How EXTREME and DETERMINED are you TO LOSE? I need an EXTREME MOTIVATOR!!

I am currently around 160ish on a 5'4 frame. My goal is 130. And according to CC, it will take me until Jan. 2010 to reach. Now, if you visit my journal, you'll see that I am very DETERMINED in dropping this weight. And I don't believe in unhealthy habits, like crash diets, starvation, purging etc. But I really am set on losing these 30+ pounds before that estimated date. I'm reaching for June 10...of this YEAR. I know that sounds crazy. But I recently started power walking on an uphill terraine DAILY to work. And the distance there and home is 6 miles. I also am keeping my calories between 1200-1500 give or take. I only drink water and I also train on the weekends. I think it's possible. And even if not the whole 30 lbs., I'm confident I can atleast shed a nice 18-22 lbs. So---if you have an extreme personality like me---feel free to join in and add your tips and journey details.

You can do it before 2010...I'm sure of it.  I began my journey on April 1 of this year, and to date have lost 15 lbs.  Unfortunately, I have a bit further to go than you do, but I too am determined to get there.  And this time, I know I am losing the weight for the last time, because I will not gain it back.  Good luck!

Congrats Kittkatt!!! 15 lbs. is AWESOME. Yeah, it's funny how weight works. Because the more you have to lose the more comes off quicker and vice versa, when you are only 20-40 pounds over weight, those pounds take their little ole time...lol. But I believe that this will be your last time losing and KEEPING the weight off too. I have been a serial yo-yo dieter. At my heavist I was almost 185 lbs.!!! And keeping in mind, I'm only 5'4. So, I've been able to maintain this 160ish plateau for about the last year but it's definitely time for me to kick it up a notch!! June 10th is especially important to me because my long time beau is coming to visit (I don't know what it is about men and motivation to lose weight) but anywho, I want to be SLIM and TRIM for him. He's known me since I was 12 and I've always been a bit on the pudgey side, so that's why I'm working so hard not just for him but for me too!! Keep me posted!!

Another thing that always helps me stay motivated even if it's just a couple of pounds loss, is a pound is equivalent to a POTATOE. I think Oprah did a segment on this a while back (when she was thinner) and she said, it helped her keep her weight loss in perspective. Because she ended up pulling out a wheel barrow full of potatoes that equaled her total weight loss which was something like 178 lbs. or something. But anyway, that's what I do too. I have a about 5 1 lb. potatoes at home and every time, I start bashing my measely 1-2 pound weight loss, I pick one of those potatoes up and it really makes me feel accomplished. I mean, because a potatoe x 15 in your case is GREAT!! That's a 15-sack of fat that no longer is on your body. So, just thought I'd share that to let you know, 1 POUND is an accomplish!

I think you can do it faster than January 2010.  But hitting your goal by June is indeed a "crash diet". 

The whole point of losing slowly is to maintain your weight once your goal has been met. 

In order to lose 30 lbs in 40 days you you will have to have a deficit of 2625 calories a day.  Can you realistically do that?  Just think about that a minute. 

Think about what it will take exercise wise to get and maintain the deficit. 

You can do this!  You sound very motivated to lose the weight, you'll just want to make sure that you're losing it at an amount that you can maintain!  I'm sure that once the weight is off that might be the motivation you need.  Good luck!!! 

Kittkatt - Can I ask what you've been doing to lose your weight?  15lbs is a great accomplishment since April 1st.  I have started working out daily (45 min to an hour on the elliptical and 15 to 20 minutes weight lifing) for the last 2 to 3 weeks as well as watching my diet and I HAVEN'T LOST A SINGLE POUND!  I am so frustrated and really wondering what the heck I am doing wrong.  According to CC I should be around 1600 calories which I have been sticking with. 

I stopped skipping meals and started eating both breakfast and lunch.  Breakfast is a small handful of Kashi Crunch cereal with coffee and light non-dairy creamer and sugar and 1 package of instant oatmeal once I get to the office.  I bring my lunch from home and alternate between two:  double fiber wheat bread with peanut butter (spread thin!) and an apple, with baby carrots and hummus for a mid-afternoon snack or a turkey (or chicken) sandwich with double fiber wheat bread and either hummus or mustard instead of mayo with baby carrots or sugar snap peas and hummus and an apple or pear for mid-afternoon snack.  I eat whatever my family is eating for dinner, whether it be Hamburger Helper or beans and cornbread, I'm just really careful about my portions.  I've started drinking at least four 20-oz bottles of water per day and cut out all put one cup of coffee and all sodas; if I want a warm drink later in the day, I have herbal or white tea.  My daughter and I have started walking approx. 2 miles at least every other day...but we try for every day and I'm about to add some strength training with resistance tubes.  That's about it.

Thanks for the encouragement srmaher!!! Glad that there are some beleivers. And the poster before you, I cannot agree with their opinion. While, I know all too well about "crash diets" I am not on one. As I stated in my opening paragraph, I walk UPHILL daily for 6 miles, as well as train on the weekends and I keep my calories BELOW what CC reccommends and it has been WORKING. I don't feel deprived, I'm not doing anything drastic that will cause me to lose excessive weight just to gain it all back. A crash diet by example, would be me drinking diet coke and chewing sugarless gum for lunch and nibbling around 500-700 calories a day. Now that is a recipe for disaster. That's why I created this TOPIC, to be inspiration to the weight-lossers out there who are like me, and who once they put their mind to something----NOTHING can stop them. I'm not new to dieting or weight loss by far, so I stand behind my goals and am confident that I WILL reach them. (Okay, had to get the energy back right)

srmaher---I would say to swicth up your equipment. If you've been on an elliptical for 3 weeks, try the treadmill or stair climber...anything to switch your bodies current tempo. Also, you have to get creative. A lot of times, exercising isn't as beneficial because we don't utilize it for all it's worth. Try different speeds, inclines. Sometimes, just stop and drop down and do 5-10 push ups and jump back on. You have to elevate your pulse and get sweating. With my current walking regime---I encounter steep inclines, leveled surfaces and lots of winds and turns. I also, have to sprint across busy intersections or pick up my pace at random moments. So, I would say---kick it up a notch. Also, if you have stairs in your home---USE THEM. I have a routine, where I sprint up and walk down my stairs 10 times. And before I start the 6th sprint, I do 25 crunches and as many as I can muster push-ups. As for your diet, watching what you eat and actually planning what goes in your mouth are very different. Watching what you eat could be, turning down a second helping of freid chicken and mashed potatoes----where as planning what you eat---would illeviate the prospect of fried chicken and mash potatoes even being on your eating schedule for the day. CC has helped me a lot with that (food log) so much so, that while I'm at work---I go ahead and pre-record everything that I know I'll be eating for that day...and it WORKS, because I'm only eating those things.

Lastly, I would reduce what CC sugegsted for your caloric intake by a couple 100. They suggested that I have 1634 but they also said I would reach my weight loss goal until Jan. 2010. So that brings everything back full circle, in what I'm working for---which is to push myself harder. I don't need nor want 1600+ calories a day. Please keep me posted on your progress, this really helps me stay motivated as well.

there seem to be very few voices of reason responding to this post (GI Jane, where are you?!), perhaps because they're misreading your goal as losing by 2010, so i must interject. we'll start with the facts:

* according to your journal post (from yesterday, 5/5/09) you weigh 167

* you want to weigh 130 in just over a month (6/10/09)

* 1 lb = 3500 calories

* 37 lbs = 129500 calories

* counting today, there are 36 days left on your timeline

* to meet your goal, your daily deficit must be at least 3597 calories

now we'll add a few conjectures:

* walking uphill for 102 minutes (6 miles estimated at 3.5mph) burns 793 calories (based on my calculator - i have very similar stats)

* you eat 1200-1500 calories per day

* therefore, your daily deficit is around 1200 (considered unhealthy by Calorie Count standards)

i wish you the best of luck losing a few pounds so that you feel more comfortable around your man when he comes to visit, but... you need a reality check. this is not a feasible, realistic, or rational goal. please take care.

Hajab, it's awesome that you are totaly motivated. I am too and it's nice to see others as such. Sometimes it gets tiring seeing people come on CC and whine about how they aren't motivated, don't know why they are doing it anymore, blah blah blah. No offense, but those who are actually serious are the ones who will make it to their goals.

Honestly, I think your goal is great. You need to know that there's a chance you won't meet it, but you already do since you said it would be just as great to hit half or so of that goal. Having a big goal is motivating. 

My only advice is to also tape measure yourself. You may get really frustrated by your weight not decreasing fast enough, yet all along your waistline was decreasing and you were burning fat. 

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

After reading most of the posts in this forum, I guess your target date would mostly likely reflect your lifestyle prior to starting self analysis.  I started focusing on my calorie intake and exercise regime on April 28th.  Before that date I ingest 3600 calories in one evening meal which consisted mostly of fats and carbs.  I drank almost 3 liters of soda a day.  I work outside and walk alot for work, but did not exercise away from work.  I started at 220lbs and have only lost 5-7 since then.  But since joining this site I have dropped to 2000 calories a day, no soda, lots of protein, and eat small amounts every 2 hours to increase my metabolism.  I also started running 2 miles in the morning before work, circuit weight training in the afternoon and a 4 mile walk at night.  I would think it it possible for me to reach my 40lb weightloss goal by July 4th.  The change in lifestyle would mean alot and I don't see how my life is unhealthy now.  I feel alot better already and am enjoying the benefits.  People may say that I will have a greater chance of relapse given the extreme lifestyle change but its not what it seems.  I was once like I am trying to be now, I quit because of some unforseen surgery and enjoyed my time off.  Maybe too much.

Hajab, Good luck with your goal and I hope you stay motivated.  For whatever reason it never hurts to be healthy.

wow how'd you do that math!!! that's very clever!!!

if i could do that i could work out how much exercise i need to do and how much more food i can eat!

iginal Post by madamq:

I think you can do it faster than January 2010.  But hitting your goal by June is indeed a "crash diet". 

The whole point of losing slowly is to maintain your weight once your goal has been met. 

In order to lose 30 lbs in 40 days you you will have to have a deficit of 2625 calories a day.  Can you realistically do that?  Just think about that a minute. 

Think about what it will take exercise wise to get and maintain the deficit. 

 

 

 

Hey our stats are really close and I am trying to lose as much as possible by my birthday in June. Currently I am 160, 5'5 and trying to get to 130. I know that I will probably not get to my goal by the end of june but I plan on trying to get as far as possible..good luck and if you need encouragment write me :)

@Spomtanyous---Funny, how you seemingly give me encouragement yet discourage me in the same sentence...LoL. Regardless of what you "think", I'm already working my way down to my goal. No two bodies are alike, hence if they were every diet, exercise would work the same on everyone. As one of the posters stated, I also come from a history of intaking anywhere between 3500-4000 calories a DAY. I also did not exercises at all. So, my metoblic rate as well as other factors all contributed to my hefty weight gain. And also, if you wouldn't had been so quick to try and negate my goals and would have read a bit more thoroughly, you would have noticed that I said, I may only drop 18-22 lbs. by my prospective goal date...not the entire 30+. What is it with some people and their need to "put others in their place" I'm not advocating anything unhealthy, unrelaistic, irrational or unfeasible. Yet you, come on here as some authority and voice of reason as to tell ME, someone you know nothing about in regards to motivation and personality---that I can't accomplish my goal. But I thank you, because it'll be that much sweeter when I DO---and you'll still be on here telling people what they can't lose. BTW---how is your weight loss program going?

GREETINGS to MDS86, ISUCARNZ and SWEARIMN!!!!

THANKS for the actual encouragement and I wish you all LUCK AS WELL. Please keep me posted and remember, you are IN CONTORL of your bodies and your goals. Not statistics, CC or any person that puts doubt in your minds. If you want it bad enough, you'll get it!!! I'm living proof. I'm never hungry and I've loss 6 lbs. this week. STAY creative and don't let a plateau or stale scale discorage you. YOUR IN CONTROL!!!!!!

Also, I wanted to say---I know that my personality will come off very aggressive and assertive. I am a very driven and outspoken woman. I always have been with EVERYTHING so weight loss will be no different. But I don't want to miscontrue my struggles, as they are exactly that. Me creating this topic was to help motivate others but motivate myself as well. That's why when I receive comments that are not adding anything positive to my mission---I address them as such. I'm not physic. I very well may not lose anymore weight before June 10th, but what would be the difference in the outcome except my attitude? I've spent years, whining and moaning about being over weight. And getting discouraged and losing tempo shortly after I get all riled up to make something happen, only to let a naysayer or some "statistic" stifle my determination. I'm not prentending I have all the answers, I'm just hoping that some of my motivation will rub off on others and push them a little further than they were before and vice versa. So what if it takes me 5 more years to get completely where I want to be. I know that atleast I have the RIGHT attitude RIGHT NOW to keep me going and that's been my whole point. Sometimes, the main reason people struggle with weight is because they can't accept where they are and they also BEAT themselves up so bad, that it's seems impossible to ever reach. There is so much power in positive affirmation. Which is why, the trite saying has so much truth:

"If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all."

I don't think that Spomtanyous was trying to be discouraging, I think she was trying to spare you the frustration that can come from setting goals that aren't achievable.  This is something that I learned myself over the 11 months that I have been on this journey because weight loss can fluctuate so much and it's rarely consistent.  Calories in calories out isn't an exact science.  Trust me on this, because I've learned it the hard way.  When I first started and was losing weight at a fast pace, I was positive that I would be at my goal weight by the end of 2008.  Well here is it May 2009 and I'm still not there.  You will have periods where the weight will seem to fall off you, and other periods where you'll be lucky to lose 0.5 pound a week.  The closer you get to your goal, the harder it is.  Now that I am down to my last 20 pounds, I struggle for every pound.  My hope is to get the last 20 pounds off by the time we go to the beach in late September, but if I don't make that, then I'll hope for having it off by the time we go to Key West in early November.  The point that I'm trying to make is that if you set your goals too high, you get very frustrated if you don't meet them and you end up sabotaging yourself.  Trust me on this, I've done this to myself, so I know what I'm talking about.  The tactic that I've found that works the best for me is to set small goals and then you have good things to keep you going.  For me, it was to lose 20 pounds (200 to 180), then move on to being classified as overweight instead of obese.  In recent months my next goal of being slightly overweight was met, and now at 152, I am about 13 pounds away from the next goal, which is the upper limit of healthy weight. Next stop after that is goal of 130.  This way, I have little successes and don't get discouraged when it seems like the weight isn't coming off.  Try to remind yourself that this is a marathon not a sprint, and that slow steady weight loss is the best kind to maintain.  After all, you don't want to get to your goal only to find the weight back on in a few months do you?  Just stick with  your program and you will have success as long as you don't set unattainable goals.  Good luck and happy losing!

I'm going to echo caverlady.  I think it's great that you have such a positive attitude about doing the steps it takes to live a healthy life and lose weight.  I obviously don't know you, and you may be one of those people who have such a great positive attitude that even if after the month is up and you've lost 2 pounds out of your goal of 30, you say, "Well, that's 2 lbs. less than I was before, and that's awesome!  I'm going to keep doing this."  But I know for myself, I've set weight loss goals in the past, that while totally realistic for others (1 pound a week, so I'll have lost X amount of weight by a certain date), they're not realistic for me.  And I've gotten discouraged in the past when I couldn't come close to meeting those goals in time.  Now, I'm just thrilled every time the scale goes down half a pound lower than it has before.  I've made my peace with the fact that it's probably going to take me over a year and a half to lose the 40 pounds I want to lose, but the way I figure, I'm down 8 pounds already (so 20% there!), and I already look better and my clothes have gotten a lot looser.  And I'll look way better when I'm halfway to my goal, and at the rate I'm going that will probably happen before the new year.  For me, any progress is great.

But that's just me.  If you can lose 20 pounds in a month healthily, more power to you!

Yeah I'm sure you can loose the weight before then

I'velost 19 lbs so far, I started about 6 1/2 months ago (though I just recently really started trying to loose) I had lost 10 lbs without trying really hard, and then 9 lbs in the last couple of weeks after I started working out and eating better

Welcome All!!

Thanks for the encouragement and feedback. Well today starts the second week, that I'll be hauling it to work by foot (with the help of the transit system) I can already feel and SEE the difference. Last week, I was huffing and puffing just to get up hills and feeling exhausted by the time I got home and  today, I barely got out of breath, which just inspires me to speed my pace up or even start intervals. I'm also gonna start this home workout in the evenings, which will consist of lunges, jump-squats, regular squats and floor crawls. I read that this workout is KNOWN to target belly fat and tone legs, along with it being good cardio. And on the weekends, I'll be jogging moderately on the treadmill for bout an hour on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I have significantly cut back on my alcohol intake, which not only makes me feel better the morning after---but I honestly am losing my flare to even want to drink. I have exactly about a month (4 weeks) to go until my prospective goal date and even if the difference isn't seen in pounds loss on the scale, I can already SEE the leaner more shapely body taking form. I think I'm going to start focusing my diet on more leaner proteins and veggies and reduce my carb intake to maybe 50-80 grams daily. I really want to work on Trimming this excess body fat I have in my middle section, arms and thighs and I know carbs just aid in their thickness. Have a Happy Diet and Fitness week everyone!!!!!