What works for you??

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sunnyphia
sunnyphia Posts: 14 Member
in Getting Started
hi people! I'm so happy to be back on here but I've decided I need a structure plan to work with and follow. Just wondering what you guys follow and what works for you. Any tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!!
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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Accurate calorie counting and add some exercise for fitness. Log everyday even if you have a bad day.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    I find for me, i really don't see much progress, and in fact regress if I don't make an effort to take care of all three phases of fitness/health/diet
    1. Eat well, stay within my calorie limits and eat mostly 'clean' foods.
    2. Lift weights to be strong, shape my body.
    3. Get some cardio a few days a week.

    lots of little tricks within those three things thats the gist of it
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Get into the habit of logging every single thing you eat or drink that has calories. Everything. You don't need to change what you eat, you just need to eat less and keep track to verify that you are. I think one mistake people make is thinking that they need to overhaul their entire lives and they don't, especially not at first. Just eat less, try to move more and you'll lose weight. It's really almost always that simple.

    Oh, and buy a kitchen scale if you don't have one. It's the best method for making sure your portion sizes are correct. Measuring cups are nearly worthless for solid food because smaller pieces mean more calories in the cup.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    Calorie counting, some cardio, some weights. That is all.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    Weigh the food. Log the food. Follow the goals set by MFP with Fitbit adjustments and keep an eye on the net calories.
  • sunnyphia
    sunnyphia Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks guys. But do you follow a guideline of how many portions to have of each food group or do you just have whatever making it as clean as possible?
  • ich_ashalyn
    ich_ashalyn Posts: 10 Member
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    Low Carb here. I don't count calories. I don't exercise right now. Works great for me.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I don't use the word "clean" for food. My house is clean or not, my food is just food. :smile:

    You don't need to eat any specific way, clean or otherwise, to lose weight. That's the point I was making earlier. Just eat less than you eat now. Verify that you really are eating less by ensuring your portion sizes are right and keeping track. MPF lets you track your macros (fat, protein and carbs) but it really doesn't matter how you divide them up for weight loss, it's the calories that count. Frankly, just focus on getting the calories right for now and once you have that down and are losing weight at a good pace you can start to worry about all of the rest of it. Overcomplicating things just leads to frustration.
  • sunnyphia
    sunnyphia Posts: 14 Member
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    I really never thought of it like that and it makes great sense!! I wrap my mind around what to eat how to eat and then I always say screw it. So just eat what I do but lesser amounts, of course always try to make good decisions and exercise ( which I do with a trainer) but I eat back my calories. Any tips on self control? Lol. I can eat a half pack of cookies at a time or a family size chocolate bar no problem. Not all the time but too many times.

  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited September 2015
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    sunnyphia wrote: »
    I really never thought of it like that and it makes great sense!! I wrap my mind around what to eat how to eat and then I always say screw it. So just eat what I do but lesser amounts, of course always try to make good decisions and exercise ( which I do with a trainer) but I eat back my calories. Any tips on self control? Lol. I can eat a half pack of cookies at a time or a family size chocolate bar no problem. Not all the time but too many times.

    Pre-portion. I buy the big bags of snacks or whatever at Costco and I measure a bunch of it out into servings for myself. I buy lots of Ziploc baggies at Costco, too. LOL I can easily grab what I know is a serving size and take it with me while I'm working on homework or watching TV and I know exactly how much I ate and when I'm done, I'm done. You can also just not buy the things that you know you're going to lose control with.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    SueInAz wrote: »
    Pre-portion. I buy the big bags of snacks or whatever at Costco and I measure a bunch of it out into servings for myself. I buy lots of Ziploc baggies at Costco, too. LOL I can easily grab what I know is a serving size and take it with me while I'm working on homework or watching TV and I know exactly how much I ate and when I'm done, I'm done. You can also just not buy the things that you know you're going to lose control with.

    Another vote for the pre-portioned food baggies!
    They are amazing, makes it super easy to eat only what you want and you know exactly what you are in for (calorie wise).
  • sunnyphia
    sunnyphia Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks guys. You seriously gave me great ideas!!! Wish me luck!
  • bametels
    bametels Posts: 950 Member
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    You noted that you eat back your calories. I'm assuming that refers to calories burned through exercise. How do you determine how many calories you burn? I don't have a tracker such as Fitbit so I use MFP. I learned the hard way that MFP is overly generous on calorie burns, so now I try not to eat back more than 1/2 of the calories that MFP gives me for exercise.
  • sunnyphia
    sunnyphia Posts: 14 Member
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    Oh there's never a way to really tell how much u burn. I just know that I eat way too much junk for the exercise to make a difference! What I have been told by a couple of professionals is to not log your exercise and just eat the calories your allowed.
  • vapeanut28
    vapeanut28 Posts: 16 Member
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    Log your foods - every.single.bite! This is what is making me successful this time. Previously I would log for a few days/weeks then slack off and stop. I also was of the mentality that if I didn't log it, it didn't count. Now that I have been HONESTLY logging for almost 2 months, I realize how many extra calories I was eating. A big spoonful of peanut butter can't be that much right? WRONG - easily 300+ calories. Grab a few cookies as I walk by - 300 calories. Poptarts for a midnight snack - 400 calories because who can eat just one. A handful of peanuts - 300. Thats more than a daily allotment of calories - No wonder I'm 100 lbs overweight. Those suckers add up.

    Another thing that helps me is to pre-log. For instance I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow night so its already on my log. I will even pad it a little and adjust as needed. For example, I'm cooking a pork butt in the crock pot so even though I'll probably only eat 3-4 oz, I logged 5 that way if I want more, fine and if not I'll have a few calories left over for a treat. It also helps me budget my calories for the rest of the day. I hate getting to dinnertime and realizing I have 200 cal. left. Makes for a sad dinner or a sad me when I go over my goal.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Pre-planning is what keeps me on track! :)
    I've been planning my food the night before for around 4 months now and it's helped me make good choices! Of course, it's not always realistic and possible to plan absolutely everything - some unexpected occasions pop up here and there and you have to move it all around and adjust slightly - but it's definitely an important part of the weight loss 'journey'. If I didn't have the tracker, I wouldn't have learnt as much as I know now! I love MFP!
  • kim2004mc
    kim2004mc Posts: 8 Member
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    I start by watching what I eat and substitute unhealthy treats with healthier versions. Example I love ice cream but it's not good for you so I pick some made with coconut milk or almond milk. Then I find following a workout routine is best like Les Mills combat. It gives you a schedule to follow plus some yummy recipe ideas. I just started back into it. It worked awesome for me before.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    kim2004mc wrote: »
    I start by watching what I eat and substitute unhealthy treats with healthier versions. Example I love ice cream but it's not good for you so I pick some made with coconut milk or almond milk. Then I find following a workout routine is best like Les Mills combat. It gives you a schedule to follow plus some yummy recipe ideas. I just started back into it. It worked awesome for me before.

    Why isn't ice cream good? It gets my fat macro up, and has calcium. It's also good for when I've met protein and haven't met fat or carbs and have calories left. Calorie dense doesn't mean 'not good for you'.
    OP, like other people have said, pre-logging is great. It doesn't work for some people, but it definitely works for me. I'll think 'I can't have that whole tube of pringles, I'm having a chicken pasta bake later'. If I didn't pre log I would have eaten the pringles and been starving for the rest of the day with no calories left! Allowing myself treats in moderation is also very important to me. If I didn't let myself have a treat every day - maybe some ice cream or some chocolate - I'd feel deprived and eat all the things.
  • cosmichvoyager
    cosmichvoyager Posts: 237 Member
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    Being realistic about what I can actually commit to. I try to lose 1 pound a month. Seriously. I can't be hungry or I overeat so I lift weights and have the smallest deficit ever. My goal is to be under 200 pounds when I turn 40 in 3 years :)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited September 2015
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    cosmichvoyager wrote: »
    Being realistic about what I can actually commit to. I try to lose 1 pound a month. Seriously. I can't be hungry or I overeat so I lift weights and have the smallest deficit ever. My goal is to be under 200 pounds when I turn 40 in 3 years :)

    Nothing wrong with that at all. I don't have a goal, really, beyond not gaining weight and firming up a bit by lifting. Seriously, I tell people that in order to reach a goal weight all you really need to do is eat the amount of calories needed to maintain that goal weight. Over time, you'll get to your goal. It'll take a lot longer but if you don't care how long it takes, and really want to understand how to maintain that weight once you get there, then why not?

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