I'm losing 2.6 lbs per week. Is that too fast?

gracegettingittogether
gracegettingittogether Posts: 176 Member
edited November 23 in Health and Weight Loss
I started out with 75 lbs to lose and set MFP to lose 1.5 lbs per week. I'm trying to get 10000 steps in daily, but have gotten sick and haven't been able to do much the last week. Regardless, I've lost 8 lbs in 20 days. I've noticed more cellulite appearing on my legs. Am I going too fast? I haven't been eating all my calories while I've been sick because I've not been exercising. Am I going to ruin my metabolism? I really want to do this the right way, as I've been yo-yoing with my weight for years now, higher and higher and I want this time to permanently lose 75 lbs. Thank you!!

Replies

  • helena99716
    helena99716 Posts: 62 Member
    2.6 lbs a week is too much in general, yes. However, you are currently losing that much due to the fact you're sick and unable to work out (and also usually not able to eat much). Under those circumstances, it is completely normal,not a reason to worry, and won't ruin your metabolism - unless it happens often and/or continues to go on after you've recovered.
    And when you're sick and can't work out, you can set your activity to sedentary until you get better, and freely eat all the calories you are given then.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    You're likely fine. The first few weeks of losing weight come with a big drop in water weight. Expect your losses to slow down now that you're a few weeks in.

    Cellulite is not caused by weight loss.

    This
    And the "more cellulite" is likely just a change in appearance/composition from losing some fat/water weight. I notice this in my stomach 'flap' (for lack of a better word) when I start to lose weight. At first it seems kind of deflated and weird. Hang in there!
    If your weight continues to drop at this rate you could consider eating back a portion of your step calories.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    I started mid January at 208 lbs hoping to lose 73 total and lost 10 pounds in about 30 days before leveling out to 3-4 pounds a month. I'm all for making sure you're eating enough and taking things slow, but that initial drop is very common. And yeah, I think your brain might be playing tricks on you with the cellulite, or it's just a coincidence. Focus on making sure you're eating enough, logging properly, and planning for maintenance, and you'll be fine.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    You're likely fine. The first few weeks of losing weight come with a big drop in water weight. Expect your losses to slow down now that you're a few weeks in.

    Cellulite is not caused by weight loss.

    This x2. Initial weight loss is usually pretty quick and it levels out.
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    Lol, depending on how much you can keep down, it's very normal to lose weight when you are sick. Sadly, it's also normal to gain most of it back when you are feeling better, even if you are being careful about eating and workung out. So don't be upset if you lose 4-8 lbs and then gain back all or most of it for the first week or two after getting better. Probably best not to even bother tracking until two weeks after you are eating at plan again, keeping it down, and exericising regularly again.
  • gracegettingittogether
    gracegettingittogether Posts: 176 Member
    Thank you guys so much! I'll give it 10 more days before changing anything, I guess, to see if the initial drop stops. Then maybe I'll adjust my activity level, I think I've put it too low. I just wanted to be sure I would still lose weight if I didn't get my steps in. What activity level should I use for 10,000 steps daily?
    Thank you all so much!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    cecilygthompson wrote: »
    I started out with 75 lbs to lose and set MFP to lose 1.5 lbs per week. I'm trying to get 10000 steps in daily, but have gotten sick and haven't been able to do much the last week. Regardless, I've lost 8 lbs in 20 days. I've noticed more cellulite appearing on my legs. Am I going too fast? I haven't been eating all my calories while I've been sick because I've not been exercising. Am I going to ruin my metabolism? I really want to do this the right way, as I've been yo-yoing with my weight for years now, higher and higher and I want this time to permanently lose 75 lbs. Thank you!!

    If you just started most of that is probably lost water weight. It is very unlikely you are losing 2.6 pounds of fat per week. If you ignore that initial large loss and track your weekly weight loss now I would be very suprised if that trend continues.
  • kendraj404
    kendraj404 Posts: 14 Member
    I have mine set at sedentary even though I typically get 10K steps a day just because I spend most of the day sitting on my butt at work. I don’t think taking a walk or working out once a day counters all of that sitting.
    Hope you feel better soon!
  • gracegettingittogether
    gracegettingittogether Posts: 176 Member
    Well, I don't know whether to be happy or not. I hadn't been drinking much while I wasn't well, too tired, although I wasn't nauseated, so yesterday I drank my goal of 80oz of water and I'm down another .6 lbs from yesterday. I still feel weak and slightly dizzy from my cold, so I only got 5,000 steps in yesterday. And I still am weak and dizzy today, although I ate all my calories. I do hope I'm losing water weight and not muscle!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited November 2017
    cecilygthompson wrote: »
    Well, I don't know whether to be happy or not. I hadn't been drinking much while I wasn't well, too tired, although I wasn't nauseated, so yesterday I drank my goal of 80oz of water and I'm down another .6 lbs from yesterday. I still feel weak and slightly dizzy from my cold, so I only got 5,000 steps in yesterday. And I still am weak and dizzy today, although I ate all my calories. I do hope I'm losing water weight and not muscle!

    You won't lose muscle that quickly. Losing a significant amount of muscle takes many months or years, not days. If your weight changes rapidly up or down over the period of a few days, it is water. There pretty much is no other explanation.
  • gracegettingittogether
    gracegettingittogether Posts: 176 Member
    I've now lost 10.5 lbs!! I think the water weight should be gone soon, if not already. Now that I'm used to eating less, I'm losing all appetite so I'm having to struggle to force myself to eat. This is familiar territory though. I binge and then starve myself to lose weight, because my appetite has always been off. Which is why I'm so grateful to MFP which simply tells me how much to eat. I want to hurry up with losing weight, but know that I'll sabatoge myself if I starve myself like I want to. I'm surprised by how strong the urge to starve myself is.
    I am planning on using MFP forever because obviously my appetite is not in sync with what my body needs.
  • dimaslopes
    dimaslopes Posts: 36 Member
    after the first week of my keto diet i lost around 12lbs because my body used up the glycogen and expelled excess water
    the same can be achieved if you reduce greatly your net calorie intake, so you are likely fine
  • DISCIPLINEEQUALSFREEDOM
    DISCIPLINEEQUALSFREEDOM Posts: 1,384 Member
    I ended up losing 4 lbs a week, with some muscle loss. Yet, I strength train 5x a week so there's that...
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