50 pounds in 6 months.. is it possible?

glipogloopy

I am getting married in the second week of February and was trying to get down to 150 pounds by then.. I am currently 5'6, 197 pounds. I am freaking out because I crave food all day, and despite working with a personal trainer 4 days a week, I am finding it hard to clean up my nutrition. I even tried Lomaira (a lower strength Phentermine, appetite suppressant), but I am scared of the long-term side effects. Any advice, anybody? I am new to this site.

kimny72

How tall are you?

2 lbs per week is a pretty aggressive goal. At the beginning you might be able to make that happen, but as you get closer to goal you will lose your wiggle room and the pace will naturally slow down. I'd guess 25 lbs is more realistic, with more lost upfront and less as your pace slows down and your stress possibly goes up a little as the wedding day approaches?

And losing weight at an aggressive pace for 6 months leaves you vulnerable to being fatigued and hangry for your wedding, probably not what you want to do!

Check out these posts, they may help:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

Good luck!

pinuplove

Congratulations! I'm assuming weighing 150 pounds isn't a prerequisite to your marriage, since it's already happening So why add stress to an already stressful time? You will have your hands full with the holidays and wedding planning and life in general.

Set a modest calories deficit (with 50 pounds to lose, 1 pound a week would probably be reasonable), focus on getting a variety of nutritious foods but leave yourself room for some treats, and continue with your personal trainer if you enjoy it (or work out on your own). You want to be relaxed, healthy, and happy on your wedding day, not a hungry ball of stress.

kimondo666

its impossible mathematically. As you need 6.25 month to get 50 pounds to lose at 2lb/per week. Try more realistically 30-35 pounds(1-1,5lbs per week). More proteins, moderate carbs. Proper nutritionist would be ideal. As you need a moderate amount of experience to know what is working with you. Weight food with scale, log into mfp, take database entries with enough calories, not to small. Don't know you intensity of work outs, but adequate eating after workout is needed. As you control yourself better you will get less cravings, from my experience cravings subside after time of not succumbing to it. So after few day, few weeks you will not get them.
Log/weight everything. Measuring is most inaccurate. And most important, eat enough to reach calorie goal.

nighthawk584

I lost 60 in 4 months but I am 6'1" and was pretty obese @ 280 starting weight and very aggressive with calorie deficit and exercise (I didn't eat back my exercise calories either) I am by no means saying you should do what I did, just telling you it is possible for very obese people like I was to lose a lot of weight in short period of time. Be more realistic like others are saying and shoot for 25-35 lbs . You have to stay on it though and be meticulous with calorie counting. Good luck.

concordancia

Do you want to get to your wedding burned out, possibly ill or suffering other consequences of losing rapidly for a long period of time, all of which you will just blame on the stress anyway?

OR

Would you like to start your marriage with healthy habits?

NovusDies

glipogloopy wrote: »

I am getting married in the second week of February and was trying to get down to 150 pounds by then.. I am currently 5'6, 197 pounds. I am freaking out because I crave food all day, and despite working with a personal trainer 4 days a week, I am finding it hard to clean up my nutrition. I even tried Lomaira (a lower strength Phentermine, appetite suppressant), but I am scared of the long-term side effects. Any advice, anybody? I am new to this site.

Welcome.

If you are craving food all day you are probably already trying to be too aggressive which usually ends badly. You can probably lose 20 pounds comfortably by then. By comfortably I mean that you won't be depriving yourself over every date night and holiday between now and then.

You need a plan that can survive everything that is going to happen in the next 6 months AND your wedding so that when you get back from a honeymoon (if that is happening) you come back ready to lose the rest.

Talk to us about what you are eating now that is leaving you so hungry all the time. How many calories? What is your protein goal and are you getting close to it?

LyndaBSS

Baby steps. You can make small changes that will make a huge difference in your health and well-being and become a sustainable lifestyle for you or you can rush things and end up being miserable and possibly unhealthy when your wedding day arrives.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Blessings on your upcoming marriage. ❤

lorrpb

I lost 50 in 6-7 months but it was the first 50 of 150 total loss. The second 50 took about 8 months. The last 50 took 14 months. This is because as you get closer to goal, you should run a smaller deficit. I was losing 1-2 lb per month at the end. By the time I got to goal, I naturally stopped losing and began “maintenance” without needing to change my diet much at all.

lgfrie

Yeah, it's technically possible to lose 50 in 6 months, I've done it, but not from a starting point of 197 pounds. That'd be over 25 % of your weight, it's way, way too much too fast. Forget that and rethink the whole thing.

You say you're craving food all the time and popping appetite suppressants. That doesn't sound good, healthy, or or suitable to your needs. You're obviously not getting enough food and your diet is (whether you know it or not) about to collapse from excessive deprivation, to be followed by massive gorging. I suggest you back off the extreme thinking and get focused on an achievable, non-punishing effort to lose 20-30 pounds in 6 months. Probably more like 20 than 30. Something you can actually accomplish in a steady, happy way.

Basically, you need more food than you're getting. So get more food.

And for the love of god, don't take any more of those pills. You know you shouldn't be taking them. You don't really need some online stranger to tell you to stop, but just in case you do need that, "stop". Flush them down the toilet and get yourself on a healthy footing. Your instinct to be worried about long term effects is 100 % sensible. You don't need a pill. All you need is a more moderate, healthy diet and a goal that is more reasonable.

whmscll

It’s taken me almost 6 months to lose 17 pounds. They’re mostly vanity pounds, though, I was a normal BMI when I started.

hixa30

Yes, it's possible, using a loss of 1% per week. Actually, that leaves you 2 pounds above but that's close enough. It definitely is possible to lose 1% per week.

Lillymoo01

It is possible but not really advisable. You will end up looking thinner but your hair could start falling out, your nails could become brittle, and you could have a pale, washed-out complexion instead of being the glowing bride.

Just remember that your partner chose you as you are now. You are who he has fallen in love with and wants to spend the rest of his life with. He would want you to be healthy and happy.

sarawilliams5889

Please be careful, I lost 15kgs quite aggressively before my wedding. Then before I knew it I was 20kgs up from that and have hardly been able to budge it since (2 years later)! Please consider your long term health 💕 you will look stunning on your wedding day regardless of your weight! Xx

Diatonic12

Remember that you are the event and not the wedding. When we diet for a big event, stressing out over the numbers for the big reveal, all of that can go right out the window when the event is over. Sit down face-to-face with a medical professional who can help you get your meal plans and food in order. One step at a time down to the altar. You'll have a much better chance of getting there and staying there long, long after the wedding is over....way down the road into your future. Long term weight stability is where the rubber meets the road.

ninerbuff

Possible yes. Probable, not likely. You'd have to have at least a 1000 calorie deficit daily and if your intake for your BMR is sitting at say 1600, you'd end up undereating. Unfortunately, you waited to long to start the process, so what you do is lose what you can. And just don't do it for an event. Do it for life. Nothing worse than looking at wedding pictures down the road and saying "that's how I used to look" and being 50-80lbs heavier.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

hixa30

ninerbuff wrote: »

Possible yes. Probable, not likely.

Back in the day when weight loss blogging was popular I kept track of a large number of people, approximately 15% made it to goal weight.

kimny72

hixa30 wrote: »

Yes, it's possible, using a loss of 1% per week. Actually, that leaves you 2 pounds above but that's close enough. It definitely is possible to lose 1% per week.

Right now, she could technically lose 2 lbs as 1% of her weight. But as she gets lower, that 1% becomes less than 2 lbs. And that 1% is not the average or to be expected, it's the max recommended.

And the 1% of your body weight max recommendation doesn't supersede the minimum number of calories a person needs to eat to get basic nutrition. Many women simply don't have a high enough TDEE to manage a daily 1000 calorie deficit without severe deprivation.

Faster isn't always better, and losing weight aggressively fast right down to the day of her wedding is not a great idea, for reasons both physical and psychological.

Considering OP was considering an appetite suppressant she is fearful of in order to make this happen, I think that's a red flag it's probably better to take it a little slower.

sugaraddict4321

+1 for the suggestions to go with a more moderate deficit and goal.

My other tip is NOT to buy a wedding dress that is several sizes too small as "motivation". You're already feeling hungry and frustrated, and the stress will go up as the wedding gets closer. The last thing you need or want at the last minute is a dress that doesn't fit because you set your mind on some number that your body may or may not agree to get to.

Maxxitt

I was 5'6" and 197 when I started my weight loss in January 2014. I lost about 26 pounds the first six months - I did weight watchers, and didn't up my activity beyond walking more and found that I was hungry but it was manageable. In June I started a more targeted weight training program and in July I went to MFP, ditching WW because I wasn't getting nearly enough protein, and over the next 8-10 months dropped the next 24# and felt GREAT. I agree with the advice above. Planning wedding ceremonies is stressful enough Go for a reasonable deficit, work out at a reasonable pace (this can help with the stress) and enjoy your day. And yeah, for sure don't buy a dress too small for "motivation."

Hyacinth_Hippo

"I am freaking out because I crave food all day" if you're craving foods all day right now, it's probably not going to get better until you address where these cravings are coming from. Is it because you're bored? Is eating an emotional reaction? Is snacking all day a habit that you need to break? Are you getting enough protein/ fats/ carbs/ fiber/ water? I found that I was having a hard time sticking to my calorie goals when I was getting most of my calories from carbs and I wasn't getting enough fiber, fat and protein to keep me feeling full. I have also found that focusing on drinking enough water has made a huge difference for me. It may or may not be possible for you to lose 50lbs in 6 months, but to achieve any goal you set you will need to come up with a nutrition plan that doesn't leave you hungry all the time.