Fast Weight Loss

rgugs13

RE: I would be curious to know what you do for work outs. 700 calories day for a 30 year old male with only about 25 pounds to lose seems awfully low. What would you guess your weekly averages to be, with the "fat days"?

So far this month, my daily average with "fat days" is 1466 calories/day. I've jumped rope for 500 minutes and ran at 6.7mph for 20 min = 9546 calories burned. I do not calculate any other exercises that I do (weights, pull-ups, chin-ups, cooling down etc...). Looking at my calorie log, it's averaging down as the month goes on. I'm also working out more as the month goes on. My "allotted" calorie intake is 1560/day in effort to lose 2lbs/week, per MFP.

You jumped rope for 8 hours straight if you did it for 500 minutes.

Further more, if you are really only eating about 700 calories per day, you would have to have eaten about 5000, yes FIVE THOUSAND calories on each of those 4 cheat days to average out to 1466. That sounds like an eating disorder to me.

How is that a sustainable way to keep weight off if you ever plan to have a full time job or have a social life? If you don't develop habits to stay healthy that incorporate real life, you are either going to die alone and unhappy but skinny, or gain it all back again. Please don't take this as being a hater, but that is really unhealthy. I've had a friend with anorexia/bulimia, and it is an ugly disease. If you only focus on being skinny, you will never be happy. You have to find other reasons to make you happy, like completing a 5k or a mud run or hiking a mountain or something like that. I really think you should contact a counselor and a nutritionist to work through these problems. MFP is great, but in person guidance from trained people is much better in your situation.

Rachel

rgugs13

I know, I know. The key is to lose it slowly with real lifestyle changes yadda yadda.

My husband is deployed for the next few months and I want to be at my goal weight when he returns....at that time I would love to be 1.) In shape enough to do the activities we have put off. Such as hiking and scuba diving. An active lifestyle that will keep me fit, but has been hindered by current lifestyle. 2.) I would love to have hit up the habit of cooking and eating healthy meals so much that it is part of my daily routine even when he comes back.

I really feel like losing all of the weight quickly will give me the confidence boost, energy, muscle to fat ratio, etc. that I need to keep it off AND surprise my husband.

So I know that 1-2 lbs is the max recommended, but 3-4 will put me where I need to be. Has anyone had success and what did you do?

I'm glad you decided to take the more manageable steady route!!!

You can do it. I also want to let you know, you don't have to wait until you are completely in shape and bikini ready to do scuba diving or hiking. I've done both, even when I weighed nearly 190 pounds. I'm only 5'3", and just weighed in at 182.6 today. I have a long way to go, but I have never let my weight stop me from doing things I enjoy. By doing those physical activities, it motivates you to get more in shape as you go. My big kick in the butt this time was spending 2 weeks learning to surf in Morocco. I had a blast, but my fitness level kept me back from doing as well as I wanted to. I've started working out and swearing I'll change my ways every time I get back from work (I do contract work, 3 months at a time), but it always falls off when I go back to work. That kickstart has led me to not only start to change my eating and exercise habits, but I'm also planning a career change to facilitate a healthier lifestyle. With military and tropical island, I'm guessing you are in Hawaii. There are tons of opportunities for outdoor physical activity on all the islands. I spent a week on the Big Island a couple years ago diving with a friend, and had a blast. If you find an activity you enjoy, you will stick with it, even when your motivation to workout dwindles!

Best of luck!!

Rachel

SnackHips

Thanks Rachel. I try to not let my weight hold me back, but then I get out there and just feel bad about being out of shape and go home. I know, it is something I am working on. The weight came on after some depression and too much drinking/desserts....otherwise I spent most of my life skinny without trying. I can't do that anymore. I have to bust my butt. haha Plus I don't want to just be skinny like I was. I want to be strong and active.
No, we live in Okinawa.

beachlover317

Looking at my calorie log, it's averaging down as the month goes on. I'm also working out more as the month goes on. My "allotted" calorie intake is 1560/day in effort to lose 2lbs/week, per MFP.

Calories averaging DOWN, working out MORE - Good luck with that plan. Like I said in my first post, you're an adult. Being an adult does not mean that we always do the right things. Maybe you do not care about what happens to your body and that's fine. But to encourage others to do something that most would consider unhealthy - is irresponsible.

Sjenny5891

Yes--- and no. I had a lot of success the first couple of months. Then the weight loss tapered off to the 2lb a week loss that is recommended.

It has been suggested that most of that was excess water because of how much Sodium I had in my diet.

They say not to go for more than 2lb a week for a reason because too much too fast can make you sick.

I would recommend working on just walking and eventually getting up to hiking as your main goal and not just the number on the scale.

SnackHips

I need to work on my sodium as well. I have been working on running for a few months now. The hiking is more about feeling like I have an athletic body and can go out there and adventure. It is more complex than that, but I can't explain. This last spring and summer I lifted weights 3 times a week and lost several inches...even fit into a bathing suit that I had stubbornly bought a size too small early that spring. My schedule got so busy that I stopped. I never gained or lost a pound lifting weights and running has only caused me to get fatter because it would make me so hungry that I end up losing control......

So I have an all new approach for myself (to include MFP). I really am not obsessed about numbers on a scale considering I have been about the same number for years now despite having worked out more than I had in my life. I understand there are more important things like health and muscle vs fat. I just came on this thread being impatient and tired of never getting anywhere despite effort. I hope this food log makes all of the difference.

beachlover317

So I have an all new approach for myself (to include MFP). I really am not obsessed about numbers on a scale considering I have been about the same number for years now despite having worked out more than I had in my life. I understand there are more important things like health and muscle vs fat. I just came on this thread being impatient and tired of never getting anywhere despite effort. I hope this food log makes all of the difference.

The key to losing weight is in maintaining a calorie deficit. It's also important to weigh/measure every bite you eat and then log it. I think it's great that you are already exercising because it does make it easier to participate in the adventures of life for sure. Use MFP to log and keep account of exactly what you're eating. Once you are on a healthy calorie deficit, then work on meeting your macros (fat/protein/carbs). Then, after you have that under your belt - move on to things like sodium, iron, etc. One step at a time is how you will build a healthy diet that will allow you to lose pounds.

On yes, last thing. Consistency and patience are the key ingredients to weight loss. Best of luck!!

Koldnomore

With only 3-4 lbs to go you will NOT be losing 1-2 lbs/ week unless you are planning to starve yourself. 4 lbs would take you roughly 2 months to lose safely and sustainably with about a 250 cal deficit for each week below your TDEE. Set your MFP to .5 /wk. You don't have the weight available to be losing any faster.

People need to understand that how fast you can safely lose depends entirely on how much you have to lose in the first place. If you have 100 lbs to lose you can easily lose 5+ lbs your first few weeks, You can also support a pretty aggressive deficit for a little while for a good kick start. When you are down to your last few lbs you can NOT support that kind of deficit, you simply don't have the mass.

To the OP: you would be better off doing some weight lifting, that may allow you to re-shape a little bit and possibly look a bit smaller in a month but you won't be losing 4 lbs in any kind of safe way. You need to re-set your expectations which I see that you have started doing already but I don't think you have the full understanding just yet.

Mischievous_Rascal

I want to be "athletic" more than I want to be skinny. I live on a tropical island...the outdoor adventure beckons me! haha

Then you may want to start here. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

If you truely want to set a fitness goal and not just a weight goal then this is magic, and you'll be far from starving. You'll also see fairly significant and noticeable differences in the time frame you have in mind, if you start now with weights and fuel yourself properly.

40andFindingFitness

Can you hike and swim now to up your endurance while he's gone? That way when he comes back you can do it no matter what the scale says? I'm sure he'd just like to see you and be with you and would probably care less about the weight.

tigersword

I'm glad to see the OP ignored the anorexic's advice.

If fitness is what you are worried about, work on the fitness goals. Make sure you get enough protein and fat, and do the things that will help you get to where you want to be. Fitness is not about weight loss. Weight loss is sometimes a side effect of fitness, but in reality, they are mostly mutually exclusive. So, if you want to be in shape for all the island adventuring, I'd suggest 2 methods. The first method is to hit the gym, use a mix of strength training and cardio to boost your strength and endurance. The second method is to get out there and adventure. Or do a mix.

The key is to stop stressing. Relax, get to work, enjoy results.

One last thing. Unless you have high blood pressure, don't worry about sodium. Sodium will not hurt you, and if you are exercising a lot, you will need to replenish sodium anyway.

rgugs13

I bet there is excellent diving there! Have a great time!

SnackHips

I am feeling better about it already. Thank you all for the great advice and encouragement. Loaded up the kitchen with lots of great food and started tracking on here.