I am aiming for 4lb a week loss! Is this realistic

tinicia
tinicia Posts: 20 Member
Hi guys

I'm aiming for a 4lb a week weight loss and trying to stick to approx 800 kcal a day but I do have the occasional treat :D do you think 4lb a week is realistic? I'm mostly living off fish and veg, fruit and go yoghurt bars any suggestions of fish/sea food recipes would be much helpful.

Thanks for reading x
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Replies

  • tinicia
    tinicia Posts: 20 Member
    Also feel free to add me as a friend x
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  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    No.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    No and eating under 1200 is frowned upon by MFP

    Read this - follow it - profit

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    That low a calorie amount can be harmful to your health. You haven't posted any other information about yourself, so I don't know just how much of a deficit that is, but if it's enough to lose 4lbs a week, that's way to low. You're better off starting at 2lbs a week or less. You'll be less hungry, less tired, and less likely to quit. This is not a diet plan, what you need to do is change how you eat.
  • tinicia
    tinicia Posts: 20 Member
    I want to lose it safely. I've never been a big eater but what I did eat was junk so I piled on the pounds. Last week I lost 6lb and thought that was to much for one week.. May I ask what you guys have been losing on a weekly basis? X
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    No... just no.
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    outside of initial water and waste losses, no...you probably need to adjust your expectations.
    tinicia wrote: »
    I want to lose it safely. I've never been a big eater but what I did eat was junk so I piled on the pounds. Last week I lost 6lb and thought that was to much for one week.. May I ask what you guys have been losing on a weekly basis? X

    when you first start dieting, you drop a lot of fluid weight...namely glycogen...you also are eating less so you have less inherent waste in your system.

    somewhere between 1 - 2 Lbs per week is more realistic. also, weight loss isn't linear...you don't lose X Lbs per week...some weeks will be bigger losses, some weeks with no losses, some weeks with gains due to water retention, etc.

    you're seriously going to need to step back a adjust your expectations here.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    edited July 2015
    Age/height/current weight? 2lb/week is about the upper ceiling, unless you are very obese. And definitely up your calories! You can look at my diary for food ideas. Do get a digital food scale and weigh what you eat, otherwise you can wipe out a deficit with bad logging habits. (Measuring cups and spoons are not a good way to gague portion sizes.)
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Here's the math - 3500kcal = 1lb of fat, so if you need 1700 kcals/day and eat 1200 kcals/day, operating in a 500kcal/day deficit (500x7=3500) you'll lose ~1lb a week.

    To lose 4lbs a week you would have to operate in a 2000kcal/day deficit - not sustainable or healthy by any standards.
  • nanniek1
    nanniek1 Posts: 10 Member
    Anything less than apx. 1200/day puts your body into starvation mode and to preserve itself it holds on to fat. Weird phenomenon, but, you'll lose faster on 1200 than 800 calories.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    No.
  • tinicia
    tinicia Posts: 20 Member
    Thanks to everyone that has replied im going to have to up my kcals for 4 weeks and see what happens then take it from there x
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    I'm thinking if you have to ask, you probably already know the answer. :-)
    I saw a guideline posted recently..maybe someone will post it here, of what your weight loss goal should be based on the amount of weight you have to lose. I have about 30 pounds to go, so my weight loss goal is 1 pound a week. Typically, if you have quite a bit to lose (50 lbs or more), 2lbs is good to aim for. The closer you are to your goal, the less aggressive your target weight loss per week should be.
    You probably do want to try to eat more calories, though (1200 is usually the lowest MFP sets) as it is nutritionally better for your body, and also because it will be easier to maintain your weight loss in the long run once your eating habits return to "normal". You don't want to go through all of that hard work just to gain it back, after all!
  • xbted
    xbted Posts: 41 Member
    If it were realistic, everyone else would be losing 4 pounds a week.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    As they all said its just no oing to happen 1-2 is normal and with your amount to lose then id go for 1lb a week.
    Rgar would be 500 calories below maintenance. MFP will let you figure what that number is when you enter your details. The calories you suggest is too low. Eat at least 1200, but more likely what you can sustain.
  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
    No, it's not even remotely a healthy way to lose weight, I don't care what you're eating. You didn't gain weight because of junk, you gained weight because of eating too much. While harder to do, you can gain weight (or not lose) by eating too much "healthy foods" too. You can eat the same foods, just not the same amount. 4lbs a week is ridiculously fast unless you are 400lbs and under the supervision of a doctor. Your organs and mostly brain need calories to function. Starvation mode is a myth, but eating 800 calories is dangerous and you will lose muscle. You know your heart is a muscle too, and you CAN lose muscle weight from your heart. THAT'S why it's so dangerous to lose weight so fast. Extremely obese people can lose weight fast, because it's healthier than remaining morbidly obese.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,359 Member
    I think you knew the answer was No when you asked!
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Absolutely not. And eating 800 calories a day is not a safe way to lose weight.
  • tinicia
    tinicia Posts: 20 Member
    xbted wrote: »
    If it were realistic, everyone else would be losing 4 pounds a week.

    Everyone is different I lost 6lb last week and I always loose weight quickly. Last year I last 3 stone on 3 months with WW
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    tinicia wrote: »
    xbted wrote: »
    If it were realistic, everyone else would be losing 4 pounds a week.

    Everyone is different I lost 6lb last week and I always loose weight quickly. Last year I last 3 stone on 3 months with WW

    So why are you here then?
  • tinicia
    tinicia Posts: 20 Member
    randomtai wrote: »
    tinicia wrote: »
    xbted wrote: »
    If it were realistic, everyone else would be losing 4 pounds a week.

    Everyone is different I lost 6lb last week and I always loose weight quickly. Last year I last 3 stone on 3 months with WW

    So why are you here then?

    Because I want to loose more before my holiday
  • finny11122
    finny11122 Posts: 8,436 Member
    yes you can, but i wouldnt reccommend it. Aim for 3 pounds a week. You can eat plenty and lose 3 pounds a week with exercise
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    tinicia wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    tinicia wrote: »
    xbted wrote: »
    If it were realistic, everyone else would be losing 4 pounds a week.

    Everyone is different I lost 6lb last week and I always loose weight quickly. Last year I last 3 stone on 3 months with WW

    So why are you here then?

    Because I want to loose more before my holiday

    Then why are you posting questions if you have everything all figured out? :huh:
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    tinicia wrote: »
    xbted wrote: »
    If it were realistic, everyone else would be losing 4 pounds a week.

    Everyone is different I lost 6lb last week and I always loose weight quickly. Last year I last 3 stone on 3 months with WW

    You wanted safe and peple are giving you safe. You will normally lose water weight and have decent losses in the first few weeks, but it will slow down. Dont be fooled into thinking that will continue. If youve already losy with WW then dont you already have the experience?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited July 2015
    No and eating under 1200 is frowned upon by MFP

    Read this - follow it - profit

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1

    This^

    Will your 800 calories be medically supervised? Are you currently morbidly obese? Are you eating specially prepared food that helps you meet some goals (prescription shakes) - along with vitamin injections?

    VERY low calorie diets should not be do-it-yourself plans. I'm not a nutritionist....there's no way I could adequately fuel basic bodily functions (heart, lungs, kidneys) on 800 calories a day.
  • JudithNYC
    JudithNYC Posts: 80 Member
    Starvation mode is bogus, if it were so anorexic people would not get so fearfully thin and even die, people do lose weight at 800 calories BUT unless something really scary is going in with your mind there is no way you can keep it up for more than a short time and even then you are putting your health in jeopardy. Not to mention that you will be crazy with hunger and eat all the food in sight soon.

    Please, please aim for a slower weight loss, eating at least 1200 calories a day and making sure you get the nutrients that your body needs. At the same time you can up your exercising (to a healthy level, don't go overboard on exercise either.)

    I am old and when I first wanted to lose weight the diet program I joined put me on 900 calories a day (I did not even need to lose weigh, but I was young and stupid.) I lost the 10 pounds I wanted to lose but by that time I was so starved that within months I gained it all back plus some extra pounds for insurance.

    An so on and on and on for forty-plus years, crash diet to lose certain number of pounds, gain them all back soon afterwards plus five or ten more until I ended up at 220 pounds of flab. I am lucky enough to not have any health issues, but still that is A LOT of weight.

    So, OP, look at this as a cautionary tale: take it easy and lose the weight you need or want to lose while gaining new healthy eating and exercising habits. You don't want to work so hard at losing the weight just to gain it all back because the way you chose to do it is not sustainable or because you really had not changed your way of relating to food.

    Best of luck.
  • tinicia
    tinicia Posts: 20 Member
    randomtai wrote: »
    tinicia wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    tinicia wrote: »
    xbted wrote: »
    If it were realistic, everyone else would be losing 4 pounds a week.

    Everyone is different I lost 6lb last week and I always loose weight quickly. Last year I last 3 stone on 3 months with WW

    So why are you here then?

    Because I want to loose more before my holiday

    Then why are you posting questions if you have everything all figured out? :huh:

    I never said I had it all figured out, there's no need to be so rude I was just asking a question
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member

    nanniek1 wrote: »
    Anything less than apx. 1200/day puts your body into starvation mode and to preserve itself it holds on to fat. Weird phenomenon, but, you'll lose faster on 1200 than 800 calories.

    There is no such thing as starvation mode!!! It is a myth. Stop confusing new people with outright lies. There are a lot of reasons to keep the right amount of calories but fear of not losing because you eat too little is not even logical. Calories are a unit of measurement for energy. They are not magical creatures that live inside you. When you eat more calories than your body needs to run it stores them, when you eat less it burns the stored calories for energy. When you eat less it has to work to burn the stores of fat. Fat cannot just be called on for energy like unstored calories this makes you feel more tired and it will occur whether you are eating 100 fewer calories or 1000 fewer calories. This will balance over time and your energy will increase as your mass decreases.

    OP I do not know how much you have to lose, but 4lbs a week is only doable if you are eating 14,000 calories less per week than you are burning. My maintenance calories are only 10,500 per week so I would have to exercise off an additional 3500 calories and not eat anything for an entire week to lose 4lbs. If you have a maintenance of 3000+ calories a day I would say you could do it if you do not cheat at all and accept that you will be miserable. Of course to have a maintenance of 3k on a 28yr old average height female you would need to weigh 400lbs and you do not look like you weigh 400lbs.

    Nope you will not lose 4lbs a week consistently but you might be able to drop that much water weight on week one.
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