Is it safe to lose 2 lbs a week?

Rocio12 · February 2021

Hello everyone!
I’d like to know how you all feel about a 45yr old female that weighs 175 lbs and is 5’3 inches trying to lose 2 lbs a week. My calories are reduced to 1200 calories. I do exercise 5-6 days a week. Focusing on trying to get vegan protein in. Tend to eat more carbs and that’s been my problem.

Thank you🙂

AnnPT77 · February 2021

In general terms, I think there's health risk. I accidentally lost around that rate for a while, at a similar body weight, and got weak and fatigued (took several weeks to recover, despite increasing calories as soon as I realized). A common recommendation around here is to lose no more than about 0.5% to a max of 1% of current bodyweight weekly, with the upper end of that more suitable for someone well into the obese BMI range or higher.

Other people will tell you differently, of course, as opinions vary. My feeling is that slow loss may be frustrating, but fast loss can risk health, so it's not a hard question which direction I'd rather err in, personally. Beyond that, losing any meaningful amount of weight is a long-term proposition (weeks to months, at least), so making the process easy is more likely to make it sustainable long enough to succeed.

Carbs aren't any kind of special evil, unless they prevent you getting enough protein, fats, fiber or micronutrients for well-rounded nutrition, IMO.

sijomial · February 2021

Rather than thinking about safe/unsafe maybe think about aiming for optimal? And optimal is unlikely to be fast weight loss.

Long duration fast weight loss carries with it health risks, more likely to have poorer results when/if you get to goal weight and also simply makes a hard job harder and more likely to fail. I think you shold prioritise making this sustainable and successful. It's really sad that so many people are serial failures at dieting instead of singular successes.

FYI - Please do recognise that calorie goals on here intend you to be eating your exercise calories to emphasise exercise is best as long term habit for health and fitness and not a temporary thing for boosting your rate of weight loss over and above the goal you selected or over and above what is healthy.

springlering62 · February 2021

I’m going to rephrase @AnnPT77 a wee bit. Slow weight loss isn’t so much frustrating as it is an exercise in patience. (And humility.)

I see so many on here hurl themselves out the starting gate with such enthusiasm, and they are the ones who are gone within weeks- if not days. (Some, I suspect, in hours.)

Many who do drop a lot fast, gain it back.

Slow loss may feel frustrating the first month or two, but if you invest the time and thought it becomes habit, and is sustainable for a longer term. “Habit” feels a lot better than frustration.

I don’t know about you, but weight loss is real work and the LAST thing I want to do is repeat it because I was under-eating for a long period, or reached my goal and got sloppy.

Having said that, weight loss can also be fun and educational. I’ve learned so much about myself, both body and spirit. The forums have been fascinating and an endless source of entertainment. Watching my body do wierd Flubber-y things one week and vanish the next has been like a science experiment.

Take it slower. Look at it this way. Assuming you could “really” lose two pounds per week in a straight numeric line (ain’t gonna happen, I assure you), sixty pounds would take thirty weeks and you’d be miserable, hungry, snappish, probably the meanest version of yourself.

But if you lost the same sixty pounds at 1.5 per week, it would take fifteen weeks longer. That’s what? Less than four months difference. You’d feel better, have more food available to you, just a happier experience altogether.

Your skin will appreciate the slower loss. Your family certainly will, lol.

You’d probably quickly find that even less per week would be satisfactory.

The time is gonna fly. I know you’re looking at the end already, and ready for it to already be here, but to parrot everyone else- because it’s TRUTH- we didn’t put it all on overnight and it’s not gonna come off overnight.

TL:DR Are you in it for long haul success, or will you lose a bunch real quick and be back to ground zero in a couple of years fumbling for the next quick weight loss idea.

Hugs and much success to you.

lorrpb · February 2021

There is a guide for optimal/safe weight loss per week which goes something like this:
75+ lbs to lose, 2 lb per week
30-75, 1.5 lb per week
15-30, 1 lb
<15, 0.5 lb

So the less you have left to lose, the less you should lose per week. Someone else prob has the exact numbers, but this gives you a close idea.

Go_Deskercise · February 2021

kshama2001 · February 2021

Rocio12 wrote: »

Hello everyone!
I’d like to know how you all feel about a 45yr old female that weighs 175 lbs and is 5’3 inches trying to lose 2 lbs a week. My calories are reduced to 1200 calories. I do exercise 5-6 days a week. Focusing on trying to get vegan protein in. Tend to eat more carbs and that’s been my problem.

Thank you🙂

Glad you've got the protein angle covered

Are your carbs providing fiber? I can easily over-eat pasta and bread, but higher fiber foods like beans fill me up nicely. There are endless possibilities for vegan rice & bean dishes.

Try running a report on fiber and see if you've been hitting your goal.

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports

You can swap another item out in your diary for fiber here:

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

lgfrie · February 2021

In addition to all of the above insights and numbers, there's a figure thrown around sometimes that it's safe to lose up to 1 % of your body weight per week. For you that'd be 1.75 pounds, not 2 pounds. Take note that that is the "maximum", as in "you should probably set a more modest goal but if you really wanted to push it for a little while, this is the outer boundary beyond which you are definitely putting your diet at risk and may be putting your health at risk too."

It took me a long, long, long time to learn this but... 1 lb per week is about the most that can be done consistently, successfully, over a long-ish period of time time, and getting into a good rhythm of losing 1 lb per week is a much better investment of time, energy, and enthusiasm than trying to push things faster.

Rocio12 · February 2021

Thank you all for all the insightful comments. I’m in it for the long haul and I’ve struggled to comprehend exactly how many calories to intake because I’m addicted to my peloton bike and ride it often! I’m going on a wonderful family vacation in June and I’ve really buckled down on counting my calories. I thought maybe I could try and lose 2lbs a week because I’ve been doing this for so long. I’ve always had a gut feeling that I haven’t been eating enough. It has confused me in the past where I’ve just ditched the calorie counting..
😜
I’m going to try and listen to mfp and follow it. I’m not one to eat my calories back and I think that may have been my issue. I didn’t realize they use the NEAT method.

Thanks everyone

sijomial · February 2021

If your Peleton bike has a power meter then your calorie burns could well be very accurate.

To get the most from your exercise you can't eat like a mouse!

Rocio12 · February 2021

sijomial Member
February 1, 2021 1:55PM
If your Peleton bike has a power meter then your calorie burns could well be very accurate.

To get the most from your exercise you can't eat like a mouse!

Yes! I’ve realized this!

elisa123gal · February 2021

I have two words to think on. Loose skin. As you get older it is more of a threat.

Whenever I lose slowly.. I tell myself.. my skin will have time to adjust. At times, I wonder if all the problems with loose skin is when we get so dedicated we lose super fast and are left with another problem.

FitAgainBy55 · February 2021

During my first (unfortunately I'm now on my 2nd) fat to fit transformation 10 years ago I started off with the goal of losing 2 lbs per week -- a 5'7" 185 lb 45 year old male. I found it nearly impossible to stay within my budget so I eventually changed it to 1.5 lbs and then eventually to 1 lb per week.

What I've learned since that time (other people's experience in forums and my own research) is that targeting a very low calorie budget to lose weight quickly often ends in disaster. Part of the problem is that as you lose weight you will need to eat even less (activity held constant) as your body weight drops. Your body will attempt to counteract this ever decreasing calorie intake with energy conserving adaptations. Your mind will also likely attempt to counteract this process as well. For many people this results in a plateau where their body/mind has found a way to stop what it detects as a dangerous downward spiral -- think human evolutionary adaptations that kept people alive during drought induced famine when there were no grocery stores. Even if you are successful in spite of your body/mind battle you will likely end up with a lot of lean muscle mass loss and an artificially low maintenance budget which can lead to regain.

As I said, I'm on my second transformation. I successfully maintained my previous 40 lb weight loss for 5+ years but as often happens, I'm forced to do it again 10 years later.

My approach is similar to last time. I'm starting with a 1 - 1.5 lb weight loss target where I plan to slowly increase my activity level over time so that instead of eating less as I lose weight, I actually eat more. I'm 6 weeks end and I'm consistently losing 1.5 lbs per week while averaging ~2000 food calories per day.

Here's my chart from 10 years ago that shows my weight, calories in and calories out (exercise) over time. I managed to eat more by slowly increasing the duration and intensity of my workouts and then reducing my rate of weight loss the closer I got to my goal. At the very end I was on the 1/2 lb per week plan while eating an average o ~2800 calories per day. Using this approach I accidentally ended up racing Marathons

vanmep · February 2021

I’m slightly older but also started out being 5 ft 2 1/2 (gotta count that 1/2 inch!)and 175 pounds and has lost 40 pounds. I took a different approach than what you are talking about. It took me about 2 years to lose the 40. I think it was about 25 the first year and 15 the second. The reason I did it this way was because I wanted to create a whole new attitude and approach to my health, not just deprive myself for awhile to reach a goal. I also loved that I didn’t have to restrict too much so it didn’t seem overwhelming. There was also room for the occasional slip ups or intentional overages. Good luck as you figure out your path.

Is it safe to lose 2 lbs a week?

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