Am I losing weight too fast?

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ssassorossi
ssassorossi Posts: 21
in Health and Weight Loss
Alright, well I can't say this is really a problem. I've fallen in love with MFP and the entire system they have set up. So I guess that I had some mental help, too, but I think I might be losing weight too fast and I want to be focusing fat, not Lean Body Mass.

I'm an 18 year old female, 5'6"
Starting Weight: 165.5 (01/24)
01/29/2012 - 164.1
02/02 - 161.7
02/08 - 158
02/10 - 155.5

I have my goal set to lose one pound per week, which is about 1390 calories. I eat over 1300 everyday but sometimes I don't get those last 90 in there. I've been running a lot more, but I usually don't burn over 200 calories so I rarely eat them back because I know how we tend to under-estimate what we eat, and I want to have a buffer so that I know I'm usually in a deficit.

Should I eat back my exercise calories? Should I set my weight loss to .5 pounds per week? Should I just enjoy this and let my body drop the weight? Thanks!

Replies

  • reppinplates
    reppinplates Posts: 30 Member
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    Did you cut back from food by a lot when you started using MFP? it could be the drastic change in calories affecting your weight so much.

    I personally find when i go from a muscle building phase into a stripping fat phase I will drop upto 10lb in the first 2-3 weeks even on a slight restriction of calories. The majority of the weight being water.

    I'd say give it another week or two and if you are still losing at that rate maybe increase your calories a little.

    And make sure you're drinking tons of water. :)
  • ssassorossi
    ssassorossi Posts: 21
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    Alright thank you!

    My change was fairly drastic. I would eat a fairly similar breakfast and lunch but when I got home from school my meal would be something like this:
    -Bowl of ice cream
    -4 Oreos
    -Bag of chips

    And later on I would snack on chocolate chips dipped in peanut butter. So... I ate a lot, and I've really gotten my portion control and habits in check.

    I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing for another week, except I think on exercise days I'm going to bump up my calories to 1400. That's only 10 over my goal before exercise and I still have my buffer of running to make sure I'm really netting less than 1390.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    Did you cut back from food by a lot when you started using MFP? it could be the drastic change in calories affecting your weight so much.

    I personally find when i go from a muscle building phase into a stripping fat phase I will drop upto 10lb in the first 2-3 weeks even on a slight restriction of calories. The majority of the weight being water.

    I'd say give it another week or two and if you are still losing at that rate maybe increase your calories a little.

    And make sure you're drinking tons of water. :)

    I agree
  • NYCDutchess
    NYCDutchess Posts: 622 Member
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    I would go by how your feeling...

    Honestly, your young and if your body isn't liking the extra weight and your working it off, you may just shed it faster WHICH IS GREAT! Keep it up and see what your body tells you!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    There is definitely some water weight in there. What might be suggested since you arent' eating back exercise calories is make your lifestyle as lightly active. It will add a few more calories to help offset the exercise. Also, look to do some strength training, it is much more important than cardio. If you love cardio, do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Also, aim for 80% of your weight in grams of protein, it should help with maintain lean muscle mass.
  • ssassorossi
    ssassorossi Posts: 21
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    Alright, thanks for all your suggestions!
    I'm going to eat 1400 on exercise days and about 1300 on non-exercise days to see what happens with that. If my body just wants to shed the weight, I'm totally happy with that :)
  • shalinimunjal
    shalinimunjal Posts: 192 Member
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    Yep - keep doing what you're doing. Less weight means less stress on your body. It's great that you're running. Just don't deprive your body of the nutrients..eat whole grains, lean protein, etc. and let the weight come off. It's easier when you're younger :)
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I think you are fine. This is just the first week. A lot of people drop A LOT of water weight the first week. I expect you will taper off this week.

    Yes, eat back your exercise calories. If you think for any reason that you may be over estimating your exercise calories then don't eat them all back.
  • CookieGem
    CookieGem Posts: 197 Member
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    I hate you!!!

    Only kidding! im just insanely jealous of your weight loss which i dont think is too fast at all as it will probably start slowing down soon. Well done you.
  • ssassorossi
    ssassorossi Posts: 21
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    These were the first three weeks, which is why I didn't automatically attribute it to water weight. I think the first week I only lost two pounds? Maybe three, but I've been doing this for 19 and am continually dropping weight. Since Wednesday, I've lost 2.5 pounds.
  • reppinplates
    reppinplates Posts: 30 Member
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    I think some people would be quite jelous of your metabolism in that case ! :tongue:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    These were the first three weeks, which is why I didn't automatically attribute it to water weight. I think the first week I only lost two pounds? Maybe three, but I've been doing this for 19 and am continually dropping weight. Since Wednesday, I've lost 2.5 pounds.

    It takes about a month for your body to adjust, so the first month is a lot of water weight. To lose a pound of fat you need to burn 24500 more calories than you consume. So there might be a pound or two of fat, but the rest would be water.
  • lookslikeyoda
    lookslikeyoda Posts: 161 Member
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    A couple of years back I lost 3 stone in 2 months but it easily went back on, I'm losing it gradually now and thankfully its staying off.
  • niknak2308
    niknak2308 Posts: 315 Member
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    Sounds normal as you're just starting out. I was 183lbs and dropped about 10lbs in my first month as it was a big shock to change my diet. Enjoy, trust me it gets harder!
  • runmypretties
    runmypretties Posts: 13 Member
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    Hang on, so you people are saying that the 11lbs I have lost in the first month is my body loosing water and not fat?? how does this work?!?
  • reppinplates
    reppinplates Posts: 30 Member
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    No no, some of the weight loss may be contributed from water as well as fat loss. Hence the amount of weight you've lost on a calorie deficit that is more than you expected.

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