Secrets to your success?
DietCokeGal
Posts: 16 Member
I was thinking today about how I have managed to lose weight and what my own secrets to success are. I wanted to give this some thought because I have tried to lose weight before and failed, but this time around, its working....and the why's are clear.
Here are mine, and I'd love to hear yours!
- I weigh everything - if the option is there for the food, I measure grams, not ounces. Its huge the difference this makes.
- I have many sets of measure spoons and cups so that I always have clean ones around. I bet I have 5 tablespoon measuring devices and at least 3 sets of cups, 1/2 cup and such.
- I plan the "next" day in the evenings the day before. No more winging it. I know what I am going to eat, and eat accordingly.
- I tweaked my ratios and calories to 30/40/30, and 1100 to 1400c, bouncing back and forth, and do not eat my exercise calories. Its what works for me after many many trails and errors.
- I eliminated all forms of sweeteners such as splenda, sweet and low, equal, etc... and all foods with them in them such as diet coke, crystal light, jello, candy, gum, and so on
- I eat mostly all whole real natural foods and try to avoid chemicals as much as I can. If I can't pronounce it on the package I don't eat it.
- When I travel I carry food with me such as wraps and snacks, and water.
- I rarely drink alcoholic beverages anymore. This has been major in my weight loss. Before I counted my calories for whatever I drank, but only till I stopped drinking 99% of the time did I actually see the scale move consistently.
- I stopped eating out as much as I could (I travel a lot so its not possible to totally eliminate it) but I have managed to only eat out on rare occasions
- I have one free, eat whatever you want, free meal once a week most weeks (not all weeks, but most). This has helped me tremendously to feel normal.
- I cut wayyyyy back on caffeine....well I am cutting back, I still have 2 cups of coffee (black) but that is all for the day most of the time. Unsweetened decaf iced tea with lemon is my best friend these days.
- I try desperately to be content with a slow loss of 1 pound a week. I am 47, I can not lose weight fast anymore. I might as well accept that and be content with losing slow as a turtle. It may take me a year but I WILL lose the weight slowly and steadily if I stick with it......I tell myself this speech daily, sometimes hourly. I even bought myself a silver bracelet of turtles that I wear daily now to remind me that its ok and to accept the slowness.
That is all I can think of at the moment. I am not perfect, I slip up a lot but I have found that this has become habit for me and I hope will be the secretes to my long term success.
What are your tips and tricks and secrets to your success?????
Here are mine, and I'd love to hear yours!
- I weigh everything - if the option is there for the food, I measure grams, not ounces. Its huge the difference this makes.
- I have many sets of measure spoons and cups so that I always have clean ones around. I bet I have 5 tablespoon measuring devices and at least 3 sets of cups, 1/2 cup and such.
- I plan the "next" day in the evenings the day before. No more winging it. I know what I am going to eat, and eat accordingly.
- I tweaked my ratios and calories to 30/40/30, and 1100 to 1400c, bouncing back and forth, and do not eat my exercise calories. Its what works for me after many many trails and errors.
- I eliminated all forms of sweeteners such as splenda, sweet and low, equal, etc... and all foods with them in them such as diet coke, crystal light, jello, candy, gum, and so on
- I eat mostly all whole real natural foods and try to avoid chemicals as much as I can. If I can't pronounce it on the package I don't eat it.
- When I travel I carry food with me such as wraps and snacks, and water.
- I rarely drink alcoholic beverages anymore. This has been major in my weight loss. Before I counted my calories for whatever I drank, but only till I stopped drinking 99% of the time did I actually see the scale move consistently.
- I stopped eating out as much as I could (I travel a lot so its not possible to totally eliminate it) but I have managed to only eat out on rare occasions
- I have one free, eat whatever you want, free meal once a week most weeks (not all weeks, but most). This has helped me tremendously to feel normal.
- I cut wayyyyy back on caffeine....well I am cutting back, I still have 2 cups of coffee (black) but that is all for the day most of the time. Unsweetened decaf iced tea with lemon is my best friend these days.
- I try desperately to be content with a slow loss of 1 pound a week. I am 47, I can not lose weight fast anymore. I might as well accept that and be content with losing slow as a turtle. It may take me a year but I WILL lose the weight slowly and steadily if I stick with it......I tell myself this speech daily, sometimes hourly. I even bought myself a silver bracelet of turtles that I wear daily now to remind me that its ok and to accept the slowness.
That is all I can think of at the moment. I am not perfect, I slip up a lot but I have found that this has become habit for me and I hope will be the secretes to my long term success.
What are your tips and tricks and secrets to your success?????
0
Replies
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no secrets and no shortcuts
sweat and dedication0 -
Mine are very simple, log everything I eat and don't exceed my daily calorie intake, and move more. I cook from scratch, avoid pre-packaged foods, and eat out very rarely. Works for me, and I will be 62 in September.0
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Good job!0
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My 'secrets':
- weigh all teh foodz, every day
- log all teh foodz, every day
- move around a bit, every day
- PROFIT!0 -
My 'secrets':
- weigh all teh foodz, every day
- log all teh foodz, every day
- move around a bit, every day
- PROFIT!
She's got it! Everything else is just tactics to do those 4 things.0 -
I keep track of my personal numbers including TDEE. I make sure to eat 15-20% lower than that number daily by weighing food and cooking at home. I exercise, doing weight lifting and cardio. I have patience and don't freak out when the scale goes up every now and then.0
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I love the idea of your turtle bracelet!0
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Drive to succeed
Balance0 -
perspective
-it takes effort to gain/maintain extra weight. your body wants to be naturally fit. stop fighting it!
-taste and preference for foods can be changed. eat clean and you'll crave clean.
-you don't NEED cake. it's just not a real thing
-everything in life gets better when you're fit
-if you -really- want to lose weight fast you'll avoid sugar/simple carbs/excessive fats
-talking really doesn't do anything. just do.
-if you "don't know" what to eat you're just playing around
it sounds harsh but it's true. sometimes we all need a little tough love, no?0 -
Diet coke gal you will go far in your weight loss and healthy living. I was lucky to wing it for a year. But when I reached 145 pounds I had to do what you said. Plan meals in the evening so there were no surprises next day. This alone broke through my plateau to 139 pounds. Also your measuring tools are impressive. Best wishes!!0
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Other than the obvious "Actually sticking to it", whenever I am uncertain of my amount of food or how much calories my exercise was I always overestimate my calorie intake and underestimate my burn. For example, I'm not sure if my mother in law served a 1 or 1.5 cups of mashed potatoes today so I just logged 1.5 to be safe. Then on the elliptical machine it said I burned 100 calories less than MFP said I did so I log in what the elliptical machine said.0
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Eat, Beachbody, Sleep, Water, Friends0
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Having a partner that has done this all with me, not restricting certain foods, making small changes, learning how to suffer, learning that the scale number is not everything, learning to not drink my calories....except for liquor0
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My secrets?
Ban nothing - ban things and they become the thing you want the most. Eat and drink what you want - just less of it.
Never give up. Had a bad day? Just get back on the horse.
Ignore well meaning, but poor, advice from others about the latest fad diet.
Get rid of clothes as soon as they are too big - no backtracking allowed by not keeping them around.
Dietary fat is my friend.
Finally, you have to really want it and be in the right mindset. Only when I had made my mind up to do this did it start to happen.0
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