What Other Factors (Besides Nutrition) Help You Succeed?

getitamb

No matter how much you love doing a type of workout, after a while, try getting into something new. Keeps you from getting burnt out. Also stick to your workout schedule. Even if you have to workout early.

rankinsect

Prelogging. I start each day with a plan that tells me exactly how I will succeed at my goals for that day.

L8model

I committed and started on 2/27/16. Once I commit to something I can become somewhat obsessive. Setting daily, weekly, & monthly goals for calories & exercise were key. After a week, or so, my wife joined in.

It's been 69 days and I've actually lost more than 33 pounds, so I've been losing close to 1/2 pound per day. I only need to lose about 11 more pounds to hit my original final goal of 185 (now moved it to 179).

My strategy:
1) Log everything I shove in my face. Keeping my gross calories reasonably close to a 1,500 calories per day average and never exceeding 1,500 in net calories.
2) Weigh all food items when possible (all meals at home). Too much of a challenge when traveling, which I do often.
3) Eliminate nearly all unnecessary calories from junk food (sodas, candy, and alcohol). Dark chocolate is still acceptable on rare occasions and I have allowed for a dessert on a very limited basis (1 scoop of ice cream on 4 occasions in the past 2 months). My treat has been Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. Especially if I'm short of my calorie goal. If I do have a drink, it's only 1, and I've only had maybe 1 every 2 weeks.
4) In an effort to support my wife, I've also eliminated anything containing wheat (she has a wheat allergy) - so, no bread, pasta, cookies, and much more.
5) I made a commitment to myself to exercise on the elliptical (or other cardio) a minimum of 3 times a week for 30 min & 500+ calories (varied pace & resistance, plus 5 min cool-down) along with periodic weight lifting and stretching. I've significantly exceeded that goal, normally getting in 4 cardio workouts that often exceed 1,000 calories.
6) Utilize a heart rate monitor (Scosche arm band HRM) to more accurately track my calorie burn when doing cardio and track it with the DigiFit app on my iPhone 6.
7) Increasingly add more weight training, as I plan to reduce most cardio to 20-30 minutes (starting this week). I want to keep my muscles confused, so I will be mixing it up.
8) Keep portion size between 4-8 ounces for meats and load up on veggies. I eat more chicken & fish and have reduced red meat, but still eat it.
9) I've also switched to eating organic & whole foods when possible, while doing my best to avoid processed foods.
10) I normally eat oatmeal, yogurt, and/or a banana for breakfast (sometimes an egg). I used to skip breakfast 5 days a week.
11) Water!!! I try to drink 64 oz a day. The only other thing that I drink is unsweetened ice tea, when eating out.

This has been much easier to do than I anticipated... I always made the excuse that I didn't have time, but once I committed, I made time. Using MyFitnessPal has really made tracking calories & nutrition worthwhile. I plan to use it forever, as a part of my lifestyle change. There is no way I would have even considered tracking my food intake without it.

Since joining the MyFitnessPal cult, I've been telling everyone I know about it & have been surprised to find how many of my friends were already using it. Many of those who weren't have now joined.

ubermofish

I've had a lot more success lately by not removing entire food groups from my diet. I focus strictly on calories, and I exercise every morning during the work week. I enjoy cooking a lot, and by not doing the Remove-Some-Kind-Of-Food-Entirely diets, I can make and eat whatever I want, as long as it fits in my goals. I do usually end up eating more protein and fat than I do carbs because they keep me sated longer. I've also started keeping gallon bags of cut up fresh veggies in the fridge for snacking, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, and some quick pickled cucumbers. Marinated mushrooms (without oil) are awesome too.

CherylanneCorsini

Knowing that I don't want to go in the other direction again. It's hard being bullied. Yesterday a male friend said "heard you got fat". After being skinny almost my entire life, that was really hard to hear.
I'm finally seeing my metabolism pick up. Added 2 cups of green tea a day, more fiber (inulin) and 1/2 avocado and just that change alone helped me drop 5 lbs in 2 weeks.
It's a process, we're all unique. I'm finding what works for me.

terezalopez

It took me a while to understand, that taking the time to workout, research, and log food everyday was not being selfish. Caring or learning to care about yourself is not selfish . I still have to repeat this to myself from time to time.

PurpleSnack

Getting enough sleep and not getting up early when I don't need to. Having a shorter day made me eat less.
Cut down from two sugars in my tea to just one.

Making lunch my largest meal of the day instead of dinner. That meant I burned off what I ate at work. Also letting myself have more carbs any day I was working. I tried having no carbs those days but I was SO hungry and irritable! I only do no carbs when I'm not at work.
Drinking a pint of water or cordial when I think I'm hungry.
I threw out the clothes that were too big for me so I literally can't afford to get bigger again!

LifeinReboot2018

The calorie and nutrient tracker were a big help. Now along with that I do at least 5 miles of cardio everyday. What I find is most people who have known me for years have no idea you I am. I saw a guy yesterday who hadn't seen me in months. His month fell open, he pointed, and then asked "where's the rest of you?". That was too funny.

christinephillips1000

OlyCapitalChick wrote: »

1) removing toxic horribly abusive people from my life
2) changing jobs
3) 10k steps a day
4) joining a gym and hiring coaches/personal trainers
5) MFP app using macros and going lowish carb high protein
6) daily vitamin
7) haven't watch TV in 2 years (except for seahawks at the bar)
8) learning to like myself and being alone
9)therapy
10) lots of self work

Love this!

Aleara2012

Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »

Having a more positive outlook on weight loss helped me a lot! I felt so defeated at first, and really fought against my body. Once I stopped fighting it and started enjoying it, it really started to click! Also realizing that every meal and every snack is a chance to do better helped! It's not all or nothing

I think these are very wise words! Indeed it is not all or nothing! One bad choice doesnt mean you have to throw the towel altogether. Something I have done more than I care to admit.

debhaley1

Thinking of it being a lifestyle change rather than a diet. Feeling like I need to get healthy, and 'cheating' sometimes isn't all bad.

DebBahr

nutmegoreo wrote: »

Realizing that if I wanted to have some reasonable expectation of a normal life while losing this weight I needed to stop lying to myself about how the choices I was making was influencing not just my weight, but my emotional well-being. I needed to accept that the weight was a symptom of so many other issues and that, while I could take the weight off without fixing those, I would still be a miserable cuss, just a thinner one.

Following the no nonsense approaches to weight loss that were sometimes less than gently explained here allowed me to get my head around all the lies and misrepresentations that are spouted by the diet industry and get to the heart of the fact that I have the control, I needed to learn to use it. While doing this, I worked on other aspects of my life that were out of balance.

While I'm only half way to goal, I am much happier with my life and I have confidence that I will get there and be better balanced for it. The friends I have made along the way are amazing and regularly make me smile. They also keep me focused and accountable, and send me hugs (not the creepy kind though) when I need them.

So very true.

MightyLolo

I set big, audacious fitness goals for myself. Not completely crazy goals, but enough to excite me.

I joined a fitness contest, and won my age bracket. Now I'm working up to competitive swimming. I tell myself, if I want to be an athlete, I have to make the choices an athlete would make. Would an athlete skip their work out and sleep in? Eat sugar instead of protein? Nope, and nope. Okay then.

goldthistime

Daily exercise: I've recognized that without exercise my mood and sleep are more likely to be a problem.
Going slow: When I have a day where I have overeaten and I'm in the midst of a strict diet, it can be very difficult to get started again. Sometimes I will procrastinate for months on end. Losing it slowly means that I have no bad memories of barely tolerable hunger or listlessness, no reason to procrastinate jumping right back into a small deficit.
Higher Protein: I had no idea how much of a factor increasing my protein would be in keeping me feeling full.
Understanding the Math: If I overeat by, say, 500 calories and my weight goes up by a full pound, I now know that this is water, and there is no reason to panic. Similarly, if I have stuck to my calorie goal but the scale has not budged, I now know that it will eventually.

cschafer2016

Running 5 miles a day on a treadmill and then walking until I get a combined total of 60 minutes of exercise. Works for me, plus only eating 1500 calories a day.

Fitlondongirlu

A) It's a lifestyle
don't choose anything low fat. Pick full fat options which contain less sugar. Fats better than carbs basically.

MrsOlarinde88

CrabNebula wrote: »

Self-discipline.

positivepowers

Increasing my exercise and ending my demonization of food.

dutchandkiwi

The need for stress reduction and needing control of my life. I was going through a rough restructuring at work, which resulted in my manager being tranferred and a big increase of workload (in part because a direct co-worker got into a burn-out) At that stage I felt I had no control over what was happening in my life. I decided I was not going to get to burn-out if I could help it - I was close though
My walking became my stress buster and my nutrition became my control over the situation. It worked :-)

rashawnbooker8

Intermittent fasting for 16 hours has hands down been the best for me. Thats leaves an 8 hour eating window. At a 1700 calorie cap i gave myself i usually have a spare 300-500 left on a full stomach before i go to bed. Drinking 0 calorie drinks w/ carbonated bubbles like "skinny girl" and water helps w/ cravings too. After the first week, your body adapts to it and it has been all great from there. Lose about 2-4 lbs a week.

KristinaPS713

Changing my mentality from scolding myself for eating a dessert or not exercising as much as I "should be" to reminding myself to take it one day at a time, thinking about all the positives, not only the negatives.

Making sure I DRINK WATER.

Setting reasonable goals for myself. Before, I would just suddenly decided I was going to lose XX pounds in one week. Then I would be so disappointed and mad at myself when this didn't happen. Now, I know how to set appropriate goals for my body, which I can attain and be proud of myself for accomplishing!

theportkey

As exercise was the missing link for me, I walked almost everyday but nothing happened really.
Then my husband persuaded me to get on the crosstrainer. I do a minimum of 20 minutes a day and it worked.
I need to break into a bit of a sweat to burn my fat.
And what is half hour out of your day. It's half hour less on Hayday lol
I sit on my bum all day in the office. And buying a fitbit made me realise how little I move.
I'm over 2 stone lighter than last year and truthfully I've only lost my 2 stone in the last 3 or 4 months.
So... just make a little effort to sweat and stop eating crisps

bethanyjohnston969

.

MlleKelly

It's not a diet; it's life.

I've had to change my way of thinking, especially about my relationship with food. Yes, cheese and wine and bread are DELICIOUS, but I can't eat large quantities of any of those things every day and lose weight. Eating out is fun, but it's expensive and I can easily overindulge on appetizers, entrees, and again...wine. I had to stop eating every day like I was on vacation, or telling myself that "I earned it". Food is fuel for my body, and yes, it should taste delicious and I shouldn't (and refuse to!) eat things that I don't like, but in moderation. Hopefully, I have 50+ years left on this planet...that's plenty of time to taste sublime foods, drink life-changing wines, take naps, have anniversary and birthday and celebration dinners...but to get there, I have to moderate myself on the normal days.

I've also had to tell myself that exercise is not an option. It's not a hobby. It's a part of life. I have to be physically active to stay fit and be healthy...Not. An. Option. Just like working, just like eating, just like sleeping. Exercise is not an option. That doesn't mean I have to go to the gym and take a class every day, but I go for a nice longs walk, lift weights at home, play Just Dance on the Wii, go for a bike ride, run, jump, play.

I've had to learn to enjoy life by knowing how to prolong it; moderation.

It's not a diet; it's life.

heart4sole

Being able, through the grace of God, to go on my daily walks.

12Sarah2015

Self discipline. Competing with my husband-I have 4 kg to go he has 8kg. Saying no to dessert or snacks everywhere I go. Trying to walk at least 8000 steps each day.

Katwin2013

I use to weigh over 300 back in 99 the last several years I have worked constantly to get healthier understand my body and feel good I managed to get down to 170 But I gained 15 pounds back its coming off again I felt like i was in a cage nice to be out

thamesgina

Low carbs and calorie restriction was tough, but getting fast and early results was key for me. I lost 8 lbs the first week and have 2-3 per week since.

The journal had kept me accountable every step of the way. I have logged every bite for 18 weeks. Although I have had less than perfect days I at least am aware of my behavior and learn,

JuliaHaleFitness

1) Setting SMART Goals and having a plan of action. Can't get somewhere if you don't know where you're going!
2) Drinking a TON of water
3) Taking a moment in the morning to write down what I'm thankful for...so I start my day positively and not negatively

PorcelainCupcakes

There's an online calculator tool called BMI-Calculator. Amongst the free tools they have a BMR calculator. I learned what a basic metabolic rate was, how it changes and varies to each person based on gender, age, weight, ecterera.
It's a pretty impressive tool I use in addition to MFP.