How long has it taken you to lose your weight?

Lacyleffel

I have lost 75 pounds in 9 months. I work in IT and also sitdown all day on a computer. I changed my diet and eat a lot of vegies and not pork no beef I exersice about 3 to 4 hours a day so that really helps. You have to commit to completely changing your life style.

Colombianchick29

Everyone is different. You just have to figure out what works for your body. For me, I found out that I can work out all I want, but if I dont eat right then I wont lose weight at all. I have to keep my calories at 1200. I tried to up my calories because I as working out, but gained weight. So far I lost 20 poinds in about 3-4 months. Just worked on my eating habits at first and then integrated work outs, walking, hiking...mostly walking and hiking. I stalled for about 2 months, but realized it was due to my weekend eating out sessions. I cut that out and finally lost the 3 pounds I had been gaining and loosing for the last 2 months. I am now 5 months in to my journey and have lost 25 pounds. My first goal was to loose 30 by July, and im only 5 pounds away.


mY advice is just keep at it, try different things till you find what works for your body. Take your time, dont get impatient...this is something you want to do right, that fits your lifestyle and something you like & makes you feel good, so you can maintain it!

And I agree with everyone above me, 7 pounds in under a month is amazing! I go months with out a loss and even gain a pound or 2 back. I lost big like that in the beginning, then it slowed down.

Lalasharni

I have been year since Jan 1 2013. In that time I have lost 60+ pounds, some of it quickly but now its more slowly. That's ok - a pound a week is good for me.
Just remember, the slower it comes off, the more likely it will STAY off.
Make sure that your proteins are complete as you are veggie. I eat a lot of vegetarian recipes myself, so I know that you are getting good tasty and nutritious food.
Set small goals, first 10, 20 and then 30 lbs etc and dont set time limits. You can get discouraged if things slow down.
I see myself here for at least another 7 months losing, and then ad infinitum maintaining.
Good luck!

diannethegeek

It took me a year to get rid of 55 pounds. 7 pounds in 20 days is terrific progress! That's more than 2 pounds a week.

It's a cliche, but you have to look at this as a marathon rather than a sprint. This has to be a lifestyle change. It's going to take some time, you're going to have good days and bad, and sometimes the scale isn't going to cooperate despite all your hard work. But taking it off slowly is going to help you out in the long run. You won't put it all back on with extra when you stop and you'll be learning healthy tips along the way so you don't return to your old habits when you reach your goal.

dominiqueruns

agreed

davemunger

I lost about 30 pounds in 6 months. I wasn't on MFP and just tended to starve myself if I was getting toward the end of the month and hadn't hit my goal. Then I kind of gradually lost another 10 pounds over about 5 months when I trained for my first marathon. I'm back on MFP now with a goal of losing 10 more pounds. These last 10 have been the hardest but I'm trying to do it the right way, staying fit, lifting weights while keeping up my running. I've lost about 7 pounds in two months. Hope this helps!

HappyElizabeth

20 pounds in 4 months, and I still have ~10 pounds to go. I did the 1200 calorie thing for a while, but found that I didn't lose weight any faster, and my sleep was off. Most of the time I stayed at about TDEE-20%, but now I'm doing TDEE-~10% because I don't have that much to lose and I don't want to compromise muscle.
I would love to have lost faster, but short of doing something unhealthy, this is simply the rate at which my body feels like losing.

staceypunk

Congrats on your weight loss. Seven pounds in that time frame is impressive. Hopefully these comments will help you come to that realization. I lost the bulk of my weight in 5 months. I started at 177 and passed my initial goal of 150 relatively quickly. I ate as MFP recommended, for me it was 1200. I bought a heart rate monitor and entered my calorie burns and ate back 90% of those EARNED calories. I did 30 Day Shred (lost 15 pounds) and then Body Revolution (lost 22 pounds). Those programs just work!

jamiecrick3582

I'm down from 195 in January to 173 as of Friday. I'm close to the same size you are - 5'8". I'm eating 1500 calories a day plus exercise calories. I've been at a pretty steady .5 to 1 lb loss and I don't exercise regularly. You just need to find something you can stick to. I couldn't do 1200 calories a day nor was I losing weight that way. As soon as I upped my calories, I started losing more regularly. Good luck and congrats on your loss so far!

howekaren

I started losing weight in 2007, and I've gotten nearly 90lbs off, but it hasn't been a steady loss by any means. I've lost 50, stalled for a few months, lost another 30, gained back 20, lost 20, stalled again for a few months, lost 20, gained 20 again, recommitted myself and lost 30. Now I'm stalled again for the past few weeks. I am determined this time to keep it all off, and to lose a further 15-20 pounds as well. My downfall is the food aspect. I've been very good about the exercise, but tend to lax a bit with food, especially during the summer months. However, my periods where I fall off the wagon and indulge are getting shorter, and I'm getting better at making healthier choices. It's been a long progress, but slow progress is better than no progress.

You shouldn't be starving. That's not the way to convince yourself to live a healthier lifestyle. That's a way to quickly shed but then regain when you decide you can't take it anymore. This is not a race. Everyone wants to have it gone as quickly as possible, but there are no miracle cures. 90% of weight loss is what you eat. 90% of your health is how you treat it, including exercise. Do it the right way for long term benefits.

Lalasharni

I started losing weight in 2007, and I've gotten nearly 90lbs off, but it hasn't been a steady loss by any means. I've lost 50, stalled for a few months, lost another 30, gained back 20, lost 20, stalled again for a few months, lost 20, gained 20 again, recommitted myself and lost 30. Now I'm stalled again for the past few weeks. I am determined this time to keep it all off, and to lose a further 15-20 pounds as well. My downfall is the food aspect. I've been very good about the exercise, but tend to lax a bit with food, especially during the summer months. However, my periods where I fall off the wagon and indulge are getting shorter, and I'm getting better at making healthier choices. It's been a long progress, but slow progress is better than no progress.

You shouldn't be starving. That's not the way to convince yourself to live a healthier lifestyle. That's a way to quickly shed but then regain when you decide you can't take it anymore. This is not a race. Everyone wants to have it gone as quickly as possible, but there are no miracle cures. 90% of weight loss is what you eat. 90% of your health is how you treat it, including exercise. Do it the right way for long term benefits.

absolutely agree.

lyndausvi

Congrats on the loss so far.

I started 18 days ago and I'm down 8 pounds. I'm realistic to know that (1) it's not all fat and (2) I'm going to continue losing at this rate. What I'm focusing on how great I feel. I have more way more energy, losing inches, clothes are fitting a little better and overall I feel healthier.

Some things can't be rushed and getting healthy is not all about the scale. Focus on feeling better, losing inches, being able to ride farther and/or faster.

Good luck.

Quilled

Two years in July and still going, its a super slow pace but I am okay with it. According to mfp I have lost about 27 lbs but I didnt have a scale for a while when I started, so I have probably lost closer to 35lbs. 40lbs was my initial goal but now i am thinking I would be better off losing 45lbs total, but I will see when I get to 40.

I lost a whole lot at first from water weight then was losing 1-2lbs a week from diet etc and got down 20lbs pretty quick, when I hit a little past 20lbs I was feeling a lot better about my weight and was less worried about losing so much so quick, from there I have hit a pattern of hovering. I will hit a new low weight then go back up about 2 lbs and 'hover' there for a while then back down to a new low. So obviously from there its been really slow going, losing about 1lb a month if any. A lot of it for me at this point is more maintaining rather than being so driven to lose more. I feel better that its happening this way because I am learning to maintain as I go and I have it down pretty well at this point, so even when I do reach my final goal, I will know how to stay there. I will be two years from my first weigh exactly one month from now. I am hoping to lose 4lbs over the next month and reach my first goal weight.

Koldnomore

I have been getting rather discouraged lately as I dont see the weight coming off as quickly as I had hoped. Today will mark the 20th day that I have been on roughly 1200 calories, and trying to get as much exercise as I can. I usually ride my bike for about 30-45 minues a day and the bike doesnt have gears so its quite the workout for me. I also try to walk as much as I can, the problem is that I am a bank teller so I spend most of my days either sitting or standing for eight hours a day. I have only lost about 7 pounds, and i am starving, I dont know that else I can do to make the weight come off. I know that you are only reccomended to lose 2 lbs a week, and that means its going to be a slow process. My starting weight was 186, current weight 179, goal weight it 140, and im roughly 5'7''. Im wondering if those who lost over 20lbs, how long did it take you, and should I be doing something differently?

Age 20, goal to lose 40 lbs, SEDENTARY BMR @ 1600.

You have part of it right.. recommended rate of loss goes DOWN as you get closer to your goal thus losing 2 lbs/week when you have only a few lbs to lose is not sustainable or healthy. With 40 lbs left to lose you should be aiming closer to 1.5 - 1lb / week. It IS a slow process, it sucks, but that's how you KEEP IT OFF.

Asking someone how long it took them to lose 20 lbs is not relevant as we are all different and all have different amounts of weight to lose. At a SW of 220 I lost 20 lbs in my first 2-3 WEEKS - at 190 lbs the same weight took 3 MONTHS to come off. I am roughly the same height as you and have been sitting between 170 - 160 for the last 3 months. Probably it will be July before I crack the 150's. The lighter you are the slower it should be.

Given your age, weight and height you should be eating WAY more (and keep eating back your exercise - which you are doing right!) I would highly suggest changing your MFP goal to 1 lb/week.

You shouldn't be starving. That's not the way to convince yourself to live a healthier lifestyle. That's a way to quickly shed but then regain when you decide you can't take it anymore. This is not a race. Everyone wants to have it gone as quickly as possible, but there are no miracle cures. 90% of weight loss is what you eat. 90% of your health is how you treat it, including exercise. Do it the right way for long term benefits.

^^ good advice.

msjames1999

I'm averaging about 10 pounds a month.

rayzerwolf

as more of the weight comes off it will be slower i am at 162 and I find I can loose 1 pound or a half a week some times not at all, the heavier you are the faster it can come off at first then it slows down be patient take you time to giver your skin the time to shrink down as well

Mario_Az

you need to increase your calories get away with as much calories you can get away with so you have room to work with when you hit sticking points and try doing hit cardio better for you

if you can watch video below it will help


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

jenf235

I started out at 299 pounds and have lost just over 106 in almost one year; however, the more you have to lose, the easier and faster it comes off. Now that I am getting closer to my goal, the weight is coming off much more slowly. My body gets used to hard workouts and less calories, so every once in a while I have to "trick" my body and eat a little differently, or change the workouts. But I agree...7 pounds in one month is outstanding! Remember, the weight didn't come on in one day, it's going to take a lot of hard work to take it back off...that's what people tell me all the time. I will not say, don't get discouraged, because I know how hard this is. Just hang in there. Make sure you are getting the right nutrients and eating enough. The scale will show results. Just be patient.

momzeeee

I did alternate day intermittent fasting, and only 'dieted' every other day (the other days I ate around 2,000 calories). I lost 40lbs between October and March (6 months), including taking two weeks off for the Christmas holiday party season and eating freely during this time. In March I started transitioning into maintenance and lost another 6 pounds during that time.

I did not exercise at all during weight loss.

mumtoonegirl

I am 75lbs down but this has taken 18 months to do. Slow weight loss of 1-2 lbs a week has been proven to be the best success for long term loss. Be patient you didn't put the weight on overnight and its not going to come off overnight.

Be patient.