Losing too much weight too fast?

[Tamra]

Hi,

I was just wondering. I keep reading about the many people who are losing about 20 lbs. in a month. This averages to 5 lbs. a week. To those of you who are losing this amount, do you have much to lose? I'm trying to ask this delicately...I do not wish to offend anyone! I lost 5 lbs. the first week (YIPPEE!!). My total to lose is 40 pounds (now 35 ). I guess what I'm trying to ask is: Is it safe to lose this weight so fast? Will it stay off? Please, please don't feel offended by my questions. I really appreciate everyone's help and advice.

Thanks, Tammy

[jennylynn]

I lost 20 fast too then it slowed down to about 2 or 3 pounds a week. I once read that you can lose 2 to 2 1/2 pounds a week and not have too much extra skin. I had about 40 to 45 to lose and I am at 36. 178/142/135.

[AG]

Hi Tammy,

No offense taken! As I am sure you already know, the more weight a person has to lose the faster he or she can lose it, especially initially. It's a game of numbers. To lose a pound of fat a person has to take in 3,500 calories less than she burns in a given time period.

The more a person weighs the more calories she uses just to maintain. Fo instance at my current weight of 276, using a very conservative 10 calories per pound I need 2,760 calories daily to maintain my weight. If I reduce my intake to 1,600 caloires I still use 1,160 more than I consumed (2,760 - 1,600 = 1,160) If I do that every day for a week I will have a calorie deficit of 7 X 1,160 = 8,120 and will lose 2+ pounds. (8,120 - 3,500 - 3,500 = 1,120)

People who have more muscle mass (like men) burn more calories even just to maintain themselves AND - this is really important for us - people who exercise bump up their metabolism so that they also burn more calories, even for several hours after exercising.

I am not quite sure how many calories to use per pound for maintanence I have looked at several different web sites and have seen numbers ranging from 10 -15. (at 15 calories I would need 4,140 calories daily to maintain ) I know it depends upon how fast your metabolism is and other factors. Also, for people who are very overweight (like me) or who have a high percentage of body fat (me again) the number of calories to maintain goes down because we may not be burning them as efficiently.

As you can tell I am not an expert which is why I set my goals using 10 calories per pound with a goal of losing 10 pounds per month. So far I have exceeded by goal at 12 pounds a month but I have a lot to lose and am determined to develop some good habits on this journey. In two months I have lost 26.5 pounds.

Also, as you probably know, many people (most?) initially lose water weight. Because I have been consuming so much water (up to 200 ounces daily) I weighed myself more often than usual last week (I usually weigh just once a week) and found that my weight could fluctuate by 3 - 5 pounds in a DAY!!!

I have a really accurate digital scale so I am confident of the readings. I probably shouldn't tell you (and the rest of the universe) this but since I've been drinking more water than ever before in my life I even weighed myself, then went, then weighed myself again AND I LOST A POUND!!! Don't tell anyone! LOL

At between 1200 - 1600 calories daily I am obviously not losing and gaining fat - it's water coming and going. SWISH SWISH

Also, people retain and lose water in relation to humidity, exertion level, foods consumed - particularly high sodium content foods - and for women, our cycles. So, it really depends upon a lot of factors.

And, no I don't think it is possible to maintain an accelerated weight loss indefinately because eventually anyone will have a close margin between the number needed to maintain and a reasonable reduced daily calorie total. For instance when I get to 170 with a goal of say 160 there won't be a huge difference between the calories needed to maintain my weight and a safe lower daily amount to keep reducing. (So, I'll have to grow several inches in height).

Aren't you sorry you asked? This is probably way more than you wanted to know.

Best,

Abbi

[This message has been edited by AG (edited July 17, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by AG (edited July 17, 2001).]

[NettaV]

thanks for all the info Abbi, you have done your research you get an A+ LOL I wont tell about that excess pound of water if you don't tell anyone about mine.. Don't you feel like wearing a diaper some days?

[Tamra]

Thanks, you all, for answering. And Abbi, WOW! You really know your stuff. Thanks so much for all of the information. Did you pull that out from memory or were you looking it up in a book? LOL I don't know if I could ever remember all that. I think I will print out your post, just so I can learn.

Thanks again for helping me out. I really appreciate your responses.

Tammy

[Tamra]

P.S. CONGRATULATIONS! Abbi on losing 26.5 pounds. By the way, I also have a digital scale and have done the very thing you have done, (weighing myself before and after a trip to the bathroom) but I never lost a full pound! Guess I better drink more water....UGH! Is that possible?

[sbcalifornia]

ABBI: that was one of the best written and most concise explanations I've ever read! I thought it so good that I copied it to my Notepad and printed it out. Thanks so very much for putting this down so that we could "digest" it.
Colleen

[maddy29]

Mekinism:

By the way, this is a support forum!

[dontwanttobefat]

hey thanks for the info on calorie intake and congrats to all of your successes!!!I now weigh 140 does that mean i can only have 1400 calories to maintain and only 900 a day to continue to loose?? please help i need to loose 10 to 15 more lbs??
As far as Mekinism: I saw your comments in a previous post, im not so sure now, if u are being a realist or just someone who didnt succed in keeping the weight off after phen?? This maybe a support forum but who the heck wants to go through the process to loose weight and then gain it back!!Really "M" are u bitter or just trying to inform us all???Lets be honest!!!

[AG]

Hi Dontwanttobefat,

I have a very good understanding of the theory and calculations but I am not very clear about what number should be used as the basic rate.

The range seems to be from 10 -15, and is related both to your currrent weight and your level of fitness.

10 is VERY conservative, and is at the bottom of the ranges I have seen. I use 10 because I am quite overweight and still relatively sedentary. (I have begun to incorportate exercise, but not enough to bump up my metabolism). Also overweight people tend to burn calories less efficiently.

For you at 140 pounds I would assume that your basic rate is higher, especially if you are active and have good muscle tone. If it wasn't for the board police I would look for and give you a web site where you could look at the ranges. I used the google search engine to look for sites about burning calories. (I hope this is enough of a start).

In all likelyhod your rate is probably closer to 15. I think it is unlikely that your rate is as low as 10.

15 = 2100

14 = 1960

13 = 1820

12 = 1680

Maybe someone else who knows more about this part will post.

Best,

Abbi

To everyone:

Thank you for your very kind words. You are making me blush!

Abbi

[Tamra]

Abbi,

WOW! (again!)

[dontwanttobefat]

Hi AG

Thanks for getting back to me with the calculations and all this will really help especially when it comes to maintaining my desired weight. Im am so glad i can have more than 1400 hundred calories a day i could do it for awhile then probaly crash LOL. But really this is good information on how to control what we take into our systems so we dont put back on the weight, knowledge is good but control is the key. Thankyou again i will really use this info in my daily life,
Donna

[NettaV]

=M=

If you want to try it again and you know what you should have done differently maybe you should give it a try.

losing weight is hard and keeping it off is harder. Does your wife understand how you feel and that it's something that you want to do? I don't mean to get personal I am just curious.

You can keep your weight off after you go off phen as long as you continue to do the same things you did when you were on. There is no question it is harder, it is hard to stay motivated to do something when you know that you won't see the results for weeks.

good luck to you on losing they weight you lost before, maybe it will be easier for you the second time around.

I don't think any one here considers it a wonder drug and we all know that you can't take it forever that is why you build up a tolerence and it stops working the same way so people won't get addicted to it. Just a couple of thoughts for ya to consider before you decide you are definately aren't going back on phen.

best of luck
Netta