MFP Boot Camp Basics....Need a Refocus...Wonder why scale isn't moving? Read on!

GBO323

Boot Camp Basics..sometimes we need a refresher...other times we wonder why the scale isn't moving....and alot of the time we simply need to re-focus. I've shared this with many MFP'ers over the years and in mentoring as well. Hope it helps you as it helps me and others....

Consistency is KEY: Goal happens by having more consistent On Plan Days than Off. Being 100% all the time isn't something I found to be possible. Life events, holidays, etc all have a way of impacting our eating plan. Having more days in a row of being on-plan is the goal. For one off-plan day, be prepared beforehand and make a plan for getting right back on afterwards.

Accident Forgiveness: When I have an unplanned off day, I get up, dust off, and start again ASAP. Quitting after every defeat isn't going to get you to goal. Getting back to plan will get you to goal. For me, this is again, and again, and again..... I lost 80 pounds with a mix of Consistency and Accidents. You can too!

Boot Camp Mode: Take a week and aim for 100% following the MFP basics. Journal everything, weigh your meat (I use cooked weight, not precooked when possible), use measuring cups to portion out servings. Accuracy in food intake is critical to ensure the plan is working. Drink 8-12 ounces of fluid minimum. I recommend water, tea, coffee. For caffeinated drinks, enjoy them, and then drink the equivalent in decaffeinated (AKA Water) so it balances out. No regular or diet soda as it has chemicals and sodium. This paragraph is the most important. When things get upside down or weight loss is stopping or you need to re-focus, then it's time for Boot Camp Mode.

Recipes: Learn how to make a few basic recipes/meals and grow your menu from there. Get 5 servings of veggies in a day. This will help keep your digestives moving. Aim for the fiber grams macro in your diary. This will hone your skills in measuring out portions for pre and post cooking. Get the nutritional data for them either from the recipe itself or via the MFP Recipe maker. It will tell you per portion what the nutritional values are. Keep a few frozen meals in the freezer for those moments when you don't have time to cook. Marie Callendars are great for this.

Steering Clear: I've found two things that I tend to watch closely or avoid. One is carby foods. While I will eat them (pasta, rice, etc), I don't make them a main-entrée, but keep them as a side and aim for whole wheat/brown rice carbs instead. I've found the less carbs I eat, the more protein I eat and thus feel fuller. Desserts are ok, but again, I don't put them in my menu daily. Second is sodium. I've found when I eat higher sodium foods(most Fast foods, Condensed soups, etc) I tend to have a weight bump up that takes up to a week to back down. Not worth it. Thus, I tend to eat food made at home more so than out.

Get a Step Tracking device: While I don't connect my Fitbit to MFP while in loss mode, I do use it to track my steps/calorie burn goal. Getting consistent movement is Key in the 'Calories In, Calories Out' (CICO). I wore it the first week and found I averaged 2500 steps a day. Goal is to get to 10,000+ per day. It took me a couple of months of inching up and now I do a minimum of 10K per day if not more. This is the other half of weight loss...Moving more! Treadmilling, the local mall, the neighborhood sidewalks...always a place where steps can happen. This has been helpful in keeping my loss consistent. When I went on a cruise, I didn't stay on food plan, but still did my 10K per day and found the usual amount of weight gain didn't happen because I was still moving and getting steps in.

Freedom: One of the many things I like about MFP is that we can eat whatever we want, just in a controlled portion size. Just ensure they are measured and counted. Find leaner cuts of meat...I don't do less than 90/10 ground beef and love sirloin and flat iron steak. Boneless Skinless meats are great choices like dark chicken cuts. Fish/Seafood is your best bang for a meat entrée calories. You get more per ounce and it's the lowest calorie meat. Tilapia...yum!

MFP: Another help is to look into the forums and start talking to people in there...I've gotten endless tips, ideas, and helps...and in turn, have been able to respond to others and offer them help, tips, etc. Feels good to either get encouraged or to encourage others.

Clothes: In weight loss, depending on how much you need to lose, this may help...when I lost enough to get into the next smaller size, I immediately donated the larger clothes. Why? Because I don't want a back-up plan. When the new clothes got tight, I either needed to work harder to get back to plan or be uncomfortable because I was off-plan and feeling it.

Target Weight & Goal Range: Typically, we aim for one number. A recommendation that I kept from my WW days is to make goal as a range. My Target Weight is 199, so my Goal Range is +/- 5 pounds (195-204). Don't fret if you go up a couple of pounds. The body fluctuates with water, food weight, etc. If you start going over the 5 pound range consistently, hit back in loss mode until back in range. This is about freedom, not about obsessing over one number. Staying close to your Target weight is a balance and easier on the emotions with having a range.

Max Buffer: I cringe when I read people that "Accidentally gained 40 pounds". When the white flag goes up and you've lost the desire, give yourself a buffer of the top weight you're willing to gain before you have a TurnAround. For me, mine is 220. Never EVER will I weigh over 220. This is a 20 pound "break me in case of emergency". Regardless of the loss of desire, give yourself an absolute point of change. Why work so hard to lose when we know how easy it may be to re-gain it. We're worth more than that.