Losing 15 lbs in 30 days

[sri]

Here is how I did it:
losing weight: 89seasons.blogspot.com

[Note: this is what worked for me and is posted here as a reminder to myself. Please, use this at your own risk.]

I've been 185 lbs. for the last 5 years. Ever since I stopped playing basketball regularly. I was 185 no matter what I ate or didn't eat. Or so it seemed. It was really frustrating. (I'm 5'9", btw.)

But now I've lost 15 pounds in 30 days. And did so quiet easily. Here is how I did it. And if I could do it, anyone can do it — but you might need to find your own way to do it.

* Workout 5 days per week. Started slowly with 10 mins walking, 12 mins biking on the first day. Today (4 weeks later), I jog and bike for 20 mins each. I used Google Spreadsheets to keep a log of all my workout sessions. On the 5th day: as soon as I woke up, my mind kept repeating, "I can't do this. I really can't do this....." on and on. Just ignored it and still did my workout on that day.

* Count calories. Stopped drinking soda on Jan 18, 2007. Working out for 30 (tiring) mins to burn 250 calories (avg. calories burned per day, first week), your body more than hesitates to drink that can of soda (140 calories). Started drinking lots of water. I cut down everything that was unnecessary. Example: from 2% I switched to Skim milk.

* Don't stuff yourself with food. Started eating about 75% capacity. And after about 3 weeks of that, I noticed that my appetite was considerably smaller than before.

* It is OK to be hungry. I formed this new belief. You'll be hungry when you cut down your food intake. I became OK with it. In time, I was OK with being filled to 75% capacity. The first few days, I had day-long headaches — be careful about that.

* Eat fresh fruits & veggies. I am vegetarian, and so I like to eat fruits and veggies. I bought plenty of fruits for a whole week: apples, oranges, pears, peaches & bananas (about 5 of each). Veggies (all fresh): peeled baby carrots, beans, broccoli, & brussels sprouts. Fruits for dinner. I usually had soup and steamed veggies for lunch.

* Don't be tempted. I've been hungry while all my friends ordered and ate pizza, right in front of me. I didn't think for a second about eating a piece. Instead, I went home later on and had some fruits.

* Yoga and meditation 5 days/week.

* Just rest and relax 2 days/week. Didn't workout.

* Daily schedule.Having a regular schedule, made me do things without thinking about it. And now many of the things have become a habit for me — a big advantage. This was my eating schedule (and still is):
o Breakfast: milk w/ Swiss mix
o Before lunch: about 10 baby carrots
o Lunch: soup + steamed veggies or homemade burritos or salad.
o After lunch: Some organic Yogurt
o Evenings: fruits

* Allow yourself to fail. Sometimes I started hating the food I ate and wanted to quit. On those days, I eat something different yet healthy. (Sweet Tomatoes is an awesome place — its a salad bar.)

* Become comfortable with the amount of food that you eat. — cause that's what you'll be eating for good.

Overall, it feels really good that I was able to lose that much weight just be deciding on it -- rather than relying on magic tricks :-) And I am very, very confident that I'll be able to keep off my weight -- simply because I am very comfortable with not stuffing myself with food, and not eat random junk food.

But I am sure that some of you have accomplished something like this a long time ago. If so, what are some other tips/techniques that I can incorporate into my lifestyle to make me more healthy? Also, please tell me about your experience -- I would love to hear them!!

[guscave]

Sri,
I do like how you made a commitment to change your situation, and how you created new habits to help you achieve your weight goals. However I am concern about the diet you say you keep on a daily basis. I didn't see much as far as protien was concern. This is a problem because with all the exercise that you're doing you may actually be loosing muscle as well as fat.

Protien helps develope muscle. In return muscle helps you burn fat. There's also the problem in which you have little to no breakfast and dinner. You're doing good at lunch and in between meals, but you're really only having one full meal a day (lunch). That not a good sign.

My experience with a diet like this is that you might loose those 15 pounds in 30 days (8 of those lbs will be water), but then reach a plateu where you don't loose any more because your body goes into starvation mode to protect itself. You also risking gaining the weight back again later (plus a few extra lbs).

You seem to have the right intension. Working out 5 days a week is definately the right approach, but I would suggest to re-evaluate your diet.

[sri]

Hi guscave,
Thanks for your reply.
I do eat nuts -- like cashews, pecans, almonds and pistachios (all raw, almost every single day).
I do eat Yogurt everyday.
And I'll start adding Soy to my food a few times a week.

So thanks for the tips!!
I guess I'll start eating some breakfast and a light dinner (along with fruits).
I just went out and bought some cereal for mornings...

[Frans]

Be very careful when you advise somebody to lose that much weight in such a short time, especially a person who is overweighted since many years:

If such an obese person loses weight very fast, his skin hasn't the time to contract itself in that short period, so there's a huge risk of having too much loose skin. Many of these people are so embarrassed with their loose skin that they see no other option than a tummy tuck.
You can avoid loose skin by losing weight slowly: you don't gain pounds of fat overnight, so don't force your body to lose these pounds in a short period.

[taylor2]

thanks for the great tips. i am stuck at 178 and wanting to get more off.i was 245 and i am a granny.i was 245 back in oct of 2006/but these tips may jump start me to get me into the weight loss thing. i put myself down if i cann't get out and exercise say every single day.i baby sit my grandsons like 50 hours a week and they are 4 and 7 and not really able to hike my normal route of walking and hiking. so i did like the 2 days off thing.good menu.thanks so much.taylor2

[Cron]

It is fairly well established that losing more than 1 - 2 pounds a week is a bad idea.

The faster weight is lost the greater the chance is that it will be regained, that muscle will be lost, and that you will get loose hanging skin. You will be thinner, but you will be flabby and weaker.

Note that in the first few weeks of ANY diet it is okay to lose more than 1 -2 pounds as any calorie reduction causes a 5 lb water loss in the first 1-3 weeks of a diet.

Every quack diet book author knows this, that is how they sell people on their "miracle" diets.........."oh boy, I lost 3 lbs in the first week with ___'s special____diet! This must be the natural diet of human kind"

[Vanessa]

Sri, First off CONGRATS!!!!

I've made a similar commitment to address the extra sixty pounds I've been carrying for the last few years. After Christmas, I intended to release the weight over the first 9 months of this year. But it wasn't just the intention, it was all the actions I've taken to move towards it that have created my results.

As soon as I had intended my goal, I hung up a dress that I used to love to wear when I was at my ideal weight and look at it everyday so I see my reward. I didn't tell anyone at first that I had committed to do this for myself for fear of failing my word. I wanted to do what I committed to and show my results.

I'm on track to reaching my goal.

I've lost 19 pounds over the last two months. I've been steadily losing about two pounds a week after the first two weeks. I changed the way I ate and followed a meal plan from a book my mom recommended. I'm not vegetarian but I eat a lot more fish and less red meat now. I eat tons of fresh veggies and fruits. I count my calories at the The Daily Plate. I do strength training exercises at home and walk my dog for my cardio. Knowing that working out at home is better for me was one of my bigger accomplishments. I had a gym membership, never went, did not feel comfortable going and felt bad for it. I've since canceled that membership now that I am more successful working out in my home.

A big obstacle I came across was the amount of alcohol my friends and I would drink. I didn't know how caloric it was until I sat down and calculated it. So I've cut back on what I drink, now I only drink low cal beers and mixed drinks with diet soda-- Gin and diet tonic and Mic Ultra are my favs. I still drink wine with dinners but I consider it my treat for the day and drink more water to compensate.

I drink a lot of water. I drink at least two Nalgene's of water a day during work. I get all sorts of fancy water instead of sodas with my meals at home. I don't like to drink liquid calories; they don't help me feel full. I love going food shopping now with my little list full of things I know will help me reach my goal. Sometimes, I'm so happy the cashier at Publix will mention that I must be the happiest person they've seen today. I feel good about making my own meals. That was also important to me, having a different tasty meal regularly. Since I plan my meas a week ahead I incorporate yummy new meals as I go.

I don't like to feel hungry because it means I haven't planned out what I will be eating and I get sidetracked. I will say that I am always satisfied with my meals and what I choose to eat. I have never not felt full or unsatisfied after eating. I do eat snacks throughout the day so that I don't think about being hungry. I just make sure the snack I'm having is one that will help me.

I've learned that its the little efforts that I do on a regular basis that add up to reaching my goal. I leave room for failure. For me, my weak points are not having a meal planned ahead and choosing to eat food as I am in hungry-ansty mode. I almost always eat beyond a portion size or will eat impulse foods that are not helpful to my goal. Also, eating out socially with my friends was a little more difficult thing to tame. I solved that by reducing how often I went out to meals with them and knowing in advanced where we were going so I could plan what I'd eat to stay on my goal. I've also noticed that my body will not feel good if I don't eat the healthy foods I am now having regularly and will immediately feel better when I eat some veggies or fruit.