Let's say you had to lose 12 pounds in 5-6 weeks...

[melissel]

How would you go about it? Atkins? South Beach? Is that enough time for just general cutting back and exercising to do the trick? DH swears I could lose 10 pounds in two weeks (!!!) by starting South Beach today, but I just don't see how that's feasible. Is it?!

 

Disclaimer: I know it's not the ideal situation, but if I don't lose 12 pounds in time for a family beach vacation, I will have to wear long jeans and corduroy pants the whole time, and that's really not going to work for me :(

 

TIA!

[MariannNOVA]

Medifast -- no cheating!

[Hockey Mom]

12lbs @ 6 weeks is only 2lbs a week. That is healthy weight loss.

 

I would do Weight Watchers. But that's only because it works when you follow the program, and because I'm doing it now because I have about 10lbs to lose in about 6 weeks. ;)

[CathyinNC]

I haven't tried South Beach or Atkins. Just counting calories and exercising has bee working for me. Also, I have found that the Alli product works in terms of keeping you honest on your diet. It has really unpleasant side effects if you eat too much fat in your diet so it helps me to resist temptation and it blocks some of the fat I consume to boot!

 

I hope you find something that works for you! Good luck!

 

Cathy

[gandpsmommy]

Eat to Live.

[Audrey]

How would you go about it? Atkins? South Beach? Is that enough time for just general cutting back and exercising to do the trick? DH swears I could lose 10 pounds in two weeks (!!!) by starting South Beach today, but I just don't see how that's feasible. Is it?!

 

Disclaimer: I know it's not the ideal situation, but if I don't lose 12 pounds in time for a family beach vacation, I will have to wear long jeans and corduroy pants the whole time, and that's really not going to work for me :(

 

TIA!

 

Never tried the others, but I did just start the "Eat Right for Your Type" guidelines at the beginning of this month. I have lost 16 pounds without trying very hard. I would like to lose another 40 pounds. So... I'm probably a bit bigger than you and it would come off faster at first if you're bigger.

 

I also feel a lot better (digestion-wise). Huge bonus! :001_smile:

[hornblower]

I would recommend this:

 

-embrace who you are and how you are NOW.

 

-eat more vegetables & fruits and whole grains; limit intake of bakery products and absolutely no soda's.

 

-exercise reasonably. About 1hr of hard exercise 3 times a week, a 30 min brisk walk the other 4 days.

 

-a week before your trip, go to a store and buy shorts and a swimsuit which fit your body. Don't look at the size on the tag. Look at how they fit.

 

-get a good haircut which flatters your face

 

-smile

 

-enjoy and love your body. Nobody whose opinion really counts will care about any extra rolls or dimples (though with only 12lb over those can't be that large anyway. I know they might seem large to you, but really, they're not. ;))

 

I think it's great to want to be healthy and fit. But really you can enjoy a beach trip even if you're significantly more than 12lb over ideal weight. You're alive, your body is working, and you have the good fortune to go on a trip! Enjoy it. Make changes gradually and for good reasons - not because of a beach holiday.

 

best wishes

[nono]

From Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes:

 

To lose 2.0 lbs. per week, create a deficit of 1,000 calories per day

 

That's a lot of calories for the average woman to cut per day, but hey, if you are motivated...

[melissel]

I think it's great to want to be healthy and fit. But really you can enjoy a beach trip even if you're significantly more than 12lb over ideal weight. You're alive, your body is working, and you have the good fortune to go on a trip! Enjoy it. Make changes gradually and for good reasons - not because of a beach holiday.

 

best wishes

 

Thanks, I appreciate all that, and you are right. Except that my primary concern is not how I look (though I'm not happy with that, as this is the most I've ever weighed *sigh*). The real problem is that I cannot afford to go out and buy a week's worth of new summer clothes when I have a closet full of summer clothes that I love and that will fit perfectly if I can just lose the 12 pounds I picked up over the past year! Almost every summer I need to buy new clothes because I've gained weight, and it really needs to stop somewhere. I'm thinking size 18 is probably a good point to make a stand, for my budget's sake and my health's sake!

 

The very bottom line, though, is that before I quit my job, we set aside a specific amount of money for this trip that will cover gas for the drive, food for the week, and a few activities out. There's no room in that budget for new clothes, unfortunately--and realistically, there shouldn't have to be.

 

ETA: Just to clarify, it may sound like I'm irritated with you. I am definitely not. I am irritated with me!

Edited April 26, 2010 by melissel

[KnitWit]

T-tapp.

 

You won't measure in pounds...but inches. You will be amazed

[hornblower]

ETA: Just to clarify, it may sound like I'm irritated with you. I am definitely not. I am irritated with me!

 

:grouphug:

 

I understand.

 

:)

[melissel]

Double post!

Edited April 26, 2010 by melissel

[melissel]

:grouphug:

 

I understand.

 

:)

 

Thanks, I appreciate it :grouphug: Quitting my job was the best thing I ever did, but boy, it's been hard to to get used to not having that extra money!

[christine in al]

Involves cooking real food though , so it is time consuming.

 

mostly

1. cut out all starches , no potatoes, white bread , bananas or sugar.

2. eat leafy green veg and yellow veg, ( not carrots, they convert to sugar)

3. whole grains

4. fruit on an empty stomach

~~~~~~~~~

you can eat proteins and fats with veg.

or whole grains ( no fat) with veg.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

healthy but odd. This is hard for me to maintain during school year as it requires regular real cooking. and I usually do sporatic real cooking including casseroles, ( not okay, they combine fats and carbs and include forbidden starches)

But when I am trying to loose, I do what Saint Susanne says and can drop lots of pounds in a little bit of time and feel physically great.

 

everyone in the family can eat this, it's about cutting a few things out and timing the rest, but it's healthy , whole food.

good luck.

~christine in al

[christine in al]

Involves cooking real food though , so it is time consuming.

 

mostly

1. cut out all starches , no potatoes, white bread , bananas or sugar.

2. eat leafy green veg and yellow veg, ( not carrots, they convert to sugar)

3. whole grains

4. fruit on an empty stomach

~~~~~~~~~

you can eat proteins and fats with veg.

or whole grains ( no fat) with veg.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

healthy but odd. This is hard for me to maintain during school year as it requires regular real cooking. and I usually do sporatic real cooking including casseroles, ( not okay, they combine fats and carbs and include forbidden starches)

But when I am trying to loose, I do what Saint Susanne says and can drop lots of pounds in a little bit of time and feel physically great.

 

everyone in the family can eat this, it's about cutting a few things out and timing the rest, but it's healthy , whole food.

good luck.

~christine in al

[Mekanamom]

The real problem is that I cannot afford to go out and buy a week's worth of new summer clothes when I have a closet full of summer clothes that I love and that will fit perfectly if I can just lose the 12 pounds I picked up over the past year!

 

Oh... I am so right there with you!

 

Atkins has worked for me in the past. South Beach, too. (Both of them start off with induction/phase 1 which are very similar.)

 

Neither are very inexpensive diets. Carbs are cheap, quality protein is not. Costco and a large freezer made budgeting a bit easier.

 

I think I'm about ready to take the low carb plunge again, too.

[kokotg]

How would you go about it? Atkins? South Beach? Is that enough time for just general cutting back and exercising to do the trick? DH swears I could lose 10 pounds in two weeks (!!!) by starting South Beach today, but I just don't see how that's feasible. Is it?!

 

 

 

He thinks that because he's a man. IME, men can just wake up one day and say, "I think I'm going to cut back to only 2 Dr. Peppers a day!" and immediately lose 20 pounds. It is not very fair (says me, with my skinny DH who eats what he wants, never exercises, and has freakishly good blood pressure).

[dirty ethel rackham]

12lbs @ 6 weeks is only 2lbs a week. That is healthy weight loss.

 

I would do Weight Watchers. But that's only because it works when you follow the program, and because I'm doing it now because I have about 10lbs to lose in about 6 weeks. ;)

 

I agree! I am doing WW myself and am losing 1.5 a week. I am down over 7 lbs. I did not lose anything in the first 2 weeks, but had a 3 lb loss in the 3rd week. You can do WW and eat healthy, whole foods. I tried South Beach several times and, even though I eat a fairly low carb diet normally, I could not maintain the weight loss.

 

I was pretty grouchy the first two weeks, but I was that way on South Beach as well.

[dirty ethel rackham]

He thinks that because he's a man. IME, men can just wake up one day and say, "I think I'm going to cut back to only 2 Dr. Peppers a day!" and immediately lose 20 pounds. It is not very fair (says me, with my skinny DH who eats what he wants, never exercises, and has freakishly good blood pressure).

 

Oh, isn't that the truth! Dh can forgo one bowl of ice cream and lose weight. I have to workout at least 70 minutes a day and live on lettuce and still struggle.

[melissel]

Oh... I am so right there with you!

 

Atkins has worked for me in the past. South Beach, too. (Both of them start off with induction/phase 1 which are very similar.)

 

Neither are very inexpensive diets. Carbs are cheap, quality protein is not. Costco and a large freezer made budgeting a bit easier.

 

I think I'm about ready to take the low carb plunge again, too.

 

I've been researching South Beach (I don't know where our book went!) and I think I'm leaning that way. It's most similar to how I'm eating when I'm feeling my best--lots of protein and salad. I've done the Zone and Atkins (sort of) in the past and that's when I discovered how much better I feel when I'm eating lots of protein. I'm really, really scared of Phase 1 though :( But I'm just about ready to commit. I want to take a good look at Eat to Live again.

 

He thinks that because he's a man. IME, men can just wake up one day and say, "I think I'm going to cut back to only 2 Dr. Peppers a day!" and immediately lose 20 pounds. It is not very fair (says me, with my skinny DH who eats what he wants, never exercises, and has freakishly good blood pressure).

 

:lol: I know! My own DH is not naturally slim, but he's lost over 30 pounds in the past year. In the meantime, I've gained, and now our weights are just a bit too close together for my comfort. South Beach is what put him on the right path though, I'll give him that, and he has really changed what and how much he eats.

[lynn]

I have so btdt. Start today and do what you know to do up the vegtables, fruit and whole grains, lean proteins and water. Exercise daily prevention.com has a lot of great tips and workout routines with and without weights. I believe it is possible to lose 12lbs in 6weeks but you really need to commit to clean eating and exercise. I plan a salad at every meal and just have a little of what I serve the family for dinner. Buy vegetables and fruits that you like and you know you will eat.

[Karis]

What is T-Tapp?

 

My dh can go a week with fruit and salad and drop major lbs!!!

 

And no matter WHAT I do, two weeks before Aunt Flo arrives I'm visibly heavier.

 

I bought Wii Fit but I need some motivation. I do better with group workouts.

[Melissa in CA]

We are on week 3 of South Beach. I have lost 5 pounds, DH has lost 15! Not fair, not fair, not fair. It's honestly not a hard diet, but I have found that breakfast is a killer for me. I do NOT like meat or vegi's at breakfast, and for some odd reason I can no longer eat eggs without getting severe stomach pains. So, lately I have had to cheat and have a piece of ww toast. It's all I can stomach for breakfast because if I see another piece of sausage, bacon or meat of any kind in the morning I am going to literally lose what is left of my mind. ;)

 

Actually, in phase 2 ww toast would not be considered cheating, but considering I only lost 5 in phase 1, I really shouldn't be moving to phase 2 yet. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm afraid my middle-aged body just doesn't want to drop any pounds. It's rather frustrating.

[Daisy]

I'd have to amputate. :glare:

[rookie]

I'd have to amputate. :glare:

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Liz CA]

Try not to eat any bread or baked products -hard, I know. Stick to fruit, veggies and protein in whatever form you prefer.

Make sure portion sizes are no bigger than your fist.

Walk whenever you can.

 

It's really not about how much weight you lose, it is how it sits on your body. If you start working out or increase your workouts, you may not lose anything because muscle weighs more than fat but you will look toned and in shape.

Throw the scale out the window or use it under a table with uneven legs! Check your overall shape by how your clothes fit.

[TheCoffeeChick]

You can do it!! :hurray:

 

When I get around to wanting to lose weight again (right around this time of year, every year!) I have to drastically change what I am doing. It takes me about 6 weeks to drop 20 lbs.

 

First, I start with a 24 hour fast - nothing but water or herbal teas. I start after dinner one evening (7ish) and eat a light meal before bed the next evening. Yes I am starving by the time I can eat, but it seems to help me eat smaller portions later.

 

Then I stick to 1500 - 1800 calories a day (I don't measure everything, hence the range), eating breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, and dinner. (No food after dinner) Drink water constantly. Especially when you are hungry before you eat to fill your belly a little. And always drink a cup of water before meals.

 

Take a multi-vitamin every day (I just set mine at my dinner plate when I set the table) along with a B-Complex vitamin.

 

Lastly -- 30 minutes of HARD exercise 5 - 6 days a week. Hard meaning you sweat a lot, you can't carry on a conversation while exercising, and you are sore the next day. I use Slim in 6. Level one is only 29 minutes, but it is a workout! About week 4 I can do level two, but it is almost an hour, so I do that only every other day.

 

I am normally down 20 lbs by the end of 6 weeks. And no I don't always stick to the diet portion - Sundays, the day I don't exercise, I sometimes cheat a little. The first week is always miserable, since I am limiting my food intake. I like food. ;) But if I stick with it, I always feel great by the week 3. Now if only I had the willpower to keep with it longer than 6 weeks. :tongue_smilie:

 

Hope you get to where you want to be!!!

[Brindee]

How would you go about it? Atkins? South Beach? Is that enough time for just general cutting back and exercising to do the trick? DH swears I could lose 10 pounds in two weeks (!!!) by starting South Beach today, but I just don't see how that's feasible. Is it?!

 

Disclaimer: I know it's not the ideal situation, but if I don't lose 12 pounds in time for a family beach vacation, I will have to wear long jeans and corduroy pants the whole time, and that's really not going to work for me :(

 

TIA!

How about a Boot Camp with Jillian Michaels! :001_smile: Wish I could do that! I'd hate her in-yer-face attitude when I feel I'm working harder than I really can and she's pushing me to do more, but I'd love her for the results she produces! :D

[Brindee]

You can do it!! :hurray:

 

When I get around to wanting to lose weight again (right around this time of year, every year!) I have to drastically change what I am doing. It takes me about 6 weeks to drop 20 lbs.

 

First, I start with a 24 hour fast - nothing but water or herbal teas. I start after dinner one evening (7ish) and eat a light meal before bed the next evening. Yes I am starving by the time I can eat, but it seems to help me eat smaller portions later.

 

Then I stick to 1500 - 1800 calories a day (I don't measure everything, hence the range), eating breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, and dinner. (No food after dinner) Drink water constantly. Especially when you are hungry before you eat to fill your belly a little. And always drink a cup of water before meals.

 

Take a multi-vitamin every day (I just set mine at my dinner plate when I set the table) along with a B-Complex vitamin.

 

Lastly -- 30 minutes of HARD exercise 5 - 6 days a week. Hard meaning you sweat a lot, you can't carry on a conversation while exercising, and you are sore the next day. I use Slim in 6. Level one is only 29 minutes, but it is a workout! About week 4 I can do level two, but it is almost an hour, so I do that only every other day.

 

I am normally down 20 lbs by the end of 6 weeks. And no I don't always stick to the diet portion - Sundays, the day I don't exercise, I sometimes cheat a little. The first week is always miserable, since I am limiting my food intake. I like food. ;) But if I stick with it, I always feel great by the week 3. Now if only I had the willpower to keep with it longer than 6 weeks. :tongue_smilie:

 

Hope you get to where you want to be!!!

Thanks for this, this looks like a workable plan for me!

 

How do you all count calories?

[Katie.Louise]

I have been doing The Carbohydrate Addicts Program. I have been on it for 13 weeks or so and have not cheated once. I have never stuck with a diet this long.

 

It is slow weight loss (1.5-2lbs per week), but it works well. The program basically is two really low-carb meals (I choose b-fast and lunch) and then you can eat anything you want for dinner. Dinner had to be eaten within 1 hour so you don't have a second release of insulin. There are other details, but these are the main points.

 

I have had thyroid problems for a few years and have had trouble losing weight. This is actually working and I feel so much better to boot, not sleepy after eating lunch anymore. Most days I don't eat b-fast.

 

I hope this helps. You can order used copies of the book on Amazon cheap, or maybe your library has it.

Katie

[grace'smom]

I've been doing a low carb diet based on Atkins. I've lost 15 pounds since early March. One thing that worked for me was eating the Atkins bars for breakfast and lunch during induction for the first three days. Not such a healthy thing, but it was the only way to ward off the pain of carb withdrawal. I had tried the Atkins/South Beach thing before but I got very sick because my body reacted badly to wanting carbs. For some reason the bars helped. Then you go to eating normal Atkins/South Beach. That means just giving up bread and sugar. You eat lots of veggies and meats (avoid the starchy veggies like peas and lima beans). I can honestly say that I have not craved carbs this time around. I'm actually kind of afraid to eat a carb laden food now because I am scared it would bring the cravings back. I feel good right now. More energy, less blood sugar issues, and less tired. I think I'm going to stick to this way of eating because feeling better is so much more rewarding than eating junk food. I know I need to bring whole wheat bread back in now but I am scared I'll start getting tired again...

[Caribbean Queen]

Try to hold in your stomach starting now- you'll look like you lost weight. If you are used to letting it all hang out you will forget to hold it in on vacation. Really, it helps.

[KnitWit]

What is T-Tapp?

 

My dh can go a week with fruit and salad and drop major lbs!!!

 

And no matter WHAT I do, two weeks before Aunt Flo arrives I'm visibly heavier.

 

I bought Wii Fit but I need some motivation. I do better with group workouts.

 

http://www.t-tapp.com

 

I just finished a two week boot camp and lost a total of 19.75" !!

 

(that is from combined measurements...but a couple each from my waist/bust/abdomen/hips...and then thighs and such!)

[cjbeach]

I'm little so to drop weight it's tough. The *only* thing that moves my weight is hard, hard workouts or low-carbing it. I buy a 118 cal protein drink at GNC that I just use 1 scoop/8oz water and it helps me drop quickly. I replace at least one meal a day with it-- trying for 2 with a low carb meal at dinner. Two different personal trainers recommended it and it's tasty so I don't mind as much. https://www.seipharmaceuticals.com/products/Max-Protein.html At 40 I just cannot.tolerate.carbs.period.

Edited April 26, 2010 by cjbeach

[Tutor]

You can do it!! :hurray:

 

When I get around to wanting to lose weight again (right around this time of year, every year!) I have to drastically change what I am doing. It takes me about 6 weeks to drop 20 lbs.

 

First, I start with a 24 hour fast - nothing but water or herbal teas. I start after dinner one evening (7ish) and eat a light meal before bed the next evening. Yes I am starving by the time I can eat, but it seems to help me eat smaller portions later.

 

Then I stick to 1500 - 1800 calories a day (I don't measure everything, hence the range), eating breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, and dinner. (No food after dinner) Drink water constantly. Especially when you are hungry before you eat to fill your belly a little. And always drink a cup of water before meals.

 

Take a multi-vitamin every day (I just set mine at my dinner plate when I set the table) along with a B-Complex vitamin.

 

Lastly -- 30 minutes of HARD exercise 5 - 6 days a week. Hard meaning you sweat a lot, you can't carry on a conversation while exercising, and you are sore the next day. I use Slim in 6. Level one is only 29 minutes, but it is a workout! About week 4 I can do level two, but it is almost an hour, so I do that only every other day.

 

I am normally down 20 lbs by the end of 6 weeks. And no I don't always stick to the diet portion - Sundays, the day I don't exercise, I sometimes cheat a little. The first week is always miserable, since I am limiting my food intake. I like food. ;) But if I stick with it, I always feel great by the week 3. Now if only I had the willpower to keep with it longer than 6 weeks. :tongue_smilie:

 

Hope you get to where you want to be!!!

 

Thank you for this! I am starting this tomorrow and tracking myself on my handy-dandy new iTouch/ iPhone app (Lose It - and it was free!!!). This is a doable plan for me... plus it starts with fasting. I always need a kick in the pants to get going, and this should do the trick.

[Mandarinmom]

I started my weight loss program on February 7th with weight 168. In February I lost 8 lbs (160), in in March 10 lbs 150), and on April 26th today I am 142lbs (totally 26lbs in totally 77 days), a little behind, because I missed more than a week of walking, just felt very bad because of family crisis. I felt very good all the way. I counted calories depending on initial weight and a target weight - only about 1000 kcal in a day, very very little food, but good thing did not make me feel bloated like a balloon, and I got used and walked with Leslie Sansone DVD. I used this link to count how much to it. http://www.caloriesperhour.com/. Leslie Sansone walk counts 30 min for 200 kcal, I did about 2 hours worth in a day, counts for about 800 kcal. 1 hour after breakfast, and 1 hour after lunch or even after dinner if early enough. I you want, email me, and I will describe in more details. I want to go down to 125, my weight 10 years ago before I had a baby, 17lbs more to go in two months. I feel much better now and many pants fit again. It sounds like not a healthy plan, but I feel better than for the last two years.

Lena

[Rosie_0801]

If clothes are the issue, wear sarongs. Seriously, a wrap around skirt is very cheap and a heck of a lot more comfy than pants! Not that I'm going to try and dissuade someone from turning over a new leaf on the healthy eating front, but if clothes are the issue, wraparound skirts are the answer. You can make them out of anything and even a person who can't sew can make them because they only require straight lines. The fabric can come from an op shop. Check out the old sheets and doona covers. Some of mine really ought to be transformed into skirts. The patterns are too nice to be wasted on a bed!

 

Rosie

[TheCoffeeChick]

Thanks for this, this looks like a workable plan for me!

 

How do you all count calories?

 

There are a lot of places online to find out how many calories an item is. Just google calorie calculator.

 

I do 300 calories for breakfast - usually oatmeal because it keeps me full

100 - 150 calories for a snack

400 calories for lunch - my usual is a small bowl of soup and a half of sandwich with some fruit & veggies

100 - 150 calories for a snack

500 - 800 calories for dinner - I always serve a salad with a vinegarette dressing with dinner to help fill me up - you can eat a lot of salad for very few calories. With this amount of calories though, you can have a pretty big sized dinner.

 

I found that if I wasn't loosing weight quickly at the beginning, actually adding in another 100 - 200 calories helped me lose. Too few and I went into starvation mode.

 

ETA: I keep a piece of paper to write down how many calories I've eaten during the day - that way if I am starving at 3 in the afternoon I can take a quick look at my paper to see how many calories I can eat. Popcorn is a good snack because you can eat a ton of it and it is filling.

 

HTH

Edited April 27, 2010 by BramFam

[EthiopianFood]

I haven't read all the replies. The raw diet will make you lose quickly. Eat all raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts/seeds. Eat until you are full (although I wouldn't eat all nuts or anything!). I know someone who lost 30lbs in one month this way. I lost 5lbs in the first week. Fast isn't necessarily healthy, but on the flip side, at least you're eating a ton of nutritious food....

[Melissa in CA]

I haven't read all the replies. The raw diet will make you lose quickly. Eat all raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts/seeds. Eat until you are full (although I wouldn't eat all nuts or anything!). I know someone who lost 30lbs in one month this way. I lost 5lbs in the first week. Fast isn't necessarily healthy, but on the flip side, at least you're eating a ton of nutritious food....

 

This works great for some, but eating raw makes me horribly sick. My digestion is not what it used to be. :tongue_smilie: I personally feel better physically when going the high protein route. Too much raw and I am doubled over in pain. :001_huh:

[Crimson Wife]

T-tapp.

 

You won't measure in pounds...but inches. You will be amazed

 

Or a similar program like Callanetics, Lotte Berk, or Bar Method. T-tapp & Callanetics are probably the most effective of the bunch but also the dullest.