Is a goal to lose 90 lbs in 7 months achievable?

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  • mlh37214
    mlh37214 Posts: 517 Member
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    Admittedly, I haven't read through all the responses on here, but here's my 2 cents.

    I think it really depends on how much you have to lose. If you were 300 lbs overweight with that goal, yes, totally doable. When you are getting closer to your goal, not so much. I saw the response that says losing so fast can make you look sick! That's true!! And if you go on a diet with too few calories, you will go into starvation mode and 1, lose muscle, or 2, not lose at all. Also, being too restrictive will set you up for failure. You want to do something that you can maintain.

    Keep doing what you are doing. Looks like you've got good loss going so far, Focus on how you feel, how your clothes fit, and not so much on the number!!
  • ccf_trainer
    ccf_trainer Posts: 86 Member
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    There is really no limit to how much you can lose per week. I have seen people actually lose 20 lbs. in one month. All it really takes to demolish your goal is the right mindset, self-discipline, and hard work. You must sacrifice, make yourself uncomfortable, and be willing to do what you normally wouldn't want to do, and that's to continue eating clean, spend a few days per week in the gym (or just exercising, period), and give up things like partying (I'm not sure if that's what you do, just an example), watching TV, comfort foods, and sleeping in. The most important thing you need to focus on is your nutrition. If you have the right nutrition plan, which includes vitamins and supplements, your daily intake of proteins, and the right amount of calories, you are golden. 90 pounds in 7 months is very attainable. As I've been saying to a few people on here, "There is NO GOAL that can't be reached."
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
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    It was a shake only diet. well shakes and vegetables. they also had entrees i could eat.

    lol...shake only diet...plus veggies...plus entrees.

    i'm a vegetarian...except i eat beef....and chicken....and pork.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
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    I am not a fan of setting a goal to lose X lbs by a certain date. Because weight loss isn't linear and we are not perfect it is quite possible to miss that goal. For me, if I was X -5 lbs by that date, I would see that as a failure instead of focusing on all of the weight I had lost.

    Losing 90lbs in 7 months is going to be difficult to do and remain healthy. You might be able to achieve it under a medically supervised diet, but for doing it on your own, I think it is unrealistic.

    I started at 310 and have lost 75 lbs in 6 months. Initially I was losing over 2lbs per week, but eventually I started getting tired and was unable to recover from my exercise. After I had a lot of data, I realized I was eating less than half of what I needed. I slowly increased calories. Now I'm eating about 1700 calories per day and still losing around 2lbs per week. The closer I get to my goal, the less I will be able to lose each week. So I expect my weekly loss to drop further in the coming weeks and months.

    Rather than focusing on a number on the scale by a certain date, why not focus on doing the best you can every day between now and then to improve your health. Set yourself a calorie goal for no more than 2lb per week weight loss, and then set yourself a goal to exercise at least 30 minutes per day. Eat some of your exercise calories back. If you do those things every day the weight will come off and so will the inches. You probably won't be at goal by your wedding day, but you will be well a long your way. You will be healthy and happy. You will also establish habits that you can live with, so that you can continue on your journey until you reach goal.
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
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    It was a shake only diet. well shakes and vegetables. they also had entrees i could eat.

    lol...shake only diet...plus veggies...plus entrees.

    i'm a vegetarian...except i eat beef....and chicken....and pork.

    LOL!
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    It's worth noting that the closer you are to a healthy weight, the slower the pounds come off. So, while you may "easily" lose 2 pounds a week to start that will slow down dramatically as you get smaller even if you over-restrict and over-exercise.

    As others have mentioned, quick weight loss has undesirable consequences. Increased loss of lean muscle mass means you end up smaller but, extra jiggly instead of firmer. You want to lose fat, not muscle, and fast weight loss = muscle loss. The lack of proper nutrition also means: thinning hair, brittle nails, saggier loose skin, bags under your eyes, fatigue, hanger (hungry-anger!)...and you don't want ANY of those to get in the way of feeling fabulous on your special day.

    I promise, if you are consistent from now until then, you may not reach your ultimate goal weight...but you will feel and look amazing.
  • pdxvintagette
    pdxvintagette Posts: 10 Member
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    There is really no limit to how much you can lose per week. I have seen people actually lose 20 lbs. in one month. All it really takes to demolish your goal is the right mindset, self-discipline, and hard work. ..... 90 pounds in 7 months is very attainable. As I've been saying to a few people on here, "There is NO GOAL that can't be reached."

    Okay, this is just not correct. Don't listen to him, and don't pay attention to anecdotal evidence or even personal experience with weight loss that claims no limits. There IS a limit - at least, if we are just talking about fat, and it's a pretty simple mathematical equation. This equation will give you the absolute maximum that could be lost under extreme "Biggest Loser" type conditions - it's not what you should shoot for. Also, your body, not being in shape, may not work efficiently, and so it may not be possible to function at the maximum.

    Here's the equation: 290+/- 25 KJ/kg/d, (maximum energy transfer of 31 kcal per lb of fat per day)

    So take your weight and body fat percentage. Mine is currently 182 lbs, with 37% body fat. That's 67 pound of fat.
    67 lbs x 31 kcal is 2077 calories that could be released from fat cells per day. 2077 x 7 days = 14, 539 calories. Divided by 3,500 equals approximately 4lbs of weight loss a week.

    Now. That's the utter maximum of fat my body could release if it is working efficiently. Which after only one month of regular exercise, it's probably not. And would be damn near impossible to create that kind of calorie deficit. I work out A LOT. I have a gym quality elliptical and do light hand weights, as well as getting to the gym for real weights 2-3 days a week.

    But when I work out, I need to eat more. It doesn't feel good to workout that hard on only 1,200 calories. Further, I'm not staying at any one weight for all that long. After one month, I might be 6-8lbs lighter, maybe 10 in these first couple of months, right? And have a lower body fat percentage.

    By the time I'm 170, if I'm 32% body fat, the absolute maximum would be about 3lbs a week.

    And by the time I'm 150 at 28% or so, the absolute max will be 2.5 lbs a week. By 140 at 25%, 2lbs is the max. Which means I'll probably struggle a bit to lose 1lb a week as I near my goal.

    Remember that you'll go through plateaus. I know my body well enough to know that the 160s are going to be hard to break out of for me.

    Finally, I sell vintage clothing, and I carry a lot of wedding dresses. Wedding dresses from that era are very small, as women married younger, and the obesity epidemic hadn't hit yet. I mean 24"-26" waist pieces. I have a lot of experience with brides asking me "I weight X amount, and I'm working out a lot. Can I fit this dress for my wedding?" I tell them not to buy it. I tell them to lose weight for themselves, and not for an event. Your guests, your groom will all think you look beautiful on your wedding day as long as you are healthy and happy.

    I recommend working on losing weight at a healthy rate until about 5 weeks before the wedding, and then going on maintenance. You do NOT want the extra expense of a last-minute 48 hour dress alteration. It's a common price gouge in the industry. I recommend avoiding strapless dresses, as these are the most likely to be problematic if there is a weight change - falling down if it's too large, or pinching under the arms in an unattractive way if it's too tight.

    Be good to yourself. Remember that your smile is more important than your waistline that day. The waistline can continue to come into shape in time. Give yourself an attainable goal that says - this is for me, and not for anyone else.

    Good luck to you, and congratulations.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    i lost 84 in 6 months. so it can be done.
    I think it's VERY important to realize that men and women just do not lose weight at the same rates. I'm not saying that men have it easy, but pound for pound, yes, in general for men the pounds come off faster and easier.

    Men are typically larger, and almost always have a higher % of muscle...and both of those things lead to faster weight loss...I wish more men would take this into account when replying to women's posts.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    It's taken me 16 months to lose 106 lbs and I started at 285 lbs. Keep it with a reasonable calorie deficit, do resistance training and you will look wonderful for your wedding.

    Don't put a set amount of lbs to lose by a specific date, and don't overly restrict or do anything drastic that will make it more difficult.

    7 months time is a good amount of time to make a big difference doing it a healthy way.

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