What has worked for you and what hasn't?
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I have mad so many changes in the last 2 years. Went gluten free, dairy free & meat free. Johh McDougalls book The Starch Solution and 80/10/10 by Douglas Graham have changed my life forever. I'm happy and I'm free no more caloric restrictions.0
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Why aren't you eating the ones you've got? I looked back about a week, and most days you have 300-650 calories remaining at the end of the day. Even considering the couple of days you were slightly over, you underate according to your goals by 1,761 calories in the last 7 complete days of your diary.I WANT MORE CALORIES0 -
Changing what I eat has been an ongoing process, but I have had the best success since resetting my cals and macros according to the information in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912914-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
I started it about a year ago, and have steadily lost the last 10lbs and more, and lots of fat and inches as well. it's been an expensive year, buying new clothes for each season, but I'll take it! :drinker:
The best part is it's a sustainable way to eat, not a temporary diet, no cutting certain types of foods or anything - it's for life! :bigsmile: I only wish I had found that topic when I started three years ago!
Did upping your cals help you?!
As weird as this is, I have upped my cals, and I already lost a few inches off my stomach overall. Eating more veggies and fruits has also helped along with the "horrible junk food."0 -
Giving up soda and bad carbs. Yes, I still cheat but when I do, it doesn't taste as good as it used to and I feel SICK after.
Exercise!!!! I feel AMAZING (mentally and physically)!!0 -
I have cut out a few carbs (not rice though -my mum does alot of cooking plus she's indian, so I have half the rice I used to have but cutting it out completely would be ridiculous in my house)
I enjoy going to the gym whearas before it was a traumatising and embarassing experience, espicially the treadmill!
Measuring my food and logging is extremely helpful, I used to count nutritional values in my head and stressing over it all.
Eating healthy has improved my mood tenfold, I feel confident and happy so much more often
Cutting out sugar and carbs completely did the opposite, I became moody and fainted on several occasions, one of the worst being in the middle of a netball match - please never do that to yourselves!0 -
What works/IS working for me:
*Cutting out meats, coffee, caffeine, dairy, processed foods/junk fast foods, processed soy products, store bought juices, sodas, sweets,
*keeping my daily calories to 1200 or a wee bit below (but eating back the majority of my exercise calories)
*daily outside walking a minimum of 30 minutes
*doing indoor exercises (treadmill, stationary bike, Leslie Sansone dvds, moderate weight lifting on home gym) along with outdoor walking
**Substituting fruits for sweets/treats and veggies (lots of them) for my main meals and veggie juicing (NOT homemade fruits juices ) to replace a meal a day
*home prepared meals
*eating mainly fruits and veggies, hemp protein and healthy fats, and sprouted grains and nuts, seeds (eating humanely raised and vegan fed meats and wild fish & pole&troll caught seafoods ONLY when my body calls for them)
**Fasting 24 hours once per week (from my last evening meal on Friday Sundown to resume eating Saturday Sundown---doing this for spiritual reasons more-so than weight loss)
*Pre-planning my foods/drinks and exercising for the day
My understanding that more than half of "my" battle of the "bulge" is one I must fight ALONE and is primarily a "spiritual" issue rather than a physical one (FOR ME)--and NOT to expect others to agree/cheer/go along with/accept me nor my "Way" of overcoming and winning this battle, for me I truly believe this is primarily a mental/spiritual battle/issue and therefore making sure I work-out/exercise doing what I call Mental Flab&Fat exercising ALL day (meditating/praying/seek God's Face for directions in what to eat, drink, think and live--my daily choices) and honestly, humbly believing that it is by my God's Power/Grace that I am able to say NO to somethings I've always though I wanted and needed and YES to foods and drinks that I've always thought I didn't like, want or need).
Things that didn't/DON"T work for me:
*Eating more to weigh less--a.k.a. upping my calories from 1200 cals per day (based on what worked for many many others)
*Moderation...eating and drinking whatever I felt like in moderation
*Not exercising--I must MOVE my body daily and purposely. The sedentary lifestyle does not work for me.
*Stressing and relying on my will power to say YES to/for what's good for me and NO to habits and things that I think I love/need.
*comparing myself with others
*weighing myself daily
**eating lots of outside/restaurant foods
**eating junky/processed so-called "clean" foods & sweets, etc. (you know, foods that are so-called vegan/vegetarian/so-called "clean", but are nothing more than junk foods and foods that make me FAT and FLABBY and miserable.0 -
Well, I was 'eating clean' for years and never lost a pound. I haven't eaten sweeteners or refined grains in ages and I was 75 pounds overweight.
What is working for me is:
Logging what I am eating
Eating the right amounts of protein, carbs, and fats
Strength training. Although I should probably add that I have been strength training for years, too.
And within the phrase "the right amounts of protein carbs & fats" is where I've noticed that people tend to get all wonky around here. IMO you can eat whatever works for you so long as you hit your calories and macros each day.
I know for sure that being gluten free, not eating sweeteners and not eating refined flours does not mean that you will lose weight. Been there, done that.
ETA:
I should probably add that I get great benefits from the way that I eat, I'm just saying that it doesn't have anything to do with weight loss and that I"m sure that not everyone needs to do it.0 -
- Set a reasonable target for my caloric deficit and macros appropriate to me
- Hit them eating mainly nutrient dense foods but incorporated daily treats
- Did not make any food a 'no' food
- Strength trained
- Ate/eat ice cream daily
- Patience0 -
Eating everything in moderation, eating enough to fuel my workout and my life, doing something I enjoy in the gym0
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Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back0 -
I no longer splurge one day and starve the next to "make up" That never did work for me. During the week, I pack breakfast, lunch and snacks. I log everything before I leave the house. It takes about 10 minutes extra in the morning, but, its worth it. Limited eating out, too much sodium, when I do that. Increases the fluid retention and weight loss is decreased. Never mind that it's terrible for the heart. Im still struggling with the sodium. Before I eat out, I check online their nutritional values and pick out what I want. That can be tough with the smaller eateries in the area...but....I can pretty much gage which ones won't work,,,,,Chinese is one of them. I know they will be full of sodium and I stay away. Instead of Chinese, I will opt for sushi and stick with just the fish, not their fancy calorie laden "specialties,,even then, the sodium can be high, but, if I stay away from the salmon, its not too bad. Luckily a lot of eateries are becoming aware of their nutritional contents and are making an effort to improve them. The other major thing is, I exercise, every day. I do not eat back the majority of my exercise calories. I eat, usually, 1/2 of them back and it works for me. Still eating 1400-1600 cals average, sometimes over, but, rarely under. I average 1-1.5 lbs weight loss per week. Which is exactly what Im striving for. I finally got it, after hundreds of half-baked efforts, that, I need to change the way I live, not diet. Will I ever eat a Bloomin Onion again? Of course, in fact, I plan to have one , on my birthday. But, it will be the bloomin onion and a salad. Not a full meal, plus the bloomin onion and a salad and dessert. It will be a treat, not an every day affair. It works for me.0
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How does "tdee" not work for you? If you're losing weight, you're eating below your tdee. How is that not working?Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back0 -
this is such a weird question because the problem is that ALL of the things you listed that didn't work, DO work in a significant number of people. Everything is subjective. the only variable between those who lose weight and those who don't is figuring out the cal in/cal out equation properly. how much or how little exercise has nothing to do with whether you will lose weight if you're eating proportionally to your caloric burn (though it can effect the speed of the weight loss by building muscle which will raise your BMR and metabolism). thus saying things like zumba or turbofire "didn't work" simply means that you didn't figure out the right nutritional equation to go with the amount of calories you were burning on the program in addition to your daily life. That's not a criticism, because it's hard to get right - but blanket statements like "such and such didn't work for me" probably has very little to do with the program and/or specific eating plan, but more likely your implementation of it.Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back
Also, sorry to quote your specific post, but this is more of a general statement regarding things that "don't work". yours just happened to be the first one I saw. :flowerforyou:0 -
Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back
Wow...I'm so sorry.
What "did work" sounds miserable. If I had to do that, I'd rather be fat. 0 -
What works for me is eating at a relatively small deficit (250-500 calories below maintenance), not cutting out anything I like, staying active, and eating back my exercise calories.
This is what is working for me as well. Although, since I still have over 100 pounds to lose, I aim for a 750 calorie deficit. Once I get another 20 or so pounds off, I'm going to drop it to 500. Slow and steady is definitely winning for me.
I also think it is incredibly important to deal with why I overate and got to the place I was in. For many people with a lot of weight to lose, there are major mental and emotional components to their weight gain. I had to start dealing with my emotional eating and the way I felt about myself before I could really change how I treated my body. I actually spent about a year and a half in therapy before I started losing weight and got myself into a much better mental place. That was the biggest change from my past (failed, obviously) weight loss attempts.0 -
Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back
Wow...I'm so sorry. What "did work" sounds miserable. If I had to do that, I'd rather be fat.
Meh I'm getting used to it. I think my medication may be making weightloss difficult. I am going to ask next time I go to the doctor for a refill in a couple of months.0 -
How does "tdee" not work for you? If you're losing weight, you're eating below your tdee. How is that not working?Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back
I wish I had the answer for you
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How does "tdee" not work for you? If you're losing weight, you're eating below your tdee. How is that not working?Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back
I wish I had the answer for you
Probably that your TDEE is very low....are you a life long yo-yo dieter? TDEE minus 20% work...the trouble is when your TDEE for whatever reason is lower than the norm0 -
How does "tdee" not work for you? If you're losing weight, you're eating below your tdee. How is that not working?Didn't work: low carb, eating more to weightless, tdee, turbofire, zumba, eating back all exercise calories.
Did work: drastic calorie restriction, 1200-1400 intake, not eating more than 100 exercise calories back
I wish I had the answer for you
if you think it may be your medication, it's probably your medication. (also his point was that you ARE eating below your TDEE right now, so not eating more than your TDEE is actually working)0 -
apparently my tdee isbetween 2143 and 2416. If I eat anywhere near that I gain. If I eat 1600-1800 I don't lose, I maintain. Yea probably something external going on there as to why it doesn't work for me.0
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apparently my tdee isbetween 2143 and 2416. If I eat anywhere near that I gain. If I eat 1600-1800 I don't lose, I maintain. Yea probably something external going on there as to why it doesn't work for me.
If you gain at 2143, that isn't your TDEE. That's just what a calculator estimates your TDEE to be. Your TDEE is the total amount of calories you burn in a day, which for you just doesn't seem to match up with what the calculator estimates (could definitely be the medication or another metabolism issue).0 -
apparently my tdee isbetween 2143 and 2416. If I eat anywhere near that I gain. If I eat 1600-1800 I don't lose, I maintain. Yea probably something external going on there as to why it doesn't work for me.
Your TDEE is 1,600 - 1,800 then if that is what you are maintaining at. The online calculators, which is where I assume you get the other numbers for are based on a sample population, for which, your circumstances may not match. People's BMR and therefore TDEE can easily be lower due to a number of metabolic circumstances such as prolonged dieting, PCOS, thyroid issues, some medications etc.
Edited for typo0 -
apparently my tdee isbetween 2143 and 2416. If I eat anywhere near that I gain. If I eat 1600-1800 I don't lose, I maintain. Yea probably something external going on there as to why it doesn't work for me.
maybe you're setting your lifestyle too high? like "lightly active" when it should be "sedentary" or something similar?0 -
apparently my tdee isbetween 2143 and 2416. If I eat anywhere near that I gain. If I eat 1600-1800 I don't lose, I maintain. Yea probably something external going on there as to why it doesn't work for me.
Your TDEE is 1,600 - 1,800 then if that is what you are maintaining at. The online calculators, which is where I assume you get the other numbers for are based on a sample population, for which, your circumstances may not match. People's BMR and therefore TDEE can easily be lower due to a number of metabolic circumstances such as prolonged dieting, PCOS, thyroid issues, some medications etc.
Edited for typo
Man that sucks if that's my actual TDEE then since that's what I maintain at. I'll be sure to ask my doc what might be going on there.0 -
many things have worked with for me (for fat loss and muscle gain but I assume this thread is referring to fat loss)
Leangains style IF
Hitting minimum protein & fats
making sure I'm in calorie deficit
lifting heavy stuff regularly
that's about it.0 -
bump0
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I cut way back on pasta. My husband loves pasta and would cook spaghetti every single night if I let him. I finally had to stay no to his late night pasta meals and eat something healthier if I was still hungry. I now only have pasta once a week if that. Sometimes I only have it once a month. I also cut way back on salty foods. I love love love salty snacks like salty mixed nuts or chips, cheese puffs...omg cheese puffs!! Not only did I lose weight quickly when I started trying to lose weight but my BP went way down and eventually I was able to go off of all of my meds. Now I rarely even take something for a headache.0
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What has been working for me in the last 14 months:
1. I eat responsibly and sensibly. Most of my meals are homemade so I control everything that goes into them. Also, bacon and dark chocolate have remained compulsory components of my nutrition.
2. I lift heavy.0 -
No wonder you lost 96 pounds. Congratulations. I have most of my food planned out as well as my exercise for the remainder of the month. I have found that this has helped me a lot.0
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