I weigh 161 pounds, how much to lose each week?

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3/22/10 12:06 P

2lbs a week is not a "normal weight loss", it's a recommended maximum for someone 200 pounds or under.

The average "guideline" is 1%, so at 160 pound that would be a maximum of 1.6 pound a week.

However, for most people a loss of 2-4 pounds month (1/2-1 a week) is more likely AND sustainable, it's definitely NOT lazy!

Slow and steady wins the race, even if that means 1/4 pound a week!

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3/22/10 11:14 A

2 lbs a week is a normal weight loss. If you want to lose more you have to up the exercise! If your only burning 600 cal a week you should increase the workout so you burn more cal a day. If you just can't get to working out then just accept the weight loss you get even if it is slow... Thats up to you how you choose to lose it as long as you stick with it! If you're too tired beginning a workout have a snack and water before you go so you have some fuel to run on! good luck

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3/22/10 9:32 A

At your current weight, 1 lb. a week is probably most do-able. Trying to lose more requires so much more deprivation. Losing slowly keeps it off better, too.

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3/22/10 8:28 A

i'm guessing you're about 5'5.5". you might be able to pull off about one pound for a bit, but you'll probably need to be moving down to about half a pound a week pretty soon, especially if you are active. it doesn't mean you're lazy to lose slowly. it means you are building up the skills so that you're not going to gain it all back. plus, a 2lb loss per week means that you eat 1000 cals less a day than you burn. most people in healthy weight ranges can't get enough of what they need to support that sort of a deficit. ie they only burn 2000, tops, which means 1000 cals less a day means they have no fuel for their bodies and can't get in all the nutrients they need. larger people can support that kind of weight because hauling around extra weight burns more calories [and as they lose, their needs go down, thus decreasing their deficit as they lose]. as you get smaller and smaller you can support less and less loss per week. there just isn't room in the numbers.
i mean, look at the biggest loser. the women [mostly smaller than the men] lose less per week. and especially in the first few seasons, they lost a lot less. why? because they were smaller. a 200lb woman can't drop the same kind of weight that a 400lb man can in the same time.

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3/22/10 7:40 A

While in terms of a broad guideline, 2lbs is considered an upper limit, for someone who has already lost a bunch and is nearing a healthy weight, it's not generally realistic to continue to expect that rate of loss. It definitely sounds like switching up your goals and eating a couple hundred more calories per day is probably a good thing.

Losing a couple pounds per month is not lazy. Maintaining weight after a loss isn't lazy (even if it's higher than your initial goal). The only thing that's lazy is abandoning your healthy habits and gaining weight back :)

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3/22/10 4:36 A

I started at 140 (which was inside my healthy range anyway, so I realize these are vanity pounds) and I've lost about 1 lbs a week. I always set my goal so that it would be pretty easy and then ate in the bottom half of my range to beat my goal pace. :) (I think I was supposed to lose something like 1/2 lb a week.) I definitely think you should eat more... what you're describing sounds like your body isn't getting enough calories. You don't have much to lose at all, so 2 lbs will end up being a lot for you right now. I think maybe you should adjust your goals and actually eat at the top of your new range for one week, kind of to refuel, and you'll still be totally on track. Remember to get lots of protein and enough fats! I usually ended up eating 1400-1700 calories each day, and this lets me feel full and not deprived. (My plan recently adjusted so that I'm eating even more!)

Once you start feeling more energetic, what if you upped your cardio each week? This could be a good way to get to eat more and not feel deprived, and also set yourself up well for a healthy maintenance lifestyle. Right now I burn about 1000-1200 calories a week. It's challenging but very doable! Higher-intensity workouts burn the same calories much faster. I understand how that doesn't sound great if you already feel tired, though.

Congrats on your amazing progress so far, and good luck on the home stretch.

Edited by: YIYEHTOV at: 3/22/2010 (04:43)

Posts: 17
3/21/10 11:55 P

I am in almost the exact same shape and do Weight Watchers and they recommend 0.5 - 2 lbs per week which is a good range.. some weeks it is only 0.5 and some weeks it is 2 - 3..

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3/21/10 11:45 P

Going at your own body's pace is the best way to do it. And in my opinion, slower weight loss is both healthier and more permanent -- you learn better habits permanently, rather than getting to a certain goal and then eating everything in sight.

Concentrate on fueling your body in the most nutritious way possible, get your exercise goals into the system so that SparkPeople can tell you a correct calorie range. If you need to, eat at the high end of that range. No worries.

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3/21/10 11:42 P

Hi!
I am currently 161 pounds, down from 180. I always set my sights on losing 2 pounds a week, I can get really impatient. The thing is I get hungry and feel deprived, I have been switching my diet around lately to more veggies so I can eat more. I often feel very tired which makes it hard for me to get get my workouts in. When I do workout I will be 5 minutes into it and feel so weak.
I need to get down to 148 to be in the healthy weight range. How much weight would you suggest to lose each week? I am okay with anything, as long as I am losing?
Is it easier and more successful for you to lose weight slower or do you feel better losing it quick? I am feeling really discouraged and worn down.
Right now I burn about 600-700 calories per week and am supposed to eat no more than 1550.
Please please give me some suggestions and/or stories.
Would it be okay and not to lazy to just lose 2-3 pounds per month...