Is this realistic or am I just too much of a dreamer?

hbellucci

Congrats on starting a healthy lifestyle!!! It all starts in your head! A couple of things to get you started on deciding if YOUR goal is realistic. 1lb=3500 calories. So to lose 1 lb per week you will to create a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day, every day; either by exercise or diet, or both. A healthy calorie count for most females is 1200 calories per day. PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR DR. TO DECIDE WHATS HEALTHY FOR YOU. Use the MyfitnessPal website or app to log your food, it is SUPER helpful! If I don't write it down...I eat way more than I should!! Measure everything you eat, set a timer to eat every 3-4 hours so you are never "starving". I set small goals for myself and when I hit them I rewarded myself, and set a new goal. For example, when I lost my first 10lbs. I got my nails done, when I fit into a pair of jeans, I ate a candy apple...etc. When I ran my first 5k I got a new outfit...... I have always struggled with my weight so I understand where you are starting from. I hope this helps!! Good LUCK!!!!! :flowerforyou:

KenosFeoh

I think that 120 pounds is a reasonable weight to shoot for, but it will probably take longer than six months. Be very sensible about this. It's a life-style change, and change takes time. As you've already learned, there are no shortcuts to lasting results.

Improvised

Okay, so I know 2 lbs a week sounds painfully slow, but take it from me, it goes by WAY faster than you think, and you will be thrilled with your progress.

drusilla126

It's not a sprint it's a marathon. You want it to come off and stay off so the most you should aim to lose is 2 pounds a week.

wswilliams67

Doing just the basic math and keeping you at a HEALTHY and SAFE weight loss of 2 pounds/week or 8 pounds/month...

(201 - 120) / 8 = 10.125 months

BUT ONLY IF YOUR BMR/TDEE ALLOW A 2 POUND/WEEK LOSS!

So there's your timeline (roughly)

Again keeping it healthy... by your June goal you would have lost 48lbs... and be at 153. That's nothing to be ashamed of and the odds of you keeping it off are much greater.

Now for the caloric numbers you need, if you know your body fat %, I'd use this: http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm (the one on the right). Set it for Moderate Exercise. Get your BMR and your TDEE numbers. Never eat below your BMR and subtract 500 calories from the TDEE number for 1lb/week of loss. Subtract 1000 calories from your TDEE for 2 pounds/week... BUT ONLY AS LONG AS IT IS MORE THAN YOUR BMR! Recalculate after every 10 pound loss or 1 month.

So for example... 201lbs at (for the sake of the example) 35% body fat with moderate exercise and a goal % of 20%...

At 20% you would be between 156-162 pounds...

Caloric Need:
Estimated Base BMR: 1650 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 2557 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 2057 Calories (1 pound/week) or 1557 calories (2 pounds/week).

Since your BMR is 1650 trying to lose 2 pounds/week is doable, however you may need to eat your maintenance level of 2557 every few days to avoid metabolic shutdown. You can try the 1557, but if you plateau for 2-3 weeks then you know you need to recalculate or increase your intake by 100-200 calories/day, 1 week at a time, until you start losing again, then keep your intake at that level. So if you plateau @ 1557/day then increase to 1757/day for 1-2 weeks. If you are still plateaued, then again increase to 1957/day for another 1-2 weeks. Once you start losing again then stop increasing at stay at that intake level. It's all about dialing it in until your body responds.

I know that's a lot of info to digest but it's important to figure it out from the start to avoid a lot of problems most people run into when they simply cut calories and hit the starvation wall.

Bottom line is... you are still very young and your body will react quickly if you gather the head knowledge and apply it correctly. You have PLENTY of time to lose this weight. It's YOUR body. YOUR goal. Be PATIENT and dedicated and you will achieve it.

Good luck! We're here if you need us!

P.S. Do not weigh yourself daily... you will regret it. LOL

Sorova

. Do you really want a lifetime of saggy skin just to finish your weight loss six months sooner?

Interested to know if you have any research etc behind this?
I thought it was more a case that saggy skin was more noticeable if you lost quickly, but would grow back at a similar rate?
At my lowest, I do have a bit - but if I manage to get the muscle on that I intend, that should firm it up a bit - not so much from abs, but from the chest etc pulling it up a bit.).

I've read in a number of medical sources that speed of weight loss can effect skin elasticity, but I honestly don't know if any research has been done specifically on this issue. I think it's largely observational.

I did ask a dermatologist about it (when having an unrelated mole screening done) and she told me that the skin's elasticity is more heavily taxed by rapid changes in body shape, both weight loss and weight gain. She also said many other factors (age, genetics, diet, etc.) will play a part in whether people get stretch marks/excess skin when gaining and losing weight. So it's hard to make statements that will apply to everyone, but I think it's fair to say that there's a good chance that rapid weight loss will be harder on the skin than slow loss. Maybe just in the short term, as you say, or maybe long term also.

At any rate, the much more serious possible consequences of extreme diets, such as nutrient deficiencies, gallstones, etc. are plenty of argument for being more sensible.

RockstarPunch

i remember the ABC diet, thats a kicker right there. I say eat in proportion good foods and get outside, join some sports and activities and give your body time to shift. Its crazy but your body does MAJOR changes in your teens and early twenties Even at 27 your body is still changing so observe what works for your body and what doesnt and then go from there:glasses: tune into what works for you but do it the RIGHT way. shortcuts:noway: will (as you already know) burn you in the end. See a nutritionist, get a gym membership, find a local workout group, get outside