General Weight Loss Advice Beyond Calories In and Calories Out

I see lots of posts debating the calories in versus calories out concept. Although it is an important fundamental principle for weight loss, it is also a gross oversimplification of the challenges one faces to achieve lasting weight loss. I am 5’4” and have maintained my current weight of 112-114 for about eight months after losing 15 pounds.

I have found a number of things that made this process easier:
1. Accurate calorie logging – weigh and measure everything (there are various posts that explain this further).
2. Foods that keep you full – I searched various websites for suggestions on healthy low calorie, high protein food suggestions.
3. Vegetables and fruit – I don’t need to eat as much of a high calorie main course if half my plate is filled with vegetables. Salads with low calorie dressings like balsamic vinaigrette are great easy side items.
4. Planned filling snacks – I generally stick to 200 to 400 calorie meals with 100-300 calories snacks between meals. Again I did some Google searches for ideas and personally I like pistachios, tangerines, quest chips, raspberries, Greek yogurt, carrots, fruit and quest bars.
5. Don’t go hungry. A high protein diet with fruit and vegetables generally keeps me full. But I sometimes increased my daily goal to 1500 or even 1700 (maintenance for me) as a break. I don’t like cheat days because it is easy to blow an entire week’s worth of work. It hurts sometimes, but I log all my “bad days”
6. Regular exercise helps. I have become a little addicted to exercise, but I was only working out three or four days a week when I was actively losing weight. When I work out too much (like I do sometimes now), controlling my diet is harder because I am hungrier. The only time that I watch television is at the gym, so I look forward to going.
7. Make goals and don’t use food as a reward. Personally I preferred shoes (because they still fit after I stopped losing weight).
8. Find a good support group. MFP is an excellent resource for this.
9. Avoid high calorie drinks. A tablespoon of hot chocolate in my morning coffee is an excellent treat, only 42 calories (including the coffee), and it does not involve fake sugar.
10. Learn to cook, cook in bulk and freeze meals for easy reheating. Calorie counting is hard with restaurants because very few of them publish nutritional data
11. Plan! I make a general plan for my weekly meals and snacks. Then each morning I make a plan for the day, which I modify throughout the day to reflect my actual intake.
12. Remember that your metabolism may slow down with prolonged dieting. I had to increase my total calories gradually after I reached my goal weight until my metabolism recovered.
13. Daily weight fluctuations are mostly due to salt intake. Weekly changes mean more, and it is best to weigh at the same time of the day with minimal confounding factors (i.e. clothing).
14. Don’t keep problem foods in the house. When I eat ice cream, I buy one single serve container from the grocery store and plan for it in my daily calories.
15. Eat slowly. It takes your body time to register that it has eaten enough. I like food that takes extra time to eat like salads, pistachios, crab legs and tangerines.

If you need additional assistance consider asking your doctor for a referral to a nutritionist.