Starting an intense six week weight loss plan, Help?

[Anonymous]

So I'm 16 years old and going to be a senior this fall, at the end of the school year, I was about 192 pounds, through exercise and a pretty good keto-diet, I am now 178 pounds. I want to keep going! I have really huge thunder thighs, big hips, waist, big butt but I don't have a big gut or belly fat, thank god. My goal is to be around 160 or even less and have a smaller, but still curvy-ish shape. I try my best to exercise regularly, and struggle a little with my meal plans. I do 30-45 min of cardio daily (if not daily, 4 times a week) and really try my best to eat right but even eating healthy is expensive. In my house, I currently have, 2 boxes of life cereal, a box of Quaker peanut butter and chocolate chip granola bars, lemons, smoked sausage, eggs, milk, peppers, vanilla greek yogurt cucumbers, carrots, etc. Can you guys help me come up successful meal plans for the next 6 weeks with what I have in my house? Also, if I keep doing the exercises that I'm doing, twice a day for the next 6 weeks, will that be effective and make a bigger difference?

[redeyemindtricks]

Well, okay, first things first.

__

1)
You wrote that you've been on "a pretty good keto-diet" already.
Do you understand what a "keto diet" means?
I just want to make sure... because almost *none* of the foods you listed are the least bit compatible with an actual "keto" (= ketogenic) diet.

So -- could you do me a favor and tell me:
What's yr current understanding of a "keto diet"?
in terms of:
• goals / purpose
• how it's actually structured (= what kinds of foods are on it, what kinds of foods aren't, macros, amounts, etc)
This will help me understand what sort of wavelength you are already on, here.

__

2)
You've given weights, but those aren't terribly helpful without additional data. I. e., 178lbs means something totally different at 6'2" than it does at 4'11".
• How tall are you?
• What are yr current waist and hip measurements (you can pm these to me if you don't want to list them here)?

__

3)
Two more questions:
• Why are you currently doing cardio? (Do you LIKE doing it? Or are you specifically doing it as an attempt at weight loss?)
• Do you count calories and/or measure out food portions in any way?

Background of these questions:
For MOST people, cardio doesn't really help with weight loss, for two reasons:
(a) Most people vastly overestimate how much food they "burn" with cardio.
(b) Cardio makes most people more hungry, so, they just eat back the calories that they burned (and sometimes more, if they overestimate the "burn" by enough).
... So, if you are using cardio as a weight-loss method, that's generally only going to be effective if you are also counting calories / measuring out yr food, to make sure that you aren't just eating back the extra calories that you burn off.

__

4)
What kinds of foods do you like and dislike?
• Are there any foods you just can't live without, in some small amount? (e. g., do you need a sweet treat at the end of the day to be able to sleep well)
• Are there any foods you HATE, and you know you won't stick to eating, no matter how much tehy might help you achieve yr goals?

__

Lmk.

[Asker]

1) Ok, my understanding of keto-diet= low carb, high fat (eating foods with good fats like avocado, meat, eggs, nuts, etc. With a very low intake of carbohydrates. And yea all the foods aren't compatible at all, thats why I need help!
2) I'm about 5' 6/ 5'7, not really sure and I have no idea what my hip or waist measurements are
3) I'm doing it because its more effective for my area of fat (thighs and lower body) and honestly when i started working out intensley, it was like a chore but I'm starting to like it, I like making sure i get a good sweat.
4) Umm, I'm more of a sweet tooth and now I try to stay away from food rewards so I don't start eating back any calories I lost.
Foods that I like:
-nuts
-rice (unfortunatley)
-yogurt
-meat ( breakfast sausages, bacon, any red meat really)
-egg omlets
-fried plantain
- granola /granola bars
-cereal (honey bunches of oats, oat blenders, life cereal

Food dislikes: not many, HATE mushrooms and squash

[redeyemindtricks]

OK. Well...

• You are only 16. You have probably reached yr adult height or very close, but you still have a couple more years of important musculoskeletal development ahead.
The reason I'm mentioning this is that ketogenic diets are not very well studied in a pediatric context (where "pediatric" refers to anything before adult maturation) -- so, by going on a ketogenic diet at 16, you MAY be messing around with skeletal growth and development. No one really knows.
The only extensive pediatric studies of ketogenic diets have been done on kids with epilepsy (because an extremely high-fat keto diet, for reasons no one really understands, seems to control epileptic seizures really well). In those cases, no one is much looking at body composition, because they have more important fish to fry.

The keto diet at yr age isn't a life-endangering thing, or anything like that -- so don't think I'm implying anything like that. (There are places in the world where there are NO carbohydrates EVER,

[redeyemindtricks]

like in the upper Arctic where the Inuit people live, and they grow and reproduce perfectly fine -- but they also have short, round, fatty bodies. No one knows how much of that is their diet and how much of that is their ethnic heritage.)

Soooo, if you want to play this as safe as possible, you'll want to go on a diet that's low-carb, but not necessarily ketogenic.

Research studies have shown that dieters are LEAST likely to binge or overeat, and are MOST likely to achieve weight loss, when:
• Carbs (if any) are eaten later in the day;
• The biggest meal is eaten within 4-6 hours of bedtime;
• Breakfast is VERY small, with as close as possible to 0 carbs.

Also -- The point of a low-carb diet is that it promotes fat-burning in and of itself. ***IF YOU ARE EATING A VERY-LOW-CARB DIET, INTENSE CARDIO IS UNNECESSARY AND POSSIBLY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE***

Go back and read that at least 10 times.

If you are doing these 30-45 minutes of "cardio" WHILE ON A LOW CARB DIET, then this should be

[redeyemindtricks]

exercise of VERY mild intensity. (The intensity level should be such that you could still hold a conversation, although you might be a LITTLE short of breath while doing so, or you might have to interrupt longer sentences in order to draw a breath or two.)

*** If you are doing cardio that is ANY more intense than that -- basically, anything that makes you breathe hard or pant, or ANY running -- then you need to swap out some of yr fat calories for carbs. Otherwise, that exercise will start to catabolize muscle tissue ***

So...
Before planning specific meals, you'll want to make a decision, which is whether you would RATHER embark on a plan that involves
(1) A LOW-carb, MEDIUM-HIGH-fat, HIGH-protein diet, WITHOUT intense cardio (and possibly including low-intensity cardio such as walking on an incline);
*OR*
(2) A LOW-TO-MEDIUM-carb, MEDIUM-fat, HIGH-protein diet, WITH a certain amount of more intense cardio.

This is a personal decision, based entirely on yr preferences. Basically,

[redeyemindtricks]

plan #2 would allow you to have rice on a regular basis (as per yr "preferred foods" list), but would also commit you to doing more strenuous exercise regularly.
On plan #1 you could be a lazy shit, but a lot more foods would be off limits.

If you know how yr body reacts to certain foods, then you may want to take that into account, too. (For instance, some fitness athletes I've worked with just can't eat too many carbs without bloating and flatulence, so, they'd go with plan #1.)

So yeah, which of those do you think you'd rather do?

[Asker]

Ok, this was VERRY helpful in terms of me knowing my options now. So, I excersise regularly with the body project excerise videos on youtube. I usually do 30-40 min of the beginner/intermediate & advanced HITT cardio exercises every day and take it easy on the weekends. Are you saying that if I follow plan #2 that I basically continue doing that but I can have small amounts of stuff like rice and plantains regulary? And if I do that, will I be able to see change in 6 weeks?

[redeyemindtricks]

Well, okay, two things.

1)
Yr stated goal is not realistic.
(178 lbs – 160 lbs) ÷ 6 weeks = 3 lbs/week
You DEFINITELY can't lose 3 pounds a week in any way that's even remotely healthful.
I mean... This would entail a calorie deficit of approximately 3 x 3500 = 10,500 calories per week -- which works out to a DEFICIT of 1500 calories per day.
Yr maintenance calories are not that much higher than 1500/day rn... so, in other words, yr stated goal requires a net calorie intake (after exercise) of close to zero.
That's obviously neither salubrious nor advisable (nor is it probably even possible).

So, you should revamp that goal of yours.

Honestly, you should probably forget even having a weight goal in the first place. Weight goals can be frustrating, misleading, and even psychologically distressing, because of all the fluctuations in yr weight due to bloating/water retention/blood electrolytes/(de) hydration/etc. (My weight fluctuates regularly by ±5-7 pounds, and that's not even

[redeyemindtricks]

taking into account menstrual periods.)

A BETTER way to define goals is in terms of body measurements -- say, natural waist circumference, pants waist circumference, and/or hip circumference.
If THESE are moving in the correct direction -- especially if yr natural waist is getting smaller, and the natural waist/hip ratio is approaching 0.6-0.7 -- then that's a much better indicator of progress.

Unless you actually have an EVENT in six weeks -- photoshoot, wedding, etc -- honestly it's better to set an average calorie deficit, and then just monitor those body measurements to see whether you're making actual progress.

This is one of the better online calorie calculators out there:
www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
Try not to go more than 500 calories/day below that maintenance level for any extended period of time (unless you are following a special diet that allows that, like a PSMF diet -- which you aren't, and which wouldn't

[redeyemindtricks]

allow any high intensity exercise anyway).

2)
If you are doing "HIIT" for THIRTY TO FORTY MINUTES, then, I hate to break this to you, but you aren't really doing HIIT.
When done properly, HIIT should involve intervals of MAXIMUM INTENSITY -- literally, as hard as you can possibly push yrself.
If you are doing HIIT that is actually HIIT, and you are relatively new to it, you should be totally pooped after 10 or 15 minutes TOTAL (not counting warm-ups).
Even a world-class strength/speed athlete would struggle to do HIIT for more than about 30 minutes.

This isn't just a nit-pick. If you are doing something that lasts 30-40 minutes, then... whatever it is, it isn't HIIT, and it won't have the same effects on body composition. And, adding something like that to a calorie deficit could be... very bad.
Be careful.

You'll want to acquire a food scale -- you NEED to weigh foods to have an accurate idea of yr calorie consumption. Do you have one?

[Asker]

No, I don't have a food scale but about the excersise, I've only done one HIIT advanced fat burning video. I usually do low-impact cardio videos for 30-40 minutes every day. Am I doing it all wrong?

[redeyemindtricks]

If you're doing what I've described as "plan #2", then, not necessarily -- that sort of thing could also help to subtract some net calories.

If yr diet is low-carb to the point of being ketogenic, though, then I'd imagine anything that's in a video is still probably too intense.
On a ketogenic diet, anything more intense than "conversation with strained breath" level of exertion (heart rate around 130-140, for most younger people) is going to start turning off fat loss, and leaching from muscle and lean tissue.
So, if you *want* to do that sort of cardio, you should do a plan with at least some carbohydrate intake (preferably later in the day, as previously mentioned). You should try to do the cardio when you are fasted.

[redeyemindtricks]

In any case -- the serious high-intensity intervals aren't something you can just jump into, anyway. You need a certain base of training experience to get into those.
So, if you aren't an athlete or experienced exerciser, then, what you're doing now is pretty good for yr situation.

You can read about that more here:
www.bodyrecomposition.com/.../

(there's also a part 2, linked from there)

Once you get to the point where you're conditioned to do real intervals, though, you can get a serious fat-torching workour in less than 10 minutes.
One of the best-known versions, the Tabata protocol, only takes 4 minutes (!) after you warm up. That's described here:
www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/tabata-workout

But, yeah -- you should definitely get a food scale, so that you can start getting a better sense of yr total intake.
My husband and I just track weekly calories, not daily, for two

[redeyemindtricks]

reasons:
1) It's much more accurate -- we prepare larger amounts of food at a time, so, the error is a much lower percentage of the total amount.
2) We don't worry as much about shorter-term trends, like per-day.

Full disclosure, neither my husband nor I sleep/wake on a 24-hour schedule, so that's another reason why calculating calories per day wouldn't make sense. But, doing them per week has made a lot of things easier.
Still, you'll probably want to at least *start* with daily calories, just because that's the guideline you'll find everywhere -- and because self-control is too hard to practice on a weekly basis at first. (:

[Asker]

Thank you so much!

[redeyemindtricks]

You're welcome.

[redeyemindtricks]

Tx for the MH luv <3

Feel free to pm with random questions.

[Asker]

No problem, will do :)

[vidaloca]

I gained 20 pounds this year from depression and binge eating, and cut back on dairy and eggs because of a food allergy. Ate mostly vegan vegetable dishes and paired them with lean meat. Made smoothies from frozen organic fruit (pretty cheap at stores like HEB/Walmart etc). Ate lots of hemp seeds. 3 solid meals a day, no snacks. Even some yummy vegan desserts too! I also practiced Mindfulness training about food. I've lost most of the weight just from doing that, and walking and running. Still a few pounds left. I just feel so much better!

[Anonymous]

You need to have a serious conversation with your parents about the food. Frozen fruits and vegetables tend to be cheaper than fresh produce and beans, pasta, potatoes are relatively cheap. Incorporate more plants into your meals and cut back on dairy, processed foods, eating out, etc. That's really all the help I could give but I'm sure you could find some recipes online. Learning to cook really helps.

[Opinion Owner]

You also need to change up your exercise routine. YouTube has a lot of videos that focus on a specific body part and the more you continue to shock your body, the easier it'll be to lose.

[ichot]

"Frozen fruits and vegetables tend to be cheaper"

Don't know where you buy your groceries but frozen foods are considerably more expensive than the ones on display.

[cth96190]

My daughter lost 19kg on the Herbalife programme and has kept it off by following the maintenance diet.

[helloitsmethere]

Wow... you lost almost 20 pounds in a month? That's good progress, actually.
You mentioned peanut butter. Peanut butter actually aids in weight gain, so you kind of want to eat that in moderation since you are on a diet. You should also eat diary in moderation as well, since it aids in weight gain too.
You can add a little more exercises to your exercise routine. Find some methods online to help you with. Youtube is good for that.
You also didn't mention your height. How tall are you?

[Asker]

around 5'6 / 5'7

[HousePanda]

Same boat, the first step is realizing a normal and healthy weight loss amount per week, (about 1 lb). You will need to go to the store, especially since the food in your house won't last 6 weeks! Stock up on veggies, frozen is just as fresh (if not fresher) that the fresh produce. Lean meats like chicken, turkey and fish are very good. Cut down on processed foods (boxes and bags like chips) and focus on protein

[Xfitchick]

Eating healthy does not have to be expensive at all. Throw away the cereal, the peanut butter, granola bar and saucage. Go for a lot of fruit and vegetables. Eat enough proteins a day (vegetables are OK) split over 5 small portions so you can keep muscle mass. And limit your carbs to your daily need (even somewhat less so you burn fat)

[KittieCat]

Talk to your parents about eating healthy. It's not that expensive (if at all) and it's your health sooo.. worth?
Anyways you probably won't keep the weight off from an intense 6 week program where it's actually fat. Your body needs time to adjust and say hey we're losing weight plus since it's so intense (which it doesn't sound like) after your done you might just bounce back as most people do.
I'd recommend losing that weight over a few months.. not one

[Bipolarbear96]

Plank! It helps lose weight, and it works almost every muscle in your body!

[Anonymous]

you will lose weight but not get a six pack that quick. Im 17, 6'1 and only 9 stone. And i had to work hard for my six pack, and im naturally very lean.
You will probably see your abs when you tense.

[Puppylove94]

@redeyemindtricks is a genius with this stuff

[apple24]

I need your help! LOL

[naturaldeven4]

>intense weight loss
>6 weeks
choose one

[Anonymous]

How tall are you if you don't mind me asking?