Is it possible to get from 310lbs to 180lbs with the right dedication and eating habit? I'm not talking about one of these 500 calorie a day, lose all your muscle and fat, diets. All this while still going to school and working full time?

I read on this site in a in a different post that the maximum healthy amount someone can loose is 2% to 3% per week. I did the math, and with 3% per week, it would go down to 184.7lbs by the end of 16 weeks.

Why am i interested in this besides the obvious? I have some serious travel plans for the summer and fall. I don't have much of a choice on when i do these trip because in Jan 08 i have to go back to school to finish my B.S. I been working for the last 14 years and in addition to that going to school in the last two years to get my A.A. in engineering. In the last 14 years i had 10 days of vacation total. It's nobody's fault but my own, but i'm burned out, and i'm trying to make up for lost time. I don't have any kids, i'm currently unattached, so now is the time to do it.

With complete dedication (I.E. strict Meal plan followed) and regular workout schedule (i could manage 3 - 4 days a week 2hr+ each day) plus some threadmill work at home, what kind of results can i realistically expect.

I have paid someone for a Meal plan before, and he knows what he is doing, but he is more into bodybuilding (Tons of Press, featured on other bodybuilding sites) and the amount of food he had me eating was just too much for me. I just could not wrap my head around the idea of increasing my calorie intake at the level i was at. I think this was totally my fault, because i seen the success he had with other people.

Is true bodybuilding training the only way to go for what i'm looking for?

I'm aiming for 180lbs because i think that is something i can maintain once i reach it. This is not set in stone, i think once i reach 200 i will have a better idea of what my goal weight would be.

Any input and/or constructive critism is greatly appreciated.

Thomas
Tampa, FL

Here is the table i used for the calculations
Start 1% 2% 3%
310 306.9 303.8 300.7
Week 1 303.8 297.7 291.7
Week 2 300.8 291.8 282.9
Week 3 297.8 285.9 274.4
Week 4 294.8 280.2 266.2
Week 5 291.9 274.6 258.2
Week 6 288.9 269.1 250.5
Week 7 286.1 263.7 243.0
Week 8 283.2 258.5 235.7
Week 9 280.4 253.3 228.6
Week 10 277.6 248.2 221.7
Week 11 274.8 243.3 215.1
Week 12 272.0 238.4 208.6
Week 13 269.3 233.6 202.4
Week 14 266.6 229.0 196.3
Week 15 264.0 224.4 190.4
Week 16 261.3 219.9 184.7

Conventional wisdom will probably say that you can healthily lose 1-2 pounds a week.

However, as dumb as it might sound to reference a television show, I did watch The Biggest Loser on TV. They were basically in a boot camp, eating chicken breasts and carrot sticks, busting their asses every day with personal trainers. The biggest guys could lose 7-10 pounds a week. It was fairly impressive. You should find the official website and take a look at the winner.

So don't let anyone tell you that you CAN'T. It's just something that'd take extreme dedication. Very, very extreme dedication. But you'll want to be under a doctor's supervision (so you're NOT eating 500 calories a day and not getting any nutrients and harming yourself by working too hard - you have to watch your heart, etc - I'm only 238, and I make sure I'm careful with my heart... once you damage it, it's damaged for life... and doing silly things like ECA stacks + heavy lifting can deprive your heart of nearly 50% of the oxygen that it needs, which can lead to bad things, especially if you have a pre-existing condition), and you might also want a good personal trainer to both make sure you're on the right track and keep you there.

can it be done

YES...

SHOULD IT BE ...NO

Is it possible to get from 310lbs to 180lbs with the right dedication and eating habit? I'm not talking about one of these 500 calorie a day, lose all your muscle and fat, diets. All this while still going to school and working full time?

I read on this site in a in a different post that the maximum healthy amount someone can loose is 2% to 3% per week. I did the math, and with 3% per week, it would go down to 184.7lbs by the end of 16 weeks.

Hi EvilEgg:) The drop you are hoping for is very steep. It works out to about 32+lbs a month. That's a pound a day:blank: Weight loss at the beginning of the phase may be quick, but it usually slows down after you have shedded the water weight. Large decreases in weight after that may be unhealthy.

Why am i interested in this besides the obvious? I have some serious travel plans for the summer and fall. I don't have much of a choice on when i do these trip because in Jan 08 i have to go back to school to finish my B.S. I been working for the last 14 years and in addition to that going to school in the last two years to get my A.A. in engineering. In the last 14 years i had 10 days of vacation total. It's nobody's fault but my own, but i'm burned out, and i'm trying to make up for lost time. I don't have any kids, i'm currently unattached, so now is the time to do it.

That sounds like a lot of work:blank: Anyways, back to the subject. If you want to look good for your travel plans, consider the fact that losing the projected amount of weight in such a short time span may leave you with quite a bit of loose skin. On top of that, at such a fast decline in weight, I can't imagine you holding on to much of your lean muscle mass.

With complete dedication (I.E. strict Meal plan followed) and regular workout schedule (i could manage 3 - 4 days a week 2hr+ each day) plus some threadmill work at home, what kind of results can i realistically expect.

It's really hard to take a guess at something like this. I don't think you need to be spending 2+ hours in the gym 3-4 days a week though - 1 hour tops:nod:

I have paid someone for a Meal plan before, and he knows what he is doing, but he is more into bodybuilding (Tons of Press, featured on other bodybuilding sites) and the amount of food he had me eating was just too much for me. I just could not wrap my head around the idea of increasing my calorie intake at the level i was at. I think this was totally my fault, because i seen the success he had with other people.

Is true bodybuilding training the only way to go for what i'm looking for?

What exactly are you looking for? Do you want to be able to take your shirt off at the beach and attract attention with your lean look and a fair bit of muscle, or do you just want to weigh 180lbs regardless of bodyfat %? Whatever your goal is, there's usually more than just one way of attaining it;) The "bodybuilding" approach is popular, but it likely isn't the only way to get to your goals.

no.

There would definitely be loose skin losing that much weight that fast, and it's probably pretty unhealthy too. Which is why, if you want to even approach anything near it, you need to remember to remember to consult a doctor.

Whatever you do, give it your all. You just may want to set your goals slightly more realistic though, what the posters above are saying is true.

Is it possible to get from 310lbs to 180lbs with the right dedication and eating habit?
Any input and/or constructive critism is greatly appreciated.

Thomas
Tampa, FL

I think You would need to go down to 500 calories or at least 1000. But it is only 16 weeks. give it a try. Start a journal so we can follow your try. I suggest a 5 day split and HIIT cardio. Take good notes,there might be a book in it and check with a doctor every 3 weeks, just in case.:gl:

Azaroth - i have watched 'The Biggest Loser', actually i haven't missed a single show. I'm currently watching 'The Biggest Loser Australia' and it looks like there are going to be more amazing results.

dluc - To your question about what i'm looking for, i would like to be able to take off my shirt and look good. I don't really care what my weight and/ or bodyfat is. I think i'm pretty broad in the shoulders, so maybe my ideal weight (look) will be 190lb or 170lb.

rtestes - I really don't want to do the extreme low calorie diet again. I did that in May 03 to Jan 04 and went from 349lb to 228lb with an extreme low carb diet and daily hiking. In Jan 04 I went to Mexico to drive the Baja 1000 trail, and started drinking Soda again, and i did not watch what i ate. I went from 231lb (right after trip) to 310lb in 7 month. When did that diet, Atkins wasn't the big hit yet, so i did not have a lot of information on it. I know i lost a lot of muscle mass.


Realistically i don't think i would be able to reach 180lb, or even 200lb simply because i don't have enough free time to go hiking, or do long cardio sessions. I think i'm going to work out a plan that i can stick too, and starting Monday i'm going to try to stay dedicated to it. Even if i only get to 250lb or 240lb would still be a lot better then my current situation. Who knows, maybe with some additional muscle i can improve my metabolism.

Yes. It can be done.
But it will be very hard.

I'd worry more about dealing with the life style and psychological reasons of being 300+ lbs rather than how to drop the weight so quickly. Otherwise you are just looking for another rebound in the future.

Shahar.

There is nothing wrong with having an ambitious goal. Just understand if your progress is slower than you would have hoped and you aren't going to reach that goal not to give up. Even if you ended up at 261 (that was the 1% course) you wouldn't have come close to reaching your goal but still would have taken tremendous steps to improve all aspects of your life.

You didnt go from 180 to 310 in 4 months, so why do you want to cut that fast? You won't like the results IMO :)

I think a 1% average is a more reasonable number. I say average because I wouldn't count on your body following any chart. Some weeks it'll lose more. Others it'll just seemed stalled.

I'd worry more about dealing with the life style and psychological reasons of being 300+ lbs rather than how to drop the weight so quickly. Otherwise you are just looking for another rebound in the future.



This is true. If you are willing to work out and adjust your eating to your activity level for the rest of your life, you can have a great body almost indefinitely. But if you never replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones, you'll just be another yoyo dieter.

Yes, it´s probably possible. But it´s not healthy. I did 288 to 200 in 5 months....(2003)
If you are lucky it can be good and no serious problems. But if you are unlucky you might get sick and feel really terrible.

If you have the right attitude you will not regain the weight/fat. But you must start a new lifestyle after you are finished with the fast fatloss. However if you continue with the same(old) lifestyle and eating habits the fat will come back very fast after a fast weightloss diet like this.

You should have a plan about what to do after the first weightloss. This is very important if you want your new lean body to remain lean.
The diet that you need to eat after the "fast weightloss diet" is very crucial and long term success depends on it.:gl:

Realistically i don't think i would be able to reach 180lb, or even 200lb simply because i don't have enough free time to go hiking, or do long cardio sessions.

Long cardio is not necessary. A combination of a good weight lifting plan (good intensity and short rests) and high intensity but brief cardio can keep the metabolism going.

Also, with the short time frame you want to get your results in (which are very, very ambitious), I'd recommend you get on either a well designed program including workouts and nutrition, or hire a coach to put together a plan for you. You don't have time to screw around learning on your own like a lot of us have done, you need somebody to teach you more directly.

Alwyn Cosgrove's Afterburn plan, Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training, Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle, etc. Or someone like SwoleCat here.

To your question about what i'm looking for, i would like to be able to take off my shirt and look good.
well to tell you the truth in that short amount of time chances are you are gonna have a lot of loose skin and you won't look like what you are imagining. Look at a lot of the people on The Biggest Loser they have a bunch of loose skin on there stomachs normally. Follow the advice of others on here just loose weigth slow and steady. Even if you don't get to 180lbs just imagine how much you can accomplish in that amount of time and you can still continue to improve from there.

MannishBoy - are these all members on this board here, and what is the cost usually involved in hiring a trainer for 16 weeks.
I have worked with three people in the past, one was a nutritionist that told me i ate too much and need to watch my portions. (that was about the extend of the advice)
The other was a personal trainer, he was great, and he did help me, but there is no way i can afford him for 16 weeks. I also had Tim Gardner do a nutrition plan for me, put i just couldn't wrap my head around eating all that food in order to loose weight.

If i get a coach, i would love to get one that is really really hands on, even if it is just a daily 5 minute phone call or daily e-mail progress update with food chart. I'm just worried that it may get way too expensive and/ or i just get general advice. I rather know at the beginning of the week exactly what i will be eating the rest of the week. Maybe have a choice between two items for meal or something like that.

Well, that would really suck for me to miss out on my traveling plans because of my fitness. :(

Swolecat is a member and sponser here. The others are respected trainers that you can buy pre-made plans from.

Here (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/alwyn8.htm) is a chapter from Cosgrove's Afterburn plan (and a link at the bottom to where you can buy the whole thing). Here is the Turbulence Training (http://turbulencetraining.blogspot.com/) blog. I think you can actually join Craig's forum for like $10 a month and get access to the workouts, or you can buy his book. Here is the Burn the Fat (http://www.burnthefatblog.com/) blog where you can find links to get Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle from Venuto.

It isn't NECESSARY to hire someone, it just takes awhile to learn a lot of this stuff. You can possibly shorten the learning curve by going with a prepared plan or private consultations. The only reason I suggested this route is your timeframe.

As to wrapping your head around "all that food", IMO, better start wrapping. Starving yourself to lose weight ends up eating up muscle and is miserable. Do it right, and you'll learn how to make this a lifestyle, not a "diet".

Don't shoot for that set amount of weight loss in that time frame. Just start now, 6 meals a day, whole foods, any cardio you can do and any time you can spend in the gym.

You will start to lose weight, and you will not want to stop until you are happy with your weight once you see how easy it can really be. The key is to get started. Once you do, and you maybe don't hit your 4 month goal, it will seem like such a small issue in comparison to what you will have accomplished in that amount of time. By then you wont be worrying about losing the weight, because you will know that you can.

Thanks for all the great imput guys!

If you did a low calorie food intake diet before, I guess the question would be, how pleased were you with the results the first time around? If you found you weren't happy with your physical appearance then rapid weight loss shouldn't be an option AGAIN.

I don't need to preach to you about yoyoing and such, you've done the same thing I have. I had a rapid weight loss in 04 and got myself to the best physical shape and conditioning i've ever been in and then let it all go, ballooning up to around 250 in January 07. Since cutting out McDonald's in February, i've dropped down to 242 and cutting out Soda in March, results forthcoming I've made some positive strides in my lifestyle that will ultimately help keep my weight lower and my overall health higher. I think these are things you need to pursue as well.

I can understand that desperation to get your weight down for your vacation, however, I think a focused diet and exercise plan will yield positive results and you will be happy with the gains you have made by the end of the 16 weeks even if those gains don't reach that lofty goal you've set. I think you should set 180 as an "ultimate goal" something to continue your motivation through your vacation and back into the real world.

It's all about lifestyle. :spank:

You can definitely lose that much weight in that much time. The key is dinitrophenol.

I wouldnt suggest it for two reasons:

1.Going more slow and steady will teach you how to sustain a healthier lifestyle that will help you keep the weight off for good. Obviously a regimen like the one that would be required is not sustainable over a long period of time.

2.You might damage something.

If you're really going to go for it, I'd suggest you get with a nutritionist to monitor your progress and check for any signs of trouble.

:gl:

Hey There.

I did the 315 to 185 jump, but it took me the better part of eleven months; and yes, I still have the loose skin to show for it. No regrets though, I feel better at the age of 38 than I ever did when I was in my twenties.

Remember, It's not about whether you have a six pack or not, but more about how you'll feel, and how healthy you'll be as a result of your efforts. Having said that, take your time, and aim for about a pound or two a week. To me, it's the healthiest way to go.

If you can, I'd enlist Swolecat to map out a plan of attack for you. It's largely because of his help that I got to where I got the right way.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=546491&pageNo=0

The Velocity Diet might be something you want to look into. It's extreme but that's what you're looking for.

It is very possible and very easy to do. Don't listnen to anyone here. It is more than possible.

Find a good doctor and ask him to amputate two limbs of your choosing. That should do it. 4 months of rehab later, a new you.

However, as dumb as it might sound to reference a television show, I did watch The Biggest Loser on TV. They were basically in a boot camp, eating chicken breasts and carrot sticks, busting their asses every day with personal trainers. The biggest guys could lose 7-10 pounds a week. It was fairly impressive. You should find the official website and take a look at the winner.

The 'weeks' on TBL aren't real world weeks of 7 days. They are more along the lines of 10-14 days.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=546491&pageNo=0

The Velocity Diet might be something you want to look into. It's extreme but that's what you're looking for.


I started checking out the Velocity Diet and it seems promising and interesting. Is this ok for a beginner to do or should you have more muscle. I think as a beginner, I would probably be able to add a couple pounds of muscle due to old muscle memory from being pretty strong and in shape from about 16-22. I am now 28.

Any thoughts?