17 pounds in 5 weeks

Can it be done?

I know this is not a normal weight loss, and I have been doing things properly and have been slowly coming down and have come a long way.

As the new fitter and smaller me became part of my life I decided to have a complete career change and try for the job I always dreamed off. There is an element of fitness in this new role, and I have completed and passed the fitness test but I know they will weight me and do a BMI at my medical. The dates for this job have been brought forward and I was expecting to have 4 to 5 months to lose this weight, but now I only have around 5 weeks.

I can't follow a fighters style cut last minute for weigh day as it is a full medical, and copper coloured urine might suggest something was not right.

I have cut my calories right back, and eating 16/8 and exercising fasted. Any help of guidance welcomed.
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Replies

  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Also yay Zippy :smiley:
  • seamatt
    seamatt Posts: 199 Member
    Yes, I could not believe it when I heard, as they have already made us run a beep test and I passed that, but 30 is the cut off point for consideration. I am only so desperate as the timescales have been moved and are totally out of my control
  • juliegilburd
    juliegilburd Posts: 145 Member
    edited April 2018
    Is having a certain BMI or weight a requirement of the job? If not, I would strongly consider just keeping on your current track, losing slowly and steadily, and you'll still be closer to your goal. As tinkerbellang83 points out, you may be able to keep your water weight to a minimum by watching your carbs and salt as you get closer to that weigh in.

    ETA: Sorry OP, I see you answered my question already.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    Unpopular opinion here-
    Could it be done? Sure.

    Is it a good idea? Probably not..

    My first go at losing weight I went from 198 to 130 in less than 6 months, losing around 3 lbs per week.
    (I had a terrible rebound and gained all the weight back within a few months though. I was just very uneducated about the process, and didn't understand how to maintain the loss. And I thought since I was eating more than 1200 calories I was doing things 'right'. Sigh.)
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
    MFP sets a daily calorie minimum for women at 1200 and 1500 for men. It's likely you'll be close to your goal if you lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. Given your starting weight, you could conceivably lose about 12 to 15 pounds. Good luck. Be sure to report back and let us know whether you made it into your dream job!
  • adarbyem
    adarbyem Posts: 83 Member
    Without going into detail, it sound like you're trying to do what fighters will do to get put into a lower weight class. It's not healthy, and they only do it for the weigh in, but it is possible. I doubt anyone on these forums are going to go into any detail, and I am not going to go into detail as I am sure it's against the rules. You just have to weigh the risk vs. reward of what you are trying to do. Best of luck in whatever you decide!