3 Best practices for weight loss

jonnythan

1) Eat a calorie deficit
2) Strength train
3) Get some moderate cardio

XRavenhood

-Eat healthy, wholesome foods. No exceptions unless you feel you deserve it and it's a healthy alternative.
-Exercise regularly, and have it be something you enjoy.
-Keep track of your exercise and food intake to keep yourself balanced.

estrobabe

1. Positivity
2. Moderation
3. Strength Training

WindyJenny

1. Eat healthy foods & log everything. Food, water, exercise, EVERYTHING.
2. Move. Find what motivates you to get active, and do it. Have fun!
3. Be flexible and open-minded. As you lose weight, your body changes. What worked 25 pounds ago may not work now. Try something new.

neandermagnon

3 best practices for weight loss in my experience:

1. lift weights, heavy ones, big compound lifts like squats, deadlifts etc

2. focus on feeding your body what it needs, i.e. protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water, but allow yourself to eat anything in moderation, so long as you get the important stuff in your body in the process without going over your calorie goal (see number 3) and aim to hit your macros (i.e. your daily protein, fat and carbohydrate targets)

3. portion control: figure out what your TDEE is, and if you have a lot to lose, eat 20% less than that. As you get leaner, adjust this to 15% less then 10% less so that by the time your body fat percentage is in the healthy range, you're eating TDEE - 10%. When you have your calorie goal, track/log your foods carefully (weighing them is best) and aim to eat within 50 cals either way of your goal each day.

NaomiJFoster

1. Eat healthy foods & log everything. Food, water, exercise, EVERYTHING.
2. Move. Find what motivates you to get active, and do it. Have fun!
3. Be flexible and open-minded. As you lose weight, your body changes. What worked 25 pounds ago may not work now. Try something new.

Your #3 is so true!!! Also, what worked when you were in your 20s probably won't work in your 40s. I learned that one the hard way.

Junken_Diraffe

be honest with yourself.
be patient.
don't cut anything out of your diet.

LolBroScience

- work out your macros and a reasonable calorie target and meet them
- weigh/measure and log accurately
- strength train
- be patient

(ok, that's 4)

There is only a handful of solid responses in here... seriously. Avoid starches? No Junk food? get real....

Zoejohnse91

1. Everything in moderation- eat whatever you want but in a reasonable portion size
2. Water is essential-stay thirsty, my friends
3. Don't obsess- if you have a bad meal, just move on. one day won't ruin everything.

^^ This

carrieous

1 only eat when you are physically hungry
2 eat slowly
3 stop eating once you are no longer hungry

happylady5254

I - Filling this food form in every day focuses the mind , spurs you on and educates you on your calorie intake.
2 - Looking for interesting food in the supermarket. eg I found DR karg emmental cheese and pumpkin seed crackers which are delicious with cottage cheese
3- No crisps, chocolate and only skimmed milk without sugar in drinks. Eat regularly three times a day.

symkat

You have to be realistic about what you can or can not do. If someone were to tell me I could never eat birthday cake again I would still be over 200 pounds. be realistic because we are only human. Remember that what works for me doesn't always work for other people. Do lots of research and figure out what you can handle. Remember that this is something you need to continue doing for the rest of your life if you want to keep the weight off. Start out with the bare minimum so that when you hit a plateau you still have somewhere to go. If you are eating 3000 calories a day then there is no need to cut down to 1200 right off the bat.If you are not doing any exercise then there is no reason to start out exercising 2 hours a day every day because if you do that then when your body adjusts and you hit a plateau you have nowhere to go but less calories and more exercise and that is not realistic to try to do 6 hours of exercise a day every day just to keep from gaining the weight back. It's also very easy to fail and get discouraged and quit if you start out like that. When you try to change your whole way of thinking and eating all at once it's too much. start off slow with one or two things at a time and then when those things become a habit for you like not drinking pop or whatever then you can add something else. What works for me may not work for everyone so do lots of research and find what works for you. I eat several small meals a day that are all about equal in the amount of calories, fat, sodium, carbs, sugar and protein and I'm never hungry. Most importantly be patient. You did not gain this weight in a day so obviously your not going to lose it in a day. When you do mess up and have a set back (and you will have many) NEVER dwell on your mistakes. Don't waste time and energy concentrating on how far you still have to go, instead look at how far you have already come. It will happen but it takes alot of time and effort. good luck to everyone.

ApexLeader

1. clowns to the left of me

2. jokers to the right

3. here i am, stuck in the middle with you

sorry. i have the flu and might be a little delirious. what was the question again?

NewLIFEstyle4ME

This week, I am FINALLY am seeing a major scale loss today (2.2 pounds and 2% of body fat loss according to my home fat&water body scale):drinker: :smooched: :drinker: I've tried for the past YEAR to lose weight and had GREAT success at first (eating and living this way I'm doing in my 90 day self-imposed bootcamp) but hurt my foot and started listening to others advice (instead of listening to my own body and unique lifestyle) and then went back to a S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) way of eating and drinking and in 6+ months, gained back the weight and now I'm in it to win it AGAIN. For me (EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT) the three things that are working is--this is what I'm doing for the next 90 days and hopefully forevermore--here's my BEST 3 practices and focuses for weight loss:

1.) (Self-Control & Love) working out/walking--trying to get as close to 10,000 steps BEFORE eating/on an empty stomach. Doing Daily Mental Flab&Fat Exercises daily too. Not just exercising my body, but also "working out/mental flab&fat exercising (focusing on and meditating upon and praying about) my mind, emotions and will (my soul) as well--purposefully DAILY!

2.) (Joy & Power/Strength) Eating only organic fruits and more veggies--(eating seeds and nuts and live sprouted grains when my body calls for them), drinking Hemp protein shakes and Barley Grass, Alfalfa Grass and Wheatgrass shakes, homemade Veggie GREEN juicing (mostly veggies only) as one of my meals or snacks daily, eliminating the following from my lifestyle diet: NO meats, soy dairy, processed junky foods, sodas and store bought juices, processed sugars and sugar substitutes, coffee and caffeine, cooking at home rather than eating out.

3.) (Rest & Peace) Peaceful, long quality Quiet sleep each night (no media/news/radio--I used to listen to the radio cspan/bbc at night as I sleep and since I've stopped, by sleep is deeper and better as is my waking up too--not feeling groggy or tired anymore nor needing coffee to "pick me up" anymore) Fasting one day per week ( From Sundown Friday evenings until Sundown Saturday evening-PRIMARILY for spiritual reasons). Fasting from negativity (for the next 90 days and hopeful forever more) and fighting fire with water when it comes to stress, mess and distractions

Spartan_Maker

1. Find the nutritional protocol that allows you to best control your hunger;
2. Develop an exercise program that you really enjoy and let it evolve as you become more fit; and
3. Avoid Pub Med Ninjas offering you N=6 exercise and nutrition studies conducted by third rate scientists from Tier 3 universities who are bought and paid for -- directly or indirectly -- by some very powerful special interest group.

mom2handh1975

1. Don't be in a hurry.
2. Don't starve yourself.
3. Don't quit.

That is all.

970Mikaela1

- work out your macros and a reasonable calorie target and meet them
- weigh/measure and log accurately
- strength train
- be patient

(ok, that's 4)

There is only a handful of solid responses in here... seriously. Avoid starches? No Junk food? get real....

not solid response>>
1 no carbs
2 do not eat after 6 pm
3 ignore not solid responses

shinkalork

1- eat well....doesn't mean...not to eat or lower than 1200 cal...EAT!!!!!! more you eat more you burn.... just eat good food.
2- Drink water........ More the better...Clean your system,detox,helps to process everything...
3- Workout...TRAIN.... move your butt a mix of Cardio and weights is the best.

Do all 3 and it will work... 200% sure

Ps: No you cannot lose 100lbs in 2 weeks....it's not healthy anyway......only possible way would be major surgery or lose your arms and legs lol.

LucSulla

1. Set a realistic calorie goal and record everything. You're not just losing weight, you are relearning how to eat. Getting rid of the weight is the easy part; keeping it off is the trick.

2. Be patient. Remember that it is absolutely physically impossible for you to continue to run a calorie deficit and not eventually see results. That first month is a little different for everyone as are the occasional plateaus, but your body is an organic machine. No one is immune to the physics and chemistry of that in the long run.

3. For a great many of us, it is quantity not quality of food. I still eat ribs, chicken strips, and so on pretty often. While I have sworn off fried carbohydrates, that is more due to getting my diabetes under control than anything else. Remember at the end of the day, it all boils down to calories in and out. By keeping up with what you eat, you will begin to see the food that fills you up, which serves little more than your taste buds, and learn the implications fitting each into a healthy diet, which can be done.

The cool thing is that if you are keeping up with points 1 and 2 (along with learning to pace yourself while eating), you'll find whittling that rack of ribs you used to eat down to 2 or 3 pretty easy. There are days I intend to splurge and even work the calories into my diet, but I just cannot physically eat that much anymore. Sticking to 1 and 2, keeping track of what was going in my mouth and being patient enough to let my body adjust, made 3 pretty easy after a couple of months.

And to that last point, change takes time, but it is time you are going to spend anyway. The first month or two is a challenge, but you were going to live them anyway. Short of dying, a year from now will get here for all of us because we can't stop the march of time. You can make it a year you spend doing a little (and I mean that, in the grand scheme of things eating a little less and trying to exercise a few hours a week isn't the largest investment of time) to get healthier, or you can spend it doing nothing. It's going to pass either way. The best thing is once that first couple of months passes, it really does get a great deal easier because these changes become routine. You just have to give yourself the chance to let it happen. In the past, most of my failures were due to never giving myself that chance.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

88meli88

1. log your food and eat regularly, dont skip meals
2. Pay attention to hunger signs, and understand where they come from
3. take your excuses for poor eating and work out habits one by one, examine them, and address them.

zillah73

I will skip the obvious eat well/workout since they have already been mentioned a number of times. Aside from those, I the things that contributed most to my success so far are:

1. Let whatever motivates you motivate you without judgement. It really doesn't matter if you are doing it for an outfit, for a person, for anything you think someone else would consider frivolous. If it gets you to make better choices for your health and your life then run with that and eventually you will find you are doing it for yourself.

2. Find a support system. Whether that is friends, family, coworkers of MFP, having a support system is fantastic for inspiration, motivation and accountability.

3. Make short term goals. A long term goal is great, but it is often times a long way off and it is easy to get distracted or discouraged. I set myself challenging yet achievable short term goals (i.e. participating in an upcoming 5k race, buying and fitting into a special outfit for a special event). The goal should push you to work hard and give you a very specific focus, but not be so difficult that you are setting yourself up for failure. Once you complete that goal, you bask in your success then set a new goal.

bunny1006

Most of the responses seem spot on!

Consensus is around:

1) Tracking what you eat

2)Drinking water

3) Move/Exercise

4) Rest

Way easier said than done, but still relatively straightforward. Thanks!

skinnyinnotime

Don't give up

Eat real food

Workout

Eandretta96

Inb4 chit storm.

Eandretta96

I hope you are joking.

LolBroScience

- work out your macros and a reasonable calorie target and meet them
- weigh/measure and log accurately
- strength train
- be patient

(ok, that's 4)

There is only a handful of solid responses in here... seriously. Avoid starches? No Junk food? get real....

not solid response>>
1 no carbs
2 do not eat after 6 pm
3 ignore not solid responses

hope you be trollin'...

aliceb39

1. Eat what you like, but in smaller portions. Most people cannot/will not give up "junk" food altogether, and to say "no carbs" is ot realistic, either. You can decide that you'd rather have 1 Oreo than have 3 tofu cakes--just an example, nothing against tofu! No matter what you eat, log it! I try to log most of the day at breakfast, since I know what I'm eating then, what I've brought to work for lunch, and often what my plans are for the evening. Give yourself room for snacks if you usually eat them. I have 3 meals and morning/afternoon/bedtime snacks in my diary. I usually don't eat one in the morning, but stuff comes up. If you have a spot to put that snack, you are more likely to log it. Be willing to try something new--you may love it and it maybe a better choice than what you're currently eating. Last year, I learned to love zucchini from our garden. I ate it raw, no dressing, with the peel--very filling. Can't wait till our garden produces more this year! Lots of water, too.

2. Move! Pace while you're on the phone or waiting for the train/bus. Take a morning and/or afternoon coffee break and walk around or go up/down stairs. I dance with handweights while watching TV. Started with 2.5 lbs and am up to 8 lbs now. Do you have a Wii, Halo, or other conole system? Move while you play.

3. Do it NOW. Not Monday, not after payday, not after the big party. If you slip up, that's OK; just start again.

chrislynn_marie

- eat in moderation (learn portion sizes!)
- drink lots of water throughout the day water
- exercise (cardio and weight training)
- be realistic with yourself about your goals

ctalimenti

1. Track what you eat so that you can learn how much you should really be eating.
2. *Find exercises that you enjoy. It can be in the gym or out in nature, but find something you can get yourself to do regularly.
3. Find a way to measure the changes in your body (change in the fit of clothes, tape measure, body fat...) so that you know your work is paying off.


*When it comes to losing weight, how much you eat plays more of a role than exercise; however, I find that being able to understand how much work it really takes to burn 300 calories vs to eat 300 calories motivates me to be more thoughtful about my eating. A donut? That's an hour of walking! Understanding how my body processes calories keeps me from going overboard on high calore foods.

THIS!

Maribabewhich

Bump