Need to lose 7-10 pounds in 6 months for my wedding

Hannahjane123456

I get married in 6 months time and I've gained quite a few pounds and my dress doesn't fit.. I want lose around 7-10 pounds in 6 months.

I'm 4 foot 11 and 112 pounds and 27 years old. I struggle really bad with binge eating and have lost alot of weight in the past. I've been trying to lose weight for the past year and unfortunately failed. I keep attempting to eat 750 calories 4 days a week, because I know I end up losing a pound a week on that but I just cant do this anymore, it's almost like I haven't got it in me to starve myself. I guess I'm looking for a new plan.. maybe eating 1000 calories 3 days a week and carry on with my hiit workouts and lifting .. weights, but I know I might not lose weight on this so I'm struggling to actually do it.

I lift weights now 4 days a week and I have seen so much improvements, my glutes have changed and look better and my back is showing tone now.. anyway my plan is to lift weights 4 days a week and do hiit for 30 mins 5 days a week and do an hour of bike everyday, aswell as eating 1000 calories 3 days a week and eating around 2200 on the other days. Is this enough to lose around a pound a week?

Thanks (sorry for the long post)

TavistockToad

Why don't you just eat at a small deficit 7 days a week?

Why make it more difficult than it has to be?

Hannahjane123456

How much of a defict a day do you think?

TavistockToad

Hannahjane123456 wrote: »

How much of a defict a day do you think?

Set MFP to lose 0.5lb per week and eat back your exercise cals.

Is there a reason you're wanting to do so much exercise?

Hannahjane123456

I just feel like I eat too much food

TavistockToad

Hannahjane123456 wrote: »

I just feel like I eat too much food

You may want to try and address that then, as that level of excessive exercise can easily lead to injury. And then what happens?

Hannahjane123456

I know what you saying... maybe I could cut back a bit.

TavistockToad

TavistockToad wrote: »

Hannahjane123456 wrote: »

I just feel like I eat too much food

You may want to try and address that then, as that level of excessive exercise can easily lead to injury. And then what happens?

Weight lifting 4 x a week plus cardio a couple of days is sufficient for your goals.

FitGamerSmoak

Instead of trying to starve yourself some days, eat at a deficit every day. Why so low in the calorie range? Under 1200 is not recommended. Plus the more you restrict on certain days the more you will want to binge on other days. Keep it consistent daily.

At least that’s my advice.

youngmomtaz

I see no issue with your plan of high calorie 4 days and low calorie 3 days. In the end it all balances out. If you were restricting below 1200 7 days a week then I would wonder about overall nutrition. But that works out to 16-1700per day average. Which would work with your activity. And if that suits your lifestyle then give it a shot.

I tend to do 20:4 IF partly because of a med I am on and partly because I never have carried much to eat early on in the day, and if I do them I graze all day long and eat way too much. In 4 hours I can easily put away my minimum of 1500 cal and more likely 1900, I focus on protein, healthy fats, and fibrous veggies(mostly I low carb eat). I am just giving you an example of why I understand this works for you. I like to feel ful after a meal. Eating all my calories starting at 5pm every day works for me. And if eating more calories around your weekends or lifting days and less on the others works for you then go for it. It is all about balance.

Edit: morning math brain.

TavistockToad

youngmomtaz wrote: »

I see no issue with your plan of high calorie 4 days and low calorie 3 days. In the end it all balances out. If you were restricting below 1200 7 days a week then I would wonder about overall nutrition. But that works out to 1300cal per day average. And if that suits your lifestyle then give it a shot.

I would agree, if OP wasn't planning on doing at least an hours exercise on the low calorie days.

MichelleWithMoxie

craziedani wrote: »

Instead of trying to starve yourself some days, eat at a deficit every day. Why so low in the calorie range? Under 1200 is not recommended. Plus the more you restrict on certain days the more you will want to binge on other days. Keep it consistent daily.

At least that’s my advice.

Under 1200 calories per day for a 27 year old 4’11” woman is perfectly fine as a base to add exercise calories to. 4’11” is *kitten* short and doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.

MikePTY

Why are you trying to target a pound a week of weight loss? That seems like too much given your weight and size, and is unnecessary for your goals. You are trying to lose 7-10 pounds in 6 months, which is 24 weeks. That means you are trying to lose .29-.42 pounds per week. You can go much slower than you are trying to go.

I would work to simplify your diet. 2200 calories is a lot per day based on your stats. Well above maintenance, even with some exercise. It also sounds like you are trying to overexercise. It was hard to exactly understand it from your post, but it sounds like there are certain days where you are doing an hour of cycling, 30 minutes of HIIT, and weight lifting all on the same day? That sounds like serious over training, and it's going to be hard to get an estimate of how many calories you are actually burning from all of that.

My recommendation would be to keep it simple. Target 1200 calories per day, plus your exercise calories back (at least most of them). According to MFP, if you live a sedentary lifestyle, your daily calorie burn before exercise is 1436. That means at 1200, you would have a deficit of 236 calories per day, which is 1652 calories per week, or right around half a pound a week. I suggest you still keep exercising, but I would try to focus on one type of exercise per day. Either cycling, strength training, OR HIIT. If you are doing all at once, you are tiring your body out and not getting the best results from everything. When you exercise, you should eat back the amount of calories you burn from that exercise. So if you burn 200-300 calories, you should add that amount to your 1200 for the day.

You are looking at a very slow weight loss plan over a long period of time, so that means you will not see results on the scale every week. It will be very slowly but surely. However considering you are already at a level that is considered well within the normal weight range for your BMI, I would not try to go any faster with it.

Slow and steady I feel will be much better than trying to overdo it with too much, too soon.

collectingblues

It sounds like --because you say it -- that the binge eating may be sort of the root cause here. Have you thought about meeting with a therapist to let them try to help you?

PixelPuff

The cutting so low down on calories will likely make your binge eating worse. I would recommend eating at a small deficit every day, with your exercise. You have time! It isn't a lot of weight to lose, and you have so many months to do so! Don't forget, if you are doing weight training and only have a small deficit, keep tracking of your measurements, not just your weight. If you only have a bit you are losing, and are working out every day, you may actually lose inches by the time of your wedding with only a tad fluctuation in weight.

I'm the epitome of skinny-fat right now. My weight is good, but I must to get to work on these inches. I'm 5'2", 109lbs this morning. Weight fine, but them incheessss.

jdog022

samirraji wrote: »

Try this page, everyday tips to lose weight and become Fit:
https://www.facebook.com/Fit-Healthy-454918708245843

Full of woo on that page. Tip 1: Eat a deficit

kshama2001

MikePTY wrote: »

Why are you trying to target a pound a week of weight loss? That seems like too much given your weight and size, and is unnecessary for your goals. You are trying to lose 7-10 pounds in 6 months, which is 24 weeks. That means you are trying to lose .29-.42 pounds per week. You can go much slower than you are trying to go.

I would work to simplify your diet. 2200 calories is a lot per day based on your stats. Well above maintenance, even with some exercise. It also sounds like you are trying to overexercise. It was hard to exactly understand it from your post, but it sounds like there are certain days where you are doing an hour of cycling, 30 minutes of HIIT, and weight lifting all on the same day? That sounds like serious over training, and it's going to be hard to get an estimate of how many calories you are actually burning from all of that.

My recommendation would be to keep it simple. Target 1200 calories per day, plus your exercise calories back (at least most of them). According to MFP, if you live a sedentary lifestyle, your daily calorie burn before exercise is 1436. That means at 1200, you would have a deficit of 236 calories per day, which is 1652 calories per week, or right around half a pound a week. I suggest you still keep exercising, but I would try to focus on one type of exercise per day. Either cycling, strength training, OR HIIT. If you are doing all at once, you are tiring your body out and not getting the best results from everything. When you exercise, you should eat back the amount of calories you burn from that exercise. So if you burn 200-300 calories, you should add that amount to your 1200 for the day.

You are looking at a very slow weight loss plan over a long period of time, so that means you will not see results on the scale every week. It will be very slowly but surely. However considering you are already at a level that is considered well within the normal weight range for your BMI, I would not try to go any faster with it.

Slow and steady I feel will be much better than trying to overdo it with too much, too soon.

Hannah Jane - another vote for slow and steady. Since you struggle with binge eating, under eating some days and eating a lot more other days may not be the best plan for you. How about you try the above for a month?

And perhaps look into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to develop a better relationship with food. Just a few sessions sure helped me with alcohol.

ssurvivor

At 4'11" and 112 lbs, your BMR is around 1150. That is, if you were lying in bed, in a coma, you'd burn 1150 calories every day. Since you're only looking to lose 7-10 lbs in 6 months, you are looking to lose about 1.2 lbs each month.


In theory, that's not hard. Most people lose and gain one or two lbs every day. However, you admit to having an issue with binging. So you need to focus on controlling that above all else.


The key, for you, will be making small changes and sticking with them. Unless you enjoy HIIT workouts, there is no need to do them if you're keeping up with the other changes in your daily routine. Start by making yourself eat breakfast and lunch - even if they're very small. By eating breakfast and lunch, you're using the calories as you consume them which keeps you from needing to refuel with a mid afternoon or evening binge. Also drink plenty of water. Often, our "hunger" is merely a sign of dehydration. Staying hydrated can stave off an urge to binge. If you don't like water, you can make yourself a "spa water" which will give you a hint of flavor without all of the calories in sugary juices and sports drinks.


I recommend reading Small Changes, Big Results by Ellie Krieger. She is a registered dietician who used to host "Healthy Appetite" on the Food Network and currently hosts "Ellie's Real Good Food" on PBS. In the beginning of her book, she writes of a client who was similar to you. You can get the book on Amazon, but I'm sure your local library has a copy in their catalogue and/or e-catalogue.


Good Luck!