How long did it take?

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galabrielle98
galabrielle98 Posts: 507 Member
edited May 2016 in Success Stories
I have been on mfp for a year now and have successfully lost 30lbs, going from 174 to 144. I felt confident with my progress until I saw some people who weighed the same as me and lost twice as much in year. Even one of my friends only recently started and she already lost as much as me.
My question is: how long did it take you? I'm just trying to see what is a common pattern and if I should consider a change of pace. I'm 5'3 and not on a special diet with 6 days of exercise a week. I've heard that paleo diets and vegan diets seem to work but I'm hesitant to try them. :wink: :smile:
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Replies

  • Cindy01Louisiana
    Cindy01Louisiana Posts: 302 Member
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    I agree! I think 30 pounds in a year is fantastic! Way to go!!
  • sdbernier
    sdbernier Posts: 36 Member
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    I am 5'1 and I have lost 13 pounds since January 17th. I get discouraged when I see people who have lost more than me in the same amount of time, but then I realize that we are all different. I recently took measurements and noticed that I lost 3.5 inches in my waist so that made me feel much better for the relatively small loss.
  • tdeaux
    tdeaux Posts: 36 Member
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    I highly recommend taking measurements and progress photos. The number on the scale doesn't reflect the changes in your body (and mind!) overall. You might be shocked to see the difference. 30 lbs is some wonderful progress!
  • samgamgee
    samgamgee Posts: 398 Member
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    31 lbs in 14 months (well, maintaining over December), from 160 to 129. I'm 5'3" too :) slow and steady can be a bit exasperating sometimes but it all adds up! I've got 9 lbs left to go and it'll probably take me another 4 months.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    You need to understand that people who have a lot more to lose can and will lose at a faster rate...the leaner you are, the slower it should go. Also keep in mind that fast weight loss also leads to loss of more muscle mass...so these folks don't quite end up with the bodies they envisioned because they've lost so much muscle.

    It took me about 9 months to lose about 40 Lbs.
  • celadontea
    celadontea Posts: 335 Member
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    It seems like what you are doing is working wonderfully to you. The grass may seem green but vegan vs paleo are likely both drastic changes from your lifestyle (that's working great for steady weight loss), and the thing is they are almost opposite from each other when it comes to macro nutrients (high carb vs high protein). If one of them appeals to you, I would do research. The internet isn't the best place for research and you are going to find many testimonials in favor of any lifestyle or diet fad on the first searches.
  • Simplifi
    Simplifi Posts: 128 Member
    edited May 2016
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    Keep in mind, the heavier you are the quicker weight comes off. When you don't have much to lose, things slow down and if you try to push it to see the scale move faster you risk losing lbm (muscle/organs/ect) as well as fat.

    It's taken me 4 years to get to where I am now.
    2012: Started at 260 lbs made it down to 200 lbs in less than 6 months...maintained until holidays...gained 20 back
    2013: started using MFP in March....made it down to 170 lbs by September...found out I was pregnant in September
    2014: gained 40 lbs during pregnancy, pregnancy ended at the end of May...was around 160 lbs on Dec 31st
    2015: went from 160 to 123 lbs
    2016: got down to a trend of 121.7 lbs and switched to recomposition at the end of April


    Everyone has different obstacles/starting points/etc. Do what's best for you and don't feel bad if your not losing as fast as someone else.

    Great work...
  • ericatoday
    ericatoday Posts: 454 Member
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    Everyones body is different. Its taken me 7 months to lose 31lbs i went from 175 to 144. Im 10lbs away from my goal and i probably wont be there for awhile. Its not about a change of diets unless you want to change your lifestyle. Obviously keep doing the calorie cut for mfp and dont eat back all those exercise calories. But just keep at it it will slowly go down. The healthier you are the harder it is to lose. I lost my first 20lbs in december so its been 5 months with only 10lbs down. Keep at it girl you got this.
  • lovecraftiana
    lovecraftiana Posts: 16 Member
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    From my own experience - my weight loss slows down when I drink more coffee, eat bread,plenty of sweets and walk little. Going on walk and keeping coffee intake reasonable really helped me to see scales moving. I was 143.3lb in December,2015, now 124.8lb, I am 5.6 tall. I think observing own body really helps. Good luck and keep doing great work!
  • ralostaz2000
    ralostaz2000 Posts: 135 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    Keep in mind, the heavier you are the quicker weight comes off. When you don't have much to lose, things slow down and if you try to push it to see the scale move faster you risk losing lbm (muscle/organs/ect) as well as fat.

    It's taken me 4 years to get to where I am now.
    2012: Started at 260 lbs made it down to 200 lbs in less than 6 months...maintained until holidays...gained 20 back
    2013: started using MFP in March....made it down to 170 lbs by September...found out I was pregnant in September
    2014: gained 40 lbs during pregnancy, pregnancy ended at the end of May...was around 160 lbs on Dec 31st
    2015: went from 160 to 123 lbs
    2016: got down to a trend of 121.7 lbs and switched to recomposition at the end of April


    Everyone has different obstacles/starting points/etc. Do what's best for you and don't feel bad if your not losing as fast as someone else.
    you are a fighter for not giving up ur goal...121 lbs is a fantastic weight to acheive...how long did it take u to lose pregnancy weight?

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Everyone is different, with different starting points & goals, different abilities, and different levels of willingness about how restrictive calorie-wise they want to be. You are successful, so just keep it going. It's obviously working for you.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    My vote -- keep doing what you're doing. 30 pounds is awesome and I'm sure you've learned some great habits along the way.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    ralostaz2000 wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    Keep in mind, the heavier you are the quicker weight comes off. When you don't have much to lose, things slow down and if you try to push it to see the scale move faster you risk losing lbm (muscle/organs/ect) as well as fat.

    It's taken me 4 years to get to where I am now.
    2012: Started at 260 lbs made it down to 200 lbs in less than 6 months...maintained until holidays...gained 20 back
    2013: started using MFP in March....made it down to 170 lbs by September...found out I was pregnant in September
    2014: gained 40 lbs during pregnancy, pregnancy ended at the end of May...was around 160 lbs on Dec 31st
    2015: went from 160 to 123 lbs
    2016: got down to a trend of 121.7 lbs and switched to recomposition at the end of April


    Everyone has different obstacles/starting points/etc. Do what's best for you and don't feel bad if your not losing as fast as someone else.
    you are a fighter for not giving up ur goal...121 lbs is a fantastic weight to acheive...how long did it take u to lose pregnancy weight?

    I typically tell people 6 to 7 months...but I just looked back through my weight logs and it was 5 months 22 days from the day I had my son (c-section) to the day my trend weight was back to my pre-pregnancy weight (scale weight hit a bit earlier than that).
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
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    If what you're doing now is sustainable then keep at it. You don't need a fad diet. You're doing very well!!
  • Mersie1
    Mersie1 Posts: 329 Member
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    Truly don't compare. Compare yourself only to the ones who have maintained over many years. I was one that people would compare themselves to. I got to a weight, look that everyone said they wanted. I can tell I have "gotten" to that place many many many times. Get where I'm going w this? Even if I "maintained" it for a year- two years- maybe 5 years. I hope to have decades and decades ahead of me. The process of up and down is so damaging emotionally and physically where you are right now is great. Where you want to get to may be great, but you may really not want someone else's way of getting there!!! Keep feeling good!!!
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
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    Lost 5 pounds a month for about the first 6 months and then lost the next 15 over the next 6 months and then it took about 8 months to lose the last 10. The less you have to lose, the slower it goes, but that's okay.
  • gianna42
    gianna42 Posts: 5,991 Member
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    I can't answer your question because I just rejoined here, but I think that you're doing a terrific job!
    Unless you want to eat paleo or vegan forever (and some do), I wouldn't switch just to lose at a faster rate. There's no race or competition, and if you can steadily average over 0.5 pounds a week for a year, I would continue doing what seems to be working for you. Keep it up!

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