How long will it take me to lose 10 pounds?

Hello there. I am 20, active - workout 5 days a week, etc. I want to lose 10 pounds (I can use it), but these will be my first and last 10 pounds. If i begin eating healthy today, and continuing my workouts, and stay as consistent as I can (despite a bit 21st birthday coming up), when do you think my 10 pounds will have been shed by?

Thanks guys.

Fri. Dec 18, 1:31pm

...not enough data to compute...

Friday, December 18, 2009, 10:12 PM

OP here

5 3, very muscular. 140. want 130. active (athlete in the past). 20 years old. Female. eating from 1000 - 1600. working out 5 days a week (sometimes 6?) 400-700 calorie burn. cross training and what not (running, tredmill, biking, classes)

Friday, December 18, 2009, 10:42 PM

A long time. It sounds from what you describe you are focusing too much on weight and not on stature. You aren't even eating enough in calories to sustain your workout habits. The body needs fuel and when it doesn't get it and you burn that much in exercise, it's going to hold on to all its got.

If you've ever watched the Biggest Loser, you will see the trainers constantly getting on the contestants for not eating enough because of the calories they are burning. That's exactly what you are doing.

Saturday, December 19, 2009, 9:24 AM

I'm going to have to agree with 9:24. From all the research I've done, a more reasonable calorie range for you would be somewhere around 1800. If you restrict calorie intake too much, you body goes into what's called starvation mode: convinced that you must be starving, it slows down your metabolism in an effort to conserve what few calories you're allowing it. Then, when you start eating normally again, you pack on the pounds. As for how long it will take, back when I first started working out, I weighed 147 lbs. I got down to around 130 in just one summer just by working out a lot without even worrying about my caloric intake that much. It came off at a rate of about a pound a week. For those of us who are not horribly overweight, that's usually a reasonable rate. It should certainly not come off any faster than 2 lbs a week; that kind of rapid weight loss will lead to yo-yo dieting. Of course, the rules change somewhat if you're a couple hundred pounds overweight, but you're not.

Saturday, December 19, 2009, 9:42 AM

OP here

Hello there, thanks for the advice so far! Let me clarify by saying that when i said a range of 1000-1600 it's probably closer to 1600 on the average day. I think that 1600 is definitely reasonable, though my goal is usually to consume 1400 calories. I do plan on having "super" days, rarely, (once a week at max) that I'll consume 1000 calories. This is only because I am planning on really listening to my body, and trying not to eat as much on those days I am trulynot as hungry. I do think those occasional lower calorie days could somewhat propel my weight loss efforts, though - rather than set my metabolism back. I hope that, having started yesterday - December 18th - I will have lost 10 pounds by February 18th. Is this a sound and "doable" goal?

I'm definitely far too number oriented - I realize this. One pound a week sounds reasonable, by the way - though I'd assume a bit more the first or second week of any new especially healthy eating style?

Again, thanks for the advice

Saturday, December 19, 2009, 12:20 PM

1400 is still too low. 1400 is what is recommended for someone who is seditary, no activity, doesn't even get off the couch at all during the day to lose weight. If you are even the slightest bit active and only weight 140, you aren't going to lose weight without consuming more calories. As the one poster said, your body is in starvation mode. You need to eat and you need to eat well.

I put your statistics into a calorie calculator and here are the results:

You should consume about 1,784 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 130 lbs This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by February 27, 2010.

Experts recommend weight loss at the rate of 0.5-2 lbs/week. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and activity level. It may vary slightly depending on other factors.

Generally, women should not consume any less than 1,200 calories per day, and men should not consume less than 1,500 calories per day.

So the advice people are giving you in regards to the need to eat more is spot on. Low cal/fasting days will only hurt at this point, not help.

Saturday, December 19, 2009, 12:59 PM

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