What's the most you have lost/can lose in two months?

acidtrashdoll
acidtrashdoll Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 20 years old, 5' 5", and I have always been the only overweight person in my household and my 21st birthday is March 3rd.

I just joined this site today, so it doesn't have any of my progress up until now, but there isn't much, I've lost 4 pounds so far since the end of the holidays.

I currently weigh 182, and I know most places say the safe amount to lose is 2 pounds a week, but I've seen dramatic weight loss in two months like on "I Used To Be Fat" on MTV and the biggest loser and what not...

I don't want to go on a crash diet or anything because that's all i've ever done and only ended up gaining weight over time from failed crash diet attempts. I really would like to lose as much as possible before my birthday, I have about 2 full months to try. I want to eventually reach my goal of 120 in the future, but for my birthday my goal is to be 160, that would be 22 pounds in 2 months, but if there's any tips if you have lost that amount of weight or more I would love to hear some ideas on how, or some motivational words if anyone has accomplished 20+ lb weight loss in a time span of two months..

Replies

  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    That sounds pretty aggressive. If you didn't meet your two month goal, would you throw away your long term plans? That's the danger of an aggressive goal. How about shooting for 8-10 lbs?
  • cheshire29
    cheshire29 Posts: 48
    I lost 20lbs in the first two months but I was more overweight than you are (went from 240 to 220). Just changed my diet and exercised as much as I could. I would suggest maybe shooting for 15lbs only because you already lost a few. Work hard and I am sure you will see results! Don't use shortcuts like not eating as it an have really bad effects on your state of mind (speaking from experience). Good luck!
  • 3liza
    3liza Posts: 32 Member
    I lost 20 pounds and was 174.. kinda just got back today i stopped tracking for a while but I've kept it off.
  • Elf_Princess1210
    Elf_Princess1210 Posts: 895 Member
    Unintentionally I lost almost 40 lbs in a month but that was because of extreme stress and eating 200-900 cals a day (unintentionally) while working as a Nurse's Aide 16 hours a day 6 days a week. I really don't recommend doing this.

    Intentionally I lost about 22 lbs in 2 months, but I was also almost 300 lbs and eating anywhere between 4,000-10,000 calories a day (I'm including binge eating episodes) and was completely sedentary. I followed a 1000-1300 cal diabetic diet, and started exercising. I also lost my gallbladder in the process. I wouldn't recommend going over 1-2 lbs a week in order to avoid health problems from rapid weight loss. Besides, the slower you lose the weight, the longer it will stay off. Why not just focus on getting healthy?
  • annwyatt69
    annwyatt69 Posts: 727 Member
    When I was 15 I was diagnosed with type I diabetes and my doctor put me on a 1200 calorie diabetic exchange diet. He told me to exercise about 30 minutes a day. I was about 30 pounds overweight. I lost 20 pounds the first month and 20 pounds the second month. When I saw him at my next appointment he asked my why I had lost so much. I told him that I was following the diet he told me to follow--and I followed it exactly. He told me I was supposed to "up" my calories when I reached my goal weight. Funny that no one told me that back then. They increased it then to 1800 calories. I gotta tell you 1800 calories of healthy food like is eaten on the diabetic exchange diet back then is a LOT of food. At any rate, people lose weight at different paces. Times have changed and most doctors no longer recommend 1200 cals a day long term.
  • 00sarah
    00sarah Posts: 621 Member
    I think I lost about 25 lbs in 2 months, when I first started. I've lost 60lbs, but it has been an ongoing process! 2years
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Aggressive goal but doable. That being said, I did not say that it would be recommended. Weight loss and fat loss are NOT the same thing. What you want to do is to lose FAT while maintaining as much of your lean body mass as you can. For this reason a loss rate of 1-2 lbs per week is recommended. Fast weight loss is usually due to an unusual loss of lean body weight (muscle)... Muscle of course weighs more per cubic inch than fat does, therefore if you are losing muscle, you will lose more weight BUT you will not be as much smaller as you would if you were losing primarily fat. That being said, I have lost as much as 20 lbs in a month (when I was about your age and obese).... As you mentioned, I regained it promptly. This weight loss I have lost as much as 15 or so lbs per month but I was morbidly obese at the time... 344 lbs @ 6'3". Since getting into the overweight range, I have kept my rate of loss closer to the 1-2 lb per week level and have dropped from a size 48 pant to a size 34. The last time I was a 34 pant was when I weighed 170 BUT this time I am 226 and wear that size... I attribute that to the fact that I have taken a more sensible approach. My recommendation? Get into some strength training and get healthy.. Forget the calendar but build muscle and reduce your body fat and you will soon become a lean mean machine. Best wishes on attaining a worthy goal.
  • ajadumas
    ajadumas Posts: 85 Member
    I'm not quite there yet, but I've lost 13 lbs in 26 days!!
  • sonjalucia
    sonjalucia Posts: 120 Member
    The most in 2 months? 25lbs - then gained back and then some afterwards.

    Safely and kept off in 2 months? 15lbs and have maintained and lost extra since!


    "There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going" - Beverly Sills
  • acidtrashdoll
    acidtrashdoll Posts: 18
    Thanks for the tips everyone... I'm planning on going into crazy workout mode so the weight i lose is fat to try to not lose muscle, I am going to do a salad diet, however, instead of just plain salads with lettuce and no other nutritional value, I'm going to do salads with decent servings of lean meat protein (chicken breast, tuna, shrimp, nuts, ect.) and low cal dressing, and fruits and vegetables for snacks in between. I am going to make my calorie goal 1200, but i'm going to try and work off at least 500 a day (i never really worked out in the past, but I love walking and video game dance games for excessive.)

    Doing the math, since I work from home and have a 'seditionary lifestyle', i found that i can burn 2275 calories a day with my BMR. If I can keep up with this diet and exercise, that leaves me burning 1575 calories a day, which would add up to 27 pounds in two months (assuming that my BMR is accurate), but I'm going to make my goal 15-20 pounds because it seems more reasonable.

    Thanks again for the advice all around!
  • tresamies
    tresamies Posts: 5 Member
    One way to do it healthily is to "look" 20 pounds lighter than losing actual weight that fast nad gaining it all back.. you can do that by combining cardio and strength trainging..getting rid of fat and buidling muscle.. You can lose 1-2 dress sizes and continue losing at a steady pace.. fitting into smaller clothes gives you the same "great feeling"...!
  • DELACOSA
    DELACOSA Posts: 1
    First of all don't starve yourself.

    These are ways I've used to keep myself from eating just for the sake of eating.

    Make sure you are actually hungrey when you eat - boredom and thirst can drive us to eat

    drink a glass of water before eating or even deciding that you are hungrey thirst is often mistaken for hunger.

    find an activity for you free time preferably something that requires using both your hands (can't snack with your hands full) it doesn't have to be excercise it could be knotting, reading a book, anything you enjoy doing that will entertain you.

    Are you a person who likes to eat a meal or nibble and snack throughout the day?

    breaking meals up into 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day helps boost your metabolism. that means eating a small 100-300 calorie meal every 2-3 hours.

    never eat a snack from the bag always put out a serving in a seperate container. you should measure everything you eat even a rough measure is better then nothing.

    you shouldn't work out hungry but eating after a workout helps you burn more of it

    and finally sometime you have to have a little taste of the big bad treat you really want and i mean just a bite or three. your going to be thinking about foods to avoid it and probably wind up eating more then if you had just had a bite.

    for the heavy treats count the calories in a serving and determine what work out you have to do to burn it off, then consider that as the price of the treat and make sure you do the excercise before you eat it, sometimes you will decide yo uno longer want it and have put in extra excercise time.
  • KatieJane83
    KatieJane83 Posts: 2,002 Member
    Thanks for the tips everyone... I'm planning on going into crazy workout mode so the weight i lose is fat to try to not lose muscle, I am going to do a salad diet, however, instead of just plain salads with lettuce and no other nutritional value, I'm going to do salads with decent servings of lean meat protein (chicken breast, tuna, shrimp, nuts, ect.) and low cal dressing, and fruits and vegetables for snacks in between. I am going to make my calorie goal 1200, but i'm going to try and work off at least 500 a day (i never really worked out in the past, but I love walking and video game dance games for excessive.)

    Doing the math, since I work from home and have a 'seditionary lifestyle', i found that i can burn 2275 calories a day with my BMR. If I can keep up with this diet and exercise, that leaves me burning 1575 calories a day, which would add up to 27 pounds in two months (assuming that my BMR is accurate), but I'm going to make my goal 15-20 pounds because it seems more reasonable.

    Thanks again for the advice all around!

    I think that 2275 number would be your TDEE, not your BMR. Your BMR is what you shouldn't eat below, it's the number of calories you should be taking in just to keep your bodily functions running if you were to be in bed/comatose all day.

    If you are saying you are going to only eat 1200 cals/day, but then burn 500 off and not eat them back, then you are only really netting 700 cals per day. This is too low, and completely unnecessary.
  • KatieJane83
    KatieJane83 Posts: 2,002 Member
    Try this link, lots of great info:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • ninakir88
    ninakir88 Posts: 292 Member
    When I first started, I lost about 15-20 pounds in two months.
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
    Most for me has been maybe 2 lbs a month, but I have hypothyroidism and hard time working out because of my joint issues.
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    I can tell you that in the last month (since december 1st) I have lost 16lbs, 12 lbs since I started counting on here. And I did it mainly through eating a regular diet, I didn't exercise more than walking to work and walking back home everyday (about 45-60 mins each way depending on if I pick up my daughter from her daycare or not). But that could be my body making up for what it had not been doing for months.

    22lbs is do-able but you will need to work hard and eat well, never let yourself feel hungry and try not to go to bed more than 1 night a week without 30-60 minutes of a good work out and I can't promise but would expect that you'd get close to your goal!
  • acidtrashdoll
    acidtrashdoll Posts: 18
    I think that 2275 number would be your TDEE, not your BMR. Your BMR is what you shouldn't eat below, it's the number of calories you should be taking in just to keep your bodily functions running if you were to be in bed/comatose all day.

    If you are saying you are going to only eat 1200 cals/day, but then burn 500 off and not eat them back, then you are only really netting 700 cals per day. This is too low, and completely unnecessary.

    oh i thought that it was 1200 calories plus working out is what anyone should do to lose weight??? That's what I've heard my entire life as a rule of thumb for weight loss. is the 1200 calorie limit a myth??

    as for TDEE or BMR, I guess I'm not sure what it was, but I tried to find the amount of calories I would burn in a day without working out, used one of those calculators that do it automatically, it said i needed 2275 to maintain my weight, and to lose weight is anything under that.

    Thanks for the advice!
  • Stdavis53
    Stdavis53 Posts: 233 Member
    I just weighed in today at 30 lbs lost in 32 days. I have a LOT more to lose than you do, but with a great diet, and great exercise, its definitely possible. I'm eating 1500-2000 cals a day and burning between 800-1500 off from exercise. Just make sure that when you do work out, don't finish the day at a negative net. That roadmap link someone posted is a great resource too. Read through it and it may help with a better understanding of how to it the right way.
  • mandypizzle
    mandypizzle Posts: 633 Member
    20 lbs in 2 months is doable for me if I work my butt off and stick to it. My problem with that is, after about that amount of time, I am beat and end up gaining some back.
  • mandypizzle
    mandypizzle Posts: 633 Member
    You could pick out a workout program for a couple of months to help keep you motivated like Insanity or P90X
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    The first two months on MFP, i lost 19 lbs. My starting weight was 217 and I am 5',6". It has slowed down some since then.
  • acidtrashdoll
    acidtrashdoll Posts: 18
    Try this link, lots of great info:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    okay cool thanks for the info
  • acidtrashdoll
    acidtrashdoll Posts: 18
    You guys are great, seeing that a lot of you have been able to accomplish what i hope to accomplish is such great motivation. Thanks for all the tips
  • grnqueen
    grnqueen Posts: 35 Member
    As of today I have lost 7 lbs since 1/1/12. Here is the thing though, I am Gluten sensitive so I eat like I'm on the Adkins diet anyway. I just stopped drinking soda's and using added sugar on the first. My doctor says the first 20-40lbs could be this fast but I shouldn't expect it all to go this easy. I started at 102 lbs overweight (according to my doctor) so you may not have the same results, but as long as you just look to do your best you might be surprised.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Shows like The Biggest Loser set people up for disappointment.

    1) The contestents are isolated and do not have to deal with work, family, bills, cleaning, or other things that an adult must do in their average life. They can focus soly on weight loss. That is not possible for most of the rest of us.

    2) They have an army of fitness trainers, nutritionists, cooks, and medical advisors. Most people do not have that at their disposal.

    3) Some of the tactics have been questionable, such as purposefully dehydrating contestents before weigh-ins. They also workout through injuries that would be devastating for most people to try and do.

    4) If you do a search, the majority of them have gained some or most of their weight back. Shows like that focus on a boot-camp rather than a learning experience. It's very dramatic but not always practical for long-term health.
  • KatieJane83
    KatieJane83 Posts: 2,002 Member
    I think that 2275 number would be your TDEE, not your BMR. Your BMR is what you shouldn't eat below, it's the number of calories you should be taking in just to keep your bodily functions running if you were to be in bed/comatose all day.

    If you are saying you are going to only eat 1200 cals/day, but then burn 500 off and not eat them back, then you are only really netting 700 cals per day. This is too low, and completely unnecessary.

    oh i thought that it was 1200 calories plus working out is what anyone should do to lose weight??? That's what I've heard my entire life as a rule of thumb for weight loss. is the 1200 calorie limit a myth??

    as for TDEE or BMR, I guess I'm not sure what it was, but I tried to find the amount of calories I would burn in a day without working out, used one of those calculators that do it automatically, it said i needed 2275 to maintain my weight, and to lose weight is anything under that.

    Thanks for the advice!

    BMR (basal metabolic rate) - minimum number of calories needed to keep your body functioning (breathing, heart beating, organs working, etc) while in a coma-like state.

    TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - your BMR + the calories you need to talk, eat, move around, sit up, go to the bathroom, etc. Basically, what you need to live your life.

    Since you calculated your TDEE to just include everyday activities, and not your workouts, I would just take a 15%-20% deficit from the 2275. However, since you have now already calculated a deficit based on eating alone, you get to eat back your exercise calories since they are just adding to the already existing deficit and your deficit would become too large.

    As to the 1200 calorie "magic number" you have a couple of misconceptions, which many people have!

    - First, the 1200 number should be net calories, not gross. So, if you eat 1200 cals but then workout and burn off 500 of them, then your body only has a net of 700 cals to use. Thus, you should eat back the 500 burned to reach a net of 1200.

    - Second, the number 1200 is rather arbitrary as far as a lowest number of cals to eat number. It varies greatly based on height, weight, sex, etc, and for a lot of people that 1200 net number should actually be a bit higher.

    Hopefully, I've made some sense here! I did my best, lol

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