Is this possible?

[heidenreich]

Ok so, I need to lose weight and gain a bit of muscle in a year! Preferably about 6-7 stone in fat. But I have no gym, can it be done in one year? Please help.

[TigerBoy]

That is a lot to lose in a year. You could do it, but you may find at the end of it that it could take a while for your skin to tighten up. Its better to make changes to your diet and exercise that are a life-long changes and have a slow and steady effect. Anything up to approx 2lb per week is sensible, this will slow down as you get nearer your ideal weight.

In my opinion you need to look at these things:


willpower and commitment
diet - reduce portion sizes and improve nutirition
exercise - regular, make it a habit
make change slowly: pace yourself for the long distance


The first one is where most people go wrong. If you are serious about it, you can follow pretty much any exercise routine and any non-crash diet and lose weight and gain fitness. To help motivate yourself:

Take a picture of yourself every two weeks. You won't notice a change in mirror as much as you can spot changes over months of photographic evidence.
Measure yourself - torso, thighs, upper arms, etc. Even if you don't lose weight, these things can still contract as you swap fat for muscle.
Weigh yourself once every two weeks. Your weight will go up and down from day to day, but the long term trend is what you need to see.


Diet - if you eat less food than your body uses up as fuel, you have to lose weight. This means reducing fatty foods and carbohydrates. It is a LOT easier to not eat food than to burn it off in calories (the typical calories that fit people tend to burn off in exercise is only around a couple of doughnuts worth!).

Exercise - it needs to be a habit. If it isn't built into your daily routine you will make excuses to yourself to stop it. If you can keep going for just a couple of weeks, you'll find it hard to STOP. Walking, running, skipping, cycling, anything that gets you a bit out of breath and that you can keep going for 30mins to 1 hour. As a very rough beginners guide, duration is more important than how hard you are working.

Pace -

If you diet too fast, you'll go into 'starvation mode' and burn muscle, not lose so much fat, not have energy to exercise, and put it all back on very fast when you stop dieting.
If you exercise too much you increase your injury risk and make it unpleasant so you give up.

So change your diet a little bit more each week. Each week reduce portion sizes a bit more, cut down more on sweets and other snacks, go for 'diet' versions of drinks. Do your research: eg if you need to fill up, porridge is filling and WAY better for you than most things you can put in your mouth. Don't skip breakfast. If you do it this way, it won't seem such a big deal to keep it going.

Same for exercise: start slow and build it up. If you do too much you'll just make yourself feel bad and give up. Aim to do something for 30 mins. That could be a slow walk. The next week try to walk a bit faster, then you could switch to skipping, jogging or cycling. Again start slow, and once you can do brisk exercise for 30mins you can simply extend the duration. Fat burning occurs when you are working out at a comfortable pace BUT you also need to build fitness so you will be comfortable working out at a higher level and burn the fat off quicker. So do try to make sure you are doing a little bit more each week.

[Abyssal Echo]

I agree with Tiger Boy its best to lose a little weight at a time

[Mortal Coil]

6-7 stone in a year? That's almost 2lb per week, consistently. Which is almost impossible. It's much better to go slower. One of the most important things that you should do is avoid simple carbs, and if you see simple carbs with fat, avoid it like the plague. Broccoli and other cruciferous veggies are your friends. Dairy, corn-fed meat and soy are not good ideas. Try to eat whole foods that require more energy expenditure in order to digest as well as providing more nutrients. If you drink, smoke or do drugs I'd recommend that you stop. Working out should involve both cardio and strength, preferably strength first. If in class, bop your leg or something; just keep moving. Another trick I've learned is, before a meal: do 30 squats. It sounds kind of silly but it helps make sure that the calories you're eating go to your muscle cells instead of your fat storage.

Good luck!

[heidenreich]

What about 4-5 st In a year and a half? And thanks for the recommendations.

[GoldenSnitch]

Go slowly

[its.me.akshay]

Are u serious?? Dude.. Thats a lot to lose.. Man.. You can.. But i think your body cant handle it.. Try hitting a gym.. Thats the best to do in these conditions!! All the best!!