[Jen]

That would be 52 lbs in one year. I know there are a lot of us struggling with long term weight loss and this seems so magical to me. Losing that much weight would be so wonderful and all I have to do is to lose 1 lbs a week. Sometimes I think we get overwhelmed thinking about the long road ahead of us and the hard work and struggles that it will take to get to our goals. Right now though I'm going to concentrate on losing 1 lbs a week. If I lose more than that is a bonus. I know I can lose 1 lbs a week.

[barbygirl43]

Sounds good. I know i average about 1 pound a week although I might lose 3 one week, and gain 2 the next to get to that average.

I was thinking of that the other day and at that rate it would take me 2 years to get to my goal but at least in that 2 years time I would be healthier and my weight would be going down. If I did nothing about it then in 2 years I would more than likely be well over 300 pounds and not moving around like I'd want to.

[heather_dw]

Yes, I think I read somewhere that if you lose between 1-2 pounds a week, you will be more likley to maintain the loss. I keep thinking "I wish I had done this years ago" and I dont want to be thinking that in another couple of years. I still make bad choices, but I try to make more good than bad overall. If I try to just just change how I am, my total lifestyle, the pounds will come off, I try not to get discouraged, but I do, even the pics I have dont seem like they show a big difference, but it is a long road, and we have to put one foot in front of the other,..Just concentrate on being healthy and active and I think it will be great, thats what I am trying to do! good luck to us all!

[nelie]

I do think people get overwhelmed by the big numbers or by trying to say "I need to lose 20 lbs in a month!" but really, if you keep a reasonable goal then you will get there in a healthy way. People who tend to lose weight through unhealthy methods tend to gain the weight back faster than people who lose through more maintainable methods. I'd be happy with 1lb a week weight loss but really my plan is 2lbs a week which is actually slightly below my average but I do weigh a lot and people tend to be able to lose more weight the more they weigh. So using the 2lb a week number, I figure I'll be at my initial goal sometime next year which makes me extremely happy at the thought.

I will say it almost astounds me right now, at some point 5-6 years ago, I weighed 60 more lbs than I do right now. Just this past year, I weighed 50 lbs more than I do now. It is kind of hard for me to say that to people though because I am embarrassed that I let myself weigh that much, but I do tell people because I am proud. So if I lose 50 lbs in the next year, 1 lb per week, then I'll be proud to say "I've lost 100 lbs" even though I'll have more to go but I'll be closer to my goal than if I did nothing.

It is all about the baby steps, small changes grow into bigger changes and small losses grow into bigger losses but really, 1 lb of fat isn't anything small.

This is a picture that floats around the LWL (Ladies who Lift) forum quite a bit it is a picture of 5 lbs of fat and 5lbs of muscle. Just think when you lose 5lbs, that is the ugly stuff that is disappearing from your body..

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/atta...chmentid=17582

[jkfla]

wow. thanks for posting the link to that picture. i'm going to put it on my desktop so i can look at it every day to remind myself not to quit if i get discouraged.

[Orangecupcakez]

Wow .. now if that doesn't make me think I don't know what will! Don't really think about it until ya see it! Sheesh .....

[artist]

I am very definitely in the pound a week club! Personally, I think its about sustainability - can you do what you're doing to lose weight for the rest of your life? Or are you in the mindset of 'once I get to goal, I'lle be able to......eat more/eat different/exercise less'? So for me, eating healthily and exercising to lose a pound a week feels totally sustainable - I am very happy this way, and most of the time it doesn't feel like too much effort.....sure, it will take a long time, but I am feeling so much better along the way, that I focus on all of the positive changes, rather than how long it will take.

[funniegrrl]

I average LESS than 1 pound per week, and I've been at this for just over 3 years. If you'd told me when I started that it would have taken this long, I would have died. But, you know what? On this end of it, I'm OK with that. I'm still going strong, and that's what counts. This is how I'm going to be living the rest of my life, so the fact that I'm still losing 3 years into the game is a minor issue. I'll always be on this journey -- taking it slowly helps me learn even more for maintenance.