I want to lose 50 pounds in 5 months?

ericalynn2525

Is it possible? I weigh about 170 right now and I'm about 5'2-5'3 and I'm 19 years old. I REALLY want to lose the weight. I have tried and tried before but just end up going back to my old ways...but this time I want to stick to it. I'm cutting out bad foods (I mean, it's okay to have a treat once and a while), I'm cutting out tea, well, the way I usually drink tea (with cream and sugar). I plan on only drinking green tea and I plan on bringing my own lunches and dinner to work. I work at a drug store so I would always buy bad food there for my lunch and dinner (frozen dinners, chips, chocolate, etc.). I'm going to drink at least 8 cups of water a day...if not more. Water will be the only thing I'm drinking...expect for green tea (which basically water) and almond milk in my cereal. And last but not least, I'm going to work out everyday for 30-60 minutes a day. Is this possible?

JTick

It's probably better to set your expectations at a more realistic amount...which is about 1 pound/week for you.

KelseyDawn84

It is safer to lose slowly. Doctors generall recommend 0.5-1 lb per week, unless medically supervised or if you are VERY obese, 2 lbs/wk to start (but closer to 0.5-1lb/wk as you progress). Studies show the longer you take to lose, the more likely you are to keep it off... Also, you didn't put it all on at a rate of 2.5lbs/week, so try to remember that.

I think the most important thing is to focus on being HEALTHY, and losing weight safely... Talk to your doctor.

aashaka147

I would say that keep goal @ 1 lb /week, and stick to it. I also want to loose 50lb, but taking a day at a time. Proud to say that lost 6 lb in 6 weeks (with couple of really bad weeks in between )

nicola1141

I agree with the others, I would reset your expectations. In 5 months, you could probably expect to safely lose about 20-25 lbs. If you expect more, you're more likely to either crash diet (which isn't sustainable, in which case you'll get tired and go back to your old ways and gain it back) or to get discouraged that you're not hitting your goals fast enough (in which case you'll probably again, get discouraged and go back to old ways). If you set realistic expectations and keep at it, you'll lose those 50 lbs. It may not be in 5 months, but you'll get there. (And if you keep at it, in 5 months you'll be healthier than you are now!)

Rays_Wife

Only if you are morbidly obese, which you are not. I would say give it a year and aim for 1/lb a week loss. That way you'll be more likely to keep the weight off and you'll be setting yourself up for a healthy lifestyle vs. just a diet.

Set your MFP goals for 1 lb/week loss and eat back most of your exercise cals (at least 50% of them). The weight will come off! Patience is key.

TeaBea

Reality check..........http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/weight-loss-calculator.php

As you get closer to goal it will become harder and harder to maintain the same weight loss, because the smaller you requires fewer calories to maintain. You will likely want to add exercise (not mandatory) .....but calorie burns actually go down as you become more fit (and smaller). You might be tempted to lower calories....then lower calories some more.....that is counter productive because lowering calories too much results in fat+muscle loss.....instead of just fat loss. With muscle loss you could be smaller....but still kind of flabby.

Sharon_C

I also think 30-60 minutes every single day is a little unrealistic at first. It's best to work your way up that. Try for 3-4 times a week for a little while. After that I would do no more than 6x/week. Your body needs a rest day here and there to give it time to recuperate.

I have found (for me) losing weight is much more effective if I add or subtract something every week instead of going cold turkey all at once.

muffinchikodaisy

I dont think you can lose this much in that amount of time in a healthy way. I have a very strick diet established by my doctor and my nutritionist plus i go to the gym 2hrs a day 5 times a week and lose about 2 pounds a week but i weight more than you so....maybe consult a nutritionist first to see what would be a healthy way to lose ???

GothyFaery

not going to happen, sorry. You can lose the 50 pounds but it will probably take more like 8-12 months.

thatgirlkellib

yes YOU CAN DO IT!

toutmonpossible

Why don't you do what you plan to do -- eating healthy food, no-cal, healthy beverages, (reasonable) exercise -- for a month and see where you are? In other words, instead of fixing a set goal, put your plan into practice every day and focus on that. You may not be able to lose 50 pounds in 5 months, but you may develop enough momentum from your results to keep going. BTW, I think that strict diets are fine provided they aren't unhealthy and there's a plan to relearn eating habits after the diet is over.

I agree that you should ease into exercise. Can start with walking 30 to 60 minutes a day?

raasi123

Your Ideal weight should not be 140 pounds or near about it.There are the various ways to reduce it, plan your diet accordingly,Do some work out.

txfatburn

You can do ANYTHING! The best thing to do is
1. eat only fresh veggies & lean protein and lots of it
2. only eat one serving of fruit a day
3. never go more than 3 hours without eating something
4. do high intensity interval training (HIIT) keeping your heart rate in the "fat burning zone". Just running on a treadmill or just lifting weights for 30 min is not going to burn enough calories. Checkout bodybuilding.com for some free exercises.
5. drink lots of water!

Focus less on weight and more on how your clothes fit. Give yourself a goal. I want to lose 50 lbs or wear a size 8 which ever comes first!

barnesr1

You can TOTALLY do it! I just lost 27 lbs in 4 weeks! BUT, I have a lot more to lose than you. There is a book that just came out called Super Shred by Dr. Ian Smith (he is NOT paying me!! BUT my group "The Flab 4 was on Rachael Ray 1/6/14 ) That book is number 1 best seller on the New York Times right now. GET THE BOOK!! It is all grocery store foods. We also have a face book group called Flab 4 SHREDDER Revolution. NOT selling anything, I swear. But we have over 230 people trying to keep each other accountable. Check us out. We are all on My Fitness Pal. Some have fitbits. Most, but not all on the group are going Super Shred but at different start times. We have new members every day. Some are doing WW. Some are just eating less and moving more!!

lauren3101

You will lose the weight faster if you find a plan you can stick to, rather than thinking 'I'll get this all off in 5 months', eating too low a deficit and giving up, because you're either hungry or miserable or both.

Aim for 1lb a week, that's a healthy, sustainable weight loss. And you don't need to exercise every day. rest days are just as important.

zapampnmp

1 % of weight per week is the standard max I have heard. So at 170 that is @2lbs /week. By the time you are under 150 you are talking more 1 lb a week. AND it will be harder to lose because, as others have stated, you will need less calories to maintain and therefore it will take what is generally considered dangerously low caloric intake to lose weight fast. I am much heavier than you {254 as of last weigh in} and I don't hope to lose more than 1.5 lbs a week. And given this week I will be lucky to have maintained o.0 I am making very small achievable goals one for each month. This month I am adding at least a cup of veggies to every meal. It has helped fill me up and cut out room for bread on my plate but I have not intentionally cut carbs or fat or even calories. I am not sure what I am going to do for next month…. probably look at the carbs because I get that stuff in my mouth and can't seem to stop eating.

the tea idea is a good small step. My mom who was very petite {short and tiny both} used to diet by drinking her coffee black. I know that sounds like nothing but we are brazillian and coffee was 2-3 rounded dessert spoons of sugar and lots of cream for that cafe au lait look. She drank at least 8 cups of coffee a day so that was about a cup of sugar a day. I doubt you are that bad but I can tell you I learned to not touch coffee or soda when trying to lose weight. Actually I have pretty much given up on any beverages other than water but I did that last year. My beloved coke is for special occasions and to be honest I haven't had one special enough to have me open a can in a long while

FindingMyPerfection

You can expect to lose 1% bf a week in a healthy way. As your bf goes down the amount of weight you lose each week will go down. If you had 100-150 lbs to lose I would say 50 in 5 months would be reasonable, but since you have only 50 to lose you need to extent your time to 12 months or more.

willdb76

A strict diet can work; I lost a lot of weight (about 24lb) last year doing (in part) just that. The first 10lb came off using a one-week diet I found online which was very calorie and carb restricted. Then in the following weeks I allowed myself to eat a little more normally but incorporating some of the sorts of meals from the diet (e.g. big salads with a little ham or chicken) and I lost the rest that way.

Crash dieting is not recommended generally but the comments I got after one week gave me the encouragement I needed!

The diet I followed was extremely prescriptive and that worked for me for that first week. It was said that deviating from the meal plan in any way would cause the diet not to work, which I didn't truly believe, but somehow keeping that in mind made sticking wit it a lot easier. I was hungry but gorged on lots of water to stay feeling full, and my salad portion size was garagntuan... (the increase in fibre had an interesting impact which I won't go into details on here!)

pdramsey

Sounds like you have the right ideas--but, plan by the week. It is much easier. Keeping track of your food intake is very important. I also go to the gym 4 days a week for and hour and 1/2. I have a trainer but there are many books on the market that will give you step by step instructions on how to train. Seven months ago I quit drinking sodas, sweet tea and sweets. (traded them for green tea and water). I made it through the holidays and didn't gain any weight. But I had to say no (alot). Mix up your gym exercises so you work all muscle groups. I also do some cardio at the end of my workout..just to cool down. I lost 16 lbs without keeping track of my food intake. I started keeping track again last week and my trainer instantly saw my problem. Not enough protein and too many carbs. YEA! I lost 3 lbs since Friday by doubling my protein and cutting my carbs in half. So it can be done by you also. Taking your meals with you will help. Look at the carbs and protein on everything. This site is so user friendly. Type in the food and it will give you a list of everything like it..either pick out the one closest to what you want or enter your own. Just keep a positive attitude and you can lose the weight. Be realistic so you don't get discouraged. Smile and enjoy life.

lthames0810

Apparently, judging from other forum posts, it IS possible to lose weight that fast, but most of the time, those people went back to their old habits and gained it all back. Maybe they were miserable while dieting and could hardly wait until they could eat normally when they were finished (ignoring the fact that their normal eating is what got them so heavy in the first place.) The more things you change from your normal life, the harder it will be to keep to the plan.

Take an honest look at your past behavior and figure out what caused you to go off your plan that other time. Can you really radically change the way you eat AND excercise that much every day for five whole months? If you succeed, will you then go back to all your old habits? If your tendency is to be 100% on or 100% off like a light switch, are you going to give up the first day that you miss a workout, or eat a donut? How will you feel if in five months you've only lost, say, 25 pounds? Are you going to feel like a failure even though you LOST 25 POUNDS?

I think one of the previous posters was right when they suggested you try your plan out for a month and see how you do. It will at least be a learning experience. Maybe have a plan B, if it doesn't work as well as you had hoped, but don't give up. A lot of people are having good results by only changing a few things and allowing themselves their favorite foods once in a while.

a_linds

10/lbs a month is a pretty hard goal to achieve. Though my starting weight 2 weeks ago was 167 and I'm looking to get down to 130 (I'm 5'3). Anyway over the last two weeks I've already lost over 7lbs limiting myself to 1200 calories a day and exercising. I have never once felt hungry or starved eating this amount of calories and I am projected to lose 2lbs a week if I keep it up. However I feel like when you have more to lose the weight seems to come off easier than when you get closer to your goal weight.

I would say good for you for having such enthusiasm! But I would lower your expectations just a bit - maybe aim for 25-30lbs? Then if you exceed that goal you can move on to losing more.