Give Me Your Best Weight Loss Advice
Replies
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wunderkindking wrote: »
I definitely think I could add a little more movement around the office! I bought a HUGE water bottle to encourage me to drink water.... but I could easily get a smaller one and just fill it up more. Admittedly, I find myself being very lazy with movement. Or rather, I think of it as "efficient." Like, getting everything I need (water, phone, remote, pencil, computer) so that I don't have to get up again. But in reality, getting up more would be helpful.
I think you'll find that as weight comes off and your diet improves (not in a restrictive way for me - I just ate a brownie 2 seconds ago - but in a maximizing your calories way that is mostly self-defense) you'll WANT to move more.
I self-identified as lazy as heck. Move as little as possible. It's taken me a good 6 months to lose 30lbs but somewhere around month 3 I started getting a little... antsy? And WANTING to do the things and find ways to move more -- instead of wanting to find ways to move LESS.
Really easily the biggest surprise/shock I've had so far.
This is so encouraging to hear. I've become more aware of my laziness just in doing little things and really want this to be a habit that I change.1 -
This is so encouraging to hear. I've become more aware of my laziness just in doing little things and really want this to be a habit that I change.
It was weird for me. I went from keeping my snacks upstairs, because the act of walking up a flight of stairs would sufficiently deter me from going to get them, to wanting to go on walks just because I had energy and nothing to do with it. I haven't turned into a gym rat or an athletic person but it was a big, obvious, and kind of confusing change from mY "WHY WOULD I MOVE IF THE ALTERNATIVE WAS NOT?!?!?!"1 -
(snip)
Struggles:
My biggest struggle is night-time eating and too many sweets. I keep trying to be a "normal" moderate person and allow for sweets in moderation, but in all honesty I end up eating them all up in a night.
Save some calories for evening snacks, or consider whether your evening snacking is about something else.
Common examples:
* Inadequate sleep. Fatigue increases sweets cravings for most of us, and hits more toward the end of the day, can reduce ability to resist impulses.
* Stress. This also increases fatigue, plus calorie deficit increases physical stress so compounds the problem. If stress is high, seek non-food stress-management strategies (exercise, aromatherapy bubblebaths, meditation, journaling, prayer, whatever).
* Habit. Better to find a new non-food habit to replace the old one, not try to white-knuckle through.
* Boredom. Consider resuming an old hobby, or starting a new one; bonus points if it requires clean hands (needlework, sketching, musical instrument) or creates dirty ones (gardening, painting, carpentry).
If the problem isn't really hunger, the solution isn't food.
If your IR lets you eat fruits, consider trying to consistently eat several fruit servings daily for a few weeks. This is not universally helpful, but it's advice I got from a registered dietitian that worked well for me to reduce cravings for simpler sweets like candy, baked goods, etc. I've seen others here say it helped them, too. Could be worth a try.I also struggle with not being prepared and grabbing food on the go. Some weeks my meal prep is on point, other weeks I don't do so well... or just straight up hate the food I cooked lol.
Brainstorm a list of foods you enjoy that require no prep. Ideally, some of them will be shelf stable. For meals at home, it could be commercial prepared frozen or shelf-stable packet meals. It could include pick-up snack foods like hardboiled eggs, 2% milk string cheese, whole-grain calorie-efficient breads (can be frozen), calorie-limited packs of nuts or soynuts, etc. Keep some of those brainstormed foods on hand all the time.
When you do cook, make a big batch & freeze some meals (or components, like cooked whole grains or beans or meat) for later use.
If you fall for fast foods under these circumstances, take a good hard look at the online menus of the ones near you (or near your work, etc.). Identify calorie-efficient, nutritious options, and keep that list with you. Most of the chains will sell you pieces (burger patty with no bun, for example). You can use those as part of a meal solution. Some of the chains have options in their online menus that don't show up on the menu board, or have calculators where you can mix and match parts to make a better overall meal choice. (Taco Bell has both of those options via their web site, for example.)
Figure out how to game your limitations/struggles, exploit your strengths and preferences.goal06082021 wrote: »You almost definitely don't need to be restricting to 1200 calories. The people who actually need to eat that little in order to maintain a safe, sustainable calorie deficit are little old ladies with five pounds to lose who spend all day watching Maury and do no appreciable exercise whatsoever.
Go through the guided setup again, set it to lose 1lb per week and mark yourself Sedentary. Log your intentional exercise and eat those calories back, to keep your net intake at whatever level the app sets for you. For context, I'm three inches shorter than you and five pounds lighter, and my budget is 1990 net calories per day.
Thanks... what about maintaining muscle? I saw a video where people who have dieted for a long time often have slower metabolism because they lose so much muscle over time. My fear is that some of my crash dieting mistakes of the past has lead to muscle loss and therefore slower metabolism.
If you've already lost muscle, that's water under the bridge, right? Forget about that, can't change the past, not worth hand-wringing about.
Now, you can do strength exercise to avoid losing more, and maybe even slowly add some muscle over the long haul. Get adequate protein, and general good nutrition, to support that.
Going forward, part of the way you prevent more muscle loss is by losing weight sensibly slowly, getting adequate nutrition while you do it. That, plus becoming more active and strong, is how you "repair your metabolism". (Mostly, it's not actually entirely literally metabolism in practice, but that's how people talk about it.🙄 It can include some metabolic functions, but also subconscious fatigue effects and habitual inactivity.)
As you lose weight, you'll find it's easier and more fun to add movement to your day . . . not just exercise, but increased daily activity of all sorts. Do that, consciously. Attack home projects, volunteer to help friends/neighbors with stuff, cook from scratch (it's movement, not just food), etc. Move while you wait for the dinner to microwave, while you brush your teeth, on your breaks at work. Just move more. Research suggests fidgety people burn a couple hundred or more extra calories daily, compared to very non-fidgety ones. I'm not suggesting you try to fidget, just saying that tiny changes add up.
Thank you! I have some muscle but I definitely don't want to lose more. I have a friend that lost 100lbs but really lost a lot of her muscle with it-- she told me that she had lost and gained her weight many times before finally losing it it for good and maintained it for 10 years. But she eats really low calories to maintain her loss-- I can only assume it is due to muscle loss. So I don't want to do it that way.
I definitely think I could add a little more movement around the office! I bought a HUGE water bottle to encourage me to drink water.... but I could easily get a smaller one and just fill it up more. Admittedly, I find myself being very lazy with movement. Or rather, I think of it as "efficient." Like, getting everything I need (water, phone, remote, pencil, computer) so that I don't have to get up again. But in reality, getting up more would be helpful.
I think that (speaking very generically) our bodies get good at what we train them to do.
I suspect (can't prove) that we can train our body to limp along on minimal calories. Along the way, maybe we over-react to the inevitable immediate water weight jump (that isn't fat) when we increase calories by a few hundred, so we drop back down to the minimal numbers and continue the "limp along on less" training.
I think a smarter strategy is to eat the most calories we can, compatible with continuing reasonable weight loss, getting excellent nutrition; and move in ways that are pleasant/continue-able, to train our bodies to thrive and move, rather than limp along in depletion and fatigue. Strategies like maintenance breaks can help train that, too, for some people.
As far as moving more in daily life, there's a thread about it here:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1
Somewhere partway through, it links to another thread on a similar topic.0 -
wunderkindking wrote: »
I definitely think I could add a little more movement around the office! I bought a HUGE water bottle to encourage me to drink water.... but I could easily get a smaller one and just fill it up more. Admittedly, I find myself being very lazy with movement. Or rather, I think of it as "efficient." Like, getting everything I need (water, phone, remote, pencil, computer) so that I don't have to get up again. But in reality, getting up more would be helpful.
I think you'll find that as weight comes off and your diet improves (not in a restrictive way for me - I just ate a brownie 2 seconds ago - but in a maximizing your calories way that is mostly self-defense) you'll WANT to move more.
I self-identified as lazy as heck. Move as little as possible. It's taken me a good 6 months to lose 30lbs but somewhere around month 3 I started getting a little... antsy? And WANTING to do the things and find ways to move more -- instead of wanting to find ways to move LESS.
Really easily the biggest surprise/shock I've had so far.
This is so encouraging to hear. I've become more aware of my laziness just in doing little things and really want this to be a habit that I change.
In my judgement there's certainly something to this... call it momentum maybe? Either way, healthy habits seems to beget other healthy habits. So much of this is also mental and how we choose to talk with ourselves and self-identify. In hindsight, this was a huge barrier for me years ago. I've long identified with being out of shape nerdy kid (glasses and braces by 2nd grade does things to a kid). Though I aspired to be athletic, participated in sports, and coveted a superhero-style physique for the longest time I had self-talk and self-worth issues about allowing this to be a reality. I couldn't lift weights... that's for athletes, and the popular good-looking people... that's not me. Even after getting to a healthy weight at 17 and maintaining through college I was a fish out of water and felt like such an imposter going to the gym with my roommates. I would go to the rec alone at like midnight and keep to myself, almost like I was trespassing. I mostly did cardio or machines, occasionally I'd use the lone weight rack and bench that was inexplicably by the track and not in the actual weight room as if I didn't deserve to transgress the hallowed ground the frat bros typically occupied. After college I felt confined to stuff like p90x because that's what "regular" people do. I bought some adjustable bowflex dumbbells but it was a few years of half-*kitten*ing workouts I didn't really like before I realized what I really wanted to look like was at least somewhat achievable. I had the space and means to buy some olympic weights so I did... though I did so as economically as possible in part because, again, who was I kidding trying to do be a weightlifter? Learning how to quiet that negative mental voice has been a huge win and something I didn't realize was happening in the moment, or even recognize as a hurdle until I'd been able to largely overcome it.4 -
Maybe some accountability would help? There are some groups on here with challenges and such. I find that just the knowledge that I am going to share my "weigh in" can be helpful in sticking to a plan.0
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wunderkindking wrote: »
I definitely think I could add a little more movement around the office! I bought a HUGE water bottle to encourage me to drink water.... but I could easily get a smaller one and just fill it up more. Admittedly, I find myself being very lazy with movement. Or rather, I think of it as "efficient." Like, getting everything I need (water, phone, remote, pencil, computer) so that I don't have to get up again. But in reality, getting up more would be helpful.
I think you'll find that as weight comes off and your diet improves (not in a restrictive way for me - I just ate a brownie 2 seconds ago - but in a maximizing your calories way that is mostly self-defense) you'll WANT to move more.
I self-identified as lazy as heck. Move as little as possible. It's taken me a good 6 months to lose 30lbs but somewhere around month 3 I started getting a little... antsy? And WANTING to do the things and find ways to move more -- instead of wanting to find ways to move LESS.
Really easily the biggest surprise/shock I've had so far.
This is so encouraging to hear. I've become more aware of my laziness just in doing little things and really want this to be a habit that I change.
In my judgement there's certainly something to this... call it momentum maybe? Either way, healthy habits seems to beget other healthy habits. So much of this is also mental and how we choose to talk with ourselves and self-identify. In hindsight, this was a huge barrier for me years ago. I've long identified with being out of shape nerdy kid (glasses and braces by 2nd grade does things to a kid). Though I aspired to be athletic, participated in sports, and coveted a superhero-style physique for the longest time I had self-talk and self-worth issues about allowing this to be a reality. I couldn't lift weights... that's for athletes, and the popular good-looking people... that's not me. Even after getting to a healthy weight at 17 and maintaining through college I was a fish out of water and felt like such an imposter going to the gym with my roommates. I would go to the rec alone at like midnight and keep to myself, almost like I was trespassing. I mostly did cardio or machines, occasionally I'd use the lone weight rack and bench that was inexplicably by the track and not in the actual weight room as if I didn't deserve to transgress the hallowed ground the frat bros typically occupied. After college I felt confined to stuff like p90x because that's what "regular" people do. I bought some adjustable bowflex dumbbells but it was a few years of half-*kitten*ing workouts I didn't really like before I realized what I really wanted to look like was at least somewhat achievable. I had the space and means to buy some olympic weights so I did... though I did so as economically as possible in part because, again, who was I kidding trying to do be a weightlifter? Learning how to quiet that negative mental voice has been a huge win and something I didn't realize was happening in the moment, or even recognize as a hurdle until I'd been able to largely overcome it.
So, so true. I was a bookish kid, one of those "chosen last in gym class" people, and grew up in an era (1960s) when athleticism was not encouraged or even seen as normal for young women (some high schools didn't even have sports teams for girls at all - mine did have a couple, though in contrast to quite a number for boys). For sure, women didn't lift, even most women athletes, because muscles were masculine. (Even the male ideal was less muscular than now, the bodybuilders seen as very distorted.)
I was a bit more active in college, and not really afraid to do "unfeminine" things, but still saw myself as inherently unathletic and physically incompetent, then settled into mostly blob-hood in adulthood, with a few occasional active pursuits that I never felt very good at.
Through a combination of fortunate and unfortunate circumstances (including a need to recover after debilitating cancer treatment), I became quite active in my mid-40s, and actually came to surprise myself with what my body could do. That mental part - making room for self-definition to change - is huge, IMO. Now, at 65, I'm a whole different person physically than the early-40s me . . . effectively younger physically than she was in many respects, I suspect.
Open yourself to possibilities, OP. Give new things a fair try, get past the newbie blues. Complex new habits and skills take time to develop, and it's normal to feel like "I'll never be good at this!" at first. Super simple things get boring fast, complex ones stay interesting (IMO). It's fine to take on some quick wins at simple things at first - that builds fitness - but the big payoffs are about committing to gradual progress via a change in self-definition. Surprise yourself. You can.2 -
Drink 8 glasses of water a day, often we think we are hungry when we are thirsty. If you wait too long to drink your body will tell you to eat to get the moisture from food,
Get a really good nights sleep of at least 8 hours. Oversleeping and undersleeping messes with your metabolism and makes it hard to stick to a healthy schedule. If you have 6 or less hours a night you eat an average of 300 extra calories the next day. Don’t stare at screens all night, put them away by 8pm and read a book instead.
Track your food honestly using the mfp app. Too many people cheat, you are very sedentary so you need to control your calories intake to lose weight. Have a healthy breakfast that is filling, oatmeal with fruit is great or a couple of eggs (cooked in 0% fat spray) plus spinach or mushrooms. Then you won’t have a sugar low mid morning when you will crave snacks and simple carbs.
Have a list of low calorie meals that you like on hand. Examples are: tomato soup, chicken and broccoli, salmon with rice and steamed veg, a stir fry in a 0 calorie spray etc, Plan some lunches and dinners and don’t buy unhealthy snacks like candy an chips. Have lots of healthy snacks available at work like snap peas, baby carrots, rice cakes, berries etc.
Soda is lethal. It is nutrition-free sugar water that is really bad for your bones and just gives you empty calories. Buy sparkling flavored water instead.
You might try replacing one meal with a protein shake. Don’t eliminate your favorite meal of the day if you enjoy eating in the evening, have your shake for breakfast or lunch but control your calories.
If possible take a walk at lunch and in the evening.
Create Pinterest boards of people with your body type who have lost weight and look at them daily for motivation. Know it’s your daily habits that get you to your final destination. If someone were to give you a million $ if you lost the weight in a year, could you do it? If the answer is “yes” then you know it’s down to motivation so you need to have short term goals (such as losing 5lb) and long term goals.0 -
You've gotten a lot of helpful advice already and hopefully I'm not double-downing on the following:
Look at what's going on in your life right now? Is there a lot going on where it would be difficult to follow a moderate plan consistently? If so, now may not be the best time to tackle consistent weight loss? If things are going okay and you are mentally ready to "do this," then by all means go for it!
That brings me to my next point: Changing your mindset to believe that you are person that can truly lose weight and keep it off in a healthy manner is just as important to changing your eating and exercise habits. If you still have a lot of self-doubt in the back of your mind, that can lead to self-sabotage. This also means accepting that change can be hard, and there WILL be times that you may want to throw in the towel. If you start to go down the bingeing path, be aware of it and stop it...it doesn't mean you have to give up or start fresh on Monday...you can start again NOW!
Take a look at why you think you are eating all the sweets at night? Are you stressed, tired, or overly hungry from restricting all day? Are you bored? If it's any of the things than being way too hungry, then come up with ways to sit with the uncomfortable feelings and manage them without food.
Lastly, weight loss is individual. Everyone has given a A LOT of advice, but tkae what you think will work for you long-term, what will actually be sustainable for YOU.
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wunderkindking wrote: »
I definitely think I could add a little more movement around the office! I bought a HUGE water bottle to encourage me to drink water.... but I could easily get a smaller one and just fill it up more. Admittedly, I find myself being very lazy with movement. Or rather, I think of it as "efficient." Like, getting everything I need (water, phone, remote, pencil, computer) so that I don't have to get up again. But in reality, getting up more would be helpful.
I think you'll find that as weight comes off and your diet improves (not in a restrictive way for me - I just ate a brownie 2 seconds ago - but in a maximizing your calories way that is mostly self-defense) you'll WANT to move more.
I self-identified as lazy as heck. Move as little as possible. It's taken me a good 6 months to lose 30lbs but somewhere around month 3 I started getting a little... antsy? And WANTING to do the things and find ways to move more -- instead of wanting to find ways to move LESS.
Really easily the biggest surprise/shock I've had so far.
This is so encouraging to hear. I've become more aware of my laziness just in doing little things and really want this to be a habit that I change.
In my judgement there's certainly something to this... call it momentum maybe? Either way, healthy habits seems to beget other healthy habits. So much of this is also mental and how we choose to talk with ourselves and self-identify. In hindsight, this was a huge barrier for me years ago. I've long identified with being out of shape nerdy kid (glasses and braces by 2nd grade does things to a kid). Though I aspired to be athletic, participated in sports, and coveted a superhero-style physique for the longest time I had self-talk and self-worth issues about allowing this to be a reality. I couldn't lift weights... that's for athletes, and the popular good-looking people... that's not me. Even after getting to a healthy weight at 17 and maintaining through college I was a fish out of water and felt like such an imposter going to the gym with my roommates. I would go to the rec alone at like midnight and keep to myself, almost like I was trespassing. I mostly did cardio or machines, occasionally I'd use the lone weight rack and bench that was inexplicably by the track and not in the actual weight room as if I didn't deserve to transgress the hallowed ground the frat bros typically occupied. After college I felt confined to stuff like p90x because that's what "regular" people do. I bought some adjustable bowflex dumbbells but it was a few years of half-*kitten*ing workouts I didn't really like before I realized what I really wanted to look like was at least somewhat achievable. I had the space and means to buy some olympic weights so I did... though I did so as economically as possible in part because, again, who was I kidding trying to do be a weightlifter? Learning how to quiet that negative mental voice has been a huge win and something I didn't realize was happening in the moment, or even recognize as a hurdle until I'd been able to largely overcome it.
Love this! I love momentum-- I have often said that starting is the hardest part.... but once I am hitting my stride, it isn't so bad. It's been a little while since I've been able to do that... I feel like I've been on the quiter/restart game for a while. As soon as the thought of starting enters in my mind, so does a lot of thoughts of past failings. I hope that little by little I can build up my confidence in myself.1 -
wunderkindking wrote: »
I definitely think I could add a little more movement around the office! I bought a HUGE water bottle to encourage me to drink water.... but I could easily get a smaller one and just fill it up more. Admittedly, I find myself being very lazy with movement. Or rather, I think of it as "efficient." Like, getting everything I need (water, phone, remote, pencil, computer) so that I don't have to get up again. But in reality, getting up more would be helpful.
I think you'll find that as weight comes off and your diet improves (not in a restrictive way for me - I just ate a brownie 2 seconds ago - but in a maximizing your calories way that is mostly self-defense) you'll WANT to move more.
I self-identified as lazy as heck. Move as little as possible. It's taken me a good 6 months to lose 30lbs but somewhere around month 3 I started getting a little... antsy? And WANTING to do the things and find ways to move more -- instead of wanting to find ways to move LESS.
Really easily the biggest surprise/shock I've had so far.
This is so encouraging to hear. I've become more aware of my laziness just in doing little things and really want this to be a habit that I change.
In my judgement there's certainly something to this... call it momentum maybe? Either way, healthy habits seems to beget other healthy habits. So much of this is also mental and how we choose to talk with ourselves and self-identify. In hindsight, this was a huge barrier for me years ago. I've long identified with being out of shape nerdy kid (glasses and braces by 2nd grade does things to a kid). Though I aspired to be athletic, participated in sports, and coveted a superhero-style physique for the longest time I had self-talk and self-worth issues about allowing this to be a reality. I couldn't lift weights... that's for athletes, and the popular good-looking people... that's not me. Even after getting to a healthy weight at 17 and maintaining through college I was a fish out of water and felt like such an imposter going to the gym with my roommates. I would go to the rec alone at like midnight and keep to myself, almost like I was trespassing. I mostly did cardio or machines, occasionally I'd use the lone weight rack and bench that was inexplicably by the track and not in the actual weight room as if I didn't deserve to transgress the hallowed ground the frat bros typically occupied. After college I felt confined to stuff like p90x because that's what "regular" people do. I bought some adjustable bowflex dumbbells but it was a few years of half-*kitten*ing workouts I didn't really like before I realized what I really wanted to look like was at least somewhat achievable. I had the space and means to buy some olympic weights so I did... though I did so as economically as possible in part because, again, who was I kidding trying to do be a weightlifter? Learning how to quiet that negative mental voice has been a huge win and something I didn't realize was happening in the moment, or even recognize as a hurdle until I'd been able to largely overcome it.
So, so true. I was a bookish kid, one of those "chosen last in gym class" people, and grew up in an era (1960s) when athleticism was not encouraged or even seen as normal for young women (some high schools didn't even have sports teams for girls at all - mine did have a couple, though in contrast to quite a number for boys). For sure, women didn't lift, even most women athletes, because muscles were masculine. (Even the male ideal was less muscular than now, the bodybuilders seen as very distorted.)
I was a bit more active in college, and not really afraid to do "unfeminine" things, but still saw myself as inherently unathletic and physically incompetent, then settled into mostly blob-hood in adulthood, with a few occasional active pursuits that I never felt very good at.
Through a combination of fortunate and unfortunate circumstances (including a need to recover after debilitating cancer treatment), I became quite active in my mid-40s, and actually came to surprise myself with what my body could do. That mental part - making room for self-definition to change - is huge, IMO. Now, at 65, I'm a whole different person physically than the early-40s me . . . effectively younger physically than she was in many respects, I suspect.
Open yourself to possibilities, OP. Give new things a fair try, get past the newbie blues. Complex new habits and skills take time to develop, and it's normal to feel like "I'll never be good at this!" at first. Super simple things get boring fast, complex ones stay interesting (IMO). It's fine to take on some quick wins at simple things at first - that builds fitness - but the big payoffs are about committing to gradual progress via a change in self-definition. Surprise yourself. You can.
Thank you! I needed to hear this. 1 -
Joyfulandactive wrote: »Drink 8 glasses of water a day, often we think we are hungry when we are thirsty. If you wait too long to drink your body will tell you to eat to get the moisture from food,
If possible take a walk at lunch and in the evening.
Create Pinterest boards of people with your body type who have lost weight and look at them daily for motivation. Know it’s your daily habits that get you to your final destination. If someone were to give you a million $ if you lost the weight in a year, could you do it? If the answer is “yes” then you know it’s down to motivation so you need to have short term goals (such as losing 5lb) and long term goals.
I find it easy to drink water, but have noticed that sometimes when I'm thirsty I crave ice cream. If I can just drink, I normally can move on from the thought.
I may try taking walks at lunch when the weather is nice.
I used to be motivated by pics of other people, but now I am motivated by pics of myself when I was smaller lol! But I do follow many on instagram.0 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »You've gotten a lot of helpful advice already and hopefully I'm not double-downing on the following:
Look at what's going on in your life right now? Is there a lot going on where it would be difficult to follow a moderate plan consistently? If so, now may not be the best time to tackle consistent weight loss? If things are going okay and you are mentally ready to "do this," then by all means go for it!
That brings me to my next point: Changing your mindset to believe that you are person that can truly lose weight and keep it off in a healthy manner is just as important to changing your eating and exercise habits. If you still have a lot of self-doubt in the back of your mind, that can lead to self-sabotage. This also means accepting that change can be hard, and there WILL be times that you may want to throw in the towel. If you start to go down the bingeing path, be aware of it and stop it...it doesn't mean you have to give up or start fresh on Monday...you can start again NOW!
Take a look at why you think you are eating all the sweets at night? Are you stressed, tired, or overly hungry from restricting all day? Are you bored? If it's any of the things than being way too hungry, then come up with ways to sit with the uncomfortable feelings and manage them without food.
Lastly, weight loss is individual. Everyone has given a A LOT of advice, but tkae what you think will work for you long-term, what will actually be sustainable for YOU.
I actually just had to have a firm talk with someone in my life recently who kept saying my genetics/health may make it impossible to lose weight. I kept trying to lose but this person would come back, even on my good days and say, "Are you sure maybe it's not just your genetics? Maybe you're not able to lose. Maybe something is wrong. " And it was really causing me to doubt and wonder. I've been checked out multiple times, bloodwork and everything and show no signs of anything wrong with me. I have lost weight before. There is nothing hindering me.
But that thought has discouraged me a number of times. I asked them to stop suggesting those things and explained that it was taking the wind out of my sails.
I definitely eat sweets at night as a quick fix for decompressing. I work full time and go to school. I also eat when I'm happy and excited. Today my BF got a job after being laid off due to COVID and all I wanted to do was celebrate and eat food. Not even with him lol.. just by myself... celebrating his job.lol5 -
i spread out my calories throughout the day. helped against binging. example:
1500 calories
400 breakfast
150 snack
400 lunch
150 snack
400 dinner
my macro settings are
30% protein
25% fat
45% carbs
plus, dont drink your calories. make every bit count1 -
Loved reading your responses OP. Look forward to seeing your journey ❤️1
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It may sound obvious but:
1. find the approach that works for you: people are different so different things work for them. Sure at the end of the day it all comes to calorie deficit but people get there differently, some like small meals very often, some do 3 big meals a day, some do some sort of fasting (5:2, 16:8 or whatever), some are good with moderation and others have to abstain from trigger foods, some have to follow a strict diet (keto, paleo, Dukan), others prefer to eat everything just limit quantities, some do better doing programmes like WW or SW, others cringe at being publicly weighed. Nobody knows you as well as you know yourself so choose what suits you.
2. Make sure you really are motivated. Now this is a tricky one, we've all been at the stage where we feel we should lose weight and yet we were not in the right mindset for it. Once you're in the right mindset, you can do anything!
3. Find exercise that you like. Or at least don't mind. If you like watching the telly maybe get a stationary bike or a treadmill. Or a stepper, a rowing machine or anything else you can put in front of the tv. If you are outdoorsy go for walks or join a 'couch to 5K' programme (now that's a popular running programme in Ireland, check if you have something like that over there). Join a class if you like group exercise or buy dumbbells and use youtube or fitnessblender to start working out at home. Unless you burn calories like mad, I would be very careful eating them back.
4. Be brutally honest about how much you eat. This has been said so many times. Don't trust your eyes or cups, use scales! Don't snack and then 'guess' the quantity. Don't overeat and leave the day blank because you're embarrassed. Open your diary, make it public, keep it honest. Sure, sometimes we have to estimate a meal, but make it an exception, not a rule.
5. Don't get discouraged. If you have a bad day (or a week) it doesn't mean it's over for you, just do better the next one. You can do it. Yes. You. We are all in the same boat here (or were in the same boat a few times before then fell over and now managed to get back in
). I lost a lot of kg with MFP then they came back and now I'm back again with a new login and a new hope.
Best of Luck!1 -
Putting myself out here because I really want to be successful at losing weight. I feel like I have been on a diet every other day for 18 years with very little to show for it and don't want to continue on this cycle. I've done a lot of different things, both on the extreme end and the moderate end.
I feel like I am either eating 1200 calories a day and binging on the weekends, or I am eating 1800 calories consistently and not losing anything. Can you please look at my stats/info below and give your best advice/plan?
Stats:
Age: 34
Female
Weight: 247lbs
Height:5'6
Very Sedentary-- Work 10 hours a day sitting, M-F
Not super active when I get home either.
Exercise:
I currently dance in my apartment for 30 mins 2-3x's per week consistently.
Inconsistently, I lift weights and go for walks.
Goals:
Lose 100lbs
Minimize as much muscle loss as possible in the process
Health Issues:
Diagnosed as slightly insulin resistant (If I am not careful, I will become prediabetic)
Some knee pains, sometimes
Tools I have:
Food Scale
Apple Watch
Internet/Access to Youtube
Gym with all of the basics for weight lifting, walking, and elliptical.
Access to a walking path at my apartment and close to my work.
Struggles:
My biggest struggle is night-time eating and too many sweets. I keep trying to be a "normal" moderate person and allow for sweets in moderation, but in all honesty I end up eating them all up in a night.
I also struggle with not being prepared and grabbing food on the go. Some weeks my meal prep is on point, other weeks I don't do so well... or just straight up hate the food I cooked lol.
Okay... I think that is as much detail as I can think of that would be helpful. Ask me anything else you need.[/quote
Make goals, write them down and record what you did each day, it is rewarding to see your improvements. It made me want to work harder. Below are some of my goals.
Goal - Exercise of choice, work your way up to 1 hour, 5 times weekly.
Treadmill is great if you have one or row machine. I also do squats, setups, lifting weights and such. Any exercise will be good as long as it will get your heart rate up. My body loves me for this.
Goal - 1200 calories I am doing 1000 calories and less most of the time.
Goal - only berries when wanting sweets, no more than 6 oz serving. Work your way to no sweet's. This is a game changer!!!!
Goal - 3 cups of coffee or green tea daily, sweetened with your sweetener, no sugar, I use unsweetened almond milk and stevia.
Goal - Sleep 8 to 10 hours nightly
Goal - Anything to take your mind into a complete relaxed mood. 1 hour daily. It can be a mixer of things. Do something that you love. Example: listening to music, Christine music, adult coloring book with all kinds of interesting markers and such. Also reading works for me.
Examples- coloring, puzzles, reading, car ride, good movie, write short stories or poems, dancing. Anything
Goal - cut all gluten out
I saved the hardest for last lol. But this is the best thing I ever did for myself. It made me feel like a new person. It takes a lot of will power and research you will find yourself very busy reading up on gluten free things to eat. Read up !!!
Goal - cut out foods that have been processed.
This was my second hardest thing to do but it was a life charger for better all around health. Read up!!!
I am in no way telling you this is for you but it certainly changed my life in more ways than I can say.
Good luck - I do know that for anything to work it has to be a new way of life. Just for me- I keep my carbs very low. I am a keto friend forever. 4 years now
God Bless0 -
Sorry this is my first time doing this, I think I made a boo boo lol.
Make goals, write them down and record what you did each day, it is rewarding to see your improvements. It made me want to work harder. Below are some of my goals.
Goal - Exercise of choice, work your way up to 1 hour, 5 times weekly.
Treadmill is great if you have one or row machine. I also do squats, setups, lifting weights and such. Any exercise will be good as long as it will get your heart rate up. My body loves me for this.
Goal - 1200 calories I am doing 1000 calories and less most of the time.
Goal - only berries when wanting sweets, no more than 6 oz serving. Work your way to no sweet's. This is a game changer!!!!
Goal - 3 cups of coffee or green tea daily, sweetened with your sweetener, no sugar, I use unsweetened almond milk and stevia.
Goal - Sleep 8 to 10 hours nightly
Goal - Anything to take your mind into a complete relaxed mood. 1 hour daily. It can be a mixer of things. Do something that you love. Example: listening to music, Christine music, adult coloring book with all kinds of interesting markers and such. Also reading works for me.
Examples- coloring, puzzles, reading, car ride, good movie, write short stories or poems, dancing. Anything
Goal - cut all gluten out
I saved the hardest for last lol. But this is the best thing I ever did for myself. It made me feel like a new person. It takes a lot of will power and research you will find yourself very busy reading up on gluten free things to eat. Read up !!!
Goal - cut out foods that have been processed.
This was my second hardest thing to do but it was a life charger for better all around health. Read up!!!
I am in no way telling you this is for you but it certainly changed my life in more ways than I can say.
Good luck - I do know that for anything to work it has to be a new way of life. Just for me- I keep my carbs very low. I am a keto friend forever. 4 years now
God Bless0 -
So something kinda cool happened the other day and I have this thread to thank for it.
Some of you recommended just doing what I could and trying to increase my "NEAT"-- which I looked into a little more. So I started doing just that.... parking far away, getting up more often for breaks, doing household chores a little more etc.
So my Apple watch counts my "move" calories burned and if I hit my goal then I close my ring. I literally never close this thing! This is the red ring on a normal non exercise day:
This is it on a day where I work out (walking for 30 minutes):
Almost there, but not quite. Well, last week I couldn't really work out. So I just tried my best to get in a little movement everyday. On Thursday, I realized I had been closing this red ring EVERY DAY without any exercise!
What?! Just from parking a little farther and doing household chores. I know that there is some debate on how accurate these calorie burns are, and I'm not really using it for calorie counting as much as I am for motivation to move. But I literally never close this thing!!!! It was encouraging to see that those little things add up.
10 -
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My best weight loss advice is what has worked best for me, YMMV: focus on your full body strength training (deadlifts, squats, upper body work), get at least 150g of protein per day to protect your muscle mass while you're in a calorie deficit. Muscle tissue is metabolically active, so it enhances your metabolism (body burns more at rest) while also giving you a nice shape.
1200 is really low, I'm also 5"6" I'm 32 and I generally don't go below 1500 while in a deficit. I'm not saying you should be at 1800, but you can possibly sustain even a little bit more than me since you have more body weight and you can adjust it down as you go.
If you start at the lowest possible calorie option, you have nowhere to cut if you hit a sticky spot along the way.
Edit: and by strength training I mean progressive overload, very slowly and progressively increasing the amount of weight you're lifting. Not lifting the same weights every week or doing bodyweight exercises only.0
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