Tips on how to relax and lose weight?

I want to try a more stress free approach to losing weight, the scales rule my life which,in my opinion, is bad. I've tried calorie counting, nutrition plans, macro nutrient counting and none of those have really worked for me so I'm going to try something new. If anyone has any pointers I would love to hear them :-)

Replies

  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
    I love this post and question. I was thinking the same thing this morning. I really dont' mind weighing my food every day to get the exact amounts, but I seem to have become obsessed lately. I know I need to relax, too.
    thanks for the question
    :smile:
    hope to see replies soon
  • Just listen to your body's cues and only eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you feel full. Just be conscious that you are not eating junk and only putting good food into you. It's a simple approach :)
  • LanceDuvall
    LanceDuvall Posts: 66 Member
    Try listening to weight loss affirmations, I have them loaded on the phone and listen to them when driving and at the gym, they really can get you feeling good about your journey.
  • dcresider
    dcresider Posts: 1,272 Member
    Have mini goals. Say you want to lose .5 - 1 lb. a week. Concentrate on the smaller goals rather than the long term of XXX amount of pounds you have to lose, otherwise you'll overwhelm yourself.
  • violasmith85
    violasmith85 Posts: 274 Member
    just trying portion control for a little while should help. Don't go back for seconds, eat on a smaller plate. Find things to occupy your mind when it's just apatite and not true hunger. That's what I did, then I moved on to calorie/carb counting (im a diabetic, that's why i count carbs). Just start making healthier choices, gradually turn your lifestyle around. Then it will be second nature.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Calorie counting and meal planning makes me relax and lose weight :smile: I feel like I'm learning to trust my appetite too.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    If you've tried calorie counting, and you were weighing and measuring successfully, then you will have a good idea about portion sizes. Watch portions, eat less. I would personally rather know exactly and be guaranteed I'm in a deficit, so for me its worth the work I need to put in so I do relax.
  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
    Have mini goals. Say you want to lose .5 - 1 lb. a week. Concentrate on the smaller goals rather than the long term of XXX amount of pounds you have to lose, otherwise you'll overwhelm yourself.

    I really like this idea. I lost 60 lbs and put back on some of it, which is what I am trying to lose now. so i'm frustrated with my lack of progress and regression. I think having a weekly goal of lost weight or inches, etc. is much more manageable than the 29 lbs I face to lose. TFS your input :smile:
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    I try to stay away from the scale because it can be an ED trigger for me. I weight myself really only when I feel like I may be overdoing it and gaining. That way, I can assess where I am and reign it in a bit if need be.

    For the most part, I go by how I feel and how my clothes fit. I focus on fitness goals much more than I do weight and I find that works for me. For instance, I wanted to run a Tough Mudder so I spent a year focusing on my running and strength goals. That required a lot of time at the gym which, of course, helped me lose weight.

    I do track my calories, although I'm not religious about it now. I have a general idea from tracking every day for a while about what I can fit into my day and I stick to it Monday - Friday for the most part. On weekends, since I don't usually eat until the late afternoon, I eat what I want but it's my meal for the day. This works for me, but it wouldn't work for everyone.

    Finally, when it comes to stress, nothing is better than sleep. I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep every weekday if I can (bed at 10, up at 5).

    TL/DR: Sleep, find a fitness goal and meal schedule that works with your routine.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    The best solution is a bit of confidence from some weight loss, I've found. Most of us are strung out a little at the start when trying to lose weight, as most of us probably have a track record of failures in our attempts to lose weight before, so tend to doubt whether we can this time. After a while then, I think we can fear we might fail at any minute, even when successfully following our programme, so we can tend to be in a hurry to lose as much as possible lest it all magically stop at any moment.

    I think once you get through those two phases, you gain confidence, and realise you're in control. At that point I think you can stop obsessing/ focussing every conscious thought on weight loss. I'm at that point now after 10 or so weeks, and probably hit it 3 or so weeks back, so my advice would be to persevere, strive for consistency, set and celebrate small milestones along the way, before refocussing on the next one, and if you falter get stuck straight back in, until before you know it, you're not only surviving, but thriving :)
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    I would say focus more on exercise. For me getting in a nice long walk with my pup or a good lifting session does way more to help me relax than, well, most anything else.
  • fungry_04
    fungry_04 Posts: 42 Member
    Thankyou everyone for the ideas! I love the mini goal idea and other goals not so related to loosing weight :-)