success tips that helped you the most

Changing my internal communication. 10+ years of compromising myself into being overweight by telling myself I was entitled to eat what I wanted and to relax more now that I was getting older killed me. I have to really pay attention to how I talke to myself, and that alone helps me control what I do and the consistency in doing it.

measure, measure, measure!!! I see so many people get discouraged when the scale doesn't go down and quit! I think that measurements are more important that what that scale says!

couldn't agree more. I've stayed plateaued for weeks but I have been measuring all over (arms, legs, chest, hips, stomach, etc) and I've lost 20 inches in the time that my scale hasn't moved...

Don't give up. It sounds obvious, but if you fall off the wagon for a day, a week, or even a month, get back on.

learn the correct definition of "wasteful"

wasteful is not
- leaving food on your plate in a restaurant because you've had enough
- throwing away food leftover from a party because it doesn't fit your nutrition plan
- discarding the last of the brown lettuce and getting a nice fresh one because you know you'll feel like eating it if it is fresh
- throwing away candy that someone bought for you
- ordering dessert but eating only a couple bites because you just wanted a little taste of something sweet
- buying new pants in the in-between size of your weight loss because looking better will help motivate you

wasteful is
- using too much dressing on your salad because there's a little bit left at the end of the bottle
- buying cookies instead of fruit because you know every single one will be eaten before they go bad
- downing the last mouthful of juice as you get up from the table just because it's in your glass
- emptying the last of the sauce onto your plate because you can't stand the sight of some left in the pan
- saving your fat clothes "just in case" instead of donating them or selling them

"wasteful" is wasting calories and money on stuff that is not good for your body. if you discard something that isn't good for you, then it is not wasteful.

Get control of your fork before you even think about picking up a dumbell. It's WAY too easy to give into temptation and blow through the 300 calories you just burned.

Solve the food problem first, THEN solve the exercise problem, if there is one. By giving each problem your full attention you'll maximize your chance of success.

It also makes it much easier to see "what works" from a food perspective, and then from an exercise perspective.

It also makes it much easier to successfully adjust your food intake to meet your exercise needs.

There are so many to choose from. Here are a few:
1. Do exercises you truly enjoy.
2. Eat foods you love.
3. Make the changes a little at a time. Don't try to change everything at once, you will reject the changes. Instead just do a little at a time. Continue with what you can do and discard the ones you can't. Maybe they are not for you, or not for you right now.
4. As everyone says, measure and record every bite.
5. Use smaller dishes to make your portions look larger.
6. Figure out what motivates you and use it. I like to see numbers showing progress, so along with records of weight loss and inches lost, I keep track of miles walked and just how far I have walked in total. It is odd, but, it works for me.
7. Get a pedometer. (there I go again, loving quantifying things)
8. Read books and blogs on exercise, nutrition and weight loss. It keeps it in the front of your mind and provides inspiration and excitement.
9. Try new recipes. Now my nutritious low calorie food at home is a lot better than the food in restaurants. This helps me avoid temptation.
10. I take one day off a month. I don't go crazy, but, it allows me to tell myself the rest of the month that I can have that food I want, I just need to be patient.
11. Enjoy the rest of your life too. Being happy helps make change enjoyable.

5. Don't be in a hurry. Eat right and work out..the weight can't hold on forever.

I love this one. This is where I am most upset sometimes, is when I doubt that I'm actually making progress. It's good to think of it in the sense that the fat has to come off if you're doing everything right.

Thanks

learn the correct definition of "wasteful"

wasteful is not
- leaving food on your plate in a restaurant because you've had enough
- throwing away food leftover from a party because it doesn't fit your nutrition plan
- discarding the last of the brown lettuce and getting a nice fresh one because you know you'll feel like eating it if it is fresh
- throwing away candy that someone bought for you
- ordering dessert but eating only a couple bites because you just wanted a little taste of something sweet
- buying new pants in the in-between size of your weight loss because looking better will help motivate you

wasteful is
- using too much dressing on your salad because there's a little bit left at the end of the bottle
- buying cookies instead of fruit because you know every single one will be eaten before they go bad
- downing the last mouthful of juice as you get up from the table just because it's in your glass
- emptying the last of the sauce onto your plate because you can't stand the sight of some left in the pan
- saving your fat clothes "just in case" instead of donating them or selling them

"wasteful" is wasting calories and money on stuff that is not good for your body. if you discard something that isn't good for you, then it is not wasteful.

Thanks for posting this I just printeded it out. This is one thing that I have always and still struggle with. I don't have to eat that last bite.

Make easy changes in the food you eat such as using ground turkey instead of beef. I always like to add lots of veggies into my cooking too (especially in soups, chilli sloppy joes, etc.) Try to cut down on the card intake, but you don't have to completely cut them out, and if you do eat carbs make sure its all whole wheat. Another big one is don't drink skim milk!! You definitely want to by whole milk or raw milk because it has the healthy fat in it that your body needs. It recognizes the fat and makes you feel full instead of not getting any fat and wanting to eat more. It does have more calories so I don't drink a lot of milk a day, but with your cereal or tea/coffee its great, or the occasional glass by itself. I also cut out the pop, even diet. Instead I drink tea with a little honey and a splash of milk and I feel way more alert and awake than I ever did drinking coffee or pop. I also work out to one of the Jillian Michaels dvds 6 times a week and I allow myself one rest day. It is a struggle to stay under calories and work out but it is worth it and once the workout is over you feel so great for the rest of the day. I have fallen off the wagon a few times but you just have to pick yourself up and keep going. Its not about how you start, its about how you finish! Hard work and dedication! Every day is a new day so don't let one bad day derail you from your journey. You can do it, we all can! That is the great thing about this site. We all have access to a huge support system and we can all get there together! Hope this helps at least one person!

"losing weight is hard, maintaining weight is hard, staying fat is hard, choose your hard."

"Do not reward yourself with food, You are NOT a dog."

These simple quotes help keep me motivated when I'm feelin "unmotivated"

Set little goals, and long term goals. Reward yourself for both.
It's OK to screw up, be proud of yourself for overcoming the screw up.
Take pictures (I wish someone would have told me this. I refused to take pictures at the very beginning because I didn't want to see. But looking back, it would have been awesome to see the transformation!)
Don't rely all on numbers, look at how you feel, how your clothes fit, what you can do, etc.
Try to find a strong support group (I think MFP is an awesome source!)
Don't listen to people when they say you can't, etc.
Push through. Nothing that's worth it is easy!

...and as I'm a huge Shaun T / Insanity fan... DIG DEEPER

This is perfectly said ! I like it.........................

1. Read Success Stories- I love looking at the pictures of little and huge losses. These are people with their own stresses, their own problems, their own time constrants. They did it. So can I.


2. Be honest with yourself- Be honest with what you goal is. Someone once told me to be set me weight loss goal, now set it again as though you arent scared that you'll disappoint yourself. Whats your REAL goal? Do THAT. Know that you CAN, and treat it as though its already been done. Be honest with yourself with how much you eat- get a food scale. I learned so much from my food scale! Be honest on your "cheat days," or why you arent logging (because you know you are being bad?), or why you are really skipping the gym. Or is your "workout" at the gym 2 minutes of lifting 10 minutes of aimless wandering between machines and 15 minutes of protein smoothie drinking? Be aware of yourself, be honest with yourself.

3. And after the honesty, FORGIVE yourself. Forgive yourself for letting your body get out of control, and now make changes. Forigve yourself if you had that extra piece of birthday cake. Forgive yourself if you slept in through your alarm. Now take your next step, start over.

4. Dont wait for tomorrow. Don't say, "I'll start next Monday." Do it now. Start now as best as you can, and hit it hard when you are able to commit. Little steps add up to big steps all along the way.

5. Write your success story. I thought this was some hippy-nonsense when I was told to do it, but I cant even begin to explain how wonderful its been, how much more motivating its been than even reaching my goals. Write your success story as though its already happened, and write down the ten best things now that you've "lost the weight." For example some if mine are 1)I'm not afraid to kayak,rock climb, or adventure in front of my friends and family anymore, because I know I can keep up... 2) I dont have to try on ten outfits before I decide which ones makes me feel *least* fat.... 3) My sex life is great. I may not be there yet on all of them, but looking at them, and KNOWING that thats how its going to be is so motivating, and on top of it, it takes away the mental block, and the negativity of society, saying "You can't do this." Sure I can, I already wrote about it.

6. Slow progress is maintainable progress. No crash diets, if you want to sustain all your hard work dont be afraid to let it happen gradually.

7. Learn everything you can about nutrition, learn to read labels, learn about the science of endurance training and weight training, about training versus workout, about how weight loss happens and what are bodies really need. And then learn to listen and understand what your body is saying to YOU.

8. Change it up. Sick of weight lifting? Bored of the treadmill? Join a class! Go belly dancing, try zumba, try crossfit, go outside and kayak, go rock climbing, try hiking. Immerse yourself in a healthy and supportive community, a class setting where people you accountable, or where something is so fun you dont want to miss it o matter how tired you are.

9. Change it up- change your food, try new things, always.

10. Reward yourself, bribe yourself, do what works for you! Do not punish yourself. Love yourself, do not hate yourself.

11. Relax. Go into nature. Do some deep breathing. Sleep enough. Remove negative affects on your life. Amazingly this will shrink your waist.

A lot of these are about mentality, but thats what it really takes to succeed. Your mind has to be willing and in it first for the body to follow. Good luck to everyone.

WATER WATER WATER

Just include running 3-4x a week & lift.

quick tip!

The thing that helped me the most was getting myself a Heart Rate Monitor (I have the Polar FT7). Before I owned one I relied on the calorie number listed on the treadmill at the gym or the database here on MFP. Both weren't accurate for me. A HRM showed me my real calorie burn. That combined with accurate food logging (weighing things on a food scale) helped me create a true slight calorie deficit and I lost weight.