Is gradual weight loss better?
swimforever84
Posts: 3 Member
My goal is to lose approximately 15lbs. I currently weigh 140lbs and I would like to get down to 125lbs. I healthily maintained this weight for 5 years, but when I started powerlifting I started eating a surplus amount of calories which made me put on fat (and maybe a bit of muscle). I am not exactly fixated on that goal weight, I primarily want to be able to fit into my old clothes (from when I used to weigh that much) and be lean again, without this excess fat. I no longer powerlift, and am comfortable with losing some of the muscle I gained in the process of losing fat.
Three questions:
1) Is it be more sustainable for me to aim for a a loss of 0.5lbs/wk or 1lb/wk. I ask this because I currently am eating between 2000-2500 net calories on a daily basis (I subtracted exercise calories) and the target net calorie goals of 1500 and 1700 seem intimidatingly low. Should I start with the 1700 and see where that takes me? I'm looking for this to last long term - I definitely do not want to yo-yo diet and have my weight go back up to this again.
2) Also, in the past on days I've tried to eat low calorie (under 2000 for the day) I feel very tired and like my brain needs more fuel. Does this stop when you consistently eat 1700+(more for exercise) or will I feel tired like this all the time?
3) What tips do you have for satiety? I am aware that my current diet is quite low on protein (40g/day usually), would increasing my protein intake help? How about fat? My present diet is primarily unprocessed, but very high carb.
Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
Three questions:
1) Is it be more sustainable for me to aim for a a loss of 0.5lbs/wk or 1lb/wk. I ask this because I currently am eating between 2000-2500 net calories on a daily basis (I subtracted exercise calories) and the target net calorie goals of 1500 and 1700 seem intimidatingly low. Should I start with the 1700 and see where that takes me? I'm looking for this to last long term - I definitely do not want to yo-yo diet and have my weight go back up to this again.
2) Also, in the past on days I've tried to eat low calorie (under 2000 for the day) I feel very tired and like my brain needs more fuel. Does this stop when you consistently eat 1700+(more for exercise) or will I feel tired like this all the time?
3) What tips do you have for satiety? I am aware that my current diet is quite low on protein (40g/day usually), would increasing my protein intake help? How about fat? My present diet is primarily unprocessed, but very high carb.
Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
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Replies
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1. Because you do not have much to lose, .5 per week would be a better goal to ensure that you are satiated. Although 1lb isn't horribly agressive, you want to ensure that muscle is being retained. But if you're already having issues with being satisfied, .5 would be better.
2. If you are used to a certain amount of calories, this might occur for the first week or two. If it continues beyond that, I would reevaluate calorie goals. Make sure you use a food scale as well for accuracy.
3. You answered your own question here. Yes, protein is satisfying and typically keeps folks full for longer. Really try using that to .85g-1 per pound of body weight, especially if you're continuing to lift.2 -
Agreed, take it slow at your stage. Those last few will take a while. I wouldn't focus on the weight though. At your stage I suggest going off bf% and measurements.1
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Gradual vs more rapid weight loss is fairly controversial. Common wisdom generally says that losing weight slowly increases the likelihood of succeeding and maintaining the weight loss. As is often the case with common wisdom, it is not supported by research. You can find emerging research showing that an initial, more aggressive weight loss leads to higher rates of weight loss maintenance. Speed of weight loss is something that requires further study because there really isn't concrete evidence of what method is best. In absence of a clear "best method" you should do what you feel you are more realistically going to accomplish. Examine the pros and cons. Losing weight slowly allows you to eat more calories while you lose and makes you calorie adjustments more gradual. It might be easier to be compliant with a smaller deficit. On the other hand, if you lose weight twice as fast, you'll be able to return to maintenance twice as quick and spend less total time in a deficit. You also see results quicker which can be motivating for some.
As far as muscle loss, if you eat adequate protein (which you currently are not) and do some kind of weight training while losing, even if your rate of loss is more aggressive, I wouldn't worry. Muscle loss is often blown out of proportion unless you omit the steps necessary to avoid it.
Lots of people adjust to eating less calories after a period of time, others do not. Even 6 years post losing 100+ lbs, I still get hungry when I go into a calorie deficit. I would not say I have adjusted as in I am no longer hungry eating lower calories, but more so I can cope rather well with the feeling of hunger. Hunger does not harm you. It's a very big misconception that hunger means your body is lacking something. You can eat an appropriate amount of nutrients and still be hungry. You can eat in a calorie surplus (more than the body requires) and still be hungry. For many people hunger is a very poor indicator of the need for nutrition.
As to satiation, carbs are generally the least satiating of all the macronutrients (this is on average and can very from person to person), with fats being in the middle and protein being the most satiating. Increasing protein is going to be important for the retention of lean tissue as well so dramatically increasing your protein intake will go a long way. Fiber is also very satiating and you should get an adequate amount of fiber in. Beyond that, non starchy vegetables are extremely satiating compared to the calories they contain. A full lb of broccoli only contains around 150 calories.6 -
It all will depend on you really.
Rapid weight loss is usually done through more extreme methods and does nothing to change the initial reason why the excess weight was gained in the first place. Meaning you are likely to simply gain it all back over time.
Gradual weight loss makes proper diet and exercise more likely to become a permanent part of one's daily routine, and thus encourages the likelihood that the weight loss will be permanent.
So, it really depends on you. You can lose it all rapidly, and somehow manage to adjust your lifestyle to match and maintain... but that is quite difficult compared to gradual changes. If you can do it, great! If not, then you might not want to quickly lose weight.
Additionally, it is worth keeping in mind what caused the initial weight gain other than simply over eating... has food become a comfort? Is their an underlying emotion, medical, or other condition that needs to be dealt with first?
Anyway, it is not a simple question to answer.1 -
While this makes common sense, it's not necessarily true. There is no factual evidence to support the notion that losing weight slowly increases the likelihood of weight maintenance.It all will depend on you really.
Rapid weight loss is usually done through more extreme methods and does nothing to change the initial reason why the excess weight was gained in the first place. Meaning you are likely to simply gain it all back over time.
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While this makes common sense, it's not necessarily true. There is no factual evidence to support the notion that losing weight slowly increases the likelihood of weight maintenance.
Because there is no direct connection.
The indirect connection is that people that lose quickly, don't change what caused them to gain weight in the first place. If you do not change that, then no matter how you lose weight, fast or slow, it will return.
The more gradual weight loss typically helps make the altered activities a part of the normal routine, as they have to be done over time.
I also mentioned that it is really up to the individual. If they can indeed flip a switch and immediately alter their behavior completely, then they can find good success.
It is about trained/learned behavior. Some people pick up things faster than others. So, as I mentioned, it all depends on you.0 -
While this makes common sense, it's not necessarily true. There is no factual evidence to support the notion that losing weight slowly increases the likelihood of weight maintenance.It all will depend on you really.
Rapid weight loss is usually done through more extreme methods and does nothing to change the initial reason why the excess weight was gained in the first place. Meaning you are likely to simply gain it all back over time.
I will surprise you by agreeing with you. There is no evidence that anything works better than anything else. Or, frankly, that anything works, at all, long term.
On the other hand some of the studies that found rapid weight loss as effective included follow up components where people who had lost rapidly engaged with support staff. Nutritional support staff. Behavioural support staff. Or are studies where athletes returned to training faster once losing weight faster.
I don't have support staff and I am not THAT keen on training
Losing weight slowly means that you are a) less likely to follow a stupid unsustainable plan b) gives you time to maybe change some behaviours and create some new habits c) gives you a chance to find out more about yourself and what makes you engage in detrimental behaviour.
And again while the jury does not seem to not be unanimous as to whether rapid or slow will result in more thermogenic adaptation, it seems to me from what I've read so far that when an over-abundance of fat is not present (i.e. normal weight range) large deficits result in more adaptation.
I do not have more than an interested layperson's understanding or knowledge of the literature. But that's what I've figured out so far via semi random googling
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If you start at 1 lb/week loss and are hungry, eat at the .5 lb/week or even maintenance until you find the right combination of foods to keep your hunger at bay. Don't worry about being in the red. If your deficit is 500 calories you can still eat them and not gain. I do this as I'm getting closer to my goal so it'll be easier to maintain.0
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While this makes common sense, it's not necessarily true. There is no factual evidence to support the notion that losing weight slowly increases the likelihood of weight maintenance.
Because there is no direct connection.
The indirect connection is that people that lose quickly, don't change what caused them to gain weight in the first place. If you do not change that, then no matter how you lose weight, fast or slow, it will return.
The more gradual weight loss typically helps make the altered activities a part of the normal routine, as they have to be done over time.
I also mentioned that it is really up to the individual. If they can indeed flip a switch and immediately alter their behavior completely, then they can find good success.
It is about trained/learned behavior. Some people pick up things faster than others. So, as I mentioned, it all depends on you.
You are stating things that sound correct but there isn't anything backing them up. There's no proof that gradual weight loss helps with behavior modification in the long run when compared to rapid weight loss. Studies simply don't show that connection to exist. If you have something research or science based to support the claims, please share it.0 -
swimforever84 wrote: »My goal is to lose approximately 15lbs. I currently weigh 140lbs and I would like to get down to 125lbs. I healthily maintained this weight for 5 years, but when I started powerlifting I started eating a surplus amount of calories which made me put on fat (and maybe a bit of muscle). I am not exactly fixated on that goal weight, I primarily want to be able to fit into my old clothes (from when I used to weigh that much) and be lean again, without this excess fat. I no longer powerlift, and am comfortable with losing some of the muscle I gained in the process of losing fat.
Three questions:
1) Is it be more sustainable for me to aim for a a loss of 0.5lbs/wk or 1lb/wk. I ask this because I currently am eating between 2000-2500 net calories on a daily basis (I subtracted exercise calories) and the target net calorie goals of 1500 and 1700 seem intimidatingly low. Should I start with the 1700 and see where that takes me? I'm looking for this to last long term - I definitely do not want to yo-yo diet and have my weight go back up to this again.
2) Also, in the past on days I've tried to eat low calorie (under 2000 for the day) I feel very tired and like my brain needs more fuel. Does this stop when you consistently eat 1700+(more for exercise) or will I feel tired like this all the time?
3) What tips do you have for satiety? I am aware that my current diet is quite low on protein (40g/day usually), would increasing my protein intake help? How about fat? My present diet is primarily unprocessed, but very high carb.
Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
Lots of good advice! It is my experience that fat, protein, and fiber help with satiety. Carbs, not so much. Good luck!0 -
I've found that eggs, tuna, salmon, and skim milk keep me full longer than cereals. They're also higher protein and decently low fat.0
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For less than 15lbs 1/2 loss per week is a good plan. Thats how I went about losing the 20lbs I needed to. Slow and steady and I've kept it off for over 3 yrs
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Interesting discussion here guys! I really enjoyed reading all of your responses. I really appreciated the suggestion to go off measurements instead of weight.
I've upped my protein to 90g/day and have hit that quite easily for the past 3 days. I also feel like I'm adjusting to lower calories slowly - it's been a weird adjustment to start eating less though. I noticed that I'm only really hungry right before meals, but not too hungry overall. I think that for the meanwhile I'm going to attempt to get used to eating around 1700 and once this feels more normal I might try to go down to 1500 and see what happens.0 -
You are stating things that sound correct but there isn't anything backing them up. There's no proof that gradual weight loss helps with behavior modification in the long run when compared to rapid weight loss. Studies simply don't show that connection to exist. If you have something research or science based to support the claims, please share it.
Here is a study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.674/abstract
Findings indicate 18-254 days to make automation activity among the participants.
So what do those numbers above mean? Exactly what I stated. That some people can almost immediately alter their behavior (take the low end at 18 days) which would be very rapid weight loss; while others (high end at 254) take longer to alter their behavior which would be slow weight loss.
Without altering the behavioral cause for weight gain, one will not sustain weight loss.
And again, you are trying to develop a direct connection, rather than an indirect connection which is the most important one (Eating and activity behavior, not the simple act of fast vs slow weight loss).0
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