Training & Nutrition - Has anyone tried losing 20 pounds in 1 month?

Did it work? :) If yes, how do you do it in terms of training schedule?:)

I'm pretty sure it's generally considered unsafe to lose more than 1-2 lbs a week. So, a goal of 20 lbs in 1 month seems a bit drastic. However, depending on your current weight it might not be as bad or impossible. Although an approximation of the daily caloric deficit you'd need to do so, assuming 3500 kcal = 1 lb, suggests that you need to maintain a -2333 kcal/day deficit to achieve your goal. Depending on your diet this could mean eating close to nothing...

Biggest loser style?

This guy did: http://www.newser.com/story/115005/glenni-wilsey-dieted-to-death-because-of-army-recruiters-mom-claims.html

:eek:

There are only two ways to pull that off, both of which should be tried only under a doctor's care -- liposuction and amputation.

This guy did: http://www.newser.com/story/115005/glenni-wilsey-dieted-to-death-because-of-army-recruiters-mom-claims.html

Emaciated at 197lbs? Clearly not a cyclist. That's a bit too much though...85lbs in 3 months.

I lost 30lbs in one month, then 15lbs the next month. I reduced my portions, ate more often, and ran like hell on a manual treadmill for about 2 hours every morning.

Assuming you're seeking to lose 20 lbs of FAT and not WATER, you need a caloric deficit of 17,500 per week.

If you starve yourself by eating just a few hundred calories a day, you'll lose a max of 10,000 a week. You'll also go into starvation mode and the weight loss will come to a grinding halt.

If you eat a standard diet of 2000 calories a day, you'll need to burn 2500 calories a day in exercise. For most people, that's a DAILY 4 hour bike ride at high intensity.

If you're a highly trained cyclist who simply ate too much pizza in the last few months, then yes it's definitely possible and not necessarily unhealthy. If you're out of shape looking to get in shape, there's almost zero chance it's going to happen. Sorry. Aim for 5-8 lbs a month. Even that will be difficult.

I lost 30lbs in one month, then 15lbs the next month. I reduced my portions, ate more often, and ran like hell on a manual treadmill for about 2 hours every morning.

You lost 1 lb of FAT per day for 30 days? BS.

How much did you weigh at the start? Running 2 hours on a treadmill doesn't burn 3500 calories unless you weigh 400 lbs and are doing 6 minute miles. A highly trained runner can maybe burn 1000 calories an hour.

If you weighed yourself after binge eating on Day 0, then weighed yourself after 2 days of starvation and dehydration on Day 30/31, sure, you *could* be 30 lbs lighter, but 20 of those lbs were water.

I started the day today at 176 lbs. After a 3 hour ride with 4000 feet of climbing, I weighed myself at 178 lbs. After drinking some soup and having a few pieces of fruit, I now tip the scale at 181 lbs. I sure as hell didn't get fatter today.

So let's be realistic here.......

Can someone explain the drastic weight increase right after training? I lost 2 pounds (net) since I started training three weeks ago. However, the first week of training, I gained 3 pounds, and then somehow lost 2 pounds second week and another 3 pounds this week.

Can someone explain the drastic weight increase right after training? I lost 2 pounds (net) since I started training three weeks ago. However, the first week of training, I gained 3 pounds, and then somehow lost 2 pounds second week and another 3 pounds this week.

Water retention. As your muscles recover, the cells bloat with water.

I actually did lose 40 pounds in one month. Most of it was fat and water from being in college sitting around doing 3D animation. I had a month long break form school and all I did was play roller hockey during the winter. I can't remember my diet at the time since it was about 14 years ago. But I played hockey for about 5 hours a day for 4 days a week.

...and I'm having trouble losing my last 5lbs! :(

:eek:

There are only two ways to pull that off, both of which should be tried only under a doctor's care -- liposuction and amputation.

This.

South Beach Diet. No exercise, just very low carb intake. I lost 15 lb. in two weeks, 25 lb. in the first month. Ended up losing 70 lb. in 6 months. Since then (about 6 years) I've gained most of it back. I find that SBD doesn't work so well when I'm riding a lot.

South Beach Diet. No exercise, just very low carb intake. I lost 15 lb. in two weeks, 25 lb. in the first month.The only way that works would be if your resting metabolic rate was 3500 Cals/Day (i.e. you weigh 300+ lbs) and you didn't eat anything for 2 wks. More likely a good portion of the loss was just water.

20 pounds a month and still be alive to tell the tale ? I don't think so. Even if you could do that, it probably won't stay off. As I understand it, rapid weight loss can be dangerous for some people.

It also depends on how much total weight loss as a percentage of your weight you are talking about. 1-2 pounds a week is a safe level of weight loss especially if you want to keep it off. Losing a few pounds or more in the first week and less than that after that is normal. The first week is mostly excess water. As you start exercising, at some point you may actually gain a little bit for a while because of increased muscle mass. It's happened to me. The upward blip you see early in your program like colombo357 says is probably water retention.

Keep a food diary. You'd be surprised at what you wind up putting in your mouth. One other thing, mark down the time. When you eat is also important because late night snacking can really pack on the pounds.
A dietician told me that the proportions of what you eat, carbs, veg, meat should form thirds. 1/3 carbs, 1/3 veg /fruit 1/3 protein. That keeps a proper balance.

People put on weight for different reasons. Sometimes it's from eating the wrong things with an unbalanced diet. In other cases, there are people who have balanced diets but eat too much. And then there are those who just plain eat too much of everything especially stuff that's bad for you.

Sometimes its metabolic. I was the same weight from the time I was 25 until I hit 50. Then I started putting on weight and before I hit 55 I'd starting putting on even more. I'm 57 now and I've been getting my weight back down but it's been a slow but steady process and at least I'm getting fit again.

It takes time and effort to burn off fat because fat contains about 3500 calories per pound. Carbohydrates and proteins get burned off first the last thing to get burned off is fat.

The only way to get it off is to change what you eat, eat less of that , eat in balanced proportions and exercise.

The only way that works would be if your resting metabolic rate was 3500 Cals/Day (i.e. you weigh 300+ lbs) and you didn't eat anything for 2 wks. More likely a good portion of the loss was just water.

Incorrect.

I weighed 236 and went down to 168.

http://webpages.charter.net/doohickie/Click_On_Index/2006Photos/SBDBeforeAndAfter.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/doohickie/Click_On_Index/photos/southbeachxls.jpg

I didn't show the last little bit on the chart but I did get down to 168. It turns out my "second goal" was overly ambitious. I was uncomfortably skinny and couldn't maintain that weight. My goal now is to eventually get down to about 190, but I'm not being as aggressive this time. I was a bit over 230 at the beginning of this year; I'm at 219 right now. No South Beach this time; I'm doing vegetarian-ish stuff now (meat maybe 3 times a week). Seems to be working, albeit slowly.

The SBD book says to expect to lose 8-13 lb. in the first two weeks. I lost 15. If I lost 15 in two weeks, 20 for month is easy-peasy. The Projected Weight line on the chart shows a loss of 5 lb. per week for the first two weeks, and 3 lb. per week thereafter. Until I got close to my target weight, I was well below the projected line.

If you're out of shape looking to get in shape, there's almost zero chance it's going to happen.

Horsehockey.

Did it work? :) If yes, how do you do it in terms of training schedule?:)

It will be hard, but you can do it. I lost 22 lbs in just over 1.5 months, and kept it off. I went from 166 (which is a bit tubby for my 5'8" frame) down to 144. As of this morning, I'm sitting at 139.

For the weight loss period, I focused on managing my food content as much as my total amount, eating lots of fiber and protein, and keeping the carbohydrates rather low except for on days when I was doing longer rides on the bike. I also maintained a calorie deficit to between 500-1000 per day on most days through a combination of reduction and exercise, for example eat 500 less and burn 500 on the bike. Other days, I would actually finish the day with a net loss due to the length of rides I was doing(more than 8 hours on some days). I bought a food scale, measured every serving, and kept a diary of everything that I ate.

For maintaining it, I ride regularly and watch what I eat. I also try to make sure I get enough rest. I still keep a food diary since I'm almost always training for this ride or that ride, and I find it helps to manage my weight and keep me away from the junk food. I'm 38 years old, and my wife commented the other day "you're too skinny, you have the body of an 18-year old." I say to that: "mission accomplished."

I maintained my weight loss for about 6 months before purposely trying to gain some back. That was my mistake.

Incorrect.

I weighed 236 and went down to 168.

The SBD book says to expect to lose 8-13 lb. in the first two weeks. I lost 15. If I lost 15 in two weeks, 20 for month is easy-peasy. The Projected Weight line on the chart shows a loss of 5 lb. per week for the first two weeks, and 3 lb. per week thereafter.Congratulations on that impressive weight loss. All I was saying was that a good portion of the initial weight loss was water not fat. For one thing you likely had a dramatic reduction in the amount of sodium in your diet once you started.

The fact that the SBD predicts 8-13 lb. the first two weeks and 2-3 lb/week after that takes that into account. Yes, they stay away from sodium in the first two weeks, largely by providing recipes so that you cook your own food. Prepared food has a TON of salt. Simply cooking your own meals can reduce sodium intake immensely.

The golden rule is a pound per week. A lot of it will be muscle which at the long run is not good at all.

That it can be done, yes of course, the more calories burned than consumed, hey better you than me in such challenge. First thing you will lose will be muscle at such a fast pace, the body will be on emergency mode for that month.

It's easy to lose WEIGHT if you're fat. Losing fat and minimizing muscle loss is much more difficult. If I reduce my protein intake and stop lifting, I can lose weight fairly rapidly...but it's mostly water and muscle. Not good. If you want to do it right have your body fat measured. Then compare your weight to your body fat at the end.

Rant on: We really need to start exercising some critical thinking skills, people. Not just on this thread, or this forum, but everywhere. Use your head. Can you lose 20 lbs in a month? I don't know. How much do you weigh? Body fat %? Male or female? Age? Are you active? Trying to lose weight or fat? 1 lb = 3500 calories, so 20 lbs = 70,000 calories which means a 17,500 kcal/week caloric deficit. The FDA weekly recommendation for a 25-50 year-old, 174lb male is 20,300 kcal (2900/day). Can you create a 2500 kcal daily caloric deficit without dying? If you are that average male you probably have around 75 lbs of water in your body. Can you lose a combination of 20 lbs of fat, muscle and water? Absolutely! Because I'm sure it's been done and everyone is exactly the same, so if one person did it everyone can do it. Right? Get off your asses people, stop following others, and think for yourself.

To the OP, I'm not trying to be an ass, but the physiological diversity of people on this forum is so broad that you couldn't possibly have thought you'd get an appropriate, one-size-fits-all answer did you? Common sense demands that you won't. If you lack that please do not vote in the next election. Rant Off.

I mean, of course you can lose 20 lbs. Good luck! :) Post picks! :)

once did 14 pounds in 14 days although i doubt i could have sustained it longer.

my logic was that:

basal metabolic rate (calories i burn in a day without exercise) 2500
lunch 500 cals
dinner 500 cals

with 500 cals burned at a lunchtime spinning class and 1000 burned with slow cycling in the evening my daily calorie defecit was thus 3000. they say about 3500 is the energy in a pound of fat, plus with such agressive dieting you will drop some muscle, hopefully from the upper body only if you are basing your exercise on riding, which equates to far less calories.

it goes without saying that weight lost rapidly tends to come back rapidy without extreme discipline.

the fda weekly recommendation for a 25-50 year-old, 174lb male is 20,300 kcal (2900/day).[/b]

lol.... What!?!?

2900 calories = welcome to the world of constant weight gain.

lol.... What!?!?

2900 calories = welcome to the world of constant weight gain.
Wrong. Once again a mindless, blanket statement muddying the waters. For some people perhaps, for others not. You're probably used to seeing 2550 kcal/day? That's for the average (5'9") male. 174lbs is above the average, 2900 does not equate to definite weight gain. If I take in only 2900 kcal in a day, I'll start shrinking. I'm closer to 3700/day to maintain my body mass. Basal metabolic rate is an important variable. Of course, the type of food plays a role, too. A high-protein, low-carb diet is not the same as an all-Ding Dong one.

I'm closer to 3700/day to maintain my body mass.

How fat are you?

12%. Shooting for 8%.

I'm closer to 3700/day to maintain my body mass.Is that without any exercise? Or do you do something physical for work?

Did it work? :) If yes, how do you do it in terms of training schedule?:)

Yes one week. I stopped eating. Was in the hospital and could not eat the food. Simple kidney failure and an I V stuck in me.
I have kept the weightoff for 5 years now. I have a special diet. If it is good and other people like or eat it I canot
have it. One will stop eating when they have too. Good luck and just cut back a little
and ride.

My boyfriend did lose 120lbs in 8 months. I think that's consider a lot in a little amount of time. I'm not sure. He was very big to begin with anyway. He has a very strict diet. Eats only cottage cheese, chicken, fish, yogurt, cereal, and more protein and broccoli. :/
he didn't do any cardio. he just lift weights. Squats and bench press. bleh

Strength training is a pretty awesome way to lose weight. Plus, you get to change your body composition as well.
Cardio just made me a skinny dude with not enough muscle.

I've never lifted weights. Well I have. It was a horrible experience. haha. The only strength training I've ever done was in gymnastics which was all body weight training. Haven't done much of that in a few years.

I don't lift weights but I am a huge fan of body weight exercises.
This book is wonderful IMHO.

http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Your-Own-Gym/dp/0971407614

http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/store/homepage/building-the-gymnastic-body.html

this is a great book too if you wanted to do body weight lifting. :]

I think my library has that book. I will take a look at it. Thanks :)

Is that without any exercise? Or do you do something physical for work?
Greg, that's with normal lifting. Sometimes I'll throw on a heart rate monitor and do some really intense lifting...short rest between sets and all compound movements. I try to keep my heart rate above 140, and it'll usually peak around 175-180 right at the end of a set. If I do that or if I throw in cardio I need to up my caloric intake to maintain weight. I agree with DataJunkie, it's hard to beat high-intensity strength training for weight loss. That's why P90X is so popular.

Intense weight training has proven to raise the metabolic rate and increase testosterone levels for several hours after the completion of exercise. Endurance training does not. In fact, endurance training can put your body in a catabolic state (the opposite of anabolic) where your body stores fat and testosterone levels drop. It's the same physiological state encountered when people don't get enough sleep or encounter prolonged negative stress. This is one reason people under stress tend to gain fat, along with overeating, of course. Now, I'm not saying endurance training is bad, by any means. It just depends on what you're shooting for. Throwing some high-intensity weight training in the mix will make the fat fall off much more quickly than adding a little distance to your ride. The gain in muscle (body composition change that DataJunkie mentioned) will also increase your metabolic rate making it easier to burn fat.

Here's a great example of a high-intensity strength exercise that can be added to the end of a workout or done alone if you're short on time...called a complex. They don't look too bad, but REALLY suck after about the second set. I can easily get my heart rate over 180 with these. Tailor some to your liking making sure the movements flow together and the same muscle group isn't worked on consecutive movements. The combinations are endless. Intensity of the movements is key. Hey, if they work for Randy Couture....! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mALKhxdSenI&feature=related

Of course, diet is the most important variable. :notamused:

I hope all this helps someone.

You lost 1 lb of FAT per day for 30 days? BS.

How much did you weigh at the start? Running 2 hours on a treadmill doesn't burn 3500 calories unless you weigh 400 lbs and are doing 6 minute miles. A highly trained runner can maybe burn 1000 calories an hour.

If you weighed yourself after binge eating on Day 0, then weighed yourself after 2 days of starvation and dehydration on Day 30/31, sure, you *could* be 30 lbs lighter, but 20 of those lbs were water.

I started the day today at 176 lbs. After a 3 hour ride with 4000 feet of climbing, I weighed myself at 178 lbs. After drinking some soup and having a few pieces of fruit, I now tip the scale at 181 lbs. I sure as hell didn't get fatter today.

So let's be realistic here.......

I started at 210. 30 days later I was 180. 30 days later I was 165. I got down to 155 at my lowest. After a looong winter, I'm sitting at 170. And that 2 hour run sometimes turned into a 4 hour run. And by "run", I mean RUN my ass off.

Intense weight training has proven to raise the metabolic rate and increase testosterone levels for several hours after the completion of exercise. Endurance training does not. In fact, endurance training can put your body in a catabolic state (the opposite of anabolic) where your body stores fat and testosterone levels drop.

The catabolic state can be avoided with proper nutrition before, during, and after a RIDE (remember, this is BIKE forums).

And no matter how intense the weight training is and how much testosterone is pumping, you won't come close to burning the same amount of calories as riding 100-200 miles a week.

Lastly, P90X will not increase your cycling performance. Sorry. If that doesn't matter to you, well... again, BIKE forums.

I do a combination of weightlifting, cycling, walking, rowing, pushups, crunches, chin ups, etc. I mix things up to keep it interesting. I don't want to lose muscle, just fat.

On the diet side, I don't follow any diet plan per se, I just got rid of junk food and reduced my carbs and alcohol. I've seen too many people go on these starvation diets that last only until the weight is off, then they revert to their old habits and the weight jumps back on with interest.

The weight has come down slowly but in addition to losing fat, I've gained muscle strength and increased my metabolism. I never was too overweight but I realized that if I kept on the way I was going, I would've hit 200 pounds before age 50 and I graduated college weighing 145-150. I'm at 159 now (5' 8").

bbattle, you're doing it right. Congrats on the progress.

colombo, the OP never said a thing about improving cycling performance. The question was only about weight loss. I figured this was a bike forum, since it says www.bikeforums.net (http://www.bikeforums.net) in the URL. Thanks for pointing it out, though. All you've proven is that you're undereducated on the topic and looking to argue. The catabolic state can be avoided with proper nutrition, huh? Care to expand and provide something useful, or would you rather keep relevant info to yourself for the sake of argument? If you're trying to say strength training has no benefit for a cyclist, I recommend you watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDawlrIeaVM I've heard that guy was pretty good.


And no matter how intense the weight training is and how much testosterone is pumping, you won't come close to burning the same amount of calories as riding 100-200 miles a week.

How long will it take most riders here to cover 150-200 miles? 8-10 hours if they're strong? 8-10 hours of intense strength training will ABSOLUTELY burn more calories than riding 200 miles. And probably less than .1% of the population has the fitness to accomplish 8-10 hours of intense strength training in a week. The benefits of intense strength training are LESS time required and when you're done you're both leaner and stronger. Look at world-class sprinters (track & field). Do you think they're out there jogging to get ripped. No. They do sprint work and watch their diet. And I do consider sprint work high-intensity training.

You've provided some good info, and you're first 3 posts were pretty much spot on. Since then you're posting merely to argue with me...so you win. I'm dumb, you're smart. You're very attractive, and I'm not very good-looking. I'm done arguing with you.

I'm going for a ride...since I already lifted today.

We really need to start exercising some critical thinking skills, people. Not just on this thread, or this forum, but everywhere. Use your head. Can you lose 20 lbs in a month? I don't know. How much do you weigh? Body fat %? Male or female? Age? Are you active? Trying to lose weight or fat? 1 lb = 3500 calories, so 20 lbs = 70,000 calories which means a 17,500 kcal/week caloric deficit. The FDA weekly recommendation for a 25-50 year-old, 174lb male is 20,300 kcal (2900/day). Can you create a 2500 kcal daily caloric deficit without dying? If you are that average male you probably have around 75 lbs of water in your body. Can you lose a combination of 20 lbs of fat, muscle and water? Absolutely! Because I'm sure it's been done and everyone is exactly the same, so if one person did it everyone can do it. Right? Get off your asses people, stop following others, and think for yourself.

I think this post was the most sensible thing I read here. It does not get explained much better than that. Sure there are varying characteristics to take into account which pertain differently to everyone. But the question was also could you lose 20lbs in a month right? Well depending on the characteristics of your body weight and your ability to maintain a great exercise plan and a balanced caloric intake....Sure, I think it is. Whether it is all water weight or 50% water/ 50% fat, or whatever the balance turns out to be, 20lbs lighter still adds up to be 20 lbs lighter and thus also answers the question in my opinion. Yet, before all the Columbo's here start barking about water weight vs fat weight.....I'd like to say I know the difference between the two and don't need your help to school me about it. However, in the matter of the particular question of losing 20lbs in a month....well if it was pertaining to say my wife losing 20 lbs in order to fit into a pair of her favorite pants....water weight or not....the mission gets accomplished. Whether it stays off or comes back in a week or two....well I am sure that is another story for another day. Oh...just so we stay forum specific, she would also be losing that riding a bike.

Me personally, I am aiming to lose 30 pounds myself in about 3-4 months is my goal. Got my bike, will have my trainer in 5 days, will be riding for 2 hours per day (+/-) 12-14mph . Still eating fruits likes apples and pineapple mostly, cooking more meals home cooked quality meals, and limiting my intake when eating out... Not sure what to expect right yet, time will tell. I am also using a secret weapon of mine which I have used for years but won't get into that as it is not for everyone.

I am not sure exactly what I will do for weight loss, but we will be keeping a basic record of the results as I am approaching this not so much from a personal trainer point of view, but just the average Joe in an average situation. I know I will lose weight, I know I will....I do have a tendency to burn weight fast, always have. I just need to see what the results will be once I get started. Today...I am 215 lbs...looking to be about 200-205lbs or less by the end of the month. I'll update when I can ... Wish me luck.... :)

There's no question, it is possible to lose 20 lbs in a month.

It's even possible to lose 20 lbs of _fat_ in a month. It's just a question of motivation. You just need to eat 1000 calories/day and spend 5 hours/day riding your bike, including weekends and holidays. (You will necessarily end up riding very slowly and permanently teetering on the edge of a bonk). You will most likely lose more than 20 lbs overall, because you will lose some skeletal muscle on top of those 20 lbs of fat.

There's no question, it is possible to lose 20 lbs in a month.

It's even possible to lose 20 lbs of _fat_ in a month. It's just a question of motivation. You just need to eat 1000 calories/day and spend 5 hours/day riding your bike, including weekends and holidays. (You will necessarily end up riding very slowly and permanently teetering on the edge of a bonk). You will most likely lose more than 20 lbs overall, because you will lose some skeletal muscle on top of those 20 lbs of fat.

Yes. You will also catabolize organ tissue and probably your brain as well.

What is wrong with you naysayers? Obviously you have never been to USMC basic training. I saw Guys drop 90 lbs in 3 months. As for myself, since december 9th I have dropped 30 lbs just from cycling. I do not skimp on food, I eat like a horse. I should hit a 35 lb loss at the end of thirty days.

What is wrong with you naysayers? Obviously you have never been to USMC basic training. I saw Guys drop 90 lbs in 3 months. As for myself, since december 9th I have dropped 30 lbs just from cycling. I do not skimp on food, I eat like a horse. I should hit a 35 lb loss at the end of thirty days.

No doubt....I have been through both Army and Marine boot camp and seen weight loss of unimaginable accomplishments. Just because someone is losing weight quickly does not mean they are not also adding muscle. Especially if you know what you are doing with your diet and alternative exercise. Now I am sure that if we are talking just losing weight by biking alone, sure there may be a degree of muscle loss as everyone suggests, however, it has been my experience that I can lose weight rather quickly cycling and supplement a workout with some weight lifting to improve and keep my muscles growing....add in some protein shakes or a good protein diet....and you have little to worry about muscle loss....certainly not in the way these naysayers would like to present anyways.

Again, everybody has their own body to contend with and their body may react differently than someone else's. Again, something I have seen much of going through military boot camp. There are certainly do's and don'ts to what you should do ...but I would say not so much to what you can do if you put your mind to it and don't try to break records in weight loss like some do. In my view, if you are naturally working out, giving forth a valid effort to your body's natural ability along with watching your diet intake.....you set the bar for what you can achieve. That may be 30 lbs, it may be more...it may be less. I rely more on common sense than all the textbook responses that may be in some book somewhere. Where I do value the textbook answer, it is not always entirely correct either. Just because it is in a book somewhere or on the internet does not make it fact. Your body has the ability to do what it needs to and will let you know when it cannot do any more too. The majority of the time it is not the body breaking down, it is the mind and the person's mental ability to easily give up. I have seen it many times, however even when these people thought they could not go a step further, or do another repetition, many of them managed to get back in the game and continue without further problem.

You do what your body can do, if it is 20-30 lbs or more in a month through general exercise and diet....then I guess we are the lucky ones that can do it. The point is, be aware of what you are doing and what your body is telling you, if you feel way fatigued or even ill during the course of your weight loss journey....then the chances are you need to alter something in your program.

Personally I couldn't do it, but I'm not that huge person and i don't think my frame is made to be 30 pounds lighter. If I was maybe 450 pounds and consuming 5000 calories a day and not gaining more weight, and I drop my calorie intake by 3000 calories a day to about 2000 then yeah then I could lose 30 pounds. But right now I'm 185 and consuming about 2500 so there is no way to drop 3000 calories a day!

What is wrong with you naysayers? Obviously you have never been to USMC basic training. I saw Guys drop 90 lbs in 3 months. As for myself, since december 9th I have dropped 30 lbs just from cycling. I do not skimp on food, I eat like a horse. I should hit a 35 lb loss at the end of thirty days.Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's a good idea.