Am I losing weight too fast?

Options
kapzilla
kapzilla Posts: 84 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm following MFP guidelines, and I eat back most of my exercise calories, but I'm dropping weight like crazy!

Last Thursday I weighed 162, yesterday I weighed 161. Now today I weigh 160.2! Many women would probably be feeling great about this, but I'm concerned that I may be losing too fast.

I live a fairly sedentary lifestyle. I'm a stay at home mom, and I do basic cleaning and stuff like that, but I sit around A LOT (I'm a serious couch potato). I think one big factor is the fact that I breastfeed my youngest son, but he's almost a year and a half so he nurses only a few times a day now. I wouldn't think that could affect it that much, could it?

Now that I'm trying to do regular exercise, should I change my lifestyle in my MFP settings? I log all my exercise, and like I said earlier in the post, I do try to eat most of my exercise calories back. Could it be that my metabolism finally jump started and is kicking into gear now?

This isn't just for weight loss, I've got high cholesterol (doctor said I'm like at twice the risk of having a stroke, it's that high...), and my family is heart issues all throughout. I do NOT want to make myself sick.
«1

Replies

  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
    Options
    I have what is called "rest day calorie dump" where I add random calories to my daily total whenever I feel I am losing too fast.
    You've seen that.
    I weigh daily upon awakening before eating or drinking and after a good pooh.:bigsmile:
    I can tell when my weight is trending down to fast, and I simply take a day off from exercise and eat more.
    Simple.
    Some people might welcome more weight loss - YIP YIP YIP YAHOO!
    Not me.
    I know what's fast on the front end comes back with a little something extra on the tail end.
    1 pound per week
    That's it.
  • senyosmom
    senyosmom Posts: 613 Member
    Options
    breast feeding can burn up to 400 calories a day - that maybe whats helping the weigh loss so much. If you rare eating enough and the right foods then let it come off!!
  • BarbWhite09
    BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
    Options
    Thats not too fast, really...
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    Options
    that sounds very normal. if you lost 10 pounds in a day then i might worry.

    anything less than 5 pounds a week isn't a big deal really.
  • evansproudmama
    evansproudmama Posts: 496
    Options
    I would almost bet its the breastfeeding thats doing it for you. If your concerned about losing to fast eat more but If your eating healthy amounts already and dont feel like your tired or lagging at all I would say enjoy the easy weight loss!! Lucky lol
  • chris1816
    chris1816 Posts: 715 Member
    Options
    You may just be at an optimal point of weight loss. With some folks it can happen very fast. As the other poster mentioned breast feeding burns a great deal of calories since breast milk is mostly composed of fats and carbohydrates. I personally would advise against weighing daily as when that stops you may be setting yourself up for a psychological slump of discouragement by no longer seeing such smooth losses.

    Just keep it up, keep exercising, eat mostly clean for the sake of your cholesteral and what not and don't sweat the details so much.
  • moonspells
    moonspells Posts: 126 Member
    Options
    You also might try only weighing once a week...your weight can fluctuate wildly day to day and might not accurately reflect your actual loss. If you are still early in the process, you'll probably see more losses too. As long as you're not losing more than a couple pounds a week, I wouldn't worry too much...
  • kd_mazur
    kd_mazur Posts: 569 Member
    Options
    how long have you been adding exercise to your routine? In the beginning of my journey I also posted some 2-3 lb/week losses but they evened out after the first couple months after I developed my routine and lost most of the water weight.
  • Jxnsmma
    Jxnsmma Posts: 919 Member
    Options
    Im jealous.... ;) Dont worry, it wont go on like that forever. You will plateau and then wonder WTF like the rest of us LOL! Enjoy it while you can!
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    Options
    I don't think it's too fast. As long as you feel well and have energy, don't worry about it. I've been doing this since January and I'll have 2-3 weeks of the scale not moving, then suddenly I drop 2-3lbs in 24-48 hours and it stays off. I've never figured out why that happens but it's better than hitting a plateau and staying there!
    Eat healthy and keep up the good work! You're doing fine. :)
  • MommaKit79
    MommaKit79 Posts: 852
    Options
    I have to agree with the breastfeeding.

    Also, if you are just starting with better eating habits, that in itself can cause some weight loss, especially if you re talking about sugar or salt intake. EXAMPLE: for me, even if I exercise, if i take in too much sugar, i cant lose weight. BUT, if i cut my sugar intake back significantly, i can lose, even if I am barely moving. Others are like this when it comes to Sodium.

    Keep up your "diet" that you need for your Cholesterol and just keep it up. And, with time, you will come to understand your body and what works and doesnt work. :)

    GOOD LUCK!!!!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Options
    The breastfeeding adds something like 500 calories to your daily energy expenditure.
    The sedentary setting is not really appropriate for anyone who is active at all.
    Bump up the activtiy level, and log the breastfeeding.
  • BrionyTallis
    BrionyTallis Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    How do you feel? If you are losing weight too fast you probably won't feel very well. If you're eating well and you have energy to get through the day are the most important issues I would think.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Options
    There's settings on MFP to account for breastfeeding. Make sure you check those out to make sure you are where you should be.

    Also, 1 pound per week loss is what is suggested by medical experts unless you have a LOT to lose (I forget what the magic number is there--but there's research out there).

    You should make sure to speak to your doctor--even more so while breastfeeding to make sure you are on the plan that makes sense health-wise. You don't want to harm your body.

    After pregnancy and during breastfeeding the weight can come off very fast. Just make sure to speak to your doctor and adjust your MFP plan settings (if you have not done so already)
  • TaylorsGranddad
    TaylorsGranddad Posts: 453 Member
    Options
    You can gain/lose pounds a day, I lost 4lb yesterday BUT I ran 10k last night, which is why.

    If you're exercising and eating back you should be fine.
  • kiminikimkim
    kiminikimkim Posts: 746 Member
    Options
    It is nothing to worry about, there is no under-eating involved and you can function at 100%.

    Worry only when you are experiencing fatigue, nausea or hunger pains.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Options
    The breastfeeding adds something like 500 calories to your daily energy expenditure.
    The sedentary setting is not really appropriate for anyone who is active at all.
    Bump up the activtiy level, and log the breastfeeding.

    Actually, sedentary is for anyone that does not work in an active setting (say a factory or construction). It's based on what you do the majority of the day. So office workers are always sedentary. A stay at home parent would be sedentary as well. Even people that work out an hour/day are considered sedentary. It's what you're doing for the majority of each day. That's according to the MFP guidelines.
  • scrapbookdiva2
    scrapbookdiva2 Posts: 21
    Options
    Early on in your weight loss you lose more quickly, also sodium, water, heat, can cause you to swing more and less. I think 2-4 lbs in a week is not to worry about from time to time. If you are hungry or are losing this much for many weeks in a row then I would maybe increase your cals, you may have a higher than average metabolims... I do.
  • Eleisabelle
    Eleisabelle Posts: 365
    Options
    To lose one pound in a day, you'd have to have a deficit of 3500 calories. Two pounds in two days, 7000 calorie deficit.

    If you sincerely doubt your deficit is that high, you are quite possibly losing water weight. Did your sodium go down over those days?

    I agree that daily weigh-ins can lead to discouragement later. However, if you do weigh in daily, use it more as a tool to see how you fluctuate over time rather than to see how much weight you're losing. Measurements are a far more reliable way to see how your change in lifestyle is affecting your body.

    Keep steady, and you'll see real results. Just don't count on those daily fluctuations.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Options
    that sounds very normal. if you lost 10 pounds in a day then i might worry.

    anything less than 5 pounds a week isn't a big deal really.

    It depends on the person. I've heard doctors say that 1-2 pounds/week is normal in order to keep the weight off for good and to avoid any organ damage. I would not generalize and say less than 5 lbs/week. It depends on how much the person has to lose, if they are already at a healthy weight etc. In some cases more than 1lb/week is not suggested by a medical professional.

    Post pregnancy though (and while breastfeeding) is not a typical weight loss scenario. There's other guidelines to follow, but a medical professional should be consulted because every person is different.

Categories