[VickieLou]

Do You think it's possible to lose 100 LBS by Dec. 31, 2010? I did okay in Janurary but February gained back some weight. My Goal weight is 130 and Current weight is 236.8. Has anyone lost a 100 LBS in 10 months?

[Arctic Mama]

Honestly, I think it's a bit of an overshot and quite optimistic. That is expecting yourself to maintain almost 2.5 pound losses every week, even once you get into the 160's and below. To create that much of a calorie deficit is extremely difficult at that weight, and having witnessed your recent struggles and recommitment, I think it would be more kind to yourself (and achievable) to aim for 50-70 pounds of loss this year, to make allowances for the slowed rate of loss in the lower weight groups.

This opinion is given with lots of love and support for you - I'd rather see you meet a goal with a smile than feel a failure for not making an unbelievably high bar. Whatever you choose, I wish you the best!

[rockinrobin]

Anything's possible, I suppose. And yes, I've done it. 100 lbs and than some.

But I stayed on plan day after day after day, week after week, month after month - through holidays, stress, social events, birthdays, etc... I think I had about 5 off-ish days throughout and even those were not that bad - looking back they were nothing with nothing. And I'm not the only one around here who had done that. There are quite a few of us with similar experiences.

Are you prepared to do that? The truth is, even if you DO do that, you can't be CERTAIN of the results.

The only thing you can be CERTAIN of, are the things that you control. And make no mistake about it, you control what goes in your mouth - and what doesn't. The choice IS yours. You don't have to be fat if you don't want to be. It bears repeating - you don't have to be fat if you don't want to be. That is the bottom line. It's within your power, your control. You DO hold the key. Weight loss is available for anyone and everyone - yourself included.

Seems like you've been struggling as of late. What is it about your plan that you find most difficult? Maybe THAT is what you should work on and then the weight WILL come off.

Sweeten up that plan of yours, customize it, make it more appealing to you, find foods that you love, get rid of the junk, make some food laws and rules that you can abide to. And then get EXCITED about the changes you are about to make. Don't dread them. Find the joy in this!!! In other words - set yourself up for success. Stop thinking poor me, I can't eat this and I can't eat that. Remember - staying FAT is the poor me. Staying FAT is the deprivation here. You're depriving yourself of the best you possible. No deprivation involved passing up on some calorie laden foods. None what soever. Adhering to a healthy lifestyle is a joy and a blessing, it's no burden. REALIZE that. Because it's a biggie. Tell yourself that even if you don't believe it right now - eventually you will KNOW it.

And then of course the thing is, the big thing is - that you must be WILLING to implement these changes. Consistently. Because that's what it's all about. IF you want consistent, steady weight loss - you must be CONSISTENT with your plan - no matter what. Because you're now a health minded person. Who wants to get to a healthy weight waaaay more than she want "those foods". Because really, that's the only way that this can happen. Your desire to be thin, fit, slim and healthy MUST outweigh, overpower and overtake your desire for "those foods".

I would urge you to FOCUS on these HEALTHY behaviors. Really, really, REALLY FOCUS on the good eating (exercise) behaviors and the weight WILL come off. As long as you continue on and stop stopping the process, each and every excess pound WILL come off. The better you do that, the sooner it will come off.

Decide what it is you want the MOST out of life, resolve to pay "the price" to get it and than get out there and get it!!!

[grrrkgrrrl]

i completely agree with the above posters.

from personal experience i can tell you i lost 40 pounds in 4 months (and i was starting at the 180's) but i was 100% focused and commited. no set-backs, no slip-ups. black and white.

so i guess, the answer is the same as always: it depends on you.

[Shmead]

One thing to remember is that weight loss is full of incremental victories. Let's say, instead, that you lose 75 lbs in ten months--quite possible, as long as you are consistent. You'll weigh 155. You'll be wearing 8/10s. You'll look perfectly "normal" at that weight--someone no one would describe as even chubby or heavyset. You'll want to lose a little more, still, but you'll already love what's happened to you. You'll feel great. So don't get discouraged if it seems like it will take forever.

[Barbara79]

Hi VickiLou,

I think maybe 100lbs in 10 months is pushing it a bit. You can guarantee it will be extremely difficult!

I was losing about 7lbs per month on average through SureSlim but, my friend lost on average 8 1/2 lbs per month on it. So that's nearly 90lbs in 10 months.

Based on those results, maybe you won't make 100lbs but, you'll be close.

What diets/clinics have you tried? Do you have any friends trying SureSlim at the moment?

Barb x

[matt_H]

Its important to have multiple goals: a minimum, a "i'd be happy with that" and a "longshot".

You set your goals too high and then you feel like a failure for not meeting them. When in reality, any weight loss is a success.

[rockinrobin]

Originally Posted by matt_H

Its important to have multiple goals: a minimum, a "i'd be happy with that" and a "longshot".

You set your goals too high and then you feel like a failure for not meeting them. When in reality, any weight loss is a success.

Yes.

BUT.

I say aim low, you get low. Aim High you get HIGH.

But I think 100 lbs is too far off of a goal. It's too far in the future. And then you keep pushing it off and pushing it off. I'll get to it tomorrow. And then I'll get to it tomorrow. And then I'll get to it tomorrow. And before you know it, you've tomorrow'ed away, I don't know a month, 6 months, 2 years...

Therefore I would set smaller more IMMEDIATE goals. Like I said previously, I think the most important thing to focus on is those behaviors, but when you set smaller goals, it puts a fire under you. It gets you moving. HELPS TO KEEP YOU FOCUSED ON THE HERE AND NOW. The TODAY.

Focus (again those behaviors first) on losing one pound. One pound. ASAP. As in "I want to lose one pound - NOW". What do I have to do TODAY to MAKE it happen? Lose that one pound - asap - and then repeat the process. And keep on repeating and repeating...

[Trudiha]

I've just done it, so it is possible, as Robin says you will have to be quite focused on what you are doing. Additionally, you will need to be very thick skinned; folks will give you a lot of grief about 'obsession' and 'eating disorders'.

Best of luck and keep your eye on the goal.

[Lori Bell]

Are you talking 100 pounds MORE, or 100 pounds total from your starting weight? If it's the latter, NO problem. If it's 100 MORE, than you will have to push harder and work harder than you did last month, that's for sure! The only way you'll know is if you try it and find out....but you won't if you just sit around dreaming about it.

In my first 10 months I lost 140 pounds, but my starting weight was almost 100 pounds MORE than your current weight, and I didn't "cheat" EVER from March 4th until Christmas Day...

[thistoo]

The thing is, you can't expect your weight loss to be consistent over time. I grant that I am an extreme example and I am investigating the situation with my doctor, but I hit 90 pounds lost and just stopped. Didn't change anything about my diet, increased my activity quite a bit, as a matter of fact, and still my weight has not budged from the 150s in five months. At five feet tall that is unreasonable, yet there it is.

So you can aim to stay on plan and exercise consistently for the next ten months. You can certainly lose plenty of weight in that time and feel 100% better about yourself than you probably do right now. Will you lose X amount of pounds by then? Maybe, maybe not.

[Gracie789]

I'm like Lori Bell, I lost 100+ lbs in a little less than a year and I can count on one hand the times I slipped/cheated. Of course my starting weight was also that much higher. I think it is possible for you to lose 100lbs by the end of the year but it will be difficult and like everyone else mentioned you will have to make a plan and stick to it with zero slips. Stay strong and you'll eventually reach your goal!

[Eliana]

I say go for it. Why not? But if after 10 months you've "only" lost 90 lbs, can you handle that mentally? If so, then why not. ANYTHING to motivate you right now, Vickielou.

I'd love to see you shooting for the stars! You're so worth it!

[cmyhc01]

It also depends on the plan--I'm currently on a medically-supervised protein sparing modified fast and have basically lost the equivalent of a pound a day since I started (36 pounds since 1/18/10). I will be doing this until I reach my goal weight, reach a pleateau or get to a point where I just can't do it anymore. If the former wins out of these three options, I could potentially lose 144 pounds in about 5 months.

That being said, I realize how impossible that sounds and I'm definitely not going to beat myself up if that happens. I'd be happy if I got 75% of the way there in that amount of time (or even a little less) and then switch to a low-carb/high fiber program (i.e. WW). It's so much easier to set smaller goals for myself. Right now I'm a quarter of the way to my weight loss goal and my next goal is to get a third of the way there (48 pounds). But I'll even be excited when I reach 44 because that'll mean I *only* have 100 to go. It's amazing, because when I first started it seemed like an insurmountable goal but now I know that I will be able to achieve it.

Is there a specific event for which you want to lose 100 pounds by the end of the year, VickieLou? Or are you just setting an ultimate goal for yourself? You have to do what's best for you--both physically and emotionally. I just hope you choose to lose the weight in a healthy fashion and draw support from your friends, family and everyone here (not to sound preachy!!). Best of luck to you with whatever you decide--keep us posted!!

[time2lose]

First, listen to Robin. She knows what she is talking about.

Orginially posted by Lori Bell
Are you talking 100 pounds MORE, or 100 pounds total from your starting weight? If it's the latter, NO problem. If it's 100 MORE, than you will have to push harder and work harder than you did last month, that's for sure! The only way you'll know is if you try it and find out....but you won't if you just sit around dreaming about it.

This is one of those things that I agree but disagree. Many people can lose 80 to 100 pounds in 10 months. But then there are the people like me, older and hypothyroid (or other issues) that lose much slower even when totally on plan. I don't know enough about you to even guess if you can lose that amount of weight that fast. Also, if you set a goal of 100 pounds in 10 months and lose 70, are you going to feel like a failure and be discouraged?

Everyone is right that you will have to consistently stay on plan! I think that you should develop a plan that you can live with and focus on that instead of x pounds in y amount of time.

Just my 2 cents worth.