I'm just curious as I was doing a bit of figuring of where I could be by July weight wise.

Does 1.5 lbs per week sound like a reasonable weight loss to expect? What is a normal rate of loss?

Thanks!

My mum goes to weight watchers and they say 1-2 lbs a week.

Yep, I've heard that 1-2 lbs. a week is healthy, but don't be surprised if it's higher or lower than that. Usually, people tend to lose more in the first week, but some people actually show a gain in the beginning...especially if they're doing weight training (the body tends to hold on to water as it repairs the muscles).

Thank you! A lb a week is only 27 lbs by July 15 but 1.5 sounds phenomenal 40.5! Two lbs a week ~ I cant even imagine because it would be almost goal.

I was just curious what most people found to be the norm.

It is not unreasonable to expect to lose 2 pounds per week, many people do. However weight loss will vary some weeks you will lose more , some weeks less. It also depends on the individual. Good luck !!

The closer you are to goal, the slower the weight loss. I find it counterproductive to set a date to have lost a certain amount. What the scale says takes a backseat to the permanent changes you have made to your eating and drinking and exercise because those are the things that will keep you at goal.

I bet you'll lose more. I lost 50 in 3 months when I started out last February. It was the last 20 - 25 lbs that slowly came off. So you could actually be close to goal by mid summer. I'll root for ya!

Thanks everyone and thanks Tami~ I hope so!!!!

In more than three decades of dieting, "weight-by-dates" and weight loss rate targets have always gotten me into trouble.

It's a bit like the old adage "a watched pot, never boils." When I'm focusing on the speed of weight loss, even when I DO make the targets, the weight loss seems much slower than when I focus on the behaviors.


In the beginning, when I first do the calculating of where I could be by a certain date, I find weight-by-dates motivating, and exciting - but in the long runt, I find them much more damaging than productive. And they get more and more damaging as time goes on, and the more often I've used them.


"I will lose two pounds this week," is essentially out of my control (unless I use a chainsaw to remove the weight). I can follow my food/exercise plan to the letter and still not lose what I'd hoped/expected to - so I can feel like a failure, even when I haven't failed.

If my goal is 2 lbs, and I lose 1.5 or even 1.9, I'm disappointed with myself.

And if I get "behind" in my target, I get tempted to do stupid stuff like skip meals or restrict calories to 500 calories a day - or even go days without eating in order to "catch up."

I start to focus on the failure until I start seeing failure even where others would see my successes. Any success that isn't pefect, absolute sucess begins to feel like absolute failure. Even meeting the goal is met with less enthusiasm and celebration than it should, because I'm aware of how behind I am. Or, even if I'm ahead of schedule - because of past experiences, I'm always paranoid about it not lasting. I'm never far enough ahead to feel like I'm going to make my goal in time. It's irrational, and I know it - but those thoughts cycle anyway. To stop the destructive cycle, I had to look at weight loss differently.

For me, I had to focus on the behavior that would result in weight loss - not the weight loss itself. The weight loss was a bonus side effect - or at the most a reward for following my real plan goals.

When my goal was weight loss, it always seemed like I felt I was failing. Since I've changed my goal to be adding and increasing healthier behaviors into my life, I've had a lot less stress and and a lot less crazy thinking. I've also stopped "starting over." There does not have to be "starting over" in this
journey. Every step is a learning experience (even the un-successes).


Maybe none of this applies to you. Maybe you do find weight-by-date, deadlines, and weight loss rate goals motivating and encouraging (and not just in the first few weeks). If so, use them. But, if not throw them away and focus on something that does keep you going and doesn't discourage you.

Regardless of the path you choose, good luck not only in losing the weight, but in feeling awesome about yourself along the journey.

Remember the wisdom of Bill and Ted in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"
"Be excellent to each other,"

and even more importantly, Be excellent to yourself.

Thanks you for a very thought provoking post. Too be honest I don't know if a weight goal amount helps or hinders me. The only other time I lost a large amount I didn't own a scale.

I debated weighing weekly for a challenge or staying off the scale as originally planned. I decided to weigh weekly to participate 100% in the challenges unless I find it discourages me.

I would love to feel not like a sausage in my shorts and tanks this summer though! That is my goal.

I agree with most people said here, especially that everyone is different. That couldn't be more true! I did weight watchers with a friend of mine, and we both had the same amount to lose. For some reason, her body didn't really react negatively to anything! As long as she followed plan and worked out, she could pretty much predict what she was gonna lose. Me on the other hand, completely different story! I literally gained every time the week before my period. No matter what I did, how much I exercised, it was like clock work that I would gain that week. Also, on some weeks when I did extra exercise I would gain. Which doesn't seem to make sense. Then I decided to start taking my measurements in addition to weighing. This way, when I was turning my muscle into fat at the gym, the scale may have went up 1 lbs, but my waist was also down 1 inch. And to me, how I look, feel, and fit into my clothes is more important that what the scale says.

I would try not to focus so much on "how much will I lose by X date". Only because if life gets in the way (as truthfully it often times does) you can really discourage yourself. Maybe buy a pair of jeans that you want to be wearing at your goal. Hang them up and try them on every few weeks. Maybe you only lost .5 lbs one week, but if those jeans fit a little bit better, isn't that whats important?

I try not to expect a certain amount of weight loss each week. But I typically lose 1-2.5 lbs a week depending how much I exercised and if I cheated a little. I'm thrilled with anything!

I went from 215 to 155 in six months, to 135 in 9 months. 135 to 130 in 17-18 months. Wow! What a slowdown I have had!

As far as the goal setting dates--well, I haven't really had any. I have joined one or two challenges here but never really stayed the course. I go day to day monitoring my food, getting some activity and moving towards health in ALL ways. I try to get plenty of quality whole foods, quality fluids, rest, exercise, sunshine, happiness. Those things are my goal. The date thing doesn't really happen for me.

I've been doing Weight Watchers since last August, and I just checked the weight chart spreadsheet I've been keeping. It's averaging out at just over 1.3lb per week, but that includes a couple of short plateaus, some bigger losses and one small gain. So that's within the 1-2lb expected.