Weight loss and fitness goals -- are these realistic??

[thequest]

Weight loss
3 months - 50
6 months - 80
9 months - 100
12 months - 120
18 months - 150
ideal - 172 pounds lost

Fitness
5k / month (my husband thinks this is not aggressive enough... thoughts?)
3 months - begin hundred pushup challenge: Welcome to the one hundred push ups training program
6 months - begin couch to 5K: The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan | C25K Mobile App
9 months - run / jog 5K
12 months - Insanity
18 months - 3 mile mud run

[Ann2]

Are those weight loss goals also ones your husband has established for you? (It's not clear from your post.)

Protip: If so, you're in for a world of hurt if you let him "decide" how much weight you're going to lose each month after WLS. You better do everything you can to retain control over your own journey.

[kimbo]

It all depends on your body- my weight loss is about the same as your schedule- although I have slowed down for the last month or so but mostly because of food choices. I have lost 96 pounds in 9 months- my doctor thinks it could have been a little more aggressive, but I am happy with how I feel and how I can eat at the moment. I am behind you on the fitness part- and you have inspired me to start tomorrow- and I hope that is not famous last words...you will know if it is too aggressive or not aggressive enough pretty early on...nice to have a plan- good luck and have fun with it!

[newu2014]

Everyone is different so set goals but be patient. Your surgeon should give you a scale of what the average loss is per month. It's a percent of excess body fat versus number of pounds. I have consistently been 4-6 pounds ahead of his monthly expectation but I don't take it for granted as my weight loss starts and stops each month but it nets out where I expect it to end.
I attached my loss per month for you but we all lose differently based on our starting weight and our body.
Good luck.

First appointment-245
Start of liquid pre-op-240 down -5
Surgery date-233 down -12
1 month post-op 216 down -29
2 months post-op 204 down-41
3 months post-op 195 down -50
4 months post-op 188 down -57
I am shooting for 175 by Thanksgiving.

[thequest]

@Ann2: The weight loss goals are ones I set for myself. I sent them to my nutritionist but haven't heard back yet. My husband thought that the 5k/month idea was not very aggressive because he thinks I could probably do that now.

[tinman]

I think if you work as hard in figuring out how to style up a food regimen that will help you reach your weight loss goals as you did in setting your fitness goals, then I would say your goals are very reachable.

I lost close to 50% of my total body weight in 14 months. I did it through research and diligent monitoring to chart the successes and failures of different combinations of nutrition, exercise, supplements and hydration. You've given yourself 18 months, which is reasonable. I will caution you though. Your weight loss will start to ebb the closer to the 18 month deadline you get if you don't constantly change things up and keep your metabolism ramped up. That ended up being the key for me.

I don't see any reason why your husband can't help you set your goals. Accountability is sometimes a very, very compelling emotion. If you set the weight loss goals yourself, I would encourage you to share them with him also. If he set them, don't accept them unless you are in agreement with his suggestions.

Once you make yourself accountable, you're always accountable.

[SethP]

I think that the fitness goals are very reasonable. Your husband might think you can do the first one now but once you have surgery you will not be doing as much at first. It is low energy for the first few weeks while you are in recovery and it is important to allow your body to heal. As for as the weight loss goals, I am not a big fan of setting timelines for weight loss as much as having the final goal. The reason I say that is I see so many people hit the panic button on here because they didnt make a weight goal. There is one member on here that is stressed out so much becuase the scale hasnt moved in a month but they dropped TWO sizes on clothes. Do not put all of your success measurements in the scale. I say that you need to set some NSV goals. Things that you are no longer able to do but would love to do again. Godspeed on your journey.

[jmw]

They seem reasonable to me. We were pretty close to the same starting weight and your goals are within where I have been at each point thus far. In my opinion, it is good to set goals, but more important that you continue to evaluate your progress and reassess where you are, what you are doing, and what your goals are. I can easily run a 5 k now and have been able to for months. If my goal was to run one at 9 months, I would be cheating myself out of the challenge. So, in my opinion, keep it fluid so that you continue to challenge yourself within the parameters are realistic success where you are at that point.

What I have done, is to focus on adding a new activity and set a goal around that. For instance, running, set my goal to run x amount of time, then x distance, then x distance in x time. Work toward that while cross-training with other activities(lifting, yoga, swimming, etc.). Once you meet that goal, move on to something else. Kayaking, biking, yoga, lifting, etc. And, I have yet to drop an activity that I picked up. I use them as cross-trainings. It keeps your body guessing and keeps the weight coming off. At least it does for me. Your body may react differently. And, that is the important part: listen to what your body is telling you!

[thequest]

I talked to my nutritionist and she said that I can be even more aggressive! I'm only 30 so she said that if I follow their plan I can expect to lose 100 pounds in 6 months and 165-175 in the first year.

[Sleeved W Pfynss]

I do encourage you to listen to your coharts though... they have actually BEEN THROUGH THE SURGERY. I don't know if your Nutritionist has had WLS, but I can probably guess that her aggresive approach <push> may be base don educated scientific guesses.

Take it easy on yourself... and success will be... being able to get your protiens in, planning and ingesting puree'd foods, managing the gas that travels throughout your body, overcoming the psychological battel between food and being able to actually eat it as you once did. Further Success will be getting enuff water to prevent dehydration and passing out unexpectedly, hoping that your vitamin intake is sufficient enuff to keep all of your hair from breaking out, managing to eat the RIGHT amount of food without BOTTOMING OUT and thinking you are having a heart attack... and most importantly... being able to have regular bowel movements given your new eating habits.

Don't get too distracted by weight... you should want your overall health to improve!
I wish you much success.
Pfynss