How long will it take to lose ~20 lbs?

TracyFlick

Hi guys,

I'm a 24 year old female- height: 5'7.5", weight 155lbs. I weighed approximately 147lbs a month ago and wasn't even that happy with that, so really want to get to a weight I am happy with, around 135lbs. I have a pretty decent idea of nutrition (regular user but this is my secret N&D account! ) and have started going to classes in the gym.

However...

I have calculated what I can realistically expect to lose per week, based on burning/cutting an extra 3500 calories to lose 1lb, and I am getting a maximum of 1.2lbs per week?? This is really disappointing to me. And it got me wondering: how come you hear of people, who are not even that overweight, losing, say, 5lbs at the start of a health regime? That's 17,500 calories they've cut from somewhere! :eek:

Is it to do with the much-misunderstood 'water weight'? Can someone please explain how it all works? Am I being naive to think I could have lost 14 of my 20 pounds in, say, 7 weeks as opposed to the 11.7 weeks my calculations are showing?

Thanks!

GoingForIt

TracyFlick wrote: »

Hi guys,

I'm a 24 year old female- height: 5'7.5", weight 155lbs. I weighed approximately 147lbs a month ago and wasn't even that happy with that, so really want to get to a weight I am happy with, around 135lbs. I have a pretty decent idea of nutrition (regular user but this is my secret N&D account! ) and have started going to classes in the gym.

However...

I have calculated what I can realistically expect to lose per week, based on burning/cutting an extra 3500 calories to lose 1lb, and I am getting a maximum of 1.2lbs per week?? This is really disappointing to me. And it got me wondering: how come you hear of people, who are not even that overweight, losing, say, 5lbs at the start of a health regime? That's 17,500 calories they've cut from somewhere! :eek:

Is it to do with the much-misunderstood 'water weight'? Can someone please explain how it all works? Am I being naive to think I could have lost 14 of my 20 pounds in, say, 7 weeks as opposed to the 11.7 weeks my calculations are showing?

Thanks!

i have a theory on the magical 5-7lbs that people loose on their first week.

by the way.........this theory is by no means proven and is probably rubbish

people loose the contents of their stomach and intestines.

think of it, if you eat less for a week, your system will just empty or contain less.............only a theory,but not a bad one

Devia

TracyFlick wrote: »

And it got me wondering: how come you hear of people, who are not even that overweight, losing, say, 5lbs at the start of a health regime? That's 17,500 calories they've cut from somewhere! :eek:

Is it to do with the much-misunderstood 'water weight'? Can someone please explain how it all works? Am I being naive to think I could have lost 14 of my 20 pounds in, say, 7 weeks as opposed to the 11.7 weeks my calculations are showing?

I wouldn't worry too much about people who lose a lot in their first week or two. People who eat a lot of crap sugary/salty food (or just a lot of food in general) will retain a lot more water. So when someone who's had a fairly poor diet suddenly starts eating less and cleaning up their intake they'll lose some of that excess fluid at it will seem like they've lost a load of weight.

I think 1.2lbs is a healthy target for weekly weightloss to be fair. If you're more strict you could probably push 2lbs but anything more than that and you'll probably be losing muscle mass rather than body fat which isn't ideal.

Gummy Panda

GoingForIt wrote: »

i have a theory on the magical 5-7lbs that people loose on their first week.

by the way.........this theory is by no means proven and is probably rubbish

people loose the contents of their stomach and intestines.

think of it, if you eat less for a week, your system will just empty or contain less.............only a theory,but not a bad one

They lose water mostly due to glycogen depletion. I believe it's 3-4 grams of water per 1gram of glycogen.

seamus

After splurging over Xmas, I'm back on plan for the next few weeks. According to my scales, I've lost 3.74lbs since Tuesday morning. Clearly that's not possible.

It's no doubt a combination of a number of things including a reduction of food in my system and water depletion due to glycogen.

Before embarking on a weight loss plan, I always do a "detox" week before taking any measurements and making the actual plan. I don't mean "detox" in the traditional sense, basically just eating at or just below BMR and starting whatever exercise regime I'm planning. I do weigh myself at the start of this "detox" week so I can compare it to the measurement a week later for ****s 'n' giggles.

But I only take the first weigh-in a week later as my "true" weight and the starting point of what I need to lose.

I always feel a little sorry for heavily overweight people who jump for joy when the scales tell them they're an entire stone down after a week. On one hand, it gives them a great boost. On the other hand, it's a rate of weight loss they will never maintain so may give them unrealistic expectations.

For the OP, there's always the risk that you might overanalyse what you're doing. It's not unreasonable to think that you may lose 14lbs over 7 weeks, but as a goal it may be a little ambitious. Stick with your planned loss of 1 - 1.5lbs per week. If it takes 12 weeks rather than 7 to lose the first stone, then you will remain motivated because that's your goal. If you manage to lose it in the 7 weeks, then you are doubly motivated because you'll hit your target 20lbs well ahead of plan.