I'm losing 40 lbs in 4 months!

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Replies

  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
    Nice post, OP, but the people you are talking to won't really "listen" to this until they're ready.

    QFT!
  • benjicloverdale
    benjicloverdale Posts: 92 Member
    bump
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    What am I supposed to do instead?

    Make sure the goals you've set are reasonable and attainable, then go for it.

    If you have more than 75 pounds to lose, 2 pounds a week is a reasonable and attainable goal. Once you have less to lose, weight loss will be slower. So then it would be better to aim for 1.5 pounds a week until you have maybe 40-50 pounds to go, then switch over to one pound a week. Then in the final 15, a half pound a week is a better goal.
  • nichi123
    nichi123 Posts: 244
    I actually lost 42lbs in 3 months. I never intended it. I just ate healthy and exercised for 30 minutes 6 days a week. Needless to say it slowed after that but I'm just saying that it can be done in a healthy, sensible way.

    when did you lose 42 lbs? your ticker says 13.
    Yes, and I regained it two years later when I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Now I have started again
  • jessilee119
    jessilee119 Posts: 444 Member
    bump
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Nice post, OP, but the people you are talking to won't really "listen" to this until they're ready.

    Yep
  • pwnderosa
    pwnderosa Posts: 280 Member
    What am I supposed to do instead?

    Make sure the goals you've set are reasonable and attainable, then go for it.

    Completely agree! In fact when I was in a plateau earlier this year I was getting so frustrated and ready to try something crazy! I took a deep breath and had a talking with myself, decided to throw out the timetable and the worry about losing X many pounds, and instead simply commit to keep following the plan I agreed to here on MFP and stop worrying about number of pounds and calendar dates.

    A better goal would be to commit to keeping an accurate food diary for 4 months, or to commit to working out regularly for the next 4 months and so on.

    If you can stick to a modest calorie deficit you WILL lose weight, so why stress extra over when and how fast? Don't we all have enough stress already?
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Nice post, OP, but the people you are talking to won't really "listen" to this until they're ready.

    Yep


    Agree. :ohwell:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    TL;DR version: No. No you’re not.

    Unrealistic goals almost always do more harm than good.

    Anyone who has not already been successful in something like this should not have any weight loss goal at all - they should spend the next two months logging and evaluating to see how their body works, and to see how strong their motivation and willpower actually is.

    AFTER that, it's time to set a goal, based on those actual, measured results.

    Process first - goals second.

    IMO, etc.

    Frankly speaking, if the goal is driven by an upcoming company or family xmas party, it's already to late. Forget the crash course, focus on establishing a healthy habit.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    I get what you are saying. I also see people who have accomplished quick weight loss and managed to keep it off. I have known people who lost the weight and quickly gained it back. I have known MANY people who jump in all rah rah, with lofty goals and in a week they have abandoned the whole plan.

    The point is, people are all different in their motivations, their dedication and commitment, their support system, their maturity levels, and their readiness to really make permanent lifestyle changes. No one can predict how someone else will do. You can share your experiences of failure as a warning to others, or successes as guidance and motivation, but that's about all you can do.

    I started here a year ago with the goal to get to 155 by my 50th birthday. I turned 50 last week and still have 28 lbs to go.

    Did I fail? Heck no! I am thrilled with the progress I have made, not just on the scale, but with my overall health.

    Am I going to give up and gain the weight back? No way. I am not done yet. I will in many ways never be done, because when I do reach goal, I will still have to maintain the rest of my life.

    If someone had told me a year ago, that it was impossible for me to lose 73 pounds in a year, and I would end up feeling like a failure and gain what weight I did lose,back again, I would probably have never committed to losing the weight in the first place.

    Just like being a parent, I would really love for my kids to trust me on everything and learn from my mistakes, but that is not going to always happen. Maturity in all things, often requires failures and successes, and figuring out answers for ourselves.

    So don't feel bad if the majority of the people you are directing this thread to, do not take your advice. That doesn't reflect poorly on them either. We all have different goals and different paths to get there. And we have to learn the lessons along the way.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    What am I supposed to do instead?

    Make sure the goals you've set are reasonable and attainable, then go for it.

    Completely agree! In fact when I was in a plateau earlier this year I was getting so frustrated and ready to try something crazy! I took a deep breath and had a talking with myself, decided to throw out the timetable and the worry about losing X many pounds, and instead simply commit to keep following the plan I agreed to here on MFP and stop worrying about number of pounds and calendar dates.

    A better goal would be to commit to keeping an accurate food diary for 4 months, or to commit to working out regularly for the next 4 months and so on.

    If you can stick to a modest calorie deficit you WILL lose weight, so why stress extra over when and how fast? Don't we all have enough stress already?

    Different people respond to different goals. Some people, like myself, work best given direct goals with a time-frame to achieve those goals. I work best under pressure. All my life I have tried to 'eat healthier' and 'cut back a little', but I never made any progress until I set firm goals with a firm plan in place, and a time frame to get it done. That's just me. I work better with a little stress!

    I also don't beat myself up if I miss the goal date. As long as I am making progress, I just readjust as necessary.
  • ZombieEarhart
    ZombieEarhart Posts: 320 Member
    Well said, very truthy. I can't help feeling that groups like that are easy pickings for MLM sellers, and then I get really freaking sad.
  • ZombieEarhart
    ZombieEarhart Posts: 320 Member
    tumblr_mjvlppFAvk1qe9rxvo1_250.gif

    Exactly what my feelings look like while reading all the VLCD and super-stressful goals on the forums today.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    And some of us are just people that expect a lot from ourselves. Want to push ourselves to try our hardest and not wish wash around about it. I've lost 20 lbs in 2 months before when I only had 30 to lose, and yes I did keep the weight off. My weight gain this past year is not common for me. Extenuating circumstances blah blah blah. So I'm setting lofty goals to push myself back on track. Im serious about my weight loss and I refuse to take a year to lose 20 or 30 lbs when I know if it takes me that long I'm just being lazy. I work out six days a week, watch my calories, but eat so much in volume that someday I want to cry at the thought of having to eat more to hit my calorie goals cause I'm so full. No one going hungry over here.
    If I don't hit 40 in 4 who cares? Cause I KNOW by pushing towards a lofty goal I'll feel better, focused, healthy and will have probably lost some great inches.
    A hardcore goal makes me want to work HARDER, and not just tra di dah around about it. I want back into my bikinis next summer, so I have to have dicipline.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Posters arguing with the OP and claiming to have lost weight and kept it off . . . while turning right around to say that they fell off the wagon recently and gained the weight back, but are committed to losing it again? Please see the irony in this and step back for a few moments to think.

    As cliche as it sounds, there is a way to institute slow changes to build habits that truly become a change in lifestyle.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    Congratulations! Now what? How long do you think you can keep up restricting, not eating carbs, replacing two meals a day with shakes, running 10 miles a day, or popping pills? Think you can do it the rest of your life? Because if you don’t, you are going to gain the weight back. Period.

    This is the only part I have trouble with. People can do dreadful, horrible things to themselves (and others) for insanely long amounts of time. People can under eat and over train for years before they realize something isn't right.

    Everybody's journey is different. I think the value of these forums is the community of people who are dedicated to helping others to find and stay on "the path".

    The other thing is that there's great value to trying and failing. Failure is one of life's greatest teachers.

    Lots of crabbi-pants-I-Don't-have-time-for-your-mistakes on the forum today.

    Bad juju IMO

    :heart: I agree...it's a process. :blushing:
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Posters arguing with the OP and claiming to have lost weight and kept it off . . . while turning right around to say that they fell off the wagon recently and gained the weight back, but are committed to losing it again? Please see the irony in this and step back for a few moments to think.

    As cliche as it sounds, there is a way to institute slow changes to build habits that truly become a change in lifestyle.

    Yep.
  • klerato
    klerato Posts: 45
    I think everyone is different. If this person wants to try to use this amount of weight than that's their business. People are having surgery to cut their ability to consume calories,so if the original poster can do it without surgery than more power to him/her. Yes there may be some hardships and plateau's but that's just life.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    Posters arguing with the OP and claiming to have lost weight and kept it off . . . while turning right around to say that they fell off the wagon recently and gained the weight back, but are committed to losing it again? Please see the irony in this and step back for a few moments to think.

    As cliche as it sounds, there is a way to institute slow changes to build habits that truly become a change in lifestyle.

    I don't see the irony. I spent most of my life fit and active didn't really have to try with my weight most of the time. Gained more weight than I wanted after college so I lost it and I lost it quickly. Never had to worry about "maintaining" as an active process because I had such an active job. A few years later I got promoted and let work get the best of me. Got promoted, more standing less lifting in my new position, focused on climbing the work ladder not calories.
    Realized I let my weight get away from me with all the work this years so I'm going to lose the weight by going at it hard and making sure to pay closer attention once it's gone now that my job is not automatically burning it off for me.

    Why does everything have to be this huge weight loss drama? Sometimes life just happens, we gain some weight, wake up one day and go "oh shoot, too many toquitos not enough crunches!" I mean seriously, I spent a summer at the Royal Military College of Canada, I'm not afraid of trying to tackle "unrealistic goals" in order to motivate me to get my butt in gear. That's just how I was raised in order to guarantee you get stuff done in a decent amount of time. Challenge. Push. Conquer.
  • trishajo82
    trishajo82 Posts: 68 Member
    Love it girl!! Reality hits hard. LOL


    LOVEEEEEE your new prof pic, too!! <3<3


    Luvs,

    Your biggest fan!! :)
  • mollyya90
    mollyya90 Posts: 49 Member
    It is possible to lose the weight.

    But......

    :noway: Highly doubtful. I've lost 31 pounds in 6 months. And yes I joined a challenge in August to lose 10 pounds by Halloween. Now that's a more realistic goal!!!! :drinker:
  • mollyya90
    mollyya90 Posts: 49 Member
    I actually lost 42lbs in 3 months. I never intended it. I just ate healthy and exercised for 30 minutes 6 days a week. Needless to say it slowed after that but I'm just saying that it can be done in a healthy, sensible way.

    when did you lose 42 lbs? your ticker says 13.



    This made me laugh!!! Lmao :laugh:
  • BrotherBill913
    BrotherBill913 Posts: 662 Member
    this is a good thread. I have a Pal who I worry about she goes on practically liquid diets, Yeah she loses 8-10 lbs pretty quick but then what?/ She has to eventually eat food again... lol....
  • BAMarsh
    BAMarsh Posts: 72 Member
    Posters arguing with the OP and claiming to have lost weight and kept it off . . . while turning right around to say that they fell off the wagon recently and gained the weight back, but are committed to losing it again? Please see the irony in this and step back for a few moments to think.

    As cliche as it sounds, there is a way to institute slow changes to build habits that truly become a change in lifestyle.

    A few years later I got promoted and let work get the best of me. Got promoted, more standing less lifting in my new position, focused on climbing the work ladder not calories.
    Realized I let my weight get away from me with all the work this years so I'm going to lose the weight by going at it hard and making sure to pay closer attention once it's gone now that my job is not automatically burning it off for me.

    You just proved his point right here - you did not fully incorporate everything into your lifestyle. You thought you could continue eating and not being active outside of work and maintain your weight. If you had truly adopted a new lifestyle, the job change should not have affected anything. You realize you are not lifting and being as active at work therefore you need to begin being active outside of work.

    Someone who has truly embraced their weight loss journey and made a lifestyle change would have adapted to that work place change. You, my friend, did indeed fall off the wagon and had to re-lose weight. That's what happens when you lose weight quickly and then believe that you will be the same you were before college/changing jobs/moving/getting married - whatever your situation may be.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Posters arguing with the OP and claiming to have lost weight and kept it off . . . while turning right around to say that they fell off the wagon recently and gained the weight back, but are committed to losing it again? Please see the irony in this and step back for a few moments to think.

    As cliche as it sounds, there is a way to institute slow changes to build habits that truly become a change in lifestyle.

    A few years later I got promoted and let work get the best of me. Got promoted, more standing less lifting in my new position, focused on climbing the work ladder not calories.
    Realized I let my weight get away from me with all the work this years so I'm going to lose the weight by going at it hard and making sure to pay closer attention once it's gone now that my job is not automatically burning it off for me.

    You just proved his point right here - you did not fully incorporate everything into your lifestyle. You thought you could continue eating and not being active outside of work and maintain your weight. If you had truly adopted a new lifestyle, the job change should not have affected anything. You realize you are not lifting and being as active at work therefore you need to begin being active outside of work.

    Someone who has truly embraced their weight loss journey and made a lifestyle change would have adapted to that work place change. You, my friend, did indeed fall off the wagon and had to re-lose weight. That's what happens when you lose weight quickly and then believe that you will be the same you were before college/changing jobs/moving/getting married - whatever your situation may be.

    I'm sorry, but this last post is awfully judgmental coming from someone who states on her profile that "she did it before and will do it again." And does not show any weight on her ticker since Jan 2012.

    You might want to climb down off of that high horse until you truly learn to ride. Just sayin..
  • BAMarsh
    BAMarsh Posts: 72 Member

    I'm sorry, but this last post is awfully judgmental coming from someone who states on her profile that "she did it before and will do it again." And does not show any weight on her ticker since Jan 2012.

    You might want to climb down off of that high horse until you truly learn to ride. Just sayin..

    Actually, quite the opposite - (a) I'm speaking from experience - CLEARLY since you quoted my profile you could have come to that conclusion yourself. I have been there done that with the quick weight loss and gained it back. My profile also says "And keep the changes" so clearly I know I need to do it differently (b) WTH does MY ticker have anything to do with it? I choose not to use the ticker. I choose to live a better lifestyle and not weigh myself down with the burden of numbers. I lift heavy, therefore the number on the scale is irrelevant to me.

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