How to lose 4 pounds per week for 6 weeks?
Replies
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Dogmom1978 wrote: »So, if the primary goal is weight loss, the weight lifting isn’t going to do much in regards to that.
Also you are eating too few calories. 1200 is the MINIMUM. And unless you have over 50 lbs to lose, 2 lbs a week is too aggressive. You are setting yourself up for failure and ignoring the sound advice others are trying to give you.
For me to be at a healthy weight I need to be at a minimum 120lbs. I’m 5’0” and currently weight 185lbs. I will take this challenge as a kickstart and plan on losing 2 pounds per week at least. Once this challenge is over I’ll be setting it back to .5 pound a week, if I get more then that’s great too.
Also, I absolutely hate cardio, unless its fun 😭 A lot of the cardio I get is from conditioning like burpees, mountain climbers, jump squats, etc. That’s usually from kickboxing conditioning.4 -
Give up on the challenge and forget about the money. You’re going to make yourself miserable trying to lose 2 lbs a week for what purpose??? And then you’ll quit because you already are having problems with craving foods that for some reason you aren’t just fitting into your calories. It’s a recipe for disaster, but hey, it’s your life if you want to rinse and repeat with gaining and losing repeatedly, have fun.8
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ximenavictoriaxo wrote: »Oof. This challenge I’ve accepted from a kickboxing gym. So they’ll require that I attend 3 sessions per week and meet with a nutritionist/coach my 3rd and 6th week for the weigh-in. So it’s whatever comes first the 25lbs or 6% body fat, I’m focusing on building muscle instead so I hope to meet the body fat percentage. I actually forgot what my body was but I believe it was prob around 34-35%. I’m 27 and I hope I at least come close to losing 15 pounds. I was 165lbs a few months ago before quarantine, so I hope to bounce back to that weight and start weight lifting.
I didn’t think it was gonna be that bad, considering that years ago (when I was at 150 lbs), I did an all-liquid diet under the supervision of a doctor. They called it “medical weight loss”, they charge $1,500 to put you on 500 calorie plan 🤦🏻♀️
My 3rd day of the challenge and I’m already down 4.4 lbs. I have no pre-existing health condition so I hope to keep it that way. Of course I don’t want to keep this up in the long run. 😭 Thanks for the advise everyone.
Unfortunately, you’re not really going to put on muscle eating at such a large deficit and doing just kick boxing. You still might lose some body fat, though 6% seems unrealistic. How are they taking body fat measurements? Calipers are dependent on the skill of the person using them. (And the bio impediment scales are not accurate.)
As so many others have said, the plan is not healthy. Is the “nutritionist” an RD (Registered Dietician)?
Pleas stop thinking about the challenge and trying to “win.” Put your stats in here and lose weight the safe and sustainable way.6 -
ximenavictoriaxo wrote: »I’ll look at it as paying $27 per kickboxing class, cheaper than SoulCycle. This way I try to justify my impulse buy for this unrealistic challenge. I’m really glad I didn’t sign up for the membership when they first offered it, but I really do enjoy the classes. I’m still definitely motivated and I’m still committed to this challenge as I want to create healthier habits. I appreciate the thorough response, I definitely need to do more research as I was a bit lost at your calculations but it’s really interesting! Thank you guys for your support!
You have to pay for the classes ON TOP of the $500?!3 -
ximenavictoriaxo wrote: »ximenavictoriaxo wrote: »Are you logging and eating back your exercise calories? You shouldn't be netting less than 1200 calories a day.
I try to wear my apple watch to account for any activity I do throughout the day. I try to meet the 1200 goal, but somedays I don't meet that as I usually don't eat food after 8PM.
You do realize nothing about the program is healthy, and it's not the best idea to continue?
I’m aware, I’m now following MFP’s plan of 2 lbs per week. That’s why it put me on the 1200 calorie plan. I still like to have some type of accountability, so I’m still doing the challenge which would require that I attend kickboxing classes 3 times per week.
One more thing to note ... 1200 is as low as MFP will go for a woman because: health. Once you hit the basement, MFP goes no lower. The calorie goal to (numerically) lose two pounds a week could be lower, and is not recommended.7 -
ximenavictoriaxo wrote: »I’ll look at it as paying $27 per kickboxing class, cheaper than SoulCycle. This way I try to justify my impulse buy for this unrealistic challenge. I’m really glad I didn’t sign up for the membership when they first offered it, but I really do enjoy the classes. I’m still definitely motivated and I’m still committed to this challenge as I want to create healthier habits. I appreciate the thorough response, I definitely need to do more research as I was a bit lost at your calculations but it’s really interesting! Thank you guys for your support!
You have to pay for the classes ON TOP of the $500?!
If you put down the $500 deposit, and the classes are $27 a piece 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Isn't the challenge in total costing almost $1,000? If you know the challenge is unrealstic, but like the classes why not try to get your money back, and continue with the classes?4 -
ximenavictoriaxo wrote: »I’ll look at it as paying $27 per kickboxing class, cheaper than SoulCycle. This way I try to justify my impulse buy for this unrealistic challenge. I’m really glad I didn’t sign up for the membership when they first offered it, but I really do enjoy the classes. I’m still definitely motivated and I’m still committed to this challenge as I want to create healthier habits. I appreciate the thorough response, I definitely need to do more research as I was a bit lost at your calculations but it’s really interesting! Thank you guys for your support!
You have to pay for the classes ON TOP of the $500?!
If you put down the $500 deposit, and the classes are $27 a piece 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Isn't the challenge in total costing almost $1,000? If you know the challenge is unrealstic, but like the classes why not try to get your money back, and continue with the classes?
I don't think she's paying extra for the classes: 500 dollars spread over 6 weeks of classes 3 days a week equals 27 dollars per class.12 -
Good luck , I’d just try to eat a more balanced diet and less sugar and carbs, drink more water and consider eating more calories.
I’ve been there and done that with most diets and most recommend 1200 calories but it was only when I ate 1800 that I lost weight and fast.
Low carb full fat zero sugar 1800 calories (everyone is different with calories and what works for them) and I lost a pound a day for the first 2 weeks then 1-3lbs a week after with no exercise 👍2 -
As much as you hate doing boring cardio, I wouldn't recommend doing things like burpees or jump squats or kickboxin. Unless you have already been doing burpees and jump squats on a regular basis, you will more than likely get an injury at some point and derail your weight loss. See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c2onhR4pXY as an example.
Jumping and landing on your feet with 190 lbs is a lot of stress to put on your joints.
Everyone starts off a diet extremely motivated and determined, especially when they have something invested. The first week most people will see water weight come off and be extremely motivated, but when week 2 rolls around and the numbers stop moving, the motivation quickly disappears.
Also at 1200 calories, hunger pangs probably just get stronger and stronger after 1-2 weeks, and almost unbearable by week 3, and you will be craving a whole lot more than junk food.
My recommendation is figure out how much your eating today and start cutting some of it out. I wouldn't drink protein shakes as you should get plenty of protein from your foods anyways. Cutting out things like dessert or high calories sauces is a good way to start. Reducing your portion size by a few bites is another good way to start. If you can't eat your food without sauce then your probably not hungry. When you are hungry, even the most bland food taste good. Going guard rail to guard rail from what you normally eat to a clean 1200 calorie including shakes doesn't yield a high chance of success.
Also find steady state cardio that has low risk of injury like walking, treadmill, biking or elliptical that you can do every day. True it may take more time than high intensity cardio, but if your not having to take days off and not getting injured, it will work out better in the long run. Also you can always wake up earlier if your that motivated to lose the weight. Don't push your self when you start off to the point where you can't move, but do push your self. Again, not getting injured and giving your self an excuse or having doctors tell you that you need to take a break if very important. This is a life style change, not just a 6 week deal to get your money back.
I would skip the time on weights as that isn't going to burn many calories. If you want to get stronger, you can just do basics like body squats, push ups and things like that at home. Don't need to waste time going to gym. But do the strength after you do your cardio since your goal is to lose weight. You can always do push up or squats at home before you shower if your not completely exhausted from your cardio. And if your not completely exhausted, maybe you could push your self a little harder on the cardio the next day. Just understand that you can get to 120 lbs by just dieting and doing basic steady state cardio, just probably not in the time frame you want. But the satisfaction of seeing steady weight loss and not having to quit eating and giving up your social life will be worth far more than 500 dollars.
And I won't say good luck as you don't need luck to reach your ideal weight. You just need to be determined.
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I feel for you, OP. You've already committed to this plan, no one here supports it and the gym people are spinning you a very hopeful sounding story. I don't blame you for wanting to ignore the naysayers, the other story sounds so much better: a staggering weight loss and $500 in your pocket.
I lost 5.7lb in my first week, and that didn't involve any exercise. The initial weight loss, however, is always a lie, and it's a seductive lie that makes you think you can keep it up forever. Once all the water weight is gone, all you have left is real weight loss, and that will slow down. You know, I managed to keep my weight loss trend graph beautifully straight for a very long time - but even with my consistent, strict diet, I couldn't keep it up forever. Periods will also mess with the trend (albeit, temporarily).
The simple matter is, weight loss isn't uniform. You can put the effort in, but sometimes there are random fluctuations - you have to take a step back and look at the trend over time, otherwise the scales will break your heart. And heartbreak is to be avoided if you have any emotional eating tendencies!
Part of you accepts that your $500 is gone, and it's effectively a prepaid booking for your kickboxing classes. That's a good way of framing it. Eating less and exercising more is not a bad combination. It's just, there are limits.
I would urge you to listen to your body. If you're exercising this often, your body will need sufficient fuel. You can't simply keep your calorie intake low and work out without eating anything extra to fuel the workouts. At some point - and it might not be straight away - your body will protest. If you won't listen to anyone else, listen to your body. Being tired after a workout is not unusual, but if you are exhausted - listen to your body telling you it's run out of energy. Try to be mindful of the signs.
Please accept that no matter what happens in the first week, you may have to accept you need to scale things back before the end of the six weeks, and if that happens, you haven't failed.12 -
If you make it through this, you can still do the reverse of that (i.e., ultra low carb, low fiber/bulk for maybe the week before the final weigh-in, dehydration the day of (not longer)). That will be a punitive experience, too, unfortunately.
Another possibility is doing a water cut, which you'd start approx 5 days out from your final weigh-in (and to clarify for those who don't know, this does NOT mean dehydration for 5 days). They are commonly used in sports where there are weight classes (powerlifting, combat sports, etc). It's generally considered safe/reasonable for a female to cut up to 8% bodyweight; be aware that appropriate recovery will have you back at or above that weight within 24 hours. So about a week out from your final weigh-in, if you're within that target range...may be feasible.
Also I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I disagree with the whole notion of threatening the business over this. Yes, they are promoting unhealthy practices & ripping people off, but caveat emptor. Pretty sure everyone has heard "the house always wins." While it's definitely "bad behavior," the gym didn't do anything illegal; if there were any documents signed when enlisting for this challenge, I'm leaning toward believing somewhere in the fine print is a "consult your doctor prior to beginning any diet or exercise" line too. It sucks, but nobody was forced to sign up for this & personal responsibility for choices made yadda yadda yadda. Just my $0.02.
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Also I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I disagree with the whole notion of threatening the business over this. Yes, they are promoting unhealthy practices & ripping people off, but caveat emptor. Pretty sure everyone has heard "the house always wins." While it's definitely "bad behavior," the gym didn't do anything illegal; if there were any documents signed when enlisting for this challenge, I'm leaning toward believing somewhere in the fine print is a "consult your doctor prior to beginning any diet or exercise" line too. It sucks, but nobody was forced to sign up for this & personal responsibility for choices made yadda yadda yadda. Just my $0.02.
Both sides are betting against each other. The gym is betting the customer can't do it, the customer is betting they can get the gym to work for free.
I'm now looking at my weight loss goals and considering betting on myself. Maybe if I hit a certain weight loss by a certain date, I'll buy myself something nice. If I don't... the money will go to savings. A bit less destructive.4 -
If you make it through this, you can still do the reverse of that (i.e., ultra low carb, low fiber/bulk for maybe the week before the final weigh-in, dehydration the day of (not longer)). That will be a punitive experience, too, unfortunately.
...Also I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I disagree with the whole notion of threatening the business over this. Yes, they are promoting unhealthy practices & ripping people off, but caveat emptor. Pretty sure everyone has heard "the house always wins." While it's definitely "bad behavior," the gym didn't do anything illegal; if there were any documents signed when enlisting for this challenge, I'm leaning toward believing somewhere in the fine print is a "consult your doctor prior to beginning any diet or exercise" line too. It sucks, but nobody was forced to sign up for this & personal responsibility for choices made yadda yadda yadda. Just my $0.02.
You think the gym is ripping people off but don't think she should threaten them with the BBB and her state's AG? When I mentioned state AG, I of course meant Consumer Protection /Advocacy division - the WHOLE POINT of this is redress for people who were "ripped off."
I suggest this not from a consumer perspective, but as a former employee of a business in an industry where our practices were often scrutinized by states' AGs (and other entities.)5 -
ximenavictoriaxo wrote: »Dogmom1978 wrote: »So, if the primary goal is weight loss, the weight lifting isn’t going to do much in regards to that.
Also you are eating too few calories. 1200 is the MINIMUM. And unless you have over 50 lbs to lose, 2 lbs a week is too aggressive. You are setting yourself up for failure and ignoring the sound advice others are trying to give you.
For me to be at a healthy weight I need to be at a minimum 120lbs. I’m 5’0” and currently weight 185lbs. I will take this challenge as a kickstart and plan on losing 2 pounds per week at least. Once this challenge is over I’ll be setting it back to .5 pound a week, if I get more then that’s great too.
Also, I absolutely hate cardio, unless its fun 😭 A lot of the cardio I get is from conditioning like burpees, mountain climbers, jump squats, etc. That’s usually from kickboxing conditioning.
Rely less on BMI. It’s a flawed system that has a place but shouldn’t be the end all be all of determining ones health. Look into waist to height ratio. Personally, I use them both as a guideline. By BMI standards I’m overweight, but by waist to height I’m at a healthy weight. I still want to lose between 4-6 pounds but if for some reason everything stopped right here, I would be happy with the 26 pounds I’ve lost over 8 months. I’m 5’1 and I understand the struggle of being short and seeing such a teeny number being put in your face as an end all be all of a healthy weight. But talk to a professional. Ask your doctor for a recommendation to someone who specializes in healthy, sustainable weight loss.2 -
Oh gosh, you mention you are anaemic too?
You definitely shouldn't be doing this
I hope you don't harm yourself. 5 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNQ8ZKq9QQo
Ashley lost 6%, Zach lost 9% and Claire lost 7.7%, all in 6 weeks. OP has to lose 6%. I still believe it's doable.1 -
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Didnt watch all the video - but seems like one of those testimonials you get in all ads - unverified advertising by the promoter, not an independent or objective (or neccesarily even truthful) account16
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stevehenderson776 wrote: »stevehenderson776 wrote: »This isn't a healthy way to lose weight.
Can you please explain how this $500 challenge works? You get a refund if you make it, but lose it if you don't? Is this a commercial "service?" A bet between friends? So best case scenario is you win $0, worst case scenario is you lose $500. I don't understand what your motivation is for doing this. It seems like a scam. Somebody explain this to me.
It sounds like one of the weight loss betting sites like dietbet.com or healthywage.com . Unfortunately, while one is not required to enter into a "if I succeed I get nothing, and if I fail, I lose $$$" to use those sites, many people do approach it that way.
Seems rather predatory. Especially this particular case of it.
I edited my post b/c my wife pointed out that there is a handful of people who do get a payoff greater than their initial investment. However, there's not many of them, the payouts are stingy given the risk, and I do agree the whole thing is predatory.
It's good if you do it responsibly. DietBet is 4% weight loss in 4 weeks, or 1% per week (ex: 2 lbs/week). I have won every Diet Bet I did but never more than like $10 profit per bet.
I made $630 with Healthy Wage, of which $350 of which pure profit, by losing 75 lbs in 18 months and betting $10 month (so I paid $10 a month for 18 months). My bet was initially $10 a month for a year, but I ended up not wasting time, not getting started until 6 months in, and "bought" more time (your payout stays the same, but your profit percentages go down cause I paid $180 in the end instead of $120).
The problem with Healthy Wage is people either bet too much per month, go too aggressive, or both.2 -
I don't know.
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MHarper522 wrote: »stevehenderson776 wrote: »stevehenderson776 wrote: »This isn't a healthy way to lose weight.
Can you please explain how this $500 challenge works? You get a refund if you make it, but lose it if you don't? Is this a commercial "service?" A bet between friends? So best case scenario is you win $0, worst case scenario is you lose $500. I don't understand what your motivation is for doing this. It seems like a scam. Somebody explain this to me.
It sounds like one of the weight loss betting sites like dietbet.com or healthywage.com . Unfortunately, while one is not required to enter into a "if I succeed I get nothing, and if I fail, I lose $$$" to use those sites, many people do approach it that way.
Seems rather predatory. Especially this particular case of it.
I edited my post b/c my wife pointed out that there is a handful of people who do get a payoff greater than their initial investment. However, there's not many of them, the payouts are stingy given the risk, and I do agree the whole thing is predatory.
It's good if you do it responsibly. DietBet is 4% weight loss in 4 weeks, or 1% per week (ex: 2 lbs/week). I have won every Diet Bet I did but never more than like $10 profit per bet.
I made $630 with Healthy Wage, of which $350 of which pure profit, by losing 75 lbs in 18 months and betting $10 month (so I paid $10 a month for 18 months). My bet was initially $10 a month for a year, but I ended up not wasting time, not getting started until 6 months in, and "bought" more time (your payout stays the same, but your profit percentages go down cause I paid $180 in the end instead of $120).
The problem with Healthy Wage is people either bet too much per month, go too aggressive, or both.
How nice--were you able to keep the weight off?1 -
I read this entire thread, I've nothing more to add that would be useful so just though I'd ask - How are you doing OP?3
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I read this entire thread, I've nothing more to add that would be useful so just though I'd ask - How are you doing OP?
So I’m on my third week of this challenge and I feel really good. I have been consistent with exercising everyday (3 days kickboxing, 4 days doing 20 mins HIIT workout). Now I wake up in the morning so much quicker than before, I used to lay in bed forever trying to find the energy to get up. I’m down to 181 lbs, but pretty sure that was all water weight since now I’ve been at 181 for the past 3 days, but that’s OK. I forgot to take my measurements in the beginning so I just took them last night, I’ll have to update on week 6.
After week 6 I’ll definitely increase my calories again (1,200). It’s been getting harder to hit the 1200 calorie because I don’t find myself getting hungry. Then again my workload has increased and I need to get 2 certifications by the end of this year. So under a lot of pressure but exercising has helped me relieve the stress.
One thing that I still need to deal with is my “hunger” at midnight. I stop eating around 8:30PM, so maybe I’m not getting enough protein for dinner? Not sure, but I don’t give in anymore to my midnight cravings and just go to bed and wake up just fine.6 -
So how many calories are you eating these past few days.0
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It depends on how busy I am that day. I found just this week I’ve been struggling with fitting in the 1,200 calories. It fluctuates with my workload and study. I always meet my protein goals for the day, or usually exceed them even if I’m below 1k a few days. I am not getting enough iron so I am taking supplements with vitamin c for better absorption.Diatonic12 wrote: »So how many calories are you eating these past few days.
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I'm tryin' but this challenge makes me pretty sad. What's your strategy after it's all over. 5 -
Diatonic12 wrote: » I'm tryin' but this challenge makes me pretty sad. What's your strategy after it's all over.
After the challenge is over, I won’t restrict myself as much in regards to fatty foods like red meat. My go to meal is zucchini spaghetti with lean ground turkey. I would then start making smoothies with fruits, I try to only treat myself with strawberries.
Right now, I’ll have a banana when I’m really craving sweets. After the challenge I won’t restrict my carb intake so much. My plan after this challenge is to get a personal trainer to help me start up weight lifting.
I’m really determined to keep it going and with that I also found that I need to have a determined partner. I’ve talked with my boyfriend about my concerns with motivation, I find it easier to stay motivated if we are both working towards one goal. Since moving in together, I realized he’s really lazy and plus he has weight to gain, not lose. I believe I’ve gained a lot of weight because he kept offering me foods he ate. This man eats cereal, ice cream at night, candy, McDonalds chicken nuggets and is only 130lbs. I felt that I was doing a lot of the work, as far as cooking healthy meals and planning everything. So I’m glad I was able to have this talk and also motivate him to do better. After gaining back almost all the weight I had previously lost in 2019, it made me look back at everything that went wrong and could improve. I believe I was shocked I was at up to 192 again, my highest was 200 in 2019, and that’s what lead me to go for this challenge.
I’m not mad about the money and I’m glad I didn’t sign up because it’s 45 mins away from my house anyways. I’m determined to keep it off for good and keep making healthier decisions. My plan later is probably to lose 1 pound a month. I won’t be so harsh on myself.
/rant6 -
I haven't read all the replies but just wanted to sprinkle some quick observations
1. challenges seem to be temporary and usually not a good idea, they can set up most people for a disappointment, a gradual life style change is preferred, the way I think of this is, hey if you are 35 for example it took you 35 years to get to where you're at, so 6 weeks or whatever ain't gonna undo it
2. from what I have seen anything over .5 pounds of loss per week is too much has adverse effects, stretched skin, or the pounds tend to come back cause of #1 above
3. you can loose weight quickly but, there's a but, if you only put on the extra weight temporarily, this is where a fit person or an athlete suffers an injury or some other set back and gains say 20 pounds in a short period of time, usually a few months, and then says enough is enough and I need to get back to my "regular" weight, so once the cast is off or the surgery has healed they go back right into it
lately my favorite saying is: the easiest calories to burn are the ones you don't put in your mouth in the first place!4 -
I accepted this challenge solely based on impulse, now I’m using this as a kickstart. I am determined to keep it going, what I do miss is Peruvian food. I have stopped eating Peruvian food because it because it usually incorporates rice and other starches. I do believe it is healthier, but eventually I will incorporate this into my cooking after the challenge.
I’m not too worried about lose skin, I’ve been around or above 150lbs for the past 10 years so I’m sure there will be lose skin anyways. There’s surgery for that, if I work hard on myself and at work I can reward myself once I meet my fitness goal.0 -
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