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Answered in 4 episodes

How fast should I expect to lose weight?

Answered by Nikkiey Stott and her guests · Updated

The short answer

Nikkiey says sustainable fat loss might average 0.5 to 1 pound per week, and some weeks you'll see nothing because water retention, your period or stress can mask progress. Judge the trend over months, not days, and don't measure yourself against anyone else's timeline. Moving slower is how the women who keep it off got there.

Hear it from the show

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  1. Nikkiey on a realistic weekly pace and why the scale spikes before trending down

    Plays from 9:12 · Ep. 342: What Does Sustainable Fat Loss Look Like After 40?

  2. Real timelines from Karen, Megan G and others, and why yours will differ

    Plays from 25:15 · Ep. 163: How to Take Control of Your Fitness Results After 40

  3. Why not to expect even five pounds in two weeks, and what to expect instead

    Plays from 1:48 · Ep. 26: How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good

  4. Why years of habits won't reverse in two months, and the case for delayed gratification

    Plays from 23:28 · Ep. 7: Why Daily Habits Beat Quick Fixes for Fat Loss After 40

The full answer

On Ep. 342, Nikkiey describes what your weight actually does week to week. Over a single week it spikes up and down, and you can look like you're maintaining. Zoom out to six months and those same spikes sit on a downward trend. That gap is why so many women quit early: they read a normal bounce as proof that nothing works. She points out that the women who lose 20, 30, 40 or 50 pounds and keep it off moved slower than they wanted to, and accepted the long game.

There is no single correct timeline. On Ep. 163, Nikkiey shares that Karen lost 80 pounds in three years, Megan G lost 27 pounds in nine months, and one community member lost 80 pounds over 11 years. Her point is not to fixate on anyone else's number.

She is blunt about short windows. On Ep. 26 she says not to expect to lose 50 pounds, or even five, in your first two weeks, and that the fast way, like 10 pounds in four weeks, usually puts you back at square one to repeat it for years. On Ep. 7 she adds that if the weight came from years of habits, it won't reverse in two weeks or two months; a breakthrough might take five, six or eight months. Instead, set expectations around:

  • what better system you need to put in place
  • which bad habit needs to go
  • which new habit needs to form

On Ep. 342 she lays out the payoff: strength train three to four days a week, eat adequate protein, keep a small deficit, sleep, manage stress and don't quit every three to six weeks, and in 12 months your body composition will change. A slow scale isn't a sign you're failing. It's what a plan that lasts looks like.

From The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.

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