Is losing 10+ lbs a month a safe, realistic goal?

ashhtastic

My current weight is 194. Ugh, I hate saying that. My goal is to lose 44+ lbs by June. Is this realistic and/or safe? I don't absolutely HAVE to lose that much, but I want that to be my goal. Usually by June, we start taking our boat out every weekend. That's bikini baring time... I really want to get my *kitten* in gear, but I don't want to set myself up for an unreachable goal. Any thoughts? I see so many people succeeding and I would love to know some tips!

Wrigleymom

It depends on how your body reacts. I think a goal of 5 lbs a month is more realistic but it really depends.

Kranzke

I think you can do this. It doesn't seem dangerous at all. As long as you eat right and exercise you should have no problem reaching this goal. Make exercising fun and enjoyable. It really helps when it doesn't seem like your even working out. Good Luck! (And in case is does become too much, just slow down and pace yourself.)

Melissa_Dawn90

Something I've learned is the bigger you are, the more and faster you lose. Since you still are in the 100's, it may be difficult to attain 10 pounds a month. I've seen people in the 300's and 200's accomplish it. It really just depends on your body. I would try it out for a month and see how it goes. But remember, the smaller you get the harder it will be to lose that much in a month. It'll take some serious committment. You can only do what your body allows you so don't beat yourself up if it doesn't happen. So, it's not unrealistic per se it'll just take some serious hard work.
But you can reach your goal so don't fret!! I'm just beginning my own weight loss so sorry I don't have any tips yet =[

tistal

I started at 201 and hit the 10lb mark yesterday. Took me 16 days. So I think it is doable. And you can look at my food diary. I am not starving myself by any means! lol Im sure my weight loss will slow down though. I will be happy with between 5-8 lbs a month!

PinkEarthMama

Eat appropriate foods ( not diet foods ) and work your @$$ off... The only way to see if this will work for YOU is to do it. Even if you don't make it down to goal, you'll still be DOWN. And that, my friend, is a WIN!

jennbriere

About 3 yrs ago..I was the weight I am now and lost 20lbs (180lbs to 160lbs...I am 5ft10) in a month just by changing my food (I was eating really bad and drinking beer lol) and not exercising.... I went from that to going to the gym 5 times a week and eating a lot of chicken and avoiding "bad" foods. I did feel a little weak after the first month, so slowed down..but I didn't die or end up at the hospital and I certainly didn't starve myself lol! I think if you maintain a good nutrition and exercise you can loose 10lbs a month..or close to that!! Just make sure you eat properly..don't skip meals to try and loose more...that's when it can become dangerous because you're not giving your body the energy it needs.

I'm back to 184.. so I'm in the same boat as you..want to loose about 30-40 lbs by June...I'm going to try it again (I started only 3 days ago and already lost a pound!)

Good luck!

yowla

You might not lose the 44lbs but if you work out hard and eat good you will be able to see a difference. Especially when the fat truns into muscle. you will look much leaner. And you rather look lean and weigh a little bit more than lose a lot fast and have flab. Try jogging. for every 10 mins you jog you burn 100 calories.

psuLemon

I started at 201 and hit the 10lb mark yesterday. Took me 16 days. So I think it is doable. And you can look at my food diary. I am not starving myself by any means! lol Im sure my weight loss will slow down though. I will be happy with between 5-8 lbs a month!

The first 10 lbs are always easy. Most of it is actually water weight.


10 lbs a month is very difficult considering you aren't very far from your goal. In reality, you want to aim for 1 lb per week. I will note, since it's bikini season you care about, stop worrying about weight, and start working on body recomposition. This is where you reduce body fat. And in fact, this is what will make you look amazing in a bathing suit. Weight is really meaningless as it doesn't mean you will look better (ever hear of skinny fat?) and below is an example of what I mean. If you work on lifting heavy (3 days a week) and do cardio (3 days a week) while maintaining a small caloric deficit and eat clean, you can shed the inches off and work in building muscle. And since muscle burns fat, the more you have the better off your body will be. I don't have much to lose, but I have been able to lose 1% body fat a month (doing p90x or p90x2) but I started with 18% and now have about 12%. For people who have more to lose, it will come off quicker.

I would look at the second link below and put your information in there and post your results. You essentially need to figure out your activity level and subtract 20% or about 500 calories. I generally add my activity into the calculation so you don't have to worry about eating back calories. Also, look to eat 1g of protein per lean body mass or .8g of protein per lb of weight (about 150g of protein) and .35 g of fat per lb and the rest can be carbs. You can adjust your ratio's (macro') after you figure out your caloric needs by using that site.



http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/392784-skinny-fat-vs-fit-photo?hl=skinny+fat&page=2#posts-5441852

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

speedycakes

The more you have to lose the faster it will come off. So 40+ pounds is doable for you in that time frame. You can do it. I'd be luck to lose 20 pounds in that amount of time.

psuLemon

Btw, when you do recomposition you will lose weight.

PiersonsWifey

I lost 10 pounds in my first week of 17 day diet, and 47 pounds in 4 months... so it's realistic. Most of what I lost at the beginning was water weight and my body detoxing from all the crap that I had in it. As long as you reach your calorie limit each day (or close), you'll be fine! Just don't try to starve yourself because not only is it harmful, but the weight won't stay off.

LelliAmi

yes. as long as you do it through exercise and proper diet, it's fine and i've seen people lose that much in a week, so it's fine.

ishallnotwant

You might not lose the 44lbs but if you work out hard and eat good you will be able to see a difference. Especially when the fat truns into muscle. you will look much leaner. And you rather look lean and weigh a little bit more than lose a lot fast and have flab. Try jogging. for every 10 mins you jog you burn 100 calories.

It is absolutely impossible for fat to turn into muscle.

ConnieSG

The closer you get to your goal weight, the harder it will come off. I have lost close to 40 pounds since March, 2011 and now that I only have 10-15 pds to go it is slowly coming off. I am not so worried about my weight anymore as I am worried about toning my body!! Right now, I am losing about 2 pds a month if that, but I am losing the inches. Good luck to you.

MaximalLife

It depends on how your body reacts. I think a goal of 5 lbs a month is more realistic but it really depends.

^^^^
THIS
Welcome to MFP; this is a great place to get started on a wonderful journey.
What's the rush? Summer? beach parties...:bigsmile:
I get it.
Give it a go if you must, but it just might end up a learning experience of what not to do.
MFP recommend 1 lb per week weight loss for a reason, and that's a function of a desire for you and me to succeed.
Consider setting your goals for 1 lb weight loss per week.
It's not a race.
And eat lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies.
Do both cardio and resistance exercise.
A remember to eat back those exercise calories.
You can reach your goals if you stick to a good plan as recommended on this site.
Maybe not by June, but in the right time in a healthy, permanent way.
Good Luck to you no matter your decision....

All Is Possible!

heybales

My current weight is 194. Ugh, I hate saying that. My goal is to lose 44+ lbs by June. Is this realistic and/or safe? I don't absolutely HAVE to lose that much, but I want that to be my goal. Usually by June, we start taking our boat out every weekend. That's bikini baring time... I really want to get my *kitten* in gear, but I don't want to set myself up for an unreachable goal. Any thoughts? I see so many people succeeding and I would love to know some tips!

3 good strong weight lifting sessions each week. You should feel sore the next day. Major muscle groups, meaning, don't waste time on triceps or such. Biggest muscles burn more fat all day more than little ones, build up the biggest first.

2 good cardio sessions with some level of sprint intervals in it, be that treadmill, elliptical, Spin bike, or outdoors.

1 long cardio session of 2 hrs. To use those big muscles now for extended periods of time.

1 good rest day. Good sleep. Good food.

Confirm the BMR from MFP or other site mentioned. Always have net calories above this slighly, and have decent estimates of exercise calories, so as not to eat back more than needed.

On the 6th week in, take a whole week off, only walk every day for an hour. Your body will need a rest. If you find effort to keep the same pace or lift the same weight has degraded by the 5th week, make that your rest week.
You will come back with stronger muscles and improved system. And still eating at BMR level still has you at a deficit for daily calories, so don't worry.

Did 42lbs in 4 months doing this.

You may be thinking, why am I doing all this exercise to just eat back those calories I'm burning?
Because the exercise is for getting in shape, trim, not so much about the weight loss, though the great benefit is, the stronger muscle will raise your metabolism and keep it burning along, as long as you don't underfeed it.

Your major weight loss is coming from making a calorie deficit to what would be your normal maintenance calories. Those activities that are pretty low key compared to exercise, can be fed by stored body fat mostly. You don't need to feed those while you are losing. Unlike the need to feed the exercise.

So, increase that light daily activity too. Park farther, more stairs, up at work (when the smokers go out, you go walk), ect.

moeisreal

Hell yeah that's normal, 20 pounds a month is too much, but 10 is perfect. Workout HARD, lift and do cardio, Make sure your coming out of the gym out of breath and sweating. For diet, I got two words for you: Intermittent Fasting. Ill make it easy for you. Dont eat after 6pm. Eat relatively clean low carb diet from the time you wake up until 6pm. Have 2-3 decent sized meals. The thing that will have you losing weight the most is not eating after 6pm. That is most important and working out! First week your gonna go to bed hungry as heck but you get used to it, just push through, drink tea, do whatever you gotta do, if you get intense cravings and are about to binge just binge the heck out on some fruit lol. You GOT THIS.