Hey everyone,

I am concerned that I might be losing weight a bit too fast. At this point, I really do not have much to lose (less than 10 lbs), but it has been going at a much quicker rate than I expected.

I started off 3 weeks ago at 118.4. I weigh myself first thing in the morning every Thursday.

I averaged 1777 calories that week and lost no weight, didn't gain any either.

The following week, I averaged 1713 calories and weighed 117. I lost a total of 1.4 lbs.

This week I averaged 1540 cals (with Thanksgiving included), and I lost 2.8 lbs putting me at 114.2!

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I was a little thrown off my losing 1.4 lbs, but the 2.8 lbs this week was a little scary.

I do 3 days of heavy weight training every week, and usually about 5 days of cardio. I also walk A LOT bc I am a student. I probably get almost an hour of walking in each day.

Diet wise, I probably would be aiming for about 1400, but from the averages, you can see that it hasn't happened. Usually I ended up consuming far too many calories on the weekends. Monday through Wednesday I usually eat about 1200 calories to make sure I bring the average down.

I try to get sufficient protein, but it's hard. I usually get bt 50-70g/day, which I think is enough to help preserve muscle (hopefully)


I don't know...I was just wondering if anybody had any advice for me. It's hard for me to want to try changing things bc I am losing weight, but I don't think 2.8 lbs in one week is healthy for somebody my size.

Thanks!

Are you new to working out?

If so, a 3lb+ weight loss for the first few weeks can be normal due to the release of water from the body. I'd suggest staying at the 1700 calorie intake and just be sure to measure your progress each week. As long as your losing weight at that intake there is no reason to drop down to 1200.

Thanks for replying! I am definitely not new to working out...I feel like I've been working out FOREVER!! Also the only reason I ever drop down as low as 1200 is when my average is like 2300 or something. I almost think that might be part of the reason I am losing so quickly is bc I have a bunch of high days in a row, followed by some pretty low days.

I was thinking of staying at a caloric range of 1600-1700, maybe dropping a day of cardio, and perhaps make an effort to get more protein in daily.

Nobody has any other suggestions??

i'm not too sure abt the exercising part.. but i think having high calories in a row and then having low calories in a row to make up for that is not a good idea.. you should try to maintain ur calories everyday.. but not going up and down too much ^^

I don't know...I would like some more information on that bc to me it seems like unintentional "calorie cycling" which I always thought was fine. I think I actually remember an article (which I wish I remembered enough about it to reference it) that talked specifically about this situation, and how it helped someone to lose weight.

I don't really do it on purpose...the main reason it happened last week was because I had two Thanksgivings, and I drank on Friday night. So far this week though, I have been pretty consistent with my calories. It's just hard because my "week" starts on the weekend, and if I do have too many calories, it's not difficult for me to eat less during the week at all to make up for it.

Don't pay much attention to what the scale says. Depending on your variance in daily diet, your water intake/retention, and the mood of your body when you weigh yourself, your weight can vary considerably. I fluctuate as much as 2 pounds from one morning to the next depending on those factors. As long as you are eating healthy (and enough), and as long as you feel energetic, there is no need to worry. Stick with a reasonable intake like 1600 or 1700 calories a day.

As for calorie cycling, it has proven very effective for me. It is the only way I overcome plateaus.

Good luck.

1. Keep a note of everything that you eat and drink. You do not need to estimate calories. Just write down what it was that you had and the approximate quantity. You will find that being more aware of what you are eating helps you to plan healthy meals and snacks.

2. Halve your intake of all pure or added fats. This means using half as much butter or spread on your bread, toast, muffins and potatoes; half the usual amount of mayonnaise or sauce on your salad; and half the oil in the frypan every time.

3. Limit treats containing sugar to three times per week. This includes chocolate, ice cream, desserts, cake, pastries, cookies, etc.

4. Include a lower fat source of protein at most meals: chicken, fish, beans, cottage cheese, or low fat yogurt. Have eggs, nuts and red meat occasionally but not every day.

5. Plan at least one lunch and dinner every week without meat or cheese. Build those meals around whole grains, vegetables and beans to increase fiber and reduce fat.

& see more under signature

^^^ umm thanks ???

Anyway...I weigh myself on Thursday. I cut down on cardio a bit and am aiming for a 1600 calorie average this week. I've actually been quite consistent this entire week in terms of calories. I'm really nervous to weigh myself because I feel like I've been eating so much, but it all averages out the same so I should be fine?? I guess I'll see what happens on Thursday...

You're freaking out about 2.8 pounds when you only weigh once a week? I can take a good dump and lose 4. If you're going to get so scientific that you are considering tenths of a pound (which does nothing but get people worked up for no reason), then you're going to have to make sure you get scientific in your weighing. Weigh at the same time every day, right after you wake up, only after you've taken a dump, wearing absolutely nothing, then record this weight daily and use the average of the measurements.

Paying attention to scientific results while not being scientific about weighing leads to posts like this. I used to help with a weight loss class at church and the ladies did this, it was so stupid. They would come in, once a week, weighing at night after they ate, wearing something different every time, then they'd get all upset about tenths of a pound. Makes no sense.

Okay first of all I'm not freaking out, I'm just concerned. I want to lose this weight at a healthy pace. I'm not trying to lose weight fast as possible.

Also I don't know what ever gave you the impression that I'm not, but I am pretty scientific about my weighing. I weigh myself every Thursday, first thing in the morning, after going to the bathroom, without any clothes on. I do not want to weigh myself daily. In fact, I would strongly discourage anyone from weighing in daily. I don't think it's healthy and does not show true weight loss. In my opinion, weekly is much better (although measurements are by far the best).

And 2.8 lbs in one week IS a big deal! Maybe if you weigh 200 lbs and you lose that much in a week it's not, but for someone my size it IS a lot!

I don't know why you are assuming all this stuff about me, and pretty much getting all worked up about the "stupidity" of my post. I didn't know it was stupid for people to be concerned with losing weight at a safe and healthy pace. Are you jealous or something?? I just really can't understand where this strong negative reaction is coming from.

Believe me, I know a lot about eating right and exercising. Perhaps even more so than you. I just had a legitimate concern at the rate of weight loss (since it was very unexpected) and wanted some opinions on it from people on here.

Eh. You can have the same one-off freak highs or lows with a weekly weigh-in that you can get with a daily weigh-in. I weigh every day, because that works best for me; I haven't noticed any adverse effects on my health over the last 6 months. Just in the last month, I can see at least 2 7-day periods when I "lost" 3 pounds or more from beginning to end, and several more where I "lost" nothing between beginning and end. When "reality" (to the extent there is such a thing) is that I've lost a pretty consistent 1.7 pounds a week.

To have lost 2.8 punds in a week, you'd need an average deficit of 1,400 calories a day. Since you know your intake was 1,540 a day, you'd need to be burning 2,940 a day in base metabolic rate + activity. If you think that was the case for you, and you don't want to lose that fast, eat more. If that wasn't the case for you, what you have is a meaningless scale fluctuation.

That's why you have to average them if you weigh daily. Quite sure I mentioned that.


Sure it's alot, if it's fat, I'm not doubting that at all. But, can you guarantee that it's all fat? I mean, seriously. It takes about 3,600 calories to lose a pound of fat. Did you really burn an extra 10,000+ calories this week? Let's be realistic here. You did not burn an extra 1,440 calories every day this week unless you are highly downplaying your exercise schedule, and even then I don't think it would be possible.


What's stupid is that manufacturers actually make digital scales that read in tenths of a pound, so all kinds of people can get worked up about it for no reason. Every single person who gets worked up about this kind of stuff is quoting tenths of a pound off of a digital scale. Just get tired of hearing about it after awhile.


Ah, yes, because, you know, I'm 200 pounds overweight and all that stuff. Believe me when I say that I have (had, actually) no problems whatsoever losing weight.


Well, I wasn't trying to be demeaning towards you personally, but at the same time, this section didn't used to be called "the harsh truth" for nothing. I'm a harsh person, in the harsh truth section. I can be much worse, trust me.


I'm just saying that if this keeps up, you've got a legitimate concern. Otherwise, just chill out about it, there's too many variables. Lots more important stuff to worry about, given the situation.

To seriously answer your question, most people recommend 1 to 2 pounds a week. If you're exercising hard, eating really healthily, and only eating 1,400-1,500 calories a day... 2 pounds of fat a week is entirely possible and fairly normal. So, if you had lost 1.8 pounds, would you be worried? You're only talking about 1 more pound. With you only weighing once a week, it could VERY easily be water and waste weight. Just keep weighing regularly and see if it persists. I seriously doubt that it will.

Las week I was averaging about 113.6, and suddenly in one day I dropped to 112.6. The next day I was 111.4!!! I couldn't believe what was happening. but now I'm 113.0 again... the body will always weigh a little less or more... there are so many factors to it.

I'm pretty sure the reason I got dropped 2.2 pounds in a day in a half is because I was dehydrated... so there's an example.

I don't think you're losing too fast at all.

That's all I'm saying.

I guess my biggest concern was that I didn't want to be losing muscle, which is why I was concerned with the high number. That's why I asked specific questions about my protein intake.

Also my weigh-in method has proved to be pretty reliable for me. I know it's not 100% accurate, but for the last couple months I was working on maintaining my weight. I had pretty consistent results each week I weighed myself. This entire thing had nothing to do with tenths of a pound. I could care less about tenths of a pound. It was just a legitimate question I had because I was concerned I could possibly be losing muscle, not eating enough, or working out too much, and I wanted some insight other than my own.

I don't really have anyone in my life that I could talk to about things like this so I thought I could come on here and ask about my concerns. I didn't realize it was a "stupid" question.

It seems like I would have gotten a nicer response if I posted something like this:

"I'm trying to lose this weight as fast as possible. I'm 114 lbs. I've been doing the elliptical for 1 to 2 hours daily and trying to eat no more than 1000 calories daily. I don't do weights because I don't want to get bulky. I haven't lost any weight in the last couple of days. Should I decrease my calories or do more cardio??"

^^ now that I could see deserving some harsh truth...but my question??

Whatever though...it's no big deal.