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Weight loss for the summer
Okay, so I'm 5'7" and somewhere between 125 - 130 pounds. I want to lose some weight and get a little bit in shape for the summer. I don't think I'm fat or anything, but I have an incredibly shitty diet. I only have a slight muffin top, but with my pear body shape, my hips look even bigger and it's very noticeable. :( My thighs are pretty big, too.
Anyway, I want to get under 120 pounds (maybe 115?) the HEALTHY way. Is this even possible to do before June? If not, how long would it take? What kind of diet should I stick to? What foods should I avoid? (Please be specific) Also, I have access to my University gym until about May 20; what kind of workouts / machines should I stick to? For how long / how many times a week?
Thank you!
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Want to answer more questions in the Health & Fitness category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Fitness?
I'm five eight and have lost quite a bit of weight, down to about 120 now, so here's what worked for me.
I highly recommend the ToneItUp Bikini Challenge. Katrina and Karena are two amazing trainers who do videos on youtube...for the bikini challenge, they send you emails with tips, recipes, and workouts (videos and printable versions). You can sign up here, it's totally free:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
(It's started already but once you sign up, they will catch you up on everything.)
In terms of food, you want to eat a lot of all natural, organic, "clean" food. That means staying away from processed food- chips, crackers, most cereals, frozen food. The basic rule is that if you read the ingredient list and there's something you don't recognize or a really long word, don't eat it. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables will help keep you full. Also, drinking water is very important for your metabolism- you want to drink half your weight in ounces every day.
The key is replacements.
For example-
Whole wheat bread instead of white bread
Fruit instead of dessert
Brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice or pasta
Sparkling mineral water instead of soda
Egg whites instead of whole scrambled eggs
Almond milk or soy milk instead of regular milk
Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt
Stevia instead of sugar
Also, stay the heck away from "diet" products with fake sugar like aspartame and saccharine. They have been shown to cause weight gain (they slow down your metabolism). Use all-natural stevia instead. (NOT Truvia!)
You need to set a daily calorie goal. For the first few weeks, keeping an online 'food diary' is really helpful to see how much you're really eating and what you need to work on. Here's an awesome free one:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
For most people, eating several small, healthy meals throughout the day works best to curb hunger. Here's an example of what I eat for a day. I aim for around 1400 calories and 28 grams of sugar.
Breakfast- organic hemp protein shake mix with almond milk, cinnamon, and stevia
Mid-morning snack- Apple slices or pomegranate arils
Lunch- Fruit smoothie made with Zico coconut water (no added sugar and super good for you), frozen strawberries, pineapple, mango, raspberry, peach.
Mid-afternoon snack- Either some kind of snack bar, fruit, or nuts.
Dinner- protein and veggies- no starches.
Make sure to carry a water bottle and healthy snack with you so you don't slip up. They sell presliced apples in those little packs, and same with nuts (just make sure there's no added sugar or salt.)
Larabars are really awesome- they usually have around 3 ingredients, all natural, and taste pretty good (the Apple Pie one is my favorite.)
I also like Thinkthin Bars- the Brownie Crunch kind is the best.
The ToneItUp website has tons of healthy recipes. Here's one of my favorite meals- easy to make, delicious, and good for you:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
As for working out...if you want to lose the weight pretty quickly, you'll need to incorporate cardio every day- around 30 minutes. This can be something like a walk, a run (can be on the treadmill) or dancing, and it's best to do first thing in the morning- gives you a boost of energy.
If you sign up for the ToneItUp Bikini Challenge, they send you a calendar with what to do on different days. I try to do different body parts on different days- i.e. Monday arms, Tuesday legs, Wednesday abs. The ToneItUp workouts are really great- not too hard but you see results pretty quickly. I find it helpful to watch the video version first. Women's magazines also have good workouts- try Shape.
Best of luck and let me know if you have any more questions! :)
-Krista, 20/f
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