Is reducing my waist from 33 to 28 inches in 7 months realistic?

[ProudAzureSquid]

Is it possible to go from a 33 inch waist to a 28-29 inch waist in 7 months (I'm a woman and my height is 150cm, weight is 58kg), or is that too ambitious? I'm going abroad for an exchange program and will probably be walking a lot.

My biggest problem is meal planning. I don't eat meat or eggs, and I find it hard to find good low-carb vegetarian recipes, so I'm often not sure what to eat. 😪 If you have any tips, I'd really appreciate it.

can I ask why your waist measurement is so important?

I went from 34inch waist to 28 inches between February and July 2024, so yes.

I wasn't doing much exercise at the time so it was all on calories. I did 12 weeks of Fast 800 Keto which isn't for everyone but worked for me. Lost 24lbs and about 4inches. Then moved on to about 1600 calories a day for another 12 weeks, lost 14lbs and another few inches

Eventually lost a bit more, 50lbs loss in total and waist is now 26.5. I am 168cm and about 67kg - I do alot of weight lifting now so have a decent amount of muscle

You do not need to low carb! Good carbs have vitamin B complex and other good things.

Pilates and weight training will do it. Good luck.k

Hi I have just joined Mumsnet and just seen your post. I have been in the health and fitness industry for a long time, and it is quite difficult to be accurate what you can or cannot achieve in a set time frame. It's really down to what your current eating habits are and what your activity levels are now. Then you would need to look at what you are prepared to change in order for you to achieve your goals. That vision of yourself. Every thing is possible, but possibly not in a strict timeframe. It's very difficult to give advice without knowing a little more about the person!

You will not lose a significant amount of weight with weight training and pilates. Low carb isnt essential but a calorie deficit is

Agreed, you do not initially lose weight, but you improve core muscle tone and posture, which holds the waist in. Then as you increase muscle mass, you burn more calories just by...existing. The conscious breathing in these exercises also helps with feeling refreshed, hence with appetite control.

For pandemic weight gain, I tried calorie deficit and walking. Only hitting the gym and cleanish eating helped. Dramatically.

Strength training will help. Cinches the waist amazingly.

A) I look like a slovenly fat slob
B) trousers and skirts don’t fit correctly
C) Medical advice is not to have a waist measurement over 31 if you’re female
D) why not?

Today I ate:

one boiled egg with one slice of homemade sourdough and hummous

Homemade ice cream made from frozen banana, strawberries, ginger and avocado

vegetable and chickpea curry topped with chicken, no rice

I cup of tea, otherwise water all day. A generous mouthful of beer that I swiped from my husband’s can when he wasn’t looking.

I walked the dog at 7.30-am and spent the rest of the day working at my laptop, pottering around the garden and cleaning the house. I easily do 10k steps per day and do yoga stretches when I feel a bit stiff.

But I don’t do formal (as it were) exercise at the gym, classes or strength training which I should do really.

However, just before Covid I used to swim 3 x per week, go to a yoga class 1 x per week and a gym session which means I would do a daily workout and then walk the dog for 40 mins and I was exactly the same shape. All that’s happened is that I’ve lost my tone, I’ve lost half a stone (muscle has turned to fat) and I feel vvvvv blobby. I can’t get back into exercise so the last 6 years have taken their toll.

Also, I’ve just realised that the Mumsnet AI has changed my title as I didn’t write 7 months! I’m sure I wrote “shrink my waist”!

shiiiiii I’m on the wrong thread! Soeey - I started one of my own and they’ve merged together in my head 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳