Need tips to lose 20lbs

xxroflsamxx · October 2018

I was skinny most of my life. I was a dancer and had a high metabolism. After quitting dance, being in college, and having access to as much food as my little heart could desire, I went from 120lbs in 2014 to 173 in 2018. I don’t feel the need to go back down to 120, but I would like to lose weight and tone up a little, because to be frank I’m feeling pretty self-conscious about the muffin top and jiggle I got going on. What are some simple tips to get me started? I’m already planning on giving up fast food, consuming less sugar, giving up beer, and exercising twice a week. What else can I do (without going extreme such as the Keto diet) to lose weight rather quickly?

Lillymoo01 · October 2018

Put your stats in here with a goal of losing 1 pound a week. Weigh and log all of your foods and eat the amount of calories the app gives you. Don't give up foods you know you don't want to give up for life. Just eat less of them and learn how to incorporate them into your food budget. The exception here would be if having small amounts of a particular food leads to increased cravings, making it hard to stay within your allowance. Make small changes over time rather than drastic changes all at once. This is a lifelong marathon and not a sprint. You want to focus on changes you can make for life in creating better health rather than short-term changes with the only goal being quick weight loss.

Danp · October 2018

Generally weight loss is really really simple (but not always easy).
Eat more calories than you use on average = gain weight
Eat less calories than you use on average = lose weight.

That's it. There's nothing more to it. Done. End of story. When it comes to weight loss there's no 'good' foods or 'junk' foods. When it comes to weight loss specifically there's just calories and 100 calories of kale is the same as 100 calories of donuts is the same as 100 calories of beer. (Obviously some choices are more 'healthy' than others but we're just talking about weight loss here)

So, put your details into MFP find out your calorie target and accurately log your food intake (weighed by the gram) into the diary and adjust your intake to gain, lose or maintain as needed.

Here's a few tips.
- Sugar isn't evil. It's just a carbohydrate
- Giving up anything that you don't plan to give up forever is a temporary solution will give you temporary results. As soon as you stop giving up the things you were giving up, there's a good chance you'll end up back where you started. Instead make changes to those things in a way that fit into your eating habits, perhaps just less of it less often or plan your calorie intake around fitting those calories in.
- Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be, don't make it harder than it needs to be and don't make changes that are so drastic that they're difficult to maintain. Stick to eating the food you like (even sugar and fast food and beer if it's what you like) but log it, count it and manage your calorie intake so that you're in a deficit.
- Workout for fitness, not weight loss. As the saying goes, you can't outrun your fork and dedicated "working out" will probably contribute maybe 10% towards your weight loss. The other 90% comes in the kitchen and in being more active in your daily life (walking more, taking the stairs, etc)

G'luck

LivingtheLeanDream · October 2018

There is no quick fix for losing weight.

Aim for 1-1.5lbs a week loss, that way you wont feel deprived or hangry.

Don't think of certain foods as bad or unhealthy. Yes some are far more calorie dense than others but nothing wrong with enjoying everything in moderation.

Moving more also helps.

Start tracking your calories on this app, it will make you aware of how much you are eating. If you consistently are eating at calorie deficit you will lose weight. Trust the process, it works

All the best.
Ruth

AnnPT77 · October 2018

Whatever metabolism you used to have, you probably still have, unless you have a serious health condition (which you probably don't). What changed is that when you stopped dancing, you burned fewer calories, and when you went to college, you possibly started eating more calories as well (not necessarily physically more food). Move less, eat more calories, in any combination = weight gain.

If you don't want to do food tracking, then cutting out some obvious items that you personally find not worth their calories, and doing more physical activity (exercise or otherwise) that you find fun, may be enough to turn things around.

OTOH, if you're using the food diary here, and tracking as accurately as you can manage, simply setting a goal of losing half a pound a week, and sticking to that calorie level, will probably result in the slow weight loss that's your healthiest option, with so little weight to lose. If you use a weight trending app (Libra for Android, Happy Scale for iOS, Trendweight, others), that will make it easier to manage this appropriately slow loss rate. Do keep that loss slow: You need a good energy level for college, right?

Since one not only has to lose weight, but keep it off permanently, I personally would advise against cutting out foods that you don't plan to eliminate forever. Think of weight loss as practice for maintaining a healthy weight, just with a slightly lower intake than will be necessary in the long i. Will you give up fast food and beer for the rest of your life? If no, figure out how to work them in and maintain a healthy weight at the same time.

Having watched women my age (62) who've yo-yo-ed their weight up and down for decades, losing a tiny bit of muscle with every fad diet, regaining almost entirely fat when they "go back to normal" again . . . this is not a healthy long term course. You don't want to be a weakened, osteoporotic older woman who has more trouble losing weight with each new fad diet she tries. Really: Figure out weight maintenance now. Your future self will thank you.

Simple tip: Read the "most helpful posts" section in the MFP forums, starting with the "Getting Started" and "General Health, Fitness, and Diet" topic areas. There's gold in there for anyone wanting to lose weight.

Best wishes!

jennifer_417 · October 2018

Losing weight quickly is a good recipe for gaining it back quickly.
Losing weight is a simple math equation. It's just eating fewer calories than you burn. You don't have to give up fast food, alcohol, desserts, or anything else.
Plug you stats into MFP, and log your food, eat the number of calories it gives you. Don't make it more difficult than it needs to be.

Keto_N_Iron · October 2018

eat less exercise more

Need tips to lose 20lbs

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