How much weight...
 

Is it true that the average weight loss per week is only 2 lbs?!! Or, is there a good diet that will eleminate the fat faster, yet safe? I'm 182 lbs and 5'4" and struggling with my breathing when I lay down again. I had gone down to 174 but then I lost my job and, boom, on piled the weight in such a short time. I really need help!!

Is there a new goal group starting? I would love to join one. It seems that the companionship and common goal would be incredibly supportive.

I am averaging about 3.5 at this time..And I have had my check up and all is well with me. I really dont know if there is a certain weight per week to lose healthy. I am doing everything I am supposed to be doing and getting these results.

Of course only your doctor can tell you was is healthy for you, but I've always gone with 1% of body weight per week.

In reality, though, few people get a nice, even loss that can be tracked so smoothly. You'll probably find that some weeks you can lose quite a lot of weight and some weeks none, even though you are doing the same thing all of the time.

I would be thrilled to lose 2 lbs. a week! I usually lose half a pound per week (if I'm lucky). I've lost weight quickly before on low calorie diets and promptly gained it all back.

This time I'm going for slow but sure. If you "train" you body to survive on a very low calorie diet then your fat cells will just fill up again as soon as you eat "normally".

I know it's hard to be patient when you want to see quick results but I think slow but sure is the way to go if you really want to keep the pounds off for good. This is just my opinion, but it's what works for me. :)

I can only wish I lost an average of 2 lbs a week! I average out to about 1/2 - 1 lb a week. At first it was frustrating but I have came to accept this is the way my body works. Losing slow and steady has been shown to keep the weight off.

Good luck!

For most people, a healthy range of weight loss is 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. For those who lose more than that per week-it is usually because it is in the first week or two of their plan-or because someone is starting out with a very large amount of weight to lose-and they will generally have quicker results AT FIRST. It WILL slow down.

So, someone who starts out at 300 pounds may lose 3-5 pounds a week at first, but then it will slow down after a few weeks. Someone who starts out at say, 160, may only lose 1/2 or so a week-because they are much smaller, and much closer already to their goal weight.

At your current weight, a healthy weight loss for you would be at the 2 pounds per week mark or lower.

Thank you so much for your responses. Ahhh, discouragement, I know thee well. Sounds like I was being optomistic!! Okay, well, I guess the bikini won't come until next summer!! LOL

When I first started, I lost an average of 8-10 pounds per month. Then it slowed and during a good portion of my weight loss journey, I was losing about 1-2 pounds per week. Now I'm lucky to lose 1-2 pounds per month.

I have lost on average, a little over a pound a week. But I don't lose everyweek. In fact, for the first 5 weeks I was working on my new lifestyle I saw no change at all. Some weeks I might lose 2-3 pounds, others I lose nothing. I am starting to get used to it now, so don't panic if the scale doesn't change.

I would be happy with a good consistent 1.5 lb. a week. I will have a week once in a blue moon when I will lose 2 lbs, but most weeks I go nowhere. This on about 900 calories a day. It's getting tough to stick to it, believe me.

For the first 6 months , I lost about 2lbs. a week. Now, I only lose 3-4 lbs. a month. Good luck on your journey and know that some weeks the weight loss will stall and other weeks you might lose more than or less than that 2 lbs.

900 calories a day isn't enough for you. Try upping the cals to 1200 and you should lose weight.

I totally agree. 900 calories a day is starvation for someone 120 or 130 pounds, especially so in someone who weighs more than that!

I agree that you should be eating more along the lines of 1200-1400 a day-and upping the exercise to lose weight-NOT dropping the calories so low. Your body is now conserving every calorie you give it, because it knows it isn't getting enough to eat.

I think the main reason I can never stick with a diet is if I don't lose like 3-4 poubnds every week I feel like it's not working. :-(

The key is not to go on a diet. Do small things-such as fitting in more activity, and making better eating choices-and do it for life. A diet has a beginning and an end, and what is the point of losing 10 or 20 or 30 pounds, if you are just going to be back at that weight next year when you gain it back from "stopping" the diet?
Making lifestyle changes is the only way to go. It may be discouraging-but I would rather lose 1 pound a MONTH and keep it off for life, then to lose 5 in a week and have them back next month.

That's why you need to come to 3fc and read as often as you can folks!
1 1/2 or 2 lbs a week is awesome! Come here and read often to remember that and get the well deserved pat on the back you'll get for achieving it.

I agree 900 calories is not enough; all you will do is crank down your metabolism and not lose any more than you would if you hate a more reasonable amount of food. And my weight loss fluctuates too... occasionally I will lose up to 3 pounds per week... now it has been over a week since I have lost anything at all. I really hope another pound is gone this morning!! About the time I start thinking it probably won't be, there goes one LOL. But I am sticking with a healthful "livable" plan even though it is tempting to "starve myself" to try to get the weight off faster!!

Unfortunately the real solution is keep eating right and keep on moving that butt! :bike:

I absolutely agree! The reason many of us get stuck losing weight over and over is we don't learn how to eat differently.
The fact is, it's our LIFESTYLE (that's diet PLUS exercise or lack thereof) which made most of us obese. Temporarily changing our diet with the goal of returning to our lifestyle when we reach our desired weight is simply a recipe for failure. Only PERMANENT lifestyle changes will result in PERMANENT weight loss. ;)
I shed 50 pounds in 5 months. LOTS in the beginning and weeks here or there with no loss at all. Looking back, however, I averaged 4 pounds per week and I've kept it off for over 2 years precisely BECAUSE I completely changed my lifestyle. :carrot:
Similar success can be yours ONLY if you are willing to make permanent changes in your diet and exercise regimens. Don't focus so much on the scale - and put LOTS of energy into changing yourself from the inside out. You'll be happier AND skinnier.
:D ;)

That's a nice thought, but it doesn't do much for the frustration those of us who were out for coffee when they passed out the patience suffer.

Awww I hear what you're saying, sweetie. You know all the stuff about "healthy lifestyle" and "changing habits forever" and "slow and steady" and "don't rely on the scale" and all that. And for the big picture, it makes sense. Yep.

But every now and then, wouldn't it be nice to get a little bonus drop? I mean, if you work day in and day out at minimum wage, you know you're going to collect that same check... week in and week out. But every now and then, it's nice for the boss to slip in a little bonus, just to say, "Yeah, we recognize and appreciate all your hard work and effort". Who wouldn't like that?

It would be nice if the Boss (your body) gave you a little incentive bonus every now and then ("You've done well this week, so here ya go, 5 pound drop! Wheeee!"). The Boss is certainly quick enough to deal out punishment when you're not performing up to standard ("You ate a cookie -- 5 pound gain as of tomorrow -- and it'll take you two weeks pennance to work it off, Missy!").

My Boss is such a hard taskmaster I didn't even get a signing on bonus (you know, the big drop so many folks get when they start out :lol:). But I'll show her, you bet I will!

Lena I love your post!!!!!!!

Yeah.

The healthy thing is especially important because in the year after the wedding we hope to be starting a family. Yeah there goes what's left of the figure, heh, but I just want to be an ok size for the wedding pictures... you know?

Pregnancy doesn't have to totally destroy your figure forever. I didn't start dancing professionally until right after I had my second child. I am currently still doing so while expecting my third-and teaching dance class as well.

Yes, there are some changes that happen-I have a few stretch marks and the like, but I exercise and keep a decent shape. I actually got bigger in the chest area after having kids (froma C before kids, to a D/DD after I was done nursing) so there have actually been a couple of figure improvements to counter act the flaws having kids can give you. :devil:

Pregnancy will only destroy your figure if you use it as an excuse to eat mountains of whatever you want, and to sit on your behind. I exercise for a few hours a week besides the dancing-and I am currently 5 1/2 months pregnant. I always have some to lose after I have a child, but I need to watch what I eat and exercise regularly regardless.


I am not saying that I don't get impatient now and then wanting to lose weight quicker...but I am not out to get skinny for a class reunion or other event. My goal is to be fitter and healthier for the rest of my life. You don't get quite as discouraged when you haven't set a "date" for wanting to be a certain weight. (I want to lose 20 pounds before our cruise/my wedding/class reunion/etc.)

LOL Lena, your post gave me the first laugh I've had all day. Thank you! What you said was true: It would be so nice to have the "boss" slip a little incentive in every now and again. :)

I know when my husband and I had started on the insulin resistance diabetes diet last year, I was dropping weight SUPER fast...averaging a pound a day, sometimes even more. I could still kick myself for quitting. Oh well, this is a new year and a new start to make things go for the better - permanently.

Two pounds a week might not sound like a lot now, but it really is. I'm sorry that it's not coming off faster but I think the struggle will make the final results even more meaningful and you'll be even more satisfied, in the long run.