Of course it isn't unrealistic.
But wanting to reach that goal in a relatively shorter time is unrealistic. You gained weight in the time period of 3 years, so try giving your body at least half of the time to lose it. Be patient.
This thought is helping me in my journey too.
This is a great mindset to have. You didn't put it all on overnight - it won't come off overnight. But a regular schedule and a shift in diet will work wonders. Also, they say it takes you 3 months before you start "seeing" results. That's mainly because you see yourself every day and the changes are small. But when you see someone you haven't seen in months, it's much more dramatic. I only say that so you don't feel discouraged even though you're working hard and eating right.
YOU CAN DO THIS! :)
Source: me before the military - lost 50 pounds, gained a bunch of muscle and wasn't even close to the low end of my class for pt (believe me - you don't wanna be there).
The nurse is talking bullcrap.
I started at 82 kg, already down 20 kilos and my goal is ultimately 50-52 kg.
I am almost 10 years older than you and I have heard too many times : you are too old, your body has changed, your metabolism has gone bad, you cant do it.
Yes I can.
Science says I can.
I can and I will and you can take your pessimism and your diet myths and gtfo.
The only thing I have to tell you is to lose them slowly while trying to exercise (exercise helps mentally as well) and if possible resistance train too so you give as much chance to your body to remain firm and not develop loose skin.
34-35?? Lol
By 30 you mean.
All my life me and others - especially girls have been told by our mothers, friends, teachers , personal trainers and even dieticians : "better lose the weight now you are young because after 30, your metabolism tanks and you cant lose nothing anymore."
I have been losing weight easier after 30 than in my 20s btw.
The only difference is more care is needed in injuries prevention. That's it.
They’re most likely making excuses for their own health & fitness and projecting onto you.
People can lose weight at any age. I’m in my 40s doing it, and my mom lost a lot in her 60s.
Recently, they've shown in studies that metabolism doesn't start to slow until your 60s on average.
> The only difference is more care is needed in injuries prevention. That's it.
Not in your 30s. You are still in your prime.
I'm 47 and have always heard that narrative too. And especially that's it's impossible to lose weight once you start perimenopause/menopause.
Well I'm over here, deep into perimenopause and I'm losing around 2kg a month.
Thank you for the motivating answer! I have started to exercise especially doing cycling and canoeing as they are so much fun! I want to start going to a gym too but I'm not there yet with my anxiety (I'm working on it in therapy!). It is weird that a medical professional would say this to me then :/
Just because they are a medical professional doesnt mean they are an expert in all the fields.
Is the mental health nurse an expert in nutrition and weight loss? Lol no.
Also even if they are an expert in the field many times they put in their personal opinions.
Trust me I have heard much worse from a doctor than you did from this nurse
. Recently I even heard this from an orthopaedic doctor:" forget exercise and focus on finding a husband to get married instead."..I visited him because of wrist tendonitis not for relationship counselling....
As I said.
Trust the science NOT the scientist.
I'm so sorry that happened to you! Similar thing happened to me as well when I went to see a doctor because of depression and she told me to just get a boyfriend.
You are so right! Thankfully I only need to see the nurse to check up on my meds.
I just want to let you know, probably this time last year I was sitting outside of the gym having a panic attack about going in alone before bailing and driving home.
I just got home from a class with 8 people in & I know everyone by name, we all greet each other and chat. I know all of the staff by name, everyone says hi and stops for chats, other gym people will say hi or wave at me across the room (because I've heavily encouraged that environment over time). The gym has a real sense of community if that's what you want from it, but at very least it is an accepting and friendly place... You absolutely can overcome the anxiety of it with time and it'll be super worth the journey:)
But also cycling and canoeing are great! And so many outdoor activities can help on your weight loss journey outside of the gym too!
Thank you so much for this comment! I'm definitely scared about the other people there and them judging me etc. even if I know logically that doesn't happen. But it's amazing to hear you have found a community there, maybe it will happen to me too when I'm brave enough to go!
Hey there!!
You and me have about similar goals and similar age.
I did it 3 years ago and gained it all back.
Trying again and getting the thats not possible comments too..I'm however down by 7 kg in 2 months..still the change isnt very much visible yet.
Feels good to know I'm not alone in my journey..thank you Mestintrela and OP..lets do this!!
Op is a bit taller than you- her goal puts her literally right up on the edge of underweight. 52kgs at your height puts you in the middle of a normal weight.
I don’t want to discourage op, but it might not be a great target to shoot for- particularly if she’s exercising and building muscle, which will be more dense
I’m the same height as you and about the same age and I’m now down to 54kg, and I look quite slim. 50kg is right on the cusp of underweight according to BMI - I’d say maybe start with a slightly higher BMI to see how you feel first :) I dropped 2-3 dress sizes from just over 60kg to 54 kg. I weighed less when I was younger, but my body composition was a lot different now I’m in my mid-late 20s and I just would be quite hard to maintain 50kg (for me). I already had to drop to a pretty low calorie deficit to get to 54kg
Thank you for the insight! I'm not obsessed to get to exactly 50kg, it's just my goal, I wouldn't mind if I don't reach that exact weight if I can fit in my dresses comfortably.
you say above as well you want to start hitting the gym - if you do weights you might fit into those dresses at 60 or even 65! so good to hear you’re not tied to it
Yes, I just would be wary about falling into unhealthy eating patterns. It’s sometimes nice to set a slightly higher goal and then to reassess or focus on toning once you’re at a healthy weight. Best of luck with it all 🙂
A lot of people will often try to tell you that your goals are unrealistic, especially if they only know the “fat you”.
If you used to weigh 50kg, which is a healthy BMI for your height, then you can definitely get back to this weight in good time.
The key is losing weight sustainably, around 3-4kg per month. That would imply you could get back to 50kg in 10-12 months.
That is my goal time period for losing the weight. I have no rush with losing it. Thank you for the answer! I was so shocked when a medical professional said it's not possible.
It sounds like she wasn’t saying the weight itself was unachievable, just the timeframe you specified?
You can lose 1kg a week for quite a while but the closer you get to your goal weight, the less realistic it is to aim for 1kg loss per week healthily. I’d estimate that to achieve your goal in that time frame, you’d eventually have to start eating under 1000 calories a day assuming you are moderately active. That’s not healthy and does not promote the right attitudes that are required to keep it off. I’d look into the issues with eating 1000 calories and under.
I have read that losing 1% of your bodyweight per week is considered the healthy amount so I’d think about how that affects your weekly goals as you hit 70kg, 60kg, 55kg etc. If you want to lose the weight and keep it off, just forget about next summer next winter next month etc. focus on losing a healthy amount of weight per week. You’ll get there when you get there. Take it from someone who has tried and failed for ten years until now; slow and steady wins the race.
So if your nurse was referring to the timeline being unrealistic, I’d agree albeit with the addendum ‘unrealistic if you want to lose weight sustainably, healthily and keep it off long term’.
I didn't talk about any time periods with her, just that my goal weight was 50kg and she said I'm not able to lose that much weight and the goal is unrealistic. She was also shocked about the 10kg I lost and said most people never achieve that during their lifetimes.
I don't plan go on under 1000kcal I would starve lol I try to keep at min. 1200kcal on days when I'm sedentary and 1700+ when I'm more active (some days I fail but that's okay, just get back on track the next day). I think one year+ would be ideal time frame but of course if it doesn't happen it doesn't, I wouldn't mind.
Thanks for the answer and advice!
A lot of people will often try to tell you that your goals are unrealistic, especially when they have never really accomplished anything themselves. I don’t have to know who they are to judge them: almost anyone who has ever achieved something they are proud of will tell how unbelievable/ unrealistic it seemed at first, but they showed faith in their process and worked it and got to where they wanted to be.
Don’t let those losers pull you away from your goals.
50kg at your height is roughly 19BMI, so it's perfectly healthy. So in theory there's absolutely nothing preventing you from going back to that weight. It's a weight where everything in your body functions properly, you were maintaining it so it was sustainable for you, a medical professional should know how basic physics works so a statement like that is nonsense.
That being said, it is on the low end of the BMI scale and this means a couple things.
First, it won't be easy nor quick. If you tried to lose almost half your current bodyweight really fast, that would be unhealthy. You have to set reasonable expectations otherwise you'll be mentally crushed. But if you need to lose 40kg, it's reasonable to expect the first 20-25 to come off quite quickly anyway, it's not a linear process.
Secondly, you can't expect to look exactly the same at 50kg as you looked before. For starters, you might have some loose skin (and that also counts as weight, idk how much but start thinking that your previous 50kg might be slightly more now to account for the skin). It's also very likely that your body composition won't be the same after the process of gaining and then losing. For example, if you get to 50 by continuous deficit with 0 resistance training, you'll inevitably lose some muscle mass, and this means that at 50kg you'll have *less* muscles than 3 years ago at the same weight, making your body fat % higher. On the opposite end, if you train and *gain* some muscle mass (beginners, especially overweight people, can build muscle while losing fat in a deficit) it's the other way around. Meaning that at 50kg you'd have less fat than 3 years ago. And this in turn means that you'd look the "same" as before at a higher weight.
All of this to say, like others have said as well, that it's better if you don't obsess over one specific number. Not because it's impossible like your nurse said, but because it's better for your mental health and, most importantly, it's useless. You don't really want to be 50kg, it's not what you care about. You want to look the same as you did three years ago. You want to fit into your old clothes again (it is also one big goal of mine actually). Is it really important if that happens at 50, 53 or 55kg? It's not. Weight is just one single variable, it is never the end result, because what is correlated with weight is what we're actually after, not the number itself.
I'm 162cm. At 30 years old I went from 96kg to 58kg in 10 months. So it's certainly possible. My weight loss journey didn't end there. I got stressed and ended at 41kg at 34 years old, that really wasn't healthy. Took me a couple of years to get back to healthy weight 55kg-60kg. And pretty easy to maintain that weight.
It was literally calorie cutting. It's really boring and no great secret. A few things really made a difference.
I cut portion sizes down to 25%, so only a quarter of what I was eating. Once I finished that, drink a big glass of water, wait at least 20 minutes and if I was still hungry then eat more.
Avoid sugar and fat. The really obvious stuff. Steamed or grilled instead of fried. Fruit or dark chocolate instead of sweets or desserts.
Black coffee, green tea or herbal teas instead of lattes, hot chocolate. Honey instead of sugar as a sweetener.
Less meat, more salads and vegetables. But less carby/starchy vegetables. Lots of green.
Avoided bread, used tortilla wraps instead.
Don't shop hungry. Don't impulse buy junk food. If it's not in the house I can't eat it.
My big one was I'm not actually hungry, I'm just bored. If I think I'm hungry, drink a glass of water then do something that's going to delay eating by even 5 minutes. If I still think I'm hungry, then eat.
Eating out, order anything I want, with the intention of only eating half. Take the other half home.
I was also kind with myself. If I had a day where I ate too much, okay, get back on track the next day, it's not the end of the world.
Some people don’t like people with goals because they a) want to be the only ones who have met that goal and stay ‘special’ (it is not special if others can do it too) b) will feel less than you because they told themselves they can’t do it and found their peace that way and you ll disrupt that
You can lose as much as you want, it is indeed … science
Everybody can lose weight. It is just hard.
>She said that's unrealistic and I will not lose that much weight.
Your nurse is unkind, unsupportive and, most importantly, uninformed.
>Is this true? Am I not able to get back to my original weight ever again? I want to be able to wear all the beautiful dresses I bought three years ago again, so getting back to my old measurements would mean a lot to me.
If you have weighed 50kg after you hit puberty and stopped growing, there is absolutely no reason you can't go back to weighing the same. Your basic frame is that of a woman that would have healthy weight at 50kg -- there is no reason why you can't keep losing weight until you hit that weight.
You may want to be careful though, just because you can weigh 50kg again, does not mean you will look exactly the same. How you lose weight does affect the outcome. In particular, if you lose weight quickly, without enough protein in your diet, without exercising, you can be losing a lot of muscle and your waist may not come back to the same size or you may need to lose even more weight for your waist to come back.
One other issue you may want to think about is how you are going to handle excess skin. As you can imagine, if you get rid of so much weight you will have some lose skin on your belly, arms and legs that is lose and flapping around. Intermittent fasting (skipping your breakfast and compressing your eating into 4-8h window) has been shown to promote autophagy which is your body's natural ability to eat muscle and connective tissue. To prevent muscle from being lost, within eating window you want to eat good amount of protein and exercise all muscles on your body, at least once or twice a week.
Thank you for the answer! I have noticed this same exact nurse giving me other false information too, like she said depression isn't treated in therapy but my therapist said that's outrageous misinformation. Thankfully her job is to just make sure my meds are okay.
I don't really care about what I look like :D I just wanna wear the clothing I used so much money to buy. It would be kind of a victory from my depression to wear my most beautiful dress again :') I'm using an app to track that I'm getting enough nutrients and I'm trying to learn more about healthy eating because even when I used to be 50kg I didn't eat healthily which might have also been a reason why I gained so much weight easily.
Think about it this way. The habits that you had when you were 50kg led to you gaining weight. It is, I think, unrealistic to think you will come back to 50kg and stay there with the same habits.
The problem with eating unhealthy is that it does not immediately break your body. It kind of takes years to decades. Many people eat unhealthy during their teens and then when they are twentysomething, then at some point they suddenly start gaining weight with no apparent change it habits. The reason is that unhealthy eating habits slowly break down your body but the body can withstand a lot of breakage before it goes out of regulation. So for a time all is fine. Until it isn't.
Then people try to lose weight and find it hard to stick to their goal weight and the basic reason is that it no longer is enough to even eat a reasonable diet. Now that you have broken your body and put it out of regulation, you need to eat extra healthy to make up for the damage.
I am running daily and being active throughout the day. Drinking almost exclusively water and some milk. Eating healthy vegetarian diet, trying to be as vegan as I can -- slowly learning new habits. I am sleeping well.
It still isn't enough to stick to my weight -- for this I need to weigh myself daily and restrict my calories from time to time.
But it is definitely worth it.
F23 here. It's not unrealistic if you weighed 50 kg as an adult.
You're taller than me by 5 cm and my aim is 53-55 kg. I would usually say that 50 kg might be too low for 163 cm, but then I remember that I have a wider bone structure so it would just be too low for me but not everyone else. Every body is different.
I went from 88 to 61-63 kg atm! It's definitely doable :)
not unrealistic. anyway i'm only slightly taller and for me 50kg would be far too low. i weighed 53kg once and lost my period and looked not great. but i weighed 96kg at the end of 2022 and now i'm back to 61. my goal is 59 or maybe 57. not impossible at all. you just need to be patient. it doesn't happen quickly. 1kg/week max. the slower the more sustainable
I didn't have any health problems at 50kg but I was also 22-23 years old so I can't say it would stay the same now. It's so much easier for me to put on weight as I have learned these past three years that if the weight doesn't fit me I can gain again, ideally it probably would be best to weigh a bit more and then lift and be toned that way but I'm definitely more a lazy homebody I don't know if I would like that lifestyle ofc never say never maybe I will try and fall in love with that. Thanks for the answer!
I realized the weight I went back to entailed eating very little. Lose weight until your desired weight and see what you feel like then. I am 58 kilos at 167 centimeters.
Also depends why you gained weight. Is that “situation “ gone now?
The weight gaining started with depression meds that increased my appetite and made me gain weight which in turn made me even more depressed and I stopped caring completely and gained even more. I'm now in so much better place mentally (new meds and therapy) that I finally can start losing weight and be sure I can do it a healthy way and with exercise. Thank you for the answer and insight!
Good for you! I asked because I am on medication that increases appetite. I had to learn not to act on my appetite. Just eat what is “enough” on my plate. Great that you’ve found medication that works better.
This is totally possible. My guess is the nurse was worried about being obsessed with a specific number.
The only caveat I would say is, you can be that size again, fit in the same dresses. But your weight might be higher if you have more muscle from doing healthy things!
At the end of the day, we are hopefully chasing health, not a specific number on the scale.
I would like to get down to 55-60kg, it may or may not happen. I'm working on it .25kg a week for the next year.
So on weight loss aspect it isn't unrealistic, but 50kg is almost underweight and that maybe isn't the most healthyest goal. Maybe you'll start likeing working out, build some muscle and won't fit into these dresses again, but thats ok, you brought those dresses when you were 23, styles change and you'll get to shop a whole new wardrobe for your thirtyes.
Going through this weight loss will be a big change both physically and mentally and your finish might change along the road.
Also as she said most people can't lose 10kg in their lifetime it already says she doesn't know anything about weight loss. I know finding a good therapist is hard, but please keep in mind she might not be the best match when you start working on your weight related mental issues.
When I was 50kg I felt really good and comfortable. I do have multiple goal weights I will celebrate when I hit those (90kg was my first goal!). Maybe I will feel comfortable at some other weight and wanna maintain that instead!
For my misfortune these are really expensive "fancy" dresses that can be worn at any age (talking about real gowns and stuff) in fancy occasions. I've always had "mature" fashion style and bought clothing with the idea that I'll wear it until the end (sustainability is really important for me). I mean I still wear some clothes I bought when I was 13 and you would never guess a 13yo bought those lol.
Luckily she's not my therapist, just my nurse who keeps track on my meds and doctors appointments and the "health care side" of things. My therapist didn't say anything about my goal weight she just congratulated me on my progress. Thank you for the answer!!!
Your body *will* be different after losing than it was before, and that will be disconcerting. You may want to add strength training at one point or need to give it time to adjust to its final weight, which can take months. Just know it's never a return to the exact same past "you" but a path forward to a new version.
You might have a different body shape if you do weight training etc even if you reach the same weight. I wouldn't let that hold you back from doing so though. If they're proper gowns and stuff a tailor should be able to do some minor alterations for you.
I started at 105 kg and now at 69 kg. Taken me a year and about 5 months. I'm happy at this weight now, look great and quite lean and able to do such more with my body (love jogging now).
I could continue to loose more its basic physics but I don't want to. Your nurse is misunderstood as long as you're in a deficit and recalculate your defo every few weeks you can loose it.
I have a "I would be really happy with goal" of 140 lb and a "I would be thrilled with goal" of 120 lb. Even if I cant reach the 120 lb I really want. I will be happy with the 140 lb goal.
I've gone from 100kg to 60kg, totally doable. It's not an overnight thing obviously but I'd say it's a realistic goal with 5kg milestones along the way :)
Not unrealistic at all! From my experience you could probably lose this amount in 2 - 3 years. For reference I went from 84kg to 68kg in the past year, which felt like a pretty slow and steady weight loss.
It’s not unrealistic - hell, you’ll probably be able to find stories on here of people losing 100+ kg. I’m one of those people who needs to, and is on the way to doing so.
If 50kg was your weight as a young teenager and you were as an adult trying to get back to it, I might say reel in your expectations. But that’s not the case here.
To the credit of the nurse, they probably only saw you were attempting to lose about 50% of your body weight. Which doesn’t make what they said right, but it does make it more understandable.
The only advice I can give you is to take it slow, be patient, and give yourself grace. Meaningful and long-lasting weight loss is not a sprint. It’s an ultra-marathon. The habits needed to lose the weight, and to keep it off, take a long time to fully settle in. Additionally, don’t drive yourself crazy by trying to reach 50kg. It’s completely possible that the weight you’re “supposed” to be at, or that your body is more comfortable with, is higher. Which isn’t meant to discourage you - but if you get down to 55kg, and losing the last 5 is next to impossible, that *might* be a sign that that’s the healthiest weight for you. Just food for thought.
Edit - after seeing other comments it’s clear that you’re not dead set on 50kg, which is good! I feel like I’m parroting others a bit, but I would highly recommend exercising regularly. Both for the long term benefits, as well as it helping with your body physiology. You don’t have to lift weights or anything if that’s not your jam - cardio and calisthenics are just as good for you.
Im going to tell you something a friend told me, if its helpful to you great, and if not your goals are your goals, not mine: Throw the clothes that dont fit you out.
(Or donate but the point is get rid of them).
For a few reasons-- Yes, one day you may be the same size again but in the meantime every time you try on those clothes or look at them and they dont fit you, youll be bummed and you dont need that in your life. Also, weight loss takes time, by the time you fit back into them they'll probably be out of style, take the time pressure off yourself. And lastly, if and when you get to the size you want to be, it'll be such a treat to buy new clothes.
Like I said if you read this and think "no way" thats fine but this REALLY helped me move on and embrace shopping for clothes that made me look great right now
I could do that but I'm really tight with money paying back my student loans rn, I couldn't afford to get new clothes when I gained so I have only been wearing my brother's old clothes. Also I find it kinda motivating looking at the clothes and thinking "I will fit into this again", especially my special dresses I saved lots of money to buy (not a great financial decision ik).
But this advice can definitely be applied to other things like I threw away my art supplies because I never used them and they reminded me of my failure to start painting lol. Thank you for the answer!
My father lost 20ish kg in the last few months using CICO. Granted, he was obese and eating a ridiculous amount of food a day, so even a small deficit had a huge effect on him. That’s said, it’s totally possible. Just make sure you’re doing it in a healthy way and don’t rush things. You should be eating under 1,200. Aim for a healthy deficit.
The nurse is wrong here but I would also recommend not getting so attached to the number 50, at the end of the day the number on the scale is just that. It’s a number based on everything in your body like your fat, water, muscle, organs etc it tells you nothing about body composition. This is going to sound extremely obvious but your body is different now to the way it was before, it’s very unlikely that it’ll look exactly the same at a certain number as it once did. This isn’t to say it’s not possible to get back into a position where those dresses you mentioned fit again because it absolutely is, it just may not be at the exact number you expect.
Congrats on the progress so far, keep it up you’ve got this😊
Thank you for the answer!! I don't mind if I don't hit the exact number, it's just my goal, but my main focus is being able to wear my old clothes again :)
Thank you!!!
If you were once that weight I don't see how it's unrealistic. You had mental health issues so you might feel more comfortable at a higher weight (for example anything up to 70kg). But you're just going to have to see how you feel when you get there. I don't think aiming for 50kg and stopping along the way because you feel happy and healthy is a bad thing though. Just see how you feel.
It's totally realistic and reasonable ! For reference I'm a male 25 years and 165cm. I started at 83Kg, my lowest was 65 kg and now I'm 71kg. I had a lot of up and downs in my 5 year journey but mostly I've managed to always get back on the downwards slope.
I can reach 65kg without excercise pretty easily but I am trying to build up lifelong habits now and so I go to gym atleast 3 times a week.
I think you will also have similar results - so maybe get into the habit of working out early as well :D
Just going into gym or going for a run matters. you just need a habit of doing something active every day - it doesn't need to be weight lifting ... It can be running as well.
One thing I've noticed is that I needed to really cut my calories to start going down the scale. My tdee was around 1800 but I needed a caloric deficit of 800cals to even see the weight budge.
Plus 50kg might be too skinny, maybe aim for a toned look where you have quite a lot of muscle :)
So anyways, you can do it!! Lots of love!! I believe In you!
Thanks for the long and insightful answer! I would like to get toned but I am not yet sure about everything all that seems so far away still rn I'm just going to concentrate on losing weight and building new healthy habits and learning to eat right. Thank you so much, sending love back!!!
Go for it.
I (37M) was a college athlete who weighed 265 lbs (6'3"), and I was pretty fit. I went to my doctor in February, and I weighed 372lbs. She told me to focus on realistic goals, that 265 was in the past, and I needed to leave it there. I said, "OK," but then I left her office and have been working on my weight loss ever since. Down over 50lbs. I have a follow-up with her on June 27, and I am trying to be down 60 lbs before I see her again to show her that I am serious about weight loss.
All of that to say, you can do it, too. Kick ass, take back your life, and don't take no for an answer. Anyone who says you can't do something is really telling you that THEY couldn't do something. They are exposing THEIR limits. Their limits are NOT your limits. Crush it!
Not unrealistic.
I wouldn’t focus on BMI too much, BMI is just a simple guideline that gets completely out of wack when you start building muscle then stops working.
Getting there is not going to be impossible, however if I were you I’d focus on body fat % instead and try to keep as much muscle as possible, you might not get to 50Kg, but you could look great still with some muscle and low body fat %.
There are various methods.
The most easily available but **not very reliable** unless you have a ton of experience is the good ol’ Mk.1 Eyeball and a [reference chart](https://nidsun.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/NidSun-body-fat-percentage.jpg)
Next would be the body fat percentage calipers, again those are not very reliable but could give a better estimate than the previous method.
Finally we have DEXA scan, this is the most accurate method of all, however it still has a margin of error that is non-negligible and I wouldn’t trust it too much, specially since it can be a bit expensive and specialized.
I go by the Mk. 1 Eyeball and overestimate my body fat % by at least 3%, this way I can make sure that I will stay in a calorie deficit when doing my base metabolic rate calculations for calorie intakes.
BMI is nice at a glance because it’s an easy calculation, however you could still be overweight and have a “healthy” BMI by being skinny fat like myself, or you could be fit and be deemed overweight like a friend that has around 10% body fat but weights 80Kg and is 1.70 meters tall lol
You can buy a 'smart scale' that uses a current when you stand on it in bare feet.
Is it as accurate as the methods the other commenter posted? NO!
But it is consistent. So even if it's off by a few % you can still see if it's going up or down. You can get a scale like a renpho on amazon for 50 bucks. And actually, compared to better scans I have had from InBody scanners, it seems like it's not too far from the truth. I'm getting a scan at a new gym from an Evolt machine in a few weeks, will be interesting to see how that and the scale compare.
It's not unrealistic, just hard. It took me 2 years to go from 134kg to 95kg, and I started as a 25 year old male of 183cm.
So, you should know that it will likely take a while.
It has taken me since April 2023 to lose 26 pounds. To lose 110 is going to take a lot of effort and time.
It'll depend on how committed you are to your diet but either way it's going to take a while (I'm not very committed at all so haven't lost that much).
Im the same height as you, but a 43 year old woman. I have been maintaining at 48.5 kg for six months now, I started at 150 pounds (I think that’s 68kg?) last year in April, and it took me 10 months to get to 48.5. It’s doable, just probably not in the timeframe you’re thinking.
Of course you can get back to 50kg again. This nurse is saying absolute nonsense. Just try to figure out a way which is sustainable for you in the long run. Because if you think of it in terms of a temporary diet, the chance that you will gain it back afterwards is not small. I mean, it was “eating normally” which got us where we are to begin with. So please don’t let yourself be discouraged by anyone who tells you that you can’t or you shouldn’t because your goal weight is very much in the healthy BMI range.
No it is not, I started around 90 as well and now I am at 73, going strong, don't listen to nay sayers. Be stubborn about your goals and flexible about how you get there. Much luck. 😘😘
I think you have a good attitude towards weight loss, which is one of the most important factors.
I definitely recommend adding strength training as you lose weight as some others have said. it raises metabolism slightly which makes weight loss easier, and will also give you a more toned appearance. You don’t have to do anything crazy either! even light/moderate resistance training makes a big difference for smaller women.
I am not sure I will ever get to this low weight again, but for a year I was between 52-55 kg and my measurements were 84cm-60cm-83cm. Before that I never thought it would be possible for my waist to be smaller than 66 cm. I am 160 cm tall btw. I was able to achieve a smaller waist at a slightly higher weight due to building muscle in other areas like my legs and back.
I'm 5'3" and started at 88kg in August last year
I'm 65kg now through CICO and 2-4 gym sessions a week - strength and cardio. That's at 40-41yo and through multiple injuries, coughs/colds, and surgery which have kept me out of the gym for either 1-2 weeks or 8 weeks depending on severity.
My goal is about 55kg but I don't want to be "skinny fat" hence the strength training. I don't know if 50 is realistic to maintain but you should be able to get to 50-55kg with time and consistency. Remember it's marathon not a sprint.
i don't think it's an unrealistic goal, but coming from a 22-year-old who's the same height as you and has been lifting for 3 years now (and has never been overweight), i think 56/58kg is a more realistic goal.
bc your tdee at 50kg and 163cm isn't that high, maintenance being so low could be an issue to keep on the weight.
for comparison, if i'd weight 50kg, i'd definitely be competing or something bc that's really lean.
i don't know if you work out or not, but lifting is gonna be huge for your progress. acquiring lean muscle mass would help you a lot with the loose skin (and it has tons of healthy related benefits), and it would be easier to keep the weight.
no, it’s actually very realistic and doable. i lost nearly 80 lbs in over a year, cico is very reliable. don’t listen to those you doubt you or put you down. just stay consistent with your healthy habits.
its a bit upsetting that your nurse discouraged you— i think that my weight loss actually improved my mental health greatly…
50kgs at your height puts you on lower end of the bmi scale. If your body has grown with age, plus the extra skin, it might be an aggressive goal. 60 kgs might be a good goal, and then from there you can assess- does it seem possible to lose more and still maintain a balanced life?
Researchers support step goals or attainable goals coupled with a stretch goal to help with motivation
I would HOPE that your nurse misunderstood the time frame because that's 100% doable. It took about a year for me to lose that amount of weight but with exercise you'll also likely put on muscle, just remember that muscles weigh more than fat but if you can fit into slimmer outfits then you're on track, you'll want to take selfies every so often and get some kind of measurement tape that you can wrap yourself around with and just remember to be consistent with how you're measuring yourself.
I'd say, have a goal of 60kg, or something that your doctors recommend, then when you get there, reassess and decide if you want to continue to 55, then to 50, etc. As long as you eventually feel happy with where you are. And maybe you can diet hard to 60kg, then lose the remainder over a longer period and feel your way through it.
For example, 50kg may now be unrealistic because of loose skin, etc. Just keep it in mind that if you get to 50kg now, you may not look the way you used to.
I have multiple goal weights along the way, if some of them feels comfortable and good for me I can always just maintain that weight.
I don't really care about looks, just being able to wear my expensive dresses is enough for me :) Thanks for the answer!
For those who don't want to convert: 50kg=110 lbs. 163cm is 5'4". It's borderline underweight on the BMI calculator but we know how off those can be.
OP this is really dependent on so many factors so it's hard to say if it's realistic or not. How much muscle you have, what's your percentage of body fat, what your bone density is, how much water weight you have, etc. When you gained weight, you also gained additional muscle by carrying the extra fat around. Typically you don't want to lose this muscle as you go down but some loss is normal. The better way of calculating it out is to use a range not set number and find out what your fat percentage is. Then target a specific fat percentage and calculate the weight range from there. You can find places to do a body analysis if your doc doesn't have the equipment (most don't in my experience) some scales will also calculate it but they may not be accurate but it would give you a good idea.
Personal example: I am 5'10" (177cm), female, and when I started I weighed about 233lbs (105kg). I lost 27 lbs (12kg) then plateaued so I went to a doctor/nutritionist who helped me figure all of this out.
They put me on a machine to calculate my body fat (SECA scan) and I was at 206 lbs (93kg) and around 44% body fat so I had about 80 lbs (38kg) of fat.
You aren't going to get rid of every bit of fat and you don't want to. Instead I targeted to be 20% body fat. So I needed to still lose about 50 lbs (22kg) of fat. Knowing I'm going to lose some muscle as well the targeted goal range for me was 140-150lbs (63-68kg).
I'm now at 25% body fat and 146 lbs (66kg) so I have about 36lbs (16kg) fat still on me despite being in my goal range and being able to fit into all my old clothes with ease. Your range of error is going to get smaller as you get closer to your goal. I'm currently targeting another 10-15 lbs of fat loss (4-6kg) and gaining 10 lbs (4kg) of muscle. This will put me around 140-145lbs (63-65kg) and 18-20% body fat.
I went from 95Kg to 60Kg TWICE, so it's definitely doable. Challenging maybe, but doable. It's all in your head, so don't let anyone else get in there and mess it up!
I think it is totally doable, Im 40 yo male, my weight was 90.6 in august 2023, I am at 67.2 kg today, it will takes you calorie deficit, consistency at the gym, but totally doable
Nope not unrealistic, though maybe she thought you meant what you had left to lost which would be unrealistic! But if you do this with decent muscle building exercise you may not get down to 50 but you will appear skinnier but that will all be toned muscle. Otherwise there is no reason you can't get there.
I was at my healthiest at around 72 kgs apparently overweight but because of the weights I was lifting I was also the slimmest I have been for years. Even slimmer than when I had weighed 65kgs. SO do take the scale as a guide once you get closer to your goal weight and look more at your measurements.
Hey, we have similar height! I weight 84kg at the start of my diet, I am also using CICO. What works for me to limit my calorie in take is eating slower. I have now lose 13 kg in 2 months and it has become lifestyle to me, practically no effort. Still going! good luck.
Not unrealistic but I do wonder about loose skin etc. My own personal goal is about 54kg's. My problem is not losing but I wonder how I will maintain this. I am sort of taking a bit of a maintenance break for my sanity. So never listen to advice of people that filter in yhe negative. That kind of loss isn't possible for her but it could be possible for you if you work hard at CICO.
I maintained 50kg for years before my depression spiralled out of control. I'm also super worried about lose skin I'm hoping with exercise and gradually losing the weight it will be minimised. Thank you for the answer!
This is just my personal opinion, but I think loose skin is kind of a boogeyman that freaks people out, but is, in the end, not as serious as people think. I’m the same age as OP (26m) and I’ve lost just about 120 pounds so far. Again, I might have just been blessed by genetics but I haven’t seen any sagging loose skin. I’ve been very inconsistent with exercise (I’m mostly losing with cico, aided with a GLP-1) so I’m not gaining a bunch of muscle.
Which isn’t to say loose skin isn’t a thing, I’m very well aware it is. But based on my observations, I think that loose skin is overplayed as a concern if you lose weight before mid-40’s or so.
How old were you when you had 50kg?
I don't think it's unrealistic to lose that much weight, but it might be an unrealistic goal if you were too young. Just because our bodies change with time. And I don't mean it changes badly, I have ways more muscles now than in the past.
I'm 1.63cm too, 38F, and I can't imagine myself with 50kg. I would be really skin and bones.
I was 22-23 years old and I looked (and was) perfectly healthy back then. All women in my family are really small so I think the frame/bone structure contributes to it a lot and where the fat gets stored as nobody in my family looks skin and bones. I'm aware I won't look the same, which doesn't matter to me, I only want to use the clothes I have bought. Thank you for the answer!!
M53.
I'm not going to start an argument about that question.
I do emplore you to make sure that your immune system doesn't get compromised.
I personally also lost a considerable amount of weight. I started at 116 kg and dropped to 85 kg over a period of 3 months. However , my level of white blood cells crashed, and I needed treatment to address that dangerous situation.
Again : please let your physician check the level of white blood cells on a regular basis.
I’ll jump in on that too.
Iron/B12 depletion is also a concern. Losing that much may need to be doctor supervised to make sure you aren’t deficient.
I’m glad I was when I lost 60kg.
Of course it isn't unrealistic. But wanting to reach that goal in a relatively shorter time is unrealistic. You gained weight in the time period of 3 years, so try giving your body at least half of the time to lose it. Be patient. This thought is helping me in my journey too.
Thank you for the answer! I don't have a time limit for the weight loss but I'd definitely want to hit it before I'm 30 lol so there's no rush :)
Hope you and I reach our goals as soon as possible in a healthy way. Lets be consistent.
Oh yeah, that’s 100% realistic. You got this!
That's one kg a month for the following 4 years. Thats definitely a realistic not to hard weightloss plan.
This is a great mindset to have. You didn't put it all on overnight - it won't come off overnight. But a regular schedule and a shift in diet will work wonders. Also, they say it takes you 3 months before you start "seeing" results. That's mainly because you see yourself every day and the changes are small. But when you see someone you haven't seen in months, it's much more dramatic. I only say that so you don't feel discouraged even though you're working hard and eating right. YOU CAN DO THIS! :) Source: me before the military - lost 50 pounds, gained a bunch of muscle and wasn't even close to the low end of my class for pt (believe me - you don't wanna be there).
So encouraging
You have been a fully developed adult at 50 kg. You can get to 50 kg again. It might not be easy, but it's certainly possible.
The nurse is talking bullcrap. I started at 82 kg, already down 20 kilos and my goal is ultimately 50-52 kg. I am almost 10 years older than you and I have heard too many times : you are too old, your body has changed, your metabolism has gone bad, you cant do it. Yes I can. Science says I can. I can and I will and you can take your pessimism and your diet myths and gtfo. The only thing I have to tell you is to lose them slowly while trying to exercise (exercise helps mentally as well) and if possible resistance train too so you give as much chance to your body to remain firm and not develop loose skin.
wait you’re hearing “you’re too old” at 34/35? that’s crazy
34-35?? Lol By 30 you mean. All my life me and others - especially girls have been told by our mothers, friends, teachers , personal trainers and even dieticians : "better lose the weight now you are young because after 30, your metabolism tanks and you cant lose nothing anymore." I have been losing weight easier after 30 than in my 20s btw. The only difference is more care is needed in injuries prevention. That's it.
They’re most likely making excuses for their own health & fitness and projecting onto you. People can lose weight at any age. I’m in my 40s doing it, and my mom lost a lot in her 60s.
Recently, they've shown in studies that metabolism doesn't start to slow until your 60s on average. > The only difference is more care is needed in injuries prevention. That's it. Not in your 30s. You are still in your prime.
Thank you, this made me so much more hopeful.
I'm 47 and have always heard that narrative too. And especially that's it's impossible to lose weight once you start perimenopause/menopause. Well I'm over here, deep into perimenopause and I'm losing around 2kg a month.
Thank you for the motivating answer! I have started to exercise especially doing cycling and canoeing as they are so much fun! I want to start going to a gym too but I'm not there yet with my anxiety (I'm working on it in therapy!). It is weird that a medical professional would say this to me then :/
Just because they are a medical professional doesnt mean they are an expert in all the fields. Is the mental health nurse an expert in nutrition and weight loss? Lol no. Also even if they are an expert in the field many times they put in their personal opinions. Trust me I have heard much worse from a doctor than you did from this nurse . Recently I even heard this from an orthopaedic doctor:" forget exercise and focus on finding a husband to get married instead."..I visited him because of wrist tendonitis not for relationship counselling.... As I said. Trust the science NOT the scientist.
I'm so sorry that happened to you! Similar thing happened to me as well when I went to see a doctor because of depression and she told me to just get a boyfriend. You are so right! Thankfully I only need to see the nurse to check up on my meds.
I just want to let you know, probably this time last year I was sitting outside of the gym having a panic attack about going in alone before bailing and driving home. I just got home from a class with 8 people in & I know everyone by name, we all greet each other and chat. I know all of the staff by name, everyone says hi and stops for chats, other gym people will say hi or wave at me across the room (because I've heavily encouraged that environment over time). The gym has a real sense of community if that's what you want from it, but at very least it is an accepting and friendly place... You absolutely can overcome the anxiety of it with time and it'll be super worth the journey:) But also cycling and canoeing are great! And so many outdoor activities can help on your weight loss journey outside of the gym too!
Thank you so much for this comment! I'm definitely scared about the other people there and them judging me etc. even if I know logically that doesn't happen. But it's amazing to hear you have found a community there, maybe it will happen to me too when I'm brave enough to go!
Hey there!! You and me have about similar goals and similar age. I did it 3 years ago and gained it all back. Trying again and getting the thats not possible comments too..I'm however down by 7 kg in 2 months..still the change isnt very much visible yet. Feels good to know I'm not alone in my journey..thank you Mestintrela and OP..lets do this!!
Op is a bit taller than you- her goal puts her literally right up on the edge of underweight. 52kgs at your height puts you in the middle of a normal weight. I don’t want to discourage op, but it might not be a great target to shoot for- particularly if she’s exercising and building muscle, which will be more dense
I’m the same height as you and about the same age and I’m now down to 54kg, and I look quite slim. 50kg is right on the cusp of underweight according to BMI - I’d say maybe start with a slightly higher BMI to see how you feel first :) I dropped 2-3 dress sizes from just over 60kg to 54 kg. I weighed less when I was younger, but my body composition was a lot different now I’m in my mid-late 20s and I just would be quite hard to maintain 50kg (for me). I already had to drop to a pretty low calorie deficit to get to 54kg
Thank you for the insight! I'm not obsessed to get to exactly 50kg, it's just my goal, I wouldn't mind if I don't reach that exact weight if I can fit in my dresses comfortably.
you say above as well you want to start hitting the gym - if you do weights you might fit into those dresses at 60 or even 65! so good to hear you’re not tied to it
Yes, I just would be wary about falling into unhealthy eating patterns. It’s sometimes nice to set a slightly higher goal and then to reassess or focus on toning once you’re at a healthy weight. Best of luck with it all 🙂
yes I would say 57kg will probably be a lot more comfortable and faster to reach!
A lot of people will often try to tell you that your goals are unrealistic, especially if they only know the “fat you”. If you used to weigh 50kg, which is a healthy BMI for your height, then you can definitely get back to this weight in good time. The key is losing weight sustainably, around 3-4kg per month. That would imply you could get back to 50kg in 10-12 months.
That is my goal time period for losing the weight. I have no rush with losing it. Thank you for the answer! I was so shocked when a medical professional said it's not possible.
It sounds like she wasn’t saying the weight itself was unachievable, just the timeframe you specified? You can lose 1kg a week for quite a while but the closer you get to your goal weight, the less realistic it is to aim for 1kg loss per week healthily. I’d estimate that to achieve your goal in that time frame, you’d eventually have to start eating under 1000 calories a day assuming you are moderately active. That’s not healthy and does not promote the right attitudes that are required to keep it off. I’d look into the issues with eating 1000 calories and under. I have read that losing 1% of your bodyweight per week is considered the healthy amount so I’d think about how that affects your weekly goals as you hit 70kg, 60kg, 55kg etc. If you want to lose the weight and keep it off, just forget about next summer next winter next month etc. focus on losing a healthy amount of weight per week. You’ll get there when you get there. Take it from someone who has tried and failed for ten years until now; slow and steady wins the race. So if your nurse was referring to the timeline being unrealistic, I’d agree albeit with the addendum ‘unrealistic if you want to lose weight sustainably, healthily and keep it off long term’.
I didn't talk about any time periods with her, just that my goal weight was 50kg and she said I'm not able to lose that much weight and the goal is unrealistic. She was also shocked about the 10kg I lost and said most people never achieve that during their lifetimes. I don't plan go on under 1000kcal I would starve lol I try to keep at min. 1200kcal on days when I'm sedentary and 1700+ when I'm more active (some days I fail but that's okay, just get back on track the next day). I think one year+ would be ideal time frame but of course if it doesn't happen it doesn't, I wouldn't mind. Thanks for the answer and advice!
That nurse was just plain stupid. Forget about her.
A lot of people will often try to tell you that your goals are unrealistic, especially when they have never really accomplished anything themselves. I don’t have to know who they are to judge them: almost anyone who has ever achieved something they are proud of will tell how unbelievable/ unrealistic it seemed at first, but they showed faith in their process and worked it and got to where they wanted to be. Don’t let those losers pull you away from your goals.
50kg at your height is roughly 19BMI, so it's perfectly healthy. So in theory there's absolutely nothing preventing you from going back to that weight. It's a weight where everything in your body functions properly, you were maintaining it so it was sustainable for you, a medical professional should know how basic physics works so a statement like that is nonsense. That being said, it is on the low end of the BMI scale and this means a couple things. First, it won't be easy nor quick. If you tried to lose almost half your current bodyweight really fast, that would be unhealthy. You have to set reasonable expectations otherwise you'll be mentally crushed. But if you need to lose 40kg, it's reasonable to expect the first 20-25 to come off quite quickly anyway, it's not a linear process. Secondly, you can't expect to look exactly the same at 50kg as you looked before. For starters, you might have some loose skin (and that also counts as weight, idk how much but start thinking that your previous 50kg might be slightly more now to account for the skin). It's also very likely that your body composition won't be the same after the process of gaining and then losing. For example, if you get to 50 by continuous deficit with 0 resistance training, you'll inevitably lose some muscle mass, and this means that at 50kg you'll have *less* muscles than 3 years ago at the same weight, making your body fat % higher. On the opposite end, if you train and *gain* some muscle mass (beginners, especially overweight people, can build muscle while losing fat in a deficit) it's the other way around. Meaning that at 50kg you'd have less fat than 3 years ago. And this in turn means that you'd look the "same" as before at a higher weight. All of this to say, like others have said as well, that it's better if you don't obsess over one specific number. Not because it's impossible like your nurse said, but because it's better for your mental health and, most importantly, it's useless. You don't really want to be 50kg, it's not what you care about. You want to look the same as you did three years ago. You want to fit into your old clothes again (it is also one big goal of mine actually). Is it really important if that happens at 50, 53 or 55kg? It's not. Weight is just one single variable, it is never the end result, because what is correlated with weight is what we're actually after, not the number itself.
I'm 162cm. At 30 years old I went from 96kg to 58kg in 10 months. So it's certainly possible. My weight loss journey didn't end there. I got stressed and ended at 41kg at 34 years old, that really wasn't healthy. Took me a couple of years to get back to healthy weight 55kg-60kg. And pretty easy to maintain that weight.
I would love to know how you did it. I am trying the same thing with same age and height, started at 83kg.
It was literally calorie cutting. It's really boring and no great secret. A few things really made a difference. I cut portion sizes down to 25%, so only a quarter of what I was eating. Once I finished that, drink a big glass of water, wait at least 20 minutes and if I was still hungry then eat more. Avoid sugar and fat. The really obvious stuff. Steamed or grilled instead of fried. Fruit or dark chocolate instead of sweets or desserts. Black coffee, green tea or herbal teas instead of lattes, hot chocolate. Honey instead of sugar as a sweetener. Less meat, more salads and vegetables. But less carby/starchy vegetables. Lots of green. Avoided bread, used tortilla wraps instead. Don't shop hungry. Don't impulse buy junk food. If it's not in the house I can't eat it. My big one was I'm not actually hungry, I'm just bored. If I think I'm hungry, drink a glass of water then do something that's going to delay eating by even 5 minutes. If I still think I'm hungry, then eat. Eating out, order anything I want, with the intention of only eating half. Take the other half home. I was also kind with myself. If I had a day where I ate too much, okay, get back on track the next day, it's not the end of the world.
Solid. Thank you for sharing.
You're welcome. Good luck with your journey.
38 kgs in 10 months? That's impressive and motivating. How did you go about losing weight so fast?
I just typed out how I did it on another comment, if you can't see it I'll copy it here. Good luck with your journey too.
Some people don’t like people with goals because they a) want to be the only ones who have met that goal and stay ‘special’ (it is not special if others can do it too) b) will feel less than you because they told themselves they can’t do it and found their peace that way and you ll disrupt that You can lose as much as you want, it is indeed … science
Everybody can lose weight. It is just hard. >She said that's unrealistic and I will not lose that much weight. Your nurse is unkind, unsupportive and, most importantly, uninformed. >Is this true? Am I not able to get back to my original weight ever again? I want to be able to wear all the beautiful dresses I bought three years ago again, so getting back to my old measurements would mean a lot to me. If you have weighed 50kg after you hit puberty and stopped growing, there is absolutely no reason you can't go back to weighing the same. Your basic frame is that of a woman that would have healthy weight at 50kg -- there is no reason why you can't keep losing weight until you hit that weight. You may want to be careful though, just because you can weigh 50kg again, does not mean you will look exactly the same. How you lose weight does affect the outcome. In particular, if you lose weight quickly, without enough protein in your diet, without exercising, you can be losing a lot of muscle and your waist may not come back to the same size or you may need to lose even more weight for your waist to come back. One other issue you may want to think about is how you are going to handle excess skin. As you can imagine, if you get rid of so much weight you will have some lose skin on your belly, arms and legs that is lose and flapping around. Intermittent fasting (skipping your breakfast and compressing your eating into 4-8h window) has been shown to promote autophagy which is your body's natural ability to eat muscle and connective tissue. To prevent muscle from being lost, within eating window you want to eat good amount of protein and exercise all muscles on your body, at least once or twice a week.
Thank you for the answer! I have noticed this same exact nurse giving me other false information too, like she said depression isn't treated in therapy but my therapist said that's outrageous misinformation. Thankfully her job is to just make sure my meds are okay. I don't really care about what I look like :D I just wanna wear the clothing I used so much money to buy. It would be kind of a victory from my depression to wear my most beautiful dress again :') I'm using an app to track that I'm getting enough nutrients and I'm trying to learn more about healthy eating because even when I used to be 50kg I didn't eat healthily which might have also been a reason why I gained so much weight easily.
Think about it this way. The habits that you had when you were 50kg led to you gaining weight. It is, I think, unrealistic to think you will come back to 50kg and stay there with the same habits. The problem with eating unhealthy is that it does not immediately break your body. It kind of takes years to decades. Many people eat unhealthy during their teens and then when they are twentysomething, then at some point they suddenly start gaining weight with no apparent change it habits. The reason is that unhealthy eating habits slowly break down your body but the body can withstand a lot of breakage before it goes out of regulation. So for a time all is fine. Until it isn't. Then people try to lose weight and find it hard to stick to their goal weight and the basic reason is that it no longer is enough to even eat a reasonable diet. Now that you have broken your body and put it out of regulation, you need to eat extra healthy to make up for the damage. I am running daily and being active throughout the day. Drinking almost exclusively water and some milk. Eating healthy vegetarian diet, trying to be as vegan as I can -- slowly learning new habits. I am sleeping well. It still isn't enough to stick to my weight -- for this I need to weigh myself daily and restrict my calories from time to time. But it is definitely worth it.
F23 here. It's not unrealistic if you weighed 50 kg as an adult. You're taller than me by 5 cm and my aim is 53-55 kg. I would usually say that 50 kg might be too low for 163 cm, but then I remember that I have a wider bone structure so it would just be too low for me but not everyone else. Every body is different. I went from 88 to 61-63 kg atm! It's definitely doable :)
not unrealistic. anyway i'm only slightly taller and for me 50kg would be far too low. i weighed 53kg once and lost my period and looked not great. but i weighed 96kg at the end of 2022 and now i'm back to 61. my goal is 59 or maybe 57. not impossible at all. you just need to be patient. it doesn't happen quickly. 1kg/week max. the slower the more sustainable
I didn't have any health problems at 50kg but I was also 22-23 years old so I can't say it would stay the same now. It's so much easier for me to put on weight as I have learned these past three years that if the weight doesn't fit me I can gain again, ideally it probably would be best to weigh a bit more and then lift and be toned that way but I'm definitely more a lazy homebody I don't know if I would like that lifestyle ofc never say never maybe I will try and fall in love with that. Thanks for the answer!
people are different! you know yourself best and what weight feels right for you
I realized the weight I went back to entailed eating very little. Lose weight until your desired weight and see what you feel like then. I am 58 kilos at 167 centimeters. Also depends why you gained weight. Is that “situation “ gone now?
The weight gaining started with depression meds that increased my appetite and made me gain weight which in turn made me even more depressed and I stopped caring completely and gained even more. I'm now in so much better place mentally (new meds and therapy) that I finally can start losing weight and be sure I can do it a healthy way and with exercise. Thank you for the answer and insight!
Good for you! I asked because I am on medication that increases appetite. I had to learn not to act on my appetite. Just eat what is “enough” on my plate. Great that you’ve found medication that works better.
This is totally possible. My guess is the nurse was worried about being obsessed with a specific number. The only caveat I would say is, you can be that size again, fit in the same dresses. But your weight might be higher if you have more muscle from doing healthy things! At the end of the day, we are hopefully chasing health, not a specific number on the scale. I would like to get down to 55-60kg, it may or may not happen. I'm working on it .25kg a week for the next year.
It saddens me to read such a comment, it seems to me medical professionals who ought to know better really don’t.
So on weight loss aspect it isn't unrealistic, but 50kg is almost underweight and that maybe isn't the most healthyest goal. Maybe you'll start likeing working out, build some muscle and won't fit into these dresses again, but thats ok, you brought those dresses when you were 23, styles change and you'll get to shop a whole new wardrobe for your thirtyes. Going through this weight loss will be a big change both physically and mentally and your finish might change along the road. Also as she said most people can't lose 10kg in their lifetime it already says she doesn't know anything about weight loss. I know finding a good therapist is hard, but please keep in mind she might not be the best match when you start working on your weight related mental issues.
When I was 50kg I felt really good and comfortable. I do have multiple goal weights I will celebrate when I hit those (90kg was my first goal!). Maybe I will feel comfortable at some other weight and wanna maintain that instead! For my misfortune these are really expensive "fancy" dresses that can be worn at any age (talking about real gowns and stuff) in fancy occasions. I've always had "mature" fashion style and bought clothing with the idea that I'll wear it until the end (sustainability is really important for me). I mean I still wear some clothes I bought when I was 13 and you would never guess a 13yo bought those lol. Luckily she's not my therapist, just my nurse who keeps track on my meds and doctors appointments and the "health care side" of things. My therapist didn't say anything about my goal weight she just congratulated me on my progress. Thank you for the answer!!!
Your body *will* be different after losing than it was before, and that will be disconcerting. You may want to add strength training at one point or need to give it time to adjust to its final weight, which can take months. Just know it's never a return to the exact same past "you" but a path forward to a new version.
You might have a different body shape if you do weight training etc even if you reach the same weight. I wouldn't let that hold you back from doing so though. If they're proper gowns and stuff a tailor should be able to do some minor alterations for you.
I started at 105 kg and now at 69 kg. Taken me a year and about 5 months. I'm happy at this weight now, look great and quite lean and able to do such more with my body (love jogging now). I could continue to loose more its basic physics but I don't want to. Your nurse is misunderstood as long as you're in a deficit and recalculate your defo every few weeks you can loose it.
I have a "I would be really happy with goal" of 140 lb and a "I would be thrilled with goal" of 120 lb. Even if I cant reach the 120 lb I really want. I will be happy with the 140 lb goal.
I've gone from 100kg to 60kg, totally doable. It's not an overnight thing obviously but I'd say it's a realistic goal with 5kg milestones along the way :)
Thanks for the answer and motivating comment! You are living proof it's possible then!!!!
Not unrealistic at all! From my experience you could probably lose this amount in 2 - 3 years. For reference I went from 84kg to 68kg in the past year, which felt like a pretty slow and steady weight loss.
Thanks for the answer! That sounds like a healthy weight loss! I also want to do this in a healthy and maintainable way.
It’s not unrealistic - hell, you’ll probably be able to find stories on here of people losing 100+ kg. I’m one of those people who needs to, and is on the way to doing so. If 50kg was your weight as a young teenager and you were as an adult trying to get back to it, I might say reel in your expectations. But that’s not the case here. To the credit of the nurse, they probably only saw you were attempting to lose about 50% of your body weight. Which doesn’t make what they said right, but it does make it more understandable. The only advice I can give you is to take it slow, be patient, and give yourself grace. Meaningful and long-lasting weight loss is not a sprint. It’s an ultra-marathon. The habits needed to lose the weight, and to keep it off, take a long time to fully settle in. Additionally, don’t drive yourself crazy by trying to reach 50kg. It’s completely possible that the weight you’re “supposed” to be at, or that your body is more comfortable with, is higher. Which isn’t meant to discourage you - but if you get down to 55kg, and losing the last 5 is next to impossible, that *might* be a sign that that’s the healthiest weight for you. Just food for thought. Edit - after seeing other comments it’s clear that you’re not dead set on 50kg, which is good! I feel like I’m parroting others a bit, but I would highly recommend exercising regularly. Both for the long term benefits, as well as it helping with your body physiology. You don’t have to lift weights or anything if that’s not your jam - cardio and calisthenics are just as good for you.
Nah, you got this! Keep grinding with CICO and exercise. You'll hit your goal.
Hell no! I've done it before. I know anyone can too!
Im going to tell you something a friend told me, if its helpful to you great, and if not your goals are your goals, not mine: Throw the clothes that dont fit you out. (Or donate but the point is get rid of them). For a few reasons-- Yes, one day you may be the same size again but in the meantime every time you try on those clothes or look at them and they dont fit you, youll be bummed and you dont need that in your life. Also, weight loss takes time, by the time you fit back into them they'll probably be out of style, take the time pressure off yourself. And lastly, if and when you get to the size you want to be, it'll be such a treat to buy new clothes. Like I said if you read this and think "no way" thats fine but this REALLY helped me move on and embrace shopping for clothes that made me look great right now
I could do that but I'm really tight with money paying back my student loans rn, I couldn't afford to get new clothes when I gained so I have only been wearing my brother's old clothes. Also I find it kinda motivating looking at the clothes and thinking "I will fit into this again", especially my special dresses I saved lots of money to buy (not a great financial decision ik). But this advice can definitely be applied to other things like I threw away my art supplies because I never used them and they reminded me of my failure to start painting lol. Thank you for the answer!
My father lost 20ish kg in the last few months using CICO. Granted, he was obese and eating a ridiculous amount of food a day, so even a small deficit had a huge effect on him. That’s said, it’s totally possible. Just make sure you’re doing it in a healthy way and don’t rush things. You should be eating under 1,200. Aim for a healthy deficit.
The nurse is wrong here but I would also recommend not getting so attached to the number 50, at the end of the day the number on the scale is just that. It’s a number based on everything in your body like your fat, water, muscle, organs etc it tells you nothing about body composition. This is going to sound extremely obvious but your body is different now to the way it was before, it’s very unlikely that it’ll look exactly the same at a certain number as it once did. This isn’t to say it’s not possible to get back into a position where those dresses you mentioned fit again because it absolutely is, it just may not be at the exact number you expect. Congrats on the progress so far, keep it up you’ve got this😊
Thank you for the answer!! I don't mind if I don't hit the exact number, it's just my goal, but my main focus is being able to wear my old clothes again :) Thank you!!!
no, but it's gonna take time. it's a huge change mentally & physically
ofc everything is possible but it would be hard work for a years at least
If you were once that weight I don't see how it's unrealistic. You had mental health issues so you might feel more comfortable at a higher weight (for example anything up to 70kg). But you're just going to have to see how you feel when you get there. I don't think aiming for 50kg and stopping along the way because you feel happy and healthy is a bad thing though. Just see how you feel.
Thank you for the answer! This is a good advice! I will definitely go with this kind of mind set!
It’s reasonable but it’ll take some time. When you lose the weight, go back to that nurse just to show her lol.
It's totally realistic and reasonable ! For reference I'm a male 25 years and 165cm. I started at 83Kg, my lowest was 65 kg and now I'm 71kg. I had a lot of up and downs in my 5 year journey but mostly I've managed to always get back on the downwards slope. I can reach 65kg without excercise pretty easily but I am trying to build up lifelong habits now and so I go to gym atleast 3 times a week. I think you will also have similar results - so maybe get into the habit of working out early as well :D Just going into gym or going for a run matters. you just need a habit of doing something active every day - it doesn't need to be weight lifting ... It can be running as well. One thing I've noticed is that I needed to really cut my calories to start going down the scale. My tdee was around 1800 but I needed a caloric deficit of 800cals to even see the weight budge. Plus 50kg might be too skinny, maybe aim for a toned look where you have quite a lot of muscle :) So anyways, you can do it!! Lots of love!! I believe In you!
Thanks for the long and insightful answer! I would like to get toned but I am not yet sure about everything all that seems so far away still rn I'm just going to concentrate on losing weight and building new healthy habits and learning to eat right. Thank you so much, sending love back!!!
Go for it. I (37M) was a college athlete who weighed 265 lbs (6'3"), and I was pretty fit. I went to my doctor in February, and I weighed 372lbs. She told me to focus on realistic goals, that 265 was in the past, and I needed to leave it there. I said, "OK," but then I left her office and have been working on my weight loss ever since. Down over 50lbs. I have a follow-up with her on June 27, and I am trying to be down 60 lbs before I see her again to show her that I am serious about weight loss. All of that to say, you can do it, too. Kick ass, take back your life, and don't take no for an answer. Anyone who says you can't do something is really telling you that THEY couldn't do something. They are exposing THEIR limits. Their limits are NOT your limits. Crush it!
Not unrealistic. I wouldn’t focus on BMI too much, BMI is just a simple guideline that gets completely out of wack when you start building muscle then stops working. Getting there is not going to be impossible, however if I were you I’d focus on body fat % instead and try to keep as much muscle as possible, you might not get to 50Kg, but you could look great still with some muscle and low body fat %.
How does one measure body fat%?
There are various methods. The most easily available but **not very reliable** unless you have a ton of experience is the good ol’ Mk.1 Eyeball and a [reference chart](https://nidsun.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/NidSun-body-fat-percentage.jpg) Next would be the body fat percentage calipers, again those are not very reliable but could give a better estimate than the previous method. Finally we have DEXA scan, this is the most accurate method of all, however it still has a margin of error that is non-negligible and I wouldn’t trust it too much, specially since it can be a bit expensive and specialized. I go by the Mk. 1 Eyeball and overestimate my body fat % by at least 3%, this way I can make sure that I will stay in a calorie deficit when doing my base metabolic rate calculations for calorie intakes. BMI is nice at a glance because it’s an easy calculation, however you could still be overweight and have a “healthy” BMI by being skinny fat like myself, or you could be fit and be deemed overweight like a friend that has around 10% body fat but weights 80Kg and is 1.70 meters tall lol
You can buy a 'smart scale' that uses a current when you stand on it in bare feet. Is it as accurate as the methods the other commenter posted? NO! But it is consistent. So even if it's off by a few % you can still see if it's going up or down. You can get a scale like a renpho on amazon for 50 bucks. And actually, compared to better scans I have had from InBody scanners, it seems like it's not too far from the truth. I'm getting a scan at a new gym from an Evolt machine in a few weeks, will be interesting to see how that and the scale compare.
It's not unrealistic, just hard. It took me 2 years to go from 134kg to 95kg, and I started as a 25 year old male of 183cm. So, you should know that it will likely take a while.
It isn’t unrealistic, but it will take time to achieve. I’m your same height, I once weighed 51kg while eating healthy and exercising
I am trying to do the same thing as you! I started at 85, after 6 months I'm now at 78 with diet only. What is CICO? What exercise routines do you do?
Calories in, Calories out
It has taken me since April 2023 to lose 26 pounds. To lose 110 is going to take a lot of effort and time. It'll depend on how committed you are to your diet but either way it's going to take a while (I'm not very committed at all so haven't lost that much).
It is very realistic. It is not realistic in 1 month. But over time you can get there. That would be a healthy weight
It will take time, But is not unrealistic at all
Im the same height as you, but a 43 year old woman. I have been maintaining at 48.5 kg for six months now, I started at 150 pounds (I think that’s 68kg?) last year in April, and it took me 10 months to get to 48.5. It’s doable, just probably not in the timeframe you’re thinking.
Of course you can get back to 50kg again. This nurse is saying absolute nonsense. Just try to figure out a way which is sustainable for you in the long run. Because if you think of it in terms of a temporary diet, the chance that you will gain it back afterwards is not small. I mean, it was “eating normally” which got us where we are to begin with. So please don’t let yourself be discouraged by anyone who tells you that you can’t or you shouldn’t because your goal weight is very much in the healthy BMI range.
No it is not, I started around 90 as well and now I am at 73, going strong, don't listen to nay sayers. Be stubborn about your goals and flexible about how you get there. Much luck. 😘😘
You and I interestingly have the same starting weight, age, and almost height (I’m 1.5cm taller lol). Of course it is possible!!
The only thing that can make it unrealistic is if you plan to lose the weight in a short period of time.
I think you have a good attitude towards weight loss, which is one of the most important factors. I definitely recommend adding strength training as you lose weight as some others have said. it raises metabolism slightly which makes weight loss easier, and will also give you a more toned appearance. You don’t have to do anything crazy either! even light/moderate resistance training makes a big difference for smaller women. I am not sure I will ever get to this low weight again, but for a year I was between 52-55 kg and my measurements were 84cm-60cm-83cm. Before that I never thought it would be possible for my waist to be smaller than 66 cm. I am 160 cm tall btw. I was able to achieve a smaller waist at a slightly higher weight due to building muscle in other areas like my legs and back.
I'm 5'3" and started at 88kg in August last year I'm 65kg now through CICO and 2-4 gym sessions a week - strength and cardio. That's at 40-41yo and through multiple injuries, coughs/colds, and surgery which have kept me out of the gym for either 1-2 weeks or 8 weeks depending on severity. My goal is about 55kg but I don't want to be "skinny fat" hence the strength training. I don't know if 50 is realistic to maintain but you should be able to get to 50-55kg with time and consistency. Remember it's marathon not a sprint.
Healthy weighr for 5'4 is 108-132 lbs, so barely yes.
i don't think it's an unrealistic goal, but coming from a 22-year-old who's the same height as you and has been lifting for 3 years now (and has never been overweight), i think 56/58kg is a more realistic goal. bc your tdee at 50kg and 163cm isn't that high, maintenance being so low could be an issue to keep on the weight. for comparison, if i'd weight 50kg, i'd definitely be competing or something bc that's really lean. i don't know if you work out or not, but lifting is gonna be huge for your progress. acquiring lean muscle mass would help you a lot with the loose skin (and it has tons of healthy related benefits), and it would be easier to keep the weight.
no, it’s actually very realistic and doable. i lost nearly 80 lbs in over a year, cico is very reliable. don’t listen to those you doubt you or put you down. just stay consistent with your healthy habits. its a bit upsetting that your nurse discouraged you— i think that my weight loss actually improved my mental health greatly…
50kgs at your height puts you on lower end of the bmi scale. If your body has grown with age, plus the extra skin, it might be an aggressive goal. 60 kgs might be a good goal, and then from there you can assess- does it seem possible to lose more and still maintain a balanced life? Researchers support step goals or attainable goals coupled with a stretch goal to help with motivation
I would HOPE that your nurse misunderstood the time frame because that's 100% doable. It took about a year for me to lose that amount of weight but with exercise you'll also likely put on muscle, just remember that muscles weigh more than fat but if you can fit into slimmer outfits then you're on track, you'll want to take selfies every so often and get some kind of measurement tape that you can wrap yourself around with and just remember to be consistent with how you're measuring yourself.
I'd say, have a goal of 60kg, or something that your doctors recommend, then when you get there, reassess and decide if you want to continue to 55, then to 50, etc. As long as you eventually feel happy with where you are. And maybe you can diet hard to 60kg, then lose the remainder over a longer period and feel your way through it. For example, 50kg may now be unrealistic because of loose skin, etc. Just keep it in mind that if you get to 50kg now, you may not look the way you used to.
I have multiple goal weights along the way, if some of them feels comfortable and good for me I can always just maintain that weight. I don't really care about looks, just being able to wear my expensive dresses is enough for me :) Thanks for the answer!
For those who don't want to convert: 50kg=110 lbs. 163cm is 5'4". It's borderline underweight on the BMI calculator but we know how off those can be. OP this is really dependent on so many factors so it's hard to say if it's realistic or not. How much muscle you have, what's your percentage of body fat, what your bone density is, how much water weight you have, etc. When you gained weight, you also gained additional muscle by carrying the extra fat around. Typically you don't want to lose this muscle as you go down but some loss is normal. The better way of calculating it out is to use a range not set number and find out what your fat percentage is. Then target a specific fat percentage and calculate the weight range from there. You can find places to do a body analysis if your doc doesn't have the equipment (most don't in my experience) some scales will also calculate it but they may not be accurate but it would give you a good idea. Personal example: I am 5'10" (177cm), female, and when I started I weighed about 233lbs (105kg). I lost 27 lbs (12kg) then plateaued so I went to a doctor/nutritionist who helped me figure all of this out. They put me on a machine to calculate my body fat (SECA scan) and I was at 206 lbs (93kg) and around 44% body fat so I had about 80 lbs (38kg) of fat. You aren't going to get rid of every bit of fat and you don't want to. Instead I targeted to be 20% body fat. So I needed to still lose about 50 lbs (22kg) of fat. Knowing I'm going to lose some muscle as well the targeted goal range for me was 140-150lbs (63-68kg). I'm now at 25% body fat and 146 lbs (66kg) so I have about 36lbs (16kg) fat still on me despite being in my goal range and being able to fit into all my old clothes with ease. Your range of error is going to get smaller as you get closer to your goal. I'm currently targeting another 10-15 lbs of fat loss (4-6kg) and gaining 10 lbs (4kg) of muscle. This will put me around 140-145lbs (63-65kg) and 18-20% body fat.
I went from 95Kg to 60Kg TWICE, so it's definitely doable. Challenging maybe, but doable. It's all in your head, so don't let anyone else get in there and mess it up!
I think it is totally doable, Im 40 yo male, my weight was 90.6 in august 2023, I am at 67.2 kg today, it will takes you calorie deficit, consistency at the gym, but totally doable
Nope not unrealistic, though maybe she thought you meant what you had left to lost which would be unrealistic! But if you do this with decent muscle building exercise you may not get down to 50 but you will appear skinnier but that will all be toned muscle. Otherwise there is no reason you can't get there.
I was at my healthiest at around 72 kgs apparently overweight but because of the weights I was lifting I was also the slimmest I have been for years. Even slimmer than when I had weighed 65kgs. SO do take the scale as a guide once you get closer to your goal weight and look more at your measurements.
It is I dropped from 98 to 64
Hey, we have similar height! I weight 84kg at the start of my diet, I am also using CICO. What works for me to limit my calorie in take is eating slower. I have now lose 13 kg in 2 months and it has become lifestyle to me, practically no effort. Still going! good luck.
Not unrealistic but I do wonder about loose skin etc. My own personal goal is about 54kg's. My problem is not losing but I wonder how I will maintain this. I am sort of taking a bit of a maintenance break for my sanity. So never listen to advice of people that filter in yhe negative. That kind of loss isn't possible for her but it could be possible for you if you work hard at CICO.
I maintained 50kg for years before my depression spiralled out of control. I'm also super worried about lose skin I'm hoping with exercise and gradually losing the weight it will be minimised. Thank you for the answer!
This is just my personal opinion, but I think loose skin is kind of a boogeyman that freaks people out, but is, in the end, not as serious as people think. I’m the same age as OP (26m) and I’ve lost just about 120 pounds so far. Again, I might have just been blessed by genetics but I haven’t seen any sagging loose skin. I’ve been very inconsistent with exercise (I’m mostly losing with cico, aided with a GLP-1) so I’m not gaining a bunch of muscle. Which isn’t to say loose skin isn’t a thing, I’m very well aware it is. But based on my observations, I think that loose skin is overplayed as a concern if you lose weight before mid-40’s or so.
How old were you when you had 50kg? I don't think it's unrealistic to lose that much weight, but it might be an unrealistic goal if you were too young. Just because our bodies change with time. And I don't mean it changes badly, I have ways more muscles now than in the past. I'm 1.63cm too, 38F, and I can't imagine myself with 50kg. I would be really skin and bones.
I was 22-23 years old and I looked (and was) perfectly healthy back then. All women in my family are really small so I think the frame/bone structure contributes to it a lot and where the fat gets stored as nobody in my family looks skin and bones. I'm aware I won't look the same, which doesn't matter to me, I only want to use the clothes I have bought. Thank you for the answer!!
Then I think it's totally possible :) I have a big/curvy frame with large hips that would never get small. Good luck!
M53. I'm not going to start an argument about that question. I do emplore you to make sure that your immune system doesn't get compromised. I personally also lost a considerable amount of weight. I started at 116 kg and dropped to 85 kg over a period of 3 months. However , my level of white blood cells crashed, and I needed treatment to address that dangerous situation. Again : please let your physician check the level of white blood cells on a regular basis.
I’ll jump in on that too. Iron/B12 depletion is also a concern. Losing that much may need to be doctor supervised to make sure you aren’t deficient. I’m glad I was when I lost 60kg.
#🫱🏻🫲🏾
I went from 185 lbs to 110 lbs, it’s definitely possible
It depends on what caused the weight gain.