Does anything truly work?

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0241USMC
0241USMC Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

My name is Elizabeth. I have tried everything you can think of to lose weight. Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, South Beach Diet, Adkins, Mediterranean, Advocare 24 Day Challenge, and logging my food here to stay within 1200 calories. It's so hard to stay under 1200 calories. I am a mother of six children ranging in age from 2 - 8, and although that isn't an excuse to eat unhealthy, it sure enough provides a ton of temptation with all of their cookies, chips, and carb-rich foods.

I am 5'4" and weigh 180lbs. I want to weigh around 150. I would be soooo happy with that weight. I exercise but not regularly enough. I like to swim, walk, and jog. I recently bought Garcinia Cambogia (not sure if that is spelled correctly) and I haven't tried it yet. Does anyone have anything negative or positive to say about it? Anyone have any suggestions for losing this weight once and for all?

Thanks,
Elizabeth
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Replies

  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    edited August 2015
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    You're not meant to stay under 1200 calories... you're meant to hit 1200 calories. It is the minimum RDA net calories for a female (even then, it is too low for some people).

    Garcinia Cambogia? All that is needed to lose weight is a caloric deficit. Waste of money - sorry. You should've researched it before buying it...

    OP, get off of 1200 calories if you can't sustain it. Those cookies that you wanted? You're gonna have a hard time fitting it in with 1200 calories...

    Set MFP to 0.5lb or 1lb loss per week.


    If you're really motivated and have the will-power, you'll get it done.
  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
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    You don't need diets such as ww, Atkins, etc; the only way to lose weight is too eat less than you burn. Most 'diets' are just expensive ways of ensuring someone is eating less than they burn. If you didn't lose weight with any of them, then quite simply, you ate eating more than you burn.

    Pills are all just a scam in my experience; again, if you are eating more than you burn, no pill will stop you gaining.

    Are you weighing all your food with a foodscale? If not, it is very likely that you are eating more than you think, henice why you aren't losing.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    You don't have to eat under 1200 to lose weight, probably. I weigh less than you and lose on much more than that (though I'm slightly taller)
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    The issue isn't the "anythings" not working. The issue is the people trying to do the anythings.

    If you eat in a deficit, you'll lose weight. If you don't, you won't. Period.

    I suggest you use a food scale and diligently log your intake as accurately as you possibly can. Enter your info into MFP and set a reasonable deficit. After a couple of months, you'll know enough to see what it will take for you to lose weight.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    The issue isn't the "anythings" not working. The issue is the people trying to do the anythings.

    If you eat in a deficit, you'll lose weight. If you don't, you won't. Period.

    I suggest you use a food scale and diligently log your intake as accurately as you possibly can. Enter your info into MFP and set a reasonable deficit. After a couple of months, you'll know enough to see what it will take for you to lose weight.

    this + get a food scale + only eat back half of exercise calories + make sure you NET whatever number MFP gives you.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    The issue isn't the "anythings" not working. The issue is the people trying to do the anythings.

    If you eat in a deficit, you'll lose weight. If you don't, you won't. Period.

    I suggest you use a food scale and diligently log your intake as accurately as you possibly can. Enter your info into MFP and set a reasonable deficit. After a couple of months, you'll know enough to see what it will take for you to lose weight.

    this + get a food scale + only eat back half of exercise calories + make sure you NET whatever number MFP gives you.

    Yup. Deficit works, and keep it moderate to be able to stick with it long term.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    The problem with diets that promise fast weight loss is that they are hard to maintain. See you have tried all of these diets and ended up jumping from one diet to the next declaring that they don't work. Had you started an easier "slower" diet you would have made progress by now. So in retrospect a "slower" diet (0.5-1 pound a week) is faster than a diet that promises you 10 pounds a month and does not deliver because you are unable to keep up with it. Why not try it?

    Set your calories to lose 0.5-1 pound, eat reasonably, fit in a couple of cookies every once in a while... essentially just eat like you always have, but less of it. The change won't be so dramatic that it leads you to quit early on and you will be able to just live your life like you always have.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Everydarnedthing that puts you in a Calorie Deficit works, everydarnedtime.

    It has to. No one can escape the All Powerful And Mighty Calorie Deficit.

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Research shows that you can lose weight with any diet, as long as you stick to the diet. But people who think they can eat some magical food and not reduce calories are guaranteed to fail.
  • francesgenao
    francesgenao Posts: 22 Member
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    As everyone else has mentioned those diets do not work..... cook healthier for your family, weigh and measure and be paitent.... I have my own struggles during the evening hours at home with food, you should take one meal at a time. I have requested you as friend, pls. accept and we can work together
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    What works is choosing a weight loss regime that you can actually stick to.... for life...That means no extreme restrictions, no crazy eliminations, no pills and not deciding that a particular food or category of foods is bad. CICO done the way MFP is designed to work, with a sensible goal will get you there. It won't be fast, it won't be by a deadline, but it will happen.

    You have to change how you think about eating. Be willing to accept that this is a lifestyle change, not quick fix and then back to old habits.
  • Haegar62
    Haegar62 Posts: 38 Member
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    As the people say weight all and log it and about exercise i am sure with 6 kids you get your exercise free with just handling them.
    And drink enough water.
    Good LUck
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    francesgenao wrote: »
    As everyone else has mentioned those diets do not work..... cook healthier for your family, weigh and measure and be paitent.... I have my own struggles during the evening hours at home with food, you should take one meal at a time. I have requested you as friend, pls. accept and we can work together



    Au contraire - those diets *do* work. They ALL work ... so long as The Deficit is honored and maintained.
  • 0241USMC
    0241USMC Posts: 9 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I don't try to stay under the 1200 calories that MFP suggested, I just try not to go over. To answer your questions...no, I don't weigh my food. I will try that. I have a food scale. I did research the garcinia cambogia and there were a lot of people that said it helped them with cravings. Regardless, I appreciate all of the feedback. When I exercise and MFP adds those calories back to my daily allowance, should I use any of them? What does the term NET mean? And I think I know what calorie deficit means, but can someone tell me to be sure?
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    Your thread title caught my attention because I do feel like nothing truly works. No guarantees anywhere. I once read a quote from a scientist saying that studies prove that a good way to gain weight is to go on a calorie restricted diet for a period of time first. In other words, diets are a real problem in that we are statistically likely to regain the weight and then some. So, although CICO truly works initially, it only works for a limited period of time for many people. Obviously I'm here believing I can be a statistical minority. I have vowed not to let myself get overly hungry, or to take any other extreme measures to lose this weight, and I have vowed to pay attention to the quality and quantity of food I'm eating forever and ever amen.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    1) Set a reasonable goal. Like 2-4 lbs per month max, and no more. This way you will nto starve
    2) Make sure you reach this goal by eating in a way you can live with. Not on a diet that consists of weird food you cannot possibly keep eating forever, not based on exotic ingredients, special shakes etc.
    3) Since you have kids, focus on health more than weight. If you believe that too many cookies and chips are the reason you cannot maintain a healthy weight, why are you letting your kids have regularly these things? I am not saying go on some weird cleanse and ban all treats forever, but try moderation. With 6 kids this should be fairly easy actually. If you are 8 in the family, one package of cookies means a nice treat for everyone, without overdoing it. Just make sure to open one package per day, not a second or a third.
  • 2wise4u
    2wise4u Posts: 229 Member
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    CICO works as long as your logging is honest and accurate. Diet fads are hard for me since I don't like being to restricted and want the freedom to eat something yummy as long as I account for it and exercise to be allotted those extra calories. :blush: MFP works and having friends here is a support system like no other. Save your money and don't go for the fads and quick fixes...use MFP. I think it'll work for you. Also, don't expect the weight to drop off overnight. Slow and steady weight loss is the way to go.

    Good work.
  • 2wise4u
    2wise4u Posts: 229 Member
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    Good luck.

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