Wedding in four weeks – hope to shed those last stubborn kilos

This topic contains 3 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by simcoeluv 9 years, 7 months ago.

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SophieCo120

7:53 am
14 Oct 14
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Hi everyone!

I am starting this method today. My wedding is only 25 days away and though I’m at a healthy weight for my height, I’d like to shed those stubborn 3-5 kilos all women seem to want to lose, just to look a bit sharper on the big day. I especially want to slim down my arms a bit (bit of a problem area for me) and my calves, as I’ll be wearing a short dress, but I know you can’t spot reduce so I’m hoping to just lose a little bit all over.

I know it’s an ambitious goal I’m setting myself, but I’d like to lose at least 3-4 kilos in the next couple of weeks. I run 3x/week and do light weight training and core exercises about 2x/week.

Since I’ve only got a couple of weeks, I plan on doing the fast beach diet, so aside from restricting on my two fasting days, I will also watch my intake on the other days.

I already tried this diet for about two weeks last Spring and lost 2.5kg, which I kept off until after Summer when I went a bit wild and ate everything in sight, while also seriously slacking in my workout routine. Now I want to get back on track and just feel happy and confident in my wedding dress!

If I manage to lose the weight, I plan on maintaining afterwards by doing one fast day per week. Generally speaking I think my eating habits are quite healthy and balanced, with the occasional treats of course.

I do realise that it’s a luxury that I don’t really *have* to lose weight, but I’d still very much appreciate to hear everyone’s tips and tricks and own experiences with this method! Is there anyone else who managed to lose up to 5 kilos (though, like I said, I’ll be happy with 3!) in such a short amount of time? Is it doable? Did you lose inches as well, and most importantly, did you look slimmer?
I find it hard to believe that this method actually helps you lose fat in such a short amount of time, regardless of the weight you drop on the scale, but I’d be delighted to hear that I’m wrong! Please tell me your stories 🙂

simcoeluv

3:26 pm
14 Oct 14
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Hi Sophie:

5:2 is not a quick weight loss diet. To see how much you might lose in a hurry, figure out your TDEE, multiply it by 7 (days in week), and divide the result by 3500 (calories you need to cut from your diet to lose a pound). That result will be how much you might lose in a week if you do not eat any food at all (put another way, do not ingest any calories from food or drink). Any food you eat will reduce the potential maximum weight loss. It is not recommended you do complete fasts for any length of time without medical supervision. Here is more information on TDEE: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/tdee-for-the-curious-or-why-dont-i-lose-weight-faster/

You may lose more weight initially, but it will be water weight and you will either gain it back or plateau until real, fat weight loss catches up.

SophieCo120

7:27 am
15 Oct 14
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Thanks for your response simcoeluv!

I definitely do not intend to do complete fasts, I’m motivated but I simply love my food too much! 🙂

Yesterday was my first fast day and it went pretty well, didn’t even really feel hungry at all. I weighed this morning and was down 1.2 kilos since yesterday morning, but I do realize it’s water weight. However, if I keep it up the next three weeks and do my regular workouts (3x/week running, two of which are HIIT sessions) and still create a calorie deficit the other days, surely after a couple of weeks I should lose some actual fat as well? Wouldn’t my body have to make up for the shortage in calories by getting it elsewhere?
Also, I already drink quite a lot of water every day (about 2.5 litres I think), even when I’m not trying to lose weight, and now I’m drinking more. I know the body holds on to excess water pretty much arbitrarily, but wouldn’t the fact that I am in no way dehydrated also count for something? Or would that just mean I’d plateau pretty early on?

Again, I really don’t intend to continue losing weight this way, it’s not sustainable in the long run (as Mimi Spencer also clearly states), so after my wedding I will do the regular 5:2 diet and just eat normally the other days of the week, but right now I want a little head start.

Do you think losing at least some weight in actual fat is possible this way?
Thanks again for your insights, I really appreciate them!

simcoeluv

3:43 pm
15 Oct 14
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Sophie:

You will certainly lose some fat weight if you cut your calories. And losing water weight is not necessarily bad.

Water weight is a mystery for many, and the body does seem to act arbitrarily sometimes. The initial water weight loss many experience comes from a reduction in glycogen in the liver. As food intake is reduced on diet days, liver glycogen is converted to energy to support the needs of the body. The thing is, for every gram of glycogen, there are about 3 to 4 grams of water and as the glycogen is used the water is released. That is why many that start the diet report they have to make several additional trips to the loo.

This ultimately slows down, but high carb meals rapidly increase glycogen stores, which requires additional water and added water weight. That is why many report they have better weight loss and less weight variation by eating low carb meals.

Try to do your diet days correctly, don’t exercise too much, and you should lose some weight by the wedding.

I’m sure you will have a great wedding. Best of luck!