This is a golden oldie type thread which has been done before - but theres a lot of new people around with (I'm sure) some great new ideas - so please share.

So... for instance my favourites are:

I keep a bag of frozen mixed berries (most supermarkets have them) so that when I get a craving for something sweet I can just pop in a couple to melt in my mouth.

I keep a diet diary and write down food BEFORE I eat it and exercise AFTER I've done it. At the back I keep a list of favourite meals with the size of a portion and its calories written against them. Makes meal planning very easy!

If I'm going out for the evening and know I'll want wine or food which'll take me over my calorie allowance then I have to earn it by doing extra exercise in advance.

If, like me, you have pushy friends who keep saying that 'one little slice' won't hurt - then tell them you think you might be allergic to it because last time you had it you were

If I feel I want something sweet, I brush my teeth. My cravings usually go away.

When I can, I eat my bigger meal at lunchtime. When I just have a sandwich at lunch, it doesn't keep me going till the evening, whereas if I have my main meal in the middle of the day, I can get away with eating something much lighter in the evening.

I shop for my food online - it removes the chance of impulse buying.

I also try to get books that will help my motivation - I've just got an audiobook of Dr Phil's Ultimate Weight Solution. Hopefully in my weak moments, a stern Texan telling me I can do it will stop me doing something stupid.

I usually have a picture of someone I want to look like on my computer.

Lastly, I have a pair of trousers hanging on my wardrobe door that I've never fitted into but they inspire me every time I see them.

I have an old skirt that I've had for 11 years, it's my measure for weight loss. When I first moved back to Boston about 10 years ago I couldn't come anywhere near buttoning it and now it fits. I like to try it one when the scale is up so I can still remind myself of my progress.

Big shocker for today I went to a fundraiser last night and had ONE DRINK. YAY me, I'm getting ready to go for a run now haven't run in 2 weeks since I was sick so I don't have high hopes for today but I'm ready to get back out there.

I went and got new running sneakers yesterday. The guys in the store laughed at me because mine were so beat up. Hey I'm a teacher and these are $100 a pair!!!!

Here are the things that help me:

Eating every three hours

Cycling calories

Keeping a log of all my food

Weighing monthly....I just can't deal with the weekly ups and downs

Exercising in the morning...it makes me feel good all day

Taking one day off a month no matter what....it keeps me going and I usually take it on a special occassion or when I donate blood

Feeling my new muscles...it's the coolest!

Getting my blood work done and watching the numbers fall

Hearing people tell me I am "evaporating"

Not lowering calorie intake or upping exercise output until I go an entire month without losing

Eating clean foods, very little processed anything

Taking things one day at a time...in the beginning it was one meal at a time and one exercise session at a time.

Patience!

I've started a spreadsheet that shows my weight loss and also adds up the miles as I'm walking - so I can see one go down and the other go up.

I try and eat a large lunch and smaller evening meal.

When I'm feeling as though I'm going to eat something I shouldn't I've taken to coming in here and just reading the posts - that way I get some inspiration and incentive and it makes me not want to give in to the craving.

Susan's four food groups .....
lean proteins
things that grow
oatmeal
calorie free drinks

so many things i do now...
have a small snacky lunch full of things that are very low cal but take ages to eat like fruit, and snack a jax and cereal bars.
drink tea when im hungry in the afternoon, with no cal sugar
save most my cals for the evening
have a 500 cal dinner, and a 300 cal dessert (usually somthing savoury or an ice lolly and somthing like jam on toast.)
never eat chocolate and cheese where i can help it, too much temptation.
no buiscuits no sweet,s just cold turkey.
keep a food log(spreadsheet) of each week, but write everyday food/exercise/how im physically feeling and give my self a rating.
work out as much as my body can hack it
stay on 1300 cals in the week and 1400 on the weekend
limit alcohole to special occasions (if possible)
have a mint after dinner, makes me not want dessert for a while.

take pictures of myself after every 10pounds, keep a picture log of my journey.
have pictures of a bigger me on the fridge
keep the scales near the food cubord so i can see them if i go to snack.
walk as much as possible.....even if its just a trip to get milk....
fill up on a big healthy salad or veg every meal, to make it feel like im eating alot more then i am.

If I get off track, I go back to doing Fitday for a day or two. That gets me back on track!

And here's one that'll surprise you...

I lost all of my weight drinking a glass of wine each night, most nights. Sometimes, I'd have a couple then go a few days with none to balance it out. The Rosemary Conley diets allow for it - and I read about a study that said the dieters who had their daily allowance of a glass of wine - on average lost more weight, more quickly. No-one knows why but I think in my case, it's a treat - so takes away the temptation of something else. Plus makes me relaxed therefore not so liable to nibble. Plus, 9pm is my 'danger time' for snacking - I can eat healthily all day no problems, but come the evening even after over 18 mths of this, I start hovering over the bad things.

I also did the Rosemary thing of a non diet 'treat' everyday of around 150 cals - or saving up a coupla days for a bigger. This totally cut out the temptation to binge, for me. But she says it doesn't work for everyone. For some people, they can't stop at one of anything. Others can.

When I was at the height of the weight loss thing, I also exercised in the evenings as I go off food after exercise. Again, that wouldn't work for everyone.

If you want to lose weight, you should try eating small amounts of diversified food 5 times a day, at regular hours.
Try to eat more at breakfast, because the calories you get will be burnt during the day. Also, try eating less at the last meal of the day, so that when you sleep you don't have to burn those calories.

Aside from other reasons I have posted in other threads..........

I keep the image of the guy that I am totally in love with at the moment. Because for me, if I don't feel confident about my body I don't want to be intimate or in a potentially intimate relationship with anybody, even if they were to think my body fine.

This way I can try and motivate myself to try for body confidence (and that for me means losing weight amongst other things) so that were anything to get closer......I could let it.

Some really good tips in here. Thanks. Need all the help I can get...



"I won't be bossed about by a biscuit"