perspective on speed of weight loss

TimothyFish

I read somewhere that an obese person should lose 20% of their weight in six months to reduce the health risks associated with obesity.

RockstarWilson

You get out what you put in
--Oberto Beef Jerky

brightsideofpink

Its easy to look at the goal and see nothing in between. But once you get going, you realize that the milestones on the way are pretty cool too. I lost 50 lbs last year, starting in early May. I still have 40 more to go. When I started, all I could think of were those 90 lbs. But the in between has been pretty damn cool too. I love slipping into new, smaller jeans. I blush when people notice how far I've already come. I enjoy my time at the gym, and I feel great every day chasing my kids around. So when you think of the time, be it one year, two, or three, remember that the time in between isn't wasted time. You'll find achievements and happiness long before goal.

esjones12

It's not about the end result. It's all about the journey. When I first started working with a personal trainer I was told "The longer it takes to lose the weight, the easier it is to keep off." The quicker weight comes off, the easier it is to put back on. That's why fad diets and quick fixes don't work long term.

I've lost "only" 40lbs in 2.5 years. But I have also successfully kept that weight off for 2.5 years. A lot of people I know who have lost weight in that time frame already put it all if not more back on. I have completely changed my lifestyle. I am happy and healthy. I'm about 30lbs from goal weight. I'd like to lose the majority of that this year. But as long as the scale is trending down and I'm enjoying my life, all is good.

Best of luck.

yoovie

I lost 100 pounds, about 20-30 each year for about 3 and a half years.

Because I took my time and went slow (if anything in the world is not a race to see who can make it happen fastest - it's weight loss):
- I was able to build up a beautiful body UNDER the fat I was losing as well as give my skin time to shrink along with my waist line.
- I had time for my brain and my self-image to keep up with the changes in my body (you wake up a year later, 70 pounds lighter, get ready for a possibly serious disconnect in your brain and some also serious body dysmorph ishes).
- I was able to get strong and keep my bones and muscles healthy while going through such a radical change, by educating myself about nutrition and by following a strong weight program, instead of making the mistake of only doing cardio
- I learned so much about myself and saw my tastes change and my desires change and what i wanted out of life was changing..
- My character changed by constantly pushing myself to stay dedicated, determined, in control of my own actions and by continuing to tackle any obstacle in my way. It gave me incredible self-discipline and more importantly, made it possible for me to trust in myself.

These are things that a stupid, cheat of a quick fix for the lazy will NOT give you.

You want it to take time.

You want to change your life, not your background screen on your phone. Some things just ain't meant to be instant, and once you accept that, and realize that the best victories come from hard work, you'll get out of your own way.

keziak1

that is beautiful. thanks yoovie

yoovie

i want people to win.

at the gym, at life and at everything.

lemurcat12

As others have said, don't focus so exclusively on getting to your goal, but realize that the benefits will start right away. Being down 10 or 20 or 30 lbs, just feeling better and more in control from more sensible eating and exercise and having a plan. Also, it does slow down, so you could still achieve a huge chunk of it more quickly, depending on what ends up being right for you.

I started wanting to lose about 100 lbs and feeling kind of discouraged I had so far to go (I'd rather self delusionally estimated my weight about 30 lbs lower than it was). I found that I felt better and more motivated even after just the first 20 lbs (getting under 200) and by 20 more was feeling really good and seeing differences and was able to do a lot more exercise--completing a thirty mile bike ride and a 5k. Seeing photos of me then I'm almost weirdly surprised at how different I look than now, as I know how good I felt. After that the losses coincided with clothing sizes going down or at a certain point realizing I had more to lose in my own mind, but that I was a healthy weight (and before that, overweight but not obese). At 150 I was still 30 lbs from my original goal, but really felt quite a bit different than at 220 and doing nothing about it.

Now I've been kind of spinning my wheels 10 lbs above my original goal for a month, but am fine with it taking longer than I originally scheduled. I'm okay with my weight and happy that my fitness level is improving and know I will get there and have an understanding of how to stay there.

Good luck, I know you can do it!

msf74

There once was a speedy hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady, the tortoise, challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.

Hare ran down the road for a while and then and paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"

Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."

Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never, ever stopped until he came to the finish line.

The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, they woke up Hare.

Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was over the line.

After that, Hare always reminded himself, "Don't brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!"

keziak1

I want to be steady, too, just have to be patient about the slow part and avoid "diet" thinking, versus "permanent life style change". Also I feel like I"m a winner every day I skip the Coke and junk food. Finally, it just occurred to me to keep in mind how heavy 20 lbs of anything is, not inconsiderable!

deksgrl

Xcsn wrote: »

You could lose 90 pounds by november if you are consistent. Achieve a caloric deficit of 1,000 calories a day and you will be losing 2 pounds every week.

Except, as you lose weight, your calorie needs lessen until you cannot sustain losing 2 pounds every week in a healthy manner. So when you are 20-30 pounds away, 1 pound per week is more realistic and the last 10-15 pounds, half a pound is more realistic.

bwogilvie

keziak1 wrote: »

Finally, it just occurred to me to keep in mind how heavy 20 lbs of anything is, not inconsiderable!

Good point! Pick up a 20-pound bag of rice (or whatever you have around) and carry it around for ten minutes. Then think that you used to carry that weight around with you all the time.

It's also a good reminder that strength training helps a lot when you're losing weight. If you don't do it, you'll also lose muscle, since you won't be carrying around that extra weight all the time. Strength training helps limit the loss.

keziak1

I do want to get back to weight work. IN the past when I was thin I lifted a lot of weight. It makes a huge difference. I used to have great shoulders!

katherine_startrek_fan

2 years seems really good for a 90 pound loss, especially given how long the last 10-20 pounds notoriously take.

When I started this journey around 7 1/2 months ago, I had around 105 pounds to lose to get to the top of my recommended BMI. I've lost around 43 so far and am hoping to lose another 40 this year. After that, I'll decide how much further to go.

It's definitely not going super fast, but I feel a lot better. I try to remember my NSVs whenever I get discouraged. My favorite one currently is the fact that my current pants couldn't even go up to my knees when I started this journey.