swimmchick87 Member

You need to stop "forgetting" to pack a lunch. Pack it the night before, always. Don't go to bed until it's done. If you truly can't remember to do that, set an alarm reminder on your phone. Put your car keys on top of the lunch so that there is no way you'll forget it in the morning.

Mine is set to 70 in the winter. I turn it down to 65 for sleeping. I couldn't figure out why my bill was much higher this month; and then it hit me- I've been working from home. Typically, I didn't turn the thermostat back up to 70 until I got home from work at night. Now it's on all day long. In the summer it's more like…

This is exactly what I would do too. In fact, I did this with the stuff I bought for Christmas Day. I fit the leftovers into my calorie day, in smaller servings, for the next few days. Those days certainly weren't the healthiest nutrition wise, but at least I didn't go over my calories and I didn't waste food either. I…

Do you have a Trader Joe's in your area? I too have always viewed cooking as a chore, and I hated the time suck it was (not to mention cleaning up), especially since I was just cooking for myself. I'm also not a fan of leftovers and resented having to eat the same thing many times in a row if I made a recipe. Discovering…

I agree with this too. For me, this is mostly naturally the way I feel best eating anyway. But I think it's important to not get bogged down in "I have to eat only in these 8 hours at all costs." I've found that on weekends it's easier for me to not start eating until about 2 PM, because I sleep in and then I stay up later…

I used to be like that too. I would literally weigh myself 5+ times a day and I was convinced that the constant weighing was "keeping me on track." Then I'd go "off the wagon" and avoid the scale like the plague. Two summers ago, I tried the 1 pound a week setting and it really worked for me, but I had a lot to lose and I…

Normally I skip breakfast, do a small lunch (300ish calories) and then eat the majority of my calories for dinner. I am NOT a morning person and don't want to get up any earlier to fit breakfast in. Besides that, I find if I do eat breakfast (very occasionally I will, if it's provided at work or something, like 2-3x per…

Losing/maintaining doesn't mean only eating healthy food for the rest of your life. Calories in, calories out. Figure out how to fit treats and foods you like into your calorie day. I eat plenty of "unhealthy food" with a mix of healthy foods and make it fit into my calorie day, and I'm still losing.

I definitely still count calories. IF is a way that can make sticking to a lower calorie goal easier for some people. I'm one of those people. I find it pretty easy to say to myself that I can have the food I want, I just have to wait a bit. And only eating during certain parts of the day means I get a lot more flexibility…

So, my body is weird. I am far hungrier when eating so called "clean" foods. I don't find them satiating whatsoever. I can eat a 500-600 calorie salad the size of my head, with chicken added for protein, and I am starving within the hour. Meanwhile, I can eat 300 calories of chips and feel completely satisfied. One time I…

I definitely need variety. I don't eat breakfast, so that's not a factor. For lunch, I tend to buy things in such a way that I'll have the same thing for about a week, just because it's cost effective, and since I'm at work and busy anyway I don't tend to care as much about what I'm eating. I try to make my lunches more…

I do the exact same thing! "Cheat days" do not work for me. At one point I tried "cheat meal" and that didn't work either. It just sets me up to keep overeating. I think it is important to learn how to fit treats in normal portions into my regular day rather than "cheating." I also enjoy the food a lot more if I don't have…

I think this has more to do with strength than body weight, up to a certain point. I'm 5'4 and about 170. I don't work out other than walking. I can get up without putting my hand down if I sort of swing to the side and then get up from my knees. If you're talking about being seated on the floor and then just putting your…

I used to weigh myself multiple times per day and record my weight every single morning. On the one hand, it seemed to make more sense than weighing once per week. Due to regular fluctuations, sometimes my weight would be a pound or two higher for seemingly no reason, and then it would be gone the next day. If that was my…

Several years ago I lost about 30 pounds. My clothes were really tight to begin with, so they lasted longer than if I'd been wearing a comfortable size at my highest weight. But I felt like in order to buy new ones, it had to literally be like I zipped up my pants and they fell down to my knees, so I was just still wearing…

With over 200 pounds to lose your biggest need right now is to figure out how to stay in your calorie deficit long term. If you're happy with the way you're eating and it's working for you, stick with it. If you make too many changes, especially ones you really don't like, you'll just be more likely to quit all together. I…

If you've never been, I highly recommend just going and checking it out/buying what interests you. I will warn you that in our current times, my TJ's always has a big line to get in, since they're limiting the number of people in the store. It moves fast and trust me, it's worth it. Personally, I'm not super into "eating…

One time I lost 20 pounds getting take out almost every night. I had a rotating list of places I'd go where I could get things that fit into my calorie day. I was in a "I hate cooking and cooking for one is stupid" phase. I still don't cook much, but since then I've discovered Trader Joe's where I can get a huge variety of…

It took me several times of yo-yoing to realize "cheat days" just don't work for me. I tried "cheat day," "cheat meal" and then a 2,000 calorie day (with the rest being 1200) so that I was getting a treat but it was controlled and counted. None of them worked- after awhile it just lead to overeating every day. The thing…

I lost about 30 pounds on WW several years ago. Back then, it was the points plus program where 99% of the time, 1 point=40 calories. It took me awhile to figure that out. Before WW, I'd tried MFP several times and never stuck with it for more than a month or two. It took me forever to figure out that the difference with…

I usually plan out what I'm going have the next day at least the night before. Then when the next day actually comes, sometimes I change my mind and something else sounds better. In those cases I change my diary before I eat so I can make sure it still fits into my calorie day/doesn't have a big impact on what else I can…

Every once in awhile I will splurge and get an order of Dough Bar doughnuts. They're so tasty and filling (and healthier than a regular doughnut, of course), but they're stupid expensive. With shipping it comes to $5-6 per doughnut. That's crazy when you consider that Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme are something like a…

I agree that you should set a smaller goal. Set your goal to lose 1 pound or even half a pound per week so you get more calories. If you think in terms of weeks or a month it doesn't seem like much loss, but think how much it adds up to when you actually stick with it. I've been going strong since January 1st now after…

This is what my experience has been as well. I was so stubborn with wanting to lose the 2 pounds per week and feeling like anything else was "too slow." When in reality, that was incredibly stupid because I literally wasted years just yo-yo dieting. I'd come on MFP and religiously follow my 1200 calorie goal for a month-6…

It's important to find what style of eating will help you stick to your goals long term. I don't know that I buy into the supposed "other benefits" of IF. But for me, it does help me significantly with feeling satisfied and sticking to my calorie goals. I used to try the small meals/grazing thing because at the time there…

My most obnoxious coworker lost weight with Optavia (a MLM scheme, if you're not familiar). Now she is a "coach" and will NOT shut up about it. On and on all. day. long. Sometimes when I'm tempted to fall off the wagon I remind myself of this coworker and how I want to show her that I can lose weight for free (Optavia is…

I get my 10,000 in daily at minimum; if I want to eat more I walk more. My fitbit helps me a ton with realizing how much I'm moving throughout the day. Once I started working from home in March I realized I was getting hardly any steps at all, when I used to get about 7K just on my average work day. That difference alone…

I can definitely see a big difference; great job! I have PCOS as well and just straight up calories in/calories out has worked for me. I don't limit any foods and I try to get a balance every day of nutritionally sound foods as well as treats. I mostly don't even worry about macros; the only thing I try to keep an eye on…

It's not expensive at all. Trader Joe's is a very cheap store and I actually spend far less money than I used to. Most of the time back when I was making recipes and going to a regular store like Kroger, I spent tons of money on varied ingredients needed to make something. Then often some of the leftovers would go bad…

I never cook anymore. I get all of my groceries from Trader Joe's, where I can buy a huge variety of things I just need to pop in the oven or maybe just throw a few things together. Discovering that store was a huge lifesaver for me. Honestly I don't know that I would have stuck to my weight loss goals this long without…