is it bad to lose more than 2 pounds per week?

popcorncheesepizza123 · September 2018

Hi

I recently signed up. I'm very new to all this stuff >.< I noticed when I signed up their was a question about "What is your goal?" and the highest was Lose 2 pounds per week so I clicked that because I really want to lose weight fast. I was wondering why wasn't their no other higher options than 2 pounds? Is it bad to lose more than 2 pounds per week? I was just very curious because I just really want lose weight fast i'm tired of having fat belly.

i'm not sure of my actual weight but i remember the last time i was weighed i was somewhere around 300-320. i know i will need to get a weight scale i'm going order one today from amazon and food scaler too. Honestly i don't know what my weight goal is I just want lose the fat

i'm also curious at around what weight would the fat be coming off?

It's weird too because AFAIK It was never my fault I got fat n the first place. When i was a child i was told i had bronchitis or something in i couldn't breathe in i had to take steroids or else i would've died. But i'm here now in have the mindset to lose the weight cause i'm very tired of being fat. I keep putting myself down because of it. When i'm around others i just feel very uncomfortable because of the fat & put myself down more & more. It's now the time to lose the weight i'm really tired of it. it starts now

motivatedmartha · September 2018

As your starting weight is fairly high you should find 2lb a week very do-able - just be warned the lower your weight gets the harder it gets to shift the lbs ( I am currently losing about a lb every 2 or 3 weeks but I am very close to goal).
Also remember, you are trying to eat at a level that allows you to lose weight while adequately fuelling your body to do the activity you do and remain healthy. Sure you could cut a few more calories but you may find that although you lose weight quicker you will become lethargic; too few calories will not allow you to fit in the nutrients your body needs just to work. Using mfp as designed (a max of 2lbs loss a week) and eating the calories it suggests will allow you to unlearn the habits that made you overweight and learn new habits to help you sustain loss. It will also give you sufficient calories to experiment with new food - a very restrictive diet is often boring and easy to fall off.
So, enter your stats, log ALL of your food accurately (you are right - a food scale is hugely useful) be honest with yourself and try and be a bit more active. If you do those things you will lose weight. If you learn to think carefully about what you put in your mouth, experiment with different foods and recipes you may, like me, even find you actually enjoy it more. 'Diets' shouldn't be sackcloth and ashes - you need to learn to eat in a way which will see you throught the rest of your life! Good Luck

tinkerbellang83 · September 2018

Around 1% of your weight is a rule of thumb for max rate of loss.

cerise_noir · September 2018

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

Around 1% of your weight is a rule of thumb for max rate of loss.

Going by this, OP could safely lose 2-3lbs per week, since they weigh ~300lbs

Millicent3015 · September 2018

Weight loss is as much about mindset as physical loss. While you're losing weight, work on your self esteem, because if you don't end up with the body you may be expecting, you might negatively focus on what you don't have rather than the success you achieve, and you might start putting yourself down over some other aspect of your body you're uncomfortable with. Humans are kind of primed to never be satisfied, especially with something as slow as weight loss can be, and sometimes we can go from berating ourselves for being fat to berating ourselves for not being thin enough. So if you do have any self esteem or body anxiety issues, start dealing with them as soon as you can.

shadow2soul · September 2018

popcorncheesepizza123 wrote: »

Hi I recently signed up. I'm very new to all this stuff >.< I noticed when I signed up their was a question about "What is your goal?" and the highest was Lose 2 pounds per week so I clicked that because I really want to lose weight fast. I was wondering why wasn't their no other higher options than 2 pounds? Is it bad to lose more than 2 pounds per week? I was just very curious because I just really want lose weight fast i'm tired of having fat belly.

The max MFP will go is 2lbs a week because it is the recommended max for safe/healthy weight loss without doctor supervision.

1.b. Rate of weight loss—A reasonable time line for weight loss is to achieve a 10 percent reduc- tion in body weight over 6 months of therapy. For overweight patients with BMIs in the typical range of 27 to 35, a decrease of 300 to 500 kcal/day will result in weight losses of about 1⁄2 to 1 lb/week and a 10 percent weight loss in 6 months. For more severely obese patients with BMIs ≥ 35, deficits of up to 500 to 1,000 kcal/day will lead to weight losses of about 1 to 2 lb/week and a 10 percent weight loss in 6 months.

From page 72 of:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/guidelines/ob_gdlns.pdf

Moreover, with rapid weight reduction, there is an increased risk for gallstones and, possibly, elec- trolyte abnormalities.

Also from page 72 of:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/guidelines/ob_gdlns.pdf

heumpirej · September 2018

You can lose more than 2 pounds a week. The rule that you can't is old and is a myth.

quiksylver296 · September 2018

heumpirej wrote: »

You can lose more than 2 pounds a week. The rule that you can't is old and is a myth.

There's a difference between "can" and "should."

maureenkhilde · September 2018

Have you seen a Dr.? Because as someone who when I started my weightloss journey here in May of 2018 with a bunch of health issues as well. I did check with my Dr's, and actually went to see a Dietician to help me with a good solid diet plan. Of Calories but more importantly of breakdown of Carbs, Fats, Protein, Fiber and so on. By going this route I was put on a bit stricter diet than the standard that is set up on MFP. But only because I was under medical advice and not just doing it on my own. I see my dietician twice a month. I understand what works for one person may not work for others. Nor am I pushing this route. But when someone has much weight to lose, and potentially health issues other than just being overweight/obese it is a good idea to get medical ok.

shadow2soul · September 2018

heumpirej wrote: »

You can lose more than 2 pounds a week. The rule that you can't is old and is a myth.

It’s not that you can’t. It’s a question of should you and whether or not it is healthy to do so. National Institute of Health does not recommend rapid weight loss.

pinuplove · September 2018

heumpirej wrote: »

You can lose more than 2 pounds a week. The rule that you can't is old and is a myth.

Sure - I could eat ridiculously low calories and lose a kitten-ton of weight per week. But I'm sort of attached to having hair. And fingernails. And muscles (like my heart).

OP - with your stats it's likely you will lose more than 2 pounds per week in the beginning, but you can expect that to slow down as you lose more. At ~143 and with only 8 pounds to go, my weekly losses are glacial (I've started looking at it monthly instead, although I weigh every day and track my trend).

bpotts44 · September 2018

OP please read all the Getting Started best of. It will give you 98% of the information you need to be successful with your weight loss journey. You have to log well and stick to it over a long period of time. However, in a year if you stick to it you will be a total different person.

lizchristine · September 2018

My two cents... We want to create lasting change. Drastic & quick weight loss is usually not sustainable long term. We didn’t gain the weight overnight so we are not going to lose it overnight, either. I’m actually hoping to lose the weight slowly (but steadily!) because I don’t want my metabolism to slow down. I want my weight loss to be something I can maintain. Small changes will lead to big progress! You can do it!

DebTavares · September 2018

I once went on a very low calorie diet and extreme amounts of cardio and lost weight really fast. The problem was that it messed up my sleep (had insomnia), was very lethargic, and lost a lot of hair. I won't do that again. I don't think it's a good idea to try to lose too fast based on my experience.

linsey0689 · September 2018

Set your goal at the 2 pounds, in the beginning you may lose a little more than two. But remember those weeks when the scale doesn't move much things are evening out. Good luck my friend, you got this

VUA21 · September 2018

Losing weight rapidly can cause a lot of problems: hair loss, lethargy, muscle loss, bone denisty loss and more.

That being said, 2lbs per week is the max recommened, and generally only advisable when one has a substantial amount of excess fat (obese). If you are under very strict medical care, then it's possible to go faster, but that's up to your doctor (generally requires in-patient care for those who are super morbidly obese, most people in that category or bed ridden or near bed ridden).

The other reasons people do not recommend more than 2lbs per week is that, that massive calorie reduction from what one normally eats can be brutal. 2lbs per week is a 1000 calorie/day deficit - if one is used to eating 3000 calories a day, that will be a third of thier usual diet that has to be eliminated. Most of us that have been on here for a while (years) see the near constant threads of "this is too hard", "I'm always hungry", "I'm starving, and I binged" from those that severely reduce calories too quickly. Sadly, many quit because of this. When all that is needed for success to just decrease the deficit to a more manageable amount (lower the rate of loss)

While everyone would love to be able to lose all the weight in a month, that's not realistic nor healthy.

Be patient and honest with yourself. If you start with a 2lb/week goal and find it too restrictive, lower the rate of loss until you are at a more comfortable deficit.

is it bad to lose more than 2 pounds per week?

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