What works for you?

MizzMazz · September 2010

My big problem is the yo-yo. Grew up active and fitter than the rest of my family, and had a lot of "You're naturally skinny!" hate thrown my way. Unfortunately, it did lead me to believe that they were right, and I ate anything I wanted without much worry. When my activity levels declined (around when I started driving and not walking/biking everywhere) I ballooned. Didn't help being a professional cook for several years, and still having an abiding love for cooking and the pleasures of the table. I also like exercise, once I get into it, and get past the initial pain and sadness for fitness levels lost. I've studied nutrition and exercise extensively, so I should have no excuse, but I still gain if I am not vigilant, and there's the emotional eating as well.

What are the things that you have found to work for you? After lurking for a while, I get the feeling most people here know that the fads don't work, at least not for long, but have come up with techniques they find useful in fighting the urge to not exercise,to go on a binge, etc, etc. Maybe we can create a pool of ideas here that we can all try when we need a different perspective. I know not everything would work for everyone, but when we're feeling stale, it might be good to hear something new. I will put a few ideas that have worked for me in the past in the reply, and excitedly wait to hear others.

rfialkiewicz · September 2010

Sticking to a healthy diet and an exercise routine is the only things that's worked for me.

Any "diet" I've ever tried has resulted in my binge eating.

MizzMazz · September 2010

1. Learn to cook. I can't emphasize that enough. So many pre-packaged meals that masquerade as healthy fill the grocery shelves, and so many people depend on eating out, it's really easy to lose track of what you eat, and probably, for the most part don't enjoy. Easy for me, because I like to cook and get nerd-girl excited about fresh ingredients and new recipes. If you learn kitchen basics, you can make for yourself delicious stuff and you know what's in it. You can also work with what you have on hand. Trouble is, I love to eat, and have lost track of what a 'portion' really is, which leads me to:

2. Measure. That's what I love about MFP so much, is it forces me to measure what I'm eating, and remember what a rational portion is. Some pre-fab 'diet' foods are so misleading, once you see the portion size. Measure it out, and it looks like two or three spoonfuls, and no one eats those portions in real life. I would scarf a big bowl of cereal or chili, or whatever, and then read the label and find out I had eaten enough for 3 people! Not worth the calories.

3. Eating out. You can't stop being social and going out with friends and loved ones, or parties, but some of the eating out I used to do was counter productive to my waistline and my wallet. I bring my meal (in my case breakfast, because of my crappy shift) to work, and I know just what's in it, and how many calories I have for the rest of the day. I work with people who get their lunch out every day, and it adds up (conservatively) to $50 a week! I want that money in my pocket, and those excess pounds off of my frame. And I can tell you, as a restaurant cook back in the day, we weren't concerned about calories, we were concerned about taste. Speaking of taste:

4. Fast food. No. Just No. It isn't nice, it really doesn't taste good, it's that magical blend of fat, salt, sugar, and fake who-knows-what that creates an addiction, IMO. The last time I swore off the crap I dropped about 20 lbs effortlessly. There are other reasons not to eat this swill, but this would be something to address in my blog or somewhere. Quit this crap and you will shrink.

5. Only the best. This is easy to say if you have the money to spend on quality food, but I find it a good deterrent for when I want a greasy burger or something like that. I may have just said No Fast Food, but i have fallen to the demon stuff, and suffered. If I want a burger, like i did today, i went and got some Garden burgers, that I actually like, and decided to try those Earth Grains thin buns (not bad! I will make them next time, and save $$) and loaded with veggies. You can't go wrong with fresh veggies. I got my hamburger fix, with no disappointment, and saved about 600 calories. Other days I want a nice piece of fish, or a nice piece of chicken. If i can't live without the sauce, I go back to measuring and either limit that (hard with really good sauces) or find an alternative, or failing that, call it a cheat day, and have little else. One day at a party or a nice dining experience is worth it. If I could afford to go to French Laundry, you know I would write that day off, and be vigilant the next few days.

6. Don't eat on the run. Not in the car, not on the street, not unless I'm able to sit down and enjoy my food. I have come to realize that I tend to wolf food down (this is something I am working on) when I am working or traveling. The upside is no more dirty car, and no more mindless munching at the computer or while I'm watching a movie. Also, the food to be found while traveling tends to be crap, so it's better to have a sandwich home made if there's no choice. so much of feeling full is emotional, and I am still learning how to trust my body's signals about when I am full, and it just doesn't seem to count food eaten in the car. Eating in the car is rarely pleasant, anyway.

Can't wait to hear your ideas.

MizzMazz · September 2010

I think that is the best way to approach it. It's the 'sticking to it' I tend to have a problem with. How do you stick? Is it what I am thinking, eternal vigilance? That's the only thing I can think of. At least there is this tool here, which helps so much, but the really daunting thing is the thought, "I have to do this forever."

Yep. I do.

I guess I would add (which has been the hardest for me to follow) "Don't worry about how some others seem to be able to eat what they want. Don't worry about how others stay slim. You only need to take care of yourself." I can't seem to not be bitter when I work with girls who just eat whatever they want, and don't do anything special. There should be a whole section addressing the emotional aspect and how especially women tend to compare ourselves to each other.

Holton · September 2010

What worked for me was to eliminate white flour and white sugar as much as possible from my lifestyle. Haven't found anything that works for getting me to want to exercise, other than the Nike slogan, "JUST DO IT".

elmct57 · September 2010

Cooking your own food so you control what's in it--no additives. Buying organic where it counts on fruits and veggies. i hit our local farmers market for bison and free range chicken since i live in tx.

journal every day. log it all in warts and all.

exercise, even if it's 5 minutes on a bad day.

carbs are the enemy from me so i have learned from netrition and other body builder sites about lower carb alternatives like almond flour and mct oil for cooking.

tweak it all, find out what works and stick with it but also change it up a little. water chestnuts in lieu of potatoes and jicama for example--i try for more low glycemic versions.

fruits and veggies but eaten with a protein.

find supportive friends like the ones i'm blessed with on this site and at work. officially i'm considered the office vegetarian--was the best way they could understand my eating choices. so there's always celery sticks, cherry tomatoes and strawberries included for me at any office party day. we also have diabetics in the office so they tailor food for them as well, a lot of which works for me too.

keeping positive. i focus on all the great things i can eat rather than what i can't do.

plan out each week for meals ahead of time--strategy & tactics! use the local specials in the paper and mail ads & mix it up a bit.

use more spices in your cooking--Chinese 5 spice, cajun, BBQ, italian, French. just make sure they're just spice with no sugar.

View every day as a new opportunity. Eat to live with good fuel choices rather than live to eat.

McHeather · September 2010

I have a list that I try to remember to refer to when I'm going off track. Little tips that help me out, My Healthy Lifestyle List:

1. No eating after 7
2. quit when full
3. drink tea
4. chew gum
5. excersize on commercials
6. do yoga
7. brush teeth after eating
8. get more sleep
9. eat veggies
10. chew slowly
11. no reading or tv while eating
12. drink water
13. fidget
14. dance around
15. phone someone
16. pray
17 visualization
18. sit tall
19. play with kids
20. dont finish kids meals.

MizzMazz · September 2010

@elmct57: YES! Spices make all the difference in the world, and I am finding how fast calories get spent, and when I want to spend them.

Focusing on the positive - it reminds me of that Frank Sinatra song (my loved one is the Sinatra fan, but I like some of his tunes).

I ate vegan unconsciously for the better part of a year, being to nervous about my new job and my OJT - On The Job training that I could only eat the items you described. I was also single then, so having no one to cook for (my 17 yr old cooked for himself) meant eating yards of wonderful veggies and fruits and nuts. I read that book Skinny *****, and realized that was what I was doing. Thing is I now don't have the anxiety. For me, Anxiety= no appetite, but depression or being happy tends to make me want to celebrate.

Journaling the food is new for me, and I think it works really well. I don't want to become compulsive with it, but that may be my only hope, because I think that's where I've gone wrong in the past.

@Holton: White flour and white sugar are in so many things unnecessarily - I totally agree. Also that damned high fructose corn syrup. It needs to go away.

The exercise thing. It has been so hard, going back to it. I used to do so much, and now it hurtsw so much and I can manage a bit, but it is getting better. If I can add to the list again (and I know I shall as I think of things) that remembering how fast you ran that mile a year ago is hard, but the advantage to the Yo-Yo is that you know you can do it again. I have to believe that. I don't want to give up. This great community is making it better; this is a new thing I have tried; obviously the old way was not working.

sassiebritches · September 2010

I have a list that I try to remember to refer to when I'm going off track. Little tips that help me out, My Healthy Lifestyle List:

1. No eating after 7
2. quit when full
3. drink tea
4. chew gum
5. excersize on commercials
6. do yoga
7. brush teeth after eating
8. get more sleep
9. eat veggies
10. chew slowly
11. no reading or tv while eating
12. drink water
13. fidget
14. dance around
15. phone someone
16. pray
17 visualization
18. sit tall
19. play with kids
20. dont finish kids meals.

Something about this made me giggle......maybe the don't finish kids meals or the fidget....cause that is a silly word.

I have found that eating Low Carb eats for me. I think since I started low carb I eat more yummy veggies than I ever did low cal... I also eat when I am hungry. I don't concern myself with calories....shockingly, my cals rarely go over the 1500 alotted.

lizzys · September 2010

this was a great idea, to help others.::huh: stay busy drink a lot of liquid before or with meals chew each bite 20 times

Rivalee · September 2010

It has come down to having five goals I try to meet every day:

Eat 1500 calories or fewer.
Drink 2 liters of water.
Walk 4 miles (hopefully first thing in the day)
No food after 8 pm.
Stretch.

I rarely meet the stretching goal, but the others I do. Keeping it so simple really helps me, and makes it feel so much less overwhelming, that "forever?!? OMG!!" feeling. I've come to love my walks, and crave the water... having less sugar, etc comes naturally as part of limiting my calories, because I know that one snickers just leads to a taco which leads to a donut which... yah.

Paige1108 · September 2010

I've made all my "exercise" necessity based. I biking to work and I walking the dog are my only real exercise. I have to get to work and I have to walk the dog before I go to work, so I know I'll do my exercise. I never have to "fit" it into my day. My boyfriend and I also walk the dog at night sometimes just to spend some time together talking. I know these aren't options for everyone but if you can, it really works great for me, especially the biking to work.

MizzMazz · September 2010

I have a list that I try to remember to refer to when I'm going off track. Little tips that help me out, My Healthy Lifestyle List:

1. No eating after 7
2. quit when full
3. drink tea
4. chew gum
5. exercizse on commercials
6. do yoga
7. brush teeth after eating
8. get more sleep
9. eat veggies
10. chew slowly
11. no reading or TV while eating
12. drink water
13. fidget
14. dance around
15. phone someone
16. pray
17 visualization
18. sit tall
19. play with kids
20. don't finish kids meals.

I like these. The not finishing kid's meals reminds me of my Mother, who grew up in the Depression, and really told my sister and I to clean our plates, because we were lucky to have food at all (I don't think we got the starving children in China story, though). She would eat the food we left behind, though. Momma hated waste, as i do. It kills me to throw food away, but what doesn't become lunches for tomorrow HAS to go into the trash.

I love *eat slowly*. We scarf our food all too often. I don't know about the rest of you, but my lunch time is 30 minutes, and it's hardly time to dine, which is something I promised myself to get back to - really enjoying my food. From school into the working world, I have had to scarf food in my car or in a small amount of time, and there's no satisfaction in that. I still fail at eat slowly. Damn good advice. I read in numerous places that it takes our bodies twenty minutes to recognize we are full, and i can wolf down food in a ten minute break. I am still working on this one, and my Fella is helping. He has spent a lot of time in France, where people really enjoy their food, and the company of those they are dining with. They don't 'stuff' there.

Jennyzfit · September 2010

My biggest tip is to grow a garden which is very beneficial! And don't eat out and to cook your own meals!

This helps me alot!

:drinker:

MizzMazz · September 2010

Another one: I quit eating while driving. Stupid and dangerous, just as bad as the jerks who text and drive.

Eat at the table, even if it's the crappy plastic table at work; this melds into treating yourself well, and enjoying your food. Make yourself a nice plate; you're worth it.

I've worked two and three jobs at a time, and the road seemed to be the only time to eat, but it's not worth getting in an accident.

MizzMazz · September 2010

My biggest tip is to grow a garden which is very beneficial! And don't eat out and to cook your own meals!

This helps me alot!

:drinker:

MizzMazz · September 2010

My biggest tip is to grow a garden which is very beneficial! And don't eat out and to cook your own meals!

This helps me alot!

:drinker:

I have a big bag of greens that are so damn good and it cost me about $1.50. I also have some green beans that are so good; but my tomato plants are suffering from this El Nino weather. Nothing better than fresh home cooked food

SaveTheDrama · September 2010

What works for me is K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid. I don't count calories and I don't avoid eating out. For me its about making common sense choices in real life situations so that I am happy and still living a healthier life. I probably break every "diet" rule there is, but I am healthier now than I ever been, not just in my opinion, but in my doctors opinion too. I do worse when I over think and put too much time into rules.

What works for you?

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