Athlete needs to lose 15lbs in 3.5 weeks

Options
emchen
emchen Posts: 48
in Introduce Yourself
I am a competitive rower and I have a championship race coming up on May 12th. I am currently 145 lbs (I am 5'10") and I need to be 130 lbs by May 12th in order to make the lightweight category. It's very little time for quite a bit of weight, and I know that people's gut reaction will be to say that it is unsafe, or to warn me that I am crash dieting, or that it's unhealthy. I've done this before, but less drastically. I was 135 lbs a few months ago--I lose weight and gain weight very quickly.

I work out 6 days a week, essentially an hour of cardio a day. However I also overeat generally--I probably consumed, before this past week, an average of 3000-3500 calories a day, especially around exam time (I'm a college student). I love food, and I love eating.

I'm on a 1,200 calorie a day diet now, and I joined MFP to help me keep a strict count of my calories. I've lost about 2 pounds this week on this method. I'm incredibly hungry some days but I have been feeling pretty good so far, and I haven't binged or lost control.

This community and website has been really helpful, especially with information about metabolism, calories, and exercise. I really want to avoid "starvation mode"--when I first started last week I was doing 1000 or less calories a day, but I read a lot about how that such a sudden low amount of calories can set your weight loss back significantly.

My question is whether anyone has found a faster way to do this. I know that there's no "miracle" super-fast diet that will allow you to stay healthy, I'm just looking for tips to get that extra 0.5 pound off, that extra bit of motivation. I am not promoting ED or starvation, and I am not worried about getting the right nutrition (I already love fruits, vegetables, and I eat that the most) and I am in very good shape.

Has anyone gone through my same situation or something similar? And can you tell me how it went for you?

If you want more information, I'm happy to talk.

Replies

  • tiffany_reis
    tiffany_reis Posts: 16
    Options
    Take Oxy Elite - www.gnc.com
  • meenaw
    meenaw Posts: 1
    Options
    I'd like to lose about 15 lbs before May 19, 2011 - I am trying but seriously dont think I am doing enough...I think you are going to have to stick to less eating - drink lots of water - keep your calories high enough to maintain your level of training but anything more than you can burn will eventually stay on as fat....be healthy and safe..maybe drink some protein shakes?
  • lulutm
    lulutm Posts: 57
    Options
    Have you thought about carb counting as well? I try to do 1300 calories and under 60 grams of carb per day. Has worked very well for me.

    1178051.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • B2BB
    B2BB Posts: 222 Member
    Options
    Zig zagging, confuses the body. Google it.
  • zacherybinx
    zacherybinx Posts: 215 Member
    Options
    I'd look into Wrestler/Boxing/MMA cutting techniques. I know some of them lose 10-20 Lbs in a couple days at times...although they're obviously not the healthiest methods.
  • emchen
    emchen Posts: 48
    Options
    I have tried limiting my carbs but it made me feel incredibly weak during my workouts, I had zero energy and I've never felt that way before. I will try to have no carbs for dinner tonight since I already had toast and beans and a banana today. Thanks!
  • emchen
    emchen Posts: 48
    Options
    I'm probably going to do that (sweating it out, losing water weight) if it gets down to the wire and I'm still a few pounds over by the date. Hopefully it won't come to that.
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    Options
    When do you weigh in? Like above 15 pounds isn't that much to "CUT" but you don't want to do it and weigh in the same day as your event if you can avoid it. Get serious about your diet for the next couple weeks, and find a wrestling/boxing/MMA coach to show you how to "CUT" wieght, and how to recover from it.
  • emchen
    emchen Posts: 48
    Options
    When do you weigh in? Like above 15 pounds isn't that much to "CUT" but you don't want to do it and weigh in the same day as your event if you can avoid it. Get serious about your diet for the next couple weeks, and find a wrestling/boxing/MMA coach to show you how to "CUT" wieght, and how to recover from it.

    I weigh in the morning of the 12th. I am hoping I can lose most of it, if not all of it, in a fairly reasonable manner before the date, and if not, hopefully I will only have to cut or sweat out 1-2lbs the day of.
  • prencesskl
    prencesskl Posts: 123
    Options
    Lots of water, and keep your carbs as low as possible. That's why people on the atkins lose so much so fast. Good luck : )
  • emchen
    emchen Posts: 48
    Options
    Thanks! I love carbs but I am working hard on eating less of those.
  • uneick421
    uneick421 Posts: 2
    Options
    I would like to loss weight fast too for the summer. I am have never been a real thin girl but I have never have been fat either. I have been sitting at 145 to 150 for a several years. I am 5'6" and I believe I should be at 125 to 130. My goal is to get there by summer. I workout about 4 to 5 days a week about 2 hours per day running and lifting weights, but I have a busy schedule. I work full time and go to school, so my eating habits suck. If you have any helpful tips to get me lossing weight faster, i would appreciate it. If I do not see some weight coming off quick I get side tracked easily. Good luck and if I find some info to help you, I will send it your way.
  • briabner
    briabner Posts: 427 Member
    Options
    If you love carbs and have trouble giving those up at least try eating good carbs...such as whole grains and brown rice
  • emchen
    emchen Posts: 48
    Options
    I would like to loss weight fast too for the summer. I am have never been a real thin girl but I have never have been fat either. I have been sitting at 145 to 150 for a several years. I am 5'6" and I believe I should be at 125 to 130. My goal is to get there by summer. I workout about 4 to 5 days a week about 2 hours per day running and lifting weights, but I have a busy schedule. I work full time and go to school, so my eating habits suck. If you have any helpful tips to get me lossing weight faster, i would appreciate it. If I do not see some weight coming off quick I get side tracked easily. Good luck and if I find some info to help you, I will send it your way.

    Great! I don't know that you should follow anything I am doing since my weight loss has been quite drastic and might not be the healthiest option for most people. I've lost 5 pounds since I first posted this topic, and this has been through an extremely restricted calorie diet, and two cardio workouts a day. Most days my net calorie intake is below 500.

    In terms of eating habits I have gotten used to eating at most 3-4 hours apart, small meals and snacks that are about 100 or 200 calories each. That works for me and I like it. I run at least 3 miles in the morning and in the evening I do another 2-3 miles on the elliptical trainer.

Categories