# I am a size 12 and want to get down to a 10 as soon as possible



## sallyrose (Jan 24, 2011)

I am a size 12 and want to get down to a size 10 as soon as possible, has anyone any any healthy tips please?


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## fieran (Jan 24, 2011)

I'd say:

  	1. Cut sugar - try to do this slowly, like reduce the amount of sugar in your coffee/tea... switch from milk chocolate to dark chocolate.
  	2. Exercise - you don't need a gym membership (though it helps) - take a long walk, like 40 minutes or so, a few times a week. Start twice a week and go from there. If you have a bike - bike around your area - perhaps to work/school or 30-40 minutes a day (indoor bike).
  	3. Drink tons of water - place a mug or a bottle near you most of the time so when you're hungry or thirsty, the first thing you reach for is your water.
  	4. Watch your portion - I'm horrible at this, but it does work. Controlling your portion and making sure your plate has more protein than carbs make a big difference.

  	Good luck.

  	P/s - Losing weight the healthy way (so you don't gain it back the next week) takes time, unfortunately :/


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## JennsJewelz (Jan 24, 2011)

The other thing is that when you begin to lose weight by exercising and eating right, the first 5-10 pounds should come off pretty quickly because of water weight (think the first month or two), but after that it can slow down quite a bit. A healthy rate to lose weight for most women is around 1-2 pounds a week, and at that rate it will STAY off.


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## missminikat (Jan 24, 2011)

fieran said:


> I'd say:
> 
> 1. Cut sugar - try to do this slowly, like reduce the amount of sugar in your coffee/tea... switch from milk chocolate to dark chocolate.
> 2. Exercise - you don't need a gym membership (though it helps) - take a long walk, like 40 minutes or so, a few times a week. Start twice a week and go from there. If you have a bike - bike around your area - perhaps to work/school or 30-40 minutes a day (indoor bike).
> ...


	I agree! I'm a college student and unfortunately, it's not the healthiest lifestyle. When it all started catching up with me, all it took were a few lifestyle changes.

  	I replaced soft drinks and juice with water, I stopped eating out on campus and began bringing my own food from home and made an effort to up the amount of fruits and veggies I was eating. In terms of exercise, I do not have time to go to the gym. Instead, I only take the stairs now and if the weather permits (Canadian winters), I walk home instead of taking the bus.


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## smoohead (Feb 2, 2011)

I lost weight by doing weights 2x a week and 30 minutes on the elliptical every day. Didn't drastically change my diet but upped my fruits and veggies. I used to put fruit in a smoothie every day because I don't really like fruit =/


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## Honey&LemonGirl (Feb 2, 2011)

I know you want to lose a size "as soon as possible", but just remember that the fastest results are typically the ones that go away just as quickly. Fast weight loss is usually temporary and much easier to gain back than slow weight loss.

  	- Drink more water, eat less salty food. Salt (or anything else that has high sodium content) will bloat you and make your body retain water. Drinking more water flushes your system and prevents this.
  	- Cut sugary drinks. Fruit juices, sweet coffee/latte type drinks, etc. Drink water or tea instead.
  	- Cut alcohol. It's amazing how quickly people lose weight when they cut alcoholic drinks.
  	- Cut carbs. Cutting out carbohydrates (bread, cookies, cakes, sugars) is a common way to lose weight very quickly. BUT, this is also very temporary. When you go back to eating carbs, the weight will just come right back. This is why this method is usually just if you want to look good for a thing that's happening in two weeks or something (like going to someone's wedding, a party, etc.), it'll make you look good quickly, but it'll only last until you go back to eating carbs.

  	Exercise is a "depends on your body" type of thing, though. Some people see results very quickly when they start exercising, but for others, it takes much longer to see results. If you're the type to never ever exercise, your body will probably be jump-started and you'll see changes quickly if you start exercising. If you're the type to exercise sometimes (or do very easy exercise), seeing results might take longer; in this case, you would need to increase the intensity of your workouts (something that really makes you sweat) to see faster change. I suggest doing cardio (like jogging) on every other day, and then do strength exercise (weights, push-ups/sit-ups, pilates, etc.) on the other days.

  	Just keep in mind that for long-term results, you need to consistently maintain a healthy diet and regular exercise over a long period of time.


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## JaiLeeP (Mar 8, 2011)

Losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Exercise 4-5 times a week, at least 30 mins.  Eat well balanced meals. You can eat carbs!!!!. Just watch your portion sizes. Seriously, I have lost over 50 pounds. I eat what I want.. but I have learned HOW to eat it appropriately. Count calories as well. You would be surprised in the amount of calories in everyday things. This needs to be a lifestyle change and not just a diet. If you want to feel good, look good, and be overall healthy, you need to make the decision that will change your life forever, but in a good way!


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## JULIA (Mar 11, 2011)

80% of your body composition will be determined by your diet.  

	Yes, you can eat carbs just make sure you avoid processed carbs. Processed carbs are cereals, pasta, rice, bread, waffles, pancakes, muffins, soft drinks, packaged snacks, sweets, desserts. Basically anything delicious. They're all manufactured and they're all trash. Yes, even those 12 grain breads that are oft touted as "healthy". Carbohydrate drives insulin drives fat. There's a whole bunch of science behind this but it'd make for a lengthy post so I'll save it unless someone wants me to post this information. Basically, you need to get "real" with your food and eat more veggies and eat more protein (fish, chicken, etc). Oh, and don't be scared to eat fattier cuts of meat, too.  Proteins are digested slowly, don’t flood your bloodstream with glucose and then leave you sprawled out in post-carb crash. You won't be hungry within an hour which will then save you from binging.

	Exercise: Don't even bother with the chronic cardio; it's unhealthy and counter-productive. What's chronic cardio? It's long stretches of cardiovascular exercise at a sustained heart rate in the 80+% range. Once you get into this zone, less fat is burned and where there’s a big dependency on glucose to fuel muscles, your body goes into a less efficient mode of fuel oxidation. Get anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour of low to moderate level aerobic movement (heartrate between 50-75%) such as walking briskly, hiking, cycling, etc. It doesn’t need to be every day, but at least a few times a week is important. Body-weight exercises are your best friend. Squats, push-ups, pull-ups, planks and over-head presses work your entire body and are far more beneficial than those awful isolation exercises. I can provide videos that show you how to do the very basic versions of these movements (wall squats, wall pushups, etc) and they also show you how to progress into doing more advanced versions of these movements. These movements will build muscle which in turn replaces fa

  	Unfortunately it didn't take you over-night to put on this weight so you certainly aren't going to lose it that fast either. Quick fixes are only temporary and the weight will come back.


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## WhatWouldJoanDo (Mar 14, 2011)

To achieve your goal as quickly as possible you need to make a plan.  You have to go to the grocery store with a plan, and do exercise with a plan.  Then stick to the plan and be willing to work. Write it down.  Write down what you do (excerise) and what you actually ate.  Also, plan to drink water and be sure you are taking a multivitamen so that your calcium is at a good level for weight-loss optimizing.

  	With that being said I say pretend you are teaching a child how to eat properly:
  	so, 3 meals a day, and two snacks. (that's the principle behind the eating 5 times per day that we are always going 'omg' about).  To keep your metabolism high you have to keep eating.  That doesn't mean non-stop munching, and that doesn't mean huge fred flinstone sized meals. ... you would tell a child you need to eat lots of fruits and vegetables (review the food serving guide chart - what is it like 9 servings .... review the basic food pyramid).   When eating breads/cereals, eat only whole grains.  You will need to eat protein (lean meats, fish and legumes, and if you eathealthy oil containing nuts do so in SMALL amounts), NO SODA POP (too much sugar and salt), NO JUNK FOOD, NO ALCOHOL.  For the fastest result possible you can further refine by not drinking calories ie. drink only tea and water ... DO NOT DRINK OR EAT SUCRALOSE OR SUGAR SUBSTITUTE containing foods - they're crap, NO PROCESSED FOODS (too much salt, preservatives), NO DRIED fruit (too sugary).

  	To keep it real easy I would subscribe to an organics fruit/vegetable delivery service and eat what comes to get my fruit & veggie intake up.  Exercise moderately - go for long brisk walks and chat with a buddy or listen to your fav music.  Moderate level for longer time is best for burning fat without the ravenous hunger that follows intense exercise.  Do eat after working out.

  	Best!


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