I have about 4-6 weeks to lose some weight, advice?

[Anonymous]

i carry it all in my stomach. I also have what I call "arm-pit fat" that I want to get rid of. over-all I'm in shape because I do workout as often as I can. I have about 4-6 weeks to try and lose weight. my goal is anywhere in between 10-20 Lbs. my question is, what are the best ways to lose 10-20 lbs in 4-6 weeks? give me all you can think of from what to eat, how much to eat, what to do exercise wise, how many sets and reps, etc. please and thank you!

[kheserthorpe]

Well, lets start with what happens if you don't eat?

Your muscles will switch from using sugars (carbs) to using fat as their energy source. Since you're not eating, they'll use stored body fat. Perfect!

The problem is that your brain and nervous system cannot use fat as an energy source. In the absence of sugar, they use ketones - a substance made within your body, out of protein. Now you're not eating protein, so your body would get it by ripping it out of lean body mass (muscles). If you were actually starving during a famine, this would be helpful since ripping out muscle tissue slows your metabolism, and hence slows down how fast you use up your fat. This is, of course, the opposite of what you want to do, which is to get your body to blow through fat while leaving muscle tone alone. You would especially like your body to not rip protein out of your heart, which is possible.

So the idea is to do a 'protein sparing modified fast'. Fast means you don't eat. But we modify the fast by adding in protein. How much protein? Enough to support ketosis (ketone production). How much will that be? Get the book I suggested, it will have tables based on your current body fat, weight and activity levels.

What will your typical day look like? Something like 100g of lean protein and unlimited non-starchy vegetables. So perhaps a couple of eggs and a slice of ham with tomato for breakfast, a chicken breast with plain yogurt with dill in it as dressing on salad for lunch, and a half chicken or some lean p*rn with grilled vegetables for dinner.

Lyle's plan in rapid fat loss calls for that type of eating most of the time, with a certain number of carb loads and free meals. I'd guess for your weight, he'd suggest one carb-load and one free meal per week. The carb load means once per week in a 5 hour window, you eat a fair amount of carbs. The goal here is to fire up your metabolism a bit - to make your body think the famine is over ;). The free meal is for psychological reasons - once a week you can have reasonable portions of whatever meal you want, including desert. Since the normal diet is well under 1000 calories a day, eating one unhealthy meal per week (lets call it two including the carb load) is still going to leave your calories WAAAY under maintenance.

I didn't use any fat burners, but I did use fish oil on the diet.

I actually found it easy, after the first two days. The fact that twice a week I could eat anything made it psychologically easy. If I craved something, I knew I could have it in a couple days. And the weight comes off, which keeps your motivation up. Protein is the slowest thing to digest. I was hungry by meal times, but really not between.

As a note (and as explained by lyle) you'll drop a serious amount of water weight when you go non-carb. You add that back every carb load, and it drops off about 48 hours later. I seriously gained and lost 5-8 lbs every Saturday based on water weight.

[Asker]

wow, ill have to get that book than. thanks! sounds intense. how long did you do it for and how much weight did you lose overall?

[kheserthorpe]

I can't remember how long, I used it to drop 15-20 lbs, but I wasn't that heavy to begin with.

I've regained a couple, not much. I may do it again at some point. I've considered doing amateur boxing and I'm only a few pounds above being a very tall middleweight ...

[Asker]

thats great! I have managed to somehow lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks. 5 per week. I was just doing my normal routines nd eating healthy as always. I still want to lose more weight though to where I feel great about myself! you know? I hear boxing is a great work out

[kheserthorpe]

well, most of that would be water. Its not good or bad, it simply IS. If you're continually dropping 2 lbs a week, that's a very quick rate and you should be happy.

[WoIIie]

Whether or not you can lose 10-20 pounds depends on your current weight. Obese people can pull it off. If you are 20 pounds overweight, that's a stretch.

Realistically you can lose 8-10 pounds in one month. If you tried really hard, you could maybe get 12. Get rid of the simple carbs, processed sugars, sodium, hydrogenated oils, and saturated fats. Those ingredients go straight to the belly and do nothing for your body (well, sodium kind of does).

Get in 45 minutes to 1 hour of cardio in every single day. After 4-6 weeks, you'll be quite lean.

[Anonymous]

If you STRICTLY want to go about the best way to lose weight, 6 weeks 10lbs (if you are of normal weight) is achievable without imposing any negative impact on your body. Here are the simple rules to lose some weight:

Food:

1) No mayo, no mustard, no butter, no cream, and cut down on the sauce.

2) Avoid cheese, or at least cut down on it.

3) No coke, no diet coke, no fizzy drinks.

4) Portion control.

5) Use olive oil instead of butter in your cooking.

6) Choose fresh over processed food.

7) No fast food, avoid eating out, avoid fish&chips,burger and pizza, pack your own lunch or dinner.

8) Cut down on sweet and salt.

9) Soba, miso soup (be careful of the sodium content), and some decent Asian (chinese/japanese/korean) food are healthy are good, not as fattening (but filling) food to eat

10) CUT DOWN on snacking! (that's my vice :P)

11) Breakfast eat something good (such as a decent oatmeal, a good portion of half boiled egg etc.) that will keep your sugar and energy level high to kick start your day!

12) Lunch eat whatever you want (but practice some of the rules I've laid out earlier, and eat in moderation)

13) Dinner eat something light that makes you 50% full, with plenty of vegetables and fruits.

14) Eliminate constipation.

15) Use soy milk (check the sugar content first) or skimmed milk.

Exercise:

1) Do stretching exercises. Pilates is going to help you a lot since you mentioned about the arm pit fat. You also need to do proper sit ups daily (not about the quantity but quality)

2) What exercises do you like? Mix up your exercises. Swimming, jogging, speed walking and a bit of strength training will be good for you. Allocate 30-60 minutes a day (depending on how strict you are) for at least 3-4 days a week (again depending on how much you want to push it). Allow your body to rest at least a day too!

Overall: Make it a habit. Don't do something you can't sustain in a long run. Don't make it an obsession either.

Note: Sometimes we weigh slightly more or lesser on a day because of the gain/loss in water mass.

[Asker]

thanks a bunch. I actually already do what you have told me to do. I eat very healthy and I hate process foods, eating fast food, I rarely go out and if I do and I know I'm going to ahead of time I choose that as my cheat day. I try not to have too many cheat days in a month. they say once a week but I'm more like once every two weeks or so. When I exercise I switch it up. certain days I do arms some days I work my legs. I always do 30-60 min of cardio. I am in 2 different pilates classes right

[Asker]

now. its great! pilates 1 and pilates apperatus. with my cardio some days I go on the stair master, or run, eliptical, or bike. I haven't swam in a while but I've been wanting to get back into it. its just so tedious and I'm a person who loves swimming, esp competetively. I think when it comes to working with free weights, or just weights in general though I'm so stuck on what I already know. I would like to branch out and try new things, but I don't want to do it wrong and I don't know what works what.

[Opinion Owner]

Keep doing what you are doing and there's nothing you'd go wrong. I'd say go for swimming, or in fact tennis or some ball related games if you like. But don't overdo it because too much of things may just spoil the broth ;)

[Asker]

lol yeah alright than! :) thanks for answering it though! I appreciate it. I've managed to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks without really thinking about losing it. I was just doing my normal routine ha ha but I want to get to a point where I love myself! you know?

[Opinion Owner]

you are welcome :) well, were/are you overweight? how did you lose that much within 2 weeks just out of curiosity? :)

[Asker]

i weigh 160 at 5'7" in height. I am averweight but not to the point where its serious. but I want to be comfortable in my own skin. I have no clue how I lost it! maybe because I really push myself when I work out?

[Opinion Owner]

The previous weight and height actually explains your sudden weight loss. Overweight/obese people have a higher capacity to lose weight when they workout. You're right. You weren't seriously overweight.

What's your current skin problem and what's really your focus? If your focus is really on your skin, work out in moderation and eat what you've been eating. It's a very common mistake for girls to overwork themselves and consequently have pimples break out. Again, don't make this an obsession

[Asker]

i have been working out for about a year now though. and for me to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks is a surprise. I don't even know how I did it. my skin is really good. its clear. the only time I break out is right before my period. I only get 2 or 3 pimples, nothing major. I've always fluxuated with my weight. I used to be very active when I was in hs and before that, and now I'm workin out at least 3 times a week. like I said for a year now.

[Opinion Owner]

that's all good then :) Why do you still wanna lose weight? You should be comfortable with your own skin at this point!

[Asker]

like I previously said, I carry it in the stomach. its just not attractive to me and I would like to have not a totaly complete flat stomach but to be smaller then it is now.

[Opinion Owner]

Oops my bad! ignore my last comment, lol. I copy and pasted two different comments, sorry for the confusion. Just keep doing what you are doing as I said. You should be comfortable with your own skin at this point.

[martyfellow]

You can't lose that much that fast without hurting yourself, so don't try. Shoot for 10 lbs in 6 weeks IF you are working out a lot and regulaly. Even that is pushing the issue a little.

Think how long it took you to put on that 10-20 pounds; it won't come off a whole lot faster.

[Asker]

ive managed to lose 10 pounds in about 2 weeks. is that considered hurting myself? I'm doing it the right way, I just push myself with motivation. I weigh 160, which to me is a lot. I'm 5'7"

[martyfellow]

Probably you've mostly lost water weight...Yes you will hurt yourself if you kepe up that pace, there's no way to do that and stay healthy

[kheserthorpe]

Protein sparing modified fast.

Read up before doing it.

I'd suggest Lyle Macdonalds (you can get it as an ebook) 'rapid fatloss handbook'

[Asker]

i just saw you put this as an answer for someone else too haha

[Asker]

have you tried it?

[kheserthorpe]

Yes. I can give you an idea of what it entails, but seriously, do not go on a 700 calorie a day or whatever diet without really understanding it.

Ergh, need more characters, I'll do it as a second full answer