Losing 4-5 pounds /week?

NewGemini130 · October 2016

So- on mfp everywhere- comments and app settings, and pretty much all diet advice online- everyone says lose no more than 2pounds/week. Well I have been eating 1100-1200 cal per day, brisk walking 45 minutes per day, and swimming laps once a week, and I have been consistently losing 4 to 5 pounds per week for the last seven weeks. 1200 was what mfp said for losing 2/week. I eat vegan, lots of raw veg and fruit, and have cut out bread, sugar, pasta etc for weight loss mode. I am still obese, which I'm thinking is the reason for my faster pace. I started at 230 and I'm now about 195. I'm 5'7" Woman, age 45.

I'm not really interested in purposefully slowing this down because it seems like I have a system in place and it's pretty much working. So why does everyone say it has to be 2 pounds per week to be healthy?

Seffell · October 2016

5 lbs per week is a total of 17500 cals deficit per week which is 2500 cals deficit per day. So your 1100 + 2500 = 3600. How you achieve this with 45min walking is a puzzle to me.

cosmicgirls · October 2016

I believe the higher weight you are, the more you will lose. Some of it may be water weight, especially when starting out. Bodily functions are not always about precise calculations.
Once you get to a lower weight, your weight loss will likely slow down. Do what works for you but keep health and logic in mind (:

malibu927 · October 2016

You can only lose so much fat at a certain size. So when you lose that quickly, you're going to be losing a lot of muscle. In addition, I'm assuming you aren't eating exercise calories back to be losing fast. Undereating can lead to a number of health problems (fatigue, brittle hair/nails, irregular cycle, organ damage...)

NewGemini130 · October 2016

I do know it will slow down once I lose more, just wondering if there's any reason to not keep doing this (other than everyone says so). So, actual reasons.

As for the calorie math above- I don't know either!! But Probably it is usually more like 4-4.5, sometimes 3.5 per week; the first week to 10 days When starting I dropped like 8-10 pounds so that is averaging in.

jemhh · October 2016

NewGemini130 wrote: »

I do know it will slow down once I lose more, just wondering if there's any reason to not keep doing this (other than everyone says so). So, actual reasons.

As for the calorie math above- I don't know either!! But Probably it is usually more like 4-4.5, sometimes 3.5 per week; the first week to 10 days When starting I dropped like 8-10 pounds so that is averaging in.

You are losing more muscle than you would be at a slower pace and likely are low on various nutrients that your body needs. If your focus is purely on scale weight rather than body composition or long term health, your method is fine.

VintageFeline · October 2016

Muscle loss, hair loss, fatigue, malnourishment, loss of period, organ strain and damage (including the heart, that thing that keeps you alive), gallstones. The list is really quite long as to why you shouldn't lose so quickly.

Your net is incredibly low and i think there's a very good chance you're one of the rare people who is under-reporting their intake. Carry this on and it can only end badly.

jemhh · October 2016

I don't understand how a person can claim to have read the advice to temper loss rates all over the place and never run across an explanation of why. On MFP alone there are multiple threads addressing this daily.

kshama2001 · October 2016

You are seriously undereating. That's going to set you up for failure or malnutrition / hair loss / muscle loss. My neighbor lost 30 pounds quickly last year and has since gained it all back.

What Are the Risks of Rapid Weight Loss?

Rapid weight loss creates physical demands on the body. Possible serious risks include:

Gallstones, which occur in 12% to 25% of people losing large amounts of weight over several months
Dehydration, which can be avoided by drinking plenty of fluids
Malnutrition, usually from not eating enough protein for weeks at a time
Electrolyte imbalances, which rarely can be life threatening

Other side effects of rapid weight loss include:

Headaches
Irritability
Fatigue
Dizziness
Constipation
Menstrual irregularities
Hair loss
Muscle loss

NewGemini130 · October 2016

But I am following the mfp recommendation which suggests 1200/day (to lose 2/week) based on my info I've put in there. I know some people override that. So I'm my situation am I supposed to go over each day to slow it down? Also I don't eat the exercise calories, but the walking only gives me like 250 or so.

Also I am NOT under repotting. I measure and track everything.

kshama2001 · October 2016

NewGemini130 wrote: »

But I am following the mfp recommendation which suggests 1200/day (to lose 2/week) based on my info I've put in there. I know some people override that. So I'm my situation am I supposed to go over each day to slow it down? Also I don't eat the exercise calories, but the walking only gives me like 250 or so.

Also I am NOT under repotting. I measure and track everything.

Since you're losing more than your goal something is wrong with your inputs for Calories In and/or Calories Out. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

One thing that is definitely wrong is not eating back your exercise calories. MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such the system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

NewGemini130 · October 2016

I actually have seen a lot of the 2/week on boards but no real evidence why. I can see the dangers if you are crashing or starving yourself but this isn't the situation. The other info all over is the 1200 minimum which I'm sticking to. Not trying to incite anger, people -just trying to learn.

It seems a bit dramatic to tell me I am damaging my heart with 1200/day and 45 min walking. Geez. My doctor hasn't said that. This was exact what she told me to do.

courtneyfabulous · October 2016

You might be fine but make sure you are getting at least 46 grams of protein a day (the amount required for adult sedentary woman), but even more would be ideal to help prevent muscle loss when in a calorie deficit. I try to gee at least 100 grams a day.

Have you recalculated your calories based on your new weight yet? Sometimes the calorie recommendation changes once you weigh less.

It's great you're seeing such rapid and successful results! We just want to make sure you aren't damaging your health in the process.

jemhh · October 2016

NewGemini130 wrote: »

But I am following the mfp recommendation which suggests 1200/day (to lose 2/week) based on my info I've put in there. I know some people override that. So I'm my situation am I supposed to go over each day to slow it down? Also I don't eat the exercise calories, but the walking only gives me like 250 or so.

Also I am NOT under repotting. I measure and track everything.

If you are not eating your exercise calories, you are not following MFP's recommended goal. Period, end of story.

courtneyfabulous · October 2016

Also be very careful of rebound weight gain when you reach your goal weight. Continue to exercise as much as you are now and eat the same diet, just very slowly increase your calories over time and keep an eye on the scale.

NewGemini130 · October 2016

jemhh wrote: »

NewGemini130 wrote: »

But I am following the mfp recommendation which suggests 1200/day (to lose 2/week) based on my info I've put in there. I know some people override that. So I'm my situation am I supposed to go over each day to slow it down? Also I don't eat the exercise calories, but the walking only gives me like 250 or so.

Also I am NOT under repotting. I measure and track everything.

If you are not eating your exercise calories, you are not following MFP's recommended goal. Period, end of story.

I didn't know that was "required"! Honestly. I've seen people recommend eating half, etc. Sometimes I eat back the walking calories, sometimes not, based on hunger. I'll think about that one.

Aaron_K123 · October 2016

NewGemini130 wrote: »

So- on mfp everywhere- comments and app settings, and pretty much all diet advice online- everyone says lose no more than 2pounds/week. Well I have been eating 1100-1200 cal per day, brisk walking 45 minutes per day, and swimming laps once a week, and I have been consistently losing 4 to 5 pounds per week for the last seven weeks. 1200 was what mfp said for losing 2/week. I eat vegan, lots of raw veg and fruit, and have cut out bread, sugar, pasta etc for weight loss mode. I am still obese, which I'm thinking is the reason for my faster pace. I started at 230 and I'm now about 195. I'm 5'7" Woman, age 45.

I'm not really interested in purposefully slowing this down because it seems like I have a system in place and it's pretty much working. So why does everyone say it has to be 2 pounds per week to be healthy?

The reason is because if you lose weight faster than 2 pounds a week chances are some of that weight loss will be from muscle in addition to fat which will end up slowing your weight loss (lowering your metabolic rate) and weakening you.

The recommendation of no more than 2 pounds a week is because its better for your health, not because its impossible to do more...its just harmful to do more. If you want to ignore that and think yourself better then obviously nothing anyone can do about that, its your body.

NewGemini130 · October 2016

courtneyfabulous wrote: »

You might be fine but make sure you are getting at least 46 grams of protein a day (the amount required for adult sedentary woman), but even more would be ideal to help prevent muscle loss when in a calorie deficit. I try to gee at least 100 grams a day.

Have you recalculated your calories based on your new weight yet? Sometimes the calorie recommendation changes once you weigh less.

It's great you're seeing such rapid and successful results! We just want to make sure you aren't damaging your health in the process.

Thanks for constructive input. I do monitor protein, but probably I'm not always there. Good reminder.

VintageFeline · October 2016

It's honestly just coming across like you want evidence someone dropped dead and if they didn't you're just going to carry on as you are.

Oh and loss of muscle may not sound like anything but getting to a healthy BMI but still "overfat" (realtively high body fat) because you lost a load of muscle, still predisposes you to more health problems than maintaining as much lean mass as possible. You're at high risk of this due to rate of loss and even higher risk again because you don't do any strength training to mitigate lean mass loss.

I don't know why people post these threads, it's just humble bragging really.

Losing 4-5 pounds /week?

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