Is loosing 20 pounds in 3 months unhealthy ?

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barbie934
barbie934 Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I think it's normal not unhealthy right ?
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  • HappilyDistracted
    HappilyDistracted Posts: 1,700 Member
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    That's not unrealistic, but might be harder to achieve if you are closer to your goal weight...
  • HappilyDistracted
    HappilyDistracted Posts: 1,700 Member
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    Also, it depends on how you get there....
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    And it would also highly depend on your starting weight. Though it's not an exact thing and even professionals don't always agree, most tend to think that weight loss goals should be viewed as a percentage of starting weight, not simply in pounds.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
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    I've lost 22 pounds in just over 10 weeks. I've done this with healthy eating and lots of exercise. I've had slip up days where I ate too much, weeks were I haven't exercised much at all. On only a handful of days I've gone under my calorie allowance, but mostly I've been over the minimum set for me . I dont eat back exercise calories but I dont stress about going over my daily allowance either.

    I do have more weight to lose than you do. So I think losing 20 pounds in 3 months was not unhealthy for ME. Would it be healthy for everyone, no in my opinion. For some people it would be a unreasonable amount of weight to lose.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    If you've only got 25 lbs to go to get to a healthy weight (according to your profile), then yes, that rate of loss will be unhealthy, as you would have to eat close to or under your Basal Metabolic Rate, and not fuel any of your activity, which would lead to fatigue and worse health problems.

    You didn't gain the weight that quickly.

    Learn to eat sustainably - a habit for life.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    It depends on how fat you are and your specific needs. Only your doctor can really tell you what is healthy for you.

    I lost over 20 pounds in two months when I began losing weight, but I began at 250. Now, in the 150s, there is no way I could lose 20 pounds that fast. I wish. But if I stick with it and am patient, I will drop 20 more pounds...and so will you, if you are patient and stick with it. :)
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
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    Somewhere between 1 and 2 lbs/week. It is a reasonable loss rate.
  • ShashayLee
    ShashayLee Posts: 178 Member
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    if you have a lot to lose like i do, i lost it very quickly in the first 2 months. The less you have to lose the slower it goes. I wish it was fast but as others have said, i didn't put this weight on overnight. I'm learning to eat healthy portions & food, i'm learning to deal with ups and downs.
  • mylittlerainbow
    mylittlerainbow Posts: 822 Member
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    A close friend who's a doctor said that, in a weight reduction phase, one shouldn't lose more than 10 pounds per month. (Of course, with a lot to lose, it might be more than that in the initial months.) More than that is not healthy and also is more subject to regaining down the road. So I'd say 20 pounds in 3 months is a healthy goal. Achievable, as the others were addressing above, might be another matter.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    This is entirely dependent on your starting weight :)

    If you have a lot to lose, 20lb may be possible. Especially taken that initial whoosh many of us experience in the first four weeks due to water. I'm 5 ft 2 and I started out at 157 lbs. In three months, I lost around 20 lbs. Having said that, I was VERY strict on myself and it wasn't fun. This was my pre-MFP days. Faster isn't always better. In fact, it's probably a whole lot healthier (mentally and physically) to lose at a more realistic and steadier rate.

    I'd say take the pressure off for now. Don't focus on the number you want to lose and instead concentrate on what you are actually doing (tracking, exercising etc!). You'll feel better regardless of whether or not you meet your number goal.
  • suziecue20
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
    edited November 2015
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    I have lost 22lbs in 3 1/2 months but I still have another 22lbs to lose and expect it will take longer to lose the second half of my weight. I have got healthier - blood pressure normal, cholesterol normal
  • kissedbythesunshine
    kissedbythesunshine Posts: 416 Member
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    Not unhealthy at all. As others have stated it depends on your starting weight.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    That is completely dependent on the person. The goal or how far away from it you are doesn't really matter. Studies show that to maintain muscle mass and lose weight healthily you want to keep weight loss between 0.5-1% of your body weight per week, while exercising and eating sufficient protein. For me, that means even though I have ~7lb to goal (which I intend to overshoot so I bounce back up to goal), I can continue at 0.9-1.8lb/week because I still weigh 180lb. I also monitor my LBM with a circumference method and calipers and it has fluctuated up and down in a 3lb range (right now it is on the up side).

    If you weigh 220lb to start, it would be possible to lose ~2lb/week (average, 2.1lb, then 2lb, then 1.9lb) for 12 weeks, or ~24lb in 3 months.

    If you weigh 150lb to start, it wouldn't be healthy to lose 2lb/week. Instead you'd have to average ~1.4lb/week over 3 months or ~17lb total.

    However, both of those goals are hard. I started at 220lb and lost 2lb/week and by the time I was 195lb it was really starting to get lousy, so I switched to a 1.5lb/week goal. I say go as fast as you healthily can, but you have to know yourself and what you are capable of. If you hit the point you want to quit you have to just reduce the pace but keep going, otherwise you would have been better off staying at a slower pace that you can maintain longer.
  • esnider211
    esnider211 Posts: 30 Member
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    I've lost 18 lbs since the end of august so just shy of what you are wanting to accomplish. Most of it really started mid-September when I got a food scale. I'm really meticulous with weighing and logging. I work out 2-4 times a week and bank calories for the weekend. I'm 5'9 and started at 196.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »
    If you've only got 25 lbs to go to get to a healthy weight (according to your profile), then yes, that rate of loss will be unhealthy, as you would have to eat close to or under your Basal Metabolic Rate, and not fuel any of your activity, which would lead to fatigue and worse health problems.

    You didn't gain the weight that quickly.

    Learn to eat sustainably - a habit for life.

    Agreeing that when you only have 25 pounds to lose, losing 20 of them in three months is not healthy or realistic.

    @barbie934 - set your weight loss goal to 0.5 pounds per week. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided
  • mowhite119
    mowhite119 Posts: 5 Member
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    5% of body weight is what I recommend to my patients over a 3 month period
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,841 Member
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    barbie934 wrote: »
    Is loosing 20 pounds in 3 months unhealthy ?

    Perfectly fine

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Chaelaz wrote: »
    barbie934 wrote: »
    Is loosing 20 pounds in 3 months unhealthy ?

    Perfectly fine

    How can you know that unless you know someone's start weight?
  • queenofpuppies
    queenofpuppies Posts: 189 Member
    edited November 2015
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    since you only have 25 pounds to lose I would say it is probably not realistic. I started with a goal of 50lbs lost back in may (started at 170, goal 120 and i'm 5'6). So far I have lost 20ish and it took me move then 6 months of eating 1200 cal. to do it, and i work out. A more reasonable goal might be to lose 12 lbs in 3 months and maybe shoot for 20 in 6 months.
    I know everyone is different but I think most people do better with goals they can achieve

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