did it take you to lose your weight? I have noticed some major losses on here....way to go chicks......and was just curious how long it took everyone. I know everyone is different and it's all up to me but I just want to know. I have a wedding to attend in Sept and another where I'm the personal attendant next April so I have some time. I want it now though of course....who doesn't!

I started around July 15 2004 at 200 lbs. I weighed 165 lbs by the middle of September and 153 lbs by Christmas. I reached 140 lbs and a big plateau in February 2005. I lost another 2 lbs by July 2005 and weighed 135 lbs by November 2005. I eventually lost another 8 lbs and now weigh 127 lbs.

Weight loss really slowed down for me as I reached my goal weight. It took me about 7 months to lose the first 60 lbs and another 9 months to lose the last 13.

So far, 5 months.

This time? LOL. I started making small changes in April of 2006, when we went to fast food, I quit ordering king sizes of things, and started getting chicken instead of "beef" patties, skipping sauces etc. I started drinking more water and moving more with my kids. Played outside more etc. No real "diet", just small changes, 1 at a time. It's only recently, really recently, that I've started taking an active, daily interest in whats going on, giving more diligence to work outs, paying closer attn to what I'm eating etc.

I started my weight loss journey on June 24,2005. I reached my goal of 145 on July 5th 2006. I lost the first 60 lbs. in 6 months, then it took me a little over 6 more months to lose the last 29 lbs. I've only lost a few more lbs. since reaching goal and they fluctuate. I used the Atkins plan to lose the weight and now I am a calorie counter. Like Glory, my wt. loss really slowed down as I neared and reached goal.

I've been yo-yo ing until summer of last year (after I graduated with my master's -- thus freeing up lots of extra time to workout, since I was full-timing too) - but didn't make a concerted effort until Fall. But since mid-Novmeber 2006, I've dropped about 20 pounds so far.

I started my as of yet unfinished journey on September 4, 2006. 24 weeks and a day ago. It is a day I will always celebrate as my re-birth-day. I suspect I have quite a ways to go as the weight will be much slower to come off as I get closer and closer to goal.

You really have to try and be patient. This isn't an instant gratification thing and can take time. We all do lose in different amounts and that's okay. You can only do what you can do. Eat right and add some exercise to your day. If you do those things the weight WILL come off. The very good thing is that you don't have to get all the way to goal to start seeing benefits. I have already and have been seeing for quite some time HUGE improvements in every area of my life.

Started becoming healthy in the summer of 2000 after reaching my highest weight, got down to my current weight 2 years ago. Have maintained for 2 years with a dip of 162 last May and am trying to reach goal again.

If you are aiming to lose 25 pounds...losing 5-8 pounds a month is a reasonable goal. (1-2 pounds per week.)

This is my third time down the ladder. I have gestational diabetes, and that, paired with "binge eating" are the roots of my weight issues. I get really big at the end of my pregnancies-no matter what I do. I have learned to live with it.

After baby #1, I went from 200 pounds down to 150ish and maintained that loss. (From 1999-2000.) It took almost a year for me to lose that 50 pounds. In the beginning, it was around 8 pounds a month (2 pounds a week on average) but near the end...it was more like 2-3 pounds per month as I neared goal.

After my second baby, when I joined 3FC, It took me about 3 years to go from 211 down to 164. MUCH MUCH harder this time around!!!!

I was at a point where I plateaued for a few months-even dancing professionally for hours a week, walking, and doing strength training 3 days a week. I had basically set myself up on a maintenance plan for a few months (which I had planned) to get used to a higher calorie level for a while...the plan was to then, after maintaining for a while-to go back to a weight loss calorie level after a while and see if it would inch down any after a few months of maintenance. During that phase...I got pregnant again with baby #3.

Now, Saber just turned 6 months old...and I am trying my darndest to get the scale moving again. This time it is pretty much inching down-but I am also 31 (I was around 22 when I was pregnant with my oldest, and 23 when I was losing weight from her.) and that, paired with it being my THIRD baby...is really making things tough. My GD was more severe this time around as well...

So...I am prepared for a long road ahead. But-this is the last baby, and this will be my last time down the ladder to lifelong maintenance.

For me its been 50 weeks and a 70lbs weight loss so far. So, 1.4lbs per week on average.

Here's my stats:

43 years old, 5 ft 5 in tall.

Start weight: 193 lbs, 46% body fat, January 2006
Goal weight: 135 lbs or 20% body fat, whichever comes first

Monthly weights:
(lost data from first 3 months- hard drive failure)
4/1/06- 174
5/1/06- 169
6/1/06- 165.25
7/1/06- 162
8/1/06- 158.75
9/1/06- 157.25
10/1/06- 155
11/1/06- 153.25
12/4/06- 152
1/2/07- 152
2/2/07- 152 & 32% bodyfat

Yeah, I've been plateaued for a few months. I like to think I'm just taking a break and maintaining for a while, because my body felt stressed- but it's really not that simple. I'm about ready to start losing again, though.

I've lost (and gained) about 40 pounds at least 5 times in my adult life.

It usually takes me about 7-8 months to lose the weight. I average about 5 or 6 pounds a month, or a little over 1 pound per week.

Interestingly enough, it also takes me about 8 months to gain the weight back.

I think I'm seeing a pattern here!

I've lost and regained many times, but I've never lost this much, and I've never been this committed. This time, it has taken me seven months to lose 72 pounds so far. I have 38 pounds to go before I reach my goal. When I started on July 18, I planned to lose 1-2 pounds a week, and most weeks I see a loss of 2 pounds, but sometimes I see 1 or 3, and there have been the occasional 4-pound weeks. My first week, I lost 11, so that was quite a jump start. I hit a bit of a plateau for 3 weeks when I weighed 218, but that was due to the holidays, really.

I've succeeded so far by simply sticking to the basics: cutting calories and working out a LOT. There are no shortcuts.

I got really serious about losing weight in February of 2006. I remember the scales reading 176 my first day at the gym. By April I was in the upper 150's, I was going to the gym 4-5 times a week and really watching my daily caloric intake. By July of 06 I was at 145. Right before Christmas I really got strict on myself and got down to 135 only b/c I knew how bad the holidays would be on me and I needed some leverage.. lol. Right now I'm at 144 hoping to get back around 135 by the first of summer.

I've never had to lose more than 10 pounds before gaining this weight during my pregnancy (when I was already about 10 pounds overweight). I'm still trying to get to my pre-pregnancy weight 8 months later (I'm about 20 pounds down). I seem to be losing an average of .8 lbs per week. CLEARLY I want this to be MUCH faster but it never seems to work out that way because I eat an average of 1700-1900 calories per week and I only exercise around 2 or 3 times per week on average. Alas, despite eating mostly very healthy I do have a huge appetite that cant seem to be controlled no matter how hard I try. I'm getting a home elliptical soon so I hope to burn 3500 calories on that thing ALONE, plus weights 2 to 3 times per week. That should ramp things up to 1.2 pounds per week?? Hopefully!???