Has anyone lost 50 lbs?? How long did it take?

I was just wondering....I need to lose 53 lbs to be at my goal weight of 135. Im 5'4 and medium framed.

I need some inspiration!!! please. I know it wont happen overnight and my hopes of being thin by summer also wont happen.

Just looking for someone who has done it and wonder how long it takes, does it get easier day by day? or do you just have to take it day by day?

Anyway Im new to this site and will take any advice!! thanks a bunch :)

Well, as of today I am at 199lbs , just dropped under the 200 mark for the first time in 10 yrs, whoopee!  I started on January 1st of this year at 247lbs so I am very close to that 50 lb mark. 

I am 5'4" so I was pretty round!    I can just tell you what worked for me. Most days I eat around 1400 calories, some days I go as high as 1600 and other days I will go low at around 1000 (not very often though) I average around 3 pounds loss per week. I MUST stress to you that you will plateau, I did at least four times, and it is very important to just keep doing what you are doing, if it persisted for more than 2 weeks (eating an average of 1400 calories) I just added 200 more calories and boom down went the scale, I could then resume my routine.  Drink tons of water, at least 8 glasses per day as shed fat is secreted through urine, not through the "other end" as one might assume.

The best advice I can givce you is stick to it, even if you don't reach your goal by summer, you will be several inches thinner and probably feel great! good luck!

hey bonbon!

my starting weight was 188 and my goal is 135 too!  i'm 5'2" though.  i started in mid-june and have lost 28 pounds since then.  although i've been stuck at 160 for about a month now and am very ready for the scale to go into the 150s.  in general, i find when i'm losing, it's pretty easy as i'm regularly inspired...but when i hit a plateau, it's a whole other story and i can get a bit off track.

i'm more of a slow loser, and definitely haven't given up foods (eat pizza and drink beer often...just in more moderation now!).  but it's okay with me as i'm changing my lifestyle a bit and that will hopefully make the loss sustainable.

keep at it...you'll definitely get into a routine!

 

so 4 months?? that doesnt sound so bad, but Im not sure If Im always doing the right thing. I am eating about 1300- 1400 cals a day which is a big change from what I used to eat and I never counted but I would really have to say it was 4000!! Not kidding!! isnt that sad? I started here April 1st and was 194, so I have lost 6 pounds so far.
To be honest Im kinda lazy too. I have been riding 30 min on my stationary bike every day and doing my usual housework, errands running kids around but I take so may breaks in between to sit on the couch. I dont like exercise! So I really need some motivation, and have to stay off the scale, I was 188 this morning, rode my bike ate only 1200 cals and now Im 189. I know I shouldnt do that because weight fluctuates, I guess Im hoping that bc i rode that bike i will get on the scale and drop 5 pounds! lol. Anyway I must have my husband lock that sucker up and give it to me only once a week.

Its good to know that its water that flushes out the fat, I actually posted another thread as to why I have to drink the yucky water, that explains it! You both were very helpful and its nice to see that it works, I also like junk food, and hate healthy food. Im gonna be a hard egg to crack! But Im trying!

I've lost about 42 lbs in the last 8 weeks.

Hey, welcome to CC!  As of this morning, I've lost 52.4 pounds since September 24, 2007.  I reached a 50 pound loss at the beginning of this month, so it took a little more than 6 months.  I've been at my first plateau since starting to lose weight for the last few weeks and then finally, this morning, I dropped!  I'm 5'6" and started at 298. 

Good luck! 

about 7 months here down 53lbs. I m 5'6" currently 164lbs. My original goal is 139.5, but i may want to go smaller...we'll see.

Hi, and good luck with your challenge!

I'm 5' 5 1/2 (never forget the half ! lol) I started with a New Year's resolution on Jan 1st this year, weighing in at 212 lbs my heaviest ever (!) and I am down to 192 lbs this week. My goal is to be 150lbs for my birthday in October, a total weight loss of 62lbs in 10 months.

I'm losing slow and steady and the scales are going down, so it's fine with me. I did have a plateau lasting over a month.. but this was before I joined CC so didn't know that #1, I had cut my calories way too low and 2#, that increasing calories temporarily, can bump you out if it.. as can switching up your exercise routine. No one ever told me before that your body adapts to ANYthing in about 8 weeks, so you need to switch things around or increase your effort every two months to keep getting the losses. 

I have to say that finding exercise and activity you enjoy and will want to do regularly is the KEY to success. Seeing good results encourages me and I am doing way more exercise now than I would ever have dreamed, AND I LIKE it! The good news is that every little bit helps... so running upstairs and doing yard work and cleaning house and going on your bike will all add up.

The help, advice and support here on CC is really great too. Everyone on here has been or is still, on this weight loss, health and fitness journey, so we all know how it feels to lose- :D and gain :( we have all faced frustrations and confusions.

Friends and family soon get bored with hearing about your losses and gains, woes and triumphs, so venting on here helps us all I think.

I lost 20 lbs in a summer (3 months) on my own (without CC).  Lost motivation and maintained at 160 till I found out about CC, and then lost 23 more pounds in 3 months on here, but now that my BMI is smack in the middle of healthy, I'm finding it hard to drop my last 10.

Hope that helps!

hi- 6'0"-stated 12-11-07 at 272 lbs and am in a 10 day stall at 229-for a total so far of 43 lost pounds. Looking to get to 200 some day-total time spent is 4 1/4 months to date.

You'd be surprised how fast you CAN lose weight.  I've lost 20 lbs in a month and I  feel like I'm going to sleep full.  I haven't increased my excercising (yet) but I'v been very careful with portions (bought a scale and everything).

Ok, I'm a man 6'0" (albeit 61 years young); so maybe easier for me? 

Well my wife went from 175 lbs to 115 lbs in 6 mos.  Size 16 to size 4.  She joined a gym and just was "careful" how she ate.   She was 53 then.  She's 59 now and looks the best she has since we were married 40 years ago.

Soooo, yes you can do it!!!!!

I started at 198# in April 2006.
By April 2007, I was 148#. So there's your 50. :)

I worked with a trainer doing weight training twice a week. This was expensive, but limited in duration to about a year. I figured some people spend a ton on various food plans delivered to their house, buy videos they never use, or whatever. I wanted to spend my $$ on the trainer. He helped me with nutrition, kept me motivated through the plateaus (there were three biggies) and inspired me to do lots of things I hadn't done before. My first 10K run was in 2007.

Now, in April 2008, I have kept the weigt off - Santa brought me back a few pounds, but I'm working on that. It wasn't enough to change my new pants size. Last summer I finished my first triathlon, and I just ran the same 10K faster than last year.

During the weight loss year, I learned how much I could accomplish. Now I'm learning more about nutrition, and also how easy it is to fall back to bad habits. There really is no "wagon" - you start where you are and make choices going forward. There's no changing what you ate yesterday or last week.

I find even now that I sometimes need to ask myself if eating/doing something is going to move me toward my goals. It at least makes me aware of the decision, even if I do decide that a bit of brownie is okay.

Best of luck to you!

I lost 54 lbs six years ago and have kept it off. I took me two years to loose the weight. Slow, but, as a result, I kept it off.

I had similar stats as you at the start. I am 5'4" and weighed 181 lbs.

Loosing it slowly is a good idea: you can adjust to your new body and new lifestyle.

I found maintaining more difficult than loosing. Once you get into a routine, and are determined, loosing the weight shouldn't be too difficult.

I lost exactly 50 lbs 3 years ago.    I played with all the fad. diets and went to the gym.  I wasn't perfect, I had several slips.  But in just less than one year I lost 50 lbs.

I started with portion control and 1 hour at the gym for about 3 months.   10lbs gone

I then played with Atkins low carb (only did the induction phase for 8 days)  and lost another 15lbs

I stopped drinking regular soda and switched to diet soda and lost another 5 lbs.

Then I hit the gym again 5 days a week and ate well and lost the last 20 lbs. 

So... if you have a good regimen, you'll lose the 50 lbs in less than a year!   :)  Good luck! 

Wow- its so nice to hear that it can be done - I guess its looking like anywhere from 4 months to a year, depending on how commited you are. Im sooo sick of being fat, and have been good with the calories for 3 weeks and then came today.... well I was under my cals and couldnt stop myself from eating a bowl of ruffles and chip dip!! Its really hard having a skinny husband and 2 skinny sons and so I have to buy that stuff and then look at it all day and today it won! But After reading all of your success stories, I am going to get right back on track tomorrow, Im actually only 300 cals over today so Im not going to beat myself up over it, It couldve been worse I guess.

Im so happy for all of you and thanks so much for the motivation! :)

I've lost 45 pounds in six months... I've still got a long way to go though.

In terms of the pace at which  you will lose, everything comes down to calorie deficits.  I'm surprised no one has mentioned this.  It is easier for a person who is heavier to lose weight faster than a person who is lighter.  So, for instance, I'm 260 lbs.  I can eat roughly 2600 calories a day to maintain my weight. 

If I eat 1400 calories a day, I've created a 1200 calorie deficit. 

Let's say I also work out 5 times a week on the elliptical and burn 420 calories per session. 

So, at the end of the week, here's what my numbers look like:

420 calories x 5 = 2100

1200 x 7 = 8400. 

Total calories deficit = 10,500

Since there are about 3500 calories in 1 lb, that means 3 lbs lost.

 

On the other hand, let's say a woman who is 200 lbs can only eat about 2000 calories to maintain her weight.  (Lighter people can eat less.  The EXACT calculation of your basal metabolic rate is available on this site or you can google it to find out how many calories you can eat to maintain the current weight that you are at). 

In this scenario, by eating 1400 calories, the 200 lb woman is only creating a 600 calorie deficit. 

Let's say her fitness routine is the same and she burns 420 calories, 5 times a week.

 

420 calories x 5 = 2100

600 x 7 = 4200. 

Total calories deficit = 6,300

Since there are about 3500 calories in 1 lb, that means 1.9 lbs lost.

 

Obviously, the 200 lb woman could eat even less calories (though under 1200 is not recommended) OR increase exercise if she wants to see more lbs lost but generally speaking, when you are looking JUST at people's diet, the weight comes off a little faster when you are heavier because of the greater calorie deficit that you can create from cutting out unhealthy food.

 

Hi there! :) I started losing weight in August 2007 and am down 43 pounds as of today. I am 5'6" and started at 210. I'm still losing and thanks to joining CC+ I'm down 11 pounds this month alone! I plateaued and then gained a little bit which is why it's taken me so long, but I'm hoping to get to my goal of 150 by July 4!

I started my weight loss journey dec 30 of 2007 and have dropped 44 pounds.  Time really flys by.  it feels like I just started my diet. so just stick with it and in about 4 months you can be 50 lbs lighter.

I started March 2006 and by November 2006 I was down to 138 from 188. :)  So about 8 months for me. I guess it depends on how much YOU want it and how much your willing to work to get to your goal. Anyone can do it, we all believe you can too!

I've lost 50 lbs as of this week.  I started in July 2006, so that's 21.5 months, and an average of 2.3 pounds per month.  But, during that time, I had a total of 4 months (in 3 separate occassions, two being Dec of 06 and 07) when I was "off the wagon" and gained weight, and it took me a month after each of those occassions to make up the lost ground.  So if you subtract out those 7 months, my "normal" weight loss pace is 3.4 pounds per month.

I could no doubt lose faster than that, if I was willing to spend more time in the gym and/or eat fewer calories.  But I had 80 pounds to lose, and I knew that if I took it off quickly, I'd revert to old behaviors afterwards and regain.  Like always.  So over the course of 6 months, I settled into what works for me.  Eating and exercising regimens that I will maintain for the rest of my life, except that once I hit maintenance, I'll increase my "not so healthy" foods from "rarely" to "occassionally".