Can i lose 40 pounds in 3months?

ashley26704
ashley26704 Posts: 72 Member
edited September 28 in Motivation and Support
Well, ive been on a diet for a while now, and by watching what i eat and excersising every once in a while, i've lost in total 14pounds. I have 40 more to go to reach my goal weight, I'd like to lose it by the end of august. Is it safe/possible to do so?

Thanks!:wink:

Replies

  • LadyKT
    LadyKT Posts: 287 Member
    I think so. That's what i'm aiming for! 37 more lbs to go until my 8/31 bday :)
  • LadyKT
    LadyKT Posts: 287 Member
    I think so. That's what i'm aiming for! 37 more lbs to go until my 8/31 bday :)
  • neelia
    neelia Posts: 750 Member
    One pound per week is recommended, but I'm sure 40 lbs is possible.
  • ssergeyev
    ssergeyev Posts: 1
    It depends what is your current weight. I lost 80 pounds in 3 months by counting calories and excersising 4-5 times a week. Still have 135 pounds to go to my goal. But I know I can do it by ths Christmas.

    Anyway, good luck in achieving your goal. I know you can do it and it is possible.
  • Dahlface13
    Dahlface13 Posts: 65 Member
    The usual recommendations say to lose no more than 2 lbs a week after the first couple of weeks of a new plan. That means that it's POSSIBLE to lose 40 in 3 months but not highly recommended. The good news is that you can lose approximately 24 lbs in that time, which is nothing to sneeze at!
  • WWhitaker
    WWhitaker Posts: 309
    In order to lose 40 lbs in 3 months, that would mean you'd need to lose 13.3 lbs per month. That would be 3.325 lbs per week. It's generally recommended that people lose no more than 2 lbs per week. I'd shoot toward the end of October to make your goal a little more realistic. Especially since you're only exercising "once in awhile" and you don't have a strenuous work out regime. Best of luck to you!
  • oregon86
    oregon86 Posts: 8
    They say not to lose more then 1 to 2 pounds per week or 8 to 10 pounds per month. To be safe and let your body adjust to the weightloss I wouldnt try to lose more then that.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    It's possible...if you have a strict diet, never stop exercising, always are motivated, and always have willpower. I don't want to be a debbie downer but I just want you to hear the realistic answer. Have realistic expectations. 40 lbs in 3 months is possible, yes, but everyone has lives. Everyone has kids or a job or school and temptations. Everybody falls off the wagon and ends up with a week or more here and there where they didn't lose...whether it's a lot of sodium, changing your workout routine, your body going through changes, whatever. Trust me. I lost my first 20 lbs easy and thought I could loes my 40 lbs starting from January and lose it by end of summer but it didn't happen. I got to the point where I had to start eating more but it took me 2 months to figure that out. Then I changed my workout and had to wait a few weeks for my body to get used to it to see results again. Then I fell off the wagon. Then I got back to the weight I was when I started and got to cycle through the same problems again.
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
    If losing 40 pounds will put you at your goal weight meaning that you will have even lost your last 10 "vanity pounds" as people call them. Then I would say no...

    I have been working out diligently eating a respective 80% clean diet to lose my last ten pounds and I have only lost five of those pounds since January. It has taken me nearly six months to lose 5 of my vanity pounds and I expect it to be another 5 months to lose the last 5 pounds.

    2 pounds a week is the VERY most that is recommended... Don't set too unrealistic of goals, or you are setting yourself up for failure. Instead set yourself up for a challenge, and then treat it as so. In My opinion, 40 pounds is a little unrealistic. But that is my opinion and that is what is awesome about MFP... you get lots of opinions.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    That is more than 3lb a week. If you are extremely overweight, and if you take lots of hard exercise, and if you monitor your calories very well, you MIGHT achieve 3lb a week for a while, but if your goal weight you're talking about is your final goal weight ie one at which you don't have an unhealthy amount of fat, your weight loss is going to slow right down as you reach that goal.

    Eventually you may only be losing half a pound a week - so no I don't think that you are going to lose 40lb by August.

    How you could have done it is by starting to count every calorie, and get lots of exercise, three months ago. Hopefully by thinking about that you'll realise that the time to start is now. Even if you don't lose anything like 40lb, you can still lose a LOT in three months. Certainly enough to make a big difference. :smile:
  • pattyv16
    pattyv16 Posts: 3
    I was on WW following the Points Plus program..my daughter started on MFP at the same time (we both started 3 months before my son's wedding). She lost 40 lbs. following the 1200 calories recommended. Sometimes she would finish the day with less calories, but had a free day on the weekend.

    I joined MFP when I saw her success!!
  • KrystleZia
    KrystleZia Posts: 17
    It's possible but I've heard that losing any more than 1 lb of week does not give your skin a chance to adjust to your weight loss and you end up with more flabby skin that way. I can't speak from experience but it seems to make sense.
  • melissanelson1293
    melissanelson1293 Posts: 2
    I way about 170 and I wanna lose weight I want to fit back in my size 7 shorts .
    I wear a 13. I started exercising about 2 weeks ago doing p90x 6-7 days a week and sometes
    I do my dance central game and I'm on a 1200 calorie diet
    Can I lose about 40lbs in 3 to 4months?
  • Amlynnskie
    Amlynnskie Posts: 39 Member
    I think so... That's my goal!
  • KorkaKorka
    KorkaKorka Posts: 3
    I did it! Started at 265 lbs, I am now 225lbs and have 60 more lbs to lose! Consistency is the KEY! Eat right, and exercise...Good luck on your journey!
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    .
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I did it! Started at 265 lbs, I am now 225lbs and have 60 more lbs to lose! Consistency is the KEY! Eat right, and exercise...Good luck on your journey!

    .
  • motivatedkarma
    motivatedkarma Posts: 67 Member
    I would say yes, i understand it says 1-2 lbs per week, but if you are eating right and working out and losing more that can't be bad as long as you are not starving yourself.
  • CallMeRuPaul
    CallMeRuPaul Posts: 151 Member
    yes, i lost 30 pounds in 5 weeks. BAM!
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    .
  • kuolo
    kuolo Posts: 251 Member
    you guys can't count days or weeks.....

    yep, you can do it.

    The original post was made in June... Several years ago
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
    Is it possible? Sure. I suppose. Is it probable? Nope. Number one, it depends how much weight you have to lose. If it's your last 40 pounds, it's extremely unlikely that you will lose it all in three months as weight loss becomes much slower as you get closer and closer to goal. Secondly, even if you did lose 40 pounds in three months, I would question whether or not it's going to pile back on as soon as you stop whatever you did to lose it.

    Quit being in such a hurry. You didn't gain 40 pounds in three months so don't expect to lose it so quickly. Eat right, exercise more than just "every once in a while" and be in it for the long term.
  • Behxo
    Behxo Posts: 1,190 Member
    If losing 40 pounds will put you at your goal weight meaning that you will have even lost your last 10 "vanity pounds" as people call them. Then I would say no...

    I have been working out diligently eating a respective 80% clean diet to lose my last ten pounds and I have only lost five of those pounds since January. It has taken me nearly six months to lose 5 of my vanity pounds and I expect it to be another 5 months to lose the last 5 pounds.

    2 pounds a week is the VERY most that is recommended... Don't set too unrealistic of goals, or you are setting yourself up for failure. Instead set yourself up for a challenge, and then treat it as so. In My opinion, 40 pounds is a little unrealistic. But that is my opinion and that is what is awesome about MFP... you get lots of opinions.

    ^ This
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    I wouldn't recommend it if you want to do it in a healthy way that you can sustain long term. Set a reasonable calorie deficit and find an exercise routine you love.

    These are great reads that helped me a lot:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

    1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • Foreverfitnow
    Foreverfitnow Posts: 15 Member
    I think the question you want to ask yourself is this...do you want to just see the number on the scale go down by 40 pounds or do you want to be healthy and fit into your clothes and have a nice, toned body?

    I am no scientific expert, but I have read plenty on this subject. If you lose weight too fast, you'll wind up losing muscle tissue rather than fat. You CAN be a flabby skinny person.

    I lost 40 pounds about 6 years ago, while on Weight Watchers Online. I stuck to the plan like glue, I worked out with a personal trainer 3 times a week and ran 5 days a week. I lost a consistent (and healthy) 5 pounds a month. It took me 8 months to lose the 40 pounds, but the transition was gradual and natural. I had good muscle tone and stamina.

    I do NOT think you should try to hastily take off pounds. I believe you will be very sorry in mid-summer that you tried to rush the weight loss. Slow and steady wins the race.....
  • Foreverfitnow
    Foreverfitnow Posts: 15 Member
    Oh yeah, and then there's the maintenance aspect. You'll notice that I am again trying to lose weight. I kept it off for a good while, but slowly started back into my old habits. If you don't re-train your brain to maintain, you won't be able to keep the weight off and it's back to yo-yo time....just my 2 cents....:wink:
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    40lbs in 3 months is very unlikely unless you are extremely overweight. In addition to the fact that that would be 3lbs per week loss and the general recommendation is no more than 2lbs per week. The other rule of thumb is no more than .5% to 1% of body weight per week. That means if you are currently 170 lbs you wouldn't want to lose at a rate of more than 1.7lbs per week and as you lose weight the rate of loss should be slower.

    I am not a fan of setting goals like 'lose X lbs in Y months' because even if you set a realistic goal, life happens and the human body is not a machine. You might end up 1 lbs short of the goal. Personally I would see 1 lb short of a goal as 'failure' and would ignore the fact that I was successful in losing X-1 lbs.

    Certainly set a goal to lose 40lbs and work as hard as you can to do it, but don't set yourself up for failure by restricting your diet too much, which can lead to binging or exercising too much, which can lead to burn out. Take the time to make changes that you can live with for the rest of your life, so you won't regain the weight and have to do this all over again.
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