This is always a difficult question and I know there is no clear answer, but I am still curious. I started my journey June 1, 2011 and my goal is to lose 135lbs. by my 27th b-day, which is August 19, 2012. I think it is attainable, but I don't want to be disapointed if it is unrealistic. I am calorie counting and slowly adding in some exercise. How much do you guys think is possible in that amount of time. Would love to hear from people who have lost that amount of weight and how much time it took.

I've lost 51 lbs. in the past year. I'm a 41-year-old woman who has lost 67 lbs. altogether. I'm not in any particular rush, though. For the last 6 months I have been weight-training and doing cardio 3x a week for an hour, running another 1-2x a week, and I calorie count to 1,439/day. Many people are losing much faster than I am.

I'm calorie counting (1500/day), doing strength training 2x/week and cardio 3-4x/week. My starting point was high, so I think I had an initial drop and then seem to lose about 2 lbs a week... Since I started in October I have lost almost 94 lbs...
I get a little frustrated that it seems to go slowly, but at the same time I have lost weight quickly before doing more extreme things and it always came back and more. This time I do feel like I am making livable, long-term life changes, so it doesn't really matter how long it takes me to get to a goal weight, as this isn't something I really want to stop doing - I feel good and not deprived...

I think it just sort of depends on how much effort you want to put in combined with what your body will let you lose (that part isn't up to you, unfortunately!!). I've lost all of my weight since right before Christmas 2010. But I've been strict with my diet and exercise routine--60 min 5-6 times a week on the elliptical and carb controlled 1500 calorie diet. Controlling the carbs seems to be a big trick for me.
Good luck! Even if you aren't THERE by your bday, at least you'll be getting much closer!!

I started at the end of May last year, and now ~14 months later I've lost 122lbs. I could probably have pushed it and gotten that 135 if that were my goal, so I think it's totally doable. I've really had to completely remove a timeline from my journey, however, because it gets me all panicky -- "get this weight off NOW" -that all or nothing mentality that has always worked against me. The goal is doable, though, for sure!

I would think losing roughly 10 pounds a month is possible, but not likely. As you get smaller, the pounds come off slower. I think 100 pounds is reasonable, but 80 is more realistic. Depends on your level of commitment. Regardless whether you lose 10 pounds or 100 pounds - your healthier body will thank you for not gaining anymore! BTW - I have lost 44 pounds in 6 months (on a diet break or maintenance for the summer).

I started my weight loss March 4th 2008. By March 4th 2009 I was down 156 pounds. I counted calories.... And I only went over my calorie count for the day maybe 3-4 times that first year, and even then, it was not a free for all. I ate 1200-1500 calories depending on the day...averaging 1325/day for the week. Very doable IMHO, but only if you stick with it every single day.

I am very inspired by the losses some have achieved. I have never lost anything close to 100 lbs ever but I have also never stuck to plan for a whole year.

However, I have also seen people stall for weeks, even months, when they were sticking to their plan. So there is never a guarantee, even if you do stick to the plan the whole time.

So for me, while I am happy with the way my losses are going, and hope that I will see a big, big change on the scale on my May 22, 2012 anniversary date, the even bigger victory will be having stuck to my plan for that whole time - because that is the part I have control over. 8 weeks tomorrow and counting!!

So True - While i have goals that i would like to/working hard to meet, at the same time i am taking it one day at a time, and I'm happy with all my achievements

You can see my journey in my siggy, anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

i'll know on the 23rd.

I will not know how much I can lose in a year for another six months. However the first six months has been terrific!!

I started on January 6, 2011 and in this six month period I lost 91 pounds.

Larry,

82 lbs

50lbs in 26 weeks.

It's taken me just shy of 2 years to lose 93 pounds. That's a fairly slow rate, especially compared to your goals.

Part of the reason for my slow-ish rate is just how my body works. Part of it, though, is that my plan allows for some indulgence here and there - and even some maintenance breaks when I need them - because I decided early on it would work better for me to not be in any particular hurry and wanted to develop a plan that was sustainable indefinitely. This is what makes this time different from the previous times I've tried to lose the weight.

I feel I have succeeded this time, at making that real fundamental change in the way I live and approach food - it was more important to me to really change my lifestyle (as opposed to merely saying "lifestyle change" over and over again), and for me part of doing that, a big part of doing that, has been letting go of the "I must lose it all in a year" mentality. Time goes by anyway - it goes by quickly in fact - and in the long run it won't matter to me much whether I lost all of it in 1 year or in 3. Learning to be more patient has been the best side effect of this process for me, one that serves me not just in my weight loss efforts but in general.