Best Tips for Success

Chibike64

springlering62 wrote: »

Plan ahead. Plan meals before going grocery shopping, log tomorrow’s meals and snacks tonight.

Eat a filling meal before you go to the grocery store, and stick to your list.

Make leftovers : bbq, sliced steak, carnitas, taco meat make fabulous salad toppings or sandwich fillings.

If grilling something, throw an extra, simply season chicken breast or two on the grill. Chop and use to top salads, make a quick chicken salad, or use in a wrap.

Instantpot is your friend. (Im still trying to learn it. When I use it well, it’s fabulous. When I misjudge the cooking time, well...)

For colder weather, an instantpot chicken soup is soooo easy, nutritious, and crazy low calories. Add a pinch of cayenne and some Trader Joe’s instant barley and it’s very satisfying. Subsitute corn and rinsed black beans along with a packet of taco seasoning or a jar of salsa for a nice low cal taco soup. Soups freeze great, too.

Weigh everything. Read all the MFP advice on how to weigh. Some of the tips are real head smackin’ “why didn’t I think of that” moments.

Be consistent about logging everything.

Be HONEST with your logging. You’re only fooling yourself.

Smoothies are awesome but don’t load em up.

Walk. Walk. Walk. Miles and miles. It melts the pounds off. If you don’t like a long walk, do shorter ones morning and evening. Find every opportunity you can to walk. Invest in comfy shoes. 10,000 steps is great. But it’s only five miles. Can you do more? Find neighbors or friends to walk with. A brisk walk goes a lot faster when you’re laughing and yacking.

Buy workout clothes you feel comfortable in public in and feel like you look good in. You’ll feel better and more confident, and more likely to exercise. Most my community has never seen me in anything but workout clothes. It’s like public beautification, lol.

Taking a class? Don’t hide in the back. Get right up front and center. It may be a mind game, but you’ll try harder and work harder when you are. You’ll also get better advice to improve from the instructor because they will appreciate that you’re there to learn.

I bought a ridiculously small goal dress and hung it across the front of the rod so it was facing me when I walked in the closet. Every time I felt weak or sorry for myself, I went in my closet and looked at that dress, and tried to get it over my head. One day, it fit.

Get a fitness watch, whether Apple or Fitbit. They are crazy motivating, and worth the expense.

Exercise. The more you do it, the more natural it will become. The more natural it becomes, the more you will enjoy and look forward to it and eventually crave it when you can’t.

I read one time that it takes six weeks to create a habit. Allow yourself the six weeks. Don’t throw in the towel after a couple of days or weeks. It probably took years to put the weight on. Allow yourself those six weeks to establish a routine, a weight loss yo-yo pattern, to learn to cook and grocery shop appropriately, develope a love for fruit, and the habit of logging. Man, if you’d told me a few months back how sweet an orange or cherry could taste....I’d have laughed at you as I swatted your hand off my stash of M&Ms.

Be realistic. Put your big boy or girls pants on. Don’t be that sad person who visits the MFP community thinking they can get fit and trim for in five weeks for some event, or that there’s a pill or vibrating waist band or electric muscle stretcher that’s gonna do it for them.

But the biggest tip is, give yourself grace. The grace to screw up and make mistakes and keep going.

Thank you for these gems of advice and insight! Awesome they are 💪