Advice needed! What has worked for you?

Eating what I want to eat for the rest of my life. This means cuts to things such as sweets, fats, etc but not eliminating them. It's about finding and maintaining a balance you can live with forever.
The biggest eye-opener for me was portion size. Weigh and measure everything and you'll be surprised at the size of a portion. You've got to find a way of balancing portion with calorie allotment with foods that you want to continue eating throughout your lifetime with nutrition. It's a tricky balance, for sure.

Weight loss plans with meal replacements and/or special food regimes work for the short term but usually lead to gaining the weight back. Look for a long-term plan that you are happy with.

Eating less and moving more works for me. I'd cry if someone replaced my meals with shakes.

Lots of good points above:
- eat a calorie deficit
- monitor (or eliminate) sugary, fatty foods
- WEIGH your food
- exercise (I'm not a fan but good music helps)

Rather than going on a "plan", I'm sticking with fresh fruit and vegetables with lean protein (generally chicken breast). I'm very busy during the week so on Sunday I grocery shop then prepare my food/meals for the week. Typically:
- 7 large ziplock bags of veggies to juice
- at least 7 servings of a low-cal casserole (Curried Chicken, Creole, etc.)
- zuchinni, butternut squash, and/or green beans to dehydrate for snacks
Seems to be working well for me. Down 19 pounds in 3 weeks (averaging ~1200 NET calories per day).

And how about an April 18th Kick Start... you could be down 2% before May even begins ;-)

you have to figure out how many calories you should be eating to lose. then you need to know how many calories you ARE eating and how many calories you are burning. for this i use mfp and fitbit. after that it's a cakewalk. eat less, move more. it really is that simple. i eat normal food (serving size matters), and have a bit of dessert every day. for me, it is easier to cook from scratch and be satisfied because most processed and takeout has more calories in less food.

also, don't go crazy about everything all at once. it's not sustainable. good luck!

I found that taking one baby step at a time was the best way to go. After I spent time in the hospital (severe anemia and also was diagnosed diabetic) I knew I needed to do something. I was at the highest weight ever in my life. The first thing I did was start to prepare actual meals of nutritious food. Previously I just ate whatever, whenever. I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast; sandwich, yogurt, and fruit for lunch; something like cheese and crackers for a snack; a dinner of meat and veggies and maybe a starch for dinner; other things like eggs, etc for a bedtime snack. I didn't worry about portion control, just eating more nutrient dense food. After a couple of weeks, My doctor gave me specific instructions regarding how many carbs I should be eating, so I started tweaking my food to accommodate that. Then I discovered MFP and started actual calorie counting and fitting my food into my macros.
15 months later:


I eat reduced carb per my doctors orders (max of 180 g daily) but otherwise work towards eating nutrient dense food most of the time with treats on occasion as I am able to fit them in with my calorie and macro targets.

LondonNYC wrote: »

Hi everyone,
This past week, my grandfather had his fourth and fifth heart attacks. My uncle can barely breathe, due mostly to his weight, and I realized I am not willing to continue this pattern of family obesity!

I have decided to take May as a kick-start-my-weight-loss month. So I am wondering, what diet/lifestyle plan has worked for you? I am looking at everything from meal-replacement shakes to 21-day-fix to Paleo. What are your findings? Are you willing to share your results? Thanks in advance!

I made the changes in stages. In the first stage, I switched diet soda to water (flavored with crystal light), limited red meat to about 2 times per week and gave up all fast food (except the occasional Subway sandwich). I drink 3-5 water bottles per day (24 oz each).

In this second stage, I've tweaked my nutrition plan with my trainer -- lots more protein and fat, much less carbs -- and really limiting white-bread carbs (pasta, rolls, bagels, etc). I use a protein shake for breakfast -- and love it (it tastes like a chocolate milkshake!).

I work hard to keep within my macros as well as under my calorie goal.

Go slow. Look at your results as data and not as motivation (find your motivation elsewhere). Use your results to tweak your plan. It's all about consistency, not some fad diet or magic pill.