Tips on Staying Consistent??
CoachAHOP
Posts: 4 Member
I do great working out and have spurts of good eating habits but I'm trying to break the cycle of self-sabotage over and over again with my diet! What do you do to stay consistent on your weight loss journey?
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Replies
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I do great working out and have spurts of good eating habits but I'm trying to break the cycle of self-sabotage over and over again with my diet! What do you do to stay consistent on your weight loss journey?
What do you define as good eating habits? If these are unnecessarily strict in the name of "healthy" eating that could be part of your problem.
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My two cents:
first step is making the goal reasonable. it may be slower you are more likely to achieve your final goal if you opt for a slower rate of loss, which allows more daily calories so easier to stick to for a long period of time.it
be realistic about "healthy eating". what do you mean by that and does it really have to be all or nothing? once you hit your nutrition goals with healthy foods, you don't really get any extra credit for adding MORE broccoli. I like the concept of 80-20. 80% ish of my food is "healthy good stuff" and 20 or so % will whatever i want. as long as my over nutrition goals are met (vegetables, fruit, protein, fat) then i don't care where the last bit comes from.
Keeping foods you like and that will be part of your life "after goal" is a key part for me. The process is not painful, i eat enough to not feel hungry and eat foods I LIKE. daily.6 -
The best method I've found is to fill out the food diary a few days in advance. It helps keep me accountable and on track. Plus, it's full of foods I love. That makes it sustainable.
Edited to add: my weight loss goal is always the next 5 pounds.3 -
Planning and prepping my meals in advance helps me out tremendously.
Knowing or at least having an idea of what I'm going to eat ahead of time saves me time, money and it keeps me on track.
Also while I was losing weight I made small, attainable goals and I wasn't hard on myself.
I had a lot of weight to lose, but taking it 5 pounds at a time made the process so much easier for me.6 -
Totally agree with preplanning/pre-logging. Doing so means that I end the day within my calorie allotment. I also pre-log exercise since I typically eat back 40-50% of my exercise calories. This strategy took me to goal and I have been continuing with it during my first 6 mo in maintenance. It also helps to keep me from undereating, which is a real binge trigger for me.1
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Why do you self-sabotage? Only you know the real answer. Are you really hungry? Are you a perfectionist who does one little thing wrong and then figures “what the heck” and continues to eat? Bored, tired, depressed? Find your answer, address it.
My own answer is usually I am really tired and hoping food will give me energy. I am trying to learn to rest 15 minutes first, then ask myself if I am really hungry.2 -
Like others above, I pre-plan and pre-log, and many days, I know exactly what's going in my mouth and how much exercise I'll be doing before I get out of bed. Then I execute to plan and, voila, log another success and lose some weight. It's a virtuous circle - work the plan, succeed, get rewarded with weight loss, grow more confident that the plan works, rinse and repeat.
For me consistency is about hitting the calorie target dead on almost every day. I'm rarely over, only when there's some unavoidable social situation where munching on carrots would just be untenable; even then, I still log -- that happens once a month or so. I'm never under by more than a few calories, either; the goal isn't deprivation or improving on a plan that's already working, it's simply executing the plan every day, consistently. The calorie target is sacrosanct. I treat it with respect, it's The One Rule. Depressed? I stick to the Rule. Anxious, same. Hungry, same. Bored, same. Tired, same. Overworked, same. Same same same every day, no excuses. I really think that helps.
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I am also struggling with consistency. Praying for a breakthrough in this area.4
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I simply only do things I want to do and, conversely, never do things that I don't want to do. It's only a struggle if you're forcing yourself to do things that you don't really want to do.
I eat the foods I genuinely want to eat and never eat anything that I don't feel like eating, ignoring moralising labels like 'good;, 'bad;, 'healthy', 'junk' and 'clean'. I just log and maintain a calorie deficit most of the time and therefore lose weight. It's really pretty easy to consistently eat things you want.
I workout when and how I want. Sometimes that's running, some times that lifting, sometimes that's swimming and sometimes that sitting on the couch watching Netflix. As long as I adjust my calorie intake up and down in relation to how active I'm being I still lose weight and do my best to stay at least active enough that my fitness doesn't go down the drain (and ideally active enough that it slowly improves. And and again, it's really easy to consistently do whatever I want or feel like doing.1 -
For most people it's extemely difficult to stick with the same thing day after day after day. We all want variety in our lives, it's what keeps some of us sane. Nutritional periodisation is a good way of maintaining long term adherence to your fat loss programme. It also helps to keep your metabolism flexible to prevent stagnation and fat loss plateaus. As others have said, plan, plan and then plan some more. Give yourself some flexibility within that plan. So you could plan an 8 week fat loss phase in a deficit followed by a 1 week diet break where you bring calories back up to maintenance. Or you could mirror the Matador study and stay in a deficit for 2 weeks followed by 2 weeks at maintenance and repeat. That has proven quite effective at achieving long term sustained fat loss with the added bonus of knowing you can eat more every couple of weeks.
The other thing to consider is what other stresses you have in your life. Fat loss is a stress on your body and if there are other stresses such as lack of sleep, stress at work or at home etc then adherence to a deficit becomes more difficult. Maybe you just need a week at maintenance to renew your enthusiasm for fat loss and reset your goals. Remember you should be aiming for a fat loss of no more than 1% of bodyweight per week for long term sustained results. For many, that's only a pound a week, which is a 3500 calorie deficit over the whole week.
My final comment is one of accountability. Who do you hold yourself accountable to? If it's yourself and that's not sufficient motivation then maybe you need to hire a coach. Sometimes the simple act of paying for that level of accountability is sufficient motivation to adhere. Plus a coach may be able to suggest some other strategies.1 -
I have found that there are a few things that work for me.
One is keeping “trigger foods” out of my house. There are a couple of foods that if I eat one I have to eat 5, 6 or more. Cookies and cake are prime examples. I don’t keep them in my house or buy them at the store which helps to not even get cravings for them.
The second thing is having lots of nutrient dense and filling foods easily available so that when I’m hungry and I open the fridge looking for something to eat, there are easily accessible foods. Rotisserie chicken, precut veggies with an already made dip (the fat will keep you more satisfied so don’t be afraid of it!), cheese, fruit, triscuits. All easy to eat in a pinch.
Another thing that really helped me was making sure I am eating ENOUGH calories. I practice macro counting and I eat in a smaller deficit which helps me not be starving. This is super helpful towards not going crazy and binging on food. If you’re not familiar with macro counting I suggest looking up *if it fits your macros*. You will be able to eat a variety of foods, even some that most people consider treats, and you won’t feel like you are denying yourself all the time.
And finally, I just had to get my brain in the right place. Sometimes I would get cravings when I was trying to “eat healthy” and I would feel like I had no control over my cravings and would just give in. It wasn’t until I made the decision that I was in control and really wanted to make changes to eat more healthily and withstood a few of those binging urges that my brain finally accepted what I was doing.
Good luck!1 -
I prep all my meals on a Sunday to make sure I don’t go off track, I tend to have a sugar free fizzy drink if I’m craving sweetness. Plus in the back of my head I’m thinking “I’ve spent all this money making my meals, it would be a waste”1
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For me it's about finding a plan I can easily adhere to. Also I take diet breaks and don't spend too long in a deficit otherwise I burn out.1
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Unfortunately, I found that the best way for me to stay consistent when I meal prep in bulk is to have one meal where I indulge ever-so-slightly. What I mean by that is that I don't full out cheat, but I will allow myself a small portion of a not so great food. For example, the other day I ate my normal lunch meal, but I also had a sausage that A friend brought. It wasn't that many extra calories but it's satisfied any Cravings I might have been having. I hope that my post isn't confusing and that it helps1
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I always have zero/low calorie options available. Water, diet soda, sports drinks. It helps with satiety and makes me get up from the desk
I also cover my bases with craving-satisfying options that aren't out of control; a 90 calorie chocolate protein bar, 1 oz of jerky, a trail mix bar, apples, etc.
Portioning/weighing is very important. Many are surprised how little a portion of chips is (most eat much more than 1 portion in a sitting). Weigh out an ounce of chips, eat it, and be done. It will cover your craving.
Spices and herbs. Learn to cook and challenge yourself in the kitchen. It can be difficult, and it can be simple. It can be much cheaper, or very expensive. Cooking will give you a sense of accomplishment. Start small, and don't be afraid.0 -
Have an accountability partner-- someone you can see almost every day such as a coworker, classmate, significant other-- that shares similar goals.0
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Like others above, I pre-plan and pre-log, and many days, I know exactly what's going in my mouth and how much exercise I'll be doing before I get out of bed. Then I execute to plan and, voila, log another success and lose some weight. It's a virtuous circle - work the plan, succeed, get rewarded with weight loss, grow more confident that the plan works, rinse and repeat.
For me consistency is about hitting the calorie target dead on almost every day. I'm rarely over, only when there's some unavoidable social situation where munching on carrots would just be untenable; even then, I still log -- that happens once a month or so. I'm never under by more than a few calories, either; the goal isn't deprivation or improving on a plan that's already working, it's simply executing the plan every day, consistently. The calorie target is sacrosanct. I treat it with respect, it's The One Rule. Depressed? I stick to the Rule. Anxious, same. Hungry, same. Bored, same. Tired, same. Overworked, same. Same same same every day, no excuses. I really think that helps.
THIS!!
As a note, I focus on net calories as my exercise levels can vary quite a bit. That said, I tend to eat back no more than 50% of exercise calories since estimates are often quite incorrect on the high side. The main things I focus on are eating enough and trying to make sure I get enough sleep. Undereating and undersleeping are clear overeating triggers. Aporizch has worked well for me ... down 50+ pounds in 6 mo and have maintain ed successfully for another 6.0 -
Like your workout, you have to have a routine with eating and stick to it or you won't get results.I do great working out and have spurts of good eating habits but I'm trying to break the cycle of self-sabotage over and over again with my diet! What do you do to stay consistent on your weight loss journey?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Easy one - look into your full size mirror first thing in the morning. Your own common sense is better than anyone else's.3
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