What is your #1 weight loss tip?

I remember once a good friend of mine was bartending and another friend of ours said, "How can I lose some weight?" Bartender friend said, "Why don't you cut off your head." :laugh: Cracked me up.

But in all seriousness, what is finally starting to work for me is adding about 3-4 short cardio sessions per week after work. I work out with a trainer 3 days a week and it was not until I started adding some HIIT intervals on my treadmill or even just walks at a good incline at home for no more than 30 minutes that the pounds started coming off.

Drinks lots of water.

Move more.

Find a cardio exercise you actually LIKE to do.
Hiking, Walking, Cycling, Dancing, Jump Rope, something that you don't HATE to do. Find a partner to do it with.

Some sort of strength training.
Yoga, pushups, pilates, even find a place you can volunteer where you have to carry stuff sometimes. Be CREATIVE.

Great idea Brandie. I can def. improve on both the protein and fiber. Thanks!

No problem!

Mindset. I never really banned anything in my weight loss. Its not a diet. i'm not going to ban candy, soda, cake, etc completely out of my diet, but eating those things in massive portions got me here. Being conscious of what you put in your body and what you are doing to burn that off.

To pick just one...

ACCOUNTABILITY!

We all make poor choices from time to time, we might skip workouts or eat foods we shouldn't. OWN IT. Only when you accept that you are the only person that affects the outcome of your journey in life, will you be able to succeed!

Second tip: Do what works for you. Don't make changes that are just going to make things more difficult.
Skip breakfast if you want, eat 2 giant meals or 10 tiny ones. Doesn't matter as long as you are comfortable with it and it is easiest for you to stick with!

This!

There is tons of good advice on these boards, but not every approach is right for every person. Sometimes the hardest part is figuring out what works best for YOU.

consistence and persistence! :flowerforyou:

Find alternatives.

I find that having alternatives for those urges will keep me from wasting precious calories on crap food.

I have two:

1) Eat REAL food. Generally lower in calories, requires more energy to digest, keeps you fuller.

2) Exercise regularly, including strength training.

Weigh/measure everything and track EVERYTHING, even bites, and don't track it until you're eating it (not at the beginning of the day).

This I totally agree with...
invest in measuring cups and a scale to weigh your meat and other products like chips and such...
this really helped me to keep from overeating....

Get an iPods, download crazy fun club music, and work it out on the elliptical/treadmill. My song suggestions would be lmfao, black eyed peas, maybe some hat core rap or rock... Fun stuff at makes you want to move.


I think people know I'm jamming out, but I've stopped caring!

High Fiber. Drink 8oz of water before EVERY meal. Don't deprive yourself, if you want something, have it, just be mindful and savor it. Oh visual stimuli: Put the bikini, skinny jean whatever your dream item is, where you will see it EVERYDAY, like stapled to your closet door or something like that, so you are inspired everytime you see it. And to help stay motivated, enlist some friends. I started a weight loss group at work. It's always easier to do things with someone and we turned it into a little friendly competition, that helps SO MUCH!!!! Either way just keep moving towards your goal....slow and steady wins the race! Good Luck!

Don't buy crap food. I only buy light breads(hannaford's light wheat is 35 cal a slice), light cheeses (kraft fat free singles are 25 cal a slice), and lots of veggies. If I snack I only snack on veggies or fruits. Spray butter instead of pasta sauce. Bagel thins and low fat cream cheese. Purified water (my brita is the best thing ever)

Eat food, but not too much. Move you butt rather than sit on it. Enjoy life.

Eating at home is my policy for keeping weight under control - you know exactly how you want your body to look and feel, and you know exactly what you're putting into your body when you're at home making food. Ordering "healthy" menu items isn't necessarily going to save you - restaurants are often deceiving. Fattening salads (i.e. too much dressing, a half cup of candied walnuts, bacon crumbles), soups laden with cream and butter, oil drenched filets, and more, often grace the healthy menu option sections.

Plus, keeping satisfying, healthy options in your home negates temptation. I know it's hard for me to not get apple pie a la mode when I could order it and be eating it in 10 minutes. Making it, on the other hand.. not so simple. I'll stick with a baked apple.