Is it unhealthy to lose 10lbs in 5 days?

  • Or is that okay for somebody my size??
  • Yes, it's unhealthy to lose 10 lbs in 5 days, and you also won't be able to keep it off. People who lose weight slowly and surely will be better able to keep it off. It's best to lose about 2 lbs per week. Of course, people on The Biggest Loser sometimes lose 20 lbs (or more) in 2 weeks, but they're being monitored by a doctor.

    I think the heavier you are, the faster the weight can come off, just because you're reducing calories and exercising and therefore it comes off faster. But everyone is different, and I'd talk to your doctor about what is best for you. Some people start out just reducing their caloric intake and eating healthier, with moderate exercise, and then step up the exercise.
  • I actually think its to be expected at your weight.I would not worry about it but expect it to slow down.years ago I lost 12 lbs in 2 weeks on WW, and at the time I was only 143 lbs.And that was following diet exactly, not drasticly cutting calories or overexercising.
  • No I don't think it's unhealthy. You are just starting out, right? It's pretty normal to see a much bigger loss the first week or two and then for it to drop off to a lower number every week. I think it's mostly due to water weight. As long as your diet is healthy and you're not doing a drastic calorie cut you should be fine!
  • You lose a lot when you're just starting out -- especially when you're over 300. A lot of that is water weight, most likely. Generally after the first few weeks, people feel it's 'safe' to lose about 1% of your weight a week (which is why many people are in the .5 - 2 pounds / week category).

    Of course, this is all presuming you aren't trying to starve yourself, aren't really sick, and have just started losing weight!
  • My thoughts.

    Is it unhealthy to loose 10 pounds in 5 days...well to me it depends. Some people might not agree, but when you are starting out on your weight loss journey, and I'm speaking in very general terms, you do lose weight faster than when you are smaller.

    When I first started my weight loss journey in June of 2008, I did a juice feast where all I drank was juice that I made. I tried to get my daily calorie intake and then some. I did this for 40 days and lost 30 pounds. Now if you break it down I probably lost around 20 actual poundage and the rest of that is water weight and I did workout during that time, well as much as a 300+ woman can! Now that is fast weight loss, but interestingly when I couldn't get used to the green juices (ew) I stopped drinking enough and had to stop the feast. My weight loss stalled completely right before I stopped. I decided I was done detoxing myself and moved into my solid food diet plans. Now did I gain back the weight? No...I gained back 8 pounds because I was eating solid food again and then I lost that and then some. The reason why? Because I didn't go back to my old habits. After my experience, which was a personal zen thing for me, I stopped eating cheese, most dairy, sugary things, and a lot of carbs. Meaning I wasn't eating pizza or Baja Fresh every other night lol.

    I also should mention that other people that did this particular feast with me, or while I did mine, did not have as much success than I did. The reasons were simple. A lot of them were way smaller than me. One woman drank a lot more juice than me, her starting weight was around 250 pounds and she was loosing around 2-3 pounds per week after her water weight fell off.

    I guess my point is that it does depend on the person. I've known many people who have lost weight slowly and have gained it back. The reason why? Because they didn't do a lifestyle change. They dieted and then went right back to where they started. Now I loose my weight in chunks...one month I'll loose 10 or 13 pounds. Then I'll loose 2 the next. It goes like that with me. That is how my body works. Right now I freak out if I gain like 3 pounds haha...i struggle with new issues than I did when I started.

    I think sunflowergirl has a good point about just making changes like reducing calorie intake and talking to a doctor about your weight loss plans. I think that is a good step and personally while my doctor thought my weight loss was fast she thought, based on my health, that it wasn't unhealthy for me because of my starting point and where I am at now.
  • Yeah - I agree with what a few other ladies have said. I lost like...8lbs my first week. It was probably mostly water weight. But the first two or three weeks you will probably loss a lot then get to a steady normal pace.
  • You and I are the same heighth and your starting weight is close to mine. I lost 20.5 lbs the first two weeks of going back on Atkins, more the first week than the second. There's nothing wrong with losing 10 lbs your first week ~ in fact it's great! (A lot of it was water you know.) Just don't get disappointed and quit when it doesn't continue, because it won't.

    If you stay 100% on plan, you will lose very quickly at first then it will slow down. I lost 100 lbs my first six months then hit a plateau, which I am still on... my body needs time to catch up. But it will get with the program again soon... I'm just keeping on keeping on for the moment. Best of luck to you. You can do it!!
  • Just an FYI, the way the biggest Loser episodes are filmed it looks like people lose tremendous amounts of weight in a week. The reality is that each week episode is a compilation of several weeks. An entire season is filmed over 6-8 months and people are losing no more than an average of 2 lbs a week.

    Luv,
    Ratkity
  • I think I lost 7 pounds my first week. I would say it is perfectly fine. It will level off. As long as you are doing in a healthy manner, no problem at all. Congrats by the way.
  • Thank you everybody! I feel better now.
    I heard that heavier people lose more faster but I wasn't sure if 10lbs was too much. I've tried diets and stuff before but I've never lost that much so soon!
    Thanks again!
  • actually rat, i worked on the biggest loser. it tapes for 17 weeks. this show is HORRIBLE for success rates. they are not learning ways to cope with life and how to eat when they are home. of COURSE we could lose weight if we got paid to live on a ranch with only a gym to entertain ourselves. they work out 6-8 hours a day and have thier meals mostly prepared. you also have to remember there are another 20 people runing around behind the cameras that also have to be fed.
  • As someone at your weight I would think that 10 lbs in 5 days isn't a bad thing as long as it's done healthy.....I assume you changed the way you were eating to a healthier way of eating and have started exercising. You first weigh in will most likely be a good number.

    Now if you were starving yourself(not eating) or something like that, then ya I would say no as you will put it right back on.
  • If it's your first week of weight loss it's to be expected. If not, however, something isn't quite right.