Ok guys...Realistic Expectations. How long are we talking?

southrnchic479 · January 2018

So I've decided this year, I am not going to get lackadaisical when I start to look "alright" but instead I'm going to go all in and do this for an entire YEAR and PUSH MYSELF and see where that gets me.

But I'm curious as to what my time frame looks like? Here's some stats + goals:

FEMALE
27
5'5"
146 lbs
26-28% body fat (I do not have a large chest, so sadly that is not contributing too much to this figure!! No pun intended LOL)
Medium build

Goal Weight = Sexy (Best guess is 125-130 lbs and 21% body fat)

I'm on 1300 calories a day with a desk job, currently only working out 20-30 min a day, 3-4 days a week, just doing calisthenics. In 2 weeks I'll incorporate some cardio: 20-30 min on the treadmill, 4mph. As strength increases, I'll add in weights.

Protein is 40% of my diet so as not to lose muscle. Macros are 81g of carbs / 51g of fat / 130g of protein.

I understand everyone's journey is different. But I was wondering about how long it takes to see the kind of results I'm looking for. How long it took for any of you...A year? 7 months? I think having realistic expectations is going to help me (mentally!) stick to my goals.

toxikon · January 2018

I'm probably not much help, as we're in very similar boats! I'm 5'7", currently 146lbs and hoping to get down to 130lbs.

When you're already at a healthy BMI, weight loss becomes a real challenge. Calorie tracking with great scrutiny is paramount, as the margin of error between deficit and maintenance is very thin.

Strength-training is definitely a fantastic idea - but keep in mind that gains are also going to be very slow. Recomping might be a decent idea (eating at maintenance and heavy lifting).

I think a year is a great amount of time to work towards your "sexy" goal. Don't rush the process, take progress pics along the way and don't worry about the occasional bad days.

You may want to poke around the Maintenance and Success Stories subforums to see some real life results.

fitoverfortymom · January 2018

Is 1300 the calories MFP gave you for 2lbs a week loss? If so, that's not enough, unless you plan on eating back 100% of the calories MFP credits you for your workouts. You'll burn out and it will be unlikely you'll reach your goal. Plus also, I'd aim for less cardio and more lifting of weights.

Everyone's mileage will vary, but if I was starting from where you are starting and knowing what I know now from spending time on MFP and losing a *kitten* ton of weight, I'd say change your loss to .5lbs per week, eat the calories MFP tells you to eat, and find a weight lifting program you like to focus on some recomp. Someone will post the link here soon on how to pick a lifting program.

I don't know a lot about macros, so no real advice there other than to meet your protein goal first, which should be about .8g per 1lb of your bodyweight.

I'd venture a guess that anywhere from 6 months to a year you'll see some dramatic changes if you really commit to a lifting program.

sdolan91 · January 2018

http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php
plug in your stuff and it'll give you a little timeline

southrnchic479 · January 2018

@fitoverfortymom - no actually MFP gave me 1249 for 1lb a week with 15 lbs to lose. I upped it to 1300. My BMR is estimated @ 1467 so I thought 1300 was appropriate?

southrnchic479 · January 2018

sdolan91 wrote: »

http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php
plug in your stuff and it'll give you a little timeline

I find MFP timeline to be a big fat lie haha. It's NEVER worked for me :P

MY BAD. Didn't even see the link. I'll check it out :P

jjpptt2 · January 2018

Looking at it strictly as a math problem...

146lbs @ 27% BF = 39.5lbs of fat mass
125lbs @ 20% BF = 25lbs of fat mass

Losing 15lbs of fat is 15ish weeks depending on how aggressive you are with the deficit/losing.

Obviously this is oversimplified, but it's a starting point.

From my experience... the biggest problem with "realistic expectations" is that I have no idea how light or lean I need to be to reach my goal appearance. I've hit my goal weight a few times. I've hit my goal BF% once or twice. But I've never been close to my goal appearance. So each time I hit a goal weight or BF % that doesn't lead to my goal look, I change my goal weight/BF% and start the whole damn process over.

cwolfman13 · January 2018

To lose 15 Lbs I'd say realistically 15-20 weeks if you're consistent and disciplined. You may or may not have the body you desire...simply losing weight doesn't always get you what you're looking for

It took me about 8-9 months to lose 40 Lbs...but I kept on keeping on with my workouts and weight training because I didn't exactly have the body I wanted. I look completely different now almost 5 years later than I did then at the same weight...my body composition has changed significantly over 5 years and continues to evolve...this pretty much goes into perpetuity.

southrnchic479 · January 2018

@cwolfman13 that 5 year bit is both inspiring and terrifying all at the same time LOL. I think the key is (and I have always known this, I just have failed to implement it) is that this is a LIFE CHANGE. Not a means to an end. The methods in which I sculpt my body and feed it may evolve, but if I want results then that aspect has always got to be there. I changed my life about 5 years ago and lost 23 lbs and have never returned to that since, so now I've just got to get off my lazy @ss and finish the job lol!

@jjpptt2 yeah I'm right there with you - I have no idea how light or lean I need to be either - I've never been there (?!) LOL. Also, I totally did that math yesterday and was grossed out at the idea of having 40 lbs of fat on my body yikes! But yea, I just need to remember that it's going to end up being a lot of tweaking here and there, reassessing and "starting over". You're totally right about that.

HoneyBadger302 · January 2018

I think it really depends on your goals.

I'm pretty much stuck with a recomp as opposed to a serious weight loss program, due to the simple fact that regaining lost and atrophied muscle and fitness is a MUCH bigger priority than losing the fat. I've got enough fat on me for things to steadily recomp, but it's not going to be fast.

My stats are:
F/39/5'7"
Current Weight: 154-155
Previous "happy" weight (in another life, like 8 years ago): 127-131

I just increased my workouts again, so am now at the gym for about 2 hours a day/5 days a week. M-F job is a desk job, weekend gigs have me on my feet all day and/or riding on track.

I try to eat at a slight deficit, but I'll admit it's not a huge one. TDEE is ~2300, most days I try to be closer to the ~1850 mark. Some days I'm just plain old hungry and will eat closer to maintenance.

Not the fastest way to get results, but my measurements have been steadily (albeit slowly) shrinking, clothes are slowly fitting better, scale has barely budged in nearly 3 weeks.

kommodevaran · January 2018

If you want to keep the weight off, the timeline is FOREVER.

I get the excitement, the willingness to push yourself, but there are things you can't force. Being patient is absolutely necessary, and very, very hard if you tend to get impatient. Effective weightloss is hard mentally, not physically. So that is where you have to really push yourself.

You minimize fat loss by not having a too aggressive calorie deficit, and by staying active. Protein is important for satiety and preserving muscles, but 40% is overkill. Not only is a high protein/low fat diet not a thing(!) - if you eat low carb, you eat high fat and moderate protein - it's expensive, boring, and most likely taking up calories for other nutritious foods. A varied and balanced diet will nourish you, so you don't feel starving, it's also easy to make appealing meals, and you can eat socially. Burnout is the biggest threat to any weightloss plan.

So, you can't make the process faster, but you can make it smoother. My suggestion is to eat what you like, but stick to a reasonable calorie target (maybe 1600), for real (log correctly), moderate exercise, and sufficient sleep and rest.

AliceDark · January 2018

jjpptt2 wrote: »

Looking at it strictly as a math problem...

146lbs @ 27% BF = 39.5lbs of fat mass
125lbs @ 20% BF = 25lbs of fat mass

Losing 15lbs of fat is 15ish weeks depending on how aggressive you are with the deficit/losing.

Obviously this is oversimplified, but it's a starting point.

From my experience... the biggest problem with "realistic expectations" is that I have no idea how light or lean I need to be to reach my goal appearance. I've hit my goal weight a few times. I've hit my goal BF% once or twice. But I've never been close to my goal appearance. So each time I hit a goal weight or BF % that doesn't lead to my goal look, I change my goal weight/BF% and start the whole damn process over.

Well, she also needs to consider that weight loss slows as you get lighter. If we figure that her initial goal is to lose 15 pounds of scale weight...

1. Let's figure that she can lose the first half at one pound per week. Say that's eight weeks. Pad that out to 10 weeks because things happen.
2. After that, it's safe to assume that her rate of loss may slow down, so the next seven pounds take 14 weeks to lose. Pad that out to 16 weeks because, again, things happen.

So, it's far more realistic to guess that losing 15 pounds when you're already at or close to a normal BMI is going to take about 26 weeks.

Can you lose it faster? Sure, but the faster you go, especially if you're not strength training, the more you risk losing more LBM than you'd like.

middlehaitch · January 2018

I generally agree so much with what @cwolfman13 says I don't bother posting in a thread he has posted in. Just give it an appropriate hug to mean awsome.

However, in this case, I think he has not given enough time for your 15 lbs loss.

The first 10 will probably come off in 10-14 weeks, the last 5 could take equally as long, just keep on plugging away and don't get deterred.

If you are working on resculpting your body, (do find a good lifting programme in the 'which lifting program is best for you thread' stickied in the gaining forum)
Switching to a .5kbs a week for the last 5lbs (personally I would consider doing it for the whole 15) will probably give you a better progression with your lifts.

Totally agree with it is an ever evolving journey. I too have been maintaining for a long time and my body, though I was happy with it when I hit maintenance, just keeps slowly improving both in capability and looks.

Cheers, h.

PAV8888 · January 2018

You don't get a sexy body in a year and then stop and retain your sexy body.

That said, set a reasonable deficit between 500 and 250 cal a day (sounds like you've done exactly that assuming you're planning on eating back your exercise calories), keep up the protein and sleep, and go at it talking measurements and pictures and weigh ins along the way (use a weight trend app too)--without time limits

cwolfman13 · January 2018

middlehaitch wrote: »

I generally agree so much with what @cwolfman13 says I don't bother posting in a thread he has posted in. Just give it an appropriate hug to mean awsome.

However, in this case, I think he has not given enough time for your 15 lbs loss.

The first 10 will probably come off in 10-14 weeks, the last 5 could take equally as long, just keep on plugging away and don't get deterred.

If you are working on resculpting your body, (do find a good lifting programme in the 'which lifting program is best for you thread' stickied in the gaining forum)
Switching to a .5kbs a week for the last 5lbs (personally I would consider doing it for the whole 15) will probably give you a better progression with your lifts.

Totally agree with it is an ever evolving journey. I too have been maintaining for a long time and my body, though I was happy with it when I hit maintenance, just keeps slowly improving both in capability and looks.

Cheers, h.

True...the last 5 Lbs could be tricky

ETA: especially if she's in the low 20s BF% wise...

AndyCool22 · January 2018

lose a max of 2 lbs a week and you can lose 21lbs in 10 1/2 weeks.

rachelpauline93 · January 2018

I'm in the same boat

I'm 5'6" and 139. I've been using Libra Tracker (andriod) app and it tells me my estimated date for my goal every time I put in my daily weight. I'm hoping to get down to 125 by the end of May but with my trend, Libra tells me it'll be May 16th. I'm gonna assume it'll take a bit more time as the pounds come off (10 so far)--But I'm planning on adjusting my calorie intake as I go along.

I think I reasonable goal is a pound a week, you don't have a lot to lose and a 500 calorie deficit will get you there in a reasonable amount of time.

crb426 · January 2018

It could be 10 weeks, could be 40.

Really just depends on your calculations and how close you are to the goal number.

Also, remember it will be easier to lose the first few pounds than the last few. As you get closer to maintenance it will slow down significantly.

janejellyroll · January 2018

AndyCool22 wrote: »

lose a max of 2 lbs a week and you can lose 21lbs in 10 1/2 weeks.

Look at OP's stats again . . . 2 pounds a week isn't realistic or healthy in her situation.

apullum · January 2018

When you don't have a lot of weight to lose, it can be a SLOW process. The CICO math doesn't change, but because your calorie deficit is pretty small, even tiny logging errors can really add up. So when you're asking about pace, it's less about the mathematical calculation of how many calories are in a pound, etc. and more about how accurate you can be in your logging.

Syres20 · January 2018

I work a desk job myself and have trimmed down 26lbs in 3mths thanks to setting up achievable targets. My goal back in October was to lose 45lbs in time for my wedding anniversary in July.
That would place me at 4.5lbs/mth or roughly a pound a week...very healthy pace, and very attainable. As an added bonus, it became a baseline target which triggered a competitive spirit to try doubling my numbers & results (which explains my current pace of 8lbs/mth)

Ok guys...Realistic Expectations. How long are we talking?

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