Quickest way to lose weight...I have 2 months...Atkins?

[Tamz77]

Hope some of you can help:

I'm going on my first US trip at Easter - yay - and I want to be bikini thin. My top half is fine but hips, arse and thighs, knees and ankles are AWFUL. I have 2 months to drop 1 - 2 dress sizes and it will be hard because I've already dieted down from a size 14 to 12 over summer, slowly, so the fat I have left is the fat I've been carrying for the past ten years or more. Is ATkins the best way to lose it quickly? Usually I'm a really healthy eater eg loads of fruit and veg, rice, salad, v little meat and no red meat. Doesn't Atkins/low carb make you feel really crap and your skin/hair look crap too, with all the meat and fat? Ideas?

Oh and what veg can I eat on Atkins I can't face life without veg even for 2 months!

If you diet is how you describe it, then I think that you need to be looking at an exercise regime rather than a diet tbh.

Atkins will work and fast.

But you will get just as fat again straight away - and then some.

sorry to bear bad news.

I would seriously avoid ATkins

or at aleast read up thotoughly about it before you do it

The fact that you seriously cut down on carbs means that you actually change the way that your body deals with food. I can't explain it properly but you are forcing your body to do something ither than it healthily shoud be

You would lose lots of weight m it does work but then as soon as you reintroduce carbsm it piles back on apparently

and doesn't all veg have carbs, so it would all be out

Wow, quick replies, thanks

Yes I could do with a lot more exercise, all I do is minimal walking (and pretty slow walking, at that; ds is just giving up his buggy). However the time factor is against me; I have ds 6 days a week except while he is in nursery when I have to do my stuff (which is sedentary) and I can't afford home gadgets or a gym membership.

Do you lose weight if all you eat is fruit veg and fish? Or is the fruit and veg still too many carbs?

Don't want to get fat again afterwards, I've had 3 yrs of being a porker since ds...only just back into pre-pregnancy jeans...

what about doing Carol Vordermans detox? you know it is not bad for you and you do lose weight very quickly, and feel better, look better etc.

If you really want to go for it there is always the cabbage soup diet but it is hard and probably not very good for you. (like that ever stops me!)

IMO the reason why atkins is so successful is that it's so boring that you just can't be arsed to eat. . Imagine eating eggs and bacon for breakfast, chicken for lunch, meat for dinner, no veg, no bread, no pasta, no rice ... thanks but no.

Seriously, the reason why atkins is so fast is because it causes your body to produce ketones that burn the fat. You will be lethargic, have headaches, hair will fall out and you will have bad breath. Plus if you're only a size 12 you realistically don't have that much weight to lose.

If you want to lose weight/tone your body in the next two months I would advise you to:

1. count the calories that you are consuming every day. If you are eating less calories than you're burning, you will lose weight.

this site
will help you to work out what calories you are consuming, and what calories you should be consuming to lose a specified amount of weight.

1. Exercise regularly. Do you have a local jim/swimming pool nearby where you can exercise? The more you exercise, the more you will help the fat burning process and the more you will also tone your body into shape.

I did this in July and lost 10 lb in 6 weeks.

hth

tamz, yes, you can still lose weight if you're eating fruit veg and fish, as long as you are consuming less calories than you are burning.

e.g. I want to lose 2 lb a week. according to my height/weight etc, I need 1900 calories a day to maintain my weight. I need 1100 calories a day in order to burn enough fat to lose 2 lb in a week. If I exercise, I burn more calories, and therefore the amount of calories I can consume does rise, which is why exercise is better as it's hard to stay within an 1100 calory limit, but if I burn 300 calories swimming, I can add that to my daily quota, and it's much easier to eat 1400 calories.

also, it's not recommended that you lose more than 2 lb a week. Often when you start dieting you do initially lose more than that because of losing excess water etc, but most of the good diets ultimately even out and you will consistently lose a set amount a week if that makes sense.

diets like the cambridge diet, lighter life etc are good in the sense that losing a high amount of weight is motivational, but in the long term these quick fix diets have a higher likelyhood of regaining the weight because not as much effort has had to go into losing the weight. also, it's not healthy to lose and then gain weight in such a rapid manner.

I think that exercise and restricted cal intake is the best suggestion on here. (not too low cal or you break your metabolism forever)

I really sympathise with not being aboe to exercise - having little ones around really makes it hard. can you go for really long walks with the buggy? Or an exercise DVD - the Nell Mcandrew one is really aerobic and will really help shift the fat or Davina one is good (if you can bear the woman...) I am afraid your options are late night or early morning with these.

It is nice to have a goal in mind.

again where exercising is benefitial is that although you might not necessarily lose more weight, it does help you to tone your body by converting fat to muscle, so although you might not lose the weight you will still look better for it iyswim.

if you don't have money to afford gagetry, and you run up/down stairs? can you invest in a workout dvd that you can do in the mornings?

it doesn't have to be a 5 mile run or 30 lengths of the pool to be exercise.

Just wanted to say that Atkins doesn't involve cutting out veg - quite the contrary. Why does that myth still do the rounds???? It's so wrong...

You cut out pasta, rice, bread - cutting out wheat often makes people feel better anyway. Fruit - so what? you can get everything you need from veg - root veg aren't allowed. No processed foods, no sugar. You drink plenty of water.

I eat meat, fish, some dairy, nuts, lots of fresh veg and salad, olive oil. As I get back to where I want to be I will gradually introduce some carbs - lentils and beans, brown rice, oats, more veg, more nuts and the occasional slice of cake etc.

It does change your metabolism and you do have to stick to it more or less but it doesn't have to be hell. It's a wonderful liberating way to eat in that you lose cravings and rarely get hungry. If you are tempted to binge it's very good.

However I would also echo the comments made about excercise - it's really important.

and the man who invented the concept died of heart failure.

HAven't read the whole thread but i lost loads in 2 months by cutting out processed carbs and sugar.I followed (roughly) the clarke plan .Still had a gin and slimline every night too!
Have lost 2 stone but am a bit stuck on a plateau at the moment

just read your op.I eat all manner of veg except parsnips and potatoes.Have one piece of fruit a day and one slice of toast in the morning.Just give up the rice and all sweet things and you'll probably lose weight.

i will tell you how i lost weight quickly but you have to promise you wont critisise me

i eat a normal healthy diet now!

STOP

bread
pasta
rice
potatoes

CUT OUT

your evening meal 3 times a week, 4 if you can
do something instead while the rest of the family eat the evening meal, like go to the gym

have an orange or 2 or 3 instead with a glass or 2 of wine

i lost 2 and a half stone in about 6 weeks

now i still go to the gym 4 times a week, i still odnt eat bread but i eat pasta rice and potatoes, and sometimes i skip evening meal but not more than twice a week

hth

Dont do atkins ,it makes you feel so ill.
I think Rosemary Conley is very effective for the short term. Basically cut out fat. I dont think thats the right thing to do in the long run but it does give quick results to get you started. ( your brain function and skin tone relies on fat so I dont think you can do R C forever)

From the way you describe your body shape I would say your focus should be more on exercise. You dont have to join a gym or buy any home equipment. If you watch telly in the evening then try doing things in the ad breaks. I do lunges and cow kicks in the ad breaks (2 or 3 minutes of that is enough for me!) . I also do bench presses in the kitchen when I am waiting for the kettle to boil etc.

Stuff like that slots into your day with no extra time or gear needed.

get the food doctor diet club book - it's around a fiver on the book people at the mo. i lost five lbs the first week and hope to even out at a 2lb a week loss. I have 2o lbs - 2 stone to lose before easter as well. lots of leftover lunches for evening meals. tons of veg, no red meat, whole grains, no carbs after 8pm or so. no caffeine or alcohol first week ( I cheated,..) I feel great on it - no cravings or hunger pangs.

If you love veg, have doubts about your hair/skin on the atkins, then don't do it.

and try to increase your exercise - i know it's very difficult with a toddler. If you have supportive friends/partner I'd try and get one or two gym sessions at the weekend - something high aerobic and weight related like body pump and a gentle swim the next day (because you will ache at first if you're not used to exercise..)

good luck! letus know how you get on!

I can't diet at the mo as I am expecting but already planning what to do after as I still had 2 stone to loose from last time

However a friend recommended the Jordan DVD as she drank juices for brekkies and lunch and a sensible dinner combined with exercise. I've had a look and the juices are mega healthy and she sure does look good on it.

Get a copy out the library...

ps if you find something that really works please let me know...

Susan

oh and the Charlie Brookes dvd is very good

Atkins does not require you to cut out veg!!! And most people find their skin and hair improve on it. And it only makes you feel ill for a few weeks until you start fat burning.

Carbs are not a natural food for homo sapiens especially in the huge quantities that people eat them.

nailpolish did you exercise too? That is a hell of a lot in 6 weeks.

yes i started going to the gym and went at least 4 times

tbh, i cant exactly remember how long it took, maybe 6-8 weeks

I am going to try to lose 2.5 stone in 14 weeks - I reckon that's 2.5 llbs a week - not impossible but tricky given that excercise is hard to fit in (have just got a whole load more responsibility at work and gettinmg to the gym is REALLY hard).

But am going to give it a go (agter my two week holiday in the Bahamas that starts tomorrow that is!)

well good luck, remember, no bread or pasta or rice or potatoes