Please help- bridesmaid in 4 weeks and dress is too snug

[notasize10yetbutoneday]

Hi

I have posted a simlar thread in S&B so apologies for X-post but I am really panicking!

WI am due to be a bridesmaid in 4 weeks. I went to try on the dress last night and it does fit (ie it fastens up) but is very snug over the tummy as this is where I carry my fat. Classic apple shape.

Please can someone tell me the best way to lose inches off my tummy within a month? i have done WW/calorie countin in the past but the weight never comes off my tummy. I have also taken up running but this just seems to have defined the muscles more rather than actually flattening it.

is Atkins the way to go? I don't know much about it, do I just eat lots of meat and no bread? I'm on a tight budget so I couldn't eat steak every day or anything.

Any advice welcome as I am really panicking about how I look in this dress!

Thanks

spanx are your friend

Thanks Ruby, I have the Miraclesuit waist cincher which I took with me last night to try on with it, but as the dress is satin it clings to everything and so the bones were clearly visible. Argh! Do I just starve myself and hope for the best?

Thing is I DO eat healthily- cook everything from scratch, no takeways, rarely drink. What's a girl to do?!

4 weeks is long enough to shift quite a few lbs so I'm sure you'll look great in your dress.
You don't need to starve yourself. Eat 3 meals a day and snack on fruit. Try to include protein in all your meals and start the day with a good breakfast (poached/boiled egg on wholegrain toast is a good one).
Try not to eat any or too many carbs at dinner and eat nothing after.
Carry on with exercise.
There's a group of us who are doing really well on the 30 day shred thread. come and join...

Can the dress be let out rather than you feeling under alot of pressure to lose weight quickly?

Hmm I could ask for it to be let out I think Lostgirl but to be honest its the wake up call i needed- I've been faffing around trying to lose weight since Christmas, losing a couple of pounds then putting it back on so I really do need to lose it.

Good point about not eating anyhting after dinner Squid. I love TaeBo so may go back to that as well as running as that does make me feel more toned.

Hi

I have been doing Atkins for the last 6 weeks and have lost 1 stone (which is ok but not brilliant) but all the weight I have lost so far has come off my belly. it looks a lot flatter than it did and most of that change showed within 2 weeks.

The other thing about Atkins is that you don't eat carbs. Carbs cause bloating and water retention - if you got rid of your excess water that would shrink your tummy's appearance considerably without even losing actual fat.

It is a little bit more expensive but you don't have to eat steak all the time.

If you are interested in trying it I will tell you what I have been eating. You need to decide if you are prepared to stick with this for a month thoough, becasue if you start eating carbs at all during the 4 weeks you will just bloat up again straight away.

You would also need to use laxatives now and then as Atkins tends to slow you system down.

Mrs Boogie- yes please I would love to hear what your typical day's eating involves as i have heard so many people say Atkins is the key to a flatter stomach but I just ddin't know where to start.
I am prepared to be hard core if it gets rid of my tummy flab once and for all. Poor DH will have to feed himself for a month!

mrsboogie can I just say a stone in six weeks is very much classed as 'brilliant', not , 'ok'!

i would say eat lean protein (grilled,poached or baked) together with complex carbs like brown rice, couscous or wholewheat pasta and plenty of veg. split food on your plate at a ratio of 1/3 protein,1/3 carbs and the rest veg and a minimum of 30mins/day of cardio exercise like brisk walking. I was advised to never cut out carbs, just have the right carbs in reasonable amounts with all three meals and drink plenty of water. Also bikram yoga could do wonders for you and and is not brak the bank expensive,so look it up and give it a go. Failing that, rubyslippers is on the money

ah I know lostgirl but 10lbs of it was in the first 2 weeks and fr the last four I have been going up and down very slowly.

I would think it was good enough too if I wasn't in the same position as the OP and having to wear a bridesmaid's dress in 6 weeks!!

OP basically I don't have anything with starch or sugar in it. This means that you mostly have to live on:
meat
fish
eggs
veg (mostly green veg but NOT carrots, parsnips, potatoes, swede anything like that)
salad (not to many tomatoes)
Cheese
nuts (check the fibre content - you want high fibre low carb ones like almonds)
cream

So a typical day for me is a boiled agg or two for breakfast (or bacon and eggs at the weekend), cheese or maybe 8 almonds for a snack, lunch would be ham or chicken salad, and dinner either:
fish with stir fry veg
steak with mushrooms
sausages
chicken with veg or salad
spinach and mushroom omelet
cheese omelet
meaty omelet

I try to eat green benas, spinach, cabbage etc in smallish portions

You can't have bread, pasta, lentils or beans, anything processed - nothing out of a tin or packet), potatoes, cake , milk, gravy ketchup, sweets, fizzy drinks or FRUIT!

You must drink at least 2 litres of water a day (NOT all at once but in regular small amounts)

It is a bit "oh god not another lump of meat" at first but on the other hand there is not much novelty in eating so you won't bother eating as much and if you get into ketosis your appetite will shrink.

The thing that makes it easy is to plan your meals and always know what yu are going to eat next. Kept snacky things in the fridge or carry them (slices of ham, cheese, cooked eggs) with you so that you do not weaken and say "oh bugger there's nothing low carb I will have to have a sandwich". Once you get your metabolism burnig fat you need to keep it up so any significant carbs you eat will stop that process for 12 hrs.

good luck!

I hope you like eggs! oh and no milk in your tea and coffee!!

I would keep a food diary, everything you eat and then review it and see what you could (with hindsight) have managed without.
It doesn't take long and doesn't have to be obsessive - just "a portion of beans" "an apple" etc.
I've done this and lost 2 stone without weighing food or counting calories etc

oh and just to say OP - if you don't want to be as full on as the regime that I have described above you could just lay off all pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and anything sugary and drink pleny of water and you will still seen a distinct improvement.

Thanks so much for posting that Mrs Boogie- I do like eggs so thats a start! I think as you suggest I will lay off bread, rice, pasta and potatoes and 'processed' foods for now and see how that goes with the possibility of going hard core the week before the wedding.

What about couscous, is that classed as a carb do you know please? Also lentils, beans etc I suppose would be?

Bacon and eggs here i come- I don't think DH will be complaining!

couscous is a carb, yes and so are lentils and beans - however if you are just low carbing rather than doing Atkins you could still have lentils and beans are they are complex carbs and very good for you.