to think that i can lose 6 kilos in the next 6 weeks?

@SpidersAreShitheads what an amazingly useful post, thanks. Inspired me to try this!

Definitely need to do more. At least 2 hours I would say to lose weight and hour to maintain.

100% feasible if you make sure you eat the right stuff.

Hi @RhaenysRocks - sorry, only just seen your comment.

Basically I cut out biscuits, sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks, processed carbs - so no bread, pasta, rice, potatoes.

I didn’t realise but carbs hold a lot of water. This meant when I cut my carbs I instantly dropped a lot of water weight and I’m less bloated all over. I used to swell a lot during my period, and I just don’t any more.

I’m not a breakfast person tbh but you could probably use some of the lunches I have and adapt them.

I don’t bother counting the full set of macros like grams of protein etc. can’t be arsed 😂 I just look out for my carb intake - I aim for 30g or less every day. I’ve seen some people say up to 50g of carbs is fine but personally, that’s too high for me. I use those urine sticks to test for Ketosis - it was useful at the start to see if I’d reached Ketosis and whether I was staying within it, but I only use them sporadically now.

Usually I decide if I’m feeling like a splurge on something and if so, I just make sure other food is extra low carb to allow for it.

Protein/meat is low carb, and certain types of veg are low carb. You have to be a bit more soaring with some fruits and root veg as they’re a bit carby.

Bread is a nightmare. But Nimble brown bread is only 8g of carbs per slice so it’s doable.

So lunches might include:

poached eggs with ham/sausage/tomatoes/one slice Nimble bread/couple of spoons no sugar added baked beans/spinach (pick and choose!)

Tuna mayo with beetroot and tomatoes

Plain yoghurt with berries mixed in

Omelette with cheese and peppers

Lentil crispy round things which a bit like Ryvita sort of (forgotten what they’re called but the brand is Kalla) topped with Philadelphia cheese - I like chive flavour - with salad if you’re hungry

Salad of any variety but go easy on carrot as high carb - salad dressing is fine. Add meat like chicken or tuna/salmon if you fancy. Bit of coleslaw also fine.

Homemade soup if I’ve been organised 😂 I make chicken and leek most frequently - tastes like potato and leek but without the potatoes.

Cheese! Plus something to go with it so maybe the lentil round thing, or some ham or sliced chicken. Or a bit of apple. Or salad.

I have also discovered flavoured protein powders - you can stir these into plain yoghurt to make them taste like mousse! I like salted caramel or strawberry.

Natural peanut butter and apple slices, plus cheese. (Look for peanut butter that just says 100% peanuts in the ingredients - all supermarkets sell it and it’s not expensive).

I don’t like eating a massive lunch so one of the above is usually fine for me. I REALLY like poached eggs though so I have them a lot with different sides. Some days I don’t want a big cooked lunch so one of the lighter options works fine.

In practice I rarely have the brown bread - I keep a loaf in the freezer so it doesn’t go off and then just toast a couple of bits as I need it. It gobbles up so many carbs that I often just don’t bother with it.

I have tried keto bread but every one so far has been too fucking disgusting for words 🤮😂 Allegedly Heylo bread tastes decent so I’m going to give that a try. It’s only 1g of carbs per slice but it’s £4 per loaf. I don’t mind if it’s reasonable though - I save tons on snacks so I can just have a bit now and then if it tastes ok. I’m not holding my breath 😂

As for dinners, you just need to skip the carb-heavy sides, and up the veggies/make extra veggie replacements. So you can have whatever protein you want really. The only limits are sweet sauces (eg BBQ) as some of those are carb-heavy.

Chicken, pork, beef, lamb, fish - plus any sauce you want. Gravy is possible but go easy as it can be carby.

Some of the sides I might have with my protein include:

Leeks and peppers in balsamic vinegar

Cheesy leek gratin

Broccoli gratin.

Tomato fritters

Swede mashed with butter and vinegar (you can apparently also make swede or turnip “chips” in the air fryer but I’ve not tried that yet)

Baked butternut squash

Roasted radishes - hear me out on this!!! They taste very much like little potatoes when roasted and not hot/spicy at all!!

Cheesy stuffed peppers

Salad

Halloumi cheese (I roll mine in olive oil mixed with a smoky flavour powder and then air fry) - great substitute for chips!

Veggie frittata

Oh! Nearly forgot - riced broccoli or cauliflower is a great replacement for rice in things with sauces, like curries. I don’t like cauliflower but I don’t mind this at all.

Chaffles - any flavour you want

Baked muffins - egg/herbs and whatever veggies you fancy

Ooh crispy kale!!! get a bunch of kale and sprinkle it with olive oil and coarse sea salt (you don’t need much salt) and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Comes out like seaweed from the Chinese!

Pan wilted spinach

Just a big pile of veg however you like it done (roasted/steamed/boiled etc)

There’s loads more things but my brain has gone blank!! Tbh, very often I just have a good helping of protein and extra veg if I can’t be arsed doing an extra side.

I’m autistic and have ADHD which is relevant because I often forget to eat until I realise that suddenly I haven’t eaten all day and need to eat right away! 😂🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ So that means having foods that I can always just grab. Snacking on cheese in a hunger emergency has been a life saver!

Same goes for evening meals - I need an easy go-to for tricky days (DP is long-term sick and I have two autistic DC with high needs so I’m often very time-poor). The key really really is making sure there’s always a plan.

Green and Blacks 70% dark chocolate with vanilla really helps with chocolate cravings and is fine for keto. Even if you eat quite a bit which I may or may not have done on some nights 😂

Sugar-free jelly is FANTASTIC - really filling and sweet and zero carbs.

Grenade and Fulfil protein bars also have been a big help for me. Heavy, filling, and sweet but only about 2-3G of carbs per bar. I like the salted caramel or chocolate flavours - the fruity ones sound amazing but taste grim imo.

You can buy keto treats online. I try to avoid them but I have treated myself occasionally. They are expensive and very hit and miss. But they are usually freezable so you could buy a brownie tray and cut it in portions and freeze it. It’s useful if you ever get to the point where you’re just craving a cake! Each portion is typically only about 3G of carbs. On the whole though I keep these for an emergency craving as they’re a) bloody expensive and b) I’m trying to get out of the habit of regularly turning to cake.

You can also buy keto crisps which are usually either baked cheese that’s been flavoured or crispy, flavoured pork rinds.

Useful for an emergency. You can also buy lentil crisps (I’ve had salt and vinegar abx BBQ flavours) but they’re almost 9g of carbs per (tiny) packet so not ideal but doable.

The thing to remember is that dietary fat isn’t the enemy. It’s not dietary fat that causes high cholesterol, which is what doctors used to think. A balanced diet is key but sugar, carbs and processed junk are what causes the diabetes and inflammation within the body. Steer clear of that as much as possible and you’ll drop weight and stabilise your blood sugars. Most people should be able to reverse pre diabetes too. I didn’t realise just how bad sugar was (I never really believed it, probably didn’t want to!) Although you can eat fats on keto, it won’t increase your cholesterol.

That means you can have butter, cheese, cream, oily fish, nuts, eggs etc on this diet. As you’re not eating many carbs, your body enters Ketosis so burns fat as fuel. That’s why it’s so effective for weight loss. You need some dietary fat so your body has instant fuel - this isn’t a low fat diet. Low fat and low carbs will make you very ill. It’s hard to get your head around at first - and it’s hard to believe as it goes against everything dieters are usually told. It just works though and you’re honestly never hungry. By reducing your blood sugar and weight, your cholesterol should drop too.

I roughly track my calories to make sure I’m below my daily allowance but the theory is that you don’t have to. I feel happier doing it though and it reassures me that I’m not overeating because some days I seem to have a lot of food - but still come in comfortably below my allowance! I probably have between 1300 and 1600 calories most days. The sugar and carbs are the really calorific stuff so by cutting those out it’s surprising how much you can have.

My plan is to stick to keto until I’m at a weight I’m happy with and then switch to a low carb diet. This will let me have more carbs - up to 150g a day - but will still be low enough to keep my weight and blood sugars in check. This isn’t a fad - for me, this is a permanent change in what I eat.

The big thing for me has been making sure I was prepared for days when I was just too tired to be arsed doing anything. Keeping food that I can snack on in the fridge and easy meals - like microwave packs of riced broccoli that I can stick with a frozen curry stops me from my usual diet fails.

Sorry, this is a very long answer I know! I just wish I’d found this diet years ago. I’ve been so lazy re my eating habits and I’ve let myself get really overweight. My DC are probably going to be at home for life, especially my DS who has really high needs - I’m annoyed with myself for letting myself get so unhealthy. They need me around for as long as I can be so I owe it to them to get my shit sorted out. There are lots of really helpful keto groups around with people who know far more than me.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions please just ask and I’ll try to write a shorter answer 😂😂

If you do sign up for a gym, I’d really recommend booking a session with one of the personal trainers & telling them what you’re after. They can design an exercise plan for you.

Thank you for this detailed answer. Really helpful and appreciated. It had never occurred to me about electrolytes but that makes so much sense. I drink too much water and end up feeling faint and dizzy - that could be lack of electrolytes. And I dislike fat a lot so I tend to go for leaner protein. I'll need to rethink.

I'm another vote for Mournjaro, it's been a game changer for me.

well you will lose some weight and probably feel a bit better but see how you get on. Good luck

Oh and if you are trying to lose that much in 6 weeks I wouldn't bother with loads of exercise. It'll make you hungrier and it takes longer than that to build any visible amount of muscle or 'tone up'

Kindly, losing weight is really easy on paper. Eat a small amount. But if you were able to do that day in day out for 6 weeks you wouldn't be in this position. I struggled to manage my weight for years despite thinking I didn't eat that much then found out I had insulin resistance. Worked on that a lot and have lost 3.5kg since mid September while still eating plenty. If your prediabetic you may have a similar problem to me. I just don't think it is doable and think crash diets are terrible.

I started intermittent fasting 16:8 last summer and I've probably lost 12kg since then. I found it really easy just to not eat breakfast and just have lunch after my youngest was up from her nap around 1-1.30pm. I drink my tea black anyway so I just have a cup of tea (or two) in the morning. I really liked that I could have what I wanted, there was no weighing or calculating, no cutting foods out, and I could still just have the same as everyone else at dinner time.

I generally eat around 1pm and stop eating around 9pm, though depending what I'm doing, I can sit down for lunch an hour or so later, and finish dinner about 7.30. So it's not strict. I don't often drink alcohol but I haven't cut it out.

It sounds like you could definitely benefit from a change of some sort if you're unhappy with your weight, so trying "just skipping breakfast" could be something worth trying, with perhaps moving to OMAD in a couple of weeks if you want.

You won't know until you try! Good luck!

As you probably know, crash diets can be dangerous. But, since it's only for a few weeks, go for it.

My best advice is carnivore plus veggies combined with intermittent fasting: a small chunk of the day eating with hours either side not eating but drinking. The protein and fats will make feel full so the lack of carbs/ sugars won't hurt.

Have fun on holiday then come home.

Being pre-diabetic means you should cut down on the carbs and replace those calories from fats. Natural fats. Keep the veggies and meat going but make sure that you exercise for health and toning and drop the weight slowly. This is to stop you wearing your skin like a skirt.

If nothing works, remember that the location is still stunning, you are still wonderful and that a real beach ready body belongs to seals and whales and they are amazing creatures. Just as you are. Most of all, have fun and come back refreshed. YOLO. ❤️

Focus on losing fat and increasing muscle tone. Focus on energy and feeling confident. If you get caught up on weight and half way through you aren't near target you will feel bad about yourself and possibly give up and that's the worst outcome. So what if you lose only 3 or 4 kg. That's 3 or 4kg less to be dragging around an airport and enough to feel your clothes loosen. Every gram is a success, be proud of any loss.

Sorry missed the pre-diabetic bit so maybe less fruit but prediabetic doesn’t make you diabetic and weight loss may help.

@captainmarvella I love OMAD. It’s so much easier than calorie counting or cutting out things.

I think you can easily do this. 6kg is 2.2 pounds a week and in your first week (given you’re 85kg), you could lose up to half a stone. I’d really recommend SW. 2 pounds a week is not ridiculous. Either do it online or get yourself to a meeting. Meeting will be more beneficial. Very little in way of measuring. A typical day for me would be:

fat free Greek yogurt with berries or boiled eggs with protein bagel
baked potato with tuna/salad
spag bol/chicken or fish with potato wedges and veg
snack on fruit/bit of cheese
bar of chocolate at night if syns not used.

You can do this! Day 1 always the hardest but you’ll get past it. Blueberries and mango to snack on were a lifesaver.

Have a banana with your porridge because you need to feel full in the morning

The OP is prediabetic. This will likely give her the shakes.

A breakfast with 30g of protein would be better IMO.

FYI you don't need to use symbols in your rude words. Mumsnet is more than happy with arse, boobs etc.

The first week is really hard, I ate lunch and dinner for the first week, but by the second week my body was in proper ketosis. Once that happens I naturally adjusted to a much smaller eating window.

I honestly have so much more energy. I do think it depends person to person.

I love to go to bed on a full tummy, I can't sleep otherwise. But I have a friend who eats her meal at breakfast as she needs to feel satiated during the day.

Remember to make sure you are taking sugar free electrolytes, this is VERY important. Only drinking water on Keto means you are flushing out minerals you badly need. A magnesium supplement is also good.

The other thing to remember is your fats.
A lot of people don't lose because their protein, carb and fat ratio is off. A lot of people find that upping the fats considerably gets the weight moving.

It does all vary, but I have figured out that dairy stalls my weight loss as does lean protein.

I enjoy this smaller eating window because I eat a lot. I have a big plate of food and then an hour later I have a little nibble of things like ham and cucumber sticks. I am a late night snacker, so doing this helps those cravings.

If you feel sluggish and cold then you aren't eating the right things and this is your body telling you.

It is a real journey and it does take experimentation to figure it all out, but your body begins to tell you what it needs. You body also adjusts to eating windows and so I only start getting hungry at around 4.30 because my body is getting ready for its meal :)

You can definitely lose 6kg in in 6 weeks I’m just not sure that eating one meal a day is the way to do it..
I think you’ll get really hungry and binge.

Can you not just do mounjaro ? You want to lose alot of weight fast, unless you're going to really have major willpower and sacrifice a lot I can't see it happening it's too little time.
You're pre diabetic and seemingly a good candidate

Let's set aside confounding factors and simplify the weight loss maths. In order to lose 1kg of weight per week, you need to create a daily calorie deficit of 1100 calories. So, if you normally eat 2k, it's 900 calories per day for the next 6 weeks. I think this is not realistic.
I would focus on slowly changing your eating and lifestyle habits rather than focusing on short-term goals for your holiday. 6 weeks of near starvation just to snap some pictures and then indulge in holiday food and cocktails putting it all back on is just not worth it to me.

Fast 800 combined with low carb. You'll have to weigh everything though esp cheese and meat.

Start exercising, this will help with toning up. When I walk a lot it really tones my legs.

Lots of short workouts in YouTube to get started - look at Caroline Girvan, Growing Annanas and Heather Robertson.

I'm going to honest OP, you won't lose weight without some kind of sacrifice.

You're going to have to eat less, no matter how you do it.

That does mean, portion control, less rice and no chocolate, low carbs, good sleep hygiene and at least double your daily exercise.

There's no magic pill (or injection, despite what anyone thinks!)

Buy mounjaro it’s a game changer

otherwise healthy ratings isn’t going to make much of a dent in 6 weeks