Quote:
Originally Posted by Kara
What works for me:
Counting calories (eating at a healthy level, not too few)
Prioritizing protein and healthy fats
Doing a combination of weight lifting and cardio (3x per week weights and 2-3x per week cardio)
When I do those things consistently I lose weight. It's not rocket science, it's not hard, it's not complex. It's sticking with it that I have issues with.
This is what works for me too. I try really hard to make sure I make healthy choices.
I'm learning about the science behind fat loss and it's really not that complicated. There are a couple of things you need to understand but after that it's easy.
I think the 3 things that really mess people up and slow their progress are:
1. Not eating the right number calories. They can be too low.
2. Net eating enough healthy fats.
3. Not having any patience with the process.
For some reason people think that starving themselves is the way to fat loss. On the contrary, that's the way to lean mass loss and fat gain. The human body will do much to protect itself and it seems counter-intuitive to people that actually eating more will often spur people on to success. And there is such a thing as eating too little fat. As long as you're eating the good fats, poly and mono -unsaturated fats, then you can eat up to 25-30% of your calories from them. You shouldn't get less than 15% from them. It takes fat to burn fat.
You CAN have success with portion control as long as your portions are right for you. That's the biggest problem with some of these portion control diets. One size does not fit all. Portion control diets are really calorie control diets, you just don't have to count them.
I think everyone should go through the exercise of time-to-time counting their caloric intake for a few days, just to get a ball park of where they are. If you don't what your intake is, how can you possibly understand what you need to do to lose weight?