20 Pounds in 60 days?

TheJenJen78

I’ve overhauled my diet this past January 1st and so far I have lost 13 pounds! I’m wondering if it will be possible to lose an additional 20 pounds in 60 days? The hubby and I are off to Antigua for our anniversary in April.

A bit of background on me ...I’m 40 years old, SW 217.8 pounds CW 204.6 pounds. I am a vegetarian. I do not work out consistently however the plan, starting tomorrow will include at the very least, 30 mins a day of exercise.

Can anyone provide any tips or advice to help me on my way?

Please let me know if you require any additional information from me.

brittlb07

I’ve lost 12 pounds since January 1 but I’m almost certain the first 6 were waterweight as I dropped those sooo fast and now I am only losing a pound per week. Which I am okay with since I’m only 15 away from my goal of 118. So I wouldn’t expect the same rate as your first few weeks.

nowine4me

Sure it can be done, but wouldn’t it suck to white knuckle starve for 60 days, lose 20#, then gain it back on vacay?

apullum

20 pounds in 60 days works out to roughly 2.3 pounds a week. That's a very aggressive pace of weight loss. If you have about 75+ pounds total to lose, then 2 pounds per week *may* be reasonable for you. Keep in mind that weight loss is not linear and you should not expect to lose at a consistent pace.

Also keep in mind that MFP intends you to eat back exercise calories assuming they are calculated correctly. Exercise is for other health and fitness goals and allows you to eat more; it isn't intended to create a larger deficit.

If I were you, I would choose a reasonable calorie deficit and lose weight at a sustainable pace, following a plan that you can stick to until you reach your ultimate goal. Your vacation isn't going to be any different if you lose 10 or 15 pounds by then instead of 20.

PAV8888

Are you losing weight just for your vacation and planning to regain it right after, or are you losing weight because you feel it is time to become more healthy and reach other goals that you may have?

If you're doing it for the second reason your vacation is only interesting because it can provide a diet break and/or provide you with an opportunity for increased activity.

However it is just one vacation in a lifetime of many future ones and really whether you've lost 10 or 15 or 20 will not materially affect how much you enjoy it.

Reaching your eventual goal weight and maintaining the loss on the other hand will materially affect the quality of your life moving forward.

jelleigh

Hey OP. So from what i hear, it's safe if you are at the higher end of the scale (not sure how tall you are) to lose 1% of body weight per week. Which for you at 204 would be 2 lbs. To do that you need to have a deficit of 1000 calories a day. Whoch means at a MINIMUM you need to be burning, through daily life and exercise, 2200 calories a day. Because you need AT LEAST 1200 calories to hit nutritional requirements. Now this might be fully possible. Im 38 years old, 5'8 and 190 lbs and my daily burn is 2500 cals (no on purpose exercise but I do walk at least 10000 steps a day at my job). Anyhow, that would get you in at 16 lbs if you lost a consistent 2 lbs per week for 2 months.

PAV8888

jelleigh wrote: »

Hey OP. So from what i hear, it's safe if you are at the higher end of the scale (not sure how tall you are) to lose 1% of body weight per week. Which for you at 204 would be 2 lbs. To do that you need to have a deficit of 1000 calories a day. Whoch means at a MINIMUM you need to be burning, through daily life and exercise, 2200 calories a day. Because you need AT LEAST 1200 calories to hit nutritional requirements. Now this might be fully possible. Im 38 years old, 5'8 and 190 lbs and my daily burn is 2500 cals (no on purpose exercise but I do walk at least 10000 steps a day at my job). Anyhow, that would get you in at 16 lbs if you lost a consistent 2 lbs per week for 2 months.

Except that they would be a ~50% deficit which doesn't sound THAT healthy.... because it is excessive.

A 20% or 25% while obese... that sounds oh so much better!

Mslmesq

Honestly, I think any time you have a goal to lose weight for a specific event, you are setting yourself up for long term failure. Once that event has passed....then what?

Better to just commit to a lifestyle change. And lose the weight slowly but surely over time. And permanently

TheJenJen78

Thanks for all of the response. My weight loss journey is a new lifestyle commitment not just a ploy to lose weight for the vacay. As I mentioned I’ve already lost 13lbs so far and want to use the vacation for extra motivation.

My height 5’10” 😊

Maxxitt

I think having a special motivation helps the weight-reduction journey, actually, as long as a person is realistic about the goal. If it was me, I would continue what I have been doing since January and let that motivating trip help maintain adherence to my plan. My experience with awesome vacations is that I am quite a bit more active, and I tend to choose delicious, local food in moderate amounts. I don't drink that much so consuming hundreds of calories that way isn't an issue. Coming home, I might be up 5 # right away but I have learned that a lot of that has to do with fluid and the experience of flying for several hours and usually I basically maintain at what my pre-trip weight was.

1BlueAurora

I'd set a less aggressive goal, just so I could ride that vacation motivation without depriving myself too much for the next two months. Maybe aim for 15 pounds gone? Then treat yourself to a nice new vacation outfit (maybe it'll be a size smaller?), go forth and enjoy!

CharlieCharlie007

I generally go with percent. When I started out, I was able to drop 2.5% a month. Now, My best numbers are between 1 and 1.5 is I really dedicate myself. So lets say you can do 2%. In two months, you can safely drop between 9 and 12 pounds of fat. You may drop more, but thats water. Thats with a super clean diet which respects a calorie deficit and proper training.

erickirb

2.33 lbs/week is quite extreme, that would require a deficit of 1200 cals/day. And since you don't exercise that means you would probably only be able to eat 700-900 cals/day to lose that much. That is not safe or advised. a lot of your loss would end up coming from muscle at that rate (esp without adequate protein and strength training). if you had 75+ lbs to lose, you might be able to pull it off, but not at your size.

I would suggest setting a goal of 1.5 lb/week so you may still lose 12 lbs in that amount of time

middlehaitch

Your aniversary vacation sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I love Antigua there is so many fun things to do there.

That being said. Do you want to feel worn out and exhausted when you get there with little energy to really enjoy yourself?

An aggressive deficit will probably result in a less than optimum vacation. You are only 30 lbs from the ‘normal’ BMI range for your height. A deficit of 500-750 cals a day would result in a 1-1.5 loss per week average and would be much more appropriate.

If you can, do increase your activity level. It will add to your vacation enjoyment.

Go buy yourself a stunning swimsuit, floaty coverup, and rock the body you have.

(Lots of cool inexpensive sundresses on the island )

Cheers, h.