Would a summer boot camp be crazy?

[Anonymous]

I've been exercising regularly for several years now and have seen lots of health benefits, but I'm still eating pretty poorly and my weight hasn't budged. I would like to drop 15-20 pounds. I'm finally ready to do something about it, but it's so hard when the kids are around to be making multiple different meals.

Both of my kids are headed for overnight camp this summer (assuming no Covid-related catastrophes) and will be away for 7-8 weeks. Would it be nuts to hard core diet for those two months - cut sugar, wheat, and dairy, and up the exercising to twice a day - to just lose it all quickly and then move to maintenance mode? I looked it up, and it seems like I only need to cut 100-150 calories per day from what I'm eating now to maintain at the new weight, so maintaining should be lots easier than losing.

What do you all think? Anyone done this successfully?

[Anonymous]

I'd start weight watchers now and ramp up exercise gradually. You don't need to make separate meals for your kids: even if they only eat mac and cheese, give yourself a small portion and eat a salad on the side. There are lots of kid-friendly meals that are low in points, or just eat less of it and have some fruit or vegetables.

If you wait until the summer you'll have more to lose and doubling your exercise could lead to you getting hurt and not being able to work out at all.

[Anonymous]

My weight has been stable for years, so I don’t think I need to worry about gaining between now and summer. I have teen girls, and I really don’t want them to see me dieting or fussing over food and weight. My mom dieted my whole life and it totally screwed up how I feel about food and weight. And I’m pretty fit, so I think I could ramp up exercise without injury. I’m just wondering if anyone has been successful losing weight fairly quickly and then keeping it off. I always hear how that’s bad for you, but I kind of feel like, for my particular needs right now, it would work really well.

[Anonymous]

15-20lbs in 2 months is insane if you are not very obese. I would agree with PP who suggested focusing on sustainable change. Your dieting does not have to be too obvious to your daughters. You said you eat pretty badly. Maybe start with better choices and cut snacking if you have a tendency to eat all the time, but always eat what the rest of the family eats at common meals and just have less of it. Don’t skip meals or replace them with shakes and don’t talk about dieting and your daughters might never even know.

[Anonymous]

OP if you tell us what a particular day of food looks like for you or what your kids like to eat we might have ideas of how you can add healthier options without alarming your kids. Seeing you drink more water or having two cookies instead of three is not going to scar them for life. Honestly I don't think most teenagers are watching their parents that closely. It might be more alarming to them to come home from camp and see you all of a sudden much lighter!

[Anonymous]

It sounds like simply re-assessing your family meals would be a great start. There is no need, especially if your kids are old enough to be at sleep away camp for nearly two months, to be cooking separately for them. Instead, make meals that are easily customizable. For lunch today, for example, my kids had pasta, sausage, broccoli, and parm. They ate a lot more pasta and less broccoli than me. The kid who is flirting with vegetarianism didn't have the sausage. The teenage athlete ate a lot of the sausage. I had a few strands of pasta, a few tablespoons of crumbled sausage, and a ton of steamed broccoli.
Generally, the protein, veg, plus starch combo works well for family meals.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a crash diet and unsustainable. I have kids at home too, they are not an excuse to not get it done now. You need to focus on adjusting your diet, not your exercise, especially b/c you already exercise.