Anyone has any effective methods to slim down for my big day?

[Dancerinangie]

Hi all,

I'm planning to lose 10kg by Dec for my big day. Has anyone successfully done it? Please share your experience. Thank you.

 

[chinleng]

I'm not a bride but I've done the following that worked for me.

If you would like to accelerate your weight loss, you may want to consider doing the following. This is what I've done to drop my weight from 78kg to 64kg in a year's time. These are also some lifestyle changes that will continue to keep your weight loss after you've slimmed down.

Increase metabolic rate

1. Increase your metabolic rate by drinking enough water and having enough sleep. A good guide will be about 8 glasses of plain water (2 litres) per day. I drink 4 glasses of water before noon and another 4 glasses of water by 6 pm. I drink my first glass of water each morning once I woke up. Also, aim to have 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day. When you don't drink enough water or have enough sleep, your body will lower your metabolic rate to conserve energy. Lower metabolic rate will burn less calories. So you want to maintain a higher metabolic rate.

2. Exercise at home every alternate day. I started with 15 mins daily then progressing to longer stretches each session. Monitor your own progress and adjust accordingly. I'll share the exercise routine I started with at the end of the post if you are interested.

Reduce empty calories

1. Cut sugar. Sugar is really calories dense. I cut by just drinking only plain water and coffee or tea black (no milk, no sugar). Avoid bubble tea, soft drinks and fruit juices. Just stick with plain water.

2. Cut fried and oily food. Avoid food with lots of oil and gravy. Gravy usually contain sugar too.

3. Reduce dairy products like milk and cheese.

We have about 3 meals a day, so 21 days a week. If 80% of your meals are on point per week, you'll be able to see improvements in 2 weeks to a month's time. Weight loss or gain, 80% is contributed by the food we eat and 20% is exercise or lack thereof.

My exercise regime:
1. Mountain climber x 20
2. Push-up (or knee push up) x 20
3. Crunches x 20
4. Squats x 20
5. Jumping jacks x 50

You can adjust the above number accordingly, like maybe jumping jacks x 25 instead of 50. You can start with 1 set per time. Then next week increase to 2 sets per time. Then gradually move to 3 sets. Rest 30 seconds between each set. It's ok if you need more time to catch your breath. Listen to your body.

Please note that I'm not a fitness instructor nor a nutritionist. I'm just sharing my experience for your reference.

P.S:

What is a healthy weight loss goal?

• Losing weight does not happen overnight. Fad diets and quick weight-loss fixes are not sustainable in the long term and may be harmful to your body. A good, healthy weight loss programme should adopt the concept of energy balance as its guiding principle. To lose weight, your body needs to burn more calories than you consume. This can be achieved through a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
• If your BMI is 23 kg/m2 and above, losing 10% to 15% of your current body weight over 6 months at a rate of 0.5kg to 1 kg a week is a healthy target.

Quoted from: https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/410/Healthy Weight

 

[Dancerinangie]

I'm not a bride but I've done the following that worked for me.

If you would like to accelerate your weight loss, you may want to consider doing the following. This is what I've done to drop my weight from 78kg to 64kg in a year's time. These are also some lifestyle changes that will continue to keep your weight loss after you've slimmed down.

Increase metabolic rate

1. Increase your metabolic rate by drinking enough water and having enough sleep. A good guide will be about 8 glasses of plain water (2 litres) per day. I drink 4 glasses of water before noon and another 4 glasses of water by 6 pm. I drink my first glass of water each morning once I woke up. Also, aim to have 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day. When you don't drink enough water or have enough sleep, your body will lower your metabolic rate to conserve energy. Lower metabolic rate will burn less calories. So you want to maintain a higher metabolic rate.

2. Exercise at home every alternate day. I started with 15 mins daily then progressing to longer stretches each session. Monitor your own progress and adjust accordingly. I'll share the exercise routine I started with at the end of the post if you are interested.

Reduce empty calories

1. Cut sugar. Sugar is really calories dense. I cut by just drinking only plain water and coffee or tea black (no milk, no sugar). Avoid bubble tea, soft drinks and fruit juices. Just stick with plain water.

2. Cut fried and oily food. Avoid food with lots of oil and gravy. Gravy usually contain sugar too.

3. Reduce dairy products like milk and cheese.

We have about 3 meals a day, so 21 days a week. If 80% of your meals are on point per week, you'll be able to see improvements in 2 weeks to a month's time. Weight loss or gain, 80% is contributed by the food we eat and 20% is exercise or lack thereof.

My exercise regime:
1. Mountain climber x 20
2. Push-up (or knee push up) x 20
3. Crunches x 20
4. Squats x 20
5. Jumping jacks x 50

You can adjust the above number accordingly, like maybe jumping jacks x 25 instead of 50. You can start with 1 set per time. Then next week increase to 2 sets per time. Then gradually move to 3 sets. Rest 30 seconds between each set. It's ok if you need more time to catch your breath. Listen to your body.

Please note that I'm not a fitness instructor nor a nutritionist. I'm just sharing my experience for your reference.

P.S:

What is a healthy weight loss goal?

• Losing weight does not happen overnight. Fad diets and quick weight-loss fixes are not sustainable in the long term and may be harmful to your body. A good, healthy weight loss programme should adopt the concept of energy balance as its guiding principle. To lose weight, your body needs to burn more calories than you consume. This can be achieved through a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
• If your BMI is 23 kg/m2 and above, losing 10% to 15% of your current body weight over 6 months at a rate of 0.5kg to 1 kg a week is a healthy target.

Quoted from: https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/410/Healthy Weight

Hihi

Thank you so much for your suggestions, will give it a try and hopefully I’ll look slim enough in my gown by then.

I think I’ll have no choice but to exercise and control my diet..

 

[chinleng]

Please feel free to post here or message me if you have any questions.

Jia you!

 

[chinleng]

@Dancerinangie

You may also want to consider intermittent fasting. For a start, I'll suggest 16/8, meaning, you fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8 hour window. The usual eating window will be 12 noon - 8 PM. So the meal you skip will be breakfast. You'll still be able to have lunch with your colleagues and dinner with your family members. During the fasting period, you can still drink coffee black (no sugar, no dairy, no creamer) and water. No snacking during fasting the 16 hour fasting window too.

And when you eat, choose food that has higher satiety, meaning more filling. Food with high glycemic index like white bread, white rice or refined carbohydrates will make you feel hungry faster. Eat food with higher fibre like leafy greens and lean protein like chicken breast will make you feel fuller for longer period.

To lose fat, ultimately, your calories burnt needs to be more than calories taken. This will take time and please be patient. As suggested by healthhub, lose 500g to 1kg per week, that will be a healthy range.