Why is it advised to lose .5lbs a week?
Options
Replies
-
The whole "not more than half a pound a week" thing as you get close to your goal weight is just one of the stories that people on MFP accept as iron-clad rules.
Pretty much every reputable medical website (CDC, NHS in the UK, Mayo Clinic, etc) says it's safe to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week. I've lost 21 lbs and have 4 more left to go. I've been losing at a steady one and a half pound per week rate this entire time, with no change. It DOES NOT get harder as I go. (Why would it? My lighter body requires fewer calories.) I just find it satisfying to see the scale move downward at a predictable, steady rate.
This is kind of a dangerous game to play. Though the rule of thumb is to lose no more than 1% of your bodyweight, it doesn't mean lose 1% of your bodyweight or else. I weigh 113 pounds. 1% of my bodyweight is ~1.1 pounds. Could I run a deficit of 500 calories per day to meet that target if I wanted to lose weight? Yes, but I'd feel miserable.
While it's true that, in general, a lighter body requires fewer calories, it also depends on how active that body is and how much bodyfat it has. I'm highly active and my TDEE is 2000 to 2400 on most days. When I've cut in the past, I found that half a pound per week was that sweet spot where I could continue to fuel my workouts, preserve muscle mass, and not feel completely burned out by the end of the week. For me it did end up getting harder as I lost weight. It really does depend on the person and what their endgame is.14 -
kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
23 -
FYIPretty much every reputable medical website (CDC, NHS in the UK, Mayo Clinic, etc) says it's safe to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week.
Same in Australia - recommendation for healthy adults is 0.5-1kg a week, which is 1.1-2.2lbs.
Of course in practice will have ups and downs, and it can be hard to lose this much consistently every week so people shouldn't feel bad if they are losing less. But there is no health reason I can see why (when the health departments of educated nations recommend this) it would be a problem to lose this much as long as you are eating clean and healthy to meet nutritional needs as well.
Edit: Though it also depends on your body composition. Whether you have the excess fat to lose, so the weight loss = fat loss, versus more muscular bodies will have less fat, and muscle gain & related processes will offset 'weight' loss even if fat is being lost. If you are close to your goal weight it might be better to go off body measurements rather than worry so much about "weight" (as weight can be a mix of fat, muscle, water, and you only want to lose fat, which may not be as evident on the scales).6 -
kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
The definition is the legs and abs shows more with a tan true but if you look at the before there was no real muscle definition before the tan at all. I bet she feels 100xs better too11 -
FYIPretty much every reputable medical website (CDC, NHS in the UK, Mayo Clinic, etc) says it's safe to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week.
Same in Australia - recommendation for healthy adults is 0.5-1kg a week, which is 1.1-2.2lbs.
Of course in practice will have ups and downs, and it can be hard to lose this much consistently every week so people shouldn't feel bad if they are losing less. But there is no health reason I can see why (when the health departments of educated nations recommend this) it would be a problem to lose this much as long as you are eating clean and healthy to meet nutritional needs as well.
it is safe to lose 1-2 lbs a week IF you have plenty to lose. they fail to tell you that.trying to lose 1-2 lbs a week when you have say less than 20 lbs to lose is asking for issues.the less fat stores you have to help with the weight loss the more lean mass you are going to lose being too aggressive with weight loss. if you have more than 50 lbs to lose then yes 2 lbs /week will be safe for a short time. ask those who go on very low calorie diets to lose the weight quickly when they dont have a lot to lose what can happen over time. your body only burns so much fat at a time as it is.6 -
kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
The definition is the legs and abs shows more with a tan true but if you look at the before there was no real muscle definition before the tan at all. I bet she feels 100xs better too
I’m talking about the middle picture compared to the last picture with the tan.
There’s not much of a difference if any at all IMO.19 -
kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
Muscular weight gain isnt always about creating a drastically different body shape. While the visible changes may be slow and subtle, the mental shift it takes to get to that point is pretty significant. Most people feel much better even if they dont look any different.7 -
kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
The definition is the legs and abs shows more with a tan true but if you look at the before there was no real muscle definition before the tan at all. I bet she feels 100xs better too
I’m talking about the middle picture compared to the last picture with the tan.
There’s not much of a difference if any at all IMO.
She is 18lbs more and that bit more toned! Or am i just looking to hard?1 -
jasonpoihegatama wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
The definition is the legs and abs shows more with a tan true but if you look at the before there was no real muscle definition before the tan at all. I bet she feels 100xs better too
I’m talking about the middle picture compared to the last picture with the tan.
There’s not much of a difference if any at all IMO.
She is 18lbs more and that bit more toned! Or am i just looking to hard?
She is definitely more toned in appearance9 -
jasonpoihegatama wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
The definition is the legs and abs shows more with a tan true but if you look at the before there was no real muscle definition before the tan at all. I bet she feels 100xs better too
I’m talking about the middle picture compared to the last picture with the tan.
There’s not much of a difference if any at all IMO.
She is 18lbs more and that bit more toned! Or am i just looking to hard?
I have to look hard to find a difference between the middle pic and the last pic.
10 -
kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
The definition is the legs and abs shows more with a tan true but if you look at the before there was no real muscle definition before the tan at all. I bet she feels 100xs better too
I’m talking about the middle picture compared to the last picture with the tan.
There’s not much of a difference if any at all IMO.
Keep in mind it's just an example and one angle/set of photos. It's more about the point of body composition and having muscle. If your goal is simply weight loss and to not have muscle definition when you get to goal, it might not be important to you.
As I mentioned I am someone who has been low weight higher bodyfat, almost underweight with little muscle then to what I am now .. it makes a huge difference. Photos don't even do my progress justice compared to what you see in real life.7 -
Yes. Cutting is a bodybuilding term for losing weight.0 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »FYIPretty much every reputable medical website (CDC, NHS in the UK, Mayo Clinic, etc) says it's safe to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week.
Same in Australia - recommendation for healthy adults is 0.5-1kg a week, which is 1.1-2.2lbs.
Of course in practice will have ups and downs, and it can be hard to lose this much consistently every week so people shouldn't feel bad if they are losing less. But there is no health reason I can see why (when the health departments of educated nations recommend this) it would be a problem to lose this much as long as you are eating clean and healthy to meet nutritional needs as well.
it is safe to lose 1-2 lbs a week IF you have plenty to lose. they fail to tell you that.trying to lose 1-2 lbs a week when you have say less than 20 lbs to lose is asking for issues.the less fat stores you have to help with the weight loss the more lean mass you are going to lose being too aggressive with weight loss. if you have more than 50 lbs to lose then yes 2 lbs /week will be safe for a short time. ask those who go on very low calorie diets to lose the weight quickly when they dont have a lot to lose what can happen over time. your body only burns so much fat at a time as it is.
There is no evidence that there is a limit to fat loss. Even Lyle McDonald's original estimates haven't been demonstrated in studies. And yes, while in general, cutting quickly is going to cause increased muscle loss, that isn't always true. Its going to depend on your training and protein levels.
Where people fail is excessively cutting calories while not exercising and not eating adequate protein.6 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »they fail to tell you that.trying to lose 1-2 lbs a week when you have say less than 20 lbs to lose is asking for issues.the less fat stores you have to help with the weight loss the more lean mass you are going to lose being too aggressive with weight loss. your body only burns so much fat at a time as it is.
Do you have any evidence to back this up? The studies I have seen have indicated that to preserve lean muscle mass you need to eat enough protein and do some resistance/strength exercise; I have not seen any studies conclude any significant difference in muscle mass based on how fast or slow the fat is lost.
The other thing to consider is that men and women's bodies are different. Healthy women have a much higher fat % than men; healthy men have a higher % of muscle mass than women. What a man needs to lose fat and maintain muscle may be different to what women need.
If a woman has 20lbs of excess fat to lose, there is no reason that I can see that fat can't be aimed to be lost at a rate of 1lb per week, while eating sufficient protein and undertaking resistance/strength training to preserve muscle mass. Of course this may not show up on the scales immediately - that is a different matter - as muscles may uptake extra water for recovery, plus hormonal changes throughout the month, which can affect 'weight' on the scales - but trend over time should be in the right direction. As far as I can see, there is no evidence to suggest that the body would cannibalise existing muscle under these conditions, so no "issues" to worry about.4 -
jasonpoihegatama wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
The definition is the legs and abs shows more with a tan true but if you look at the before there was no real muscle definition before the tan at all. I bet she feels 100xs better too
I’m talking about the middle picture compared to the last picture with the tan.
There’s not much of a difference if any at all IMO.
She is 18lbs more and that bit more toned! Or am i just looking to hard?
She is definitely more toned in appearance
Yeah i just didn't want it to seem i was looking to hard!3 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
Muscular weight gain isnt always about creating a drastically different body shape. While the visible changes may be slow and subtle, the mental shift it takes to get to that point is pretty significant. Most people feel much better even if they dont look any different.
18lbs weight gain in muscle, all that hard work I thought there would be at least a noticeable change. That is discouraging.12 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
Muscular weight gain isnt always about creating a drastically different body shape. While the visible changes may be slow and subtle, the mental shift it takes to get to that point is pretty significant. Most people feel much better even if they dont look any different.
18lbs weight gain in muscle, all that hard work I thought there would be at least a noticeable change. That is discouraging.
Maybe it's all in her backside.
13 -
FYI, to reach my fittest, leanest, strongest and lightest adult weight; I lost 17.5lbs in 12 weeks while doing a mix of cardio and strength, eating plenty of protein and good nutrition, and counting calories to eat at a deficeit. I was simply interested in being fitter and healthier; not trying to have the 'perfect' body.
I had a Dexa body composition scan around this time, and my BMI was 18, total weight 60kg (132lbs), fat mass was 10.8kg (24lbs), lean mass was 46.7kg (103 lbs), bone mass was 2.5kg (5.5kg) - which was all healthy for my height, gender (female) and age.
Yeah, my body could have had more muscle if I wanted to get into a bit of body sculpting and look like women you see in magazines, which would have meant weighing a heavier total weight, but with my frame I don't think it would have been healthy for me to lose any more fat than I did. I didn't feel like I had lost muscle during the twelve weeks; on the contrary I felt stronger than at the beginning.
The above was the last leg of a much bigger weight loss journey; I lost 27kg (59.5lbs) in 29 weeks. Clearly losing weight fast didn't have any significantly negative impact on my muscle mass or bone density, as I was in the healthy range for both of these.
(My problem is in maintenance; I didn't keep the weight off; the type of exercise and weights that I did to lose the weight I didn't enjoy and slowly stopped as the motivation dropped and life got busy and stressful with other things to consume my attention. This time around I'm trying to do exercise that I enjoy and create habits I'll be able to keep up long term.)4 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The less fat your body has on it, the less comfortable it feels burning a lot of fat quickly. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly, your body will start to burn muscle instead because it doesn't want to reduce fat. That is why it is advised for only .5 pounds a week when you are close to your goal. It makes it more likely that your loss will be fat and not muscle.
Gotcha.
If you’re eating enough protein and lifting light weights, yet still managing to lose 1lb? Still not a great idea ?
As someone who formerly wasted a lot of time lifting light weights, I suggest switching to lifting heavy (for you) immediately.
This woman hit her goal weight and was not happy with how she looked (the picture in the middle) and changed her exercise routine to achieve the picture on the right. See how she is fitter looking despite weighing 18 pounds more? That is due to having more muscle to fat.
See, all that work and I don’t see much of a difference, that tan does wonders.
Hahahaha I was thinking the same thing! Just a tan!
Muscular weight gain isnt always about creating a drastically different body shape. While the visible changes may be slow and subtle, the mental shift it takes to get to that point is pretty significant. Most people feel much better even if they dont look any different.
18lbs weight gain in muscle, all that hard work I thought there would be at least a noticeable change. That is discouraging.
I fail to see how successfully gaining 18lbs lifting (with such little fat gain at that) is discouraging... she may not look too much different but she's probably a heck of a lot stronger. If I based my success as a result of lifting on how much my body changes (or doesn't) i would've given up 16 pounds ago, but theres just something about being able to lift heavy stuff that makes me feel pretty bad *kitten*.
18
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 390 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 921 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions