Tips and Tricks

Saiosyn
Saiosyn Posts: 41 Member
edited November 16 in Social Groups
Share things that helped you stay on track or helped you over a speed bump. Everyone's weight loss journey is different, but something that worked for you, may help another.
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Replies

  • Saiosyn
    Saiosyn Posts: 41 Member
    That's actually a really good idea. Thank you ^.^ I usually ordered off the kids menu or split my meal with my little one.
  • Meatymama45
    Meatymama45 Posts: 9 Member
    I would like to share a YouTube Channel and a lovely lady - Joanna Soh.
    https://youtube.com/user/joannasohofficial/featured

    I started this journey at 300 lbs in June doing Weight Watchers. I came to MFP when I was absolutely starving and miserable from following their plan and I started to gain the weight back while doing their plan. Lost 25 lbs, gained back 5 in 3 months of their smart points plan.

    Lost back that 5 lbs I had gained back doing tracking food here on MFP but then stagnated in weight for 3 months even though I was tracking.

    Started fasting and combining fasting with low carb and keto eating and got down to 257 lbs, but then my body rebelled again like it did on weight watchers. I started gaining even while doing strict keto eating in ketosis. I got depressed living on such low carb [20g a day] that I stopped eating keto.

    I've been tracking my food the past couple days. I started a new MFP account to start fresh. My weight yo-yo'd up to 263.8 after I reintroduced carbs. Not very much either. Just having one piece of toast with breakfast. Potatoes in a homemade soup. I guess they call it keto revenge lol.

    I like Joanna Soh because she's bringing me back to basics. She's teaching to get out of the diet mentality and quick fix. She's teaching how to eat healthy and exercise.

    I'm doing this video of exercises for 6 days of the week:

    https://youtu.be/KLEQmvncMp0

    My Tip here is to find what works for you even if you struggle to find what works for you. Keep going, keep looking, don't give up. As long as you're doing something whatever it is, you will eventually get to your goal.
  • anna4anna
    anna4anna Posts: 123 Member
    Ok I just burst out laughing at mine... "an elephant's penis"
    Seriously almost spit out my water.
  • LizJru
    LizJru Posts: 19 Member
    anna4anna wrote: »
    Ok I just burst out laughing at mine... "an elephant's penis"
    Seriously almost spit out my water.

    Same! Haha.

  • forCole
    forCole Posts: 29 Member
    Lol that list is too funny. Water is a go to when I find myself wanting something sweet or carby. I chug about 20oz and that usually does the trick.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    The list is great! I'm nearly to a cinder block! Wow - that one helps me put things into perspective and gives me a nice visual to compare to (not so sure about some of them lol)

    I avoid out to eating as much as possible, but when I do, I make sure to plan everything ahead, going to the website for the restaurant (I usually eat at chain restaurants) and picking my meal from start to finish. If its a place that gives unlimited bread, I request only 1 serving and that they don't bring any more - bread is my weakness, and I know I'll over-indulge if its there tempting me!

    I ask for salad dressing on the side, too - I picked up that little trick here at MFP and found it really does work!
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Here is an interesting video on drinking H2O.
    [video]https://youtu.be/OWASUMMQjj8[/video]

    Though it may not be mandatory, I've upped my water to keep flushed and to help fill me up.
  • LizJru
    LizJru Posts: 19 Member
    That was a great article! Thank you for sharing. I might even have to post that at home to keep reminding me.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited March 2017
    One thing I've done is join several challenges here on MFP. In addition to logging my goals and progress in this group, I found the challenges a fun way of showing your commitment. Good or bad, you update your progress every week. The weekly updates help build accountability.

    Remember to update your progress in our goal tracking thread every week ;)
    Your milestones and progress - accountability

    Also, mark the goal/challenge threads as 'favorites' so you are notified of updates and it's easy to find each week.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Forming a habit takes ~66 days, longer than I thought
    I always thought we formed a new habit in just 21 days. Here's an interesting read that indicates that we need to stick with something new for about 66 days before it becomes an automatic habit

    How Long Does it Take for Something to Become a Habit?
    http://examinedexistence.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-something-to-become-a-habit/

    I'm now over 66 days of logging and watching what I eat, so I made it a certified habit!
    When you think about your own struggles in changing your diet, keep this duration in mind and stay vigilant.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Here is another great post/thread I came across, good advice for the journey

    It is unlikely that you will lose weight consistently (i.e., weight loss is not linear)
    jemhh wrote: »
    Here we are, in mid-February. A ton of MFPers started this year out on a new path, trying to become healthier and trying to lose weight. Great job! But now it's 6 or 7 weeks later and you are getting frustrated, maybe discouraged, because your weight loss has slowed down. It stinks, right? Who wants to restrict their calories, maybe sweat a bit more, and not see big progress on the scale? Nobody, right?

    Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but you are being unreasonable. And I mean that in the nicest way so think of me as telling you this as we sit down to tea in a cozy little room with doilies and pretty teacups and maybe a white fluffy cat lounging on the rug. Unless you respond better to tough love, in which case you can imagine me walking up to you, smacking you upside the head and saying it. Whatever floats your boat.

    But yeah, you are being unreasonable.

    Why is that? It's because weight loss is not linear. That's the answer you'll see posted to the "I'm not losing any weight!" threads. But why? Why can't we see that number go down on the scale every time we weigh ourselves? Well, because there are a multitude of factors that can affect your weight at any given time. To name a few:
    • a difference in the conditions in which you are weighing yourself (time of day, clothed vs. naked, well-hydrated vs. hydrated, etc.)
    • what you've eaten recently (eating more carbs and/or sodium than usual will generally cause you to hold additional water weight)
    • hormonal fluctuations (women, especially, are prone to seeing water weight fluctuations due to their monthly menstrual cycles)
    • inaccuracies in measuring food, logging food, and calculating your daily caloric needs
    • inaccuracies in calculating your activity level (both exercise and non-exercise activity)

    And the list goes on from there.

    The bottom line is that it is highly unlikely that you are going to see your weight decrease at a consistent pace throughout your weight loss journey. Over the course of 2014, I lost 52 pounds. That averaged a pound a week. But did I actually lose a pound a week? Absolutely not. Looking at my weigh-ins, you can see weeks where I lost several pounds, a fraction of a pound, no pounds, and even where I gained weight. The overall trend, though, was downward.

    So, getting back to you. You're stuck at a certain weight. Or you think you're stuck at that weight. Where do you go from here? Here are a few ideas:
    • Review your food and exercise diaries for inaccuracies.
    • Review your expectations for reasonableness. Most of us didn't gain our excess weight rapidly and shouldn't expect losing all of it to happen rapidly either.
    • Pick a goal or two other than weight loss. Maybe you want to be able to walk a mile without stopping or you want to be able to comfortably lift bags of mulch this spring. Whatever the goal, find a way to work toward it and then do just that.
    • Focus on fat loss rather than weight loss. Consider doing some sort of strength training and eating an appropriate level of protein in order to maintain as much muscle as possible while losing weight. This will give you another aspect of fitness to focus on and is may help you get closer to the physique goals that you may have.
    • Measure your progress by other means--use a tape measure to measure your waist, hip, thigh, etc. and then track the changes.

    Most importantly, though...BE PATIENT. I know, it's hard to do. But most times in life the hard thing to do is worth it in the end and being patience builds character so you'll be stronger in the end.

    Good luck, you all. I'm rooting for you :)

  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    I'm getting to my first slow down right now, so that is very timely advice! After losing at least 2 to 4 lbs a week for the last 8 weeks, I've slowed down. a little under 2 lbs last week, and this week is going to be lucky to be 0.5 lbs.
  • anna4anna
    anna4anna Posts: 123 Member
    I'm getting to my first slow down right now, so that is very timely advice! After losing at least 2 to 4 lbs a week for the last 8 weeks, I've slowed down. a little under 2 lbs last week, and this week is going to be lucky to be 0.5 lbs.

    I can always tell when weeks will show less scale movement. And for me, that is when its... dun dun dunnn shark week. Or if anyone is a fellow PCOS-sister, its never just a week for me. Sorry, probably TMI but yeah... hormones and womanhood - ARG!!

    Another reason why I always keep up to date on my measurements. I don't mind slower weeks when clothes are fitting looser. :)
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    yeah, I'm a PCOS sister. Today was weigh in and sure enough, all I lost was 0.5 lbs this week. Despite knowing slow downs comes, it's still highly frustrating and a little frightening - last time I had a slow down back in 2012 when I lost a large amount of weight, it stopped coming off period and then inched back on. I'm really not wanting that to happen again!
  • anna4anna
    anna4anna Posts: 123 Member
    yeah, I'm a PCOS sister. Today was weigh in and sure enough, all I lost was 0.5 lbs this week. Despite knowing slow downs comes, it's still highly frustrating and a little frightening - last time I had a slow down back in 2012 when I lost a large amount of weight, it stopped coming off period and then inched back on. I'm really not wanting that to happen again!

    I've found certain things work for me if I'm in a stall/plateau. I stalled for a couple weeks after about 40lbs lost then did a week intermittent fasting 16:8, and broke through. There have been other things I've read that worked for people such as incorporating refeed days, cheat meals, recalculating macros, etc.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    I recalcuated the macros today, and dropped my calorie deficiency by another 100 calories down to 1600. The absolute lowest I've seen from multiple calculators for someone my weight (339 lbs) was 1650 to lose 2 lbs a week, so I'm not going crazy with it. At my starting weight, all the calculators said to eat between 1800 and 2000 calories, but I found I had to drop that to 1700 to see the decent 2 to 3 lbs loss per week.

    I also changed my carb/protein/fats ratios. I was going for 40/30/30, but found I just couldn't get enough protein in to meet my daily goal - the protein sources were so calorie dense, and if I switch to trying to get it in with meat, then I wasn't getting enough fruits and veggies in. So I'm going for 40/25/35 now; we'll see if that makes a difference.

  • gazellefish
    gazellefish Posts: 72 Member
    1000% agree - Started in January, was doing great, slowed down in March. Lost .5 lbs one week, lost 0 lbs the next week, then lost 1lb this week, but when I do the math I've overall lost 1.5lb a week since January, which is perfect! (I'm also a Polycyster, so I know them feels!)
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Well I signed up for dietbet today, to kick up my motivation. I signed up for both a 1 month kickstart and the 6 month transformation. The kickstart is the tough one, it requires losing 1% a week for 4 wks. PM me if you are thinking about it, I have a few suggestions to help win your bet (all within rules)
  • theowlbox
    theowlbox Posts: 912 Member
    One thing that helps me is to focus on intensely flavored things: pickles, peppers, hot sauce, tangy olives, cinnamon, capers, lemons, hibiscus tea, vinegar, fig vinegar, onions, garlic, etc. I use these intensely flavored foods with more bland veggies and voila! high volume, high flavor foods. Meat and cheese sandwich= meh. Meat, cheese, lettuce, pickles, spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno = high volume and delicious. Same with eggs in the am: stirfry onions, kale, garlic and mix in eggs and the flavor tales the edge off of kale (for me) and the volume has gone up.
    Another thing (that some people might find sad) is that I treat tea like a rx. In the am I have lemon ginger with breakfast to promote good digestion, I have a mid morning hibiscus one because I don't drink wine and think the polyphenols are good for me, mid pm I have black tea with sugar and milk for a boost and I have peppermint tea at night to promote my sleepytime ritual of relaxation. Even if the science is bunk on the usefulness of the teas: increasing hydration, promoting a slowing down at the end of a meal, and drinking warm liquids to promote a full belly satisfaction feeling are all things that might help someone. So it's what I do.
  • jameyer73
    jameyer73 Posts: 13 Member
    Theo, I am thinking about joining the same two Diet Bets, will let you know if I do. we'll crush it together!
  • LizJru
    LizJru Posts: 19 Member
    I also want to join Diet Bet, but I'm just not losing enough yet. 3lbs a week would be too hard to commit to. Good luck @Theo166 and @jameyer73 let us know how it goes!!
  • omgstfualready
    omgstfualready Posts: 63 Member
    edited March 2017
    What is diet bet? I'm on a path of a loss is a win so if it's 2 pounds, great, if it is .2 of a pound (how my scale measures), great. I don't want to pressure myself to have bad feelings about not losing 'enough'. I don't where I posted this but I had made a sheet of my current weight and on each line it is listed lower by .2 so it is a long sheet, but I will weigh weekly and physically cross out the numbers that I will never see again. I will be excited to make 10 cross outs (2 pounds) or just 1 (.2 of a pound). I'm a list person and the act of pen to paper to mark it off will feel great (I think, I just started last Monday so I haven't done it yet). I keep the print out in my bathroom by my scale so I see it every morning getting ready and night going to sleep.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    I wouldn't suggest dietbet until you were in a solid rhythm and averaging close to 1% weekly of your weight.

    So far it's going fine for me, I also did my initial weigh-in at end of the day after drinking all my water. I'll do my final weigh in first thing in the morning, when I'm my lightest.
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