Is -73lbs in 5 months even possible?

andysport1 · April 4

I have prostate removal operation planned, I asked if It was sensible and ok to put the op off until September, the doc actually said it would be better because it would give me time to get down to a good BMI (weight loss before surgery is essential)
Having the op in September he gave me a weight loss number of -73lbs CW242 GW169
I'm a vegetarian that eats some fish.
I eat way too many biscuits, chocolate and beer.
I have drastically increased my exercise this past week and I'm now walking 10,000 steps
a day
Any suggestions?

AnnPT77 · April 4

It's very fast. Does your plan include some monitoring (with your doctor) for deficiencies or complications?

Suggestions? I assume you've already cut way back on the biscuits and chocolate, ideally to near zero given the aggressive goal. If not, do so. Consider adding fruits if you don't eat many now, as a potential help with cravings for sweets. (That doesn't work for everyone, but it did for me, and has for some others: Maybe worth a try.) For sure, the beer is unhelpful.

To lose 73 pounds in 5 months, you'd need to lose about 3.65 pounds per week (73 pounds divided by 20 weeks). To do that, you need about a 1,825 calorie deficit daily.

You don't mention your height or age, nor how much exercise of what type, so it's hard to estimate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). It could be up to 3500 calories daily, assuming average male height and age around 30. If that's true - which you should question! - you'd need a calorie goal around 1675 calories daily. Is that achievable? It's pretty aggressive, and that's assuming a fairly generous TDEE.

I'd suggest you do the math yourself, and consider how viable it is. I understand that it's urgent, which may increase the viability . . . but that's pretty individual.

Best wishes for success!

P.S. Um, you're a pescatarian. "Vegetarian who eats fish" is . . . not vegetarian. Yeah, it's a quibble (because I'm an actual vegetarian and it's a pet peeve

- sorry :flowerforyou: ).

ddsb1111 · April 5

Maybe 15 lbs the first month or so, but that’s pretty jarring weight loss as a 5 month average. You didn’t say your stats though, but prostrate removal surgery is extremely serious, so desperate measures may be implemented.

If you’re concerned ask for a second opinion, however I would follow their strict diet without fail and get as close to perfect as possible. Surgery is no joke.

PAV8888 · April 5

To interject at 172cm and similar weight but averaging about an extra hour of fast walking a day I was *exceeding* a tree of 3500.

But I also did find MFP because I was losing too fast and was ready to call it a day!

Look: I eat a lot of veggies.... so that I can eat cookies.

You know that your calories come from beer, cookies and chocolate if you cut them out you may not even be taking in the 1500 minimum

Cut out the beer cookies and chocolate and make an appointment with the doc.

You can afford, in the beginning, the extra fast loss and hopefully the appointment will come quickly. Then hammer them till you find out exactly what you're doing and for what exact benefit.

Does 250 vs 200 provide 90% of the benefit of 250 vs 160? 50% of the benefit? What are the bonus points that you get by going faster than 1% of body weight per week?

Most people tolerate 0.5 to 1% of body weight per week better and with less unwanted effects than loss rates above 1%. And more to the slower side of that after a few weeks/months.

Personally I think the low 190s are definitely doable for you and would likely constitute a great beginning for completing weight loss to normal weight post surgery

But I fear here that perfection may be the enemy of good enough. Do try to find out where grade A starts as opposed to sticking to a binary A+ or bust.

Timewaitz4no1 · April 5

Possible.. sure, maybe. Likely, or even recommended.. I would say no. If you're coming from an avg person's background with no idea of how much you're eating, not working out regularly, and a lack of overall knowledge around being healthy, that is an extremely aggressive, lofty goal. I dropped 70+lbs in about 8.5months. That was tracking food, eating a low-carb/high protein diet in a calorie deficit, working out avg5x a week, cardio, and walking at least 10k steps a day. About half of that time, I was rucking, which is carrying a pack with weight when I walked. If I were you, I would take this time to learn everything I could about doing a healthy cut(weight loss), nutrition, and working out with proper form. There is a plethora of quality vids on YouTube, but it will be overwhelming at first. That's ok, it gets easier. It has to be a complete lifestyle change. Most people will just put any weight they loose right back on, plus some, because they look at it as a "diet", which is short term. I can only suggest what worked for me, based on what I now know. You're probably not going to want to hear this, but biscuits, beer, low quality snacks, and junk food have to go. Get them out of your house. Start tracking all of your food, and try to eat a high protein diet (shoot for a gram of protein per lb of whatever your lean goal is, ie 169grams) so that you're keeping as much of your muscle mass as you can. Fish in general is a great source of protein. Figure out what your maintenance calories are. That's the amount of calories you can eat without gaining weight. I would cut about 2-300 calories off whatever that number is, to start. Continue hitting 10k steps a day(get a tracking app), and get a gym membership. Start weight training in addition to cardio, and walking. If you're married, ask your wife if she will do this with you. It really helps to have someone in your corner in general, and to keep each other accountable. Protein shakes, and bars(Fit Crunch, Built Puffs, Quest cookies & cream, etc, along with no sugar/low fat yogurt like Oikos helped me with sweet cravings. Tracking your food within a calorie range is the most efficient way to lose weight, and will force you to choose what you eat wisely. You won't have extra calories for bs, unless you want to be hungry which isn't sustainable. This is a good thing though, as it will force you to examine what you're actually eating. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion based on going from completely overweight, out of shape, and pre-diabetic to what some people have described as jacked. I'm also in my late 40's for context. Focus on consistency above everything else. Pay attention to the scale, and track your weight daily, or at least weekly, but prioritize consistency above everything. Your trying to establish multiple new habits. Being consistent with those habits is what will lead you to your goals, and a new life. Take what you like, and leave the rest. Good luck, I believe in you!

mojo48212 · April 5

My 2 cents FWIW. I would personally not take on such a drastic reduction. Given that you are having your prostrate removed it is safe to assume you are 45 or older. (Yes I am aware prostrate cancer is not age specific but rates are higher the older you are.) Your body is already compromised with whatever the issue is with your prostrate. Rapid weight loss like this also includes skeletal muscle mass as well as bone mass. Muscle you can grow back. Bone mass is much more difficult to regenerate.

At the end of the day it is personal risk/reward question only you can answer. I would advise you speak to a Dr to fully understand the risks, rather than asking an internet chat group. I mean no disrespect to anyone here but if they have the credentials to answer the question, they also know you have not provided enough information to allow them to answer - including myself.

Best of luck in whatever you decide.

xbowhunter · April 5

David Goggins lost 100lbs in 3 months, so it is humanly possible.

tulips_and_tea · April 5

In addition to what has already been said, I'd definitely advise to not JUST focus on the weight loss before surgery. Your plan should also include a diet / nutrition plan while recovering from surgery and for afterwards, basically the rest of your life.

Just hoping you're not focused on only these months until September and then go back to your current habits. You need a healthy body to recover properly and then enjoy life afterwards.

andysport1 · April 5

AnnPT77 wrote: »

It's very fast. Does your plan include some monitoring (with your doctor) for deficiencies or complications?

Suggestions? I assume you've already cut way back on the biscuits and chocolate, ideally to near zero given the aggressive goal. If not, do so. Consider adding fruits if you don't eat many now, as a potential help with cravings for sweets. (That doesn't work for everyone, but it did for me, and has for some others: Maybe worth a try.) For sure, the beer is unhelpful.

To lose 73 pounds in 5 months, you'd need to lose about 3.65 pounds per week (73 pounds divided by 20 weeks). To do that, you need about a 1,825 calorie deficit daily.

You don't mention your height or age, nor how much exercise of what type, so it's hard to estimate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). It could be up to 3500 calories daily, assuming average male height and age around 30. If that's true - which you should question! - you'd need a calorie goal around 1675 calories daily. Is that achievable? It's pretty aggressive, and that's assuming a fairly generous TDEE.

I'd suggest you do the math yourself, and consider how viable it is. I understand that it's urgent, which may increase the viability . . . but that's pretty individual.

Best wishes for success!

P.S. Um, you're a pescatarian. "Vegetarian who eats fish" is . . . not vegetarian. Yeah, it's a quibble (because I'm an actual vegetarian and it's a pet peeve - sorry :flowerforyou: ).

I'm 56, 1.75m and 242lbs, my scales tell me my metabolic rate is 1920 calories.
I'm walking, played pádel tennis today and aim to jump on a bike this week
I'm retired

AnnPT77 · April 5

andysport1 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

It's very fast. Does your plan include some monitoring (with your doctor) for deficiencies or complications?

Suggestions? I assume you've already cut way back on the biscuits and chocolate, ideally to near zero given the aggressive goal. If not, do so. Consider adding fruits if you don't eat many now, as a potential help with cravings for sweets. (That doesn't work for everyone, but it did for me, and has for some others: Maybe worth a try.) For sure, the beer is unhelpful.

To lose 73 pounds in 5 months, you'd need to lose about 3.65 pounds per week (73 pounds divided by 20 weeks). To do that, you need about a 1,825 calorie deficit daily.

You don't mention your height or age, nor how much exercise of what type, so it's hard to estimate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). It could be up to 3500 calories daily, assuming average male height and age around 30. If that's true - which you should question! - you'd need a calorie goal around 1675 calories daily. Is that achievable? It's pretty aggressive, and that's assuming a fairly generous TDEE.

I'd suggest you do the math yourself, and consider how viable it is. I understand that it's urgent, which may increase the viability . . . but that's pretty individual.

Best wishes for success!

P.S. Um, you're a pescatarian. "Vegetarian who eats fish" is . . . not vegetarian. Yeah, it's a quibble (because I'm an actual vegetarian and it's a pet peeve - sorry :flowerforyou: ).

I'm 56, 1.75m and 242lbs, my scales tell me my metabolic rate is 1920 calories.
I'm walking, played pádel tennis today and aim to jump on a bike this week
I'm retired

OK, that's helpful. Note that your metabolic rate (BMR) is not your entire daily maintenance calories. BMR is basically the calories you'd burn flat on your back in bed in a coma, which is obviously not the case.

You don't mention how active you are with job, home chores, exercise . . . but any/all of those burn calories on top of your BMR.

If you're sedentary (which includes some calories for basic daily life movement at home, plus a sedentary job), your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE, all the calories you burn in all ways) could be around 2300-2400. If more active than that, even more. (I think the activities you're talking about - walking, tennis and bike - sound good, but volume/frequency isn't clear. It might add 200-500ish calories per day, maybe?)

You can get a rough estimate of TDEE for other activity levels here:

https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

You're wondering if 73 pounds in 5 months (which I converted to 20 weeks) is achievable. Estimate your maintenance calories at your current weight, such as with the calculator linked above. Subtract 1825 calories from that estimate. That's how many calories you'd need to average - roughly - for the next 5 months in order to lose 73 pounds. The calories would decrease slowly as you got lighter, because it takes fewer calories to power a smaller body.

You could increase the calories available to eat by being more active, but unless reasonably fit to start, that's probably only going to be low hundreds of calories extra, say 200 to maybe 500 or so daily? (You can use that link to estimate what more movement might literally bring to the table.)

When you have that estimate of calorie intake, think about the best way you could spend those calories for satiation and nutrition. Think lean protein, some veggies/fruits, primarily IMO. Is it realistic for you to do?

My suggestion would be to ask your doctor to refer you to a hospital-based weight loss program (that has more solutions than weight loss surgery) or a registered dietitian to help you figure this out.

I'm not trying to be mean or a downer here. What you propose isn't impossible, but it would be likely to be difficult. I'm only trying to give you a general idea of what the theoretical math suggests would be needed, so you can consider how best to proceed.

I understand that you're highly motivated. As a cancer survivor (and cancer widow) myself, I can understand how important this is. There can be ways to make it work. I think getting some professional help during the weight loss phase would be helpful.

Sincerely, I wish you much success with this. I understand why you want to do it, and would like to help, but I also don't want to go all Pollyanna positivity on you in an unrealistic way.

I'm beaming well-wishes in your direction as hard as I can, sincerely, even as a total stranger. Best wishes!

PAV8888 · April 6

Ann, @andysport1, he did mention 10K steps now.

I note that the scale's 1920 is extremely close to Mifflin at 1916 as an estimate. (And these numbers are just estimates). I note that 10K steps per day wrapped into an activity level are at about an activity factor of 1.6 (MFP active). MFP very active (1.8) would be at a bit more closer to 15/16K. That's if nothing else is taking place.

Again. The real question is not what is PERFECT but what is good enough.

Can/should the OP aim for 1% of body weight per week? I think that in the beginning that is entirely feasible and that it will yield really good results as that would be more than 2lbs a week to start!

The more he pushes beyond that, the higher the likelihood of issues so I would be double checking with the doc...

Here is the "amortization schedule"

that has him at 198lbs in 20 weeks! That's at 1% body weight.

One that ends with him at 169lbs would require 1.78% of body weight per week, 255,599 total and 1826 average daily calories. That's... a LOT, especially after week 11.

Now the study I attach most certainly DID have their patients aiming for as aggressive, frankly, MORE aggressive of a goal and eating at even lower intake levels which are definitely NOT recommended on a non medically supervised diet and are also not supported by MFP's terms and conditions for discussion. https://www.pcfa.org.au/media/790639/fat-loss-and-fitness-for-prosate-cancer-surgery.pdf

Start W Week End W W Def DAILY Def
1 242.0 2.42 239.6 8470 1210
2 239.6 2.40 237.2 8385 1198
3 237.2 2.37 234.8 8301 1186
4 234.8 2.35 232.5 8218 1174
5 232.5 2.32 230.1 8136 1162
6 230.1 2.30 227.8 8055 1151
7 227.8 2.28 225.6 7974 1139
8 225.6 2.26 223.3 7895 1128
9 223.3 2.23 221.1 7816 1117
10 221.1 2.21 218.9 7737 1105
11 218.9 2.19 216.7 7660 1094
12 216.7 2.17 214.5 7584 1083
13 214.5 2.15 212.4 7508 1073
14 212.4 2.12 210.2 7433 1062
15 210.2 2.10 208.1 7358 1051
16 208.1 2.08 206.1 7285 1041
17 206.1 2.06 204.0 7212 1030
18 204.0 2.04 202.0 7140 1020
19 202.0 2.02 199.9 7068 1010
20 199.9 2.00 197.9 6998 1000
197.93 44.07 154233 1102

Is -73lbs in 5 months even possible?

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