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How Long Does It Take to Lose 30 Pounds?If you have ever been duped into believing those stories of huge weight losses in no time at all with zero effort, then you may have been left wondering "how long will it really take me to lose this weight if I do get more active and eat a much healthier diet?" You may have already made those changes you hope will finally lead to your success, but many slimming hopefuls often expect the weight to drop off steadily with all that new found effort and get disillusioned at their lack of progress when their weight loss slows to a crawl. The harsh reality is that you will reach this point somewhere down the line, a time when you must decide if you have made these changes to your routine for the sake of short term success, or if these are changes you are happy to progress with and work on along the way to your ultimate success. If you have made changes that make you happy, then you are much more likely to keep those good habits well into the future, which will help to ensure you maintain that weight loss for years to come. Hopefully you will enjoy the new choices and can face up to that vexing question of how long will it take to lose all of those extra pounds. The answer to that question can be gauged by looking how well others have faired in studies and surveys of successful losers on popular weight loss programs, rather than on internet forums littered with hyperbole which cannot be verified and will not represent what is usual for most slimmers: In a survey reported in 2007, over 60,000 participants who enrolled on the Jenny Craig Platinum weight loss plan were followed for a year to determine their retention rates and levels of success. These are the results. 27% had dropped out by the end of week 4, losing an average of 1.1% of their starting weight. 58% had dropped out by the end of week 13, losing an average of 8.3% of their starting weight. 78% had dropped out by the end of week 26, losing an average of 12.6% of their starting weight. 93.4% had dropped out by the end of week 52, losing an average of 15.6% of their starting weight. For those who dropped out between weeks 40 and 52 (9 months to 1 year), they managed a weight loss of about 12% typically from their initial weight. Don't forget these are typical results on a high end commercial weight loss program. Expensive results, so you would expect some serious effort here. As an example of how we can use this data, lets say you weigh 210lbs and want to lose 30 pounds to reach your ideal weight. This is 14.3% of your starting weight (30/210 x 100), so if you can achieve the same level of success as the average Jenny Craig enroller, then this could take you around six to twelve months. There are many other studies, but if we just look at one other, a report into some of the members of Slimming World, who reported on a group of 157 members whose average weight loss of 33lbs was achieved over 11.1 months. This works out to be 0.69lbs per week on average per member. Your 30lbs might take you around 10 months, or 43-44 weeks if Slimming World results are anything to go by. The web is full of over-marketed weight loss aids with little substance to them. From that extreme we come to the holy grail of calorie counters the 'calories in calories out' equation. It may be scientifically correct to point out that we need to create an energy deficit to lose weight consistently, but the problem even with this approach is one of accuracy. Calorie values on food labels are taken as gospel, which of course they are not .. they are a useful guide, but they are the average results of multiple testing which do not take into account the seasonal variability, soil quality, rainfall, temperature profile and cooking techniques which all play a part in the calories we actually ingest. Do calories help .. yes they are a help in understanding one of the issues but they require dedication to follow religiously. On to my own weight loss which was slightly slower than the examples we have already looked at. Over around 13 months from late 2002 into 2003 I went from 180lbs to under 155lbs where I still maintain my weight many years later. I may have been slow, but I decided to create my own success after failing with one of the popular diet approaches still touted today. I just could not understand how one faction could promote a high carb approach and another could regard those carbs almost as sinful. After working out the truth for myself I have found many following a similar approach. Patience is not a virtue of the modern world, but our bodies were not designed to survive this world - they have adapted to get us through famines in ancient times. We are now used to having it all and having it at our finger tips instantly with the push of a few buttons. Unfortunately, weight loss does not come in a download. Those studies above show that. Those slimmers who persist tend to be more successful than those who aim for short term losses. That success achieved over an extended period may also allow slimmers to develop the habits and learn the skills of weight management somewhat better than the fast weight loss dieters who may enjoy initial success, but frequently rebound beyond their previous weight. The true achievement of a weight loss program only really becomes apparent in the months or weeks after losing weight, when we really find out if we have learnt the secrets to staying slim for good. The key lies in the benefits we get out of those changes we made to our eating and activity habits at the start. If we enjoy the changes and their consequences, we are more likely to find that we can maintain them for life rather than some short term fixes to get the weight off and then we can go back to our old ways afterwards. Even if you are deep into your weight loss program, or maybe you have just started out, either way it can be helpful to know just how long it has taken others to succeed. I hope you can use the results presented here to help you to determine how much time it might take you to succeed with your weight loss dreams and I would like to end this article wishing you well in your weight loss program.
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