Losing weight by November?

I started out losing weight at the start of the summer, and am still continuing with it. Will I be able to lose 20 pounds by the middle of November if i try to eat healthily and work out most days?

Also, am i allowed any cheat days or anything? Or is it too much of a time crunch on that one...?

Also, how can i incorporate more cardio into my mornings when I already wake up at 6.30 to do crunches and hips exercises?

Thanks xx

There's too many variables for anyone to tell you that you'll be able to lose 20 pounds in 8 weeks or not, but that's 2.5 pounds per week, and that's a fair amount.  If you were a 200+ pound guy, I'd say that it's possible; in fact, I've done it.  If you're a 140 pound woman, I'd say it's not likely.  And based on your user name, I'd have to go with the second answer.

Cheat days don't make or break losing weight, in my opinion.  But in my case, when I was trying to lose weight hard core, I didn't take any cheat days.  No treats, no cheats, etc.  I did that for about 2 months.  Then I started relaxing my rules.

Why the 20 pounds in 8 weeks?  Why not make healthy changes, and be glad that at the end of 8 weeks, you'll be better off than you are now?  If you make 10 pounds, that's 10 pounds less than you are now. 

As far as your last question goes, what's so special about the crunches and hip exercises?  Look into HIIT (there's threads in the Fitness forum), or just do cardio.  Doing crunches for your abs isn't going to do a bunch for you if you've got layers of fat over your muscles.  You can't spot reduce fat, so it's not like your crunches are shaving fat off your belly.  Other than that, wake up at 6, and go for a run before your other exercises.

Clint

The big problem with cheat days is how much you cheat.  ie if you overeat by say 2000 calories then that could mean that you end up gaining weight for the week and then suddenly instead of needing to lose 2.5 pounds per week you suddenly have to lose 3 and it starts getting harder.

If you mean a cheat day where instead of having a 500-700 deficit you eat as many cals as you burn then no it probably won't make any difference although it may slow your weekly loss and as such you may need bigger deficits on the other days or do more exercise another day to make up for it so you stay on target.

A 'cheat' day where you meet your caloric needs without a surplus nor deficit might be benificial; it gives your metabolism a small boost and will reduce the risk of catabolism.

Original Post by joopvanroy:

A 'cheat' day where you meet your caloric needs without a surplus nor deficit might be benificial; it gives your metabolism a small boost and will reduce the risk of catabolism.

That's what I'm going to do for a week or so (is that long enough?), because I seem to have hit a plateau.  I've lost 34 pounds since May 23rd, but for two weeks now, I've either stayed the same or lost and re-gained the same couple of pounds.  Good advice!  Thanks.