Is it possible to lose 18lbs in 1 month??

Enfermita94

Im 210lbs and 5'4 (i dont workout last time i exercised was in april 2013)

and i eat junk most of the time

Now if i eat healthy and workout for 40min 3-4x per week can I lose that much??

King_Of_Juicy

If you cut out almost all carbs you can. Carbs make you retain water. Cut carbs, cut water retention. Cut water retention, cut weight. Almost 8lbs/gallon. For every 1 gram of carb you eat, 3-4 grams of h2o follow. Check out paleo diet and atkins diet.

MelodyandBarbells

Weight loss is a result of a caloric deficit. To lose one pound you need to burn 3,500 calories

So, attempting to average that over a 30 day month:

18 lb x 3,500 calories per pound = create a 63,000 calorie deficit over 30 days

63,000 calories per month / 30 days = 2,100 calorie deficit per day (less food, more movement combined)

Can you do this? What does MFP say you should eat per day to maintain? You can also plug the same goals into MFP to see what it says.

darbobo

Not trying to be a downer, but I don't see this having a good outcome. Its about being consistent, not trying to loose all this weight in 30 days. You will end up gaining it back and more. Look at your long term goals. If this is your path, I wish you good luck

jayrudq

No. You can't and you shouldn't. Do you want to cut off a limb???? And cutting out carbs and so called water weight is well, just nonsense.

Sorry, but it didn't take you a month to get to 210 pounds and it is going to take some time to lose that weight. Unrealistic expectations will only discourage you and keep the cycle going.

If you eat at a deficit and work out, you will lose weight. There a numerous threads on here to show you just how. Do a little homework. You will be glad you did.

King_Of_Juicy

Weight loss is a result of a caloric deficit. To lose one pound you need to burn 3,500 calories

So, attempting to average that over a 30 day month:

18 lb x 3,500 calories per pound = create a 63,000 calorie deficit over 30 days

63,000 calories per month / 30 days = 2,100 calorie deficit per day (less food, more movement combined)

Can you do this? What does MFP say you should eat per day to maintain? You can also plug the same goals into MFP to see what it says.

This isnt acurate if a person is just starting. Water weight is still there.....once that has been dealt with then you are correct. This person is obese. They prob have about 30lbs of water weight and can easily lose this in 30 days, Cut salt and carbs...DONE

MelodyandBarbells

I plugged in your numbers (and made up some others) in this Total Daily Energy Expediture (TDEE) calculator and got 2323 for your TDEE. It would be very difficult, IMO, to average a 2100 calorie deficit per day over a month, based on a TDEE so close to 2,100 already. If I had to guess I would say no, you probably couldn't healthily lose 18 pounds in the next month.

FatHuMan1

No. You can't and you shouldn't. Do you want to cut off a limb???? And cutting out carbs and so called water weight is well, just nonsense.

Sorry, but it didn't take you a month to get to 210 pounds and it is going to take some time to lose that weight. Unrealistic expectations will only discourage you and keep the cycle going.

If you eat at a deficit and work out, you will lose weight. There a numerous threads on here to show you just how. Do a little homework. You will be glad you did.

^This

MelodyandBarbells

Weight loss is a result of a caloric deficit. To lose one pound you need to burn 3,500 calories

So, attempting to average that over a 30 day month:

18 lb x 3,500 calories per pound = create a 63,000 calorie deficit over 30 days

63,000 calories per month / 30 days = 2,100 calorie deficit per day (less food, more movement combined)

Can you do this? What does MFP say you should eat per day to maintain? You can also plug the same goals into MFP to see what it says.

This isnt acurate if a person is just starting. Water weight is still there.....once that has been dealt with then you are correct. This person is obese. They prob have about 30lbs of water weight and can easily lose this in 30 days, Cut salt and carbs...DONE

I see what you mean, like if they want to fit into an outfit or something. Do you really think someone coming off of eating junk food could stay away from carbs and salt a whole month? I also took that into consideration (not very active) while assuming they might not be able to burn the calories to generate the deficit

NormInv

I once lost 25 in 2 weeks when they amputated my left arm.

King_Of_Juicy

Weight loss is a result of a caloric deficit. To lose one pound you need to burn 3,500 calories

So, attempting to average that over a 30 day month:

18 lb x 3,500 calories per pound = create a 63,000 calorie deficit over 30 days

63,000 calories per month / 30 days = 2,100 calorie deficit per day (less food, more movement combined)

Can you do this? What does MFP say you should eat per day to maintain? You can also plug the same goals into MFP to see what it says.

This isnt acurate if a person is just starting. Water weight is still there.....once that has been dealt with then you are correct. This person is obese. They prob have about 30lbs of water weight and can easily lose this in 30 days, Cut salt and carbs...DONE

I see what you mean, like if they want to fit into an outfit or something. Do you really think someone coming off of eating junk food could stay away from carbs and salt a whole month? I also took that into consideration (not very active) while assuming they might not be able to burn the calories to generate the deficit

You have to want it more than the alternatives. Ive trained lots of ppl that can do it. As a matter of fact I wont train ppl who havent hit rock bottom. Whats the alternative? Heart disease, stroke, cancer?

sydneyplainjane

When I was young, I used to lose that much easily in a month (and I know that I did with the old Stillman diet, for some of you old timers!), but I'd usually gain it all back.

GingerLolita

It may be possible, but it's not a very realistic goal. More than 2 pounds a month is generally considered unsafe. If you do lose the weight that quickly through crash dieting, you'll probably just gain it all back later because that isn't sustainable.

Mr_Knight

Now if i eat healthy and workout for 40min 3-4x per week can I lose that much??

No, if you're talking about actual fat loss.

If you stopped eating entirely for a month and then spent the last 24 hours on a treadmill in a sauna, then maybe you could get there. Even then, much of it will come right back as soon as you drink any water.

If you are already fit, it might be possible to do this without literally starving yourself by exercising at extremely high levels (eg running 15 miles a day), but very few people have the ability to actually do that. Plus that much work at such a large deficit has other negative repercussions.

bobf279

not likely without losing a limb

Mr_Knight

If you cut out almost all carbs you can. Carbs make you retain water. Cut carbs, cut water retention. Cut water retention, cut weight.

That's not maintainable. It means draining your body's primary "battery", which will recharge (and therefore rehydrate) the first chance it gets.

susieoj

Many things are possible, I would never deny the possibility, only question the reasoning behind the strategy. That said, weight can sometimes come off easier and quicker at first the more you have to lose, you still have to diligently log what you eat and maintain a large deficit though. One month is a drop in the bucket though.... You'll have to keep it up a lot longer than a month to make a positive lasting change, so why only focus on a month?

SuffolkSally

I think weight loss is a dark art as well as a science! Some people do see rapid loss at the beginning of a lifestyle change - yeah sure a lot of it may be water, but it's very motivating.

I lost 14lb in my first month of following MFP - that was February of last year, and it has stayed off (I've trebled that loss since, but more slowly). I wasn't either obese or inactive, and I didn't do anything drastic (I had my calorie goal a little lower than I would now that I'm better informed, but not by much.

It's probably not good to expect it - then you'll be disappointed - but the benefits of eating well and exercising appear surprisingly fast and in all sorts of ways.

MelodyandBarbells

Weight loss is a result of a caloric deficit. To lose one pound you need to burn 3,500 calories

So, attempting to average that over a 30 day month:

18 lb x 3,500 calories per pound = create a 63,000 calorie deficit over 30 days

63,000 calories per month / 30 days = 2,100 calorie deficit per day (less food, more movement combined)

Can you do this? What does MFP say you should eat per day to maintain? You can also plug the same goals into MFP to see what it says.

This isnt acurate if a person is just starting. Water weight is still there.....once that has been dealt with then you are correct. This person is obese. They prob have about 30lbs of water weight and can easily lose this in 30 days, Cut salt and carbs...DONE

I see what you mean, like if they want to fit into an outfit or something. Do you really think someone coming off of eating junk food could stay away from carbs and salt a whole month? I also took that into consideration (not very active) while assuming they might not be able to burn the calories to generate the deficit

You have to want it more than the alternatives. Ive trained lots of ppl that can do it. As a matter of fact I wont train ppl who havent hit rock bottom. Whats the alternative? Heart disease, stroke, cancer?

Time Six months to a year WILL come around, then you'll have to ask yourself what you did with it. The better answer for the OP is I spent it losing weight healthily

MB_Positif

Just eat at Taco Bell every day. You'll poop enough to lose 18 pounds, especially if you drink a lot of coffee too. And laxatives.

Carol_L

Is it possible to lose 18lbs in a month? 18 lbs of what? Mass? Then maybe. Fat? No.

The scale is not the best way to gauge progress. It tells you what you weigh, but not how the components are distributed. For the same weight, muscle occupies less volume than fat, so it is possible to drop a couple of sizes and not see the scale budge just because of changes to your body composition.

If you want to obsess over a number, go ahead. People live and die by the scale (in some cases quite literally), and never realize the damage that they do to themselves in pursuit of a number rather than looking at their body composition.

metaphoria

Well, there was this one time I gave birth...

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

You shouldn't try it, but you are in the obese range of overweight for your height, so if you are starting with a lot of muscle also, and you increase your amount of exercise to several hours/day, you can. If you want to see if you can survive being starved and not cause health problems or worse, that's another way. Either way, it will not be good for you, you will hurt your underlying musculature, and stressing your body to a more efficient burn (less calories per day plus less muscle = even less calories/day burnt) and even if you are successful, you will rebound and regain.

aippolito1

It'd be closer to aim for 10 lbs in a month and even that is usually pretty tricky. I'm 207 and 5'3 3/4". My goals on MFP are set up for me to lose 1.8 lbs per week which will be ALMOST 10 lbs in a month... granted, if you are just starting off and you do a dramatic change and go straight from junk to eating VERY clean (check out my diary) and working out (and I mean, an hour a day, 6 days a week), you could probably lose close to 15, but probably not 18.


A few of those pounds will most likely be water weight, but just do 2 lbs/week with MFP, eat really well, workout HARD, eat all you exercise calories (GOOD calories), and see what happens in a month. You might be surprised...but aiming for close to 20 in a month is crazy unless you're like 400 lbs, which you're not.

Ely82010

Im 210lbs and 5'4 (i dont workout last time i exercised was in april 2013)

and i eat junk most of the time

Now if i eat healthy and workout for 40min 3-4x per week can I lose that much??

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1115747-18-pounds-in-30-days The same question, from a 19 years old, in two different threads.......:grumble:

5n0wbal1

Short answer: No.

Long answer: If you're trying to do this in a healthy, sustainable way so that you can keep the weight off permanently, and you're not willing to do significant physical harm to yourself, you should look at losing the 18 lbs. over a minimum of 3 months, not 1. Ideally, 1 pound a week of loss is usually the most ideal weight loss pattern, which means you would be doing this for about 18 weeks, give or take (weight loss isn't precisely linear, after all). That's about 4 1/2 months, which would take you through the holiday season. If you're not willing to live at a deficit during the holidays, think about more like 6 months. If you want it badly enough, you can stick with it.

MrsFowler1069

Depending on the circumstances, it can be. Although I think the questions should be why? What is it you really want to accomplish? What about next month? And how do you actually do it safely and effectively?

As someone else mentioned, I too lost an average of 15 pounds per month for the first three months. Since then it has slowed down (partly because of my activity level), but my clothes are still fitting better, etc. I only just yesterday wore a pair of jeans that was quite snug a couple of weeks ago.

I'm nowhere near done and I had a lot to lose in the first place, so the initial weight came off really quickly. It wasn't a sustainable rate of loss and I happened to be doing some very physical work (roofing) which isn't normal for me, but it was a nice jump start. My goal, however, is not that. It was to get to a healthy weight and become more fit. Otherwise, the first 15 wouldn't have really meant anything, because I would already have gained it back.

Also, I would like to mention that I never go hungry and didn't accomplish this much by ever starving myself. It wasn't a crash diet. It isn't "a diet" at all, although my diet has changed quite a bit, if you dig. Good luck with whatever it is you're trying to do - but I hope you keep it healthy.

777Gemma888

Is it possible to lose 18 lbs in 1 month?

Possible? Yes. Doable? Depends on your level of discipline and commitment. For the results you seek ~ low to zero carbing is seemingly plausible an avenue for you to pursue. BUT, can you stick to it? Will you measure EVERYTHING you consume? Are you able to prevent yourself from cheating? Will you forgive yourself, IF you gain some of that "NO - CARB" weight back?

wilmnoca

Yes, but from the sound of your post, you won't; and if you did, for how long will it stay off?

J012345

it is possible but in long term your just gonna gain it all back if you don't usually exercise.

Grace215lbs

No, if you intend on being healthy and keeping the weight off and look good by the end of this. Losing weight doenst just magically = sexy toned skinny like all those fake commercials and gimmics tell you.. You need to work out, move those muscles, lift, eat right and when you have to lose 80-100lbs to do that. Losing weight fast will only result in saggy skin, damaged bones, no muscle tone, hair falling out. The list goes on. If you intend to do this consult a professional to prevent this stuff from happening. But even they will most likey be against it long team.

This is coming from someone who has lost 70lbs