How do you lose weight?

Moma_Do

How did everyone start and what do they do to maintain and keep losing? I like to hear about what others are doing to stay motivated and to glean anything I might be attracted to.

jules1984

I think the most successful thing I did was find foods that are delicious, filling, and low-calorie. Cottage cheese, apples, cheerios, soup, turkey, chicken breasts, dark chocolate (not low-cal but better than milk chocolate). Eat a side of salad with most dinners first - it will help fill your tummy. I also look at exercise as a way to earn calories. If I'm craving something bad for me, I do the work for it. Keep it simple.

Chenoachem

I did two things to get this far. One was to eat my normal foods, slightly adjusted for lower calories but have smaller portions. I added a side salad to every meal. It is important to not feel deprived. The second was to add exercise back into my life. I started out small with walks and bike rides and worked up to aerobics, yoga and running.

To keep motivated, I read the forums on here and gave myself little treats at different goals. I new shirt, new pants or new fitness watch were low calorie treats that kept me going.

Good Luck on your journey and enjoy the newer leaner you. :flowerforyou:

LauraKate

my main motivation was being able to fit into my "cute" clothes again, plus feeling more confident about going out... the first six months when i started i just did portion control then i decided i might as well eat clean so i cut out dairy and processed foods and stuck to whole grains, LOTS Of fruit, tuna, eggs, oatmeal...not very exciting but it worked!! i lost twice as much in four months that i did in the first six months. and of course, LOTS of exercise maintaining though, is another story :P

emilyfh

First of all dont deprive yourself of the foods you love, try finding recipes that will be just as satisfying. For snacks on the run I like Clif Mini bars-choc chip, peanutbutter, brownies to name a few. Record everything you eat. And start out simple on the exercise, just to get you going. Im not much on salads, so I steam some frozen veggies that come in a bag and season them (no salt), sometimes adding parm cheese or fat free cheddar. Hot veggies seam more filling to me. And drink lots of water. Hope this helps

killersprout

1. Regular exercise you enjoy in a group (doing it alone means I give up easily)
2. Eat well during the week (the weekends are for me though!)
3. Plenty of water
4. I have a fat photo of me and a cut out of a physique I am aiming for - good for motivation.

LJCannon

I think Portion Control is the main thing, but you won't succeed (IMHO) unless you add consistant exercise to the program. Find something that you enjoy, then start slow --if you are not used to exercizing--and add a little to it each week.
:flowerforyou: Good Luck on your Journey. You will find all the tools you need here on MFP to keep you going on the right path.