Thread: Iv got 13 weeks untill my holidays.... Need to lose some weight.......

off to sunny Benidorm 8th June.... with hubby, 3 kids and 3 stone of excess fat !!!
slimming world doesnt do it for me, i constantly cheat
im wondering what is acheivable in 13 weeks? was hoping to do cal counting about 1500 per day... is this do-able? would i include calories from fruit? diet pepsi etc?

Originally Posted by emmah83

off to sunny Benidorm 8th June.... with hubby, 3 kids and 3 stone of excess fat !!!
slimming world doesnt do it for me, i constantly cheat
im wondering what is acheivable in 13 weeks? was hoping to do cal counting about 1500 per day... is this do-able? would i include calories from fruit? diet pepsi etc?

Hiya! Yes you must include calories from fruit - everything that passes your lips, lol. There are no cals in Diet Pepsi (negligible, anyway), but if you can give it up you'll be a lot better off as at the very least it's not good for you, and there are various theories around about it impeding weight loss. I've stopped drinking fizz and feel much better for it. xx

its soo hard giving it up lol..its an addiction lol....
looking at your stats, well done whats your secret? lol xx

Originally Posted by emmah83

its soo hard giving it up lol..its an addiction lol....
looking at your stats, well done whats your secret? lol xx

Thank you, hon! No real secret, other than time and patience, lol. It's taken me 18 months to lose 8 stone, but I don't exercise (health issues) so it's off quite slowly but steadily. I do take Orlistat (fat blocking drug) on prescription, because I had so much to lose and every little helps, but mostly it's just been calorie counting. Do you have MyFitnessPal? It's brilliant for keeping track of everything. As for the Diet Pepsi, I know what you mean - coffee is my vice where drinks are concerned! It's just you see such a lot of negative stuff about diet drinks like that, but if it helps keep you off things that would be worse, then that can only be a good thing - maybe just cut down on it a bit if you do drink a lot of it? I'm certainly not going to advocate drinking loads of water, as I can't stand the stuff so it'd be a bit hypocritical, lol. I hope you get great results - play about with your calorie level if necessary, maybe Google BMR and TDEE to get an idea of the level that may be right for you. xx

Hi there, emmah A sunny summer holiday is great motivation, isn't it? I set my goal to July at the start of the year and at the time, didn't have a holiday planned, but now I do, also to somewhere sunny! So I understand the want to be in shape for the swimming and the sunning and the lovely holiday photos.

As to your questions. You asked how much you could reasonably lose on calorie counting. Well, on *average*, healthy weight-loss occurs at about 0.5 - 1kg a week. In general, if you had about 1200 calories per day, I would say, expect 1kg per week, which would be 13kg over 13 weeks - which is 28 lbs or 2 stone. I think that's doable, IF you had 1200 calories a day total and didn't cheat for the 13 weeks.

I'm not sure if you've done calorie counting before, but it's not a 'diet' as such, where some foods you count and others you don't. I think of it as a maths equation:

If the energy your body takes in is LESS than what it burns, your weight goes down.

The next question is, how many calories should you eat per day?

This website can help you: How Many Calories Do I Require To Lose Weight?

And so can the app, myfitnesspal. If you have a smart phone, I suggest you download that (it's free!) and use it to log your daily calories. Both that website and myfitnesspal will tell you how many calories a day to eat, depending on your weight-loss goal. Both of them will tell you not to eat under 1200 per day, as it's dangerous. You can of course eat 1500 per day, in which case you would probably not lose 2 stone, but more likely one and a half or so. Myfitnesspal also allows you to log your exercise, so that you can eat more than 1200 calories in a day but exercise some of them off and still end up with a net 1200 (which is the same as eating 1200 and doing no exercise in terms of the weight you'll lose).

So, let's say you want to have 1200 a day for maximum weight loss. You either eat 1200 and do no exercise, or you could eat, say, 1500 and go for an hour an 10 minute walk and your net calories would still be 1200, as the walk would burn 300 calories.

I hope that's helpful, just ask us if you have any more questions.

SG.

well done on the weight loss supergroovy dont think i could do 1200 cals , i could do 1500 cals and maybe half hour to an hour excercise most days...
are there any good sites to tell the calorie content of foods?
will take a look at myfitness pal ladies thanks

orlistat is a bit like alli isnt it? i i tried them a while ago and lost 11lb in 3 weeks but not sure if i could try again ...

Originally Posted by emmah83

well done on the weight loss supergroovy dont think i could do 1200 cals , i could do 1500 cals and maybe half hour to an hour excercise most days...
are there any good sites to tell the calorie content of foods?
will take a look at myfitness pal ladies thanks

orlistat is a bit like alli isnt it? i i tried them a while ago and lost 11lb in 3 weeks but not sure if i could try again ...

Hiya! Yes, Alli and Orlistat are the same, but Orlistat is double the strength of Alli and you get it on prescription. I agree with you about 1,200 calories, lol. Too low for me. My Fitness Pal is brilliant as a calorie counter - it tells you the calorie content of most foods you can imagine - but I've always completely ignored its recommended calorie level and set my own, because it sets them too low for my liking! If you work out your BMR from an online calculator, aim to eat at around that level for starters, you can see how it goes and adjust it as you like. xx

Hi emmah,

CalorieKing - Diet and weight loss. Calorie Counter and more is a good website for calculating calories. Also, you can google 'how many calories in [whatever food]', and you will usually get a result.

Some acronyms you will see here are BMR and TDEE. Tracy just advised you to check out what your BMR is and eat at that...I am concerned that might be too low.

BMR is 'base metabolic rate' - it's the number of calories you'd burn every day by doing *nothing*, just what your body burns by you being alive. TDEE is total daily energy expenditure, which is the total calories you burn each day, taking into account your job, any exercise, walking up and down the stairs, having a shower etc. The more active a lifestyle you lead, the higher above your BMR your TDEE will be. With calorie counting, many people recommend eating your TDEE *minus* 20%. It's not recommended to eat your BMR, but Tracy may have a good reason for recommending this to you that I'm unaware of.

These websites will help you gain a more in-depth understanding of these numbers:
http://www.minimins.com/calorie-coun...uld-i-eat.html (The answer to "How Many Calories Should I Eat?")
The Skinny Equation: BMR and TDEE Calculator
TDEE & BMR: What they are and what to do with them | MyFitnessPal.com

As long as you are eating *less* than your TDEE, you will lose weight. How much less you eat will alter the rate at which you lose it. If you eat too little, you can wreck your metabolism and cause yourself a health mischief, which is why it's certainly not recommended to eat under 1200 per day for a woman (unless you're doing an approved VLCD, which is a totally different thing altogether).

However, if you're happy at 1500 a day, go for that, don't worry about all those websites and calculations, and look forward to wearing some nice, summery dresses in a few months' time! You don't have to drop the whole three stone you're going to lose by your holiday to feel significantly better. Even if you lose 1.5 stone you would still notice it!

Just don't then gain it back on holidays and come back and go 'Oh noes! I have to do this all again '

Originally Posted by SuperGroovy

Hi emmah,

CalorieKing - Diet and weight loss. Calorie Counter and more is a good website for calculating calories. Also, you can google 'how many calories in [whatever food]', and you will usually get a result.

Some acronyms you will see here are BMR and TDEE. Tracy just advised you to check out what your BMR is and eat at that...I am concerned that might be too low.

BMR is 'base metabolic rate' - it's the number of calories you'd burn every day by doing *nothing*, just what your body burns by you being alive. TDEE is total daily energy expenditure, which is the total calories you burn each day, taking into account your job, any exercise, walking up and down the stairs, having a shower etc. The more active a lifestyle you lead, the higher above your BMR your TDEE will be. With calorie counting, many people recommend eating your TDEE *minus* 20%. It's not recommended to eat your BMR, but Tracy may have a good reason for recommending this to you that I'm unaware of.

These websites will help you gain a more in-depth understanding of these numbers:
http://www.minimins.com/calorie-coun...uld-i-eat.html (The answer to "How Many Calories Should I Eat?")
The Skinny Equation: BMR and TDEE Calculator
TDEE & BMR: What they are and what to do with them | MyFitnessPal.com

As long as you are eating *less* than your TDEE, you will lose weight. How much less you eat will alter the rate at which you lose it. If you eat too little, you can wreck your metabolism and cause yourself a health mischief, which is why it's certainly not recommended to eat under 1200 per day for a woman (unless you're doing an approved VLCD, which is a totally different thing altogether).

However, if you're happy at 1500 a day, go for that, don't worry about all those websites and calculations, and look forward to wearing some nice, summery dresses in a few months' time! You don't have to drop the whole three stone you're going to lose by your holiday to feel significantly better. Even if you lose 1.5 stone you would still notice it!

Just don't then gain it back on holidays and come back and go 'Oh noes! I have to do this all again '

Sorry, Groovy, you're confusing me a bit! Didn't you say Emma may want to eat about 1,200 net a day for maximum weight loss of 2lbs a week? I suggested that was too low and she should try eating at her BMR, which is a common recommendation when calorie counting. Emma's BMR would be around 1,600 depending on her age (that's for a 35 year old, 5'2", 13.5 stone), so how is it too low? I would never recommend too low a figure, I'm totally against that.

Emma, have a look at this thread if you're interested in the advice not to eat below BMR:

http://www.minimins.com/calorie-coun...-calories.html (Helping you set your recommended amount of calories...)

BUT at the end of the day is is just trial and error until you find what's right for you. Just, please, never go below 1,200. xx

Hi Tracy,

Sorry, I got mixed up I didn't actually calculate her BMR and I also thought that the advice was 'don't eat at your BMR' when it's actually 'don't eat *below* your BMR'. Whoops!

Yes, what Tracy said Also, don't eat below 1200. Hey, Tracy, if emmah's BMR is 1600, does that mean 1500 would also be too low?

Originally Posted by SuperGroovy

Hi Tracy,

Sorry, I got mixed up I didn't actually calculate her BMR and I also thought that the advice was 'don't eat at your BMR' when it's actually 'don't eat *below* your BMR'. Whoops!

Yes, what Tracy said Also, don't eat below 1200. Hey, Tracy, if emmah's BMR is 1600, does that mean 1500 would also be too low?

Lol, thanks, that's ok - I was just getting a bit anxious that you thought I was advising her to eat too little, when I spend half my time on here saying people should eat more. As for whether 1,500 is too low? It depends on how much you do buy into the "don't eat below your BMR" school of thought. It wouldn't be a mile off, but as I said, I would personally start at BMR and see how it goes. I did eat as low as 1,400 for a while, which is below my BMR, but I've increased it now. xx

Hello there! I am off to Benidorm on June 4th and have the same target weight as yourself. I don't expect to lose it all by the time I go but I am hoping to lose at least another 1.5st. All the advice above is sound advice. As for calorie counters I use caloriecount.about.com. I've upped my water intake so I make sure I get 2 litres per day and I exercise half an hour, most days. Usually just Dance Central, some aerobics or walking.
Good luck!!

Hey!! I too have 3 stone to lose before my holiday on 11th June!! Almost identical, Exactly 3 months today. I have to do this I dont want to feel as bad as I did last year xx

I want to lose 2.81 stone by my holiday...my goal date is 1st July...in 20 weeks. Good luck all

By the way, where's Benidorm?

I love sunny holidays Even though I'm in Australia, so it will be winter here, my holiday is still a sort of a summer one because I'm going where it will be much warmer than where I live, very much 'summer' weather With beaches and swimming and such!

I'm going to get myself a new swimsuit when I near goal (ordering it online so it's here by the time I go away)...I love this one:

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/onepiec...iner-one-piece

and this one:

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/onepiec...eams-one-piece

I love the retro styles...I know people say they want a bikini body and I know that doesn't mean you have to wear 'a bikini', but I don't think I'd like wearing a bikini, whatever shape I was in. I want a cute, serviceable one-piece that looks fabulous and doesn't come off when I'm jumping about in the surf or coming off the end of a really fast waterslide, thank you very much!