Holiday weight loss

ashleachrysafis
ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
edited January 30 in Health and Weight Loss
Help please... I need to lose at much weight as possible in three weeks (I know it's not long and barely possible). Is it better to just stick to cardio or is it good to do weights too? Is it good to cut calories (not a ridiculous amount) or is there a better way to make it more effective. I'm not expecting miracles just want to try my best in short time - going on holiday and want to make an extra effort.

Replies

  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Why not just eat at a moderate calorie deficit, buy a flattering swim suit and try to enjoy yourself on your vacation?
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    I will do my best with that but I want to put some effort in before hand. Work hard and eat right but just need advice on how to work hard and eat right :). Either way I'm sure ill have a great time but may boost my confidence.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,421 Member
    I agree.... invest your time in shopping for flattering clothes.. the right clothes will make you look 10 or more pounds thinner than trying to crash diet and lose five pounds in three weeks and wear the same old clothes.

    For sure.. eat at a deficit that is reasonable...you may lose a few pounds before then. but clothes that make you look great will make you enjoy your trip.

    in fact.. think I 'll take my own advice..and buy a few flattering things for myself as well.
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    Yeah I know I will be doing that but want to just do best until then being good also and if more cardio will help that's what I'll aim for. I already generally have a 1200 kcal diet and do at least 500 kcal burn daily but ATM I eat some of that back. So just unsure really of which way that 500 burn is most productive and if 1200 with eat back is good or not good. Not losing anything when I'm doing it so unsure if I'm doing this whole trying to lose weight (on the long run) right?
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    It's not going to be permanent, but I can't say I haven't wanted to do the same before. I usually eat a low sodium and low carb diet that week. Drink a ton of water and try to eat as much fresh food and lean meats as possible.

    Edited to add: this is a short term fix. Want to look your best in a bikini in a week .. kind of thing. If you want to lose weight long term and change your appearance you're going to have to stick with MFP, logging and exercise.
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    It's not going to be permanent, but I can't say I haven't wanted to do the same before. I usually eat a low odim and low carb diet that week. Drink a ton of water and try to eat as much fresh food and lean meats as possible.

    Thank you. I am trying to lose weight slowly and permanently but it doesn't seem to be working with what I'm doing. If I can just at to myself I've worked out hard and eaten the right things then ill feel happy to go on holiday. I'm not ex
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    It's not going to be permanent, but I can't say I haven't wanted to do the same before. I usually eat a low odim and low carb diet that week. Drink a ton of water and try to eat as much fresh food and lean meats as possible.

    Thank you. I am trying to lose weight slowly and permanently but it doesn't seem to be working with what I'm doing. If I can just at to myself I've worked out hard and eaten the right things then ill feel happy to go on holiday. I'm not expecting miracles but just want to try best.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Yeah I know I will be doing that but want to just do best until then being good also and if more cardio will help that's what I'll aim for. I already generally have a 1200 kcal diet and do at least 500 kcal burn daily but ATM I eat some of that back. So just unsure really of which way that 500 burn is most productive and if 1200 with eat back is good or not good. Not losing anything when I'm doing it so unsure if I'm doing this whole trying to lose weight (on the long run) right?

    It would probably actually work better if you committed to actually doing the program.

    You would lose weight if you logged every single day. That's how MFP works. You log your food, do your exercise, eat back the exercise cals and stay consistent.
    You can't complain about not losing weight with an empty diary.
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    Yeah I can... I've been on holiday this week and it was a decision I made not to log
    food as its being cooked for me and didn't want to panic. Before last week I was a constant logger since I started a couple months ago. I haven't lost a lb. I've upped my exercise ( I exercise at least 5
    Days a week if not more ) and eat back kcal and try to stay in macros. Hence why asking for
    Opinions on what I can do differently. I will start that again on Sunday and will continue to next holiday and will continue after that week. I have still continued to exercise but can't dictate what I eat this week.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Yeah I can... I've been on holiday this week and it was a decision I made not to log
    food as its being cooked for me and didn't want to panic. Before last week I was a constant logger since I started a couple months ago. I haven't lost a lb. I've upped my exercise ( I exercise at least 5
    Days a week if not more ) and eat back kcal and try to stay in macros. Hence why asking for
    Opinions on what I can do differently. I will start that again on Sunday and will continue to next holiday and will continue after that week. I have still continued to exercise but can't dictate what I eat this week.

    I wasn't just talking about this week. You have a lot of empty days. Back in June, several empty days. May is the same story. I didn't look back further than that. So, you log consistently for a short period of time. Then you slack off. Then you log again, then slack off. It's a cycle you need to break or you won't get the results you want.

    I'm not trying to be mean, but you're asking for help and I'm telling you why you're not losing weight. You aren't doing the program. Be 100% consistent and you will see results.
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    I am unsure why it's not filled in tbh as my diet doesn't change that much :S. I will keep an eye on that though. Any other tips? 1200 okay and eat back kcals. I've been trying to keep to a 35% carb and protein 30% fat. I've also been doing yoga 3x weekly and cardio couple times + and weights once a week. Tips are appriciated.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    I remember these days. I've spent literally years waiting until 3 - 4 weeks before a special occasion to start "really trying". It's a cycle that I could never break. It never worked either.

    When you decide that being healthy and feeling good about yourself is your priority - when you want that more than anything else - then you will be successful. When you want it enough to live it EVERY day - then you will be successful. The advice you're getting here is spot on. Listen and learn.

    I did. I have been listening to Lora for a long time. She knows (and lives) what she's talking about.
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    O I've been trying for couple of months to generally lose weight as I'm getting married next year so have cut the rubbish out etc but just want to make extra effort for next couple weeks. I will be continuing with it when I get back until the wedding as I want to lose a stone. Just good tips is what I'm after
  • LassoOfTruth
    LassoOfTruth Posts: 735 Member
    Why not just eat at a moderate calorie deficit, buy a flattering swim suit and try to enjoy yourself on your vacation?

    FTW
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    Why not just eat at a moderate calorie deficit, buy a flattering swim suit and try to enjoy yourself on your vacation?

    FTW

    FTW??
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Why not just eat at a moderate calorie deficit, buy a flattering swim suit and try to enjoy yourself on your vacation?

    FTW

    FTW??

    for the win.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    A pound to a pound and a half a week is a good, sustainable loss.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    I don't have time right this minute to click back in your whole diary, but if what Lora says is true (and I'm going to run with that based on past experience with her) then it is entirely possible that you have been eating back all your gains during those times you are not logging. That is a very realistic possibility as to what's been hindering your weight loss in the past.

    Rather than kill myself with cardio as that seems to be your next idea. Why not estimate what ONE of those non logged days might have looked like and then get a spreadsheet or calculator out and see if that might not have been days of eating over your cal goals sufficient to make the days you logged average out to maintenance level cals over a weeks time.

    Do you know how to get an average? For the week say? If you were able to estimate one of those non logged days and times it by how many non logged days you had?

    All the cardio in the world is not going to mean anything if you are eating more calories than you are burning and there is no way to know without logging. From now until your holiday log completely. Accurately. It's like getting dressed. The cal counting is your underwear and the exercise is your outer clothes.

    traininggirl-eating_300.jpg

    I know that well meaning people always say "Oh it's just one day" or "oh you can fix it today is a new day" or "oh don't worry it's not the end of the world you can start over tomorrow". This can be true if overall our actions are on the right track. IF it's referring to too many days or if just a few of those days are such calorie heavy days as to take over the other days and bring your weekly average to maintenance or gaining level cals then no that's not going to result in weight loss.

    ALL that being said. There are temporary things you can do that will make you look nice for one or two days worth of photos. You wear a neoprene thing on a part of your body that you want to look slimmer from now until picture time. You can get a spa wrap treatment that will temporarily give you a slightly slimmer look. You can diet in a way that flushes excess water from your system temporarily like the competitors do before going on stage. You may get one or two days of good vacation photos out of this and then your body will go back to whatever state you were able to get it to thru diet and exercise. Possibly an improvement from now, but not as precise as with all that tinkering above. An allover tan will make you look slimmer going in as well. The right clothing will certainly do wonders. You can google swimsuits for your body type and cover ups for same and whatnot.

    Finally if you're going out make up with contouring well blended and done right can make you appear slimmer as well. I know it seems like a long answer but I can tell the pressures on with you and you want INSTA skinny, NOW and are going to accept nothing less than magic tricks. These are magic tricks in every sense of the word. They do the impossible but it's just an illusion.

    I know, though that facebook profile pic is looming and you just want to have some good photos to put there. So time it right, look at your itinerary and plan your tan, wraps, and whatnot for the right day to be photo ready, whether it's the pic they take when you step on the cruise ship, or the one of you parasailing from several feet away. If you time it right and spend enough money you can look about 5 lbs thinner doing ALL these things. Unsure anyone will notice though, because I've lost 25 lbs and only 2 people have commented? So, yeah IDK, you can judge if it's worth the tricks or just do your normal routine and hunker down on the cal counts and regard this vacay as just fun and not a photo op.

    ETA: ^ Oh it appears I did have quite a bit of time after all. *shrug*
  • ashleachrysafis
    ashleachrysafis Posts: 107
    I don't have time right this minute to click back in your whole diary, but if what Lora says is true (and I'm going to run with that based on past experience with her) then it is entirely possible that you have been eating back all your gains during those times you are not logging. That is a very realistic possibility as to what's been hindering your weight loss in the past.

    Rather than kill myself with cardio as that seems to be your next idea. Why not estimate what ONE of those non logged days might have looked like and then get a spreadsheet or calculator out and see if that might not have been days of eating over your cal goals sufficient to make the days you logged average out to maintenance level cals over a weeks time.

    Do you know how to get an average? For the week say? If you were able to estimate one of those non logged days and times it by how many non logged days you had?

    All the cardio in the world is not going to mean anything if you are eating more calories than you are burning and there is no way to know without logging. From now until your holiday log completely. Accurately. It's like getting dressed. The cal counting is your underwear and the exercise is your outer clothes.

    traininggirl-eating_300.jpg

    I know that well meaning people always say "Oh it's just one day" or "oh you can fix it today is a new day" or "oh don't worry it's not the end of the world you can start over tomorrow". This can be true if overall our actions are on the right track. IF it's referring to too many days or if just a few of those days are such calorie heavy days as to take over the other days and bring your weekly average to maintenance or gaining level cals then no that's not going to result in weight loss.

    ALL that being said. There are temporary things you can do that will make you look nice for one or two days worth of photos. You wear a neoprene thing on a part of your body that you want to look slimmer from now until picture time. You can get a spa wrap treatment that will temporarily give you a slightly slimmer look. You can diet in a way that flushes excess water from your system temporarily like the competitors do before going on stage. You may get one or two days of good vacation photos out of this and then your body will go back to whatever state you were able to get it to thru diet and exercise. Possibly an improvement from now, but not as precise as with all that tinkering above. An allover tan will make you look slimmer going in as well. The right clothing will certainly do wonders. You can google swimsuits for your body type and cover ups for same and whatnot.

    Finally if you're going out make up with contouring well blended and done right can make you appear slimmer as well. I know it seems like a long answer but I can tell the pressures on with you and you want INSTA skinny, NOW and are going to accept nothing less than magic tricks. These are magic tricks in every sense of the word. They do the impossible but it's just an illusion.

    I know, though that facebook profile pic is looming and you just want to have some good photos to put there. So time it right, look at your itinerary and plan your tan, wraps, and whatnot for the right day to be photo ready, whether it's the pic they take when you step on the cruise ship, or the one of you parasailing from several feet away. If you time it right and spend enough money you can look about 5 lbs thinner doing ALL these things. Unsure anyone will notice though, because I've lost 25 lbs and only 2 people have commented? So, yeah IDK, you can judge if it's worth the tricks or just do your normal routine and hunker down on the cal counts and regard this vacay as just fun and not a photo op.

    ETA: ^ Oh it appears I did have quite a bit of time after all. *shrug*

    Tbh I've prob not explained the first bit correctly. I'm not expecting a miracle or anything and would be more than happy losing the 3-5 thats sensible in those 3 weeks. I suppose i am just asking for tips so that i didnt waste those 3 weeks and not lose a lb and feel like its all for nothing. I'm expecting this to be a long term solution not a quick fix as I am trying to lose a stone / stone and a half by next aug for my wedding and want to do that properly and last. I don't know why I haven't logged all the time and will make sure I start doing that as I don't recall eating very differently (unless maybe it was that week of the month as I do struggle horrifically around this time). I'm unsure.

    Thank you though that's helped.
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