Losing 10 lbs in one month – Am I being realistic?

DaisyJane82
DaisyJane82 Posts: 32 Member
edited September 24 in Health and Weight Loss
I have to put on a bikini in one month. It’s a really beautiful bathing suit that I bought from Victoria Secrets. (my delusional mind believed it would actually fit)…My husband and I are leaving on a beach vacation to celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary. This is a really big deal for us and we’ve been planning and saving up for this trip for over a year.

I don’t expect to look like a supermodel on the beach after losing 10 lbs, I will still have ways to go but it will be the first step towards feeling comfortable in my skin and being healthy again. On this special anniversary I want to look more like the girl he married 9 years ago.

I signed up to MFP one week ago, and since then I’ve lost 2 lbs. It’s exciting & motivating to see the numbers drop on my scale but I’m beginning to wonder if my weight loss goal is unrealistic. Am I setting myself up for disappointment?

Has anyone lost 10 lbs or more in one month? If so, could you share your experience of achieving this and offer any tips/advice?

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Not safely or in a healthy manner with the amount you have to lose. Actually even 1lb/week is quite aggressive at your weight vs your goal. I would suggest 0.5lbs/week, but you may be able to do 1lb/week so 3-4 pounds a month would be realistic.

    You may be able to, but much of it will be muscle mass as you don't have much to lose.
  • cheangela
    cheangela Posts: 173
    I lost 12 pounds January 1 - February 4th doing the "eat to live" plan by Dr Fuhrman. You have to love fruit and veg though! But yes, I felt great the entire time and didn't feel hungry at all. I need to start doing that again :-D
  • hippo_hips
    hippo_hips Posts: 45 Member
    I lost 17 in one month, so yes.
  • christineschutte
    christineschutte Posts: 3 Member
    you can definently loose about 10 pounds in a month, check out the last 10 pounds bootcamp online, it is a canadian show on slice channel, and all the participants have a goal of losing 10 pounds in a month, some lose even more!! Good Luck! :)
  • lose40by40
    lose40by40 Posts: 14
    @ Hippo hip,
    Please tell us how? :laugh:
  • dietcoke281
    dietcoke281 Posts: 226 Member
    I am not *very* heavy, and this is my first week here. I've lost 5 pounds so far.
    But it all depends on how heavy you are to start with and you lose more weight at the start of your diet.
  • hollyb9871
    hollyb9871 Posts: 401 Member
    Considering your over all goal is to lose 20 lbs. you don't have much to lose to begin with. Losing more than 2 lbs. a week is not considered healthy for someone with such little extra weight. It would be more realistic to think you could lose 5 to 8 lbs. eating right and exercising more days than not.

    I started out needing to lose 20 lbs. (I've lost about 7 so far). I gained weight the first few days then lost nothing for 2 weeks. Then slowly it started coming off. I started in the end of January. !

    Good luck to you and I hope you have a wonderful trip
  • pmarti5
    pmarti5 Posts: 38 Member
    I just signed up recently too, i have a lot of weight to lose tho, but i have lost almost 5 pds in one week. so it is possible if u keep ur food diary and stay at or below 1,200 cal a day. make sure u get plenty of protein each day, like 50 or above. shoppin at VS tells me u probably do not have a lot of weight to lose so it might b harder/slower for you. my lap band doc suggested i stay at 1,000 cal a day for 5 days a week, and for 2 days a week i can go over a little. many doctors might disagree w 1,000/day but i don't care, i need a jump start and so far it's working for me. i suggest lots of liquids and soups, jello, pudding cup for snack, water, apple sauce, eggs w cheese, skinless chicken breasts, fish, and veggies.
  • autumn13
    autumn13 Posts: 295
    i want to know how to!
  • rizorw
    rizorw Posts: 67 Member
    If this is your first month trying to loose weight, it may come off pretty easily. The first 10 (or so) pounds is water weight and you will start to feel better. I have a personal goal of 10lbs per month and it becomes more challenging as each month goes by.
    Good Luck!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I just signed up recently too, i have a lot of weight to lose tho, but i have lost almost 5 pds in one week. so it is possible if u keep ur food diary and stay at or below 1,200 cal a day. make sure u get plenty of protein each day, like 50 or above. shoppin at VS tells me u probably do not have a lot of weight to lose so it might b harder/slower for you. my lap band doc suggested i stay at 1,000 cal a day for 5 days a week, and for 2 days a week i can go over a little. many doctors might disagree w 1,000/day but i don't care, i need a jump start and so far it's working for me. i suggest lots of liquids and soups, jello, pudding cup for snack, water, apple sauce, eggs w cheese, skinless chicken breasts, fish, and veggies.

    I would advise against going below 1200 cals, slightly below or above maybe.
  • havi7
    havi7 Posts: 80 Member
    I've lost 17 pounds in the past 6-7 weeks. I've done so by eating a healthy diet of about 5 meals of 3-500 calories a day and working out to Insanity. It really depends on what your current weight is though and Eric is probably right in what he said.
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I went from 280 - 210 in 7 months only doing 2 spin classes a week and cutting out pop (and not eating healthy). I was 21 at the time, if that matters. It depends on the person and how motivated you are. I would say definitely incorporate some weight training in with the cardio I know you're going to do. You may not lose 10 lbs doing this, but I think you'll lose more inches, which is your true end goal.
  • ckkh
    ckkh Posts: 35 Member
    I have lost 18lb since Jan 2. 9 of those pounds came off in the first month.
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    What a lot of you guys aren't taking into consideration is the fact that she only has 20 pounds to lose overall. If you have a lot of weight to lose, yes, you'll lose quickly in the beginning, so 10 lbs or more in a month is feasible. But when you don't have much to lose, it's not realistic or safe to attempt that kind of rapid loss.

    So to the OP: No, it's not safe to expect that kind of loss. What you can do is diet and do some good strength-building exercises, especially around your core. It will help tighten you up so that you look better, even if you aren't able to shed all the pounds as fast as you want to.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Not safely or in a healthy manner with the amount you have to lose. Actually even 1lb/week is quite aggressive at your weight vs your goal. I would suggest 0.5lbs/week, but you may be able to do 1lb/week so 3-4 pounds a month would be realistic.

    You may be able to, but much of it will be muscle mass as you don't have much to lose.

    This. People with a LOT to lose can lose that much that quickly. You almost certainly will not. You have very little fat to begin with, and the body simply won't burn it that quickly in a healthy manner.
  • amg_89
    amg_89 Posts: 184
    I lost 12 pounds January 1 - February 4th doing the "eat to live" plan by Dr Fuhrman. You have to love fruit and veg though! But yes, I felt great the entire time and didn't feel hungry at all. I need to start doing that again :-D

    oooh whats the eat to live plan?
  • debbiemacfarlane
    debbiemacfarlane Posts: 35 Member
    I have been working hard and I have lost almost 20lbs in two months. I have a lot of weight to lose though. I had to change my eating habits completely. I love MFP for having a simple system available to log food daily. It keeps me on track. I'll be honest... I hate working out. The support system here makes me want to push my inner self to get myself moving.

    if you really want to work and lose ten pounds then you will be able to.

    I hope your vacation is everything you want it to be.
  • wdwghettogirl
    wdwghettogirl Posts: 559 Member
    Every BODY is different. I think a great deal of it depends on how much excess weight you have to lose to begin with. When I first started my weight loss journey when I was 16, I lost 7 lbs the first WEEK and 10 lbs the next WEEK. And all I did was start exercising, I hadn't changed my diet at all. But I was VERY overweight and have not seen such dramatic numbers since. But, I did lose 10 lbs in a month when I started things up again several months ago. It really depends on your diet, work out regime, and excess weight. Don't strain your body trying to lose too much too fast. It will happen naturally if you do things right. :)
  • indigo_sue
    indigo_sue Posts: 4 Member
    If you want to LOOK good in a bathing suit, I'd suggest focusing more on measurements rather than weight. Since muscle weighs more than fat, you can actually transform 5 lbs of fat into 5 lbs of muscle and look stunningly different. Also, muscle increases your metabolic rate so if you focus on exercise to build muscle and tone your body, then you will set yourself up for better weight loss (and weight control) in the long term. And you'll look and feel a lot better on the beach!

    I'd go with lots of weight-bearing exercises and cardio in the fat-burning heart-rate band. Don't overdo it at first because you'll just get sore muscles and quit. Try things like the nordic-trainer or rowing machine - get taught how to do it PROPERLY to avoid injury.
  • wmartin8
    wmartin8 Posts: 22
    My goal is to loose around 20 pounds as well, and after about 6 weeks I've lost 9 pounds. that's a little more than a pound a week. Which I'm pretty happy about. I think it's definitely possible to lose 10 pounds in a month for a lighter person but it would take an extraordinary effort than in the end might just be unsustainable. Take myself for example, my main goal at the gym for the first couple of weeks was just to burn 500 calories and eat a little under 2000 calories a day. I would do 3 circuits of a full body workout every other day and run about 5 miles every other day, 6 days a week. While doing all of this exercise sometimes 2k calories didn't seem enough, there would definitely times during the day in which I felt really really hungry! I stuck to it however, and I lost weight. However, now that i'm on week 6 I'm definitely starting to feel the effects of overtraining. I haven't slept well for a couple of days, and my body just seems to wanna eat absolutely everything. There were a few times that I completely binged. which is pretty depressing. To my surprise though, the weight that I lost hasn't come back at all i'm still 9 pounds lighter which makes me think a slower weight lost process is the only realistic way to keep the weight off for good. So, now I've had dialed down my calories and have pretty much cut out my gym time in half still focusing however in achieving a daily 500 calorie deficit. So, although I think it's possible, I think you should probably give yourself a little bit more time. At least 3 months. Which is what I have done. Plus, you don't wanna starve yourself for a month and then stuff your face come vacation time now do you?? temptations have a weird way of appearing the more you deprive yourself of them.
  • squeaktones
    squeaktones Posts: 195 Member
    i lost 10 pounds from feburary 14th til now so i think you can.. i am not sure how many calories i was eating before i found this site. i started out trying to the 1500 calories thing with exercise but had to lower my calories to between 1200-1300 because i was not eating my calories and was having to stuff myself at the end of the day. i talked it over with my doctor first he said it was ok to do it as long as i added a multivitamin to my diet. i get the smart pack of gummy vitamans from sam's they have the multivitamin, plus a calcium, omega 3, vitamin d3 and a b6/b12 combined. they are fruit flavored, taste great and make me feel like i am getting a candy treat. they are 50 extra calories though. i saw the nutritionist last week too and she said to try to eat 4 serving of fruits, four servings of vegetables, 2 servings of whole grains. and 3 servings of protein a day. to lower my salt intake and try to add some healthy fats like 1 tablespoon olive, walmut or flaxseed oil and or 1/8 of an avacado's, a couple of tablespoons of nuts to my diet.
    for you 10 lose your 10 pounds you are going to have to lower your calories and boost your exercise quite a bit and not eat your exercise calories. i would not suggest you do this long term though without asking your doctor.
  • ChristineM1953
    ChristineM1953 Posts: 135 Member
    If this is your first month trying to loose weight, it may come off pretty easily. The first 10 (or so) pounds is water weight and you will start to feel better. I have a personal goal of 10lbs per month and it becomes more challenging as each month goes by.
    Good Luck!

    She's right, especially with women. We tend to hold onto water more and that is what will come off first. But make sure you eat your calories, or you will go into starvation mode and you just won't do yourself any good. If you lose the 10#, don't expect that in the future and take your time losing the rest. It took you nine years to get here- you aren't going to lose it in 3 months.
  • DaisyJane82
    DaisyJane82 Posts: 32 Member
    Thank you everyone for your advice, suggestions and weight loss tips. I truly appreciate

    I read through everyone comments and took your experiences into account. You're right, based on my weight and what I have to lose. It might be unrealistic albeit not impossible to lose 10 lbs. I'm inspired by those that have, but also acknowledge those that say it might not be good for my health to push myself to hard, eat too little calories..etc.

    I'm still hoping that I can lose 10 lbs before my vacation, but I'll be focusing on toning my body more than losing the weight. That's a good suggestion and it sounds like the best thing to do.

    I realize that I'll probably gain a lot of weight back DURING my vacation and I'm okay with that. This vacation is a once in a lifetime thing for us. I'll pick myself back up and keep on going.

    The weight loss technique I use AFTER the vacation will be a lot more relaxed, health conscious and long term than the diet leading up to it.

    Thank you so much guys for all of your help! (I'll let you know if I achieve my goal)
  • SamiSamiBoBlammy
    SamiSamiBoBlammy Posts: 868 Member
    I'm still hoping that I can lose 10 lbs before my vacation, but I'll be focusing on toning my body more than losing the weight. That's a good suggestion and it sounds like the best thing to do.

    I think this is your best bet... the number on the scale doesn't make the bathing suit fit better - the shape of your body does.

    I would suggest Jullian Michaels 30 day shred. I'm fairly small and I lost 2+ inches off my waist after the first 20 days
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