Advice For People Trying To Lose Weight
88olds
Posts: 4,532 Member
I’d like to try to get sort of a list and want to keep this thread going for awhile. So if you post and then think of something else feel free to come back. 2 that come to mind right now-
The calculators and gadgets provide starting points and guidelines, not answers. In calorie counting the numbers are not exact. There are a lot of gray areas.
The time factor wrecks most people. Whatever system you are using to track, it will take time to learn. Everything comes with a learning curve. Then it will take more time to get to goal weight than you would probably like. Just how it is.
The calculators and gadgets provide starting points and guidelines, not answers. In calorie counting the numbers are not exact. There are a lot of gray areas.
The time factor wrecks most people. Whatever system you are using to track, it will take time to learn. Everything comes with a learning curve. Then it will take more time to get to goal weight than you would probably like. Just how it is.
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Weight loss is not a linear mathematical thing - in the short term. Yes, it’s “calories in vs calories burned”, but you’re gonna have weeks where you do everything right, and have either a small loss or a gain. Just remember the weeks when you “got away with” a loss after being off track. These things even out if you're persistent. A gain doesn’t mean you or the program failed; it means that’s sometimes the way things go.1
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More people fail because their expectations were too high than because their willpower was too low.2
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Tenacity is required. Even after you hit goal.1
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I would add that the changes in our bodies over time and in a given time period all are factors. Change or lose a job, the stress starts to become a factor, have an illness or injury, weekends vs weekdays, holidays, or just plain age related changes in our lifestyle, or metabolism, or other factors all become relevant and require constant monitoring or adjustment2
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Weight loss is mostly about problem solving and persistence.
Successful weight loss takes two things: eating in a calorie deficit and the ability to live with it long enough for it to work. There’s a tendency to go all in on the deficit and try to beat ourselves into suffering though it. This leads to the diet mentality loop. To end the suffering as quickly as possible we aim for the most aggressive conceivable deficit. But this only increases our suffering. The best plan is one we can actually live with so long as it results in weight loss.
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Try to make your plan about things to do that are within your control. Hint: the number on the scale at weigh in is not one of them. Measure your success or lack thereof for the week based on whether you do the things that facilitate weight loss. If you do everything right but do not lose weight, you’ve succeeded for the week. As a friend used to say- we eventually get the WI we deserve. But not necessarily when we expect it.
It is not possible to track calories or WW points for long without going over our number at some point. Inadequate or bad plans, fatigue, stress, or lack of concentration at critical times can all throw us off stride and put us over our target. But so can simple mistakes like misread menus or nutritional info or basic arithmetic mistakes. It took awhile for me to learn that looking at NI without checking the serving size was meaningless.
Just my own observation but I think the most common mistake people make is not tracking when they go over their number. There is nothing in any tracking system that says to quit tracking when we don’t like the number we have to record. If we don’t recognize our mistakes, it is just an investigation to repeat them. The overages are our problem areas. Problem have to be solved to get to goal weight.
And don’t confuse errors and mistakes with failure. Ever try to play a musical instrument? Ever play a wrong note? Ever try basketball? Ever miss? What have we ever learned except though trial and error? But in weight loss people declare failure at the first miscue. The only real way to fail is quit. And eating too much at lunch is not a free pass to eat too much at dinner because you intend to start over tomorrow.
Not hitting your number is not “off” your plan or diet. Quitting is off your plan or diet. Don’t quit.
I’m going to keep this going. Feel free to join in.1 -
I'm in on this thread but tonight is going to be very short. I have a 9 hour tureen around drive starting @ 5 am to assess DS in rehab . As I have time I'll come back and add as I can.
Control is a big issue. Pick what you want to control but that could be different for everyone. For me it's control for volume of food I eat either at one meal or all meals. I'll expand on this later as with other issues with losing weight.0 -
The scale is not always the most important measurement of how you’re doing.0
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Life can try to get in the way or get you frustrated and knock you off course. Stay the course.0
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Eat like you want to feel tomorrow.0
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Picked up a great one on Connect today:
“If I let my mood determine my food, I’m screwed.”2 -
Motivation is like the starter on your car. It’s critical to get you started, but it does nothing to keep you moving.3
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Still fighting the scale every week. Really "WANT" to lose about 10 more pounds, so I don't need to sweat my weigh-in.0
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Tenacity is the most important characteristic of successful weight lost, IMHO. It's easy to get discouraged and simply stop. Start. Observe. Adjust. Continue. Observe. Adjust. Continue...ad infinitum.2
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“No one can actually help you. You have to help yourself. Actions have consequences, and that is simply that. No magic; just choices.”
This was a Connect member’s father’s words of wisdom as a post-polio survivor, but it certainly applies to weight management.2 -
This one is always a good reminder for me. It cuts through my internal excuse-making to recall that discipline isn't a trait one possesses (or fails to possess) but instead a decision that we make (or don't make) 100s of times a day.
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One day at a time is the longest time span you need to consider. If necessary, break that down into whatever smaller increments work for you: one hour at a time; one meal at a time, etc. "It's hard by the yard, but a cinch by the inch."4
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Read this comment this morning on Connect, and it struck me profoundly. It’s simple, but it’s true.
“Weight loss happens the moment you don’t give up”.3 -
Weigh or measure everything you eat.1
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Do not try. Do.
Yoda0 -
Your past can only hold you back if you live there.1
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Trend line - not data point.2
