Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
I have less than 8 weeks before my photo shoot. And if I want to look good for this calendar I’m doing for a friend, I need to lose about 40 pounds within 2 months. But is it possible to lose that much without starvation diets, supplements, or daily gym routines?
That’s what I’m working to find out.
In reality, 40 pounds in 2 months breaks down to about five pounds per week. On average, if I stick with my Net 600 calorie diet, I can lose about 3.5. So, I need something that is going to put me just a bit more over the edge.
All of this while adding and defining muscle mass. In fact, I might not even hit 200 pounds in 8 weeks simply because of my build. I’m naturally a big guy with above-average muscle development.
Still, the goal is to lose as much fat as possible while looking good for this novelty calendar gift.
The Difficulty of Losing 40 Pounds in 2 Months
Keep in mind that I do not condone intermittent fasting in any way. It may work for other people, but I’d rather not put my body at risk like that. So all of the weight I’m going to lose is by good ol’ fashion effort.
Something a lot of people tend to avoid nowadays. It’s all about instant gratification, which I’ve never been a fan of anyway.
I’m the type of person who would rather work for his gains and look back with pride that I accomplished something. In this case, it’s losing as much as I can while transforming my body overall.
In the grand scheme of things, losing 40 pounds in 2 months is pushing the envelope. If you go by the average of 3,500 calories equalling one pound of fat, you’d have to burn 2,500 calories more than you consume on any given day.
And when you’re a desk jockey like me, burning that much is quite difficult.
You’d have to be quite physically active to put yourself into a deficit in that manner while also making sure you get enough nutrients to build and maintain muscle mass.
Not to mention how people burn calories at different intervals thanks to genetics, sex, height, weight, and a slew of other variables.
Thanks to my research behind Fitbit calories burned, though, I know that I can lose a pound for every 3,400+ calories I burn. Still, 2500 in a day is quite a bit.
Can the Keto Diet Help?
Another thing I hate about most mainstream diet plans is eliminating the foods I greatly enjoy. The problem is that I have difficulty staying focused when doing my own diet plan. So, I decided to give the keto diet a try.
Mostly, this is thanks to Sam and having someone here who can keep me motivated. Using the buddy system when dieting can do wonders for your success.
Besides, my experiences with keto should give me quite a bit of content to create. This goes beyond just losing 40 pounds in 2 months.
At any rate, I’ve already lost four pounds in three days. And I haven’t been all that physically active yet. I’m still in the process of putting my living room back together so I can play the Xbox Kinect.
Should I get excited about losing that much over the first few days? Not really. That’s because my body is still in the process of getting rid of the junk I ate over the weekend.
To get an idea of how well any diet plan is going to work, you need to give it at least a week while tracking your measurements. It can take 8-72 hours to process food in your digestive system depending on how much you ate, what you ate, and how much water you drank.
After three days, you can start to get a feel about your average weight loss. That is as long as you stick to your diet.
Anyway, the reason I’m giving the keto diet a try is based on all the scientific evidence I’ve gone over for the past few days. Ketosis makes your body burn fat instead of calories for energy. This means your body will cut into fat mass at a rapid pace.
The downside is a lower level of sustainable energy during workouts. But if it can help me lose that much weight in a short amount of time, I’ll adapt.
Getting More Physical
Probably one of the biggest pet peeves I have about people wanting to lose weight is the lack of physical activity they get. If you really want to melt away the pounds and build an amazing physique, it’s going to take work.
Well, unless you dive into steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs. And I am completely against a lot of that crap that kids are using nowadays.
Like I said, I feel more pride in my accomplishments if I put in the work myself.
If I really want to lose 40 pounds in 2 months, I need to get more physical. That’s a given whether I’m on keto or not. I spend too much time at my desk hammering out words or playing games.
That’s among the biggest drawbacks of working from home; it’s easy to get sucked into a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, it almost killed me several years ago.
The plan is to get my living room straightened up, move some things about, and get back to playing some games. Plus, I really need to get back on the ball with the dumbbells…both figuratively and literally.
I really love working out on the Swiss ball.
Is it Possible to Lose 40 Pounds in 2 Months?
From a scientific perspective, it’s possible to lose 20 pounds per month in fat mass. It all depends on a variety of factors including the foods you eat, your level of physical activity, and even your genetics.
No one can guarantee you’ll lose any specific amount of weight because of these factors.
In the past, the most I personally lost was 20 pounds within 6 weeks. However, I wasn’t really trying to eat healthier and wasn’t aiming to put myself into such a deep caloric deficit.
Something else you can consider is how a lot of people blog and have uploaded videos of their success with losing 40 pounds in 2 months. So if you can trust their content, you can see that it is entirely possible using a wide range of diets and plans.
Some will lose it with intermittent fasting, some will lose it with keto. Others only have to monitor portion sizes. My point is that you can lose that much if you find something that works for you and stick with it.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you’re keeping yourself healthy and safe. Some trends out there nowadays, especially idiocy on Tik Tok, can put you in the hospital or worse.
Be smart about your diet and workout routines.
Time to Get to Work!
Sure, I’m averaging losing 9 pounds per week at the moment. But as I said earlier, it’s probably more to do with digesting food from before. I won’t know how well keto is working for another couple of days.
In the meantime, it’s time to get to work and get in some physical activity. And right now, I have a living room to clean and organize.
Losing 40 pounds in 2 months is quite a stretch. However, it’s doable as long as you’re being smart about it. Find what works best for you and try to maintain focus.
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