What's the best advice you have?
sportsmom5321
Posts: 1 Member
What are your best tips to achieving your weight loss goal?
0
Replies
-
Purchase a food scale. This will help you calibrate your eyeballing.12
-
Agree food scale is a must.
Weight training as well, not just cardio.4 -
EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT
So many people severely restrict their calories right outta the gate which messes with your metabolism and usually is the root cause of people binging out and giving up.
Eat food. It'll make you happier, your workouts better and nourish you
9 -
sportsmom5321 wrote: »What are your best tips to achieving your weight loss goal?
1-Cut 500 calories below maintenance level, also get a scale to properly measure your food weight that way you don't over exceed your calories.
2-Do HIIT cardio it increases your metabolism, helps you build muscle, and burn fat even after you finish working out (aka after burn)
3-Use intermittent fasting, science proves it reduces insulin sensitivity, insulin levels, and it raises growth hormone which is a fat burning hormone and muscle building, and it helps controlling your apetitte and not to over eat.
4-Lower your carbs, it is scientifically proved that low carb diets are more successful than low fat diets, researches are on google. People here panic when you say go low on carbs so XD
5-Last one and second most important to cutting calories is to resistance train, go to gym or workout at home. boosts your metabolism and burns calories and builds muscle.4 -
Patience - stick with it long-term and you'll get there. Don't let the little bumps in the road derail or discourage. Just keep on...
I consider this to be a lifelong pursuit. (I've been here at maintenance for over 5 years now.) Since my pursuit of fitness and good health is never-ending, there's no rush to get to an end point. Although I technically already met my weight goal years ago, I still have fitness goals and maintenance goals, and those don't ever end. (I like always having something to work towards.)
I'm just moving forward from day to day, doing what I can to keep things going in the overall right direction. A bad day here or there is nothing to me. It's the overall trend that matters. And if something's not working, I make adjustments until I start seeing the results I want again.
Good luck!
Edited to add (in response to the post above mine): I like to keep it simple and straightforward. While there are numerous ways to go about this process, I find that the more straightforward and easy it is to incorporate these lifestyle changes into your life, the more likely you will be to stick with it long-term. This is especially true for new people. It might be fun to try a whole bunch of different fads or special programs, and some of those methods can be beneficial, but they are totally optional. None of that stuff is required. All that is required for weight loss is making sure you burn more calories than you consume. So do what works best for you. The more complicated you make something, the harder it is to keep it up forever. And that's really the goal. To make healthy, sustainable changes that we can/will be willing to live with forever.
16 -
I second the patience, bc the weight will come down u just have to give it time. This is the hardest bc we wants results fast but we didn't gain the weight fast either.0
-
Make friends with food. It's okay to eat. Going as low on calories as possible is not the real goal here, the real goal is gradually discovering strategies that make this whole thing easier. Having a higher than desirable day is normal because food is enjoyable, and it's understandable if you lose control sometimes. You just continue where you left off as if nothing happened and move on. Being afraid of food will do more bad than good.6
-
Patience and consistency4
-
Stick with the program that you find works for you. Don't allow anything to discourage you from your goal, especially when you don't lose any weight for a week or longer. When you eat something you've been trying to cut back on, or over eat, don't beat yourself up over the slip, accept that you enjoyed it while you were eating it and move on with your program. Adjust your eating and exercising as you progress. Ignore the self defeating voice in your head, if you have one, because that voice doesn't want you to succeed, that voice want you to remain the same. Learn how to distinguish between craving something and actual hunger to better feed your body what it needs.2
-
Change your eating one habit at a time.
Start by logging what you eat as accurately and honestly as you can. Then start to see where you could cut down or change. And do that. One habit at a time.
Most important of all, be patient with yourself. It took time to gain the weight, it'll take time to lose the weight.4 -
Be accountable. Be honest about what you're eating and how much your exercising and push yourself to do the work. You're only cheating yourself when you don't; don't be surprised or disappointed about not meeting your goals if you're not being honest with yourself2
-
Be in this for the long haul and realize you have your whole life to get fit and live a healthy and vibrant life.
Set new goals constantly and work towards them. The scale is only one variable. How are you sleeping? How is your sex drive? Are you able to lift more? Can you do more pushup/pull ups? Has your 5k time gotten better? Does your skin look better? Do you have more energy? Are you able to handle stress better? Do you have more confidence and self respect? All of these are good metrics for progress. The scale will eventually start to drive you nuts if you let it.
Eat at maintenance on special occasions and take a full on diet break or eat at maintenance when you go on vacation. If you give yourself breaks from time to time it will be much easier to adhere to being in a deficit and you won't feel deprived. Try and plan and have structured days where you allow bigger meals, alcohol, desert etc. If you allow yourself to have some fun days from time to time you will develop a better relationship with food. When you are ready you can start to cut calories again.
You will only be able to tolerate being in fat loss mode for so long before your body will start sending you signals to eat a ton of calories. This doesn't mean you're a failure. Its just the reality of the weight loss. If you're binge eating you need a break because that's a sign that you're out of balance. Don't beat yourself up if this happens! Be gentle with yourself and move forward if you hit a rough patch. Just be consistent and you will get results.
Good luck!8 -
Keep it simple.1
-
Nice KISS. It takes time and it's not a race! Day by day.1
-
1- patience. No you won't see change this week next week. But you won't see it if you don't stay consistent and be patient.
2- take pictures. They help on days where you feel discouraged because you can't see the results even tho they are there!
3- ditch the scale. I have been working HARD the past 5 months and the scale hasnt budged as I am gaining muscle, but I am losing inches like crazy!
4- log your food intake!
5- water! Water! Water!4 -
Patience - stick with it long-term and you'll get there. Don't let the little bumps in the road derail or discourage. Just keep on...
I consider this to be a lifelong pursuit. (I've been here at maintenance for over 5 years now.) Since my pursuit of fitness and good health is never-ending, there's no rush to get to an end point. Although I technically already met my weight goal years ago, I still have fitness goals and maintenance goals, and those don't ever end. (I like always having something to work towards.)
I'm just moving forward from day to day, doing what I can to keep things going in the overall right direction. A bad day here or there is nothing to me. It's the overall trend that matters. And if something's not working, I make adjustments until I start seeing the results I want again.
Good luck!
Edited to add (in response to the post above mine): I like to keep it simple and straightforward. While there are numerous ways to go about this process, I find that the more straightforward and easy it is to incorporate these lifestyle changes into your life, the more likely you will be to stick with it long-term. This is especially true for new people. It might be fun to try a whole bunch of different fads or special programs, and some of those methods can be beneficial, but they are totally optional. None of that stuff is required. All that is required for weight loss is making sure you burn more calories than you consume. So do what works best for you. The more complicated you make something, the harder it is to keep it up forever. And that's really the goal. To make healthy, sustainable changes that we can/will be willing to live with forever.
I totally agree with everything you said. I think the same as you. Best advice in my book.1 -
These are all really good advice tips. This is really helpful. You all rock!1
-
If you overeat one day ... or two ... or for a week straight ... just keep logging your calories, get to the gym, and wake up each morning resigned to keep going.
Its normal to fall off the wagon for a weekend or during a vacation, etc. but if you catch yourself and move on you will still succeed.
Weigh yourself and track calories even after you've achieved your goal. I have to keep myself accountable or the pounds creep up.2 -
Be patient and be consistent.1
-
Find out what works for YOU. My husband thrives on a low-carb diet and for years I have felt so guilty that I just can't seem to do it. As soon as I decided to just count my calories and eat what I wanted, keeping my weight and my fitness on track has been fun.
Some people like intermittent fasting, low-carb, Paleo, running, strength training… Everyone is different and you don't need to worry about fitting into any mold.6 -
Don't get your advice from bodybuilding websites/magazines/articles. Just plug your numbers into MyFitnessPal and do what it says. That is by FAR the best results I have EVER had.2
-
The most important thing to me was logging in what I eat and being truthful with myself.
- If I lie to myself I am only hurting myself.
The second important thing to me was to not tell anyone that I was doing this.- Of course my husband noticed that I was weighing everything and logging in, but it was 6 months before anyone really noticed that I had lost a significant amount of weight.
- I relied on support from my Calorie Count (and now MFP) peeps for my daily affirmations and to hold me accountable
The third and final important thing was for me was to find an eating methodology that would be a life changing / life-long way of eating.- For me that is Paleo / Keto.
5 -
Chef_Barbell wrote: »Keep it simple.
I think of it as keep it as simple as possible. There is stuff to learn (read the forum stickies) and there is stuff that I NEED to do (weigh food, log everything), but there is stuff that makes it more complicated than it needs to be for me (keto, IF). So you have to figure out what level of simple works for you. Be ready to play with it and adjust as needed.
Track your results and celebrate the small wins as well as the big ones. Even if the celebration is just posting in a thread about your success.5 -
For me it is remembering not to fall off the wagon. Eating a cookie should not screw with your whole day. Just eat it and move on.1
-
Tacklewasher wrote: »Chef_Barbell wrote: »Keep it simple.
I think of it as keep it as simple as possible. There is stuff to learn (read the forum stickies) and there is stuff that I NEED to do (weigh food, log everything), but there is stuff that makes it more complicated than it needs to be for me (keto, IF). So you have to figure out what level of simple works for you. Be ready to play with it and adjust as needed.
Track your results and celebrate the small wins as well as the big ones. Even if the celebration is just posting in a thread about your success.
I agree with simplicity- the easier whatever method you find works for you fits into your schedule, I feel like it would be easy to maintain those habits in the long term. If something feels "off" or you are miserable, there are plenty of other methods out there that might work better for you. Don't be afraid to experiment a little and listen to your body
Good luck! 0 -
Invest in a food scale, they're inexpensive. Eyeballing and guesstimating can be WAY off!2
-
Like others have stated. The best weight loss tool is a food scale, however you actually have to use it. 1
-
Don't let a bad food day become a bad week/month draw a line under it and start a fresh you can pull it back1
-
Oh there's so much good advice. There are 2 pieces of advice that helps me.
ONE. I've always been heavy from the tender age of 8ish. I'm am 50 years old now and it took me 42 years to get as fat as I did. I need to know that losing weight is not a quick thing. Society tries to brain wash is to think that losing weight fast is the best way. Usually by severly restricting calories but that weight loss is never long term. People go back to eating the way they trained themselves to In order to get fat originally.
I originally set a goal of 2 lbs per week and Initially I averaged more than that. Now that I'm 20 lbs from my goal weight it gets harder. But I am still using a MFP but not starving myself. I have retrained the way I eat. I live in Las Vegas, the land of all-you-can-eat buffets. I purposely go to one every week and train myself to eat the right amount of food.
Along the way you will have setbacks. But keep logging your food and exercising. And as long as the trend is downward over a 3 month period you are on the right track. If it's not downward by even the smallest amount make a minor adjustment in you calorie intake.
TWO. You don't have to sweat to exercise. When I heard this I thought "yeah right" but it's true. I walk a lot. Usually in the morning. When I started the distance was about 1.5 miles. Now I walk up to 8 miles a day. 5-6 miles in the morning and the rest throughout the day. If I'm in a parking lot I par far from the entrance. I take the stairs when reasonable. I do get workouts when I am sweating a lot about 3 times a week. By jogging up a hill or bleachers but that is mainly for my heart and cardiovascular health.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Highest weight I have ever been: 275 lbs
MFP SW: 260 lbs
CW: 187 lbs
GW: 165 lbs7 -
Invest in a food scale, they're inexpensive. Eyeballing and guesstimating can be WAY off!
I learned how true this is yesterday, when my first food scale arrived. I found that I was seeiously OVER-estimating how many calories I was eating by 40-50% (!), and had been starving myself on accident.
Don't do the same boneheaded thing I did--get a scale and get those nutrients!3
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions
Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!