Losing 10+ lbs a month... HOW?!?!?!?!?

red_hatorade

I see success stories of people losing like 10 - 18 lbs a month. How in God's name do they do this? It takes 3500 calories burned to lose a pound, so how are they doing this?

ashnm88

I don't know, but healthy you can lose up to 8lbs a month. I wouldn't want to try and lose 10-18lbs a month.

BobbyClerici

When I first started, it was easy - the weight just melted off.
After about 20lbs - BING!
I hit that wall, and it's been a struggle ever since.

Just aim for a lb each week, and that trains your lifestyle - not starvation skills.

One of the reasons people gain all their weight back is that they are unable to maintain the starvation diet.

red_hatorade

I know ti is unhealthy, i am just wondering how it is possible. that equates to burning between 35,000 and 63,000 calories a month.

dad106

It can happen if you are really overweight when you first start... a lot of that weight is prob. water though and not a lot of fat or muscle.

Depending on what they do with that loss though, determines if it stays off or not!

angelswank

If they are really big the weight comes off a lot faster in the beginning when you first start watching what you eat and exercising. The more weight you have to lose the faster it will come off in the beginning.

ashnm88

I guess if your out of shape and then start working out a lot you could burn a lot more.

SpaceMarkus

When you're really heavy you lose weight really quickly. A lot of it has to do with water, excess waste, and your body finally using those fat stores. Unfortunately, it leads people to think that's a norm so when they level off to losing 4-8lbs a month they get frustrated and usually fall off the wagon.

tuneses

Lost a bout 10lbs a month doing the Insanity workout and chasing 2 toddlers.

nenamartinez

Yeah.. usually you can only lose 10+ in a month if you've got a lot to lose, and you've JUST changed your eating habits. Doesn't last more than a few months, and people in that scenario usually have many many more months ahead.

(I'm one of those people.. will probably lose around 10-12 pounds for the first two months, but it'll slow way down to a pound or so a week after that.)

dreamshadows

I track and walk. started at 317. Never had a 10+ month in my life! Even when I went to the gym I never saw more than 6 in a month.
Some say restrict carbs others fat.

laddyboy

I did about 10 lbs a month for 6 months. It wasn't easy and I don't think I could do it again. I did Power 90 for 1 month, P90X, and Ran about 60-80 miles a month. I also did Insanity, If I had it to do over again I'd do 1 lb a week. It's easier on the skin. My OCD didn't hurt either.

jennajava

I don't know, but healthy you can lose up to 8lbs a month. I wouldn't want to try and lose 10-18lbs a month.

I would listen to a doctor's advice. I lost 14 lbs. my first month, and was monitored by my doctor. Everybody is different. Also, the higher your starting weight, the more you usually lose.

monkeymouse74

You can lose that kind of weight on a vlcd (very low cal diet) that puts your body into a state called ketosis (which means it basically goes into starvation mode. Then the body uses it's fat reserves for energy hence the rapid weight loss. The problem is that the body will also breakdown muscle for energy, and when you start to eat normally again,(because a vlcd is not sustainable) The body will not only grab onto the fats etc from the food, but store even more because it thinks there's a threat of starvation. Remember your body has a celular memory, which means it thinks it has to be at it's heaviest to survive. And it will fight to get back to it's highest weight. The only way to change the celular memory is to maintain a healthy weight for at least a year ( in which time it will learn it can survive at the new weight) Until then, I'm afraid it's a fight to keep the weight off. Thats probably why slow and steady has better long term results. The body has time to adjust. I'm no expert, but I've done the rapid loss vlcd and put all the weight plus 14kg back on! So my view is, dont worry about how fast or slow you lose your weight, just as long as you're heading in the right direction we'll get there.

red_hatorade

Yah, I agree that slower is better. I am just amazed at how quickly some people claim to lose. I have done the math, and in order for me to lose that much a month, I'd have to be exercising like 3 or 4 hours a day. With a 1 year old, I just don't have that kind of time. Even if I did have the time, I can't see myself working out that much. I am trying to do a 1200 calorie diet, kind of a mind trick I guess because I was at a 1500 calorie diet and kept going over by 300. If I go over by 300 on a 1200 calorie diet, I hit my goal.

kalexander2005

idk how it works, but i've averaged about 8 pounds a month over the last three or four months. however, at this time, I'm building muscle and losing fat (inches keep going down, but weight doesn't move much). I just take one meal at a time, literally. I'm currently using Jorge Cruise's Belly Fat Cure. I'm not hungry hardly ever, which is the main thing for me. Plus, I eat chocolate and can have red wine every day. Find what works for you, take it one day at a time, and if it stops working, try something new. One day at a time, One meal at a time, One workout at a time, One pound at a time. Good luck!

nicolio8699

i had a cousin who weighed close to 500 lbs and her 1st week dieting she lost 36 lbs! i mean, granted, much of that was definitely water weight, but also, when you eat 10,000 cal/day only eating 1500 is a big deal and will allow for some dynamic weight loss for quite some time! She is down to about 300 lbs now and is losing steadily still, but not in such numbers!

Georganna1962

I've lost 44 pounds in 74 days but I think the only reason it has happened is that I weighed over 300 pounds and was sedentary and probably ate between 3500 and 4500 calories a day. Dropped calorie intake to 1200 to 1400 1st 2 weeks did water aerobics 1 x per day for 1 hour each time(thought I was going to die) then increased water aerobics to 1 hour twice a day for the next 2 weeks - this got me strong enough to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes at 1.5 speed - now I stay in the same calorie range I do water aerobics 2 X day for 1 hour each with 2 pound weights on my arms on 3 pounds on my legs and I do an hour on the treadmill at a 3.0 and I do weight training 3 times a week. Addtionally I play tennis or basketball with my 7 year old for at least 1 hour per day. I don't use my computer at home any more except to update MFP. I have leveled off now and average about 3 pounds a week - I expect it to go to 2 pounds a week soon.

gp79

The more you have to lose, the faster the loss will occur if eating in a moderate calorie restriction and being more active. At 292 lbs, my initial 20 came off rather fast. From there I had to work a bit harder to continue to lose.

chatterbox3110

I started off at 375lbs, and for the first few weeks I was losing anywhere between 1-4lbs - now I'm happy to lose 1lb a week and this year has averaged out to be just that - slow and steady wins the race, even if it's a bit boring.

I have had one week where I lost 5lbs, and even now, looking back at what I did and what I ate that week, I still can't fathom out why it was so high on that particular occasion, but in all honesty I wouldn't want to sustain that kind of loss as it couldn't really be good for me.

RMinVA

When you're really heavy you lose weight really quickly. A lot of it has to do with water, excess waste, and your body finally using those fat stores. Unfortunately, it leads people to think that's a norm so when they level off to losing 4-8lbs a month they get frustrated and usually fall off the wagon.

Yep!!