How to Lose 50 Pounds in 6 Months

You came here wondering how to lose 50 pounds in 6 months. It may surprise you that with knowledge and discipline, it might be easier than you think.

In this article we are going to cover the basics of losing fat and how you take advantage of these facts.

Here is the thing. Losing fat is a simple formula, there is no doubt. But people struggle most with consistency and also with the fact that their lifestyle is going to have to change.

If you can get past these small bumps in the road, you are going to learn how to lose 50 pounds in 6 months without hesitation.

Before we get started, I highly recommend downloading our app All Workouts: Personal Trainer (iOS | Google Play). We have 10 built-in HIIT workouts and also whole workout plans for FREE. If you don’t know what to do in the gym, don’t let that hold you back from greatness.

It all starts with caloric intake

Unfortunately, this is where I lose most people, which is why I am putting it first. Calories mean everything. And honestly, if you get this part right, exercise becomes a secondary requirement.

As long as you understand your calorie requirements, you can still lose weight. If you want to learn how to lose 50 pounds in 6 months, then keep reading.

Every single person on Earth has a slightly different metabolism. We burn calories differently, and we burn different amounts of calories.

This is the most important thing to know because there are too many people and companies out there trying to sell you a one size fits all solution to your problems. There is no such thing.

The only way for you to find out how many calories your body burns is by learning how to calculate your maintenance calorie number. This is the number of calories that your body burns per day without gaining or losing weight.

Yes, this means that you have to count calories. Get over it.

Download an app like MyFitnessPal, and get a digital kitchen scale from Amazon. If you are going to lose 50 pounds in 6 months, you have no choice.

Once you have your maintenance calorie number, we have to eat at a caloric deficit. Meaning that we have to eat less calories than our maintenance number every single day. Start with 500 calories under per day.

Remember, we want to lose about 2 pounds per week. So if you are not losing 2 pounds per week while you are eating 500 calories per day under your maintenance, drop down another 500 per day.

The whole point here is that it’s not what you eat, but how much you eat. Calculate your calories, understand portion sizes, and you will find success.

Exercise comes next

I did mention in the previous section that you can totally lose 50 pounds in 6 months just through diet alone. I personally know people who have done it. But it is so much more satisfying when you workout alongside that caloric deficit.

The combination of proper nutrition and exercise is an unstoppable train that will accelerate you to your destination faster than you think.

The problem comes when people think that one or the other is enough. Sure, you can lose the weight without exercising, but you aren’t going to have that muscle foundation build up, and you aren’t going to have the cardiovascular strength that is necessary.

But what workouts should you be doing? As someone who is trying to lose weight, you want to do a combination of strength training and high intensity interval training.

We have both types of workouts in our app. But you can also check out our list of 10 of the best HIIT workouts that burn the most calories.

HIIT workouts are going to get your heart rate up beyond what you ever imagined. This is a fat burning zone that I am not sure my heart ever got to before I started doing HIIT workouts.

Learn how to calculate your maximum heart rate for exercise so that you can know exactly where you want your heart rate to be.

All you have to do is eat right, do HIIT workouts 3 days per week, and do strength training 3-4 days per week. Don’t worry, you can do them all on the same day.

When I am losing fat, I will usually do strength training 4 days per week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. And then HIIT workouts afterwards on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

It is entirely up to you.

Consistency pays off

If you are going to learn how to lose 50 pounds in 6 months, you are first going to realize that it is going to take extreme consistency. And not just consistency in working out. It is going to take consistency in your nutrition as well.

I have mentioned before. When you put these 2 things together, you are going to be unstoppable. But what is really going to set you apart from the crowd is going to be consistency.

I once had a friend who was obese. After months, I finally convinced him to start working out. For one month, he ate right and he worked out consistently with me. In that one month, he lost 15 pounds, and told me he never felt better.

At the end of that month, I got a text from him saying that he had to skip a week. After that week, I never heard from him again.

This tells us a lot about human psychology. People just want to know that they can lose weight. It doesn’t mean that they are going to follow through consistently. I know for a fact that if my friend would have continued on his fitness journey, he would have been in incredible shape as I am typing this.

At his rate, he would have lost well over 50 pounds in 6 months. Depending on your starting weight, this is a real possibility. It is just going to take massive consistency from you.

Learn how to make exercise a habit, and you will become the start of your own show.

I think the reason that a lot of people struggle with consistency is because they think they need to maintain the same intensity for each workout. That obviously helps, but what’s more important is showing up.

Main Point: How to lose 50 pounds in 6 months

By now, you have learned how to lose 50 pounds in 6 months. And you have probably realized that it is not as difficult as you might be making it seem.

I remember as a young adult looking in the mirror at my ridiculously skinny body and thinking that my body is going to be stuck like that forever. I had no muscle and no hope.

But what I did have was a desire to build the habits of eating right and working out consistently. Since those days, I have put on over 50 pounds of muscle.

Why am I telling you this in an article about losing weight? Because the principles remain the same. Eat right, workout, and be consistent.

Here is one truth that I want you to take home with you. You cannot lose fat in a caloric surplus.

Being in a caloric deficit is the ONLY way that you are going to lose fat. You cannot outwork your metabolism. The sooner you realize that the better.

Remember that caloric intake matters the most. Then comes exercise. Then comes consistency.

You can workout every single day and be consistent for years without much change in your body if you are not eating correctly. I know this because I spent years in the gym with no results because I was eating at a caloric deficit when I should have been eating at a caloric surplus.

For those that don’t know, building muscle requires a caloric surplus, which is the opposite of what we want when losing weight.

At the end of the day, it is going to take dedication, sacrifice, and consistency to reach your goals. Don’t let peer pressure distract you from your goals. If this is what you want, you are going to make it happen.

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