I am busy counting calories, aiming for my April 9th goal of getting down to 238 pounds, which is 22 pounds away. I thought I was doing great, I was getting excited, and then I did the weight loss planning with fitday, and it tells me that my goal is unrealistic!! So should I revise my goal? I'm a little discouraged because I honestly thought I was doing great.. so confused!! I have lost 8 pounds since I decided on my goal 3 weeks ago. Is it really that unrealistic to lose 2.5 pounds every week? I realize it won't be that linear.. Help!! I don't want this to stop me from trying, but I am super discouraged!! Darn you fitday!!

-Aimee

huh. I'm not sure. I think you CAN lose 2.5 lbs a week for sure... but I'm not sure you should count on it. However if that's the goal YOU WANT then go for it! Tell fitday to piss off

lol yeah what cf said!

2.5 lbs/week is a very aggressive goal. You can aim for it but realize that if you fall short that it is an above average weight loss goal.

that is a totally feasible goal. just stick with your plan and don't let any sets backs discourage you.

First off, you ARE doing great. So YAY! for you and don't let some computer program tell you otherwise. LOL

Second off, let's assume that 2.5 pounds a week is hard, but not impossible. Then to me, the question becomes: how will it affect you if you MISS that goal? If it something you will just suck up and go on, I would vote to keep your goal unchanged. But if you think it might discouraging enough to affect your eating or exercise, then I would vote for ratcheting the goal back some. After all, it would be pretty cool to EXCEED your goal, too!

Oh and by the way? GREAT JOB FOR SETTING UP GOALS IN THE FIRST PLACE!

I use fitday too, and it gives that message automatically if you're over 2 lbs per week as a goal - it doesn't take into account at all what percentage of your weight you're dealing with, or how near or far from goal you are.

For what it's worth, I think 2.5 lbs per week is very do-able when you have a relatively large amount of weight to lose - last year, I averaged 2.75 lbs per week during the periods I was "on plan" and I certainly wasn't doing anything extreme.

My "first day of spring" goal is 235 - here's to both of us making our goals, whatever fitday may think!

I've been setting a goal of 3 pounds per week and pretty much hitting or exceeding that for the most part.

I don't think I'm doing anything extreme - my calorie intake started around 1900 calories/day and is sitting around 1650/day at the moment. I don't expect to be able to maintain 3lbs/week forever, As I close in on 250 I will expect it to drop to closer to 2.5lbs/week. I've heard 1% of your total body weight per week is generally seen as reasonable.

IMHO it's best not to set time-oriented goals... Because although I guess it can be a good motivator, it also sets you up to be disappointed and/or feel like a failure if you don't reach it. I mean, imagine that you don't meet the goal, but by April 9th you're down 18 lbs or something--instead of being able to celebrate the awesomeness of those 18 lbs, you'll be hung up on the fact that you didn't lose 4 more. Seems unfair to me, hehe.

BUT, since you asked, I will share with you that in the first few months of my WL I averaged about -4 lbs/wk... I started 7/18/08 at 263 lbs and I believe I hit 238 lbs around the last week of August. I don't at all present myself as a "typical" weight loss case, or as having stats that you should try to reproduce, BUT at the same token, don't lose your motivation just because FitDay says it isn't possible! Everyone's bodies are different, and who knows, yours might respond to your efforts better than they seem to think it will. Hehe.

I agree with meredith. I lose an average of ten lbs a month (except for dec) and that ends up being more than 2lbs a week. It will slow down, but because you are just starting out... i think your goal is reasonable. Just try not to be upset if you dont hit that exact amt. Even if you lose 15lbs, you will be doing great fit day has to say that because "they" say its unhealthy to lose more than 2lbs a week. I feel that as long as you are getting proper nutrition and aren't doing anything drastic to harm your health, then 2.5lbs a week is perfectly fine.

I like what Meredith said and agree with it a lot.

When I say I set a goal of 3lbs a week I mean that I use that to figure out what my calorie budget per day is. If you look at my blog you'll see one week where I gained a pound a few weeks into things. But I stuck to my plan and whoosh the weight has come off.

Every pound off is worth celebrating. Maintaining rather than gaining is worth celebrating. Staying on plan even if you see a gain (which if your plan is good and you're on plan is probably water anyhow) is worth celebrating.

Yes, it is realistic, but what kind of life style are you living? I would consider Weight Watchers and working out 3-5 times a week. That's what I've been doing and I lost 13 pounds in less than a month, so 2.5 is realistic!

I think as PP mentioned all the online tools are going to say that if you set a goal of more than 2lbs per week. Since that is what is considered a "healthy" loss. I dont know how they come up with that since a healthy loss is so relative but I do think that is why it says that.
I know TDP says it too and one other service I use to use did as well.

Thanks everyone for replying!!

I can't remember where I've read this... it's better to aim high and fail than to aim low and succeed. Somehow that makes sense in my sleep-deprived head this morning! lol. I probably have it completely backwards and upside down.. But truly, I would rather aim for 30 pounds lost (which was my original goal) in 3 months than 10 pounds lost, because the higher I aim for the more I'm likely to lose! So I'm going to stick with it!! Forget you fitday planner!

-Aimee

You got good advice here. Your goal is agressive.You will have to be agressive to achieve it.

Good Luck!