IS it realistic to want to lose 95 pounds in a year?

ramonasowner

yes. I've done it. just never give up. you can seriously

Jacwhite22

Definitely possible. It won't be super easy.

techcommdood

Best advice: don't look at the short term. It's the most discouraging thing you can do.

OMG! I lost 7 lbs last week!
Aw nuts, only down 0.5 lbs this week.
Cool! I lost 3 more lbs!
What?!? How'd I gain 3 lbs?
Alright, back on track with 1.5 lbs lost. I can do this!
Ugh, back up 2 lbs? You're kidding me!
Sweet! Lost 5 lbs! Must have been the broccoli and new running shoes.
Great... plateau at 0....

It can drive you mad when you look at things too closely. Meanwhile, in that 8 week period above there was a 12 lb loss.

Keep in mind that if you're doing it right, you'll be losing fat and gaining muscle. This means you may not be losing so much weight as you are fat. This is a good thing! I was angry with myself for working out 3 times a week and eating well yet losing next to nothing for about a month straight. Meanwhile I wasn't paying attention to the fact that I could no longer wear any of my pants without a belt (unless I wanted to put on a spontaneous free peep show).

And you know, if a year goes by and you miss your goal? So what! Take pride in and be happy with what you DID accomplish.

MtnKat

You can do it! Just take it one day at a time!!

MsDivineM

You guys are all awesome! My goal is to be down 130 by my 40th birthday, which is 18 months away! Its doable, just be sure to stay steady and you MUST do the work to achieve it. I have lost 18 in a month! I walk everyday at least 3 miles and do 2 zumba classes a week. I am getting ready to add 2 more classes, still walk in the morning and bike at night. I'm sick of being the fat girl in the group.

brianrhester

Depends on what you define as the term "realistic." As many have pointed out, it's possible. But that's not what you're really asking. The real question is whether you're setting yourself up for disappointment if you set this ambitious goal and then fail to reach it in twelve months. And, I think that's what your friends are suggesting in which they recommend a good, but less ambitious goal.

Look, the reason most attempts to lose weight and keep it off fail is because people want a quick fix. It took you more than one year to gain the weight, and while it could take a year to lose it, it's more realistic to expect that it'll take longer because losing the weight isn't the goal--keeping it off is (the latter overlooked one is why most diets fail, people shoot for the weight loss, then go back into bad habits after they achieved their goal).

I'm 5'4" and had forty pounds to lose to go from obese to normal weight. I set an ambitious goal to lose it in four months. However, I also had a below average muscle buildup, too. By the third month, I was 14 lbs. to my goal and hit a plateau. I cannot tell you how frustrating it was to lose in a month what I was used to losing every week, even though I was doing everything I was used to do (and more, because I had started weight training.)

And then I looked into the mirror and remembered what I looked like three months before. And it hit me. Four months was an arbitrary goal that I picked to motivate me. And that's all the purpose a goal serves, to give you a standard to motivate you. When your goals start to de-motivate you, then it's time to remember that the real goal is get healthier and feel better. And that I was hitting.

I've got a few weeks left in my fourth month, and I may still come close to my goal four-month goal, but if I miss it, I don't care. Because what really matters is that I look myself in the mirror longer than I used to, feel better about myself, and I'm on the right path. Keep that in perspective. You don't fail when you don't hit your goals. You fail when you stop having them.

bnelly55

I've lost 105 in 8 months so yeah def doable. You have to completely dedicate yourself though. Exercise exercise exercise!!! No excuses!

mrandolph69

I have lost 107 in 9.75 months so, yes, it can be done.

Qatsi

It's an aggressive goal, but doable.

Having said that... is there a reason behind setting a deadline of a year from now?

The reason I ask is because I'd originally set a deadline to drop 110 pounds in 10 months and be down to my goal weight by my 50th birthday. A couple months in, I realized I wasn't going to get there in that time frame. But I decided that the deadline wasn't as important as the goal. If I just keep doing what I'm doing, I'll get there eventually. I'm currently on track to get there in 15 months instead of 10, give or take a month or two. And I'm okay with that.

jcstanton

Best advice: don't look at the short term. It's the most discouraging thing you can do.

OMG! I lost 7 lbs last week!
Aw nuts, only down 0.5 lbs this week.
Cool! I lost 3 more lbs!
What?!? How'd I gain 3 lbs?
Alright, back on track with 1.5 lbs lost. I can do this!
Ugh, back up 2 lbs? You're kidding me!
Sweet! Lost 5 lbs! Must have been the broccoli and new running shoes.
Great... plateau at 0....

It can drive you mad when you look at things too closely. Meanwhile, in that 8 week period above there was a 12 lb loss.

Keep in mind that if you're doing it right, you'll be losing fat and gaining muscle. This means you may not be losing so much weight as you are fat. This is a good thing! I was angry with myself for working out 3 times a week and eating well yet losing next to nothing for about a month straight. Meanwhile I wasn't paying attention to the fact that I could no longer wear any of my pants without a belt (unless I wanted to put on a spontaneous free peep show).

And you know, if a year goes by and you miss your goal? So what! Take pride in and be happy with what you DID accomplish.

Yes, WEIGHING too frequently can frustrate you. However, short term goals, such as specific fitness goals (working your way up to 45 min on the eliptical after only being able to do 10 min on your first day), daily nutrition goals (today I'm going to drink 10 8oz glasses of water instead of only 8 glasses), etc... will help keep you encouraged. I'd suggest weighing only once per month, and doing body and bodyfat measurements every six weeks.

brianrhester

I agree. The real goal is to lose weight and keep it off. Goals to lose x by y dates are just mileposts we create to help motivate ourselves and measure our progress. They should be guideposts, not rigid standards to judge if we succeed or fail. If you get to healthy weight in 15 as opposed to ten, you've still succeeded. The important thing is to have a goal to strive for. All of us got in the shape we did because we didn't have a goal weight at all.

Duck_Puddle

I am 5' 4" and started at 233 the day after thanksgiving 2011. My current goal weight is a somewhat arbitrary 145-although I imagine that I will drop that to 135 fairly soon. I have consistenly lost between .5 and 1% of my body weight per week (over an average though-it's not a linear progression). I am currently at 167. I am hoping to see the 150's by the end of the summer. If that happens, I would consider seeing anything in the 140's to be reasonable by my 1-year mark. So assuming that to be 149.9 (hey-that counts), that would put me at 83 for 1 year. Realistically, I don't see that happening. I have yet to hit the dreaded plateau, and I'm still aways from my goal-so the weight is still coming off. I expect in the near future, that will slow/stop and I will be reassessing my timeline. But-I also have no real timeframe in mind. I figure I have the rest of my life to live healthy-I'm in no rush. I think it's possible that you can lose 95 lbs in a year-but celebrate any loss-no matter how large or small. You can lose 95 lbs-but if you don't have a "hard" reason to give yourself a 1-yr deadline, then don't. Roll with it-losing weight is difficult enough without adding a time pressure if you don't have to.

DavPul

Completely and totally doable. Look the success thread you'll see that type of loss all the time.

I think you should break it off into smaller goals tho. Such as lose 10 pounds per month or 2 pounds per week. Keep your eye on the smalller prize and it's less daunting of a task. That also gives you a chance to find encouragement thru a series of small victories. Each week or month you can achieve your goal and feel good about yourself, where as it's all too easy to lose 20 pounds and then feel discouraged because you're still got 70 pounds to go.

For me personally I had 50 pounds to lose when I started. But joining MFP and breaking it down into weekly goals lets me high five my workout partner every Friday. And on a week that I miss, I only miss by a pound or two, so it doesn't feel devastating. It's been much, much easier for me thinking about it like this.

myfitnessnmhoy

95 pounds in a year is 2 pounds a week, plus three weeks to make up for any slowdowns. It's realistic to think that you'll get pretty darned close, but you will slow down naturally as you approach your goal weight. You probably won't lose the last 20 pounds at 2 pounds a week.

If you put effort into exercise and toning, and balance your diet so you are feeding your body properly, I think it's VERY realistic to think that you'll be in very good shape, have a much lower body fat percentage, and LOOK and FEEL much better than whatever the fickle scale might tell you.

I also think that setting a deadline is irrelevant, because the sooner you get started the faster you'll arrive.

sabermax

Thanks for all they replys. It's just a goal to keep me motivated. If I lost lss that would be okay. My main goal ias to get off all my diabetes meds in a year, As long as I am faithful what ever I lose I will be happy with!!! Thanks again

BadgerSensei

Yes, WEIGHING too frequently can frustrate you.

It can! It can also, however, do the total opposite and make you much more laid back about those unavoidable fluctuations. I was freaking out on my weekly weigh in; I started weighing myself every day. Then multiple times a day. Now I've learned the sort of fluctuations I can expect (I weigh the least Tuesday afternoons; the most on Saturday afternoon, etc.) Not that that would work for everyone, mind you. I can see some people going crazy.

ShilohMaier

I lost 140 in 9 months. It's doable. Also, regarding your weight goal- I'm 5'5", and I think I looked pretty good at 132 pounds .

And you WILL hear people tell you that you will gain it back if you lose it that fast- well, I kept it off for 5 years, and only gained from having a baby. I'm just working on losing the baby weight (granted it took me two years to get motivated). I had no problem maintaining my weight even though I lost quickly.

arcticfox04

95 in 1 year is realistic. Basically you'll want to lose 1.8 pounds a week.

BrianSharpe

If you're disciplined and motivated yes it's possible.