Am I losing weight too fast?

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Nightmare_Queen88
Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all! I've been seeing a lot of success stories of people who've lost weught, but they did it slowly and it's said to be more sustainable and healthier to do it that way. So I was wondering if maybe I'm losing too much weight too fast or if what I'm doing is fine.

I started in the middle of March at 268 lbs and as if Monday of this week I'm now 197. I eat around 1400 calories a day and exercise 5 days a week for 20-60 mins. Check out my diary (Its open) if you need more info on what I eat and how much. I did at one point, I believe, eat 1500-1600 calories and then for a month I ate at 1200 calories. But I was told the 1200 was too low so now I eat around 1400 sometimes over. So is what I'm doing ok or do I need to make a change? Because when I get to my goal I really want to be able to there and not go back to bad habits. I want to be healthy as well as being smaller.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Are you hungry? And yes, maintenance is key. How tall are you and what is your goal weight?
  • flimflam87
    flimflam87 Posts: 41 Member
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    Congrats on that loss! IMO, strictly based on that daily caloric amount, and current weight (I don't know how tall you are) you could in theory be getting decent nutrition, depending on your diet. If you feel healthy, and not starving keep it up!
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Hard to say without knowing height. However, the heavier you are, the quicker the weight loss. As you get closer to a healthy weight, it slows down because your room for error shrinks.
  • MsSquatAlot
    MsSquatAlot Posts: 238 Member
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    It all depends on the person. I started my journey nearly one year ago and have lost almost 165lbs with diet and weights. I have not hit a plateau and have consistently lost several pounds a week.

    When I first started losing people here actually mocked me ans told me it was too fast and how I would gain it all back and then some.

    Like I said, it hasnt happened yet! Rock on!!
  • PinkSuede
    PinkSuede Posts: 49 Member
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    It doesn't sound too quick to me. Like someone else pointed out the larger you are the quicker the weight falls off. This has been my experience. When I started my diet I lost 10 lbs in less than 5 days following a 2lb per week calorie goal. Since then my weightloss has averaged 4lb per week following a 2lb loss per week goal.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
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    Awesome job so far!

    There's nothing inherently wrong with somewhat rapid weight loss. Like some other people have said, larger people can lose more. Now that you're presumably getting closer to your goal, you might have to consider a few other things.

    Now for some bad news...
    Now that you're smaller, you're going to probably want to cut back a bit (on the big number expectation). When going from morbidly obese, to a more "normal" weight, rapid loss can cause excess skin. While there's a lot of factors that play into this (age, genetics,etc) typically the faster the loss, the higher chance for this to happen. This is very important to some people, and not at all important to others, but it's something to consider.

    Also people that lose large amounts of weigh, on average have lower maintenance levels than someone that's naturally that weight. You may have to adjust your intake a lot more now, than you ever did before.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
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    I'm 5'6. I knew I'd at first lose a lot fast but from what I've seen of other MFP users they aim for .5 to 1 lb a week. I have Mine set for 1.5 a week but here lately I lose 2 lbs a week. Probably because I'm not eating at the deficit they recommended.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    Congrats on reaching One-derland! What's your goal weight? With 50 pounds or less to lose your weekly weight loss goal should be a pound a week.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
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    @kshama2001 I'm not sure. I was thinking around 140 or 150. I have a bit of a large ribcage and I don't want it stick out too much. I know that seems less important than being healthy, but I want to love the body I'm in also. So is 2 lbs too much to aim for at this time?
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I am one that like to advise people that the more you can eat and still lose weight (sustainable weight) wins. :)

    OP can I ask if you are doing muscle loss prevention such as strength training and getting enough protein at this 2 pounds you are loosing now (by not eating at the deficit you setup)..

    This would tell me that if you are, and perhaps can continue but caution to reassess at about 25 - 30 to go. If not, you are treading waters where your loss is fat, water and muscle, plus going from a very heavy weight as you get smaller and getting into maintenance when you hit goal should be things you should be thinking about as well. It might take you the 50 pounds left to prepare for this part of journey.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
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    @RoxieDawn My protein is set at 131g but I usually only eat at 100g sometimes 120g. Which from what I understand is ok foe me. Because we're suppose to have .8 lb per kg of our weight. The only things I've been doing is walking/jogging and doing Jillian Michaels beginner shred DVD. I've been wanting to add some strength training to what I'm already doing. But I don't know where to start with that.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Nightmare_Queen88 wrote: »
    @RoxieDawn My protein is set at 131g but I usually only eat at 100g sometimes 120g. Which from what I understand is ok foe me. Because we're suppose to have .8 lb per kg of our weight. The only things I've been doing is walking/jogging and doing Jillian Michaels beginner shred DVD. I've been wanting to add some strength training to what I'm already doing. But I don't know where to start with that.

    A program like Strong Lifts 5x5 or Strong Curves for Women may be something to look into. The issue with losing too fast is that you're losing muscle as well. By strength training, you minimize that loss. If you lose too much muscle while losing, you risk the skinny fat look, which you're within a healthy BMI but still have a high body fat percentage. Unfortunately, Jillian Michaels or walking isn't enough to sustain muscle. You need a progressive lifting program, whether it be with weights or body weight (which is more difficult to add resistance over time). Although your protein intake seems to be good which is a start. I suggest starting to research strength training and begin thinking of lowering your deficit.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    It's entirely received wisdom but I'll repeat it anyway. 1% of your body weight lost per week is sustainable.
    This week your body weight is 197. This week, 1.97 lb is sustainable. The closer to your fitness peak, the less lb per week you can expect to lose.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
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    vespiquenn wrote: »
    Nightmare_Queen88 wrote: »
    @RoxieDawn My protein is set at 131g but I usually only eat at 100g sometimes 120g. Which from what I understand is ok foe me. Because we're suppose to have .8 lb per kg of our weight. The only things I've been doing is walking/jogging and doing Jillian Michaels beginner shred DVD. I've been wanting to add some strength training to what I'm already doing. But I don't know where to start with that.

    A program like Strong Lifts 5x5 or Strong Curves for Women may be something to look into. The issue with losing too fast is that you're losing muscle as well. By strength training, you minimize that loss. If you lose too much muscle while losing, you risk the skinny fat look, which you're within a healthy BMI but still have a high body fat percentage. Unfortunately, Jillian Michaels or walking isn't enough to sustain muscle. You need a progressive lifting program, whether it be with weights or body weight (which is more difficult to add resistance over time). Although your protein intake seems to be good which is a start. I suggest starting to research strength training and begin thinking of lowering your deficit.

    I'll have to check both of those out. I definitely want avoid losing muscle. I just hope I haven't already. :(
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's entirely received wisdom but I'll repeat it anyway. 1% of your body weight lost per week is sustainable.
    This week your body weight is 197. This week, 1.97 lb is sustainable. The closer to your fitness peak, the less lb per week you can expect to lose.

    Makes sense.
  • flimflam87
    flimflam87 Posts: 41 Member
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    At the gym on Saturday morning....Who is this person!!!!

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