losing 20lbs by May, doable?

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dimasj
dimasj Posts: 164 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I posted this in the "introduce yourself" forum by mistake and think it should have been here so reposting:

I am 5'6" and approx. 175lbs and I want to try and lose 20lbs by May.
I am tracking EVERYTHING i eat and not eating back my exercise calories here is my workout weekly regime:
Mon - 45mins spin
Tues - 1.5hrs ball-hockey or soccer
Wed - 60min spin
Thur - 20 min. circuit training and 30 mins walk treadmill
Fri - rest day
Sat - 60 mins spin
Sun - 60 mins spin

Anything else I should do or change to be successful?

Replies

  • bencze1
    bencze1 Posts: 30 Member
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    I am by no means an expert just a friendly suggestion. Don't get tunnel vision. As long as you expect to live a life beyond may, have a long term plan as well. Or rather, especially.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    If you work hard and stick to an appropriate nutrition plan, 20 lbs by May is doable. You'll have to be dedicated though. I see you're doing mostly cardio. I would recommend that you add in a bunch of hard resistance/strength workouts. Really do your best. They are great for burning through a ton of calories, protect your muscle mass, and keep your metabolism up.
  • tinklemar
    tinklemar Posts: 71 Member
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    Do you track calories by weighing food or estimating? How many calories do you allow yourself everyday?
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    If we only consider the numbers then yes, losing 20lbs by May is a reasonable (perhaps slightly aggressive) target.

    If you are using MFP the way it is intended though, you should consider eating back a portion of your exercise calories. I've written about that here:


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • dimasj
    dimasj Posts: 164 Member
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    I am weighing and measuring food. My calories are around 1300 per day.
  • jonsmithkidd
    jonsmithkidd Posts: 1,204 Member
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    I think you're doing an amazing job, you seem really on top of it. If you're tracking and following this schedule, I don't think that there's much more that you can do, other than to stay positive, not get discouraged if you don;t have good days/weeks and remember that you'll be building muscle as well, so if the scale isn't shifting, it may be because you're toning up and building muscle!
  • emartins1975
    emartins1975 Posts: 45 Member
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    Definitely doable! I lost 10 lbs. in 1 month (doing Keto.) Sounds like you're on the right track! Set small goals :)
  • sus49
    sus49 Posts: 94 Member
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    When I went to weight watchers they told me to eat back at least SOME of my exercise calories. Although not eating back the exercise calories worked for me when I was younger, since menopause I actually CAN NOT lose weight if I do not eat enough of my calories back.
  • Walter__
    Walter__ Posts: 518 Member
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    It's definitely doable.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    edited February 2015
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    All that exercise on 1300 calories per day, at 5'6" and 175, and without eating back exercise calories? Nuh-uh, NOT healthy, no way, no how. That's just a recipe for yo-yo dieting -- you may lose it all by May but you'll probably gain it back by June.

    Take a step back from what you're doing. Re-evaluate your goals. You want to aim for slow and steady loss -- that's the ideal.

    With your stats, if you're not eating back exercise calories (i.e. if you're using the TDEE method), I'd recommend aiming to eat no less than 1900 calories, minimum. Your TDEE is probably in the neighbourhood of 2400 or maybe higher, so that would correspond to about a 1lb/week rate of loss.

    Obviously, it could be less or more; you have to try it for a bit and adjust. But I'd say that'd be a good starting point.

    1300 calories per day is not healthy for a person with your stats.
  • exstromn
    exstromn Posts: 168 Member
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    Great plan, you will do well! Word of advice, eat your daily dalorie goal everyday, don't be tempted to skimp you need the fuel, and I agree with turbusha on adding some hard resistance to your routine to keep those muscles burning calories:) Good luck!!!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    If we only consider the numbers then yes, losing 20lbs by May is a reasonable (perhaps slightly aggressive) target.

    If you are using MFP the way it is intended though, you should consider eating back a portion of your exercise calories. I've written about that here:


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf
    Nothing else needs to be said.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    - at 1lb per week (recommended) I make it more like end of June. Better to take it a little longer than crash trying. I have about 20lbs to go and I am aiming for mid-July this year.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    dimasj wrote: »
    I am weighing and measuring food. My calories are around 1300 per day.

    Assuming you're eating near that target (which is not necessarily an accurate assumption) you are likely going to have substantial adherence/performance problems with an intake that low.

    I would suspect you'll get much better results eating back some exercise calories which will raise your average intake. Not for "starvation mode" nonsense, but for behavioral reasons that will make a long term impact on your progress.
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
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    It could be with a but ... the closer you get to a normal weight the slower the weight comes off, and that's the way it should be. Being 5'6" myself I know that 154 is the top of the normal BMI range. I'm 166 right now with 145 as my ultimate goal, and if I hit that by my birthday in September I'll be thrilled. A loss of 1 pound per week when you have 20 pounds to lose is ideal.
  • DirrtyH
    DirrtyH Posts: 664 Member
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    It's definitely doable, but considering you don't have a ton of weight to lose it might be a little aggressive. Strictly scientifically speaking it's possible but I don't want you to be disappointed if that doesn't happen. I'm 5'0" and 165 pounds, and I don't lose more than a pound a week. I don't expect to lose more than 15 pounds by May.
  • dimasj
    dimasj Posts: 164 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    dimasj wrote: »
    I am weighing and measuring food. My calories are around 1300 per day.

    Assuming you're eating near that target (which is not necessarily an accurate assumption) you are likely going to have substantial adherence/performance problems with an intake that low.

    I would suspect you'll get much better results eating back some exercise calories which will raise your average intake. Not for "starvation mode" nonsense, but for behavioral reasons that will make a long term impact on your progress.

    I just read you post about the exercise calories to eat or not to eat and it has some great points! I will re-evaluate and look at eating back some of the exercise calories. Thank you
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    dimasj wrote: »
    I just read you post about the exercise calories to eat or not to eat and it has some great points! I will re-evaluate and look at eating back some of the exercise calories. Thank you

    That's great! Remember that there's no race to the finish line here. Slower is better.

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