Most important weight loss tip
 

If you had to choose the one best thing you have learned on your weight loss journey, what would it be ?

Get enough sleep.

Yes, learmed that one too !

Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.

Yep, tough one for me, but I'm finally getting it.

Plan ahead !

Yes, great one !

Find a lifestyle you can stick with permanently that lets you enjoy eating and moving your body. #2 - if I can have a second - Be patient with yourself as you learn to adapt to the new lifestyle, getting right back to it when you lapse into the old one. If you find yourself doing that too often, then maybe your plan wasn't sustainable and making you happy after all and it's time to tweak it a bit. ;)

Points well taken !

Consistency.

The pounds will add up, slowly but surely. Don't get frustrated with low losses for one week.

I keep a running tally on my phone with the weekly loss posted. I get giddy with excitement seeing the totals add up.

It's frustrating when I see "only" 1.8lbs this week but I lost over 12 for the month so that makes me happy again!

Resilence!
In dieting and in life!
We all have disappointments in life but if we are Resilent we can handle whatever comes are way!
This is the secret in life I have passed on to my children and friends!
Good Luck , Roo2:carrot::carrot::carrot:

Believe and do the work and you can achieve your Goals:hug:

People respond to weight loss like they respond to medicine...everyone is different and something that works for one person might not work for another. As long as it's as healthy as possible, keeps you motivated, and has you going in the right direction, then it's a good method for you.

Oh, and patience is key.

re:
 

Come to 3FC to keep your brain in the game.

Originally Posted by JoJoJo2:
Never, ever give up! Never! :wave:

Ditto!

Wow....all good !

Originally Posted by JoJoJo2:
Never, ever give up! Never! :wave:

yep, this.

Find good support. It can be the difference between success and failure!

(Thank goodness I found this board!)

Weigh yourself regularly.

Don't want to get on the scales because you ate off plan and think you've gained? DO IT ANYWAY ASAP. Don't wait.
Avoiding the scale can turn into added pounds, while knowing where you're at can provide motivation and halt a bigger backslide.

Mindfulness/accountability: my food/fitness journal has become my most important tool.:write:

Portion sizes

STOP DRINKING, LAUREN.

Yes, that is what I've learned, hahaha!

Calories in vs. calories out.

Drink lots of water!

Large quantities of carbs are not my friend. -_-

Originally Posted by tricon7:
Consistency.

agreed

So I just did some figuring.

Right now, I have my My Fitness Pal calorie goal set to 1400, which according to them puts me at a 1.4lb loss. Now, this is how much I tend to lose if I'm not doing any major exercising, which they got about spot on.

Now that I'm exercising more, I realized that I'm probably burning way more than MFP thinks I'm burning. Already when I log my exercise into THEIR calorie counter, I'm burning about 7-800 more than what they say I should be burning. And I did notice prior to my holiday time off from the gym, I was losing more when I exercised more, while still eating roughly the same amount of calories as I am now. Which leads me to think if I keep things up and stay ON PLAN this month, I should get half of the remaining weight I need to lose off.

What it boils down to? The biggest thing, better than just not drinking, that I've learned from weight loss is your calorie counters aren't the say all-end all to your weight loss efforts -- your body is going to do what YOU make it do, not what My Fitness Pal or Sparkpeople or Livestrong or whatever other program you use says it should.

The end.

I'm blown away by the wisdom in these posts !

Originally Posted by berryblondeboys:
Get enough sleep.

^^^^Agree w/ Berryblondeboys. Along with thatone maintain stress levels to a low.

Keep an HONEST food journal. That means making updates during the day if you sneak a cookie, don't eat something, etc.

Don't stop living just because you're losing. Your problems won't go away when you're skinnier. Face your demons while you're on this journey and learn to enjoy the ride. Learn to love yourself. Most importantly, forgive yourself.

Ok, I've listed the responses in predominant order....interesting....

#1 Five people said keep trying, or don't give up.

Tied for #2 Three said get enough sleep
Three said Drink/hydrate

Tied for #3 Two people said : plan
be consistent
seek support/3fcsupport
keep track/journal

Everyone else; Portion control
Weigh regularly,even when you slip
Choose a healthy planthat works for you
Keep rack of weight loss so you canfeel your success
Calories in vs out
Not too many carbs
You have the control/ need to own what you do
Face your demons
Forgive yourself
Love yourself.

Lifestyle change - Find out what healthy life style changes work for you long term. I've made mistakes in the past focusing on strategies to lose weight in the short term, but didn't focus on how I was going to keep it off and guess what? I didn't! Since you are already putting in the effort to lose weight, focus on discovering healthy activities and low calorie foods that you love.

PORTION CONTROL/CALORIE COUNTING.

A calorie counter app on your phone really helps!

There is no failure, only feedback.

Learn from it. If "A" does not work, try "B" or "C" or whatever.

This is where tracking/diary/blog or whatever comes into play, keep one or all. Food, mood, life, etc. Keep it, look back on it. Evaluate, and evaluate again as needed.

Find supportive and like minded people.

I find these people here and at my Weight Watcher meetings, family, and my gym. All of these people and tools help/support me.

Granted it's in different ways, but, each is important, in it's own way.:D:hug:

Food is fuel, not a form of entertainment or your best friend. It doesn't have to make you happy. Don't expect it to do more than fuel you.

Be Patient!

Make certain foods completely off limit, so there's not a chance of "cheating" if something isn't an option.
Set a reachable deadline and stick with it- say a month, then reevalute whether or not you are going to recommit or switch things up

Pick a plan you like, that works for you and you can stick with...it is more important that you pick a plan and make it stick than which particular plan you pick. There are lots of ways to lose weight. Don't be afraid to customize a plan to make it work better for you. This will work better if you read the book or books, do your research and understand the theories behind weight loss in general and your plan in particular.