lose 70 lbs, is it possible?

moortje3

Hi,
I am a 39 yr old mom and would love tot lose 70 pounds before i turn 40. Is this even possible? I have 13 months and started last week.
My current weight is 234 lbs and im 5' 8"
I would like tips and successtories!
Thanks. Sue.

fatcitizen

can I friend you? we have about the same amount to lose, though you are much younger than me.

bingbing816

It is possible, but that's a lot to lose so quickly. Most nutritionists recommend 1 lb a week.

moortje3

Hi fatcitizen, ofcourse you can friend me. How do I do that? My computer keeps giving me an error when i click on your name.
And bingbing816, yes, i probably need to make more realistic goals.... maybe smaller goals would be good to start with?

lawlifehanna

I made some quick calculations, and 13 months is a full year (52 weeks) + 4 weeks, so 56 weeks. That would mean exactly 1,25lbs per week. I think it's doable, but difficult.

Smaller goals are definitely a good way to start.

Assuming you're interested in the mirror and clothes as well, not just the scale, take measurements. I've found in the past that I'm always losing something somewhere: if the scale doesn't move, something has left my hips or waist, and vice versa. The measuring tape also becomes a great motivational tool eventually. After you've lost a little, it's a great feeling when you set the tape in your starting measurement on your waist and just look at the gap between the tape and your stomach

Carolyn917

I am giving this app. one more try. I am 48 years old, I weigh 215#'s & I'm 5' 2.5" tall. I am 75 -80#'s overweight and I desperately need to lose weight for health reasons. I am trying to stick to a low carb, healthy choice, whole food life style plan. My goals are to lose 10#'s by Valentine's Day and 75#'s by January 1st, 2016. I hate to exercise but I plan on using Yoga, Pilates and dance to exercise. I need friends to keep me accountable and motivated. For some reason I can't add friends, keep getting error message so PLEASE ADD ME!!

leggup

70 lbs is a bit high a target for less than 1 year of loss. It took me 11 months to lose 58 lbs.

witchieboo

It is possible to lose more pound at first due to water weight. You first goal should be to change your diet and exercise more.

astrose00

If you can, go to the Success Stories or Maintenance sections and you will find evidence of plenty of folks who have done that and more. Your individual circumstances are always factors so it's hard to say what you can or can't do. I think it's up to you to make that determination, though. Some people choose to lose more than 1lb a week and some choose to lose less than that. Good luck and well come to MFP!!!

ssanford77

It is possible. I am 38 and have lost 71 lbs. I have lost 50 of that since May.

woznube7

Definitely is possible, I lost 40lbs in 6 months. You can do it. Of course I found it again plus 20lbs, so need to lose 60. With the motivation, support, tracking, and moving, you will succeed! Good luck. Feel free to add. We are all in this together!

jakicooke

it is possible im 46 and lost over 60 lbs in less than a year (ive still got more to lose) I could have done more but for holidays and breaks so yes it can be done BUT its down to how much you have to lose in total and how committed you want to be to it

jrline

yes I lost 113lbs in 16 months. I am in better shape at 40 than I was at 20. Good Luck on your journey.

SuggaD

I lost about that in less time so yes it's doable. But it will be hard, you will get frustrated at times, and you have to work your butt off.

grantwashere

bingbing816 wrote: »

It is possible, but that's a lot to lose so quickly. Most nutritionists recommend 1 lb a week.

Cite your source. "Most nutritionists" is somewhat obscure.

csfdan

Hi,
Never posted here. YES, you can! I've lost about 62 pounds in just over 3 months. No pills, no starvation. Just exercise, calorie counting and accountability. I have another 50 I want to lose, and will. I've been going through a place called deanfast.com and it works!

joseccastaneda

Its doable. I started in April of 2014 at 530 lbs. I have now lost 126 lbs.

grantwashere

This is the norm.

"slow and steady weight-loss goals—usually ½ to 2 pounds per week (though weight loss may be faster at the start of a program)"

http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/choosing.htm

ravenstar25

It's doable - but is it a good goal? Weight that is lost quickly is likely to be regained quickly. I understand the appeal of magic numbers, but what is your end goal - better looks, better health? Both of these will be better served by a more reasonable plan.

sun_fish

Why does it need to be by the time you turn 40? What will happen if you turn 40 and you've only lost 35 pounds? Rather than focus on a particular day on the calendar, just focus on making progress towards your goal, however long it takes. It took me 2 1/2 years to lose 68 pounds. Sure, it would have been nice to lose it quicker, but maybe I needed it to be that long to change my habits and beliefs surrounding food.

As far as tips go - eat a reasonable deficit, find some exercise you enjoy, and don't get discouraged by setbacks. Take before pictures and measurements. And take a look in the Success Stories, you'll find lots of inspiration there.

This is a great post to read: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

smpreston

I had a goal of 40 by 40 and reached it in six months. That was three years ago and I've actually lose almost 20 more. I would set smaller goals or targets to help motivate you on your journey. Set milestones of 10 pound lost, 25 pounds, 50 pounds, etc. and give yourself rewards when you reach them. Maybe new clothes or a piece of workout equipment for example.

SJKirk51912

"Shoot for the stars, even if you miss you'll land in the clouds"

If 70 lbs is your ultimate goal weight then it MAY be difficult to achieve it in under a year. However, my advice is to give it your best effort and keep going. Even if you "only" lose 50, or even 40, you'll be that much close to your goal.

jgnatca

You can indeed lose seventy pounds. It's a little fast. I don't like deadline weight loss goals, preferring to set weekly/monthly targets around habit change. I still weigh myself though. In the past eighteen months I have lost over eighty pounds. I had a lot of help along the way, including a dietitian and surgery.

I have averaged 1/2 pound a week but it goes up and down a lot! Don't become a slave to the scale.

The Dietitians of Canada advise to be suspicious of any plan that promises more than 2 lbs loss per week.

http://www.dietitians.ca/Nutrition-Resources-A-Z/Factsheets/Weight-Loss-and-Control/Guidelines-for-Choosing-a-Weight-Loss-Program.aspx

I've blogged about goal setting here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/setting-goals-715717

AShannon54

It can be done but make sure to work with your doctor, listen to your body and stay focused on the goal. As a previous poster stated, it comes out to 1.25 lbs per week which can be done and in a healthy manor.

Every person's body is different and you shouldn't compare yourself to others but to oblige your original post's request on success stories - - I have lost about 140 lbs in the last year. I started off in class III morbid obesity and I am now a couple of pounds into the 'normal' weight range. However, every single day I focused on my health goals and counted my calories. It was very hard work...

My rate of loss is not typical and I have been checking in with my doctor the entire time. However, I think I am proof that staying focused on a goal, working hard and dedicating your life to change does pay off. I run my first half marathon on Jan 25th... I had problems walking up a few flights of stairs a year ago.

BTW - I am 31 years old and about 6ft tall if that matters to you.

aeromat

lawlifehanna wrote: »

I made some quick calculations, and 13 months is a full year (52 weeks) + 4 weeks, so 56 weeks. That would mean exactly 1,25lbs per week. I think it's doable, but difficult.

My doctor-recommended goal was 1 pound a week and I started when I was 37, making it my goal to lose 100 pounds by the time I hit 40. That gave me time to compensate for any fluctuations. I met my goal when I was 39 and now working to get back to where I was. (Thankfully, a lot of my gain over the years was muscle, something I had been trying to do after losing the 100 lbs.). That said, as we age, our metabolism changes and makes it a little harder to lose the weight. Just be aware that losing such a large amount in a short time may not yield the best long-term results, meaning there's a better chance of you gaining it all back.

jgnatca

+1 for AShannon54. My loss has not been as spectacular as yours, but I am also enjoying the benefits of improved mobility and stamina. I am regularly running 2.5 K now, come hail, snow, or whatever.

lemurcat12

Sure, it's possible. You might not do it--loss slows down as you get closer to goal--but chances are that if you lose 56 instead (1/week) or even 40 you will still feel great. Having big goals to work and a planned time frame motivates me, so I'm inclined to encourage you, but the only thing I'd be careful about is that for some people setting a huge goal and not making it feels like failure and it may simply be that you don't mind a lesser rate of loss as you make progress.

I lost 90 pounds in 11 months last year (I started around 220 and am now around 130), but the rate definitely started faster, maintained at about 2 lbs/week for a while, and then gradually dropped off. I've been mostly maintaining at 130 since early December (holidays) and am hoping to lose the final 10 or so lbs at maybe .5 lbs/week. The key thing for me, however, has been that it made a huge difference when I hit below 200 and another huge difference when I was 180 and started to feel like I could move like myself again, and still more at 150, and on and on. At this point I don't care that much when I hit goal so long as I make progress. (When I started I vaguely wanted to by my 45th birthday which was early December, but I knew it probably wasn't realistic and I didn't focus too much on date goals once I got started.)

One thing I'd recommend is that in addition to a broad overarching goal that you set mini goals. See losing the first 10 as a major milestone, because it is. Also, give yourself some goals that you have more control over than the scale, like hitting your protein macro and staying under calories every day in a week or adding vegetables or working out 3 times per week or walking every day, whatever fits with your goals and lifestyle. That's the kind of thing that for me takes focus off the scale and has really helped with the lifestyle modification.

Anyway, welcome and good luck!

moortje3

Wow everybody! Thanks for all your great comments and words of advise!
I am going to make some new goals for myself.... more realistic and not only weight.
Thankyou all!

AWordyGirly

I have about 55 pounds to lose and for the first time I'm not focusing on how long it takes but just getting it off . Feel free to add me as I'm always looking to extend and expand a support network. I'm also blogging about my weight loss journey :-) https://awordygirly.wordpress.com/