losing weight too fast?

jamelden · 10-22-2009, 02:03 PM

I searched the forum for this question and didn't find anything. I'm wondering if I'm losing weight too fast, or if I shouldn't worry, because it could be just water... I'm small (4'11") and last weekend weighed 106.5 lbs. I weigh myself at the same time every morning. I've been calorie restricting by 500 cals, counting cals, keeping my macros at 30-40-30 using calorie king. This is about 1200-1300 cals a day, while exercising to burn about 300 cals. I've been losing weight rapidly according to the scale. I am now at 102.5 just four days later. I'm assuming this is water -- am I correct? I'm not doing low carb -- I eat a complex carb (vegetables) at every meal and whole grains at every meal except dinner (5-6 meals a day). I'm worried I am doing this too fast, and it will back fire in the future. My clothes are a little looser. I do not seem to have lower energy levels during the day. I eat every few hours, making sure I have a protein at every meal. When I go to bed at night I'm a little hungry, but not raging hungry -- it's a little uncomfortable, but I figure it's because I'm at a deficit, and this is normal. I drink 1/2 cup of warm milk before going to sleep. Should I be worried or continue on this path? 4 pounds seems like a lot to lose in a short period of time because of my small frame.

missjane · 10-22-2009, 02:06 PM

A 3500 calorie deficit will yield a weight loss of one pound. So, if you are on a 500-calorie a day deficit, that is a pound a week. It's normal to drop some water weight when first beginning to restrict. In order to actually lose 4 lbs of body mass, you would need to have restricted 14,000 calories within the week.

jamelden · 10-22-2009, 04:10 PM

Thanks for the quick response, Miss Jane! I had thought so, but had thought you only get that much water weight when you go low carb. Then I had thought maybe I was underestimating what my maintainance amount should be. I'm pretty sure I have it right though (about 1500).

NACHO · 10-22-2009, 11:44 PM

Tomorrow you may gain a pound and then you'll post that you're on a diet and gaining weight!

More important than what the scale says is how you feel. Your body has built in mechanisms to make sure you're not starving yourself. When you're extremely hungry and dreaming about food then it is a good sign you need to eat.

jamelden · 10-23-2009, 08:43 AM

You're right! lol. I ate more yesterday because I did strength training, and I didn't feel hungry at the end of day, and today I "gained" a half pound. I know that you don't really know how much your lean body mass is without doing a body fat measurement (even my Tanita scale goes all over the place, seemingly dependent on what I weigh). You can see the bigger picture over a period of time, where there is a pattern that you can see beyond the daily weight fluctuations. I can tell at least that I am on a downward trend back to my norm (about 101 lbs.)!