1 pound per week = 52 lbs in one year

_lyndseybrooke_

Whatever gets you there, but you're sure spouting off numbers as if they apply to everyone. 1500 calories may work for an average woman that only walks a mile a day for exercise, but for a very active woman or any man, 1500 calories wouldn't be enough for them and they'd drop more than a pound a week (and be hungry). Also, walking a mile doesn't burn 100 calories for everyone - it depends on how fast the person is walking, the height/weight/gender of the person, and how long they're engaging in the activity. These are all variable, so be careful listing numbers as if they're one-size-fits-all. They're not.

jakicooke

This has just sooo clicked in with me. I was feeling really down that I had "only" hit 52lb loss since January and that I wasn't doing well enough but you are so right - ITS OFF which is more than it was before I started.

love the quote - don't give up on a dream because of the time it will take to achieve it ! thanks for this one.

im going to post it everywhere to try and keep my motivation going

yellowlemoned

I've been losing at a rate of a little less than 1 lb per week. Started April 2013 and down 52 lbs now. There have been times I've been aggravated that I haven't done something to "lose weight quickly," but then I remind myself that it's not a race to the finish line and there's no deadline to get it done by. The important thing is that I'm doing something that I can maintain.

becca14u2nv

Bump * * * Very realistic way of looking at an attainable goal in a healthy manner. I like.

greatsmokey623

OK, can I add my high fives pats on the back for this post. I just sat here and started to think about what I was doing a year ago. Probably sitting right here at my desk and whining about how fat I was and how I could not lose weight, especially after I had just wolfed down a lage honeybun and was planning what I would eat for lunch ( and not a good-for-me lunch but a what-will-make-me feel-good lunch). Had I started on this road then, I would have totally lost all I need to lose and be on maintenance. My doctor actually told me about the one lb a week deal years ago but I thought he was crazy. I had been suckered into the 20 lbs in a month blather and 1 lb a week sounded totally useless. Of course, had I listened to him then I would have been.......oh well, let's hear it for 1 lb a week!!:happy:

WinoGelato

OK, can I add my high fives pats on the back for this post. I just sat here and started to think about what I was doing a year ago. Probably sitting right here at my desk and whining about how fat I was and how I could not lose weight, especially after I had just wolfed down a lage honeybun and was planning what I would eat for lunch ( and not a good-for-me lunch but a what-will-make-me feel-good lunch). Had I started on this road then, I would have totally lost all I need to lose and be on maintenance. My doctor actually told me about the one lb a week deal years ago but I thought he was crazy. I had been suckered into the 20 lbs in a month blather and 1 lb a week sounded totally useless. Of course, had I listened to him then I would have been.......oh well, let's hear it for 1 lb a week!!:happy:

I think this is also a really good way of looking at this. For people who are in such a hurry, think back to where you were a year ago at this time. Did you want to lose weight then? If you had started then, but done so at a manageable pace, you might be done by now. Instead, how many times did that person start and fail because they were too aggressive with their goals during that same year period? Now look forward.... if a year from now, you could be 50 lbs lighter (or 25 or whatever your goal is), and along the way you will have learned healthy new habits and had short term successes that help keep you motivated (dropping a pants size or getting compliments after you've lost the first 10 or 20 lbs)... doesn't that sound great?

RosieRaz

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."

Loved that quote!

True...about a year ago I started a weight loss challenge with some friends. We didn't finish it. I kept going. In my mind, if I did something, it was better than nothing and maybe in a year I would have lost weight and be better off. Now there is a 40-50 lb difference between us when there was originally a 10-20 lb difference.

plipsurt

Whatever gets you there, but you're sure spouting off numbers as if they apply to everyone. 1500 calories may work for an average woman that only walks a mile a day for exercise, but for a very active woman or any man, 1500 calories wouldn't be enough for them and they'd drop more than a pound a week (and be hungry). Also, walking a mile doesn't burn 100 calories for everyone - it depends on how fast the person is walking, the height/weight/gender of the person, and how long they're engaging in the activity. These are all variable, so be careful listing numbers as if they're one-size-fits-all. They're not.

This is also very important. While I hate to rain on anybody's parade, I walk 5 miles per day minimum, run 3 times per week and weigh/log everything I eat and drink. My calorie consumption is usually between 1500 and 1800 per day. I have been steadily gaining weight for the past 6 months.....

emmooney235

What a great way to look at the timeline I've set for myself! It made me realize that I could be at my goal weight by April which gives me "oops" room before a family vacation late June 2015.

pippadeedippity

Love this! Thanks for posting!

seltzermint555

Thank you for bringing up this simple math that can be SO helpful to our attitudes and progress. I have said this quite a few times to friends and MFP-ers who lament losing "just 3-4 lb in a month!" especially when they're first beginning...

johnnylakis

Bump.... because of popular demand

TheSatinPumpkin

Gotta be in the mindset that's it's a WOL and its long term. Also time seems to be blitzing by that for me it sometimes feels like yesterday when i started my WOE even though i started late August 2013.

noexcusesjustresults2014

1 pound a week sounds like a lot to me. I am happy to lose weight at half that pace. 14 weeks = 7 pounds and my GW:)