What do you do to lose weight?

swisspea

The good advice everyone else has said, and don't get too bogged down with it- take it at a pace that is right for you. Once you start feeling oppressed about MFP, is when it becomes something unsustainable. Work at a pace that makes you feel good, but still challenged. Remember that this is a lifestyle change/ mind shift, so once it feels totally unrealistic, it probably is.

Amy_Lee_2012

I've struggled with losing weight my entire life- I finally decided enough was enough and got serious about it.

For me, I have to be very strict with my diet and I have to workout a lot if I want to see good results.

When I first started out, I could only walk about 5 minutes before getting winded. So, I did this several times a day, as often as I could- and within a month, I was up to 30 minutes of walking a day.

I cut out all pop and sugary drinks and that alone made a big difference..I only drink water and a lot of it.

I know that if I have junk food in the house, I will eat it. So, I don't buy anything 'bad' in bulk. When I go grocery shopping, once a week, I buy myself one snickers bar and enjoy it when I get home.
I allow myself other 'treats', and just make sure it fits into my daily calorie intake- or, I workout a bit extra for the day.

I eat a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breast- I always grill it.
When I need to use oil- I use extra virgin olive oil.
I also eat a lot of fruits and veggies.

Drinking 10 glasses of water a day does wonders for me. It helps to keep me feel full and just makes me feel good.

Getting enough sleep is extremely important. I find that if I don't get enough sleep, I am bloated and retain water.

I workout everyday, for at least an hour a day.

amybg1

Drink a glass of water an hour, helps curb hunger. Small meals or snacks every 2-3 hours, make sure they've got good protein content. this also helps the hunger bit, but a higher protein intake can make you lose weight an burn off some fat. Get moving even if it's just a half hour walk or housecleaning, aim for 30 mins physical activity/day minimum.

If you crave something, have a small amount of it but watch how frequently you consume it; once a week for a cheat is acceptable and actually recommended as it helps with the binge eating of that type of food and will not set yu back on your weight loss journey.

Set yourself up for an ultimate goal, but have milestones in-between and don't be afraid to give yourself a small treat whether it be a 'forbidden food', or a piece of clothing you always wanted, a book, etc. And as always stay at or slightly under your calorie goal

chevy88grl

Eat better. Eat less. Move more. Plain and simple.

Read the labels on foods and learn what a true portion size is. You'll be shocked to see that what you THINK is a correct portion - likely is 2 or 3 servings.

You don't HAVE to eliminate anything from your life, as long as you can work those items into your daily calories. This isn't about restriction and "dieting", it is a lifestyle change. If you change your life and you start to eat healthy 80% of the time, you can surely enjoy the things you love the other 20% of the time. I treat myself every single day. Lost nearly 60lbs and have kept it off for almost 2 years. There's NOTHING wrong with remembering to live.

chevy88grl

Why must coffee and tea be cut out? Is this only if you take sugar?

Pssh I love tea and coffee! have them everyday, never had any problems

Caffeine causes a short-term elevation in your metabolism, which gives you a burst of energy. Like any addiction, however, as your body becomes accustomed to caffeine, it begins to compensate. Used over the long term, caffeine actually reduces your metabolism. . . you come to need increasing amounts of caffeine just to stay alert. The slower metabolism actually causes you to gain weight on less food. This makes Diet Coke the perfect product, since it is actually helping to create the problem it's trying to "cure."

I've been a caffeine a holic since I was young (probably around 17). I HAVE to have caffeine every single day (and the world around me is grateful I have caffeine, even if they don't realize it). I have an amazing metabolism. I can easily eat 2500 net calories a day and maintain my weight. I refuse to give up caffeine (I've tried - I get too sick and figure if the only bad things in my life are caffeine and some cookies? I'm ahead of the game). I do just fine with it and a lot of other people do too.

vidoardes

Best advice I can give is start slow and small. There is always an urge when someone starts to try and loose weight to go all guns blazing, cut down food dramatically, try and exercise for hours everyday e.t.c... this won't work. make small changes, first week I just started weighing myself and logging what I eat. Next week I started trying to deliberately eat healthier things and doing half hour of gentle cardio everyday. Third week, I added a walk to my routine 5 days a week. Later I upped the cardio intensity, then added weight training 3 days a week, and over all of these little changes, I keep trying to swap what I am eating for healthier choices.

The problem with a diet is that at some point, it stops. The thing about a lifestyle change, if you do it right, is that it will be a permanent change in the way you think about food, and you shouldn't slip back into your old ways.

I also recommend setting lots of little weight / measurement targets. Setting an ultimate goal of loosing 100lbs sounds good, but is daunting, and can get depressing when you think to your self "I've been doing this a month and I still have 90lbs to go!". My first target was 12lb lost because that took me out of obese and into overweight according to BMI. Now I have achieved that, my next goal is 217lbs (a further 10lb loss) because that takes me down to 15 1/2 st. My next target after that will be to get down to a nice round 200lbs. I haven't set anything beyond that, because I may decide I am happy there, I will evaluate when I reach it

EDIT: On the Tea/Coffee debate, I drink 5 - 6 cups of tea a day. I have given up putting sugar in it, but I'm not gonna give up tea, the amount of caffeine in it is almost negligible, and the water intake does me good.

psuLemon

Here is my tips:

1. Eat enough food to fuel the fire: under eating can be as bad as over eating. Do some research on BMR and TDEE. http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html & http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/


2. Weight train (you may lose a bit more weight with a lot of cardio but you will cut more fat with heavy weight training (failing at 8-12 reps) http://www.metaboliceffect.com/topic/38-nutrition-lifestyle.aspx

3. Taking a rest day is just as important as exercise as your body needs to heal. Taking 1 or 2 will provide significant benefits than if you workout every day.

4. And most importantly, don't be afraid to take a day off. If you have a bday party or special occasion, it's OK to have cake or bad foods. A caloric deficit is stress on your body so it's ok to alleviate that stress once in a while.

pattyk87

If you mean you don't eat for 2 days per week, you are making it harder for yourself to lose weight. Your body will think it has to hold onto the fat for the famine you are creating. Your metabolism will slow down, so you burn less calories, and you'll have less energy. Also, the lack of nutrition you are inflicting on your body cannot be good long term. This is terrible diet plan for anybody. You should meet with a nutritionist to learn how to lose weight healthfully so you can look good and feel good or just follow the great advice everyone has been mentioning here on this board.

Helloitsdan

Protip!

Eat 20% below TDEE.
Lift weights 3 times a week.
Rest well.

psuLemon

If you mean you don't eat for 2 days per week, you are making it harder for yourself to lose weight. Your body will think it has to hold onto the fat for the famine you are creating. Your metabolism will slow down, so you burn less calories, and you'll have less energy. Also, the lack of nutrition you are inflicting on your body cannot be good long term. This is terrible diet plan for anybody. You should meet with a nutritionist to learn how to lose weight healthfully so you can look good and feel good or just follow the great advice everyone has been mentioning here on this board.

This isn't true. What she is doing is a technique called interim fasting. You still get the same amount of calories over the week but in a smaller window. So if your TDEE is 3000 calories a day, that would be 21000 calories a week to maintain. That would be a goal of 16800 calories in a week to lose about 1 lb per week. This means she would have to eat 3360 calories in a day for those five days. Some studies suggest IF, is much better for burning body fat as it forces yourself to use the fat stores. The key though is replenishing your body when it is feeding.


You can look at www.leangains.com for more information. Many of us do 16/8 or 20/4. This is a lot different than starving yourself on the 1200 calorie day diets. I was doing 16/8 for a while where I would fast from 7pm to 11am the next day and then eat 3000 calories from 11am -7pm but I was having trouble sticking with it. So now I am more about 14/10.

engineman312

you are going to have to do a lot of experimenting. there is no routine or advice that works for everyone. you will need to experiment with your intake calories until you find that magic number that works for you. the same goes with exercise. some things work for others that might not work for you. eating exercise calories is one of those things.

try and find a balance between cardio, strength training, nutrition, and rest.

be paitent, and don't expect immediate results. take comparison pictures once a week in addition to your scale weight.

get some protein powder and make yourself a shake or fruit smoothie with it for a post work out drink. great way to recover after a work out.

korsicash

I thought my friend who said this was nuts but it works eat less move more. With that said a healthy habit takes time to build. Build your healthy habits and non food celebrate those. Re learn the joys of the great flavor of healthy food. Honestly the craving for junk goes out the window after a bit and your body feels yucky after eating junk after a bit too. Believe in yourself and do this because it is time in YOUR life to do something for you and be proud of yourself.

LeslieMDoyle

I"ve all but dropped all processed foods from my diet. Pretty much nothing out of a box. I cook more, but I figure I'm worth it. And I walk (with a little bit of running...which is saying a lot at 225 lbs) for lunch every day.

Gotzy

Do it YOUR way. What works for different people may not work for you! Just think about what you eat, and if you are having something unhealthy factor it in to your calories! I think the best advice is just to stay under or around your calories... Have a slice of cake at lunch if you like, just make sure you have something healthy for dinner!

SirBen81

Nothing complicated.

- 35%/55%/10%, protein/fat/carbs
- 500 calorie deficit
- Small meals every two hours.
- 20 mins of cardio 5 days a week

Cupcakehippiemommy

I eat more veggies and fruits.I eat what I want,but in moderation (1 serving size of chips vs half the bag),eat within my calorie intake,if I over eat -rarely happens, but if I do I walk it off not too fast not too slow.

All I do is walk from 30 to 90 minutes depending on how I feel and use my ab lounge that's it. I tried the whole exercising 60-80 in a gym 6 days a week las time I lost 89lbs and I could not keep that up after I lost the weight.So I figured I might as well pick up an activity I like and I love to walk

So far I have lost 31lbs and went froma size 20 to a lose size 16 in 3 months.Good luck to ya chica!

MdmAcolyte

bumpity bump bump bump