Your Best Diet/Exercise Advice

blondie1238

What's your #1 best piece of diet or exercise advice??? Feel free to share more if you've got some goodies This is a test to see how much awesome advice we can accumulate on one thread to share with everyone!

Mine: I've had a few group exercise instructors refer to the hour right after exercising as the "golden hour", where you burn the most calories, and to keep the furnace "burning" and to help repair muscles, you need to eat a little bit of protein within that hour! It's worked for me

kimcat73

Get a good food scale and an HRM .... those are my tools for success!

limestar

If you call it a diet you will fail. If you call it a healthy lifestyle change you will succeed. Muscle burns fat so lift heavy. Abs are made in the kitchen.

ajbeans

Don't buy junk food. If it's not in the house, you can't eat it.

jkestens63

1. I have always had my big goal of reaching 175 but always set smaller goals. I am185.6 right now. My goal is to reach 180 by 2/14 so in my daily journal I re-write thar each morning to help keep me focused.

2. I journal what I am going to eat and the exercise I am going to do the next day befre I go to bed, or first thing in the morning so I have a concrete plan to follow and refer to throughout the day.

3. I have a free day on Friday. I commit to a healthy breakfast and a hard workout the I don't worry about it for the rest of the day. Gives me a rest and the chance to have thins I have been craving.

4. I make small changes slowly - like right nnow I am workinng on eliminating crystal lite and going with plain water by startting to drink 1 plain bottle a day. In 6 weeks or so will increase to 2 and so on.

5. Most importat, I stayed with it no matter how many "bad" days I had.

IT CAN BE DONE!!!!!!!!

katschi

Be PATIENT!

sixpackgoal

If you fall off the wagon don't abandon the journey. Get right back on the next meal. One meal does not make a waist size. One monkey don't stop the show.

Azdak

1. Focus on the essentials: consistency in your eating plan, focus in your exercise. Don't get hung up on peripheral things like meal timing, meal frequency, water intake, supplements, breathing, "muscle confusion", "starvation mode", yadayadayada.

2. Don't follow any eating plan that has a name.

3. Don't listen to group exercise instructors.

swimmermama

Find an exercise you like so you look forward to going and don't want to leave.

Eat veggies. If you don't like a vegetable, make yourself eat it five times. Chances are that you will come to like it. I'm LOVING - seriously enjoying the heck out of - sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and butternut squash now because I kept trying them.

In grocery stores, shop the perimeter. That's where the fruits and veggies, meats, and diary are. The crap is in the middle.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. <-- I forgot who that quote is by but I love it!

Paige1108

2. I journal what I am going to eat and the exercise I am going to do the next day, before I go to bed, or first thing in the morning so I have a concrete plan to follow and refer to throughout the day.

Also from someone else, buy a food scale.

Eat real food, don't deny yourself things your body can deal with.

And most importantly, enjoy this journey. It's about getting healthy and happy.

katschi

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. <-- I forgot who that quote is by but I love it!

It's by Michael Pollan from his "In Defence of Food" book. :happy:

marisa_munches

The best advice I've ever heard is that you have to remember that the cupcake/pasta/chips (or whatever you are considering indulging in that you really shouldn't) is not the last cupcake/pasta/chips on earth. You will have another chance to eat that food again so if you're really not hungry at the moment or you've already exceeded your goal for the day, remember that you could always go buy yourself that food tomorrow and account for the extra calories in your meal planning then. This especially comes in handy for me when there is a birthday cake at work. It almost feels like you HAVE to grab some before it's all gone (and besides, everyone else is eating it!). But then I just say, "I'm not really hungry right now and if I want cake tomorrow, I'll go buy a slice from the grocery store." Usually, it works, the craving passes, and I don't even feel motivated enough to go get the food the next day.

nsueflorence

DRINK WATER! all day long. Ice cold water.

Eat breakfast! and get in some protein in the am! low sugar!

Make sure you have plenty of support!

mideon_696

If you want to lose fat, dont eat ****ty carbs.
eg:
Bread (yes all bread)
Rice (yep, all of it)
Pasta
Potato's. go nuts on sweet potatos though!
Corn.

Do get as many as your carbs as possible from vege's. You can beat vege's. You just cant. There are so many of them too, you cant possibly get bored...

5-6 meals a day. not 2 or 3.

and as already mentioned, dont even look at a diet that has a name...

When you exericse, it doesnt need to be hours long. short, but INTENSE workouts, are much more effective.

mideon_696

ALSO!!!

if you want to lose fat by lifting, lift heavy...and concentrate on your compound lifts...guys, forget those bicep curls etc...get in the gym and squat/deadlift/pullup etc!

The positive effects on your BMR from a heavy intense workout can last many afters after!!!

skinnymom10

My greatest tip is AVOID SUGAR!!! I have 15 or less grams of sugar per day and 120 carbs per day. It takes a little getting used to but once ya get on the program it is the best thing ever. Also avoid all unnatural sweeteners!! I promise it will work. I have lost 50 pounds since Jan of 2010.

skinnymom10

I totally agree!!!
I just started Chalean Extreme. It is a GREAT Stregnth training program. Let me know if ya want information about it!!!

Good Luck to you!!!

mideon_696

totally skinnymom, no sugars! you dont need them!

TwinklinBrwnEyes

I could go on and on. When introducing my friend to MFP.com. I advised her that she should purchase a digital food scale and measuring cups for accuracy. When craving sweets, pop a jolly rancher or gum. Easy high calorie burn would be doing a Zumba class...and it's super fun!

ladyhawk00

Everything in moderation! Live a balanced life. (Still struggle with this, but I think it's KEY.)

Don't deny yourself what you truly love - just make room for it by controlling portions and frequency. Don't kid yourself by thinking you will NEVER eat "insert food here" again. That's a recipe for failure.

Do not treat any food as "bad" - that gives it power over you.

Above all, take responsibility for the work you must put in, and be accountable for the decisions you make.
Responsibility = Control = Power
Empower yourself.

BigBoneSista

1. Get rid of those huge dinner plates. Smaller portions.

2. Drink 8oz grapefruit juice 30 minutes before a meal. It allows the muscles to use the calories in the meal you are about to eat instead of storing them. (I believe I'm saying that correctly)

3. Lower your daily sodium intake to 1500 and below

4. Exercise at least 15 minutes when you wake up in the morning to jump start your metabolism

5. Split your cardio time up when your are strength training. 15 minutes cardio, 30 minutes treadmill, 15 minutes cardio. You will burn more calories then if you did 30 minutes cardio and 30 minutes strength training. You after burn will last longer as well.

skinnymom10

I wish that I could convince the world that ya don't need the sugar... Glad were friends!!!

marniehodges

GET OUT THE TAPE MEASURE...DO NOT JUST RELY ON THE SCALE! :bigsmile:

carmen62

All good advice. Other than a chemical cocktail, can someone tell me what is wrong with diet sodas?

mideon_696

also try not to weigh yourself too frequently. dont make it part of your program. your mirrow does a fine job of monitoring your process!
I know alot of people weigh in on monday morning...i do it sometimes, lol, but i dont wanna be losing any weight at present. mix it up.
at the start, sure, do it once a week, as your losses will be better when you first start out. but as you go along, your losses will slow down. so if you spread out your "weigh in's", the losses might seem bigger!!! could help you out mentally i think.

one more thing (yeah we could go on for days couldnt we, lol)...
think BIG!!!
eg: if your ultimate goal is to lose 50lbs. then think of it only as losing 50lbs. dont think, "i'll aim for 10lbs this month or that month. just focus on the big picture. some people fail as they tend to get complacent once they hit that first 10lbs goal, and then lose focus. just keep looking at that 50lbs goal!

sonpet

great advice ladyhawk...we have similar weight and goals.....maybe we could become friends and be a helping hand along the way

ladyhawk00

All good advice. Other than a chemical cocktail, can someone tell me what is wrong with diet sodas?

Recent research suggests artificial sweeteners, especially in soda (largely because of high consumption), tends to cause weight gain, rather than help control it. I don't recall specifics, but basically the body still thinks it's getting sugar - and when it doesn't get it, it calls for even more - meaning you end up with more carb/sugar cravings and thus eat more.

Do a search on "artificial sweeteners weight gain" and you'll come up with the links.

Edit for really bad typing.

ladyhawk00

great advice ladyhawk...we have similar weight and goals.....maybe we could become friends and be a helping hand along the way

Thanks, sure thing! :bigsmile:

alaskagrown

don't own a scale.
eat as clean as possible but don't deny yourself the things you love.... BUT
...fast food is poison, even in moderation.

you're not running AWAY from _____, you're running TOWARD being fit, confident, and beautiful.

--the last one is my running mantra, i insert whatever negative thing is foremost in my mind and think positive thoughts!

BreeWilder

Food is not the enemy. You NEED food to survive.

Telling yourself you ABSOLUTELY may never have "whatever food you love" will only make you want it all the more. Then you may find you will binge. So instead what I do is give myself 24 hours. If I crave a food for 24 hours or more I let myself have it in moderation.

Exercise is a must. I'm a busy mom. I'm doing the 30 Day Shred right now. It's only 20 minutes. That's almost as long as it takes my kid to eat. I can't talk myself out of 20 minutes of exercise. And that right there is over 200 extra calories I burned.

Good luck!

atomdraco

Everything in moderation! Live a balanced life. (Still struggle with this, but I think it's KEY.)

Don't deny yourself what you truly love - just make room for it by controlling portions and frequency. Don't kid yourself by thinking you will NEVER eat "insert food here" again. That's a recipe for failure.

Do not treat any food as "bad" - that gives it power over you.

Above all, take responsibility for the work you must put in, and be accountable for the decisions you make.
Responsibility = Control = Power
Empower yourself.

Well said!