What tips and tricks help you stay on track?

I usually prelog the day. Sometimes I get off track but I make sure I keep exercising as that helps me to put my not so successful days behind me. I also decided to stop drinking alcohol a week and a half ago and starting losing again and my "off" days are less out of control. I also get to eat more.

carrjohn23 wrote: »

Sometimes it is hard to stay on track when life happens. I thought this discussion would be a great way to share tips for success. So, what helps you stay on track?

When I started mid-Feb this year, I gave myself a time goal rather than a weight goal.

Instead of saying, "I want to lose 15 kg", I said, "I want to lose whatever I can on a net 1250 cal diet by mid-June.

I just had to stick with it for 4 months, which really isn't all that long.

As I got closer to mid-June, I realised I was on track to lose 15 kg, so that was kind of rattling around in the back of my mind too. And sure enough ... by mid-June I had lost 15 kg.

Then I took a break for a month ... no logging, no eating restrictions, but lots of exercise. Interestingly, I actually ate reasonably well anyway ... it had become something of a habit.

But that little message when you close your food diary suggested I could be a weight I hadn't seen since about 2008 or so. So I picked up where I left off, and now I'm aiming for the end of September. I don't have a specific number in mind for then, just that when I reach the end of September, I'll see where I am and decide what I want to do next.

For me, time goals work because I don't have the mind-set that I'm going to be on a diet forever ... I'm just doing it for a relatively short time. And it's not so daunting. Meanwhile I'm making good food choices and picking up good habits along the way.

I stay away from bread and baked goods which are my downfall. I make sure I have steelcut oats with a few raisins precooked in the refrigerator. That takes my mind off the allure of cinnamon buns and cookies. After about three weeks, I have lost the craving for the bread, etc. I know my weakness, but it's still a battle! Apples are my friend as well.

Just be real. Own everything. The really awesome days, and the total crap days. And log into MFP as often as you can.

I think you just have to think of it as a new way of eating and if you are consistent and log and weigh everything it just becomes a habit that is a part of your new routine. You will have "off" days where you will go way over your calories and sometimes you can plan for it and sometimes you won't and it will just happen. I think it's just not letting an "off" day become and "off" week- just get back on it the next day and let this be your new habit. I also found that over the past year I have made small changes over time- I didn't try to do it all at once- just little changes and when I got used to it I added something else small. I didn't even start weighing foods until I had been losing for about four months. I didn't start lifting weights until 4-5 months in and I just recently cut out diet soft drinks (I am now addicted to water). I've lost 46 pounds in a little over a year, and I'm less than 10 pounds from my goal but I might choose to stop in five pounds- depends on how I feel about it. I have hypothyroidism and I'm pre-menopausal so weight loss can be somewhat slow for me, but it does happen- I have a low calorie goal, but it motivates me to exercise so I can eat more. And I found an exercise that I really enjoy and can enjoy with my spouse- yesterday I hit a milestone and rode my recumbent trike 30 miles and I'm just going to keep setting higher goals. I don't have any immediate plans to stop logging once I reach my goal- and I plan to keep weighing weekly so I can maintain.

So you sound like you are on the right track with breaking up big goals into smaller ones and thinking of improving overall personal health. I found myself eating and craving healthier foods because 1) I can eat more quantities for less calories and 2) it just makes me feel better to eat better. Yes I eat junk food sometimes too, but I just enjoy healthier foods more now.

1. I try to pre-log the day's food when I can.
2. I use a weekly calorie goal instead of a weekly one. His allows a little more slack with what I can eat.
3. If I know I'll be eating out (we do this once a week), I try to save some calories during the week so I can splurge a little when I eat out.

Machka9...What a brilliant way to look at goal setting for weight loss...Loved your post!!!