How did you find what works for YOU?
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Calorie counting.
What has worked best/most sustainable/consistently for me was to basically eat what I was eating and just change portion sizes so they were appropriate for my calorie deficit goal (as set by MFP).
In daily practice, I look at my calorie goal, my protein goal (as set by MFP) and sodium intake. I try to get several servings of fruits or vegetables a day. I don't worry about the rest.
I prelog my food for the whole day to help meet my goals. I can see in advance that a big serving of cookies is going to be a lot of my precious calories and isn't going to help me meet my nutritional goals. I know from experience that it will not help me to feel full for long either. It is okay to eat a smaller serving of cookies after my needs have been met though.
I've done particular restrictive diets in the past and lost weight but couldn't keep them going long term. It is easier to just track calories and eat whatever I want. Not expensive. No fuss with family members who don't want to change eating habits. Easy to stick to for life.1 -
Alcohol was always the main slip up for me. After a busy/stressful day I would often have a few beers or open a bottle of wine. So I sat back and had a proper think. I don't want to stop drinking so I promised myself I would not drink on any day when I have work the next day and I have stuck to it rigidly. On top of that I use MFP to ensure I stay within my calories 5 days a week (I do record Sat and Sunday but am not religious about it).
I didn't set out to stop eating anything in particular but as time has moved on I am finding I am eating much more healthily. I am having 3 meals a day - more fibre, much more fruit, pulses and grains and veg. I haven't had a sweet, chocolate, crisps, cake etc for almost 6 weeks. Wasn't a deliberate choice to stop them but scanning the bar codes is a revelation and I just put them down! I am also exercising more (admittedly mainly walking) but much more. I am sleeping better as well.
I am losing consistently (I weigh myself on a Friday morning) and so far have lost 9.5 lbs in 5 weeks (I was 210 lbs) which I am delighted with. I'm not in any great rush so set my target as -1 lb per week but am doing much better at the moment. I am sailing through each week knowing I can go to the pub or out on a Friday and Saturday and have a few drinks without feeling guilty. My approach also allows me to drink on holidays (I have a long walking weekend with friends coming up at the end of the month which is often a boozy affair). I am prepared for the scales to move the wrong way after something like this but the routine is so easy I will just get back into it. A side effect is that I am drinking much better quality stuff than I used to and less (I can feel the effects after 2 or 3 pints which doesn't bode well for the trip!).
This works for me. It won't for many. And yes I know it's early days!
Best of luck.
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I just eat - no labels, no restrictions, no forbidden foods, no good or bad anything - just all the food I have eaten for my whole life, just smaller portions and counting calories. Its the only thing that has worked that I can sustain for the rest of my life. That, and changing my attitudes toward food, and not thinking of it as reward, or treat, or something to be earned, or something to be demonized but that its just there - and I can pick and choose what I want, when i want it, being mindful of the portions. This has to be for the rest of my life, and I am 100lbs done on that journey.4
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Tacklewasher wrote: »I cannot understand why someone would rather follow a restrictive diet over eating any of the foods they like within a limit.
That's not meant to be a criticism, I know plenty of people who do it, I just honestly don't understand why. The only explanation I can come up with is that they don't want to have to think about it, they want to be told what they can and can't eat. I guess I can see some appeal to that, certainly to get you started, but that sounds too limiting to me.
I calorie count, my diet hasn't really changed, I just try to eat more of the nutrient rich things, and less of the nutrient poor things, but ultimately I am in control of what I eat and that's how I like it!
I guess for some people it's easier to eliminate those foods completely than try and eat smaller portions of them. I've always had this theory that you're either/or...you're someone who can only succeed if these things are included in your plan, or you're someone who will ultimately find it easier to 'cut the cord' as it were.
Still not sure which one I am...
Someone posted this somewhere else, but here is an interesting article on the topic.
http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/
I'm a moderator. I have small (~30g) bags of chips in the house and will have one every 2 or 3 days. If they were not in the house, I drive to the store and buy a family sized bag when I wanted some. But I can't do the same with pop. If I had any in the house, I'd drink it. So I don't have any in the house any more.
I'm a moderator on most things, with a few things I abstain from. Full sugar soda had to go, and I limit diet soda because it makes me feel crummy. Pizza I do not abstain from, but I approach it cautiously and carefully because I have to be able to eat ALL the pizza. I can't just "have a slice or two." I must eat all the pizza.2 -
fitoverfortymom wrote: »Pizza I do not abstain from, but I approach it cautiously and carefully because I have to be able to eat ALL the pizza. I can't just "have a slice or two." I must eat all the pizza.
So, do you crawl along the floor, hide in the bushes or have a ninja outfit on when stalking your pizza? I can just see you with a portable bush sneaking up on the pizza when it is looking the other way, but stopping when the pizza glances in your direction, and then pouncing on it when it least suspects it.
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I'm a flexible dieter. I'm a weightlifter and realized I wanted to lose fat, not just "weight". I was 46, 5'2" tall and 137-140 lbs. I ate at a deficit and upped my protein so I could retain as much of my muscle as possible. My eating was built around getting enough protein and following a 40/30/30 macro plan. Now, I am older and short so my deficit calories were pretty low-1350-1400/Day. I did 16/8 intermittent fasting to help me stay on plan. I lost 22 lbs. I've been lifting consistently the whole time and ate at maintenance for several months. I'm now losing fat again but at 1700 calories, this time. I'm eating breakfast again, too.
The main thing is, pick exercise and a diet that you can be consistent with. That is what will work. Find plans that fit your goals and then follow them.0 -
My eating plan is the foods I like in the portions that will fit in my calorie allowance. YMMV.
I've tried my fair share of restrictive eating plans in my life and I couldn't stick to any of them. I just don't see the sense in making things overly complicated to be honest.0 -
Track track track. Track precisely. Track some more. Weigh and measure carefully...and track everything.
I have complex medical issues. Tracking consistently over many years allowed me to figure out how to deal with those and let me learn what actually works for me.0 -
I've tried low-carb, IMF, cutting out sugar, meal replacement shakes, etc. It's not true that every method will show success to everyone who tries it, so if you're someone who is going to respond with the like, then please move on.
I guess what I'm mostly asking is if you are someone who has found consistent success through planning your diet around ketosis, Atkins, Whole30, Shakeology, balancing macros, vegan, or anything of the like, how and when did you decide that that's what you were going to stick with? How much time did you give it before you tried something else?
I skipped all of that and just went right to calories. That was almost 2 years ago now and I'm down about 75 pounds. Came off pretty quickly, has so far stayed off.4 -
Counting calories (with a food scale), eating less of what I normally eat (portion control), and making sure I get enough protein (which satiates me enough to curb my snacking) has been working really well for me.2
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I lost 148 lbs without following any prescribed diet plan. I aim for 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat and lots of vegetables. This is plan that has carried into maintenance as well.1
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I've been searching far and wide for an eating plan that works for ME. I know that dedication and calorie counting are blanket plans that do work for everyone, but I mean more specifically.
I've tried low-carb, IMF, cutting out sugar, meal replacement shakes, etc. It's not true that every method will show success to everyone who tries it, so if you're someone who is going to respond with the like, then please move on.
I guess what I'm mostly asking is if you are someone who has found consistent success through planning your diet around ketosis, Atkins, Whole30, Shakeology, balancing macros, vegan, or anything of the like, how and when did you decide that that's what you were going to stick with? How much time did you give it before you tried something else?
Years? It's probably going to take years to fall into a lifestyle that auto-regulates your calorie intake and balances it with your calorie expenditure as a sixth sense. My first recommendation to anyone trying to lose weight is to work out more, and with more intensity. If none of the methods you've tried has worked for you, it's likely not the method that's holding you back. I say that with an extremely loving appreciation of what you're dealing with, but you need to listen. The new normal is what you're after. You can eat freely and with moderation, but you have to exercise and pave a pathway to progress. Over time (years?), it becomes second nature and your quality of life does not in the least bit suffer. I'd argue that it actually improves leaps and bounds.0 -
It was trial and error for me. As you said...calories in/out is what ultimately matters, but there definitely is more than one way to skin a cat, and I think we all differ a bit in how we choose our food.
The best thing I had found for me was South Beach diet. I lost weight and felt great as far as energy, but after a while I felt restricted and got bored. What I did take from it however is that high protein works very well for me. Now I stick to that and let the rest fall wherever it does. I lost my weight, and I've kept it off for a year.
I think I knew that was the plan for me because over the years that I messed with different diets, I kept coming back to it. I do think however that you'll know within a few weeks to a month if what you're doing will be sustainable or not. If you're finding yourself bored, hungry, irritable, deprived, ect.... You won't keep it up.0 -
I've been using CICO since I first started paying attention to my weight over 30 years ago ... and I've been slender most of my life.
CI>CO if I wanted to gain a bit of weight.
CI<CO if I wanted to lose a bit of weight.
CI=CO if I wanted to maintain.
For the most part, I eat only foods I like. But because I was diagnosed with hypoglycaemia when I was about 17 years old, I did quite a bit of research and found that certain foods have more "staying power" than other foods. So while I love pears, I rarely eat them because they are a higher calorie fruit and I feel hungry again about 20 min later. I also discovered that I need to eat about once every 1.5 hours or so.
That's what works for me!0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »I cannot understand why someone would rather follow a restrictive diet over eating any of the foods they like within a limit.
That's not meant to be a criticism, I know plenty of people who do it, I just honestly don't understand why. The only explanation I can come up with is that they don't want to have to think about it, they want to be told what they can and can't eat. I guess I can see some appeal to that, certainly to get you started, but that sounds too limiting to me.
I calorie count, my diet hasn't really changed, I just try to eat more of the nutrient rich things, and less of the nutrient poor things, but ultimately I am in control of what I eat and that's how I like it!
I guess for some people it's easier to eliminate those foods completely than try and eat smaller portions of them. I've always had this theory that you're either/or...you're someone who can only succeed if these things are included in your plan, or you're someone who will ultimately find it easier to 'cut the cord' as it were.
Still not sure which one I am...
Someone posted this somewhere else, but here is an interesting article on the topic.
http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/
I'm a moderator. I have small (~30g) bags of chips in the house and will have one every 2 or 3 days. If they were not in the house, I drive to the store and buy a family sized bag when I wanted some. But I can't do the same with pop. If I had any in the house, I'd drink it. So I don't have any in the house any more.
Very definitely a "moderator". I'm quite happy having one of something on occasion whenever I feel like it ... and thus I sometimes forget I even have whatever it is in the cupboard until I clean the cupboard out.
Last week I tossed a couple boxes of flavoured crackers because I discovered them in the back of the cupboard and they'd gone stale. I had obviously started eating them, probably just a few crackers at a time, and then forgot about them.0 -
Trial and error over a few years. Simple as that. I started with the basic CICO. Lost weight that way. Then started tweaking based on my personal nutrition and performance needs for sports. Mucked up weight so tweaked again, tweaked again, and tweaked again over a few years.
The best thing ou of it has been building a repertoire of meals I know the caloric values on so I can easliy prep and eat without having to think about it much.0 -
Eat real food. Mostly plants and lean protein. Weigh everything. Don't keep poor choices in the house. I find this is simple and it works every time.0
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I found what works for me by trying out a bunch of pricey activities (weight watchers, gym memberships, home exercise) and diets du jour( south beach, 17 day diet, Atkins, slimfast) losing some weight but gaining it again later on. Believing silly weight loss myths was also a favourite past time hehe.
I eventually got really honest and realized I hate following anything rigid or is a have to or must do. I'm also cheap.
Finally found freedom and success with calorie counting and plain old walking. I eat what I want. Usually it's lean protein and veggies including potatoes and some kind of bread daily. Sweets in small amounts daily including ice cream. And occasionally it's pizza, bacon cheeseburger, wings and beer. I don't find being restricted to a particular way of eating enjoyable ( low carb, keto, vegetarian, paleo, whole30). The great news is they aren't required nor are they magic.
Calorie counting appeals to my day natural tendencies toward logic, data points and tedium. I don't find it tedious at all and enjoy the routine. Others? They rather be fat than deal with something so fiddly and that they find to be boring and terribly onerous.
Calorie counting also requires discipline, perseverance and patience. These things always work. Always. For everything, not just weight loss. That I've demonstrated all of those makes me pretty proud though losing 112 lbs has me pretty chuffed too.
Tldr; I found what worked by failing at a bunch of things that didn't. I fail at weight loss by following anything rigid and prescribed beyond calorie counting. So I stopped doing those rigid plans and just ate what I liked within my calorie goal.
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I've been eating food my whole life. I know what food I like. I don't think it takes much to figure out that what works for me is to eat the food that I like. The only thing hard is making sure you stop eating the food you like before you exceed your calorie limit.1
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IIFYM. you eat the calories that is allocated into protein, carbs, fats in grams amounts. I use MFP to count the calories. Ive tried the shake diets which works but I WAS STARVING all the time. If you count Macros then you CAN eat a piece of cake every now and then. Or have a steak and chips. As long as it all fits into your Macos daily. Ive been on it now for 4 weeks and lost 2 cm around waist. I only have a few kilos to lose so for me it wont be a quick process. Put it this way, if something works quick then it wont last and is not sustainable. Counting macros is sustainable for me. I can even have a glass of wine a few nights a week because it all fits. Good luck0
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