Can anyone help?

[onwardandupwards]

I am a size 22 and weigh 18st 12 lbs. My sister is getting married in 9 wks and my dress does not fit! I have just started a 1000 cal a day diet and just need some ideas and some help. Hope i have posted in the right place!

Measure the dress and measure yourself, work out how many inches you need to lose. This will give you an idea if it's possible to lose enough in 9 weeks.

Realistically, 1000 cals a day is likely to be nowhere near enough for you, and will (probably) not be sustainable for 9 weeks. You would be far better to eat around 1500-1800 cals a day and do loads of exercise, your weight may not change dramatically but your measurements certainly will!! When I had to lose weight for my son's christening I went to the gym / Zumba 5 times a week and tried to walk somewhere every day, I lost around half a stone in 2 months but lost 3 inches off my waist!!

Will do that the dress is a size 18 but does give a bit. Will try excersise as well, thank you.

If you're trying to get from a 22 to an 18, it may be worth mentioning it to the bride as that's a lot to slim down in a short space of time. It may be that she can have a panel of fabric sewn into the dress or something so that it'll fit you, but would be awful to get to a week or so before the wedding and find you aren't going to manage it, and it would be too late to do anything about it! If you don't mind me asking, why did she get you a dress two sizes too small?

So i would lose some weight and not stand out to much from my other sisters (one is a size 4, the other a 8 and my ds the bride a 6) i get what my ds means and i am huge as my dm pointed out an hour ago. Thought about joining weight watchers dont have much confidence though.

I think that was actually a very mean thing of your sister to do - im sure you will look lovely no matter what size you are!! Personally I went to slimming world for a while (before becoming a SAHM so had to try and save money) and it was pretty good, diet was easy to stick to an I lost weight. I know weightwatchers was on quidco a few weeks ago so maybe look at that, everyone seems very supportive at places like that as you're all in the same situation.

Good luck with whatever you manage to lose, slower weight loss really does stay off longer term but sometimes you need a quick fix - I would definitely not manage personally to stick to 1000cal a day, I'd do a couple of days then just binge completely!! If you go on YouTube and type in 30 day shred it's got amazing reviews, people lose loads by doing that each day apparently!

will take a look thanks.

Hope whatever you decide to do helps you start on the road to a slimmer and more confident version of you!
Defo aim to exercise and daft sounding but drink lots of water. (Body can't always tell the difference between hunger and thirst).

Two sizes in 9 weeks is doable but not on 1000 calories a day. Your body will go into starvation mode.

You will need to exercise at least 5 times a week.

Your could try Weight Watchers. I have lost 33 pounds on WW since January but haven't been in a hurry. I have also been doing Toning table type exercise and walking and have lost 29 inches.

You need lots of lean protein. Lots of veg.

You could try the low carb bootcamp threads on here. They seem to work for lots of people.

Drink lots of water. Lots of green tea.

I am also taking Conjugated Linoleic Acid - it helps fat metabolise. Or so they say! Not entirely sure but every little helps.

As others have said the Jillian Michaels Shred DVD is good. Brutal but good.

Good luck! Reminds me of my wedding. A size 14 dress and a size 18 me! Thankfully a friend managed to add side panels down my dress.

Thank you all for the advice have been eating 2 w.w meals per day and some fruit for breakfast and lots of diet coke as my energy levels have hit the bottom.

Avoid the diet drinks! They inhibit weight loss! Drink water.

Your energy levels are low because you are not eating right.

Try porridge for breakfast. Proper porridge if you can. Not processed. Proper Scots stuff fills me up. I have it with some blueberries and a few flaked almonds. Make it with skim milk.

If you need a snack mid morning have some fat free greek yoghurt and some fruit.

Lunch - soup is good. Or lean protein and salad. An omelette with lots of chopped veg and a salad.

If you need a snack in the afternoon try some lean protein. Or a milky coffee made with skim milk.

Drink a glass of water half an hour before each meal or snack. Big glass of water before bed and a glass as soon as you get up.

Dinner - more protein and veg. I love pan frying a piece of salmon and having it with stir fry veg. Or a big chopped salad with some chopped chicken or ham.

No carbs at night for sure. I often don't have any carbs after my porridge if I am really trying to be good.

Try and find some recipes for tasty ways to eat your protein and veg. Keeps you interested and satisfied and feeling less deprived.

Hello

I recently did a 1200 cal a day diet. I lost a stone over 6 weeks but I was hungry all the time and miserable.

Please don't do it to yourself. If you're like me you'll be hungry and miserable and believe me the hunger is miserable. As soon as I stopped I started craving carbs and eating like mad and no surprise the weight has come back on.

As someone said, you need to exercise, and with sensible eating you'll be lovely and glowing on the big day no matter what size you are.

I did this years ago. ate what I wanted but did various exercise classes 4 times a week and it worked. I am trying to psych myself up to exercising again. I have a sore hip which I have to get xray-ed but once that's done I'll be unwrapping my 30 day shred dvd and WILL start it.

Whatever happens I hope you enjoy the day and that this doesn't put too much pressure on you.
xx

maybe ditch the frozen meals then!!

Exercise A LOT

Eat proper food NOT frozen schiz.

Do not drink diet coke, it's TERRIBLE stuff. Water Water Water.

Eat lots of fresh vegetables and protein, fish, chicken. Eat a good healthy breakfast. Porridge, poached egg on good quality wholemeal bread with tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach etc

No junk - sweets, crisps, fizzy pop, cakes all that crap has to be put on hold.

Think of it as an exercise in being good to yourself rather than depriving yourself. I would also personally not get too hung up on calorie counting unless you are no good at portion size. Remember unlimited veg but only palm sized protein. Reduce the carbs massively, no carbs (or at least no potatoes, rice, pasta, bread) after lunch is v good advice.

Don't eat too much fruit either. Some is good but not masses.

Also NO BOOZE. NONE.

Good luck, you can do it, and I promise you that if you do you will feel FANTASTIC on the day. Have a lovely time.

Keep posting on here for encouragement if you like. We can help.

Agree with ditching the frozen stuff. I have them in emergencies but they are not great.

Frozen peas and similar are okay :)

Thank you all, meals have left the freezer and have a shop planned for tomorrow, diet coke has gone down the drain and volvic brought in its place. went for a 40 min walk and felt better for it until ds text to say they are doing zumba classes and have i mananged to get a plus one yet for the big day??!!

Can't help with your sister being a beeyatch I'm afraid.

I've been doing low carb and lost 20lb in the first 9 weeks, so you can make a significant change in that time. I was also a size 22, and I had to drop 30lbs to get into size 18s, so I would also be giving serious consideration to a Plan B on the dress front, no matter how determined you are.

It has taken me a long time to get my head round the weight-loss and you really do have to be determined to do it for you, and not because your sister is being mean.

Good luck !

Also - do you have some decent shapewear to wear under the dress? It won't make you any smaller, but could make the dress sit more nicely and look less bulgy. It might work inconjunction with dieting and exercise?

There's a lot of conflicting advice here with lots of different plans mentioned. I hope you're not getting too confused!

I'm going to advise low-carb, as MsRinky says. It is the yummiest option and it really does work. No calorie counting and no hunger after the first couple of days. You eat meat, fish, eggs, low-carb veg (ie no potatoes, carrots, squash etc), butter, cream, cheese and so on. You can make delicious meals and eating full-fat fills you up properly so you don't need to eat as often. Can't recommend Dr Briffa's book enough - it explains all the science really well.

Oh, and tell your sister to naff off!

so low carb, but you can have a bit of butter. How hard is it to lose the excess carbs? I am no nigella, scrambled eggs are as far as i go!! On the shapewear front I thought about spanx?

If you are going to do low carb join the bootcamp threads. They have lists of WH hat you can and cannot eat. Low carb needs to be done properly.

Word of warning - you can get constipated! Drink lots of water and take a magnesium supplement. Keeps you regular!

It takes a few days to get over the carb cravings - I woke up feeling dizzy and sick on days 3 and 4, but it passed as soon as I'd eaten something. I eat full-fat Greek yoghurt for breakfast, which is much easier than eggs if you're in a hurry. You can have things like cauliflower mash instead of mashed potatoes, for example.