Realistic monthly goals?

SecretGift

For someone who doesn't have very much weight to lose, what would be a realistic goal for pounds lost/month? I have about 30 pounds to lose. Also, if anyone's averaged out the 5-week estimate (if everyday were like today…) do you think it's accurate? Thanks

SherryTeach

I only had 30 pounds to lose and what helped me was to avoid setting goals that had to do with pound loss. Instead I made goals related to areas I could control: how many veggies I could eat, how many minutes of exercise would I get in a week, how many days in a row could I exceed my fitbit steps. Those were goals I could attain.

debubbie

SherryTeach wrote: »

I only had 30 pounds to lose and what helped me was to avoid setting goals that had to do with pound loss. Instead I made goals related to areas I could control: how many veggies I could eat, how many minutes of exercise would I get in a week, how many days in a row could I exceed my fitbit steps. Those were goals I could attain.

Awesome ideas and a great plan!

If you are determined to set a monthly weight loss goal, I would say at your weight loss target maybe 3-5 pounds would be reasonable. You would shoot for losing about .75 pounds a week on average.

PaytraB

Setting your goal to lose 1 lb/week is right for your total weight loss goal. Remember that weight loss is not linear and you may not lose a pound every week.
When you get within 10 lbs of your goal, reset your weight loss goal to 0.5 lbs/wk. This will help ease you into maintenance.

Good luck. Weigh everything and eat a menu that you can stick with for the rest of your life. You'll do great.

lynndot1

I'm working on getting my body fat % down and have been slowly going from 130 -> 120, so only 10 pounds...and for me, about 2-3 per month is fine. I'm at 123 right now. It seems slow but I don't eat much of a deficit because it tends to make me feel crappy in the gym, and the small deficit is easy to sick with. Not to mention some days I just eat maintenance, which is fine with me. Slow and steady wins the race. For 30 pounds I would say a little under a pound per week, or ~4 for the month, is more than reasonable. And don't sweat it if sometimes you go a little over your goal, or if you end up eating maintenance for a day or two. As long as you're not exceeding maintenance and average out a deficit, you'll lose weight.

4-5 per month puts you at your goal weight within 6 months. Really, what's half a year? For some people that seems like a long time but you're making changes that will last the rest of your life, 6 months is nothing.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

If you don't have much to lose, I'd shoot for .5-1 lb a week.

999tigger

I still find this quite a useful rule of thumb

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

The 5 week estimate is just a simple projection. it is not a guarantee, so take it with a pinch of salt. Youll hear the phrase weight loss isnt linear as paytra points out. Focus on accuracy of logging by weiging your food, which will improve your chances of hitting the target.

Liftng4Lis

Half to a pound a week to start is good. No the, "If everyday were like today", has never been accurate for me.