Can I lose half a stone in 2 months?

[JanineStHubbins]

Title says it all really. Don't have a lot to lose, but I can't seem to shift it. I have an event in 2 months time for which I would like to look my best. I cycle 4 miles a day to work, never eat breakfast, don't think I eat very much actually, but half a stone has crept on in the last year.

Any suggestions?

How much do you weigh and how tall are you?

The 'not eating breakfast' will get flagged up early. Eat some protein before heading off; scrambled eggs and salmon.

Cycling won't affect your midriff though you will be very fit, it is the kind of fitness that doesn't shift the pounds, may even add to them. Get a Pilates DVD off eBay, try that for a bit and just avoid sugary choc bars during the day.

Yep, don't skip breakfast - in fact you're much better off moving your calorie intake to earlier in the day so you have time to burn it off. You may not be taking in enough calories and your body has gone into starvation mode. I would have a healthy breakfast, light lunch and salad for dinner. Plenty of fruit, veggies and beans. Mix-up the exercise to have a change, weight training will give you quick results with continued cardio.

Thanks for your reply! I'm 5'4" and 8 stone 12.

I haven't eaten breakfast in years, feel quite nauseous in the mornings so find it difficult to stomach eggs or porridge. I try to stay away from bread and cereal generally.

How can cycling add to pounds? I agree that it doesn't seem to shift the midriff, particularly not at the mileage I'm doing, but I would have thought any little exercise helps.

I follow slimming world and just lost 8lb in a month

You can easily lose that imo. I lost 1 stone in 4 weeks following the harcombe diet. Cycling isn't a weight bearing exercise so you may not lose as much as you expect by cycling a lot.

I'm fine without breakfast too. You're already very light. Why do you want to lose more weight? I suspect you'll have up do something really drastic to lose half stone when you sound like you're at the lower end of what's healthy for your height. I'm slightly shorter than you and was always around your weight until relatively recently. I found it hard to ever get under 8'10. Everyone's different of course. I cycle lots and if you challenge yourself you can easily burn up to 400 calories.

BMI is 21, which is round about the middle I thought? I have a small frame, so am carrying a little bit more weight than I'd like. I have tried cutting out meat last month, and am trying sugar this month, to see if it makes any difference.

Maybe try weights instead of cardio. You'll burn more calories and your body shape will be transformed. You might not even need to lose any pounds :)

Are you on a wind-up Janine? How is cutting out meat going to help, unless what you've been eating was all processed? Meat is protein and protein helps you feel fuller longer.

As for cycling putting on weight, I have in mind my school chum back in the day who would cycle 100 miles and even 200 miles in a day. Always had a porker of a midrift though, despite being so fit. Fitness is not equivalent to losing weight or being silm, in fact the last time I headed to the gym I regretted it as I just ended up eating more and putting it on. Obv muscle tone will put on pounds too but that is not such a big deal.

It also sounds like you body is just not toned rather than actually fat, so try doing the amazingly uncomplicated exercise The Plank and Side Plank (look on YouTube). It is easy, when generally slim, to think you are fatter than you really are because the body fat is all around the stomach while everything else is lean, it actually looks worse than if you are chubby all over. That is why, as teens, we imagined we were fat, despite looking back now and thinking 'But I was 2 stone lighter then than I am now!' The fat was all around the gut.

Oh, drink Green Tea with Jasmine throughout the day, it hits the fat on your midriff. Use same teabag repeatedly to save money. Maybe make Jasmine get her own teabag though.

Just make sure you are eating less calories than you are using up. Around 500 less a day gives you a steady weight loss of 1-2lb per week. Easy to lose in 2 months! Myfitnesspal is great for helping you work out how many calories you burn per day and how many calories are in certain foods. I'm pretty sedentary (burn around 1700 cals per day) so I only eat 1200 if I want to lose weight. It works. I'm guessing you will be able to eat more than that with your cycling.

p.s. not skipping breakfast is only a good idea because you are less likely to over-eat at lunchtime because you'll be less hungry. It has nothing to do with burning calories throughout the day! If thats not a problem for you then don't feel like you have to eat breakfast! I eat breakfast but thats only because if I didn't, I'd be craving a burger by lunchtime!

Fitness Focus is also good for punching in your weight, desired weight and how many calories you need to keep to and when you will hit your target. It is free to use, you don't have to join and pay. Though Myfitness pal as recommended by nearlythere may also do that.

You can do that easily if you are serious about it.

It is very simple (in theory) find out how many calories you need to cut in order to say lose a 1lb a week and then stick to it. There are loads of calculators online.

All exercise is good exercise and there is no evidence to suggest cycling doesn't shift belly fat. All the science tells us that you can not lose fat from specific area's.

One other myth is that general exercise will build muscle, it won't. You may tone/ tighten muscles which is completely different to building muscle. So you won't put weight on from exercise.
If fact many high impact cardio exercise actually helps to deminish muscle (not to a great extent) Hence body builders concertrate on low impact cardio.
Ask a body builder if its easy to gain muscle.

Good luck.....It is easy on paper, most of it is in the mind.

Not on a wind-up! Meat makes me feel sluggish and bloated, and often upsets my digestion, so I've cut it down drastically over the last couple of years (twice a week usually), and cut it out for the last month.

I'll try the green tea - have been drinking fennel tea at work (one tea bag all day ).

Today I had a vegetable panini and salad at lunchtime and a mushroom omelette for dinner. Lots of herbal tea and one cup of real tea with semi-skimmed milk.

Okay, sorry Janine! If meat makes you feel like that,fair enough.

I also recommend Zero Greek Yoghurt with the Tesco fruit tub of strawbs, grapes, blueberries and blackberries, sprinkled with Pret's Naked Nuts. Feels as good as any choccie bar!

Some argue that cream is better than milk.

OP weighs 8st 12lb and wants to lose 7lb. I think your maths is a bit off FatNotFit.

FatnotFit

BMI ranges:
Underweight: BMI is less than 18.5
Normal weight: BMI is 18.5 to 24.9
Overweight: BMI is 25 to 29.9
Obese: BMI is 30 or more
Very obese: BMI is 40 or more

BMI of 21 is about mid-point in the normal range. I think you need to recheck your understanding of the BMI ranges, as well as your maths.

Another vote for having a protein breakfast.

Not that it helps but somebody at work is in a similar position. She runs and cycles and doesn't overeat but says she is a half stone overweight (she is, though I don't openly agree) and has been trying to lose it for a year and can't.

If you succeed I will pass on how you did it.

How old are you?

I couldn't, and I have a great deal more to lose than you.

I don't think breakfast is essential for everyone. I don't eat till lunchtime most days as I am just not hungry. I only eat when I am truly hungry and stop as soon as I am satisfied and I eat whatever I want. Lost 8lb last month.

I'm 31.

Janine it is harder to lose weight as you get older and your body doesn't burn fat at such a high rate as each decade passes. Weights are the best way to increase muscle mass whilst decreasing fat and increasing your metabolism. Protein is needed though when doing weight workouts to feed the muscles. Protein shakes by maximuscle are delicious in banana.

Ahhh bananas are my most hated food ever!! Blurgh.

My DH has some protein shakes (vanilla, chocolate flavours), and the smell makes my stomach turn. Any protein-filled alternatives to shakes?

Thanks for the tip on weights though, maybe I need to start doing the Shred or something like that.