Does it matter how long it takes to lose ?

donyellemoniquex3
donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I always see people exclaiming "lost 100lbs in 8 months" etc and I'm over here going "after a year of trial and error, I only have 12lbs to show for it..."

Now granted, I had my ovaries removed and I have ADHD. But that shouldn't make a big of a difference.

22
Female
SW: 240lbs
CW: 227.7
«1

Replies

  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Honestly.. while I congratulate the people who have lost that much weight.. losing 100lbs is really no indicator of anything, other than commitment. You can lose 100lbs and look really unfit.

    I've only lost 14lbs and I look like I've lost 25 because I am more fit. Granted, I started in January with a goal of 20lbs but I lost it in a healthy way and have put on a lot of muscle along the way. I have no health issues and have had more time than ever to focus on improving myself

    I think the fact that you have committed an entire year and lost 12lbs is more admirable to me than someone who lost more. It shows more than just commitment and you can look totally different with those 12 lbs. Just keep doing what you are doing, continue to have patience and don't pay too much attention to people pulling big numbers. Personally to me it means squat.
  • kazzsjourney
    kazzsjourney Posts: 674 Member
    Ive lost 185 pounds over 6.5 years (and still have a lil more to go)...im glad its taken this long cos it has cemented habits within me...and once I get there I will be more then aware of all the work and mental anguish lol its taken to get there :)
  • kelp99
    kelp99 Posts: 101 Member
    I always see people exclaiming "lost 100lbs in 8 months" etc and I'm over here going "after a year of trial and error, I only have 12lbs to show for it..."

    I understand completely... it's taken me about year just to lose 40lbs. But I keep telling myself that I need to be patient and that dammit, I've lost 40lbs and as long as I keep losing, it doesn't matter how long it takes me. This isn't a race and when I lose it, I want it to stay off!
  • wikitbikit
    wikitbikit Posts: 518 Member
    As long as you are moving in a positive direction, no, I don't think it matters how long it takes. Ain't none of us gonna get outta here alive. :flowerforyou:
  • ajanmillie
    ajanmillie Posts: 241 Member
    honestly, it depends on the person and the situation. I have lost my 136 since march 2011, but this is after years and years of yo yo dieting since age 11 and the fact that I finally get that I can't diet until I get to a weight I like and eat crappy 7 days a week. It just depends. When I refused to lose weight though, my doctor said, if you can lose 10 lbs. a year, you will be healthier each year than if you did not lose any weight at all. So whether a person loses 10 lbs or 100 lbs. a year, it is a personal journey and each person will reach it differently. I think the most important thing is that it becomes a lifestyle change and not a fad. just my opinion.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    As long as you are moving in a positive direction, no, I don't think it matters how long it takes. Ain't none of us gonna get outta here alive. :flowerforyou:

    :flowerforyou:

    Hehe last sentence reminds me of a Hank Sr song.. love it
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    At your weight I'd expect you to be able to lose 2+ pounds a week with a healthy ample diet. You need to reform your diet and troubleshoot what you're doing wrong.

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

    Read all stickies^^^


    I'd hope that you're just not trying hard enough, but, more often than not, thats not the case. Many people try way too hard and do everything wrong. Knowledge is power. Self advocate, self educate. Trust nothing and no one.
  • ellygolightly
    ellygolightly Posts: 61
    I would rather lose it slowly, but surely and with all the knowledge of what's happening to my body. Fad diets that allow you to lose ridiculous amounts in a short time teach you nothing about health and nutrition.

    As long as you're going and don't stop that's all that matters! :)
  • bluebear_74
    bluebear_74 Posts: 179
    I've lost 13.5kg/30lbs in about 6-7 years. Mind you I wasn't trying to lose the whole time, I had periods where I put back on because I stopped (I stopped for almost a whole year one time).

    I'm aiming for another 6kg/14lbs to bring my BMI to around 20.

    Because I've been doing it for so long I think I could easily continue once I meet my goal, feels much more like a life style change, than a diet.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    All that matters is that the changes you made were permanent. If they aren't, who cares how fast it came off?
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    It's taken me a year to lose 45lbs. from a starting weight of 250. Actually more like 15 months because I have spent 2.5 months at the same weight as I've loosened the reigns since the beginning of this year. But as long as the overall trend is still going down or even staying the same, I see it as a success.

    I'd rather lose weight in the easiest (and I mean easy in terms of a small deficit, eating all my favourite foods, and having a few indulgent weekends where I drink and dine to my heart's content) and slowest way possible because it will be the easiest way for me to maintain the habits it took to get me to my goal, than lose it quickly and put it all back on x 2. Been there, done that, never again.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    It's taken me a year to lose 45lbs. from a starting weight of 250. Actually more like 15 months because I have spent 2.5 months at the same weight as I've loosened the reigns since the beginning of this year. But as long as the overall trend is still going down or even staying the same, I see it as a success.

    I'd rather lose weight in the easiest (and I mean easy in terms of a small deficit, eating all my favourite foods, and having a few indulgent weekends where I drink and dine to my heart's content) and slowest way possible because it will be the easiest way for me to maintain the habits it took to get me to my goal, than lose it quickly and put it all back on x 2. Been there, done that, never again.

    You say this, but, your diary says otherwise.... youve been eating like 1500-1600 a day fro the last week and you weigh 200#?... i dunno that id call that a slight deficit... I'd call it extreme.
  • boatsie77
    boatsie77 Posts: 480 Member
    Some of those who've lost 50-100+ pounds in less than a year have been doing 'trial & error' for many, many, many years (maybe more years than you've been alive) and maybe, with all these practice runs under their belts, they finally found a successful formula that allowed them to consistently drop 1-2 pounds average per week.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    It's taken me a year to lose 45lbs. from a starting weight of 250. Actually more like 15 months because I have spent 2.5 months at the same weight as I've loosened the reigns since the beginning of this year. But as long as the overall trend is still going down or even staying the same, I see it as a success.

    I'd rather lose weight in the easiest (and I mean easy in terms of a small deficit, eating all my favourite foods, and having a few indulgent weekends where I drink and dine to my heart's content) and slowest way possible because it will be the easiest way for me to maintain the habits it took to get me to my goal, than lose it quickly and put it all back on x 2. Been there, done that, never again.

    You say this, but, your diary says otherwise.... youve been eating like 1500-1600 a day fro the last week and you weigh 200#?... i dunno that id call that a slight deficit... I'd call it extreme.

    I had a bad (good?) week, filled with lots of birthdays including my own, and I probably logged half of what I ate and drank, (logging every bite is something I constantly have to work at) but thanks for the blind judgement. You also have no idea what my BMR is (it's not the norm for a number of reasons) or how I'm accounting for exercise calories in my caloric intake. Of course you wouldn't know any of this as you aren't on my friends list, but good try at calling me out as an undereater. Now I see why most people have their diaries set to 'friends only'.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    It's taken me a year to lose 45lbs. from a starting weight of 250. Actually more like 15 months because I have spent 2.5 months at the same weight as I've loosened the reigns since the beginning of this year. But as long as the overall trend is still going down or even staying the same, I see it as a success.

    I'd rather lose weight in the easiest (and I mean easy in terms of a small deficit, eating all my favourite foods, and having a few indulgent weekends where I drink and dine to my heart's content) and slowest way possible because it will be the easiest way for me to maintain the habits it took to get me to my goal, than lose it quickly and put it all back on x 2. Been there, done that, never again.

    You say this, but, your diary says otherwise.... youve been eating like 1500-1600 a day fro the last week and you weigh 200#?... i dunno that id call that a slight deficit... I'd call it extreme.

    I had a bad (good?) week, filled with lots of birthdays including my own, and I probably logged half of what I ate and drank, (logging every bite is something I constantly have to work at) but thanks for the blind judgement. You also have no idea what my BMR is (it's not the norm for a number of reasons) or how I'm accounting for exercise calories in my caloric intake. Of course you wouldn't know any of this as you aren't on my friends list, but good try at calling me out as an undereater. Now I see why most people have their diaries set to 'friends only'.

    ^^ This is EXACTLY why my diary is open only to friends. There are too many people like this guy who think they know the only way for everyone to lose weight, and have no problem voicing that opinion in the most rude way possible. He would have a heyday with my diary. But hey, it is working for me and I am healthier than I have been in a long time, so I ignore the noise. Keep on doing what is working for you. From your profile pic, looks like it is working just fine!
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    I've lost just over 100 pounds, and it's actually more like 120 from my highest weight, but it's taken me about 5 years to do it. So it's 'only' an average of 20 pounds a year, but I've worked hard at developing good habits and a more active lifestyle and I feel like that's more important and will help to ensure that I keep it off once I reach my goal. There have been lots of ups and downs and lots of stalls but the overall trend is downward, and I've become much more fit and healthy than the numbers indicate so it's all good.
  • SweetestLibby
    SweetestLibby Posts: 607 Member
    Nope. It's taken me a few years to lose almost 100 pounds. My focus was on a PERMANENT lifestyle change so that I could reduce the chances of gaining it all back. I've always been able to drop weight quickly but I was never truely able of keeping it off until I started to make changes at the most basic level.

    I don't focus on how fast other people have lost weight. I focus on what I'm doing and how I'm going to keep it off.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    It's taken me a year to lose 45lbs. from a starting weight of 250. Actually more like 15 months because I have spent 2.5 months at the same weight as I've loosened the reigns since the beginning of this year. But as long as the overall trend is still going down or even staying the same, I see it as a success.

    I'd rather lose weight in the easiest (and I mean easy in terms of a small deficit, eating all my favourite foods, and having a few indulgent weekends where I drink and dine to my heart's content) and slowest way possible because it will be the easiest way for me to maintain the habits it took to get me to my goal, than lose it quickly and put it all back on x 2. Been there, done that, never again.

    You say this, but, your diary says otherwise.... youve been eating like 1500-1600 a day fro the last week and you weigh 200#?... i dunno that id call that a slight deficit... I'd call it extreme.

    I had a bad (good?) week, filled with lots of birthdays including my own, and I probably logged half of what I ate and drank, (logging every bite is something I constantly have to work at) but thanks for the blind judgement. You also have no idea what my BMR is (it's not the norm for a number of reasons) or how I'm accounting for exercise calories in my caloric intake. Of course you wouldn't know any of this as you aren't on my friends list, but good try at calling me out as an undereater. Now I see why most people have their diaries set to 'friends only'.

    Yeah, I was online last when he went on his tirade of judgement.. pay him no mind. Not everyone can be perfect like him :huh:
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    Yeah, I'm trying to set up a permanent set of habits that are sustainable. I let myself get out of shape and gain weight by a slow change in my habits as work and family life both changed. For me, a massive instantaneous change back isn't going to work, but slowly getting back into better habits is.

    I have a friend who threw herself into the post-Christmas "do it now, do it fast" frame of mind. She's lost over 30 pounds to my 10. I'm not saying she's NOT going to keep it off! But I know that doing it her way wouldn't work for me.
  • bpwparents
    bpwparents Posts: 359 Member
    It's taken me 10 months to lose my weight, so I feel you when I see the 100 lb loss in 8 months also. There's a couple of things that I keep reminding myself though 1) This is a lifestlye change-I've done the crash diets in the past and lost but I want this permanently off this time. It's ridiulous that I have 3 different sized sets of clothes in my closet. 2) Starting out larger (I started out at 263), losing slower will give my skin time to adjust. I don't want to lose all this weight to look better and have large amts of saggy skin. Each person is different. As long as you know you're doing the best that YOU can do, you're on the right track.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I don't think it matters how long it takes to lose, as long as your moving in the right direction who cares. I'll be honest, last year I lost a lot of weight (over 50lbs) in a really short period of time. I wasn't counting calories, but now that I look back my diet wasn't exactly healthy either. I worked out a lot as well mixing cardio and strength training. I'm actually surprised now that I even lost weight last year. I did gain some of the weight back, but not much and my new healthier diet has actually caused me to start losing again.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    If you're making a lifestyle change, no, it doesn't matter how long it takes. I lost 100 lbs in 2 years, but I've only lost about 5 lbs in the past 6 months, even though my diet has been cleaner and my workouts have been more consistent. There are all kinds of things that factor into the equation.
  • flex500
    flex500 Posts: 63
    I always see people exclaiming "lost 100lbs in 8 months" etc and I'm over here going "after a year of trial and error, I only have 12lbs to show for it..."

    Now granted, I had my ovaries removed and I have ADHD. But that shouldn't make a big of a difference.

    22
    Female
    SW: 240lbs
    CW: 227.7


    things only matter if you make them matter or you care. Truthfully it doesn't matter if you gain 60 pounds and walk around 300 pounds and proud.

    So I guess I'm not sure what you are asking? Are you asking if you are doing something "wrong" by only losing that much weight in a year? If so that can be answered two ways...

    1. If you feel like you are working very hard then yes you are doing something wrong. If you are busting your butt like their is no tomorrow and sacrificing and feel like you are putting everything into it and you lost 12 pounds in a year something is wrong. That is NOT a criticism. That could mean you have a medical issue or maybe are just not doing something correctly (<-- honestly not being critical here)

    or

    2. You are casually just here and there dieting and hoping to maybe lose some weight...maybe not...but your not that concerned and your happy. Then no you are not doing anything wrong.
  • flex500
    flex500 Posts: 63
    It's taken me a year to lose 45lbs. from a starting weight of 250. Actually more like 15 months because I have spent 2.5 months at the same weight as I've loosened the reigns since the beginning of this year. But as long as the overall trend is still going down or even staying the same, I see it as a success.

    I'd rather lose weight in the easiest (and I mean easy in terms of a small deficit, eating all my favourite foods, and having a few indulgent weekends where I drink and dine to my heart's content) and slowest way possible because it will be the easiest way for me to maintain the habits it took to get me to my goal, than lose it quickly and put it all back on x 2. Been there, done that, never again.

    You say this, but, your diary says otherwise.... youve been eating like 1500-1600 a day fro the last week and you weigh 200#?... i dunno that id call that a slight deficit... I'd call it extreme.

    most women are not going to eat over 2K calories if they are trying to lose substantial weight and most women when they move to a diet higher in micronutrient dense foods are too full to eat more than that.

    if you use katch mccardle for a 200lb woman with 30% bf and a 1.2 multiplier it suggest 2000ish calories a day so honestly I don't think she is doing too bad. To lose fat it suggests 1500 calories. Doesn't seem that far off to me if she is eating 1500-1600 calories a day...
  • nancybuss
    nancybuss Posts: 1,461 Member
    Slow and steady wins the race, as long as you keep moving in the right direction. Keep adding more fruits and veggies, less processed. Move more. Its not a race against others here, its about making changes for YOU and truly, we can, and want to help motivate you but its up to You to live your life every day, the best way you can.

    :heart:
  • neacail
    neacail Posts: 228 Member
    One of my guilty pleasures is following the progress of the teams competing in the Iditarod.

    Every sled that makes it to the finish line in Nome is greeted with a heroes welcome. It doesn't matter if you're first, or last. They're heroes for completing the toughest race in the world. :smile:
  • msleanlegs
    msleanlegs Posts: 188 Member
    As long as there aren't health problems that call for immediate weight loss, I see nothing wrong with taking the slow and steady route. I'm happy with my average of 1 lb lost every 4 days. Won't get me bikini-ready by this Memorial Day, but my diet is satisfying and something I can easily stick with for the long haul. The only thing I find annoying about losing weight slowly are the ignorant comments from loved ones who are concerned that I'm not losing fast enough. When will people realize that the weekly 10 lb losses seen on The Biggest Loser are not a norm for the general population of dieters?
  • TabithaMichelle85
    TabithaMichelle85 Posts: 92 Member
    My starting weight was 254 and in 3 weeks I have lost 17 LBS... I am a religious calorie counter and I keep my calories at 1200-1300. I try to work out at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes and I like to burn around 200-400 calories when I work out. I don't eat hamburger, instead I eat Jennie O Ground Turkey, I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, and I lost of high fiber snacks, and everything is low in sodium.... High sodium will make you retain water so steer clear of that, I try to stick around 300mg or less. Don't get discouraged if you go over your calories, just go work out, tomorrow is a new day.
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
    It makes no difference how long it takes you to lose the weight. Everybody is different. As long as you're losing that's the important thing. There is no right or wrong way for how long it takes. Personally, IMHO, from what I've read about fitness and nutrition doing it slowly is the best way. Making drastic changes to lose 2lbs a week typically doesn't work for the long haul. To lose that much weight you have to go to extremes and that is not good for your overall fitness. Smaller changes tend to lead to overall lifestyle changes and that is what you want if you don't want the weight to come back.

    Keep on keeping on!!
  • flex500
    flex500 Posts: 63
    It makes no difference how long it takes you to lose the weight. Everybody is different. As long as you're losing that's the important thing. There is no right or wrong way for how long it takes. Personally, IMHO, from what I've read about fitness and nutrition doing it slowly is the best way. Making drastic changes to lose 2lbs a week typically doesn't work for the long haul. To lose that much weight you have to go to extremes and that is not good for your overall fitness. Smaller changes tend to lead to overall lifestyle changes and that is what you want if you don't want the weight to come back.

    Keep on keeping on!!


    this is true but being "right or wrong" doesn't always have to be a mean or rude or overly critical thing. If this person is busting their behind working so hard putting their heart and soul into it but are losing 12 pounds a year but want to lose more it's ok to say "something is wrong".

    Now what is the OP's goal? Is it a very slow and steady weight loss process of 10 or so pounds a year? Then cool...more power to you (meaning the OP)

    But if someone is obese and putting heart and soul and effort and wants to lose more it's ok to say "yeah something is probably wrong with your plan".

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