[MacAva]

Ok so i have 3 full months to lose 1 stone.. Im 10 stone at the mo aiming to weigh 9 by July. Iv been able to lose a few pounds here and there but i find it hard to get motivated to lose 10-14 lbs in the next 3 months!

I find it hard to get up and exercise every day after work.. Im just so tired and think about eating junk. I really want to reach this target so any advice on the best and healthiest way to do this in terms of diet and exercise would b great.. Plus any tricks to motivate yourself along the way.

My main objective is to lose this weight and tone up all over especially my core.

Thanks.

[Karlitto]

Heya,

Well, everyone will tell you that a "good diet" coupled with exercise is the way to go, yada yada yada.

If your unable to exercise after a days work, don't worry, I know the feeling.

Quite frankly, you could do it in a week if you were disciplined well enough, but thats all down to you.

If you are like me and hate the thought of large salads and small meat, then the atkins is the way to go in my eyes,

I have been on the atkins now for 4.5 weeks and have gone from 140.3 Kg to 123.1 KG. Go to the aktins website and read it fully, make sure you know what your entering into before you do it.

Be strict with yoursel! In saying this, this doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.

Best of luck, and feel free to check out my previous topic on this and if you like, contact me and I will do all I can to help.

[mikemac1]

Originally Posted by MacAva

I find it hard to get up and exercise every day after work.. Im just so tired

I'd be much the same, find it difficult to do anything in the evenings

But I find it easier to get up earlier in the morning

Some of us just work better at different times of the day
I can get up early, exercise and do great work for the boss in the morning.
But by four pm I'm flagging and distracted and I do nothing in the evenings

Get up earlier OP, give it a go

[folan]

its difficult to get going exercise wise, or i found it to be, but now i kinda dont like going 2-3 nights without having a jog or doing some exercise of some sort.

Some exercise can be done infront of the tv, so I gave myself a task a while ago, i would do some free weights etc while watching tv, so i bought a box set and only let myself watch it while i was exercising.

what I was eating was the largest problem i had, so you might find changing things about your diet help. snacks are a big problem, and i try to limit myself to a bag of popcorn a week or so. Which is good, cause i love popcorn, so its replaced crisps and chocolate for me.

best of luck with it.

[cormie]

Definitely possible in a healthy way if you apply yourself without having to resort to the likes of the atkins diet. Ask yourself, do you want weigh 9 stone for aesthetic reasons, or do you want to be healthier? Maybe part of the reason you're feeling so tired is because you're on a bad diet. If you're sitting in an office all day, driving to and from work, your body is probably crying out for exercise. Get enough sleep, eat (and drink) a good diet and push yourself to exercise and you'll naturally tone up, have more energy and feel much better overall.

Can you swap public transport/car for cycling into work or get off the bus stop or dart station before and walk half an hour? If you find it hard to rely on yourself to get exercising, why not try join a sport and you might find it much easier to commit to if you have others relying on you to be there for a game to go ahead etc.

[Orla K]

Read this thread and this thread weight loss is mostly down to diet so change that first.

After you've read the threads and changed to healthier eating it's a good idea to post up a sample of your daily diet, and people here can advice you on how to improve it.

[Miss Fluff]

One stone in three months should come off very easily, you're looking at 1lb a week which is an achievable and sustainable weightloss. I hear you about motivation but it really depends on how much you want it. Do you have an occassion in July that you want to be slim for? It's great if you have, a goal always helps.

Your first start should be logging everything you eat. You don't need any faddy diets or anything like that, you simply need to eat less and exercise more. Start logging everything in www.myfitnesspal.com and it will tell you how many calories you need to consume a day in order to lose a pound a week. It's not so accurate for exercise calories so avoid relying on it for that.

You also need to find an exercise you enjoy so then it won't seem like a chore. You say you are low in energy and crave junk - it's all a vicious cycle, when you wat rubbish you will feel rubbish. The moment you start eating cleanly and healthily you will feel amazing. I am a confirmed bed monster and am a very grumpy individal in the morning and yet was up at 7am on the stepper watching a favourite programme. Fit in exercise around your life rather than making it a chore and it will be enjoyable.

[confusedgirl]

I would say do your intense exercise in the morning before you have breakfast. I know some people say "eat your breakfast first" for the energy but I find that I have to do it first thing in the morning or else I'll make an excuse not to do it. I would do some light exercise in the evenings like walking or yoga, it won't burn that much calories but it'll get you out of the house so you won't have time to think of junk food. If you have a personal organiser, put the exercise time in like it was an appointment in advance.

I would also plan your meals in advance. I found making one new recipe a good way to motivate me to learn how to cook and try out new foods. I would also stock some herbs and spices in your cupboard to flavour up your food-some garlic, ginger, lemon, basil and chilli are great for example. You can get a nice bit of fresh fish from your fishmonger, even the frozen fish will do although its not as nice admittedly and stick some lemon and dill on it and bake in the oven for 30 min and serve with some steamed veg.

You need to reward yourself for your efforts and have little non-food treats each week to incentivise you to continue e.g. pamper yourself. I would advise you to give yourself a bigger treat when you reach each 5lb weight loss and your eventual goal weight too e.g. a nice top in smaller size etc.

Give yourself praise when you do something towards being healthy-e.g. drink water, have a healthy meal. Say to yourself "I did well there, I had a healthy meal, I drank water" etc. It's important to have positive self-talk and to believe that you can reach your goal.

I would also advise you to take your measurements and notice how your energy levels increase as well keep track of weight loss.

If you slip and eat something unhealthy, don't dwell on it. Instead, get back on track straight away.

You're probably craving junk food now however the cravings will pass in about a week provided you eat unprocessed food, made from scratch-nothing sugary. It would be good for you to post what you're currently eating now so we can see what needs to be tweaked. In the meantime, I saw this little acronym online called "the 4 D's" which helps with cravings:

When you get a craving:
1. Delay-say to yourself "I'll have a biscuit/whatever it is later on". Cravings only last a few minutes so your craving will have passed by then
2. Distract- do something else (anything, aside from eating). Examples would be call a friend, relax, clean the house etc
3. Deep breath 20 times-a lot of the time we crave food because we're stressed out so taking a deep breath 20 times forces us to slow down. When we're stressed, our breathing goes shallow so taking a few deep breathes calms our body down again. Once you slow down a bit, you might realise "hey, I'm ok now, I don't need that biscuit/whatever".
4. Drink of water-to replace the food. It's also something for your mouth and hands to do.

For a flat tummy, I would cut out salt and alcohol from your diet, wheat too if you can hack it. Drink lots of water, herbal teas. Hot water and lemon is good. Exercise wise, do some cardio-like walking/running and some resistance training-like pilates/yoga etc.

[confusedgirl]

Oh I meant to say above that I tried a new recipe each week. It was just a little challenge I set myself and it meant that I didn't get bored eating the same food all the time.