What advice has actually helped you?

MeredithDeVoe
MeredithDeVoe Posts: 31 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Thin4Payton's sleep thread reminded me that I've seen it said in several articles that getting a good night's sleep can help you lose weight because your metabolism will work more effectively.

I've read or skimmed a number of articles that make a lot of sweeping statements. A lot of them promise that by ADDING certain foods to your diet, you will lose weight. One I read recently said that by switching to coconut oil instead of other oils, one woman lost like 20 lbs. The interwebz are littered with ads for "weird tricks", etc.

When I was young, it was grapefruit, of course there's something new every year, acai berries, last year it was african mango, now it's raspberry ketones?? I don't doubt that these things have worked for someone, somewhere, but if it really worked that great it seems like we'd be talking about it amongst ourselves.

What has actually worked, even a little bit, for you, except eating less and exercising more?
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Replies

  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Keeping it simple. Not obsessing over food or exercise.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    this is the best advice I've gotten...

    Eat at a deficet and use a kitchen scale to be as accurate as possible.
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
    Not paying attention to advice from Dr. Oz has worked wonders for me. Other than that and a caloric deficit, all of the other stuff is a wash.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    Log all your food. Drink plenty of water. Get enough protein and fat.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Keeping it simple. Not obsessing over food or exercise.

    This
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Not paying attention to advice from Dr. Oz...

    Yep. Ignore the people trying to sell you stuff.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    drinking lots of water

    not obsessing about food

    only weighing self once a week
  • westendcurls
    westendcurls Posts: 252 Member
    Count calories and drink plenty of water. We hear the water thing so much i think it easily gets ignored or down played but it really is huge! I know whenever i see an unexpected fluctuation on my scale its almost always attributable to water.
  • wahelga
    wahelga Posts: 304 Member
    Keeping it simple. Not obsessing over food or exercise.

    This

    Yep, this

    And keeping it sustainable rather than perfect. What I do to get fit and healthy I have to be willing and able to do for the rest of my life. Sooo, no diets, no beating myself up over Christmas day eating etc, regular exercise but not to the point it controls my life. But most of all, don't quit, just keep going.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    You are correct that the fad diets don't work, and there will always be old ones and new ones. If they worked, everyone would be doing it and getting great results (like you said).

    Advice that actually helped me for my particular situation was to count calories, eat 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, eat at maintenance, realize that my maintenance is higher than a lot of the calorie calculators (or I am more active than I think), don't be too strict, it's not all or nothing, lift heavy, don't need to do tons of boring cardio, and there is not one right, perfect way or one, right, only perfect exercise, do hip thrusts, deadlifts, and rows. Basically I could go on and on about the details of what has worked for me personally in terms of lifting, exercise, enjoyment, motivation. So, find what you enjoy. But, lifting weights is great advice. And for me eating at maintenance is great advice.

    Here is a great article about all or nothing thinking: http://www.burnthefatblog.com/the-bad-attitude-that-kills-diet-and-exercise-programs.php
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    the serenity prayer

    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
    The courage to change the things I can,
    And wisdom to know the difference.
  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
    Log all your food. Drink plenty of water. Get enough protein and fat.

    This!! I never knew how important protein and fat was!!
  • 1longroad
    1longroad Posts: 642 Member
    Drink lots of water,

    Eat at a deficit,

    Move more!!

    Simple stuff actually!!
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    "Why am I not losing weight?" "You're eating too many calories."

    Best advice ever.
  • alienaliens
    alienaliens Posts: 64 Member
    You said with the exception of eating less and exercising. The best advice I followed was to stop eliminating protein. I did that for a while and lost a LOT of weight but I was sick and not healthy looking. Thats when I learned about Atkins and Southbeach. Southbeach seemed healthier cause Dr. Atkins didn't caution about the amount of bad fats in his books. So I started enjoying my protein and fats, my veggies cooked with real butter, and I started losing and maintained my strength. Of course all that good advice went out the window and here I am again, doing it right. I am in no way saying do low carb. Just telling OP the best advice I took with the exception of less eating and exercise. That advice came from my PCP and my work doctor.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
    Look at food as fuel. Not something to medicate yourself with when you're sad or something you think is required to do just because you're at an event or hanging out with people. Thinking in the most basic of terms is helping me. Seeing my body like its a character. Would I over gas a car? Would I over charge my phone? Why not? Because you only give them what's needed. Well why isn't it the same with our bodies? Because food is so damn tasty it's like a drug! I needed to take things into perspective and understand how little food is on a scale of importantance in my life of things that occupy my time.
  • haring5149
    haring5149 Posts: 4 Member
    I have tried the raspberry ketones and the green coffee bean because I always hope there will be some miracle out there. One thing Dr. Oz was right about was the African Mango. When I ran out, I noticed I was eating much more during the day then when I was taking it in the morning. Maybe it was a placebo (spelling?) effect for me, but if it helps me not snack late at night, why not?
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I have tried the raspberry ketones and the green coffee bean because I always hope there will be some miracle out there. One thing Dr. Oz was right about was the African Mango. When I ran out, I noticed I was eating much more during the day then when I was taking it in the morning. Maybe it was a placebo (spelling?) effect for me, but if it helps me not snack late at night, why not?

    No. :angry:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    "Why am I not losing weight?" "You're eating too many calories."

    Best advice ever.

    Super Double Plus Good ditto.
  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
    I have tried the raspberry ketones and the green coffee bean because I always hope there will be some miracle out there. One thing Dr. Oz was right about was the African Mango. When I ran out, I noticed I was eating much more during the day then when I was taking it in the morning. Maybe it was a placebo (spelling?) effect for me, but if it helps me not snack late at night, why not?

    Says the girl with under 1k posts...
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
    Drink water, log EVERYTHING you eat, move your *kitten*. Those are also listed in the order of importance.
  • pusheen12
    pusheen12 Posts: 192 Member
    Aside from eating at a deficit and exercising, I'd say finding MFP was the next best thing I did and daily (or almost daily) logging has been eyeopening. Sticking to the daily calorie goal really works for me. To do this I have found it helpful to plan my lunches and two daily snacks ahead of time to take to work. It helps me to stay on track by having those healthy lunches and snack s handy.

    Thanks for posting, always looking for new ideas.







    t
  • katznkt
    katznkt Posts: 320 Member
    Sleep. I really only noticed this when I started taking classes at night in addition to working. I started sleeping only 4 or 5 hours at night. My body wants 10. In sleep deprivation you have less energy to fight temptation. Your body can also feel starved for energy and hold onto the weight. I began to seriously change my habits this fall and noticed that when I prioritized sleep on my weekends, all of my weight would drop off on those nights. Then it would hold steady with lack of sleep until I slept a ton again.

    But, I would listen to your body and let it dictate your sleep. Sleep won't make you lose weight unless you are doing everything else correctly. It might make your attempt to make good choices easier though.
  • MeredithDeVoe
    MeredithDeVoe Posts: 31 Member
    the serenity prayer

    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
    The courage to change the things I can,
    And wisdom to know the difference.
    Yep. Need this every day.

    Thanks for the responses.
  • ReinasWrath
    ReinasWrath Posts: 1,173 Member
    I will note that for me the sleeping thing is a big deal. I used to go a lot of nights with very little sleep and others still with none at all and on those days I would crave fast food like crazy. I would also be too tired to work out and be in an overall f**k this mood.

    Getting enough water and finding methods of exercise that you enjoy or at least can tolerate are also biggies in my book.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Yeah, I agree, getting enough sleep is good!
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    it's really just about calories, and wasn't that a hard pill to swallow after struggling and seeing lots of family and friends struggle with the different diets over the years ...

    and reading this

    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Get to know what you're eating. Use MFP to log, and then analyse and see where you can make improvements.

    There's no such thing as bad or good foods, but portion control is everything.

    Get enough sleep, drink lots of water, and do something every day that makes you smile.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    The "eat back your exercise calories" thing is the major reason I'm losing weight. My previous weight loss attempts failed because I would feel hungry and deprived and give up. Now, I basically eat what I want in reasonable portion sizes, exercise, and the pounds drop off.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Log all your food. Drink plenty of water. Get enough protein and fat.

    This! And don't deprive yourself, work daily ice cream in and you will still lose and not be miserable!

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