Who has successfully ignored common MFP advice re: rate of loss?

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  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
    Those posting with their "success" stories while ignoring advice from MFP all seem to have started from severe obesity. That changes the whole equation. When you have 200 lbs to lose, you can obviously lose 2 lbs a week for a whole year. But that's not the average crowd here. People who have say, 30-50 lbs to lose simply cannot sustainably lose 2 lbs a week.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    I stuck with the goal reduction, but I never lost at the steady rate they said I would. I would lose a little, lose a little, woosh lose all at once. So like .5lb, .5lb, 4lbs. Something like that. Not exact, but you get the idea.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I only had 20lbs to lose, I chose mfp way after years of extreme VLCD and not being able to sustain it. This time round was going to be different.
    I set my loss to 1/2lb a week and lost slowly over the period of a year...have maintained my goal weight for 2+ years yet never feel deprived. Everyone is different.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I lost 34b and it took a year to lose 29 of them. I lost the last 5 this year, but am working on gaining them back. What is the rush? If the movement is down, that's all that counts.

    I've maintained for 2+ years and have not limited my food choices. Ever.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    I lost 100lbs, with the exception of the last month I lost 2-4lbs every single week until I hit 178 then it came off a pound at a time for the next month and now I'm maintaining and working on recomping while I sit at 175.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    When I needed to lose 15 or so pounds, I did it as fast as I possibly could 1.5 - 2 pounds per week. I hated being hungry all the time and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. And I gained it all back within a year. Rinse and repeat half a dozen times or more. The latest time, I went from 155 to 135, then up to 174.

    I finally realized if I was going to keep it off, I needed to find a different way. So I lost at a reasonable rate of 1 pound per week, and dropped to 1/2 pound a week for the last 7 pounds or so. My transition to maintenance was seamless, and I have kept the weight off for almost a year - which is an all time record for me by about 10 1/2 months.

    Just my experience.
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
    I ignored all the advice, listened to my body, "ate intuitively" everything I wanted, so my body would stay out of starvation mode. I don't weigh myself because I feel the scale oppresses me, I'm sure I have a BMI of 10 (although I'm also sure the BMI is microaggressive) and I my HAES doctor tells me I've never been healthier in my life.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    The problem with losing fast isn't that you wont lose, it is that a larger % of your weight loss will come from lean muscle, meaning at your goal weight you would have a higher BF% than if you ate more.

    Yes - and it's much slower to build back the muscle than to not lose it in the first place and take your time with the fat.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    MissJay75 wrote: »
    When I needed to lose 15 or so pounds, I did it as fast as I possibly could 1.5 - 2 pounds per week. I hated being hungry all the time and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. And I gained it all back within a year. Rinse and repeat half a dozen times or more. The latest time, I went from 155 to 135, then up to 174.

    I finally realized if I was going to keep it off, I needed to find a different way. So I lost at a reasonable rate of 1 pound per week, and dropped to 1/2 pound a week for the last 7 pounds or so. My transition to maintenance was seamless, and I have kept the weight off for almost a year - which is an all time record for me by about 10 1/2 months.

    Just my experience.

    The fact that gained weight back had absolutely nothing to do with the way you lost it. After you lost it you went back to eating more calories then you burned. I mean seriously thats like blaming the credit card company because you paid off your credit cards then charged it all up again.
  • corrymeela
    corrymeela Posts: 24 Member
    personally,i use mfp when want to lose max 14 lbs and prefer to lose as quick as possible-ie all over in at most 7 weeks.(say after holiday trip/xmas/new year break,etc when for a few weeks just really enjoy eating!).
    then back to usual maintenance diet.
    it is important though to exercise to keep metabolism burning that fat, as metabolic rate slows 15-30% within 48 hrs of strict calorie deficit
    it would seem to make sense to lose more slowly from a large weight simply to try to give your skin time to contract with your weight loss.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Well done, @MissJay75
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    MissJay75 wrote: »
    When I needed to lose 15 or so pounds, I did it as fast as I possibly could 1.5 - 2 pounds per week. I hated being hungry all the time and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. And I gained it all back within a year. Rinse and repeat half a dozen times or more. The latest time, I went from 155 to 135, then up to 174.

    I finally realized if I was going to keep it off, I needed to find a different way. So I lost at a reasonable rate of 1 pound per week, and dropped to 1/2 pound a week for the last 7 pounds or so. My transition to maintenance was seamless, and I have kept the weight off for almost a year - which is an all time record for me by about 10 1/2 months.

    Just my experience.

    The fact that gained weight back had absolutely nothing to do with the way you lost it. After you lost it you went back to eating more calories then you burned. I mean seriously thats like blaming the credit card company because you paid off your credit cards then charged it all up again.

    No, she gained the weight back because eating at a sensible calorie limit is a skill for life and involves not only eating less than your TDEE, but more than your BMR.

    VLCDs fail at the second, and don't teach you to look after yourself properly in all respects.

    Eating at a sensible rate of loss is a big part of the CICO process, because it prepares you for maintenance.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I tried an aggressive deficit this last time I tried to shave off a few pounds. Aggressive for me is 1 lb per week because my TDEE is only slightly over 1800.

    I turned into a whack job and I looked like hell.

    Sorry, no help.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    The fact that gained weight back had absolutely nothing to do with the way you lost it. After you lost it you went back to eating more calories then you burned. I mean seriously thats like blaming the credit card company because you paid off your credit cards then charged it all up again.

    I disagree. The time we spend losing weight needs to be the time we spend learning the tools to maintain weight. A good diet must help build habits to remain successful.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    rankinsect wrote: »
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    The fact that gained weight back had absolutely nothing to do with the way you lost it. After you lost it you went back to eating more calories then you burned. I mean seriously thats like blaming the credit card company because you paid off your credit cards then charged it all up again.

    I disagree. The time we spend losing weight needs to be the time we spend learning the tools to maintain weight. A good diet must help build habits to remain successful.

    Agreed. I am literally re-learning how to eat for my smaller self. Taking it slow has been a huge help.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    MissJay75 wrote: »
    When I needed to lose 15 or so pounds, I did it as fast as I possibly could 1.5 - 2 pounds per week. I hated being hungry all the time and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. And I gained it all back within a year. Rinse and repeat half a dozen times or more. The latest time, I went from 155 to 135, then up to 174.

    I finally realized if I was going to keep it off, I needed to find a different way. So I lost at a reasonable rate of 1 pound per week, and dropped to 1/2 pound a week for the last 7 pounds or so. My transition to maintenance was seamless, and I have kept the weight off for almost a year - which is an all time record for me by about 10 1/2 months.

    Just my experience.

    The fact that gained weight back had absolutely nothing to do with the way you lost it. After you lost it you went back to eating more calories then you burned. I mean seriously thats like blaming the credit card company because you paid off your credit cards then charged it all up again.

    In my case, the reason I gained it all back was because as other people stated I didn't learn anything about sustainability or looking long term. My entire perspective was wonky, which is a common theme in people who are on the 'fast track' to losing weight. It's not nec. an if-then relationship, but there is a really strong correlation between the 2 for a whole lot of people.

  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
    I followed MFP's recommendation during my main losing-weight phase (which actually meant that I was in a 1/2 lb deficit the whole time, as I'm very petite and had 15 lbs to lose). This was very helpful in slowly teaching myself what the appropriate maintenance amount was.

    I do sometimes ignore that advice now, when I discover I've gained a pound or two over my preferred weight and have the freedom to eat and cook low-cal foods (usually when I'm home by myself for a week). In these occasional cases-- usually once or twice a year for 1 or 2 weeks at a time-- I will attempt a more aggressive weight-loss level, which for me is 1 lb a week. I can only do this because I am already accustomed to my proper maintenance calories-- if I wasn't and I lost a bunch of weight this way, I'd just go right back to overeating when the weight-loss was over.
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