OK, I have a couple of questions for those of you who've either made your goal or are getting close to it. How long has it taken you? I gave myself 3 months for my first mini goal of 30 lbs lost...about 10 lbs loss per month. I know it will probably come off more quickly at first, so if I hit the 270 mark in August rather than September I won't complain! But I'm just trying to get a feel for timelines so I don't set myself up to miss the mark completely. I realize we're all different, but I think that would at least give me a general idea.

Second question, for those of you who've made it to goal, after losing 100 + lbs, do you find you have lots of excess sagging? I know this is getting WAY ahead of myself here, but just wondering about that part of the equation. Did you find that by losing sensibly that you have less sag to contend with than if you had crash dieted? I was teasing my husband yesterday and told him he'd better start saving now, cause once I get to my goal, he's gonna have to pay for a tummy tuck.

Christy

Hi Christy --

With regards to timelines, everyone really is different. It depends on your consistency of eating and exercise, as well as factors about you (e.g., metabolism)... some people lose the weight quickly, others much more slowly.

I found that I didn't want to set timelines for my weight loss. It can be depressing to not meet the goals. It seems lots of people feel like failures and give up, even if they've lost a lot of weight!

I would recommend not worrying about time so much. Get active, focus on a healthy eating plan, and it will happen as it happens!!

As for sagging skin... yes, I have it quite a bit. Many do, though it depends on many factors, again... age, how long you've been overweight, etc. There's a great thread on that in the body issues forum:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36040

Good luck!

I'm 8 pounds away from the original goal I set, but I'm revising that goal. I had no idea what my body would be like at this weight when I was at 275, so I just picked a reasonably healthy weight. Now I see I have more to lose.

Anyway, I started on July 18, 2006, and I've lost 102 pounds as of July 3. I just looked at my spreadsheet and found out the following: I lost 11 pounds the first week, then I had 6 weeks where I lost 4 pounds, 12 weeks where I lost 3, 10 weeks where I lost 2, 14 weeks where I lost 1, 5 weeks where I lost 0, and 2 weeks where I gained (1 and 2 pounds). I don't know if you'll find that interesting at all, but I did! If you take the average weight loss for each week, it's 2, which is what I set out to do. I'm proud of the fact that I only had a gain during two of those weeks, and I saw a loss on the scale 43 weeks! I strongly urge you to make a goal spreadsheet like this if you're into the numbers -- it really does help to motivate you. I can even send you mine if you'd like -- it's got a handy little line graph that updates for you when you key in your weight.

Like Wylleen said, there's really no way to measure your progress against someone else's because we're all different. But I do think the reason for the success I've had so far is consistency. I take a break from my plan here and there (I did the last 2 days), but I'm strictly on plan at least 90% of the time. Most weeks, I stay on it the entire week. And the key to that is making a plan that won't leave you feeling deprived.

As for sagging skin, yes, I do have it on my stomach. I doubt I would ever have surgery to get rid of it, because I'm too much of a wimp and I'd rather avoid having surgery if at all possible. But that's definitely an option, I guess. I do think exercise helps, because if I hadn't made that a HUGE part of my weight loss, I imagine I'd have a lot more excess skin than I do.

Sorry this post was so long!

It has taken me 21 months to lose 154 lbs. I lost the first 100 lbs in less than a year, and it has taken me almost as long to lose the other 54 lbs. I suspect that when I get to my "goal" of 180, I'll be revising that goal, since I don't think I'm within 12 lbs of looking like I want to look. I never set a timeline, because like Heather, I didn't want to be disappointed. There are times that I suspect I could have speeded it up, but I wasn't willing to drop my calories lower than where I had it at the time.

I also wanted to add that I hope you don't let the length of time it may take discourage you. The time will pass whether you are losing weight or not. If it takes 10 months or 2 years or longer, the important thing is that you are still working on it and making the effort to lose.

There is loose skin on my lower tummy and my inner thighs. I'm not thrilled with it, but I'm MUCH MUCH happier with it than with the skin filled with fat. Clothed you don't see it at all.

I thought I could lose 100 lbs. in a year, but it didn't work out that way. Luckily, I didn't get discouraged--I've found that persistance is the key for me. As Tammy so wisely said, "The time will pass whether you are losing weight or not. If it takes 10 months or 2 years or longer, the important thing is that you are still working on it and making the effort to lose."

I don't have much loose skin at all, which is nice. Weight lifting probably helps, but I imagine it's a combination of various factors. There's a great thread about skin on the maintainer's forum, I believe.

Sheila -- I posted a link to that thread!

Tammy said it very well! You all did!

I started on 12 July 2004, and I've been at goal since March last year. I lost the bulk of the weight between January and November 2005, since then I've been dropping very slowly as my weight settles down. If you click on my weight loss blog there is a list of dates and weights down the side, it's all in kg though. I haven't updated it for a while so it doesn't show my current weight just yet!

In terms of saggy skin, it's not as bad as it could be, but you can tell that my stomach isn't entirely flat and that I'm not someone who has always been thin. But it's not bad enough that I'm motivated to do anything surgical about it. It's a part of me, and it doesn't bother me, like the scars on my ankle from where I broke it. I almost like it as a reminder of how hard I've worked to get where I am, and something to remind me not to go back there.

Hi Christy. When I tackle things, I really go all gung ho. Amazing why it took me over 20 years to tackle weightloss. Oh yes, I'm a procrastinator . So, it's more like when I FINALLY tackle things I go all gung ho. Weightloss has been no different for me. Yesterday was my 10 months anniversary of starting my journey. And I've lost over 150 lbs (if the scale stays the same come Monday mornings weigh in). What I've done is not for everyone. I didn't crash diet - at all. I eat sensibly. I am never hungry. I eat incredibly healthy foods, which I KNOW has been a factor in my weightloss.

But the real key to my losing in a relatively short time is CONSISTIENCY. Period. I don't think I've been off plan 10 days and those 10 days were really minimal. Nothing with nothing to speak of. Maybe, a couple of hundred extra calories, if that. I've been really focused and determined, so for me that meant staying on plan through parties, holidays, birthdays and social events. I never looked at it as "Well, ya gotta live and have cake some time" or "I don't want to deprive myself, so I'll have a cookie or some ice cream or whatever." I looked at it as what I USED to do was depriving myself - of a full and active life. I look at it as - well this IS living - finally, after hanging out on the sidelines for so many years and dying inside. It's not for everyone - but it was and is for me.

I wasn't really concerned with a timeframe, I did NOT set specific goals as to how much weight to lose by a certain time, I knew the more days I stayed on plan - the faster the weight would come off. Period.

I urge you though to do the same. Don't set time frames. Just be consistient. Stay on plan. Be AWARE of what you're eating - at all times. KNOW that if you eat something off plan, it WILL take you longer to lose the weight, and that's okay sometimes, IF that's what you want, if you're willing to do that. Eat well and exercise - and the weight WILL come off, no matter how long it takes. We've all wasted soooo many YEARS with false starts, what's a few extra months or even a couple of years in the scheme of things?

As far as the skin goes, I do have some. On my lower stomach and inner thighs. Totally and completely undetectable though in clothing. I'm wearing a size 4 now and you can't see any of it. And yes, I'd prefer not to have it, but I am loving, absolutely loving my new and greatly improved body - flaws and all. I will take whatever loose skin I have any day over being morbidly obese.

Christy, I have been at goal for one year (as of today). It took me exactly 1 yr., 1 week and 5 days to lose almost 90 lbs. I had hoped to reach goal in one year (exactly) but those extra days it took really didn't mean a thing in the big scheme of things. I stayed very strict on plan but did loosen up a little on birthdays and holidays.

I wish you the very best of success and the others have given you great advice.

As for loose skin, I do have some, but not nearly as much as I expected. My legs look fine, but my arms are another story. Small amt. of loose skin on my tummy , but "completely undetectable in clothing" like Robin had said. I too, love my new body and prefer it anyday over my formerly very obese body.

I lost around 130 at the 12 month mark -- and then 5 pounds the next couple of months -- and then NOTHING for the next, hmmmm, YEAR. If you look at my before/after photos, I posted last June, and yep, I'm still at that same weight. I believe it's called complacency. But I'm happy to not have gained anything back. I'll just say I've been successfully practicing maintenance So whenever I do finish, it'll have taken me over 2 years to lose 153 pounds. Everyone really does go at their own pace, slowly or quickly. I went quickly, and then slowly, and then stopped altogether. I wish I was at goal already, but it's of my own doing.

I have LOTS of saggy skin -- belly (above and below belly button), arms, mid back, inner thighs (especially when I'm not exercising, like right now). I've always had a bottom and a top tummy roll since I was about 10. I actually never remember having a flat stomach. But I distinctly remember having them in 5th grade. And weirdly, every time I gain weight, I gain in my arms first. I can tell I'm up 5 pounds because it goes to my arms. So everytime my weight flucuated up and down, they took a beating. I'm not surprised I have 3 inches of hanging skin on them.