I’ve (47f, 150 lbs at 5’6) stopped the fast food and beer consumption cold turkey. I’m eating keto meals (which are pretty filling and yummy) and thinking of doing the 8/16 or 6/18. Moderate exercise.
Is a 7 lbs goal in 3 weeks reasonable expectation?
Is this too much on my system?
After making this goal I’ll just move towards healthier lifestyle without the fast food and drinking. Thanks in advance for any guidance!
It’s a little high for your height and weight. I’m 160-170 was able to lose 5-6 pounds a month doing IF and Keto, but menstrual cycle also messed with the scale for me. Additionally, if you’re working out you may start to develop muscle in that time which will weigh more than any fat or water weight you lose. You’ll definitely see progress in 3 weeks, but I would hate for you to get discouraged basing your progress solely on scale loss.
Best of luck!
It is possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw those kind of results in the beginning. the more you lose and the longer you fast the slower it gets especially when you’re getting close to your goal weight. Good luck
If you’re focused just on the numbers… 7 is a wee bit much for that timeframe. 7lbs of fat @ 3,500 kcal per lb. = 24,500 kcal which means you’d be aiming to reduce your ‘maintenance’ calories by 1,165 per day.
If you’re going to do this, I recommend focusing on A) getting ~50g protein daily at a minimum, B) ensuring that you get all your amino acids (easy enough if you’re eating animal proteins), and c) keeping your carbs to well <50g daily which will help manage your hunger.
Starting at a “normal”ish BMI like yours, it might be tough to drop 7lbs, but you’ll certainly feel better in 3 weeks. I was around 155 @ 5’7”. I didn’t drop much the first 3 weeks but stuck with it & have dropped 22lbs & kept it off over Christmas. I never drank beer ever though, and not much fast food; so I didn’t have that to cut out. You might be able to drop 5-7lbs. Either way it’s worth starting. Less fast food probably means less sodium & less bloat. Edit: and unless you’re an alcoholic, no, cutting out alcohol cold turkey & giving up fast food isn’t too much on your system. If you’re still menstruating monthly, and you jump right into 20:4, you might experience some weird periods at first though.Edit: FWIW, it’s 18:6, and 16:8. The fasting time gets stated first, idk why. Also, I didn’t lose any weight the 1st 2 weeks, & I began with 16:8. Week 3 of 18:6 i started dropping. But the other benefits of 16:8, better sleep , other things, were worth it.