Losing too fast?
3443553
Posts: 16 Member
Hey guys,
I started out nearly 4 weeks ago with the plan of losing a bit of weight, basically googling calories, weighing all food and cooking ingredients and using excel. Only found out yesterday that this community exists. Anyway...
Start weight: about 66kg
Current weight: 63.6kg
Goal weight: about 58kg
Size: 170cm
Age: 45
female
I used this website to recheck a few numbers as I seem to be losing weight rather fast. I have chosen to lose a bit more than 1kg per month, which gives me a daily deficit of 250kcal. Most calculators give me a energy expenditure of about 1600kcal, meaning I need to eat roughly 1350 to lose, right? Below what this website tells me:
so that seems correct.
I do sport, mainly running and use this to eat more lovely food. I'd picked up running again before I started on this journey. By now I'm able to run about 10km if I really feel like it but that doesn't really happen. 5k average about 3-4x per week is more likely.
Here is my weight loss curve:
That seems quite a bit more, right? So where do I go wrong? Or am I just lucky?
edit: I didn't die in week 5 of the second graph. Just no data there yet
I started out nearly 4 weeks ago with the plan of losing a bit of weight, basically googling calories, weighing all food and cooking ingredients and using excel. Only found out yesterday that this community exists. Anyway...
Start weight: about 66kg
Current weight: 63.6kg
Goal weight: about 58kg
Size: 170cm
Age: 45
female
I used this website to recheck a few numbers as I seem to be losing weight rather fast. I have chosen to lose a bit more than 1kg per month, which gives me a daily deficit of 250kcal. Most calculators give me a energy expenditure of about 1600kcal, meaning I need to eat roughly 1350 to lose, right? Below what this website tells me:
so that seems correct.
I do sport, mainly running and use this to eat more lovely food. I'd picked up running again before I started on this journey. By now I'm able to run about 10km if I really feel like it but that doesn't really happen. 5k average about 3-4x per week is more likely.
Here is my weight loss curve:
That seems quite a bit more, right? So where do I go wrong? Or am I just lucky?
edit: I didn't die in week 5 of the second graph. Just no data there yet
2
Replies
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congrats.
you are already within healthy weight range, so the recommendation is to lose at 0.5lb/week (or 0.25kg/week). Your current rate of loss over the 4 weeks is 0.6kg/week or 1.3lb/week. So yes i'd personally recommend eating a bit more to help maintain and protect those muscles and fuel your workouts.
1600 calories per day to maintain sounds like it would exclude exercise based on my numbers (and i'm shorter at 5'1). so to lose 1350 PLUS a reasonable estimate of your exercise calories. 1350 is also probably for sedentary so that may or may not be appropriate level of activity for you.6 -
congrats.
you are already within healthy weight range, so the recommendation is to lose at 0.5lb/week (or 0.25kg/week). Your current rate of loss over the 4 weeks is 0.6kg/week or 1.3lb/week. So yes i'd personally recommend eating a bit more to help maintain and protect those muscles and fuel your workouts.
1600 calories per day to maintain sounds like it would exclude exercise based on my numbers (and i'm shorter at 5'1). so to lose 1350 PLUS a reasonable estimate of your exercise calories. 1350 is also probably for sedentary so that may or may not be appropriate level of activity for you.
Thanks a lot. Yes, I'm very sedentary. I can stare at a computer until my huge tea mug is empty, then I get new tea and stare on. On a typical day at the office I get about 1000 steps, and the evening doesn't look better unless I need to do groceries or go running.
Yes, those 1600 are without sports, which I try to estimate and eat in addition. I give myself about 280cal for a 5k run. I don't know why those calculators give me such low numbers overall. It seems like you're screwed when you're over 40 and female. But it doesn't seem to work for me.
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So when you entered your stats into MFP and chose to lose .5/lb per week, what did it tell you was your calorie goal? The goal that MFP gives you is what you need to eat to lose. If you do intentional exercise enter it to eat back at least half your calories. If you are losing too fast, your calories are too low. You do not want to lose weight too fast because you will also lose lean muscle, hair, etc.1
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your data is more important than any estimate by a calculator. if you are losing to fast then either bump up your activity level, manually bump up your daily calories, select a slower rate of loss on MFP or use a higher estimate for calories.
Your real life data is more valuable than online calculators. use that data to adjust your daily goals.5 -
your data is more important than any estimate by a calculator. if you are losing to fast then either bump up your activity level, manually bump up your daily calories, select a slower rate of loss on MFP or use a higher estimate for calories.
Your real life data is more valuable than online calculators. use that data to adjust your daily goals.
Yes, you're probably right. That's actually quite interesting as eating 250cal more bumps me up to what calculators say for maintenance... and that I must have eaten a shitload more than that to gain weight in the first place
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Try Libra (online app) for a month. Enter your weight everyday. At the end of the month, it'll show you the exact calorie deficit per day, based on your actual weight loss. Meanwhile, during that month, eat as consistent a # of calories per day as possible. Those two data points will tell you everything you need to know. You can just add Libra's daily avg calorie deficit to your actual avg consumed calories per day to find out your TDEE (i.e. your break-even, assuming same levels of activity and exercise going forward). You can then adjust your daily calories consumed to hit any kind of calorie deficit (and weight loss) you want.
So, for instance, if you eat 1600 cals, and Libra reports out that you had an average daily deficit of 450 calories, then you've got a baseline to work with of 2050 calories for break-even. You can then adjust your daily intake to whatever suits your needs - 1800/day for 1/2 lb weight loss per week, 1550 for 1 lb per week, etc.
(Be sure to debloat from any overeating for 48 hrs before you start this test. In other words, be in diet mode eating your target calories at least 2 days before you start Libra, or you could end up with a quick 4-5 lb weight loss that'll throw off the whole month's worth of data).
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Bump up your activity level or switch to maintenance to slow down.
But don't be surprised when things are not as clear as in your current graph in the future (which would be ok!)
Btw is this your own spreadsheet or an app?1 -
You really should not change anything yet with only 4 weeks of data unless you are struggling. You should give it another 3 weeks so you can get clean numbers.3
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You really should not change anything yet with only 4 weeks of data unless you are struggling. You should give it another 3 weeks so you can get clean numbers.
I would normally agree. But. Data currently looks as 1.3lbs per week. OP wants 0.5. so you have an almost 400 Cal gap.
Upping from sedentary to lightly active leaves room for a bunch of this to be water weight as it will probably be a ~180-250 bump (maintenance would be a 250 bump. Both less than 400)1 -
Bump up your activity level or switch to maintenance to slow down.
But don't be surprised when things are not as clear as in your current graph in the future (which would be ok!)
Btw is this your own spreadsheet or an app?
That's my own. I have a much more complex spreadsheet and only made those plots for this website. I'm using averaging, some statistics, etc. So yes, I'm aware that my maintenance calories are likely quite a bit higher than estimated.4 -
You really should not change anything yet with only 4 weeks of data unless you are struggling. You should give it another 3 weeks so you can get clean numbers.
I would normally agree. But. Data currently looks as 1.3lbs per week. OP wants 0.5. so you have an almost 400 Cal gap.
Upping from sedentary to lightly active leaves room for a bunch of this to be water weight as it will probably be a ~180-250 bump (maintenance would be a 250 bump. Both less than 400)
Yeah, I've been wondering about that. I am sedentary, that's a fact. Water weight, that's probably the variation throughout the week, right? Each week starts at Monday where my weight tends to be fairly low, then rises until Saturday morning (computer job), and then drops again. Unless I was running, which you can actually see in there. Regardless of how much I drink afterwards, my weight seems to be lower the next morning. But I'm sure that's just from sweating a bit more at night after a run.1 -
Not me as I take the pill long-term. The next break is still about 3 months away Hey, I feel empowered! 
But yeah, I certainly have weekly fluctuations due to sitting behind a computer.0 -
You really should not change anything yet with only 4 weeks of data unless you are struggling. You should give it another 3 weeks so you can get clean numbers.
I would normally agree. But. Data currently looks as 1.3lbs per week. OP wants 0.5. so you have an almost 400 Cal gap.
Upping from sedentary to lightly active leaves room for a bunch of this to be water weight as it will probably be a ~180-250 bump (maintenance would be a 250 bump. Both less than 400)
On Friday my 3 week rate of loss was .6 pounds per week higher than my 6 week rate of loss. My 3 week rate of loss by deficit is 1.1 pounds per week less than my current 3 week RoL by weight. My normal variance between logging and weight change is typically only .2 pounds over a longer trend.
I see this off and on which is why I always encourage people not to react too quickly.0 -
You really should not change anything yet with only 4 weeks of data unless you are struggling. You should give it another 3 weeks so you can get clean numbers.
I would normally agree. But. Data currently looks as 1.3lbs per week. OP wants 0.5. so you have an almost 400 Cal gap.
Upping from sedentary to lightly active leaves room for a bunch of this to be water weight as it will probably be a ~180-250 bump (maintenance would be a 250 bump. Both less than 400)
On Friday my 3 week rate of loss was .6 pounds per week higher than my 6 week rate of loss. My 3 week rate of loss by deficit is 1.1 pounds per week less than my current 3 week RoL by weight. My normal variance between logging and weight change is typically only .2 pounds over a longer trend.
I see this off and on which is why I always encourage people not to react too quickly.
Hmm.. interesting. Maybe I should let this run for a bit longer, provided I'm not getting hungry or tired, or I suddenly become hyper - I'm hypothyroid and had my meds adjusted upwards a bit 10 weeks ago because I'd gained quite a bit weight and felt hypo.
I'm all new to this and tried to answer all my questions online without falling into various traps (jojos, emergency state) For some reason, looking for a knowledgeable place instead of trying to re-invent the wheel didn't pop into my mind at all
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You really should not change anything yet with only 4 weeks of data unless you are struggling. You should give it another 3 weeks so you can get clean numbers.
I would normally agree. But. Data currently looks as 1.3lbs per week. OP wants 0.5. so you have an almost 400 Cal gap.
Upping from sedentary to lightly active leaves room for a bunch of this to be water weight as it will probably be a ~180-250 bump (maintenance would be a 250 bump. Both less than 400)
On Friday my 3 week rate of loss was .6 pounds per week higher than my 6 week rate of loss. My 3 week rate of loss by deficit is 1.1 pounds per week less than my current 3 week RoL by weight. My normal variance between logging and weight change is typically only .2 pounds over a longer trend.
I see this off and on which is why I always encourage people not to react too quickly.
Hmm.. interesting. Maybe I should let this run for a bit longer, provided I'm not getting hungry or tired, or I suddenly become hyper - I'm hypothyroid and had my meds adjusted upwards a bit 10 weeks ago because I'd gained quite a bit weight and felt hypo.
I'm all new to this and tried to answer all my questions online without falling into various traps (jojos, emergency state) For some reason, looking for a knowledgeable place instead of trying to re-invent the wheel didn't pop into my mind at all
I would wait because a portion of your losses could be water weight which has contributed to my 3 week numbers looking off. My weight loss has accelerated recently but it hasn't jumped that high.1 -
So you've had a change in hormones (thyroid medication)
Feel free to send cool spreadsheets
As to the rest of it.
Water weight variation throughout the week including from exercise induced retention, yes.
Possible non fat weight drop when starting up due to less food in system and some glycogen reduction.
Not sure what happens with thyroid hormones and how they affect things in terms of RMR, feeling better and thus being more active including plain fidgeting, or pure water weight change.
My reasoning as given above is that you have enough support from current data to slow by 200 to 250 Cal a day.
The downside is relatively small by a small slow down--lack of loss being the main one.
Within the normal weight range I would hesitate to keep at a 1.3lb loss rate for too long.1 -
So you've had a change in hormones (thyroid medication)
Feel free to send cool spreadsheets
As to the rest of it.
Water weight variation throughout the week including from exercise induced retention, yes.
Possible non fat weight drop when starting up due to less food in system and some glycogen reduction.
Not sure what happens with thyroid hormones and how they affect things in terms of RMR, feeling better and thus being more active including plain fidgeting, or pure water weight change.
My reasoning as given above is that you have enough support from current data to slow by 200 to 250 Cal a day.
The downside is relatively small by a small slow down--lack of loss being the main one.
Within the normal weight range I would hesitate to keep at a 1.3lb loss rate for too long.So you've had a change in hormones (thyroid medication)
Feel free to send cool spreadsheets
As to the rest of it.
Water weight variation throughout the week including from exercise induced retention, yes.
Possible non fat weight drop when starting up due to less food in system and some glycogen reduction.
Not sure what happens with thyroid hormones and how they affect things in terms of RMR, feeling better and thus being more active including plain fidgeting, or pure water weight change.
My reasoning as given above is that you have enough support from current data to slow by 200 to 250 Cal a day.
The downside is relatively small by a small slow down--lack of loss being the main one.
Within the normal weight range I would hesitate to keep at a 1.3lb loss rate for too long.
I'm with Pav on this one (not for the first time
!).
Losing too slowly is frustrating, but losing too fast is potentially a health risk. I know which of those directions I'd prefer to err, if I were gonna err. But you do have an apparent gap to work with, so you probably won't actually err at all.
The thing with undereating is that we can feel great, until we don't. Suddenly, even. And it then takes time to recover. How do I know this? I did the experiment: Not a good thing.
I unintentionally under-ate for a few weeks, because MFP underestimates my calorie needs, even when I give it correct inputs. This isn't common, but it happens: Most of us are close to the research-population means (averages), but a very few people are out further on the edge of the bell curve. It turns out that I maintain around 25-30% above where MFP estimates (I have no great insight about why, but 4 years of careful logging data bears it out).
So, I lost fast, got weak and fatigued, and it took several weeks to recover normal energy and strength. Not a good plan.
I'm a big fan of asking myself "what's the worst that could happen?". Since you're seemingly losing pretty fast, the worst that could happen is that you'll lose somewhat slower, or maybe level off for a while. Gain is very unlikely, if you add that 200-250 calories, and if it did happen it would be super slow. Since you're pretty close to goal weight already, your current higher weight isn't a big health risk, so there's no major urgency to speed the loss, right?
Best wishes!1 -
So you've had a change in hormones (thyroid medication)
Feel free to send cool spreadsheets
As to the rest of it.
Water weight variation throughout the week including from exercise induced retention, yes.
Possible non fat weight drop when starting up due to less food in system and some glycogen reduction.
Not sure what happens with thyroid hormones and how they affect things in terms of RMR, feeling better and thus being more active including plain fidgeting, or pure water weight change.
My reasoning as given above is that you have enough support from current data to slow by 200 to 250 Cal a day.
The downside is relatively small by a small slow down--lack of loss being the main one.
Within the normal weight range I would hesitate to keep at a 1.3lb loss rate for too long.
Yeah, you're probably right. I mean I expected to lose about 1kg per month, and I'm already further than that, which cuts quite a bit of time off this long-term project. I think I'll finish this week on a high and eat some more from next week. I might start with 150 or 200 more and see what happens. I don't think I could bear to have changed input variables into my spreadsheet in the middle of a week Actually, I need time to think how I would chance this without adding yet another candy bar and a piece of fruit as I now got so used to this way of eating. It needs to be mostly carbs though as I'm not really into protein and fats and probably not even reach 50% of both combined. I'm also a bit on the spectrum, which might explain a thing or two
Yeah, had to up thyroid meds a bit. Fortunately my family doctor was supportive. I mean, I know I didn't gain weight due to thyroid but because I ate too much. You (me) get so used to having a bag of chips in the afternoon at work, right? And so yes, the more body mass, the more hormones you need. So I need to be careful here with losing as well. Problem is that it will take at least 2 weeks before I notice a change.0 -
So you've had a change in hormones (thyroid medication)
Feel free to send cool spreadsheets
As to the rest of it.
Water weight variation throughout the week including from exercise induced retention, yes.
Possible non fat weight drop when starting up due to less food in system and some glycogen reduction.
Not sure what happens with thyroid hormones and how they affect things in terms of RMR, feeling better and thus being more active including plain fidgeting, or pure water weight change.
My reasoning as given above is that you have enough support from current data to slow by 200 to 250 Cal a day.
The downside is relatively small by a small slow down--lack of loss being the main one.
Within the normal weight range I would hesitate to keep at a 1.3lb loss rate for too long.So you've had a change in hormones (thyroid medication)
Feel free to send cool spreadsheets
As to the rest of it.
Water weight variation throughout the week including from exercise induced retention, yes.
Possible non fat weight drop when starting up due to less food in system and some glycogen reduction.
Not sure what happens with thyroid hormones and how they affect things in terms of RMR, feeling better and thus being more active including plain fidgeting, or pure water weight change.
My reasoning as given above is that you have enough support from current data to slow by 200 to 250 Cal a day.
The downside is relatively small by a small slow down--lack of loss being the main one.
Within the normal weight range I would hesitate to keep at a 1.3lb loss rate for too long.
I'm with Pav on this one (not for the first time !).
Losing too slowly is frustrating, but losing too fast is potentially a health risk. I know which of those directions I'd prefer to err, if I were gonna err. But you do have an apparent gap to work with, so you probably won't actually err at all.
The thing with undereating is that we can feel great, until we don't. Suddenly, even. And it then takes time to recover. How do I know this? I did the experiment: Not a good thing.
I unintentionally under-ate for a few weeks, because MFP underestimates my calorie needs, even when I give it correct inputs. This isn't common, but it happens: Most of us are close to the research-population means (averages), but a very few people are out further on the edge of the bell curve. It turns out that I maintain around 25-30% above where MFP estimates (I have no great insight about why, but 4 years of careful logging data bears it out).
So, I lost fast, got weak and fatigued, and it took several weeks to recover normal energy and strength. Not a good plan.
I'm a big fan of asking myself "what's the worst that could happen?". Since you're seemingly losing pretty fast, the worst that could happen is that you'll lose somewhat slower, or maybe level off for a while. Gain is very unlikely, if you add that 200-250 calories, and if it did happen it would be super slow. Since you're pretty close to goal weight already, your current higher weight isn't a big health risk, so there's no major urgency to speed the loss, right?
Best wishes!
Thanks for a bit of perspective! I have a bit of a seeing everything in black/white, but I know this and try to look for more moderate views. This is a fantastic answer for this. So thanks a lot
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Understand that I am not trying to encourage you to lose faster than expected. I am just less convinced that is happening here. I agree with the others that it is better to go slower than faster. I just don't see the urgency in changing anything for an additional 3 weeks. If you needed 3 more months for clean numbers I would be pushing you to slow down now and play it safe. I personally think it is safe either way for 3 weeks and I worry less about a person who seems methodical in her approach.
I don't like change in the midst of an evaluation because I believe it can muddy the water. I am not sure that is a point of concern with a person like you either.
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unless you have known or latent kidney issues and based on current information, protein seems to be our friend ;-) At least to the tune of 0.6 to 0.8g per lb of bodyweight within the normal weight range (standing in as a proxy for approximately 0.8 to 1g per lb of lean mass), especially when eating at a deficit.
Beyond that re-feeding with carbs is good! I won't advocate for a candy bar or my own summer fave, vanilla cones... but what's wrong with an extra piece of fruit? The 5 a day thing is a lower; not an upper bound!0 -
Oh, I manage (just about) the minimum protein amount. But I try to not eat too much meat for ethical reasons and don't like most plant-based protein. And those that I like require cooking or otherwise preparing. I just don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen as I need extensive relaxation time as a quickly overwhelmed introvert type. I could eat another slice of bread with 'somewhat happier animals' cheese.0
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Oh, I manage (just about) the minimum protein amount. But I try to not eat too much meat for ethical reasons and don't like most plant-based protein. And those that I like require cooking or otherwise preparing. I just don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen as I need extensive relaxation time as a quickly overwhelmed introvert type. I could eat another slice of bread with 'somewhat happier animals' cheese.
this may be helpful. most see the protein recommendation as a minimum
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/43922135#Comment_439221352 -
I just don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen...
You don't need spend much time in food preparation. I think my cooked meals are all around 10-15min from start to eating with the exception of a few 'baked' items. It just means a narrowing of food choices and a little research poking. I'm guessing you don't mind research. Also, love the spreadsheet. I think making spreadsheets is fun.0 -
Are you ok with dairy products such as yogurt?
There is a list of foods that are high protein for the calories floating around0 -
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My google foo is terrible today.
There are significant reasons why prioritizing protein at a deficit is a really good idea, assuming no current or latent kidney issues.
Also as a vegetarian eating a variety of protein sources maximizes your chances of getting all of the amino acids you need as you are not consuming the standard sources of complete proteins.
I did find one list... I am sure someone else will come along and post the complete spreadsheet that list protein sources
Calories per gram protein (so to maximize protein intake for the price in calories you would want that as low as you can!)
Vegan friendly
Plant-based protein powder (RawFusion) 5.5
Seitan - generic 5.7
Mushrooms - raw 7.3
Spinach - raw 7.7
Nutitional Yeast 8.6
Tofu - firm 8.8
Edamame - shelled fresh 11.1
Lentils - dry 13.6
Brussels Sprouts 14.3
Beans - kidney 14.7
Kale - raw 16.7
Hemp Seeds - hulled 18.0
Quinoa - dry 26.3
Vegetarian friendly
Eggs - whites only 4.4
Whey Isolate - standard 5.2
Greek yogurt - 0% 5.7
Cottage Cheese - non fat 7.2
Milk - skim 10.3
Mozzarella - part-skim 10.6
Eggs - whole 11.0
Milk - 2% 16.7
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My google foo is terrible today.
There are significant reasons why prioritizing protein at a deficit is a really good idea, assuming no current or latent kidney issues.
Also as a vegetarian eating a variety of protein sources maximizes your chances of getting all of the amino acids you need as you are not consuming the standard sources of complete proteins.
I did find one list... I am sure someone else will come along and post the complete spreadsheet that list protein sources
Calories per gram protein (so to maximize protein intake for the price in calories you would want that as low as you can!)
Vegan friendly
Plant-based protein powder (RawFusion) 5.5
Seitan - generic 5.7
Mushrooms - raw 7.3
Spinach - raw 7.7
Nutitional Yeast 8.6
Tofu - firm 8.8
Edamame - shelled fresh 11.1
Lentils - dry 13.6
Brussels Sprouts 14.3
Beans - kidney 14.7
Kale - raw 16.7
Hemp Seeds - hulled 18.0
Quinoa - dry 26.3
Vegetarian friendly
Eggs - whites only 4.4
Whey Isolate - standard 5.2
Greek yogurt - 0% 5.7
Cottage Cheese - non fat 7.2
Milk - skim 10.3
Mozzarella - part-skim 10.6
Eggs - whole 11.0
Milk - 2% 16.7
I know. And I eat none of those things other than beans and lentils, and they require cooking as they aren't available precooked here. Most of the other things are 'slimy' to me. Thus no, I don't eat dairy other than hard, very old cheese (but only with bread), no eggs, mushrooms, tofu or similar. I also don't eat green leaves as they are too bitter for me. Like I said, I'm on the spectrum and forcing myself to eat things I find disgusting would influence my quality of life quite significantly, as would spending more time in the kitchen as I need my quiet moments instead of spending more time preparing food, doing more dishes afterwards, etc. I get enough protein, just about, but it's enough for me.
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Ok, some update: last week was crazy as I lost weight every day, in total 800gr. I guess this is what some people call a whoosh as I had lots of visits to the loo Not sure if I'll regain lost water weight.
This week seems to be a bit quieter and I'm currently hovering around the weight from the end of last week. So lets just see what happens. I let it run like this for a bit longer and then re-evaluate.1
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