Morbidly obese wanting to lose 70 lbs

ms_friendly
ms_friendly Posts: 6
in Getting Started
Hey everyone! I currently weigh 271 and am wanting to get to at least 200 since we are wanting to try for a family and I want to at least lose some weight before. I am having trouble getting pregnant right now since im so overweight and I know losing weight can help...how long would this take? I want to get to 200 before really trying and would go to the gym 6 days a week for 30 min to start..any advice/tips?

Replies

  • heikejacob4
    heikejacob4 Posts: 38 Member
    Well, if you have a calorie deficit of 500 (any more is not really sustainable, in my opinion) it should take you 71 weeks, or almost a year and a half to reach your goal. However, that is a really conservative estimate because I don't want to get your hopes up. ;)

    Here are a couple success stories of people that around the same amount, to give you a more realistic idea:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1213680-over-80-pounds-of-weight-loss-results-with-pictures
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1210379-down-69-lbs-since-june-pics
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1203049-78-lbs-down-23-lbs-left-to-reach-my-goal
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1213776-1-year-later

    Best of luck to you on your journey! Feel free to add me :)
  • mactaffy84
    mactaffy84 Posts: 398 Member
    I've never had to lose that much, but I'm guessing that it would take the better part of a year. This is one thing you really should to before you get pregnant. Pregnancy is tough enough when you are in fairly good shape. It is really hard on your body. Take some time to get in the best shape you can to give both you and your future baby the best who! Good luck!
  • airforceman1978
    airforceman1978 Posts: 100 Member
    Will the first 20 pounds goes fast if you are sit on it and stick to mfp 2 pounds a week you could do it in 35 weeks although Wight lost will slow down the closer you get to your goal weight
  • Sarahnade42x
    Sarahnade42x Posts: 308 Member
    Hi there! I started around a similar weight and it took me about a year and a half to lose 70 pounds. The best advice I could give is not to let yourself get discouraged if the numbers aren't changing as quickly as you want them to -- just focus on making good choices every day and you'll get there!
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    The bigger you are, the easier it is to lose. So this is good in your situation. However, fast is not always best. Losing 2 lbs a week is perfectly fine for someone of your size. If you stay focused and committed, I think you could have the 70 lbs off within a year.

    I strongly recommend getting down to at least 200 lbs before trying to get pregnant. You want to be as healthy as and in the best shape possible when you get pregnant- both for your sake and the baby's. Pregnancy is not fun when you are obese. Being pregnant and obese comes with a lot of risks. Many obese women are vitamin deficient. 40% are deficient in iron, 24% in folic acid and 4% in B12. This is a concern because certain vitamins, like folic acid, are very important before conception, lowering the risk of cardiac problems and spinal defects in newborns. Other vitamins, such as calcium and iron, are needed throughout pregnancy to help babies grow. Respiratory disease (asthma and sleep apnea) in obese women increases the risk for non-pulmonary pregnancy complications, such as cesarean delivery and preeclampsia.
  • firead
    firead Posts: 56 Member
    Around a year and a half sounds right. You could maybe do it faster, but that pace will make it easier to have sustainable weight loss that you can keep off and will give you some wiggle room if you hit a plateau or two. Also, if you have fertility problems are something like PCOS or thyroid that could be weight related, then it may be easier to get pregnant earlier just from the increased health and activity, but losing the weight first will probably make pregnancy easier and will usually get you better treatment from doctors and less pressure for interventions and/or a c-section if you do not want them.

    I got pregnant when I started exercising and eating better, even though I only went from 285 to 260, because it helped with hormonal issues and things. I was lucky because I didn't have a lot of problems related to my weight and I gained relatively little while I was pregnant, but I had to shop around just to find a midwife that would accept me and allow an intervention-free birth because of my size. I fell off the wagon and gained a bunch of weight after my son was born though, so it would have been easier for me all around to lose the weight first.
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    I started at 283. Started running. Got to 228 in six months. And got stuck there for a while. Long while. But, finally making progress again.
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
    I started out at just about your weight last May and now I'm 81 pounds down. It does feel tremendously better. The most important thing in my opinion is diet. Exercise helps, but it is really easy to overcompensate for exercise and eat too many calories. So I would say first get your diet down, and then add in some exercise. When you do start exercising, build it up gradually. It takes awhile for your body to adjust to exercise. You don't want to get injured because it really slows things down (that's experience talking).

    Start with walking and strength training...and maybe not on the same day. 30 minutes is a reasonable time to start with. 6 days a week is ambitious, but doable probably if you stick with low impact stuff.

    You can do it. Feel free to add me if you'd like.
  • lucasmoten
    lucasmoten Posts: 143 Member
    Keep in mind that everyone's body is different and your rate of loss may differ substantially from others.

    In my case, I started at 260 in June 2013 and am currently (9 months later) at 187 for a loss of over 70 pounds. I keep altering my goals and will probably finalize on 160. When I started, my primary goal was to get from obese to overweight (per BMI), which reflected about 40 pounds. After that, I wanted to get to below 200. Now I'm closing in on "normal/healthy" (per BMI) for my height (5'11").

    To get here, in the early going, I went through these phases
    1) Stop drinking soda (even diet) and any other form of liquid calories. I still allowed myself coffee but only with artificial sweeteners. After a month of success, I rewarded myself with a mountain dew on independence day. Since then, I've transitioned to diet sodas. I dont drink any fruit juices. or starbucks "coffee". I do have milkshakes occasionally if I can fit in my calories.
    2) Record everything I ate, including all cups of coffee, sticks of gum, hard candies, etc. I'm not as anal about this anymore, but do track major meals and snacks.
    3) Began C25K and progressed through that. This was great because its 3 days a week and establishes routine. Upon completion, I had my first race, and then I kept at it. I now run 4 or 5 days a week and am training for a 50K.
    4) Now focus more on body fat then weight

    For weight loss, cardio is king over strength training. There's just no comparison in calories burned. That said, strength training will keep you more healthy, allow you to heal faster, and obviously makes you more stronger. Coupled with yoga and you'll turn into a machine. Both cardio and strength training are complemented by mental training to push through.
  • CristaNayshun
    CristaNayshun Posts: 1
    Hello, I just signed up and am trying to lose 100 pounds. I currently weigh 263 and have lost 2 pounds already. I started using my treadmill and today started walking on it again. I'm trying to walk 30 minutes a day, everyday...I hope. I used to have a steady weight of 210 and thought I was fine, but reaching 263, I feel as though I have lost myself and need to get into shape.
  • dwtimeoutt
    dwtimeoutt Posts: 107 Member
    It really depends on how much you really want to become a parent. If you stay focused every day and don't let the day in and day out stresses control what you do, your changes of reaching your goal within this year are very good. Most importantly would be how you go about it and weather you keep it up once you conceive. I've know you on here for a year at least and I know you can do it. Moderate exercise and healthy eating. Those are the two major keys. Start developing statagies to deal with the stresses that cause you to lose focus. Being prepared for anything is so important.

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