I know this is odd, but is anyone else worried about losing weight too fast? I keep hearing people tell me that it is not good to lose weight too fast because there is a higher chance of rebound after the weight is gone. I've also heard that losing a lot of weight too fast causes problems with loose skin after the weight is gone.

I am 20 years old, and I've been losing weight a little faster than recommended ( I believe doctors recommend losing .5-2lbs. a week).

So my question is, so you think it's unhealthy to lose weight too fast?

How much are you losing a week and how long have you been losing weight?

I was worried about it at first when I was losing 3 - 4lbs a week when I first started dieting, but it slowed down on its own. I didn't add any extra calories because I was eating enough, but the weight was still flying off. Like I said it's slowed down now. If you feel like you're losing too much make sure you're eating enough calories. If you feel tired or weak add in some more foods.

The only damage I can think of from losing it too fast is that it could cause you to lose muscle mass or water.

Aside from wondering just how much you are losing and how fast it's been, my major question is what have you been doing?

Personally, I think the biggest issue is sustainability and if you are losing weight quickly by leading a lifestyle that you won't be able to maintain long term, then that's what I think set you up to potentially rebound. But if you are leading a healthy lifestyle with reasonable amounts of activity that you can maintain and a good diet of a moderate amount of nutritional foods that leave you full and satisfied, then I would not worry about the speed. You are young, you may just have a fast metabolism that is reacting very positively to the good changes you are making.

Plus numbers like that are always averages at best, not to mention that when you start higher, it's ok to lose larger amounts and it's still a reasonable percentage of body weight that you are losing.

Hello ubercast,
I've heard different opinions on this matter. Personally I am on the camp that prefers to loose weight slowly. In the past I've noticed that if I loose weigh slowly (between 1/2 to 2 pounds per week), it has taken longer to come back, even after going back to my old routines (not keeping track of calories, not exercising, etc.)
I am 45 years old and have matured enougt to realize now that I needed to change my whole way of looking at weight loss. It might sound like a cliche, but I am more concerned about feeling good and healthy more that just how I look on the outside.
I've lost a total of 30+ pounds in approximately 9 months. At the beggining I was loosing 1 pound per week, after 3 months, that average went down to 1/2 per week. Now that I'm almost reaching my final goal, I can expect to loose 2 or 3 pounds per month.
To go back to your question, I suppose that the issue is more complicated than that. What most people experience is that the more weight you have to loose the more accelarated the process is going to be. It will gradually slow down even if you continue ingesting and burning the same amount of calories on a daily basis.
My guess is that your body will let you know what feels good to you since we are all different. I am sure that age, gender, genetics all play a role on how our bodies maintain or loose weight.
Best of lucks in your weight loss journey!!!

Caribbeangirl02

Right now I am averaging about 14 pounds a month, and I really happy about that. i am going back to college soon and I want to try to take off as much weight as I can, but my major goal is to try and lead a healthier life style.

I really appreciate the information you give me. It is something that I really have to think about. I just want to go about this the right way. I see so many people my age starve themselves, or take weird pills that make them sick.

One of the first weeks I was 100% on plan, I lost something like 7 lbs. I know from past experience that early on the pounds come of rather quickly especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. I knew that it likely wouldn't continue and sure enough...about 4 weeks in, my weight loss has dropped off to an average of 1.25 lbs a week. I am sure I could lose a little more each week if I dropped my calories but I like the level I am at food wise. I eat 1989 calories a day (sometimes a fuzzy more, sometimes a fuzzy less) and try to be fairly active however, I do not "exercise" yet.

I think if your eating plan gives you adequate nutrition (a tracker like Fit Day calculates all of that for you) and feel really satisfied with the amount of food you can eat (not ever getting starving, eat your face hungry) and are able to lose weight in rates higher than 1-2 lbs a week...why not? The trick really isn't in the weight loss, it is in the mind set of permanently changing your poor eating habits AND in the maintenance once you have gotten to your goal weight.

I've lost probably 350 lbs over the past 20 years but could never keep it off as I was constantly dieting. I'd diet to lose weight and either quit as I got frustrated or go back to my old eating patterns and gain it all back, plus 15-20 lbs more.

One benefit of losing slowly, like my 1.25 lbs a week is, I get to practice this lifestyle over a longer period of time, practice having a healthy safe relationship with food. If I lost 20 lbs a month, the weight would be off already (I started Dec 26) but I wouldn't have had the time to cement the changes I've made.

Also, losing weight is far easier when you are 20 vs. 42. Your metabolism is likely faster, you have more muscle mass than you will when you are older.

It depends, really. I'd rather lose slowly that fast, because what it takes to lose weight quickly is not something I can sustain for the rest of my life and there is no purpose in losing weit just to gain it back be use I don't want to live on two hours of exercise and 1200 calories a day! So if you are adopting an extreme eating pattern or crazy exercise routine to lose like that, then I'd advise you against it. If it is something more reasonable and your body is dropping weight like crazy, consider yourself fortunate and keep at it forever

If you're losing in a healthy manner, I don't believe that there is such a thing as losing too quickly. Be glad that your body cooperates and wants to let go of the fat and celebrate your commitment! And, just because you lose quickly doesn't mean that you're not learning healthy habits on the way and that you'll gain your weight back. With the amounts we have to lose over here in the 100lb club, it will still take at least a few months to reach goal. That is more than enough time to learn what you need to know. Heck. You could be like me. I lost 35 pounds. It took me 6 months to do so. I then maintained for over 2 years only to gain it back. So....I lost slowly but it didn't guarantee anything, did it? And, this whole thing about the skin....well, you'll either have a lot of loose skin or you won't. The rate you lose is not the determining factor for that. But, in my book, I'd rather be thinner and camouflage the loose skin than try to camouflage the fat!

I think the rebound thing you are referring to happens when a rapid weight loss is achieved through some sort of non-sustainable ultra low calorie type of fast. This is because starvation mode usually leads to a binging.

The recommended weight loss of 1 - 2 lbs per week does not hold true for the morbidly obese. A 1 - 2% of body weight is what is *suggested* as a *healthy* weight and when you weigh more, that will BE more than 1 - 2 lbs per week.

As far as losing slower is better for keeping it off longer - well I believe that is FALSE. You will keep off the weight as long as you keep on working at it. You will keep off the weight as long as you keep exercising and eating well, the second you STOP doing those things, the weight will come back - regardless of how fast or how slow you took the weight off. So the rate at which you lose weight has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you'll regain the weight. You keep to the good behaviors the weight stays off. Go back to your old ways, the ways that made you overweight in the first place - you'll gain it back.

I worried about fast weight rate loss too. I posted a thread asking this very question in maintanence. And based on my body and more experience, I know the rate of loss is not indicative for successful maintanence. I have been very focused to not have a self induced plateau with my calorie counts and food choices. and too lose the weight as quickly as possible while developing sustaining habits.

Be grateful if it comes off more quickly than suggested. Others must struggle with a much slower rate of loss. But I would not purposefully ****** my speed loss. My health is too important.

No, I'm gonna have loose skin regardless. fast loss motivates me (I don't get a lot of motivation that way though).

I think people feel the longer the more you will be trained to eat right. And so if it happens fast you'll go yippee and binge and forget all that work you just did.

I also think that losing a lot of weight fast gaining it fast losing it fast is really hard on your body and I think it's recommended it's better to just stay fat than to do that to your body as it causes so much strain on the heart and you could die.

I also think... that the body does have a memory. If you stay at a certain weight and maintain your body is more forgiving of binging and etc. It feels comfortable and sticks to it. So the longer you stay at a certain weight the less your body remembers it use to be 300 and gain it all back to get back to where it was comfy. I probably didn't word that right

This is what I am most worried about. I know there are certain things about my body that are changing, like the amount of food I'm able to eat is significantly than before I started my diet, but I still have those thoughts that pop into my head about eating all the horrible junk I use to eat before. I'm hoping that my craving for sweets and junk food will continue to decrease as I continue with my diet. This is a life choice that I want to maintain forever.

I hope I am strong enough to stay on the wagon. I am so scared of falling off, and then getting run over by horse who is pulling it.