brand new! please give advice on the following :-)

K

kmh123

New member
How much weight will i lose in 2months?
im hoping for 2 stone (28lbs)... at the minute i am 10st 9 (152lbs) and 5"5. i have gone from eating anything i wanted (chocolate, pasta, mcdonalds etc...) at any time of day, to the following;
breakfast- grilled lean bacon and scrambled eggs
lunch- fresh fruit salad (made myself, not shop bought)
dinner- prawns and avocado mashed up in a bowl.
i have one cup of tea with 2 sugars in the morning (figure i am allowed one treat!) and then water all day, probably a normal sized glass every hour. i rarely snack, but when i do, its walnuts, or cucumber and houmous, or ryvita.

also, i have started walking home from my office. its about 4 or 5 miles. usually i do no excercise at all.

how much weight do we think i will/could potentially lose? any thoughts on the food?

thanks for your help :grouphug:
 
That question is pretty much unanswerable since we don't know the actual of quantity of food you're eating. Sure, you've "cleaned up" your food choices so chances are good you've reduced your calories... but still... guess how much weight you'll lose would be like shooting in the dark.

To add, a good goal to shoot for, and in some cases (especially those of relatively light females like yourself it's a big aggressive or hopeful) is losing 1% of your body weight each week.

For you, that would be about a 1.5 lbs per week.

So in two months time (8 weeks) you're looking at 12 lbs. Your goal is double this. Do I think it's possible? Sure. Do I think it's smart and safe? No.

There are approximately 3,500 calories in 1 lb of fat.

To lose 12 lbs, you'd need a deficit of 42,000 calories for the 2 month period. Suppose there are 60 days in 2 months and this puts your required daily calorie deficit at 700.

With that information, you'd find your maintenance intake, which is simply the calorie intake where calories in = calories out... so theoretically no weight is gained or lost. Then subtract roughly 700 calories.

Someone of your size might have a maintenance of approximately 2100-2200 calories. So to lose your 12 lbs, you'd have to eat 14-1500 calories per day.

Now let's look at your goal of 28 lbs in two months.

In 28 pounds of fat there are approximately 98,000 calories. That's 98,000 calories you'd need in a deficit to lose 28 lbs in two months worth of time. Again, if there are 60 days in 2 months, you're looking at a daily caloric deficit requirement of 1600... someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Essentially you'd have to starve yourself to make it happen.

The above math assumes all you lose while dieting is fat. That's not the case, especially if you're not doing the right things to preserve muscle.

I have a suggestion:

Don't focus on weight. Focus on body composition and how you feel. Solely focusing on weight tends to lead people astray. You won't look "good" at a certain number just b/c said number is supposedly "normal" or sounds "good."

Instead, you want to make choices that a) cause fat loss, b) cause muscle gain/retention, c) makes you feel good, healthy and strong.

And yea, pick better, more reasonable goals.

I'd read the stickies.
 
hmm yeah you're right. i dont want to be unsafe, and i know that crash dieting is not good. i am just not sure how much people expect to lose! never done this before...! thanks for all the info though, really thorough, and it makes sense: you have given me actual formulas to prove your point!! i am trying to go for the whole old school idea of 'eat a little less, move a little more'
 
Yea, I threw quite few numbers at you so if you want clarification, just ask.

The thing to keep in mind is how you eat and exercise while you lose weight is how you need to LIVE the rest of your life. That's why extreme approaches rarely work, among other reasons. Extreme approaches are associated with temporary ways of living. Temporary ways of living lead to temporary results.

To make it very simple, get yourself a digital food scale and sign up for something like .

Then calculate how many calories you need each day to maintain... this shouldn't be timely. There are a bunch of calculators out there on the web or you can simply start by using something like 14-16 calories per pound as your maintenance.

If you're more sedentary than most, go slightly lower (maybe 13-14). If you're more active than most, go slightly higher (16-17).

From there, you have a couple of options.

You can eat your maintenance for a few weeks to see if it is actually your maintenance.

Most don't have the patience for this.

Or, you could knock 700 calories off your calculated maintenance and track your progress. Tracking should include weighing yourself, taking measurements with a soft tape, and I like pictures. You adjust your plan according to how your body is responding. But manage your expectations... a) this isn't entirely about weight... it's more about body composition and b) don't expect changes in 3 days. I'd assess your progress once every 2-3 weeks.

The foods that comprise your calories is also critical. It should be obvious that 1500 calories of candy is going to be a lot different than 1500 calories of chicken and broccoli.
 
wow thanks, you're really helpful. i am already keeping a food diary, and i will definitely check out all that stuff on the internet (when i go home, i am at work using the net illegally at the mo!). 28 pounds is like a guideline, it totally depepnds how i feel, if i am happy with how i look after i lose 15 pounds, then i will stop there. i have "forbidden" a lot of foods...but only nasty stuff that shouldnt be eaten any way - fatty burgers, fries, double cream! i have picked foods that i love, the prawns avocados fruit eggs etc.... i know its a lifestyle change thats why i am not making myself eat healthy low fat food that i know i hate! and i doubt i would stick to the gym, so the walking home thing is something i will stick to, as i will have to do it for as long as i work here! also, i have noticed that my weight can change by like 2 lbs every day! loads of friends have noticed this too, so i only weigh myself once, a week, every sunday night. its not just about weight loss though. i am only eating really natural food now, u know stuff we were programmed to eat! it makes me feel better, eases digestion and i dont feel sluggish and groggy.... anyway, thanks, you have been a massive help!
 
You're welcome. Sounds like you're off to a great start.

For the sake of clarity... the way to provide your body the stimulus required to preserve muscle while dieting, it's a good idea to eat adequate protein and do some form of resistance training.
 
kmh123 said:
28 pounds is like a guideline, it totally depepnds how i feel, if i am happy with how i look after i lose 15 pounds, then i will stop there.
Click to expand...

I think watching weight is a very helpful indicator on how you've progressed, so in slight opposition of Steve, I'd say still watch, BUT in concorance with Steve don't worry about it. :) You have the correct mind set which is fantastic!


kmh123 said:
i have "forbidden" a lot of foods...but only nasty stuff that shouldnt be eaten any way - fatty burgers, fries, double cream! i have picked foods that i love, the prawns avocados fruit eggs etc.... i know its a lifestyle change thats why i am not making myself eat healthy low fat food that i know i hate!
Click to expand...

Atta girl! I couldn't agree with you more. Everything in moderation!


kmh123 said:
and i doubt i would stick to the gym, so the walking home thing is something i will stick to, as i will have to do it for as long as i work here! also, i have noticed that my weight can change by like 2 lbs every day! loads of friends have noticed this too, so i only weigh myself once, a week, every sunday night. its not just about weight loss though. i am only eating really natural food now, u know stuff we were programmed to eat! it makes me feel better, eases digestion and i dont feel sluggish and groggy.... anyway, thanks, you have been a massive help!
Click to expand...

I suggest weighing yourself in the morning, it gives a more accurate (this is all totally relative) reading of you total body composition. The reading will be less susptible to sway from water weight or food that you may have eaten an hour before if you weigh yourself at night. AGAIN, this is all relative and only my suggestion. YOU do what YOU want and think is right for YOU. :) And way to go on striving for natural foods. Processed foods really do mess with us! You certainly sound like you know what you want and that you can do it. Pump up the nutrition, just like Steve and Kara said and you'll be aces. Welcome :)
 
omg, thanks, thats really enouraging!!! i am glad i am doing the majority of things right, but these tips have helped sooo much! :) :) :) :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top