Can I be losing weight too fast?
 

Hey ladies and gents!
I've been hiking 4 miles every other day, walking for an hour every day, and eating around 1200 cals a day. I've lost ten pounds in eight days... is that too fast? I'm obviously really pleased, but I keep reading that 1 to 2 pounds a week is normal. I definately prefer my rapid weight loss, but if it's unhealthy I'd like to know so I can make some changes.
Any advice would be lovely! Hope everyone's having a great day!

If you just started, it could be a LOT of water loss. I wouldnt be surprised if it slows down here soon. But, it also wouldn't hurt to maybe add in another 200 calories each day.

I agree that 1200 calories is far too little. If you went to your doctor he'd recommend along the lines of 1500 calories to somebody of your weight in order to lose weight. I think you should try and pace yourself out, in my experience this is the easiest way to stay on plan in the long run and keep off the weight. Well done so far though!

Fast weight loss for the first couple weeks is pretty normal, since you are getting rid of a lot of water. The more your starting weight is, the more you tend to lose at first, and then the weight loss slows down.

If it stays rapid, I would add some more calories in. 1-2 pounds per week at your body weight is a healthy weight loss. You don't want to lose muscle mass along with the fat.

Congratulations on your weight loss.

I would say that the first week or even 2 are not indicators of what the rest of your weight loss journey will look like.

It would be next to impossible to replicate those numbers week after week, even if you were to do the same exact things. Water weight that first week is usually to blame for the rapid loss.

If you are satisfied with what you are eating, the amounts and the types, your hunger level, or lack thereof, I would stick with what you are doing. If you do see those numbers again in the next week or so, then I would definitely up my calories - but I think that is highly unlikely.

As everyone else has said, it's not uncommon to lose a bunch of weight the first week or so and then to level off or even stop for a while. That's when a lot of people get discouraged and quit - they think that they've "stalled" because they did so well early on and now ... nothing.

But the other thing is, I also agree that 1200 is awfully low for someone your weight. I'm at 165 now (and 2" shorter than you) and losing quite well on 1500 cals (when I stick to that range). I'm afraid that your initial stall may come faster and be harder to break if you start at such a low calorie level .. especially with the amount of walking you're doing. When you start at 1200, you don't really have anywhere to drop down to, to kick start that next round of loss.

Just a few thoughts for you.

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I agree with what everyone else has said. With the amount you're working out 1200 calories seems like it might be a little low. The last thing you would want after putting so much effort into your exercise would be to metabolize your own muscle. Maybe add in some lean protein post workout to get yourself up to 1400 at least? You never want to be hungry either.

But I don't think you're losing "too" fast. You've probably dropped a ton of water and your calories are still high enough that you shouldn't be going into starvation. If you continue to lose weight at this pace (which I don't think you really need to worry about) you're creating a large calorie deficit in the right way - through exercise. Keep your calories above 12 and if you do manage to get 2.5 or 3lbs per week on average because you workout so much I wouldn't stress over it.

I think we're all agreed it's mainly water you've lost, unless you have managed to burn 35000 extra calories in eight days, which is what you would need to have done in order to lose 10 pounds in body fat.

Be careful with your exercising. There's nothing physically wrong with what you are doing, but sooner or later that volume of exercise will drop, and when it does your weight may suffer as a result.