<p>I would like to look good for an event coming up at the end of the yeara HS reunion. My residual self image from my HS days is of a svelte, leather-clad, jujitsu-kicking, bad@$$ body, like in the Matrix. But the mirror is telling me the reality is bit more gelatinous around the midriff. :eek: </p>
<p>I meant to cut back on late night snacks the last few months, but cudda, shudda, wudda Is it even worth it now to go to the gym for 2 months? Or should I just forget about it and go buy some Spanx? </p>
<p>The goal is to look 15 lbs less coach-potatoey in front of my HS classmates from decades back.</p>
<p>It is always worth it to go to the gym and be healthier. It helps in your mood and self worth. Any diet and exercise you can do is a great benefit for your health. That being said, do both. Go to the gym and wear spanx. It’s not an either or situation.</p>
<p>I have a regular physical activity I enjoy doing, but have been in hiatus, nursing an injured shoulder. </p>
<p>I really hate going to the gym. I envy people who can blithely spend hours on a treadmill or exercise bike, but I find it torture even w music-- I can’t wait till it’s over. If the gym can realistically make a visual difference in 8 weeks, I will devote myself intensely to it for the next couple of months. </p>
<p>I guess the real choices are:</p>
<p>1) gym + elastic sausage casing, or
2) just elastic sausage casing…</p>
<p>You don’t have to spend hours on a treadmill. In fact, that’s kind of silly. Do a dozen things for five minutes each, rather than one thing for 60 minutes. More fun, more variety, more payoff.</p>
<p>There is another way - or an addition- that can make a real difference, GMT. I lost 8 pounds in five weeks just through my diet, and it mostly came off exactly where I needed it to- around the middle. I went from 126 pounds down to 118, and I’m 5’6". I can hardly believe what a difference it makes, as I’m now wearing jeans I have passed up in my closet for two years because they weren’t comfortable. Now I have my college figure back (ok, maybe not quite, but in clothes at least.)
Not saying exercise isn’t a good thing for your cause, and for health in general, but it may not be enough by itself unless you devote a good deal of time to it.</p>
<pre><code>My diet basically cut out * all flour, added sugar, most grains.* I have eggs or oatmeal with fruit in the morning, large mixed green salads with vegetables for lunch and a huge salad again at dinner with a small portion of meat or fish- and more veggies. Berries with yogurt, nut butters with celery and cheese with apple or pear slices are what I grab between meals. The two most important aspects of the diet are the elimination of sugar and bread, and the addition of huge portions of healthy greens and vegetables. In addition to losing weight, my skin looks better and I feel better overall. I’m sticking with it now because I actually enjoy eating this way, and any desire I had for a cookie or a sugary snack has really diminished. But I am truly amazed at how quickly the weight came off! I was sort of resigned to the extra weight because just eating less or cutting out obvious snacks, and even exercising more wasn’t doing it, and I’m also on medication that makes losing harder. But improving my overall health was my goal.
This may not suit you, but I thought I’d throw it out there. I know you can make a big difference in two months, though. Good luck!
</code></pre>
<p>Have to add: The key to eating so many salads and enjoying them is to make sure you have a lot of different, varied greens and throw in a lot of goodies- nuts, all kinds of veggies and even fruit. A good infused olive oil makes dressings easy. Be creative.</p>
<p>I’ll be right there with you…need to lose 12 pounds before December. I honestly think that can happen with diet and exercise. Spanx will smooth out the look!</p>
<p>In my case, exercise makes me feel better but it doesn’t much for weight loss. In fact, I tend to bulk up and look heavier when I am in really good shape. </p>
<p>To keep my weight down, I do the low carb but just a couple days a week. I have had great success, especially with the belly area. There is evidence that it works just as well as a completely low carb diet.</p>
<p>I’m sure some of it is psychological. When you’re losing weight, it probably encourages you to make better choices on your non low carb days. </p>
<p>My downfall is snacks. I buy good olives from the olive bar and they help satisfy my cravings for salty snacks. For sweet cravings, I can usually quell them with a spoonful of peanut butter.</p>
<p>I’ve lost 22 pounds since mid-May on a fairly strict low-carb diet. I had been going to the gym 4-5 days/week and not seeing any results. Frankly I felt too heavy to run. I also started walking 3+ miles a day 2-4 days/week with a friend. It doesn’t feel like exercise, as we talk about our kids, books, etc. we have 2-3 killer hills on our route. </p>
<p>My diet is fairly similiar to Moonchild’s:
Breakfast - 2 eggs w slice of cheese
Lunch - big salad w Trader Joes arugla, tomatoes, cuke, avocado, pecans & fresh mozzarella cheese w touch of balsamic vinegrette
Dinner - meat & veggies. </p>
<p>Snacks are raw almonds (buy 3# bag at Costco), low-fat cheese sticks and sugar-free jello w whipped cream.
I still have 1-2 glasses of wine every night. </p>
<p>I found my downfall was post-dinner snacking. I would eat a huge bowl of cereal while standing in the kitchen watching TV. </p>
<p>The book that’s closest to my diet is ‘the south beach diet’. </p>
<p>Good luck, you can do this.</p>
<p>Ps - I fit into a pair of D1s size 8 pai of jeans this week. I’ve never worn a single-digit pair of pants in my life! I now weigh what I did when I was 13!</p>
<p>You lose weight by diet, not exercise. Period. Studies suggest that exercise plus diet can help you keep weight off - not gain in first place, not gain back lost weight - but to lose weight fast, eat much less, go to a low carb diet or something like that.</p>
<p>^lol. Seriously, cutting down on wine has helped me lose a few pounds. It’s not just that it gets converted to sugar, it’s all the things I eat when I have a glass of wine – chips, pretzels, crackers with cheese.</p>
<p>15 lbs in 9 weeks by exercise alone might not work. Simply cut down the intake will be difficult too.</p>
<p>3500 calories equal one lb of fat and you will need to cut 1000 calories per day from your intake, while maintain the same metabolism, to lose 2 lb in one week. </p>
<p>So, the best way is to combine good diet with weight exercises. You will eat enough w/o feeling hungry and lose some weight. But you will add muscles to significantly tone your body shape.</p>
<p>Why not start a program like Insanity today. It will take only 60 minutes a day and burns up to 1000 calories. </p>
<p>Best of luck - you will look great if you complete the Insanity in two months.</p>
<p>Low carb diet. Unlike some, I never lose weight unless I also exercise. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just something to get metabolism moving. I agree don’t spend hours on the treadmill - I do half an hour on the elliptical a couple of times a week with a book. I take walks a couple of times a week (1 to 3 miles), I do a set of 15 pushups, goblet squats and kettleball swings instead of coffee breaks, a couple of times a day when I think of it. You certainly can lose 1-2 pounds a week if you really work at it, but why not do it to get healthier not just to look good? And if you need a little spanx for the reunion, no big deal.</p>
<p>I love wine, but only drink it on weekends.</p>
<p>According to my little carb counting app, an 8oz glass of Pinot Noir has 5g carbs and 193 calories. Not terrible.<br>
If you’re trying to lose, limiting it would make sense, although I see no reason to cut it out altogether.</p>
<p>For someone who is nursing an injury it is insane to start Insanity. I actually think you either enjoy working out with really high heart rate or have trouble keeping your heart rate up to enjoy Insanity. From what OP wrote it is definitely not for her.</p>
<p>I do agree with others that low carb is the easiest way to loose weight.</p>
<p>Reducing intake of sweetened beverages and replacing with water can also cut calories. A friend stopped drinking ONE 11.5 ounce of iced tea daily and lost 15-20 pounds in a few months without any other changes. He’s a strong advocate now of increasing taxes on sweetened beverages.</p>
<p>I also became very disciplined w my Diet Coke intake. I used to drink 4-6/day. (Don’t judge, I don’t drink coffee or tea. A girl has to get her caffeine!). </p>
<p>Now, I have one when I get up and one w lunch. In the late afternoon or evening, I have one caffeine-free Diet Coke. To replace the other cans, I now drink over a quart of Crystal lite every day, as I find drinking plain water boring except w food.</p>
But the mirror is telling me the reality is bit more gelatinous around the midriff. :eek: </p>