How long has it taken you?

That varies so much depending on your metabolism and each individual persons efforts. It has taken me about 6 months to lose what I have so far and another month if you include the 8 pounds I lost before I joined here. I have it set to lose about a pound a week. I have had several times though where i stall for a couple of weeks, but it always goes down. And if I wasn't doing this slow and healthy I don't think I would have stuck too it.

As long as you know it will be a lifetime eating changing, not a quick fix you will be fine. Just do a day at a time. 5 pounds at a time. And don't quit. Good luck.

Oh, I have a long ways to go to meet my goal. But I know I will make it. I just got off a week long vacation and actually lost 2 pounds.

I started in the middle of January and just reached my goal last week, starting at 277 and now 199. I was usually around 2 to 2.5 lbs. lost every week. Sometime it was more and I had plateaus too.

I started walking about 4 - 5 miles a day with my dog Willow on June 25th. I didn't walk so much for about 3 weeks in July when my brother was at my house putting in new windows and siding. I started really hitting it hard again after he left. I started out at 197 on June 25th and am this morning weighing in at 175.8. I do a lot of walking and recently purchased a recumbent bike, so have added that to my exercise regimen. In addition, I do a lot of hard physical labor (at least hard for me) working on remodeling my house - that is my strength training. I monitor my food intake carefully and completely quit drinking wine in the evenings (that was huge for me as the wine I drank was nearly 600 calories a 6oz glass). I joined MFP about 17 days ago and I've reduced my weight by a little over 4 lbs since joining. Exercise is key - and combining aerobic with strength training seems to be important not only for weight loss, but also for muscle toning/strengthening. I NEVER eat all of my "earned" exercise calories - I know my body - and know that would be a recipe for weight gain for me. I do allow myself treats now and then i.e. going out to eat once in a while and eating something I shouldn't probably eat. For the most part, though, I just watch everything very closely and make sure I exercise at least some every day - even on the days when my muscles are so sore I can hardly make it up the stairs to bed.

Good luck with your goals, and please feel free to add me as a friend for support and encouragement.

Vickie

It's taken me a year to lose 51 pounds, but it only took 6 months to lose 36 pounds since I started with MFP and kicked my healthy lifestyle up a notch. I'm 24 pounds from my first goal of 140, and I'm hoping to hit that by my one year anniversary with MFP in mid-February. I know as I get closer to my goal, my weight loss will slow down. I'm stuck in a plateau right now that I'm trying to break. My goal will need about 1 lb a week of weight loss, very doable. It's good to keep your time frame realistic and healthy.

I started on January 4th, and in the 34 weeks since then I’ve lost 39 pounds. On average I’m losing about 1 pound a week, (some weeks less, some weeks more) which according to my doctor is a safe and healthy rate. I still have 15 more pounds to reach my goal, and I’m hoping to get there by Christmas.

I started at the end of Feb. beginning of March time.. I woulsa started sooner but I broke my foot at the beginning of the year therrefore I could not exercise and stuff :-(.. But since March I have lost about 38 pounds.. I am about halfway to my goal, and am doing it the healthy way.. Good luck on ur weightloss journey :-)

It has taken me 5 months to lose 32 pounds. I exercise at least 5 days a week and eat healthy 95% of the time. I do splurge occasionaly on weekends but I have stuck with it successfully and am almost to my goal. Good luck to you and just remember to stick with it. If you have a bad day, start over again tomorrow!