3 Best practices for weight loss

1. Track all calories in and out.
2. Use heart rate monitors for real burns.
3. Empty stomach cardio first thing in the morning.

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.

1) motion leads to emotion; habit wins where motivation fails. do something active every day no matter how you feel - you'll always feel better afterwards

2) make it easy for yourself. get crap out of the house; learn about and regularly stock up on filling healthy foods.

3) moderation (aka fools rush in) - don't go hardcore on plyo or running or doing stuff 5 days a week, or start with a huge calorie deficit. that always backfires. don't get sucked in by what pro athletes or models or bodybuilders do: follow a beginner's program.

odds are if you start out with some extreme plan, or a ridiculously short timeline, you'll either fail or hurt yourself.

eat regularly (once every 2-3 hours)

1. Give up fried food........eat only grilled ( both veggies and white meat or fresh water fish)
2. Give up dairy
2. Do any kind of cardio or better still HIIT if you have the stamina.
These three will help you lose weight as well as inches.

I have more than 3
1. Lots of water
2. no processed food or artificial ingredients-
I buy all food at a gourmet organic mkt in my area- it's very pricey but I figure the investment is worth it since I tend to react badly to artificial ingredients and this is the easiest way for me to avoid that junk altogether. They havefresh prepared foods as well and although they dont publish the calories they do publish the ingredients which are all consistent with how Id have to make the food at home, so I can look up the cals and I dont worry about hidden ingredients like at restaurants. They dont add any junk. Ive also noticed that this type of food fills me up forever, even in small qualities. Who knew whole foods really can keep you fuller than calorie laden junk foods?
3. never overeat-
I take in probably about 1500 calories/day BUT I never overeat or even get to the point of fullness. I eat until im satiated, not full. The best way I can describe this feeling is where I feel energized but I could absolutely eat more after a meal. Another example of this feeling is if you've ever had a snack before a big dinner- those nights pre diet where you have a late heavy dinner but about an hour before are dying of hunger so you make a little snack, then you arent starving but have room for more. That after snack feeling is now how I feel after my meals.
4 Find healthy substitutes
I buy organic, high fiber, high protein frozen waffles and have 2 for bfast with 1/3 serving of maple syrup. I find it no different than eating a Belgian waffle or a pastry- other than that it keeps me full . And the real maple syrup gives me that small hit of natural sugar I used to get from garbage in higher doses
5. Know thyself
I know I need chocolate after dinner. Even if it's just one piece of godiva chocolate- godiva bc its rich and decadent. There is not a healthy substitute for me ie I dont want sugar free jello pudding, I dont want yoplait dessert inspired yogurt. But one piece of 70 calorie chocolate can satisfy just as much as big piece of calorie laden cake used to.
Same thing with cooking- I know I am never going to cook every meal so I had to find a place to buy food that is healthy and make the decision to spend a little bit more on food, so I dont find myself at some restaurant eating procssed high fat garbage. This way I know I can keep it going and not give up
6. RAW FRUITS AND VEGGIES AS SNACKS
Since I only eat 2 complete meals today (carb, fat, protein) I need snacks that are basically freebies. I know I know, "no such thing as totally free" but a big raw apple or a raw veggie blended drink is about as close as you can get to a freebie. The smoothies I make include nothing but raw veggies and maybe a half a grapefruit or apple with water as the base. If I get hungry and need to chew a big apple goes a long way
7 one cheat meal per week-
I like it for 2 reasons: 1. I use it to socialize, if my friends/husband want to go out and indulge, I dont have to order a modified version, I can indulge at one meal. 2. I find that I lose weight more when I do this, kind of my own version of calorie cycling. And it murders any cravings I may be having and keeps me going for the next week.
8. Not to be crass BUT I have lots of s_x w my husband- Im just being honest. I hate working out, esp with such limited calories, it makes me hungrier. But a couple of times a day and I feel like I get the cardio I need ;-)

1) motion leads to emotion; habit wins where motivation fails. do something active every day no matter how you feel - you'll always feel better afterwards

2) make it easy for yourself. get crap out of the house; learn about and regularly stock up on filling healthy foods.

3) moderation (aka fools rush in) - don't go hardcore on plyo or running or doing stuff 5 days a week, or start with a huge calorie deficit. that always backfires. don't get sucked in by what pro athletes or models or bodybuilders do: follow a beginner's program.

odds are if you start out with some extreme plan, or a ridiculously short timeline, you'll either fail or hurt yourself.

Very sound suggestions.

1. LOG EVERYTHING

2. Drink lots of water (MORE than 8 cups a day)

3. Make vegetables 2/3 of your diet

1) Start Now
Don't make any excuses in delaying! Don't wait to psyche yourself up, until Monday, until Summer, until the New Year, until the stressful project is over, until tomorrow morning... whatever. Start right now whether it's to schedule a doctor's appointment, signing up and figuring out your macros here on MFP, watching health/exercise videos on YouTube or DVD, deciding on your approach (Slow & Steady or Fast & Furious), again, whatever... just make the commitment and start! Once you've committed, don't bail! If you have a bad day, get over it and move on. Keep logging and tracking your progress. Showing up is more than half the battle!

2) Eat Less
Lots of ways to approach this though I'm a big advocate of controlling portion sizes and/or eating cleaner. Some people go on diets, use pills and all sorts of stuff which seems kinda crazy and ultimately counter-productive in the long-run; but I'm not here to pass judgement if it really works for you. Educate yourself about food: See a doctor for allergies and/or other conditions that may affect your weight), learn from your past weight-loss campaigns (what worked what didn't), read & watch documentaries about food and weight-loss. Make informed decisions. Exercise your mind **and** your body. From there you can decide what will work best for you.

3) Move More
Lots of ways to approach this too! Some people join gyms, boxes (CrossFit), take up running, weight-lifting...; others eschew work-out sessions and go for more movement throughout the day. Again, figure out what kinds of limitations you really have (see a doctor) - versus what you think you can't do and get off of the couch, step away from the computer and move it! That isn't to say you shouldn't get your sleep and rest ! Downtime is as important to your body's ability to move as actual action!

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.