Need some Community input on rate of loss please

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tyediri
tyediri Posts: 183 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all, long time lurker (>10 years), rare poster here. First my stats.
Age 36 female, 5'4, 158lbs this morning. Initial goal 140lbs (ideally by August, but it will happen when it happens).
Calories set for a loss of 0.5lbs a week, 1520kcals a day given by MFP.
Diary, I believe, is open.

I have been on and off MFP since 2011. I've been pregnant twice and used MFP to lose it before. And I use 0.5lbs/week rate of loss as I don't have a lot to lose (and since when I lose faster than this I lost my bum and doing all those squats to get it back slowly over the years was NOT worth the slightly quicker weight loss 😂)

After having a year or so of comfort eating to deal with some personal issues, I'm back on MFP looking to lose. I'm not really doing anything different to what I've done before when I've lost, and I use Libra to track my weight daily. However I appear to have lost 4lbs in the first 2 weeks of Jan and I'm a little nervous about my bum again! 😂 I got my period about 2 days into starting so I probably started with some period water weight which whooshed away skewing the numbers, but I'm still a little nervous and confused about what might be causing this. I've attached my weigh-ins from Libra for reference.
5esib4wy97ol.png


Am I being too hasty? Should I give it another 2-3 weeks before increasing my calories? Has anyone experienced this and found the rate settled after a while?
Guys, I cannot stress how much I don't want to go back to Squats and lunges for months to gain back my lost booty!

I guess I'm just looking for a bit of reassurance? I'm a little thrown by why I'm losing faster when I've done this so many times before and never had an issue with unintentionally fast weight loss before. It is usually the other way around.

I eat all my calories and I hit protein goals most days. I do Les Mills classes at home and I log roughly 50% of exercise time (again, I've done this for years and the rate has matched my goal rate, so nothing has changed).

Replies

  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,674 Member
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    So, something you won't like hearing.... you can't control where the fat comes off. Given that it came off your bum last time means it likely will this time too. It's not about how fast/slow you lose the weight. It's just where it's predisposed to come off (genetics).
  • tyediri
    tyediri Posts: 183 Member
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    Thanks Sollyn. I should clarify I meant that I lose the muscle definition in my bum. If I lose slowly, I tend to retain it more. The last time I lost fast I looked more skinny fat with the additional joy of a less defined bum. But if I lose slowly, hit my protein and keep weight training (not crazy amounts), I tend to retain it. Learned this the hard way. And that is why I'm so concerned about the rate of loss.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,674 Member
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    tyediri wrote: »
    Thanks Sollyn. I should clarify I meant that I lose the muscle definition in my bum. If I lose slowly, I tend to retain it more. The last time I lost fast I looked more skinny fat with the additional joy of a less defined bum. But if I lose slowly, hit my protein and keep weight training (not crazy amounts), I tend to retain it. Learned this the hard way. And that is why I'm so concerned about the rate of loss.

    That can definitely be true. In which case, squats and lunges will help with that too. Good luck!!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
    edited January 15
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    Your fast loss was likely water, not fat. Like you said, you likely whooshed some premenstrual water retention.

    While this never happened to me, it's also common to have an unusually large drop the first week of a new weight loss regimen.

    That four pounds could be ENTIRELY water :lol:

    How about you do a moderate amount of squats and lunges as a preventative? This might be less taxing.

    You could also check out "world-renowned gluteal expert Bret Contreras" for additional glute exercises that will provide variety. And listen to podcasts or music or watch TV while you do them.

    I find my PT exercises very tedious so watch TV while doing them. I am therefore able to be very disciplined about doing my exercises.

    And perhaps add some more strenuous forms of yoga such as Power, Ashtanga, etc., to work your glutes with less tedium. (If you've never done yoga before don't start here :lol: )

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