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Helllpp!!

emilycolbourne1
emilycolbourne1 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys!
New to this... just looking for suggestions/ideas for meal prepping?!?
Trying to lose 40 pounds over the next few months.. just looking for lots of help with tips n tricks to keep me motivated and lose more weight. Please let me know your secrets!!

Thanks a bunch, xo
em

Replies

  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,559 Member
    It would be reasonable to lose 40lbs in about 40 weeks.

    Set up your profile for sedintary, 1lb per week loss. Learn to measure your portions.

    The only secret is that, to lose weight, you have to eat at a deficit consistently. To keep it off, you have to stay at maintenance consistently. It is no secret that it's challenging!

    Maybe a pro tip is that the first two weeks are hard as your gut tries to get you to up the calories. It gets easier.

    Best of luck.
  • vivelajackie
    vivelajackie Posts: 321 Member
    Patience and a food scale are going to be my biggest tips on what to have. Log what you eat. Everything you eat. That sounds intimidating, especially at first, but it'll help you figure out where you're starting at and become more natural as you go.

    My diet typically centers around chicken and lots of veggies, along with brown rice. So rice and bean bowls? Super easy and filling. Check out the recipe forum, along with Reddit and Pinterest. Plenty of fun recipes. Just avoid the fads and stick to what you believe you can live with for an extended period of time.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,170 Member
    No secrets or tricks, just stick to your calorie goal and maintain a calorie deficit by eating less than you currently are or moving more than you currently do.

    Tips:
    • Set up your account properly and accurately. Aim for 1-1.5lb per week
    • Buy a food scale
    • Log your normal intake for a few days to see what small changes you can make to hit your calorie goal.
    • Make the changes
    • Once you have a handle on your calorie goal, work on improving your nutrition, this will help you feel fuller and more healthy.
  • Nbaker0909
    Nbaker0909 Posts: 102 Member
    I have found logging my meals the night before to be extremely helpful. It's keeps me on track and then I don't have to think about what I'm eating all day. I pack my breakfast, lunch, and 2 snacks for work the night before. Weighing, measuring, and logging the night before makes meals one less thing for me to worry about throughout the busy day.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Meal prepping is not essential for weight loss. Weight loss happens when you consistently eat less. Meal prepping can also be a lot of different things. Discover for yourself what is going to help you consistently eat less.

    I have discovered a lot of secrets that aren't secret, just the "boring" things that my mother and other slim people used to say/do:
    Eat vegetables.
    Share with others.
    Don't eat until stuffed.
    Don't spoil appetite. We can wait for dinner.
    Use a shopping list and never go shopping when hungry.
    Desserts and soda and sweets and snack food is for special occasions.
    Don't stay up late, get enough sleep.
    Don't be lazy. Walk, don't (expect somebody to) drive you everywhere.

    As a natural consequence of taking these things to heart, I have also learnt this:
    Not fear food; including not think about food and eating as black/white, on/off, healthy/unhealthy, good/bad.
    Plan my meals - I can make fabulous meals - and write killer shopping lists, and (how) to stick to them.
    Manage stress and handle emotions better.
    Weigh daily, and why.
    Patience.
    Saying no.
    Not waiting for motivation, not relying on hope, but just do what I want done.
  • aettinger448
    aettinger448 Posts: 44 Member
    Strength training is my "secret weapon." I won't go into the physical aspects. You can research those. Your BMR increases, etc. For me, it's a psychological thing. It reminds me of health versus being skinny. And you feel powerful and badass. And when you can lift things that were so hard to lift a few weeks ago, it gives you a feeling of control. Sweet sweet control.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    There are no secrets or magic bullets to weight loss. You have to do the work and be disciplined. That being said, it doesn't hurt to have an image of what you want to be like. I also find mini goals to be helpful.
This discussion has been closed.

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