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How much weight can I realistically lose through diet alone?

S

slackerinabox

Lifer
Fat ass alert - I'm 6' tall and weigh 233 pounds, down from 255 (went to a low of 218 but gained it back.. dammit). I just started a new job so I can't currently afford gym membership but hope to have my finances in order in the next few months. I also don't really have a lot of free time since I'll be going to summer school and working. Yeah, the usual fat ass excuses, but I'm currently relying on a pretty healthy diet and walking. How much weight can I realistically look to lose through such methods? I want to set realistic goals for myself and don't want to set myself up for disappointment by setting the bar too high, know what I mean?
 
I lost 35lbs pretty easily on a sorta custom diet I adopted from a few of the major ideas a few years back. Didn't really do any hardcore exercise other than some stretching, crunches and a cheap set of free weights I bought from sears.


Its stayed off since as most people I usually gain a few pounds over winter but by summer its back to within a pound or 2 of normal.

Whatever your goal is can be accomplished through diet change but just set serious time frames and dont think your gonna drop 20lbs in a month.
 
IMO, diet is more important than exercise when it comes to losing weight, though exercise GREATLY accelerates your progress.
 
All of it. You don't eat, you lose weight, end of story. With exercise it's just easier because it actually lets you eat more and still lose weight so you don't starve quite as much.
 
I disagree with most of the responses so far.

When you diet, you create a calorie deficiency. Your body will break down muscle mass to compensate, and that is a significant part of the weight you will lose (you will also lose fat). When you go off the diet, as everyone will eventually, you will gain the weight back but it will be harder to not gain more because you will have less muscle.

I was able to lose 20 lbs by doing the following:

- Eliminate all sugar - this includes white bread and bleached pasta (eat WW pasta instead)
- Eat foods that have a low fat calorie ratio
- Maintain or slightly elevate you level of physical activity
 
Originally posted by: Blackjack200
I disagree with most of the responses so far.

When you diet, you create a calorie deficiency. Your body will break down muscle mass to compensate, and that is a significant part of the weight you will lose (you will also lose fat).
Click to expand...


Not entirely true. Your body breaks muscle through a process called Gluconeogenesis if you have deprived it of calories for a significant period of time. Creating a small caloric deficit is not going to cause your body to break down muscle mass unless you do some serious overtraining at the gym. The key is to do a small reduction in calories so that you are just a few hundred less then your maintenance level. I do agree on backing off the sugars as much as possible though and doing strength training to build muscle.
 
If you don't eat, you'll lose weight, period. That's not counting anything psychological or whatever or drinking beer to compensate, etc.
 
Is it not true that all you need to do is burn more than you consume in a day? So as long as you are not completely sedentary and eat less, you will lose weight.

However, even just walking briskly for 30 minutes a day will help you burn more.

I lost a significant amount of weight with exercise and diet; you should try both, it will make you happy and you will feel better.

Good luck!

KT
 
You could stand to lose 50 pounds. Yes, 50. You might have meatier calves than the average person from carrying that weight around, but you are not muscular and you are not "thick boned." Your "no time" excuse is crap. You could be doing bodyweight squats, lunges, pushups, and pullups with nothing but a pullup bar or rings and a minimal time commitment.
 
All of it?

I lost 50lbs when I was 18-19 by doing nothing but changing my diet. Infact, I was probably more sedentary during that time than when I was a fatass.
 
Originally posted by: Blackjack200
I disagree with most of the responses so far.

When you diet, you create a calorie deficiency. Your body will break down muscle mass to compensate, and that is a significant part of the weight you will lose (you will also lose fat). When you go off the diet, as everyone will eventually, you will gain the weight back but it will be harder to not gain more because you will have less muscle.

I was able to lose 20 lbs by doing the following:

- Eliminate all sugar - this includes white bread and bleached pasta (eat WW pasta instead)
- Eat foods that have a low fat calorie ratio
- Maintain or slightly elevate you level of physical activity
Click to expand...

I don't know why you're disagreeing... because everything you've stated, LEADS to a caloric deficiency. If you eliminate sugar, you're eliminating a huge amount of calories. If you eat food with lower fat, again, less calories. If you elevate your physical activity, that increases your caloric requirement, and if you're doing the other two things you've stated, it increases the caloric deficiency even more.

Fact is, to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than your body takes in... which is, you guess it, a caloric deficiency.
 
Depends on how badly you were eating before.

Ultimately, can you get outside for 30 minutes a day jogging? This combined with eating better can help quite a bit. You have to get active to burn more calories, and get your body better conditioned.
 
Originally posted by: crt1530
You could stand to lose 50 pounds. Yes, 50. You might have meatier calves than the average person from carrying that weight around, but you are not muscular and you are not "thick boned." Your "no time" excuse is crap. You could be doing bodyweight squats, lunges, pushups, and pullups with nothing but a pullup bar or rings and a minimal time commitment.
Click to expand...

dumb question, about how much is a pull up bar and how does one mount it? I don't have a lot of spare cash right now.. You're right though, I'll walk and attempt to do pushups and such. Time excuses is bull, I won't deny that. I should make time, I just don't have the cash to go to a gym and get a full work out (with cardio and weights).

Also, 50 pounds? I was thinking my goal weight should be 185-190. 170 seems low. But, that's not really the point. I'm not going to be a scale watcher, I just want to set realistic goals and timeframes.
 
Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
Originally posted by: crt1530
You could stand to lose 50 pounds. Yes, 50. You might have meatier calves than the average person from carrying that weight around, but you are not muscular and you are not "thick boned." Your "no time" excuse is crap. You could be doing bodyweight squats, lunges, pushups, and pullups with nothing but a pullup bar or rings and a minimal time commitment.
Click to expand...

dumb question, about how much is a pull up bar and how does one mount it? I don't have a lot of spare cash right now.. You're right though, I'll walk and attempt to do pushups and such. Time excuses is bull, I won't deny that. I should make time, I just don't have the cash to go to a gym and get a full work out (with cardio and weights).
Click to expand...

You can get the pull-up bars that hang on door frames. That's what i used. It was about $30 or so for mine.
 
I lost ~30lbs in 3 months by cutting sugar+fat (and overall caloric intake), eating mainly salads with lean meat no/light dressing and doing intense cardio 5 days a week.
 
Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
Originally posted by: crt1530
You could stand to lose 50 pounds. Yes, 50. You might have meatier calves than the average person from carrying that weight around, but you are not muscular and you are not "thick boned." Your "no time" excuse is crap. You could be doing bodyweight squats, lunges, pushups, and pullups with nothing but a pullup bar or rings and a minimal time commitment.
Click to expand...

dumb question, about how much is a pull up bar and how does one mount it? I don't have a lot of spare cash right now.. You're right though, I'll walk and attempt to do pushups and such. Time excuses is bull, I won't deny that. I should make time, I just don't have the cash to go to a gym and get a full work out (with cardio and weights).

Also, 50 pounds? I was thinking my goal weight should be 185-190. 170 seems low. But, that's not really the point. I'm not going to be a scale watcher, I just want to set realistic goals and timeframes.
Click to expand...
183 is the top of the "normal" weight range for somebody who is 6'0". 233 - 183 = 50. Averaging 1lb per week over the long haul is a realistic expectation. Not being overweight around this time next year is an achievable goal.

Rings can be hung from eye bolts screwed into a stud in the ceiling.
These doorway pullup and dip bars are easy to remove.
 
Hm, realistically, as much weight as you need to lose. It depends on how much you can change your diet. You need to think about changing your diet/exercise habits permanently. "Dieting" does jack ****** for you. You simply lose the weight, go back to your old life, and regain it.

Some pointers:

Exercise time: when you need to take a break from whatever it is you are doing (I'm assuming you don't work in construction), take a brisk walk around the office or around the block. Come back to your office, do some crunches, pushups or modified pushups, and bodyweight squats. (google these terms if you dont understand them). It will take all of 5-10 minutes, and it will be great exercise. If you do this 2-3 times a day when you need a break, you'll be fitting in good exercise. On the weekends do something serious like go for a long bike ride or something. Like magic, you're working out every day for at least 30 minutes a day.

Diet: Look at what you are eating. Keep a log of what you are eating, and the portions. Keep a log of how you feel afterwards. Do this for a week. At the end, count the estimated number of calories you think you consumed. Now, design a new "mealplan" for your next week. Cut out things like: burgers, fries, shakes, soda, etc. I'm not saying don't go to burger king, I'm saying go to burger king, order the grilled chicken sandwich, a salad, and a water. You want to be consuming approximately the same number of calories you were before, but you want to be consuming more HEALTHY calories:

complex (grain) carbohydrates
lean protein
some (minimal) fat
fiber!

and less unhealthy calories:

fat
saturated fat
simple carbohydrates (sugars)

This meal planning will actually make you LESS hungry, because protein, fiber, and complex carbs will keep you full for much longer than simple carbohydrates and fat will. Do this meal planning on a Sunday, on a week to week basis. If you find you get tired of say, eating salads, this allows you to change the plan up.

The idea is not to drastically change your diet from fast food to tofu and bean sprouts. The idea is to make small changes to your lifestyle which are completely livable in the long term, and will make you gradually lose weight.

edit: I'm not suggesting all you eat is fast food, I was just using it as an example, because you said you have no time for your diet, which means to no time to cook, no time to exercise, etc.

Realistically, you should be able to get down to or just above your "ideal" weight. Next time you go to the doctor, make sure and ask him about weight loss, ideal weight, etc. They will also have plenty of good pointers to give you.
 
Cut out the crappy foods and replace them with good ones. Eat smaller meals, but more of them. Add that to even a small amount of resistance training and you'd be fine.
 
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