Is it possible to lose 100 pounds in 10 months?
Bshmerlie
Posts: 1,026 Member
I started my diet April 1st when I was 254 pounds and I have offcially lost 25 pounds so far. I would like to lose 10 pounds a month for the next 8 months. Is that reasonable? That would be a total of 100 pounds in ten months. I'm feeling really good about my routine and what I'm eating. I really feel like I could do it for the long haul. I cheat occasionally but I'm comfortable about adjusting when needed and feel no guilt about it and just log it and get back to my routine. I do cardio 30 min almost everyday and lift weights 3x week. I've set a time table of increasing my workouts over the next 8 months. I want to get to 150 by next February. Then my plan is to slow down and take off another 20 pounds at a rate of 2 pounds per month. Slowly working into a maintenance routine when I'm at 130 ish. Im doing a whole foods diet for the most part and I'm really focusing on proper nutrition and an overall healthy lifestyle for the long term. For those that have lost 100+ pounds do you guys think this is a doable plan? I like to set goals but I do want to make them realistic. Is it too aggressive?
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Ten pounds a month is about 2.5 pounds a week so it isn't too crazy, especially considering your current weight. So I think it's possible, yeah. Just do it as healthy as possible.0
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It sounds do able, even though it is more than is usually recommended. If I were going to try it, I would aim for more than three pounds per week during the early stages, because weight drops more quickly then and one might find it difficult to maintain a rate of 2.5 lbs per week as they near their goal.0
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Maybe at first, but I don't think that's a reasonable expectation down the road. Remember you need to re-run your numbers every few pounds lost (every 5lbs is a good marker). You will be reducing the amount of calories you get to eat the further along you go. It's harder to maintain a large calorie deficit at that point.0
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How tall? It took me 3+ months to get from 170-150 at 5'6".
I would not put a date on it. Just set your MFP to 2 pounds a week, eat back half your exercise calories, and focus on the process. The weight comes off if you do what you should, so don't stress the speed.0 -
Yes you can but you have to be really disciplined.0
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You'll likely find out that 10 pounds each month might not happen as easily later on. It doesn't hurt to set aggressive goals (I do!) but try not to be disappointed if you don't hit them.
I think it's best to not have a timeline, honestly. Good luck!
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You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.0
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Well I'm never going to eat less than 1200 calories and will only be up to a 90 minute workout by the last two months. So the question will be if a 160 -170 pound female can lose 10 pounds a month doing a 90 min workout 6 days a week. That would be 30 min in the morning and 60 min at night. I'm 5'5" tall. Again weights 3x week.0
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jennifer_417 wrote: »You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.
What kind of adjustments are you referring to? I do eat back dome of my exercise calories but not all of them. I'm pretty conservative about. But I do eat if I'm hungry or just feeling weak at any point. I really don't let myself get hungry....I've been pretty good about finding foods that are filling me up.0 -
Well I'm never going to eat less than 1200 calories and will only be up to a 90 minute workout by the last two months. So the question will be if a 160 -170 pound female can lose 10 pounds a month doing a 90 min workout 6 days a week. That would be 30 min in the morning and 60 min at night. I'm 5'5" tall. Again weights 3x week.
90 min workouts 6 days a week is a lot...and only gives you one rest day. There's a chance you'll get burned out if you're not careful...I guess it's doable though. Do you plan on keeping that up after you lose 100 pounds? You may want to think about how transitioning to maintenance will work. Some people gain weight back because they stop working out like crazy, just something to think about.
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Well I'm never going to eat less than 1200 calories and will only be up to a 90 minute workout by the last two months. So the question will be if a 160 -170 pound female can lose 10 pounds a month doing a 90 min workout 6 days a week. That would be 30 min in the morning and 60 min at night. I'm 5'5" tall. Again weights 3x week.
Calorie deficit for weight loss, workouts for fitness. Around 170 is where I realized that 1200 was no longer doable for me--I couldn't sustain an hour workout, let alone the 90 minutes I do now. I began losing my hair (after several months of eating under 1200 and working out daily). Can it be done? Yeah probably. Can it be done without sacrificing too much muscle mass and burning you out? Not in my experience.0 -
jennifer_417 wrote: »You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.
What kind of adjustments are you referring to? I do eat back dome of my exercise calories but not all of them. I'm pretty conservative about. But I do eat if I'm hungry or just feeling weak at any point. I really don't let myself get hungry....I've been pretty good about finding foods that are filling me up.
What I mean is you'll most likely have to cut your deficit a bit as your maintenace calories will decrease significantly. Right now, you can probably still eat a fairly high amount of calories and lose weight. As you get closer to you goal weight, that number will drop, so in order to maintain the same amount of deficit, the amount of calories you can eat will drop drastically. So it's generally recommended not to maintain the same level of deficit the entire time. Once you get closer to your weight, it's recommended that you adjust your goal to something smaller.0 -
Possible, maybe. It may eventually slow down after a few months. Even if you didn't quite lose that much by then, would you let that stand in your way? I'm sure if you did not get there, you would be fairly close, and I guarantee you will be feeling brilliant either way.0
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catieraney wrote: »Well I'm never going to eat less than 1200 calories and will only be up to a 90 minute workout by the last two months. So the question will be if a 160 -170 pound female can lose 10 pounds a month doing a 90 min workout 6 days a week. That would be 30 min in the morning and 60 min at night. I'm 5'5" tall. Again weights 3x week.
90 min workouts 6 days a week is a lot...and only gives you one rest day. There's a chance you'll get burned out if you're not careful...I guess it's doable though. Do you plan on keeping that up after you lose 100 pounds? You may want to think about how transitioning to maintenance will work. Some people gain weight back because they stop working out like crazy, just something to think about.
Well....from 150 to 130 I want to lower the workout routine to 60 min per day. 30 min in the morning and 30 min at night. That's why I was figuring only 2 pounds per month at that point. I'm not sure what my calories would be at that point to continue to lose at a rate of a half pound per week. Of course I'm not going to just cut out 30 minutes all of a sudden. I'll just lower it gradually. Which will slow down the weight loss.0 -
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I think this is very possible however you'll find as you start to get lighter your weight loss will start mellowing out due to building lean muscle which weighs more than fat - so definitely don't get worried if the amount you're losing starts to slow down. Progress photos will help reinforce motivation! 0
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Why?
What would happen if you did it in a sustainable way, focusing on how you will cope at maintenance, building habits for then
Because fierce and fast leads to crash and burn more often than not0 -
hannahkingfitness wrote: »I think this is very possible however you'll find as you start to get lighter your weight loss will start mellowing out due to building lean muscle which weighs more than fat - so definitely don't get worried if the amount you're losing starts to slow down. Progress photos will help reinforce motivation!
And where would she be getting this additional lean muscle from?
I see no information on following a progressive resistance programme whilst eating around maintenance or above and focusing on the appropriate macros
Quite the reverse will happen ...the faster her weight loss the higher proportion of LBM she will be losing within each pound of scale weight0 -
karintalley wrote: »Yes you can but you have to be really disciplined.
Having done it - from 279 to 175 in 9 months - it can be done, but you have to be incredibly focused ... one might say obsessed.
I would recommend a 2 year plan instead. Go for about 65 in your first year, and 35 in your second year.
Definitely keep up with the weights all the way through. If I could turn back time, I would have done a mix of strength cardio from day 1, rather than just cardio for the first 6 months.
PS - listen to @rabbitjb too ... she's done her program very well.
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karintalley wrote: »Yes you can but you have to be really disciplined.
Having done it - from 279 to 175 in 9 months - it can be done, but you have to be incredibly focused ... one might say obsessed.
I would recommend a 2 year plan instead. Go for about 65 in your first year, and 35 in your second year.
Definitely keep up with the weights all the way through. If I could turn back time, I would have done a mix of strength cardio from day 1, rather than just cardio for the first 6 months.
PS - listen to @rabbitjb too ... she's done her program very well.
I had good people to look up to and learn from @flatlndr
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jennifer_417 wrote: »You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.
JD has yoda power. She's right, the closer you get to your goal weight the slower it will come off. 2.5lbs loss a week closer to your goal weight is unreasonable. So no, i don't think it's realistic. If you're 200-300lbs over weight then yeah it reasonable, but you're not in that situation. In other words, your weight loss will slow down over time.
I keep saying that my goal is:
1. 250 lbs to 150 lbs = 2.5 lbs per week
2. 150 lbs to 130 lbs = .5 lb per week
Is that not reasonable? That is a major slow down isn't it? Each phase will be 10 months for a total of 20 months. To lose 120 pounds...i would think that is reasonable. The last 10 months I can tinker with calories as I get closer to my ultimate goal of 130. That way I'll know exactly what it will take to keep me at that weight.0 -
jennifer_417 wrote: »You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.
JD has yoda power. She's right, the closer you get to your goal weight the slower it will come off. 2.5lbs loss a week closer to your goal weight is unreasonable. So no, i don't think it's realistic. If you're 200-300lbs over weight then yeah it reasonable, but you're not in that situation. In other words, your weight loss will slow down over time.
I keep saying that my goal is:
1. 250 lbs to 150 lbs = 2.5 lbs per week
2. 150 lbs to 130 lbs = .5 lb per week
Is that not reasonable?
I think you'll find your 2.5 lb / week target relatively easy at the outset, but once you get down under 180-200, it will be more challenging, and you may need to taper down sooner.
You'll know when you get there, your body will tell you. If you are going too quickly, there will be signs, such as fatigue.
I had to throttle back my loss rate a few times. Listen to your body.
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hannahkingfitness wrote: »I think this is very possible however you'll find as you start to get lighter your weight loss will start mellowing out due to building lean muscle which weighs more than fat - so definitely don't get worried if the amount you're losing starts to slow down. Progress photos will help reinforce motivation!
And where would she be getting this additional lean muscle from?
I see no information on following a progressive resistance programme whilst eating around maintenance or above and focusing on the appropriate macros
Quite the reverse will happen ...the faster her weight loss the higher proportion of LBM she will be losing within each pound of scale weight
I know I haven't talked about it here but I am already doing a progressive resistance program. I'm doing Strong Lifts. I do understand that I'm not gonna be building any real muscle during the more aggressive first phase of my plan. But during the second half I'm gonna really focus on toning and firming rather than a bunch of cardio like in the first half.0 -
jennifer_417 wrote: »You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.
JD has yoda power. She's right, the closer you get to your goal weight the slower it will come off. 2.5lbs loss a week closer to your goal weight is unreasonable. So no, i don't think it's realistic. If you're 200-300lbs over weight then yeah it reasonable, but you're not in that situation. In other words, your weight loss will slow down over time.
I keep saying that my goal is:
1. 250 lbs to 150 lbs = 2.5 lbs per week
2. 150 lbs to 130 lbs = .5 lb per week
Is that not reasonable? That is a major slow down isn't it? Each phase will be 10 months for a total of 20 months. To lose 120 pounds...i would think that is reasonable. The last 10 months I can tinker with calories as I get closer to my ultimate goal of 130. That way I'll know exactly what it will take to keep me at that weight.
I don't get the cut off
Why at 150lbs
Why not say to yourself whilst I'm in obese category I can aim for, and sustain this higher goal ...but if I start to find it challenging / taxing / painful, if I'm beginning to lose commitment I can adjust it and eat more calories
It is the strictures of this is what I will do for the next x months that concern me...seems like you're setting yourself up to fail with a fixed deadline and a progression of this is what I will lose
Because whatever you do weight loss isn't linear...what happens in the weeks when you stall out or increase weight due to water weight...what about if you have a day of pigging out
You're human not an automaton..you will get it wrong sometimes but that won't mean failure, that will mean learning a new lesson and you will cope better next time
And as you get closer to what you perceive your scale weight goal is you may well change your mind on your final goal
In it for life, try to just learn from and enjoy the journey ...CICO is adjustable
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Why?
What would happen if you did it in a sustainable way, focusing on how you will cope at maintenance, building habits for then
Because fierce and fast leads to crash and burn more often than not
Yeah...I can see why you think I'm gonna crash and burn but I'm gonna be taking 10 months going from 150 to 130 which should give me plenty of time for building habits when it comes time for maintenance.0 -
jennifer_417 wrote: »You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.
JD has yoda power. She's right, the closer you get to your goal weight the slower it will come off. 2.5lbs loss a week closer to your goal weight is unreasonable. So no, i don't think it's realistic. If you're 200-300lbs over weight then yeah it reasonable, but you're not in that situation. In other words, your weight loss will slow down over time.
I keep saying that my goal is:
1. 250 lbs to 150 lbs = 2.5 lbs per week
2. 150 lbs to 130 lbs = .5 lb per week
Is that not reasonable? That is a major slow down isn't it? Each phase will be 10 months for a total of 20 months. To lose 120 pounds...i would think that is reasonable. The last 10 months I can tinker with calories as I get closer to my ultimate goal of 130. That way I'll know exactly what it will take to keep me at that weight.
Number 2 is reasonable, number 1 isn't, for all the reasons people have pointed out to you. Two and a half pounds a week is pretty aggressive for the lower end on your first stage, and I actually doubt you'd be able to do it and still net 1200 cals a day.0 -
karintalley wrote: »Yes you can but you have to be really disciplined.
Having done it - from 279 to 175 in 9 months - it can be done, but you have to be incredibly focused ... one might say obsessed.
That's about right. Doable, but it will require a very high level of discipline.
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jennifer_417 wrote: »You can sustain that level of loss for a while, but once you get closer to your goal weight, you'll likely have to make adjustments, as the calorie deficit to required to get that kind of loss will become more and more significant.
JD has yoda power. She's right, the closer you get to your goal weight the slower it will come off. 2.5lbs loss a week closer to your goal weight is unreasonable. So no, i don't think it's realistic. If you're 200-300lbs over weight then yeah it reasonable, but you're not in that situation. In other words, your weight loss will slow down over time.
I keep saying that my goal is:
1. 250 lbs to 150 lbs = 2.5 lbs per week
2. 150 lbs to 130 lbs = .5 lb per week
Is that not reasonable? That is a major slow down isn't it? Each phase will be 10 months for a total of 20 months. To lose 120 pounds...i would think that is reasonable. The last 10 months I can tinker with calories as I get closer to my ultimate goal of 130. That way I'll know exactly what it will take to keep me at that weight.
I spent about an hour writing a reply. I did a ton of math, even some integrated calculus trying to find a "reasonable" answer for you. The post got real lengthy. I made some assumptions, you're a woman of average height 5'5'' , 60% body fat. To avoid being asked how i came to that conclusion. I assumed you want to be at a healthy weight which is roughly 22% body fat and the weight you want to lose. I also assumed that you're sedentary. If this is the case your metabolic rate would drop at a rate of 5cals per day for every lbs you lose. In the post I deleted I also recommended dropping your calories by 2.5 for every lbs you lose. If you lose 10lbs drop your calories by 25 calories to compensate for the metabolic drop(2.5*10 = 25)
Before I forget(I have ADD) you can't equate yourself to the guy above who said he lost a lot of weight in i think he said 9 months. He's bigger, he has a higher metabolic rate, he can handle a bigger deficit as well. When I came to mfp i lost 50lbs before i joined, and i dropped 20lbs in 3 weeks after joining. Is that realistic for you or anyone else? No, when I joined i was at 350lbs
But throwing out the heavy math out the window, the most realistic and reasonable approach for you would be something like this. Eat about 1,300 calories a day, burn about 300 calories per workout 5x a week. Don't eat calories back doing this method. As your fitness improves go for bigger burns but keep calories constant. This will offset the metabolic drop. Oh is 2.5 lbs a week reasonable for you, no. If you're taller than what i am assuming, if you're like 5'8 or something, then possibly.
As the "guy above", I've been thinking about my response, and I've come to the same conclusion. I did have a bigger room room for deficit, had higher start and end points, and exercised my tail off.
I too think the OP should scale back her expectations.
Note that I did not set out to lose the weight that quickly. I had a 2 year plan. But things just worked very well for me ... and like I alluded to, I was very focused/obsessed during that period.
ETA: I would say my program was aggressive and my results were atypical. OP, please consider at least a 2 year timeline.0 -
You won't keep losing at that rate. You're eating at 1200 calories now to get your rate of loss, eventually, the numbers are going to catch up to you.
You're obviously too short to have wiggle room to lower your calories further as your weight drops to sustain the same percentage of deficit. If your current deficit has you at the rock bottom of recommended caloric intake for a woman, the only way to increase your deficit as your weight drops is through increased activity.
How long will you sustain that? Speaking from experience, it doesn't take long for those calories to drop from your allowance either. I've lost 43 pounds. I started with an allowance of 1320 calories to lose a pound and a half a week. I'm down to 1200 to lose a pound a week. I'm 61.5" tall.
The numbers just aren't in your favor, sorry.0 -
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