When to reduce rate of weight loss?

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5'4"
50f
SW 233
CW 199
GW 125 ish
2-3 miles walking 2-3x a week
1 minute plank 3-4 times a week
Just starting body resistance work today.


I've been at an average of 1250 calories per day (I cycle calories based on a weekly deficit) and I've been losing an average of 2 lbs per week if you take out the vacation weeks. I live in Hawaii so vacation weeks happen a little more often than normal.

I'm losing a little over 1 lb per week if you include vacation weeks where I ate at/near/ and over maintenance.

I constantly see that if one has less than 75 lbs to lose 2 lbs per week is too aggressive. I currently have 76 lbs to goal weight.

1. Why?
2. Should I continue this rate of loss when is the absolute minimum I should back off?
3. How do I back off? Do I just put in 1.5 lb per week and just begin eating that amount of calories or gradually increase?
4. When do I slow from 1.5 to 1 etc?
5. What happens if I don't?

Replies

  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
    edited November 2016
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    I started with losing 1# a week and didn't change it until I had 40# left to lose (that's when I was sneaking food and not logging it). I never went into this to lose as quickly as possible and I had 170# to lose to get to a "normal" weight.

    If you're comfortable eating that amount of calories, then keep going. If you get to a point where you're overeating most of the time and/or are eating more maintenance days than deficit, change the rate of loss.

    Conjunctions are hard.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited November 2016
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    If you're only eating 1250 calories/day, I don't actually think you'll have to intentionally "slow down" the weight loss because your daily calorie burn drops as you lose weight (assuming you don't add more physical activity). Since you don't really have any room to lower calories in order to maintain the same deficit, your deficit will naturally shrink and your weightloss will naturally slow as you get closer to goal weight.

    e.g. At your start weight, you would have been burning about 2377 calories/day (according to scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ with the setting of 1-3 hours of light exercise per week). Currently, you are burning 2174 calories/day assuming the same activity level. When you get to 180 pounds, you'll be burning 2059 calories/day.

    So, you can see that if you eat the same amount of calories, your calorie burn and therefore your deficit drops by about 320 calories/day (with the loss of ~50 pounds), and your weightloss automatically slows by just over 0.5 pounds/week.

    That said, if you increase your activity level, you may need to increase calories slightly to compensate for the extra calorie burn given that your deficit is on the high end of reasonable. Or if you find yourself hungry all the time and are therefore having a hard time sticking to your calories. (I could never stick to 1250 calories!)
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Thank you @SusanMFindlay!

  • samchez0
    samchez0 Posts: 364 Member
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    I think if you find it sustainable then you shouldn't worry about it. I slowed my rate of loss down when I was having trouble eating at my calorie goal for my lower weight. So I changed my rate of loss from 1 lb a week to .5 lb a week. I think just do what works for you. I lso think you'll naturally start to slow down as you have less weight to lose.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    2lbs a week is not "too aggressive" per se. When you get closer to your goal, your rate will slow down all by itself.
  • lozerrfaceXOmommy
    lozerrfaceXOmommy Posts: 18 Member
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    I have about 20 more pounds to lose. I had almost 100 lbs to lose in the beggining. At first, 2 lb loss a week was easy. Now, I burn less that half the calories I used to doing the same activity and I would have to eat under 1200 to lose that amount of weight a week. That is not sustainable to me, so I eat 1400 calories a day and usually eat back half my exercise calories a day to lose 1 lb per week. As a get closer (about 10lb away from my goal), I will probably adjust to 0.5 lb loss a week.
  • maidengirl_
    maidengirl_ Posts: 283 Member
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    I have about 18 pounds left to lose and have since changed my weight loss goal to half a pound a while ago from 1 pounds per week. I have lost about 45 pounds. You will know when you should change your goal depending on how you feel and how much you have left to lose.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,121 Member
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    I lost at a rate of just under1 kg/week (2 lbs/week) for my first 16 weeks. At that point I had hit my first goal. I was comfortably within my normal BMI range and could stay there if I wanted ... or I could continue and aim for the bottom half of my normal BMI range.

    Then a diet break.

    Then 0.69 kg/week (1.5 lbs/week) for the next 16 weeks until I hit my next goal.


  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
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    I've lost 2lb a week every week and am 14lb from my goal, so have never slowed down the rate of my weight loss. If I eat more, I exercise more.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I had 60 lbs to lose, but decided that a 2-lb weekly goal at 1200 calories a day felt too much like a "diet" and a "temporary" way of eating rather than the lifestyle change that I really needed in order to both lose and maintain at a healthy weight.

    So I decided to drop my goal to 1 lb per week, which upped my calories to 1500. Yes, it was slower (7 months for 60 lbs) but since what's in my head plays such a big part in what goes in my mouth, I think the slower pace and the calorie goal closer to my target maintenance of 1800 was the right thing for me to do.

    I've been on maintenance for the past 9 months, and many of the habits I developed while losing have stayed with me through maintenance. And I have actually lost about 6 lbs since I upped my calories to 1800!
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    I am currently around 14% bodyfat (30lbs of fat) and am losing at a rate of 2.1lbs a week.

    I am not advocating this rate of loss; just saying that the standard "2lbs is too much", is not right for everyone.
  • ShammersPink
    ShammersPink Posts: 215 Member
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    If you are in a routine that is working, and you feel healthy , engaged with it, and not starving hungry, I wouldn't change it.

    If it stops working for you, you get jaded or feel rubbish, that's the time to consider tweaking it.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
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    I'd say aim for a 1% loss per week. I'm currently at 170 lbs and between 30 and 40 lbs left to lose. I've been losing between 1.5-2 lbs a week since starting. Although occasionally I've lost 3 lbs. Your rate of loss will slow down on its own anyways, but if you feel like you're losing too much too fast then adjust to 1 lb a week loss and when your almost at goal adjust it to .5 loss. Congratulations on your loss so far and good luck with the rest of your journey. :)