So I was just reading this old thread on 3FC and the topic boiled down to "everyone is different" and advice we use, even the most common advice, can't be universal because... we're all different!

So what makes YOU different or unique when it comes to weight loss? What common advice just doesn't work for you?



For me:
- x meals a day is NOT helpful. It just makes me think of food all day!
- Chew sugarless gum; it curbs cravings! NOT! It makes me CRAVE badly!
- I'm a proud drinker of diet soda, and happily use splenda when and if I want it
- Calorie count often means more to me than nutritional value
- "Eating healthy" translates to "low-carb diet" in my brain.
- Although I have a maximum calorie limit... I don't have a minimum.

Low fat doesn't work for me (fat gives flavor, & is good for your brain)

Low-carb doesn't work for me (I love carbs too much!)

Increasing calories doesn't work for me.

Decreasing calories is NOT working for me! Argh!

wah.

I'm with you two on the gum. I just end up craving.
twenty minutes of exercise a day for me. I can't have days off, or I don't want to start again, no matter how good it makes me feel to exercise.

- I have tried to cut back on my carbs, but LOW carb for me will NEVER happen.
- Sometimes doing things that make me happy and keep my moods more even are more effective in helping me lose weight than anything else.
- I hate counting calories or points. I have done both and they have helped me realize what a portion it. But trying to track it all on a daily basis makes me crazy.
- I can't take a whole "day off". I can totally ruin all my weeks hard work with one day of eating like crazy.

Pretty much all my water has crystal light or something of that nature, I drink 100oz a day and count it all as water and this works for me.

I lose at ridiculously high calorie levels

I have a "cheat" meal pretty much every weekend (but it's generally accounted for in my calorie levels)

I generally don't gain weight durning TOM

I lose weight in batches instead of weekly (this wasn't the case in the begining)

I love having a balanced diet that has the right kind of carbs (whole grains, fruit, beans, etc.)

Gum does work for me

I eat dessert, every night, right before bed. Pretty sure that breaks a TON of rules (no eating before bed, don't eat dessert, etc) but it works for me. Otherwise I feel deprived.

I don't really do portion control at home. I mean, sure, my portions of high calorie items (whole grains, fats, proteins) are controlled. But when I eat, I eat GIGANTIC PLATES OF FOOD. It's just all vegetable, and therefore calorie controlled. I like to be full.

If calorie counting calculators were accurate, I would have dropped to a negative weight about a year ago. Seriously, my body just doesn't burn a lot. I had to make peace with that.

I have no foods that I love, but have decided to never eat again. I still eat, on a special occasion, sweet baked goods that are hugely caloric and spike my blood sugar. Ideal? Absolutely not. But I would never, ever choose to give up those rare indulgences (especially cupcakes, which I am fascinated with and try at bakeries all around the country), no matter how bad they are for me.

Gum doesn't help me with cravings, but it does help me during exercise. I am usually working fast and furious, with no time to grab a drink, and my mouth will end up parched during a workout. Chewing sugar free gum keeps it moist. I hydrate before and after, but not generally during. I go through a TON of gum because I chew a stick or two per workout, and that's 8-10x a week!

I think I'm pretty unique with my weigh in strategy, i.e. not getting on a scale at all for the first 72 days and no more than once a month since then.

This seems to be the area that is rejected whenever someone asks me how I've lost the weight. Calorie counting? "Check" . Logging food and exercise? "Check". Exercise at least 6 hours a week? I lose some folks on this one. Don't get on the scale more than once a month? "Are you insane????".

I do some things that I've never or rarely heard talked about on the board before.

1) I only eat 2 meals per day. And on rare occasions, one meal. I like to pack it in and forget about it. I don't feel hungry, dizzy or hypoglycemic from it.

2) I rarely drink water & exist on caffeinated beverages. This is not a habit that I like or I am proud of, but I've lost weight fine.

3) I have binge eating disorder. My binges are extremely high calorie (2,000-3,000 cal), but my body has adapted to the overeating. I can burn off a 3,000 calorie binge in a few days. That can be bad because I rationalize a mega binge by saying that it doesn't matter, I can burn it off really fast.

4) I'm a veggie addict. If a meal doesn't include heaping servings of multiple vegetables, I am not happy.

5) I drink alcohol and don't worry about it. I lose weight fine doing that, but I usually couple alcohol with a couple of hours of dancing.

I guess those are some of my unique characteristics. I'm glad to see I'm not the only non-water drinker out there.

Oooh, this is fun!

1. I hate counting calories. I find it cumbersom to thik about constantly, and I just flat out refuse to deal with it. I've gained a realistic perspective on portion sizing, so I'm just not eating as much.

2. TOM is not something that really seems to affect my weight. I can get through just fine and still come out of that week down a pound or two, or at least exactly the same.

3. I don't think I will ever switch to things like natural peanut butter and the like. Artificial sweeteners, whatever.... I'm more focused on other aspects of my diet than that.

4. I am one of the daily weighers. I know so many people on here have discovered it frustrating and discouraging, but I am quite the opposite. It gives me more drive. I start my day off with whatever number I'm at, and it's on my mind in some way for the rest of the day, fuelling my decisions. I love it!

5. I probably indulge in something I shouldn't a couple times a week, and that works for me. I have yet to truly feel deprived, and it hasn't sent me over the edge into a crazy eating tailspin. I just have whatever it is, and get on with my life and my weight loss.

All of this just reinforces that what works for one, may not work for another. Fantastic!

1. I hate diet plans. I cannot stand the thought of someone telling me what I can and cannot eat. Just reading the lists of forbidden foods drives me batty, and trying to think of food as points just seems weirdly wrong.

2. I am obsessively organized about my whole process - I plan meals for the week, I calorie count religiously, I create spreadsheets for weight loss, I log all of my exercise.

3. My best method for losing weight is getting rid of all grains. My body loathes carbs, and will only tolerate a reasonable amount of fruits & veggies.

4. I can eat high fat foods - cheese, bacon, red meat, 4% cottage cheese - and still lose (and not have a problem with my cholesterol).

5. I refuse to eat "diet food" - Lean Cuisine, meal replacement bars, Crystal Light. I want to eat real food not chemicals. My focus is on health, not weight loss.

1. I consider myself a calorie counter, but I don't keep an log or journal of what I eat each day. I keep a running total in my head.

2. I hate on-line calorie counters (for the most part). Give me a book so I can look it up.

3. I rarely eat breakfast. It's all I can do to get myself out of bed.

4. I eat 2 meals a day with an evening snack. I've tried the 5-6 small meals a day & just can't do it. I tend to over-eat.

5. No food is off limits as long as I budget for it. I may put off eating it and then decide I don't want it. It's refreshing to know if I want a piece of cake and I have budgeted for it that I can enjoy it.

Calorie-counting makes me stressed and obsessive. Being stressed and obsessive makes me go overboard on cutting back on food even when I know better, so instead I just watch what kind of food I have and the portions. This doesn't mean I completely avoid calorie content, but it does mean I have to trust myself to be aware of and watch what I eat without having to obsess over tracking every little crumb.

I absolutely can't have aspartame (the artificial sweetener), although I can have sucralose in small amounts. But for the most part I try to avoid chemicals in general, which severely limits what I can have to drink. I mostly stick with water and plain tea. And as for juices, I keep them limited but allow myself grapefruit juice and either pure cranberry juice (not cocktail, that's way too sugary) or "lite" cranberry juice sweetened with sucralose (not "diet," as it has aspartame added to it). And don't even get me started on on all the sodas either pumped full of HFCS or aspartame and thus have to avoid . . .

I can't have any seafood due to an allergy I acquired in my late teens. This is very disappointing as it cuts out many healthy options I used to be able to enjoy.

This thread is fun. It makes me feel better because no one is perfect and we all have our diet "quirks"

I am a proud user of Splenda and go through a large bag of it every month or so.

Crystal Light is my friend, I am not a fan of water, especially our nasty city water.

I eat a tiny breakfast so I can have 300 calories of popcorn, cheese and a hot cocoa made with splenda every night without fail.

Gum has never worked for me. Its like a tease because its not real food

I can't do "cheat days" because I would easily eat 5000 calories if left to my own devices

I have been known to strip naked and step on the scale five times if I see a number I think is wrong....Like that tee shirt weighed two pounds LOL