Is 2lbs a week a realistic weight loss goal?

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Twitchy109
Twitchy109 Posts: 36
in Introduce Yourself
I'm 21 and gained 80lbs with my pregnancy three years ago. I lost ten and have been stuck with false motivation and the wrong attitude but I am finally ready to get rid of this weight and be more healthy and active for my son and the sooner the better. But burning 1000 calories a day seems a bit drastic and unhealthy and I just need suggestions? Anyone who has experience in this should add and give support! I could use all the help I can get! Not to mention stretch marks and flab. Advice on that would be great as well!

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  • Blackthorne99
    Blackthorne99 Posts: 250 Member
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    That's a stretch goal. Personally I shoot for 1 lb a week, and if I get more - great! But I also make sure I net at least 1000 calories a day. That means between BMR and exercise I need to burn 2000 daily in order to get my 1000 net. (My goal is set at 1100 daily, so I try to be within 100 calories.
  • matthewdill83
    matthewdill83 Posts: 48
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    They say the faster you lose it, the easier it is to put back on.. Also, the faster you lose it, you may not give your skin enough time to slowly stretch back.. Its definitely do-able, but I dont think too many people are gonna recommend it.. 1 pound a week, I think is more realistic in a long term achievement.. It would take a lot of exercise, everyday, to get a 1000 calorie deficit..

    I would say stick to one pound, maybe switching it up to a pound and a half every few weeks..
  • saintspoon
    saintspoon Posts: 242 Member
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    Personally I find a 1000 calorie deficit feels like such a huge mountain to climb & it sorta sets you up for failure.

    I would set myself for the 1lbs a week loss & then eat somewhere between the suggested calories & the number -500 ... so if you set yourself up as 1 lb loss per week & MFP tells you to eat oh lets say 1600 cals a day then try to eat between 1200-1600 cals but don't beat yourself up if you're eating close to the 1600 range cause you'll still lose that pound per week :)

    I know 1 pound per week sounds horrible but it's not soo bad.. if you think of it this way.. 9 months to gain baby weight so 9 x 4 weeks = 36... in 9 months you'd be 36 pounds down. Lets see... in 3 years you've lost 10.. i'd take that pound per week!!!
  • kellyisloved
    kellyisloved Posts: 441 Member
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    Starting out, 2 lbs per week is probably realistic even without hitting quite those deficit numbers, but that's because your body is flushing out a lot at first and it isn't actual fat. After that, 1-2 would be a nice solid goal (2 being your stretch goal, but 1 being what you genuinely want to maintain each week).

    I would be really careful with eating less than 1200 calories, though. I know you'll hear both sides of the story, but most people who have eaten less than 1200 consistently for a while find that they start to flatten out on their progress and will encounter more plateaus than others who maintain at least 1200 each day.

    Just a tip. :)
  • MaiaScore
    MaiaScore Posts: 2
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    I would try and aim for 1 lb a week as well and think that if you are consistent with your goal, in a year, you would lose 52 lbs in total (give or take a few lbs). I think a lot of us want a quick fix to our weight loss goals, but realistically, I think we've all tried and done that before and failed. I think focusing on being healthy by exercising and eating healthier foods (cutting down on the fats) will get you to your goal in a better way. Also, be kind to yourself and don't deprive yourself of the good food once in a while. If you work hard throughout the week, you deserve a little treat! This kind of mentality has helped me in my goals so far because I find that if I don't deprive myself of a little tasty treat, I don't end up obsessing over it and thinking about it the whole day - only to eat lots of it at night, which is so bad. I have a long way to go. :) Good luck with your goals!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    I'm 21 and gained 80lbs with my pregnancy three years ago. I lost ten and have been stuck with false motivation and the wrong attitude but I am finally ready to get rid of this weight and be more healthy and active for my son and the sooner the better. But burning 1000 calories a day seems a bit drastic and unhealthy and I just need suggestions? Anyone who has experience in this should add and give support! I could use all the help I can get! Not to mention stretch marks and flab. Advice on that would be great as well!
    1-2% of your body weight is reasonable. Anything above that would usually be really taxing on the body.
  • spottedlee
    spottedlee Posts: 372
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    1-2% of your body weight is reasonable. Anything above that would usually be really taxing on the body.

    Can you please explain. Is that per month or week? 2% of my weight is 5.4 so that sounds very high for weekly loss -- does it?
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
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    I think it's reasonable to expect you'll lose more in the beginning, but once you get closer to your GW you'll slow down. I'm 5'4 and I started at 163. I've been eating so terribly before this and not excercising at all that I lost 7 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks. I expect that to slow down to 1-2 pounds a week. I find that once I get down to 145, my body is a lot more stubborn about weight loss, but 145 is a whole lot more "reasonable" of a weight for me, so once I'm there I'm not getting super frustrated that the weight isn't melting off...once I'm at 145 I'll be thrilled if I can lose 1 pound a week after that.
  • saintspoon
    saintspoon Posts: 242 Member
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    The great thing about 1 lb per week is you will not feel deprived!! You will find it manageable, you will see results, it's a maintainable way to live for a long time. MfP will continue to drop your daily calorie allowance every time you lose more than 10 lbs & if you aim for 1 you usually end up losing a bit more anyway :)

    Are you tired of giving it all you got for a few days/weeks to find you're back to the same place once you lose that initial oomph? Yah I did that like about 100 times.. It wasn't till I learned you take normal little steps everyday & just keep going at it does it KEEP coming off! Set yourself up for what you can do everyday without tons of effort cause you may feel great & focused right now but when you have a ****ty day or even just a busy day & you can't give it all you have then at least youve got portion sizes & pretty accurate calorie counts in your head (& a bunch other good habits you'll learn) & you will automatically use that without thinking too much!! That's the whole secret to this entire nasty beast!!!

    So set yourself up for ongoing success!! :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    Can you please explain. Is that per month or week? 2% of my weight is 5.4 so that sounds very high for weekly loss -- does it?
    Weekly. If that's yours a week that's doable. What people forget is that as you lose weight, that number goes down.
  • Twitchy109
    Twitchy109 Posts: 36
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    And that is healthy? How do you suggest going about doing that?
  • Blackthorne99
    Blackthorne99 Posts: 250 Member
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    Can you please explain. Is that per month or week? 2% of my weight is 5.4 so that sounds very high for weekly loss -- does it?
    Weekly. If that's yours a week that's doable. What people forget is that as you lose weight, that number goes down.


    Please explain the source of that formula. That seems unrealistic.

    Now - I *have* lost weight at a faster rate than that, after weight loss surgery. I lost 18lbs in the first 11 days - but even with the most malabsorptive surgery out there, I never sustained weekly losses of 2% of my body weight - and I don't absorb 80% of the fat I eat.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    I read an interesting article in a bicycling magazine once that stated: your weekly loss should reflect how much weight you have left to lose.

    I'm not sure on the details, but it recommended something like:

    50+ - 5/week
    40 - 4/week
    30 - 3/week
    20 - 2/week
    10 - 1week
    5 - 0.5/week

    That way, you'll get down to your goal faster, but when you do reach your goal, you've slowly moved to a more sustainable calorie intake, so you don't have that "rebound" like you normally would.

    That being said, I still wouldn't recommend trying to lose 5/week.

    Another thing I've read which I think is a great idea, is only make your goal a 10% weight loss, and do it in steps. It'll be easier to achieve over time, and is healthier if you don't lose all your weight at once. Once you've lost 10, maintain it for a couple of weeks, then go for another 10%.

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