Over complicating weight loss...what worked for you?

freckles88

I want to start losing weight but I feel so confused by all the dietary advice that seems to be out there these days - all the latest diet fads like no carb diets, harcombe diet, 5:2 diet, low GL diet etc etc... I always thought that as long as you ate healthily the majority of the time and followed a calorie restriction you would lose weight (the whole 3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of weight) but even that seems to be challenged now with experts saying that calories aren't the be all and end all, it's where the calories come from that matters. Then there's the TDEE fans who say that you need to look at how many calories you use in a day and eat below that, then the government pushed low fat advice where everyone is scared of saturated fats giving you heart attacks so buy low fat spreads and low fat yogurts only to be told now that these are bad as they are full of sugar and that sugar is the "new" diet devil. Arrrghhhh!!!! I'm so confused as to what I should be doing and what is the "right" way to go about losing weight - should I be religiously counting calories and as long as I stick to around 1500 calories a day I'll be alright regardless of whether those calories came from vegetables or chocolate? Should I be cutting out sugar and doing one of these sugar detoxes that are all the rage now? Should I be eating as much as I want as long as it is low GL????

What I want to know is what did you do and how has it worked for you? Has the weight stayed off and how long for? Would you recommend what you do as something you could do for life? Help!!!

ladynocturne

I think the most simple way to look at it is:

A calorie deficit is needed to lose weight.

What those calories are comprised of determines how you are going to feel everyday.

For me at least, I feel much better when I eat healthy and keep my alcohol to a minimum. I have a hard time feeling like working out when I feel like crap.

Some people stay fuller longer when they increase their protein and eat a little less carbs, this isn't a fad or low carb diet, it's just a way to make maintaining a calorie deficit easier.

When you consume a lot of refined sugar, it's not only high in calories and generally low in nutrition but it can cause a blood sugar spike and crash causing you to feel hungry quickly as well as crave even more sugar. So this is why most people tend to stay away from it.

Eating Healthy is relative also, I've been called "one of those healthy eaters" because I was eating instant oatmeal, which wasn't all that healthy in my opinion. Do what works for you, the most important thing is that you are meeting your calorie goal.

jdm_taco

calorie deficit and busting A in gym

Got down to less than half my old size in January of 2011

Have done several bulk and cut cycles to put on a good bit of muscle and get leaner than ever.

Yes, I will continue to do this until the casket drops...

Keiras_Mom

Agreed. Eat at a deficit, in a way that you can sustain long-term, and it'll work.

I personally did alternate day fasting and it worked for me. I eat whatever I want, every other day, and had very few calories on the alternate days. Now that I'm in maintenance, I've been playing around with different plans, but I keep coming back to ADF. Only right now, I'm trying to do 2000 calories one day and 1000 calories or less the next.

ruwise

I've done a simplified version of the TDEE method. I used this calculator http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ to find out what calories I should be eating. The principle is that if you eat like the thin person you want to become you'll eventually get there. It gives you a lot more calories than MFP and that means I feel much better and more motivated.

I do try to eat much healthier calories and have concentrated on increasing my protein as I am vegetarian and once i started logging I realised I didn't always eat as much as I should.

jwdieter

Tracking food intake and eating at a deficit to lose weight. Exercising and eating veg to stay healthy. Aiming at 40/30/30 and lifting to retain lean mass.

It's not particularly complex. The most difficult part of my day is getting enough protein, since the world is swimming in carbs.

quirkytizzy

Pick an informed number. (1,400 for me, garnered using Scooby's calculator). Eat at that. Exercise along the way. Wait.

I can't do complicated anything. If I can fit a Big Mac into the day, I fit a Big Mac into the day. If I feel like eating fruit all day, I eat fruit all day. I try to be *mindful* of macros like protein, but don't always have the availability of food to do so, so I'm not focused on that. Exercise is usually something simple like Pilates or walking on the treadmill. Real simple. Working for me so far.

bob_day

This is what worked (and is still working) for me:

1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and learn to enjoy healthful foods.

2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.

3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.

4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.

5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight will fluctuate, but with a constant diet it should trend down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.

6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.

7) Maintain a program of regular exercise.

With this diet I lost 50 pounds and have kept it off for more than 10 years now.

nomeejerome

This is what worked (and is still working) for me:

1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and learn to enjoy healthful foods.

2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.

3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.

4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.

5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight will fluctuate, but with a constant diet it should trend down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.

6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.

7) Maintain a program of regular exercise.

With this diet I lost 50 pounds and have kept it off for more than 10 years now.

noon1200

I always thought that as long as you ate healthily the majority of the time and followed a calorie restriction you would lose weight (the whole 3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of weight)

This is correct.

I'm so confused as to what I should be doing and what is the "right" way to go about losing weight - should I be religiously counting calories and as long as I stick to around 1500 calories a day I'll be alright regardless of whether those calories came from vegetables or chocolate?

Yes. I told MFP my numbers and that I wanted to lose one pound per week. It told me how many calories to eat per day. I ate under that number of calories. Occasionally I went over for the day but never over when you average out the week. I didn't change anything else about how I ate. I don't exercise. I try not to weigh myself. I lost weight. I heartily recommend doing this.

In the past three months I've lost fifteen pounds.

DesdemonaRose

Just watching calories works for me, it is easier to eat lower calories on some low carb diet because simple carbs have a lot of calories. I crossant from Starbucks is 250 calories (estimate) and is not going to keep me full very long. A 20oz soda is 240 calories and won't fill me at all. If I eat a small handful of mixed nuts will stay under 200 calories and not be hungry for a little bit (it is good to measure mixed nuts carefully, they are pretty calorie dense).

I haven't been as strict with my diet recetly and I've leveled out a bit. However, it's because I'm not keeping down the calories more than anything else. I plan on getting back into gear so I can finish reaching my goal.

kimmymayhall

I always thought that as long as you ate healthily the majority of the time and followed a calorie restriction you would lose weight (the whole 3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of weight)

You had it right the first time. You can try different timing methods, macros, etc. but weight loss is about burning more calories than you consume. Exercise contributes to health and increases the calories burned part of the equation.
I followed the MFP method eating back calories exercise calories and lost weight. I followed the TDEE-% method and lost weight. I ate all kinds of different foods along the way and my exercise ranged from exclusive cardio to exclusive weight lifting. I am in maintenance now eating at TDEE and paying more attention to macros - 1 g protein per lb. LBM and 0.4 g fat per lb. of body weight. Use whatever method you are comfortable with but be honest in setting your activity level, selecting an appropriate rate of loss, and logging your calories burned and consumed. I do advise strength training if you aren't already.

candylilacs

I learned about nutrition and how to avoid blood sugar spikes, mainly on the glycemic index diet which emphasizes complex carbs, naturally-occurring sugar, fruits, vegetables and protein, then I implemented an exercise program and calorie goal. To be honest, I was ready to change, so I did. Thirty pounds in two months!

970Mikaela1

1800 cals a day and a 4 mile or so walk most days. Good for about a lb a week . Kept protein at around 40% fat about 35%. Lifted twice a week .

cenafan

This is what worked (and is still working) for me:

1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and learn to enjoy healthful foods.

2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.

3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.

4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.

5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight will fluctuate, but with a constant diet it should trend down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.

6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.

7) Maintain a program of regular exercise.

With this diet I lost 50 pounds and have kept it off for more than 10 years now.

Lmao!!!! That put it much clearer than I could!

taso42

In the end, a modest deficit from my TDEE. That is all.

Lyadeia

In the end, a modest deficit from my TDEE. That is all.

So much this.

I used to be the one to bust my *kitten* in the gym 5-6 days a week, but about 3 weeks ago I injured myself on bench press day in the gym. I don't even know which exercise it was that did it, but for the whole week afterwards, I couldn't lift with my upper body at all. The past 2 weeks, I've been able to ease back into it, but then again, I really haven't. I was totally worried that without my lifting and even my cardio, I wouldn't be losing weight. But, I checked my personal TDEE numbers daily (because they are different depending on what you are doing each day) and I ate accordingly (between 15-20% less than TDEE) and have been losing fat at the same pace as before even though all I've been doing is walking. Go figure.

Of course I believe exercise is important for health and aesthetics. But all you really need is to eat at a moderate deficit to lose weight, plain and simple.

MakingAChoice

In the end, a modest deficit from my TDEE. That is all.

Yep, this is the trick. Though there are some qualifiers I would put with it. The food you eat should be about quality calories. Fresh fruits and veggies and lean meats. Fat is also not evil, it should just come from olive oil, nuts and avocados.

I personally have cut out the bulk of processed foods and processed sugar product ( I still have the occasional ice cream cone). Doing this has stabilized by blood sugar so I am never at a point where I HAVE TO EAT NOW! I also find that hunger is not a factor when eating this way. It is mostly a paleo eating style, with a few things added here and there. It is easy for me, but I was never a fan of pasta and love meat. I just had to add veggies into the mix a LOT more.

lorenzovonmatterhorn7549

TDEE - 20% on workout days. Workouts = 5 to 6 days a week. 1400 calories on non workout days (this is based on MFP recommendation for -2 lbs a week). Works like a charm.

rubinesky

Bump for later reading (when not at work he he he)

bound4beauty

Here's what's working for me:

Hit my calorie and macro nutrient goals within a few calories or grams either way every day.

1600 calories a day
125 grams of carbs
65 grams of fat
125 grams of carbs

Weight train lifting heavy weight 3 times a week (very important)

Couch to 5 K twice a week

Increase my daily calorie burn through non-exercise by walking my dog an extra mile each day, standing more often, parking further away, taking the stairs, walking around when I'm on the phone. NEAT can burn quite a few more calories with little effort.

Eat what makes my happy and feel good which includes really healthy stuff AND fast food, ice cream, etc... I typically follow the 80/20 rule for that.

Weigh and measure everything that goes in my mouth and if I can't then I make an educated guess and err on the side of over estimating.

Doing an occasional refeed to shake things up a little

Being patient, educating myself and learning what constitutes a true loss and a true gain and not freaking out about it.

And lastly, finding a support group on here that totally rocks.