Does it matter how long it takes to lose ?

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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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 2,650 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
    Options
    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
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    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
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    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.

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