To lose 50 lbs in 5 months

LilMizDetermined · January 2012

Not safe or realistic. and if you are only eating 1200 cals you should also eat back the cals you burn. If you burn 950 and only eat 1200 that would be like eating 250 cals and not exercising (1200-950) which is not enough for your body to live on and your metabolism will slow down and you will end up losing a lot of lean muscle.

Here is a guide for setting proper weekly weight loss goals. and keep in mind with each of these you should be eating your burned calories back:
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, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

so at most you should expect to lose 44lbs in 22 weeks, but if you have less than 75lbs to lose you should lose less than that.

THIS. You are not eating NEARLY enough!!

HarpingOn · January 2012

pretty much what I've dine since September. Lots of exercise and sensible eating. I try and never eat less than 1500 net of exercise. I'm on a goal of 1800 cals food. Went from 115kg ish to 91.4kg last weigh in. I'm targeting 86, but its getting a lot harder now.

SwimmingLibrarian · January 2012

No, only 10. Generally I averaged about 10 pounds a month.

tiggersstar · January 2012

chances are that even if you did kill yourself to loose it that quick....you would just pile it back on the second you stopped. i would slow down and make a healthy long lasting change.

:flowerforyou:

tig_ol_bitties · January 2012

Your timeline should be "as long as it takes to get fit in a healthy and non-damaging way."

^^yup, yup.

ConfidenceNMe · January 2012

Maybe it's not how much of something you're eating but what it is you're eating. Eat fresh veggies. steamed or not either way it's a great way to get full on the smallest amt of calories. Plus they're filled with vitamins and minerals that will aid in your weightloss and help your digestive system. Congrats on the 10 lbs so far! I think 10 lbs per month is doable. Work it gurl!

laneybird · January 2012

I think it depends on what your starting weight is... the more you weigh the "easier" it is to burn more at a time. Personally, I lost 60 lbs in the first 6 months (I started at 302lbs.) I was using the guidelines MFP set for me and exercising 5-6 days a week. The past 2 months the loss slowed down, but I fully expected for that to happen. 50lbs in 5 months is doable, but it needs to be done in a healthy way so that you're not just skinny, you are healthy. Best of luck to you on your journey and I hope you are able to reach your goals!

Yanicka1 · January 2012

i can predict a burn out in a very near futur, maybe with hair lost and a messed up metabolism... Very high chance of gaining all the weight loss and a few pounds more. You do what you want, it is your life and your body after all but i can say that when you decide to stop DIEting, we will be therw to answer your questions.

nikki1anna · January 2012

Not safe or realistic. and if you are only eating 1200 cals you should also eat back the cals you burn. If you burn 950 and only eat 1200 that would be like eating 250 cals and not exercising (1200-950) which is not enough for your body to live on and your metabolism will slow down and you will end up losing a lot of lean muscle.

Here is a guide for setting proper weekly weight loss goals. and keep in mind with each of these you should be eating your burned calories back:
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, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

so at most you should expect to lose 44lbs in 22 weeks, but if you have less than 75lbs to lose you should lose less than that.

thanks this actually helps me set a realistic goal for my last 15 lbs!

eventing07 · January 2012

[/quote]

I wonder what calculations you're using. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding something. I find it hard to believe that you can lose 6% body fat and gain 13 pounds of muscle in only 5 weeks, especially while working on a calorie deficit.
[/quote]

You use your inches, weight, height, etc. To calculate. My nutritionist did this for me. I do not remember the exact way to figure it out. I work out a whole lot using workouts my trainer back in Texas gave me; Functional/Crossfit style, spin, ride horses, care for horses daily, and run some. I eat a lot of protein, veggies and fruit, and am not always perfect.
So it may be hard to believe but it's what has been calculated for me and really explains the really loose clothes, inches lost, without the scale moving down.

AdAstra47 · January 2012

Your timeline should be "as long as it takes to get fit in a healthy and non-damaging way."

This. Yes.

Healthy, sustainable weight loss (where you're still getting all the nutrients your body needs, and you're only losing fat instead of muscle) will only be around 1-2 lb per week. So even if you lose 2 lb a week, to lose 50 lb would take you until mid-July, that's more like 6 months. Everyone's body is different, of course, but your goal should be to get there in a healthy way, otherwise you'll be miserable, damage your health, and just turn around & gain it all back.

There's nothing wrong with setting a goal, as well as mini-goals, to help make sure you stay on track. I have 130 lb to lose, and I'm almost to 60, 70 to go. It has been very helpful for me to set a series of goals & document / celebrate when I reach each one. But they should be realistic goals, and I'm not sure 10 lb a month is realistic. I'm averaging more like 6 lb a month, but my doctor assures me that it's all fat & water weight, I'm not losing muscle, and my hair & nails & skin are healthier than they've ever been, so I know I'm losing in a good way. Listen to your body's signals, and do what's right for your body.

Good luck to you!

sherrybaby81 · January 2012

I did Weight Watchers before and I usually lost about 10-12 lbs a month. I was satisfied, eating properly, exercising and using all my Weight Watchers points. The only reason I put weight back on is because I got lazy and ate, and ate and ate! The weight stayed off for a good 2 years before I got lazy.

I have lost 11 lbs since Jan 2nd 2012, and I am hoping to lose a total of 15 by the end of the month. After than I am aiming to lose 10 lbs a month as well, until I have lost a total of 65 lbs. I feel it is possible and healthy if you are eating properly. Not everyone's bodies are the same, and we all lose weight differently.

Good luck!

sistergoddess · January 2012

I'm sure the majority of people on this site who are here to lose weight wish it could happen RIGHT NOW.
But to come to a place like this and say "I might even try something a bit crazy if that is what it takes. :-) " is probably not going to get you the answers you are looking for.

I wish I could be more supportive, but I'm afraid your RIGHTNOW attitude will set you up for failure. Use MFP as it's designed, stay strong and it will happen. It may not happen on your timeline, but you'll get there.

This!!

FairuzyAmanuzy · January 2012

I eat 1200, and follow the primal diet and I easily lose 10+ pounds a month with minimal exercise and never feeling hungry. Not saying it will work for everyone but this works for me.....If you are vegan, this diet will be hard to follow.

tunktunk5583 · January 2012

I do not think this is a healthy or realistic plan.

bmacholiday · January 2012

Bump to read later.

eventing07 · January 2012

I should add that I eat between 1400-1800 calories a day. Depending on how much I work out and what my body feels like it needs. I do not go hungry, I usually eat 4-6 times a day and I always try to keep my snacks really healthy (although this week not so much...) . Everyone is going to be different. Some things work great for some people and not others. I've done a 500 calorie, phendemetrizine, low carb hi protein diet and I thought it was amazing.... I lost 30lbs, and man I thought I looked awesome. Well I just did a photo comparison and I am smaller now than I was 6 months ago, and I am 30lbs heavier but much more fit than I have ever been! After my 3 months on the fad diet (doctor supervised I might add) my hair was brittle, finger nails brittle, and my hair was falling out like crazy! Thats when I decided it was time for me to lose weight the healthy way. I've worked with a nutritionist minimally just to make sure I am getting everything I need and also a trainer when I first started (I only see her 1 time a month because I live in a different state). I try to do different exercise classes, change my workouts, and learn everything I can about eating properly long term. Eating enough is so important!!!

Yes I totally want to lose 50lbs by May but as long as my body is becoming stronger and more fit I am completely okay with not meeting that particular goal on time. But by May I will at least LOOK like I have lost 50

rac401 · January 2012

To the OP your current regime is highly dangerous to your health, I sincerely hope no one else takes a leaf out your book. Other than the obvious danger of trying to lose so much weight so fast, you will inevitably put it all back on if you stop exercising and return to normal eating patterns because your body will over compensate for the starvation you are putting yourself through!

PinkEarthMama · January 2012

I'd love to lose 10 pounds a month. I'd also like to stay healthy, which is why my goal is only 6-8 pounds a month.

This is not " the biggest loser ". This is LIFE, and you only get one. Exercising like a mad person, and eating only 1200 calories may land you dizzy, driving on the freeway.

Aim for making the absolute healthiest choices you possibly can. Lots of fruit, tons of veggies. No white sugar, no flour. Drink crazy amounts of water ( I personally drink 3 liters a day. Half the time when i think " i'm hungry "... I'm only thirsy ). Eat a LOT of fiber.

You MAY find that you have huge losses the first week -a friend of mine lost 10 pounds the first week of healthy eating - she lost all the excess water weight, the fiber gave her a good old fashion clean out... and after that she lost 2 pounds a week.

Greg127 · January 2012

Your plan goes against the philosophy of MFP and like most of the posters here I agree on a long term healthier approach.

That said, sure, starve yourself down to your desired weight, get the headaches, gastric distress, heart palipations, the bad breath from ketosis and possibly die on the gym floor from heart failure because you've lost so much heart muscle. That's your decision.

Percentage is you'll probably live through the entire weight loss, when you stop the diet, it will coming flooding back, pound after pound. Once you reach that goal or have your event/special occasion, the minute you start eating regularly, your body will hoard every unused calorie as fat. Hopefully you'll be back here, ready to accept a slower lifestyle weightloss.

If you can live with that then I say go for it. It's your life and your weight loss. Good Luck.

To lose 50 lbs in 5 months

Replies

Categories