How to Lose 100 Pounds & How Long Does It Take?

If your goal is to lose 100 pounds or more, it usually means that your weight is high enough to put you into the obese or morbidly obese category.

When it’s the case, you’re at an increased risk for a whole range of health issues including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, some cancers, etc.

Here’s the good news.

Losing those extra pounds can help cut the risk. It’s also going to make you feel better overall. That said, trying to lose that colossal amount of weight can be a testing process. It won’t happen overnight, for sure.

But rest assured that with the proper mindset, adequate exercise, and the right diet program, you can do it.

Taking it one step at a time and making a few minor changes to your exercise, nutrition and lifestyle makes weight loss much more achievable and manageable.

But first things first, how quickly can you lose 100 lbs? Let me explain

How Long Does it take to Lose 100 Pounds?

I hope I’d the exact answer. I hate to break it to you but the process of weight loss is a little bit complicated. It’s also non-linear, meaning that losing 10 pounds last month won’t guarantee that you’ll lose the same amount this month as well. This is one reason so many people get frustrated with weight loss plans.

But over all, with the right diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices, you can realistically set a goal of losing a 100 pounds within a period of 12 to 18 months. That amounts to to 1-2 pounds per week.

But, remember this is just an estimate from my own experience. I read stories about people who were able to lose a 100 pounds in six months, but I think it’s rare. So I’d recommend you keep your expectations realistic (more on this later).

How To Lose 100 Pounds?

Without further ado, here are my best guidelines and tips on how to lose 100 pounds  the safe way. I hope you find them useful.

1. Start with Realistic Goals

Your first step to losing 100 pounds starts with a realistic goal, especially when it comes to how long it’s going to take.

Losing that amount is a challenging goal and will require you to wholeheartedly commit to your plan for an extended period.

You didn’t put on 100 pounds overnight by eating more slice of pizza than you should. Instead, you gained it so slowly that you didn’t realize it’s happening until it was too late.

Therefore, you’re not going to lose it like some infomercial.

It won’t happen overnight, or in a week, or a month, even likely over a year. You’ll need to think long term and never lose sight of your main goal.

In general, a healthy weight loss rate is one to two pounds a week.

It might take one to two years to lose 100 pounds. If you’re lucky, you can reach this in 50 weeks.

Sure, one year is a long time to wait and see your weight goal coming true, yet it beats the alternative of staying fat and sad for life.

2. Start Exercising

Regular exercise, especially aerobic training, is great for burning calories and shedding the pounds. However, if you’re already too overweight, exercise—as in intense and hard training—can be too much on your body.

Shoot for at least 150 to 180 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. Some of the best cardio exercises include power walking, jog-walking, biking, swimming, or using the elliptical.

I’d recommend that you start your journey to losing 100 pounds with walking. You can begin walking or jog-walking for 20 to 30 minutes a day. Work it up to 45 minutes then increase it again. Just make sure it’s done in a very gradual and slow manner.

Most importantly, find an exercise program that you genuinely enjoy. That way you’ll be more likely to stay consistent to it over the long haul.

Experiment with various types of workout program. This will help you get a good idea of what type of training routines will most like to keep doing long term.

Additional resource – Running with diabetes

3. Write A Meal Plan

Getting on the 100-pound loss journey will require you to rethink your eating habits.

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You can never sustain a fad, restricting diet, so you gonna have to design your own healthy, weight-loss friendly, eating plan.

Once a week, preferably on a Sunday, sit down and plan out every one of your meals and snacks for the next seven days.

Start with seven days of meals. Plan out your breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and healthy drinks.

Once your plan is done, post it up where you can see it so every day you’re reminded that you have a plan.

As you get into the groove of healthy meal planning, your eating plan will get less complicated as you get to know what works the best for you.

I’d recommend that you find a few meals you like the most then stick to them. This will help you save a lot of time and headache.

Here’s a great resource on the right diet program.

4. Get Rid of Unhealthy Food

Declaring your home a junk-food free zone can be a complete game-changer for losing weight.

Why? Because it creates a healthy environment that supports your weight loss—instead of being a hindrance to it.

As I always like to say, out of sight, out of mind—and mouth. The more junk food you have laying around, the more likely you’ll give in to temptation.

Get rid of anything that’s unhealthy that includes chips, cookies, crackers, cupcakes, ice creams, and sweet beverages, such as fruit juice and soda. All these items have to go.

Instead, load up your pantries with fresh vegetables and fruits. Keep these at eye level. That way, you’re more likely to reach for something healthy.

5. Keep Track

You cannot improve on what cannot be measured. This is true whether you’re the CEO of 500-fortune company or simply trying to lose 100 pounds.

Keep a daily record of your weight, blood sugar levels, water intake, blood pressure, amount of sleep, mood, length and intensity of your exercise, and everything you put in your mouth.

Don’t take my word for it. Research shows that keeping track while trying to lose weight makes it more likely that you’ll achieve your goals and keep the extra pounds off long term.

This also should serve as a reference point to which you can look back and take stock of how much progress you’re making.

Additional resource – Here’s how to lose body fat.

6. Track Your Progress

Keep your eyes open on all signs of weight loss. The numbers on the scale are not scripture, and they shouldn’t be the only source of feedback you have.

As you stick to your program and lose weight, you’ll notice a major change in your body composition—you’ll see your body shape changes as well.

Use this feedback a way to push yourself and as a way to determine what works the best for so you can make the right changes. The more pounds you shed, the more motivated you’ll feel to keep going. That’s simply human nature.

Here the stats to keep track of:

• Keep track of how your clothes fit
• Keep track of how you feel from day to day.
• Measure the circumference of your thighs, waist, neck, and arms.
• Measure your body fat percentage

7. Get a Support System

Having the right support system around is a non-negotiable. It’s what’s going to help you keep going whenever you feel like quitting.

It will take a long time to reach your weight loss goal, and it may be along the journey, having the right support system to motivate and encourage you is supercritical.

Find positive people that can hold you accountable and be there for you when you need them for emotional support.

What’s more?

Look up in person or online support groups—there are plenty to go around—and join as many social media groups as possible. That way you’re more likely to meet people who are going through the same ups and downs, which will make you feel like you’re not alone.

8. Expect Plateaus

This is a hard pill to swallow for most.

You’re doing all you’re supposed to be doing—exercising, eating healthy, keeping track of everything–but the scale won’t bulge. This can be quite frustrating.

Here’s the truth.

Don’t worry if you hit a plateau. There will be points where your weight will fluctuate for what it seems like an eternity. Don’t let that deter you.

Plateaus happen to everyone. They’re a sign that you have to figure out what’s wrong with exercise and/or diet plan.

Don’t feel so defeated when—it’s just a matter of time—hit your first plateau. Instead, keep doing the good work. You’ll eventually change the way you’re working out or eating, and try different approaches, and eventually break through the plateau.

Stay focused, keep pushing through, and never give up. It’s only a failure when you give up.

Have faith in the infinite wisdom of the universe—or something like that.

How To lose 100 pounds – The Conclusion

There you have it! These diet, exercise, and lifestyle measures are some of the best things you can do right now to get on the path to lose 100 pounds or more in a relatively short—but very realistic and healthy—time frame. You just need to start today—and never deviate. The rest is just detail.

Please feel free to leave your comments and questions in the section below.

In the meantime thank you for reading my post.

Keep running strong.

David D.