What has worked for you?

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lola_1977
lola_1977 Posts: 44 Member
in Getting Started
This has been a heck of a year. I lost 50 pounds and gained 20 back. What has worked for you to help you get the weight off? I tried keto. I can do it a couple of weeks and I cave! I need all the advice I can get.

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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    How about tracks by your intake for a week and at the end of the week see if you can shave off some calories. You will need to get to the point of maintenance calories anyway.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I don't do diets, anymore. Instead I look for things I can change for a lifetime: eat 4 or 5 servings of veggies & fruit daily - check, include favorites (but maybe tweak recipes) then manage portions - check, move more every day - check.

    The idea is, you don't need radical changes. You just need to small ones......that you can be consistent at for years to come.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
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    You can eat low carb without going into ketosis. Or you can eat high carb, low fat. Or moderate levels of everything. You don't have to go to the extremes, just do whatever you feel is sustainable.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,434 Member
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    I don't do any sort of diet, I just eat what I enjoy, except for a few triggers that make it hard for me to not have seconds of. With those I'll eat first, have glass of water then have a small portion. In the past 6 months I've learned what foods make me full & how often I should eat so I don't get too hungry
  • Mike_take2
    Mike_take2 Posts: 2,150 Member
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    What has worked for me is eating smaller portion meals every 3-4 hours throughout the day... I get in about 5-6 meals at about 300-500 calories each, making sure also to eat clean( no process) and try to stay low fat and lower sodium...I do have an open diary,so feel free to take a peak
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Getting the weight off is normally not the problem, but keeping it off. Having to lose weight repeatedly is demotivating.

    All you need to lose weight is a sustained calorie deficit. Find a way of eating that 1) creates a calorie deficit and 2) you can sustain. You have tried keto, doesn't work for you. Have you tried "eating like you normally do, just less"?
  • NewSouthernBelle
    NewSouthernBelle Posts: 14 Member
    edited December 2016
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    Consistency has worked for me. I have been through several ups and downs before, but this year I have lost (and then maintained) 26-27 lbs slowly and steadily. I have found that 35% fat, 35% protein and 30% carbs is the optimal target macro for me in order to be able to keep my calorie intake low enought.

    That said, I have also had to learn to cope and move on after days where I did not meet my macro or calorie goal. Not giving up just because of one (or multiple) bad day(s) is one of my best learned lessons.

    All the best to you.
  • iofred
    iofred Posts: 488 Member
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    How did you lose the weight (as in what worked) and how did you regain it (what changed?) ... for me (I am in maintenance mode for the last 14 months) it works to continue the logging (sort of part of lifestyle now), but to vary my workout routine so I do not get bored ... I change routine every month, including a lot of steps (doesn't change ... at least 10K daily, but more around 25K daily) and then choose between running, cycling and rowing, combined with daily Core. I might have gone slightly over the top though ... :'(
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
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    Eating less and moving my body ALOT more! Lost 80 lbs...have gained back 7 or so thanx to life and death stuff, but it's dropping right off again just by following CICO every day. I am set to lose all week, then I set to maintain on Saturday and Sunday. It works for me!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I set weekly goals, weigh no more than weekly, and reassess my goals regularly. I figure out what's not working and change it.

    A lot of my meals are half size to control portions. Like half a restaurant meal, half an energy bar and so on. (Energy bars typically come in about 200 calories so half is a 100 calorie snack. They also tend to come out macro balanced.)
  • firemanlang668
    firemanlang668 Posts: 9 Member
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    I stop eating around 10pmish and fast for between 6-8 hrs after I wake which is usually about 2pm before I break the fast have controlled meals until 10pm then fast again, its called intermittent fasting, all the while keeping up with the strength and muscle building excerises, and 20 minutes of cardio a day. So far has been working now for about 4 months.
  • quirozj1976
    quirozj1976 Posts: 206 Member
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    Whatever you do, just make sure to stay moving. I am walking at work during lunch, and park as far away from any doors to add to your distance walking. Good luck
  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
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    CICO worked and continues to work for me, even though I'm pretty much at maintenance now. A workout of one type or another 5-6 days a week - it's been an entire life style change for me. I had no idea how much of everything I did revolved around food and/or it's effects on me, like being a sluggard at work in the afternoon because I ate a lunch large enough to feed 3 grown men and a boy lol.

    A lot of it is habit now, and "The Program" so to speak, is my new normal. I don't like to stray far from it.

    There was that torrid affair with that one pizza though...the little hussy...
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    Eating less and moving more.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited December 2016
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Getting the weight off is normally not the problem, but keeping it off. Having to lose weight repeatedly is demotivating.

    All you need to lose weight is a sustained calorie deficit. Find a way of eating that 1) creates a calorie deficit and 2) you can sustain. You have tried keto, doesn't work for you. Have you tried "eating like you normally do, just less"?

    Yep, did/do this and now approaching 4 years of maintenance :)

    OP-don't over-complicate things-just learn how to continue eating the foods you like, in a way that fits within your calorie goals. Pre-planning you day and using a food scale are both great helps with this!
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
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    Using MFP's guided set up and tracking my intake on a weekly basis.
  • cocates
    cocates Posts: 360 Member
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    Congratulations on your weight loss!

    Eating less has helped me lose the weight. I know that sounds like a 'duh' response, but that's all I've done.

    I learned that reducing carbs or drinking shakes, etc. was just a gimmick. They're trick is for you to focus on something other than the calories (count carbs, focus on which shake to make for breakfast and lunch, etc.), so you'll buy more of what they're selling. When the truth of the matter is, if you eat within your caloric goal (based on your weight loss goals), you can eat whatever you want, at any time you want it.

    I hope this helps!

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