Any tips of sticking with the program?

Sholmes82

Join a group and get some MFP friends. When you read their progress - diet and exercise diaries - it will help to motivate you and give you ideas. Send me a friend request if you want! Good Luck!!

jerbear1962

I will tell you it's no easy task as you know. First hold yourself accountable, then make friends and hold them accountable. Change things up try different foods, different exercises. I read lots of books, online stuff and watch diet programs. I have stopped dieting over the years one after the other. I'm at 205 days on here today and still going strong. You can do it...set your mind to do it. Add me as a friend for support.

Jaws20

BRUSH YOUR TEETH- no I am not saying you have bad breath or anything like that but one trick I use is to brush my teeth when I am feeling hungry or craving food. Food never tastes good after brushing your teeth and 9 times out of 10 it does the trick or takes my mind off of food long enough to get by. I even have a toothbrush and toothpaste at work now. Good luck & I hope this tip helps.

Sholmes82

Yes this exactly what got me through my first couple of weeks..Being consistent with logging my food everyday made me accountable for my food and seeing the calories made me want to make better choices to stay within my calorie goal for the day..I also read all the success stories everyday and have friends on here to hear their encouraging words and struggles which also helps..The first week or so is always the toughest but once your body gets use to all the healthier foods you will no longer crave the bad things so much..On here everybody is after ther same thing which is getting more healthy and fighting through the daily struggles of the temptations of "junk food" lol..take it one day at a time and just log everything and MFP basically does all the rest of the work for you..Good luck on your journey and feel free to add me for support

sigsby

All good advice. I simply made loging my food and exercise a part of my routine. I weigh myself first thing every morning and log it. Go have my coffee and log it. So on and so forth throughout the day. You have to really want it. After a while you will find great foods that are low in calories and it gets even easier.

debdatchp

Everyone is different. Some people work better under pressure and set up challenges for themselves. Others (myself included) don't do well under pressure, at least not with dieting, and so a gentler approach is in order. If you fall off the horse, get right back on. Get lots of friends to cheer you on. You'll find a bunch of us here for each other. The next is to find go-to foods so in a weak moment, if you're going to fall off the horse again, you might able to stay on the horse by choosing a food you enjoy that is a much lesser evil than some other foods.

My husband teaches psychology at a nearby college and some 4-letter-words he says never to use are "don't" and "Can't." It is not good to deny yourself. You'll only want that thing more. It's simple psychology - and it starts right from infancy... So if you really want a cookie, have a cookie, only do your best to keep it to one. Dr. Oz said on a recent show that once a week you should enjoy a day where you can eat whatever you want. He named it "Faturday." He said it helps regulate the metabolism better. Just make sure you keep it to one Faturday a week.

I didn't have a lot of weight to lose, maybe about 20 lbs. I've chosen the slow and steady route, and have lost 14 lbs in about 10 months. There is no shame in that. In fact many professional say that people are more likely to keep it off by taking it off slowly. So determine the type of person you are, and whether you respond better to pressure or a more relaxed approach, and then tailor your path accordingly.

COOKBOOKS I highly recommend with yummy recipes without sacrificing richness and flavor are: Rocco DiSpirito's Now Eat This, and Now Eat This Diet (I just enjoy the recipes, and ignore the diet) and the Cook This Not That series. Great recipes, delicious, nutritious, high protein and low calorie. ENJOY!

KenosFeoh

BRUSH YOUR TEETH- no I am not saying you have bad breath or anything like that but one trick I use is to brush my teeth when I am feeling hungry or craving food. Food never tastes good after brushing your teeth and 9 times out of 10 it does the trick or takes my mind off of food long enough to get by. I even have a toothbrush and toothpaste at work now. Good luck & I hope this tip helps.

True. Sometimes I suck on a mentholyptus cough drop while in the kitchen preparing a meal - nothing tastes good with those things!

jenafitness1

Great advice, I'm getting better at logging everything in and it does keep me accountable.

bovilleam

Plan your main meals for the week ahead, work out if they will fit your calorie allowance, think about what low calorie snacks you are also going to have and only buy the ingredients or meals that are on your list. If its not in the cupboard you can't eat it.

If your lacking inspiration visit recipes sites with healthy eating features. Many will guide you with calories per serving. I love www.bbcgoodfood.com

Log on and record everyday before you go to bed. Once it is logged and your in bed you really have to resist midnight snacks and the pain of logging on again and confessing.

I agree with many on this topic, read the success stories. You can do it too. I have lost half a stone in under a month, and saved money on food wastage. Theres no magic its logging on to mfp, planning my meals in advance, stick to the plan, portion control and exercise.
Best of luck

mteller04

Surround yourself with lots of friends on here, remove all the snack food and unhealthy stuff from your house and track, track, track! That's what got me to this point

Gizzy1976

3. Do not restrict yourself!... If you can make room to eat a cookie, then do it. If your significant other or something wants to go out for dinner at your favorite restaurant and you can make room.. do it!.. If you don't restrict your eating then your less likely to "cheat" and "fall off the wagon"!!!

Hey this is the best piece of advice! If you make room for some treats your more likely not get bored and stick to it.

Feel free to add me, I'm always looking for new friends ????

groversa

Log everything, everyday! And add people who encourage you as friends That is something that helps me, when I see people saying I did awesome and good job on my wall! It makes me want to keep going. Look at the success stories! That also gives me some umph to make it like so many others on this site did. Don't skip a day, skipping one day, leads to another, leading to one more, than another... I've learned that when I was trying to do this on my own. Now MFP keeps me in check and i love it

vbarcok

Make a list of twenty reasons why you are doing this, then put it somewhere where you can see it. Read it everyday to keep you motivated. Set goals like where you want to be each month. Currently my goal is to lose 4-6lbs a month. Meal planning is important it helps with setting calorie goal. Example if you are at a 1600 calorie goal say 350 for breakfast, 350 lunch, 350 dinner, 3 snacks 150 each then you have 100 extra if you go over a little on meals or snacks. This is just an example as I do not know what you calorie range is or anything, Good Luck! :flowerforyou:

kimosabe1

just FOLLOW IT!

lessele

I have been a yo yo for many years...I joined this site back in May and have lost about 50 lbs. I find that some days I just dont log in and that is just the way it is. My major tip for success is to take this one day at a time. You mentioned being "good for a few days"...just make a committment to yourself to do the best you can every day. If you dont log in one day well ok, the next day is a new day and you can start again. For me, the issue is when I say "oh I am bad I didnt log in today so I am going to throw the entire thing away". Each day is an opportunity to start new. For example, I have been on the site for several months have consistently lost weight and only have 21 days in a row today logging in...Oh well. No one is perfect. Make some friends and commit to them but just tell yourself that each day is a new day and make that promise to YOURSELF each day. I wish you much success...you can do this.

Lessele :flowerforyou:

dove100

As everyone has mentioned; have a support system. Mine is our family; we have created a Biggest Loser Challenge and we report in every week and encourage each other. We even have a Red Team and a Blue Team. We each put in $ 10.00 and the Biggest Loser we will win the whole pot at the end of this round; April 1st. We started on New Years Day this year. We are having a great time together. Add me as a friend if you like:)

bhcate

I am totally overwhelmed with the amount of support I have gotten in just a few hours on here. Thank you all so much for you tips and your words. I have a great feeling about this one, and I will give as much support as I get. Anyone please feel free to friend me, we are all in this together after all.

Good luck to all of you!

MallorieGreiner

I try to look at each day as it's my first day of a changed lifestyle. It really helps. I also plan out the day before for the most part, breakfast and lunch, I work out, then have lots of calories left for dinner, then I plan that out before I make it. Both of those things help keep me on track.

Lots of people say not to do "cheat meals" but rather incorporate your favorites through out the week. I honestly need to be pretty disciplined through the week or else I get off track. I look forward to Saturday night dinner where I splurge a bit.

Find healthy foods you dig and a wide variety of 'em. Lots of different fruits and veggies. I lovelovelove whole grain pasta, cereal, and/or shrimp for dinner. Fiber One brownies for a dessert or snack to kill that chocolate craving.