IN THIS POST

Weight gain isn’t something that happens overnight, it sneaks up on you.

5 lbs here.

10 lbs there.

You hardly notice it.

That is, until one day, when all the weight you’ve gained just smacks you across the face. 👋🏾

Maybe an old photo has you reminiscing on how skinny you used to be.

Maybe it’s not being able to fit into your favorite pair of jeans or running out of notches in your belt.

Or maybe you just happen to take a look in the mirror…

“Wow, when did things get like this?!”

You’re disappointed in yourself for allowing things to get so out of hand so now you’re determined to lose 50 lbs. 

How long is it going to take?

A month? 

Three months? 

Six months? 

A year?

I’ll answer that question as best I can in this post (There’s nuance to it). 

And we won’t just talk about how long, we’ll also talk about WHAT it takes to lose the weight you want.

I’ll walk you through everything you need to do from a diet, exercise, and lifestyle standpoint to not only lose 50 lbs but actually keep it off for good.

Make sure you stick around until the very end!

Sound like a plan?

Let’s get started then.

So, how long will it take you to lose 50 lbs?

I know you want to lose the 50 lbs FAST.

And my goal is to help you lose fat as rapidly as possible.

But you have to understand and accept this fact first…

You didn’t gain the 50+ lbs you want to lose in a month or two, so you can’t expect to lose the weight that quickly either.

It likely took years for you to put on the lbs you have.

Now, I’m not saying it’ll take that long to lose it but keep that in mind as you move forward.

In GENERAL, you can expect to lose somewhere between 0.5 and 2 lbs per week.

So, the math would say it should take you around 6 months-1 year.

That’s just a loose estimate,

Unfortunately, weight loss isn’t a mathematical equation.

Everyone’s different and won’t just fall within those parameters, which is why I said “in general” to start.

So many factors play into how fast you lose weight, such as your initial weight, how consistent you are about maintaining a calorie deficit, even your genetics.

There’s just no way I can give you a definitive, black and white answer for how long it’ll take YOU, as an individual, to lose 50 lbs.

I will say this; the bigger you are the quicker you’ll be able to lose weight.

And as you become smaller, the rate at which you lose weight will slow down.

If you’re sitting there right now thinking to yourself, “But this could take me suuuuch a long time,” think of it this way…

Time is going to pass regardless so you might as well make it time where you do what you know you need to to lose 50 lbs.  

I think it’ll go by quicker that way too, when you stop worrying about how long it’ll take and focus on implementing the daily habits that’ll help you reach your ultimate goal. 

Ready to talk about what it takes to achieve the weight loss results you want?

I have a simple 4-step process for you.

Step 1: Eat in a way that’s sustainable 

What you do to lose the weight is what you’re going to have to do to keep the weight off.

So if you can’t see yourself eating a certain way 5, 10, 15+ years from now, don’t eat that way for even a single day.

Can you truly envision yourself going without carbs for the rest of your life?

Or only drinking some detox tea for all of your meals? 😂

Be realistic about your diet.

You can still lose weight while enjoying all the foods you love, as long as you have balance with your nutrition.

To help you out with this, I’d recommend the 80/20 rule:

Get the majority of your calories (80%) from more “nutritious” foods like chicken breast, turkey breast, potatoes, fruits, veggies, etc.

And then sprinkle in some of your favorite “fun” foods with the remaining 20% of your calories like pizza, chips, burgers, and cookies.

Eating that way is infinitely more sustainable than cutting out entire food groups.

Or trying some detox that just won’t lead to results in the long run.

Something that can help you find that “happy medium” is counting calories.

It’s the one surefire way to know you’re consuming the amount of food you should be to lose weight.

If you’re saying to yourself,“But counting calories is too much work,” let me ask you this…

What’s more work?

Counting calories now so you can be on the path to long-term weight loss?

Or being stuck in the same position 6 months from now, frustrated at your lack of results and still desperate to lose 50 lbs?

Step 2: Walk more

Simply walking more is one of the most underrated fat loss hacks.  

There’s this thing called NEAT and it stands for non-exercise, activity thermogenesis.

It’s just a fancy way of saying all of the movement you get throughout the day outside of your workouts.

Whether it be doing yard work, walking around the grocery store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work, even fidgeting; it all falls under NEAT.

The thing about NEAT is it burns THREE TIMES as many calories as your actual weight lifting workouts (more on this in the next section).

So while some people rely on working out as the be-all-end-all form of exercise for weight loss, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

If you want to lose more weight and do so faster, start walking more.

Weight loss aside, walking is tremendously beneficial for your overall health.

Research shows walking significantly decreases your all-cause mortality risk.

And if you look around the world, people who live the longest all do one thing.

They get plenty of daily movement. 

Step 3: Strength train 3-4 times per week

Strength training builds muscle.

Muscle = more fat loss + a toned, more defined look.

Let’s get on the same page about what strength training truly is.

HIIT, Orange Theory, fitness boot camps are…

NOT strength training.

Strength training means being on a structured program where you’re gradually increasing the amount of weight you lift over time.

This is a concept known as progressive overload and it’s the only way you’ll build the muscle you need to. 

Lucky for you, I have many FREE workout plans to help you reach your weight loss goals.

I think you’ll really like these two:

16-Week Gym Workout Plan

12-Week Dumbbell Workout Plan

You can also find more workout plans and guides on my free resources page. 

Step 4: Track your progress

The 4th and final step is tracking your progress.

You need to know that what you’re doing is actually working!

I’d suggest the following 4 ways to track progress:

The scale

The scale is tricky. 

One day you could be down a pound and then the next day you’re up 3.

That’s just how weight loss works (It isn’t linear).

And these fluctuations can happen even when you’re doing everything right.

So while the scale is a useful tool (you want to look at the long-term trend, by the way), it shouldn’t be the ONLY tool you use.

Here are a few others I’d recommend you have in your progress tracking arsenal:

Tape measurements

I’d suggest taking tape measurements at least every two weeks in the following areas: 

• Waist (narrowest part of your torso, just above the belly button)
• Hip (this measurement should be where your glutes stick out the most aka your hip at their widest point).
• Thigh (measure your leg about 6 inches above your knee). You can measure one or both thighs but if you choose one, make sure you’re measuring the same one each time.
• Bicep
• Chest 

If one or more of your measurements are decreasing, you’re making progress (Inch loss = fat loss).

Progress pictures

Progress pictures are kind of like a scrapbook.

3, 6, 9 months from now you can look back on them and see how far you’ve come.

Take your progress pictures from the following angles:

• Front
• Side
• Back

FYI, you’ll get the best, most accurate results by keeping your lighting, clothing, and location consistent.

Workout performance

Are you getting stronger and able to lift more weight?

 Doing more push-ups or chin-ups?

Improvements in workout performance oftentimes coincide with fat loss.

When you’re lifting more weight, doing more reps, etc you’re building/retaining more muscle.

And as we talked about, the more muscle you have the greater your fat loss results.

So if you aren’t keeping track of your workouts, start now!