Want to lose 25-30 lbs in 12 weeks any tips?

JAT74 · January 2015

I have been far too inconsistent with my workouts in recent months for various reasons, added to the fact that I've been eating what I want/when I want has lead to no weight loss in a looooong time.

What can I do to get the weight/body fat moving again? I mainly need workout tips as I think I have what I'm going to do on the diet side pretty much figured out.

I have a home gym with free weights, a Cross trainer, Treadmill, Power Plate (similar), Rowing machine and machines to do cable exercises. I am also planning to attend a Pilates class once a week starting in a month or so and I usually do a 1 hour walk 2-3 times a week in addition to walking my dog daily for short walks.

wilsoncl6 · January 2015

That kind of weight loss in a 12 week period is pretty aggressive but it can be done depending upon where you are in your weight loss. I lost 30 in my first twelve weeks but I am a male with much more muscle mass. It is all really dependent upon your overall caloric intake, exercise is just the icing on the cake and will give you some flexibility in your eating while helping reshape your body. You have to be really stringent about what you eat and very accurate about how much you are taking in to achieve your goal. Since you are looking for some advice on exercise, if you are looking for a straight caloric burn, cardio is always best. Some swear by high intensity routines while others love steady state cardio. I like doing intervals, which can be done on any exercise machine. You can get a heart rate monitor to keep track of how intense your cardio is to make sure you get that burn you want. I do interval cardio 6 times a week, 45 minutes a day but that is pretty extreme. You should add in some sort of weight training program to try to retain some of the muscle you have. There are plenty of programs out there that will give you good guidance on what you should be doing to achieve your goals.

JAT74 · January 2015

Thanks, I tried the Insanity workout a couple of years ago and had a heart rate monitor but was worried about the intensity, as my heart rate was sky high. I have done interval training on my Treadmill before, but alternating running for short periods with walking. My heart rate monitor doesn't seem to be working at the moment and I can't afford to replace it but I can generally tell by how out of breath I am, plus my Cross Trainer has a pulse rate monitor built in. I want to try and do weights 3 times a week but in that case can only do cardio for the other 3-4 days as I've tried to do more than that by doubling up in the same day ie. weights in the morning, cardio in the evening and I've always found it to be too much and I've got injured, or I've given up. I also found I was getting too hungry exercising that much, so maybe it will be better to try and do 7 days but as I've said so I don't find it too difficult to stick to. The main reason I want to lose 30 lbs in 12 weeks is for motivational purposes, because I know if it happens like that I won't give up and it will give me the push to see it through. From past experience I know that if I lose slowly, I start to get the feeling that nothing's happening and I get demoralised. When I first get fit and lost weight 12 years ago I managed to lose 56 lbs in 16 weeks and I felt completely amazing. The compliments I got made me feel so good, from my family, friends and people in the gym etc. It motivated me to keep the weight off for a couple of years but then I had some bad news with my dad getting ill and other things which made me start eating more again for emotional reasons. Another reason I want it to be fast is because I spend most of my time in Spain, and here it gets hot from April/May and this year I want to be confident in my clothes and to be able to go to the beach in a bikini which I haven't been able to do for almost a decade.

wilsoncl6 · January 2015

Well, you've seen that you can do it because you've done it before. However, the best weight loss is the loss that takes time. Generally, the slower you lose it, the more likely you are to keep it off. My weight loss has been aggressive because I have a cruise to go on in February and didn't want to be that guy that had to keep his shirt on at the beach because I didn't like the way I looked. Looking to cut off about 10 more pounds by Feb but that is unrealistic. I will be happy with about 5-8 lbs as I'm pretty close to goal. I do cardio 6 days a week along with a strength training program and ab routine. That amount of work probably would increase your caloric needs (i.e. hunger) but that just means that you can eat more or more often. I don't find myself getting too hungry throughout the day because I keep pretty busy. You know your body and what it will take to make the change. All you have to do now is implement your plan. Good luck to you.

stillnot2late · January 2015

Wow - you're something else! even though you are looking for tips, I tip my hat to what you done already and the strength you have

flyboy1 · January 2015

Go low carb, high fat. Works for me.

Lambrah · January 2015

If you set the weight loss/exercise goal too high too soon, it might overwhelm you. 1-2lbs loss per week is most practical. I would highly recommend strength training over cardio to retain as much muscle as possible. Although if your able, both is fine.

I myself have been slacking on my training, ive only been going to the gym 1-2 days a week but i spend 1 hour doing heavy weight training.

My diet has been high protein (100-170g a day) 2000cals and i lost 7 pounds in about 5 weeks so far. Got 3 more to go.

JAT74 · January 2015

I really should have no excuse, I live in a place where I can walk near a river for an hour whenever I want and the weather is nice enough to do so most of the year. I also have a home gym in my garage so I should be there every day without fail! I know low-carb works but I find it hard to stick to as I love carbs. That's why I plan on trying to eat the carbs I want to at lunchtime, though I will have protein shakes/low-carb meal replacements for the other 2 meals to start with. I will see how I get on doing workouts for 6-7 days a week (including walks which I don't really count as a workout as such). I would be happy with 2lbs a week but if it's that slow I risk another unhappy summer and I really don't want that so we will see. Ideally 2.5-3lbs a week would be amazing.

I want to do what's realistic and what I can stick to so I will start off on what I think is the right food and see how I get on. I don't want to aim for high protein and not achieve it because it will be too much of a struggle but with a starting point of very high body fat like I have, I really need to find something which works and fast, whether that's a combination of eating the right food and exercising or if it will simply be down to diet we will see. I'm now 40 so it's becoming harder and harder but I am now 35% plus body fat and that is terrible considering my size which really isn't that big in terms of clothes size. It's means that a very high percentage of my body is fat and it's clear to see which is what really gets me down the most, especially during summer. I'm told frequently by others that I look 'fine', but I don't want to look fine, I want to look fit, lean and healthy especially on the beach!

ellisboyd1 · January 2015

2lbs a week is totally do-able. that's obviously 24lbs over 12 weeks, which is close enough to your target.

If I stay within my calories I lose weight, but if I go low carb and eat mainly fat & protein I look physically much better. That's just me though. I've no research papers to back that up, just experience.

JAT74 · January 2015

Same here. Given past experience if I eat low carb and higher protein/fat I find weight loss easier but not really compared how lean I look and things like body fat. The problem lies in the diet itself, I can't go too long without eating starchy foods before I become miserable and I love sweet tasting foods. Of course there are always alternatives but they are not always readily available. Another option is following something like Weight Watchers, but in the past I've always found the fact you can eat what you want in smaller portions a bad thing as I it leads to cravings for more!

kimny72 · January 2015

OP, the prevailing wisdom is eat for weight loss, exercise for health. Exercise can buy you some extra calories to play with, but whether or not you lose weight will depend on what you eat. I think some people starting off exercise so much that they get hungry, feel like they deserve a treat, and end up eating back more calories than they burned. So my totally unprofessional opinion is to focus your will-power and diligence on your diet to start out, and do whatever exercise you enjoy and will do consistently. If you get your eating down and feel like you can increase your workouts, then go for it. Just my 2 cents, good luck :drinker:

Lambrah · January 2015

You have a winning attitude and you've lost weight before so i believe you can do it.

On the protein thing, i personally get half of my daily requirements so easily from supplements. Dont be afraid to use them! 1 whey shake in the morning 2 scoops = 52g and 1 quest bar as a snack = 21g. Whatever your goal bodyweight is, jusy eat 0.8 grams per pound of your goal weight. So if you want to be 120lbs eat 96g a day. I remember alan aragon mentioning this.

If you exercise dont worry about carbs too much. Your body needs them for recovery.

JAT74 · January 2015

Yes I agree with the diet vs exercise. I have dieted before and lost weight without exercise, but I always feel a lot better ie. fitter, stronger and more like I'm really achieving something if I exercise on top. I like Pilates, Yoga and I want to get back into doing some Kung Fu with my other half, but I know that weight training and cardio will probably be better for me to achieve my fitness goals.

As for supplements, I personally can't stomach protein bars, I once wasted a lot of money buying some I saw on offer and then had to give them away because they made me sick! I reckon I can drink my 2 protein shakes a day easily though, I just think I'll struggle to get in more protein as I am not eating so many calories overall. I always try and get some lean protein in at lunchtime, and I plan to eat most of my carbs in the form of veggies too. It's quite costly to have a lot of protein shakes too so I couldn't increase them, and I also find them a little hard to digest at times. The only other option is to find another cheap source of protein instead, because I will still be around 20g short every day based on the calculation of the amount of protein I need to eat being 0.8grams of my goal weight (which is 117lbs). Maybe that could be in the form of fat free yogurt, or lean ham or similar as they are also low in calories.

Want to lose 25-30 lbs in 12 weeks any tips?

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