Has anyone managed to lose those last 7 to 10 vanity pounds?

[bettycocker]

If so, how did you do it? What did you eat and how much did you exercise and do you have any other tips?

I am 5'3" and weigh around 9st 5lbs, but would like to get down to 8st 10 to 8st 12. Try as I might, it seems impossible to get down to this weight and shift the saddle bags, inner thigh fat, belly and my wobbly cellulite arse.

Depite eating sensibly and doing Jillian Michaels workouts 5 to 6 days a week and going for bike rides, it's not happening. How do I get in shape to wear a bikini by the beginning of August?

[msmiggins]

I struggle too> I am 5'6" I weigh 9st 6lb, I eat healithly and exercise - I would love to be 8 lbs lighter but I can't seem to lose it. I am coming to the conclusion maybe this is may "natural" weight. Are we being brainwashed by magazines?

[CreatureRetorts]

I doubt you have saddle bags at that weight/height? Maybe you don't realise how slim you are and are grabbing handfuls of skin

I found running helped me drop down and tone up. Training for a 10lk put me in great shape.

[CorrieDale]

Betty we are twins! I am doing 5:2 at the moment not entirely successfully. I exercise a fair bit. I have s lot if incentive. I don't know what!'s stopping me from the last few pounds - I've managed three stone but these last few yo-yo on and off.

[Theironfistofarkus]

I have just lost six pounds in a month using myfitnesspal. Am now only 2 pounds away from my honeymoon weight ie pre DC.

Mfp lets you put in how much you want to lose and how quickly then gives daily target calories and lets you add up everything you eat. It's great!

Good luck!

Ps you don't sound overweight to me!

[bettycocker]

msmiggins You could well be right, maybe the body has a natural weigh that it like to be. People in magazines are very thin and it makes me wonder if these famous people have to just starve themselves and get their energy from things like cocaine.

CreatureRetorts I would love to run, but I ended up with achilles tenonosis from trail running. I do have loose skin as I've lost 3 stone over the last 3 years. I just ordered some Weleda birch cellulite oil, which is meant to be really good.

CorrieDale so is that 5:2 good then? People have said some really positive things about it. I keep meaning to read the thread.

Theironfistofarkus Mfp seems quite hard to use, but that's probably me being a dits. Whilst not technically overweight, I am still carrying more fat than I would like to. My arms and shoulders look fantastic and I now have defined triceps for the first time ever. They are now super toned and ripped, but everything else is lagging behind.

[HotelTangoFoxtrotUniform]

I'm doing it again at the moment. They do come off but very, very slowly. It takes me about 3 months of strict (and I mean very strict) calorie counting and exercise to take the last 7 lbs off. I hope I keep them off this time as doing this every two years is so draining! I have 5lbs to go now and expect that I'll be done in mid July.

I did want to get even lower a few years back but try as I might I can't get below 9st7. I'm 5'5" and that takes me to an 8/10. I probably am slim enough at that size.

I found JM workouts great for inchloss but not for weightloss.

[PoppyWearer]

OP, I'm 5ft3 too, currently hovering around 9st11 but trying to get back down to around 9st2/3 at the moment.

I know exactly what you mean about saddle bags and cellulite. My tummy/saddle bags (muffin top) are my main problem.

I've been running again (used to run pre-DCs) for the past month or so and it has really helped my cellulite and wobbly bum. But running isn't a weight-loss answer for me, it just helps to tone up and prevent me from piling on more. It doesn't fat-burn.

I've also been shredding/Jillian-ing and it's helping but very slow progress.

TBH I have also tried 5:2 and it didn't work for me, I think because I already eat like that to some extent (very light dinners).

In the past I have managed to do it (after DC1 born) through Weight Watchers, but the progress was painfully slow, half a pound a week if at all. In the end I got fed up and had a week of WeightWatchers soup and lettuce and finally shifted the last couple of pounds to hit my goal and stop having to go to meetings. But, of course, a few pounds went straight back on the next week when I stopped eating like that!

The other thing I would say is that I am 38yo and my face started looking really wrinkly/thin once I dipped below 9st. I didn't like it! I concluded that my ideal weight is around 9st2/3. But anything over that and the wobbly bits start coming back and I pop straight into a size 14! There seems to be a very narrow margin for error.

I was down to about 9st2 at the end of last summer, but it was due to illness and I had lots of things I couldn't eat because they made me unwell. After getting well again I started eating normally again and, bang, I piled on a stone in four months. Which is why I'm trying to lose it again now.

My DMum is in her sixties and is an absolute slave to her weight, and it scares me that this might be how I have to be until I am old enough not to care anymore.

[PoppyWearer]

How old are you, OP, and have you had DCs?

[ExcuseTypos]

I managed to do it but it was blooming hard.

I'm 5'2" and small boned. I was 8 st 10 and had a muffin top which I hated, I've had 2 CS also so it was all very floppy. I did low carbing and The Shred for 9 weeks and got lost 12 lbs.

I had never seen my stomach look like it did. For about 3 weeks, looked amazing
However I couldn't sustain it. I got so bored with the shred and as soon as I reintroduced just a small amount of carbs, out popped my tummy again.

I am going to get back to it for the holidays. As I want to wear a bikini and feel proud. I just need to be kicked up the arse!!

[bettycocker]

PoppyWearer Darn it. I thought there was some special secret to doing it the easy way. If you're overweight losing two stone a week is possible, but it just slows right down as you hit the top of your healthy BMI range. I managed to get down to 9st 2 last year.

I am 36 and have one DC.

ExcuseTypos My kick up the arse was seeing myself in a changing room mirror. Although I am at a healthy BMI, it wasn't a pretty sight at all.

[CreatureRetorts]

The 5:2 is worth trying because it should reduce your appetite overall as opposed to a more extreme diet which only works while you're dieting. So if you do 5:2 you eat less overall over time.

Maybe you need different exercise routines as you're used to that workout now? What about something like spinning? With some yoga?

[PoppyWearer]

betty thanks for the info. I was pretty sure you were going to say mid/late 30s and with a DC. I feel like my body has given up and just wants to sit on the sofa until the end of my days now. I just have to look at cheese or chocolate and I put on a pound!

I'm going to persevere! Off to do a Jillian workout now...and hope that someone else comes along with the magic answer.

[Chandon]

What is wrong with a few wobbly bits though?

To have the hard athletic body of 20 year old.....you have to be a 20 year old athlete .

Imo, if you have a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle, with room for an occasional treat or drink, you should not beat yourself up trying to " look like I did when I was 18" or some such nonsense.

If you DO want to look all hard bodied ( ie no wobbly bits) as a 30 or 4o something mum, it requires hard work and determination.

I have a few friends who do this. One runs an hour every day, and is very particular about what she eats ( no sugar or alcohol ever, never ever, and only whole grains. Super healthy, but I don't fancy it myself, for every day, though it is a sensibe approach I would say). Anther friend does less exercise ( apart from walking an hour every day) and just eats no carbs, or hardly any. She is actually very ill looking and pale a lot of the time, but yes, she IS slim with no wobbly bits.

Ayway, being a normal healthy weight is doable with exercise and a healthy diet most of the time ( with room for relaxing a bit) whereas taking it that ast step further requires an iron regimen.

[AnnoyedAtWork]

9 vanity pounds here too. Have struggled to lose them since quitting smoking in 2010! Started using my fitness pal again as it definitely works.

[PoppyWearer]

But I am 20 in my head!

[bettycocker]

PoppyWearer I'm still 20 inside my head too, then I look in the mirror.

Chandon You speak the truth of course! I don't think I could face a life devoid of chocolate, G&Ts and peanuts. I also know women in their 30s who are super slim and/or toned, but they work out like crazy women, hardly eat or do both of those. I can only do one of those at a time.

MadameLeBean Good on you for keeping off the cigs! I know how difficult it is.

[JojoMags]

Wow. This thread could have been written for me! I am 5'1 and have struggled for 2 years to lose those last 10 lbs of 'baby weight'. I loose 3 or 4 pounds then they creep back on. I am early-30s and have had 3 kids. Tried slimming world and weight watchers but found classes expensive and time consuming and got tired of staying the same every week, despite best efforts.

Find it hard to exercise due to health problems, time and money (for classes/childcare) and can't do any at all atm as in post-op recovery.

What is mfp?

It would be nice not to feel 'a little bit fat' all the time!

Can't do no carbs, as am an impoversihed vegetarian and I would starve without them, but constant grazing is my problem. Stopping today, as regained 5 hard-lost pounds in the last couple of weeks. Will let you know how I get on.

[Bramblesinafield]

Im on my way to doing it, lost 1 1/4 stones on 5:2 and back in a 12. I need to tone though, so probably back to the gym or to Jillian!

[bettycocker]

I just wish I could get rid of the cellulite on my arse and thighs JojoMags. There is even a bit on my stomach. Apparently you have to stop drinking coffee you can piss right off mate.

I am trying a Weleda birch oil cellulite thing at the moment. It smells lovely, but will probably to sod all.

[bettycocker]

Bramblesinafield I have been inspired by these accounts of the 5:2. I am on my fasting day today, so hopefully won't pass out during my Jillian Michaels NMTZ DVD!

[PoppyWearer]

No coffee

I've done Jillian's six-week six-pack DVD (actually YouTube) twice now and finding it more effective on the mum-tum than The Shred.

Sorry if this is TMI, but I have found myself getting a bit constipated/bloaty in spite of cereal for breakfast and salad etc. possibly due to increased bean intake? Anyway, I've been taking some probiotic capsules and things have been moving (ahem), and all of a sudden (overnight) my weight dropped over a pound and my tummy definitely looks flatter too. Could equally be due to Jillian-worship though I've been watching too much Dr Ranj today.

[Bramblesinafield]

Betty are you on the 5:2 thread? Lots of support theree. First few fasts are haaaaard, but it gets easier, honest, especially if the weight comes off.

[bettycocker]

Poppy, I know what you mean about dropping a pound like that. Did you feel like you had given birth? Drinking lots of water really helps if you're a bit constipated. Beans send me the other way though, they make me very regular!

Jillian is great isn't she? Her workouts are mean, but strangely enjoyable and you end up looking forward to them.

Bramblesinafield, thanks. I could do with some motivation. Although, it is DP's birthday this weekend and relatives are staying, so I have been rushing around trying to make the place look naiceso we can pretend that we aren't slobs. The fasting has been surprisingly easy.