MAJOR WEIGHT LOSS - FAST!

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mrlions

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Hi everybody, I am hoping that I can get some tips and advice from the collective knowledge of this forum. I need to lose about 25 pounds in 8 weeks so that I can join the military.

I am in my early 20s, 5 ft 11in and now weigh 208 pounds. I probably don't look quite that heavy, since the majority of my weight is in the form of a giant beer belly from excessive drinking in undergrad, and my lower body is still relatively fit. A few years ago I was a Division 1 cross country runner, around 160 lbs, then quit running and went off the rails. I tell you this because I think I still have some of that underlying fitness, or at least the ability to get fit rather quickly.

My plan for the weight loss is pretty simple: some combination of running/biking/swimming/abs everyday, burning around 1000 calories per day through exercise. In terms of diet, eat at or slightly under my BMR, all whole foods, no alcohol or simple sugars. I know it will be a struggle, but if I'm consistent, the pounds will fall right off, right?

My main worry is injury in the form of stress fracture and/or achilles tendinitis. Hopefully I can avoid this by not relying only on running for cardio, but swimming or biking each day too.

Tips/advice/general thoughts?
 
Diet is the biggest factor in weight loss, you cannot exercise away a bad diet, If you are going to be calorie counting, are you tracking closely or estimating ?

cardio fitness is not everything in both weight loss and passing the testing for the military. You need to be strength training to maintain muscle and for someone attempting to join the military that also mean practicing the exercises you will need to do in testing. I don't know about the american military but the Australian military have a sample training program for applicants to help them prepare for the physical tests.
 
i looked at the healthline web site and they do have some good information, but they also tend to take the shotgun approach... put out every tip they can think of and some of those have got to work. these are also just solutions... it really helps if you understand the problem, too. start with some TED talks... there are many on nutrition. if you find someone who makes sense to you, follow up with a search of their name. chances are you will run into others they have found to have valid opinions.

there is a good page of theirs on Intermittent Fasting...
Intermittent Fasting 101 — The Ultimate Beginner's Guide

i disagree with some of their side effects, but with any change in a habit... like eating which you have likely done the same way for many, many years.... any sort of fasting should be taken slowly. i was intermittent fasting for months before i tried a multi-day fast. even getting into an IF routine took several weeks. the usual problem is that people want things to change overnight. we all know that's impossible, but we still hope for that.
 
mrlions said:
Tips/advice/general thoughts?
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To me it sounds as if you are on the right track. Exercise & diet. Just don't hurt yourself. Also, don't forget to sleep! Sleep really helps the body recover and remove toxins, so does meditation - which helps to keep your stress down. A body that is not stressed out can lose weight easier.

I would recommend a herbal tea (that contains senna leaf) at bedtime only which basically helps you have a bowel movement first thing in the morning. It's something I'm going to start incorporating too, I've seen how great it works with my daughters. There are many teas that give benefits, like macha tea or other green teas. A lot of people don't even think about simple things like tea helping to burn fat or calories, but they do. I'm planning to make it part of my daily ritual before bedtime. Just don't drink a slimming tea with senna leaf in the day time, only at bedtime.
 
sweetheart4romance said:
I would recommend a herbal tea
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Tea of any type is not a magic weight loss solution, if you like tea drink tea but do not drink it just because you believe marketing hype and spam telling you that it will make you loose weight.

sweetheart4romance said:
(that contains senna leaf) at bedtime only which basically helps you have a bowel movement first thing in the morning.
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Laxatives are also NOT the answer to weight loss.

Laxative abuse can happen when a person is abusing laxatives like Senna to get rid of unwanted calories, to lose weight, or to feel thin or empty. Laxative abuse occurs when there is a repeated, frequent use of laxatives, and are especially common with eating disorders

There are many physical and medical consequences of laxative abuse. One is the dysregulation of electrolytes and minerals in the body.

Laxative dependency can occur when a person abuses laxatives over a long period of time, and the colon stops reacting to recommended doses of laxatives. A continued increase in laxatives is typically needed to produce a bowel movement for those who abuse laxatives.

Damage to internal organs can create an over-stretched or lazy colon, which can lead to colon infections, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and liver damage. In extreme laxative abuse, colon cancer can develop due to misuse.
 
Senna Side Effects

Stomach Cramps

Burping
Diarrhea
Feel Like Throwing Up

Abnormal Urine Color
Condition With Muscle Spasms That Last A Long Time
Elevation Of Proteins In The Urine
Imbalance In Body Salts Like Potassium And Sodium
Low Amount Of Potassium In The Blood

Bloody Urine
Discoloration Of The Lining Of Colon
General Ill Health And Malnutrition
Inflammation Of Skin Caused By An Allergy
Rash
Softening Of Bones
 
Trusylver said:
Tea of any type is not a magic weight loss solution, if you like tea drink tea but do not drink it just because you believe marketing hype and spam telling you that it will make you loose weight.



Laxatives are also NOT the answer to weight loss.

Laxative abuse can happen when a person is abusing laxatives like Senna to get rid of unwanted calories, to lose weight, or to feel thin or empty. Laxative abuse occurs when there is a repeated, frequent use of laxatives, and are especially common with eating disorders

There are many physical and medical consequences of laxative abuse. One is the dysregulation of electrolytes and minerals in the body.

Laxative dependency can occur when a person abuses laxatives over a long period of time, and the colon stops reacting to recommended doses of laxatives. A continued increase in laxatives is typically needed to produce a bowel movement for those who abuse laxatives.

Damage to internal organs can create an over-stretched or lazy colon, which can lead to colon infections, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and liver damage. In extreme laxative abuse, colon cancer can develop due to misuse.
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Wow that was seriously not necessary. I wasn’t recommending he stay on senna tea forever. He just needs it temporarily to get into the military. He asked for a quick way. My recommendation was just that. And there’s no harm in drinking a tea with senna to shed a few pounds temporarily to pass a fitness requirement.
 
Yes, actually it was necessary, This forum promotes healthy weight loss, so the recommendation to use a laxative is not only ineffective but has potentially long term serious side effects.

While the caffeine in tea can give a slight boost to metabolism, and the antioxidants are good, it is not going to magically make you loose fat.

For example, in a study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition in 2016, overweight women took either a daily dose of about 1,350 mg of tea extract in supplement form (the equivalent of roughly 15 cups tea) or a placebo for 12 weeks. Though the green tea group dropped an average of 2.4 pounds, the women taking the placebo lost 4.4 pounds.

In fact, class action lawsuits have been filed against companies who sold their teas as weight loss supplements. At least two lawsuits involved companies whose advertising made false claims about the effectiveness of their tea in aiding weight loss.
 
Trusylver said:
Yes, actually it was necessary...
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I agree about the long-term side effects. However, I take a much more holistic approach to everything, and while I agree with everything you are saying I also know that short-term usage of herbs can be helpful and are considered generally safe. I appreciate your knowledge but I can see that you find no use for them, and I on the other hand do. Let's just agree to disagree. Thank you.
 
sweetheart4romance said:
I appreciate your knowledge but I can see that you find no use for them, and I on the other hand do. Let's just agree to disagree. Thank you.
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You are making a big assumption here believing I have no use for herbs, herbs have their place and if you choose to still use ones with some serious side effects and no effect on the issue at hand that is your choice. However advising others to do the same without them knowing the potential consequences to their health is irresponsible. You have no idea what medication the person is using for other health conditions. eg, you do not know if people you are giving advice to are taking Digoxin for heart failure or Warfarin to thin the blood, both of which interact with Senna in a negative way regardless of the form it takes either herb or tablet.

As a person who works in a sports medicine, coach and athlete I do know several ways to drop weight quickly for sports involving weight divisions, but I will not give advice on those methods on a forum like this due to the risks involved and not knowing the health information of the members reading it.
 
Trusylver said:
You are making a big assumption here...
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Well I apologize for assuming. I truly hope that I can gain knowledge by following your advice and I look forward to it. Let's start all over, and let me say sorry for giving bad advice, I never meant to. I hope that I can learn all I can here, and gain skills in my real life that work for me, and hopefully better skills. I will refrain from giving advice and come as a student instead. I hope that we can start over, and that you can forgive my ignorance.
 
Closing this thread as it is no longer relevant as mrlions's 8 weeks has elapsed & it also attracts too much spam.
 
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