But what did you really do to lose weight?

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Replies

  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Elen1a wrote: »
    Fasted every other day for coming up to nine months now. Why? It offers quick weight loss, benefits my health in other ways, and I enjoy it.

    I give a rough estimate to calories consumed and stick with that. If I'm a tad inaccurate - so what? As I eat one meal every other day around 7pm, I'm hitting my deficit anyway (again, for health reasons and enjoyment as much as the weight loss. No issue with sticking with this for life) so if I'm a bit out that's fine. Whilst I respect some people wish to count calories and weigh their food for life this definitely isn't something I'd be willing to do. In my mind, life is too short to be ruled by a scale.

    Exercise - not too strict on it even if I should be. I just wanted to get the weight off fast, and even now I'm losing around a pound a week. No I'm not interested if certain people deem this unhealthy; my doctor is fine with me doing this. As I'm still losing around 1% of my body weight every week (currently 129 ibs, and definitely losing just over a pound a week) and eating enough protein, fibre etc, not interested in any dietary advice. Sorry but I know how this forum can get sometimes :p. It's great if you want/ ask for the help, but can get dicey if your method isn't something certain people agree with.

    That's about it for me. I'm in great health, I eat great food without depriving myself and have found something to sort any health issues I have. Good luck.

    Intermittent fasting: you're doin it wrong.

    (Please don't tell us how many calories your one meal per two days contains. It most likely qualifies as a VLCD and we don't want your unhealthy advice to get this thread closed)
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    edited January 2016
    Logged everything i ate and made sure i came in at my calorie allotment of 1500.

    I used a food scale for accurate measuring. I eat whatever i want....as long as it fits in my calories. That includes mcdonalds at least 4 days a week (i did change my standard order to a mcdouble, no cheese and half bun with a med fry to make it fit my calories more easily).

    I ran for cardio a couple days a week so i could eat more calories. I followed SL 5x5 for strength and to retain as much lean muscle mass as possible.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    AM workout- Cathe Friedrich strength/ circuit training or HIIT/ interval training
    PM workout- incline treadmill walk for half hour on level 15 to 20 and Arc trainer or elliptical for half hour

    Food: Started with Weight Watchers, then went to MFP. I eat meat once per day or less, mostly fish and chicken. I eat foods I like in modest portions according to the package size and what daily calories allow. Fruits and veggies at every meal and snack. 1200 to 1600 calories per day. 3 meals and 3 small snacks per day. I allow more breathing room on weekends since they're family days. I don't do cheat days- I'll have a smaller meals and snacks to allow more room for the "main event" meal so I can stay within limits. I also don't believe in labeling foods good or bad, but we are capable of making the best choices for ourselves when it comes to food selection and is not up to the food police to decide that for us.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    And again to sum it all up-
    It makes no difference what your routine is. Weight loss comes down to calories. I could sit here all day and list every workout I did and every gram of each food I ate. But it all comes down to the calories for weight loss.
    Calories in / calories out.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    I ate/ am eating the same foods, just less and make sure I eat my allotted calories for the day.
    No magic tricks or gimmicks. No dangerous vlcds, just plain old CICO.
  • akellyiii
    akellyiii Posts: 4 Member
    edited January 2016
    Eat better food, eat less of it and move your *kitten*. It's really not that hard. -90 as of this morning.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    I track my calories. I still eat whatever food I want, I just make sure it is within my calorie limit. it's higher right now cause I'm nursing a baby, so it's easier to stay in limit. My food scale is the best kitchen tool ever.

    I go for a 1/2 hour walk after I dump the big kids off at school, in a good week I do it 5 times.
    I also lift weights, I have a barbell and hand weights at home. Currently I manage twice a week, ideally it would be 3-4 times weekly.
    In good weather the whole family will do a long hike or bike ride at least every other week. With kids it's 1-2 hours, without we can do upwards of 3 and at a faster pace. We have fabulous bike trails in our city.
  • mach1chick
    mach1chick Posts: 2 Member
    So glad I don't have to exercise or count calories any more! That all sounds like such a drag!

    Oh, yeah, I remember now...I did all that.

    And then I learned what really works for me, any ways.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,166 Member
    I've been vegetarian for 41 years, eating mostly whole foods cooked from scratch, including lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains. Got obese that way.

    I've been pretty active for a dozen years, rowing 4-6 times/week in season on the water (less often in the off season, but usually multiple rowing machine workouts per week then), and going to spin class twice a week, along with some yoga plus intermittently weight training, bike riding, swimming & other stuff. Stayed obese that way (though I did lose some inches).

    April 2015, age 59, I reached my last straw as far as health problems/warning signs related to weight.

    I estimated my then target-weight maintenance calories (around 1500 calories for 130 pounds), then estimated calories and portion sizes to eat at that level. Around mid-July, down around 26-27 pounds, I started to plateau after having been losing at about 2 pounds/week previously. I decided my then-current weight's maintenance calories were too close to my goal-weight maintenance calories - that the estimation errors would make it hard to keep a calorie deficit.

    I joined MFP & started weighing meticulously and recording everything I ate, even on days when I went over goal (even way over goal), and even if I had to estimate (potlucks, non-chain restaurants, etc.). When I had to estimate, I tried to estimate on the high side. I also logged exercise, adjusting the MFP calorie estimates based on recent-past heart rate monitor data (my HRM had just broken). I set my goal to 2lbs/week.

    Initially, I was eating at 1200 calories net. I didn't find it impossibly difficult, especially when exercise was giving me an extra 200-300 to eat on most days. I didn't eat dramatically different things, but experimented to see what foods (among those I liked) helped me feel most satisfied and gave me the most tastiness and nutrition for their calories.

    Before starting weight loss, I had been drinking alcohol daily (a glass or two of wine, or one beer), and cut that back to mostly social occasions - not completely rare, but maybe once or twice a week if I went out with friends for dinner or something. (Not drinking at home in the evening also reduced my evening snacking by not squandering my will power.)

    I didn't go "low carb" by any standard definition, but many of the foods I reduced (as not worth their calories) were carb-heavy. Instead of eating pasta with heavy veggies & some cheese, I just ate the veggies & a reasonable cheese portion. Instead of a sandwich, I ate the things I would've put on it. Seemed equally satisfying to me.

    I also experimented with meal timing, and the relative sizes of meals/snacks to see what worked best. I found that protein kept me feeling full, and that a hearty breakfast was important for me in order to feel full and energetic for the rest of the day, and not want to snack at night.

    When I got around 20 pounds above goal, I cut my loss rate to 1lb/week, wanting to preserve as much muscle as possible. When I got around 10 pounds above goal, I cut to 0.5lb/week loss rate. That's where I am now. I've revised my goal downward a bit, but it's within a few pounds (I'll know it when I feel it). I'm down 60 pounds from my (obese) starting weight, and now just below the middle of a healthy BMI range for my height.

    Not always easy, but I found the whole process surprisingly simple. Pure Calories In < Calories Out, no pseudo-science, no tricks, no weird foods (at least nothing weirder than usually - life is too short to eat things I don't like!). Best of all, I learned how to eat in a way that's more satisfying and healthful along the way, so I know what I need to do to maintain the goal weight.

  • SteveMFP123
    SteveMFP123 Posts: 298 Member
    Honestly just calorie counting, once I bought a digital scale and started being really honest with everything I ate and drank I started to lose weight.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    I played mental games to trick myself in delaying gratification (and not eating when I wanted to), like pretending that I was "practicing" walking by my favorite pastry shop without going in, as if I was going to go later.
  • YokiLenko
    YokiLenko Posts: 89 Member
    Originally I was in the mind space of the 'see' food diet where you stop eating as soon as you are full. But this was soon merged with simply replacing one meal or even 2 meals with a salad. I did 30-40 minute cardio exercises that worked out my legs giving me some killer legs. I lost 20 pounds (10 of which isn't shown because I inaccurately logged my weight when joining) in around 5 months.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I just plan my next day's meals every evening, hit my target calories and macros on the plan, and then eat according to plan. Then I do it again, and again, and again, and again. All a diet really needs is doing good enough each day, and simple repetition.
  • insearchofcheese
    insearchofcheese Posts: 45 Member
    Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    This is a great thread and deserves a bump.
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
    edited January 2016
    I ate less calories than I burned. I did this by logging, weighing and measuring all my food. That's it. I read through a lot of these posts on this thread and virtually every person who has lost weight said the exact same thing,
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    I've been losing weight by trying to eat under my maintenance calories every week. That's 7 days x <1900cal for me. I might not succeed at losing lbs every single week, but I'm also trying to give myself enough wiggle room that I don't end up with a binge. o:)

    I'm not at all into clean eating, or even eating organic (only my bananas and carrots are organic), but I often eat around half of my calories in fruit (and veg) every day. That's simply because I don't like the idea of having to restrict fruit intake... So the calorie count rises. But I'm happy with this way of eating, in fact I've never felt better.
  • Tymeshia
    Tymeshia Posts: 194 Member
    I'm back up in my weight, but I'm starting over. When I first got on here and lost 67lbs I started off by counting all my calories. Then I progress and started implementing eating 2 servings of veggies and fruit daily. I also, took away my target foods that I tend to overeat with. Lastly, I got into working out. I did C25K Couch to a 5K in 30 in 9 week. I also found fun activities like hiking, dancing, etc (Anything to keep moving). Focus on baby steps first.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Calorie deficit. I logged all my food to make sure I was in that deficit.

    Yes, I worked out. I lift weights to get stronger which also means I need more calories than I would if I was sedentary but I don't see this as any real influence on losing weight. I've gained weight while lifting, maintained weight, and lost weight. It all came down to the food and my calorie intake (which is ~2200-2500 to lose weight)
  • neumann16
    neumann16 Posts: 4 Member
    I log my meals and still do. Day 485. Exercised more and ate about 1200 calories a day! Lost over 100 lbs in about a year. And have maintained for 6 months
  • daross16
    daross16 Posts: 107 Member
    Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
    Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.
  • daross16
    daross16 Posts: 107 Member
    Honestly just calorie counting, once I bought a digital scale and started being really honest with everything I ate and drank I started to lose weight.
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I've been vegetarian for 41 years, eating mostly whole foods cooked from scratch, including lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains. Got obese that way.

    I've been pretty active for a dozen years, rowing 4-6 times/week in season on the water (less often in the off season, but usually multiple rowing machine workouts per week then), and going to spin class twice a week, along with some yoga plus intermittently weight training, bike riding, swimming & other stuff. Stayed obese that way (though I did lose some inches).

    April 2015, age 59, I reached my last straw as far as health problems/warning signs related to weight.

    I estimated my then target-weight maintenance calories (around 1500 calories for 130 pounds), then estimated calories and portion sizes to eat at that level. Around mid-July, down around 26-27 pounds, I started to plateau after having been losing at about 2 pounds/week previously. I decided my then-current weight's maintenance calories were too close to my goal-weight maintenance calories - that the estimation errors would make it hard to keep a calorie deficit.

    I joined MFP & started weighing meticulously and recording everything I ate, even on days when I went over goal (even way over goal), and even if I had to estimate (potlucks, non-chain restaurants, etc.). When I had to estimate, I tried to estimate on the high side. I also logged exercise, adjusting the MFP calorie estimates based on recent-past heart rate monitor data (my HRM had just broken). I set my goal to 2lbs/week.

    Initially, I was eating at 1200 calories net. I didn't find it impossibly difficult, especially when exercise was giving me an extra 200-300 to eat on most days. I didn't eat dramatically different things, but experimented to see what foods (among those I liked) helped me feel most satisfied and gave me the most tastiness and nutrition for their calories.

    Before starting weight loss, I had been drinking alcohol daily (a glass or two of wine, or one beer), and cut that back to mostly social occasions - not completely rare, but maybe once or twice a week if I went out with friends for dinner or something. (Not drinking at home in the evening also reduced my evening snacking by not squandering my will power.)

    I didn't go "low carb" by any standard definition, but many of the foods I reduced (as not worth their calories) were carb-heavy. Instead of eating pasta with heavy veggies & some cheese, I just ate the veggies & a reasonable cheese portion. Instead of a sandwich, I ate the things I would've put on it. Seemed equally satisfying to me.

    I also experimented with meal timing, and the relative sizes of meals/snacks to see what worked best. I found that protein kept me feeling full, and that a hearty breakfast was important for me in order to feel full and energetic for the rest of the day, and not want to snack at night.

    When I got around 20 pounds above goal, I cut my loss rate to 1lb/week, wanting to preserve as much muscle as possible. When I got around 10 pounds above goal, I cut to 0.5lb/week loss rate. That's where I am now. I've revised my goal downward a bit, but it's within a few pounds (I'll know it when I feel it). I'm down 60 pounds from my (obese) starting weight, and now just below the middle of a healthy BMI range for my height.

    Not always easy, but I found the whole process surprisingly simple. Pure Calories In < Calories Out, no pseudo-science, no tricks, no weird foods (at least nothing weirder than usually - life is too short to eat things I don't like!). Best of all, I learned how to eat in a way that's more satisfying and healthful along the way, so I know what I need to do to maintain the goal weight.

    Thanks for sharing :)
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    edited January 2016
    Short answer: I cut my calories and was active/exercised very regularly.

    Long answer:

    - I was aware of what I was eating and my portion sizes. No gimmicks, diet plans, fads, pills, cleanses, or special ways of eating (low carb etc). Nothing confusing or complicated.

    - Everything I ate fit into my calorie budget and I didn't cut any foods out other than not eating frozen dinners and not eating at fast food restaurants.

    - I ate what I wanted, just less of it and planned for it.

    - Pre-planning meals really helped me. At night I plan out my meals for the next day and I plan out my dinners a week in advance (for grocery shopping).

    - Weighing my food was important. It's way too easy to eat 2 servings of peanut butter without knowing it. And that adds up.

    - I eventually stopped drinking calories like soda, alcohol and store-bought juice.

    - I researched and learned how the body uses and process carbs, protein and fats. I learned about fat loss and how the body metabolism fat for fuel. I learned about the role of hormones and how it affects the body (cortisol, ghrelin, cortisol etc.)

    - I learned about my eating habits and tried different exercises to see what I enjoyed and didn't enjoy.

    - For exercise I mainly walked, lifted weights, did workout videos and did Pilates. No gym membership.

    Once I stayed consistent doing the above weight came off. I was not hard on myself or put myself on time limits such as I want to lose 15 pound by a certain date.

    Also it was important for me to do things I could sustain once I lost the weight.

    Lastly, I wanted it. I wanted it BAD. I mean really, really bad. I have kept the weight off for almost 3 years with no weight gain, but I still work at it every single day.

    For the most part I find that people are not interested in my long answer. The want the name of a diet plan or a pill. So I quickly learned to save my breath and give them the short answer unless they genuinely wanted to know, which is rare.
  • daross16
    daross16 Posts: 107 Member
    AM workout- Cathe Friedrich strength/ circuit training or HIIT/ interval trainin
    rainbow198 wrote: »
    Short answer: I cut my calories and was active/exercised very regularly.

    Long answer:

    - I was aware of what I was eating and my portion sizes. No gimmicks, diet plans, fads, pills, cleanses, or special ways of eating (low carb etc). Nothing confusing or complicated.

    - Everything I ate fit into my calorie budget and I didn't cut any foods out other than not eating frozen dinners and not eating at fast food restaurants.

    - I ate what I wanted, just less of it and planned for it.

    - Pre-planning meals really helped me. At night I plan out my meals for the next day and I plan out my dinners a week in advance (for grocery shopping).

    - Weighing my food was important, I ate balanced meals and I eventually stopped drinking calories like soda, alcohol and store-bought juice.

    - I researched and learned how the body uses and process carbs, protein and fats. I learned about fat loss and how the body metabolism fat for fuel. I learned about the role of hormones and how it affects the body (cortisol ghrelin, cortisol etc.)

    - I learned about my eating habits and tried different exercises to see what I enjoyed and didn't enjoy.

    - For exercise I mainly walked, lifted weights, did workout videos and did Pilates. No gym membership.

    Once I stayed consistent doing the above weight came off. I was not hard on myself or put myself on time limits such as I want to lose 15 pound by a certain date.

    Also it was important for me to do things I could sustain once I lost the weight.

    Lastly I wanted it. I wanted it BAD. I mean really, really bad. I have kept the weight off for almost 3 years with no weight gain, but I still work at it every single day.

    For the most part I find that people are not interested in my long answer. The want the name of a diet plan or a pill. So I quickly learned to save my breath and give them the short answer unless they genuinely wanted to know, which is rare.
    rainbow198 wrote: »
    Short answer: I cut my calories and was active/exercised very regularly.

    Long answer:

    - I was aware of what I was eating and my portion sizes. No gimmicks, diet plans, fads, pills, cleanses, or special ways of eating (low carb etc). Nothing confusing or complicated.

    - Everything I ate fit into my calorie budget and I didn't cut any foods out other than not eating frozen dinners and not eating at fast food restaurants.

    - I ate what I wanted, just less of it and planned for it.

    - Pre-planning meals really helped me. At night I plan out my meals for the next day and I plan out my dinners a week in advance (for grocery shopping).

    - Weighing my food was important, I ate balanced meals and I eventually stopped drinking calories like soda, alcohol and store-bought juice.

    - I researched and learned how the body uses and process carbs, protein and fats. I learned about fat loss and how the body metabolism fat for fuel. I learned about the role of hormones and how it affects the body (cortisol ghrelin, cortisol etc.)

    - I learned about my eating habits and tried different exercises to see what I enjoyed and didn't enjoy.

    - For exercise I mainly walked, lifted weights, did workout videos and did Pilates. No gym membership.

    Once I stayed consistent doing the above weight came off. I was not hard on myself or put myself on time limits such as I want to lose 15 pound by a certain date.

    Also it was important for me to do things I could sustain once I lost the weight.

    Lastly I wanted it. I wanted it BAD. I mean really, really bad. I have kept the weight off for almost 3 years with no weight gain, but I still work at it every single day.

    For the most part I find that people are not interested in my long answer. The want the name of a diet plan or a pill. So I quickly learned to save my breath and give them the short answer unless they genuinely wanted to know, which is rare.

    Oh diets or pills never work. They always send people to the hospital. I prefer the long answer
  • daross16
    daross16 Posts: 107 Member
    I'm interested...well that's I lie..I hate controlling my portions, but I've been doing it. About 1200 cal. Kind of working with what I got till the end of the month and it's been a struggle to even come up with 1200 cal. I've never missed vegetables so much and I've been like drinking loads of tears - I mean water. I'm so excited to get groceries and I found I really like preparing my food and playing with spices even if I mess up...I found out I like egg whites and spaghetti squash and zucchini.
    I'm making myself workout because while losing fat is good, it's like...I just know the zombie apocalypse is coming or the aliens, and so I wanna been in shape for that. Have those Michelle Obama arms, you feel me? Also there are a lot of stairs and hills at school and I'm tired of sweating my make-up off.
    I go through periods of losing weight and being happy and productive (kinda pissed cause I'm not drinking a ton of wine or eating all the cheese my heart desires, but yah know), and then I'm stressed out and sad and I'm like, "I don't care if I look or feel like a potato let me just become morbidly obese and dig me a grave." And then I go back to, "okay just kidding I want cute clothes and I want to live to be 600 years old."
    But I need to find a routine I can stick with and not be constantly pissed off that I can't eat the way my friends do. Gotta stay motivated and not let my swings get the best of me. Today I'm extra pissed cause I have $5 and I'm PMSing and I want to eat this entire bag of Caramel coated popcorn.
    I've been alternating between cardio, circuit stuff from sworkit, and trying to lift weights (I dunno wtf I'm doing) and laying on the floor and saying I'm going to workout but ending up in Wikipedia instead.
  • daross16
    daross16 Posts: 107 Member
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    Most people are creatures of habit. By that I mean we typically have the same thing for breakfast everyday, we'll order the same thing at McDonald's every time we go, or we eat one of the same 5 dinners in our typical routine. If you have a "routine" than simply cut it down. I eat the same things I did before but just in smaller portions now. If you use to go to In-N-Out and got the Double Double, fry and a Coke than order just the regular cheese burger, eat only half of the fries and get a Coke Zero. Cut your "routine" meals in half, learn to eat smaller portions and you will lose weight.
    Lord...double doubles are gross. Waaaaay too much meat.. man..and Mcdonalds. The worst.
    I feel like my routine is more like..I forget to eat breakfast. Lunch comes and I'll make a sandwich. Kinda snack here and there. Or not actually eat lunch . .or forget and maybe have a snack. And dinner comes and I'm like, "I'm too tired. Easy mac it is!And an apple?" Then I eat the whole thing and be full..and full of regret.
    Alternatively. My roommates and I will order like..Chinese or Japanese and then those are my meals for the next couple of days.
    I do a lot of binging?
  • daross16
    daross16 Posts: 107 Member
    edited January 2016

    Most importantly, I started eating the way I imagined the thinner me would eat with regards to portions and types of food. 80% healthy and 20% indulgence.

    When I think about how skinny people eat, I think of my sister who has been skinny her entire life. Her wedding dress was something like 00. No joke. She'll be like "Look how bloated I am" after we go out to eat and I just want to punch her in the throat. I love her dearly though. Anyways. She eats soo much. Her fridge is like...beer, cheese, ice cream, rum, leftover pizza and spaghetti, loads of bread. And I went to the gym with her and she was horrified that I was running on the treadmill cause she doesn't actually like exercising (or sweating out her hair or make-up).
    In conclusion: I have a hard time thinking that way, cause I know skinny people eat horribly. I think "fit people" would make for better role models.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    edited January 2016
    daross16 wrote: »
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    Most people are creatures of habit. By that I mean we typically have the same thing for breakfast everyday, we'll order the same thing at McDonald's every time we go, or we eat one of the same 5 dinners in our typical routine. If you have a "routine" than simply cut it down. I eat the same things I did before but just in smaller portions now. If you use to go to In-N-Out and got the Double Double, fry and a Coke than order just the regular cheese burger, eat only half of the fries and get a Coke Zero. Cut your "routine" meals in half, learn to eat smaller portions and you will lose weight.
    Lord...double doubles are gross. Waaaaay too much meat.. man..and Mcdonalds. The worst.
    I feel like my routine is more like..I forget to eat breakfast. Lunch comes and I'll make a sandwich. Kinda snack here and there. Or not actually eat lunch . .or forget and maybe have a snack. And dinner comes and I'm like, "I'm too tired. Easy mac it is!And an apple?" Then I eat the whole thing and be full..and full of regret.
    Alternatively. My roommates and I will order like..Chinese or Japanese and then those are my meals for the next couple of days.
    I do a lot of binging?

    Meal timing has no effect on weight loss. If you prefer to have one big meal or what not, go for it. You'll be fine

    I've read all these stories on your thread about hard work, but you shouldn't confuse it for misery. For instance, if you insist on eating the 1200 calories (which is quite low), you could save the extras for when you're eating with your friends and eat some things you actually want, maybe in slightly less quantities than you might have before. Anyway it just makes me sad to see the cutting calories = misery attitude. You have so many options

    About the gym ... Ask around, I guess? There could be some with membership costs that fit your budget, or they may have pay per visit options where you could go to take a special class once in a while, almost as a treat to yourself
  • julesxo
    julesxo Posts: 422 Member
    I'm a single mom who works full time so I don't have time for a lot. I do meal preps on weekends and freeze a bunch of portioned meals to just reheat easily. When I buy veggies I buy in bulk too so that I can cut and prep to just throw in the slow cooker with meat as well. Having to do all that after work is just a pain so if I didn't prep before hand I'd likely just eat something quick and unfilling that would leave to more cravings later
    I love red wine so that is something I refuse to give up however I limit it to just weekends or the odd glass during the week.
    As for exercise, I work out 15 minutes at lunch (quick cardio or abs) then 30 minutes a day after dinner about 5-6 days a week.
  • daross16
    daross16 Posts: 107 Member
    edited January 2016
    daross16 wrote: »
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    Most people are creatures of habit. By that I mean we typically have the same thing for breakfast everyday, we'll order the same thing at McDonald's every time we go, or we eat one of the same 5 dinners in our typical routine. If you have a "routine" than simply cut it down. I eat the same things I did before but just in smaller portions now. If you use to go to In-N-Out and got the Double Double, fry and a Coke than order just the regular cheese burger, eat only half of the fries and get a Coke Zero. Cut your "routine" meals in half, learn to eat smaller portions and you will lose weight.
    Lord...double doubles are gross. Waaaaay too much meat.. man..and Mcdonalds. The worst.
    I feel like my routine is more like..I forget to eat breakfast. Lunch comes and I'll make a sandwich. Kinda snack here and there. Or not actually eat lunch . .or forget and maybe have a snack. And dinner comes and I'm like, "I'm too tired. Easy mac it is!And an apple?" Then I eat the whole thing and be full..and full of regret.
    Alternatively. My roommates and I will order like..Chinese or Japanese and then those are my meals for the next couple of days.
    I do a lot of binging?
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    daross16 wrote: »
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    Most people are creatures of habit. By that I mean we typically have the same thing for breakfast everyday, we'll order the same thing at McDonald's every time we go, or we eat one of the same 5 dinners in our typical routine. If you have a "routine" than simply cut it down. I eat the same things I did before but just in smaller portions now. If you use to go to In-N-Out and got the Double Double, fry and a Coke than order just the regular cheese burger, eat only half of the fries and get a Coke Zero. Cut your "routine" meals in half, learn to eat smaller portions and you will lose weight.
    Lord...double doubles are gross. Waaaaay too much meat.. man..and Mcdonalds. The worst.
    I feel like my routine is more like..I forget to eat breakfast. Lunch comes and I'll make a sandwich. Kinda snack here and there. Or not actually eat lunch . .or forget and maybe have a snack. And dinner comes and I'm like, "I'm too tired. Easy mac it is!And an apple?" Then I eat the whole thing and be full..and full of regret.
    Alternatively. My roommates and I will order like..Chinese or Japanese and then those are my meals for the next couple of days.
    I do a lot of binging?

    Meal timing has no effect on weight loss. If you prefer to have one big meal or what not, go for it. You'll be fine

    I've read all these stories on your thread about hard work, but you shouldn't confuse it for misery. For instance, if you insist on eating the 1200 calories (which is quite low), you could save the extras for when you're eating with your friends and eat some things you actually want, maybe in slightly less quantities than you might have before. Anyway it just makes me sad to see the cutting calories = misery attitude. You have so many options

    About the gym ... Ask around, I guess? There could be some with membership costs that fit your budget, or they may have pay per visit options where you could go to take a special class once in a while, almost as a treat to yourself

    I just feel like I tend to eat things with no nutritional value and in result I feel tired. So I wanna eat stuff with more fiber, protein, iron cause lord knows I need it. Anyways, I might just be a consistently grumpy person.
    All the prices here are real jacked up. I see the price difference in other cities and it's amazing. I rather just have money for rent and just work out at home. I do try to attend free classes and some semesters I'm lucky enough to have time to go to the school pool or drop into the free yoga classes.
    Side note- I'm really sad my bike broke because I really did enjoy riding it places, even the stupidly steep hills.