What's your best diet/fitness advice?

13

Replies

  • oh_em_gee
    oh_em_gee Posts: 887 Member
    Eat less, move more. I lost weight with a healthy diet and active life, and got it all back and more by sitting on the couch and eating.
  • oh_em_gee
    oh_em_gee Posts: 887 Member
    drop the word "diet." that alone shows you are missing the key point. diets don't work long term. make a lifestyle change.

    Agreed! Diet implies restriction and giving things up too. I'm not restricted and I eat plenty of delicious food
  • hunter624
    hunter624 Posts: 252
    If at first you don't succeed try, try , try again.

    good luck

    :drinker:


    p.s. drink water.
  • ehaden
    ehaden Posts: 8 Member
    - keep hyrated
    - if you don't feel motivated to excersize, do it anyway.
    - don't restrict your diet too much, especially in the beginning.I give myself one cheat every week, maybe a piece of cake or donut or something like that. However I have not taken that cheat yet because I look at it and decide I don't want to throw away all my progress. But having the option there seems to stop me form binging and going crazy.
    if you start to get down and lose your motivation check out the posts. Other poeoples stories and before and afters are great motivation and get you going again :)
  • lornathewizzard
    lornathewizzard Posts: 165 Member
    Food - everything in moderation. You know what - if I want that cheesecake / bar of chocolate / ice cream, I will have it. But I'm in control enough to not go overboard. Restricting anything will make you want it more. And please please please actually eat.

    Exercise - Work towards something, a 5k, an increased period of time doing your exercise, teaching yourself something new. Goals are important, big and small. :)
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    My best advice. Get rid of the "all or nothing" thought process around food. Too many people limit themselves and say, "I can only eat this, I cant eat that". They eat food they hate and start to view it as the enemy.
    IMO They restrict themselves so much they can take it anymore and binge or worse, give up.

    My rules for myself:

    * If I cant see myself going the rest of my life without a specific food, like chocolate, I need to find ways to incorporate it into my diet without going overboard.

    * I do not feel bad about having a high cal day. Again, this is a lifestyle change and I am in it for the long haul. There are going to be high days and low ones. There are going to be parties, birthdays, vacations...etc etc and the food is probably not going to be the healthiest. I have fun, food will not rule my world.

    * Every Friday my husband and I go out to eat and I allow myself to eat whatever I wants, same goes for a dessert. It keeps me sane.

    *I have an HRM. It is the only accurate way to know how many calories Im actually burning. MFP estimates and machines numbers are usually off by a considerable amount.

    * I eat my BMR which is 1718 calories atm. Find yours THEN plan the deficit through exercise or diet.

    * I exercise hard. If you go to the gym and do it half-butted why even do it?

    Hope that helps
    .
  • 1953Judith
    1953Judith Posts: 325 Member
    1. Food Management -- At the start (the early years of the lifestyle change), plan your meals and thoughtfully digress from the plan, always logging. Make it well-balanced and fun .
    2. Physical Movement -- At the start (the early years of the lifestyle change), strive to increase physical activity. Don't get bogged down with looking for the perfect exercise program. Planfully up the movement and decrease the inactivity. Make the activity fun and meaningful.
  • LadyIntrepid
    LadyIntrepid Posts: 399 Member
    Patience!
  • KarenAnnne
    KarenAnnne Posts: 190 Member
    Bump for later inspirations
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Create a reasonable calorie deficit.
    Eat sufficient macronutrients for your goal.
    Use some common sense with food selection.
    Train hard. Most people should do some form of resistance training assuming they want to look good naked.
    Rest.
    Repeat.

    And beyond that, don't complicate things.
  • Amy911Gray
    Amy911Gray Posts: 685 Member
    Wake up in the morning and say, "I'm on my way to getting healthy today". Truly makes a difference!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Don't quit.

    Don't feel guilty if you have a "bad" day.

    Don't "start again Monday", or next month. Start again the very next meal, or the very next day.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    I would definitely tell anyone who wanted to start losing weight that walking is a great way to start no matter what size you are....Also, lifting & strength training will definitely help you become stronger than you already are & leaner....The main thing if you start lifting is that you are stonger than you think you are!! :)


    ETA: Moderation is the key for everything....Don't overdo it with anything, including food & exercise...
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
    Believe you can do it. Then do it.
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
    bump to read later
  • GoMizzou99
    GoMizzou99 Posts: 512 Member
    Before you eat in a restaurant, research the menu online and find healthy (or at least healthier) choices.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    Sodium..i think is the secret no one talks about much. When I've lost a good amount of weight, it was on a diet that I didn't like overall.. but.. I figured i lost so fast because I drank 100 ounces of water a day and cut out all the sodium out my diet except what was naturally in meat and vegetables. It gets old never having prepared sauces and condiments.. but it does work.
  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
    Diet:
    IT IS NOT A DIET!!! It is a WAY OF LIFE!!!

    Exercise:
    IT IS NOT EXERCISING!!! It is a WAY OF LIFE!!! (Also, make it fun, or you won't keep doing it.)
  • JSmallz88
    JSmallz88 Posts: 6
    I came up with my own exercising ab routine that i did twice a day and did a video once every other day, walked 2 miles a day and just watched my portions and i lost 50 lbs in about 6 or 7 months. That was all before i became pregnant with my daughter and then my son.

    You have to be very motivated and active along with diets. The things they say on tv about just sprinkling powder on ur food to lose weight and dont have to do anything at all is definitely BS. You have to put in the effort and work to get the body you want. I'd also suggest drinking an 8 oz glass of water before every meal to help with you portions. A great playlist also helps u work harder during exercising.
  • wingsoffire
    wingsoffire Posts: 9
    Set realistic goals and follow them. Setting a calorie goal that is too low and leaves you hungry all the time will not do it. If you can work with a dietitian and or a trainer. That will save a lot of frustration. Drink more water than you think you need. Be consistent. Stick with it. It takes time.
  • JSmallz88
    JSmallz88 Posts: 6
    #1 diet - take a daily multi-vitamin to make sure you are getting all of your nutrients
    #1 fitness - when you don't feel like exercising, make yourself do 10 min. after 10, you may decide you want to keep doing it, or if ur still really not feeling it, at least u did 10 minutes instead of none



    This is a great idea =)
  • cbevan1229
    cbevan1229 Posts: 326 Member
    Diet: Measure everything. Portion sizes are not what you think they are!

    Fitness: Set small, attainable goals for yourself. Accomplishing a goal will feel great and motivate you to meet your next challenge.
  • TheChangingMan
    TheChangingMan Posts: 73 Member
    Create a reasonable calorie deficit.
    Eat sufficient macronutrients for your goal.
    Use some common sense with food selection.
    Train hard. Most people should do some form of resistance training assuming they want to look good naked.
    Rest.
    Repeat.

    And beyond that, don't complicate things.

    This !
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Before you eat in a restaurant, research the menu online and find healthy (or at least healthier) choices.
    Or, learn to make healthy choices on your own without relying on nutritional info.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Burn more calories than you eat.
    Eat mostly whole foods in good macronutrient proportions.
    Get plenty of activity some of which is intense for developing your muscle tissue.

    And like Sidesteal already said, don't make it too complicated.
  • FitRican
    FitRican Posts: 98 Member
    My nutrition advice is: For each pound of your desired weight consume one gram of protein daily.
    My activity advice is: Work out with weight 3 times a week, as much aerobic as you want.
  • andeey
    andeey Posts: 709 Member
    Diet - measure and weigh everything, your eyes deceive you!
    Fitness - if you work with a PT like I do, make sure you LOVE them so they can push you beyond what you think is possible.

    Bonus - don't wait to get started and don't let your own head mess with you if you want to join a gym, thinking everyone will be staring at you. They might, but who cares - just focus and get started, regardless of starting size or fitness level!
  • nikkitodhunter
    nikkitodhunter Posts: 110
    The advice I give to myself :D ENJOY IT.

    If I'm miserable because I won't let myself have a bit of cake or whatever.....I have a bit of cake. It stops me giving in and bingeing on it later.
    I eat out with friends/family occasionally and just make sensible choices.

    If I'm out for a run and I want to stop I say to myself, this excersize will make me feel proud when I am done, but miserable and ashamed if i give up now. And then when I do let myself stop, I think WOW I did that, I just ran for x amount of minutes, that felt great! I never push myself so far that I start not enjoying myself - if I did that, I wouldn't go for another run and then where would I be. Yeah I've probably progressed slower than I would've if I were going for properly horrid, gruelling runs...but if I'd done that, I'd have quit long ago!

    I enjoy finding ways to cook healthy delicious recipes, and then sit down to savour it thinking about how good it is!

    I enjoy planning my meals for the next day, and working out my calorie deficit each night and week, and seeing the numbers clock up and being proud of the changes I've made :)

    The key to making these sorts of changes permanent is LETTING YOURSELF ENJOY IT!
  • peachyxoxoxo
    peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
    My best nutrition advice (don't like the word diet because it often has the connotation that a person is "on a diet") would be not to deprive yourself. Aside from the fact that I'm vegan I will never cut certain foods out of my diet just because it's "bad." I eat chocolate every day. I eat grains and carbs. As a future dietitian and as someone who'd struggled with eating disorders, I can say with absolute certainty that is it only going to be detrimental in the long run if you keeping telling yourself you can't EVER have something you really want. Allow yourself to enjoy some of the foods you like. Just keep it to moderate amounts - and I know that's the most difficult part - but it's possible.

    My best fitness advice would be to do something you enjoy. Don't force yourself to exercise a particular way if you don't enjoy it.
  • CRody44
    CRody44 Posts: 776 Member
    Don’t go on a diet because when you go off of it, you will gain weight. Change your lifestyle that got you into this trouble in the first place and do something that is sustainable for the rest of your life.

    Do cardio for your heart and lungs, and lift heavy weights for your muscles, bones and to increase your metabolic rate.

Categories