Lost 4 lbs last week. Increase calories?

robert11223344
robert11223344 Posts: 2
edited November 7 in Health and Weight Loss
I noticed I lost 4 lbs in last week which is more then the 1-2 recommended. I don't want to loose too fast if it is risking being unhealthy. I looked back and see I am often a bit under goal on calories and don't always eat back exercise calories. One day I did a 90 minute bike ride and probably only ate an extra few hundred calories that day. Should I be worried or is this still relatively safe? Or should I make an effort to actually eat the full calories to get to net 0 even if I am not hungry?

Replies

  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    How long have you been calorie-counting in this way?
  • robert11223344
    robert11223344 Posts: 2
    3 weeks. I lost over 8 the first week but was not too worried because it was probably a lot of water weight. Then I lost about 4 pounds both the 2nd and 3 week also for a total of 16 lost so far.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    Well, in only week 3, without knowing your stats it's difficult to say whether your loss is safe or unsafe.
  • RebeccaD22
    RebeccaD22 Posts: 202 Member
    I lost 8 lbs in 2 weeks. Basically, the same "issue" I'm not complaining lol....but same thing, 4 lbs a week.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited June 2015
    In the last eight weeks, my average weight has changed anywhere from gaining 2.20 pounds to losing 4.09 pounds as compared to the previous week.

    If you're really losing four pounds of fat per week, you're at a deficit of 2,000 calories per day. Do you think you are?
  • harpsdesire
    harpsdesire Posts: 190 Member
    If you lose 4 pounds next week as well, my opinion would be to up the calories a little. The first 3 weeks are always a little weird because of water weight. (I lost 4 the first week, gained 2 the second week, then lost 6 the third week... and have since settled into a pretty regular loss of about .8 per week without doing anything really different over that time)
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I would continue on with what you're doing for a couple of more weeks and see if it levels out.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    In the last eight weeks, my average weight has changed anywhere from gaining 2.20 pounds to losing 4.09 pounds as compared to the previous week.

    If you're really losing four pounds of fat per week, you're at a deficit of 2,000 calories per day. Do you think you are?

    More than likely you're losing some water along with fat. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it continues. Then, yes, I would eat a bit more and reevaluate a few weeks later.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    How much weight do you want to lose?
  • lizzocat
    lizzocat Posts: 356 Member
    What is your starting weight / weight you want to lose- because if this is your first month, and you have a lot of weight to lose, it wouldn't be unheard of that you've lost that much. My first month I lost about 17 pounds
  • teresa_garcia29
    teresa_garcia29 Posts: 65 Member
    Yes weight loss for me has been about the same in this first month of ftp.
  • teresa_garcia29
    teresa_garcia29 Posts: 65 Member
    I'm just going to keep at it and get more stats to make a decision .
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    teresa_garcia29 wrote: »
    I'm just going to keep at it and get more stats to make a decision .

    good decision, a decent rule of thumb is to average out weight loss every 6-8 weeks and make adjustments - this allows for hormonal fluxes etc
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    I would track your weekly loss over several weeks (4-6) and then if you're losing more than 1-2 on average increase calories. You may lose 4 this week and then nothing next week and continue like that because weight loss is not linear and your weight can fluctuate week to week. If you're doing intense exercise, definitely eat back your exercise calories (at least half if you're getting the burn from MFP). If you're not hungry, eat more calorie dense food or even them out over the week if you tend to get hungry the day after a big workout.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories