Need to Get Weight off Now!! Help!!

my brother in law swears by the South Beach diet.

But I agree with Peg M, you're wanting to lose and unreasonable amount of weight in such a short period of time. You could lose a lot of muscle - including things like heart muscle.

I agree with Tiffany. AND.....DRINK 3 times as much water as you think you can stomach. I mean a lot. When I was in a weight loss group the two women who consistently dropped twice as much weight per week as any one else were drinking copious amounts of water.

It flushes the fat cells out.

Just to add - contestants on The Biggest Loser are medically supervised, using nutrition and exercise programs specifically tailored to their predicament. In addition they workout anywhere from 8-10 hours a day. While safely supervised, they are not the norm nor is their program anything you can or should do at home on your own.

There is no "great way" to get 25 pounds off in 5 1/2 weeks. It simply is not healthy to lose so much weight so quickly in such a short period of time. You'll either be potentially damaging your body or your body will go into starvation mode and when you go off whatever wacky diet you choose, you'll gain all the weight back and then some. Weight loss should happen like weight gain - slowly and gradually. You'd be hard-pressed to put 25 pounds on in 5 1/2 weeks so it would make sense that it is an unreasonable goal to lose so much so quickly.

Set a more reasonable goal, like 1-2 pounds per week and perhaps try to use clothing that flatters and slims your figure.

25 pounds in six weeks is not healthy. Two pounds a week is probably the maximum that's achievable without causing yourself some serious health problems. And I mean serious – anything from heart rhythm disturbances to gallstones.

If you lose more than around two pounds weekly (your first week could be higher because of water loss), you'll lose more muscle than fat, and that makes it harder to burn calories for future loss. It can also send your body into an emergency "starvation" mode which will slow your metabolism WAY down, reducing future losses. And leaving you feeling tired, cold, and probably very hungry.

I don't know exactly how much I dropped but it was quite a bit in a short amount of time and I have kept it off by continuing this. I saw on Oprah where a lady with a shopping habit was told to go for a short walk every time she felt the urge to go shopping. I don't really like to exercise and I was a snacker...I liked to snack! I started going for a short walk every time I wanted a 'snack'. I heard you only have to do something 21 times for it to become a habit. In no time I lost the urge to snack but still kept up the walking. I found if I did many short walks I enjoyed it more than 1 long drawn out hot walk. I started drinking fruit/vegetable smoothies all day or anytime I was hungry. Any kind of fresh or frozen fruit or veggies, yogurt, ginger, juice or milk. One of my fav combos is strawberries, mangoes, plain yogurt (low calorie), orange juice & ice unless you use frozen fruit. You can even add veggies, carrots, celery, fresh spinach (just makes the color funny). I drink alot of water too to keep myself feeing full. Then I eat a meal at either lunch or dinner. Chicken, fish or lean meat, lots of fresh steamed veggies or veggies done on the grill. Salad...light on the dressing. I dip it, don't coat or toss salad in dressing. If you want or need more protein add protein powder to the smoothies, watch the sugar and carb content on the protein powder. I also stay away from anything white...sugar, artificial sweeteners, rice, pastas, breads. Best of luck to you.

that's very dangerous. just a story. i had a friend who use diet products to lost weight quickly, he died. it's always best to use natural techniques, eat healthy and exercise. we are always looking for a quick fix.

Just a word of caution...I'm not sure why some people are giving guideline for how much weight to lose weekly when there is no way to do that accurately without knowing how much you currently weigh, your body fat percentage, and how tall you are. Someone said 2 pounds a week is a good number, and it may be for some, but if you are actually obese as opposed to just overweight you could safely lose more than that. On the other hand, someone else said 5 pounds a week is a good number, and if you are only 25 pounds overweight in total, especially if your body fat percentage is not extremely high, five pounds a week is a bit much.

In my opinion, just do all you can do and then let yourself be pleased with the results. Exercise every time you get a spare moment, run up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, eat only healthy foods and limit your calories (1200-1400 a day if you are short, 1400-1600 a day if you are tall). Add Isagenix for cleansing if you want to or some similar product if you have researched it enough to feel safe using it. But in the end, if you have done everything you can (which will depend on how much free time and money you have) then be proud of yourself for what you have accomplished whether or not that adds up to 25 pounds.

You received a lot of good suggestions here. I hope you approach this weight loss goal with your health and safety in mind. A physical may be in order so you can discuss your risks with your doctor, prior to setting off on this change. No one here can tell you what is best for you to meet your goal because we don't know your current lifestyle and diet, weight, height, age, health risks, activity level, etc.

My personal philosophy is that proper weight management is more about what goes in the mouth rather than the activity level, although the latter is important to some degree. I bet that if you cut out all refined sugars (sweets, sodas, anything "white"), and switch your meals to 2 veggies and a lean protein, and take a walk after dinner, you would lose a healthy amount of weight by 8/18 (assuming that you don't balance your meals or have much activity).

Sometimes yeast can keep you from losing the weight that you want... like slowing your metabolism. Perhaps you can go on a yeast cleanse (a real one, with no fruits or starches), and eat a lot of raw vegetables, nuts (not peanuts) and small portions of lean meat (with onion and garlic) for 10-14 days, along with probiotics. Then slowly introduce fruits and whole grains. I did the cleanse outlined in The Yeast Connection book, and I was able to resist sweets and breads for several months afterwards. Then the holidays came... weight loss only really works if you change your lifestyle. My lifestyle included holiday binge ;)

Good luck, and be safe.
-B.

Start reading your food ingredient labels... Cut out all food made with high fructose corn syrup.

I had to get weight off quickly after having my last baby and I used HCG weight drops. The diet is hard but the results are totally worth it! I lost 21 pounds in 3 weeks! It actually helped me become aware of the foods that I was eating were not healthy and helped me change my diet to keep the weight off. I found a company online that sold the drops and I loved working with them. The website is http://hcgweightdrops.com. Good luck!

walk, drink tons of water and make sure you get plenty of sleep at night. if you drink sodas or any kind of juices...cut them out and drink water.

Phentramine.....My sis works at a hospital in labor & delivery. A female Dr had a baby & lost all the weight & then some in less than 4 months & all the nurses asked how she did it & that's what she took Phentramine. It worked great for my sis & several other people. Good luck

If you find out how to do that in such a short period of time, let me know! :) Although, I have found Weight Watchers to be quite successful, but took me about 6 months to drop and keep of those 30 lbs.

Have you tried Jillian Michael's 30-day shred? I have it and it is an intense workout and you can feel and see results pretty quickly...as long as you are devoted enough to do it every day...and to the fullest! :) You can find it at Target, Walmart, etc.

Good luck!

My husband and I have been doing the HCG diet and drops and have had sucess. You can lose up to 1 lb a day. You can buy the drops online or we got our's at Macey's Pharmacy. It's a very restricted diet, but I did a lot of research on it, and asked the doctor I work for (family practice/Sports Medicine doctor) if he thought it was safe, and he said it was. I recommend reading "Pounds and Inches" its the report from the doctor who started this diet and it explains things really well. So far I have lost about 12lbs, and should lose about 8-10 more before the diet is done. Of course to keep the weight off my husband and I plan on changing the way we eat and exercise for good, so really we are looking at it as an entire life style change.

I must disagree with some moms, have you seen The Biggest Loser?
Of course, I have NEVER see any of them bring their kids to the show, they spend the whole day, exersaicing and cooking healthy and learning about health and work outs.
In my normal life, I have to find time here and there to do any exercise and most of the times when I found the time I just want to sit and relax, to that add to all the food that I end up eating because of my kids (ok, I will not blame the kids!).
I think that how much weight you can lose in that time depends on many things.
Like how much you weight now (I notice the last 10-15 pounds are the hardest) how active are you, how is your diet as a right now.
If you are just starting to eat healthy and exercise you could lose a good 6- 8 pounds in a week I think.
I totally would recommend to mix cardio (walking is a great start) and some free weigh exercise in the first weeks and add some weigh (it doesn't have to be much) after the 3rd week so you don't hit plateu.
Eat a good balance diet, every meal should have some source og good proteins and carbs (good carbs) lots of veggies, lots of water, some fruits (I don't remember all the ones you can) and believe it or not some good fat (avocado, flax, nuts, salmon).
Don't put too much attention to the scale, it can be tricky, instead see how your clothes fit, how are you feeling.
I hope you can lose those 25 pounds (normal healthy lost is around 5 pounds for week, IF doing the right things) but ust get to start it is already a great thing that will benefit.
Stick with it, be positive, be strong!

I am a health and wellness coach. I represent Isagenix. The idea with the program, is cleanse and detoxify the body and eat high grade nutrition. For example, I drink a high protein shake for breakfast, for lunch I eat a very healthy (big) salad for lunch and another shake at night before 7:00, then at 10:00 drink a special cleanse and let it work over night. It is not a colon cleanse. This is a cellular cleanse. Cleaning out toxins in your cells, that is protected by fat. thus the fat is no longer needed. I've seen great success with this program. No one loses muscle mass, just fat! Here is my website. http://phytomom.isagenix.com. Go to isa videos and watch "Are You Toxic" You can watch all the rest if you want, but for sure this is the best and quickest way to safely lose weight.

WALK!!!! A friend of mine started walking with me several weeks ago. We do a minimum of 4 miles a day. I've also limited my calories to 1500/day and watch my carbs. So far I'm at 17 lbs...and still going :)

That's pretty quick....but there are a lot of different options that could help you get started and start losing.

I have done Isagenix before, and I really like it. A cleanse alone with help you to lose about 9 pounds. But you have to eat healthy after that and reduce your calories to about 1500 per day. You can go to nutrimirror.com to help you. I'm also doing the hcg diet right now. www.healthyhcg.com. I've lost 14 pounds in 20 days. I would recommend being careful and listening to your body and making sure your doctor is on board and will supervise you. Good luck. And be happy with any progress. Be careful about trying to lose weight in a dangerous way.

25 pounds is pretty dangerous for 4 weeks but it can be done. You will need to exercise vigorously for at least one hour per day (do not miss even one day). Be sure you are sweating and your heart rate stays up for at least a half hour of it. If you can stand it, you might even want to include weight training, muscle burns fat. The down side to it though, is muscle weights more than fat so the scale will not show the loss you are looking for but your body will in the mirror.

As far as eating; go with very little carbs, raw veggies and fruit (heavier on the veggies), NO DESERT OR ALCOHOL, No more than 4 ounces of meat per day and keep it to chicken and fish, stay clear of red meat or fatty meats, Also keep your cheeses and milk to a minimum but do not totally omit, drink more than 8 glasses of water per day. When you follow these food do's and don'ts then also cut your portions down to half of what you think you should eat. This should get you down to about 1500 calories per day and you will see the pounds drop off. Now how much you drop off is different for every one but you should get awful close to your goal. You may also want to do some sort of a cleanse, stop by GNC and tell them what you are trying to do and they will direct you to the right option. You may want to do a 30 day cleanse which will help you along the entire time you do your crash diet.

Good luck and be sure to listen to your body, this is really a very dangerous amount to lose in such a short time. You want to be sure that you pay attention to anything that seems off with your body and get to the doc right away if need be.

Oh yeah, I forgot another very important tip, NO SODA not even diet. and NO DIET FOODS. They have found that these synthetic, fat free foods actually mess with your metabolism and aid in gaining weight. So stay with fresh, even organic foods.

you've got to retrain your self to eat less. after my kids were born, i would eat half of my meals, and had healthy snacks when i was hungry, oranges, butter-free popcorn, baby carrots, etc. eat when your hungry but eat healthily. also, when you exercise, your heart rate needs to be at a faster rate than normal to burn calories. good luck

Count calories. I know it is tedious, but find out how many calories your body type should have each day and stick to it. My hubby tried all kinds of diets where he couldn't have such and such, but now he can eat whatever he wants and he has lost it and kept it off.

I've been adding fiber supplements to my water, and it really helps me feel full. You can get some that have no calories, but even 10 or 15 calories instead of food is not bad. Just make sure you're not compromising your health in this. That's a lot of weight really fast. That can often lead to gaining it all back plus some very fast. GL!

My family members have also done the HCG drops but they supplemented with Stevia herbal tea so they had energy and didn't feel hungry. That is the key. Just be careful to not get gall bladder problems when you lose that quickly and pay attention to it so you can get medical attention if needed.