Questions about weight loss

[Droopy]

I recently found out that to maintain my current body weight I would have to eat 3500 calories a day. That's for a fairly active 287 pound man. So I figured that if I limited my consumption to 2000 calories a day then I would lose about 2-3 pounds a week. So I embarked on my weight loss journey.

Last week I lost 6 pounds while eating said 2000 calories a day. Anybody know what the deal is with that? Have I just miscalculated my level of activity? It would be cool to think that I could lose 6 pounds a week every week, but I'm not sure if that's healthy. Do you think my weight loss will level out at the 2-3 pounds a week mark if I continue on my current path?

[Longhorn]

1. Some of that is probably water weight.

There are several articles about it but here's one: http://extension.osu.edu/~news/story.php?id=3085

It's nice to get off to a good start, though, and your math sounds good for continuing to lose at the rate you calculated. Unfortunately, it's not an exact science and weight loss isn't usually linear. Some weeks, you might lose more and some weeks less, and the weight loss doesn't always match what you ate or how much you exercised so don't get discouraged. You can even reach a plateau where you don't lose at all for a few weeks -- it happens to everyone and there's lots of advice on the web on what to do about it.

Good luck and let us know how you're doing. And congratulations on a great first week! :yourock:

[Droopy]

2. Thanks, Longhorn

I appreciate the informative link as well.

[AZBlue]

3. You're on the right track.

You've got a very sensible approach to your weight loss. As stated above, the initial week or two (or three) is mainly water gain. If you figure out a healthy way to lose 6 pounds every week, please share! ;)

You should be proud of yourself though - you're doing well and, like I said, you've got a really good plan that you've obviously taken time to compute. Good luck!!