21yo in a rut. How do you lose weight??

Here's some advice from someone who wishes I had done it when I was your age before I had gained so much weight and become so unhealthy: "Mindful Eating". You've got the right start. Be aware of what you are eating, keep track of portions and keep educating yourself about the healthy way to eat. It's a lifestyle and ongoing learning process. Don't eat too little, but the right amount to fuel your body. Quality counts, too! Having the idea of eating healthy most of the time with a treat here and there has helped me get healthy and turn my life around. Good luck to you!

Hi. How are you eating? What are you eating? Are you exercising? If so, how much? With intensity?

I was just a little older than you when I started eating healthy. But I didn't do it to lose weight, I was already pretty skinny. I did it because I wanted to be healthy. I've been eating healthy foods for close to 30 years. But I tend to eat too much for someone with a desk job, which I've also had for almost 30 years.

So, I lost weight by exercising (lots of cardio along with some strength training for tone). If I exercise regularly I stay at a healthy weight. If I slack off and don't exercise, I gain.

Edited to clarify what I mean by healthy eating. -- I limit saturated fat, sugar and refined carbs. I do not eat low or high carb, I just make sure most of the carbs I eat have nutrients and fiber. I do not eat high or low fat, I just try to make sure the fats I eat are primarily unsaturated. I don't eat high or low protein, I just try to make sure my protein is from good lean sources.

I try for a good mix of vegetables and lots of them. Some fruits, but more vegetables than fruit. For protein I eat fish, beans, nuts, peanut butter, lean meats, reduced fat cheese. I try to eat vegetarian meals several times a week. I cook nearly everything in extra virgin olive oil.

You have to find low-calorie options that you actually enjoy instead of forcing yourself to eat tiny amounts of your regular food. I found a lot of meal combinations that equaled fewer than 300 calories and they've saved me.

^ This.

Finding new ways to eat calories has been a huge boon to my weight loss. That and staying on the move. Don't drink your calories, eat them- my dietitian's biggest piece of advice to me that actually worked great too. Eating back half my walking exercise calories keeps me from going under my ideal net calorie intake for the day. Logging calories I eat, being honest about it even on the days where I eat too much, or somehow manage to not eat enough. But this poster has it right with her sentiment. Finding different ways to eat calories, in a more healthful way that keeps the full feeling around longer and consuming loads of water.

Eat less, move more. Not hard.

GO AWAY.

Uh. Do people not like the truth around here? There is no magic formula of losing weight. It's simple, really.

Actually sometimes the problem is you need to eat more.

But often people are deluded. They are eating more than they think, which is why they're not losing weight.

Eat less, move more. Not hard.

GO AWAY.

Uh. Do people not like the truth around here? There is no magic formula of losing weight. It's simple, really.

Actually sometimes the problem is you need to eat more.

That is usually when someone has reached a plateau, not when they are starting out as the OP is. While eating too few calories can slow weight loss over time (a pretty long time), people don't get fat by eating too few calories.

My only magic bullet I learned was to stop thinking of food as something to do or something to be social or even something to enjoy. I began to think of it only as fuel. Like my stomach is a gas tank and I just need to fill it up. Something about that thought process has really helped me eat things I would have never thought.

I think there is a measure of truth to all of these answers... but really I think it all starts with a little soul searching?

Ask yourself the opposite... Why did you gain weight? Take ownership and dig deep (it's ok to look in the mirror) No weightloss you will experience will be permanent until you actually stop and look at the root causes and then accept the changes you need to make. Its a lifestyle change that leads to health.

Most people in their late teens, early 20's start to gain weight because they enter a sedentary workforce complete with all the vices. They no longer have state mandated physical education, they stop or reduce their participation in organized sports, and they all of a sudden have certain monetary advantages that a job or career brings (face it, now that you have money in your pocket, it's easier to hit McDonalds for dinner, then go consume a thousand calories of beer/wine/shots etc).

Personally I yo-yo'd for years... It wasn't until I was ready to look long and hard at the way that I was living that I met lasting success. I needed to stop living on the couch and via a drive thru window. I got up and exercised, and made sense of my dietary needs. I've now been down about 100 lbs for a few years. I feel great and know that I am my own best friend in living a healthy lifestyle.

Good Luck!

My only magic bullet I learned was to stop thinking of food as something to do or something to be social or even something to enjoy. I began to think of it only as fuel. Like my stomach is a gas tank and I just need to fill it up. Something about that thought process has really helped me eat things I would have never thought.

Oh, this makes me sad. I LOVE food. LOVE it. I love gatherings that include food. You can enjoy food and lose weight and keep it off. I think the problem is too many people have eaten artificial foods or atrificially enhanced foods for so long that they've forgotten how to love real food. Natural homemade healthy foods are delicious!

I have both a fitbit and a nike fuelband and they definitely help to keep me motivated. I don't like to miss goals.

Oh yeah, love the fitbit!! Toys help keep me motivated. Maybe it's bad for my wallet but it's fun.

You are absolutely right. I had tried everything, all the fads, all the pills, all the shakes and nothing (well, maybe not "all" but you get the picture). It wasn't until I finally got my butt into the gym that I really started to see results, in the mirror and on the scale. And because I was working so hard in the gym, I didn't want to erase all that hard work by putting junk in my mouth. Hence, eating healthier.
I've been going strong for 2 months, working out 3-5 days a week. 30-40 minutes of cardio, lifting the heaviest weights I can lift for an 8-12 rep set (currently around 15 lbs curls), eating as clean as I can, snacking on fruits and veggies, cutting sugars and carbs (not totally), DRINKING LOADS OF WATER, and it's been working for me. Oh, and please make sure you don't go cardio crazy. Yes, do cardio but you have to lift weights also. Lifting weights keeps calories burning long after you stop.

Best of luck, everyone has their own way, I'm sure you'll find yours!!

eat more, move less... does not equal better nutrition or weight loss.

Eat better should be step 1.
I don't eat less move more. I just eat better, period.
Yes, simply by eating better meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, dairy, eggs, I have lost 24 lbs since January.
I have eliminated refined sugars (instead go for honey, stevia, natural ingredients), gluten (will reduce inflammation and gut size), and minimize grains (because most have little to no nutritional value).

Cut out the junk and you should see results. Fine tune after that. That's what worked FOR ME (as you asked)

Honestly I have never seen anyone get healthier by becoming a vegan, and I've been in touch with lots of vegans. I am not saying that veganism is wrong for ethical reasons - it's absolutely your choice, but if you want to become a vegan - But you need to understand that you are removing incredibly important nutrition sources from your diet, and it's going to be difficult to compensate. Because you HAVE to compensate somehow. You can't remove healthy meat, fish, and eggs and replace those items with high-calorie/low-nutrition bread and pasta and expect to lose weight. It won't happen.

I was a vegetarian during the period I was overweight. It made weight loss so much harder, because nothing I ate was remotely filling. So if you are trying veganism JUST for the sake of losing weight, you are fighting a losing battle and I bet you are going to be very hungry.

Lol@people in this thread making excuses for not losing weight. If you eat at a deficit, you WILL lose weight.

I encourage anyone reading this to check out Dagoth's profile and ask yourself if he's a person you want to be receiving "constructive criticism" from.

Eat less, move more. Not hard.

GO AWAY.

Uh. Do people not like the truth around here? There is no magic formula of losing weight. It's simple, really.

Just because losing weight is easy for you does not make it easy for all. If you hit crappy times in your life and at the same time get into bad eating habits it is really hard to break out of that. Also since 90% of the food now a days is pumped with sodium and a lot of the low sodium foods taste like pooh it is hard to not only find the healthy foods that you like but a learning curve to train yourself to look for them.

I think the problem people had with your comment is it is very trollish. It was not necessary or needed for you to say that in a rude manner. And losing weight is not just about eating less. You can eat less all you want but unless you eat right your weight loss and overall health will be limited. Also a lot of people don't realize that it's bad to eat under 1200 calories, which will not only slow weight loss but is very unhealthy.