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kjloveday
kjloveday Posts: 1
in Getting Started
Hello, I'm currently 18 years old and i weigh about 300 pounds at 6"2, My goal is to reach 200 pounds maybe a little bit more with muscle.

I really want to lose this weight because I want to join the Military either air force or army in December - January.
I would join now but I'm scared of the fitness test.

Is it possible for me to lose about 90 pounds and turn 20 or so into muscle within 3 months? If so can you guys please help me with diet and exercise ideas that will help me reach my goal the fastest, i saw my brother and step brother lose massive weight when they were 15 but I guess i waited way to long to start, but at least I'm trying to do it now.

Any help is highly appreciated.

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  • AvonBell
    AvonBell Posts: 107 Member
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    Fat doesn't turn to muscle. Muscle is muscle. Fat turns to water and carbon dioxide.

    Your first objective is to lose the 90 pounds. You need to be at a caloric deficit. Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure and consume fewer calories than that. The fewer calories you consume, the more weight you will lose. You probably don't want to lose more than 2lb per week. Not much more than that and you will start attacking your muscles in a bad way. The MyFitnessPal app will figure these numbers out for you. Regardless, you will lose some muscle during your weight loss regiment. That's the nature of the beast. To retain as much muscle as possible, eat plenty of protein (research indicates 0.82 times your total target body weight is more than enough) and start a progressive strength training program (such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts).

    So, yeah, you read that right, except for some potential beginner gains, you will likely lose muscle when you are shedding pounds. To gain muscle you need to do the strength training while on a caloric surplus.

    Focus on one thing at a time. First lose the weight, then gain the muscle.

    Can you do this before 20? If you are good and measure and log all of your food you can lose the weight for sure. You may even have time to put on some muscle. Not 20 pounds of muscle that would be 2 or 3 years alone. But maybe a few pounds. Regardless, lifting will make you stronger and, I bet, more confidant. Throw in some high intensity interval (HIIT) cardio in between your lifting sessions to improve your cardiovascular health and stamina. You will be all set for any fitness test.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    @ AvonBell, I think he's asking if he can lose the 90lb and put on 20lb of muscle in 3 months. That's how I read it. Of course, I could be wrong.

    OP, if I am reading it correctly, I highly doubt that you will be where you would like to be in three months. Certainly not safely and without great risk. As far as how to get as close as possible, I agree with what AvonBell gave for a plan of action.

    1. Strength training to protect the muscle you have.
    2. If you go with the calorie amount that MFP gives you, eat back 50-75% of your exercise calories (also to help protect lean body mass, your body will only lose so much weight from fat at a time).
    3. Some really great thoughts and helpful advice:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • AvonBell
    AvonBell Posts: 107 Member
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    Oh, yikes, you're right. I completely misread that line.


    "Is it possible for me to lose about 90 pounds and turn 20 or so into muscle within 3 months?"

    You will not lose 90 pounds of fat or gain 20 pounds of muscle in 3 months. In my previous post I thought your goal was to lose 90 by age 20. I thought you had about a year or a year and a half or so.You might be able to lose 90 pounds in 6 months but even that's kind of pushing it. As for muscle, 20 pounds is a lot. Like I said, it will take 2 or 3 years just focusing on that alone and that's on top of the time it takes to lose the weight.

    You goal is to join the air force or army. They have weight standards. Look them up here:

    http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blmaleweight.htm

    http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforcejoin/a/afmaxweight.htm

    Once you identified your goal weight from the charts start something like the regiment I outlined above. Read the link nutmegoreo posted for more info. When you meet the cutoff for the army or air force you will pass the fitness tests fine. If I'm reading the charts correctly, you need to lose 86lb for the air force and 99lb for the army. Either way, it will take longer than 3 months but it can be done within a year.

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