Serial/experienced Shapeshifters- What's the one tip?

noodlesno

Yo,

So to all that have shape-shifted once, twice, or done it once and kept it off. What is the one piece of advice you have learnt that has changed the way you have gone about things?

I will go first;

- Take the time to experiment with your body to see what it needs, whether that is the number of calories that puts you at the 1/2lb lost or the time, macro balance, or feeding that works for you. This may be frustrating in the short term as you are not taking the linear path to weight loss but it will save you years of pain in the long run. Each body is unique and very rarely can you take someone else successful journey and it works for you off the shelf

Excited to hear everyone else's. Think I am going to get some good ones I can follow too.

SuzySunshine99

My advice is to make changes that you can stick with for the rest of your life.

If you torture yourself, if you force yourself to eat foods you don't like, if you deprive yourself of foods you do like, if you adopt a unsustainable exercise routine...then you will burn out, lose the "motivation" that people think they need, and fall back into old routines.

For me, its a mindset issue. It's not a "journey", because it's not going to end. You don't need "motivation" because motivation is fleeting and temporary. You don't need "accountability" because no one is responsible for your health other than you.

Everyone needs to experiment to find out what changes both work for weight management, and also work for your lifestyle in the long run. Because this is not a temporary change that you have to suffer through. This is forever.

kshama2001

Yes, switching my focus from needing to feel motivated to using discipline to create habits was very useful to me:

http://www.wisdomination.com/screw-motivation-what-you-need-is-discipline/

(Warning: language is "salty.")

JaysFan82

Find an activity or exercise that you enjoy and doesn't feel like a chore.

PravaSagitta

Start with tracking your calories, every bit. Just to get a real picture of what you're eating now. I'm on round 2 of losing 50lbs (I gain like crazy in pregnancy) and just doing this gives me pause on mindless eating. I've been eating very little in bursts, but ridiculously high calorie foods. I was eating at least 2800-3000 calories per day. Crazy! Being a busy mom, I take some time each morning to fill out what I want to eat for the day, minus what I can't calculate immediately (I change up my own recipes constantly 🙈). Since I've done this before, I have my go to meals for hitting macros already.

It's a journey, and you're figuring out what you like and what works for you.

Also, use a measuring tape and measure once a month. That will be more accurate than weighing yourself. If you must weigh yourself, do so only once per week. Though even that can be misleading. Trust the process and push through, even when it feels like progress has stopped (but do check in with what you're doing if you've stalled for a month)

Also, update your tdee every 10 lbs lost.

AnnPT77

Think more about how to make weight management (relatively) easy - focus on finding habits that can be sustained long term (ideally permanently) almost on autopilot.

"Lose weight fast" is a trap. "Go back to normal" after the fast loss is the yo-yo on-ramp.

New, permanent habits FTW. Moderate calorie deficit until goal weight, then add a few tweaks to get to maintenance calories - same basic habits of eating, daily activity, exercise.

What are the habits? Completely individualized. We all have different preferences, strengths, challenges, limitations. Our approach need to fit ourselves.

littlegreenparrot1

Do or do not do, there is no try.

The alarm goes off at 5:30 and its cold and raining and I very much do not want to get up and run. But that is irrelevant, the decision has been made. This is what I do - so up I get and out I go.
I also don't want to clean the bathroom, but I have to get on with it so the same rule applies.

The other key one for me is owning my decisions. I want to eat that massive pizza, or all the chocolate or whatever because of stress, bad day, other people being difficult, whatever. I have to think about it first, I don't deny myself - sometimes a night off and a big dinner is exactly what I need - but it doesn't happen by 'accident', it wasn't because of things out of my control, I decided to do it. Which means that I can decide what my priorities are and what to do.

Which is very different to the position I was in years ago when I was so far down a hole of stress and depression I simply didn't have the wherewithal to make proper decisions about appropriate self care. I have to work to keep the good habits and recognise if I start feeling like I'm slipping back down.

lauriekallis

littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »

...The other key one for me is owning my decisions. I want to eat that massive pizza, or all the chocolate or whatever because of stress, bad day, other people being difficult, whatever. I have to think about it first, I don't deny myself - sometimes a night off and a big dinner is exactly what I need - but it doesn't happen by 'accident', it wasn't because of things out of my control, I decided to do it. Which means that I can decide what my priorities are and what to do.

This one is big for me. A planned special meal is amazing. There is the fun of anticipation - as well as the special food. I like the sense of control when I plan it. Whenever I battle the urge to "splurge on a whim" - I am more successful if I remind myself that I can indeed have that special meal - but to plan it and make it special. Spontaneous isn't great for me when it comes to weight control.

Minihaha77

My advice. If you mess up one meal don't say "I have ruined the whole day so I may as well eat what I want today" but say "I messed up on one meal but that was only 1/3 of the day and I can be perfect for the other 2/3 so I'm doing great!". Never look back. Only ahead.
Barb~

AnnPT77

In case you haven't seen it, you might like this similar thread, too:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10822415/write-just-1-tip-which-triggered-your-weight-loss#latest

It was asked a while back over in the Maintaining Weight part of the MFP Community, has accumulated a lot of answers.

ToffeeApple71

Keep changing things....by that I mean I needed to regularly change what I was doing exercise-wise so I didn't get bored. I changed my grab-a-snack ideas regularly (protein balls, crackers, dried fruit etc) and spent lots of time playing with new recipes. My biggest change was eliminating meat, and this led ne down a road of new exciting recipes. Many were disastrous but, hey, I've developed quite a repertoire now! And you find 'new' products that are exciting to try. For me that was things like jackfruit, banana blossoms etc as replacements for meat. Make the journey fun, challenging and interesting.

springlering62

Weighing, counting and logging.

Simple as that.

Everything else happened as a result of finally paying attention to what was going in my mouth.

I’ve planned all week for a big pizza meal today and very carefully prelogged today to stay on track. I’ve been counting the days til pizza all week.

While there, I realized I wasn’t as hungry as I thought, so I stopped. I also tweaked on the spot and had an extra parmesan knot and deleted a second slice of pizza. That saved 250 calories right there.

I’ve just looked at my log and realized, now I’ll be very low on calories at the end of the day, and have had to add more food back. This even after a higher calorie breakfast than usual. (I put a scoop of peanut butter powder in my chocolate pancakes…mmmmmm)

Before it would have been lalalalala eat everything on the table lalalala fingers-in-ears lalalaa.

It’s amazing what mindfulness does for ya.

FollyChica

Not to get hung up on plateaus, which will happen. It's your body working on a new set point and isn't a sign to give up. ♥

Rockmama1111

My tip: You don’t have to eat at a deficit every day. You don’t have to lose weight every week. It’s not bad to eat to maintain some days. If you aren’t gaining weight, you’re succeeding.

To go along with this: a few low-calorie days here and there (1-2 per week) are not harmful, and are quite helpful in creating a deficit over a week’s time. Some days I have the time and ingredients to eat salads and veggies and chicken breast and fish all day. And it’s an easy challenge for one day.

I’m not advocating for a very-low-calorie diet. On the contrary, I consider an average of under 1900 net per day (my estimated maintenance) to be winning. If I get that by having a couple of 1000 calorie days and a couple of 2800 calorie days, it’s fine.

I have a choice every day. Even every meal. I can cut more and lose more, or I can eat at maintenance and not lose. My only rule is to not gain.