Realistic Loss Goal in 3 Months - 5'5 ladies

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allstarlolo
allstarlolo Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

Getting married June 21 - so that gives me about three months to lose some weight. I am 5'5 1/2 and currently at about the 200 lb mark - and sticking to 1200 calories a week (with one cheat meal allowed per week). I am hoping to lose about 20 lbs, which I think is realistic. What say you?

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  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    How many calories are in the cheat meal?

    12 weeks, if your TDEE is about 2200 right now. That means you could potentially lose 24 lbs or so, if you maintained the 7000 calorie per week deficit. Potentially. You'll probably lose 4 lbs the first week, then slow down a little. HOWEVER, I don't know about you, but I can eat 3000 calories in one meal pretty easily. So I personally would make sure to track the calories of that meal.
  • allstarlolo
    allstarlolo Posts: 30
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    Yes - trying not to go TOO nuts for cheat meals. Example for this week: sushi with two or three glasses of wine, just not tracking. Last week I had a grilled cheese and split fries with the fiance.
  • Iknowsaur
    Iknowsaur Posts: 777 Member
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    I don't want to be a downer about cheat meals, but a lot of people do cheat meals for "sustainability." If your goal is to lose weight within three months, why not skip it until after the wedding, and then if you want to continue to lose wait maybe implement it then?

    It's only 12 meals. Will you really miss 12 meals? And furthermore, would it be worth it?
  • lemon629
    lemon629 Posts: 501 Member
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    If you're serious about wanting to lose a lot of weight by 6/21, you should track everything. Having one day a week without tracking and just thinking you're doing OK and not going nuts is not going to take you where you want to go. If you do have a treat meal, you still need to track it. It is shocking how many calories are in seemingly reasonable meals.

    You can lose twenty pounds in three months, but you're going to have to be very disciplined.
  • otter090812
    otter090812 Posts: 380 Member
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    I'm 5'6.5", started at 215lbs, and lost over 20lbs in the first three months. That included the Christmas period where I maintained for a couple of weeks. I don't do a lot of extra exercise but I do have an active job (and am set at that in my MFP settings), so my calorie target was a bit higher than 1200 for a 2lbs per week weight loss. I didn't do 'cheat' meals, but that's personal preference.

    It was not easy, but nor was I weeping next to the fridge door every evening! So I think that's a reasonable goal. That said, I have since reduced my weight loss rate in MFP to 1.5lbs per week as I am smaller now and closer to my goal (something I read on the forums about allowing a gentle transition into maintenance as and when the time comes).

    Key thing for me was to weigh my food, and log accurately and honestly. When I do exercise I use an HRM. Before I had an HRM I tried to knock a chunk (25-50%) off MFP's calorie burn estimate before eating the remainder back.

    I didn't have the stress of a wedding to battle with. If you're an emotional eater that's something you'll need to keep a check on. And remember any loss is a step in the right direction. Good luck, and congratulations! :smile:
  • hyg99
    hyg99 Posts: 354 Member
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    I'm your height and your weight was my starting weight, I've lost 27lbs since 1st Jan. I do log everything I eat and follow 1200 calories. I do go to the gym a fair bit though.

    I don't cheat but I have created my own version for cheats, for example home made chicken egg fried rice rather than takeaways, rum and diet coke instead of wine and on a weekend only. Depends how much you want it..
  • melissat888250
    melissat888250 Posts: 79 Member
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    Not to be a downer, but three months is not a lot of time to lose weight, especially if you've already gotten a dress and what not. My sister is maid of honor in a late May wedding. They picked out bridesmaid dresses in October, and between then and her dress fitting last Sunday she's dropped 4 dress sizes (down to a size 16). They had to start from an entirely different dress (traded with another bridesmaid who had gained weight) to make alterations and she was warned about not losing much more over the next two months. So in lieu of that, I would be extremely careful about how much weight you plan to lose. Unless you have access to an extremely deft tailor! :)
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
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    The average is 1-2 pounds a week..so if you keep a deficit..you are going to lose about 12-24 but you have to keep a few things in mind

    1. It didnt take you 3 months to gain the weight..so the process of losing it will be slower
    2. The slower you lose the weight..the likely the chances of you keeping the weight off
    3. You have to make sure you log religiously...cause calories do creep up on you.
    4. If you are a soda drinker..you can easlily lose weight just by doing that..

    Good luck
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    Ok, so that's ... 93 days from now.

    93 days ago was December 17th... oops, looks like I was traveling that week. I was 146ish then (145.9 on Saturday the 14th, 147 on Saturday the 21st), and this morning I came in at 135.7.

    Since January 1st (as far back as this particular spreadsheet goes, sorry) I've averaged a daily calorie deficit of 343/day. I've eaten an average of 1646 and burned an average of 1989.

    So - twenty pounds might be a bit difficult to manage, but not outside the realm of possibility. You'd need to *eat* at a much sharper deficit than I was *aiming* for - I was aiming for a -500 daily deficit.

    I would gently recommend that you log your cheat meals anyway, just for information purposes, so you can track your progress against your projected progress -- but I'm obviously a giant data nerd, and what works for me may not work for you.
  • Autk79
    Autk79 Posts: 285 Member
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    You can do it. Ive done it before in the past but Ive only lost 7 in the last 3 months but I did lose a bunch of inches. If its really important to you Id skip the cheat meal.
  • allstarlolo
    allstarlolo Posts: 30
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    Ah! Well good feedback. In answer to some questions: no, I wouldn't *miss* the cheat days but I have two showers, a bachelorette and various tastings coming up. Some are unavoidable, some I can be smart about. And moving forward I will track even if I go over my allotted 1200. As for the dress, it is a corset back so there is definitely wiggle room as far as sizing down.
  • lemon629
    lemon629 Posts: 501 Member
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    You can still enjoy yourself at the showers. Just monitor what you're eating and enter it in your log afterwards. If possible, go to the party with a plan as to what you're going to have (if you know the menu in advance). If you're careful about the rest of the day, you can still be at a calorie deficit. Try to get extra exercise those weeks, too.

    I had a tasting from a restaurant and went to party last week and still lost weight. I ate very little at my other meals those those days. (I wasn't very hungry from such big lunches anyway, so not difficult at all, just had to think about it.) I tracked those meals, and tracking reminded me that I needed to keep my dinner low calorie.
  • mazmataz
    mazmataz Posts: 331 Member
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    Hey OP,

    Just wanted to say that I have a similar goal...my D-Day is July 4th for my cousin's wedding. Up until now I have been fairly chilled with my approach. I haven't been too strict (allowed cheat days/weekends/ocassional weeks ;-) and I've not cut my TDEE back by too much) and worked out here and there. I snowboard, so that helps blast calories. But I've lost 24lbs over about 12 months.

    One 'cheat' I will be doing that I'll share with you...heavy lifting! I get that I probably won't drop the weight I would like to before the wedding, but I know that by following a heavy lifting program I'll at least look like I have ;-) I completed Stage 1 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women just before Christmas, and I lost inches all over the place. The scale didn't move much but I definitely looked better.

    And I think that the other posters are correct about logging every day if there is a goal to meet. That's something I'm not too great at, but I'll definitely be getting it together from here on in!

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