Losing .5 per week

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For those of you who set this as your weekly goal-- what has been your experience? Do you see the weight come off like .2 one day, then nothing, then .2, or does it come off in big chunks and then nothing for many days? I know weight loss is not linear, but it's just such a small deficit....

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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    1/2lb per week is fine if you have less than 20lbs to lose, slow loss is more likely to stay off in my opinion, certainly that has been the case with me.
    If you're a daily weigher you'll see the scale fluctuate up and down each day, its all about the overall trend and the scale moving down over a period of weeks/months.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    I weighed once a week while losing. Some weeks - almost nothing. Other weeks - a noticeable loss.

    Overall trend: down.

    Slow weight loss was preferable for me, because I wanted the most calories to eat. What can I say? I like eating.
  • therealhyper
    therealhyper Posts: 124 Member
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    I lost around 2 pounds per week for the 1st few weeks. For the last 2 weeks....no loss. A little frustrating...but part of the process I guess.
  • therealhyper
    therealhyper Posts: 124 Member
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    I weighed once a week while losing. Some weeks - almost nothing. Other weeks - a noticeable loss.

    Overall trend: down.

    Slow weight loss was preferable for me, because I wanted the most calories to eat. What can I say? I like eating.

    What sort of loss per week for you??
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    I weighed once a week while losing. Some weeks - almost nothing. Other weeks - a noticeable loss.

    Overall trend: down.

    Slow weight loss was preferable for me, because I wanted the most calories to eat. What can I say? I like eating.

    What sort of loss per week for you??

    I really couldn't say. I had less than 20 lbs. to lose, so I put in my stats on MFP to lose .5 lb./week. I thought the calories allotted were too low (I'm rebellious that way) so I gave myself more. Then I just ate to the calorie goal (adding more w/ exercise) and the scale started going down.

    My scale is 30+ years old analog scale - I have no need for digital and I trust the old thang. I calibrated it to make sure it's accurate enough. Some people are very into degrees of weight loss, down to an exact number. I'm not one of them.

    Yes it took a while to get to goal. On the plus side, it never felt like penance.

  • therealhyper
    therealhyper Posts: 124 Member
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    I weighed once a week while losing. Some weeks - almost nothing. Other weeks - a noticeable loss.

    Overall trend: down.

    Slow weight loss was preferable for me, because I wanted the most calories to eat. What can I say? I like eating.

    What sort of loss per week for you??

    I really couldn't say. I had less than 20 lbs. to lose, so I put in my stats on MFP to lose .5 lb./week. I thought the calories allotted were too low (I'm rebellious that way) so I gave myself more. Then I just ate to the calorie goal (adding more w/ exercise) and the scale started going down.

    My scale is 30+ years old analog scale - I have no need for digital and I trust the old thang. I calibrated it to make sure it's accurate enough. Some people are very into degrees of weight loss, down to an exact number. I'm not one of them.

    Yes it took a while to get to goal. On the plus side, it never felt like penance.

    I use a old school scale myself and it works like a treat. I have been measuring every week.....but must admit if the loss is not there then it is a little off putting. . . But need the data to monitor progress and make adjustments if required.

    Good on you for meeting your goals. :-)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    This is how I usually set myself up to lose. I literally won't see a losses for 3 weeks at a time. Hard for me to be patient so sometimes I try to get extreme to see the losses quicker. I really want to do a better job at taking it slow and being patient this time around!
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
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    I don't see a loss for about 3 to 4 weeks. I'm small, don't have much to lose, and want to enjoy food/life so I'm trying to lose while still eating as much as I can :) And it's working!
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
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    I have about 9 more lbs I want to lose so far I've lost 5, and I've been doing .5 a week. I typically dont eat all my daily calories (usually have 200-400) left over. It just depends on the day, I also do this bc I tend to eat more on weekends so I'd rather have some wiggle room for those days. I also overestimate even if I weigh, so say I know my breakfast is 185 calories I'll bump it up to 200 cals. Once again for any chance of error.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
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    I'm set at 0.5 lbs/week and my weight tends to come off in chunks (1.5-2.5 lbs at a time) and then hang out around that number for a few weeks, then another chunk drops again. I do weigh daily so that I am aware of my regular fluctuations, and because it's a habit. It used to bother me more that I wouldn't see more regular weight loss, but it doesn't anymore. As long as I am doing well with my logging, my past tells my that I'll see a whoosh loss within a few weeks.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
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    I set my goal at 0.5lbs per week. Usually I will see no difference for a few days then toward the end of the week it all comes of at once. I also often gain on the weekends, so it will go up for a couple days, back down to my previous Friday (weigh-in day) weight, then Wednesday or Thursday more will come off. Some weeks I lose a lot, some weeks a little, some weeks none, and some weeks I gain. The overall trend since I started being consistent in mid-November is 0.8lbs lost/week average.

    I know the general rule of thumb is set to 0.5lb/week loss if you have less than 25lbs to lose and 1lb/week if you have 25-50lbs to lose. I have lost close to 20lbs and still have 35 to go until goal, but this is sustainable for me and I am averaging a little more than 0.5lb/week loss anyway.