Pre-Wedding Cleanse or Weight Loss Programs?

[BethHeppert]

Like most brides, I would LOVE to lose 10-15 pounds before the wedding. I do work out and I am vowing to eat healthier (starting tomorrow, as always), but I have seen/heard a lot about cleanses and am wondering if anyone has ever tried one? I know that after you begin eating solid foods again it will gain back, but I am looking for something to jump start my diet (because once I feel skinnier, I generally tend to eat better). Any advice?

[BethHeppert]

FYI- for any other brides who are interested, I am doing The Master Cleanse/Lemonade Diet for 10 days. The basics are:

- Drink a senna (laxative) tea every evening, including the evening before you start.

- Drink 6-12 lemonade drinks everyday (Recipes is 2 tbsp fresh squeezed organic lemons or limes, 2 tbsp organic grade B maple syrup, 1/10 tsp cayenne pepper and 8 ounces of water) & lots of water!

- A salt water flush every morning (1 litre of salt water mixed with 2 tsp of non iodized sea salt)

 

I'll let you know how it goes for me. I have not been doing the salt water flush (I've replaced it with another cup of the laxative tea).

 

I started the morning of day 1 at 131.6 pounds (I am 5'3).

Day 2- 128.2 lbs

 

Day 2 & 3 are supposed to be the hardest but so far so good. I'll update at the end to give a detail of the process. I am getting married Nov 27th so am using this as a jump start to super healthy eating before I leave for Cancun (leaving Nov 19th)!

[mochamakes3]

My big worry is that because we are there almost a week in advance any weight I drop will be easily packed back on. It will be especially difficult with all the delicious food, drinks and humidity.

[Lua]

my honest opinion?

 

those cleansing diets are SOOO not good for you!

 

Do you drink? (as in alchocol) on a regular basis? if so, stop. --- before i quit drinking several years ago, I would drink every weekend with friends.  within a month after i stopped i dropped almost 10 lbs and have kept it off ever since.

 

Alcohol aside, you should really concentrate on a good workout regime combined with a proper diet to lose weight.  Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred is amazing and so many ladies swear by it!!!

 

There's this tv show up here in Canada called Buldging Brides in which they have a bride who wants to lose 10lbs in 4 weeks. They always have great ideas of what you should eat and what you should be doing workout wise.  Not sure if you can watch episodes online but they have great tips on workouts and food. http://www.slice.ca/Shows/ShowsPage.aspx?Title_ID=113151

[DiamondGirl]

Master Cleanse diet does work, although not good for you as some may say. You just have to be very careful that you don't gain all the weight back before the wedding. 

[Aumuller]

I'm not here to judge anyone. But I am a dietitian and all I have to say is please, please don't do a cleanse. There is absoloutely no reason that you need to "cleanse" your body, our body does that naturally. The master cleanse or maple syrup cleanse or any other names it goes by should essentially be called starving yourself. You will of course see short term weight loss when your calories are so low but I guarantee you will gain the weight back.

 

I completely understand peoples desire to use a cleanse to jump start weight loss but my opinion is it will only cause your body damage. I am more than happy to give out nutrition and diet advice to any brides who want to shed some pounds in a healthy way!

[Ginger1961]

I have been trying to stay away from this thread but I just can't any longer.  Do not do this.  You will screw up your metabolism.  You'll end up heavier than before you started once the weight comes back on.  Not IF but When.  Losing weight is simple mathematics girls.  Eat less than your body's caloric needs and you will loose weight.  Add exercise to the mix and you will lose more.  There are caloric calculators all over the internet.  You plug in your body weight, height and in some cases your level of activity and it will tell you how many cals you need to sustain your current weight.  Drop 500 cals lower than that and you will loose about a pound a week.  If you exercise, you'll  increase the loss.  A pound is approximately 3500 calories.  500 x 7 days a week is 3500 cals. I would not recommend trying to lose more than 2 lbs a week. 

 

I'm not a dietician but I have lost weight and kept it off for more than ten years.  I am 42 years old and I am a size 2.  A healthy size two.  By that I mean I have muscle on my body.    I eat healthy 5-6 times a day but I exercise.  I lift weights 3-4 times a week and I do cardio 6 days a week - I am a gym rat so to speak.  I have helped co-workers, friends, and sisters lose weight.  If anyone wants help from someone who has been there and done it and still doing it please pm me or give me a shout out.  I have a friend going on her honeymoon in November that I'm currently helping.  I do not mind at all. 

 

Stay safe and healthy girls, quick fixes are so not worth it. 

 

Ginger

[bikegirl]

Beth, I found two "diets" that work for me and worked relatively fast. I'm really bad at following diets which I guess can be a good thing in disguise. I get some of the benefits of the diet (losing weight) while remaining healthy (at least compared to how i usually eat!).

 

The first thing is my modified cabbage soup diet. I use a really simple recipe and make a huge pot of it. I use carrots, cabbage, onion, mushrooms, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomatoe paste and chicken stock. Plus salt, pepper, and some herbs like oregano and basil. For a week or two, I will eat as much of this as I feel like, replacing some breakfast, dinner, and snacks with it. I don't ONLY eat this but I replace like half of my diet.

 

The second thing that works is low carb. Seriously, this really really works and can be very healthy. Low carb is NOT no carb. Basically, I will do things like eat deli meat with cream cheese, cucumber and something else wrapped in it rather than say...cookies or other starchy sugary carbs. I will eat egg and back bacon (much leaner!) with coffee for breakfast instead of bread and fruit juice. You honestly don't even notice it after I while.

[DiamondGirl]

 

 

Originally Posted by Ginger1961 

 

I have been trying to stay away from this thread but I just can't any longer.  Do not do this.  You will screw up your metabolism.  You'll end up heavier than before you started once the weight comes back on.  Not IF but When.  Losing weight is simple mathematics girls.  Eat less than your body's caloric needs and you will loose weight.  Add exercise to the mix and you will lose more.  There are caloric calculators all over the internet.  You plug in your body weight, height and in some cases your level of activity and it will tell you how many cals you need to sustain your current weight.  Drop 500 cals lower than that and you will loose about a pound a week.  If you exercise, you'll  increase the loss.  A pound is approximately 3500 calories.  500 x 7 days a week is 3500 cals. I would not recommend trying to lose more than 2 lbs a week. 

 

I'm not a dietician but I have lost weight and kept it off for more than ten years.  I am 42 years old and I am a size 2.  A healthy size two.  By that I mean I have muscle on my body.    I eat healthy 5-6 times a day but I exercise.  I lift weights 3-4 times a week and I do cardio 6 days a week - I am a gym rat so to speak.  I have helped co-workers, friends, and sisters lose weight.  If anyone wants help from someone who has been there and done it and still doing it please pm me or give me a shout out.  I have a friend going on her honeymoon in November that I'm currently helping.  I do not mind at all. 

 

Stay safe and healthy girls, quick fixes are so not worth it. 

 

Ginger

 

 

I definitely would like to lose weight, the healthy way. I've done cleanses before and not only are they short term weight loss, but also not good for you. I'm 5'2 and weight 152 lbs. I should realisticly be at a healthy weight of 125-132. I can definitely use some guidance, would you mind helping?

[Ginger1961]

Diamond Girl,

 

Send me a pm with an email address for you and we'll get started.  Again, I'm not a professional but I have failed at every diet known to man and woman in my 20's and then, I figured out the secret to success which is that it's really no secret at all.  I have spent the past three years with a trainer.  She'd love to know that I've passed all her secrets on. 

 

All you need is the motivation and I am sure it will happen.  I'm 5 foot 4 inches and weigh about 120-123.  I do not believe in restricting any food group.  Balance is the key.  I also do not believe in being hungry.  It's all about the choices.  I'll need you to do me a favor.  Take an honest look at what you eat through the run of a day.  In fact, write down everything you ate yesterday or today.  I mean everything.  I'll get you set up with on online calculator to get a handle on your calories.  You'd be suprised how many calories we tend to sneak in during a day.  Amounting to hundreds.  Also put your mind around what you do for exercise if any, and then what you'd be willing to do.  There is no sense in me telling you to follow my schedule as our demands are all different.  Can you do that?  Give me as much info about your activity level, food intake, sleep and water intake. 

 

You'll need a scale and a tape measure.  Those two items will tell you everything you need to know.

 

Ginger