Ok, so I bought the book, "Thin for Life" and I was reading it just now before bedtime but thought I would post this question. The third "key to success" in the book is, "Do it your way"...and one of the questions it asks is, "What works for you?" Basically it tells you to make 2 lists - one list of things that WORKS for you to lose weight and one list of things that you've done that does NOT work for you. I'm sure I will keep adding to my list as I can only think of a few. Here is the list that is an EXAMPLE from the book - following will be MY lists - and I'd be extremely interested in knowing all of your answers!!!

EXAMPLE FROM BOOK:
What worked:
1. occasionally having a treat
2. having 3 meals a day
3. saving up calories for parties
4. limiting red meat
5. packing my lunch the night before

What didn't work:
1. strict dieting
2. skipping lunch
3. denying myself bread
4. eating grapefruit 5 times a day



HERE ARE MY ANSWERS:
What works for me / Ultimategurrl:
1. keeping a weight loss journal with various things, such as before & after pics, a calander with a star on each day when I exercise, inspiring quotes, etc.

2. packing my lunch the night before

3. re-packaging things such as chips, mini rice cakes, etc...into ziplock bags into the portion size it should be.

4. exercising at the gym at NIGHT after work.

5. using my food scale & measuring cups / spoons

6. eating breakfast before work (usually about 5 pts at 5:30 a.m.) - eating
a small snack during my first break at 9 a.m. (usually about 4 pts) - eating
lunch during my second break at noon (usually about 5 pts) - having a 2 pt
snack when I get home from work (anywhere between 2 & 5 p.m.
depending on overtime) going to work out at the gym - then eating dinner
(usually about 10 points) and dessert (2 pts) before bed.

7. keeping low fat chocolate granola bars in the house (2 pts)

8. making sure I have SOMETHING sweet after my lunch meal - like 1 pt worth of chocolate usually.

9. allowing myself a candy bar at LEAST once a week - normally reeses pb cups.

What doesn't work:
1. not allowing myself ANY type of chocolate at all - i WILL end up binging.

2. not taking a snack for my 9 a.m. break - i will usually end up taking money out of the ATM and buying something unhealthy in the cafeteria.

3. not allowing allowing myself starbucks every now and again (hey, it's what flexpoints are for!! lol)

4. eating the SAME foods all the time. i LOVE trying new recipes.



Now i'd love to hear from everyone else!

Hmmmm interesting question! Since I love making lists (I'm a die-hard Pro/Con person!), here we go! I'm a work-in-process, so I'll have to modify the list titles into What Is Working So Far and What Hasn't Worked in the Past (based on years of experimentation):


What Is Working For Me So Far:

• Flexibility and setting up my own plan
• De-powering the lure of the "Forbidden Food" -- nothing is forbidden to me
• Eliminating the "Must Lose X pounds by Y date" mentality.
• Allowing myself to relax (food and exercise) on weekends
• Recording everything on FitdayPC (and being brutally honest about it)
• Daily weighing (I like to spot trends, good or bad, in the making).
• Calorie Counting
• Getting a pedometer!
• Setting up a home gym (doesn't make me like it, but does cut out some excuses)
• Keeping pre-portioned "good" snacks at home and in the car for quick-grabs
• Severely limiting diet/exercise talk with 3D people (that includes family)
• Becoming a 3FC member, since I rarely talk about diet/exercise with 3D people!
• Learning the difference between belly-hungry and head-hungry (still learning)
• Learning the difference between "full" and "belly-bursting full" (still learning)
• Research, research, research -- learning about diet and exercise and health in general

What Hasn't Worked For Me in the Past:

• Restrictions (eliminating entire food groups)
• Rigidity (having to eat specific things or at specific times)
• Gym memberships
• Social dieting (group meetings, etc)
• Formal diet plans
• Shots and/or pills

I'm sure there are more, but this was just what was on the top of the head! Thanks for asking!

Hmmm....nice idea.

What Is Working For Me So Far:
Journalling - Fitday now - better than the old spreadsheet I used to use.
Exercise daily - I may not see as many pounds gone - but I nowhere near as fluffy.
Calorie counting
Eating clean - still in the learning process on this
Patience - I don't really care how long it takes the last pounds to come off
Planning ahead, bringing lunch to work and saving calories if I know I'm going out to eat

What doesn't work:
Expecting to be able to maintain without journalling
Trying to "wing it"....I need to be able to order something sensible. This often requires a bit of research before I go out.
Buffet.....let's not go there....

wow, gina! 100 pounds! Congrats!!

Thin For Life is an awesome book, isn't it?

If you pop on down to The Maintenance Library, we had a little book club last year and discussed each chapter -- they're 'stickied' at the top of the page. You might want to check out the discussions as you're reading the chapters.

I have a little list of things that work all mixed together.
A) eat less (calorie counting)
B) eat clean (less processed, more whole natural food)
C) cardio
D) weights
and regular attendance at 3 Fat Chicks.

And what doesn't work?
Missing any one of the above for more than two days.
Winging it (like the others) I have to keep records.
A planned cheat day. There are enough occasions when I over do it a bit. A whole day is just disaster.

What works:
- Food log and a blog
- Portion control
- No illegal foods, just limited ones
- 3FC (the support and accountability are crucial for me)
- New attitude toward exercise (I now equate it to going to a job - might hate it, but do it anyway)

What doesn't work:
- Cheat days
- Measuring and counting (makes me feel "put upon" and resistant)
- Following someone else's rules (see above!)
- Processed, packaged, or frozen crap food
- Dessert every night

I like these sorts of threads. It's good to remind myself every once and a while of what I can do right and what habits I need to stay away from. It can help get me re-focused at just the right time!

-Lala

What works:
- PLANNING! Planning everything! I create a menu and then a grocery list and stick to it.
- Drinking plenty of water
- Cooking with plenty of fresh veggies. I add a variety of veggies to just about everything now, from chili to lasagna
- Sonoma-friendly foods and recipes. They taste so amazing, you don't even think of it as "diet" food
- Getting enough sleep
- Portion control, as in 50% of dinner is a mix of veggies, 25% is wholegrain carb and 25% is lean protein (mostly chicken and fish)
- Eating brown carbs instead of white
- Discovering figs, dates and almonds for snacks. Yummy!
- Olive oil
- A brisk daily walk, bellydance classes and (newly added) strength training (Jorge Cruise 8 Minutes in the Morning because I had no clue where to start!)
- Setting mini-goals for myself
- Using soya textured mince in place of ground beef for chilis, spaghetti sauces and lasagnas

What doesn't work:
- Leaving my exercise until afternoon or evening. Something ALWAYS comes up!
- Not breaking down my ultimate goal into smaller chunks. It seems too overwhelming if I don't have mini-goals to reach for a sense of achievement
- Packaged "diet" foods. YUCK! I prefer to cook and to eat real food, as fresh as possible.
- Thinking I can have a snack or a second helping and just "work it off later" or eat less for dinner to make up for it. DUMB and DISASTROUS!
- Trying to hide my actual weight from everyone, including my husband because of embarrassment. Once I finally copped to my actual weight, I was able to break-through and actually start losing just so I could prove to myself and everyone else that I could make that change.
- Thinking in terms of a diet just to reach goal weight. I've embraced this new lifestyle for good, not just until I reach goal.

What works

• Planning
• Eating whole foods (avoiding processed foods)
• Weighing only once a week
• Food journaling
• Progress pics
• Concentrating on health not weight
• Planning for maintenance before I got there
• Learning what "portion sizes" really look like
• Using the internet to KNOW the calories/fat of restaurant food to better make healthy choices when ordering out
• Breaking the sugar addiction
• Giving up fast food, packaged baked goods and soda
• Mini goals with rewards at 10 lb intervals
• Working with my body - making sure I ate plenty of food, not one binge episode since I started!

What did not work

• Overly restrictive
• Diet foods (low fat/low cal)
• Weighing many times a day
• Fixating on a goal weight with no plan to stay at the goal weight
• Starting diets with a plan to stop one day
• Letting one bad meal make me feel I might as well give up for the day/week and eat whatever I want
• Ending a diet and going right back to eating the unhealthy way that made me heavy in the first place

Love this thread so far.

What's Worked:

• Calorie counting - and writing EVERYTHING down, and knowing I will for the rest of my life
• Weighing daily, often more than once a day, to get an idea of my body's rhythm
• Coming here, EVERY day!
• Caffeine
• Always trying to do better: eat cleaner, move more
• Not saying "no" to any foods
• Still sneaking sweets (both healthy and unhealthy) into my diet
• Knowing consistency is key, and one bad meal or day or year is nothing to a lifetime

What Hasn't Worked:

• Not writing things down.
• Not coming here.
• Not planning (trying to wing it as Susan put it).
• Focusing on the scale or the measuring tape instead of how I feel.
• Making other unhealthy habits a priority and leaving food/planning behind.

Never thought it all out like this before...

What works:
eating breakfast
eating clean
planning meals (if not prepping, just thinking about it)
working out consistently
cutting soda
regular chocolate
creative cooking/substitutions

What doesn't work
no bread. ever. (FAIL-URE!)
What Lena said was a good one- rigidity. A lot of diets are so focused on specifics (exactly what to eat and when to eat it). Just eating right shouldn't be that much work, to me at least.
listening to my hunger switch (not even sure I have one...)

What works

Exercise
At least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day
A predominantly vegetarian diet, with an emphasis on vegetables rather than things that aren't meat
Exercise
Planning ahead
Cooking for myself rather than relying on prepared foods
No banned foods
Exercise

What doesn't work for me
Any plan with rules, counting, bizarre food combinations or banned food
Denial
Obsessing too much about bad days
Letting one bad day lead to another

Meg. Yes, your other posts / threads about the book are the REASON I went out and bought it!!! I LOVE this book! I think, for the longest time, I was SOOO "pro-weight watchers / anti-anything else"...and I was always telling people the ONLY way to go WAS weight watchers. but after joining the forums here on 3FC & reading that book - it's really opened my eyes to the way other people lose. thing is, too - I'm looking into becoming a Weight loss counselor one day and i HAVE to realize that what "WORKS" for one person doesn't always work for someone else and vice versa - it really IS about finding what works for YOU personally.

but anyways, i LOVE the book, and i LOVE the responses here - keep 'em comin'!!

You would make an awesome weight loss counselor! Look at the fantastic discussion that you've sparked here. I completely agree that we all need to find or create our own plans FOR LIFE. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a knowledgeable and supportive person to help - like you? I hope you follow your dream - best of luck to you!!

This is a wonderful thread!

I can't say what works for me .. since I am trying to make my way.. but I know what I can and can't manage to live with to make this work.

What I think I need:

*a variety of foods.. preferably not foods that are processed too much
*a walking exercise workout everyday.. on off days just taking it easier. I need the routine.
*water.. water ... water.. It makes me feel good but is necessary to keep my headaches away and also mvp complications
*a bit of dark chocolate every now and then.. yes I seem to need it.
*to eat breakfast every morning.. steel cut oats or something with protein like salmon
*daily multivitamin
*plenty of sleep
*pampering in the shower.. a home spa day
*clothes that feel comfortable and fit good
*an occasional glass of wine.. I want to have it often.. but can't handle that because I will eat while enjoying the wine
*support from friends like you!


What doesn't seem to work for me.. or what I can't live with:

*counting calories or weighing food..
*restricting types of food except highly processed foods
*weighing myself daily or even weekly
*making goals about weight
*junk food in the house that I like.. I can live with stuff that I don't eat that my son might like.. but if I like it.. I can't have it in the house.
*more than an occassional cup of coffee..
*dairy or things made with dairy.. except certain cheeses and yogurt.. milk just doesn't make me feel good
*artificial sugar substitutes yuck.. not just the taste.. the feeling
*feeling unhealthy