Looking to lose 10-15 pounds a month

DontStopB_Leakin

Good Luck OP.

I bet if you set your mind to it you can lose 20-25lbs a month.

Don't listen to Lea up there, who is a success story like no other.
Don't listen to anyone who has dealt with trying this for months/years.

Do your thing..& DO IT GOOD GIRL

I clearly don't know what I'm talking about, right Tyler?

REACH FOR THE STARS, OP!

envyme521

"Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people succeed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is disappointing. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new comers and veterans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.

Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.

Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crucial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permanent yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tries to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.

Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistent (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becoming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!

Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already succeeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!

Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficit, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficits you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficit (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.

Conclusion:

This is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from."

Thanks

fbmandy55

Let me tell you what happened to me. I started out on here without a scale. My first weigh in after losing some weight was in the 260s. I east eating WAY too little. Averaging between 1100-1300 calories a day. The weight flew off. I lost 50lbs in a matter of months just by eating very little and walking for exercise.

Fast forward to today. I gained back 30 of the 50 I lost within a matter of months. I upped my calories and now eat between 1900-2100 calories a day. I started lifting weights and the composition of my body is drastically different. I still have lots of fat to lose, which I am, but my body is also more firm. My arms and shoulders are looking nice for once. It is coming off extremely slow but I would NOT go back to losing it quickly again. I only lift 2-4 days a week but also play league volleyball, hike and I just did my first mud run last weekend and was actually able to run for a fair amount of time and complete all obstacles. When I was eating little and losing fast, I was exhausted all the time and hardly able to do a 30 minute workout without getting worn out.

envyme521

I do have a lot of weight to lose. I'm 275, down from 289. My doctor wants me to be at 180. I lost 14 pounds my first month of diet( eating healthier and smaller portions) and exercise, so I'm hoping to continue this month to month.

I started off similarly and then kind of leveled off at about 10 pounds a month. I have to be diligent to really follow my nutritional goals and I have to constantly find new ways to push myself when working out. It's tough, but worth it. I think how quickly you lose is up to you, but be sure and keep some balance and don't put your health at risk if your body is telling you it needs to ease up.

Thank you.

Sporks42

Maybe the reason so few have replied to your actual question has something to do with the fact that it isn't good for your body, nor very sustainable, and thus, they have found better methods of loosing weight. Good luck to you on your journey.

TavistockToad

Maybe the reason so few have replied to your actual question has something to do with the fact that it isn't good for your body, nor very sustainable, and thus, they have found better methods of loosing weight. Good luck to you on your journey.

thats crazy talk!

Danny_Boy13

10-15lbs a month??? Although it is possible, in the long term mind set its not going to happen like everyone else has stated. It is great for us all to have goals but make them realistic ones. If 10 - 15lbs a month is your goal then great but dont get saddened if you do not hit that mark. I think you will find that the ones who have lost 100lbs+ will all tell you the same thing.....its not realistically going to happen, unless you have lapban or something like that but even then it would be asking a lot. 8lbs a month is doable which is what I would think your realistic goal to shot for should be....and if you lose more then bonus points for you. In doing so you are setting yourself up for more success then failure. Take the reverse and if you set a goal of 10-15lbs a month and you only hit 5lbs lost it usually has an impact on individuals mentally.... Best advise you can take from here are the ones who have lost the weight you are looking to lose and hear their story. You will find that it is a long run and not a sprint. You will find that lots of weight was coming off fast but then it slowed quickly. Best of luck to you in your efforts and don't get discouraged if you dont hit your marks. Evaluate your goals and make adjustments from there.

ninerbuff

I do have a lot of weight to lose. I'm 275, down from 289. My doctor wants me to be at 180. I lost 14 pounds my first month of diet( eating healthier and smaller portions) and exercise, so I'm hoping to continue this month to month.

Unfortunately it's not going to be that way (unless you're on some extreme diet and fast weight loss isn't that healthy). Good rule of thumb is to lose 1% of your body weight a week. It's sustainable and doable.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Erikalynne18

Yes it iS possible to lose more weight quicker than the 1-2 lbs/wk when you are a bigger person... however that is still only temporary. People are not trying to be disrespectful of your goals with their advice here, they are simply trying to tell you that if nearly everyone should aim for 1-2 lbs/wk, then you should aim for the same if you aim for higher, even if you lose more the first month or 2, your weight will slow and you will probably get discouraged. Or as some others have said, your body might start gaining the weight back.

If you are doing this for your health (your doctor said you were pre-diabetic right?) then you should aim to lose the weight at a healthy rate If you lose faster, then that's a bonus for those months

Added bonus: from what I've heard those people who are bigger and lose at a slower rate seem to have less "loose skin", are more toned. Not my personal experience so please no one shoot me on this, just something the OP might want to read up on

ninerbuff

you could do a meal replacement shake, have you tried this? we have taken gluten and sugar out of our diet and have 1 shake for one meal per day. am losing about 2 lbs per week

Shakes aren't meals. This is just a calorie deficit which can be done with eating food.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

RoseTears143

OK...since you are so bent on seeing who has lost 10-15 lbs in a month - I have lost about 29-30 lbs since March 10. It was not my goal and I am not "aiming" at losing 10-15 lbs a month. I did the Ultimate Reset to help me get control of my eating habits to get my diet on point to start Insanity. I saw no point in starting a hardcore workout program if my diet was crap. I lost 16 lbs in that 21 days, most of which was water weight - no doubt in my mind. I was super bloated and just generally unhealthy from years of eating junk foods.

Started Insanity April 7 at 220 lbs. I'm now in week 7 and am down to 206 as of this morning. I eat 1800-2200 cals a day based on how hard my workout was for that day and am working my @ss off...almost literally. But again - I am not aiming at a certain number to lose. I am focused on eating well and making sure I eat enough to sustain my workouts and the weight is coming off at is does. My goal for May was actually to lose 5 lbs since I know it's been coming off quickly it is bound to slow down and I don't want to disappoint myself. I've even had a week where I lost nothing. I'm relatively new to my fitness/weightloss journey so it's early yet and it will slow down. March 10 my BF was at 42%, as of about 2 weeks ago it was down to 37%.

So YES...people can lose more than 8 lbs a month. Lots of people do, and YES everyone is different. But I don't think you should be so focused on how much you can lose in a month. You should focus on changing your lifestyle so when the weight has come off it will stay off. Everyone here is giving great advice.

Erikalynne18

By the way, I'm 5'6 and my doctor told me I should be around 145(i think). I told her I was to get down to at least 200, but she said her goal weight for me is 180.

by the way... 180 and 145 is definitely attainable!! IF you stick to it and take your time and don't give up! It's not going to be easy, but it didn't take you a day, month, or even a year to gain the weight so be patient with it coming off I have surpassed my original expectations! it's taken longer than I thought, but currently weight 6 lbs LESS than my lowest weight lol.

dp1228

I was able to lose around that the first few months. like everyone else said, it slowed down. It will slow down for you as well. You can aim for 10 pounds or more a month, no one can stop you. But just because you aim for it doesnt mean it is going to happen. Yes, everyone is different. And yes, maybe you can sustain that kind of loss over a longer peiod of time then most. But, probably not. Not unless you forsake everything else in your life and focus everything on losing weight, bordering obsessive. Even if you were to accomplish your goal, you more then likely will:

1. eff up your metabolism which will only make it harder for you to lose weight
2. have loose skin (which let's face it.. is not attractive)
3. put strain on your organs (which should be number one on the list but whatever)
4.probably gain it back because you didnt approach weight loss in a way that was maintainable for life.

You want advice for how to lose 10 pounds a month every month?

Intense exercise (walking and jazzercise is not gonna cut it) and a big calorie deficit.

You want advice on how to lose weight like me and a lot of other people here?

Set a reasonable weight loss goal, set a reasonalbe calorie goal, and set a reasonable exercise routine that includes both cardio and strength training.

I used to weigh what you weigh right now. I'm almost 100 pounds lighter and this is something I am going to do for life because I'm doing it a way that is sustainable. I'm not saying it's impossible to lose 15 pounds a month. I'm just saying it's not smart. You're a grown woman so do what you want. You can't say we didn't try to warn you.

55in13

"Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people succeed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is disappointing. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new comers and veterans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.

Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.

Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crucial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permanent yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tries to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.

Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistent (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becoming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!

Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already succeeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!

Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficit, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficits you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficit (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.

Conclusion:

This is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from."

This should be a sticky somewhere. I am not one of the "big time losers" as my goal is "only" 55 lbs total and I have only been at it this time for about 5 months and for about a month I was at Phase 0 which is having a hard time getting started. That means that I have averaged 10 lbs for the other 4 months (as I write this I am 40 lbs down), but it was actually more like 15, 12, 7 and 6. I figure 4 lbs a month for the next 5 months will knock out the rest and give me a little breathing room (I will claim to reach my goal the first time the number appears on the scale, but to stay there I will need the extra month to get below). I am in better shape than I have been in years and enjoying that a lot.

Crankstr

NO.

iWillGetCrowSomeday

If you set up your diet and exercise plan to get you to lose 1-2 pounds per week, yes, you will lose more quickly in the beginning because you started out with more weight to lose and your body is jump-started by the sudden change in lifestyle.

Eventually, with that set-up, your body gets used to the new calorie intake and expenditures, and it levels out to a 1-2 pounds per week weight loss. This is considered healthy because it puts the least amount of stress on your body- your liver and your kidneys and your heart.

As you lose weight, your fat cells are shrinking. The only way they ever disappear is with lipo- otherwise they are always there, waiting to be refilled if you go back to unhealthy eating habits. As your body rids itself of fat, it's converting the fat into energy and using it. This process of converting fat to energy produces harmful byproducts that your liver and kidneys filter out of your body. This is why it's so important for people to drink plenty of water -just water- when trying to lose weight. Losing more than 1-2 pounds per week puts more stress on your kidneys, can raise your blood pressure, and can hurt your heart- all the things you're trying to avoid by beating your diagnosis of pre-diabetes.

Your A1c trends are great and show that your hard work is paying off. Other blood work values that will be checked will tell your doctor if you're losing weight at a healthy rate: BUN, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance. These tests show how much stress your kidneys are under. All three values show how well your kidneys are filtering your blood by showing what doesn't get filtered out. Urea and creatinine will build up in your blood if your kidneys are under stress from having to filter out too much waste from your blood if you lose to quickly.

Getting a diagnosis of pre-diabetes is scary, and it's understandable that you'd want to kick it into high gear and get rid of the weight as quickly as possible. But shedding the weight too quickly causes more problems than saggy skin, and some of the problems are the same problems diabetes carries, that you're trying to avoid.

watfordjc

Was going to edit my post but the edit became longer than the original post...

I round 1% of my weight down to the nearest 0.25 lb and that is my weekly goal +/- 0.25 lb (which gets converted to a daily calorie deficit goal range). So although I'm closer to 200 lb than 225 lb, I'm aiming for 2.25 lb/week at present as I'm going to a wedding in 3 weeks. At that point I'll probably be below 200 lb and aim for 1.5-1.75 lb/week for a couple of weeks to recharge before deciding what to do next.

I started at 276 lb, so I could give you an idea of what my results have been like (but yours will more than likely differ) broken into 4-weekly chunks (goal range in brackets): 21.75 lb (9.25-11.25 lb), 8 lb (8.75-10 lb), 12 lb (8-10.75 lb), 7.25 lb (8-10.75 lb), 5 lb (7.5-9.5 lb), 7 lb (7-9 lb), 9.8 lb (7-9 lb). Yes, I had a lot of water weight at the beginning, and in the last 24 weeks I have lost an average of 2.04375 lb/week - my scale weight does not bother me, nor does not hitting 1% per week unless it is less than expected and can't be explained (I also have body composition testing done every 12 weeks).

Some weeks I'm more strict with my deficit than others, and changes in activity level account for some of the losses more/less than target (although not all), but I'm just focussing on the general direction I'm heading in the medium-longer term (except at present where I'm focussing on everything I can do for shorter-term results, including switching to eating clean-ish when my current food runs out).

1% per week every week for a year is unrealistic for me, however, I still base my weekly goal on it as my daily calorie deficit goal is derived from it. Some weeks I aim for the lower end, some weeks I just see how I feel and don't worry as long as each day is somewhere in the range, other weeks I aim for the top end of my deficit range, and other weeks I set a target weight loss and make sure my deficit averages out to it (like this week). Everything averages out, and the average of "faster" is not necessary "fast".

If losing the first 10% of your body weight is the most beneficial health-wise, and 10% for you is now only 14.9 pounds away, I see no reason why you couldn't focus on losing that in the next 5-8 weeks and then re-evaluate. If you still have water weight to lose you could well do it in 4, but it probably won't be repeatable once the water weight is gone (at least not every month in the long(er) term).

envyme521

10-15lbs a month??? Although it is possible, in the long term mind set its not going to happen like everyone else has stated. It is great for us all to have goals but make them realistic ones. If 10 - 15lbs a month is your goal then great but dont get saddened if you do not hit that mark. I think you will find that the ones who have lost 100lbs+ will all tell you the same thing.....its not realistically going to happen, unless you have lapban or something like that but even then it would be asking a lot. 8lbs a month is doable which is what I would think your realistic goal to shot for should be....and if you lose more then bonus points for you. In doing so you are setting yourself up for more success then failure. Take the reverse and if you set a goal of 10-15lbs a month and you only hit 5lbs lost it usually has an impact on individuals mentally.... Best advise you can take from here are the ones who have lost the weight you are looking to lose and hear their story. You will find that it is a long run and not a sprint. You will find that lots of weight was coming off fast but then it slowed quickly. Best of luck to you in your efforts and don't get discouraged if you dont hit your marks. Evaluate your goals and make adjustments from there.

Thank you

55in13

One other thing - do not let the nay sayers determine whether or not you can keep it off. The maintenance is easier if you taper the loss but it is not impossible to keep the weight off just because it came off quickly. There are lots of success stories from people who lost it quickly and kept it off. There are legitimate health concerns with losing too quickly but don't let anyone convince you that you can't stay at a lower weight just because you didn't lose at a pace slow enough to satisfy them.

envyme521

If you set up your diet and exercise plan to get you to lose 1-2 pounds per week, yes, you will lose more quickly in the beginning because you started out with more weight to lose and your body is jump-started by the sudden change in lifestyle.

Eventually, with that set-up, your body gets used to the new calorie intake and expenditures, and it levels out to a 1-2 pounds per week weight loss. This is considered healthy because it puts the least amount of stress on your body- your liver and your kidneys and your heart.

As you lose weight, your fat cells are shrinking. The only way they ever disappear is with lipo- otherwise they are always there, waiting to be refilled if you go back to unhealthy eating habits. As your body rids itself of fat, it's converting the fat into energy and using it. This process of converting fat to energy produces harmful byproducts that your liver and kidneys filter out of your body. This is why it's so important for people to drink plenty of water -just water- when trying to lose weight. Losing more than 1-2 pounds per week puts more stress on your kidneys, can raise your blood pressure, and can hurt your heart- all the things you're trying to avoid by beating your diagnosis of pre-diabetes.

Your A1c trends are great and show that your hard work is paying off. Other blood work values that will be checked will tell your doctor if you're losing weight at a healthy rate: BUN, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance. These tests show how much stress your kidneys are under. All three values show how well your kidneys are filtering your blood by showing what doesn't get filtered out. Urea and creatinine will build up in your blood if your kidneys are under stress from having to filter out too much waste from your blood if you lose to quickly.

Getting a diagnosis of pre-diabetes is scary, and it's understandable that you'd want to kick it into high gear and get rid of the weight as quickly as possible. But shedding the weight too quickly causes more problems than saggy skin, and some of the problems are the same problems diabetes carries, that you're trying to avoid.

Thank you. I understand that a lot better than negativity.