how i finally lost weight.. my plan

erinlindsay

22 lbs in 3 months.... yup. (this is what i wrote to my friend)

K basically I have tried every single crash diet possible in the last 5 years, even tried being anorexic once.. despite what you think is right at the time.. this NEVER works. Crash diets are short term. When you starve yourself, youre not losing weight… you’re STORING the weight.. so it stays on you longer… then your mom is gonna bake german cheesecake and youll see it when youre sooooo starving and nothing will stop you and youll eat like 5 pieces, then some chocolate, and marshmellows until you finally feel so weighed down that you cant even move. So long term, youre actually gaining soo much fat.

First rule: Eat lots. Eating speeds up your metabolism, cause your body has to work hard to decompose it and stuff. Whenever you’re hungry, EAT! But don’t stuff yourself.. eat until you’re 4/5 full.. and try to not clear your plate.. leave a few bites left to practice self control. Eat about 5 mini meals a day .. breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner.
Rule 2: Control portions. Don’t over do it, or go for seconds… eat slow and enjoy it.
Rule 3: Eat the right foods. Try to incorporate as many “superfoods” in your diet as possible!! (if you don’t know what they are, google them) these are foods like berries(to help brain), cinnamon (to make you feel full), yogurt (to maintain weightloss) lemon water(to flush out toxins) etc…
I usually detox for a week every couple of months, and when you first start. This means that for the first week, you are not eating whites (no bread, noodles, potatoes, crackers.. etc) you eat lots of protein to increase muscle mass(eggs, white meat, red meat, almonds..) and lots of vegetables and fruits.. its hard, but really helps. Youll prob lose a lot of water weight in this week.
After the week, you can incorporate whole grains..
Rule 4: Satisfy your cravings! If you want chocolate, don’t deprive yourself.. because chances are that one day you will wake up with no willpower and go overboard… don’t go nuts, just eat like 100 calorie thins or something to take the cravings away. (there are foods.. like tea, that take away cravings if it happens too much)
Rule 5: Don’t count calories, or keep track of your food.. this leads to guilt.. guilt leads to binge eating. Just trust that youre eating HEALTHY foods that will benefit you, no matter how many calories a carrot is.
Rule 6: DON’T EAT PAST 7:30pm.. drink tea to avoid eating.
**** we can try to make similar meals next year and I can help you out with ideas***
EXERCISE:
Super simple…
Lift weights, then sweat for 30 mins a day, increase intensity every week. (when you hit your goal weight, you can take some days off)
Lift weights: get 5 lb weights for your room and lift while your watching tv.. or go to the gym with meeeeeee to lift weights. It takes 15 minutes to get your heart rate up to start burning calories, so do cardio after. (look up spot specific excercises on google.. ie if you wants abs, look up ab excercises to target an area)

Sweat for 30 mins a day: sweat=good… youre losing toxins.. I know you hate running, so do the bike, or stair climber, or elliptical or rower and read a magazine/listen to your ipod! It feels amazing when you finish, like you’ve accomplished something, and it boosts your energy for the day! (you can come to the gym with me, and ill teach you how to use the machines)
Increase intensity: ie.. if you run at 5.5 miles an hour, next week pick it up to 6.0, next week bump up the incline to 1.0.. etc
*** weightloss is ALL mental.. if you are 100% committed, believe in yourself, and stay positive( never guilty) , you will succeeed!!)
SO SIMPLE RIGHT? Trust me it actually is.. no charts, or counting, or strict crash dieting! ..AND IT WORKS. 22 lbs in 3 months.. cant wait to show you the before and after pics!! 
ps you are PERFECT.. and tell yourself that you look hot!! Don’t put yourself down.. its allllll mental.

JUSTFORME2010

Do you use this site for anything? I dont think it is possible to lose without counting calories. I bought food that was not processed and "good for you" for a whole month and i still gained weight because I had no idea how much i was really eating until i wrote it down and looked at it. But congrats for you to be able to do it another way.

surlydave

Congrats on your success. Your plan is interesting, but doesn't Rule 5 pretty much go against the foundation of MFP?

lutzsher

Ditto . . . I completely agree . . . I am living proof also as I have lost about 25 lbs since May 17th (so a week shy of 3 months now) when I got really serious and dedicated myself to my health.
It is all about smart choices, little by little, not anything drastic . . . just making healthy choices with food and to move daily. It is the first time in my life that I KNOW I will be sucessful instead of just hoping I will be.

Thanks for this post!

lutzsher

Oh, my one disagreement with your post . . . I have relied heavily on MFP to help me learn portion control, and getting the correct amounts of each micronutrient. I could not have done with without MFP!

lessjess1

Yeah, I'm confused. Not sure why this is being posted on a calorie counting website???

erinlindsay

i agree... but you shouldnt obsess over it.. its a lifestyle change so once you know what your doing, trust that you do and let yourself have some freedom

sunshine79

This is such good advice.

After a meeting with my old personal trainer today (I'm re-starting personal training), reading a similar post and generally feeling fed up with the excessive calorie counting I have decided to stop tracking exactly how many calories I consume down to the very last crumb, how many I burn during exercise and generally being obsessed with the whole thing :frown: .

Prior to my recently discovered underactive thyriod problem I lost about 10lb through sensible eating and working with a personal trainer and it worked so I'm going back to that.

Don't get me wrong, I love MFP and will still check in. The site is fantastic and the community is great but it's taking over my life.

Your advice is very useful and has just given me the push I need to take a chill pill and relax a little about the whole weight loss thing.

Thanks for sharing your success and your advice. :flowerforyou:

erinlindsay

thats why i posted it. i used mfp all year.. didnt lose any weight, binged alot, and felt guilt and hunger all the time. i finally got away from it and i have finally lost all the weight. MFP is good to get ideas about fitness, recipes and tickers too lol

pressica

You have some great ideas. Congrats on your progress!

Ms_Natalie

Amazing post and thanks for sharing!

You have done fantastically! Well Done! :flowerforyou:

spob

Straight simple and to the point. Thank-you for sharing your story and we are looking forward to your after pics too.:drinker:

xDeannaGarciax

Thank you for sharing. I have lost weight in many ways similar to yours, actually pretty much all of them. Congratulations, can't wait to see pictures!! :]]

Яaquel

bump gotta read this lata!!!

aippolito1

Lift weights, then sweat for 30 mins a day, increase intensity every week. (when you hit your goal weight, you can take some days off)

You're completely wrong on this one. Once you hit your goal weight, you better be prepared to work HARDER. As you lose weight, your resting heart rate lowers which means it's harder to raise your heart rate...which means it'll take longer to burn as many calories as it did at your starting weight.... which in turn means you'll have to work out MORE. You can still just do 30 minutes of cardio a day but it's going to have to be more intense. I know this from experience. I used to burn 300+ calories doing 30 minutes exercise...now I'm lucky if I get to 200 depending on what I'm doing.

Please please research before you post something like this. New people who don't know much will eat this stuff up and you're getting their hopes up for when they're "done" and can not work as hard when it's the exact opposite.

I also disagree with you about counting calories but I won't go there. I understand everyone's body is different...but to tell someone just starting out "don't worry about counting calories", is dumb. Intuitive eating is great but you have to know what you're doing.

Jax09

Can you share what a safe detox would be? I've never done one, and I am really nervous.
Thanks!

erinlindsay

well it doesnt mean stop working out... i meant go hard everyday (increasing intensity every week) until you reach your goal weight... then allow yourself rest days... make a lifestyle, not a lifelong diet/ bootcamp.

erinlindsay

for a first detox week, this is an example of one day:

breakfast : egg omelete w cheese, mushrooms, green onion and turkey bacon inside.
snack: cherry tomatoes
lunch: spinach salad w chicken, water chestnuts, almonds, carrots and a vinagrette, nectarine, 2 source yogurts with cinamon sprinkled.
snack: berry smoothie (frozen berries and skim milk)
dinner: salmon, corn on the cob, garden salad, raspberries and jello.

super simple, just cut out WHITES (rice, noodles breads) and carbs/starch (potatoes, crackers, etc) for a week.. and junk food, but thats a given lol

excercise wise... start out slow, so that theres room to increase intensity.. but focus on weights !
good luck!

erinlindsay

Also, i am not a professional by any means, but this has worked for me.
im sharing what has worked for me after 5 years of trying new diets..
sorry its not some million dollar corporation's diet plan.... its real.
i am living proof it works.

smilingslatka

i agree... but you shouldnt obsess over it.. its a lifestyle change so once you know what your doing, trust that you do and let yourself have some freedom

I agree that you don't have to count kcl to loose weight. Personally, I know what a healthy portion is and what foods are good for me. I've decided to try kcl counting because it makes it a bit more interesting ad also motivates me.

Well done to you for reaching your goal!

islandnutshel

Good job on the weight loss. This site is a tool, and a useful one for me and many others. Not everyone uses the same tools. Congratulations on the results. We all need to figure out what works for us.

candican

Congrats on figuring out what works for you! You can certainly lose weight successfully without counting calories. The thing is, you need to have the knowledge of the nutrition and portion sizes to do this successfully. Some people get really obsessive too and the counting overwhelms them. The point I think is that you still have to be mindful of the mechanics of what you need to be doing in terms of portion size, nutrition, calories and exercise.

CMAB

bump

jodiking

bump...I want to find this again lol

erinlindsay

and i know how hard it is MENTALLY to force yourself to eat lots when youre trying to lose weight, JUST DO IT.. but make sure its healthy ofcourse lol

Amy_B

i agree... but you shouldnt obsess over it.. its a lifestyle change so once you know what your doing, trust that you do and let yourself have some freedom

Very good post! I actually lost most of my weight without counting calories. I do write down everything I eat to keep a check on myself or I do tend to go overboard sometimes. I'm mostly on here for support and to help others, especially with the message board.

Something I'd add to your post is to drink lots of water. I average 96 oz per day.

Great job!

thenebean9

Congrats to you for your weight loss! Everyone is different, and it took for me to log in and see what exactly i was eating every day to say "Whoa! That's crazy!" and then I learned a true portion control lifestyle. I still eat what I like in smaller portions, and usually on days where I have more calories to spare. I've lost 41 lbs since the beginning of the year when I began my journey (and 31lbs since being on MFP) so I feel that calorie counting can be an important part of learning portion control. Do I obsess about making sure it's super exact? not really! I try to get as close as i can without going crazy. Logging my calories maybe takes 15 minutes out of my entire day. certainly not too time consuming or tough!

Everyone has a different way to do it - and perhaps beginners should start with logging to get a better idea of what good portion control is. I bet i could spend my day not logging and hit my goals because I've done it long enough to know, but newbies might not!

To each their own, and to each I wish tons and tons of success on your journey!

Athina

BrandingMyImage

Thanks ErinLindsay,

I basically put on the "college year pounds" on. I just recently graduating and I am determine to lose the weight! I definitely felt that the advice you gave, was the lifestyle I use to live before devoting my life to studying at school. You've given me hope that I can do it!

Thanks for the posting, it is a true inspiration that I can lose the weight I gained these past years.

Seriously, thanks!

lee112780

You have some really great points. I have counted calories and tracked points for YEARS....Im not evwen kidding. I dont know how to live life without counting calories...its sad when you think about it....the TIME I have wasted. Now , you got me thinking, because I was extremely successful 10 yrs ago when I dropepd 80 lbs, and I worked out and ate right...didnt count a thing! Now, I have been counting for the last 10 years and I have gained 40 out of the 80 I lost! I think counting works for most people, but I'm starting to think my counting days might be over....I'll try and see what happens.....thanks!

Tamishumate

Lift weights, then sweat for 30 mins a day, increase intensity every week. (when you hit your goal weight, you can take some days off)

You're completely wrong on this one. Once you hit your goal weight, you better be prepared to work HARDER. As you lose weight, your resting heart rate lowers which means it's harder to raise your heart rate...which means it'll take longer to burn as many calories as it did at your starting weight.... which in turn means you'll have to work out MORE. You can still just do 30 minutes of cardio a day but it's going to have to be more intense. I know this from experience. I used to burn 300+ calories doing 30 minutes exercise...now I'm lucky if I get to 200 depending on what I'm doing.

Please please research before you post something like this. New people who don't know much will eat this stuff up and you're getting their hopes up for when they're "done" and can not work as hard when it's the exact opposite.

I also disagree with you about counting calories but I won't go there. I understand everyone's body is different...but to tell someone just starting out "don't worry about counting calories", is dumb. Intuitive eating is great but you have to know what you're doing.

Well Said!! I agree completely. I still count calories, cause its so easy to forget that one thing. AND I have to work my butt off to get a high calorie burn! nothing like in the begining At the DR yesterday and my pulse was 52. it takes alot to get it to 152 where I like it for a good calorie burn.

khk2010

Congrats on your success and glad it worked for you.

I wish I could go without counting calories and logging food but the fact is that I gained all this weight because I wasn't monitoring myself with portions and food. I kept thinking why am I gaining all this weight--I'm not eating that much. After a week on MFP I realized all the additional calories and high calorie foods I was consuming. Counting calories and keeping a journal keep me accountable and hopefully will teach me to "know" the right portions and right foods to eat (as well as exercise). One of my problems with "crash dieting" is that I lose weight but have no life skills to keep it off. I will probably use this site to help maintain my weight. At least for a while. So while this approach worked for you and thanks for sharing it isn't for everyone.