Lets try this again. How long did it take YOU to lose 30lbs?

13

Replies

  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    It took me two months to lose 15 lbs and I ended up a smaller version of my skinny fat self.

    I was extremely strict with my diet, pretty miserable, and I was over-exercising. I ended up with Achilles tendonitis in both ankles, and runners knee on both legs.

    Would not recommend this approach, as almost 2 lbs per week for someone with a low amount of weight to lose is pretty drastic.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Hi OP. Just ignore the snark. There's a lot of it on MFP. LOL. Some people just can't resist showing how smart they are, That said, there was a lot of good advice in the last thread.

    As for timeline, well the last time I lost 30 lbs I did it in 2 months. Not good. I was always tired, hungry and lost a lot of hair. I also gained it all back. Eating next to nothing and exercising 2,5 hours per day was simply not sustainable.

    This time around I'm aiming for .5 to 1 lb per week which means it should take me anywhere from 6 months to a year to drop it all. I know it sounds like a long time, but each 5 lb loss makes a significant difference when there is not much to lose and on a 5'4 frame.

    Just eat at a reasonable deficit and exercise. It really does work as I can now say I'm 6 lbs down.

    And how much did you have to lose when you lost those 30lbs? Was it a lot more than 30 or was it JUST 30...there is a difference.
  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
    It took me a little over a year to lose just about 25 pounds or so. My body has changed a lot, tho. I was really fat (i am talking BF%). Went from size 10 to a 4.
  • jennegan1
    jennegan1 Posts: 677 Member
    So as Liz can see each person is different. No one can truly answer the same way as we all lose weight differently...Oh yea plus being a female it take even longer so get ready for the long haul
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    I'm losing weight for Christmas with the apple juice diet: http://www.bestjuicedietrecipes.com/juice-diet-recipes/apple-diet/ I have lost about 20.

    It is against forum rules to promote your website on the forums. In addition to your site being totally ridiculous and poorly created. You really need to pay for an editor. And stop trying to make money off of people desperate to lose weight quickly, by touting unhealthy weight loss practices.
  • maybyn
    maybyn Posts: 233 Member
    I've only 30lbs to lose. Starting weight was around 150lbs and current weight is 132lbs - I'm 5'6". So 18-19lbs in 6 weeks - same time frame as what you have from now to valentine's day. I would presume that you could lose by the same amount.
  • I started IIFYM for my eating plan and I began lifting heavy a little over three weeks ago. I take a notebook to the gym and write down everything I do. I also do cardio when I feel like it. I haven't lost scale weight, but I have lost inches off my thighs, arms, hips and waist. I know that because I take measurements. In three and a half weeks I have made noticeable changes to my body. My husband can tell my bum is higher and firmer and that my waist is thinning out. I'm thiiiiiis close to being in a smaller size and I'm looking better in the jeans I'm wearing right now than I did four weeks ago. But the scale hasn't moved. Do I care? Nope.

    So, I don't know what your V Day plans include but it sounds like you want to look hot for someone special. I know you aren't trying to lose 30 lbs by then, you just want to look better by V Day than you do now. Can you do that? Absolutely! Totally!! I look better right now than I did four weeks ago. Four. Weeks.

    I'm not saying you have to do exactly what I'm doing. I'm just telling you what I started 3 weeks ago is working for me. I'm happy with the results so far and I feel good about what my body can do.

    Good luck either way! :)
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
    I've lost about 10 kilos (20 pounds) and it took me about 5 months but I was really working hard at it.

    The last 5 pounds have been the slowest!
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
    I started MFP in early July & have lost exactly 40lbs. I went from 167lbs to 127lbs. I think it took me 31/2- 4 months to drop 30lbs. I dropped like 8lbs a month. I'm 25 years old & 5'1''. I started seeing a huge difference once I dropped 20lbs.

    I eat everything I did before, just less. I do not weigh my food, but I try to eyeball as accurately as I can. Since dropping below 130, I'm now watching my macros. At first, I did the 1200 calories & working out at the small gym at my apt complex a few days a week. Now I eat around 1350-1500 calories per day & workout from home to save money. I do HIIT cardio, bodyweight training, pilates, yoga everyday. I only workout anywhere between 20-40mins daily. I've been losing a pound a week by following this regimen.

    Good luck! Realistically, you can drop at least 12lbs in 6 weeks. Maybe 15lbs if you are in the obese category.
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    It took me a year and a week to reach my goal. There were lots of plateaus when I stuck to the plan and didn't see the scale budge, but I kept on anyway. Each plateau eventually ended. This is a lifestyle change and it takes some time to learn how to take care of your personal needs. It is better to take the weight off at the rate of a pound or pound and a half per week, and I eventually fit that average but there were a lot of weeks with no loss, followed by a drop of a few pounds.
  • It took me 11months to loose 53lbs planning to loose another 10 more
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    It took me a year and a week to reach my goal. There were lots of plateaus when I stuck to the plan and didn't see the scale budge, but I kept on anyway. Each plateau eventually ended. This is a lifestyle change and it takes some time to learn how to take care of your personal needs. It is better to take the weight off at the rate of a pound or pound and a half per week, and I eventually fit that average but there were a lot of weeks with no loss, followed by a drop of a few pounds.

    I have experienced the same thing. I stalled for about 3 weeks...scale didn't budge. I adjusted my eating slightly ( a few light days of carbs) and then lost 7lbs in a week. I stalled again after that and checked my calorie intake even added in 200 extra and then I dropped 6lbs. It all averages out to 2lbs a week so I am happy with that. I would prefer it to be consistent but I will take what I can get.

    I think knowing our bodies and how they work is the key.
  • MickeyBoo
    MickeyBoo Posts: 196 Member
    I started properly and 100% on board in September. I had lost 33pds by the week before Xmas so about 3.5 months all up. I had a lot of weight to lose (around 100pd) and I am also working with some pretty serious physical injuries so I'm not able to work out as much or as hard as I'd like. I weight a lot of my food, although I'm getting to the point that I can eyeball a lot of stuff too.

    I found it was easier for me to eat an average of around 1400-1500 a day (average working out with general eating of 1300cal 5 days a week and 1600-1800 cal 2 days a week). My workouts were a minimum of a 600calorie burn each time and they were a combination of cardio and weights.

    At the end of the day the closer you are to your goal weight the harder it is for the weight to move. Being active, being honest in your food diaries and being realistic about timeframes is going to see you meet with success in the longterm. But you also need to find the balance that works for you. Play around with calorie levels, start higher and work your way down if need be, try eating back all, half or none of your exercise calories, set yourself smaller goals, take measurements and perhaps try to aim towards a particular piece of clothing that you want to look good in/fit into, instead of a number on the scale.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You cannot lose 30 Lbs quickly when you don't have a lot to lose. It took me the better part of 6 months to lose 30 Lbs and another 3 months to lose 10 more. I could still lose about 10-15 more cosmetic Lbs and it will be very slow...I'm thinking it'll pretty much take me the better part of 2014 to do so because I'm at a healthy BF% now and simply don't have the fat stores for fast weight loss.

    Keep in mind that not only do you need to go slow, you're going to have stalls and bad days and bad weeks, etc. None of this is linear so you can't really say, "I'm going to lose X Lbs in Y Weeks...you can kind of project it out but really, it's just not linear like that.
  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member
    So I posted earlier and apparently people misinterpreted my goals. I have a date of February 14th, but that is just my date that I want to have shown significant progress by. My overall goal is to lose 30lbs but I don't have a specific time line for that........ what worked for them as far as diet and exercise routines (I have an elliptical so any workout routines with that would be great). Thanks again and sorry for the previous post.

    If you have over 100lbs to get off, it is probably something that could be done by February.

    But if you do not, it is going to be a LOT slower. It took me most of 2013 to get 5kg(approx 11lbs) off and over the holiday period I put 2kg (approx 3 lbs) back on.

    But my Body Fat percentage and waist measurement is still down from last year, which I am happy about. And visually I look more toned & fit.

    What worked for me was doing the Jillian Michaels 30Day Shred or Ripped in 30 DVDs/Videos.

    They are easily found on Youtube, about 20-40mins long and use your own body weight to help tone up the parts that mums (and non mums) tend to worry about.

    She also does a 6 pack in 6 weeks video which is pretty good.
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    It took me 9 months to lose 45lbs. From Feb 1st until the end of Oct, going from 165 down to 120. People didn't really start to notice until I had lost about 25lbs. I am older and didn't want the saggy skin of losing too quickly. The first month I only did cardio. I had a shoulder injury and didn't start doing weight training until the end of March.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I lost 30 pounds from May 28th 2012 to January 9th 2013. I have now lost 39 and am maintenance.

    You can make good progress by February - it comes off fastest at the beginning.
  • DianneP6772
    DianneP6772 Posts: 272 Member
    My goal was to lose 30 lbs. A little after i started, i figured this would most likely take around 6 months if i was lucky.
    It took 5 months. But then it took 2 months to lose 2 more pounds! It really slows down once you are near your goal.
    I was /am an extremely obsessive/diligent logger.
    MFP was the key for me. It is incredibly simple. All back to basics. Calories in/calories out. How much you eat/how much
    extra you burn.
    A lot of people on here will tell you that diet or actually calories in - is the thing you should focus on. Not true for me.
    Yes - of course - i was pretty accurate with my calorie counting and usually kept within my limits. But i wanted more food.
    So, i exercised. I love being active anyway - so it was not a burden. I wanted my extra treats, so i worked to get them.
    And because of that, i really didn't feel majorly deprived.
    In the very beginning i was shocked at how much i was eating calorie wise. I cut that out immediately as i started weighing
    and measuring everything. (well maybe not some veggies or fruits)
    My thing is cycling. And i cycle 1 to 1.5 hours about 5 days a week. I also did major gardening. And as of Sept. i added back in tennis (i had had an injury that kept me from it before) and i also joined a gym.
    The only thing i would do different, if i had to do this again (PLEASE - not again) - is that i would start lifting weights right away.
    And as most on here say - lift Heavy. I still am working up to that as i do not want more injuries!
    So - realistically - you can lose enough to make a difference by V Day - so when you get there - just keep going until you are where you want to be.
    Do it - the rewards are great!
  • jennegan1
    jennegan1 Posts: 677 Member
    I've only 30lbs to lose. Starting weight was around 150lbs and current weight is 132lbs - I'm 5'6". So 18-19lbs in 6 weeks - same time frame as what you have from now to valentine's day. I would presume that you could lose by the same amount.

    Are you saying you want to lose 19 lbs in 6 weeks? That would be about 3 lbs a week...How do you plan on doing that safely and healthy?
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    It took me a wrinkly day and a night to lower Woody
  • maybyn
    maybyn Posts: 233 Member
    I've only 30lbs to lose. Starting weight was around 150lbs and current weight is 132lbs - I'm 5'6". So 18-19lbs in 6 weeks - same time frame as what you have from now to valentine's day. I would presume that you could lose by the same amount.

    Are you saying you want to lose 19 lbs in 6 weeks? That would be about 3 lbs a week...How do you plan on doing that safely and healthy?

    I'm saying that I've already lost it so I've only about 11lbs more to lose.

    I can say that I'm perfectly healthy :)
  • jennegan1
    jennegan1 Posts: 677 Member
    I've only 30lbs to lose. Starting weight was around 150lbs and current weight is 132lbs - I'm 5'6". So 18-19lbs in 6 weeks - same time frame as what you have from now to valentine's day. I would presume that you could lose by the same amount.

    Are you saying you want to lose 19 lbs in 6 weeks? That would be about 3 lbs a week...How do you plan on doing that safely and healthy?

    I'm saying that I've already lost it so I've only about 11lbs more to lose.

    I can say that I'm perfectly healthy :)

    Oh ok well good for you :) and I was like well 3lbs a week at your weight is a very low unhealthy deficit...Glad to hear that you are healthy as well
  • MommaChocoLatte
    MommaChocoLatte Posts: 389 Member
    My year date is Jan 30. I started this at 160 lbs, I now weigh 121 lbs. I am 4'11"

    I have lost 39 lbs to date. For a good few months, I averaged 5 lbs a month loss. There were also a few months in between where I did not lose at all. Then I would lose a pound here, half a pound there, nothing terribly consistent. Finally I made it into my last 10-15 lbs and since then (I have 6 lbs to go at this point) it has been very slow. I average about half a pound a week.

    But I know that this is the most healthy thing for my body and I am more likely to keep it off because I am developing more healthy habits. Don't be in such a rush.. you will get there.
  • maybyn
    maybyn Posts: 233 Member
    I've only 30lbs to lose. Starting weight was around 150lbs and current weight is 132lbs - I'm 5'6". So 18-19lbs in 6 weeks - same time frame as what you have from now to valentine's day. I would presume that you could lose by the same amount.

    Are you saying you want to lose 19 lbs in 6 weeks? That would be about 3 lbs a week...How do you plan on doing that safely and healthy?

    I'm saying that I've already lost it so I've only about 11lbs more to lose.

    I can say that I'm perfectly healthy :)

    Oh ok well good for you :) and I was like well 3lbs a week at your weight is a very low unhealthy deficit...Glad to hear that you are healthy as well

    Stuck to TDEE-15% as the general formula. Seemed to be working well though I did lose the most in the first week, then the size of the losses became smaller (as can be expected).
  • Ejourneys
    Ejourneys Posts: 1,603 Member
    Losing 30 lbs took me roughly 5 months, from Sept. 12, 2012 to Feb. 17, 2013. Here's what that pace looked like:
    130217-30lbsdown-graph.jpg

    I set my weight loss goal at a half-pound per week because I didn’t want to feel starved. I wanted my change in eating and exercise habits to be fun and sustainable over the long run. For me, sustainability is the bottom line and continues to be so, now that I'm in maintenance after a 51-pound loss. Actual weight loss averaged 1.3 pounds a week for the first 30, about three-quarters of a pound for the 51. Weight loss slowed as I got closer to goal; my longest plateau was 48 days:

    11418160225_0f0e69f3e1_o.jpg

    The Mayo Clinic has a good article on plateaus:
    https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152

    When I started, my calorie goal as set by MFP was 1,650 calories a day plus any calories that I had burned from exercise. That was subsequently lowered to 1430 and then to 1360. My maintenance calorie goal is now 1600.

    My goal weight was 150, which barely drops me out of the "overweight" category for BMI. However, my body fat calipers give me a percentage of 27.6, which is in the middle of the "ideal" range for a woman my age (I'm 55). The right-hand side of my avatar photo is what I look like now.

    I exercise almost daily and eat the same way I had throughout my weight loss except for the higher calorie allowance. Mainly I ditched most processed foods and increased my consumption of fresh produce.
  • camperbc
    camperbc Posts: 15 Member
    It took me 10 weeks to lose 30 pounds. I am now into my 14th week and am down 40 lbs. I plan to lose another 10 lbs over the next few weeks. I will have dropped a total of 50 lbs. in almost exactly four months. (from September 25th to January 23rd) This will put me at my ideal weight of 168 pounds. Nothing to it!

    PS: Now, before anyone feels the need to start bashing me for losing my weight too quickly, I am happy to report that I am currently the healthiest I have been in many years.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    30lbs lost in 70 days :)

    WOW!That is quite impressive! As is your after picture. :blushing:
  • Indiri13
    Indiri13 Posts: 104 Member
    My first 30 pounds (when I started at 240) came off in about 3 months. The last 30 pounds took me more like 6-8 months. The closer you are to your ideal weight, the slower it gets.
  • linsey0689
    linsey0689 Posts: 753 Member
    My top weight was 285 on 1/20/13 and a little less then 3 months later I was down 30 pounds but I was much larger then you. I have been at this for about 11 months now and have lost about 55 pounds. What I did is periods of exercising 5 days a week and some where I didn't exercise at all. I logged my food for the first 5 months or so and I just started doing that again.

    People say the last 20 pounds is the hardest and you don't have much more then that total. So I would say it could take some time but a good thing about being smaller to you lose 10 pounds and you can really tell. People couldn't tell on me until I was down 30-40 pounds.

    Best of luck to you!
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    It took me about three years, because I started out with unsustainable diet restrictions and workout demands on myself, which led to me stopping and restarting several times. :tongue:

    Eventually got it sorted, lost the rest slow and steady and have kept it off for most the part. Weight is higher than lowest recorded weight, but clothes still fit the same as they did at that weight, so it's all good.