What are your top 10 best weight loss tips?

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1) Be Persistent. All things come in time.
2) Be Reasonable. Don't expect to lose >5 pounds a week. It's unrealistic and unhealthy in most cases.
3) Be Honest. Don't cheat yourself by under or over estimating calories. Measure everything out.
4) Do Cardio. You don't have to run for an hour, but do something that will make you sweat.
5) Do Weights. Think of weight training as reverse fat loss. The higher your lean muscle mass, the less fat you need to lose and the higher your goal weight should be.
6) Chew Gum. It's <5 calories a piece, and helps immensely with cravings. I go through almost a pack a day.
7) Eat more. You're killing your metabolism by eating 1200 calories a day. Especially if your BMI is <26.
8) Be Supportive. Support others so others will support you.
9) Cheat. Unless you have a deadline, a cheat meal or day won't have a huge impact in the long run.
10) Be Positive. Take it one day at a time and always more forward with a positive attitude. You can't change the past.

Great! Thanks

1. Eat clean - get rid of processed foods. Try to eat whole foods as much as possible - fresh fruits and veggies (frozen is OK) - very little that comes from a box or a can.
2. Cut sodium - if you do #1 above, this will likely follow.
3. Try to hit your MFP goals. Not just cals, but carbs, fats, etc. There IS such a good thing as good fat and you should eat it.
4. Lift weights - it does wonders for fat loss.
5. Watch the alcohol - just empty cals you can probably do without.
6. Cheat days are OK - in fact, they can even boost your metabolism.
7. Don't just weigh - measure too. The scale doesn't tell the whole story.
8. Eat your exercise calories - your body needs good fuel. Just make sure those cals are healthy, not an excuse to eat junk.
9. Switch up your exercise routine from time to time - it keeps your body guessing and helps prevent stagnation. If you run, try the elliptical. Or take a Zumba class or karate or something new. Plus, it's fun to push yourself!
10. Be patient - changes can take a couple of weeks to show results. Don't be so quick to throw in the towel.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Thanks for sharing all of the great tips. Even though I am maintaining (1+years) I still log all of my food and my daily exercise...It WILL become habit!

1. Read Bob Harpers book " are you ready" to find your inner compus and get realistic lifestyle changing advice, not diet
2. use MyFitnessPal every day, its wonderfull for a ton of reasons
3. Be accountable, dont blame others or use excuses for overeating
4. Be good to yourself and tell yourself you are worth the money and time it takes to go to the gym
5. Eat your calories, dont starve yourself, everything in moderation
6. Set realistic goals, it took time to put on the weight, it will take time to take it off.
7. Love yourself.....all of you,now and when you reach your goal.
8. Learn to say no to temptation without feeling like you have to explain yourself to someone
9. I use a healthy cabinet and put a picture of myself thinner on the inside, and then a seperate cabinet for the kids snacks...with a pic on the inside of me not so thin
10. join a weight loss challenge or get friends involved, it makes you more honest and accountable.:flowerforyou:

1. Make a grocery list with no junk food on it, and stick to it. Do not go down the chips aisle or the candy aisle. If you must, keep both hands on the cart and proceed briskly.
2. Use your crockpot so you know there is a warm meal waiting for you at home. This keeps you away from fast food drive-thrus.
3. Instead of sitting on the couch while watching tv, try taking steps (such as Wii Fit Free Step) It's not much exercise (so it doesn't feel hard to do) but it's better than nothing.
4. Stop eating after 7pm.
5. Instead of snacking, try drinking a cup of tea. Especially around 3pm and 8pm, when you really get the munchies.
6. If you just cut your food intake and don't exercise, you will be HUNGRY for the first week. It gets better the second.
7. Set a goal. If I lose 20 pounds before my mother does, she owes me $50.
8. Record your food daily, even the days you mess up. It keeps you honest.
9. Visit MFP daily and stay with the community. Make some friends. Their encouragement will keep you motivated.
10. No junk food, no soda, use skim milk instead of 1%, a glass of wine is 120 calories, 5 mini reeses peanut butter cups are 220.
11. Avoid eating out at restaurants if you like appetizers and dessert.

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Thanks for posting

1. Be persistant. It will come in time if you're dedicated.

2. GET RID OF THE FAT JEANS. They're just taunting you and reminding you of a time you don't want to remember. You won't go back to that weight- you don't plan on it- why keep the clothing?

3. Have friends that support you.

4. Vary your calorie consumption. Eat 1000 one day and 1400 the next, 1200 some days. It keeps the body guessing. That way if you do have a "cheat day" or you fall off the bandwagon once or twice, it won't mess you up completely.

5. Drink water! It's so important. Even if you get it in teas or sparkling water, drink it!

6. Everything in moderation. Want chocolate? Have a square from a chocolate bar, but not a whole chocolate bar. Everything is okay in moderation.

7. Don't diet, make a lifestyle change.

8. Don't give up!

9. Don't be lazy. Do sit ups while watching tv or leg lifts while on the computer. Keep moving!

10. Do yoga. Deep breathing and yoga always helps me relax and keeps me motivated!

1. find friends who also share similar goals of becoming healthier, and encourage each other
2. read the book "eat what you love, love what you eat." i found it at the library yesterday and it's amazing! talks about how to get out of the eat-repent-repeat cycle, and how to take charge of your eating habits rather than being controlled by food, strict rules, and guilt. i know this will be a game-changer for how i view things
3. don't focus on the number on the scale, but more on whether you are healthier, have more energy, how your clothes fit, etc.
4. be prepared and pack healthy and yummy snacks. if you have a container of treats, take a reasonable amount out then put the rest away - so you won't just eat mindlessly and finish off everything. my fave these days is dark chocolate almonds from trader joe's
5. reduce amount of sugary drinks, and transition to healthier alternatives like iced tea sweetened with honey, and maybe eventually to unsweet tea
6. find a fun way to be active, where it doesn't even feel like working out because it's enjoyable. zumba tops the list for me!
7. set realistic goals and reward yourself with non-food stuff regularly, like a mani/pedi or a movie
8. start cooking more at home, and find ways to add big flavor to food without a lot of fat (such as spices, herbs)
9. during times you feel discouraged, remember your reasons for becoming healthier. visualize how you will look after reaching your goals, or imagine feeling younger and stronger because of your ilfestyle changes

here's to a healthy 2011!

1. Get a small plate and bowl and use these for all meals. It helps with portion control
2. Don't drink calories. So no alcohol, soda or milk / sugar in coffee or tea, no fruit juice. Only water, black tea or coffee
3. No artificial sweeteners
4. Fruit for dessert - no excuses
5. Cut out as much diary as possible, get used to no butter or cheese or cream
6. Fill plate with veggies not meat
7.remove any temptation foods from house and learn to say no
8. Reduce (to zero if possible) using processed foods (to much salt and fat or sugar)
9. Learn to love brown rice and brown bread
10. Reward for weight loss goal should never be food

Oo, very interesting tips from everyone. Mine are...

1) NEVER, NEVER go hungry. IMO, hunger is what will often make you make and choices and/or overeat. Have an apple or some veggie snack if you're tummy's rumbling. If it doesn't fit into your calorie allowance, it doesn't matter. 80 calories over will not kill you, nor will it make you fat (and it's also a lot better that the 500 calorie hunger-induced binge you may end up having!). Weightloss shouldn't be a punishment so don't make yourself suffer!

2) Be honest. Those little bites of food here and there really do add up. Just because you didn't log it it doesn't mean it didn't happen!

3) That leads on to portion sizes. All pieces of chicken/bowls of cereal/etc were not created equal. Make sure you're logging your quantities correctly - portion sizes on boxes are often really small!

4) Let yourself have the foods you love occasionally I actually don't believe in "cheating" - it's not a competition and there are no "rules" or "judges"... if you go over your calorie allowance every now and again it's really not the end of the world. Even better is if you can fit in the foods you love within your calorie allowance by controlling your portion size and/or exercising - It's great to show yourself that there are no devil foods!

5) MFP's favourite motto - "slow and steady wins the race". This has helped me SO MUCH. And it's so true. No need to lose weight at record speed, so no need to deprive yourself or go mad with guilt after a bad day.

6) Conquer emotional eating - this is obviously SO much easier said than done. I'd say it's more of a goal than a tip. It's definitely still a work in progress for me, and obviously there are days when I comfort eat or stress eat, but logging every bite is helping a lot. Wolfing down 500 unnecessary, unfilling calories in the space of 10 minutes doesn't seem as much of a comfort when you see it on paper!

7) Know your "trigger" foods. They're the foods which send you on a downward spiral. Mine are most refined, simple carbs. They get me desperate for more and I end up wasting loads of calories on them in the day and not really feeling full from them at all. Chocolate is another - just can't stop after one bite! By knowing what you can control yourself with and what you can't, you can help yourself make the best choices. For example, if I crave chocolate and I'm worried one piece will turn into the whole box I may make myself some chocolate milk. Or have really dark chocolate - that's really satisfying and not as moreish. Same applies for bread - bagel = uncontrolled bread binge, dark rye bread = just one piece.

8) Plan in advance. Obviously a lot of the time you may have to make some changes, but by logging your day's food in advance you ensure that your calories are well spread out and you've got enough for the whole day. I like to leave 100-200 left over if I can to account for unplanned snacks/changes

9) Exercise! I really don't know how I could go months on end on just 1300 calories a day. With exercise, not only can you eat more every day, but if you fall off the wagon it helps you repair the damage so much faster and so much better!

10) Don't make changes you can't keep for the rest of your life. This includes cutting out entire food groups or specific foods, eating very low calorie, deprivation etc etc. Of course once we reach our goals we'll be more relaxed (gymming 4 times a week instead of 6, for example), but our lifestyles and diets should be a more relaxed version of what we have now, not something completely different/what we had before!