need to (which I bet you would regret, even if getting -10 by V-Day seems like the most important thing to you *right now*), or without compromising on getting all the nutrients you need.

    Nothing wrong with starting aggressively, IMO, but it's not a great plan on dropping 2 lbs per week down to you slim goal weight. Also, you may drop well more than 2 lbs for the first several weeks (in the aggregate - not on a steady pace), but that's a bunch of water weight, not fat loss. Finally, advocare challenges / shakes / etc. are not necessary to lose, even at a healthy clip. But do what keeps you motivated.
  • astrose00
    astrose00 Posts: 754 Member
    I eat at 1200 and am really good at getting the most food out of those allotted calories. Haven't been hungry or weak. I am probably losing an average of 2lbs a week at this point but sometimes it's higher/lower week to week. I'm a stickler and don't go over or eat excessively high calorie items that won't keep me full. So, for that reason, it's been relatively easy to lose 47lbs in under 4 months. But I started with a lot more to lose, so keep that in mind.
  • gostumpy
    gostumpy Posts: 156 Member
    When I did this last (before falling off the wagon) I set it to 1.5 pounds per week because I felt 2lbs per week was too restrictive calorie wise. I ended up losing 10lbs in 5 weeks, for a 2lb per week average! Very happy with the results... then I went camping, lost track, forgot, got complacent, and I'm back starting it over again :)
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Why do you need to track your food, doesn't Advocare do what it claims?
  • JentheN13
    JentheN13 Posts: 8 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Why do you need to track your food, doesn't Advocare do what it claims?

    With advocare you still can't eat whatever you want and hope to lose weight, plus I need lots of structure to keep me on track so this helps me.
  • JentheN13
    JentheN13 Posts: 8 Member
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    Jen from what I can learn slower is better than faster on the body many think plus the slower the loss the less likelihood of regaining the amount of the loss. At 64 I am losing at the slowest rate ever to try to prevent a regain this time and not to overly stress my body.

    I wish you success with whatever plan you go with.

    Thank you!!!
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    The better rule of thumb is .5-1% of bodyweight loss per week in lbs on average (taking the average of several weeks) to "maximize" fat loss and lean body mass retention. Can you lose more...of course, but doing so has been proven to cause higher degrees of lean body mass (muscle) loss. If you are at a higher bodyfat %, then the higher % applies. As you get leaner, then the lower % applies as you have less bodyfat% to lose from.
  • funkodrunko
    funkodrunko Posts: 6 Member
    I personally would stay away from things like Avocare and herbalife, etc.

    All they do is make you reduce your calorific intake by drinking shakes. Their products all have buzz words that make you think they're amazing but you can get the same from eating real food. Not to mention, they're pretty expensive too.

    What happens after the 24 days? Will you return to eating normal? I hate to be Mr negative but it'll all pile back on.

    You can easily lose 1-2 lbs a week by imposing a calorie deficit and eating real food.
  • DeeTee68
    DeeTee68 Posts: 198 Member
    funkodrunko wrote: »
    I personally would stay away from things like Avocare and herbalife, etc.

    All they do is make you reduce your calorific intake by drinking shakes. Their products all have buzz words that make you think they're amazing but you can get the same from eating real food. Not to mention, they're pretty expensive too.

    What happens after the 24 days? Will you return to eating normal? I hate to be Mr negative but it'll all pile back on.

    You can easily lose 1-2 lbs a week by imposing a calorie deficit and eating real food.

    Agreed well said.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,027 Member
    As mentioned 1% of your body weight a week is a great goal. Aggressive weight loss for many ends up usually with 90% of them gaining weight back within a year or so.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • angelinhell
    angelinhell Posts: 56 Member
    I have been on plans with shakes before and they can be around 250-300 calories per shake. You can have a decent amount of food for that!
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  • JentheN13
    JentheN13 Posts: 8 Member
    DeeTee68 wrote: »
    funkodrunko wrote: »
    I personally would stay away from things like Avocare and herbalife, etc.

    All they do is make you reduce your calorific intake by drinking shakes. Their products all have buzz words that make you think they're amazing but you can get the same from eating real food. Not to mention, they're pretty expensive too.

    What happens after the 24 days? Will you return to eating normal? I hate to be Mr negative but it'll all pile back on.

    You can easily lose 1-2 lbs a week by imposing a calorie deficit and eating real food.

    Agreed well said.
    angelinhell wrote: »
    I have been on plans with shakes before and they can be around 250-300 calories per shake. You can have a decent amount of food for that!

    I actually make green smoothies for breakfast and don't drink any shakes from advocare.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Do what's sustainable for you.
  • Aemely
    Aemely Posts: 694 Member
    jennharris88 wrote: »
    I just signed up yesterday as I am starting the advocare 24 day challenge and wanted a way to track my food. My goal is to lose 40lbs. Is 2 lbs a week too aggressive? I was trying to lose 10 lbs by V-day.

    Jen

    You can likely do it, but if you don't want to gain it back, you may want to lose at a healthy pace. The appropriate pace depends on how overweight you are.

    What is your BMI? Yes, yes, I realize people say that BMI varies greatly by body type. However, it can be helpful as a rough guide. If you are Obese (see BMI calculator), a goal of 2 lbs. a week may be reasonable. If you are Overweight, it's aggressive (perhaps you would consider 1.5 lbs. a week?). If you are at a high Healthy weight, losing .5-1 per week loss would be more appropriate.

    Just my opinion, but since you asked, I'm sharing it. I have no idea what Advocare is (the Wikipedia page sounds like a pyramid scheme), but I know MFP works if you stick to it (and it's free!). To get started, click Goals > Change Goals > Guided, Continue, enter in your accurate information and realistic goal weight, and click Update Profile. MFP will give you good information on how many calories you should eat each day to safely lose weight. Good luck! :)

    Direct Link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals
    BMI Calculator: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmi-calculator
    BMR Calculator: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

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  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    With only 40 lb to lose, 2 lb/week is a bit aggressive.
    You might be able to do it for a few weeks, but 1 - 1.5 would be a more sustainable goal.
    Over the last year, I've averaged 1.5 / week and I started with over 100 lb to lose.

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  • JentheN13
    JentheN13 Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks I changed my goal to 1.5 and today I weighed myself for the first time since starting a week ago and I lost 3 pounds!
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    jennharris88 wrote: »
    Thanks I changed my goal to 1.5 and today I weighed myself for the first time since starting a week ago and I lost 3 pounds!

    Congrats! Scale weight tends to move pretty fast in the first week or two when one starts calorie restricting**. Don't get discouraged if it slows down or even hovers for a bit sometime in the next few weeks.

    ** Scale weight also seems to stall out and sometimes increase when someone takes up a new exercise program, even when calorie restricting. For those starting a new exercise regime, don't get discouraged when you calorie-restrict, and the scale doesn't budge or even goes up during the first few weeks.

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