Diet/Weight Loss Tips and Strategies

Weigh and track all intake as accurately as humanly possible using a digital scale -- and be as honest as possible about it when you do have a slip up.

Eat off smaller plates (9 inch). Don't go back for seconds.

Be consistent. Inconsistency is why people fail at weight loss/gain/maintenance.

Don't do extreme dieting. "Cutting" out foods you generally enjoy just to meet a goal weight, will more than likely be the reason you regain lost weight.

Create good habits. Be more physically active even if you're not exercising.

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

ninerbuff wrote: »

Eat off smaller plates (9 inch). Don't go back for seconds.

Be consistent. Inconsistency is why people fail at weight loss/gain/maintenance.

Don't do extreme dieting. "Cutting" out foods you generally enjoy just to meet a goal weight, will more than likely be the reason you regain lost weight.

Create good habits. Be more physically active even if you're not exercising.

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

I am doing this for 2 weeks, exercising daily and always under my daily caloric counts to try and lose weight healthy but I find myself just gaining weight. I don't get it and am frustrated. At least the extreme diets will get me down to where I want to be and then I can work on maintaining the goal weight. Stumped, frustrated and pretty much about to start grasping for what I know works. I'm trying to stay motivated.

ceoverturf wrote: »

Eat less

Exercise More.

Rocket science is so hard!

ceoverturf wrote: »

Eat less

Exercise More.

Pretty much.

I'd break exercise more down into: (a) be more active in general, walk more, walk or ride my bike to get places vs. driving when possible; and (b) find a way to fit intentional exercise into my life and do it consistently.

For eating less there are various strategies and what works for people is going to vary. For me cutting way down on snacking and mostly eating only at planned meals helps a lot, as does forcing myself to be mindful of intake (logging is a fun way to do this, IMO) and being realistic about what my actual maintenance level is and what my consumption is.

maxineraymond wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

Eat off smaller plates (9 inch). Don't go back for seconds.

Be consistent. Inconsistency is why people fail at weight loss/gain/maintenance.

Don't do extreme dieting. "Cutting" out foods you generally enjoy just to meet a goal weight, will more than likely be the reason you regain lost weight.

Create good habits. Be more physically active even if you're not exercising.

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

I am doing this for 2 weeks, exercising daily and always under my daily caloric counts to try and lose weight healthy but I find myself just gaining weight. I don't get it and am frustrated. At least the extreme diets will get me down to where I want to be and then I can work on maintaining the goal weight. Stumped, frustrated and pretty much about to start grasping for what I know works. I'm trying to stay motivated.

I don't know where to start....

(1) Extreme diets are not good for your health and will not likely give you long term results.
(2) two weeks is a very short amount of time in the scheme of losing weight. Your body is still adjusting and needs TIME. You can't fix overnight what you've been doing for YEARS!

This is what I've been doing for about a week now

At the very least I walk at least 2 miles on the treadmill.. one mile in the morning and one mile at night which help me with my morning and night time routines. If I'm at a social event (music practice, a concert, board game night, etc) at night I'll reward myself and will just stick to one mile. Any walking thats done in between that is just a bonus and are walks that I do for fun- ie walking the dogs on the local trails.

Another thing I've changed recently is I've started eating at 3pm so I'll have breakfast roughly round 3pm, lunch at 7pm and dinner around 9 or 10pm. Being a night owl and enjoying eating in general, I've found that this is incredibly more satisfying to me than eating an early breakfast. (Exercising, tea, and being productive helps for me)

I've also just got out our old bench press and have been using that on a every other day regular basis to add variety.

maxineraymond wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

maxineraymond wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

Eat off smaller plates (9 inch). Don't go back for seconds.

Be consistent. Inconsistency is why people fail at weight loss/gain/maintenance.

Don't do extreme dieting. "Cutting" out foods you generally enjoy just to meet a goal weight, will more than likely be the reason you regain lost weight.

Create good habits. Be more physically active even if you're not exercising.

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

I am doing this for 2 weeks, exercising daily and always under my daily caloric counts to try and lose weight healthy but I find myself just gaining weight. I don't get it and am frustrated. At least the extreme diets will get me down to where I want to be and then I can work on maintaining the goal weight. Stumped, frustrated and pretty much about to start grasping for what I know works. I'm trying to stay motivated.

Is your calorie count accurate? Many people guess they are eating the right amount of food. Weighing it would verify that.

If you've only been at this for 2 weeks, taking up an exercise regimen after being sedentary for awhile will result in a lot of water retention due to glycogen and muscle repair. Can last up to a month.

Extreme diets are TEMPORARY. Unless you're willing to abide by them for life, weight regain is likely. Why suffer going through an extreme regimen for a short time to only end up back where you started or even higher in weight?

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

Wow...A month huh? The thing is that I feel as if I am working very hard and feel it (muscle pains) in almost every area of my body that I would not expect to see gains. Maintaining my current weight yes but not more. I suppose I need to be more patient with this old body. I do weigh most of my food, actually the protein. Some foods are measured via measuring spoons and cups. Others are counted, for example grapes and cherries, etc
Thanks for the feedback!

Well if you just started working out, your body will be retaining fluids due to microtears in your muscles from exercise. This is why 4-6 weeks is an ideal period to monitor your weight. Also, take into consideration a body will fluctuate several lbs in a day (even more so with women).

arianabredeson wrote: »

jkwolly wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

Eat less

Exercise More.

Rocket science is so hard!

Eating less and exercising more is an obvious tip. I was more leaning towards learning tips and tricks that people have learned worked for them.

I think most of the people who have had long term success would tell you there is no tips/tricks. It's all about logging honestly and accurately (using a digital scale).

Weigh EVERYTHING. It really is eye opening. Oh and water is your best friend.