ONE tip from those who have been successful
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kommodevaran wrote: »
This makes no sense to me. If you want to be vegan, you'll be motivated by your commitment and to your ethical view. To lose weight, or to be healthy, there is no need to cut out meat or animal food sources.
We have a vegan at work who started it for weight loss reasons. He's really wavering.0 -
First tip from me:
Its hard to give only one tip but if i had to pick one, this is probably the best one I can come up with for the general dieter who doesn't have binging problems, diabetes or emotional problems.
Work out a way of eating that you will be able to sustain for the rest of your life. This means that what you will eat at the end of your diet is what you will eat for the rest of your life more or less and what you should be working towards now.
This involves food that is nutritious and sustaining. You want to avoid hunger. Junk food does is neither sustaining nor nutritious usually so you minimise it.0 -
Do movement that you love to do...Most of the time, so you will actually do it and later add some weights/cardio that is more challenging and wouldn't normally do to the fun stuff.0
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To be successful in the long term, have reasonable balance in your diet. I have no NO foods, just occasional foods.0
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Weigh everything and don't deprive yourself.1
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Make healthy eating the easiest thing you do in your day and eating junk the hardest: Prepare food during your high motivation times so when your motivation is low, the choice to eat well can't be easier. Oh, look, that delicious butternut squash soup in the fridge just needs to be zapped and topped with a dollop of light sour cream and a sprinkle of toasted hazelnuts (which are also in the fridge). That's way easier than going down the hall or driving in the car for the junk or the fast food, etc. My very first post on MFP. Yay! Thanks for the opportunity to share.0
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Track everything. Only thing that works.0
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Fishdoodle wrote: »Make healthy eating the easiest thing you do in your day and eating junk the hardest: Prepare food during your high motivation times so when your motivation is low, the choice to eat well can't be easier. Oh, look, that delicious butternut squash soup in the fridge just needs to be zapped and topped with a dollop of light sour cream and a sprinkle of toasted hazelnuts (which are also in the fridge). That's way easier than going down the hall or driving in the car for the junk or the fast food, etc. My very first post on MFP. Yay! Thanks for the opportunity to share.
And what a post! This is just what I do and think. I'm even going to make butternut squash soup on Monday
Welcome to MFP!
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Don't lose for another person's sake because it can really make you second guess yourself.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I've been a little discouraged at my slow weight loss and need some motivation from those of you who have been successful. So, if you could only give ONE tip that helped you the most during your weight loss, what would it be? It can be anything!
understand that it's a process...a slow one...have patience and be consistent. you don't need motivation, you need discipline...discipline leads to consistency and consistency is what is necessary to achieve your goals. motivation is an overrated and fleeting emotion.
I like to use the school analogy when discussing the process. when you decide to go to school, it can be overwhelming...all of these classes to take...tests and studying and years of work ahead...when you look at it as this big thing, it is daunting to say the least...but when you break it down into process...not so much. it's one class at a time...one semester at a time...you would likely have classes you struggle with and classes you do better in...you don't have to ace everything...you can get Bs and Cs and still graduate. you're not going to ace every test and it's likely you may even fail a test here and there...but if you are disciplined and consistent in what you're doing, eventually you pass classes...semester after semester goes by, as do the years...and finally discipline and consistency will win the day and you will graduate.
weight loss and weight management in general is a similar process.
Awesome, thank you for this!0 -
So many ppl say to use a food scale. How would i use it?0
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FitRoberta wrote: »I'm "in progress" on my weight loss too, but I'll offer my 2¢ anyway. I also feel discouraged by the pace of my weight loss. My #1 tip was "patience" but others have already said that, so here is my one (more) tip:
• Counteract frustrated/negative thoughts with encouraging and inspiring ones. It could be hanging post-its around your house/office with things like "You can do it!" or "Keep it up!" on them, or whatever works for you. For me, I made a secret Pinterest board just for my eyes, with encouraging memes on it like "You didn't gain it all in one day, you won't lose it all in one day" and "I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday" -- reading these really helps when I'm feeling discouraged. And over time I've noticed feeling less frustrated, like I'm internalizing the encouraging stuff more. Good luck!
I'm sooooo gonna do the secret Pinterest board. Brilliant advice along with patience, patience, patience.......0 -
Forgive yourself when you slip up. You will go over your calories at some point. You will make a poor food choice. You will poorly plan some day and be at the mercy of what is available. You may choose to just go hog wild and eat everything in sight. You will get the flu and not eat for a day or two. You may find your breakfast smoothie from the shop had 800 calories. A coworker might bring you your favorite donut. Life will happen. Allow yourself to be human. Do the best the you can each day and forget the rest. Do not feel bad about your choices. Find one thing in the off day that you did well, and use what you learned from the poor choices to have a better day immediately, on the same day. Remind yourself you are free to make your own choices but you are not free from the consequences of those choices.
Item #2 because I am a rule breaker:
I recommend measuring yourself with a tape measure. I can't remember seeing this posted here yet. I got one from the sewing section at Michaels. There was one month where I lost 0 pounds (FRUSTRATING) but overall 6.5 inches. This past week I was up 3 pounds yet down another 5 inches or so overall for the month. The half inches lost here and there really start to add up, and if you didn't track them you might not notice how well your body is responding to the effort you are making
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spacequiztime wrote: »Don't lose for another person's sake because it can really make you second guess yourself.
This! The last time I tried to lose weight, it was with a friend who was toxic for me and is no longer in my life. I put it all back on and then some.
This time around, I'm doing it for me - because I want to treat my body right, and be able to do the things I love to the best of my ability.
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I tell myself a quote quite frequently that I saw on the forum months and months back. It was something like nothing tastes as good as the first bite. I have found it to be so true!
That has helped me to not need a huge portion of things. Now instead of shoveling through a first plate quickly and without thinking so that I can get that second helping, I'm happy with that first serving. (Most of the time)0 -
Patience is the key. Never give up. Believe in yourself. You can do this. And... DRINK THE WATER 0
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Make your self accountable, let everyone know your goals.0
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Two tips. 1. only weigh one time a week. 2. the next time you "only" drop a pound or less go directly to the grocery store and look at a pound of raw ground beef, thats what you got rid of!!!0
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Find THE reason you want to do this. Make it the most important thing in your life. Whether it be to be able to grow old with you children/grandchildren, or one day run a 5K, or be a healthy role model for your family. Dig deep, find that reason, live it!! It will become so important to you, that when you see that donut at the office you will say "No, this is way more important to me than that donut"...Be proud of your accomplishments. Be proud of yourself for not eating that donut. Show the people at the office that YOU have willpower and want to be healthy. YOU don't need that donut, then go back to your desk and grab that delicious protein ball you made last night and rave about how delicious it is!!
BE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS...No one can take that away from you... 0 -
There are so many good posts on here, I don't think I have anything good to add. I have dieted all my life and finally realized that I will never get anywhere by dieting. I will only get where I want to be by changing my life. Find a way of eating that works for you, that you can do for the rest of your life. A lot of the foods you like to cook now can be made healthier without really changing their tastes. If they can't, just don't eat them very often. I never bake cookies any more, but the grandkids are here spending the night, so we are going to make cookies tomorrow. I will send some home with them and some to work with my husband, but I will treat myself to one or two, and log them. Find an exercise you like doing and can stick with - I got a fitbit and it has really gotten me to move. Last - my favorite quote is: Being fat is hard; Losing weight is hard; Maintaining weight is hard. Pick your hard.0
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Low-carb... Mild ketosis stops hunger and cravings.0
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I never weighed anything. Just changed my relationship with food. It is not comfort it is nourishment. You eat to nurture your body and not for any other reason.0
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I found eating food I truly enjoy makes me satisfied and needing less of it. I overate trying to get that satisfaction.0
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Don't stress over vacations. As our children are grown, my husband and I finally get to travel more, and the first six months we were losing weight, we went out of town three times. I was a mess each time, obsessing over calories and struggling with guilt over everything I ate. But guess what? The water-and actual weight came off within two weeks. It barely set me back. I've learned to relax and enjoy our time away.0
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Watch your macros and be honest. I have a trainer and he has taught me this. Wieght didn't happen over night so it won't be gone over night. It takes will power to over cone our bad habbits. I too would get discouraged do to slow wieght lose. But that's before I realized it's a marathon not a sprint.0
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nunez_nellie wrote: »So many ppl say to use a food scale. How would i use it?
By weighing everything you eat and then looking up the calorie content and logging it. You don't need to weigh pre-packed items like crisps, they'll be pretty accurate, but if you're making a meal then everything needs to be weighed. hope that helps x0 -
When I became honest with myself, that the excess weight has caused me a lifetime of unhappiness and non social participation...then I bought a food scale, threw out or gave away any food in my house not relevant to healthy eating, started moving my body and logged into MFP EVERY MOUTHFUL, then my life begin to change for the better. I also stopped weighing myself on the scale. The obsession with that number has caused me to go off many good eating programs because I didn't feel rewarded by a particular scale loss. My sanity now comes from knowing that I am living a healthier lifestyle and I'm no longer a slave to a daily or weekly imaginary success of weight loss.0
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Change how you eat to fit your lifestyle, don't change your lifestyle for how you eat. For example, I work 2 jobs so I have to adjust my diet to my busy schedule. Can't always eat 5. -6 meals a day. The big two meal thing has worked fine for me. I just get all my nutrients in those meals. And do workouts that push you.0
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Meal prep and food scale. A little over a year ago, I dug out my crock pot and actually bought another so I could make two meals at a time. There is always something ready in my fridge (meat and veggies/soups/chili) for after work and weekends.0
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