Aim to lose 1 pound or half a pound per week?

jenb8529
jenb8529 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Admittedly I don't have much to lose (5'7 female started at 156 lbs with goal of reaching 135 lbs). The first week I lost about 5 pounds (thank you water weight) eating about 1310 calories a day. I work a desk job and pretty sedentary. But lately I've been struggling on 1310; I'm wondering if I should try to switch from the goal of losing 1 pound a week to .5. I don't know what would be more effective for a more smaller weight loss goal.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    With so little to lose and already being at a healthy weight (even at the top), half a pound
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Yes, move it to .5 per pound, if you're struggling.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Do what is most sustainable for you. It's all about being (and staying) consistent. Do you exercise? That will add some calories too.

    Slower weight loss calories are closer to your actual maintenance calories, this makes transition to maintenance smoother. Plus with a smaller deficit your body can fuel existing lean muscle mass more efficiently.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
    When I adjust to anything more than 1/2 pound, I am cranky and hangry, and I NEVER lose because I binge. I have had it set at 1/2 a week for about four months, and have had huge success here. Some weeks it's a pound, some weeks the scale doesn't move, sometimes it only moves a little...but I did the math and divided my total weight loss by how many weeks and it came out to 0.6/week...so it's been VERY accurate scaled for me. And I'm not hangry and mean anymore, lol.
  • jenb8529
    jenb8529 Posts: 15 Member
    I guess I am afraid of switching to half a pound because is something that small really accurate? Could other factors (sodium intake, time of month, etc) contribute instead of actual weight loss?
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    jenb8529 wrote: »
    Admittedly I don't have much to lose (5'7 female started at 156 lbs with goal of reaching 135 lbs). The first week I lost about 5 pounds (thank you water weight) eating about 1310 calories a day. I work a desk job and pretty sedentary. But lately I've been struggling on 1310; I'm wondering if I should try to switch from the goal of losing 1 pound a week to .5. I don't know what would be more effective for a more smaller weight loss goal.

    Start lifting weights if you're not already and get on a workout routine/ regimen.

    I always suggest Power lifting because odds are you're not doing it, look up strong lifts 5x5
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    I'm at half a pound and I try to have a few cals left over at the end of the day. It's mentally more manageable for me.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    jenb8529 wrote: »
    I guess I am afraid of switching to half a pound because is something that small really accurate? Could other factors (sodium intake, time of month, etc) contribute instead of actual weight loss?

    I took a full year to lose 15 lbs, so LESS than half a lb per week! Yes, it is hard to measure your progress week to week because normal weight fluctuations can entirely cover up that half a lb. So I weighed weekly, but only judged my "success" by my weight on the first of the month.

    When I felt like I had to see some results to keep my spirits up, I bumped up my daily exercise to widen my deficit a little. As a side benefit, more exercise improves mood, so... win win. It wasn't the most exciting way to do it, but I knew if I tried to stick to less than 1500 cals per day, I would burn out and probably rebound. So I had faith I was doing the right thing and was thrilled when one day I realized my weight was fluctuating around 130 rather than 145. Patience is unfortunately really important when you are already in the healthy range, because you often have to choose between eating a really small # of cals, or not seeing consistent results. Keep playing with it till you find what feels right and best of luck :drinker:

Categories