How long does it take?

elenacolette
elenacolette Posts: 39
edited November 11 in Getting Started
What's normal and what's not? I hear that it's normal to drop at least 30 pounds in 3 months but I'm not exactly positive on what's right and wrong.

Replies

  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
    30 in 3 is too fast to maintain health and the loss.
    Set your goals for .5 a week for realistic and long term results.

    The weight loss will take you as long as your dedication and effort wants to go.
    Maintenance of met goals will take you the rest of your life.

    Here are a couple of reads with tools to help get you going:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

    Best of luck!!
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    There is no normal. It depends on your current weight, your goal weight, the weekly goal that you set in MFP, how accurately you log, and how well you stick to your daily calorie goal.

    Generally speaking, the more you have to lose, the faster you can lose it. I started at 214.8 lb. and set a goal of 170. I lost 1.1 pounds a week for the first 6 months, then 0.7 pounds a week for the next 6 months. By that point I was under 170 but had revised my goal to 160 (and then, a few months later, to 150).

    In the first half of my second year, I lost 0.45 pounds a week and was down to 156.9. And in the second half, I lost 0.23 pounds a week. I'm now at 150.9 and am basically at maintenance; I reached 150 in December, then put on a wee bit of holiday weight which I'm taking off this month.

    The process isn't linear, either. I weigh daily; sometimes my weight would go up several days in a row, and then fall dramatically; sometimes it would go down for several days, and then spring back up. The overall trend was downward, though.
  • ashtonlv
    ashtonlv Posts: 4
    Slow and steady wins the race. Try not to focus on "normal" for other people and just focus on what is working for you and celebrate small steps. The last thing that you want is to feel disappointed by a 1/2 or 1/4 lb/week weight loss because you were set up to expect 2 lbs.
  • cwagar123
    cwagar123 Posts: 195 Member
    bwogilvie wrote: »
    There is no normal. It depends on your current weight, your goal weight, the weekly goal that you set in MFP, how accurately you log, and how well you stick to your daily calorie goal.

    Generally speaking, the more you have to lose, the faster you can lose it. I started at 214.8 lb. and set a goal of 170. I lost 1.1 pounds a week for the first 6 months, then 0.7 pounds a week for the next 6 months. By that point I was under 170 but had revised my goal to 160 (and then, a few months later, to 150).

    In the first half of my second year, I lost 0.45 pounds a week and was down to 156.9. And in the second half, I lost 0.23 pounds a week. I'm now at 150.9 and am basically at maintenance; I reached 150 in December, then put on a wee bit of holiday weight which I'm taking off this month.

    The process isn't linear, either. I weigh daily; sometimes my weight would go up several days in a row, and then fall dramatically; sometimes it would go down for several days, and then spring back up. The overall trend was downward, though.

    yep... this has been my experience as well. I started at close to 270 (Jan 2013). Lost rapidly and am currently 209, and still losing about 1.5 lb per week... but at 5'3 it is coming off quick because there is still a long way to go :)

    I also weigh daily and my overall weight can fluctuate 1-3 lbs at times from one day to the next, but the overall trend is moving downwards.
  • elenacolette
    elenacolette Posts: 39
    Thanks guys! I just want to make sure what I'm doing is healthy and won't screw me over in the end.
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