50lbs in 6 weeks. Can I do it? Update!

[Famine]

And set a goal for myself on losing 50lbs, in 6 weeks, starting today. The ideal weight loss safley per week is 5lbs, according to my doctors office. Since I want to meet my goal in 6 weeks, I'll have to lose 8.33lbs a week to pull it off. I'm setting myself just off the suggested number of loss, to meet my own goal.

Today I walked 1.33 miles, and plan to finish tonight out at 2.00 even. I purchased a sauna suit, and hung up my punching bag once more, and spent an hour and a half outside tearing it up, My loss so far is 8lbs, or one gallon of water. Very disgusting.

I'm sure some one is interested in what my workouts will consist of, so here is the current edition:

AM Stretch, 2 laps (.5 miles) around my neighborhood. Stretch
Work-Whatever labor and walking/hauling they have me perform
PM Stretch, 6 laps (1.5 miles) and an hour or more on the punching bag. 50 pushups, 20 situps, stretch

My daily meal intake will consist of a very light breakfast chased by a Redbull., lunch of a small salad with some meat, no dressing, and dinner will be eaten before 6, and will be most likley a small portion of skinless chicken. Drinks consist of water, 1 redbull, club soda with fresh lemon, or unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

My starting weight was 275, and now I am at 266. I will most likley plateau at 250, but I'd like to continue to reach my goal. Any advice would be apreciative. I will update here each day with my current stats, and possibly pictures. Before and After of sorts.


Here's to 50lbs in 6 weeks!

Kevin

[JesseVader08]

That's one hell of a goal, Kevin, the best of luck to you!

I'm glad to see that protein intake is mentioned in your meals, that is so important during weight loss.  You're likely to see some amazing results the first couple weeks, but be careful to maintain at least a minimum intake of 1000 calories or your body will got into starvation mode and cause you to plateau.  This can lead to protein breakdown and muscle wasting (instead of fat breakdown), so like I said, the protein intake and minimal caloric intake is very important to avoid this.

I'd also be careful with your Red Bull intake.  When you're losing weight and shedding fluids, the Red Bull can cause excessive fluid loss and possible fainting or even heart problems, so just be careful.

I'd say your workouts seem very reasonable and attainable.  I'm certainly not the epitome of being in shape, but from what I've learned during my pharmacy and nutrition classes, exercise and balanced nutrition is really the key to long-term weight loss. 

Please take my words as encouragement to complete your goal.  Kick some butt, Kevin!

[Darth_Anton]

Best of luck man.

I'm one of those people who has a high motabolizm and have never been over weight (I've never been really physically fit either,) but I have three people in my life, one of them being my wife, who I have seen do amazing things with their weight. Your plan seems solid, and I agree with th red bull intack comment, but something else I'd like you to keep in mind, with my wife and friends, a lot of the wight loss was atributed to attitude. These people really wanted it, and especially with my wife, I could see their demeaner change for the better.  Once my wife started noticing her cloths were getting loose, she became a different person in a way, and I think that's gone a long way to helping her keep the wieght off (in addition to cuttiiing out snaks entirely )

Again, best of luck!

[Jim]

It can definitely be done.  I worked with a guy who was 525 lbs.  Yes 525 lbs.  He didnt look that big since he was 6' 7".  He lost over 100lbs in two months.  Of course like most he regained it over the past few years.  And his weight ultimately led to his passing a year back.

[Famine]

Sorry to hear he passed on. How did he lose 100lbs in two months? I'd love to learn this power.

Kevin

[Jim]

I work in the beverage industry.  A few years ago, we were co-packing for Slim Fast.  Since the product was readily available he began using the product, as well as including mostly fruits and veggies for meals.  Also remember, the higher the weight it is not uncommon to drop weight that quick. He actually showed up in some Slim Fast ads at the time.  Unfortuneately he went back to his original diet (or lack of) and his weight and lack of exercise.  got the best of him.  Im in the middle of dropping weight right now and besides good exercise, the best thing is eat 3 small meals a day.  Lunch your biggest and supper your smallest.  Plus drink at least 10-12 glasses of water a day. 

[Rob]

You probably can do it, but you're far more likely to KEEP the weight off if you take it slow, change your habits in the sense that you eat smaller portions and better foods instead of hardly eating at all, and focus on losing 2 or 3 pounds per week.  Good luck regardless.

[Famine]

KBZ, I've learned to keep my weight balanced, and now it comes off. I've been at relativley the same weight for a whole year now, give or take 10lbs. So I've got the keeping it off part down. Thank you for the advice.

Kevin

[JohnH]

I can say pretty confidently that if you lose that kind of weight in that small of a time frame, odds are you're going to put it back on.  I've had as many ups and downs as anyone in the last few years, ranging from 250 to 300 to 230 to 300 to 260 back up to 310.  The worst thing I've done to myself is think that I have to lose a ton of weight at first to get started - doing so messes with my metabolism enough that I gain it back, not only very quickly but generally more than I'd lost to begin with.  The best thing you can do for yourself is pace yourself, not make drastic changes (just smart changes) and be patient.

John

[Commander Cody]

You should not set goals like that for youself because they ultimately lead to disappointment. Take it slow and do not concentrate on how much weight you're losing. Just concentrate on your dieting and excersize. Go on the scale only if you really need a moral boost.

[Chris M]

I'm big into fitness and weightlifting, so I'd like to offer a bit of advice.

For your workouts, start with some sort of cardio training in the morning.  If you are bad out of shape, just do 20 minutes and work up to 30.  This is the optimal time for MOST people to do cardio.  Do this on an empty stomach.  This will allow your body to utilize stored body fat as energy.  When you are finished, drink a protein shake for breakfast.  Do that within an hour of your workout because that is when your metabolism should be at it's highest.  Also, breakfast generally should be your biggest meal of the day.

Next, have a cup of yogurt or fruit for a midmorning snack.  When you start working out, your body needs more fuel to keep going.   I know that sounds weird, but frequent meals keep your metabolism up, thus increasing the amount of body fat you are burning.

Have a light lunch of chicken or something high in protein.  You can always through in a salad for variety.  High protein is the key.  Protein helps your body grow muscle.  In return, carbohydrates store as fat if not used.  Muscle tends to allow your body to burn more fat that carbohydrates.

Midafternoon, grab another snack, maybe a piece of fruit.

Should you feel the need, you could do a weight workout at this point.  Even if you are not trying to build muscle, toning the muscle you do have can help burn off excess body fat.  This doesn't have to be anything long and elaborate.  Simply work something like your upper body one day and your lower body the next.  Then take a one day break and do it again.

For supper, you can have a moderate sized meal, but be sure to keep it low in carbs.  Later in the day, your metabolism slows down and therefore so does it's ability to burn body fat.

If you are still hungry when you go to bed, feel free to down another protein shake.  This protein helps repair the muscle you destroyed when you were working out for that day.  The more protein you take in, the less sore your muscles also will be.

I know this is a lot of info.  Don't get discouraged if your weight doesn't drop as fast as you want.  You will plateau as you mentioned, but keep a positive attitude and you will work through it.  Also, loosing up to 8 pounds a week can be unhealthy for some.  Generally, loosing 2-3 pounds a week is a good goal.  Be sure not to measure your body weight everyday.  Your weight can fluctuate up to 5-10 pounds a day. 

If you have questions, feel free to shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to help you out.

[speedermike]

I've fought with my weight for my entire adult life, and I can tell you that 5 lbs a week is way too much. It's fine for a week or two, but after that 2 lbs a week is what you should shoot for.  In fact, groups like Weght Watchers will kick you out if you lose more than 4 lbs a week.

Think of it this way, losing 50 lbs at  2 lbs a week is only 25 weeks.  That's only 6 months.  Dude, you'd be looking slim for the new year, and you'd be healther too!

[Xander]

Good luck, and if that goal is in fact to extreme, you'll at least see improvements in your health from more exercise.

[Famine]

=If you have questions, feel free to shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to help you out.

Yes, thank you! You'll be getting a PM from me later today.

30 minutes of cardio is no problem for me, I prefer it to weights. I'm also a fan of walking. Today at work this morning, between all the trips downstairs to the cooler, sweeping, mopping, and putting stuff away, I walked 2.29 miles in one 5 hour shift. That covered my morning excercise, sans the running part. I'm going to take all of what you said into consideration. If I were to put anything on the chicken, it should be somthing without carbs, correct?

Kevin

[CHEWIE]

Good luck Famine!

Back in the summer of 1995, right after I graduated high school, I decided I needed to lose some weight before I went down to college.  I weighed about 185 then, and was 5'7" - so I really wanted to change how I looked before I met a whole new group of ladies.

My routine was to eat a small breakfast (like one egg, or just a glass of milk), chicken or a small salad for lunch, and a light dinner.  I tried to cut soda from my diet... but the biggest thing for me was running every day.  I would run 2-4 miles per day, and sweat my balls off!  The true key for me was making sure I did in fact sweat a lot.  My extra weight seemed to all be water weight.

It did pay off, in 2 months I dropped down to 155.  But I kept it up, and got down to 140-145 for a 5 year period, but I had to consistently run at least 2 days a week to keep it off.  I actually considered myself to be "ripped" at the time, because during one stretch in 1998, I would run 8-10 miles 4 days a week, and work out like a maniac.  For a little guy, I could bench 215 lbs.  Pretty cool for me at the time.

Now, I haven't worked out since late 1999 when I graduated.  I weigh 155 now, which is about 10 lbs more than I'd like.  I actually started running again a couple weeks ago, just 2-3 days per week and only about 2 miles right now.  It's not easy, and I don't have as much of a reason to now, as I am married, work a lot, and am pretty darn lazy.  

But we're going to Mexico in a couple weeks, and I want to look somewhat better when we're on the beach.  

Anyways, good luck Famine - I wish you all the best.  Just lay off snacks late at night and you can do it!  Don't completely cut out the carbs though.  You need some for energy.