How much is safe to lose in a week

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Trinketona
Trinketona Posts: 190
in Fitness and Exercise
My goals are set to 1 lb a week with 1780 calories daily. If i try and change it to 2 lbs a week it decreases to 1280 calories a day. I dont think I can manage 1280 at 5 feet 7.5 inches and 203 lbs. Any advice would be helpful. Should I push for the 2 pounds a weeks and only consume 1280 calories? or take it slow and lose 1 lb a week and consume the RECOMMENDED 1780 calories per day?

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  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
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    Personal opinion:

    Take the slow road - I don't know what your ultimate goal is, but according to your ticker you are aiming at losing ~30 pounds. In this range you should not aim at a larger weight loss than 1 pound/week......and maybe when you have lost 15-20 pounds you should lower your goal to ½ pound/week.

    It may seem like it is going to take a long time - and it is; but remember that the pounds you want to shed didn't pack on in just a few weeks, it probably took a while.....it's going to take a similar time to lose them too.
  • xnattiex
    xnattiex Posts: 143 Member
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    1lb a week is absolutely fine and healthy, but you could also try putting it at losing 1.5lbs a week? That would probably put your calories somewhere in the 1500 range. If you dont think you can stick to the 2lbs a week goal though i would stick with the 1lb a week, you want to make sure you are doing something you are happy with.
  • MegJo
    MegJo Posts: 398 Member
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    I agree to take it slow. You might end up losing a bit more then one pound a week if you add in exercise. I've had a lot of friends try to drop down to about 1200 calories a week and they say it's torture, always hungry and unsatisfied and they end up going over their calorie goal daily which really tears up their self esteem.

    The other option would be to manually set your calorie goal in the settings - maybe somewhere in the middle? 1500? Test it out and see if it feels comfortable.

    Good luck!
  • Ant_M76
    Ant_M76 Posts: 534 Member
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    Are you not planning to do any exercise during this? By exercising you will increase target cals and find it less of a struggle to get through the day only eating a low number of calories....
  • Trinketona
    Trinketona Posts: 190
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    I agree to take it slow. You might end up losing a bit more then one pound a week if you add in exercise. I've had a lot of friends try to drop down to about 1200 calories a week and they say it's torture, always hungry and unsatisfied and they end up going over their calorie goal daily which really tears up their self esteem.

    The other option would be to manually set your calorie goal in the settings - maybe somewhere in the middle? 1500? Test it out and see if it feels comfortable.

    Good luck!



    I exercise daily and on Saturdays I hike which burns over 1300 calories. By cutting my calories to 1780 and exercising everyday that should help me lose more than 1 lb a week right?
  • Trinketona
    Trinketona Posts: 190
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    Are you not planning to do any exercise during this? By exercising you will increase target cals and find it less of a struggle to get through the day only eating a low number of calories....


    Yes. I exercise a lot. I do hike, box, weightlift, and zumba. Im very active.
  • Hoakiebs
    Hoakiebs Posts: 430 Member
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    My goals are set to 1 lb a week with 1780 calories daily. If i try and change it to 2 lbs a week it decreases to 1280 calories a day. I dont think I can manage 1280 at 5 feet 7.5 inches and 203 lbs. Any advice would be helpful. Should I push for the 2 pounds a weeks and only consume 1280 calories? or take it slow and lose 1 lb a week and consume the RECOMMENDED 1780 calories per day?

    If you just walked 1 hr. @ 4 mph you'd burn 460 and you'd be able to consume 1760 per day and still shed 2 lbs. / week.
  • mrFerris
    mrFerris Posts: 122 Member
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    Hi ... I started this healthy living programme, (I refuse to call it diet because diets always sound negative) on new years day. I am male, 5ft 8in, weight at start 192lb and had my calorie set at 1200 daily.

    I do some exercise, not a lot, and have lost, as of this morning, about 16lb. I am always (virtually always) inside my calorie numbers and only eat back about half of my exercise cals. I feel better than I have ever felt. I lose between 1 - 2lb each week. The first week was huge, 5lb I think!

    It works for me!
  • Hoakiebs
    Hoakiebs Posts: 430 Member
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    My goals are set to 1 lb a week with 1780 calories daily. If i try and change it to 2 lbs a week it decreases to 1280 calories a day. I dont think I can manage 1280 at 5 feet 7.5 inches and 203 lbs. Any advice would be helpful. Should I push for the 2 pounds a weeks and only consume 1280 calories? or take it slow and lose 1 lb a week and consume the RECOMMENDED 1780 calories per day?

    According to my dietician, up to 2.5 lbs/ wk. is safe, otherwise you're just consuming muscle mass.
  • Miss_dannii
    Miss_dannii Posts: 1,351 Member
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    I don't think there's a number.... as long as you've been doing it the right way ie. not starving yourself, sticking to minimum 1200 cal etc

    I lost 4lbs in a week, I know I ate perfectly and exercised and did it right
  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
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    I think as you look to be a healthy weight anyway I'd take the slow route and try and lose weight slowly. Saying that though I'm 5'10" I find 1200 calories plenty, I try to stick to this although my goal is around 1400 calories a day I only usually go up to that if I'm having a special meal. It all depends what makes up those calories.
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
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    Realistically it is just 1lb a week - I think if you ask anyone who knows what they are doing will tell you this.

    Up at higher weights it will fall away much more quickly, but since you are only looking at losing a couple of stone it really needs to be set at 500 cals deficit per day which is 1lb a week.

    People will try to eat less to lose more but this doesn't work in a good way for a variety of different reasons.

    This is because people always want to find the short cut. 30 weeks is a long time, but it is just how long it takes and you just have to stick at it, there are no short cuts.
  • becjerami
    becjerami Posts: 80
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    Just make sure you're not netting fewer calories than your BMR, otherwise you risk crushing your metabolism and your weight loss with plateau after the first few weeks. You only need a 500 cal defecit each day to lose 1lb per week, so if you are doing a lot of exercise it's important to eat at least most of those calories back (average that over the week as you will probably struggle to eat an extra 1300 the day you are hiking).

    It's the slower route but ultimately healthier and should enable you to enjoy your food and keep the weight off once you reach your goal.
  • Les_Lamb57
    Les_Lamb57 Posts: 57 Member
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    If you go the slow route can you keep motivated over the longer period? Also do you have a particular upcoming event you want to get in shape for (beach holiday, wedding etc.). These may be factors in deciding how fast you want to progress.

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