What I have learned to lose weight...

I posted this in response to another forum, but it was so wordy that I thought others might find it useful. Keep in mind that this is my personal experience and things that worked for me/verified in medical research journals (no, I will not go hunt up the article to post, I have read too many and have no clue where any specific one came from). This isn't a post to argue points...only to share my experience with others who are starting or are stuck on their journey. I hope it helps.

1-Don't believe statements in the forums as gospel and don't pass them on as such, unless you have read studies re: it. (including this on ;-D )

2-The more weight you have to lose, the more of a deficit you can run daily (i.e. if have 200 lbs to lose, can run on 800 net calories a day. If have 50 to lose, shouldn't be less than 1150-1300, depending on your body of course)

3-If I didn't eat my exercise calories back then I wouldn't lose (I would sometimes gain) weight

4-If my net dropped less than 1100 cals, then I wouldn't lose and I would typically gain until I got back over 1300 cals.

5-Water-Don't remember if was a Harvard or Mayo Clinic statement that stated that you need (10) 8 oz glasses of fluids. The main complaint for soda is that it has caffeine and it will 'dehydrate you'. The study showed that people who typically drink caffinated products have adjusted to the caffeine and it causes a minimal (if any) dehydration effect.

6-Yes, fruits and veggies are good for you due to fiber and vitamins/antioxidants, but they aren't required. I hate them both, so I take a multivitamin and eat higher dietary fiber cereal/granola bars (really like Kashi go lean cereal and their granola bars...good for protein too)

7-MUST keep track in your food diary, otherwise how do you really know your 'intake'

8-It is ultimately cals in vs cals out. The different cals you put in makes a difference on how full you will feel and for how long. Many studies have debunked the low fat diet due to hormonal effects causing hunger as well as needing the fat...but try to pick items with unsaturated fats (those have been shown to improve health) as well as debunking the low-carb diet due to the hormonal effects as well...do what feels good and is a realistic lifelong eating process for you!

9-I like to do average daily net for the week, as opposed to fretting over each individual day. (meaning-I want my daily net cals for WEEK to be 1480. So if I eat 800 cals on Tuesday, I have 600 extra calories on Saturday. This makes it feel less like dieting and I no longer have to give myself a 'cheat day'. This is a lifestyle change and you shouldn't have to 'cheat' to meet your lifestyle. (apparently this is similar to what weight watchers does for their 'flex points' system, but I have never read on it)

10-Exercise become increasingly important as you get closer to your goal. It also allows you to eat more food, but make sure you are tracking your calories burned thru a reputable heart monitor, not just the displays on the equipment or the auto-tally on the MFP page.

11-Start strength training as soon as possible (I failed at this, I prefer cardio). Building muscle may increase your number on the scale, but it makes maintaining and losing weight easier. Muscle burns calories at rest, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

12-Take the time to go to a website to learn what you TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is from a good calculator and compare to what MFP has for your set number in their calculation. This will show you what the average person burns based on lifestyle. I caused me to increase my intake 150 cals a day and started losing weight again.

13-Change up your exercise program. After 6-12 weeks, your body becomed adjusted to an exercise program (that's why it gets easier), so you no longer burn the same number of calories as you started. Change it up every few weeks. (You can go back to it in a few months). (i.e. on my elliptical, would do 'fat burn' for a while where it was a steady pace, then would change to high intensity intervals, then go to high resistance, then back to steady...)

I think that is enough for now...I need to get ready for the day.