ONE tip from those who have been successful

besdais wrote: »

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.

karabarracuda wrote: »

Eat less

Steff46 wrote: »

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.

Barocrest1 wrote: »

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.

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.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

beth0277 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.