What worked for YOU?

AmigaMaria001

I eat at or slightly below my allotted calories every single day. I accurately weight and measure every single thing including butters and oils when cooking.
I drink approx 8 glasses of fluids a day (I don't like to drink straight water so I drink iced tea with saccharine)
The foods that I eat are exactly what I crave and want every day - when I eat what I want within my deficit; then I am totally satisfied and that makes it easier to stick with this lifestyle change.

20yearsyounger

beth0277 wrote: »

I think the only thing that will truly work for me is a realistic calorie deficit. Still having treats, but making smarter decisions and staying within my calories.

What you said. Finding that realistic number and adding some exercise to speed things along. It had to be something that I could do on an ongoing basis. So I used my goal weight to figure out the number and worked backwards.

emmacken

I don't think it has been "one" thing that has helped me succeed. What's working for me is tracking what I'm eating, staying mostly within my calorie goals, using my fitbit to walk at least 10,000 steps a day, keeping really tempting foods out of my house, and planning ahead as much as possible. I still have ice cream, I just buy portioned bars like the Klondike 100 calorie bars or Friendly's ice cream bars. I definitely have a beer every night. I know that I prefer to have the majority of my calories at night, so I plan to have lighter breakfasts and lunches. Breakfast is usually a Carnation instant breakfast or eggs and bacon. Lunch had been a serving of homemade soup and a container of yogurt. Dinner varies.

I haven't made exercising a priority this time around and my weight loss experience has been much more pleasant. I've never been super athletic and don't get very much enjoyment from exercise. I do, however, like to walk. Walking has been my only form of exercise and I get most of my steps in during work. There hasn't been that dread that comes from getting home after a long day of work knowing that I should do an exercise routine from a DVD when what I really want to do is drink a beer with my boyfriend.

There are some foods that I just cannot buy for myself. Family sized bags of potato chips, holiday candy, and reduced priced baked goods used to come home during my shopping trip with the intention of making them last all week. Somehow, I was always surprised when I managed to finish off an entire container of day old pastries within one day. It was just too easy to make a cup of coffee and have something sweet to go with it for no other reason than it was in the house. I will still have these treats, but only at events where there were brought by someone else.

I plan ahead on days when I know my routine will be shifted. I go to trivia night every week at the bar, so I typically eat a dinner of eggs and bacon before I go. This allows me to enjoy at least two craft beers and crushes the temptation to order a burger or fries off of the menu. Another example was during my trip to home coming at my old college. I took a two hour walk around campus before I had any calorie dense food. I also alternated drinking beer with drinking water.

TL;DR If I had to choose one thing, it would be that I have to put thought into what I'm putting into my body. When I mindlessly snack and have no perception of portion, I gain. When I'm in control of what I'm eating, I lose.

knitapeace

TDEE minus XX%, Fitness Blender videos, running, bodyweight strength training, and most of all CONSISTENCY over the course of months, not days or weeks. Also, throwing the scale out the window.

epido

Nothing I tried worked for me until I got to a point where I was really, truly, 100% committed to making the changes that needed to be made, and realizing I was worthy of the end result.

It hasn't always been easy, and I've actually been in a bit of a funk for the last couple months, finding myself trying to fall back into old habits. Over the last few days, however, I feel as if I am getting back to the right frame of mind to get serious about this again, and loose the last of the weight I am wanting to loose.

Outside of the mental aspect, I hired a personal trainer and started working out with kettle bells. Initially, I was also walking, but in the last month or so I have started running some as well. (In fact, I can now run just slightly more than I walk!) When it comes to diet, I don't follow anything in particular. I just try to make healthy choices - lots of protein, more fruits and veggies, whole grains, no high fructose corn sweetener, as little processed foods as possible (although I haven't cut them out completely). I still have cake, cookies, candy, etc from time to time, but have tried to find healthier alternatives when I want something sweet - more fruits, some of the blended greek yogurt flavors, dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, etc.

I am also fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive family and friends. Knowing they want to also see me succeed helps tremendously to get through the days where I am just not feeling it.

hoyalawya2003

IIFYM, plus exercise. I know that exercise isn't strictly necessary, but I like to eat. So it has helped me sustain losses while not feeling like I am starving.

TheSatinPumpkin

Following Atkins (2002 DANDR) while using MFP and cronometer for logging. Will implement SL 5x5 or p90x2 or x3 when at or below goal.

sunman00

MFP, simple as, log everything, weigh everything, be honest, get out & do a little exercise, what you do has to be sustainable so I never followed any fad, and I LOVE the new me!! keep at it

rainbowblu

Keep Going.

For the past few years since gaining weight I've been on many diets. In January of this year I weighed my highest weight ever-323lbs! Did I lose 2lbs a week or even 1lb week..NO! Did I give up LOTS of times-YES! There have been times where I went off my plan for 2-3 days eating/drinking whatever I want, the difference is that those times used to last for weeks or the "I'll start on Monday/New Years/Tomorrow/After my Birthday or(whatever)Holiday."

Most of the time I'll start again at the next meal, just recently I decided to have a maintenance day every 2 weeks. My problem is not food, but alcohol so instead of suffering with light beer I'll use my maintenance day to drink what I actually want.

No one is perfect. Never feel like a failure when you mess up, everyone messes up. If you keep going you will continue to see the lbs. drop.

amusedmonkey

What currently works for me is my own modified version of a cross between intermittent fasting and calorie banking which basically involves eating whatever I like within reason (or not) then have a crash 500 calorie day at a certain threshold.

What REALLY worked for me is to stop feeling guilty about my choices and just go with what I feel like doing that day. Jumping between diets and trying things out is not a bad strategy if it keeps you motivated long term.

You do not really have to stick with one plan per se, choosing a diet is not a death sentence. What you do have to stick to, however, is the understanding that eating more than you burn will lead to weight gain and vice versa. What method you chose to achieve that calorie deficit depends on what you feel is easiest for you to do.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Caloric deficit. That being said, I find I'm more focused on maintaining a caloric deficit when I'm exercising on a regular basis, particularly if I'm training for something specific. Something clicks in my brain that makes me more determined to stick to my calories because I don't want to undo all the effort I'm making with my workouts.

icrushit

Habit. It has been the bedrock for any successful weight loss endeavours. Stripping away the bad habits like one would peel an onion, replacing them with better, and tackling another layer when I'm ready to do so, has worked a charm. Everything else has just been window dressing for me

I should also note, whenever I've failed, and regained weight, it has also been through habit, where the bad has reached critical mass eventually, and the weight crept back on.

cosmichvoyager

yep. Keep going.

Also, I see slow loss over a long time as the best option. If I get "diet fatigue" I stop and work on maintaining/not gaining/keep exercising/make healthy choices for a few weeks. I rarely lose more than a pound a week...most weeks it is much less but I realistically do not see myself sticking with this if I look at it as anything less than a total gradual committed change for my whole life.

Portion control, I don't demonize food and I exercise most days. I am not focusing on appearance or vanity. It's enough for me that I no longer have high blood pressure, my cholesterol is basically at a healthy level, my feet don't hurt, I enjoy being active.

If you hate your "diet" then you will never lose anything or keep it off. I am working on loving a new way to live--one where I think before I eat, cook more often and exercise regularly.

hosegirl

What worked for me is using the 21 Day fix containers. I stay with in the paramenters and I lose. I know it is measuring but it so simple.

sunglasses_and_ocean_waves

beth0277 wrote: »

I have tried so many things....Weight watchers, no sugar diet, "clean eating", low calories, low carbs, etc... I've never stuck to anything. The only times I have lost weight have been when I was eating far too few calories and I rebounded and gained it all back and then some. I'm starting my journey again, at the highest weight of my life, with at least 50 pounds to lose. I think the only thing that will truly work for me is a realistic calorie deficit. Still having treats, but making smarter decisions and staying within my calories.

What is the one thing that made you stick with it? Wherever you may be in your journey. I realize what works for one most likely won't be exactly what works for another, but I'm interested in hearing your A-HA plan?

It may be that you're not sticking with one thing long enough.

I lost weight a few years back by lowering carb intake (not much though, I was eating/drinking like 300+g/day and lowered it just under 200g and did pilates and dance.

Then I got serious, tracked my cals, added weights and went nuts. Looked great for a few months and then got sick (unrelated to diet/exercise lol).

So I'm puffier now thanks to my med, but I still maintain working hard and eating well. I just have a different body now. Sometimes you just gotta go with what you've got as long as it truly is your best.

RHachicho

It was a whole host of things first I had to deal with the emotional issues around my eating. I comfort ate which means I basically dealt with any stressful situation by reaching for food. Usually junk food. I cultivated better coping mechanisms and slowly removed food as a crutch. If you rely on food to get you through the day then cutting back is impossible. You can't simply resist your only effective coping mechanism. So don't try until you have others. For me I got into painting and physical activity in a big way.

And yes physical activity. A lot of people say you can lose weight without exercise. This is correct. However it is both the harder and the unhealthier way to do it. It is far better for your body to eat a sensible amount of calories and sweat it off than it is to simply try and starve the fat off. In fact quite a lot of solid research is coming to the conclusion that much of the health conditions we previously thought where linked to being overweight are actually more to do with a lack of activity. I believe that being skinny doesn't make you healthy and being a bit chubby doesn't really make you unhealthy either. Exercise is the big thing to get into if you want to be fit and healthy. Your body needs that stimulation. It's a system designed to adapt you to your environment. If you lift heavy weights it grows big muscles, Diet allowing. If you run long distances it grows efficient at distributing energy and optimizes your running gait. So tell me what would such a system optimize you to do if you do nothing? Yep that's right. Nothing. Regardless of calories or fat or anything a still body WILL atrophy. Obviously there is a limit. Nobody is saying the 500lb whale in that YouTube video is healthy. The human body can only take so much. The human body may be an adaptive system. But elastic stretched too far will simply snap.

I believe by far the best approach is simply to eat a sensible diet and really push yourself physically. Set aside an hour or two a day for your bodies necessary stimulation. And don't just be happy with an hour on the elliptical. Those machines are bunk. They never did anything for me at all. Hit the weights. And run,walk or play a sport to get your cardio in. You will be surprised how quickly activity can escalate too. 8 Months ago I was 338lbs of pure fat and had difficulty getting off the ground on my own. My heart would sometimes beat so fast i thought I was going to have a heart attack. Now I lift heavy 3 days a week and run 10km 3 times a week and walk 2 hours to the gym on my lifting days. Oh and I weigh 226lbs. And look fairly muscly. Not like a bodybuilder. I've still got some flab and some loose skin and some of my muscles are still underdeveloped. But I look like a strong healthy guy. Not someone who lost all his muscle on a crash diet. This last month I officially came off my diet figuring it wasn't really reasonable to retain a deficit for more than 8 months straight. Time to give things a rest. I am eating 3500 a day now. I put on about 1.5lbs last month. And look better. And lost another inch off my waist.

Scale weight is totally overrated.

I am thinking of upping my running distance soon. 10km is getting easy.

You can totally Do this. And you really really don't have to starve yourself. Diet's don't work in the long term they have a 95% failure rate. Being active is the magic ticket.

SonicKrunch

What first worked for me was a switch in my thinking to food as fuel. As soon as I started believing that, everything changed. I no longer craved sweets because I knew my body didn't need it to stay fueled. Over time, I started to eat some enjoyable things(not that I wasn't enjoying what I had chosen as my meals, but I was enjoying a slice or two here of pizza or whatnot). Now I'm more trying to hit my macros since I've been failing a bit on my lifting progress.

3laine75

Owning the gains as well as the losses is what's working for me.

Obviously it's not as simple as losing weight then purposely gaining some again, there's a lot of hard work to be done in the gym and the juggling match (not always successful) to get the macros on point but it certainly beats months of dieting, forgetting about it, noticing your clothes are too small then months of dieting again (effing up your body a tiny bit more every time).

cwolfman13

What worked for YOU?

1 - being realistic...Rome wasn't built in a day...nobody became fat overnight...but everyone seems to think they should lose a gazillion Lbs per week and look like they've been dedicated to a fitness lifestyle for decades, all in a matter of weeks.

2 - Consistency in logging and hitting my calorie goals and consistency in exercising.

3 - Getting more balanced and much better nutrition...I don't know that it actually helped with weight loss, but it has helped in a lot of other areas where my health is concerned, not to mention satiety on lower calories

4 - Being reasonable with my calorie goals...1 Lb per week was pretty easy at a 500 calorie per day deficit...I didn't feel like I was killing myself or depriving myself of anything. Easy to stick to it.

5 - Made sure I was moving more and getting regular exercise...you don't have to kill yourself here either...but you should be doing something regularly.

Patttience

A realistic calorie deficit definiltey has worked for me. But i have a few key things that work for me.

Quit sweets.
Address mood issues and stress by seeking counselling support.
Not relying on exercise.
Focusing my diet around vegetables fruit, lentils, beans and chickpeas and full cream dairy. Using nuts and seeds, cheese and mainly olive oil to keep my food tasting good so eating these foods in appropriate quantities. Eating a diverse range of foods (though i don't' eat meat, only fish).
Cooking nearly everything from scratch.
I still eat pasta, rice and bread but much less. A serve of past for me now is 50g. At the beginning of the year when i began my diet it was 80g. Prior to this diet, i ate pasta about 4 times a week, sometimes more. Now i eat it about once a week. A serve of rice is usually 1/2 cup cooked but sometimes one cup. Bread, I do not eat it every day and when i do it its often a pita bread to go with hummus and other bean type foods.

Although quitting sweets has been so vital for me, the most important thing that everyone trying to lose weight and improve their diet needs to do is eat a lot more fresh vegetables. most people on this site so far as i can tell, do not eat near enough.

I am almost at goal. I've eaten sweets about 6-8 times this year. That fits within my rules whereby i can eat them if i'm offered them outside the home. I don't really care now if i never eat them again. I"m so happy with my current diet. I've just stopped counting calories but you can look back through my diary.

I've only just taken up a physical activity. Tennis because its social and interesting.