Is that realistic?

mkultrando
mkultrando Posts: 8 Member
edited November 11 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! I'm sorry, there must be a bazillion posts like this, but I'm pretty confused and wouldn't mind getting your advice which I value a lot.

Basically, I'm a 20 years old girl, right now I'm weighing 62.5kg (137.5lbs), I'm 153cm (5.0ft) tall. My goal weight is 50kg. I cannot afford any gym of any kind. I am going to run a half-marathon - which also will be my very first race since I started running using C25k in May last year - May 10th. I for now am training 5 times a week for 8 weeks, then will train 4 times a week until the race for 9 weeks. I track my habit of running 3L of water a day (and I feel much better ever since), and I am forced to eat in a vegetarian way because of my ridiculous broke student budget (basically I only eat eggs as an animal protein source, I do not consume dairy). I try to limit copiously my sugar intake as I know crystal clear that I'm addicted to it badly. I am just coming down from a massive sugar binge that made me take 2.5kg in two days so I'm trying to be very careful and to reconsider my goals.

My question is, do you think it would be realistic for me to reach my desired weight this year, and especially around June? I am pretty terrified to realize how much healthy eating is unnatural for me, and I purely and simply cannot past a week before binging, and I'm pretty discouraged. I'm extremely excited about this half-marathon (as running a full marathon is amongst my three biggest life dreams), but will it be enough? My diary is open for everyone to see.

Thank you very much, sorry for the novel! I wish you all a very pleasant day!

Replies

  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    You want to lose about 28 lbs. A goal of 1-2 lbs/week is realistic. So 14-28 weeks if you're good at dieting. June would be what, around 20 weeks out? So it's possible to do without crash dieting. But most people who don't have a lot to lose find it takes them longer because the losses often taper down to less than a lb. per week, and they get tired of restricting long before 20 weeks. Good luck!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    WalkingAlong wrote: »
    You want to lose about 28 lbs. A goal of 1-2 lbs/week is realistic. So 14-28 weeks if you're good at dieting. June would be what, around 20 weeks out? So it's possible to do without crash dieting. But most people who don't have a lot to lose find it takes them longer because the losses often taper down to less than a lb. per week, and they get tired of restricting long before 20 weeks. Good luck!

    Pretty much this. I lost something around 30 pounds from January to June last year, fairly easily. However, my overall goal has been to lose more and the farther along I get, the slower the weight comed off. I have to be way more attentive to measuring my food and keeping up with exercise. It's like when you are at the top of a big steep hill, it's easy to slide down quickly on a sled or skis. As the hill levels out, you slow down and it takes more effort to keep going.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    It can be done.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
    it absolutely can be done. Last year in March I weighed 228 pounds. I got down to 160 pounds by November. If you are dedicated and careful you can do it!
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
    use your goal as motivation, however don't get discouraged if you're not losing as fast as you would like. The body is a funny thing so don't let it get you discouraged and give up if it doesn't happen as fast as you want.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    The only thing I'm going to say is that you need to make sure you properly fuel your body for your marathon training. That means setting a goal that's more realistic. Your diary says your goal is 1200 calories, which for a short person, can be considered acceptable (depending on goals, activity, etc). But add in that you are marathon training and the fact that you have problems binging, you should really bring up the calories to a more appropriate level. Binging often comes from being too aggressive with your goals, or being too restrictive. If you bring up your calories, you may find yourself binging less. And then also for the marathon training, your body is going to need those extra calories to fuel your training or else you may burn out/feel tired/weak from not having enough nutrition to sustain said training.

    As for weightloss, yes, I think it can be done, but you're going to have to find the right balance for weight loss, marathon training and managing binges.
  • Glowiie1
    Glowiie1 Posts: 85 Member
    As a fellow marathoner I'll throw a nugget of advice out there....If you don't eat back at least some of your calories on the long runs, then you'll struggle to recover between workouts and you'll find yourself sleeping 12+ hours a day and not feeling rested. BUT - you need to do this carefully. Keep track of how much you eat back, and make sure you're using whole foods to fuel yourself.
    +
    I don't want to sound preachy or anything - just my personal experience. I actually gained about 5-10 lb training for a marathon because it screwed with my appetite really badly (and no, it wasn't muscle gain. I went up a pants size!). I won't bore you with the details, but even if you aren't hungry after a run, at least eat a banana or apple with peanutbutter, and track your intake. Sometimes I'd eat light on my long run days, then I'd be starving for the next 2 and blow through my calorie goals - hence the weight gain.

    Just a thought - good luck with your race! My next one is a 15k in July :)
  • mkultrando
    mkultrando Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you so much for your precious answers!!!! Well I talked with my mom who ran easily a half-marathon, and we agreed that I'm overtraining for my level of fitness, causing me to binge. I'm a deep emotional eater. Anyway my 50kg goal is a life goal, and it's not really about the scale, I want to be toned too. I don't want to rush :) I know I need to sort out my emotional problems / sugar addiction anyway.

    Ninkyou and Glowiie1, thank you so much! It's only a half-marathon, but it's already the hell of a challenge. It's my absolute priority. If I gain 10kg because of it, well it would suck, but so be it. I want to run it in the best condition possible as a marathon is my ultimate life dream/goal. I can be really dedicated to whole foods when I want to, even though my budget is making my life harder. I'm definitely keeping the advice on eating full training days, thanks for that, I def can relate to what you're saying. God luck to your race too!!!

    Do you think setting my daily calories to 1500 instead of 1200 would help? I actually do not log my 90mins of daily walking to school...
  • Ooci
    Ooci Posts: 247 Member
    Personally I find your goal unrealistic - I'm sorry. I'm your height and I was your goal weight at your age - and absolutely everyone said too thin and much prettier about 7lb heavier than that and toned. 1500 cals yes, at least. More like 1800 if you're really training hard.
    - The slower you do it, the more ingrained those good habits get.
    - And like others have said, when the body already has a low BMI, it gets extremely difficult.
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