Best tips for achieving healthy weight loss - your "rules"
In the course of my weight loss journey to date, I have received lots of advice from various sources as to "rules" I should adopt to help me achieve a healthy and sustainable loss and I've learned a lot of things along the way. I'm sure you all are the same and thought it might help those starting out if we collected some of the wisdom here.
So what "rules" do you abide by? What habits have you changed?
Here are some of those that have been most important to me:
1. Plan, plan and plan some more! Plan what you are going to eat today and for the week ahead. Plan for times when you will be away from home, when you will be dining out, when you will crave particular trigger foods.
2. Track your food and exercise using a food log or journal.
3. Make your home (and work) safe - keep the junk out!
4. Eat breakfast (this was a massive change for me!)
5. Eat regularly throughout the day e.g six small meals rather than three larger portions
6. Eat slowly - sit down and enjoy rather than eating on the go
7. Don't shop for food when you are hungry!
8. Set small and realistic goals
9. Exercise regularly - it's not negotiable! Mix it up, increase intensity and push yourself harder with time.
10. Believe in yourself, learn from your mistakes and don't give up!
Using coffee with cream, Splenda, Stevia in the mornings. When and what I eat seems to be the key. I try to eat somewhere around noon give or take 30 minutes then I try to eat dinner between 3:30 to 4:00 and keep it veggies sometimes with Splenda put on whatever I eat. Anyway, I haven't had much success with my strategies but we'll see how it goes. Good thread.
Don't try to starve yourself. One of the biggest mistakes I see too many new members attempting to do...expect to lose too fast and not eat enough to maintain health and energy. I was doing the same when I first started here...but fortunately I listened to the wisdom of the more experienced.
*Ever since I stopped writing in my food journal, I've been less obsessed with food, but 100% on plan. Maybe I've just finally settled into my eating plan and habits, but this is what I've notice. Probably a bad idea, but until it stops working...
I've tried and tried to make my body "follow" the common diet wisdom. Eating 6 small meals just sets me up to fail--I've tried and tried, and it just DOES NOT WORK for me. Ditto for moderation. I'm thrilled for anyone who is capable of having "just a little bit occasionally", but that's not me. The last time I had sugar or white flour foods was nearly 2 years ago (on the 20th). I occasionally have artificial sweeteners, and I'll eat whole grain foods (some of them, carefully chosen), but I absolutely refuse to go anywhere near white sugar and white flour. My body just can't handle them.
I've had the most success, and the most mental peace, just by accepting that some things don't work for me, and there's nothing wrong with doing things my way. (Even if that's contrary to what everyone thinks should work! (
1. reduce your sodium if it's on the high end of what's acceptable for a healthy diet (it can cause temporary weight gain, FYI)
2. reduce/cut out sugar & artificial sweetners from your diet... you'd be amazed as just how much garbage is sneaked into food ingredients lists these days. That'll REALLY help you reduce your cravings for something sweet!
- Exercise (not necessarily strenuous; walking 1 hour/day, for instance simply to go to school, already does wonders).
- Solid breakfast, medium lunch, light dinner.
- Snacks in-between, because I'm actually a light eater, I just need to eat *something* every 3 hours or so.
- Basing every meal around veggies or fruit, instead of a starch like I used to do before.
- Thinking twice before eating some junk food. If I *really* want it, I'll eat it; if I realize I only want it because it's under my nose/other people are eating it, 9 out of 10 times, I manage to pass.
- I've learnt to recognize the moments when I can have junk food in the house, and when I can't. (It took me three years, but I've finally learnt.)
- Giving up on the 'poor me'/victim attitude ("I'm cursed because I gain weight easily", "it's so unfair"...). Seriously, on the scale of evolution, *we* are the survivors! The power of positive thinking and all that...
I'm glad you posted this.
My rule for exercise is if you feel like you don't want to do it...try. If you still feel that way in 15 mins. take the night off. Many times you won't feel that way after warm up and you'll get it done!
And I just wanted to say, I had this moment last night before I went out to a party. I thought about some things I have read that have worked for others, namely eat something something nice and healthy like vegetables or a small whole grain snack so you are not tempted to overeat fatty 'party foods' like pizza. I went into the kitchen and tried to do that...but if felt so much to me like back in the 'old days' where I would eat a lot by myself before going to dinner knowing that a normal dinner wouldn't fill me up and I didn't want to look like a pig in public. It felt shameful. So I can't do it. But I know it helps a lot of other people stay on plan.
So that's a roundabout way of saying, the most important rule of weight loss and staying on plan is finding the rules that work for YOU!
Best tips for achieving healthy weight loss - your "rules"
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