So I'm back from my first year at college and I gained 20 lbs. I'd like to loose 20 lbs before school starts again in about 60 days. I'd say my diet is average to healthy and I exersice a few times a week. Do you think with more exersicing and a heathier diet, I'd be able to loose 20 lbs in 60 days? I've never really tried to loose weight before so I'm not sure if this is an unreasonable goal. Thanks for all your help!

I don't want to bum you out but probably not. A healthy weightloss is about 1-2 lbs per week and considering you don't have that much weight to lose you will probably be on the lower end. But, on the bright side, if you lose 1 lb a week you will make a significant dent in the weight you want to lose and in 2 months you could probably lose 6-10 lbs.

I wouldn't suggest losing 20 lbs in 60 days. Mathematically speaking, that's 1/3 lb every day which equates to a 1165.5 calorie deficit everyday to lose that weight. I don't think it's possible and I don't think you should strive for that big a loss because it will ultimately result in a gain more than what you started with and that can be a big bummer.

I would suggest start slow and steady to get rid of it and by the time school starts, you should have made enough progress to be noticed and to keep you motivated to continue.

*After re-reading your post, I think you're worried that people will start thinking you've gotten fat. Most people probably haven't even noticed your weight gain since they saw you almost all the time. But they will notice a loss after not seeing you for a couple of months...so keep chugging, it's not as bad as you think!

I do agree the you need to do something that is sustainable - if you are able to change your lifestyle, eat healthy, and exercise and keep it up at school, not only will you eventually lose those 20lbs, but you will also avoid packing on any more weight during the school year.
I'm going to guess you're a typical college student...probably the biggest thing you could do is not drink alcohol and party.
Is it doable to lose 20lbs in 60 days? Absolutely... is it sustainable? That depends on you and if you are going to look at it as a "diet" and go back to normal eating afterwards or if you are going to change your life. If this is just another diet, you'll be worse off in the long run.

It is possible, I've done it in the past. But heed my advice, I would NOT suggest it. As the others said, it is not sustainable for ever, I was only taking in about 900 calories a day, and nearly starved. I was hungry all the time, I ended up depressed because of the constant hunger ( i was on this 900 calorie diet for 8 months), and as soon as I lost the weight, i went back to the old eating habits, and thus gained it all back. You'll also run the risk of messing up your metabolism. To answer your question, it is possible, but please dont do it. As the others suggested, pick a program that you can live with forever. loosing it quickly is only setting yourself up to fail.

It has taken me about 150 days to lose 28 pounds.

With only needing to lose 20 lbs., I'd say the weight will come off slower. It took me about 4 1/2 months to lose the last 20 lbs. With careful diet and exercise it would be fairly sensible to take 10 lbs. off and I bet everyone will notice that you lost weight. Good luck and best wishes.

wow, 20 lbs in 60 days? You are almost a dreamer, my friend. Even if you had a 1200 calorie deficit and decided to be really unhealthy, you still might get a plateau. If you want to lose the 20 bs forever, you need to take it slowly.

Why not just have it APPEAR like you've lost 20 pounds? With cardio and strength training your body can look drastically different in 2 months! In one month I lost 5 pounds but everyone thought it looked more like 15. I'd say, aim for the moon, but do it properly.. watch your calories and really work the cardio and weight training. Even if you don't make your goal, you'll still look and feel better

-Aimee

Ahhhhh, the "freshman 15" (+5). Happens to the best of us.

Yes, 20 pounds in 2 months is indeed doable. But as others have said, probably not the best thing to do if you intend to keep the weight off. A more reachable goal would be to lose about 15 pounds (that's 1 pound per week for 8 weeks). Then, when it's time to go back to school, you can continue to work on that last 5 pounds. And remember - it's best to make a lifestyle change in your eating habits than to simply "go on a diet." Try to get at least 1 hour of exercise per day. If you haven't already, incorporate weight lifting into your exercise routine - 2 or 3 times per week.

Good luck - and let us know how you're doing!

That's a great idea! Weight training seems to be improving my "look"!

I agree with all the advice given here (exercise, strength train, slow=sustainable, etc.), but this made me

Me too, Jilly. Huh?