The most efficient way to lose 20 lbs in 110 days.

[Amandaaa]

...Does anyone have any suggestions?? I want to lose about 18 pounds in the next 3.5-4 months, so I'm basically looking for a no-fail, surefire way to transform the way that I feel. I need to create a plan that's clean-cut, simple and disciplined, so I can easily fall into an effortless routine...and come out of this summer feeling lighter, healthier, and more vibrant.

I'm open to water fasting, (as well as juice "feasting"), but I'm not sure if that's the most effective way to shed fat. Do you think I would be better off sticking to a regimen that still includes solid food? Should I just eat all fresh fruit? Should I eat fruit AND small amounts of protein, like fish? (I've been a vegetarian for 8 years, but I would consider eating some non-soy protein like salmon again... As long as I never have to watch Finding Nemo.)

What would you do?

Macrobiotics? Ayurvedic diet? Fruit smoothies? All liquids and vegetable soups? Steamed vegetables? Raw vegetables? Raw fruit? Yogurt? No dairy? Vegan? Not vegan? Soy products? No soy?



I feel fatigued and lackluster right now, so I'm open to all suggestions-- no matter how strange or "radical" they might seem.

[Bleicke]

CrossFit

[Angela]

I lost 2 pounds a week for a total of 20 pounds last year when I did the Extreme Makeover eating and exercise plan. It has become a way of life for me -- totally transformed my eating and how I feel, and also how I feel ABOUT my body. I am a power-packed superhero now, and it feels great.

The eating part was pretty extreme for the first 6 weeks, but I don't feel restricted anymore -- I pretty much eat anything I want. It just happens that almost everything I want falls within the plan now!

[rocksupreme]

Increase fat intake, reduce starchy carbs to a minimum, drink plenty of water, and find a physical sport/hobby you enjoy doing three times a week.

It really is just that simple.

[JSB]

Tim Ferriss has a piece on weight loss:

How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

[ssandra]

losing weight is as simple as using more callories than you consume..

Callories in - callories out = weight loss/gain

You can do that however feels best for you. More exercise, less eating, a little bit of both..

Everybody is different so you will need to listen to your body and do what feels good. If you feel bad, change your diet or exercise until you find what works for you.

[liamona]

Originally Posted by JSB

Tim Ferriss has a piece on weight loss:

How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

That looks pretty good, although I think it restricts fat too much. As for eggs, I recommend the opposite approach to his—keep the yolks and throw away most of the whites. That's where most of the vitamins are.

Originally Posted by ssandra

losing weight is as simple as using more callories than you consume..

Callories in - callories out = weight loss/gain

That general idea is good, but again, I've found that if I consume a lot of fat, I'm so full that I don't want any "bad" foods. It keeps you full for a long time.

In fact, you have to be careful on moderate to high-fat, low-carb diets, because the fat keeps you so full that you end up eating way too few calories, but don't realize it because you're also very full.

[Franciz]

Hi Amandaaa,

I just did a presentation about nutrition a couple of days ago to a bunch of friends. Thanks for providing an opportunity for me to do it again.

Nevertheless, Here's my suggestions: boost your metabolism by eating properly, cardio exercise, and weight training.

First of all, eighty percent of your goal to lose 18 pounds would have to rely on a proper diet, 10% would be on exercise, and the other 10% on resting.

Heres why:
YouTube - DIET vs EXERCISE Episode 1: Fat Loss Diet versus Best Cardio Workout to Burn Belly Fat

The point is "you can't outrun a bad diet."
I wasn't even suppose to go on youtube (darn!) because I'm media fasting. I'll let this one go because I didn't watch the video.

Heres a little info about nutrition:
Increase your protein intake, decrease your carb intake, and consume good fats. The reason behind the increase in protein intake is that it requires more energy to break it down compared to carbs and fats.

"Proteins have the highest T.I.D. among all the other nutrients (carbohydrates and fats). T.I.D. stands for Thermogenesis Induced by the Diet.

Explanation: each nutrient (protein, carbohydrate and fat) needs energy to be digested by the gastrointestinal system and then absorbed into the bloodstream. The energy the body burns to digest and absorb the nutrients is named T.I.D.

T.I.D. is different for each nutrient:

* T.I.D. for proteins is 25%
* T.I.D. for carbohydrates is 5%
* T.I.D. for fats is 2%

Let's make a practical example to understand this concept better.

Body's energy expenditure to digest protein:

* 100g of water-canned tuna contains approximately 25g of protein.
* Each gram of protein has a calorie value of 4kcal.
* The total calorie intake for 100g of tuna is therefore approximately 100kcal (25g protein x 4kcal= 100kcal)."

Actually, just read this article on how to boost your metabolism. I just copied the one above from this article. Bodybuilding.com - Francesco Casillo - 10 Secrets To Amplify Your Fat Loss Potential!

I wouldn't suggest taking any fat burner though but if you do decide to use them make sure you do your research. Because some of them have dangerous side effects.

A good macronutrient ratio for your food would be 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat base from the amount of calories you need.

How do I calculate the amount of calories I need?
Simple, use the calculator provided on this link TeenBodybuilding.com - Bryan Locke - The Truth About Calories!

After you use the calorie calculator use your maintenance calorie and minus it by 500 calories. So for example, lets say you weigh 155 pounds your maintenance calories will be 2635 and your weight loss calorie will be (2635 - 500) 2135. If you consume 2135 calories on a daily basis that means in a week you will lose 1 pound because a pound is equal to 3500 calories.

From this number (2135), lets calculate how much grams of protein, carbs, and fats you need.
Protein (2135x.4=854 calories). A gram of protein is equal to 4 calories so (854/4= 213.5 grams)
Carbohydrates (2135x.4=854 calories). A gram of carbs is also equal to 4 calories so (854/4-213.5 grams)
Fats (2135x.2=427 calories). A gram of fat is equal to 9 calories so (427/9=47 grams)

Okay, since we know how much we need to eat to lose fat, what do we actually eat?
Read this: Healthy Foods - Grocery List - Printable Grocery List

The combination here is limitless, but I'll provide an example of what I eat. Mines a bit boring but I can't really complain because this is all I could afford at the moment.

Lean Beef loin
Lean Pork loin tenderloin
Chicken Breast
Mixed Nuts
Flax Seed Oil
Banana
Oats
eggs
Vegetables:
Brocolli
S. Potato
Protein shake

Anyways, the key to maintaining a 6 meal diet is preparing a head of time. Plan what you want to eat for the whole week. In my case, I eat the same stuff everyday so not much planning is involved. Cook an entire week's worth of meals and store it. Its certainly difficult if you have to cook and prepare 6 meals everyday so just use one day and just prepare everything.

To check how much calories, grams... and etc are in a food check the nutrition label. If it doesn't have a nutrition label use this: Calorie Counter Database - Free Online Diet Program

Heres a good example of a meal plan. Bodybuilding.com - Christopher Mohr - 7 Day Meal Plan To Get Shredded!

That's all I could think of for nutrition at the moment. I'll add more later on if I have any new information.

Heres the information for exercises.

Do cardio atleast 3 times a week. You can be creative about this one. For me, I just do what I enjoy doing which is dancing but I also do jogging, and interval training (jogging and intervals of sprinting). Do aerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises (ex: jogging for a long period of time) uses fat as the main energy. Anaerobic exercises (ex: sprinting) uses carbohydrates. Do aerobic exercises to maximize the burning of fat.

For weight training, try to have these three exercises: squats, deadlifts, and bench press. Because these exercises stimulate the most muscles. You can definitely add more exercises but make sure to include those three. Why weight training? Simply because it builds muscles. Compared to aerobic exercises which only burns calories when your doing it, weight training allows you burn calories 24/7 by boosting your metabolism.

Anyways, if I were to tackle to this problem this is how I would do it.

3 month program:

Weekly Schedule:
Week:
Day 1
Back: Deadlifts
Barbell Row
Lat Pulldown
Shrugs
Biceps: Barbell Curls
Prayer Curls

Day 2 Cardio/Core

Day 3
Chest: Wide Grip Bench Press
Close Grip Bench Press
Decline Dumbbell Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
Triceps: Pressdowns
Dips

Day 4 Cardio/Core

Day 5
Legs: Back Squats
Front Squats
Leg Curls
Calf Raises

Day 6 Cardio/Core

Day 7
Shoulders: Shoulder Press
Arnold Press
Lateral Raises
Bent Over Raises
Forearm: Barbell Wrist Curls
Reverse Wrist Curls

Core: Back Hyperextension
Pull Down Abs
Roman Chair Lifts
Vacuum
Sidebends

I'll just use this again for food:
Bodybuilding.com - Christopher Mohr - 7 Day Meal Plan To Get Shredded!

And just repeat it 12 more times. Oh yeah, make sure to check your measurements every week and record it. I think thats pretty much it. If you want more (and better) information just visit Bodybuilding.com - The Future Of Bodybuilding! Huge Bodybuilding Site. .

One more thing, I've tried the master cleanse aka lemon diet before. I lost 10 pounds however, I gained the weight back as soon as I stopped the diet. I don't think fasting is a good idea if your goal is to lose weight and to keep it that way because its very short-term. And thats pretty much it. P'z

-Franciz

[Franciz]

Hey Amandaaa,

Shoot! I forgot that your vegetarian. Anyways, just adjust your nutrition according to what you want to eat/need/good. Sorry.

-Franciz

[rocksupreme]

Some really good advice on here so far.

I want to clarify a couple of things and reiterate some good points.

Calories in/out is the basis for loss of weight. But it's important to remember that calories out can mean different things depending on the fuel your body burns. Just cutting fats because they are high-calorie does not necessarily lead to fat loss. Actually, eating plenty of "good" fats will accelerate fat loss. One reason is that (as stated above) fat is very sating. You will not get hungry on a high fat diet.

I don't know your current fitness level or what kinds of physical activities you are open to, so I can't recommend a specific workout routine. Working larger muscles (legs and hips) burns more calories. The methods referenced from Ferriss's workouts are designed for hypertrophy (muscle growth) so I would not recommend them for someone trying to lose weight. Your best bet is to do something to build muscle (because stronger muscles burn more fat) and something to burn fat (higher intensity "cardio" type exercise) on different days.

My biggest concern is this: if you are vegetarian, you probably aren't very overweight? Is 20 pounds of loss going to be healthy for you? What's your current bodyfat %?

Keep in mind that muscle weighs considerably more than fat. You may achieve better (healthier) body transformation by improving body composition (increasing muscle and loosing fat) without much change in weight. I mean, for example, that having 20% bodyfat at 130 pounds is a while different look than having 35% at 130. Are you sure that weight loss is the right goal for you?

[liamona]

Originally Posted by rocksupreme

Calories in/out is the basis for loss of weight. But it's important to remember that calories out can mean different things depending on the fuel your body burns. Just cutting fats because they are high-calorie does not necessarily lead to fat loss. Actually, eating plenty of "good" fats will accelerate fat loss. One reason is that (as stated above) fat is very sating. You will not get hungry on a high fat diet.

Another benefit is that you often wake up with a tightening feeling in your lower stomach, like some force is sucking it into a black hole in your spine, and pulling the skin taut over your hip bones. I never got that feeling on a low-fat diet.

[WhiteCrow]

Hmm you have a lot of time to do this, so this should not be that hard....

Diet will be simple for you:

4-6 small meals, with protein as the biggest part, and besides the protein green vegetables topped with a little olive oil. Nothing fancy, as you have enough time. Try to eat slightly less than usual though. Oh and 1 day in the week, eat anything you want, as much as you want.

Exercise:

Everyday 20-30 mins. Rotate between the following groups.

1. Weights. Try to hit your whole body. Squats, Deadlifts, Various presses.
2. High Intensity Interval Training. Sprints and the like.
3. Steady State cardio. Jogging or biking or whatever.
4. Stretching, walking.

And the last thing you would have to do is increase NEPA. NEPA stands for Non Exercise Physical Activity. Park your car far away from destination. Climb stairs instead of elevator etcetera. Have fun!

[wayne60618]

You will need a caloric deficit of approximately 70,000 calories to achieve a 20 lb weight loss. I know this sounds like a lot, but not if you break it down by the number of calories in deficit per day. Per day, it's 636 calories - roughly. This isn't exact science, but it should be pretty close.

There's lots of ways to skin this cat. Start by trying reduce your calorie intake by about 500 cals per day. It doesn't mater how you do this, there's a lot of ways to make this happen. The easiest way for most people is to cut their carbs back and their fat back.

Someone above mentioned a 40/30/30 diet. For most people, this will ensure that they don't overdo it on the carbs. but, there is nothing magical about this number. It could very easily be 50/25/25 and still achieve the same result as long as calories are =.

while the thermal effect of feeding can help shave off a couple of extra calories, there's no reason to base your diet on this. First, find foods you like and will eat. If you like lean proteins, great, if not you don't have to cram chicken breasts down your throat.

Don't make dieting harder on yourself. Sit down, figure out 3 meals you enjoy that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - that are within the right calorie ranges. Then for each of those meals pick a fall back meal, something you can prepare in a few minutes if you are in a pinch. Write down all the ingredients, go shopping and stock your home. Go shopping twice a week with the same ingredient list in hand.

[Brutha]

The way we eat isn't a process that's effectively manipulated by a conscious decision to eat less.

The key to losing weight is reducing the amount of hunger that you have. Then you will eat less and therefore lose weight.
Seth Roberts and The Shangri-La Diet has done a lot of research on actually reducing hunger through unconventional methods and also points to other research such as this.

[rocksupreme]

Originally Posted by Brutha

The way we eat isn't a process that's effectively manipulated by a conscious decision to eat less.

Like any conditioned habit, you can make it conscious. It isn't easy at first, but it's the only way to truly take control of your health.

BTW, the Shangri La thing is effective if you choose to go the caloric restriction route. I tend to recommend body re-composition (more muscle, less fat) over "weight loss" for most people, but people (especially women) tend to obsess over scale weight.

As mentioned above, 20 pounds in 110 days is a caloric deficit of over 600 calories. That's a big gap for most people. Shooting for 10 pounds of fat loss while building strength is very doable and healthy.

[liamona]

Originally Posted by rocksupreme

BTW, the Shangri La thing is effective if you choose to go the caloric restriction route.

Personally I had great success using it to follow my high-fat low-carb diet. The amazing think about the Shangri-La Diet is that you lose all cravings for junk food and sugar. I highly recommend it for anyone trying to eliminate cravings for white foods (you know, sugar, grains, potatoes).

The only reason I got off of it was because I kept getting distracted and forgetting when I last had eaten or brushed my teeth.

I tend to recommend body re-composition (more muscle, less fat) over "weight loss" for most people, but people (especially women) tend to obsess over scale weight.

I don't own any scales. I measure progress by how my clothes fit. I especially like to get those tight-fitting cotton and lycra t-shirts to see how I'm doing. They ought to fit smoothly without any lumps of fat showing (especially under the bra strap).