What would YOUR diet book say?

  • If you had to write a diet book right now about your weight loss, what would your key points be?

    What do you feel are the most important things that you've done on this journey to lose weight?

    These would be mine:

    Give up 90% of the sugar I previously ate. (Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup like the plague)

    Relatively low carb (not no carb), which has helped tremendously with inflammation and cravings.

    Drink at least 64 ozs of water per day

    Exercise, exercise, exercise. This in my opinion has helped the most. In this, I include all of the things I do now, that I didn't do before. Taking the stairs, parking away from the store, walking places where previously I would have driven, general moving around MUCH more.

    I look forward to reading others responses!
  • My key points would be:

    1) Be prepared for the emotional aspect of losing weight. This involves understanding why you were fat in the first place. Losing weight is more than physical, it is psychological.

    2) Don't be afraid of screwing up. Mistakes will happen, and it's how you handle them that really matters.

    3) Say good-bye to drinking your calories. Rely on water.

    4) Find healthier replacements for foods that you eat to make the transition to your new lifestyle easier. For example, I replaced peanut butter with almond butter, 2% milk with nonfat organic, sugary cereals with steel cut oats, butter with olive oil, etc.

    5) Cut down on meat. It really helped me a lot - you can get protein minus the saturated fat from other foods. I also recommend eating more lean cuts of meat, like fish and turkey.

    6) Have fun with exercise. Do not pick an exercise routine that will make you miserable. Try different things all of the time.

    7) Sneak movement into everything you do. Make sure you're moving as much as possible during the day.

    8) Know your reason(s). This kind of ties in with my first reason, but I believe we should (over time) understand the reasons why we're losing weight. I know this personally makes me more motivated to keep going.

    That's pretty much it. I mean there's a lot I could say about losing weight, but my book would focus more on those ideals.
  • Stick with it. Don't ever give up. Keep at it. Focus on what you are doing.
  • 1. Give up the sugar, it only makes you want more sugar.

    2. Carbs only make you want more carbs, keep them under control.

    3. Get enough protein, it fills you up!

    4. Make sure your plan is something you can live with and something that makes you feel good, because then you will want to stick with it. What starts as self control for the first few months can turn into second nature.

    5. Turn your new foods into a hobby, like trying new recipes for your plan that will soon turn into favorites for you and hopefully your family.

    6. You are worth it!!
  • 1. Don't snack. It is either a meal or nothing. Meals have 450 calories tops and are 4 a day.

    2. No dessert. If I want something sweet it will be one of my meals. I prefer honey over sugar and try to eat only 100-200 gr of sweet a week.

    3. No meat. I don't buy anything meaty anymore. So most fast food stuff is gone from my diet and my veggie intake has gone high. If someone invites me and has cooked meat I eat it, but in very small portions (as not to insult or cause social problems to myself)

    4. 6 portions of veggie/fruits EVERY day with absolutely no exception.

    5. 4 litres of water every day. The only other fluid allowed in my diet is milk with my iron supplement powder and soups for meals.

    6. No sweeteners. If it isn't benefitting me I don't need to eat it. Food is about keeping me healthy now, not keeping me sedated anymore.

    7. Daily excersize of one hour total. 30 minutes cardio and 30 minutes weights/crunches/squats etc.

    8. Determination that this is forever. I change my lifestyle for life, not just for a few months. I have no interest in becomming a thin person that eats the same crap in smaller portions. I eat healthy and aim for a healthy weight.

    9. Fill in the emotional gap of food with new exciting things. I don't eat as a reward anymore. Rewards are clothes, bubblebaths, long walks, sex and so much more stuff that can raise my dopamine level.

    10. Find my limmits. I was afraid of hunger and now I laugh at that notion. Hunger is like sooo softcore in comparisson to what I thought it would be. Since I eat 1700 calories a day I don't feel starvation just a very healthy reminder that I need my next small meal every 3-4 hours.

    11. Steady sleeping pattern. I sleep now steadily 9 hours a day, the same hours each day and finally my body doesn't feel tired anymore.

    That's all I think...
  • I can tell you what it won't say --- "THE END".

  • Quote: I can tell you what it won't say --- "THE END".

    I really like that thought! Great thinking :-)

    Monique
  • Wow, great ideas everyone. Here are mine:

    1. This is not a diet. This is not something you will abandon after an arbitrary period of time. This is for LIFE.

    2. Stop eating fast food. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but I ate fast food 2-3x a day.

    3. Eat less meat; eat more tofu. It's delicious, packed with protein, and curbs cravings.

    4. Eat more whole fruits and vegetables, not fruit and vegetable "products."

    5. PLAN your meals ahead of time. Don't wait to eat until you're at that "I'm-so-hungry-I-could-eat-anything point," because then you WILL eat anything.

    6. This goes along with #2 and #5: cook for yourself. You'll know what's going in to the food you eat and appreciate it even more.

    7. Michael Pollan's advice from In Defense of Food has guided me more than once: avoid food products that contain ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than 5 in number, and that have high fructose corn syrup.

    8. Walk! Wearing a pedometer encourages me to take the long way everywhere I go.

    9. Assess your cravings sensibly and eat accordingly. You'll find yourself feeling more full when you eat what your body wants.

    10. Stop yourself BEFORE you feel full. Feeling hungry is just as worse as feeling stuffed, ain't it?
  • Quote: I can tell you what it won't say --- "THE END".

    Yeah, this combined with Stick with it, no matter what the scale says.

    My book would be a lesson in reading the scale with the following points:
    • The scale is a tool, not the end all - be all.
    • Weight loss is not linear.
    • Some of us lose big 1-2 weeks of the month and stall the rest.
    • It's more accurate to expect to lose 4-8 pounds per month rather than 1-2 per week. It's the same thing but due to bullet point #3, it's far more accurate.
    • It's ok to weigh every day! It's ok.
  • 1.) Don't be afraid of feeling uncomfortable and miserable "dieting" and doing exercise you hate; taking the healthy/active path feels fantastic!

    2.) Protein and fat are fine. You don't have to - and shouldn't - be subsisting on nothing but vegetables and carbs.

    3.) Food-wise, figure out what works best for YOU and do that! Not everyone is wired to feel satisfied with 6 mini-meals a day, or 1 huge meal, or 3 squares.

    4.) Exercise every day and you will start to miss it if you skip a day.

    5.) Take pictures of the meals you cook. You won't want an album full of the same picture over and over again. Dinner plates should be colorful!