I am currently just about 215 and I have a deal with my boyfriend that if I get down to 195 by the end of May, that he will take me on a vacation somewhere warm (aka out of WI!!). I have been trying to figure it out and that leaves me 42 days. Is this realistic?
I am on WW and have been doing the 30 Day Shred along with going to the gym and doing Wii fit, but I am worried that I won't be able to reach this goal due to taking a week off when we were on Spring Break!
Any tips on how to get there? Am I aiming too high now?
I think it's unrealistic. 42 days is 6 weeks. 20 pounds over 6 weeks is 3.33 pounds per week. You would need a daily caloric deficit (below your BMR) of 1,665 to reach this goal. 1lb - 3500 calories. 3.33 X 3500 = 11,655.00 / 7 days = 1,665
(Someone check my math please!)
Basically, it's better to lose weight in a healthy way than it is to be stressed and not meet some lofty, overly ambitious goal. Stress hurts weight loss btw.
Why don't you take a vacation regardless of your weight loss and find other ways to reward yourself personally? I understand he's trying to be helpful and supportive in his way but where did this goal come from? Who picked it and why?
Well, 20 pounds in about 6 weeks makes it about 3.3 pounds/week... which is a lot. It's on the high end of what people "should" lose to do it healthy and keep it off (not rebound).
My suggestion: track your calories, keep up with a good cardio session 5 days/week, and make sure you drink enough water!!
Also, I'm not sure what foods you eat, but you could try doing low carb - the weight tends to come off faster in the beginning of that sort of diet. Good luck!! I hope you get to go somewhere warm!
Thanks for the advice. I ended up picking it and it was a few weeks ago. I've been working on losing the weight and then ended up taking a week off and then I struggled getting on track.
The reason I picked it was at the time, if I was losing weight at 1.5 pounds a week, I would have reached the goal. But as I stated, I really struggled after that week getting back to the grind and now I feel like I let myself down a bit.
I do still wonder if it could be realistic and healthy as one week while just doing 30ds and Wii fit along with sticking on WW diet, I ended up losing 3.6lbs. This was quite a few weeks into the program as well. My leader said I am doing well and didn't think I lost too much with all I had been incorporating in.
I guess I just gonna keep plugging along and see how it goes. I'm going to continue to work out and hope that I see some good results, however I know not to let myself get down about it if it doesn't happen because I'm still making changes for the better!
You could do it but it wouldn't be easy and it wouldn't be 20lbs of fat.
You would have to do a PSMF diet and this would also limit your ability to workout hard.
Personally I would suggest you tell your BF that you've changed the bet. You stick with your program until that date and regardless of what your weight is that he takes you on vacation. You'll probably be about 10 lbs lighter but you'll feel much better than if you starve yourself to win some arbitrary bet and more importantly because you'll be able to keep your exercise routine up you'll be in much better shape to enjoy your vacation with him. If you know what I mean ...
Just like many things in life, it is the process you can control that matters.
You could do it but it wouldn't be easy and it wouldn't be 20lbs of fat.
You would have to do a PSMF diet and this would also limit your ability to workout hard.
Personally I would suggest you tell your BF that you've changed the bet. You stick with your program until that date and regardless of what your weight is that he takes you on vacation. You'll probably be about 10 lbs lighter but you'll feel much better than if you starve yourself to win some arbitrary bet and more importantly because you'll be able to keep your exercise routine up you'll be in much better shape to enjoy your vacation with him. If you know what I mean ...
Just like many things in life, it is the process you can control that matters.
I agree with all the comments so far, and I would probably be writing the same advice to others if it wasn't myself (as dumb as that sounds). One of the main reasons I set that goal was also because I wanted to feel comfortable whereever we'd end up, especially if it was anywhere near the beach.
I'm proud of my progress, however I just still am nowhere near comfortable yet.
Just to add to what other's have said - it is doable...but I'm not sure if your workouts are the best to drop lbs fast. I LOVE love 30day shred, and always recommend it, but if you want to drop lb's FAST - I would add a bit more cardio to your routine. 30DShred only has 6 min. of actual serious cardio.
if you were me, iow, five-two and 215 (which i was), then it'd be perfectly doable because you'd have slabs of bodyfat to back up a low-calorie plan. having all that excess fat also means everything you do is, in essence, a workout. a casual walk is practically cardio from your heart's PoV because it's got to power you wearing a suit of armour.
at your height, however, you're actually not that bad - so it'll be way harder bec you have less to lose.
instead of focussing on an arbitrary number on the scale, what about just focussing on looking better?
i mean, what happens if you bust your hump and drop two or three dress sizes and then weigh yourself and discover you've only lost 6lbs?
which is more important - weighing thinner or BEING thinner?
personally, i think the trip should be a reward for six weeks of consistent effort regardless of outcome.
Last edited by threenorns; 04-20-2012 at 05:18 PM.
I've found it best to only set rewards based on things I have 100% control over, and speed of weight loss isn't one of them. I don't set loss-by dates because if I come "close" I feel like I've failed completely. I can't see the success in 98% success, only in the failure. Weight loss isn't pass/fail.
My husband I do set individual and common goals/rewards, but not time-based weight goals. For example, I decided that when I'd lost 50 lbs (way back when) I would get an mp3 player), and I decided that when I'd lost 100 lbs, I would get a tatoo (which I've earned, but haven't decided on yet).
I've also set time-related goals, but only when I have complete control over the outcome. For example, working toward a pre-chosen reward if I've worked out (20 minutes plus) at least 10 days during the month.
I even do this for working on my novel (setting rewards for a certain word count).
I'd suggest you setting the vacation as a reward for losing 20 lbs, but setting no time limit on it.
The way you've set it up now, if you lose 19.5 lbs by your goal date, you will have failed. If you lose 10 lbs, you will have failed....
By not setting a time frame, you can do your best and can accept whatever the results are, because eventually you will earn the reward. You're going to be motivated to work at the weight loss, because the carrot is dangling in front of you, but you won't be demotivated if you do your best and still are unable to meet your deadline.
By not having a deadline (but setting a reward you REALLY want) you're going to be motivated, but not motivated (hopefully) to use extreme and dangerous methods of weight loss in order to meet the deadline.
For me, removing deadlines was remarkably helpful in keeping me motivated. I no longer feel that I've "failed" just because my weight loss is slower than I had hoped/expected.
I was always crushed when I missed a deadline goal, whether it was a huge miss or only by a pound or two. In some ways, "coming close" felt worse than missing by a mile, because I would berate myself for every imperfect choice I'd made or how I could have made every choice a little better.
One of the main reasons I set that goal was also because I wanted to feel comfortable wherever we'd end up, especially if it was anywhere near the beach.
I'm proud of my progress, however I just still am nowhere near comfortable yet.
I completely understand. I really really do. But I've gone to the beach even while being at my highest weight as well as other places and I still had fun. Did it suck that I was so overweight? Yes but it was still fun and my DH and I still enjoyed being together.
Last edited by LandonsBaby; 04-20-2012 at 06:05 PM.
How about if you stay on plan 100% until then, you get to go on vacation? You can control that variable. You can't really control how fast your body will let go of fat.
In the past, I've made the mistake of making unrealistic goals for myself, failing, and totally giving up on the journey. The outcome was never positive!
Now, my goals have nothing to do with the number on the scale and I'm doing MUCH better!
Focus on the race, not the finish line. It doesn't matter if you get there tomorrow, or next year... as long as you're running in the right direction .
I think it's doable, but not with taking a week off for spring break and also having taken a week off already. Sometimes there are no days off. That's just how it is. You have to decide what's more important.
I agree that changing the terms might be better all around. Stay 100% on plan and win the "bet." That might work out best in the long run. good luck.
Why not set a date for a vacation later in the summer and that will give you longer to attain a more realistic goal. Then youll feel even better if you guys go somewhere warm!
I've found it best to only set rewards based on things I have 100% control over, and speed of weight loss isn't one of them. I don't set loss-by dates because if I come "close" I feel like I've failed completely. I can't see the success in 98% success, only in the failure. Weight loss isn't pass/fail.
Like almost always, I agree with Kaplods. I find that even following my weight loss program perfectly, I still can't predict my speed of weight loss. I even graphed it comparing the number of WW points eaten to speed of weight loss and there was not that great a correlation. Yes, if I stayed on program I lost weight while if I didn't I didn't lose weight. But, eating an average of X points might one week result in a 1/4 pound weight loss and a 1 1/2 pound loss the next.
At the end of last year I signed for a WW weight loss challenge and set a goal that was quite realistic. However, I also happened to hit a plateau around that time and didn't loss what the challenge called for. Even though I objectively did well in still losing a little weight over the holidays, I felt terrible that I had "failed" and this made it harder for me when the new year started.
For someone doing WW for example, it is far better to focus on following the program all the time, tracking what you eat, exercising X number of times a week, etc. rather than setting a goal to lose Y number of pounds in a specific time period. If you follow the program and track and exercise, then you will lose weight.
Weight loss goal too much?
.
