Dropping a lot of weight in a healthy amount of time

2

Replies

  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
    You can definitely lose weight in three months, but setting such a high goal sounds as though it is leading you to extreme and unhealthy behaviours that are likely to fail.
    Eating only 800 cals a day means it is going to be very hard to get enough nutrition to stay healthy, especially when you are using lots of energy looking after kids and exercising too,

    My suggestion is that you set up MFP to lose 1 pound a week, eat a good variety of healthy food up to the calorie goal that MFP suggests, exercise regularly but not to excess.
    Then you stand a good chance of getting to December feeling full of life and energy and looking great.

    But hey, it's your life - of course you can choose to eat and exercise at an unhealthy and unsustainable level (based on your description above), but I just don't understand why you want to set yourself up to fail.
  • Why do you think it is just water? Most of the time, assuming you're at a reasonable deficit, you're losing a combination of water, fat, and muscle.

    I think it's just water weight because I google more than anyone ever should. When I do anything in life, I love to learn all about it, examine why I do it, and then give it 300% focus. I'm at about 800-1200 calories a day, and burn anywhere from 200 - 600 calories a day.

    so you are eating 800-1200 calories and burning 200-600 so netting about 600 maybe more depending on burn. yeah not good unless you are eating exercise calories back and netting 1200

    Ya, but what is the downside to it? I can't find anything about how it'll hurt me by what I'm doing. Not eating them back, but I'm not hungry, and I'm still feeling good.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    edited September 2016
    malibu927 wrote: »
    50 pounds in 3.5 months is not considered healthy. You should be aiming for 1-1.5 pounds per week. And no, you aren't building muscle on 800-1200 calories.

    So what should I do? Is there anyway to build muscle (lifting weights and giving myself time to heal), and drop the fat by the middle of December?

    For the most part, you can't. You can continue to lift in a deficit to retain muscle, but outside of newbie gains you won't gain any. Work on losing the weight with a moderate deficit (no less than 1200 net calories, if not your goal) and accurate logging.
  • Samanthor wrote: »
    You said you were hoping to lose 10-25 lbs a month...at the higher end, that's almost a pound a day! That's a ridiculous goal. I'm nearly the exact same weight as you (I weighed in at 186 this morning, actually) and my end goal is 127, so I'm 59 lbs away, and I'm aiming to lose it by May! You can try to do it, but my worry is you will work REALLY hard and get discouraged when you realize you aren't losing as fast as you thought you would and give up. Or you'll somehow pull it off, but only by unsustainable methods that once you reach your goal, you will put it all back on in a short amount of time. My advice to you is to work on losing 50 lbs, but give yourself a much longer time frame. Sure, you won't be your goal weight, but you'll be less than you are now. My cousin is getting married in October. Would I like to be my goal weight? Of course. But it's not possible. But I will certainly be below my starting weight, which was 217, and that feels really great!!

    OH no... I'm thinking 10-25 pounds for this month only. And then in November, I'll look at where I am and then look at how much i'm still dropping, and see what I can do to still reach my goal.

    Working hard and getting discouraged is not really a hard thing for me. I own a small business where we do sales all the time, if I don't hit the goals I set there, I keep working, and work harder to get the next goal. I feel like it pushes me to do better.

    I don't think I'm worried about putting it back on, I am considering measuring my meals for the rest of my life. I think you're right, giving myself more time might be the best choice. But I want to hit that 139 mark. I don't think I'm going to give up.

    217 to 186.. 30 pounds??? How long did that take you? That's really cool you were able to drop that much. I can't wait until I can say I dropped 30!
  • malibu927 wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    50 pounds in 3.5 months is not considered healthy. You should be aiming for 1-1.5 pounds per week. And no, you aren't building muscle on 800-1200 calories.

    So what should I do? Is there anyway to build muscle (lifting weights and giving myself time to heal), and drop the fat by the middle of December?

    For the most part, you can't. You can continue to lift in a deficit to retain muscle, but outside of newbie gains you won't gain any. Work on losing the weight with a moderate deficit (no less than 1200 net calories, if not your goal) and accurate logging.

    Oh yes I log every meal and measure every single item that hits my mouth, and I am remaining honest with myself on what I am eating. At this moment, I've had 400 calories today and it's almost 5pm. I'm having 6oz of chicken, some black beans, and some broccoli in the next 30 minutes, and then I might have a Luna bar if I feel hungry before 8pm. After that, I don't eat anything and just drink water.
  • Hair loss, anemia, osteoporosis, malnutrition, etc

    Well... um... non of that sounds good.
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
    Samanthor wrote: »
    You said you were hoping to lose 10-25 lbs a month...at the higher end, that's almost a pound a day! That's a ridiculous goal. I'm nearly the exact same weight as you (I weighed in at 186 this morning, actually) and my end goal is 127, so I'm 59 lbs away, and I'm aiming to lose it by May! You can try to do it, but my worry is you will work REALLY hard and get discouraged when you realize you aren't losing as fast as you thought you would and give up. Or you'll somehow pull it off, but only by unsustainable methods that once you reach your goal, you will put it all back on in a short amount of time. My advice to you is to work on losing 50 lbs, but give yourself a much longer time frame. Sure, you won't be your goal weight, but you'll be less than you are now. My cousin is getting married in October. Would I like to be my goal weight? Of course. But it's not possible. But I will certainly be below my starting weight, which was 217, and that feels really great!!

    OH no... I'm thinking 10-25 pounds for this month only. And then in November, I'll look at where I am and then look at how much i'm still dropping, and see what I can do to still reach my goal.

    Working hard and getting discouraged is not really a hard thing for me. I own a small business where we do sales all the time, if I don't hit the goals I set there, I keep working, and work harder to get the next goal. I feel like it pushes me to do better.

    I don't think I'm worried about putting it back on, I am considering measuring my meals for the rest of my life. I think you're right, giving myself more time might be the best choice. But I want to hit that 139 mark. I don't think I'm going to give up.

    217 to 186.. 30 pounds??? How long did that take you? That's really cool you were able to drop that much. I can't wait until I can say I dropped 30!

    You cannot compare yourself to someone else and their weight loss. The more someone has to lose, the fast the rate tends to be at first. Someone who is morbidly obese may lose more weight to start, but that will slow down as they get closer to a healthy weight. With you only having 50 lbs to lose, you will not lose as fast and that person.
  • pebble4321 wrote: »
    You can definitely lose weight in three months, but setting such a high goal sounds as though it is leading you to extreme and unhealthy behaviours that are likely to fail.
    Eating only 800 cals a day means it is going to be very hard to get enough nutrition to stay healthy, especially when you are using lots of energy looking after kids and exercising too,

    My suggestion is that you set up MFP to lose 1 pound a week, eat a good variety of healthy food up to the calorie goal that MFP suggests, exercise regularly but not to excess.
    Then you stand a good chance of getting to December feeling full of life and energy and looking great.

    But hey, it's your life - of course you can choose to eat and exercise at an unhealthy and unsustainable level (based on your description above), but I just don't understand why you want to set yourself up to fail.

    Thank you. I might do that. I'm going to continue to eat how I am and exercise the way I am until I don't feel good, or feel like I am not myself anymore. So far, I feel happy, energized, and sleep well every night. It's been a while since I slept the way I have this week. I usually have a hard time waking up, and this week, I'm up early and feeling great!

    I don't want to set myself up to fail, and that's why I'm here. I haven't done this alone before, so I'm going off what I learned a few years ago from the trainer I had, and I lost the weight back then. :)
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
    edited September 2016
    pebble4321 wrote: »
    You can definitely lose weight in three months, but setting such a high goal sounds as though it is leading you to extreme and unhealthy behaviours that are likely to fail.
    Eating only 800 cals a day means it is going to be very hard to get enough nutrition to stay healthy, especially when you are using lots of energy looking after kids and exercising too,

    My suggestion is that you set up MFP to lose 1 pound a week, eat a good variety of healthy food up to the calorie goal that MFP suggests, exercise regularly but not to excess.
    Then you stand a good chance of getting to December feeling full of life and energy and looking great.

    But hey, it's your life - of course you can choose to eat and exercise at an unhealthy and unsustainable level (based on your description above), but I just don't understand why you want to set yourself up to fail.

    Thank you. I might do that. I'm going to continue to eat how I am and exercise the way I am until I don't feel good, or feel like I am not myself anymore. So far, I feel happy, energized, and sleep well every night. It's been a while since I slept the way I have this week. I usually have a hard time waking up, and this week, I'm up early and feeling great!

    I don't want to set myself up to fail, and that's why I'm here. I haven't done this alone before, so I'm going off what I learned a few years ago from the trainer I had, and I lost the weight back then. :)

    But this is what I don't understand. You come here asking if what you are doing is healthy. Everyone tells you it isn't, but you just insist that you will be fine and then state you're going to continue with what you're doing, lol.

    ETA:: I know that sounded kind of rude and I apologize. I just like to see people succeed with their goals and I just don't think you'll be happy with your results if your expectations are off.
  • Bearbo27 wrote: »
    Samanthor wrote: »
    You said you were hoping to lose 10-25 lbs a month...at the higher end, that's almost a pound a day! That's a ridiculous goal. I'm nearly the exact same weight as you (I weighed in at 186 this morning, actually) and my end goal is 127, so I'm 59 lbs away, and I'm aiming to lose it by May! You can try to do it, but my worry is you will work REALLY hard and get discouraged when you realize you aren't losing as fast as you thought you would and give up. Or you'll somehow pull it off, but only by unsustainable methods that once you reach your goal, you will put it all back on in a short amount of time. My advice to you is to work on losing 50 lbs, but give yourself a much longer time frame. Sure, you won't be your goal weight, but you'll be less than you are now. My cousin is getting married in October. Would I like to be my goal weight? Of course. But it's not possible. But I will certainly be below my starting weight, which was 217, and that feels really great!!

    OH no... I'm thinking 10-25 pounds for this month only. And then in November, I'll look at where I am and then look at how much i'm still dropping, and see what I can do to still reach my goal.

    Working hard and getting discouraged is not really a hard thing for me. I own a small business where we do sales all the time, if I don't hit the goals I set there, I keep working, and work harder to get the next goal. I feel like it pushes me to do better.

    I don't think I'm worried about putting it back on, I am considering measuring my meals for the rest of my life. I think you're right, giving myself more time might be the best choice. But I want to hit that 139 mark. I don't think I'm going to give up.

    217 to 186.. 30 pounds??? How long did that take you? That's really cool you were able to drop that much. I can't wait until I can say I dropped 30!

    You cannot compare yourself to someone else and their weight loss. The more someone has to lose, the fast the rate tends to be at first. Someone who is morbidly obese may lose more weight to start, but that will slow down as they get closer to a healthy weight. With you only having 50 lbs to lose, you will not lose as fast and that person.

    Ya, I just see that I'm closer to 200 than 100... so I feel like it's a lot.
  • Bearbo27 wrote: »
    mitch16 wrote: »
    Why did you title this "Dropping a lot of weight in a healthy amount of time" if you don't plan on doing it in what is actually a healthy manner?

    Because I'm looking to drop the weight the healthiest way in a healthy amount of time. I have a goal, and I'm just not sure how to accomplish it. I thought I was doing the right things, and apparently I'm not.

    I can assure you that the way you are trying to lose is not healthy and not sustainable for the long run. 800-1000 calories is not enough for a woman to eat even without exercise. Then you are adding exercise to that mix? Would you run your car on an empty tank of gas? You have to fuel your workouts. You should be netting at least 1200 calories.

    I would definitely listen to the advice of everyone here. What you want in a goal and what is healthy to obtain are two separate things. With only 50 lbs to lose, set your goal to 1 lb per week. Trying to lose any faster just makes the chances of you gaining the weight all back that much more.

    I am morbidly obese. My starting weight was 258 and I am down to 230-231 as of today. My goal for the end of the year is 30 lbs, but that is a loose goal. If I am only down 20, no biggie. You have to have the attitude that any weight loss it good.

    I really love what you said here. Thank you for the advice!
  • Samanthor
    Samanthor Posts: 85 Member
    I've lost the 31 lbs since May, so about 4 months. It's a pretty fast pace, but I'm not expecting it to continue. I am very prepared for my pace to slow the lower I go. I'm also not going to be upset if I can't lose 90 lbs in a year... I just set my end date to be May 10, my 31st birthday, as more my "evaluation point." I will be ecstatic if I have lost all the weight by then, but if not, I'll still be happy I lost as much as I did, and evaluate to see how I feel: do I want to keep eating at a deficit, or do I want to practice maintenance for awhile? Our bodies work in mysterious ways...I don't think we can always realistically predict that we want to lose x weight in y amount of time.
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
    Bearbo27 wrote: »
    Samanthor wrote: »
    You said you were hoping to lose 10-25 lbs a month...at the higher end, that's almost a pound a day! That's a ridiculous goal. I'm nearly the exact same weight as you (I weighed in at 186 this morning, actually) and my end goal is 127, so I'm 59 lbs away, and I'm aiming to lose it by May! You can try to do it, but my worry is you will work REALLY hard and get discouraged when you realize you aren't losing as fast as you thought you would and give up. Or you'll somehow pull it off, but only by unsustainable methods that once you reach your goal, you will put it all back on in a short amount of time. My advice to you is to work on losing 50 lbs, but give yourself a much longer time frame. Sure, you won't be your goal weight, but you'll be less than you are now. My cousin is getting married in October. Would I like to be my goal weight? Of course. But it's not possible. But I will certainly be below my starting weight, which was 217, and that feels really great!!

    OH no... I'm thinking 10-25 pounds for this month only. And then in November, I'll look at where I am and then look at how much i'm still dropping, and see what I can do to still reach my goal.

    Working hard and getting discouraged is not really a hard thing for me. I own a small business where we do sales all the time, if I don't hit the goals I set there, I keep working, and work harder to get the next goal. I feel like it pushes me to do better.

    I don't think I'm worried about putting it back on, I am considering measuring my meals for the rest of my life. I think you're right, giving myself more time might be the best choice. But I want to hit that 139 mark. I don't think I'm going to give up.

    217 to 186.. 30 pounds??? How long did that take you? That's really cool you were able to drop that much. I can't wait until I can say I dropped 30!

    You cannot compare yourself to someone else and their weight loss. The more someone has to lose, the fast the rate tends to be at first. Someone who is morbidly obese may lose more weight to start, but that will slow down as they get closer to a healthy weight. With you only having 50 lbs to lose, you will not lose as fast and that person.

    Ya, I just see that I'm closer to 200 than 100... so I feel like it's a lot.

    I know it feels that way, but the rate of loss with only 50 lbs to lose, just will not be as fast as you want. You didn't put that 50 lbs on overnight. Give it time to come off. It is the best way to assure you'll succeed in the long run. I started with 120 lbs to lose so 50 lbs sounds like nothing to me. Even when I lose 50 lbs, I'll still have 70 lbs to get to my goal, lol.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    toe1226 wrote: »
    Lala land indeed. I mean it really depends. Do you want to look good on December 17 but you are ok if you gain a lot of weight back by January 1? does it HAVE to be 50 pounds?

    Are there people who lose weight quickly and keep it off? sure. And there are people who win olympic medals and who discover new planets, but I wouldn't give all people advice with the expectation that they fit into one of those categories.

    Why don't you just try to lose as much weight as you can while feeling good and nourishing your body before December 17th, (maybe it will be 50 pounds, maybe it will be 5, either way its progress!) ...and then just...see what happens.

    Oh no haha. I can understand that statement. No, I plan to keep the weight off and simply continue to work out and eat healthy. It's my last baby's first birthday. I really want to feel and look good on that day. We are also going to Texas that week or the next week.

    The reason for the 50 pounds is that it will be put me right in the middle of the "normal" BMI numbers. I am currently considered obese. When I am 179, I'll be overweight according to BMI.

    Okay, so you are in a very very similar situation to me. My baby boy will turn one in late October. A month ago, I weighed 190. I now weigh 180. What I think you should do is aim to lose 2 pounds/week. That should get you to the top of the healthy BMI range by your son's first birthday, and is a much more realistic goal. You can aim to lose 50 pounds in total, but over a longer period of time. You will still look and feel much better having lost 30 pounds by the photos, right?

    What I did was set myself to Lightly Active and have MFP calculate my calories for a 1 pound/week deficit. I work out, but don't eat back all of the calories. I walk a *lot*. I chase my two kids. I weigh everything I eat, and log all food and all drinks with calories (i.e. my milk). Are you breastfeeding? If so, that alone "burns" calories.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
  • Chilli7777
    Chilli7777 Posts: 112 Member
    Think of it this way. If you lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, by December you'll look better and feel better regardless.
  • Chilli7777 wrote: »
    Think of it this way. If you lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, by December you'll look better and feel better regardless.

    I think my biggest issue is I have people in my life that I don't particularly like, that are telling me that I am never going to lose weight, and I'm just all talk.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,102 Member
    Chilli7777 wrote: »
    Think of it this way. If you lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, by December you'll look better and feel better regardless.

    I think my biggest issue is I have people in my life that I don't particularly like, that are telling me that I am never going to lose weight, and I'm just all talk.

    But you can lose the weight, and we're truly, sincerely trying to help you do it. You'll show them!

    The question is, what do want to show them: If you reach thinness, but look drawn, tired, sallow, you'll give them an excuse to say "see, it's unhealthy to lose weight". It may take a little longer, but if you do it in a truly healthy way, your total appearance and energy level (not to mention confidence) will reflect that. Wouldn't that be a better "prove it" moment, with less for others to pick at to bring you down?

    Lots of us posting on this thread are doing so because we've been there. I had too aggressive a goal, fortunately only for a short time, because I realized it when I suddenly hit a brick wall in terms of fatigue and feeling as if I was getting weaker. I upped my calorie goal, started feeling good again, and did reach my goal weight. I've been in weight maintenance mode for around 6 months now.

    I'm down more than 60 pounds (SW 183, GW/CW 120), and I started out just over the line into obese just like you say you are. But it took around 10-11 months, not 3.5 months. Totally worth doing it more slowly, IMO.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited September 2016
    I should add that I "get" the photo thing. I'm having a hard time with the fact that I know I need to take pictures with my kids because at some point they're going to want them so they can remember childhood with mum. Heck, my two year old already wants them. Even though I don't look ideal at the moment. Sitting baby on your lap allows you to cover a whole lot of things you don't necessarily want in the photo. Looking happy and healthy covers a whole lot of other flaws. Figure out the angles you like and make sure you use them.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited September 2016
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    4 pounds since what date? Has it just been a 1 , 2, or three 3 days or is this after a whole week plus?

    Depending on when you started, you can reasonably assume that if you have been 100% in a calorie deficit, it could possibly be both or and if the deficit is a little more than 2 pounds it could be a wee bit of muscle too. The larger the deficit it will be all three at some point in your weight loss unless you are doing all that you can do for muscle sparing during weight loss.

    Ok, I started working out on Monday and the last time I had soda was Sunday night. I started eating 800-1200 calories on Tuesday, and the 4 pounds is since Monday Morning of this week. So 4-5 days.

    I'm lifting weights, won't that help me keep my muscle?

    First this 4 -5 days is mainly water weight loss, no fat loss I am afraid to say.

    Next, at your currently described weight loss method (3.5/week) your deficit is way too steep for muscle sparing. You also need to be consuming the right amount protein as well (this is very important).. You need a lot smaller deficit, ample protein and a structured strength training regime.

    I hope you received the comments and advise positively and hope you change your mind on this unnecessary approach and moreover damaging and unhealthy weight loss.