AIBU to think I can lose at least some weight in 2 weeks?

[PollyCazaletWannabe]

I am going on honeymoon to Bali on 14th July (wedding was last year but we had to delay our honeymoon due to work). I was relatively slim for the wedding but since then have suffered two miscarriages, and with a combination of pregnancy weight and comfort eating I am now about a stone and a half overweight :( At 5 foot 1, it really does show and I'm a size 14, which I hate as I was a size 10-12 last summer! Anyway I have now only got 2 weeks until the honeymoon. I'm not working (teacher in international school so we broke up last week) and have easy access to a gym and a pool. AIBU to think I can lose at least some of the excess weight and become at least a little more toned in 2 weeks by eating healthily and exercising every day? And does anyone have any tips about how I can do it please?

I completely disagree about exercise to try to help you loose weight over a 2 week period.

In the long term, yes. Short term, no; It will just make you hungry.

Just focus on not eating very much.

Drink water and black coffee.

Also no alcohol.

If you have the time to exercise twice in the day...

One trick is to do your heavy workout in the morning, eat your largest meal at midday, then have a light early dinner (toast, fruit) at 5-6pm then take a long, active walk (1hr min) or a gentle evening swim, with only a light snack (yoghurt, fruit) before bed. This works for me when I need to shift weight quickly.

I agree with Hipster and some others about exercise - it would very difficult to do enough to make a substantial difference in terms of weight loss over two weeks. For me, weight loss is primarily about not eating very much! Sad but true. Exercise is more about fitness and health and toning. But as I said, in my experience, some exercises (Callanetics) can do a lot in terms of toning, giving the illusion of weight loss. Right, will stop banging on about it now!

How much weight you will lose in 2 weeks depends on how much you weigh now and your level of activity during day. If you are overweight and accustomed to eating a lot more calories than you need in a day, the minute you start eating the amount you should be weight will come off and quickly. If you are not overweight then expect a-lot of the pounds that will come off to be your body getting rid of excess water. Realistically you can lose around 5 pounds in 2 weeks. Toning takes a little longer as the muscles are not used to being put under stress so actually they could end up holding onto fluid (it will come off within a week).

I would engage in some sort of light cardio such as walking or jogging coupled with low weight x high reps (between 12-16) to encourage muscles to begin the toning process. 40 min workouts about 5-6 days a week. If you dive too fast into manic exercise after not participating for time you could injure yourself or become too sore to keep motivation for next workouts!
You'll need to work out how many calories you need by calculating your BMR (basal metabolic rate), which will tell you how many calories you need daily just to function. Then whatever that number is deduct 500-600 calories a day from it. Eat a balanced meal maybe cut out cheese, sweets, salty snacks and white grained/processed foods. Carbs are your friend but make sure they are not white. Don't eat anything you can't pronounce fish fish and more fish! Mackerel & salmon are good suggestions! Fill up on lots of veggies, drink 2-4 litres a day of water, fruit is fine just no grapes or cherries as they are very high in sugar.

Sorry I've fully rambled at you! (Degree in nutrition and sport performance)

I can elaborate more if you want haha

Super low carb diet, the lbs will fall off. I've lost half a stone this week.

I wouldn't bother too much with exercise, it just makes you more hungry. But if you do, got for short bursts of HIIT.

I've changed my diet and started working out, lost 3-4 kg over the last two weeks.

I recommend HIIT classes. They are meant to make you lose weight but even if you don't, they will tone your body up massively in two weeks and you will look a lot slimmer.

Thank you all so much! Some great suggestions here. Please keep them coming :) I really appreciate your kind words too

Do daily pilates ! the Live Fit girl on you tube is great, easy to follow and workouts from 10-20 minutes. I have been doing one every day since January and my body is transformed. I saw results within days. If you combine it with a low cal diet (use My fitness pal) you should tone up and lose 2 - 4 pounds easily.

I started slimming world last week, it's my first weigh in tomorrow. I don't yet know how much I've lost but I can already see the difference in my face and stomoch area. Defenetly less bloated. So yes you can lose on that time.

Can you see if your gym does personal training sessions? I have used these a couple of times, once to kick off training to lose weight for my wedding, once to help me strengthen by back following a severe injury. Had excellent results both times. I also did weight watchers and slimming world, I think u can do both online if you want to start asap, the first two weeks I would say I lost the most.

I also did shakes and lost 12lb in the first week (New You Plan) then followed their refeed for a week and ate healthy for my holiday and only gained a pound (which with wine was a miracle )

If you cut out carbs and eat clean veg, eggs, meat, fish, cheese, plain yogurt and a bit of fruit I reckon you'd lose at least half a stone and you will be less bloated so feel better in your bikini

oh yeah and if you have a nutri bullet or similar I make a daily veg/fruit smoothie with 2 carrots, a few florets of broccoli, 2 inches of cucumber, handful of blueberries, ice and an apple. Chuck some cinammon in as that stabilises blood sugar and stops you feeling hungry. It tastes pretty bad but it fills you up no end and makes you shit loads

I lose a steady 3lbs every week on slimming world. First week I lost 5.5.

My DH is a Personal Trainer.

Not much point in doing weights if your looking for short term fat loss - do some good cardio like running / long walks / swimming / exercise classes at the gym at least 5 times a week.

And just stick to foods like vegetables and protein (eggs and meat)

I had a banana for breakfast, a couple of poached eggs on wholemeal toast for lunch and will have lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, onion, egg, chicken and a drizzle of caesar sauce.

Apple / Carrot sticks to snack on.

This will be very boring for 2 weeks but if you have the will power to stick to it (I often don't!) then I absolutely 100% guarantee it will lose you a lot.

Just don't go too mad on carbs straight away on honeymoon cos you'll shock your body and put weight back on quickly.

When I want to loose weight quickly, I run about 7km every more, cut carbs, sugar and drink lots of water.

My SIL and I do slimming world, when she does a speed week she easily loses 5-6lbs with no exercising.

I can't do them as very fussy with veg

2 weeks isn't really enough for weights to make a noticeable difference. It takes months to build obvious muscle, and if you're just starting out you won't be able to lift much and it won't burn many calories at all (it takes a long, long time for a woman to build the kind of muscle that significantly boosts metabolism).

Not a reason not to lift weights, you definitely should, over time it makes the biggest difference. But for the best results over 2 weeks you need to focus on burning calories. Your best bet is daily HIIT cardio workouts (you can find loads of examples for free online, basically just choose a cardio workout and do it at the highest intensity you can possibly manage for a short period) and then as much walking and swimming as you can fit in.

For food, avoid carbs, salt, alcohol, sugar and soda (including diet). Drink loads of water.

You'll lose weight on the holiday with good fresh food and moving around. Also heat will probably make you want to eat less.

No one else cares what you look like in a bikini so don't worry, and certainly don't stuff up health with sugar shakes or scammy fad diets.

Thank you all :) I think I will try eating clean food and limiting carbs, plus HIIT workouts, walking, swimming and lots of water. Thank you again - you've been so helpful! :) :)

Going to the gym won't make a huge difference over two weeks. It's very good for ongoing healthy living but losing weight will be pretty much entirely diet-related here.

I'd recommend LCHF. But unless you're TTC be careful as it's amazing for fertility. Free stuff online: Diet Doctor, Butter Makes Your Pants Fall off (YouTube), The Eating Academy, Real Meal Revolution, Ditch The Carbs. Message me for further info if you like xx

Agree wth comments that it is deifntierly 100% dinner that makes the biggest difference with short term weight loss & getting alot off, wuick.
Force yourself to not have dinner 1 night as @chardonnay@ said. Your stomach soon starts shrinking and demands less food. Next nights- only eat a bowl of soup or a salad, keep this up until you leave. Definitely no bread or pasta for dinner or anything heavy until you go. Eat porridge or filling breakies that keep you going longer. Drink cold fizzy water when hungry or needing something cold or sweet. I could drop half a stone in 3/4 nights if I kept this up.
When hungry force yourself to think of being in a bikini on holiday and feeling so much better being slimer- and also being able to pig out when there as you know you were so good leading up to it!