Too much to quickly

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potatoyeti
potatoyeti Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys I'm in a bit of a situation here and trying to come up with the best solution to slow things down a bit. After years of abusing my body with fried food everyday and generally eating like crap (vegetables? What are those?) Have decided to take the plunge and try and clean up my diet significantly. The problem is I feel like I'm losing too rapidly at this point. I'm 5"11 and started losing weight a little over 3 weeks ago. My starting weight was 288lbs and I'm already down too 271. MFP has recommended that I target 1750 calories a day for a 2 lbs a week loss. Since the second week I have been pretty good about hitting the 1750 (+/- 100) and have been above on all macro nutriet values with the exception of carbs since the beginning. I measure and do feel full throughout the day. Will things slow down themselves? Or should I consider raising my daily calorie count? Just don't want to do any long term harm for eating too little and everything have read that the amount of weight have lost so far is too much to quickly.

Replies

  • db121215
    db121215 Posts: 60 Member
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    It melts off at beginning. Lots a water. It will slow. First 25 lbs came off in about 2 months for me. Following 20 was slower. The 25 after that even slower.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    When you have alot to lose it goes quickly at first. Things should slow down a bit after a while. Are you exercising? You want to try and save as much muscle mass as you can while losing. Watch your protein levels too. I'd give it another 2 weeks and then re-evaluate. You can always up your calories and set MFP for a 1lb a week loss at that time.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
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    That's a really fast rate, but keep in mind that you were eating a lot of foods that would help you retain water. When I started at 267, I lost about 6 pounds a week, and still have 4 pound weeks at 230 (like last week), with weeks where there is no movement (like this week).

    If you're not hungry, if you're eating nutrient dense foods, if this dietary plan is sustainable, it sounds like you're in a great place!

    Keep in mind that you were probably eating more than double the calories you're consuming now. Just listen to your body.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Assuming you're ~ 35 yrs old, your BMR is ~ 2420 (from http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator).
    Add in 25% (assuming you're sedentary before exercise) and I get a NEAT of ~3,025, less 1,000 for a 2 lb per week loss would give calories of ~2,025. So not the 1,750 you've given.

    So can you confirm your stats?
    Sex: Male
    Age: ?
    Height: 5'11"
    Weight: 271
    Activity level: ?
    Goal loss per week: 2 lbs.

    You're down 17 lbs in 3 weeks. Now a chunk of that is water (you likely have dropped carbs even if you are going low-carb so you're not holding onto as much water), but even at 330 I only lost 15 lbs a month. Since then I've learned that gallstones can be a side effect of rapid weight loss and I don't want those.

    At the same time, this will likely not continue at this rate for long. Double check what your calorie limit should be and maybe give it another 3 weeks before bumping up your calories.
  • potatoyeti
    potatoyeti Posts: 38 Member
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    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    Assuming you're ~ 35 yrs old, your BMR is ~ 2420 (from http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator).
    Add in 25% (assuming you're sedentary before exercise) and I get a NEAT of ~3,025, less 1,000 for a 2 lb per week loss would give calories of ~2,025. So not the 1,750 you've given.

    So can you confirm your stats?
    Sex: Male
    Age: ?
    Height: 5'11"
    Weight: 271
    Activity level: ?
    Goal loss per week: 2 lbs.

    You're down 17 lbs in 3 weeks. Now a chunk of that is water (you likely have dropped carbs even if you are going low-carb so you're not holding onto as much water), but even at 330 I only lost 15 lbs a month. Since then I've learned that gallstones can be a side effect of rapid weight loss and I don't want those.

    At the same time, this will likely not continue at this rate for long. Double check what your calorie limit should be and maybe give it another 3 weeks before bumping up your calories.

    Sorry forgot age and activity level. I'm 42 and my activity level is minimal with the exception of walking 3-5 days a week and the occasional physical day at work.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
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    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    Assuming you're ~ 35 yrs old, your BMR is ~ 2420 (from http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator).
    Add in 25% (assuming you're sedentary before exercise) and I get a NEAT of ~3,025, less 1,000 for a 2 lb per week loss would give calories of ~2,025. So not the 1,750 you've given.

    So can you confirm your stats?
    Sex: Male
    Age: ?
    Height: 5'11"
    Weight: 271
    Activity level: ?
    Goal loss per week: 2 lbs.

    You're down 17 lbs in 3 weeks. Now a chunk of that is water (you likely have dropped carbs even if you are going low-carb so you're not holding onto as much water), but even at 330 I only lost 15 lbs a month. Since then I've learned that gallstones can be a side effect of rapid weight loss and I don't want those.

    At the same time, this will likely not continue at this rate for long. Double check what your calorie limit should be and maybe give it another 3 weeks before bumping up your calories.

    Thanks for math-ing, science side of MFP! :smiley:
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    potatoyeti wrote: »
    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    Assuming you're ~ 35 yrs old, your BMR is ~ 2420 (from http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator).
    Add in 25% (assuming you're sedentary before exercise) and I get a NEAT of ~3,025, less 1,000 for a 2 lb per week loss would give calories of ~2,025. So not the 1,750 you've given.

    So can you confirm your stats?
    Sex: Male
    Age: ?
    Height: 5'11"
    Weight: 271
    Activity level: ?
    Goal loss per week: 2 lbs.

    You're down 17 lbs in 3 weeks. Now a chunk of that is water (you likely have dropped carbs even if you are going low-carb so you're not holding onto as much water), but even at 330 I only lost 15 lbs a month. Since then I've learned that gallstones can be a side effect of rapid weight loss and I don't want those.

    At the same time, this will likely not continue at this rate for long. Double check what your calorie limit should be and maybe give it another 3 weeks before bumping up your calories.

    Sorry forgot age and activity level. I'm 42 and my activity level is minimal with the exception of walking 3-5 days a week and the occasional physical day at work.

    Changes the numbers only slightly. I think you need to double check what you put into MFP, as something seems off with the 1750.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,822 Member
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    You are well above the conservative 0.5% to 0.75% of bodyweight a week.

    You are above the 1% common recommendation.

    And even above the 1.5% for obese people with lots of available fat just starting out.

    Either you selected incorrect numbers, or you are more active than you think or you're a lucky outlier

    Eat more. Get your weight *Trend* to go down at 1% to 0.75% while obese. Slow down to 0.75% to 0.5% after that.

    Or start with a 25% deficit from the actual calories you spend. Reducing to 20% and then 15% as you go towards a normal weight!
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,172 Member
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    If this is still a concern for you in a week or two, you can always slow down your rate of loss by setting MFP to a loss of 1 pound a week. I did this and I'm still losing weight.

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