Top reasons for weight loss success

Never give up!!! Everyone has moments when they want to throw in the towel wether it be because they aren't loosing fast enough or they had a bad food day and think it isn't worth it to keep trying. The only real difference between those who succeed and those who don't is that those who do keep trying. If you aren't loosing you have to take a serious look at what you are doing and what you can change to see results.

Definitely this! Eating a pizza will not ruin it, but thinking you've wrecked that day so you may as well have dessert as well and then give up will.

Planning - have some 'healthy meals' always in stock, We do a big prep every few weeks - lots of ragu and chilli to freeze, and I have some wholemeal bread in the freezer (Beans on toast in always good ).

If you are doing exercise treat it like a job - unless you don't turn up for work because you can't be bothered! Often I feel I don't want to go to the gym, but I know it will be fine when I get there. If I am struggling to motivate myself I go to a class so I have a time to aim for and can't keep putting it off.

It really is as simple as calories in versus calories used.

If you are honest with yourself, weigh (no guessing) and log everything, you'll get there.

Knowing yourself. Know what your limitations are and work with them. If you can't cope with a 500 cal deficit but can stick 350, then work with that and you will sustain it longer. If certain foods trigger binges just avoid them. If you can't function without ice cream/chocolate/chips/pizza etc then factor it into your diet to stop you getting bored. If you need a radical change make it, if a radical change puts you off then don't. Eat under maintenance and other than that do what works for you in the short and medium term at least.

- Consistently maintaining a reasonable calorie deficit from maintenance. My goal was not speed...it was having consistent losses and over time, those losses added up to about 40 Lbs.

- Being as accurate as possible with my intake by using a food scale

- Being as accurate as possible with my "burn" from exercise by comparing what I think I burned with a few different sources and using a lot of common sense rather than looking at some data base and assuming that I did indeed burn 900 calories doing 60 minutes of elliptical (yeah right). I usually ate back about 70-80% of whatever my HRM told me I burned for an aerobic event...and usually compared that number to other formulas out there for that activity.

- I didn't cheat my diary....I always logged everything even if it meant that my numbers didn't look good that day. You have to be consistent and honest with yourself.

- I didn't deprive myself and don't at maintenance either. I ate/eat a lot of nutrient dense foods...I generally get 4-6 servings of veg and fruit per day and I eat a lot of chicken, fish, salmon, etc and get my healthy fats from avocado, almonds, avocado and olive oil, etc. But I also indulged in desert and still do pretty much nightly...I just fit it into my calorie and macro goals.

- I don't categorize foods as "good" or "bad"...there are more or less nutrient dense choices you can make but long term success is going to require a healthy relationship with food.

1. Do it for yourself.
2. it's easier if the whole family participates in creating new habits (eating well and excercising).
3. Try not obsessing.
4. Don't get discouraged.
5. Walk 10 000 steps everyday - this = 8km or 5 miles.

Losing weight and keeping it off is hard work. You have to believe you are worth the effort!!

Most importantly ... Make it fun.

- I made my calorie count like a score and it became almost like a game of golf to keep it low.

- Most people wouldn't encourage this, but I weighed in every day. I loved watching my weight drop .2 to .4 lbs per day.

- I fell in love with walking.

- I always keep a future event in the forefront of my mind for which I want to look my best. That keeps me motivated.

- Once I reached my goal. I had to buy all new clothes. I donated ALL of my old clothes to Goodwill, eliminating any opportunity to return back to my old weight without it REALLY costing me.

- Use every "You're losing weight aren't you?" as fuel to keep going.


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Losing weight and keeping it off is hard work. You have to believe you are worth the effort!!

M

This!

Inertia is a b!tch. Make it YOUR b!tch. Starting is the hardest part. Whether it's changing your diet, committing to exercise, or beginning a single workout - once you get started, it's not so hard. But I f you stop, you have to start over again, and that's harder. So once you get started, don't stop - just keep going. Eventually it will be easier to keep going than it is to stop, because inertia.

Smart and pivotal for my success

1. Log your food honestly and accurately.
2. Don't keep junk food in the house.
3. Pack a healthy lunch and snacks for when you're at work
4. Limit eating out
5. Weigh yourself daily (This isn't for everyone, but it motivates me and helps me to prevent gains)
6. Don't make foods off-limits. Instead, allow yourself to have treats occasionally, but try to fit them into your calorie goal
7. Limit sugar and processed foods.
8. Pay attention to your macros. 40% carbs 30% fat 30% protein works well for me .
9. Veggies are your best friend.
10. Drink lots of water. Green tea is also great.
11. "Budget" your calories out across the day, so you don't run out and have none left in the evening.
12. Get a good 7 or 8 hours of sleep
13. If you slip up and overeat, just start fresh the next day and go back to staying under your calorie goal.
14. Make sure your workouts include both cardio and strength training.
15. Schedule 3 to 5 workouts a week and treat them like a commitment. It helps if you have set days and times you workout, so it just becomes a routine habit.