How long did it take you to loose the last 15 pounds?

chickabelle
chickabelle Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know its easier to loose weight in the beginning. Just wondering how long it took other people to loose the last bit of weight?
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Replies

  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    I started out with 15lbs to lose, took about 4 months. But I purposely took it slow so maintenance would be easier. I'm now down 18, but I'm leaving for a 5 day vacation so I'll probably see 3-5 back by the end of it...
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited April 2015
    It took me 24 weeks (about 5 and a half months) to go from 127lbs to 112lbs (at 5'4), so an average of about 0.6lbs/week.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    I have lost 5 lbs since the end of February. 5lbs, 9 weeks = 0.56 a week.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    I think you can do it quicker (~1lb or more / week) if your diet is strict. You need a good amount of protein and have a rigorous weight training routine.
  • arachnofobia7
    arachnofobia7 Posts: 50 Member
    Well, for me it's not the last 15 pounds but the only one I've ever had to lose and I find it impossible, one or two pounds up and down here and there but nothing spectacular, what really bothers me is my daily calorie requirement of 1300. Does it mean that I have to eat grass five times a day? I don't do alcohol, junk, carbs, ready meals, fizzy drinks, high fat, fruits and I run 40k a week.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    I think you can do it quicker (~1lb or more / week) if your diet is strict. You need a good amount of protein and have a rigorous weight training routine.

    If you have only <15 lbs to lose the recommended amount per week is 0.5lbs.

    I believe this is because cutting 500 calories a day to lose a lb a week is not sustainable in the long term.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    arachnofobia7 wrote: »
    Well, for me it's not the last 15 pounds but the only one I've ever had to lose and I find it impossible, one or two pounds up and down here and there but nothing spectacular, what really bothers me is my daily calorie requirement of 1300. Does it mean that I have to eat grass five times a day? I don't do alcohol, junk, carbs, ready meals, fizzy drinks, high fat, fruits and I run 40k a week.

    If you run 40k per week you should be adding back the calories for that and eating them.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    That's all I have to lose, probably will take me about 4-5 months. If it takes longer, so be it...
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    ASKyle wrote: »
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    I think you can do it quicker (~1lb or more / week) if your diet is strict. You need a good amount of protein and have a rigorous weight training routine.

    If you have only <15 lbs to lose the recommended amount per week is 0.5lbs.

    I believe this is because cutting 500 calories a day to lose a lb a week is not sustainable in the long term.

    It doesn't need to be sustainable since it's only the last 15 pounds. I.e. You'll either go to maintainance calories or start a bulk afterwords. If you're active enough and eat back exercise calories it's pretty sustainable to lose 1 pound a week. If you're not exercising and making a 500 calorie deficit from diet alone, then I completely agree with you, it's probably better to do 0.5 pounds a week.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,133 Member
    arachnofobia7 wrote: »
    what really bothers me is my daily calorie requirement of 1300. Does it mean that I have to eat grass five times a day? I don't do alcohol, junk, carbs, ready meals, fizzy drinks, high fat, fruits and I run 40k a week.

    With 15lbs to lose, and with a safe deficit being one that has you losing between 0.5% and 1% of your bodyweight a week, you are obviously set for either a 250 or 500Cal a day deficit in MFP.

    And since your MFP food goal before exercise already accounts for the totality of your deficit, we know that you are eating back almost 100% of the steady state aerobic exercise calories you earn by running 40K a week.

    Thus I just don't understand how you are ending up with just 1300Cal unless you are both extremely short and extremely light...
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,133 Member
    edited May 2015
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    It doesn't need to be sustainable since it's only the last 15 pounds. I.e. You'll either go to maintainance calories or start a bulk afterwords. If you're active enough and eat back exercise calories it's pretty sustainable to lose 1 pound a week. If you're not exercising and making a 500 calorie deficit from diet alone, then I completely agree with you, it's probably better to do 0.5 pounds a week.

    Losing at 0.5lbs a week (or more accurately losing at a rate of around 0.5% of your bodyweight a week) when you are in the "normal" weight range (i.e. when you do not have a high % of available fat), is one of the things you do in order to minimize the loss of lean mass.

    You already mention the other two (high protein intake, lifting progressively heavier weights), so I am at a loss as to why you are willing to ignore the third (and arguably most important) component of the lean mass loss minimization strategy: smaller deficits.
  • _m0lly
    _m0lly Posts: 900 Member
    It's taken me 3 and a half months to lose 20lbs. (Just over a pound a week). I have 14lbs left to lose and I'm hoping it doesn't take too long! Not on a drastic diet so it will be easy to maintain too.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    It doesn't need to be sustainable since it's only the last 15 pounds. I.e. You'll either go to maintainance calories or start a bulk afterwords. If you're active enough and eat back exercise calories it's pretty sustainable to lose 1 pound a week. If you're not exercising and making a 500 calorie deficit from diet alone, then I completely agree with you, it's probably better to do 0.5 pounds a week.

    Losing at 0.5lbs a week (or more accurately losing at a rate of around 0.5% of your bodyweight a week) when you are in the "normal" weight range (i.e. when you do not have a high % of available fat), is one of the things you do in order to minimize the loss of lean mass.

    You already mention the other two (high protein intake, lifting progressively heavier weights), so I am at a loss as to why you are willing to ignore the third (and arguably most important) component of the lean mass loss minimization strategy: smaller deficits.

    Where are you seeing that you must lose at 0.5% of your body weight to preserve LBM? You can still safely lose ~1 pound or even 1% per week without losing too much LBM. It is going to take 8 months to lose the last 15 at a rate of 0.5 pounds per week... Seems a bit long and frustrating for most people, but if it works for some, then it's not a bad way to go for those people.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    edited May 2015
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    arachnofobia7 wrote: »
    what really bothers me is my daily calorie requirement of 1300. Does it mean that I have to eat grass five times a day? I don't do alcohol, junk, carbs, ready meals, fizzy drinks, high fat, fruits and I run 40k a week.

    With 15lbs to lose, and with a safe deficit being one that has you losing between 0.5% and 1% of your bodyweight a week, you are obviously set for either a 250 or 500Cal a day deficit in MFP.

    You even said it yourself; it's safe to lose 1% of your body weight per week. This will equate to more than a pound a week for most people. I don't know of many people that have 15 pounds of fat to lose and weigh significantly less than 100 pounds...
  • mistikal13
    mistikal13 Posts: 1,457 Member
    The last couple of pounds took me a bit longer than at the beginning when the pounds seemed to melt off. The closer I got to my goal the harder it was for me. But I did it and so can you!
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
    It took me 12 weeks to lose 17 pounds. These last 5 pounds I've been losing in tiny, tiny increments.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    28 weeks...about 1/2lb a week...
  • MRivera422
    MRivera422 Posts: 62 Member
    15 weeks and 38 pounds lost! In the begining it was falling off like nothing. Now I am losing the recommended 2 pounds a week. Sometimes a little more but I havent lost less then 2 pounds yet. Hopefully, it doesnt slow down :-)
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,133 Member
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    It doesn't need to be sustainable since it's only the last 15 pounds. I.e. You'll either go to maintainance calories or start a bulk afterwords. If you're active enough and eat back exercise calories it's pretty sustainable to lose 1 pound a week. If you're not exercising and making a 500 calorie deficit from diet alone, then I completely agree with you, it's probably better to do 0.5 pounds a week.

    Losing at 0.5lbs a week (or more accurately losing at a rate of around 0.5% of your bodyweight a week) when you are in the "normal" weight range (i.e. when you do not have a high % of available fat), is one of the things you do in order to minimize the loss of lean mass.

    You already mention the other two (high protein intake, lifting progressively heavier weights), so I am at a loss as to why you are willing to ignore the third (and arguably most important) component of the lean mass loss minimization strategy: smaller deficits.

    Where are you seeing that you must lose at 0.5% of your body weight to preserve LBM? You can still safely lose ~1 pound or even 1% per week without losing too much LBM. It is going to take 8 months to lose the last 15 at a rate of 0.5 pounds per week... Seems a bit long and frustrating for most people, but if it works for some, then it's not a bad way to go for those people.

    Whether you stay at 0.5% or can increase to 0.7% or 1% (or even 1.5%) depends on the amount of free fat you have available.

    0.5% for "last" 15 is under the assumption that the last 15 are at "normal" weight, I.e. your fat % is already low.

    So yes, you do have to factor in a loss rate that keeps you motivated, as long as that loss rate remains safe.

    But what I find particularly interesting about % loss discussions, is how many people feel frustrated, and/or want to get it over and done with quickly. Especially when there is no medical need for the weight loss.

    They want to get what over and done quickly?Their life?

    Or are they just on a diet for a few weeks and plan to revert to their old behaviours that were working so well for them as soon as they're done?
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    MRivera422 wrote: »
    15 weeks and 38 pounds lost! In the begining it was falling off like nothing. Now I am losing the recommended 2 pounds a week. Sometimes a little more but I havent lost less then 2 pounds yet. Hopefully, it doesnt slow down :-)

    If you have a lot to lose then yes it does come off quick...but it will slow down as you lose.

    I lost 1lb a week for months...until I hit my 15lb mark and I changed it to 1/2lb a week on purpose...reverse dieting.

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