Wedding Weight-loss nightmare

I would up the walking from 15 mins, I think at most that would probably maintain weight more than lose it. I'd say between half an hour to an hours walk everyday would be better to lose.

Could try 30 day shred or some youtube muscle toning exercises to tone up, use some hand weights if possible and focus on the parts you want to lose / tone most.

Maybe try myfitnesspal that's a great app I find for keeping track of calories and exercise, or maybe join slimming world or ww for some motivation and support?

If you don't have a lot to lose though I think it'd be enough to up the walking or exercise and watch what you're eating...I say with a crème egg in hand here with over a month to go til my own wedding haha ?

Ditto want MM3 says. To burn fat you need to do much harder exercise and more often. 15 mins walking only 5 days a week and one hour swimming won't touch it I'm afraid. You need a minimum of 30 mins preferably an hour brisk walking every day, the key with walking is the pace. Aim for 4miles an hour. You need to get your heart pumping and a but breathless. Too slow and you might as well not bother. Take in some hills too if you can. swimming is good but needs to be far more frequent. You also need to couple it with a calorie controlled diet. This link gives you an idea of how many calories you burn:

http://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburnedwalking.htm

Up the walking, drop alcohol, snacks, chocolate, crisps, biscuits. Eat three sensible meals a day with more veg, less starch, no fried stuff and you'll see a difference. Promise. It's what I do and if I'm strict the weight does come off.

It all depends how much you want to lose and how much you weigh now against how much effort you put in as to what you can lose in the 5 months you have left but you can make a massive difference.

Ps the exercise you outline isn't really toning exercise. It's calorie burning and stamina building, if you up it that is. Toning is a very different type of exercise. If you do hills it will help a little obviously, but if you have areas you really want to tackle you need specific exercises.

hth and good luck

Possibly. I piled on over half a stone when I came off my pill for about 5 months

Just to echo what everyone else says, good advice. I am toning up for the wedding, watching everything I put in my mouth and trying to find a way to up my heart rate every day. I have so far lost a stone and a half since last year (that was with 5 months off the wagon in between, over winter!!)

15 mins walking will only help a little and only fitness wise. For fat burning you need to do something more intensive i.e. work up a sweat. Swimming is excellent for toning and fitness, could you up it to twice a week then go for a run once a week with walking in between?

I don't normally recommend diets as I am a firm believer in exercise, however I have a very busy job and find it a struggle to fit in daily exercise. So I have been doing the 5:2 diet as well as running twice a week and a general fitness class at my local gym once a week. This routine seems to be working a treat, I have lost over a stone and dropped a dress size. It's not even difficult as it's just routine now.

If you've not tried the 5:2, also misleadingly called the fast diet, this is basically where you eat what you want (not bingeing though) for 5 days a week and the other two days you only eat 500 calories.The two days can be separate, my 'fast' days are Tuesdays and Thursdays. The best thing about it is there has been a lot of research behind it and it's very healthy, some scientists have said it makes your blood healthier and makes you a lot less prone to certain cancers etc. so it's not just about weight loss. As you have 5 months I would definitely recommend the 5:2 as it's very easy to stick to and works best if you stick to it over several months rather than these dangerous crash diets.

The 5:2 diet was great for me.

I also try and walk 10,000 steps every day. This is what's recommended by NHS etc. It's a lot more than you'd imagine, about 4 miles!

Swimming is great exercise and brilliant for toning up, but I'd say it would be better to do two 30 minute sessions a week rather than one 60 minute session.

I've done Slimming World for a few years and it's a really good diet that works without you getting hungry at all. I've gone off the boil on it for a bit now but it's a good way of getting a decent weight loss fairly quickly.

I've started going to the gym regularly now as well, mostly doing classes there, but my favourite exercise that does get your heart rate up is Zumba. I thought I'd hate any sort of group exercise class but Zumba is more about having fun really and burning some calories at the same time. I got into it when I was doing very little exercise and found that I could do it at my own pace and build up as the weeks went on. I would highly recommend Zumba whatever your fitness level.

Haha -I read this while eating a creme egg too!

I'm rubbish for advise on this topic - I just did some sit ups for a couple of weeks before trying on my dress then (in celebration of recent weight loss) have nose-dived into a world of chocolate eggs in the run up to Easter! Good luck with toning up x

I have four months to go and have been doing exercise DVDs for 45 mins three times a week and I also walk to and from walk (45 mins each way). I swear by walking, go at a fairly brisk pace - the weight will drop off and if you can incorporate it into your daily routines then you won't feel like you are actually doing it. Eat lots of veg too.

Is it possible to swim any longer? And to do it twice a week on your days off? And like the others also said, to walk longer? Another tip is to avoid eating late in the evening (although if you do get peckish a tub a raspberries is a great option, they help with managing weight). Another tip I have is to run up and down those stairs (please don't say you live in a flat lol)! It's great exercise on your legs and bum, especially if you do it loads and loads, you don't even have to run, just walking up and down should be enough! Sit ups/crunches is a great tummy toner too! Even when you are vegging out on the sofa, clench those bum cheeks haha! Food-wise, there is the obvious switching to the low-fat options and ditching the crap. Don't feel that you have to give up the crap completely, and if you do, REPLACE it with a healthier option. Like Chocolate? Nibble on the dark stuff instead. Chips for lunch? Have a jacket spud. Crisps? Go for some nuts! Another fave of mine is to crank up those tunes and do some mad dancing in the house

Rather than going off what is on the scales, as muscle is heavier than fat, get a tape measure and measure those bits you want to tone once a week and write down your progress (and stick it on the fridge)

There is a weight loss support thread in off topic, you could join in there for more advice and stuff.

I'm also an advocate for slimming world. I had a stone to lose and did it on 13 weeks without feeling I was even on a diet. I dropped from a size 10 to a size 8 doing it with two half hour walks a day 5 days a week.

I would wholeheartedly agree that hormones play an important role in weight gain. I've gained 9 pounds since coming off HRT and I basically live off salads and walk 5 miles briskly every day. It's soul destroying.

I've been doing Slimming World for 6 weeks and I've lost 9lbs.....I've only got another 7lbs to go until I'm at my target of 9 and a half stones. I've never felt hungry

But I'd def recommend possibly upping your activity too, like suggested before, don't over do it.

Good luck! xx

I was only 8st 12 to start. As long as you have half a stone to lose and your target is still within a healthy bmi you can join.

Do people do online slimming world or group?

It is v common to subconsciously 'over compensate' in your diet when you exercise. I read about a study recently that found that exercise alone is not effective for weight loss because people tend to work out and then eat more to make up for it. Obviously exercise is essential for good health and fitness but for weight loss you need to change your diet. 5:2 is brilliant.

Stephy 88 you are exactly the same as me. I am currently at my heaviest weight at 11st exactly. Im size 12 going up to 14 andni get married oct 4th!!

Need to lose some weight drastically. Luckily my dress fits already and is a lace up so if i lose weight it can just be pulled tighter lol.

Im gonna try the 5:2 diet and have just brought the 30 day shred dvd. See how it goes.

Mrs trench... online slimming world is fine. Works just the same as the clubs except you dont have the support of group members or group leader who can provide fantastic help. X

I went to group. I have no willpower otherwise and would cheat myself. The thought of someone telling me I've gained weight was enough to spur me on!

I go to group as well - I need the motivation of someone else weighing me on a particular day each week. When I used to stay to group I did really well because there is loads of support, but I stopped staying when our consultant changed as I don't find her very motivating. I've done it online before as well though and that was fine too because I was motivated to start with and then when you see the weight drop off it's easy enough to carry on - especially if you've only got a small amount to lose.

Im a personal trainer & to lose weight you really need to write down everything you eat & be totally honest. A pound of body fat is equal to approx 3500 calories, so to lose 2 lbs a week you need to lose 7000 calories from your intake. This can be done by exercise & what you eat. 80% of weight loss is about what you eat. To lose weight through exercise alone is very hard unless you are doing a huge amount of exercise & working really hard. In an hour aerobics class you probably burn 375 calories, so even doing 3 or 4 classes a week, you are no where near losing a lb of body fat.

Get the myfitnesspal ap on your phone, it lets you track everything you eat & you can put your exercise in as well. Just be honest about what you eat, including your portion sizes. People can think they are being healthy but can be eating huge portions of healthy food.

If you want any advice, please give me a shout

I'm no expert so I can only share what I've been doing!

I don't eat any carbs after about 2pm and we try to eat as early in the evening as possible (very difficult with work and children but we do our best!)

I've been going to the gym as often as possible, which is 3 x a week for me. I have work, children, a fiancé who is working a heck of a lot of overtime and works out everyday himself - so I have to go at 5.30am uugghhh! It's worth it though.

I go to the gym for an hour - 30 mins cardio (running, rowing, step machine, spinning) and 30 mins of weights, crunches, squats etc. (more toning exercises)

I've also been doing more toning stuff at home in the evenings when possible, my fiancé tells me what to do and I do it.

We go to the gym and go running together when the kids are at their grandparents.

I've just started doing a legs, bums and tums class at our local leisure centre too - an hour long class.

I think the squats affect me the most, yowch!

Pinterest has some exercise routines you could do daily at home.

Good Luck

I'm not a member of a gym and classes make me very self conscious, so I just work out at home using youtube videos. I do a search for what type of exercise I'm after (eg yoga) and there's always a good selection of videos of different lengths to choose from. If you have a smart TV you can watch them on your tv, or a tablet of a decent size works well enough. I found a great channel of yoga videos yesterday (called Yoga with Adriene) and the 40min video I did kicked my butt!

Hello, I'm not getting married until next year at the earliest, but I'm starting early!

I'm doing Slimming World, going to the groups. Now Easter is over, I'm back on it properly!

Also, started doing Blogilates which is a Youtube based fitness programme, I'm just doing the beginner programme and I am aching today! Also a couple of jogs a week too!

Good luck!

Wow becca, that is really impressive and dedicated!

I work crazy long hours and am really struggling to get to the gym and its so disheartening, but we don't even have kids to get in the way.

How do you manage to motivate yourself to get to the gym so early? The way I see it exercising early is the only way I will be sure I can fit anything in as I know one the day has stated I will stay late at work, then priority is eating at a decent time and I am shattered!

Well done your exercise regime, inspiring!