Help I've left it too late. How best to lose weight in 4 weeks.x

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I've been using mfp for a while and been losing weight hut very slowly. However I now have 4 weeks to my holiday and another half stone to lose.
I admit I have been being a bit rubbish and having one day off a week where i eat whatever I feel like, chocolate, cake, takeaway,the lot! It's been like a reward for dieting all week.
Currently on 1200 calories a day.( sometimes it's been 1400 as I feel like I need a chocolate fix each day)
My question is how is the best way to lose the 7lb I need to lose in 4 weeks.
I want to enjoy my holiday but I currently know I won't without losing the 7lbs of flab!
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Don't see what difference 7lbs scale weight is going to make to your ability to enjoy your holiday

    Losing 7lb in 4 weeks when you are near your goal weight is kind of nonsensical as you should be at a low cut by now

    But if the scale weight matters to you that much you could always just drop your carbs to below 50g a day and get a water weight loss

    Personally I'd stick to my calories and up my cardio and make sure I'm lifting heavy and progressively

    And plan my holiday to continue my weight loss - perhaps switching to maintenance but continuing to be aware of movement and intake

    When one is specific goal orientated one ends up yo-yo dieting
  • robs_ready
    robs_ready Posts: 1,488 Member
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    Half a stone in 4 weeks is pretty achievable.

    That's 2lbs a week just over.

    Eat 1500 calories a day, walk for an hour a day briskly, and do resistance training 3 times a week.

  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    Why 7 pounds? where are you getting that number from?
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    The worst thing you can do is try to speed up the weight loss for your holiday.

    With drastic action you may increase weight loss but this will be at the expense of your health and when you get on holiday and start to eat and drink without logging (which I assume you intend to do?) you will pile on water weight and feel bloated.

    In most cases I try to eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks prior to a holiday but in your instance I think that the best and most sensible thing that you can do is:
    • Log accurately 7 days a week
    • Incorporate foods you enjoy into your weekly eating plan (budget for them) rather than having a day off
    • Ensure that your calorific target is reasonable - don't aim for a fast loss, aim for a sustainable loss
    • Get a decent fake tan before you go away - I'm told (by Mrs StealthHealth) that these give the impression of weight loss.
    • Plan to enjoy your holiday to the fullest.
  • Helloidentitycrisis
    Options
    I suggest... The gym! Intense workouts are going to help you lose as much as possible! You won't have time to faff about though so make sure you get yourself sweating!

    I personally suggest weight lifting as it can help tone you in the long run (assuming you'll be back after your holiday) and well, because I hate and struggle to do more than a few minutes of most cardio! I also find that I'm less inclined to be hungry after a strength session than a run or spinning class!

    Eat back half the calories you earn from exercise or less! This is because its widely accepted that MFP often exaggerates how much you burn.
    • a good idea is to just log half - if you do 30 minutes of jogging, log 15.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    robs_ready wrote: »
    Half a stone in 4 weeks is pretty achievable.

    That's 2lbs a week just over.

    Eat 1500 calories a day, walk for an hour a day briskly, and do resistance training 3 times a week.

    where did the OP put their stats in order to get to this result? If I ate 1500 calories a day, walked an hour a day briskly and did resistance training 3 times a week I wouldn't lose anywhere NEAR 2lbs a week (hint - my TDEE without exercise is around 1500 calories)
  • michaelanow
    michaelanow Posts: 7 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Don't see what difference 7lbs scale weight is going to make to your ability to enjoy your holiday

    Losing 7lb in 4 weeks when you are near your goal weight is kind of nonsensical as you should be at a low cut by now

    But if the scale weight matters to you that much you could always just drop your carbs to below 50g a day and get a water weight loss

    Personally I'd stick to my calories and up my cardio and make sure I'm lifting heavy and progressively

    And plan my holiday to continue my weight loss - perhaps switching to maintenance but continuing to be aware of movement and intake

    When one is specific goal orientated one ends up yo-yo dieting

    I would say I have a stone to get to my ideal body weight but half a stone would mean I'd be 'bikini happy'. It'd help me enjoy my holiday as I wouldn't feel crappy about myself.
    I have a husband who works away and 2 kids and that limits what exercise I can do but I can manage at least 3 gym classes a week.
    Thanks for the advice
  • michaelanow
    michaelanow Posts: 7 Member
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    The worst thing you can do is try to speed up the weight loss for your holiday.

    With drastic action you may increase weight loss but this will be at the expense of your health and when you get on holiday and start to eat and drink without logging (which I assume you intend to do?) you will pile on water weight and feel bloated.

    In most cases I try to eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks prior to a holiday but in your instance I think that the best and most sensible thing that you can do is:
    • Log accurately 7 days a week
    • Incorporate foods you enjoy into your weekly eating plan (budget for them) rather than having a day off
    • Ensure that your calorific target is reasonable - don't aim for a fast loss, aim for a sustainable loss
    • Get a decent fake tan before you go away - I'm told (by Mrs StealthHealth) that these give the impression of weight loss.
    • Plan to enjoy your holiday to the fullest.
    t
    Thank you for the advice. You're right that I could incorporate the food into my weekly calories and drop the day off where I don't log calories at all!!
  • michaelanow
    michaelanow Posts: 7 Member
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    robs_ready wrote: »
    Half a stone in 4 weeks is pretty achievable.

    That's 2lbs a week just over.

    Eat 1500 calories a day, walk for an hour a day briskly, and do resistance training 3 times a week.

    I don't think eating 1500 calories would give me any loss unfortunately. I tried eating at that calorie level and my weight didn't budge.
    Thanks though
  • michaelanow
    michaelanow Posts: 7 Member
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    amyr271 wrote: »
    Why 7 pounds? where are you getting that number from?
    7lbs I think would make me feel if lost 'enough' visually to feel ok on holiday.
  • michaelanow
    michaelanow Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    I suggest... The gym! Intense workouts are going to help you lose as much as possible! You won't have time to faff about though so make sure you get yourself sweating!

    I personally suggest weight lifting as it can help tone you in the long run (assuming you'll be back after your holiday) and well, because I hate and struggle to do more than a few minutes of most cardio! I also find that I'm less inclined to be hungry after a strength session than a run or spinning class!

    Eat back half the calories you earn from exercise or less! This is because its widely accepted that MFP often exaggerates how much you burn.
    • a good idea is to just log half - if you do 30 minutes of jogging, log 15.

    I can get to the gym at least 3 times a week but that's less than if like to.
    Thanks for the tip re exercise calories as I did think it said I'd burned a massive amount when I put in my exercise.
  • Helloidentitycrisis
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Don't see what difference 7lbs scale weight is going to make to your ability to enjoy your holiday

    Losing 7lb in 4 weeks when you are near your goal weight is kind of nonsensical as you should be at a low cut by now

    But if the scale weight matters to you that much you could always just drop your carbs to below 50g a day and get a water weight loss

    Personally I'd stick to my calories and up my cardio and make sure I'm lifting heavy and progressively

    And plan my holiday to continue my weight loss - perhaps switching to maintenance but continuing to be aware of movement and intake

    When one is specific goal orientated one ends up yo-yo dieting

    I would say I have a stone to get to my ideal body weight but half a stone would mean I'd be 'bikini happy'. It'd help me enjoy my holiday as I wouldn't feel crappy about myself.
    I have a husband who works away and 2 kids and that limits what exercise I can do but I can manage at least 3 gym classes a week.
    Thanks for the advice

    Go to the gym whenever you get the chance!

    Don't be afraid to do exercise at home!

    Buggy walks are suuuuch good exercise, depending how old your kids are and if they're too big for a buggy then walking is good for them too!

    Other benefits may include:
    • tired/quiet children (less fuss at bedtime)!
    • 1hr walk = 1hr that they aren't making a mess!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    robs_ready wrote: »
    Half a stone in 4 weeks is pretty achievable.

    That's 2lbs a week just over.

    Eat 1500 calories a day, walk for an hour a day briskly, and do resistance training 3 times a week.

    I don't think eating 1500 calories would give me any loss unfortunately. I tried eating at that calorie level and my weight didn't budge.
    Thanks though

    .. right. Because you probably eat 3000 calories or more on week ends.

    So.. stop doing that, and eat 1500 a day.
  • Heartisalonelyhunter
    Heartisalonelyhunter Posts: 786 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Well it's only a 2lb a week. You could do it if you tried hard enough and stopped stuffing your face at weekends.
    However how tall are you? 8lbs doesn't really make much difference to how I look (I stay the same size) but I'm pretty tall.

    On a personal note I hate the term 'bikini ready'. Everyone is bikini ready at any weight. You can wear what you like and life is really too short to care what other people think of you or your body.
  • belinda_73
    belinda_73 Posts: 148 Member
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    look up intermittent fasting. there's a couple of ways they suggest, one is skipping breakfast and lunch being your first meal. or one day fast. if I skip breakfast and have eggs, spinach, piece of fruit at 10, I have fuel for my lunch workout. i'm not usually hungry again until 2.
  • belinda_73
    belinda_73 Posts: 148 Member
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    oh and even jillian michaels skips breakfast, still do your 1200 cals a day, just space them apart.
  • ctraugh
    ctraugh Posts: 17 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Don't see what difference 7lbs scale weight is going to make to your ability to enjoy your holiday

    Losing 7lb in 4 weeks when you are near your goal weight is kind of nonsensical as you should be at a low cut by now

    But if the scale weight matters to you that much you could always just drop your carbs to below 50g a day and get a water weight loss

    Personally I'd stick to my calories and up my cardio and make sure I'm lifting heavy and progressively

    And plan my holiday to continue my weight loss - perhaps switching to maintenance but continuing to be aware of movement and intake

    When one is specific goal orientated one ends up yo-yo dieting

    I would say I have a stone to get to my ideal body weight but half a stone would mean I'd be 'bikini happy'. It'd help me enjoy my holiday as I wouldn't feel crappy about myself.
    I have a husband who works away and 2 kids and that limits what exercise I can do but I can manage at least 3 gym classes a week.
    Thanks for the advice

    In my opinion, if you are worried about being bikini happy, don't worry about the scale. Go to the gym or do home exercises that will concentrate on your problem areas? Belly = crunches / row Butt = squats Arms = push ups. This is my take on it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Options
    belfle wrote: »
    look up intermittent fasting. there's a couple of ways they suggest, one is skipping breakfast and lunch being your first meal. or one day fast. if I skip breakfast and have eggs, spinach, piece of fruit at 10, I have fuel for my lunch workout. i'm not usually hungry again until 2.

    .. 10am is breakfast.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Options
    ctraugh wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Don't see what difference 7lbs scale weight is going to make to your ability to enjoy your holiday

    Losing 7lb in 4 weeks when you are near your goal weight is kind of nonsensical as you should be at a low cut by now

    But if the scale weight matters to you that much you could always just drop your carbs to below 50g a day and get a water weight loss

    Personally I'd stick to my calories and up my cardio and make sure I'm lifting heavy and progressively

    And plan my holiday to continue my weight loss - perhaps switching to maintenance but continuing to be aware of movement and intake

    When one is specific goal orientated one ends up yo-yo dieting

    I would say I have a stone to get to my ideal body weight but half a stone would mean I'd be 'bikini happy'. It'd help me enjoy my holiday as I wouldn't feel crappy about myself.
    I have a husband who works away and 2 kids and that limits what exercise I can do but I can manage at least 3 gym classes a week.
    Thanks for the advice

    In my opinion, if you are worried about being bikini happy, don't worry about the scale. Go to the gym or do home exercises that will concentrate on your problem areas? Belly = crunches / row Butt = squats Arms = push ups. This is my take on it.

    Absolutely awful advice. You cannot spot reduce - exercising the abs will not decrease mid-section fat any better than doing calf raises (for example).

    My advice
    • Log accurately 7 days a week
    • Incorporate foods you enjoy into your weekly eating plan (budget for them) rather than having a day off
    • Ensure that your calorific target is reasonable - don't aim for a fast loss, aim for a sustainable loss
    • Get a decent fake tan before you go away - I'm told (by Mrs StealthHealth) that these give the impression of weight loss.
    • Plan to enjoy your holiday to the fullest.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
    Options
    I've been using mfp for a while and been losing weight hut very slowly. However I now have 4 weeks to my holiday and another half stone to lose.
    I admit I have been being a bit rubbish and having one day off a week where i eat whatever I feel like, chocolate, cake, takeaway,the lot! It's been like a reward for dieting all week.
    Currently on 1200 calories a day.( sometimes it's been 1400 as I feel like I need a chocolate fix each day)
    My question is how is the best way to lose the 7lb I need to lose in 4 weeks.
    I want to enjoy my holiday but I currently know I won't without losing the 7lbs of flab!
    Thanks in advance for any help.

    Alas, your reward day is ruining all your hard work from the other 6 days.

    When I want to eat more on the weekends, I exercise more.