[Closed] Losing around 6kg in 3 weeks, feasible? Tips & tricks invited 🙂

6kg's was just a random number chaps, picked mainly because it'd get me below 90kgs again, which would be a nice start 🙂 Probably not realistic in just 3 weeks, but it's a stretch target to aim for!

Good tip on the antioxidants, shall start drinking a cup or two of green tea to help with this.

Not exercising hard, trying to do everything at around 130-140bpm on the HR watch, trying to keep in the 'fat burning' zone I guess? How many calories would around 2-3 hours a day at this level roughly account for? According to the Polar estimate, it's saying around 700kcal p/hr, would this be realistic (doing spinning, jogging, swimming)?

C'mon, it's an experiment and I'm in a 'the glass is half full' kind of mood.

So what if he find's himself down the 24hr garage at 3am gourging himself on donuts in 3 days time....

Your 'zones' will be different for different sports when measured by HR. Basically, you're burning *proportionally* more fat when you can still just about talk fairly normally, versus when you are coughing up a lung.

However you'll be burning fewer calories overall, and iDave will point out that there is a school of thought that if you don't have enough time to crank out the hours in your fat burning zone you're better off dong short sharp stuff to raise your metabolism. I think that that may work but it may have side effects with fatigue and/or muscle gain, which could be good or not depending on your goals.

If your Mrs is not at home, could you just ride for 3 hours from work every day? It'd be great but you'd HAVE to do it slowly otherwise you'd get fatigue mounting.

Hard out on the spinning machines it's possible to do 1200 cal/hr so 700 at steady should be about right.

uplink - Member
6kg in 3 weeks

That's Numberwang

That made me [i]laugh[/i]! 😆

Mainly 'cos I'm an idiot. 🙂

[img] [/img]

I had to google Numberwang, had no idea what it meant, figured it must've meant loco or something 😆

If your Mrs is not at home, could you just ride for 3 hours from work every day? It'd be great but you'd HAVE to do it slowly otherwise you'd get fatigue mounting.

Will be doing longish rides on my days off, could certainly do one before/after work I guess, but an hour or so in the gym is easier...

C'mon, it's an experiment and I'm in a 'the glass is half full' kind of mood.

So what if he find's himself down the 24hr garage at 3am gourging himself on donuts in 3 days time....

mmmm... donuts...

Amazingly, I ain't feeling that hungry, despite a fairly hefty reduction in what I usually snack/feast upon throughout the day... a little light headed though, wonder what that's about? Just had my plate of salad and 200gms of chook breast, it's filled me up completely, wouldn't have thought it possible a week ago 😆

The experiment continues... 'tis a 'fun' thing to undertake, gets one thinking about what you're doing thats for sure!

Well that's a good attitude. I predict though that you will start feeling more and more tired and run down, and feel the need to eat more keenly.

But good luck all the same 🙂

I'd concentrate my efforts on eating less rather than exercising more.

NickC I can see your logic, but as Molgrips has pointed out he needs to consume 2200 calories less than he uses every day.
Basal metabolic rate for a bloke is about 1600, so he needs to do at least an hour of exercise even if he eats nothing.

Psychle I'm 100% behind your efforts... chapeau!

How far is your commute?

How far is your commute?

7 minute walk! 😆 But the gym is smack bang in-between, so that's handy... what I'm doing is basically making the gym session my commute, which was always the intention when I joined up a year ago... but 12 months down the line and I have hardly used it! 😳

Psychle I'm 100% behind your efforts... chapeau!

cheers guv 🙂 posting on here is going to make it harder to slip up or get slack, a key part of the strategy!

Why don't you just aim for a more realistic target that will allow you to make sustainable changes to your diet and exercise routine instead of this comedy blitzkrieg approach which is probably just going to be a temporary blip?

Why don't you just aim for a more realistic target that will allow you to make sustainable changes to your diet and exercise routine

The comedy blitzkrieg approach is the first step, kind of a 'shock and awe' approach to rebuild/entrench some good habits, plan is to tone it down a bit once the wife is back but definitely want to keep it up!

I'd concentrate my efforts on eating less rather than exercising more.

This^^

...and as for this:

.... but as Molgrips has pointed out he needs to consume 2200 calories less than he uses every day.

This should be a slight hint that what the OP is trying to do is stupid.

I'd concentrate my efforts on eating less rather than exercising more.

This is the important one. I watched my weight increase steadily over a year or so, tried to control it by exercising more, and at the same time justified eating what I wanted by saying that I was burning a lot of calories. Obviously not enough.
Losing 400 calories is just a matter of 5 minutes of 'won't' power, as opposed to a big session of exercise.
FWIW, I've lost nearly 2 stone on the iDave diet, down from about 15 1/2 stone. Keeping to it less rigidly now, but since it's more an eating plan, rather than a weight loss one it's totally changed my eating habits, and the weight is staying off- avoiding bread, potatoes, pasta, dairy products for most of the week seems to be core, and I feel a lot better for it.

FWIW, I've lost nearly 2 stone on the iDave diet

Over how long?

lost the first stone before the end of the first month (first week was 6 pounds!!), starting June 29th, then another 10 pounds by first week September. Only another 2 pounds since then, but to be fair- my weight can fluctuate by 2-3 pounds from week to week at the weigh in, I've had a few binges, and I'm not sure how accurate or consistent our scales are.

For me though, it worked very well, and wasn't too difficult (mostly). Then again, it doesn't seem to have suited everyone- for me, I liked the foods he suggested.

This is the important one. I watched my weight increase steadily over a year or so, tried to control it by exercising more, and at the same time [u][b]justified eating what I wanted by saying that I was burning a lot of calories[/b][/u]. Obviously not enough.

exactly the same here... back when I used to train 14 times a week for triathlon, this idea would've been true, and I think it's a habit that's hard to break. Were you a big exerciser/trainer a while back Vinnyeh?

95.2kg last night before the gym, 95.4kg after (so must've drunk enough water yes?)... 94.1kg this morning before the gym, 94kg after... so that's down from 96.8kg on Sunday night, 2.8kg change... scales are digital ones at the gym.

So... weight is coming off (if the scales are accurate!), but what is it? Purely water, or fat as well? I'm drinking plenty at the gym and 4-5 pints during the day (pissing like a champion 🙂 ), so I should be fairly hydrated?

Go Phsychle! If you're going to the loo loads, and it's clear then you're properly hydrated. You still feeling light headed though?

1lb of fat = 3,500kcal

So 2.8kg = 21,500 kcal. That's 7,000 ish calories a day, including the 2000 you are probably eating you'd have to have been using 9,000 calories a day roughly. Are you secretly a Tour de France cyclist? 🙂

Water loss and large bowel movements, most likely. If you've stopped eating loads of salty food then you'll be losing water quite properly.

Don't eat after 8pm
Decent breakfast
Eat turkey for lunch
baked potato in the evening
ensure you are slightly peckish before each meal - if not back off the amount you eat for the previous meal
run at a slow rate as the 'fat-burning' zone is at quite a low heart-rate, or walk
weigh yourself every morning
no chocolate
def no marzipan 🙁

No large BM's here (getting all very personal now 😳 ). Hydration has been good, specifically making sure I'm drinking heaps each day, no headache and pissing clear and copiously 😆

It's not just about what you're burning during exercise is it though? My metabolism will also be running higher now, right? So I'm burning calories just sitting here and in my sleep, aren't I?

Agree with Molgrips. I could have shat for my country the first week or so, then next to nothing. I reckon it's water, and food in your gut slowly clearing itself out!

*massages Physchles shoulders*

Don't listen to 'em, you're gonna do this.

Sod the slow pace 'fat burning' zone. If you have to choose... it's all about HIIT
High Intensity Interval Training.

Burns more calories during, and increases basal metabolic rate. Think spinning classes.

For some additional inspiration look to professional skinny person Kate Moss

'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'

My metabolism will also be running higher now, right? So I'm burning calories just sitting here and in my sleep, aren't I?

Not after a couple of days.

Your metabolism might start speeding up a bit after some hard exercise because it has to repair the damage caused by exertion (aka getting stronger and fitter - this is good not bad as it sounds). Also if you build muscle that takes more energy to run.

But it's not going to triple your metabolic rate in three days.

Sod the slow pace 'fat burning' zone. If you have to choose... it's all about HIIT
High Intensity Interval Training.

Burns more calories during, and increases basal metabolic rate. Think spinning classes.

This works in some ways but not others. You can only do so much of that before you burn out. And to delay burnout you'll end up wanting to eat tons.

Long slow DOES work very well but it takes a LOT of hours. However you can do more hours without burning out because it's slow.

[i]def no marzipan[/i]

really ?

This thread is completely mental
😆

So its on the right forum
😉

3 week bike tour should do the trick

Molgrips! I'va had enough of your pessimism (or realism if you want to call it that).

I'm sure psychle's got enough in him to make it through 3 weeks without completely burning out!

Think like you're in a chain-gang... think like Luke! Luke'd do it...

Lol!

Ok then..

*grabs popcorn and drink*

Is that caramel popcorn? Gi'us some!

mmmmm... pop corn... went into tesco to grab some more salad and chook, had to go past the bakery aisle, was salivating at the thought of a cookie or two! 😆

Feeling good though, light headedness has faded away, so that's nice!

How's your diet going? Lost any weight yet or not jumped on the scales?

well, gave myself a morning off from the gym today (was feeling a little flat and tired, so thought it best!), though will be going this evening after work.

Re. weight loss... well, Sunday night I weighed in at 96.8kg, yesterday morning was 94.1kg, but 95kg even at last nights weigh in (pre-gym). Either way, a bit of weight has come off in less than 4 days, shall see what the scales say tonight 🙂

More interestingly, I've been taking a picture every day so as to be able to put together a wee little 'time lapse' animation thing at the end. Had a play with it last night, and there's definitely an improvement in my physique already, looking noticeably 'tauter'... will be interesting to see the whole thing over 3 weeks (though, me standing in my jocks might scare a few folk! 😯 Maybe I should post on CG's man thread tomorrow 😆 )

If you cut out the white carbs (bread, pasta rice, spuds) for 3 weeks the weight will rocket off but perhaps not 6kg. Good luck!

night clubbing. 3 heavy sessions should see you shed a nice load and dull your appetite. although you might have grown a massive jaw and developed a twitch.

Did something similar a few months back. I was a bit bigger than you (6'1" & 120Kg) so my calorie burn rates would have been higher.

It might be worth adding in some weights sessions every other day. Might seem like you burn more cals doing cardio, but lifting weights breaks down your muscle tissue and the rebuilding process raises your basal metabolic rate. Essentially, while you do cardio you burn cals at a higher rate but this rate drops off as soon as you stop, but by lifting weights you keep burning long after you've left the gym.

It will also have an accelerated effect of changing your body shape as the muscle becomes more toned, so you get a more immediate change in appearance than losing weight alone.

If your gym has one, use a cross trainer. Its burn rate is higher than running as you have to work all major muscle groups and its a low impact exercise so easy on the joints.

Finally, your BMR (the calories you would use in a day if you didn't get out of bed) is 2000. A pound of fat contains 3500 calories. At your weight an average hour on a cross trainer will burn 750 cals. So two hours gym work, plus your BMR, plus a bit of other day to day moving around will have you burning in the region of 4000 cals a day. By restricting your calorie intake to half this amount then in 7 days you create a calorie defecit of 14000 cals, the equivalent of 4 pounds of fat.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

I lost 8kg in a week and a half so I guess so.

I've just lost 10.2kg in 8 weeks.

Sounds pretty naff, but sign up to Bootsdiets.com and religiously record what you're eating. You soon get the hang of hitting calorie targets. No eating of crap, no weird diets etc - just eat normal stuff, but less of it.

That and get out and ride.

It was actually a doddle to be honest - I was surprised how quickly the weight dropped off.

[i]It was actually a doddle to be honest[/i]

shhh, you can't tell every-one that...millions of pounds are invested in the diet industry annually, if they all find out it just needs the right mental attitude they're all ****ed

93.8kg today at the gym today 🙂 So that's down from 96.8kg last Sunday evening. 3kg in a week 8)

You know, I reckon I will get below 90kg by the 24th, just need to keep the exercise up and the food intake reasonably low. Have noticed after a week that I really don't need to eat much to feel full, and I'm used to feeling just a little hungry all day, it's actually not that hard... now, why didn't I start this earlier eh? 😆

Time lapse animation thing is coming along well, you can see a definite improvement in just the one week, will be good to see what the final result is! 🙂 Ya'll are going to be treated to a video of a hairy man standing in one spot in flickering undies (as I wear a different colour pair each day!), lucky you!

Your new way of life will become normal. Nice one psychle, well done.

I have a time lapse of my beard lol....

I have a time lapse of my beard lol...

I too am growing a beard at the same time, may shave it off at the end for dramatic effect, along with a bit of 'manscaping' (ie. a back and shoulder wax! 😯 )

Go psychle...Go psychle...Go psychle...Go psychle...

I lost 3kg in about 3 days once. Buy a chicken sandwich, leave it somewhere warm all day. Eat it. Spend the next three days unable to stray more than 3 feet from the toilet. Sudocrem helps.