Five weeks until holiday, looking for realistic weight loss tips

[Kakkilakki]

I have a holiday of a lifetime coming up in 5 weeks. Unfortunately I have had a shitty time recently and haven’t been looking after myself. Drinking too much, eating rubbish and not sleeping well, combined with bucketloads of stress.

I feel rubbish in all my clothes and it has somehow only dawned on me now that my holiday is very soon!!

I am 5ft 6 and just over 10 stone. I have a small frame and don’t carry it well. I will stop drinking alcohol and try to prioritise sleep. Has anyone got any tips to help me feel better about myself asap? I can’t afford new clothes (holiday is costing too much 🫣). Half a stone would be great, more even better.

Prioritise food and movement.
Bin all the rubbish in the house. Yours and the kids’ if they exist. . Everyone can do without junk for 5 weeks. No takeways. No food on you, handbag, car, office drawer and you don’t buy a single item from a corner shop, not even a 99cal cereal bar.
You are going to turn into a rabbit for the next 5 weeks. Mornings you eat rolled oats with flax seeds and chia seeds. No instant oats. Then nothing till lunch which will be a massive cucumber and tomatoes salad with tuna in water. Careful with the dressing. In the afternoon, if you must have a snack, have a unripe pear. In the evening you will have a grilled or poached chicken breast with lettuce, fennel , shredded carrots and so on.
Then move with purpose. Wake up 1 hour earlier , lace up your trainers, and walk briskly for an hour .
Forget bread, pasta, rice or anything with flour. Your carbs will come from oats, lentils or chickpeas and fruit, but not much fruit.
Have sliced bell peppers, freshly cooked green beans, carrot sticks, ….
Don’t eat with a screen and only sitting down at a table. No in front of tv or MN.

I am truly in awe of anyone who could follow @oberuber ’s regime…I would be gnawing my own arm within a day!

However, I am absolutely in agreement that exercise before eating works. It certainly did for me. I doubt I was burning that many calories, but doing it fasted seems to both increase my energy and reduce my appetite for the rest of the day.

Having a really small breakfast also helped me. I find that if I eat a lot early on I can’t stop picking - even if I’ve exercised. I eat a plant based protein yoghurt for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch (if you buy one you can get an approx idea of calories) and dinner with loads and loads of green veg.

And don’t keep snacks in the house!

Don’t do anything extreme, you’ll lose motivation and then feel even worse!

The only thing I’d say be extreme with is if you have a specific “danger” food like crisps! Just stop buying them, ban them from the house. I’m terrible with crisps, I can eat 3-4 packets in one go! Same for chocolate eclairs. This only really applies if you’re like me and have no self control!

You should easily be able to drop 7-10 lbs which will make you look and feel a lot better.

Weigh yourself everyday in the morning but don’t pay much attention to the daily number. Use it to work out your average weight over the week. The weekly average is a more reliable figure because the daily number will go up and down.

Measure your waist and hips - sometimes that can give an accurate measure of progress.

Find an item of clothing that is tight on you now. Take a picture from different angles. Try the same item of clothing on in two weeks and take pictures from the same angles - it will probably still be tight but you’ll notice a difference and this will help you to see the progress you’re making.

Drink loads of water - LOADS OF IT!

If you drink anything with calories in it like juice or fizzy drinks, reduce that - if you usually have 3 cans of coke a day, have one a day with lunch or as an after work treat.

Whatever you’re eating, reduce the portion by a quarter.

Try to eat more high protein and high fibre food.

Get outside and walk loads. However many steps you usually do a day, add 5000 steps to it.

Think about how much alcohol you currently drink and halve it - if you can reduce it even more than that then even better!

Anything else you can do on top of that is brilliant but don’t do anything you won’t be able to stick to. You’ll probably find that once you’ve made a few small changes, it gives you motivation to make other changes.

Cut out alcohol completely,your body priorities dealing with that, you'll almost never lose weight while drinking.
16/8, hard for the first week but try MCT creamer in the morning and cut upfs breads and pasta etc. You should lose half a stone if you stick with that.

If I were starting out, I’d focus on high protein, low carb (specifically slow-release carbs), lots of water, and zero sugar. Honestly, though, the food is only half the battle—it’s really about getting your head in the right space. It took me years to truly understand that. It really winds me up when I hear people say things like ‘I just can't stop eating crisps etc (junk food)’. You absolutely can stop; you start by not buying them. Cravings can feel just like hunger pangs, but you have to remind yourself that you aren't starving and a craving won't kill you. Also cut out snacking. If you start feeling hungry an hour before your next meal, see it as a positive sign. Hunger means your body is actually burning the fat—after all, you can't burn off fuel if the gas tank is constantly being topped up.

How are you getting on OP?

@Slawit aka slaithwaite😁 I agree it's your hormones driving you, its only after being on mounjaro that I've realised it's just hormones ,defy them and you've cracked it

aka Slaithwaite 😂Indeed, are you from the Colone valley or further afield or should I say Huddersfeild?

My advice is relax, enjoy your holiday and don't worry about starving half a stone off your body before you go that will be regained completely over the course of the holiday!

@slawit ,I'm actually Sheffield but I remember someone on telly, being from here,Christa Ackroyd? anyhow I love how it's pronounced.

How are you getting on OP?

I always get this same feeling before a holiday, but it’s usually a week or two before and far too late to lose any meaningful amount of weight!

@oberuber ‘Mornings you eat rolled oats with flax seeds and chia seeds’
would you have yoghurt or milk with the oats? Toast the oats? I’m going to try thank you

Thanks all! Some useful suggestions. :)

I‘m annoyed with myself for leaving it so late! But have lost a pound since I made this post so it’s going in the right direction at least!

Well done. If you can keep going with losing 1lb per week that is almost half a stone.

i read this post the day you wrote it! At the time I had 3 weeks to go until my holiday and felt awful, bloated and all my summer clothes were a bit tight, I had been procrastinating for weeks and usually at about this time before a holiday I would have thought oh just sort it out when you’re back from holiday. But my main driver was that I really didn’t want to come back from holiday another 2/3lbs up as I’d already put on 10lbs since last summer and my work wardrobe was also getting tight and uncomfortable. I read some of the replies saying don’t bother and you can’t do much in 5 weeks and I thought buggar that of course you can do something in 5 weeks and although I’ve only got 3 weeks, I can make a difference. I’m 2 weeks in and have lost 6lbs, my clothes all fit better and I’ve still got a week to go - so just do it! Knuckle down and get it done 😀

That’s amazing, well done! How did you do it?

I agree with @oberuber ’s approach. Not necessarily the exact diet, but making a strict plan and following it. You have to commit to a plan, don’t be half hearted. If you use chat gpt it can give you a similar plan to the one oberuber suggested and tweak it to your personal dietary preferences! Good luck! As @AmIjustgrumpy has shown, a positive mindset works.

About 1200 calories a day which is lower than I’d usually go when losing weight but needs must. No bread, 2 meals a day so fasting really as just have lunch and dinner plus something in the afternoon or evening. Lots of veg, protein, fage yoghurt with fruit. My TDEE is about 1650-1700 calories a day and I’ve done about 900 active calories on top of that. I’m fairly active anyway but been adding in more workouts to get to 900 active calories rather than my general 600-700.

How are you doing @Kakkilakki I am 8lbs down with 3 days to go :) feeling so much better and now actually looking forward to going rather than feeling a hefalump - keep going x

Don’t eat bread!!

I’ve got 2 weeks until my holiday🫣

I lost more than 4 and a half stone in a year and got a bit too slim before slightly falling off the wagon. I felt I could afford to gain 4lbs, I think I gained 8 over a few months but I’ve lost 2lb again so only another 2lb to go. I’m 5 ft 6 and 8st 9 currently. I was 13 stone 1 originally so I know I’m still slim but I’ve got beautiful clothes I need to be able to zip up for holiday😂

I still have a real sweet tooth so have had to just ban it sweets again. The rest of my diet is still really good.

You will feel better for eating better and being more active too. I’ve stuck to the gym and walking every day because I feel great for that. Keep at it💐

@Doyouthinktheyknow You‘ve done brilliantly, well done!

@AmIjustgrumpy and you too, you must be so pleased!

I‘ve lost another pound. Feeling a bit frustrated, I haven’t had a drink in 3 weeks and have been fasting 15 hours every day. And average weekly calories is about 1400. I weigh and track everything. However my jeans feel a bit looser and it’s going in the right direction. Don’t think I can lose 5+lbs to get to my goal in 3 weeks 🤦‍♀️