I need to lose weight over the next 3 weeks, how much do you think is possible?

[virtualwasp]

[BoopBoopBeep]

So your daily minimum for healthy intake is going to be 1200 calories. 1000 is pushing it, but if you balance your macros it's doable short term without damage.

3500 calories is a pound of fat, so you'd have to burn 4900 calories per day to eat what you need and still stay healthy while dropping a pound a day. Now I do competitive ruck marches where I'm burning 450-650 calories per hour based on my pace, so that's doable if I do a half marathon every morning and a 15k every evening. I've done that, but I'm willing to bet you can't, because then you wouldn't have need to ask this question.

If you go below that 1200/1000 limit, your body is going to start cannibalizing muscle over fat, which is how people get skinnyfat. I don't know what you're trying to do. If you're trying to cut weight to get into a competition weight class, that'll do it, but you're not going to look good. If you're trying to look better in that time, then that's not going to work, so you need to stay above that caloric floor and make sure you're doing a high protein diet so your muscles can repair.

All of that to say, WE can't say how much you can lose because WE don't know how much you're willing to put into it/how much time per day you have. Also, depends on what you have TIME to do. I lost 7lb on a marathon wearing 34lbs on my back. I also didn't workout at all the next morning because I slept until 9AM (five hours past normal). I could probably do that twice a week, maybe three, but 60-80% of that was water weight so it'll be back after a couple IVs. You want to do extra credit, have infinite time on your hands and took three weeks off work, when you're tired for the day from the cardio, do some weight training with the absolute heaviest weights you can move 6-8 times. Assuming your weight is the same, a pound of muscle is denser than a pound of fat, so you'll look leaner and smaller the more muscle you put on. Plus muscle has a higher basic metabolic rate than fat, so you actually WILL burn more calories "just sitting there" the more muscle that's on your frame. You're not going to gain a whole lot of muscle in 3 weeks, but think of it as fine tuning.

Now if you want to do, virtually nothing, sit on your couch and just restrict, that's not sustainable over 3 weeks healthily and you'll end up putting your body in starvation mode and tank your metabolic rate so much you'll lose energy faster than weight.

I dunno... there's probably some angle I didn't cover, but not sure what it is offhand. AT me if you think of something

[Likes2drive]

5 pounds a week is healthy I think

[BoopBoopBeep]

5 lbs a week would be a 3000 calorie per day deficit. Unless you're a competitive athlete you're not burning enough calories to drop that much without losing necessary vitamins and macros that your body needs.

[virtualwasp]

@BoopBoopBeep i used to be a competitive athlete until covid. maybe i start exercising again and that will osrt if, I've cut the diet to the point i get a bit light headed but concerns with the slowing rate

[virtualwasp]

****sort it

[Likes2drive]

@BoopBoopBeep portion control and some exercise would do it, even fasting for a day a week would probably work , its not that much to lose

[BoopBoopBeep]

Look at the math for that.

[BoopBoopBeep]

@virtu

[BoopBoopBeep]

@virtualwasp ignore above... kitten jumped on the keyboard.

Get back in the swing of things. Eat right... you'll get to where you need to be in no time. Covid isn't an excuse unless we let it be ;)

[virtualwasp]

@BoopBoopBeep will do my friend.

[BoopBoopBeep]

@virtualwasp If you don't mind me asking... what was your sport?
Also, how much were you looking to lose and for what purpose?
Feel free to answer none or some of the above ;)

[virtualwasp]

@BoopBoopBeep gymnastics.

[virtualwasp]

@BoopBoopBeep a competition i might be attending in a few weeks.

[BoopBoopBeep]

@virtualwasp oh well then the restriction thing certainly isn't a good COA there. Haha don't want to be too weak to compete. Gymnastics is no joke. That's a good full body workout. You know what suck looks like and how to push through it. You can do phenomenal things because you already have before. This is going to be nothing for you, as long as you want it. I think you do. I'm proud of you.

[Likes2drive]

@BoopBoopBeep I just know what works for me, but I’m also very active

[BoopBoopBeep]

I hear you. i do marathons in body armor. my first ultra is a nighttime one next month. doing a light 5k warmup that morning to loosen up, the ultra that night, then a charity 5k the next morning that i'll probably post my worst time ever on hahah. all good. i've averaged 40 miles a week with 35-45lbs on since may. averaged, because 4 different times i was in the hospital for a week or so, and that brought the average down. before that I did dismounted patrols in the middle east for several years. walk around with 80-120lbs on your back in tikrit... whew that's a calorie burn. fun though. Not going to lie.

[Likes2drive]

@BoopBoopBeep that’s a lot, I don’t like running but I bike on weekends and do 40 miles sometimes, during my work week I’m in and out trailers delivering freight , hands on mostly, I do about 11,000 steps a day from that , getting tired of going up and down the trailer since it’s 4 feet up and the roll up door is heavy and gets stuck often

[BoopBoopBeep]

Man I was just thinking this morning as I was watching this lady pass me on her bike for the second time that I miss mountain biking and ought to get back into that. Now we're talking about biking. It's a sign man! I used to love biking around base when I was at the bigger bases in Iraq. Great morning cardio when you got miles and miles of flat open road, but honestly I miss the trails more!

[Likes2drive]

@BoopBoopBeep lol, I’m at the beach right now on the bike, it’s a hybrid Trek bike for road or mountain, just pedaled 8 miles already , not electric either

[BoopBoopBeep]

@Likes2drive
Is it one of those fat tire things? If it is... so jealous always wanted to try one. How's it compare when NOT on sand. Like trails or road? I do like the thoughts of a hybrid for international travel. Do you HAVE to plug them in or can you charge them BY pedaling?

[Likes2drive]

@BoopBoopBeep Bontrager tires, they are skinny tires but good for mountain biking and road, that’s why it’s called a hybrid, no charging except me having a Gatorade 😊 those fat tire bikes are good for the sand but noisy on the street and needs more effort. They rent them here at the beach though

[BoopBoopBeep]

@Likes2drive
awesome brother! thanks for the intel... keep tearing it up!

[Likes2drive]

@BoopBoopBeep Thanks

[Anonymous]

You could lose up to 15lbs in 3 weeks if you're really disciplined. I did once but I fasted for 23 hours everyday to do it.

[virtualwasp]

i have lost the same through competition over 11 days but i was training and competing in 35c heat. we will see what is possible. as long as its fat loss muscle gain doesn't matter

[safricanluke]

Any good dietician will tell you that healthy weight loss is somewhere between 1-1.5 pounds a week, any more than that has the potential of injuring your organs. I have heard of people losing about 10 pounds in a week though

[Static_In_The_Attic]

If you want to look skinny hangout with fat people.

[Billlewis]

I just started following you, so if you'd like me to give you my thoughts on this, please start following me and we can discuss it.

[BLP11520]

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