4 months to get in shape

[Anonymous]

I have what I think are realistic expectations, with 4 months to lose 15 lbs AND tone up. I have done it before with MFP, but it's just not realistic for me to count calories while cooking and going out, and I really do need to stick with 1200 calories or I don't lose.

I need a simple routine. Full time work and little kids. I tend to not eat breakfast anyway. Dinners are mostly homemade but probably a bit carb and cheese heavy. Lunch is a struggle - I usually bring a frozen meal or leftovers (I never eat out for lunch). I already dont drink my calories or other traps people fall into.

Is there a better way to manage lunch so it's easy, healthy, and filling? Dinner portion control is a weakness. And what LIGHT easy workout can I do that I might actually stick with? No time or money for gym.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and I'm a vegetarian, with picky kids, which is why meals often get dumbed down to carb and cheese fests....it's a pain to do lots of veggie and grain things if I'm the only one eating it...

[Anonymous]

A colleague of mine buys the bag salads at the grocery store and has them for lunch every.single.day.
She brings five bags in every Monday, keeps them in the fridge with her low calorie dressing. She has a nice bowl and a real fork. Sometimes she adds extra veggies-tomatoes, baby carrots, cucumbers, etc.
She's lost a good amount of weight over time.

[Anonymous]

How is lunch a struggle? That is literally the easier meal to make in advance and pack the night before.

-grill up some chicken on the weekend, cut in strips. Make a salad the night before and throw on the chicken strips.
-same chicken, throw it into a wrap.
-literally anything can be thrown into a wrap: grilled chicken, chicken sausage, turkey slices. add vegetables, some mustard, wrap in foil.
-no time to grill chicken? pick up a rotisserie chicken from grocery store.
-no time to cook? slice up those chicken sausages from trader joe’s, throw on skillet with sliced peppers= sausage and peppers.
-no time to slice peppers? trader joe’s sells pre-sliced frozen peppers.
-if you’re really hard-core about dieting, canned pink salmon has amazing macros in terms of very low fat, no carbs, high protein. throw in Greek yogurt, some spicy mustard, diced tomatoes and onions option. Eat with sliced cucumbers or small pita bread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is lunch a struggle? That is literally the easier meal to make in advance and pack the night before.

-grill up some chicken on the weekend, cut in strips. Make a salad the night before and throw on the chicken strips.
-same chicken, throw it into a wrap.
-literally anything can be thrown into a wrap: grilled chicken, chicken sausage, turkey slices. add vegetables, some mustard, wrap in foil.
-no time to grill chicken? pick up a rotisserie chicken from grocery store.
-no time to cook? slice up those chicken sausages from trader joe’s, throw on skillet with sliced peppers= sausage and peppers.
-no time to slice peppers? trader joe’s sells pre-sliced frozen peppers.
-if you’re really hard-core about dieting, canned pink salmon has amazing macros in terms of very low fat, no carbs, high protein. throw in Greek yogurt, some spicy mustard, diced tomatoes and onions option. Eat with sliced cucumbers or small pita bread.

Oh, ha! Your vegetarian post came up after I wrote this out. Pretty big detail you left out. No wonder lunch is hard for you.

[Anonymous]

If you know dinners will have carbs, lunch needs to be mostly protein. So, as a vegetarian, you need to find what those would be: greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, some of the fake meats that are good and mostly protein, canned salmon if you'll do fish (some vegetarians will).

But honestly, this issue is part of the reason I stopped being vegetarian. As I've gotten older I need more protein than I can reasonably get from a vegetarian diet. I don't eat much meat, but usually will get a salad with chicken for lunch, and then we stick to vegetarian at home.

As for workouts, anything light and easy won't make much difference in your appearance, but it may feel good. There's the 7 minute NYT workout, plenty of streaming things online you can do, etc. Heck, a regular regimen of pushups, planks, and lunges would probably tone you up reasonably well if you're consistent.

[Anonymous]

The easiest way to do this is to adopt an eating plan such as Whole30. Since you’re vegetarian use eggs and egg whites as your main protein. The weight drops pretty easily.

As for toning if you really can’t join a gym, just walk for like an hour a day. But if you could eek out the time and money, you could see real results from something like CrossFit in just a few weeks. Most gyms offer 5:30 or 6 am classes a few times a week. It’s not really a major time suck - you just have to be willing to get up early.

[Anonymous]

Thanks...yeah, I'm struggling with the veg thing. I've been veg since I was 14. I'm 40 now. And controlling my weight is harder now. At restaurants or as a guest somewhere, my only choice is often pizza or pasta, or an unfilling salad. I can't choose to "be good" and stick with grilled chicken. And I try to avoid fake meat, because, well, fake - that's one positive change I've made over the years is cutting out heavily processed foods with tons of ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks...yeah, I'm struggling with the veg thing. I've been veg since I was 14. I'm 40 now. And controlling my weight is harder now. At restaurants or as a guest somewhere, my only choice is often pizza or pasta, or an unfilling salad. I can't choose to "be good" and stick with grilled chicken. And I try to avoid fake meat, because, well, fake - that's one positive change I've made over the years is cutting out heavily processed foods with tons of ingredients.

Also, as for working out, I have to be at work at 730, so I leave the house around 645 to drop off kids. Usually leave around 430 and pick up the kids. Make dinner, eat between 530 and 600. Hang with the kids until 7/730, bedtime is done by 8. That gives me 2 hours max before bed. Sometimes I need to log back into work to finish stuff, clean up, attempt to relax. I appreciate the reminder for the NYT 7 minute workout...I can do a few rounds of that, maybe. Some excuses maybe, but I really don't kow how people do it, or what I'm doing wrong.

[Anonymous]

NP here, the fact I need to control my weight is the only reason I eat meat (chicken and fish). I eat a lot of eggs and chickpeas, and some nuts but nuts are counterproductive. I eat 2 hardboiled eggs at lunch with a salad (no dressing, maybe feta or nuts on it) and some of those thin Triscuits or popcorn.

I'm yo-yoing on weight loss but it's 100% because of hormonal binging. Working on that.

[Anonymous]

When I had the early leaving/day are drop off schedule, I bought myself a treadmill and got up at an obnoxiously early hour. Got in 30 minutes plus another 10-15 of weights before I started my day.

The vegetarian thing is tough but you can do salads with nuts and eggs which would be filling.

[Anonymous]

I lost 15 lbs in 2 months. I started out a healthy weight so this isnt insignificant. A couple thoughts. This is an aggressive goal, so you're going to have to commit more. You can't tone up on "light and easy" exercise. You need to be okay with some serious work and discomfort. Second, you need to be okay with going hungry. Eat less and eventually the hunger will fade. But your goal requires some pain. Prepare for it and embrace it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks...yeah, I'm struggling with the veg thing. I've been veg since I was 14. I'm 40 now. And controlling my weight is harder now. At restaurants or as a guest somewhere, my only choice is often pizza or pasta, or an unfilling salad. I can't choose to "be good" and stick with grilled chicken. And I try to avoid fake meat, because, well, fake - that's one positive change I've made over the years is cutting out heavily processed foods with tons of ingredients.

Also, as for working out, I have to be at work at 730, so I leave the house around 645 to drop off kids. Usually leave around 430 and pick up the kids. Make dinner, eat between 530 and 600. Hang with the kids until 7/730, bedtime is done by 8. That gives me 2 hours max before bed. Sometimes I need to log back into work to finish stuff, clean up, attempt to relax. I appreciate the reminder for the NYT 7 minute workout...I can do a few rounds of that, maybe. Some excuses maybe, but I really don't kow how people do it, or what I'm doing wrong.

I'd be kinder to yourself than that: it's hard to fit this stuff in. You're working a nine hour day, plus commute, plus you have to work more some nights? That's more than I would want to work, but then I may earn less. Can your husband handle bedtime 1-2 nights a week so you can workout, and then you also workout on the weekends? 4-5 times/week, if intense enough, is usually plenty.

Is working out at lunch an option? I'm a morning person by nature so I will get up crazy early to workout, but if evenings are better for you, go for it. I am just too tired at the end of the day, but plenty of people manage to do it. And I'm the one who stopped being vegetarian, but I wasn't one for as long as you have been. I'm nearly 42 and, yeah, I just need more protein than I can reasonably get as a vegetarian. I feel SO much better when I eat meat, even just 3-4 times/week. I try to limit it, and mostly do chicken, but at the end of the day it's been a worthwhile change. But again, I didn't have years as a vegetarian. I'm also willing to eat protein bars/use protein powder and sometimes do fake meat. Processed, sure, but it's not like I'm eating Cheetos or Wonder Bread.

[Anonymous]

New poster here. Been vegetarian for nearly 30 years. It is hard to get the protein you need to feel really full and satisfied when you want to lose weight.

I will eat fish 1x per week. Not crazy about eggs, but I eat 2 eggs per week. I only do it for the protein; I kind of gag them down. I do eat fake meat. I love the fake sausages, and also the *original* boca burgers all dressed up in lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, herbs. I like the fake deli meats rolled up with cheese and slathered in mustard. Ya gotta get creative.

I feel best the day I eat fish, but I won't stray further than that.

Most vegetarians I know are junk food junkies, and i am one of them. We replace meat with sugar. I must have chocolate every day; just a piece. I love salt. I do popcorn with cheesy brewers/nutritional years. Yum.

Peanut butter/banana smoothie or pb on toast will hold you over all morning. I need my calories in the morning. I get up 4:30 to start my 30-45 minute workout, then I am at work by 7. I am far too tired at night to start to exercise. I go to sleep when I am tired, not some arbitrary "adult" time. Kids are in bed at 8, and usually i am too. In fact, in 15 minutes i will be in bed unless this thread keeps me up!

[Anonymous]

Could you wake up earlier and get in a workout from home before your kids get up? I have a pretty inexpensive spin bike that I bought on Amazon for $300 and I use that to do Peloton indoor cycling workouts. They are fantastic and an amazing workout. The app is only $19.99 a month. I workout before work at around 5:30, and its the only way I can make it happen. To help me get out the door so I can be on time for work, I lay out my workout clothes and my clothes for work the night before. I also make several lunches for the week every Sunday, so I don't have to worry about making lunch in the morning. If you are married, could your spouse help out and drop off the kids so you can have more time to yourself in the morning? It's tough that you have to do drop off AND pickup everyday.