Best Tip You Received?

purpleychick

bee_bee8 wrote: »

Someone already said it I think, but weigh your food. You'd be surprised how skewed your calorie count can get if you measure things like "1 slice of bread" instead of "27 grams of bread."

Also - don't deprive yourself. Eat what you love (and if you can, find ways to make it healthier like by adding veggies). If you love carbs, eat carbs; don't torture yourself eating only leafy greens if you'd rather die than have a salad. I've had bread and pasta every single day and lost over 40 lbs. As we all know, CICO is king :-)

Wow this really hit home. I have recently purchased a scale, but I kind of just assumed that a slice of bread was a slice of bread and would just scan the barcode for easy logging.

Amyfinch0

Weigh all food and plan every meal on MFP. I truly had no idea what a state my diet was in before I started doing that.

Another thing is to factor in a bedtime snack. I ALWAYS want one and for months it was taking me over my goals because I didn't take it into account (or I thought I could fight the desire because you're not 'supposed' to eat right before sleep). But now I have one every night and I'm losing more successfully than ever.

Grimmerick

eat whenever you want it doesn't matter as long as you follow CICO. I save all my calories for the evening.

VeronicaA76

Quit doing so much cardio and start lifting weights.

Graelwyn75

I have noted quite a few tips during the time I religiously studied this forum and it's posts.

1) Keep your calorie intake as high as you can get away with whilst still being low enough to lose weight - this is so you have somewhere to drop to should you hit a plateau and so it wont be such an extreme adjustment when you go into maintenance.
2) Aim to lose at a reasonable pace as you are more likely to lose lean mass if you lose the weight too rapidly and with too great a deficit.
3) Do strength training to assist in maintaining lean mass as you lose, or you may end up shooting your metabolism in the foot.
4) Ideally aim to get 80% of your intake from nutritious, natural foods and allow the other 20% for treats/more processed foods.
5) Use the scale as an analytical tool rather than as a marker for what is happening because if you are strength training , you might be reducing inches and bodyfat yet maintaining the same weight. This is especially relevant if you are a daily weight checker as weight can vary as much as 5Ibs some days depending on food in the intestine, sodium intake, fluid intake, water retention, TOM etc etc.
6) AND this is important - Think Lifestyle Change, not diet. A diet is a temporary thing to lose weight but it is rarely effective in the longterm. However, if you overhaul your entire lifestyle and create something that is sustainable for life, success is much more likely. In short, avoid fad diets, keep a balance and unless you are going to avoid cake, ice cream, chocolate, cookies etc for the rest of your life, work them into your weight loss plan.
7) If you have a bad day, move past it and get back on track the following day. Trying to compensate by exercising more or eating less will lead to a vicious cycle and the punishment is needless.
8) Never lose sight of your health... it is not a race to lose as rapidly and extremely as possible, it is a journey to regain your health and happiness.

noobletmcnugget

Hunger passes, it isn't gunna kill you.

nowine4me

Observe the habits of thin people. They got that way by working for it

seltzermint555

wellnesschaser wrote: »

You must be consistent, and you must be patient.

Definitely this!

I also have to echo others' comments about realistic expectations. Everyone's motivated a little bit differently but for me it was so helpful to set small goals along the way. When I started out "bettering myself" physically I was wearing a size 26/28, I honestly would have given up early on if my first goal was to fit into size 10. It took me five years to do that. Sometimes reaching smaller goals along the way can give you the momentum you need.

msrios

One day at a time...

Syneea

That you WILL lose the weight in your "resistant areas", you just have to keep going! Now you may not like how small other areas of your body will become, but it Will happen. Strength training in a deficit will help with your overall appearance while losing.

lorrpb

Eat a little carb and a little protein every time you eat.
Keep moving.

amusedmonkey

Life can be pleasurable even when working to stay within a healthy weight range, a diet that doesn't allow for the simple joys of life (including food and food related social interactions) does more bad than good. It's not impossible to achieve a middle ground and arbitrary restrictions are pointless. My slim and healthy grandmother who refuses to see her full fat sour cream and homemade pies as "bad" is a wise woman. No wonder I fit right in when I joined this forum.

CynthiasChoice

This was the best advice for me: Avoid cravings by choosing what you eat wisely.

Pasta, bread and sweets will stimulate my appetite, but protein, fats and veggies will quiet my appetite. I'm DONE with being controlled by an out of control appetite, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make the hunger monster shut up.

I used to be scared by the thought of a lifetime of mostly meat and veggies. Now I embrace it because that's what brings me peace, happiness and health.

Alatariel75

Best tip I ever received was when a football team was sat in my section for their end of season dinner, asked for 2 empty pitchers and put them on the table as the "Swear Jars". At the end of the night they gave them to me as my tip. It paid my rent for a month.

mini141284

What doesn't kill you olny makes u stonger

filmguyuk

Fizzy mineral water can be great initially to help feel full, whilst reducing food intake. Also expect all changes to take time. It's got to be a change in how you think about food long term. Oh and if you can avoid alcohol. I've been dry for 6 months and think it massively helped me.

fleapowder

I have stopped alcohol and I have lost a few more pounds but whats amazing is the way I feel. I hope to keep it up.

fitoverfortymom

LisaEatSleepRun wrote: »

Debmal77 wrote: »

Use a food scale!

^^^ This

All_Exits_Lead_Within wrote: »

Being fat is hard. Losing weight is hard. Choose one.

^^^ This

and don't let eating over calories some meals/days derail your overall adherence!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ x 1,000,000

locoloon

don't snack between meals.
drink more water.
simple meals are easier to log.

Ainadan

-Healthy decisions are made at the grocery store, not the pantry.
---Along with that, don't go shopping when you are hungry!

-The measure of progress in your life isn't the absence of problems, but the presence of better quality problems.