8 Weeks

ktrulez

Posted on the intro thread, copied to the weight loss as it pertains to the subject.

Connected with former business partner this past weekend and he looked good, healthy. He then shared his story about MFP, the community, and the motivation he receives on MFP to drop 20 pounds. I was impressed by the results and intrigued with MFP.

Been working out for a year, however never really paid close attention to what I ate. In the back of my mind, subconsciously I tried to be healthier. There were many days I would cheat and I was totally be okay with it, after all I was quite active (going to the gym 4-5x a week).

I have seen changes to my body, however I am still far from how I want to look and feel. Fueled by my upcoming vacation and my desire to make a change, I will be tracking what I am eat. I will be the first to admit that the 8 weeks won’t be perfect, I will hit my macros, miss some, and have a cheat meal.

I intend on staying under my caloric goal of 2000 a day, after all they say losing fat is all about being in a deficit. Decided to ditch the MFP nutrition goals and customize the following, 40% Carbs (190g), 40% (190g) Protein, 20% Fat (42g).

8 week goal, lose 15-20 pounds.

5x a week at the gym
Week 1-2: 1 hour weights, 3x LISS (300 calories)
Week 3-4: 1 hour weights, 3x LISS (300 calories), 1x HITT (20 minutes)
Week 5-6: 1 hour weights, 3x LISS (350 calories), 1x HITT (20 minutes)
Week 7-8: 1 hour weights, 3x LISS (400 calories), 1x HITT (20 minutes)

I welcome everyone’s opinion and will be very active on MFP. Add me as friend and l will do the same, the added motivation and kind word goes a long way!

sunfastrose

Hi! I think it's awesome that you have goals, but I'd like them to be reasonable. First of all - the calorie goal that MFP gives you already has the deficit built in; you should aim to get as close to the goal as possible, not go under. Second - how much weight do you have to lose? An 8 week goal would depend on how much you have to lose. 20 pounds is pretty aggressive; even at the max goal to lose you are only looking at 16 pounds. Third - are you going to eat exercise calories back,

elphie754

15-20 lbs in 8 weeks is waaaaay too aggressive and dangerous.

ktrulez

@sunfastrose I agree my goals are aggressive especially in 8 weeks. Understandingly I will lose muscle mass along with fat, it is inevitable. I have customized my macros and calories, increasing my protein intake to not lose substantial amount of muscle. Ultimately goal would be to lose 30 pounds, running this 8 week program will allow me to speed up the process, would be happy with 15-16 pounds too.

Going away for a week after the 8 week program, so I am sure to eat/drink back those calories! Will update this thread each week.

Afura

There are so many threads like this where people try to hit it hard because they have limited time. It's not safe, it's not recommended. Do your best, fuel your body and stay safe.

ktrulez

@elphie754 Disagree; started this journey last year (Jan) at 208. Today I weigh 193, will look to get into the 17X by the end of the 8 weeks.

sybillabryson

You can definitely lose that amount in 8 weeks if you don't mind gaining it back later.

ktrulez

@sybillabryson lol, I will definitely going to a lot of it back during my vacation. Hopefully it won't set me back too much and will look to stay active while travelling. Will return back to the grind when I come back, will update this thread during my 8 week journey and will provide a new plan of attack when I return

sybillabryson

Good luck! I'll watch for your updates.

CafeRacer808

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but this plan of yours is woefully misguided. It essentially amounts to a crash diet. As the others are trying to point out to you above, the 2+ lbs/week you want to lose is unrealistic and entirely too aggressive, particularly for someone of your size (assuming your profile photo is up to date). A weekly loss rate 2 lb/week is the most MFP will allow and is reserved for people who have upwards of 75-100 lbs to lose. At most, you should be aiming for a 1 lb/week loss.

And given the training plan you've laid out for yourself, the calorie deficit you'd need to create to in order to maintain your 2+ lb/week loss goal will likely leave you feeling run down, fatigued, and constantly hungry. This will, in turn, will be detrimental to your physical performance, which will undoubtedly make your training plan less effective and efficient than you want it to be.

You need to seriously consider scrapping your plan in favor of something that's more sustainable, healthy and realistic, IMO.

ktrulez

@Afura been working out for a year. 8 week challenge is to shock the body, will return from my vacation with a realistic however challenging goal to lose the remaining pounds. Appreciate the word!

ktrulez

@CafeRacer808 I can take harsh, your open feedback is definitely welcome in this thread. That is a older picture of me however in that picture I weighed about low 180s. I carry weight very deceptively I look 10 pounds leaner than what it says on the scale. Since that picture I've done some dirty bulking, live at the gym 4-5x a week for the past year, and have excess fat that I would like to lose.

I will scrap it after the 8 weeks

the_new_mark_2017

That's hardly aggressive and dangerous, that is only a pinch over 1KG a week. That's a good goal to aim for.

SLLRunner

ktrulez wrote: »

@sybillabryson lol, I will definitely going to a lot of it back during my vacation. Hopefully it won't set me back too much and will look to stay active while travelling. Will return back to the grind when I come back, will update this thread during my 8 week journey and will provide a new plan of attack when I return

What is the purpose of losing muscle mass along with fat prior to a vacation and then gaining it back during your vacation?

I don't get it, I really don't.

Why not just set some reasonable weight loss goals and then eat at maintenance during your vacation?

ktrulez

SLLRunner wrote: »

ktrulez wrote: »

@sybillabryson lol, I will definitely going to a lot of it back during my vacation. Hopefully it won't set me back too much and will look to stay active while travelling. Will return back to the grind when I come back, will update this thread during my 8 week journey and will provide a new plan of attack when I return

What is the purpose of losing muscle mass along with fat prior to a vacation and then gaining it back during your vacation?

I don't get it, I really don't.

Why not just set some reasonable weight loss goals and then eat at maintenance during your vacation?

@SLLRunner My intention is not to lose muscle mass, far from that. Hence I have a custom macro plan and hitting the weights during my workout as well. I just said I think with this 8 week challenge, losing some muscle would be inevitable.

Christine_72

I wont echo what the others said.. My concern is your fat grams, 42g is pretty damn low.

kommodevaran

Christine_72 wrote: »

I wont echo what the others said.. My concern is your fat grams, 42g is pretty damn low.

I agree. And protein grams correspondingly unnecessarily high. If you are eating at a deficit, you'll want to make the most of those calories, and a balanced diet is going to be more satiating - and nourishing, and satisfying - than a protein shake diet.

ktrulez

Christine_72 wrote: »

I wont echo what the others said.. My concern is your fat grams, 42g is pretty damn low.

@Christine_72 thank you for your input! 42g is definitely on the the lower side, however there will be days I exceed that number easily but still stay under 1900 calories.

lemonychild

you welcome everyones opinion and then shoot it down. you're just hunting for comments that reflect your already made up mind

Machka9

15 lbs in 8 weeks is OK ... but it does take some effort. I speak from experience.

I lost 15 kg in 16 weeks ... and have kept it off for nearly 2 years now.

I just focused on calories, and didn't worry about my macros.

I entered my information, chose sedentary as my activity level, and chose to lose 0.5 kg/week. Then I upped the calories MFP gave me by 50 calories because I didn't want to go quite as low as they suggested. And I ate about half my exercise calories back.

I also stuck to it every single day without fail.

ktrulez

lemonychild wrote: »

you welcome everyones opinion and then shoot it down. you're just hunting for comments that reflect your already made up mind

@lemonychild Not sure who I have shot down, I acknowledged that the challenge would be an aggressive one, however not one I would normally do. The idea of the 8 weeks, is fat loss, but also to build on consistency of food logging and staying in a deficit.