Losing 30 pounds by 31st December

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KT_3009
KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Would like to know some people's opinions on setting myself a 30 pound weightloss goal by 31st of December? I'm 5'3-5'4 and around 150 pounds so is setting a goal like this too much or is it obtainable if I was to be on 1200 calories everyday and keep up with exercise?
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  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    That is what? 10 weeks away? 3lb/week should be the goal of a ~300lb person, not a 150lb person. 15lb by December 31st would still be a stretch for you, 10lb is a more realistic goal and much more likely to be a healthy weight loss.
  • Coolhandkid
    Coolhandkid Posts: 84 Member
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    This is a completely arbitrary and unrealistic goal and the only way you could possibly achieve it would be to put yourself in the hospital and lose a ton of muscle mass.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    I share the above opinions - it's too much too quickly for someone your size.
  • lagoscarrie
    lagoscarrie Posts: 183 Member
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    Please disregard the discouraging comments and just start TODAY and see what happens! Maybe you won't make it by December 31st, but a healthy new body will be a fabulous gift to yourself in the New Year! Best of luck.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    KT_3009 wrote: »
    Would like to know some people's opinions on setting myself a 30 pound weightloss goal by 31st of December? I'm 5'3-5'4 and around 150 pounds so is setting a goal like this too much or is it obtainable if I was to be on 1200 calories everyday and keep up with exercise?

    The problem with setting unrealistic goals is you set yourself up for failure.

    What happens if you "only" lose 10 pounds by December 31st? Is that failure? No way - 10 pounds would be a great accomplishment.

    Pick a goal that is obtainable....and pat yourself on the back when you get there.
  • Coolhandkid
    Coolhandkid Posts: 84 Member
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    lagoscarrie wrote: »
    Please disregard the discouraging comments and just start TODAY and see what happens! Maybe you won't make it by December 31st, but a healthy new body will be a fabulous gift to yourself in the New Year! Best of luck.

    The math on it is fairly easy. She has a TDEE of ~1700 depending on daily activity. Losing 30 pounds in 10 weeks would require her to subtract ~105,000 calories from her TDEE of 119000 calories over the next 70 days. Which means she would be eating ~200 calories a day over the next 70 days to achieve her goal.

    Supporting such behavior is completely insane. Its not a matter of just doing it. She would be in a hospital in short order and as a community it is necessary to help others here in a safe and beneficial way.

    She SHOULD get started on her diet right away and we can all support her efforts there. But this idea has no basis in science and just stopping her short so she knows what she is going to experience is important. People starting out need to understand what they are doing to their bodies before they entertain an undertaking like this.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    Go for a smaller goal. Try 10 or 15 pounds instead. Smaller, slower-paced goals lead to overall success in the long term.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,123 Member
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    Nope. It's taken me a year and a half to lose 30 pounds (158 to 128) with similar stats (5'6 and 20 years old). I maintain my weight by consuming around 1550-1600 and would only be able to shoot for a half pound lost per week if I net at the 1200 minimum.

    With your stats, 7-8 pounds before December 31 would be a more appropriate goal (and that's assuming your TDEE is 1700 kcal and net 1200 through diet + exercise calories. It also gives you room to eat more than 1200 some days, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas).
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    edited October 2015
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    KT_3009 wrote: »
    Would like to know some people's opinions on setting myself a 30 pound weightloss goal by 31st of December? I'm 5'3-5'4 and around 150 pounds so is setting a goal like this too much or is it obtainable if I was to be on 1200 calories everyday and keep up with exercise?
    Honestly, you don't need to put a timeline on it. Set-up MFP for a 1 lb/wk loss, start tracking your intake, and you'll eventually get to your goal weight.

    It took me almost 16 months to lose about 40lbs, but I have maintained that loss for almost 9 months now. Don't rush it :)

    ETA: I'm 5'3" and I started at 173lb.
  • Bronty3
    Bronty3 Posts: 104 Member
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    As someone who is your height and was around 153 pounds when I started I'd say no. It took 3 months or so to get 15 pounds off and that was eating 1200, exercising and eating back at least half my exercise calories. I stalled a bit this summer as I was a normal weight at that point, though on the higher end, and my logging became lazy and I went on a few vacations. I basically maintained and now that I can get back into a routine for awhile I'll try and lose some more/change my body composition. I say start to change today and eventually you'll get there. Losing 10 pounds for me made a significant difference and I already felt much happier. I'm fine that it'll be a slow process to get lower but I'll get there and so will you.
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
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    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    No, you are just above a healthy weight already. When that's the case, your weight loss must go slower and it's harder to achieve a healthy deficit. If you were morbidly obese, it would still be a pretty ambitious goal. At this weight, you're setting yourself up to crash.

    Thankyou for the feedback, I knew it was a little farfetched to be aiming for that in such a small time. I might just stick with trying to lose 1lb a week :)
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
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    nordlead2005 wrote: »
    That is what? 10 weeks away? 3lb/week should be the goal of a ~300lb person, not a 150lb person. 15lb by December 31st would still be a stretch for you, 10lb is a more realistic goal and much more likely to be a healthy weight loss.

    Thankyou, I am planning on taking weightloss slow and steady so I don't crash and yo-yo back up to the weight I am :)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Sorry, this is way too aggressive and unhealthy.
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
    edited October 2015
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    misskarne wrote: »
    What's with the deadlines today?

    No deadlines for myself I added that part in because I actually had a friend who was only slightly heavier than me, and a university prac teacher tell her she'd have to lose this much in around 10-12 weeks.
    I'm looking at losing weight but will be keeping it to 1-2lbs a week than swap down to 1/2lb during December
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
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    Coolhandkid wrote: »
    This is a completely arbitrary and unrealistic goal and the only way you could possibly achieve it would be to put yourself in the hospital and lose a ton of muscle mass.

    Thanks for the feedback, the 30 pound loss by 31st of December was more a question of what would be a healthy loss.
    A friend who was slightly heavier than me and doing a paramedics practical got told by her teacher she'd need to lose between 20-30 pounds in around 10 weeks.
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I share the above opinions - it's too much too quickly for someone your size.

    I agree I am planning on losing at a steady rate so I don't have massive binges like I used to
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Sorry, this is way too aggressive and unhealthy.

    Yes I agree, even though I want to lose 30 pounds I will be taking it quite steady. If you read one of my other comments you will know why I included the deadline :)
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
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    lagoscarrie wrote: »
    Please disregard the discouraging comments and just start TODAY and see what happens! Maybe you won't make it by December 31st, but a healthy new body will be a fabulous gift to yourself in the New Year! Best of luck.

    Thankyou so much :) best of luck to you as well!!
  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
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    KT_3009 wrote: »
    Coolhandkid wrote: »
    This is a completely arbitrary and unrealistic goal and the only way you could possibly achieve it would be to put yourself in the hospital and lose a ton of muscle mass.

    Thanks for the feedback, the 30 pound loss by 31st of December was more a question of what would be a healthy loss.
    A friend who was slightly heavier than me and doing a paramedics practical got told by her teacher she'd need to lose between 20-30 pounds in around 10 weeks.
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I share the above opinions - it's too much too quickly for someone your size.

    I agree I am planning on losing at a steady rate so I don't have massive binges like I used to
    The teacher wss making a really stupid and irresponsible comment then. No way - no way at all does that make any sense.
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
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    yeah I never even knew that teachers in college/university were allowed to state something like that unless they were a qualified nutritionist, dietician or doctor which this person was definitely not..
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,730 Member
    edited October 2015
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    10%-20% deficit off of your TDEE. Up to 25% maybe if you happen to be, and only while you continue to be, obese. Avoid eating less than your BMR for extended periods of time.

    The above combination together with eating ABOUT 1g of protein and AT LEAST 0.45g of fat per lb of body-weight at a BMI of 22 ought to give your average snowflake as good a chance as anything at a healthy weight loss with minimal LBM lost, especially when combined with a progressive weight training plan.

    Obviously if you're very large, or very small, or have other considerations that would make the above inadvisable...

    TDEE can be calculated through observation over a period of time and from weekly/monthly figures provided by trackers such as Fitbit and similar. It can also be initially estimated using web sites such as scooby's accurate calorie calculator

    BMR can be calculated using: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

    I remind you that water weight changes due to glycogen, sodium, muscle repair, hormones are an order of magnitude larger than any underlying fat level changes.

    People have a weight level, not a single point of time weight. You CAN weigh the same today as you did 3 weeks ago AND be losing FAT at a rate of 1+ lbs a week!

    Use web sites such as www.weightracker.com, www.trendweight.com (which I use), Libra for Android, Happy Scale for iPhone to see the changes to your underlying weight level as opposed to your daily water weight fluctuations!

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