Need advice on how to lose 35 lbs in the next 4 months. Please Help
RoxxyChen
Posts: 5 Member
Hi Guys,
I am currently 20 years old weighing about 210 lbs at 5'6. I've been wanting to lose 35 pounds, but it's been so hard for me. I have been on a weight loss journey almost all my life. My heaviest has been 242 lbs and I was able to get down to 196 lbs. Ever since I started college and being away from my family I turned to food as a comfort once again. Reaching to 220 lbs. I quickly notice and I was able to lose 10 pounds last year. I now struggle to keep losing weight and it seems like everything I have tried is not working. I really want to lose 35 lbs and I plan on being very strict and motivated through losing the 35 lbs.
How many calories should I start back again? I can't afford a gym, but I can workout at home and I do have a park in front of my apartment complex I can go to. What other tips might help me?
Thank You So Much.
I am currently 20 years old weighing about 210 lbs at 5'6. I've been wanting to lose 35 pounds, but it's been so hard for me. I have been on a weight loss journey almost all my life. My heaviest has been 242 lbs and I was able to get down to 196 lbs. Ever since I started college and being away from my family I turned to food as a comfort once again. Reaching to 220 lbs. I quickly notice and I was able to lose 10 pounds last year. I now struggle to keep losing weight and it seems like everything I have tried is not working. I really want to lose 35 lbs and I plan on being very strict and motivated through losing the 35 lbs.
How many calories should I start back again? I can't afford a gym, but I can workout at home and I do have a park in front of my apartment complex I can go to. What other tips might help me?
Thank You So Much.
1
Replies
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35 lbs in 4 months is pretty aggressive (about 2 lbs per week). I don't want to discourage you, but I think you'd be better off losing the time limit (what happens in four months? and what if you "only" lost 20 lbs in that time frame?).
If I were you, I'd enter my stats into MFP, set the desired rate of loss to either 1 or 1.5 lbs per week, and eat the number of calories given. Focus on getting enough fat, fiber, and protein to feel full (look at the protein number, especially, as a minimum goal to reach daily). Log everything you eat and drink, including condiments, oil for cooking, etc. Strongly consider getting a food scale to weigh out foods (most people suck at eyeballing portions, and measuring cups/spoons aren't much better). Incorporate some cardio and weight lifting (since you don't have access to a gym, body weight exercises are a good place to start) into your routine and eat back half of the calories MFP tells you you earned from the exercise.
Do that consistently and you will see results. It might take a bit longer, but patience has its reward (not only is a slower rate of loss more sustainable, but you will preserve more muscle than if you try to do it too fast). As you get closer to your goal update MFP to adjust your calorie intake (every ten lbs or so).12 -
You can do it! The calorie counter/profile will let you put in that you want To lose up to 2.5# per week! Stick to it! And drink hot tea when hungry (yogi brand has a "slim life" tea that is good). Get mentally prepared! The whole 30 diet is also amazing! It says no calorie counting while you do it but I did anyway and lost a lot! You got this!!!1
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If possible, try to set a schedule for your workouts so that you don't have to think about fitting the time in each day - it's a regular part of your schedule that you don't question. Even better, try to find someone to work out with - you'll be less likely tp blow off a workout. When I was in college (many years ago), they offered aerobics for free and I don't think I paid much, if anything at all to use the weight room, so you may want to look in to what your school offers.
Logging everything in a timely manner will help you keep to your calorie goals. I wouldn't go below 1200. I agree with the above poster - high fiber, protein, and good fats.
A lot of this is mental. I just started reading the Beck Diet solution and it's helping me get a better mindset for weight loss.1 -
You can do it! The calorie counter/profile will let you put in that you want To lose up to 2.5# per week! Stick to it! And drink hot tea when hungry (yogi brand has a "slim life" tea that is good). Get mentally prepared! The whole 30 diet is also amazing! It says no calorie counting while you do it but I did anyway and lost a lot! You got this!!!
2.5 lbs per week is too aggressive without medical supervision, and OP isn't heavy enough to warrant that.
No need for special foods or expensive teas either.
Being too aggressive is a fine way to crash and burn, regain any weight lost, and end up right back to where you started (or heavier).
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You can do it! The calorie counter/profile will let you put in that you want To lose up to 2.5# per week! Stick to it! And drink hot tea when hungry (yogi brand has a "slim life" tea that is good). Get mentally prepared! The whole 30 diet is also amazing! It says no calorie counting while you do it but I did anyway and lost a lot! You got this!!!
No to mfp allowing up to 2.5lbs per week. Mfp only allows up to 2lbs per week.
For OP, this is far too aggressive. The 2lb per week is for those who have over 50lbs to lose, maybe even 75lbs. For someone who wants to lose 35lbs, .5-1lb per week is an appropriate and healthy goal.9 -
I agree with the earlier comments, your plan is way too aggressive. You should definitely consult a doctor before doing anything that radical by yourself, which I am not encouraging.
Not just that, but it's much more likely to gain everything back when you lose weight too rapidly. In that time you will starve yourself and/or dehydrate your body, eat very differently as you'd normally do and just hang in there for as long as the diet goes. After that I'm positive that you will gain some weight back, almost instantly.
So that's why I'm not a fan of speedy diets, unless they're just for a week or two and the aim is to lose only 4-6 lb maximum. THAT you can do pretty easily, since the first to go is excess water in your body and the rest is the result of strict diet - but then, again, it's not very permanent.0 -
Weightloss is a numbers game.
- There's 3500 calories in a pound of fat.
- There's roughly 120 days in 4 months
3500calorie x 35lbs /120days = 1,020 calories (the amount you need to be in "deficit". If you eat 1750 calories per day, you'd need to burn a total of 2,770 in that same 24 hour period. That is pretty aggressive in my opinion...doable, but aggressive.0 -
I agree with the other posters.. being too aggressive is a way to get really down on things and fail. Get yourself in a 20% calorie deficit and just start to lose. I'm guessing if you were down 20 or so pounds in 4 months you would feel pretty good and be on a track you could sustain long term. You are so young and have your whole life ahead of you.. start something you can live on forever.5
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Hi Guys,
I am currently 20 years old weighing about 210 lbs at 5'6. I've been wanting to lose 35 pounds, but it's been so hard for me. I have been on a weight loss journey almost all my life. My heaviest has been 242 lbs and I was able to get down to 196 lbs. Ever since I started college and being away from my family I turned to food as a comfort once again. Reaching to 220 lbs. I quickly notice and I was able to lose 10 pounds last year. I now struggle to keep losing weight and it seems like everything I have tried is not working. I really want to lose 35 lbs and I plan on being very strict and motivated through losing the 35 lbs.
How many calories should I start back again? I can't afford a gym, but I can workout at home and I do have a park in front of my apartment complex I can go to. What other tips might help me?
Thank You So Much.
I'm your height and started at a higher weight than you. I found an initial weekly weight loss goal of a pound a week very doable. Under-eating/overly strict goals often lead to binging or burnout.
I found a regular exercise program to be very helpful - not only did I get to enjoy the exercise calories, but I feel better, sleep better, and am less prone to seeking comfort from food.0 -
Rather than being "very strict" why don't you adopt a more gradual approach that helps you change your eating habits in a way that will work for the rest of your life, so you don't have to go through this again? Aim for .5-1 lb loss per week. You can eat most of the foods you eat now, just less of them. Then when you reach your goal you can continue the same habits with a couple extra treats per week to maintain your weight.5
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Eat cleaner foods, meaning foods with as little ingredients as possible. Walk. It's the easiest exercise out there and it works. If you feel that you need more activity, try doing intervals. make a playlist according to pace. Start your walk as a warm up going at a regular pace for the first song. Make the second song a little faster and pick up your pace to a faster pace. Make the third song faster and try to jog, then go back down to a brisk pace for the next song, then normal pace for the next song and repeat. When I did this, I was able to lose without any problems. I made a playlist that was about 45 minutes long, but do what you would like! It worked great for me to do intervals. My weight loss started at 244, and I got down to 160. I didn't hurry the loss though. I wanted to take it off at an easy pace. I wanted to make sure I was learning, and my body was learning.1
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I intend to lose almost that much in the next 4 months to hit my goal weight, But iv been doing it i know what im doing now. Is definatly doable. But theres a learning period in first month or 2. I definatly suggest just focusing on educating yourself on what your body needs, And dropping the time limit. Focus on long term healthy habits to keep the weight off forever.
So no im not going to give any "tips" Just go scan through these forums theres tons of advice and reasoning behind why people say what they do. Do watch out for some of the fake uneducated traps some people fall into. All that matters for loss is calories.0 -
Eat cleaner foods, meaning foods with as little ingredients as possible. Walk. It's the easiest exercise out there and it works. If you feel that you need more activity, try doing intervals. make a playlist according to pace. Start your walk as a warm up going at a regular pace for the first song. Make the second song a little faster and pick up your pace to a faster pace. Make the third song faster and try to jog, then go back down to a brisk pace for the next song, then normal pace for the next song and repeat. When I did this, I was able to lose without any problems. I made a playlist that was about 45 minutes long, but do what you would like! It worked great for me to do intervals. My weight loss started at 244, and I got down to 160. I didn't hurry the loss though. I wanted to take it off at an easy pace. I wanted to make sure I was learning, and my body was learning.
The number of times the food is washed before eating it does not matter for weight loss. Eating fewer calories than a person needs to maintain their weight is what matters. If a person goes over their maintenance calories with a thoroughly washed salad and a different person goes over their their calories with a Snickers, both of them are going to gain weight.5 -
ClosetBayesian wrote: »Eat cleaner foods, meaning foods with as little ingredients as possible. Walk. It's the easiest exercise out there and it works. If you feel that you need more activity, try doing intervals. make a playlist according to pace. Start your walk as a warm up going at a regular pace for the first song. Make the second song a little faster and pick up your pace to a faster pace. Make the third song faster and try to jog, then go back down to a brisk pace for the next song, then normal pace for the next song and repeat. When I did this, I was able to lose without any problems. I made a playlist that was about 45 minutes long, but do what you would like! It worked great for me to do intervals. My weight loss started at 244, and I got down to 160. I didn't hurry the loss though. I wanted to take it off at an easy pace. I wanted to make sure I was learning, and my body was learning.
The number of times the food is washed before eating it does not matter for weight loss. Eating fewer calories than a person needs to maintain their weight is what matters. If a person goes over their maintenance calories with a thoroughly washed salad and a different person goes over their their calories with a Snickers, both of them are going to gain weight.
That. "clean food" Will get you laughed off this forum. Most of us yes agree healthy veggies and stuff are beneficial, But alot of us (self included) Still eat plenty of junk. I just ate an entire chocolate bar. And i have burgers almost daily. Im down 75 pounds in 8 months. "clean eating" after the term is argued down is for health not weightloss/sanity. Eat whatever just make it fit in your calories. Dont overcomplicate it or cut everything out, You will fail. Eat how youll eat when the weight is gone. LEarn to make that work. Or youll likely just put whatever you manage to lose and more on after...5 -
JoeMacCready wrote: »Weightloss is a numbers game.
- There's 3500 calories in a pound of fat.
- There's roughly 120 days in 4 months
3500calorie x 35lbs /120days = 1,020 calories (the amount you need to be in "deficit". If you eat 1750 calories per day, you'd need to burn a total of 2,770 in that same 24 hour period. That is pretty aggressive in my opinion...doable, but aggressive.
Hey OP. I'm not sure about the 35 lb thing but the above post is true - it's a numbers game. The good news is that at 20, you might lose easier than some (I know I lost weight easier at 20 than I do even now a decade later). But it will take following all the suggestions above.
I used this calculator (. http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced ) and plugged in your stats and with 30 minutes light activity per day (maybe go for a walk/jog around that park? I really like the Couch to 5 K program to get started) your TDEE is at about 2800. That means you could eat 1600 cal (what kinds of food other posters have commented on already) and it would create a big enough deficit to lose. Over time, as you lose weight, keep checking a calculator like this to see how many calories you should be eating as it will go down over time (when you are lighter, you need less calories to 'run' your body). Just don't ever eat below 1200 cal. Good luck! Don't put too much pressure on yourself about timelines. Just keep taking the next healthy step and you will get there!0 -
ClosetBayesian wrote: »Eat cleaner foods, meaning foods with as little ingredients as possible. Walk. It's the easiest exercise out there and it works. If you feel that you need more activity, try doing intervals. make a playlist according to pace. Start your walk as a warm up going at a regular pace for the first song. Make the second song a little faster and pick up your pace to a faster pace. Make the third song faster and try to jog, then go back down to a brisk pace for the next song, then normal pace for the next song and repeat. When I did this, I was able to lose without any problems. I made a playlist that was about 45 minutes long, but do what you would like! It worked great for me to do intervals. My weight loss started at 244, and I got down to 160. I didn't hurry the loss though. I wanted to take it off at an easy pace. I wanted to make sure I was learning, and my body was learning.
The number of times the food is washed before eating it does not matter for weight loss. Eating fewer calories than a person needs to maintain their weight is what matters. If a person goes over their maintenance calories with a thoroughly washed salad and a different person goes over their their calories with a Snickers, both of them are going to gain weight.
I didn't mean clean as in cleaning the food. Clean eating means eating foods that don't have a lot of junk in it. Whole foods...fruits, veggies, lean meats, nuts... foods like that.
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ClosetBayesian wrote: »Eat cleaner foods, meaning foods with as little ingredients as possible. Walk. It's the easiest exercise out there and it works. If you feel that you need more activity, try doing intervals. make a playlist according to pace. Start your walk as a warm up going at a regular pace for the first song. Make the second song a little faster and pick up your pace to a faster pace. Make the third song faster and try to jog, then go back down to a brisk pace for the next song, then normal pace for the next song and repeat. When I did this, I was able to lose without any problems. I made a playlist that was about 45 minutes long, but do what you would like! It worked great for me to do intervals. My weight loss started at 244, and I got down to 160. I didn't hurry the loss though. I wanted to take it off at an easy pace. I wanted to make sure I was learning, and my body was learning.
The number of times the food is washed before eating it does not matter for weight loss. Eating fewer calories than a person needs to maintain their weight is what matters. If a person goes over their maintenance calories with a thoroughly washed salad and a different person goes over their their calories with a Snickers, both of them are going to gain weight.
I didn't mean clean as in cleaning the food. Clean eating means eating foods that don't have a lot of junk in it. Whole foods...fruits, veggies, lean meats, nuts... foods like that.
They know what you mean. "clean eating" is a hot topic here for sarcasm. The term is a little absurd
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I'm the same height, near the same age and used to be the same weight. I started a 1200 calorie diet last year (I eat what I like within that) and have done absolutely no exercise. I lost 22lb in the first 4 months. If you threw in a run/walk in the park a few times a week I think you could definitely get near your goal. Good luck!0
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You can lose weight very quickly on a very low carb diet but it is really hard to stick to and most people end up gaining much of the weight back.1
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My advice is to shoot for a 16-20 pound loss in 4 months instead. Easier and more sustainable long-term.
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you can still gain weight eating low carb. its all about a caloric deficit. if you arent in one you wont lose weight. doesnt matter how you eat to get there.sure you want to eat healthy for health reasons(meaning get enough nutrients and macros in). but everything in moderation as well.You can lose weight very quickly on a very low carb diet but it is really hard to stick to and most people end up gaining much of the weight back.1 -
How many calories should I start back again?
Set up MFP based on your goal. (I think 2 lb is okay at your size, as I did it at a similar size, but if the calorie amount seems depressing or hard to manage go for 1 lb or 1.5 -- it is WAY more important that you find a way to enjoy this so you can make it work long term than that you kick yourself into being as super disciplined as possible and feel like you either get to eat normally and enjoyably or lose weight). Also, it may be helpful to have a big goal, but don't let it get too important -- just losing and not gaining is a huge thing, and time flies (maybe not as much at your age as mine, but it does). I also found smaller goals useful -- getting to 199 if you start at 200, say, and also goals you have more control over (you have control over the loss, but maybe not the time). Process goals are things like "eat within my calories every day" or "eat vegetables at lunch and dinner" or "run three times this week."
Try to eat in a way that is not only calorie appropriate but doesn't feel like a "diet" to you -- normal, tasty eating, but calorie conscious. Someone watching me wouldn't necessarily be able to tell if I was eating at a deficit or not, as I eat the same basic food, just am a bit more indulgent more often (oils and cheese and such) when I have more calories to work with.I can't afford a gym, but I can workout at home and I do have a park in front of my apartment complex I can go to. What other tips might help me?
For working out, when I first started one thing I did was walk as much as possible. Anywhere I wanted to go, I walked if I could. It made a lot of difference in my calorie burn without feeling like I was doing much, I felt generally good as a result (good for one's state of mind), and I think it's actually why I was able to lose 2 lbs (MFP predicted less). Beyond that, again with the idea of making it as sustainable as possible, I found things I enjoyed doing and didn't start too hard. I'd go through "must get back in shape!" in the past and burn out fast, so I initially just said I'd do something extra that was active 3 days, 30 minutes/day and worked up. I tried a variety of things (gym cardio, running outside, yoga, various DVDs, weights, swimming, before figuring out what I really enjoyed the most, and for a while I even had a goal of trying something new at least once a week).
Just some ideas. Good luck -- I am sure you can do this!
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35lb - yep, good goal, you can definitely achieve this.
4 months - why? Why the deadline? Seriously, this timescale turns this from a completely achievable goal into a miserable grind that you will probably fail at, and almost certainly regain the weight if you do manage to lose it. You're making a rod for your own back trying to lose it that fast, for no conceivable reason.
My advice: drop the deadline. Set a goal based around a pound a week - so let's say, aim to lose 20lb by the beginning of June. That's completely doable without suffering or uprooting your entire lifestyle. Then once you reach 20lb down, reconsider your rate of loss. If you're close to a healthy weight, you may need to slow down to half a pound a week for the final stretch.
Don't plan to be strict, don't plan to be "motivated" every minute of the day, cos it won't happen. Instead, plan to be persistent. Every time you eat more than you intended, don't throw up your hands and quit - just shrug your shoulders and carry on. No guilt. No self punishment. No drama. Just keep going. You may lose at the rate you want, or you may lose it faster or slower. The point is, you're losing it.
Weight loss is a long game. There are no shortcuts. And once you lose it, you're going to have to keep some of the habits for the rest of your life in order to keep it off. So there's no point in rushing it.1 -
You have had some success with losing weight so you know how to do this. I am not sure that 35 pounds is reasonable...but 20 or 25 would make a huge difference and the shorter term goals can be just as rewarding.
I am a long time maintainer of over 50 pounds of weight loss...about 10 years now. I struggle with gaining and losing the last 20 pounds.
The long term change that I made that helps me maintain is my overall activity level doing day to day things like walking to the store, shopping, cleaning, playing with pets. I think a step tracker like Fitbit helps. I aim for well over 10,000 steps and that is completely doable. In terms of lifestyle it makes for a lot of fun. It also helps to be less restrictive with diet over the long term.0 -
Thank you for everyone's input I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me. I will definitely be more reliastic on how to approach my goal.2
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