Pounds Per Week

millionsofpeaches · August 2011

So, I have a few questions... My weight fluxes between 145 and 142... I am relatively active. I want to loose that last 10 lbs that has been hanging on for dear life for a while now... Ultimate goal of 130-135

I want to do it in a healthful way... I have tooled around with eating 1200... w/ eating exercise cals back (no weight loss). I switched it to loosing 1/2 lb a week and my calories bumped up to over 1600 calories.

So has anyone done the 1/2 pound a week and had good results? I am all for eating... but sometimes I have issues with even reaching net 1200 calories with my work outs. I cannot imagine eating 1600 cals a day + what I burn off... Some days that could be almost 3000 calories for me!!! That in itself just does not seem healthy.

Tips... Suggestions... Experiences... All is welcome.

lausa22 · August 2011

Try without eating exercise calories back? Eating exercise calories work for some and not others.

thetrishwarp · August 2011

I'm at 1/2lb a week and seeing moderate success. I've lost about 7lbs at 1/2lb a week, with 8 left to go.

Fochizzy · August 2011

I eat 1600+what I burn off, Granted that is 1lb a week for me, but I lose weight. And yes sometimes that means I eat 2600-3000 calories. I am one of those "everything in moderation" people. So if I have that many calories left, I eat that pizza for dinner, and make those cupcakes I want! As long as my nutrients are met, I am under calories, and avoid Transfat (all others ok, just not Trans I have a history of a cholesterol problem). I smile and say good work to myself.

agthorn · August 2011

I went from 142 to 131 in about 3 months with a goal of 1/2lb a week. If you have less than 10-15 pounds to lose you really shouldn't set your goal higher than that (and make sure to eat your exercise calories back). Personally, I can't imagine only eating 1200 calories a day even if all I did was sit on the couch and read. I am at 1650 + exercise for maintenance now.

My intuitive sense is that the slower the weight comes off, the more likely it is to stay off. You have to learn to eat, not just learn to diet.

Amo_Angelus · August 2011

I vary, on high excercie days I eat 1200 net, on low excercie days I eat to the limit of 1lb a week loss which is 1500 calories. The excercise days can work out a lot more even though the net is less becaue, for example I ate about 2k calories yesterday with a net of about 1208!

jbdowns35 · August 2011

Just doesn't make sense - if you're having trouble with those last few pounds @ 1200 calories, don't know if eating 1600 will work. I'm in the same boat, active, eat healthy (mostly) but those last 5-8 pounds just hang in there The scale will go down 3 or 4 pounds & then -BANG! right back up the next day or 2. If you figure it out, let me know.

soknurdy · August 2011

I listen to my body more than the numbers. If I'm full, I just don't eat anymore.

getfitdiva · August 2011

I'm down to my last 6 lbs I have tried a little bit of everything. I change my caloric intake now maybe weekly. 1 week of 1200 the next at 1400. Lately I have been somewhere in the middle 1300-1350. I don't eat all my exercise calories back all the time - it really depends on the day. If I'm hungry I'll eat and if not I won't. The last 10 lbs is a big shock your body type of game in my opinion -> eat clean, lower your carbs/sugar/sodium, kick butt in your workouts or try a new workout that is intense like interval running or speed work, take rests days, eat one big 'ol meal over your calories for one day. I have averaged 1-2 lbs a month the past few months and those were hanging on to dear life.

evesacks · August 2011

I have lost that last 12lbs that I have had since I was 16 (am now 36, so had it all whole adult life!). I am 5 4 and am now 119.

Basically I:
a) totally cleaned up diet, cut out diet drinks, processed foods, white carbs.
b) Trained for triathlon and doing weights training too - only ate exercise calories if actually hungry. Sometimes I eat none of them, sometimes I eat them all.
c) Eat 3 meals a day plus healthy snacks. Only really have carbs if lots of exercise, although do eat 2-3 fruit each day and I have dairy. I mean only really have rice / oats if do exercise and rarely have wheat.
d) Last 12 lbs came off quite slowly - truth is I never expected them to come off at all, did weight training so no doubt have gained muscle which is why it was so slow.
e) Protein at every meal - eggs for breakfast, fish for lunch, poultry/meat for dinner

Am now eating for maintenance but if you add me as a friend you can see what I eat.

3 really helpful books for me:
Jillian Michaels - Master Your Metabolism
Tom Venuto - Body Fat Solution
James Duigan - Lean and Clean Diet

agthorn · August 2011

Just doesn't make sense - if you're having trouble with those last few pounds @ 1200 calories, don't know if eating 1600 will work.

For most of us, those "last few pounds" are vanity pounds and not the difference between healthy and unhealthy. Evolutionarily, your body does NOT want to let go of those last few pounds - it wants to hold on to them just in case it needs them to survive later. So you have to "assure" your body that there is nothing wrong, that you are not about to enter a period of famine where the antelope are on vacation and someone already picked all the berries off the bushes within walking distance of your cave. You do this by working with very small deficits so your body knows it's okay to burn those last few pounds. Because when it comes down to it, your body doesn't care what you look like. It just wants to have the best chance of survival.

millionsofpeaches · August 2011

I went from 142 to 131 in about 3 months with a goal of 1/2lb a week. If you have less than 10-15 pounds to lose you really shouldn't set your goal higher than that (and make sure to eat your exercise calories back). Personally, I can't imagine only eating 1200 calories a day even if all I did was sit on the couch and read. I am at 1650 + exercise for maintenance now.

My intuitive sense is that the slower the weight comes off, the more likely it is to stay off. You have to learn to eat, not just learn to diet.

This is just what I was looking for... I felt like a women who has let herself go eating only 1200 calories. For me, it is unrealistic... For other people it may work, but for me... I am thinking actually feeding my body is key.

CountryDevil · August 2011

You are not alone. I was not losing for about three weeks and was bouncing between a 5lbs fluctuation. I upped my calories and that seemed to work for about a week. Then changed what I was eating and that help a little more. Now I am working out but not eating enough to give myself a bit or protein after a work out. Most of the time with my big workouts, I am not even netting 1200 cals. And that seems to be helping me drop again.

Everyone's body is different. Just look at what everyone else is doing and take your clues from there. but keep in mind, that they are written in stone. The only thing you can do is keep trying until you find what works best for you.

Autumn15 · August 2011

I'm with you I don't feel comfortable eating all the calories they give me from my exercise so I try to stick close to the goal weight with out using up my exercise calories. I started at the end of May and I average lsoing 1 to 2 pounds per week sticking at around 12oo calories and doing 45 to 60 minutes of treadmill 7 days per week. I weigh in once per week and that day I consider my cheat day if I want to use more calories thats when I do it. So far I'm down 19 pounds.

thetrishwarp · August 2011

Just doesn't make sense - if you're having trouble with those last few pounds @ 1200 calories, don't know if eating 1600 will work.

For most of us, those "last few pounds" are vanity pounds and not the difference between healthy and unhealthy. Evolutionarily, your body does NOT want to let go of those last few pounds - it wants to hold on to them just in case it needs them to survive later. So you have to "assure" your body that there is nothing wrong, that you are not about to enter a period of famine where the antelope are on vacation and someone already picked all the berries off the bushes within walking distance of your cave. You do this by working with very small deficits so your body knows it's okay to burn those last few pounds. Because when it comes down to it, your body doesn't care what you look like. It just wants to have the best chance of survival.

Great response, love this.

moondust7 · August 2011

I always need to focus on what I eat, even more so than how many calories I'm eating. Eating lean protein with each and every meal plus some nutritious carbs makes a huge difference in how my body seems to process the food. I strive for 3 smaller 300-calorie meals throughout the day (breakfast, lunch, snack), and a slightly larger dinner (500-ish calories) plus exercise and I can loose several pounds a week, even with only 10-15 pounds to lose. Everyone's body is different and responds differently to food, but I have found that having protein with every meal makes a huge difference for me. Quick and easy sources of protein that I turn to include: string cheese, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, penut butter, tuna, humus, etc.! Stick with it, and don't worry if it takes a while to lose the last 10 pounds. Those are the hardest to lose.

lucky1304 · August 2011

This is interesting because I'm having a hard time figuring out my calorie goal. It was 1250 with a goal of one pound a week. Two weeks ago, I bumped it to 1360, or whatever the "lightly active" designation gives me. I FINALLY lost a pound as of this morning. It had been a month since I logged a loss. I now have 10 pounds to lose. Am wondering if I should bump myself down to .5 pounds a week.

What I have noticed, though, is that over the past two weeks, I've netted about 1300 calories a day, and I'm not always eating my exercise calories back. I've been eating when hungry and not eating when not hungry. I don't know if that has actually proven successful or if I've just lost a quarter pound every week for the last month to come to today's pound. I'll probably stick as I am for two more weeks and see what happens.

Not sure if that helps or not. One question I have about your calorie burn: Are you getting your calories burned numbers from MFP or from an HRM? If you are going by MFP, I'd be careful about eating them all back, especially if you are not hungry for them. It seems very counterintuitive to me to eat when not hungry. I bumped myself up because I was STARVING all the time on 1200 calories a day, and since I'm running five days a week, I reasoned that maybe I just needed more nutrition. I'm not nearly as hungry the past two weeks.

Pounds Per Week

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