40 pounds in five months possible?

skylerwebb14
skylerwebb14 Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
well I have been limiting my calories and sticking to mfp and I run c25k exercises everynight and am going to start strength training tonight, is my goal totally unrealistic?

Replies

  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    Depends on how much you have to lose overall. The weight loss will slow down as you get closer to a healthy body weight.
  • skylerwebb14
    skylerwebb14 Posts: 10
    pretty sure I have around a hundred to eighty pounds to lose overall to be at an "ideal" weight I am 5' 6" and weigh 241 pounds
  • lynnkieu
    lynnkieu Posts: 67 Member
    Yes! I lost 40 lbs in 5 months. I am 5'4 and in May I weighed 204. By October I had lost 40 lbs (so over the course of 5 months) although now that I'm in the 160's my weightloss has slowed down quite a bit. Still going in the right direction though.

    Good luck!

    I also started out with running a 5k. I ran my first 5k on the 4th of July. Then in September- I ran a HALF MARATHON! I never thought I'd do something like that but I'm so proud of myself that I did. Running does amazing things for the body. Keep up with it!
  • indigoigloo
    indigoigloo Posts: 20
    40 pounds in five months word work out to 2 pounds a week. At 240 that is certainly possible, but be careful!

    You will be hungrier than if you did only a pound a week: you may end up binge eating.

    Try it, but if you are too hungry: 1) eat more protein, fat, and vegetables; still too hungry: 2) spread out your meals; still hungry 3) try losing 1 pound a week instead.
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    unless you're overweight by 200lbs, no!. Plus, why would you want to lose 12lbs a month? That would mean you would have to eat no more than 1000 calories and workout for 6 hours a day
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I've lost 45 pounds in about six months, and I don't even do a lot of exercise. Totally doable.
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    40 pounds in five months word work out to 2 pounds a week. At 240 that is certainly possible, but be careful!

    You will be hungrier than if you did only a pound a week: you may end up binge eating.

    Try it, but if you are too hungry: 1) eat more protein, fat, and vegetables; still too hungry: 2) spread out your meals; still hungry 3) try losing 1 pound a week instead.

    at 240? Nah, no way in hell you can lose 40lbs in 5 months without losing a lot of muscle. That's close to 2.5lbs per week. Plus, weight loss isn't linear.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I joined Feb. 18 and lost 37 pounds by Sept. It is possible:) I went from 148 to 111.
  • steph6467
    steph6467 Posts: 54 Member
    Your profile indicates that you're a 21 year old guy. If that's true, I'd say TOTALLY possible. :) Unless you have some extreme life circumstances, you probably have pretty good control over your time and energy right now, so you can devote it to your health. It might be a little different if you said you were working 70 hours a week to support your wife and 6 kids and you had no time to work out or think about your meals. But given that you are young and have a good bit of weight to lose, focus your energies, set your target.. on your mark, get set, GO!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Totally possible.
  • Grumpsandwich
    Grumpsandwich Posts: 368 Member
    I work out 45 minutes 5 days a week ( eliptical and belly dancing drills ), doing approx 1200-1600 calories. No troubles with hunger as im actually eating 2 large snacks and 3 meals but lean foods ( bean flour chips n hummus or salsa for the naughty snack cravings) . Ive lost 41 pounds in the last 5 months plus i GAINED substantial muscle mass. Highly possible. I started at 232 pounds :D
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    I lost 40 pounds in 5 months, going from 178 to 138. I was super determined, never cheated, researched everything like crazy, bought a HRM, exercised 6 days a week and upped my protein intake to 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. It was doable for me because getting on the scale every couple of days and seeing a lower number, seeing the changes in my body and muscle tone,and losing the inches really motivated me to keep at it and to kill it. I will share that I was hungry a lot. I am a hungry person in general, but my stomaxh would growl for like an hour before I could eat again. I just dealt with it by drinking tons of eater, tea, and coffee, but I was a bit cranky. Good luck. Even if you don't hit a cool 40 pounds you will make good progress if you stick with the old fashioned formula of moving more and watching what you eat!
  • Nicktheicequeen
    Nicktheicequeen Posts: 34
    I lost 40 pounds in 3 months and 3 days.
    It's possible.
  • jesslyn_yuh
    jesslyn_yuh Posts: 9
    how you did it? mind to share the tips?
  • SeriousBen
    SeriousBen Posts: 41 Member
    I did it in 3 months also. No exercise.
  • mrshudson813
    mrshudson813 Posts: 128 Member
    I think it's totally possible. Good luck!
  • sandi117
    sandi117 Posts: 445 Member
    It is totally possible, but it will take continuous motivation and a lot of discipline. I lost 40lbs. in about 6 months, but I'm also not super disciplined with my diet, and I also took a few 2-3 week breaks from the gym (due to sickness, exhaustion from working 2 physical jobs [swim lessons] during the summer, injury.) I'm certain if I were very precise in my tracking (weighing all my food), cutting out all junk food, fitting my macros to the T, and started strength trainer earlier in my journey, I'd be where I want to be. But, it's still a journey, and I'm making those changes slowly because I know for myself drastic changes do not stick.

    Also, a tip with C25K, if you just started it, make sure you take the rest days in between. I made the mistake of doing it everyday when I started it at the beginning of the year, and after about 2 weeks I got really BAD shin splints that put me out of commission for about 2 weeks.
  • padams2359
    padams2359 Posts: 1,093 Member
    Totally possible. I did it, and I am 47 with a desk job, back problems, and only started going to the gym towards the end. If you are jogging, you are already way ahead of me. Get the fat off. You will lose some muscle mass, but you will be more in a frame of mind to build it back up once you feel better about yourself.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    unless you're overweight by 200lbs, no!. Plus, why would you want to lose 12lbs a month? That would mean you would have to eat no more than 1000 calories and workout for 6 hours a day
    Might want to check your math. 40/5=8, not 12. 60/5=12. I could lose 2 pounds a week quite easily eating 2000 calories a day, as I need 3000 to maintain.
  • Beckaroo94
    Beckaroo94 Posts: 66
    sounds doable. I've lost 4lb per week on slimming world in the past at the beginning. It would be hard but is definitely possible. Good luck :)
  • mom2my4boys
    mom2my4boys Posts: 148 Member
    totally possible! hopefully some of this info will help you :)
    SW: 274 (I finally bought a scale and weighed myself the last day of May)
    CW: 221
    = 53lbs
    I weighed in the last day of May and immediately started paying attention to what I was eating but the first 2 weeks of June I was on vacation and consuming a lot of beer and bbq. I actually got serious about weight loss and going to the gym about mid June. This also includes a stall of about 6 weeks where I lost and then gained the same 3-4lbs.(I was skipping/working through lunch a lot at this point) I stopped drinking Pepsi and switched it to lemon water. I traded in potatoes for lower cal veggies.(cauliflower/cabbage/broccoli ect) i halved my portions of meat at supper.I have a slight sugar addiction, so I switched full size choco bars for fun size. I realized that the coffee I usually drank 2 of a day were costing me about 400 cals a day and now only allow myself one, if a want a pick me up in the afternoon, I have a tea instead.(a lot less cals) i go to the gym 5 days (m-f) a week and usually spend about 45 mins doing cardio, m-w-f i also do the weight circuit. i forgot to add i'm almost 5"6 too.

    good luck on your journey! set yourself some goals and get 'er done!

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