Is 4 pounds a week healthy?

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datboiastar
datboiastar Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Before I started MFP, I was losing 1 pounds every 2 weeks. Since I've started MFP, I've been losing on average 4 pounds a week instead of the 2 I'm supposed to lose. When i adjusted my die to 1200-1300 calories a week, i started losing fast. I don't want to lose too much in a week if it will send my body into shock, but I don't want to cut back on my workouts or make myself eat more than I'm able to. Could somebody give me some advice or insight?
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Replies

  • sgoldman328
    sgoldman328 Posts: 379 Member
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    I mean honestly, every body is different. Men tend to lose quicker than women, and the more you have to lose, the faster it tends to come off in the beginning.

    What is your normal diet, and what exercise are you doing? Were you tracking with another site before MFP?



    http://collegecookingandironchefamerica.blogspot.com/
  • raycmusic
    raycmusic Posts: 4
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    I Am loosing about the same amount of pounds a week just check your diet and make sure you are Recieving the right amount of calories and nutrients and you will be fine
    I am already lost 22 pounds and I feel great
    Be careful with the high proteins diets they tend to make you to loose fat really quick but some times is not healthy loose weight so fast good luck

    Ray
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    soooo. up your calories. pretty simple. healthy weight loss is average 2lbs a week. so if you have a week where you lose 4lbs and then you only lose 1lb the next week, or whatever so it evens out to average 8lbs a month, that's fine, but don't continue to lose at a faster rate. You're losing a lot of muscle so watch that.
  • datboiastar
    datboiastar Posts: 9
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    I mean honestly, every body is different. Men tend to lose quicker than women, and the more you have to lose, the faster it tends to come off in the beginning.

    What is your normal diet, and what exercise are you doing? Were you tracking with another site before MFP?



    http://collegecookingandironchefamerica.blogspot.com/

    Pretty much a low carb, veggies and fruit type of diet. I just make sure I get all my nutrients and vitamins in. I eat small meals throughout the day. I wasn't really tracking before I joined MFP, just doing my own thing.

    As far as exercises, I do a lot of running. I swap between jogging and sprinting. I might go to an aerobics class every now and then. I was on bodybuilder before MFP, but kind of felt out of place over there.
  • uglyhobo
    uglyhobo Posts: 108 Member
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    If that is you in your profile picture you should be eating a lot more than 1300


    edit: you still need to keep eating protein if you want to lose fat and keep your muscle and you should eat at least 1gram per lb. of body weight
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    It's a bit high (unless you're morbidly obese) and 1200 calories is awfully low for a male. Up to you, but going that low that fast when you're pretty close to goal can result in a much greater percentage of muscle lost compared to fat, especially when you appear to be trying not to eat your exercise calories back.
  • sgoldman328
    sgoldman328 Posts: 379 Member
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    You definitely need to be eating more than 1200 calories! That's not enough to maintain your healthy body functions!!

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    use this site to figure out how many calories your body burns when you just breathe and sit. You need to eat at LEAST this amount.





    http://collegecookingandironchefamerica.blogspot.com/
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    My two cents, you are likely losing muscle and that is why you are seeing more of a loss. 50 grams a day of protein is not enough. You should be getting much more than that. And 1300 is too low for a young male. But again, my opinions based on the information I have been told from my doctor.
  • jfan175
    jfan175 Posts: 812 Member
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    If you're extremely overweight, it might be OK for a while. I don't think using pounds per week is a good way to assess things. 4 lbs to a 300 pound person is a much lower percentage of bodyweight than it is to a 100lb person. What are your energy levels like? I don't think you'll be able to sustain that rate without losing lbm, though.
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
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    You don't need to eat more, but your calories need to go up. Add some higher calorie healthy options like nuts, nut butters and avocado in your meals. Yeah, you're losing more, but a lot of it is muscle and NOT fat, you don't want that!
  • datboiastar
    datboiastar Posts: 9
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    i still have pretty high energy levels. I don't feel myself fatigued or slowing down, but I'm guessing I need to up my calorie intake.
  • airlily
    airlily Posts: 212 Member
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    That was me for about 4 months. It slows down as you exit 30+ BMI. Don't worry. :)
  • nel0311
    nel0311 Posts: 248
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    and it depends on how much you weigh to begin with. the more you weigh the faster it comes off.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    The short answer: no, not really.

    There are a lot of factors at work here though. For one, if this is only a couple weeks, it's probably a bit of water weight.

    Something to consider- men should generally not drop below about 1500 calories as their base caloric in take. Also, MFP means for you to eat the calories you burn exercising.
  • kuger4119
    kuger4119 Posts: 213 Member
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    If all you are trying to lose is 25 lbs, 4 lbs per week is way too fast. 1200 calories for a guy is way, way too low and you definitely need to be over 1500 calories per day if you are losing that fast. This is just my opinion, but I agree with the other comment that 2 lbs per week is healthy, more than that and you need to be 100 lbs overweight for it to be reasonable.
  • pstaceyca
    pstaceyca Posts: 306 Member
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    Looked at your diary...you are barely eating 1300 calories a day. Some days are at 700 calories. Those numbers are way too low for a male to be consuming in a day. I suggest you put your info through again and see what MFP suggests, I can't imagine it was 1200-1300 calories. Most people eat back their exercise calories as well, as MFP is made to work that way.
  • oranb
    oranb Posts: 20 Member
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    Most days you are netting under 1000 calories a day, which I don't think is enough.

    I made the mistake of doing this before I joined MFP, and learned alot from reading the forums. Most useful topics for me were reading the "eat more to weigh less" group postings and such.

    MFP already has your calorie deficit built in for weight loss, but when you don't hit your MFP calorie goals, and then excercise, you end up with an even huger caloric deficit that isn't healthy.

    Handy article links:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
  • datboiastar
    datboiastar Posts: 9
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    Looked at your diary...you are barely eating 1300 calories a day. Some days are at 700 calories. Those numbers are way too low for a male to be consuming in a day. I suggest you put your info through again and see what MFP suggests, I can't imagine it was 1200-1300 calories. Most people eat back their exercise calories as well, as MFP is made to work that way.

    it still says 1320 a day when i put my goal back in there, but people are saying that is too low
  • jenigeddon
    jenigeddon Posts: 16
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    Do what is working for you. If you are losing 4 a week you are doing something right. I lost 7 pounds a week on my first diet and guess what? I am still alive and completely healthy. If you are really worried ask a nutritionist.

    Oh and before anyone says anything, I ate over 1200 cals a day. And never ate my exercise calories back. Thats incredibly retarded.
  • smoore0411
    smoore0411 Posts: 20 Member
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    i still have pretty high energy levels. I don't feel myself fatigued or slowing down, but I'm guessing I need to up my calorie intake.

    I think this is your key indicator. Listen to your body. If you deplete too much you will def feel it in the gym. If you are eating healthier and runnning/sprinting you are going to see some pretty quick losses for a few weeks.

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