10 lbs in 20 days

messiahs
messiahs Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss

I'm massively overweight at 324 starting lbs. After 20 days of light exercise and calorie counting I'm at 9~10 lbs lost. Is this good enough? Is this a good rate of weight loss or do I need to go harder? I genuinely don't know since I'm so big and have so much weight to lose. I feel good sometimes but worse at other times, especially when it comes to motivation. I'd like to hear your thoughts, just be brutally honest with me.

Answers

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,854 Member

    3 pounds a week is a very good rate of loss.

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,854 Member
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 15,743 Member

    0.5% to 1% are excellent rates of loss. Most people with a lot of energy reserves available to be lost are more likely to be able to sustain loses closer to the higher end of that for several months. People with less to lose will probably find 0.5% to be closer to their speed limit!

    Speed is a marginally important goal. Progress multiplied by lots and lots of time. Time that gives you the opportunity to learn, explore, consider, modify, try again, embed, and slowly transform yourself into a person with eating and activity habits that promote the new lower weight. That's very important--or at least that was the case for me! 🤷🏻‍♂️

    All in all... an excellent start!

  • stevesc1
    stevesc1 Posts: 4 Member

    that is a good start but just to temper expectations a little bit consider how much of the weight loss is water weight and digestive tract contents. Usually if you go from eating a high calorie diet to a much lower calorie intake you will initially see a relatively large drop which isn't all fat loss. It's very possible that 5-6 of the 10 lbs loss could be non fat losses. This could mean that your current calorie deficit is only netting you around 1-1.5 lbs fat loss which is fine, but if you expect to continue at 3+ lbs a week it may not happen. Just recognize this to avoid disappointment and keep on the path you have started and you will get there!

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 10,314 Member

    My experience- and everyone’s is different- I lost 10 lbs a month for the first six or seven months.

    At no point did I starve myself, or choke down only zuchinni and plain chicken breast. I made a point of finding foods and recipes I could enjoy in lieu of the garbage I used to eat. (I know I know, we don’t villainize food here on MFP but I’ll be the first to tell the world, I was a junk food smuggler par excellance.)

    OP is starting out higher than I did, so if she is assiduous with weighing and logging, does some type of exercise (not required but speeds the process and/or allows more calories to eat), I think 2-3 pounds a week is very do-able.

    What’s a shock to the brain is, having lost at such an encouraging clip, it becomes smaller losses and slower progress as you get smaller.

    Slowing down to a pound, then half a pound a week, and then maybe half a pound a month can be a mind grind.

    And of course, always always always bearing in mind that goal is not where your throw up your hands and say,”Bring back the M&Ms and Breyers, boys! Mama’s ready to par-tay again!”


    Maintenance is as hard- many would say harder- than the process of loss.

  • rudyzenreviews
    rudyzenreviews Posts: 74 Member

    That’s actually really solid progress! Dropping 9–10 lbs in just 20 days is a strong start, especially at the beginning when a mix of water and fat comes off quickly. You don’t need to “go harder”… what matters is finding a pace you can actually keep up with long term.

    Some days will feel easier than others, and that’s normal. The key is consistency, not perfection. If you keep doing what you’re doing tracking, moving, and staying patient.. the weight will keep coming off. You’re off to a great start, and the fact you’re already down nearly 10 lbs shows it’s working.

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