Little thing i could change?
steph_vt
Posts: 38 Member
Hello since i noticed i have a problem of either full diving on the weightloss train, losing a bunch of weight and then falling back again i was wondering if there are (realistic) little changes i could make to my life to lose a bit of weight here and there, things like one less teaspoon of sugar in your coffee etc that sort thing. Just looking for some tips on stuff that you guys do that worked
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Replies
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Just eat smaller portions of what you normally would and do your best to stay within your calorie goal that MFP gave you.
I do recommend a food scale. It's more accurate for determining portion sizes than cups and less clean up.3 -
I added veggies to my dinners. Either I steam some frozen veggies to eat with my meal (half the plate) or I have a baby spinach salad (again, half the plate).
Switched bread out for wraps. Still have toast on the weekends but my sandwiches are wraps and I eat my scrambled eggs in a wrap for breakfasts too.
Switched my regular snack (ruffles potato chips) out for Orville Redenbachers popcorn chips (sweet n salty). I do still have ruffles on occasion but will usually have the popcorn chips as they are lower cal so I can have more.
I didn't really make many big changes. I eat smaller portions of all the foods I did before, just added healthier things to them.1 -
shadow2soul wrote: »Just eat smaller portions of what you normally would and do your best to stay within your calorie goal that MFP gave you.
I do recommend a food scale. It's more accurate for determining portion sizes than cups and less clean up.
This.
If do cardio and track calories, eat only about 50-75 percent back if you use machines, the internet or I Phone apps to track, because those numbers are overestimated. Any exercise, such as weight lifting, light walking, or anything else that is not cardio, is included in your activity level and not as additional exercise. Overestimated calorie burns and counting calories that are already included in your activity level are definite deficit killers!0 -
That might be a way to get into better eating and moving habits, but I doubt it would show dramatic long-term weight-loss results. You can't think of weight loss as a "diet", because once you've reached your goal the diet goes away and the pounds come back. Think of it as a lifestyle change. You have to make a choice, and it may have to be moment by moment if you are determined to reach your goal(s).
Based on my own failures, I don't think it's realistic to make a few very little alterations (such as taking away a single spoonful of sugar) and expect big changes. I have to drastically cut back on grains and sugar and consciously increase my daily activity level, and then I see results. If I just decide that's how I'm going to eat from now on, it makes things a little easier. Here are some other simple suggestions that will help you towards your goal...
*Replace all beverages (except perhaps moderate coffee/tea) with water.
*Go for a walk every day.
*Take the stairs instead of an elevator (within safety precautions)
*Don't have second helpings at mealtimes, nix dessert.
*Et cetera.
However, those are just small steps towards a bigger goal. You have to change your mindset, and that kind of thing is not a little change. But it is a worthwhile one!
Remember, the only difference between the body you have today and the body you have next week is what you do over the next 7 days. Good luck!
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- Drink only water or black coffee/tea
-switch wraps for bowls/salads
-mustard instead of mayo
-Turkey sausage or burger instead of regular
-exercise during commercial breaks
-take walks
-salsa as a condiment!
-always fill half your plate with veg
-keep healthy snacks with you so you don't buy candy bar/chip type snacks0 -
Here's my trick....pack and bring all meals during the day including breakfast, lunch and snacks and then I don't eat anything I didn't bring.2
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Don't give up anything that you enjoy. It's just a matter of fitting it it when your calorie goals.
Use a food scale and log everything you eat. It's just a matter of being accountable to yourself.
Pre-planned meals take the guesswork out of going over your calorie limit.
I don't Factor exercise calories into the equation. To me they're not accurate.
I drink almond milk instead of regular milk it was a big adjustment but definitely worth the calorie difference.
You really need to educate yourself about eating. As a couple other poster said don't look at this is a diet. Diet suck and you'll eventually fail because you're constantly depriving yourself of stuff that you like. You have to look at this is a lifestyle change. By looking this as a lifestyle change you will succeed.
The toughest part is finding a why that personally motivates you through the good and bad days. Realize your worth it good luck in your journey0 -
Ok swap out brown or whole wheat or even 5 or 7 grain bread for white bread.
Ditch the 10 marshmellows
Skip the gravy
add a bit of breakfast
and add some walking for 15 minutes 5x a week.0 -
You might like to work on overhauling one meal at a time - start with breakfast, get yourself some ideas for a breakfast that you like, that gives you good nutrition and that keeps you full until your next meal.
Then work on lunch, dinner, snacks etc.
In the meantime, I also suggest you just start logging. Log everything you eat in your diary so you have a good idea of where most of your calories are coming from, and which things work well and which things you want to change. This doesn't necessarily mean cutting calories on every meal - you might have a pretty high cal breakfast that makes you feel great and keeps you full until lunchtime - in which case I'd probably keep that and look to cut cals from snacks or other places.
I also suggest that you reframe your goals in your head - as others have said, these small changes probably won't give you a dramatic weight loss in a short space of time, but that doesn't have to be your goal. I have my diary set for .25kg weight loss per week (1/2 pound) and am focusing mainly on good habits, eating better, moving more.
In reality, I'm losing weight faster than that - averaging about 2kg (4 pounds or so a month) which I'm very happy with.
For me, making smaller changes that are sustainable is a good strategy.0 -
Little things I have done:
- cut out sugar from tea/coffee
- for a movie/party snack, air popped popcorn instead of chips/crisps
- planning ahead (far less likely to unthinkingly consume far too much when I have something reasonable on hand)
- allow for my favourites (just sometimes, not all the time)
- cut back alcohol (wasn't a huge consumer before, but now I tend to reserve drinks for really special occasions)
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-100 calorie sandwich flats instead of bread
-egg whites are low in calories and can help bulk up a meal
-hot sauce, mustard, balsamic vinegar are low calorie condiments
-cucumber, broccoli, tomatoes, green beans, cauliflower are my favorite lower calorie veggies
-honey dew melon, cantaloupe, strawberries are my favorite lower calorie fruits
-Edy's slow churned caramel delight is 120 calories for 0.5 cups (I forget how many grams it is)
-try setting your weight loss goal to 0.5 lbs/week
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Just keep logging your food. Use a digital scale to be accurate. Read the success stories. You'll learn what you need to do and you'll decide what you want to do.2
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Just start logging, and you'll start seeing where your highest calorie expenditures are. Then you can make decisions based on your real life. After doing that for a while, then make your goal to maintain.
If you decide to start losing again, when you get to your goal, I recommend that you continue to log at maintenance. I know that's what I plan to do.2 -
Congrats on embarking on this journey! You definitely have the right mindset by thinking of habits you can change incrementally.
I would really recommend the Mayo Clinic Diet book. I got the book from the library (so, it cost me a grand total of $0) and it gave me lots of ideas of good habits I could introduce into my life. Ones that have really stuck with me: snacking only on fruits or veggies / moving for at least 30 min a day / eating only about a deck of card's worth of meat a day.
Lost 50 lb to date!0 -
Logging my food made me very aware of how much I was eating.I eat "healthy" foods but waaaaay too much.
Walking more. I like to walk so it's an easy way to burn a lot of calories. Find an activity that you like to do.
Eating out less really helps. I can cut some calories out of my day when I control the cooking.
Leaving low cal snacks on the counter. Like tomatoes or grapes. I'm a big snacker so easy access to food that doesn't have a ton of calories has helped.0 -
Hello since i noticed i have a problem of either full diving on the weightloss train, losing a bunch of weight and then falling back again i was wondering if there are (realistic) little changes i could make to my life to lose a bit of weight here and there, things like one less teaspoon of sugar in your coffee etc that sort thing. Just looking for some tips on stuff that you guys do that worked
You could stop drinking your calories.
I did that a couple decades ago already.
I will occasionally (like 2 or 3 times a year) have a mocha instead of a long black coffee. And if I'm on a very long bicycle ride I might drink a bottle of iced tea or coke (sweetened with sugar). But otherwise my beverages are calorie free ... well, OK, black coffee has, what, 3 calories in it? So my beverages are the next best thing to calorie free.
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Cut all added sugar from your diet.0
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These were some really good tips! One the things i like to do sometimes is like eat apple slices instead of crisps and stuff, and the reason i want to make little changes is to see the result in the long run, im not interested in super fast results and they dont tend to stick with me, thats why im looking for some little things thatll make a difference of the space of a year 1
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I put my salad dressing on the side in a little bowl and just dip a little tip of my forkful of salad into the dressing. Its surprising how little dressing I use that way.
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I love little things! I think little things are a key to lifestyle change. Buy YOU need to find YOUR little things, because these are personal, and they will in their nature be contradictory. (What everybody needs to do, aka "eat less, move more", is the same for everybody, and you can't get around that, but that doesn't change the fact that personal strategies to eat less/move more have to be personal). What little things you choose NOW, may also change as you find other little things that are even better, because as you change habits, your preferences and attitudes will also change.
My little things:- I plan my meals. Four meals a day, three portions of fruit, vegetables for every meal. Nuts or nut butter every day. Fatty protein, starch and vegetable for most dinners. Weekday themed dinner rotation plan.
- I still weigh and count, even though I don't count calories anymore.
- Drinks between meals are water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea.
- I cook quite a lot from scratch. I don't make fancy meals, but I'm a good cook.
- I only eat food I like. I make exceptions, for instance if it's important to not hurt someone's feelings, or I don't have anything else to eat, but I make a decision each time if eating something is worth the calories.
- I always use a list when I shop, and shop guerrilla style. Full focus on the task.
- I don't buy foods I tend to overeat.
- I have a well-stocked pantry/freezer, keep a running inventory, and stock up on perishables twice a week.
- I move more, because I pay better attention to my needs, and I act on feeling restless.
- I aim to get 8 hours of undisturbed sleep every night. Stopping eating and drinking a couple of hours before bedtime is a rule I try to stick to.
- I weigh myself every morning, log it, and calculate the weekly average. My goal is to stay within the range of 55-58 kilos, and I've done that for 20 months now.
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start with eating as normal and logging it. That gives you a baseline.
eat more veggies with every meal, but don't be shy about using full fat or dressings - as long as you factor in the calories into your day, they'll help keep you satisfied.
I tend NOT to snack. I eat 3 meals a day, with breakfast being fairly late so close to lunch, and when hunger starts to set in the evening I just figure I won't die if I have to wait a bit longer to have a proper meal. Snacks tend not to satisfy me anyway so I'm better off just having a full meal.
make sure your meals are big enough to be filling, but not so big you are stuffed.
sleep more.
enjoy your food. Don't eat something because your read somewhere that it's healthy. Savour your food. Food is not a chore, it should be a pleasure, but you should aim for flavour over quantity.2 -
A Foreman grill. Being able to make a meal really fast helps me.0
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pebble4321 wrote: »You might like to work on overhauling one meal at a time - start with breakfast, get yourself some ideas for a breakfast that you like, that gives you good nutrition and that keeps you full until your next meal.
Then work on lunch, dinner, snacks etc.
In the meantime, I also suggest you just start logging. Log everything you eat in your diary so you have a good idea of where most of your calories are coming from, and which things work well and which things you want to change. This doesn't necessarily mean cutting calories on every meal - you might have a pretty high cal breakfast that makes you feel great and keeps you full until lunchtime - in which case I'd probably keep that and look to cut cals from snacks or other places.
I also suggest that you reframe your goals in your head - as others have said, these small changes probably won't give you a dramatic weight loss in a short space of time, but that doesn't have to be your goal. I have my diary set for .25kg weight loss per week (1/2 pound) and am focusing mainly on good habits, eating better, moving more.
In reality, I'm losing weight faster than that - averaging about 2kg (4 pounds or so a month) which I'm very happy with.
For me, making smaller changes that are sustainable is a good strategy.
I tend to disagree with some of this, depending on how I interpret what you are saying. Little things add up and can make a big difference, if you don't replace those things with other things that cancel out your effort - for instance, eating a salad that has 1500 calories, just because "salad is healthy", or going to the gym makes you so exhausted that you spend the rest of your day on the couch, whereas you would normally take your dog for a 90 minutes walk. It's also smart to focus on the little things that really count, for instance, if you eat out once a month, the effect of replacing french fries with baked potato, will be insignificant, but having one potato instead of two for dinner twice a week, can make a dent in your overall calorie intake.
Logging is great for those that this works for, and it's only natural that most users of a site that has a food diary as a prominent (or key) feature, will encourage logging. (I don't really understand how people who are against logging, seem to be drawn to MFP, but anyway...) Logging can help you manage your calories so you can lose weight. But logging is not the same as calorie deficit. You still have to make it work for you. Logging can make you aware of your intake, and this can prompt you to make better decisions. But being "too" aware can make some people obsessive, and just getting in some "mindless", but good, habits, without focusing on numbers, can work better for them.
This is obviously not directed at you, pebble, but to newcomers
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Eat all the foods you like but reduce the portion size.
If you crave high calorie foods aim to keep these to a minimum but still work them into your calorie allowance so you don't feel deprived.
Drink lots of water.
Move more.
Fill up on lots of protein and fats as they will keep you feeling fuller for longer.0 -
Slowly reduce the number of times you order takeout or eat at a restaurant. I try to keep it to twice per week, but you'll figure out what works for you. I also try to keep my outings social as opposed to convenience or laziness - dinner with friends or going out to baseball game vs. ordering a pizza because I'm binge watching Orange is the New Black and don't feel like pausing to go to the kitchen to cook.0
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Plan meals and snacks even if you eat out.
Log what you consume. You can see where you can make changes.
Drink more water or unsweetened teas/coffee. If you are fine with artificial sweeteners then you can try drinks with those.
Put more vegetables on your plate.
Eat more protein, vevetables and fruits.
Use less cooking oils, condiments, dressings. Salsa is low calorie though and adds a lot of flavor on a salad or other foods. Most herbs and spices are very low calorie so visit the spice aisle at the store.
Cook more to control portion size and ingredients. Have interesting and tasty foods.0 -
Don't drink calories. (Or limit the calories you drink.)
I switched from flavored creamer in my coffee to stevia and coconut milk. That's a huge calorie savings for me. I also get just coffee from Starbucks. (I'll splurge twice a year on a pumpkin spice latte and a peppermint mocha.)
Give up soda (or greatly limit it). I let myself have 2 per month.
Lots and lots of water.
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My advice is to just start logging without changing anything and see where you are at right now. You'll be able to see where your highest calorie choices are and you can start making small changes from there. What worked for me was just cutting portion sizes. I still eat all the same foods as I did before, I just eat less of them. I eventually worked up to using a food scale and weighing everything in grams, but I didn't start there because it was a bit overwhelming to me. Slowly I started learning how to use the food scale faster and smarter, and now I use it when I make basically every meal and it adds no time at all to my prep. Cutting out entire food groups or ingredients was something I tried in the past and completely failed at.
The other change I did was cut back on all drinks with calories, particularly alcohol. Even though I was only drinking 1-2 beers or glasses of wine after work, it was enough calories to make a difference. For months I essentially cut out drinking during the week. Now I've started drinking more regularly again and I've been maintaining my weight for 6-8 weeks, so I know the first thing I can do to cut some calories is cut back on the alcohol again.0 -
I dont drink alot of my calories soda wise anyway since i dont rlly like fizzy drinks so its pretty rare i drink them, i also dont drink alchohol that often. I think my biggest drinking calories are from tea and coffee, i use honey sometimes in my tea but the calories for honey isnt fantastic either
ive started drinking less coffees and teas but its still not fantastic. I dont rlly like sweeteners ive tried them but i rlly dont like the flavour
I also dont eat out very often , takeout is also pr
Prtty rare0
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