What's your way to make weight loss successful?
Laviegurl25
Posts: 121 Member
What rules do you set out for yourself for successful weight loss?
I'm not new to losing weight, but am looking for new ideas! The ones I have and still follow to ensure success are;
Drink at least 8 glasses of water
No eating past 8
If I want a sweet snack I buy the 100 cal snacks so I don't over endulge
I work out 5-6 times a week. Weights at least 3 times a week
I try to have a salad everyday.
Stay within my calorie intake.
I'm not new to losing weight, but am looking for new ideas! The ones I have and still follow to ensure success are;
Drink at least 8 glasses of water
No eating past 8
If I want a sweet snack I buy the 100 cal snacks so I don't over endulge
I work out 5-6 times a week. Weights at least 3 times a week
I try to have a salad everyday.
Stay within my calorie intake.
0
Replies
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Eat better, plan meals, cook real food.
Stay away from processed foods.
Have 5-6 small meals/snacks every day.
No junk food between those planned meals/snacks.
Buy plenty of salad/veggies/fruits.
Do not buy cookies, peanuts or potato chips.
Eat less, track calories, use MyFitnesspal.^^
Walk at least 1 hour at a fast pace every day with my dog.
Work out at least 30 minutes, 5 times per week.
And...wait for ice and snow to go away so I can use my bicycle or go jogging.^^
This looks like a lot when it's all written down, but I find it pretty easy and there can be little exceptions once in a while.
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Laviegurl25 wrote: »What rules do you set out for yourself for successful weight loss?
I'm not new to losing weight, but am looking for new ideas! The ones I have and still follow to ensure success are;
Drink at least 8 glasses of water
No eating past 8
If I want a sweet snack I buy the 100 cal snacks so I don't over endulge
I work out 5-6 times a week. Weights at least 3 times a week
I try to have a salad everyday.
Stay within my calorie intake.
Lots of pre planning, weighing food, logging, and making sure I meet my calorie goals.0 -
Log everything
Weigh as much food as possible, estimate if I can't (such as the apple I ate at work today)
Don't deprive myself of the foods I love
Aim to hit my protein intake every day0 -
Wow, thanks internet for acting up!0
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Log everything
Don't cut anything out of my diet, just eat right number of calories
Don't require perfection
Plan plan plan my meals so I don't binge on bad choices out of hanger.0 -
i too plan meals as much as possible
work out 20 min per day 5 days a week(minimum)
don't bring chips pop or other high cal snack foods into the house
pre plan my meals out if possible0 -
Laviegurl25 wrote: »What rules do you set out for yourself for successful weight loss?
I'm not new to losing weight, but am looking for new ideas! The ones I have and still follow to ensure success are;
Drink at least 8 glasses of water
No eating past 8
If I want a sweet snack I buy the 100 cal snacks so I don't over endulge
I work out 5-6 times a week. Weights at least 3 times a week
I try to have a salad everyday.
Stay within my calorie intake.
I do only one or two of those things: stay within my calorie intake, and yes gym 5 times a week, but lifting must be 4 days.
I eat when I want, what I want-as long as it fits in my deficit and I hit my macros. I don't need to eat a salad every day to do that and I can have more than 100 calories for a snack or dessert and hit my goal as well.
The biggest thing for me has been finding ways to eat high volume, nutritious foods/meals, at low calories-as I like to eat a lot. And have dessert.
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The simple answer for me is just staying at a deficit.
A more in depth answer:
Pre-logging my days - this is the single most helpful thing I've done. It lets me play around with my food before I eat it, to make sure my day is balanced (and it allows me to have ice cream, like I did tonight), and full of food that I enjoy.
Weighing and measuring my food.
Only eating my exercise calories back if I feel hungry and only then half of them.
Getting and staying active.0 -
Keep things simple. It is too easy to make things complicated and overwhelming by trying to do too much at one time and trying to mix and match different plans.0
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One and only one rule : Maintain. The. Deficit.
All else is irrelevant personal opinion.0 -
The biggest factor for me was strength training.
I couldn't always stay under my goal (even set to a pound a week). When I only did cardio I felt like I was undoing hard work. When I started lifting those bad days were just extra fuel for my muscles and not a negative impact.
The other things were:
-Slow and steady. A half a pound a week is better than nothing.
-Not cutting anything out. If I want it I make it fit and fill the rest of my diary with filling foods.
-Recognizing that there is no end to this. This is forever.0 -
Enjoy my food. There are days I feel like eating polenta with shrimp, onions, green peppers, and mushrooms. There are days that I want a McDonald's cheeseburger or Popeye's fried chicken. As long as I fit my calories and macros, I don't let myself stress over either.
Eat my calories. I've had people tell me that I "need" to drink fruit juice with my breakfast or that I "need" green shakes or protein shakes. Nope. I need to savor the taste and texture of my food as I chew it. When I drink my calories, I am sad because it's over too quickly.
Weigh and measure mostly everything. I've gotten to the point where I can guesstimate the proper amount of mustard and ketchup on a hot dog to make a teaspoon or a tablespoon. Every so often, even if I can eyeball them, I measure again to make certain my guesstimates are staying fairly accurate.
Make my exercise practical instead of habitual. I can't handle going to the gym on a regular basis. I find it boring, which I might not if I took classes or had a workout buddy. I compensate by taking my dogs for walks or doing yardwork or cutting brush for my goats to eat--things like that, which I find useful. Someday I'll find heavy lifting more entertaining, but right now, that's the best place for me to be. I am going to try to get a membership to Anytime Fitness, but not to do heavy lifting.
Avoid letting people dictate what I want or need to eat. Going back up to the eating calories example, I've also had people tell me that I "need" to stop eating one thing or another because it's unhealthy. Then they trot out Mercola or PCRM and it's all I can do to avoid hurting myself rolling my eyes. When I mentioned using artificial sweetener to someone, she suggested stevia and so on--and when I said I disliked stevia, she stated she was just "trying to help [me] find healthy solutions" to my sweetener use. I thanked her for her concern, but said there was no problem, so no solution was necessary. My body--my responsibility.
Be honest. If I go over my calories or have an otherwise "bad eating day," I log it. Once in a while I have a day during which I have no dinners listed. 99.9% of the time, I really didn't eat dinner. Then there are the occasional days upon which I've already exceeded my calories to the point that I just shrug and wonder why bother any longer. Those days are few and far between, but they exist--and part two of this rule is to not beat myself up when I'm not honest with MFP but honest with myself that the day is just better left behind for a fresh start in the morning.0 -
Mine are:
1. Try to get in some exercise every day
2. Eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full
3. Keep calorie goals in mind
4. Try to eat a balanced diet0 -
- get plenty of exercise so that I can eat more and accomplish the same goals...
- be consistent
- tortoise and the hare...slow and steady wins the race
- recognize that I"m never going to be 100% perfect and recognizing that having a bad day doesn't mean I need to "start over"...it means I had a bad day and tomorrow is a new one and in the grand scheme of things it's irrelevant so long as I'm otherwise being consistent.0 -
Loving everyone's way of succeeding!!!0
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-Weigh daily and measure weekly, even if I don't expect any losses.
-Refrain from restricting my calories too much, because it only leads to burnout within a few months. (1500 may only be a little more than 1200, but lemme tell you, it makes a serious difference in my mind.)
-Eat whenever I want - I'm hungriest at night and will invariably go on a midnight binge if I don't eat after 9 on a work night. I don't listen to that bizarre claim that diet gurus make that says you'll "store fat" if you eat before bedtime (whatever that means).
-Go to the gym at least 5 days a week. Not so much for the calorie burn, but because working out keeps me on track and tends to curb my evening appetite.
-Focus on strength training, because it's more fun than cardio and gives far more satisfying results.0 -
I enjoyed reading these
!! 0 -
What has been helping me is pre-planning my meals before hand (in the morning usually) so if I want to fit a little snack or sweet in I can. Lifting every other day, cardio 2-3 times a week. Waking up with a good attitude and keeping it throughout the day is really important! Don't let the cravings win, but there is nothing wrong with having a little bit of what you love in moderation.0
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Just one word: CONSISTENCY.
Most people fail in weight loss because they are inconsistent.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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1. Weigh your food (I have been doing this for about 2 months now and it has been amazing!)
2. Don't be miserable, if you are eating on the lower end of recommended calories and you are hungry/cranky/dizzy, re-evaluate and add more calories. Nothing bad will happen if you slowly increase to where you are happier and still losing.
3. Find the foods that make you full and the ones that make you hungrier. I don't eat bread products right now (nothing is wrong with them, if someone wants them they are fine) because they make me hungrier and make me a bit bloated so I don't feel as great.
4. Exercise at least a little, everyone is going to do something different, but for your heart health and muscle maintenance it is really a good idea.
5. I weigh myself every day to keep myself accountable and remind myself what I am working for.
6. Log bad days. I was awful at doing this and I think I would have been more successful earlier on had I just sucked it up, logged, and kept on going.
7. Don't listen to everyone (most people) on the internet.0 -
- weigh everything & pre-portion
- snack snack snack
- I eat very healthy but I don't completely alienate myself from my family by eating seperate meals. If my husband cooks, I eat and enjoy it
- I reward myself on the weekends, by going easy on the counting and micromanaging of what I eat, it gives me something to look forward too (I compensate with double workouts Saturday mornings)
- WATER WATER WATER (8-10 glasses) and I dont go anywhere NEAR soda or fitness drinks0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »- get plenty of exercise so that I can eat more and accomplish the same goals...
- be consistent
- tortoise and the hare...slow and steady wins the race
- recognize that I"m never going to be 100% perfect and recognizing that having a bad day doesn't mean I need to "start over"...it means I had a bad day and tomorrow is a new one and in the grand scheme of things it's irrelevant so long as I'm otherwise being consistent.
Lots of great advice for me in this post! Without a doubt, I am the tortoise in my journey....that's for sure. I can over complicate this, better than most; however, your comment about "not having to start over" really sunk in for me. Thanks for that!
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I plan my 5-6 meals/day in advance around organic raw least processed food 40/40/20 rule. I log on my food intake on myfitness app everyday except weekends. As for exercise, 30 minutes cardio 3-4x/week, yoga and meditation.0
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Just one word: CONSISTENCY.
Most people fail in weight loss because they are inconsistent.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This
I would add having a plan at some point when you know you will be "maintaining" weight.
Exercise is important. You can lose weight without it - but muscle mass will definitely come off because deficits don't just reduce fat - you will reduce muscle as well.
Exercise, eat good wholesome foods, be consistent, and be accountable. You do those four things - in a year - you will be amazed at the results.0 -
I eat whatever I want as long as it's within my calories. If I really crave something I make it fit.
I weigh, measure, and log everything.
I try not to indulge in guilt if I have a bad day.
Do whatever works for you as long as your in the correct calorie deficit, but try to eat in a way that you can see your self doing for the long haul. If your restricting too much I think it's a receipe for failure after awhile.0 -
Drink Plenty of water and Consistently log your food.0
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-Recognizing that there is no end to this. This is forever.[/quote]
that's a powerful statement!!
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LoupGarouTFTs wrote: »Enjoy my food. There are days I feel like eating polenta with shrimp, onions, green peppers, and mushrooms. There are days that I want a McDonald's cheeseburger or Popeye's fried chicken. As long as I fit my calories and macros, I don't let myself stress over either.
Eat my calories. I've had people tell me that I "need" to drink fruit juice with my breakfast or that I "need" green shakes or protein shakes. Nope. I need to savor the taste and texture of my food as I chew it. When I drink my calories, I am sad because it's over too quickly.
Weigh and measure mostly everything. I've gotten to the point where I can guesstimate the proper amount of mustard and ketchup on a hot dog to make a teaspoon or a tablespoon. Every so often, even if I can eyeball them, I measure again to make certain my guesstimates are staying fairly accurate.
Make my exercise practical instead of habitual. I can't handle going to the gym on a regular basis. I find it boring, which I might not if I took classes or had a workout buddy. I compensate by taking my dogs for walks or doing yardwork or cutting brush for my goats to eat--things like that, which I find useful. Someday I'll find heavy lifting more entertaining, but right now, that's the best place for me to be. I am going to try to get a membership to Anytime Fitness, but not to do heavy lifting.
Avoid letting people dictate what I want or need to eat. Going back up to the eating calories example, I've also had people tell me that I "need" to stop eating one thing or another because it's unhealthy. Then they trot out Mercola or PCRM and it's all I can do to avoid hurting myself rolling my eyes. When I mentioned using artificial sweetener to someone, she suggested stevia and so on--and when I said I disliked stevia, she stated she was just "trying to help [me] find healthy solutions" to my sweetener use. I thanked her for her concern, but said there was no problem, so no solution was necessary. My body--my responsibility.
Be honest. If I go over my calories or have an otherwise "bad eating day," I log it. Once in a while I have a day during which I have no dinners listed. 99.9% of the time, I really didn't eat dinner. Then there are the occasional days upon which I've already exceeded my calories to the point that I just shrug and wonder why bother any longer. Those days are few and far between, but they exist--and part two of this rule is to not beat myself up when I'm not honest with MFP but honest with myself that the day is just better left behind for a fresh start in the morning.
Very thoughtful, well written response. I very much like this!0 -
If I get bored, try something else.
If I gain weight troubleshoot, brainstorm, and try something else.
Food is life, food is lovely; honor it.
Change one habit at a time; not all habits all at once.
If I am full, stop.
Eat a variety and get enough protein.
If I am eating for a reason other than hunger, take some time to evaluate and take care of the underlyling need.0 -
This is it for me: maintain a reasonable calorie deficit.
And here are the things that make it easier for me to maintain that deficit:- Focus on eating things that are filling and leave me satisfied longer. For me, that's protein and fat. This cuts down on hunger, which means it's easier for me to stay within my deficit.
- Break up my eating into small meals/snacks throughout the day. I don't enjoy going for long periods of time, and then eating 2-3 large meals. I prefer eating something every 2 hours or so.
- Eat foods I enjoy. No exclusions when it comes to foods or food groups, except ones that are necessary for health (for me, gluten). Less restrictive = more likely to be able to stick to it.
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