Help! What is a realistic timeline for weight loss?

bear2303

Hi! I have been on MFP for the past few weeks and I am curious to know what a realistic timeline is for the weight loss I am trying to achieve.

Some stats: I am 5'3 with a SW of 174 and am a 28yo Female.

My lifestyle was pretty sedentary but now I work out about 3-4 times a week usually just 30 mins of cardio and some strength training.

My calorie goal on MFP is 1370 a day and I stay pretty true to that with some days a little over and some a little under.

My GW is about 135 which is a loss of about 40 pounds. I have lost about 11 so far but the first 5 I'm pretty sure was just bloating and water weight.

Since the first 11 came off so quickly (3 weeks) I am trying to figure out if I am losing too quickly to sustain or if I can bank on losing at least 1.5 pounds a week until I hit my goal. Any thoughts or advice is truly appreciated!

TheStephil

As a rule of thumb, the following weekly targets would give a balance between minimizing these negative side effects and seeing a reasonable weekly weight loss:
More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

I suggest taking a look at this post and the links it provides
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

With 40lbs to lose you should try to lose about 1lb per week. Once you get down to 10lbs to go you should lower that to .5lb/week. So if everything went according to plan it would take about 50 weeks. Life isn't linear though and your body may decide to lose 2lbs one week or stay the same for a few weeks.

afaithr09

You can never really set a 'timeline' for weight loss as every one loses weight at a different rate/pace because everyone's body is different. There's also many variables that will determine how fast or slow you will lose pounds such as the obvious factors of diet and exercise but also the less obvious factors like fitness performed due to your job, stress levels, hormones, etc. Don't forget too that if you're new to the diet/exercise world that you may actually see gains as opposed to losses as you work out- it means you may be gaining muscle which is a good thing!!

I'm training for my first half marathon right now and started working out with a personal traininer back in December- it has taken me since then to lose only ten pounds. I have a friend who has been working out/training with me and in the same time frame has lost closer to 20 so it really all depends!!

Just keep at it, don't get frustrated and measure success based more on how your clothes fit- not on the scale!!

Best of luck to you!!

SezxyStef

to give you an example I have been at a "real" deficet since January 6th 2013...I lost about 25lbs in the first 3 months of the year...stalled out (I wasn't on MFP counting) then in June joined here and have lost a net of about 24lbs so far...

So it's been about 15months for me to lose almost 50lbs...this has been at an average of 3/4lb a week where over the holidays I gained a bit, but lost it quickly, then over a 12 day vacation south gained 4lbs and again lost it quickly.

But that was my rate...yours could be longer could be shorter it's all in the rate in which you lose how accurate you are with your logging etc.

but with 40lbs to lose a sustainable rate is 1lb a week until you are about 15-20lbs away from goal..then it gets changed to 1/2lb a week...at those rates you are looking at 45-50 weeks give or take...

bear2303

Thank you! All for the help! that is exactly what I was looking for! I just wanted a good realistic idea of a timeline. I realize that it may be faster or slower just depending on how my body works but I had set an unrealistic expectation i think. I wanted to lose it all by July and it looks like it may take longer than that which is fine but good to know!

Thank you!

bear2303

As a rule of thumb, the following weekly targets would give a balance between minimizing these negative side effects and seeing a reasonable weekly weight loss:
More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

I suggest taking a look at this post and the links it provides
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

With 40lbs to lose you should try to lose about 1lb per week. Once you get down to 10lbs to go you should lower that to .5lb/week. So if everything went according to plan it would take about 50 weeks. Life isn't linear though and your body may decide to lose 2lbs one week or stay the same for a few weeks.

This is really helpful! Thank you so much!

dsb188

I set 10lbs month and I've been dieting so far for 159 days. By May 1st I'm suppose to be 50lbs down but so far I'm at 43 pounds. I won't complain. The thing is that you can set a goal but your body decides when and how to lose the weight.