[UrthWurm]

Okay, so now I'm just confused. I had previously believed that 1-2 lbs a week was a healthy amount to lose at. Lately though I've seen people mentioning that a loss of 1-2 lbs per month is recommended! I also found a few resources online that state a healthy loss is 1-2 lbs a month. Which is accurate? Is it simply a difference of opinion, or a known health fact that I just overlooked? Are my current goals unhealthy? I'd appreciate any contributions to my lack of knowledge.

[CountingDown]

Both are healthy. Yes, it can be confusing.

Research is showing that losing slower is more sustainable and those that lose slowly have a greater chance of keeping the weight off. True lifestyle changes sometimes lead to slower weight loss. Also, many overweight folk have health conditions that make weight loss slower (PCOS, thyroid conditions, medications, etc.).

However, I have seen many experts say that a 1% loss per week is acceptable and healthy.

And, many of us found that the scale can be fickle. Even POP weeks can result in no loss or even a gain. Thus, it behooves all of us to remember that ANY loss is a healthy loss. Many, many of our very successful 3FC members lose at the 1-2 lbs. per month rate. Others lose faster.

Personally, I averaged 1.72 lbs. per week on my weightloss journey - faster in the beginning and much, much slower at the end.

[TMG2008]

I think 1-2 lbs a week is still a healthy amount of weight to lose. However for most people, it takes a lot of calorie restriction and added exercise to lose that 1-2 lbs a week. So I think the suggestion of losing the weight more slowly is related to making smaller changes that you can stick with so that you are not only able to lose the weight but also maintain that weight loss for an extended period of time. The fact is that the slower you lose the weight the better chance you have of maintaining the weight loss because the changes you made to lose the weight were probably not as drastic.

For many people, losing weight isn't the hardest part, it's maintaining. I know this is definitely true for me. I've lost weight many times in the past and then go slowly back to my old habits and the weight creeps back on. I have been working toward more slow weight loss for the last 3 years and have been able to lose and maintain during that entire time.