Tips and Tricks to Stay on Track
evilfairies
Posts: 98 Member
Creating a thread so that we can all keep our tips in one easy to find place! Feel free to share anything you've learned along your journey that has helped you stay on track, or if you're struggling with something specific then mention it and maybe someone here can help.
For me, a huge part of what helped me strangely enough was SQUATS! I did a short exercise video where squats were the focus and my legs hurt for almost a week afterwards. But then something magical happened... My endurance for walking multiplied. Then I did more squats, waited a week to recover, and suddenly I was able to jog off and on (more off than on, but still, it's a victory for me). I'm thinking of doing one of those 30 day squat challenges to see how things go!
On the other side, something I really struggle with is snacking. I have a lot of trouble just eating a little of something, and trying to sit down with a bowl full of carrots really doesn't help me much either. Has anyone found a solution to this problem?
For me, a huge part of what helped me strangely enough was SQUATS! I did a short exercise video where squats were the focus and my legs hurt for almost a week afterwards. But then something magical happened... My endurance for walking multiplied. Then I did more squats, waited a week to recover, and suddenly I was able to jog off and on (more off than on, but still, it's a victory for me). I'm thinking of doing one of those 30 day squat challenges to see how things go!
On the other side, something I really struggle with is snacking. I have a lot of trouble just eating a little of something, and trying to sit down with a bowl full of carrots really doesn't help me much either. Has anyone found a solution to this problem?
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snacking in the evenings is a big problem for me, too. I've found I have to not keep the worst offenders in my house. For instance - I had a box of graham cracker sticks that I had bought for my dad and a box of mini vanilla wafers for my mom. But I found that I couldn't stay out of them myself and would eat 2 to 3 servings in one sitting, which tallies up to 260 to 390 calories over my limits for the day! Same thing with potato chips. So I just can't buy them and keep them.
Other things, though, I have an easier time with. I can keep a bag of croutons, and while I know I"m eating several servings, 1 serving is only 30 calories. and since the croutons are hard and crunchy, it takes a little longer to eat them.
Another suggestion that might help is to portion out a snack into serving bags, label and date them? If you have the willpower to limit yourself to 1 a day, which I'm not sure I'd be able to do myself. But its a suggestion!
Back at Christmas, I bought a bag of cream drops as a treat, and put them in the freezer and allowed myself 1 a day. Because they were frozen, it took a long time to eat it, and it was enough. I've done the same thing with cordial cherries.
If its sweets that tempt you, you might try either freezing cherries or strawberries, or even dipping them in a thin layer of chocolate and then freezing them. Or getting the already dipped and frozen ones in teh freezer section.....
But yep, I feel your pain and am in the same boat. And telling me to reach for something healthier is really a waste of time, cause the problem isn't hunger; its mental! Someone once told me to munch on a celery stick when the drive to snack hit. I snorted because I already know that doesn't work; my mind is craving cake, not celery!0 -
I love this! I need all the tips I can get...
For me, the best way to combat snacking is to allow myself to snack! I just keep it in moderation. I know I lack willpower and the time to portion everything out, so I've been buying these single-serving variety packs of cookies. I like to keep a pretty big selection of snacks too because I feel like when I take the time to decide what I really want, it's easier to stick to that and be conscious of what I'm eating than when I just grab whatever I have off the shelf!
Right now my favorite snacks that I keep stocked are the variety pack of cookies (140 calories a serving,) pudding cups (110 cal,) greek yogurt (80 cal,) feta or blue cheese stuffed olives (30 cal for 2,) Pringles snack stacks (110,) three different flavors of microwave popcorn (~40 cal/cup,) and hickory smoked tuna pouches (110 calories/pouch.) Basically, the key for me is variety. I have my choice of something that will actually make me feel like I got away with something for less than 150 calories.
And I try to drink lots of water, let myself have a diet coke as a treat occasionally, and sometimes spice things up with crystal light or lemon juice.0 -
@rabidhamster87 snack packs are great! I've read articles about people complaining about those, pointing out that its cheaper to buy bulk and portion yourself, but I too have found that I don't have time or patience to always do that, and sometimes things will go back before I can get it all eaten, so I pay more for the portioned pre-packaged stuff but I'm also not wasting stuff or throwing stuff away - I think I save money on that alone!
I buy kerug cups of coffee for that reason. I only drink 1 mug of coffee a day - 16 oz, and sometimes I make it a home and sometimes I buy it from a place on my way to work. Even a small bag of coffee will take me a month or more to finish, and by the time I get halfway through it, the bag's stale. But I found that I can buy the kerug's, even if they are much more expensive, and open one and dump it into my regular coffee filter, and they stay fresh all the way; its like opening a fresh bag each day. So it may cost me more, but I think its worth it!
Same thing for hte pre-portioned black olives that Pearl's sells. I like olives but I don't eat them every day, and its harder to limit myself to a small portion if I have a whole can open, so I love those little 100 calorie cups!1 -
I find that keeping sugar free jello on hand helps a lot it is only 5 calories a serving so it helps when I want a snack but not a lot of calories, also I find using hard peppermints work well too. For later at night to keep from snacking i brush my teeth then I am not tempted to eat again.1
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I really like Graze. https://www.graze.com
It's always on sale but you can steal their recipes and diy if you want. I really enjoy them and it's something I look forward to.0 -
Totally agree on pre-portioned snacks. I currently have the ranch veggie straws as a subscription on amazon and will pick up individual cups of guacamole so that I can have both for 210 calories if I'm wanting something that is chip-like but is also filling and the guac has some vitamins and such. Because they're on a subscription, I know once I'm out, I'm out, so I mete them not only because I know I should only have one at a time but also because I don't want to be out of my snacks at the end of the month! Also, I often get home late from work and am wanting to eat the entire refrigerator including the tub o' butter (I mean, not literally, but you feel me), so it's good to have something that I can quickly open that feels somewhat junky (the ranch flavor is close to the dorito's ranch) so it's satisfying but it allows me the time to fix whatever dinner will be.
Also, I found that if I brush my teeth when I'm home having a grazing kind of day, I'm more likely to hold off for a bit.
I don't know about everyone else, but I feel much more satisfied with warmer foods, so if I have a few hundred calories and know I want to eat something bigger, I will cut up half an apple (and eat the other half) into small pieces and make oatmeal on top of it, throw in some brown sugar, or whatever your sweetener of choice is and depending on calories available with some cinnamon and some fat - again if calories allow. It's cobbler-like but only a few hundred calories for a decent sized bowl.
I used to never buy "bad" snacks because I couldn't keep out of them. I found when I bought a ton and had them more available, I was able to stay out of them more! It was like if I only bought a bag of chips once in a blue moon, I'd eat them all in one sitting like they wouldn't be there the next day if I didn't, but if they're there all the time, they're less appealing. I'm still working on figuring out why this is the case - they just seem to lose the mental appeal, especially if I have something ready to go for a meal that I enjoy. Also, I'm shocked at how much sharing my diary on this site helps, knowing that anyone can see what I'm eating and promising myself to be brutally honest with tracking so I can't just hide and eat whatever.
Then, lastly, if I'm really craving something in particular, I'll have it. Otherwise, I just fixate on it. I try to have some calories built into the day for moments like that, though it doesn't always work. If not, come on here for extra support.
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Just wanted to throw this out there:
I stumbled across a thread here for the Walk to Mordor App you can download to your phone. You record your distance into the app, and it basically tracks your distance on the trail of the fellowship all the way to Mount Doom.
I finally was able to enter some data into it, and I'm almost to Tookland - apparently, after than comes encounter with the black rider?!!!
Anyway, I'm hoping this is a fun way to encourage me to walk more when the weather gets better, and thought someone else might find it fun as well 0 -
Another fun app is Zombies, run! which takes you on a path to safety from the zombie Apocalypse. You don't have to run, it can be used for walking as well. It has a bunch of missions and its a something that adds some fun to your workout. They have a few app, the walk, which I haven't tried yet but i've seen good reviews on. I think that's more for day to day walking, not specific to working out.0
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I do the Walk to Mordor app! I haven't put in this week's totals, but my last progress milestone was Weathertop. I'm a huge LOTR fan and I find this simple little app to be highly entertaining and motivational.
As far as my best tips or tricks to help me succeed, I set my calorie deficit to lose 1 pound a week and then any more loss is created through exercise. This gives me about 1900-2000 calories a day. I'm just not happy on any less than that, so this makes it a sustainable deficit for me. I usually eat between 2000-2300 calories a day depending on how much exercise I do. This makes it a slower loss than I've had in the past when I try to go with an aggressive deficit, but this is the longest I've ever been able to last and I've lost more than in the past as well.0 -
@crazykatlady820 great tip, I think that’s a lot of problems people have. They see on tv, BL for instance these crazy numbers that just aren’t possible in the real world. Real weight loss takes time, and not expecting huge numbers is a great way to not get discouraged. I look at it that any loss is a great loss. Anything that is going down is a plus for me. Congrats and great job!!1
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