Glad you've found something you like OP!

As for me I'm just mindful of my portion sizes and make sure I'm hitting my macros daily. When I was trying to get the hang of things weighing my food was such an eye opener because I had no idea what a true portion size was. I would always just fill my plate up with food.

Pre-planning my meals the night before really helps me. For example if I know I'm having a carby breakfast like steel cut oatmeal and a 1/2 english muffin for breakfast I make sure the rest of my day isn't filled with simple carbs like white rice/flour/bread etc.

I'm maintaining now, but this helped me while I was losing too. Anything restrictive usually worked well for a short time, but always backfired on me.

I'm quite active and being tall I'm able to eat a lot and it's grrreat!

I follow the "eat what I want in moderation" food plan. It's been more successful for me than trying to cut out food groups or stick to diet meals and easier to maintain when I'm out with friends or family.

Hey LoveMyCapt :-) I just made the decision to become a Part Time Vegetarian where ultimately I'll eat veggie during the week and regularly on weekends. I'm doing it one day a week as of now and then I'll slowly increase the days until it becomes 2nd nature to me. Good luck on your EM2WL!

No real plan either. Calorie counting (obviously), high in protein & veggies, low on carbs.

Beyond that:
1) Drink black coffee - so many hidden calories in sugar, milk, creamer, etc. Plus caffeine blocks the 'hungry'
2) Sleep - I like to get seven hours of sleep minimum, 7 1/2 or 8 if I can swing it.
3) Be active - do stuff! It doesn't matter what, even things like mowing, gardening, or chasing your kids on the playground. The trick is to begin to enjoy being active and missing it when you don't. I cycle to work and back in the summer and I definitely miss when I have to give it up due to the cold.

No real plan either. Calorie counting (obviously), high in protein & veggies, low on carbs.

Beyond that:
1) Drink black coffee - so many hidden calories in sugar, milk, creamer, etc. Plus caffeine blocks the 'hungry'
2) Sleep - I like to get seven hours of sleep minimum, 7 1/2 or 8 if I can swing it.
3) Be active - do stuff! It doesn't matter what, even things like mowing, gardening, or chasing your kids on the playground. The trick is to begin to enjoy being active and missing it when you don't. I cycle to work and back in the summer and I definitely miss when I have to give it up due to the cold.

^^^ This! Plus I would add, Low-er in carbs, because there are some days when I just have to eat cake! And I do!
I've also found that there is no cheating on a calorie count type "diet" because I eat whatever I want in moderation. If I go over my calories for a day, I go back down to 1200 the following day! The pounds continue to drop off of me by doing this. Oh, and I eat about every three hours to keep my metabolism burning!

I'm on a see-food diet. If want it, I'm truly hungry AND it fits in my calories for the day, then its all set to get eaten. If not, then without it I go.

Eat more 2 weigh less.. I used to follow the usual extreme low calorie diet but failed so many times. This time I eat at my BMR level. Also no special diet or restrictions, just try to eat homemade and healthy most of the time. Losing weight at a steady pace.

Bump!

At the beginning of this year I started a weight loss challenge at work but wasn't putting in much effort. After I got back from my business conference I decided to do a 60 day challenge to myself. I am not allowed to buy food outside the grocery store or my business and this forced me to really meal plan. I started adding extra veggies to everything and before I knew it I was keeping my calories low but consistently feeling satisfied. I've lost 20 lbs since the beginning of the year. My biggest advice is think out your food decisions. Every meal I have something sweet, usually fruit but sometimes yogurt. I'm at 35 days today and it's easier now then ever. I finally have hope that I'm going to get under 200 lbs for the first time since I was 13.

I need a better plan, so looking here for inspiration. My calorie intake with losing 1 lb a week (5'10, 192 lb) is 1580. I feel like I'm starving the closer I get to 1500, so I HAVE to work out to be able to get 1 more snack or something. It was my understanding, that we really shouldnt eat less than 1500 cals in general, especially for taller women...thoughts on that?

Rmazula wrote: »

I need a better plan, so looking here for inspiration. My calorie intake with losing 1 lb a week (5'10, 192 lb) is 1580. I feel like I'm starving the closer I get to 1500, so I HAVE to work out to be able to get 1 more snack or something. It was my understanding, that we really shouldnt eat less than 1500 cals in general, especially for taller women...thoughts on that?

I agree that sub-1,500 would be pushing it for someone of our size (I'm 6' 202). Is your daily activity being taken in to account with that 1,580 number? Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR is about 1,665. That's what you burn just staying alive. Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE for being sedentary is 1,995, meaning if sedentary, daily living activities burn about 300 extra calories. It would make sense for MFP to suggest 1,580 for a 1 lb/week if it's assuming you're barely active, but if you're more active you can eat more per day and reach your weight loss goals. You might want to play with the calculator here to get an idea of what you could eat depending on your activity. I've heard of a lot of people here who upped their calories a bit and felt a lot better, which makes it easier to succeed. The main thing to remember with TDEE is if you're eating based on a certain activity level and that drops, you need to re-calculate your goals.

If whatever your goals are feel hard to get by on, have you considered Intermittent Fasting (IF)? I eat during a shorter window each day than most people, which makes it easier to take in that overall lower amount of calories. I never have been big on breakfast in the mornings and prefer to eat later in the day. I keep a pretty short 19 hours fasting/5 eating window due to my preferences and job, but many people eat on a 16/8 or 14/10 schedule. The biggest key to IF is if it will work for your life. The main benefit is with a shorter window, you can more easily eat less calories if you can avoid overeating during your window. If you're the type of person who needs breakfast and a post-dinner snack to feel your best, it's not for you. If you tend to skip breakfast anyway or can deal with not eating past a certain time, it might be worth a try.