Trying to lose the last 10 pounds in one month!!!

ehlexa

I'm 28, 5'4, blessed with big boobs and *kitten*, and I weigh 141-143.

I've been struggling for a couple of weeks trying to lose the last 12 pounds. I've restricted my diet a lot and have stopped drinking and eating carbs! I'm doing a lot of cardio. An hour-two hours every day now for the past week. I'm also including a little weight lifting.

I used to drink a loooottttt of alcohol and eat out a lot but I decided to change that about 4 weeks ago. I was at 154. Now that I'm at 141 I just really want to be down to 130 before my trip to Europe which is May 21st! Can I lose 10 pounds in 30 days? I know its not considered healthy but I'm just doing it this one time. If you can give me some advice please do. If not then disregard this discussion. Thanks!

Also, I weigh myself almost everyday. Just for motivation. I understand water weight can make you fluctuate. This past week its been 141, next day 143, next day 142, next day 143. How long does it take to stop the fluctuating and to actually see a real loss on scale.I guess it only been one week tho-Maybe Im being too impatient!? I should definitely be under 140 tho, especially after the workouts I did these past several days. I did the math. Is my body just holding on to a bunch of water weight right now? When is it gonna let go!!? lol I drink miso soup all the time..maybe its the sodium?

sardelsa

I wouldn't lose quite that fast. You will likely lose muscle, your skin and hair may suffer and you probably won't look or feel very good for your trip. On top of that you will be more likely to rebound and gain it all back and then some. Do you want to look good or just see a certain number on the scale? Do you want this just for the trip or long term?

I would say no more than 1% of your bodyweight per week, so maybe 5-6lbs at most.. and with that I would recommend higher protein (at least 1g per lb goalweight) and resistance training to help preserve muscle.
I would highly recommend you track your calories as accurately as possible.. get the food scale out and weigh all solids and measure all liquids.

You could definitely be holding on to water if you just started a new workout and if you are eating more sodium. You may have to be patient.

Keep in mind even if you lose 3-4lbs, if you preserve muscle you will look so much better vs. if you lose 8-10lbs of both fat and muscle.

Good luck!

xelsoo

I agree with @sardelsa, though it might not be what you want to hear. I've been there and it's true that if you want the results of your hard work to last, then you will want a more moderate weight loss in a month. It is possible to lose 10 pounds in a month, but especially if you're leaving on a holiday to Europe, it will be very likely that you will regain it all after. Unless you take a lot of care during your vacations, which is usually not what happens or the point of a holiday anyway.

you could incorporate circuit training with bodyweight and some HIIT elements to be both burning calories through cardio and exercising your muscles. You can look for workout with these exact parameters at fitnessblender.com if you don't have too many ideas.

As for the weight fluctuations, as women we generally fluctuate a lot. Do you track your sodium intake? If it's under your daily goal it should be fine. I like to drink lemon juice with hot water in the morning to help with bloating.
You could try using an app that averages your daily weigh ins to show the monthly trend such as Happy Scale (for Iphone). I haven't tried it myself but I know a lot of MFP friends who say it's really useful to see past the bloating and feel the real loss!

gutsnglory6

I think it’s pretty normal to see a big loss when you first start and then it slows right down - especially when you’re close to goal. I have also found that if I go slower and don’t myself up over messing up along the way, the weight loss is a lot more sustainable.
Eat well, log calories at a reasonable rate of loss, exercise regularly, and you should feel better about where you’re at with your body in a month.
Then, when you’re back from your trip, get back into it, and keep working at it so you’re exactly where you want to be for the next vacation.
Also just wanted to say that I actually lost ~5 pounds on a month long trip to Europe. Because the trip was so long, we did a lot of our own cooking (stayed in AirBnBs with kitchens). We still ate out but more as a treat than necessity. And also walked basically all day. I came home, stepped on the scale and couldn’t believe the number.
I also don’t use a weight tracking app, but the fluctuations don’t bother me that much. If they are bothering you, try one out. You can expect to see it go up at that time of the month, but I also find things like sleep and sodium definitely bring my weight up as well as a few mystery variables.

ssurvivor

One thing I love about this group is that the rules for the community at large don't always apply to us.

When you have 50+ lbs to lose, dropping 10 lbs in a month is not unimaginable. When you're in the normal BMI range (yes, I know that, according to charts, you're between healthy and overweight, but since you are naturally "blessed," that gray area is still part of the healthy range for you), 10 lbs is too much to purposefully lose in a month. Any advice that could be given to attempt this is bordering on ED territory and could be a trigger for those of us in a perennial ED battle.


However, losing five pounds in a month (about 1 lb/week) is perfectly reasonable. I'd also add a little more strength training/body work, but not so much to get "ripped." Through strength training, you build lean muscle and, although muscle does actually facilitate fat burning, you'll look and feel smaller and healthier, even if you don't lose a pound.


Also, if you're working out for at least an hour every day, you need to consume carbs. That's your fuel. You wouldn't drive your car on E so why do that to your body? Just be conscious of the type of carbs you're consuming. Complex carbs like brown rice, barley and veggies? Good. Processed carbs like enriched (usually white) rice, french fries and chips? Pretty bad. At this stage, being healthy is about quality, not quantity.

Oh, and those tiny fluctuations could be nothing more than being a sentient being. For that reason, I actually avoid weighing myself more than once/week. In fact, I have a standing appointment with my scale at the same time, under the same conditions, every week. That way, I know that if the scale moves, I actually gained or lost that week. Even then, I have to remember that water retention could be an issue (so I can't really get upset if I have one stagnate week).

A long long time ago, I weighed myself at least once/day and it drove me crazy. I would find that any and everything would cause me to gain or lose weight. For example, if I moved the scale an inch, used the bathroom, took a nap, etc., I could gain or lose 1-2 lbs. easily and then I'd obsess over the gain/loss.

HoneyBadger302

Agree with the others that a 5 lb loss would be a much more reasonable and achievable goal, and much more likely to leave you in a place to enjoy your vacation.

As a side note, my sister and I went to Italy last year. We did a fair bit of walking and hiking around as we were sight seeing, and let's just say that gelato was an acceptable lunch on several occasions.

I lost 5 pounds on that trip, and that was walking at a pace my bad leg I had broken earlier that year could handle (ie, slow). At least where we were, they didn't do the massive portion sizes you see here in the US. Foods were fresh and local. And we were just more active throughout the day in general.

Depending on your plans for your trip, you may come back to find you're right about where you wanted to be