40 Pounds in 11 Weeks?

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PaperandMetal
PaperandMetal Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey, everyone! I'm trying to lose 40 pounds in 11 weeks... or as close to 40 as I can get so I can look great in my wedding dress. I know I'm starting late but I've been procrastinating and I've been unmotivated for months since my daughter was born in May. I just bought an elliptical two days ago. The first day I did 20 minutes (along with walking a mile in this hot Alabama weather) then yesterday I did an hour on the elliptical! I'm so proud of myself and I've been eating fairly well for the past three days. I'm down 2 lbs so far. Does anyone have any advice for me? I'd really appreciate exercise tips or a list of foods I need to avoid. I'd also love to hear a success story! Help me out, y'all! :) Thanks!!

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  • MrsBully4
    MrsBully4 Posts: 304 Member
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    Since you only have 40 lbs to lose that's an extremely unrealistic goal. :/ Jus' sayin.

    There isn't any food you should avoid, but I would recommend starting a strength training program (like with actual weights, not 2lb weights), eating at least 100g of protein per day, and making sure you do not starve yourself. Please don't fall into the trap of doing insane amounts of cardio and undereating. When you see someone posting complaining about how they haven't lost weight, at least half the time it's because they're starving themselves and doing crazy cardio that overstressed their bodies.

    New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book to pick up to learn about strength training for us ladies. The reason I recommend strength training is that it helps you preserve your lean body mass so that you lose more pure fat. It will help reshape you and make you look better, which I'm assuming is what you want, since 40lbs in 11 weeks is probably going to be impossible. If you undereat and do nothing but cardio, you will likely burn lots of your lean body mass along with the fat, which will leave you somewhat smaller and much flabbier.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
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    I have lost 22 lbs in that time frame, but not 40. It was a struggle to lose that much so I am not sure how easily I could lose 40.
  • denmark979
    denmark979 Posts: 112 Member
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    all things are possible. but gee thats a lot in a such a small amount of time.
  • JennifercitaDEgomez
    JennifercitaDEgomez Posts: 79
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    The faster you loss then is 98% sure u might gain them back the same way or faster without noticing!!! Take it slow, is like they say if it doesnt cost us, we might not realize what does it REALLY TAKES
  • Planes1980
    Planes1980 Posts: 2 Member
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    I agree that this is an unrealistic goal. Not only that, but losing weight too quickly will slow your body's metabolism and cause you to gain more weight in the end. That being said....the best way to get your workout to it's full potential is to "mix it up." Dont stay at a comfortable pace. When your'e on the elliptical, try doing sprints at 1-2 minute intervals at your fastest possible rate. Then make sure you are doing other workouts (like you said you added walking), and change it up each day. You should be able to lose more weight by doing circuits. I like to do the elliptical for 4 miles each day (about 40 min.), and then jog and walk for an extra mile alternating with cycling for 3 miles every other day. I also do some strength training at least 4 times/wk in addition to that (which can be easily done while watching tv :)) I have lost 29 lbs in 3 months. Good luck with your wt loss, and congratulations on the wedding!!!!
  • SairahRose
    SairahRose Posts: 412 Member
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    I was just thinking that 20-30lb loss is more realistic in that time frame, but I echo the others about the protein and lifting.

    Good luck with the wedding! ;D
  • sillab
    sillab Posts: 39 Member
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    While on your elliptical, choose a program that will stagger your speed, incline etc. A friend of mine is a trainer and he told me once that changing things up..ie- pace, incline etc during your workout will help you improve your calories burned by almost double in half the time as compared to walking for the same pace.
  • clbowman11
    clbowman11 Posts: 117
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    Hey, everyone! I'm trying to lose 40 pounds in 11 weeks... or as close to 40 as I can get so I can look great in my wedding dress. I know I'm starting late but I've been procrastinating and I've been unmotivated for months since my daughter was born in May. I just bought an elliptical two days ago. The first day I did 20 minutes (along with walking a mile in this hot Alabama weather) then yesterday I did an hour on the elliptical! I'm so proud of myself and I've been eating fairly well for the past three days. I'm down 2 lbs so far. Does anyone have any advice for me? I'd really appreciate exercise tips or a list of foods I need to avoid. I'd also love to hear a success story! Help me out, y'all! :) Thanks!!

    On the elliptical there should be settings the ones at my gym have a fat burn I started on that and then they also have a WT LOSS setting and it kicks my butt! It gets up to at least 17 resistance. And burns a lot more calories in about half the time. (: I run on the treadmill 5x a week and the elliptical as well and the bike. I'd say up your routine every few days or less, because you're wanting quicker results. Drink a lot of water, which I'm sure is a given. And eat lean proteins such as fish, chicken, beans, etc. I spice my food up with spicy peppers to make it more flavorful. Also, hot peppers will keep you feeling fuller longer and studies have shown they also help speed up your metabolism. (: I'd avoid thinks like simple carbs, grease of course, high sugars, high sodium, etc. You can do all kinds of research online. That's what I did because I didn't know how to eat healthy and I learned all kinds of things. Almonds for example great snack but measure it out my bag says approx 1/4 cup. They are calorie dense but they have the good fat in them. But, in moderation. I love them. Studies have also found that something in the skin of the almond keeps the body from absorbing all of it's calories, neat huh? Fiber! Fiber also keeps the body from absorbing calories pushing the foods faster through your system and not giving your body a chance to absorb all of the calories. I love Fiber One bars (: 90 calories and 5g of sugar. They say for snacks keep it below 13g of sugar. But, I think that's still a little high but that's me. And they make chocolate peanut butter fiber one bars they are awesome, especially when you've got a sweet tooth and for 90 calories they tide you over if your out and about and it will be awhile before you get back home. That way you don't stop at a fast food place. (: There's tons more but honestly it would take me forever and I can't remember them all right now. But, good luck! Hope to hear of your progress in the future (:
  • paulaviki
    paulaviki Posts: 678 Member
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    I've lost 13lbs in 11 weeks but I've also lost loads of inches. If you are losing for your wedding I would focus on the inches as that's what will make you look slimmer in your dress. In my opinion 40lbs is never going to happen, I'd halve that goal and then anything over it is a bonus! I didn't lose as much as I wanted to for my wedding last year but when I look at my pictures I am happy enough with what I did lose.
  • taziarj
    taziarj Posts: 243 Member
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    It might be possible if you have 100lbs to lose total, but if your ultimate goal is only 40lbs, it likely isn't going to happen. Better to aim for 20 which is more realistic, but still a stretch.
  • SophieMFP
    SophieMFP Posts: 24 Member
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    Hey there,

    I lost 24lbs in 10 weeks. In my first 4 weeks I went all out and lost 14lbs. If you could lose at the same rate as this you'd have lost 38.5lbs in 11 weeks. I didn't manage to keep it up though.

    In the last 6 weeks I've lost 10lbs, so things have slowed down for me. Saying that though, I have exercised MUCH LESS and I know that I could have tried harder, so if I had then MAYBE I'd still be losing at the same rate.

    Although I'm not satisfied with the way I look now, I do feel sooo much better in my clothes and I'm very proud of myself for what I've achieved so far. If you want to aim for 40lbs then I think you should go for it! If you don't get there then I'm sure you'll still be happy with yourself after losing half that. If you're the type of person who'll be really disappointed that you haven't hit the 40lb target, then I would think about lowering your target.

    Stay focused, keep motivated and don't let any bad days you may have knock you off track!

    Good luck :-)
  • nataliexxxx
    nataliexxxx Posts: 262
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    I would say 30 is more realistic just eat under your calorie goal and do a lot of exercise, if you lose it this fast it could be hard to keep the weight off
  • MeadowSong
    MeadowSong Posts: 171 Member
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    Since you only have 40 lbs to lose that's an extremely unrealistic goal. :/ Jus' sayin.

    There isn't any food you should avoid, but I would recommend starting a strength training program (like with actual weights, not 2lb weights), eating at least 100g of protein per day, and making sure you do not starve yourself. Please don't fall into the trap of doing insane amounts of cardio and undereating. When you see someone posting complaining about how they haven't lost weight, at least half the time it's because they're starving themselves and doing crazy cardio that overstressed their bodies.

    New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book to pick up to learn about strength training for us ladies. The reason I recommend strength training is that it helps you preserve your lean body mass so that you lose more pure fat. It will help reshape you and make you look better, which I'm assuming is what you want, since 40lbs in 11 weeks is probably going to be impossible. If you undereat and do nothing but cardio, you will likely burn lots of your lean body mass along with the fat, which will leave you somewhat smaller and much flabbier.

    THIS!
  • selig0730
    selig0730 Posts: 509 Member
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    im not saying thats impossible but is not healthy for you to lose that much weight in that little time...try to lose 2 pounds a week which is more realitic and 11 weeks will be 22 pounds in that time...maybe if you work harder then 25 pounds in that span but you also dont want to starve yourself just to lose weight...good luck and congrats on your wedding

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