just want to look good in cruise clothes!

[herecomesthesun]

I am about 20 pounds overweight, and thought I would lose some weight before the cruise. However, it is about six weeks away and I have not lost any weight. In six weeks, I would have to really sacrifice to go down even one size.

 

If anyone has any tips about quick (yet safe) weight loss, those are definitely welcomed, but what I am really asking for is any tips to appearing slimmer in skimpy summer clothes and bathing suits. My major problem areas are my tummy, lovehandles and thighs. I am 18 and want to dress accordingly, so I'm not going to be all covered up. What's the best way to "smooth out"? Thanks!!

[joecruise]

Put down the fork.

 

 

I know, many may be thinking this is a negative way to have started my post, but it's true! I too used to be WAY overweight, now I'm just comfortably a little overweight :P.

 

The fact is, you only gain weight in the form of fat in undesirable areas by consuming more calories than you burn.

 

Solution: Put down the fork. Watch what you eat, and how much, and increase the level of physical exercise you do. It takes time, but the results in the end are worth it (increased energy, better self image etc.)

 

Best of luck with your goals!

[purplbuttaflie]

i'm going to disney in 13 days, and i wanted to lose as much weight as i could before i go. i started weight watchers april 3 and have lost 21 pounds. maybe you'd want to try ww? you can still eat basically anything you want, you just need to be careful how much of it you eat. most of my weight is coming off from my stomach and face. if you want some links that would help you do ww on your own w/out the meetings (that's what i'm doing) let me know and i'll send them to you.

[mountainmare]

Exercise and find a WOE that you like and you can stick with. There is no easy magic bullet. Trying to look good for a cruise is what put me on the right path, I picked out an outfit from my "cruise clothes stash" and decided that I wanted to fit into it. The biggest thing that helped me is that I started to keep a food and exercise journal--including all cheats. It just made me aware of what I was eating and how little I was exercising. Just doing that is a start.

Good luck--even if you don't lose all the weight that you want for the cruise, you will be taking the first step to a healthier lifestyle.

[ngl116]

Find any reason you can to walk! Try wearing a pedometer, and set a goal of how many steps per day you want to walk. Then you will be able to see each day if you are going to reach your goal. It's been a real help for me to get off my lazy tush and keep moving! Good luck, and have a great vacation!!

[sharonella]

I am about 20 pounds overweight, and thought I would lose some weight before the cruise. However, it is about six weeks away and I have not lost any weight. In six weeks, I would have to really sacrifice to go down even one size.

 

If anyone has any tips about quick (yet safe) weight loss, those are definitely welcomed, but what I am really asking for is any tips to appearing slimmer in skimpy summer clothes and bathing suits. My major problem areas are my tummy, lovehandles and thighs. I am 18 and want to dress accordingly, so I'm not going to be all covered up. What's the best way to "smooth out"? Thanks!!

 

Everyone else's advice is really good - but here is my "extended" version!

 

1st - Don't worry about "dieting" or losing X lbs before you go - it will just make you crazy! :eek:

 

2nd - DO try to cut all the "junk" out of your meals & snacks & limit portion sizes. (Read labels - you may be surprised what a portion size really is!) DO eat more fresh foods & DO drink more water & less of other beverages.

 

3rd - DO add activity any way you can - even if it's just walking 30 minutes a day, bike riding, or plugging in your favorite music & dancing around your room for half an hour.

 

4th - You may need a sincere friend to help you with this - but seriously go thru your clothes & try everything on that you want to take on your cruise & decide what really fits & what doesn't. Clothes that are either too big or too tight or otherwise just don't fit your body type, will just make you look bigger than you really are. You may want to consider wearing a "body brief" under the clothes you wear to dinner - especially the formal clothes - but make sure that's not too tight too! (It's that 1pc bra & girdle thing that looks like a bathing suit. I've worn one with dressy clothes since I've been in my mid-20's.) That reminds me - make sure your underwear - including your bras - fit you right too!. Sometimes it's the underwear not fitting right that causes bumps & ripples under your clothes! Remember, you will look MUCH slimmer in a size 12 that fits, instead of a 10 that's tight!

 

I know you say you are 18 & want to dress "accordingly". But that doesn't necessarily mean skimpy clothes that show your tummy (& everything else!). I doesn't matter what "everyone else wears", if you've got a "poochy tummy" you shouldn't wear midriff shirts or bikinis, no matter what your age! :p And you say you're 20lbs overweight, but really - how tall are you & what do you weigh? You may not be as "fat" as you think you are - just kind of "out of shape" - which adding activity could fix for you.

 

FYI - just so you know where I'm coming from - I've lost 60 lbs, and I still have at least 30 lbs to go to my goal. I'm 47 yrs old, but still remember when I was 18 & thought I was SOOOO fat (I weighed 125 & was 5" 2".) In hindsight, I could have fixed what was just being "flabby" from no exercise, just by adding activity to my life & cutting a little bit of junk food out. Instead, I crash dieted for the prom & lost 15 lbs. The next year I weighed 130. And so the yo-yo cycle began......... Don't let it begin for you!

 

Let us know how it goes!

 

Sha

[perkyblue]

Well, you're right, you can't lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks unless you go overboard and do things you shouldn't do, but you can safely lose 10 pounds in 6 weeks, and will make a huge difference inthe way you fell and the way your clothes fit. Losing weight is hard, but if you really want to do it you can. Here's a brief outline of what works for me:

 

I exercise 6 hours/week, first thing in the morning so that I feel great all day and don't have all day to come up with excuses to skip it! It also helps if you can find a method of exercise that you enjoy. (I ice skate.)

 

I eat 4 times per day, and I spread my meals out so that I never feel too hungry (Although I will admit that sometimes I'm ravenous by my next mealtime! If I really feel like I can't wait until my next mealtime, I'll have a cup of diet hot chocolate--25 calories per packet.) 3 of my meals have a maximum limit of 500 calories and 10 g fat, and one of my meals has a max of 250 cal and 5 grams of fat. Most of my choices aren't at the max, so I usually end up eating about 1500 calories and 25 g fat per day.

 

The most important thing is that you come up with a plan you can consistently stick to (for at least 6 weeks). But basically, the answer to your question is very simple--eat less and exercise more!

Good luck and have a great cruise!

[mim100]

FYI - just so you know where I'm coming from - I've lost 60 lbs, and I still have at least 30 lbs to go to my goal. I'm 47 yrs old, but still remember when I was 18 & thought I was SOOOO fat (I weighed 125 & was 5" 2".) In hindsight, I could have fixed what was just being "flabby" from no exercise, just by adding activity to my life & cutting a little bit of junk food out. Instead, I crash dieted for the prom & lost 15 lbs. The next year I weighed 130. And so the yo-yo cycle began......... Don't let it begin for you!Sha

Sha... oh how true....very glad you came up with those words of wisdom...a reminder for all of us :)

[sharonella]

Sha... oh how true....very glad you came up with those words of wisdom...a reminder for all of us :)

 

Mim - I just wish I had taken these words to heart myself, sooner! It took me til my late 30's to even realize I was a yo-yo dieter & then until I was 46 (this last diet) to just start eating "normal" portions of healthy food, rather than depriving myself of whole categories of food while "dieting", then going hog wild & giving up when I hit a plateau! I think (I hope) I've learned my lesson that this has to be a life choice & how I need to live the rest of my life - just watching portions & exercising. I've been pretty much at the same weight since January, but that's OK. (It wouldn't have been before - in the "olden days", I'd have quit & already been back on my way to gaining it all back by now!) As the weather gets better, I'll be riding my bike & that'll be enough to get the scale moving back in the right direction.

 

Sha

[mountainmare]

Sha-I also remember 18, actually I had a 17-18 inch waist and my roommates would try to see who else could wear my belts. At 5'4" I remember worrying about getting as fat as 115. When I got married at 21 I actually balooned up to 120, and started fasting (it was in Cosmo--the ultimate diet). I started playing scale roulette--now I'm 110 can I get to the 100's, now I'm108 can I get to double digits. Finally my DH told me he didn't like skinny girls and I was ok.

This is a life lesson and a life choice to be healthy, I wish that our schools and our society would put more emphasis on healthy eating and an active lifestyle and a realistic look at body image, it makes me sad.

[sharonella]

My 2 "problems" at that age were that I was never an active kid (not good at sports - always in a corner, reading) so I had no muscle tone & also, when I hit puberty, my chest didn't develop much, but my hips & thighs did, so I was definitely a pear shape. Everyone on TV & in magazines was either like Twiggy, flat all over, or like Farrah, an hourglass. I was neither, plus I was "flabby" from inactivity. And with no "real" information available - just the unrealistic "insurance" height & weight guidelines, plus the fad & starvation diets in the magazines - I got "sucked in" for almost 30 years! :eek:

 

We should start a thread where we post pictures of how "fat" we used to be - maybe it will "wake up" some of the young people so they don't get caught up in the yo-yo diet game like we did!

 

Sha

[perkyblue]

This stuff about yo-yo dieting is so true! In my teens and earlier 20's, I had serious food & dieting issues. In my early teens I had anorexic tendencies (never officially diagnosed) and my weight ranged from 94-120 (at 5'4") and I always thought I was fat. In my late teens & college years I ranged from 120-145 and was diagnosed as bulimic.

 

After I had a baby, I didn't worry so much about my weight. A year later I weighed 147 and decided to lose weight. I guess becoming a mom was a great wake-up call, because this is the first time in my life that I've come up with a reasonable diet plan that I can stick to for a long time without binging and gaining it all back. Plus now that I've relaxed about my food and weight issues, I'm thinner than I used to be when I was constantly obsessed with the whole issue!

[sharonella]

I think we may have "hi-jacked" this thread from the original poster :eek: ! Sorry!

 

Are you still out there herecomesthesun? How's it going? Any of this advice working yet?

 

Sha

[mim100]

Perhaps the OP recognizes herself in some of what's been said here....she had asked for a " quick, safe" way to lose weight...and most of us have discovered that those two words don't go together very well...there's lots of quick ways to lose weight...when I read her post, I was very tempted to tell her how I lost 6 lbs in a week but it's so unhealthy ( I wasn't crash-dieting, I had the flu and no appetite) ...so a note to Here Comes The Sun ....I wish you a wonderful cruise and hope you lose a few lbs between now and then but please be kind to your body along the way....your body has to last a long, long time and every time we're not kind, a little more damage is done....my soapbox speech for the day...and said with concern and sincerity and experience...:)

[mountainmare]

well said mim!!!

[kimmeesook]

i agree with joecruise. the fastest way to lose is to burn more calories than you consume. hit the pavement or gym and limit your caloric intake and push push push push water. drinking lots of water expediates the process. good luck. :)

[perkyblue]

i agree with joecruise. the fastest way to lose is to burn more calories than you consume. hit the pavement or gym and limit your caloric intake and push push push push water. drinking lots of water expediates the process. good luck. :)

 

I'm not a big water drinker, so I've always wondered about that. Is there actually something about water that helps you lose weight, or is it just the fact that if your stomach is full of water, you're less likely to eat so much (in which case diet soda works just as well :) )?

[sharonella]

There's a lot of reasons your body needs water

 

- since we are mostly water - we need it to function on many basic level

- Water helps flush out toxins from our body, like excess salt & other minerals, through sweat & going to the bathroom

- water does help us feel fuller, when we drink it with food

- I've also read where some people eat when they are actually thirsty, so if you "feel" hungry, but have eaten in the last hour or so, have some water - maybe that's all you need!

- I've read that your blood pressure can be adversely affected if you aren't hydrated enough - partially because you may have sodium in your system that needs flushing, as well as the fact that your blood can be thicker if you are dehydrated!

 

Am I missing any reasons?

 

Sha

[ladymacwilly]

Definately drink lots of water!

 

Sharonella has excellent advice about trying on clothes, (in a full length mirror), before you leave and only take what fits and looks good on you. Also her advice about taking something a little looser as opposed to skin tight is right on.

 

Wear monochromatic clothing and you will appear taller and more slender. Or, if you are quite a bit larger on bottom than on top wear dark pants and skirts and lighter colours on top. Avoid large prints and loud colours. Also, get used to walking around a lot in high heels.

 

If you're scheduled for a beach destination invest in a lovely wrap or sarong that you may tie in a variety of looks and still feel elegent.

 

...and have a great time! Half of how a person looks is their positive attitude. :)

[perkyblue]

There's a lot of reasons your body needs water

 

- since we are mostly water - we need it to function on many basic level

- Water helps flush out toxins from our body, like excess salt & other minerals, through sweat & going to the bathroom

- water does help us feel fuller, when we drink it with food

- I've also read where some people eat when they are actually thirsty, so if you "feel" hungry, but have eaten in the last hour or so, have some water - maybe that's all you need!

- I've read that your blood pressure can be adversely affected if you aren't hydrated enough - partially because you may have sodium in your system that needs flushing, as well as the fact that your blood can be thicker if you are dehydrated!

 

Am I missing any reasons?

 

Sha

 

But doesn't any liquid do the same thing? I know that it's important to stay hydrated, but I'm wondering if water in the form of diet soda works just as well.

[ladymacwilly]

LOL! In a word... NO!

 

Look at it this way, would you shower in diet soda, would you wash your hair in the stuff? Water is "cleansing" both inside and out.

 

Ladymacwilly

[mim100]

LOL good analogy, Lady M :)

[pootsien2]

20 lbs. may be unrealistic in 6 wks but being only 18yo you may be able to do it with good healthy eating, lots of water and exercise daily! Just make up your mind to go for it! I am from a little to no exercise lifestyle and now am trying to change that as I am trying to take off 15 in 8 wks...but I'm 30 yrs older than you! I'm doing weight watchers and have lost 10 lbs. in 10 wks. I'm sure I'd do better if I followed consistently but it IS 10 lbs!:) And a change of lifestyle,not a diet. Have a GREAT cruise!

[perkyblue]

20 lbs. may be unrealistic in 6 wks but being only 18yo you may be able to do it with good healthy eating, lots of water and exercise daily! Just make up your mind to go for it! I am from a little to no exercise lifestyle and now am trying to change that as I am trying to take off 15 in 8 wks...but I'm 30 yrs older than you! I'm doing weight watchers and have lost 10 lbs. in 10 wks. I'm sure I'd do better if I followed consistently but it IS 10 lbs!:) And a change of lifestyle,not a diet. Have a GREAT cruise!

 

If losing more than 3 lbs. per week consistently for 6 weeks is possible, I doubt it's healthy. Unless someone is very overweight to begin with, losing more than 2 pounds per week for several weeks in a row is very difficult.

[herecomesthesun]

Thanks all of you! Sorry it took me a while to come back -- I'm busy getting ready for graduation! I have slowly started shopping for some summer clothes, meaning clothes I will wear on the cruise. It can be somewhat disheartening when I have to buy a size I don't really feel like buying, but I've found some cute and flattering clothes that work. I have stopped drinking soda almost entirely and have upped my water intake, and I am trying to cut my portion sizes. A couple years back I did Pilates tapes every day after school and lost 15 pounds in a couple months just by doing that, so I'm going to try to pick that up again, though I'm a little too busy right now for an hour tape every day. I don't have a goal except I want to be happy and feel good in my summer clothes.