If you could give only one tip.....

RunEloiseRun

Never give up.
Even if you have a bad day, week, month, or year.
Always give yourself the benefit of the doubt that you CAN change and you are worth the effort.
(:

myfitnessnmhoy

Start with balancing your carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The key to not being as hungry is fully nourishing your body.

And water, tons of water.

And exercise allows you to eat more. Exercise, and EAT MORE.

Oh, and never let artificial limitations such as "if you can only give ONE tip" limit you.

amtru2015

...be successful one day at a time, one workout at a time, one pound at a time--instead of "i have to lose 20 lbs!!', "i have to lose 1 pound this week"

BigBrewski

Wow great info here so far.

I agree with Water Water Water, weigh and track everything, and stick with it as it is a long process. I was once 340lbs and got down to 270 by simply playing racquetball 3 times a week and kinda watching what I ate. Then to get from 270 to 240ish I started really watching what I ate and really started to understand portion control. In general if you eat out put have of whatever your served in a to-go container. But the biggest help to me was getting a gym partner. When someone is waiting for you at the gym each morning you tend to GO more often.

I since moved away and have been stuck at the 240 for quite some time and now I am trying to resume my goal of getting under 200lbs and for me that means tracking everything, hitting the ellipitical as much as I can and posting here to keep up my motivation.

Add me if your looking for friends.

-Bruce

Tangerine16

If you hog it, log it!

photojunkie28

If you're not crawling to the shower after a workout, you didn't do it properly

TRUTH! and I would like to add ...

spread your calories out into 5-7 meals a day as equally as possible. Eating every 3 hours. If you plan all your meals right, you will not be starving ever, but will be hungry by the time that 3 hours is up and I personally have found it easier to not over eat knowing there is another meal just around the corner.

Oh...and make as many substitutions as possible to support clean eating. The energy level provided from GOOD foods is AMAZING and motivating in itself. Promise.

amnski

Log everything & EAT!! And not just anything, but quality, healthy food. So many people try to do crash diets, denying themselves everything and barely eating 1200 calories. This leads to injuries, fatigue, and unhealthy weight loss. When these people decide to eat again, they gain it all back plus some. Remember, it's a life style change not a "diet." Diet is simply what we eat. So eat enough, eat healthy and the rest will fall into place. Success is 80% nutrition. Good luck!

**PS: Wash it down with a lot of WATER! :bigsmile:

katglaze

Don't lie to yourself. face the ugliness of what you weigh, face what you eat and log every bite. It is the only way to actually move forward.

Momma_Grizz

bump

Naytahlee

The hardest things I have learned:

Eat what was planned, count it and stop eating when you are still hungry. For me it takes about 15-20 minutes for the hunger to go away. My mother taught me to stop eating when you are comfortable, “comfortable” leads to very full in 20 minutes. (This by far was the hardest for me to learn)

I log everything. Which put a stop to me nibbling, because its too hard to figure out.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant, drink as much of it as you possibly can without additives (don’t drink your calories).

workingitout2012

Start today & never look back!

BlondeQtTexas

Lift Weights

Amino Acids are key to weight loss (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-nicholas-perricone/the-top-10-weight-loss-su_b_227618.html_

No processed foods

Drink 3 liters of water a day

debobrien1

Endeavor to persevere (Just keep going).

You don't drown from falling into water. You drown from not getting out.

Love this!

JaceyMarieS

Just keep swimming swimming swimming

Kcinnamon

I have found that a big thing for my family is substitution. I have fallen in love with quakes rice cakes, the cheddar ones. Finding less calorie snacks have been huge for me. I'll never eat regular potato chips again if I can have 18 of those, which fill me up for 120 calories. Another big one is eating a salad and serving of fruit before we eat dinner. We still get to eat anything we want, we just eat a lot less because we're already full before we get to the less healthy stuff. My daughter loves this fried chicken finger pita from he local coney, we make it at home with a tortilla, baked chicken patty, and a lot of lettuce and tomato for 300 cal instead of over 1000, and she loves it. It's actually kind of fun to find new ways to make tasty bad food into tasty good for you food

katejkelley

For me, it was definitely STOP EATING SUGAR!

JoeyB56

Thanks for the suggestion about the heart monitor.

Any suggestions for what feels comfortable, is easy to use, and works?

Karebear_68

Take it one meal a a time........... No one is perfect!

labtracks

LOVE this question and all the responses! Wouldn't be my top tip, but since so many excellent ones have been said I would add to make friends on here. I didn't for a while and logging got "old", but now I look forward to reading what my friends are (or aren't) doing so it makes it much more fun to stop in, log for the day and catch up with people.... and there are some great people on here that I sadly will probably never meet in person, but they inspire me everyday.

aegisprncs

LOVE this question and all the responses! Wouldn't be my top tip, but since so many excellent ones have been said I would add to make friends on here. I didn't for a while and logging got "old", but now I look forward to reading what my friends are (or aren't) doing so it makes it much more fun to stop in, log for the day and catch up with people.... and there are some great people on here that I sadly will probably never meet in person, but they inspire me everyday.

Bump! It does help to keep me motivated as well.

TR56

Biggest tip...be consistent.

More tips...just track everything. You will never truly know what you are eating unless you track it, or eat the same thing everyday after tracking that. Just build off of everything. Start working out and eating smaller portions. Once you plateau, become more strict on the diet. Once that plateaus, increase your workout regimen. It all takes time, but if you're in it for the long run, it will be well worth it.

tori_yates

STAY WAY FROM POTATOES, WHITE BREAD, PASTAS, AND WHITE RICE! THESE ARE YOUR ENEMIES! DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. EVEN BETTER...ADD LEMONS TO YOUR WATER. YOU'D BE VERY SURPRISED WITH YOUR RESULTS!

I eat white bread, potatoes, pasta, and white rice, and I lost 42 lbs.

Me too and I'm a total of 87 lbs down!

sweetbippy

If you are not hungry, food is not the answer.

If you bite it, write it.

Haaa, and if you nibble it, scribble it!!! ;-D

Every Kernel, into the Journal...

sweetbippy

STAY WAY FROM POTATOES, WHITE BREAD, PASTAS, AND WHITE RICE! THESE ARE YOUR ENEMIES! DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. EVEN BETTER...ADD LEMONS TO YOUR WATER. YOU'D BE VERY SURPRISED WITH YOUR RESULTS!

I eat white bread, potatoes, pasta, and white rice, and I lost 42 lbs.

Just visited my doctor. After being on a 1200-1400 calorie, vegan diet for several months, and losing nothing (with exercise 5x weekly) The doc said drop calories to 1000 and eat NO white foods, including bread, potatoes, rice, etc... some of us just have to do it that way. I for one, am feeling the pain. Lucky you, 42!!

Mgarcia4911

If you watch and monitor calorie intake, you will automatically reduce everything! WATCH THE CALORIES! This is the simplest and least overwhelming way to get started and you WILL lose weight if you cut calories! I have battled for a long time with weight and can tell you that EVERY time I have decided to lose, its because I cut my calories which cut out all my overeating! Then when I gain it back its because I have let my awareness go! good luck OH YEAH!! KEY ADVICE<< WEIGH EVERY MORNING AND WHEN YOU SEE THAT 1 POUND UP, CUT MORE THAT DAY TO GET BACK DOWN CAUSE EVERY POUND LEADS TO ANOTHER!!

happienikki

Eat clean. Workout hard. Be patient

atla_moves

Find out what works for YOU and don't listen to the nay-sayers.

Qskim

Ditto to all of the above but one other thing that helped me at start was observing a normal friend who never had a weight problem and taking note of how she prepared food and shopped ... I had to do groceries for her from her list ( cos she had broken both ankles) n I thought I made healthy choices til I did this. She patiently answered all my questions and let me look in her fridge. She also prepared a lot of her own foods. Going to mc donalds is a once a year treat for her kids n boy are they excited if it ever happens. She one of my biggest supporters now.

ptg_

If you have a lot of weight to lose, make ever 5lbs a goal. So, every weight loss goal is easily attainable and when you reach the goal you feel motivated to continue losing weight.

missbp

Monitor what you eat, but don't deprive yourself of anything. ie, if you are in the mood for ice cream, have a skinny cow or something like it. Same with chocolate. If you completely eliminate foods that you really love from your diet altogether, you will give up and quit. Find a way to eat those foods in moderation.

Good luck!
Michelle