Is 50lbs in 6 months realistic?

That's a little more than 2 lbs a week... so no it's not realistic.
Secondly, giving yourself a time frame is a BAD idea. If you don't reach your goal by that time how are you going to feel? Most people who approach weight loss this way end up giving up or at least become very frustrated because they realize their timed goals are unattainable. Stay away from time constrained weight goals.
Instead just focus on doing what you're doing. More calories in than calories out... don't try to lose more than 2 lbs a week. Keep to your calorie goal and be happy with every little victory. Have a goal in mind, but don't say "I need to lose this much by this date." Just work hard and keep consistent and you'll get there in a healthy amount of time.

Realistic? Depends on the person and the commitment from said person. Doable? Oh yeah.

You will have initial water loss (usually about 3-7 pounds). After that, with 50 pounds to lose, 2 pounds a week for the first couple of months would be okay, but after that, the rate should slow down. Why set a time limit on it? Why not just see where you end up?

It's doable, but like others have said, you really want to focus on creating a change in lifestyle that's enduring so you aren't finding yourself in the same situation another 6 months down the line once you hit maintenance. Different people lose at different paces, depending on where they start and how they do it. There's a lot of variables. Just focus on eating well and you're going to feel better no matter the number on the scale.

WBB55 wrote: »

So here's the thing. It's totally within the realm of possibility to lose 50 lbs in 6 months, but you won't lose 50 lbs of FAT in 6 months. A third of it will probably be muscle and other tissue.

I agree with this. Good post.

I have lost 40 pounds in 4 1/2 months, so I hope it is possible to lose another 10 in the next six weeks. If I do not, I will still be healthier than I was when I started. I have been very diligent. I have never taken a cheat day, and I have been as accurate as possible in logging. I lost an average of 2 lbs a week consistently. Now that I am under 200, I know that my rate will likely slow.

Sure is, I did it with a starting calorie goal of 1660ish for 1 lb a week. Of course, I tried to leave 500 on the table every day but realistically was more like 300. I ate back about half to 3/4 of my exercise calories. Went from 180 at the end of September to 130 by mid-April of this year so 6.5 months. And that included Thanksgiving and Christmas! January was a bit...rough. Set your goals and stick to them. You got this.

MeaganPorter1 wrote: »

I'm currently 214 lbs and looking to lose 50lbs give or take in a 6 month timeframe. Is this realistic?

I am keeping my calorie intake to a max of 1500 and working out 5 days a week for at least 60 minutes.

Yes its achievable but i don't think you are going about it in a very smart way. I think you are setting yourself up to fail. On this regime, you may find the first three months reasonably easy. But i would find it hard getting that far on so few calories. If you get that, you will definitely fall down in the second three months. Your body simply needs more calories to be healthy.

MeaganPorter1 wrote: »

I'm currently 214 lbs and looking to lose 50lbs give or take in a 6 month timeframe. Is this realistic?

I am keeping my calorie intake to a max of 1500 and working out 5 days a week for at least 60 minutes.

kateyb94 wrote: »

That's a little more than 2 lbs a week... so no it's not realistic.
Secondly, giving yourself a time frame is a BAD idea. If you don't reach your goal by that time how are you going to feel? Most people who approach weight loss this way end up giving up or at least become very frustrated because they realize their timed goals are unattainable. Stay away from time constrained weight goals.
Instead just focus on doing what you're doing. More calories in than calories out... don't try to lose more than 2 lbs a week. Keep to your calorie goal and be happy with every little victory. Have a goal in mind, but don't say "I need to lose this much by this date." Just work hard and keep consistent and you'll get there in a healthy amount of time.

Patttience wrote: »

ercarroll311 wrote: »

kateyb94 wrote: »

That's a little more than 2 lbs a week... so no it's not realistic.
Secondly, giving yourself a time frame is a BAD idea. If you don't reach your goal by that time how are you going to feel? Most people who approach weight loss this way end up giving up or at least become very frustrated because they realize their timed goals are unattainable. Stay away from time constrained weight goals.
Instead just focus on doing what you're doing. More calories in than calories out... don't try to lose more than 2 lbs a week. Keep to your calorie goal and be happy with every little victory. Have a goal in mind, but don't say "I need to lose this much by this date." Just work hard and keep consistent and you'll get there in a healthy amount of time.

This. It might be doable, though it's a stretch. But you need to make a lifestyle change, and the things you would need to do in order to lose that much in that short period of time would be challenging to maintain. I had 20 pounds to lose when I started on here (for the third time), but this time I'm taking it much more slowly. I've lost 15 pounds in 2 months through making changes I can stick to forever. I would love to be at my goal by my friend's wedding in October, but I've learned from the times that I gained the weight back to not make things too hard on myself.

Best of luck!! Whether you lose 50 pounds in 6 months or 25-30, you'll start feeling so much better about yourself!

This is exactly what i'm talking about. Listen to this woman.

kateyb94 wrote: »

That's a little more than 2 lbs a week... so no it's not realistic.
Secondly, giving yourself a time frame is a BAD idea. If you don't reach your goal by that time how are you going to feel? Most people who approach weight loss this way end up giving up or at least become very frustrated because they realize their timed goals are unattainable. Stay away from time constrained weight goals.
Instead just focus on doing what you're doing. More calories in than calories out... don't try to lose more than 2 lbs a week. Keep to your calorie goal and be happy with every little victory. Have a goal in mind, but don't say "I need to lose this much by this date." Just work hard and keep consistent and you'll get there in a healthy amount of time.

Not sure what math is being used in this post but 6 months is 26 weeks. 26x2 is 52. So no, it's not over 2lbs a week. It would be tough but probably doable. Shoot for it and you will probably get pretty close to it. If not, you'll still be much closer to your goal than when you started.

mgoddard1527 wrote: »

MeaganPorter1 wrote: »

I'm currently 214 lbs and looking to lose 50lbs give or take in a 6 month timeframe. Is this realistic?

I am keeping my calorie intake to a max of 1500 and working out 5 days a week for at least 60 minutes.

kateyb94 wrote: »

That's a little more than 2 lbs a week... so no it's not realistic.
Secondly, giving yourself a time frame is a BAD idea. If you don't reach your goal by that time how are you going to feel? Most people who approach weight loss this way end up giving up or at least become very frustrated because they realize their timed goals are unattainable. Stay away from time constrained weight goals.
Instead just focus on doing what you're doing. More calories in than calories out... don't try to lose more than 2 lbs a week. Keep to your calorie goal and be happy with every little victory. Have a goal in mind, but don't say "I need to lose this much by this date." Just work hard and keep consistent and you'll get there in a healthy amount of time.

Patttience wrote: »

ercarroll311 wrote: »

kateyb94 wrote: »

That's a little more than 2 lbs a week... so no it's not realistic.
Secondly, giving yourself a time frame is a BAD idea. If you don't reach your goal by that time how are you going to feel? Most people who approach weight loss this way end up giving up or at least become very frustrated because they realize their timed goals are unattainable. Stay away from time constrained weight goals.
Instead just focus on doing what you're doing. More calories in than calories out... don't try to lose more than 2 lbs a week. Keep to your calorie goal and be happy with every little victory. Have a goal in mind, but don't say "I need to lose this much by this date." Just work hard and keep consistent and you'll get there in a healthy amount of time.

This. It might be doable, though it's a stretch. But you need to make a lifestyle change, and the things you would need to do in order to lose that much in that short period of time would be challenging to maintain. I had 20 pounds to lose when I started on here (for the third time), but this time I'm taking it much more slowly. I've lost 15 pounds in 2 months through making changes I can stick to forever. I would love to be at my goal by my friend's wedding in October, but I've learned from the times that I gained the weight back to not make things too hard on myself.

Best of luck!! Whether you lose 50 pounds in 6 months or 25-30, you'll start feeling so much better about yourself!

This is exactly what i'm talking about. Listen to this woman.

kateyb94 wrote: »

That's a little more than 2 lbs a week... so no it's not realistic.
Secondly, giving yourself a time frame is a BAD idea. If you don't reach your goal by that time how are you going to feel? Most people who approach weight loss this way end up giving up or at least become very frustrated because they realize their timed goals are unattainable. Stay away from time constrained weight goals.
Instead just focus on doing what you're doing. More calories in than calories out... don't try to lose more than 2 lbs a week. Keep to your calorie goal and be happy with every little victory. Have a goal in mind, but don't say "I need to lose this much by this date." Just work hard and keep consistent and you'll get there in a healthy amount of time.

Not sure what math is being used in this post but 6 months is 26 weeks. 26x2 is 52. So no, it's not over 2lbs a week. It would be tough but probably doable. Shoot for it and you will probably get pretty close to it. If not, you'll still be much closer to your goal than when you started.

you're right, I was thinking 24 months for some reason. It could be doable, but I still stand by my statement that time constrained weight loss goals are setting yourself up for failure. It's better to focus on doing your best, being healthy, and working towards your goal weight than to say "I need to be this size by this day" because if for some reason you don't reach that goal it's very discouraging. If you feel the need to give yourself a date, I'd at least suggest giving yourself some wiggle room. Doing the math, if I continue to lose exactly as I have been for the first 3 weeks I should reach my goal in about 10 more weeks, but I'm not necessarily expecting that because weightloss is not linear

It by the way a perfect valid thing to just lose weight and to really change your habits when you reached your goal. There are studies that suggest that rapid weight loss is correlated with keeping the weight loss. It also depends how patient you are, if you need fast change to stay motivated do that. Just pay attention to your nutrients.

It seems like a lot considering where you're starting, but maybe. Do you have this deadline because you have an event or something coming up? You might make it, but you might not, so bear that in mind if you're ordering a dress or something.

Six months is 26 weeks, but the weight comes off quicker at first...at least it does for some...so you might get a quick loss at the beginning.

Even if you don't make it to 50 in six months, you'll lose some and progress is better than nothing!!

It's doable. In theory it's probably not ideal to lose that fast, but it's hard to stay disciplined for a year+. I lost 65 lbs in about 7 months. Since then, I've dropped 5 lbs in about 3 months. I just don't have the same discipline that I had before. I'm glad I lost ad aggressively as I did.