Raspberry Ketones for the rest of us!

VryIrishGirl76

Love.

MoreBean13

sorry just feeling like dancing through everyone's posts today.... I already licked this one AND said something constructive, so I can dance right? I promise after this Ill dance in my own posts.

:laugh:

iorahkwano

Good points! A good read for the beginners.

hmadrone

Really great points, OP. I especially agree with the weight-lifting and protein. Here are some of mine:

1. Move into your new life. This isn't a temporary retreat or quick fix. This is the way you will need to live for the rest of your life in order to have the kind of body you want. Build a new healthy lifestyle that suits you, that you enjoy, that gives you pleasure and satisfaction. The weight loss journey doesn't have to be unpleasant; it can be a time of discovery and joy.

2. When you start your strength training, do all exercises with no weight until you have learned correct form. Then do them with bunny weights. You can easily injure yourself if you start off with more weight than you can handle.

3. Listen to your body. Don't push on through if it tells you you're overtraining or ignore it if it tells you it needs some quick calories.

4. Eat real food. Learn to enjoy fruits and vegetables, prepared simply. Cut back on the processed and packaged stuff, including the stuff they sell at the health food store. The more a food has been altered from its natural state, the more nutrients have been left on the factory floor.

5. Eat naturally cultured foods. They're a great way to add zing to your diet without calories.

6. Treat yourself to fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of splurging on a piece of cake, enjoy a bowl of fresh raspberries. Instead of getting ice cream, treat yourself to a luscious pineapple. Get some asparagus instead of a bag of chips. We're conditioned to think of the highly processed stuff as rewarding; the stuff in the produce aisle is tastier as well as healthier.

7. Know that you are worthy of love and care. You deserve to live in a beautifully maintained body. You deserve to be happy, healthy, and strong. If you are tempted to go off the rails, ask yourself if you will love yourself more if you give in to a particular indulgence or slothfulness. (Sometimes, the answer is Yes.)

8. When you screw up, forgive yourself, shake it off, and get back on track.

9. Find some forms of cardio that you love, and do those. For me, it's dance. The right dance class is a full-body workout with a high burn rate. It's also a chance to hang out with other health-oriented women, to groove to music, and to affirm my total awesomeness.

9. You can do this.

dkaryna

The best I've read. Well Said, Thank You!

lyndsei

bump!

thelaurameister

LOVE THIS. Very well written!

Something that has helped me is taking one day at a time. That's essentially what OP was saying, but I feel it's necessary to say that. My entire life has been yo-yo weight because I'd do fine most of the week, then have ONE bad meal and I would tell myself that the week is blown and that I'll just start again Monday. I would resort right back into the same old habits of fast food and boredom eating because "I already messed up, might as well enjoy eating junk before I start again on Monday". Instead, look at every day as Monday!

kiki75243

Love this so true!!!

ProjecThinspiration

Ah-mazing read!! I needed this - glad I clicked on the link

and btw you look amazing

Jazzart

Awesome advice!!!Thanks for Sharing!!!

lynspouch

Well done pics look fab, wel done for posting! x

MoreBean13

Really great points, OP. I especially agree with the weight-lifting and protein. Here are some of mine:

1. Move into your new life. This isn't a temporary retreat or quick fix. This is the way you will need to live for the rest of your life in order to have the kind of body you want. Build a new healthy lifestyle that suits you, that you enjoy, that gives you pleasure and satisfaction. The weight loss journey doesn't have to be unpleasant; it can be a time of discovery and joy.

2. When you start your strength training, do all exercises with no weight until you have learned correct form. Then do them with bunny weights. You can easily injure yourself if you start off with more weight than you can handle.

3. Listen to your body. Don't push on through if it tells you you're overtraining or ignore it if it tells you it needs some quick calories.

4. Eat real food. Learn to enjoy fruits and vegetables, prepared simply. Cut back on the processed and packaged stuff, including the stuff they sell at the health food store. The more a food has been altered from its natural state, the more nutrients have been left on the factory floor.

5. Eat naturally cultured foods. They're a great way to add zing to your diet without calories.

6. Treat yourself to fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of splurging on a piece of cake, enjoy a bowl of fresh raspberries. Instead of getting ice cream, treat yourself to a luscious pineapple. Get some asparagus instead of a bag of chips. We're conditioned to think of the highly processed stuff as rewarding; the stuff in the produce aisle is tastier as well as healthier.

7. Know that you are worthy of love and care. You deserve to live in a beautifully maintained body. You deserve to be happy, healthy, and strong. If you are tempted to go off the rails, ask yourself if you will love yourself more if you give in to a particular indulgence or slothfulness. (Sometimes, the answer is Yes.)

8. When you screw up, forgive yourself, shake it off, and get back on track.

9. Find some forms of cardio that you love, and do those. For me, it's dance. The right dance class is a full-body workout with a high burn rate. It's also a chance to hang out with other health-oriented women, to groove to music, and to affirm my total awesomeness.

9. You can do this.

Excellent post!

blues4miles

Nothing to add.

[img]http://gifs.gifbin.com/1233928590_citizen kane clapping.gif[/img]

MLibby84

wow,

As someone just starting this process, it was a little over welming to read your post, but I did find some of the things you put helpful. I dont know much abouy calories and counting and everything but im still learning Congrats on the weight loss you have already done. It goes to show anyone can do it no matter what I wish you well on your continued journey and I hope to gain a lot more knowledge about this by the end of my own journey


Good Luck and Keep it up!

Maggie

MLibby84

TheLaura-

I like what you said as well Thank you

ShaniWulffe

Loved this!

Fr3shStrt

You gonna get soooo many friend requests outta this thread! :smooched: :laugh:

um, yeah... friend me please :blushing:

jennieb75

Well-freakin'-said.

Admiral_Derp

Ya nailed it! Common sense and moderation...the end.

Katla49

Bump-so I can read it again. :bigsmile:

geekyjock76

All hail, the Great Bean! Words can't describe how much you rock and how bootylicious that bootay is.

cargilb

There's a LOT of broscience/hoscience BS floating around the boards lately, and I can only assume it's because the new year has brought a new population of users, and unscrupulous jerks want to take advantage of the new people by feeding them misinformation and possibly sending them PM's offering them a convenient solution for the low, low price of 39.95. However, in the past year I have been moderately successful and I have a ton of very successful people on my FL, and I would like to offer some counterbalancing information from people who have been here a while and had some success.

So, I'm going to offer my own tips and words of wisdom, and hope others chip in some of theirs.

1) I am an add-exercise-and-eat-back person. My method is find your TDEE (without exercise) and subtract 10-20% for your deficit, but never more than 20%, and then add and eat back exercise calories. Others add their exercise to their TDEE- either way is fine and if you do it right, should work out to be the same over a week.

2) I have an HRM, but I don't use it really. There's nothing WRONG with using it, but I just think it's annoying to wear. Realize that an HRM is just another method of ESTIMATING your calories, and your actual weight loss or gain is the ONLY way to tell you if the numbers you're using are correct. Don't freak out over the details of if your run was 415 or 427 calories burned. It all comes out in the wash.

3) My nutrition method is this: Get your protein (I believe in 1 gram per lb LBM) first, and eat some vegetables every day (and fruit, though I don't really eat as much fruit as I should- I'm trying). That's pretty much it for my rules. I like fat and try to get 30-35% of my cals from fat as I find dietary fat very satiating and it makes it easier to stick to my calorie goals. I freaking love pizza and eat a half-pizza at LEAST once a week. With ranch dressing. I don't believe in food-group restriction or eliminating anything. I've tried that method in the past, and it never works for me long-term. Eating the foods I like AND sticking to my goals is a long-term solution. MOAR PIZZA!

4) SLOW DOWN. Weight loss is actually the easy part. The ultimate prize is maintenance. If you cut your calories too low, or eliminate too many things, you are setting yourself up for failure at maintenance. Here's the real scoop- if you go with too big of a calorie deficit, then you sacrifice muscle along the way. Muscle is MUCH more difficult to add back than fat, (ask any bodybuilder!) so when you inevitably regain weight, you gain a higher percentage of fat than you lost, so at the end of a yo-yo diet cycle, you are actually FATTER than you started (even if you end up the same or slightly lower weight). It's a curse. Don't do it!

5) LIFT WEIGHTS NOW! Not when you get to goal weight, not later, DO IT NOW! I've been a runner all of my adult life, and I still run, but nothing has changed my body like lifting has. I actually lift less often than most people, because I want to balance my running and lifting, so I do a customized full-body program 2x a week, allowing me to work on my running goals simultaneously. My progress is likely slower than if I were concentrating exclusively on lifting- but don't get me wrong- I'm still strong! Sidenote- lifting has made me a faster runner than ever before. Imagine that!

6) SLOW DOWN (the fitness version!)- You will not be able torun as fast or as far or lift as much weight as someone who has been working on it a while. There's no shame in being a beginner. You don't need to compete with anyone but yourself. Trying to do too much too soon is how you get injured. And while we're on the subject- you're running too fast. When you start out, it should feel like a slow shuffle. Trying to run fast is why people fail and quit running.

7) STOP MESSING WITH YOUR PROGRAM! Results take time, and if you switch things around every two weeks because you're not seeing the results you expect, you never will. You have to stick with it.

8) Stop telling your friends and family and coworkers and everyone else what you're doing. Opinions are like ***holes, and everyone will give you theirs and pollute your mind with all kinds of nonsense advice that you don't need, and then they;ll watch what you eat and make comments. Just do you and let the results speak for themselves. Later on, when people ask what you've been doing, THEN tell them.

9) CUT ALL EXCUSES NOW. Nobody is trying to sabotage you. You're not a snowflake. There are ways to make time, work with a budget, deal with annoying spouses, etc. There is a workaround for every excuse except your bad attitude, so knock it off.

10) DON'T GIVE UP! everyone makes mistakes. No mistake is the end of the world. Just get up tomorrow, clean slate, and try to have a good day. There's no point in dwelling on the past or starving yourself of exercising like crazy the rest of the week, just move on. It will be OK.

That's it. No supplements. No metabolism revving tricks. No pretending beans are cookies. No magic or fairy dust whatsoever. Just hard work, patience, and dedication.

OH, P.S., I'm 5'3", have a desk job (sedentary outside of exercise), and thyroid disease, and I lost most of my weight at 1650 cals/day. My macros set to 40C/30P/30F (though I think you should use the 1g/lb LBM method).

I went from this:


to this:




I'm not at goal and I'm far from finished, so I'm a bit nervous posting the pics, but I feel like I have to show my progress here. So I already know, there's work still to be done. Please don't feel compelled to tell me that, lol.

Now, please add your own NO BS words of wisdom!

wow, we think a like.

michluth

A very enjoyable, SMART post! Thanks for sharing.

jtslim42

GREAT post!

msmom1365

Great job! congrats and good luck as you continue!

iAMsmiling

Ill add my one piece of advice...

Forgive yourself. You will make mistakes. You will, at times, exercise too little or eat too much. When you do, forgive yourself.
If you don't, you won't be able to continue.

Forgiveness and patience may be the most important qualities you can bring to the lifelong effort.

lovehandles_nomore

This post contains a wealth of healthful information. Some of the terminology (such as TDEE) is a little foreign to me as a beginner, but as I move along in my weight loss journey and attempt to achieve the success that you guys have, Im sure it will become second nature. Thanks!

cgirly

Love your post and sensible words of advice
Thanks

shae68143

Love this post, thanks for sharing!

carriann2012

Love it and very well said!! Thank you