Is 60 lb too much weight to lose?

keexity

Hey there! Just started this thing and set my goal at 60 lbs. I am currently 24 yrs old and am 180/5'6...is 60 lbs unrealistic? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get there?
I am currently only eating one meal a day (from 6 PM-8PM) with tea in the morning and a small fruit salad during lunch. I run 2 miles and lift weights 5-6 days a week.

I will attach photos so you can see my body type. I am looking to gain lean muscle.

shaunshaikh

Hard to say how much weight is "too much". May be better off taking it 10 lbs at a time and seeing how it looks when you get to each milestone.

It is hard/impossible to add muscle mass when eating at a calorie deficit. But resistance training is still important while dieting to preserve muscle mass to ensure the mass you lose is mostly fat.

keexity

Thank you!! That makes total sense!!

kenyonhaff

Go find what a healthy BMI for you is. That will give you a good idea of what is a reasonable goal weight for you. I took a goal weight in the middle of my healthy BMI range. BMI isn't a perfect tool but for this purpose it's pretty good.

Rebirth08

Based on your goals, 60 pounds can happen; but the way you are starting off is NOT the way to do it. "Only eating one meal a day (from 6 PM-8PM) with tea in the morning and a small fruit salad during lunch" and "run 2 miles and lift weights 5-6 days a week" is not the way to do it. Sure, you are exercising a great deal, which will help burn the fat, but you need to eat more. Your body will eventually go into starvation mode, holding onto your body fat if it is not being fed properly.

How to get there is to feed your body well - proper amounts of various nutrients including, but not limited to: fats, proteins, carbohydrates. And, allow yourself TIME to get there. Sounds like the way you are currently going, you want it off yesterday; which is understandable....but it doesn't work that fast, as I'm sure you know.

So, keep getting that exercise in. But feed your body with more love via healthy foods. And trust the process. You'll get the results you want.

MegaMooseEsq

Rebirth08 wrote: »

Based on your goals, 60 pounds can happen; but the way you are starting off is NOT the way to do it. "Only eating one meal a day (from 6 PM-8PM) with tea in the morning and a small fruit salad during lunch" and "run 2 miles and lift weights 5-6 days a week" is not the way to do it. Sure, you are exercising a great deal, which will help burn the fat, but you need to eat more. Your body will eventually go into starvation mode, holding onto your body fat if it is not being fed properly.

How to get there is to feed your body well - proper amounts of various nutrients including, but not limited to: fats, proteins, carbohydrates. And, allow yourself TIME to get there. Sounds like the way you are currently going, you want it off yesterday; which is understandable....but it doesn't work that fast, as I'm sure you know.

So, keep getting that exercise in. But feed your body with more love via healthy foods. And trust the process. You'll get the results you want.

Seriously, you are so damn close here. Undereating does not cause starvation mode because starvation mode is not a thing. Malnutrition is a thing, however, and I agree that the OP's plan does not sound sustainable. Remember, you want to lose weight permanently, not temporarily, and that means learning new habits that you can continue far past reaching your goal weight.

orlybayu

MegaMooseEsq wrote: »

Rebirth08 wrote: »

Based on your goals, 60 pounds can happen; but the way you are starting off is NOT the way to do it. "Only eating one meal a day (from 6 PM-8PM) with tea in the morning and a small fruit salad during lunch" and "run 2 miles and lift weights 5-6 days a week" is not the way to do it. Sure, you are exercising a great deal, which will help burn the fat, but you need to eat more. Your body will eventually go into starvation mode, holding onto your body fat if it is not being fed properly.

How to get there is to feed your body well - proper amounts of various nutrients including, but not limited to: fats, proteins, carbohydrates. And, allow yourself TIME to get there. Sounds like the way you are currently going, you want it off yesterday; which is understandable....but it doesn't work that fast, as I'm sure you know.

So, keep getting that exercise in. But feed your body with more love via healthy foods. And trust the process. You'll get the results you want.

Seriously, you are so damn close here. Undereating does not cause starvation mode because starvation mode is not a thing. Malnutrition is a thing, however, and I agree that the OP's plan does not sound sustainable. Remember, you want to lose weight permanently, not temporarily, and that means learning new habits that you can continue far past reaching your goal weight.

I agree! It depends on how much she's eating (and what she's eating) in her window from 6-8. It's similar to an advanced intermittent fasting diet, which (by itself) doesn't lead to starvation of malnutrition. It's what she's eating.

But yeah, 60 pounds is possible!

Sabine_Stroehm

Fuel your body!

Silentpadna

keexity wrote: »

Hey there! Just started this thing and set my goal at 60 lbs. I am currently 24 yrs old and am 180/5'6...is 60 lbs unrealistic? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get there?
I am currently only eating one meal a day (from 6 PM-8PM) with tea in the morning and a small fruit salad during lunch. I run 2 miles and lift weights 5-6 days a week.

I will attach photos so you can see my body type. I am looking to gain lean muscle.

60 pounds is doable, but you have to do it right. It will start off steady, but will slow down - 120 pounds is pretty petite. I would also make your goal out to be something other than scale weight. Your scale weight goal should match what you want you body to look like - which if you want shape and physical ability will likely be heavier (while you may actually look even smaller than you would at 120 after a crash). You can't rush this and be happy with the results - unless all you want is a scale number. The crash diet mentioned above - and what looks like might be your plan (you haven't given enough details either) - will not result in a healthy loss.

nutmegoreo

keexity wrote: »

Hey there! Just started this thing and set my goal at 60 lbs. I am currently 24 yrs old and am 180/5'6...is 60 lbs unrealistic? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get there?
I am currently only eating one meal a day (from 6 PM-8PM) with tea in the morning and a small fruit salad during lunch. I run 2 miles and lift weights 5-6 days a week.

I will attach photos so you can see my body type. I am looking to gain lean muscle.

The 60lbs may or may not be realistic, work towards that goal, and reevaluate as you get closer. Unless your one meal has a substantial number of calories, you are underfueling. There's nothing wrong with one meal a day. It can be a great strategy to help with hunger and cravings, as well as helping to maintain a deficit, but you still need to make sure you are eating enough to support the activity you are doing as well as providing enough nutrition for your body to function properly. Think about where you are heading, and how you want to look when you get there. Weight loss is tough enough, when you are underfueling your body will let you know in a variety of ways including hair loss, brittle nails, brain fog, feeling lethargic, difficulty concentrating, and these are the milder symptoms. It can become quite risky.

Gaia85

I'm also 5'6 @keexity. The healthy BMI range for us is 115 to 154.9 pounds. I've personally aimed for 135 pounds (smack in the middle of that range). 120 pounds is definitely hitting the bottom part of the healthy BMI but it's still in the normal range.

Like others have said, as you start losing weight, you'll know where you want to go and adjust.

I started at 202 and originally decided to aim for 165, thinking that my fatal flaw in past attempts is that I aim for 135 and when it seems so far away, I fall off my healthy lifestyle.

But I reached 165 and adjusted my goal to 150. I'm now at 155 and I've adjusted my goal to 135 (with the potential to stop at 140 if that seems right).

You can make smaller goals and adjust as you meet each goal.

(edited to fix errors)

rheddmobile

How often a day you eat isn't important. It's about how many calories you take in, and you haven't mentioned that. There's no realistic reason to eat only fruit salad for lunch unless you happen to really like fruit salad. It may be easier to stay in a caloric deficit and get all your nutrients if you eat mostly nutrient dense foods, but the pounds will come off exactly the same if you eat only twinkies - that's how calories work.

Please eat at least 1200 net calories a day - you will feel better and your losses will be more sustainable.

Whatever you do, you need to learn eating and exercise habits you are willing to keep up for the rest of your life, or when you go back to the way of eating that caused you to gain the weight in the first place, you will gain it all back. Losing weight isn't about dieting - it's about eating the right amount.

fordster99

Everyone is different so you have to find what works for you. I know for me personally I dropped weight faster by eating more throughout the day and keeping my metabolism up than just eating one time a day. I would recommend readjusting your diet a little and spreading your food out more and see it at helps get you started. Add some protein and some good carbs. I think your body just needs a jump start and changing things up might do the trick. You could also try a different activity. Swimming, Zumba, Elliptical or maybe walking and then running. As far as what you should weigh, I agree with those who said that you should just see how you feel when you start to lose weight. Our body types are different. I know people who are my weight that look skinnier and or bigger than I do. Good luck

KayTeeOne

Set smaller goals like 10lbs at a time. It's easier to reach and then aim for next 10lbs. It gives sense of achievement and keeps me going

savithny

60 pounds down puts you towards the lower end of the "ideal" for a 5'6" woman. If you can't get all the way there, but do get to a healthy weight, are you going to be overly disappointed and feel that you weren't successful?

(That feeling of "I didn't make it" can contribute to "I failed, why did I bother," and then to regain).

MollyCesare

I am 5'5'', started at 188, and am now down 56 lbs to 133. It is doable!

If you want to keep that weight off permanently, though, one meal a day isn't going to do anything for you. You should eat enough calories to fuel your body, while creating a calorie deficit. The process is just that -- a process. No crash diet is going to make you feel better -- I promise, I tried them all!

SezxyStef

from my highest of 205 I Have lost almost 60lbs so yah it's doable.

However I did it eating as much food as I could while still losing up to 1lb a week....yes I worked out but I took rest days and didn't push it too hard as I knew this time it had to be something I could do for the rest of my lift.

I am about the same height as you and would never aim for 120lbs...I currently sit at about 147 and wear a size 4...that's pretty good I think so I am happy where I am.

Meghanebk

keexity wrote: »

Hey there! Just started this thing and set my goal at 60 lbs. I am currently 24 yrs old and am 180/5'6...is 60 lbs unrealistic? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get there?
I am currently only eating one meal a day (from 6 PM-8PM) with tea in the morning and a small fruit salad during lunch. I run 2 miles and lift weights 5-6 days a week.

I will attach photos so you can see my body type. I am looking to gain lean muscle.

Well, your plan wouldn't work at all for me - because I'd hate it and quit in a couple of weeks. It may work fine for you, but I'd consider eating more often if you exercise - blood sugar crashes and muscle cramps are not fun. Neither is malnutrition if you are missing essential vitamins/minerals/macros.

Your 60 pound goal seems a bit high for me, but you can judge best how your frame looks when you get closer to your goal weight. You may want to break it into smaller 10-15 pound mini goals.

What's your calorie deficit? If you are trying to lose too fast, it becomes really easy to lose the muscle mass you already have, and really hard to build more muscle.