size 16 to size 14 in 5months??

It's definitely do-able. Just up your exercise and cut out the bad stuff you know you shouldn't be eating! I've lost a bit over a stone in the last couple of months and dropped a dress size basically doing that, so 5 months should be loads of time.

That's definitely possible. The sooner you start, the easier it will be. Make sure you eat 3 well balanced meals a day. Plenty of fruit, veg and lean protein. If you eat a lot of carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice etc) reduce the amount and, where possible swap them for whole grains/brown rice etc.

Cut out or at least cut down on booze.

Try to exercise for half an hour at least 3 times a week. You need to do enough to get your heart rate up. Swimming, jogging or maybe dance classes are a great way of doing this.

You can still have treats, just keep them as treats rather than part of your daily diet.

You'll drop a dress size, tone up and be much healthier if you do those things. Good luck!

(I appreciate that I'm saying this on the back of a piggy pizza lunch!).

I hope so!! im a bad one for chrisps they r my fave! lol witch i no ive gotta stop, also i love my friday nights on the booze in town!! but other than that the only exercise i do is cleanin up and going on the xbox, if u can class that? finger exercise! haha!!! pizza sounds lovely. yummy!! lol x

Think this is very much do-able. Id recommend going on a proper diet rather than just eating heathily as from experience it can be quite tough and easy to go off the wagon where as a proper diet can make u stay focussed. I would really recommend weight watchers - I lost a stone in about 6 months on that xx

One dress size is about 20-25 lbs - not hard over 20 weeks really at a pound a week. But there's a little problem in the middle (Xmas) that might throw you off course!

The basic rule is eat less and move more. I found that cutting carbs by 20% was easy and hardly noticeable. And fruit salad for lunch is a great move too.

That can't be right, surely? A stone and a half = 1 dress size? Blimey, feel really bad about that pizza now!

Well it depends on your shape and the sizes you're talking about, but the difference between size 10 and 12 is about 10lbs, and size 18 and 20 is about 20-30lbs, so thats an educated guess really.

Whatever the weight difference really is it's your shape and size that really matters. My OH lost 2 inches off his waist but no difference in weight, so he was losing fat and gaining muscle - net result is smaller jeans though! I'd be going by whether the dress fits rathert than what the scales say, but I'd aim for a stone and see how you go.

I've done it (and more), so it is definitely achievable. I used Weight Watchers, and whilst I know it doesn't work for everyone, it might help to give you eating guidelines to work within. Friends have also used Slimming World successfully too. Good luck!

Ah, I see. It does make sense in that the heavier you are, the more you have to lose comparatively to make a difference.

OK let me clarify. To lose a dress size you need to lose about 10% of your body mass. So if you are 10 stone and size 14 you need to lose about a stone to get down to a 12. It's a bummer when you start out a size 20 and 2 stone later you've only lost one dress size!

If anyone is interested they experts say you have to cut 3500 calories (or burn them) to lose 1lb, so thats 500 calories a day to lose a pound in a week! It's do-able but not necessarily easy. 500 cals is 150g of potatoes, 100g of chocolate, 4 bags of crisps, 3 chicken breasts, or a litre of regular coke. to burn it off you'd need to jog, swim or cycle for an hour.

I found Weight Watchers really easy to follow last year and I lost just over half a stone in 3 weeks. Sadly I then went off the rails with it because we were moving house and I never quite got my mojo back.

In terms of exercise, I recommend finding a fun dvd that you can work out to at home. It's less pressure and less expense than a gym but some are really good. I have the Davina Power of 3 workout and although she's as annoying as a boil on the bum, the workouts are fantastic. They're broken down into sections so you don't have to do the whole workout every day but you can do the warm up, one of the workouts (legs & bums, abdominals, upper body) then the cool down, and that's about 30 - 40 minutes.

You will easily do it. I have just gone from an 18 to a 14 in 10 weeks.

Mine is in preparation for my holiday next month, I got sick of feeling so fat in my bikini so did something about it this year instead of talking about doing it.

I have followed the DUKAN diet which is similar to the atkins diet. I have now lost 2 stone & feel fab

Debbie

x

Definitely do-able! Aim for losing a pound a week rather than doing a faddy diet though otherwise you'll feel like you're starving yourself and then will inevitably go off the rails.

I too am a crisp fiend but have managed to lose some weight recently. I can recommend rosemary conley classes. It's a sensible diet (you can have some treats too!), includes an exercise class and you get a talk which is good for reminding you of common sense stuff. I'm not trying to sell it though and different things work for different people - I know for some the thought of being weighed and going to a talk is cringeworthy. I found the first two weeks really hardgoing but it's been fine after that.

Good luck

Lots of info girls! i think im gunna try the DUKAN diet see how i go,

thankssssssssss! x

Definitely achievable. I went from a size 22 to a size 12 in 9 months!

You need something to motivate yourself and that is your dress - just keep looking at the goal.

I really hope you do it. The stress of wedding planning and work things has caused me to put half a stone on....

Wow Gemma well done you!! Bet you feel absolutely fantastic.

I have joined a gym, cut out the crap, stopped boozing during the week and am eating only things with less than 3% saturated fat. Been losing a pound a week or so but seem to have evened out this week. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

I am clinging onto the hope that fat weighs less than muscle and doing an hours workout twice a week must be doing something?! Might have to measure my waist (horror) and see if that is going down. I am so goal orientated that the pounds not coming off is really depressing me

I actually lost it all just before I met my OH - it certainly increased me confidence which probably led to me meeting OH.

I wouldn't always believe you can eat 2000 calories, 70g fat and 20g sat fat and maintain weight. I eat about **** calories, only about 5-10g fat and virtually no sat fat. I gym three times a week and I'm talking spinning and hard cardio activity yet this only just maintains my weight. Some people just find it harder to maintain/lose weight.

I certainly wouldn't advise my weightloss methods, I think I was bordering on an eating disorder before meeting OH.

I agree that sticking to a diet plan; like weight watchers or sliiming world has really helped me - it is a good motivator and keeps me on track.

And all these ladies talking about how much weight to lose to lose a dress size excites me, I was a size 14 when I ordered my dress, wonder if I could have squeezed into a 12! Prob not, I think I'll just feel proud I fit well in my 14 when I try it on next week ??

Flowerbox, if you do decide to go for the Dukan diet, get the book off ebay. Thats what I did, cost me about £5, I read it all through & stocked up with what I needed & just went for it.

It really has been so so easy for me, I am the worlds worst person at starting something & not finishing it properly. I am one of those people who, if I dont see almost instant results I give up but I am amazed at how easy this diet has been for me. The weight comes off really quickly which spurns you on to carry on with it (well it did for me)

Before I started it, I could happily munch through bags & bags of crisps, biscuits, cakes & any other "crappy" foods you can think of but since cutting down on my carbs with the Dukan diet I am just not anywhere near as hungry as I used to be & have found it so simple to follow.

I just bought myself a size 14 bikini & for the first time in years I feel fab in a bikini. I still have a few wobbly bits but have got a slendertone ab belt & am using that every day to tone up the wobbly bits. I can see my waist for the first time in ages & am loving my curves.

If you want anymore info on it, feel free to email me at my personel email address: ***************@***.***

Good luck with it all & let me know how you get on with it.

Debbie

x

Thanks girls, let u al no how i get on ! xx