Too aggressive, or doable?

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hecks2
hecks2 Posts: 11 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm 39, 5'8", and currently weigh 183(ish) pounds. I have weighed as much as 210 in the past. I've been considering a goal of getting down to my high school weight (160) by my 40th birthday in late June. That would mean losing just over 20 pounds in just over 5 months, an average of about a pound a week. Looking for some genuine feedback: is that too aggressive, or does that sound pretty sustainable?

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  • kit_katty
    kit_katty Posts: 994 Member
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    It's possible, but don't forget that as you get closer to your goal, the slower weightloss goes.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    hecks2 wrote: »
    I'm 39, 5'8", and currently weigh 183(ish) pounds. I have weighed as much as 210 in the past. I've been considering a goal of getting down to my high school weight (160) by my 40th birthday in late June. That would mean losing just over 20 pounds in just over 5 months, an average of about a pound a week. Looking for some genuine feedback: is that too aggressive, or does that sound pretty sustainable?
    I am .5 pounds away from 20 lbs lost and I started in September, 1 lb/week on MFP, and the month of December was a wash with .1 lost thanks to thanksgiving, Christmas and a wedding (plus loads of car travel). It’s doable! But I know my loss rate will start to slow down now that I am getting closer to goal (about 13lbs left) so we’ll see...
  • Ironwoman1111
    Ironwoman1111 Posts: 3,913 Member
    edited January 2020
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    I lost 20lbs in 2.5 months, 2Lbs. per week. I started here September 2 2019 with that goal in mind and I was shocked when it happened. I’ve lost a bit more since but it’s just a bonus.
    You can definitely do it!
  • hecks2
    hecks2 Posts: 11 Member
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    I actually started on mfp years ago. I lost 40 pounds (from 210 down to 170) but then fell off the wagon and put 20 of it back on. Now trying to get back to where I was and beyond.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Doable?maybe?
    Why not start and see how it goes for you. See if you can be full?see if you find the food and movement changes long term sustainable. Try but be flexible and forgiving of yourself. You are turning 40 at this point you should know that long term habit changes are what makes for long term success
  • hecks2
    hecks2 Posts: 11 Member
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    amtyrell wrote: »
    Doable?maybe?
    Why not start and see how it goes for you. See if you can be full?see if you find the food and movement changes long term sustainable. Try but be flexible and forgiving of yourself. You are turning 40 at this point you should know that long term habit changes are what makes for long term success

    Good points. Sometimes I worry about the "goal" thing. It makes you feel like when you hit it, then... What, you're done? You can STOP eating healthy and going to the gym?

    I'm doing my best this time to treat a goal as something to work towards and through rather than a finish line.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,721 Member
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    hecks2 wrote: »
    amtyrell wrote: »
    Doable?maybe?
    Why not start and see how it goes for you. See if you can be full?see if you find the food and movement changes long term sustainable. Try but be flexible and forgiving of yourself. You are turning 40 at this point you should know that long term habit changes are what makes for long term success

    Good points. Sometimes I worry about the "goal" thing. It makes you feel like when you hit it, then... What, you're done? You can STOP eating healthy and going to the gym?

    I'm doing my best this time to treat a goal as something to work towards and through rather than a finish line.

    Consider process goals, for health and weight loss, rather than destination goals.

    I'm talking about things like logging your eating routinely, doing your weigh-ins, maybe increasing exercise or improving nutrition in specific ways.

    IMO, the real goal is working toward finding a balance of eating and activity habits that will provide satiation, enjoyment and practicality that will work for you permanently, rather than just eating/exercising to lose weight to some arbitrary number that's "the end".

    The mix of actual habits/behaviors will be different for everyone, but that overall idea of making the process the goal(s) is, I think, generalizable.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    To the title, my answer is "both".

    I'm sure you can do it. But for many people the last 10-15 lbs come off super slow because they are miserable staying at a low enough deficit to lose 1 lb per week once they are already lean. And the more miserable you are while losing weight, the more likely you are to rebound once you finally take your foot off the gas.

    While time frame is typically an important part of SMART goals, I agree with others that it is generally counterproductive for weight loss. Because there are so many factors going on inside your body that you have no control over, you simply don't have complete control over the timeframe. I'd say start out aiming for 1 lb per week, and at some point your rate of loss will naturally slow down so just go with it. If you lose it by your bday, great! But realistically, it could take you several months past that, and you shouldn't see that as a failure. With weight loss, success is just continuing to move in generally the right direction, and the real challenge is not backsliding once you reach your goal.

    Good luck!
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
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    @hecks2 You're right as rain. There's no such thing as the Finish Line. Event driven weight loss can result in eating it all back once the event is over. Sometimes, it starts on that very day of the wedding, reunion, end of the contest and weight challenge. The brain determines that all is well and fixed convincing you to fall right back into your former way of eating without any consequences. So much of this stuff is mental and driven by the appetite control center which resides in the brain and not the stomach. Edge your way down slowly and start thinking about your strategy for Maintenance long, long before you get there.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    My goal is a narrow coffin.
  • jeagogo
    jeagogo Posts: 179 Member
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    I'll start with the negatives: It would certainly be possible, but maybe a bit aggressive considering you don't have all the much weight to lose. I would also argue that aiming to be your high school weight as a grown adult might not work, depending on your body type. You may have more muscle mass as an adult, for example.

    On the more encouraging side: Yes, it's possible. I've personally lost 27 lbs in 4.5 months (I'm about half a pound from my goal weight). I was targeting 1 lb/week of loss for maybe half of that time, then spent a while targeting 0.5 lbs/week, and for the last 10 lbs I slowly increased my calories so my daily deficit was only 100-200 calories below maintenance. I exercise about 4 times/week and eat back most of my exercise calories. I was pretty physically active before I started my weight loss journey, but had a horrible diet. I will say that during the first month I was definitely losing weight faster than 1 lb/week - I didn't know at the time that I have a faster metabolism than what MFP calculates for my BMR. I didn't have any timeline for reaching my goal, though, and actually assumed that I would reach my goal weight by March at the earliest.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    What is the rationale for thinking you should weigh the same at 40 as you did at 16-18?? Especially for a male, which it seems you are. A lot of guys are not fully developed into early 20s.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    hecks2 wrote: »
    amtyrell wrote: »
    Doable?maybe?
    Why not start and see how it goes for you. See if you can be full?see if you find the food and movement changes long term sustainable. Try but be flexible and forgiving of yourself. You are turning 40 at this point you should know that long term habit changes are what makes for long term success

    Good points. Sometimes I worry about the "goal" thing. It makes you feel like when you hit it, then... What, you're done? You can STOP eating healthy and going to the gym?

    I'm doing my best this time to treat a goal as something to work towards and through rather than a finish line.

    Yep, I've set up many goals as an end-term mindset. Lose weight for this trip, lose weight so I can buy this cool thing....you know, as you said you reach it and then what?? Hence, years of the yo-yo thing going on. Why not just have the mindset that you'll continue working on getting healthier and feeling better, then enjoy your 40th birthday no matter what?? Take it day by day, pound by pound and start maintaining when it feels *right*. If you reach that magic number by your 40th, fine; if not don't let it undermine what you're working towards.

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