Training & Nutrition - How much weight can you safely lose in a week?

I hear lots of various claims about losing week fast. At some point too fast has to be unsafe.

Is there a range?

anyone who is trying to lose weight, often has a goal such as 10 pounds by this date.

I just want to make sure I can set reasonable goals and lose some weight has fast as it is safe to do so

I hear lots of various claims about losing week fast. At some point too fast has to be unsafe.

Is there a range?

anyone who is trying to lose weight, often has a goal such as 10 pounds by this date.

I just want to make sure I can set reasonable goals and lose some weight has fast as it is safe to do so

Most docs will say 1.5 lbs. a week. I think you can safely lose more, especially if you have more than maybe 20 to lose. Of course you have to maintain good nutrition to be safe about it, and it's always a good idea to talk to your doc first.

I lost 100 pounds in about 7 months...then lost and regained another 10 or so in the following 5 winter months.
Right now I'm down about 110 pounds from my starting weight and have decided not to concentrate on losing fast. I'll be happy just continuing to lose....my goal is about 1.25 pounds per week, to put me under 200 pounds by years end.

Most people want to lose weight very quickly...but if you lose it at a rate of 1.5 to 2 pounds per week...although in the big picture it seems slow......upon looking back after a year and 100 pounds gone, it really isn't that slow.

I now try to think of things with different types goals....and in the meantime, while trying to lose my 1.25 pounds per week, I try to adjust my diet to cut out the things I don't really need. For example, this year, I have decided not to eat candy......I still eat PowerBars and things like that, which some say I may as well eat candy, but I know that I can polish off a 1lb bag of Skittles no problem, so I just avoid all candy as a goal. Or liquid calories....I used to drink a lot of soda....probably over 1500 calories a day just in soda. I have decided that I would try to drink only diet sodas and water now with meals. I still drink Skim milk with breakfast and Gatorade on long rides, but for casual drinking, it has to be 0 calories for me.......eventually, I'll get off of the diet soda also.

The plan that works for me is to just ride the bike. I quit worrying about how many pounds I lose each week and know that by eating healthier and riding as much as I can, the weight will come off. The big thing is to eat a balanced diet to ensure that you are getting all of the vitamins and nutrition that your body needs.

YMMV but that's what works for me.

walnuts

Something interesting I read in Bicyclinga while back was called Bonk (easy, you Brits, it's something different here)training. How it works is you get up eaarly, drink a couple cups of coffee, then within 30 minutes and before eating breakfast, go for a real slow ride, at least 30minutes but not more than 90. Then eat normal breakfast right away when you finish. Supposed to simulate the physiologicaal state of "bonking", ie., which I don't remember exactly the benefits were. The great thing about this is you can do it everyday because the effort is so low. I did it for a couple of weeks 2 years ago and lost 6 pounds. Just another idea.

Something interesting I read in Bicyclinga while back was called Bonk (easy, you Brits, it's something different here)training. How it works is you get up eaarly, drink a couple cups of coffee, then within 30 minutes and before eating breakfast, go for a real slow ride, at least 30minutes but not more than 90. Then eat normal breakfast right away when you finish. Supposed to simulate the physiologicaal state of "bonking", ie., which I don't remember exactly the benefits were. The great thing about this is you can do it everyday because the effort is so low. I did it for a couple of weeks 2 years ago and lost 6 pounds. Just another idea.


I wonder why it is important to ride slow?

I wonder why it is important to ride slow?
You're replicating the bodies state when it's energy reserves are depleted (the bonk). So when you ride slowly in the morning after not eating since dinner the night before, your fat cells are supplying the energy. That's the theory anyway, which I just remembered from the article.

The idea about riding really slowly is that you are in a heart zone where you burn mostly fat, and you spare muscle and liver glycogen.

I think the problem most people get into is if they rip into their glycogen, they feel lots of hunger, and then they overeat.

interesting I will give this a try over the next couple of weeks and see what happens.

another question though. How important of a role does the coffee play? I don't drink coffee, don't like it. If it is just to help the person wake up or something then I will pass. If it is for the caffeine then maybe I can sub a diet soda for the coffee

That wasn't explained in the article, unfortunately. But it wasn't a problem for me because I can't drink enough of the stuff. I could only guess if was really an important part of the regimen or not, but it was only brought up in the introduction of the article and not mentioned again.

I think the idea is to go slow enough to let the body adapt without going into fear of starvation mode where the metabolism adjusts to conserve all it can and store it away..

I'm planning this using sugar free RedBull when the sun starts rising earlier. I used this method to shed about 5 pounds last summer. It works, and it's a great way to get in some free miles.

I lost 115 lbs in a day once. Although I later found out it wasn't such a good idea after she started following me around and showing up where I work.

G'day

Care needs to be taken if your planning to bonk train, as due to the deplete glycogen stores in muscles and liver, dizziness and catabolism of muscle (as an alternate energy source to glycogen) can occur. Long slow distance is recommended for fat "burning" (lipolysis) as lipolysis is a slow metabolic process (produces ATP up to twice as slow as glycolysis (break down of glycogen to ATP).

Caffeine is a stimulant and has been linked to increasing efficiency of lipolysis. I have also found it lowers rating of perceived exertion, i.e. exercise feels easier. Try caffeine tablets (150mg) 45-60minutes pre-exercise. Note however that those consuming vast volumes of coffee will not perceive same effect as those who seldomly drink coffee.

Something interesting I read in Bicyclinga while back was called Bonk (easy, you Brits, it's something different here)training. How it works is you get up eaarly, drink a couple cups of coffee, then within 30 minutes and before eating breakfast, go for a real slow ride, at least 30minutes but not more than 90. Then eat normal breakfast right away when you finish. Supposed to simulate the physiologicaal state of "bonking", ie., which I don't remember exactly the benefits were. The great thing about this is you can do it everyday because the effort is so low. I did it for a couple of weeks 2 years ago and lost 6 pounds. Just another idea.

Couple cups of coffee... sounds like a recipe for a heart attack.

Couple cups of coffee... sounds like a recipe for a heart attack.

Coffee doesn't cause heart attacks!! If it did, I'd have been dead ages ago!!

For a while I was losing 2 pounds a week, now it is about 1 pound per week while racing but it fluctuates. I have cut out candy and most sweets and it has helped. Now with about 20 pounds to loose it is taking forever!

Coffee doesn't cause heart attacks!! If it did, I'd have been dead ages ago!!

I don't drink much coffee anymore. But my resting heart rate is 38 or so. My sitting heart rate is between 50-55. If I drink coffee, my heart's going at it at over 90 BPM just sitting there.

"Riding slow" is less effective at burning calories than riding fast, per unit of time. You burn a LOT more calories per hour riding fast than you do riding slow. Slow riding will burn a higher percentage of fat calories, because your body favors fat at low intensity levels. But, for weight loss it's the total calories burned that's important, not the fact that you're burning fat calories. Most of us are time-limited, so unless you have 4 hours per day to ride, go hard.

As for "bonk training", it's been shown to be ineffective. Trying to "train" without adequate levels of glycogen will just result in a bonk, or a bad training session. Better to get a small amount of fuel on board (200-300 calories) so you don't run out of gas.

I hear lots of various claims about losing week fast. At some point too fast has to be unsafe.

Is there a range?

anyone who is trying to lose weight, often has a goal such as 10 pounds by this date.

I just want to make sure I can set reasonable goals and lose some weight has fast as it is safe to do so

Did you become overweight in just a few months? If not, why would you expect to lose weight quickly?

2 lbs per week is the absolute upper limit, unless you are being medically supervised. This requires a calorie deficit of 1000 calories per day, which can be very difficult to achieve. For most people, it's nearly impossible to achieve through diet alone, because you run the risk of nutrient deficiencies (especially vitamins and minerals).

Weight loss of 1 lb per week (-500 calores per day), or even 1/2 lb per week (-250 calories per day) are much more reasonable targets. You won't be running a risk of nutrient deficiencies (assuming you make wise food choices), and you won't be hungry all the time. Maintained over a longer time frame, this is the best, and safest, way to lose a lot of weight.

Don't think that exercise alone will bring about weight loss. Dietary control is much more important. Identify your "problem foods" (e.g., cookies, beer, whatever) and cut *way* back or eliminate them altogether. Learn what a "portion" is (hint: a portion of protein is about the size of your palm), and learn to eat just that much and no more. Give up sodas, chips, and most things covered in cheese or gravy. Drink plenty of water, and eat more vegetables.

It's all about achieving a modest daily calorie deficit, and maintaining that modest deficit over an extended time frame. Do this for a year or two, and you'll be a new you.

Who has shown bonk training to be ineffective? As I said, I lost six pounds in two weeks following the method, and I wasn't that overweight to begin with. Anyway, I'm not going to get into a pissing contest over this, ideas were asked for, I put in my two cents. Here's a link to an excerpt of the article, Bolo Grubb, decide for yourself.
http://www.wtcycling.com/BonkTraining.html

Yep! There are some on this forum who rally against base miles and say only to go hard all the time. Whatever, I suppose. Anyway, it worked for me. However, as with anything, discretion is advised. Meaning, if someone were to ride 50 miles on no food, well, they'd be an idiot. However, for ME an empty slow 20 miles before work to watch the sun come up over the river is a pleasant experience. Then, later in the day, I get the hard work in.

Hoodlum you made me laugh at 7:30a.m. That was good!

i trained hard as i could i weighed in at 450 on feb 1st and never looked back still training hard gym,riding,weight training and walking and in 64 days i lost 75lbs. 1.18lbs. per day which equals 8.26lbs a week which is alot but i feel great take my vitamins and will never look back and i am still going. I find that when i train slw it makes me wanna quit cuz i feel as if i am accomplishing nothing!

J.W.

"Riding slow" is less effective at burning calories than riding fast, per unit of time. You burn a LOT more calories per hour riding fast than you do riding slow. Slow riding will burn a higher percentage of fat calories, because your body favors fat at low intensity levels. But, for weight loss it's the total calories burned that's important, not the fact that you're burning fat calories. Most of us are time-limited, so unless you have 4 hours per day to ride, go hard.

As for "bonk training", it's been shown to be ineffective. Trying to "train" without adequate levels of glycogen will just result in a bonk, or a bad training session. Better to get a small amount of fuel on board (200-300 calories) so you don't run out of gas.

Thank crikey!

Not sure about "bonk training", although I understand the logic behind not wanting to "hammer" when depleted of glycogen (although I think muscle and liver stores would still be adequate in the morning; it takes longer than a night's sleep to deplete stores), but I'm suprised this "fat burning zone" myth is still around ("myth" in that it's not a better way to lose fat). At best it's a "bigger piece of a smaller pie" scenario, and at worst it's a complete waste of time --time that could've obviously been spent burning more energy, getting stronger legs, and achieving a greater training effect.

these are hardly referenced journal articles, but it's all I could be bothered finding at short notice

http://static.highbeam.com/r/runningampfitnews/june012000/fatburningmythsandtruthsbriefarticle/
http://www.sdbuzz.com/sports/fitness/fitness04.html

Thank crikey!

Not sure about "bonk training", although I understand the logic behind not wanting to "hammer" when depleted of glycogen (although I think muscle and liver stores would still be adequate in the morning; it takes longer than a night's sleep to deplete stores), but I'm suprised this "fat burning zone" myth is still around ("myth" in that it's not a better way to lose fat). At best it's a "bigger piece of a smaller pie" scenario, and at worst it's a complete waste of time --time that could've obviously been spent burning more energy, getting stronger legs, and achieving a greater training effect.

these are hardly referenced journal articles, but it's all I could be bothered finding at short notice

http://static.highbeam.com/r/runningampfitnews/june012000/fatburningmythsandtruthsbriefarticle/
http://www.sdbuzz.com/sports/fitness/fitness04.html

Thanks for the links.

I've done some more reasearch on "bonk training" and, with respect to weight loss, I find opinions on both sides of the issue. Nobody says it's a good way to train for performance, but some say it's effective in weight loss. Others say that bonk training risks breaking down muscle mass...so, who knows?

Thanks for the links.

I've done some more reasearch on "bonk training" and, with respect to weight loss, I find opinions on both sides of the issue. Nobody says it's a good way to train for performance, but some say it's effective in weight loss. Others say that bonk training risks breaking down muscle mass...so, who knows?

No worries, but I'm sure there's heaps better stuff out there.

on the caffeine thing: I foolishly stared drinking coffee about 20 years ago ONLY because I read about fat mobilsation in Muscle & Fitness...D'OH :(

on the caffeine thing: I foolishly stared drinking coffee about 20 years ago ONLY because I read about fat mobilsation in Muscle & Fitness...D'OH :(

Not sure I understand....Coffee is Life. I don't have a problem with it (as long as I have it every day by 9) :D

Thanks for the links.

As I said in my first post I am just looking for good information so I can set reasonable goals for me.

I know that I will be doing this through diet and exercise.

I only want to lose about 10 more pounds. I want to put this goal in writing with a completion date as I know I will do better once I write it down.

Trust me this is not the only source I have checked. The local library has tons of books on the subject (although many are old and perhaps out of date, and many other contradict each other).

I am watching what I eat and writing it down.

So at a pound a week, I can reach my goal in 10 weeks, if I stick with it.

Does doing small amounts of exercise through out the day help?

I mean if I do 10 push-ups 3 times a day while at work, that is more calories burned right?

Are there little things like this that I (or anyone ) can do to help improve their health?



ps still reading all articles at the links provided

Does doing small amounts of exercise through out the day help?

I mean if I do 10 push-ups 3 times a day while at work, that is more calories burned right?

Are there little things like this that I (or anyone ) can do to help improve their health?



ps still reading all articles at the links provided


yes, extra exercise during the day will help as it will lead to more calories expended. However you might not want to do to much upper body exercise as you might find yourself starting to gain muscle there. That might be okay with you, it may help climbing and sprinting performance actually. However I would reccomend that you concentrate on core work instead of upper body work. All power is transmitted through the core and having stronger abdominals, obliques and lower back can improve performance markedly.

yes, extra exercise during the day will help as it will lead to more calories expended. However you might not want to do to much upper body exercise as you might find yourself starting to gain muscle there. That might be okay with you, it may help climbing and sprinting performance actually. However I would reccomend that you concentrate on core work instead of upper body work. All power is transmitted through the core and having stronger abdominals, obliques and lower back can improve performance markedly.


I understand what you are saying about core, but with my skinny arms, I am not worried about gaining muscle mass yet :p

What exercises can you reccomend that I can do at work, a little at a time?

I understand what you are saying about core, but with my skinny arms, I am not worried about gaining muscle mass yet :p

;) Then in your case it may help your sprinting. Personally I am trying my hardest to lose upper body muscle mass, as I have been rock climbing very seriously for the last year and a half and have developed a lot of upper body muscle. Now that I am back riding and racing I am trying to lose it and so have done zero upper body work for at least 5 weeks and am finding that losing muscle is quite difficult



What exercises can you reccomend that I can do at work, a little at a time?

This would be a decent start, particularly the lying superman raises
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/betteru5.htm

I hear lots of various claims about losing week fast. At some point too fast has to be unsafe.

Is there a range?

anyone who is trying to lose weight, often has a goal such as 10 pounds by this date.

I just want to make sure I can set reasonable goals and lose some weight has fast as it is safe to do so

I think it all depends on your current condition. Some people could lose 100 pounds and still be fat. But if you are 145 lbs to begin with, losing 100 lbs might be a little unsafe. ;)

I weigh 185 or so right now and want to get down to 175. I still have pretty good size extra tire around the middle

That's about my weight situation as well. I'm shooting for about a pound a week.

It's all calories-in, calories-out. As someone said, the trick is to run a *small* calorie deficit over an extended period. (If you burn off 1,000 calories and then go pig out on a 5,000 calorie feast as a "reward", it won't work!)

I try hard to eat "quality" food as well.

That's about my weight situation as well. I'm shooting for about a pound a week.

It's all calories-in, calories-out. As someone said, the trick is to run a *small* calorie deficit over an extended period. (If you burn off 1,000 calories and then go pig out on a 5,000 calorie feast as a "reward", it won't work!)

I try hard to eat "quality" food as well.

That's a very good point...too many times I've heard things like "I ride my bike 150 miles per week, and still can't lose any weight". It just illustrates that diet control is more important than exercise for weight loss (though exercise helps, and is important for many other reasons). You can't "reward" yourself with pizza and beer, or a big slice of chocolate cake, every time you go on a 25 mile ride! (not if you want to lose weight, anyway).

Hopefully this won't sound too spammy, but if you're trying to lose weight, and are motivated by numbers (as opposed to being afraid of them), you may find my WeightWare (http://www.WeightWare.com) program useful. It has been designed to calculate, and keep you aware of, your "energy balance" (calorie deficit or surplus), without having to count calories. You can download a free 30-day trial version from the website to see if it meets your needs, and I welcome questions and suggestions.

1 pound of fat is about 3500 calories. If you eat 500 Cals less a day you could lose around a pound a week or you could eat the same and burn an extra 500 calories on the bike.
Right now I am losing about 1.5 - 2 pounds a week I'm eating around 2800 calories a day but burning 1500 riding. Although the more you exercise the more hungry you get. To help me feel full I eat lots of fruit and veggies stay away from sugars and fatting things.
What I have heard about riding slow verses fast for weight loss is that at a lower aerobic range the body uses a higher percentage of fat for energy instead of the glycogen stores maybe 60/40 %. In the upper aerobic range the body relies more on the glycogen stores and less on fat say 40/60. Regardless of what aerobic range you are in you are burning some fat. Although when you are in a higher aerobic range you are burning more calories for the amount of time you are exercising and that you would end up burning more fat anyways.
Regardless it still comes down to Calories in vs. Calories out.

I forgot there is another name for bonk training - Atkins diet :p

That's a very good point...too many times I've heard things like "I ride my bike 150 miles per week, and still can't lose any weight". It just illustrates that diet control is more important than exercise for weight loss (though exercise helps, and is important for many other reasons). You can't "reward" yourself with pizza and beer, or a big slice of chocolate cake, every time you go on a 25 mile ride! (not if you want to lose weight, anyway).

Hopefully this won't sound too spammy, but if you're trying to lose weight, and are motivated by numbers (as opposed to being afraid of them), you may find my WeightWare (http://www.WeightWare.com) program useful. It has been designed to calculate, and keep you aware of, your "energy balance" (calorie deficit or surplus), without having to count calories. You can download a free 30-day trial version from the website to see if it meets your needs, and I welcome questions and suggestions.


Thanks SSP. I am a numbes kinda guy. I like to track too many things on spreadsheets and such. ohh pretty graphs


I try to do things like take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk vs taking the shuttle between buildings where I work etc

ok after having read all the articles I could find, I tend to believe that the reason "bonk" training seems is that it is done first thing in the morning and raises your metabolism for the day, increasing total calories burned.

That being the case it would seem that any regular exercise in the morning would do this.

Now When I was in the Army, I never ate before morning PT (Phsyical training) and that was pretty intense at times. Since then though I have never eaten much before exercise in the morning.

Before a really big/long ride/event I will eat to make sure I have enough fuel for the effort.

Thanks for all the information and answers to my questions.

SSP: a couple exceptions with "going hard." A lot of the weight most folks want to lose is in fat, not muscle. Furthermore, in folks who want to lose weight, high intensity workouts probably aren't the ticket as it takes several workouts over time to realize some results. How many people "go hard," burn out, and quit? Too many if I had to guess (I'm guessing).

Doesn't mean go to the nearest sled hill, roll down it, and call it a day. But for weight loss, I'd say consistent low-mid intensity rides with the proper diet will work best for most folks.

<---not an M.D.

Discussions like this always remind me of this favorite movie quote from The Tao of Steve:

Rick: This is almost as ridiculous as your sleeping diet.
Dex: That time I lost 30 pounds.
Rick: You also lost your job.

:D

SSP: a couple exceptions with "going hard." A lot of the weight most folks want to lose is in fat, not muscle. Furthermore, in folks who want to lose weight, high intensity workouts probably aren't the ticket as it takes several workouts over time to realize some results. How many people "go hard," burn out, and quit? Too many if I had to guess (I'm guessing).

Doesn't mean go to the nearest sled hill, roll down it, and call it a day. But for weight loss, I'd say consistent low-mid intensity rides with the proper diet will work best for most folks.

Those are some good points. It's definitely better for folks trying to lose weight to get out and get *some* exercise, even if it's not high intensity. But I think some folks fall prey to the "fat burning zone" myth and use it as an excuse to never work up a sweat...and then get discouraged when they don't lose any weight.

As with many other things in life, finding the balance point is key. "Go briskly" is probably better advice than "go hard" if the main goal is weight loss...especially for people first starting an exercise program. But, once you've got a thousand or so miles in your legs, "go hard" once or twice a week and you'll burn more calories, and get stronger on the bike.

I used to row as a lighweight. The boat has to average 160 lbs., No single man over 165. Never had a probelm with weightt during the season.

I went up to 185 off season, my club needed a 4th man to fill out a lightweight boat going to a world class regatta.

I had to lose twenty pounds. In a week.

Limited my fluid consumption to water. totally eliminated all alcohol. cut my carb consumption by 1/4 and ate small prtions of baked/grilled chicken and fish.

Stepped up my training regime to 2 2-hour work out per day. Plus I totally ditched the car. I walked, ran or cycled to where ever I had to go.

I figure my body had twenty pounds of "camel weight" in store. Wasn't concerned with any matabolic imbalances.

I weighed in at 163. I lost 22 pound in a week. Our boat took a silver medal.

Well, the rule of thumb on losing weight is no more than a lb per week. The reason for this is not that you can not lose weight faster safely. But if you are losing it faster, you are probably doing something that is so drastic that you can not do it long term. So you lose the weight, go back to your old ways and gain it all back plus some. It is better to adopt a different lifestyle that you can make permanent and lose weight that way. The whole point is to lose weight and keep it off.

Now as far as losing weight fast, it can be done. I went on a tour for 2 weeks in the Rocky Mountains. It averaged a bit over 70 miles per day with extensive climbing and then camp chores and walking around afterwards. Before going, I decided to lose some weight on the tour, if I could. I decided to eat all sorts of carbs (to replace glycogen) and avoid fats and too much protein (lots of steak). So I ate all the fruit and vegetables I could find and breads, potatoes, pancakes and generally only one helping of meat. I ate quite a bit but not a whole bunch. I must have been consuming about 3,500 calories per day and burning far more. I got back home and was astounded to find that I had dropped 10 lbs of fat in 14 days of riding. Now there many people on the tour who GAINED weight! After eating the 3 meals per day offered, they would go into town and eat the largest cheese burger they could find with a big order of fries and a huge sundae. So no matter how much you exercise, you can defeat it.

Learn what a "portion" is (hint: a portion of protein is about the size of your palm), and learn to eat just that much and no more. Give up sodas, chips, and most things covered in cheese or gravy. Drink plenty of water, and eat more vegetables.

I realized that I had no idea what a portion was which was why I was still overweight. I think in America today it is hard for anyone to see what a portion is because we get gigantic mounds of food when we go out to eat at restaurants.

I bought a digital food scale for 15 bucks on ebay and now I can see how many calories I'm eating and it makes my day a lot easier knowing how much I've had to eat. Just with calorie changes (I was already active) and now drinking a lot more water I've droped from 236 in early January to 211 now. Now I'm just working on increasing my mileage.