How long does it take to lose weight?

jo_ruegg98

I started my first semester of college in Sept 2016 and like most freshman, I gained weight - about 10lbs. Since January, I have been eating about 85% whole, plant-based foods and have been exercising about 2-5 hours per week (usually half an hour at a time).
For a bit of background, I am 5'3 and have been since I was 12 years old. I was about 120lbs-128lbs throughout most of high school, but I started to gain weight just before I turned 17. By the end of high school I was about 135lbs and by the end of summer (just before I started college) I was about 145lbs. Now I'm at 155lbs and I can't seem to lose it. My ideal weight would be about 125lbs.
Any advice?

SueSueDio

Weigh your food, count calories to make sure you're in a deficit, and have a LOT of patience...

Check out some of these posts, especially the "sexypants" one, for lots of helpful info!

Seffell

If you weigh all your food and log it properly and eat at the deficit MFP has set for you for your weight then 1lbs per week should be OK.

If you don't weigh and log than you can't know how much you're eating and there isn't much to talk about.

So to lose 30lbs at your weight it should take a bit over 6 months if you do everything properly.

Incidentally whole food or any type of food for that matter has nothing to do with weight loss. Amount of calories in it does.

CattOfTheGarage

At your weight you're looking at half a pound a week as a sensible rate of loss, so about 18 months to reach goal.

Slow and steady wins the race!

ktrulez

i'd recommend using IIFYM calculator and stay under that number; if you want to be physically active that's a bonus and will speed the process.

jelleigh

All the above advice is great. About your question - there is a great info graphic that you will see on this site that essentially says give any new program at least 3 weeks to see how your body reacts. And it's not a plateau until you've gone 6 weeks with no change. So start your program, stick to it for at least 3 weeks. Take stock and see how your body reacts. Tweak the program as necessary. Rinse and repeat.

TimothyFish

For weight loss, calories are what matter, not what type of food you are eating. Technically, a person who is maintaining their weight could lose weight by just changing what they eat and keeping all else constant, but outside of the lab no one keeps all else constant. Log your calories and eat fewer than you burn and you will lose weight.

VintageFeline

jelleigh wrote: »

All the above advice is great. About your question - there is a great info graphic that you will see on this site that essentially says give any new program at least 3 weeks to see how your body reacts. And it's not a plateau until you've gone 6 weeks with no change. So start your program, stick to it for at least 3 weeks. Take stock and see how your body reacts. Tweak the program as necessary. Rinse and repeat.

Let me supply said infographic.

perkymommy

jo_ruegg98 wrote: »

I started my first semester of college in Sept 2016 and like most freshman, I gained weight - about 10lbs. Since January, I have been eating about 85% whole, plant-based foods and have been exercising about 2-5 hours per week (usually half an hour at a time).
For a bit of background, I am 5'3 and have been since I was 12 years old. I was about 120lbs-128lbs throughout most of high school, but I started to gain weight just before I turned 17. By the end of high school I was about 135lbs and by the end of summer (just before I started college) I was about 145lbs. Now I'm at 155lbs and I can't seem to lose it. My ideal weight would be about 125lbs.
Any advice?

Just stay at it. School can be stressful so you may be doing everything right with food and exercise and the stress may slow you down some. Make sure you weigh the foods you eat. You may be doing that already but it wasn't mentioned. That helps a lot to know how much you are actually eating and not guessing.