[times123]

Hi everyone. OK...I have decided to give a diet (another) try. I was wondering if anyone has small little tips they used to help lose weight? I am not looking for hard core stuff here...I am taking baby steps!! I enjoy eating WWWAAAAYYY to much to eliminate all the "good" stuff. Here is my current plan of attack...

Portion control. Do I REALLY need a Big Mac or can just the hamburger do?

Exercise...a little. Lets not get crazy here.

THANKS
Kari

[laylasmom]

Here's my tip - Don't eat after 8:00 PM. Works for me anyway!

Jane

[nlstoldt]

Kari you crack me up! We really need to live closer because we are so alike!! I too am wanting to drop a few! Let me know how it goes and if you get any good tips!

Anyone have a good recipe for WILLPOWER????? LOL!

Nikki

[robandjulie]

My tips to curb mindless munching:

1. pick up a hobby that keeps your hands busy; ideally where food would make a mess. Knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, gardening, painting...whatever. I knit while watching TV to keep my hands from digging into a snack.

2. When I'm craving a certain treat, I try to think of what I really am getting out of it. My easy example is that I constantly crave McDonald's Hot Fudge Sundaes. Constantly. But what I'm really craving, if I break it down, is something creamy, chocolaty, and just a little salty/crunchy. I've found I can be at last 90% as happy with some pretzle rods and an ice cold chocolate milk (or some chocolate milk and a few ice cubes in the blender) and then splurge on the real deal every month or so.

3. Definitely keep at least one cheat day in there every week or two where you can have the things you really want. Total deprivation rarely works.

4. I'm a diet coke junkie and have been trying to wean down a bit. Now I have a policy that before I can have another diet coke I have to drink at least one large glass of water, which usually either takes care of it and I skip the soda or it fills me up enough that I don't down the soda as fast.

Good luck!

[susmjones]

I agree with Julie's 3 and 4 above. Water, water, water---if I want a snack I drink a big glass of water and the craving usually passes. Gum works well too. Eat slowly and drink a lot of water with dinner- it fills you up! I am a HUGE salad eater---but dressing is so terrible for you. Someone taught me to dip my fork in dressing, then take a bite of the salad. You only use about 1/4 of the dressing you would use if you drenched the salad.

[Slatond10]

Given that I need to lose too and have been avoiding trying!... I am not sure I am the right person to give advice but here are a couple of things I have done in the past that helped.

#1 -- post a picture of you @ the size that you want to be on the bathroom mirror. If I can visualize, it helps me get there.

#2 -- Hang a PERFECT pair of jeans that you want to get into that are a size or 2 smaller than you currently are ( for another reminder) of a treat you will get when successful.

#3 -- Take your vitamin. Supposedly when you crave chocolate your body needs magnesium ???

#4 --I don't like feeling deprived either so I normally come up with alternate "pleasures" to indulge in when I am trying to diet for every week I lose a pound ---i.e., pedicure, massage, a visit w/ a friend I don't see often, a long distance phone call to an old friend, a new pc of clothing or spending spree @ the $1 store. I try to limit the $$ since I want to indulge weekly.

#5 -- Use "mantra" to remind myself what I should eat... "Yes, I will have a salad." "Yum, a salad sounds good"... anything to keep my positive view of the right choices.

Maybe your question will help inspire me!

[beverlyanderic]

when eating a snack, don't take the whole bag or container- only take a few chips or whatever out on a plate. when the whole bag is accessible, people eat much more than they wanted to.

also, cut out the mcdo all together- save money, too!

[Summer95]

Have a happy colon and increase your fiber intake. I have found that when I do this I not only regulate myself, but I slowly lose the pounds. Sounds weird but combine this with water, water, water and you are on your way. If you don't like to drink the chalky fiber drinks, a great source of fiber I have found is Kashi granola bars...I Love them!!! I also like the cereals.

If you don't want to eat fiber then try colonics ...trust me after one treatment you will eat fiber!!!

[annaguat]

Well I had some luck with limiting eating to three meals daily and especially no foods after dinner. Also I drink atleast 8-10 cups of water daily and no sodas etc.. As soon as I get up I drink about 4 cups. I think if I would limit portion sizes and types of foods I would get more drastic results but then it gets hard to live with. Instead of cutting "bad" foods totaly out I just have one small serving. Before I would try and skip them total just to end up gulping down way too many another time. Bes twishes it is hard work. (Atleast for me.)Anna

[Terry111]

What worked for me was joining Weight Watchers. I need to know that I will be weighed in by someone and that gets me motivated to stick to a healthy eating plan. I think it helps bring out my competitive nature. I have lost 34 pounds over the past year (super slow I know) and have another ten or so to go. Before joining, I was very depressed about my weight and felt like I could not bring myself to lose it.

The other thing I just started doing which has jump- started my weight loss again is doing strength training at the gym. Only 20 minutes of strength training 2-3 times per week supposedly is great for your health and also raises your metabolism.

[Bebe2007]

I agree with lots of water.

I eat the things I like in moderation. I love mayo but I use less (fat free yuk). I measure, not too many people like to measure but it works especially with snacks.

Change the bread from white to whole grain.

V-8 Fruit Fusion great taste and you get a serving of fruit and veg with 8oz glass - 120 cal.

I love fizzy drinks so I drink fizzy water instead of soda.

Brown rice yum.

[shelbydog]

Here's my advice - actually, it's my personal trainer's advice. She is phenomenal and has helped me reduce body fat and tone beyond my expectations.

The biggest thing that helped me was journaling every single thing I eat. I cannot believe how many calories I was consuming! It also taught me areas to make SMALL changes. My pers. trainer is big on small changes. She went from 170 pounds to 125 pounds through small changes and lots of exercise. My journal looks like this (I do it on a Word doc and add to it several times per day, total it at the end of the day and type in my exercise for the day.)

I make columns - date, food, calories, protein, time of day and fill it in...TOTAL at the bottom. You will get used to counting calories, especially when you start realizing that cutting 50 here and there WILL make a difference.

I add protein to my journal because I wasn't eating enough. Your body burns more fat and has more energy if you eat more protein and if you are strength training, you need it to build muscle.

An example of small changes - well I realized I could eat an entire bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans in one sitting. The problem? A bag contains 2.5 servings at 140 calories each serving!! That's 370 calories! So instead, I count out one serving, put the rest up high in a cabinet and treat myself to another serving on another day.....or I'll have half a serving if I am craving them. Savings? 230 calories!

Other examples: I realized I eat peanut butter several times a day! Two tablespoons are 190 calories and lots of fat. So now I have ONE tablespoon and not three times a day!

Once you start looking at your journal, you will see areas you can cut back. Example: For dinner, I noticed I had 2 crescent rolls AND dessert. Next time I'll have 1 crescent roll and fruit for dessert, or skip dessert.

The other key - eat 5 or 6 SMALL meals per day. Each meal having lean protein and a healthy carb. Yes - I eat spaghetti with lean beef meat sauce, made homemade. But I don't eat 2 servings worth. Once you start eating this way, you will realize your body needs small meals to work it's best, and probably doesn't need nearly as much food as you are feeding it.

The journal is key. It helps me gauge my day. I learned through journaling that eating around 1350-1500 calories for me equals weight loss. If it's 3 pm and I already ate 1100 calories and I'm hungry, I'll have an apple and some egg whites - not cookies, cake or 140 calories worth of jelly beans! It keeps me honest and true, and keeps me on track throughout the day.

The Body for Life book has excellent nutrition information. This is pretty much how I eat. By the way, it's a great plan and I lost alot of weight on it last year!

As for exercise, bottom line - you have to commit yourself to exercising. For me, walking and lower intensity exercise didn't cut it. When I started exercising at 75% of my target heart rate or higher, the weight really came off. For me, I shoot for 150 bpm for at least 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week, and I strength train 4 times per week. Only 1/2 hour each time but it's intense and I really push myself. A heart rate monitor is SO helpful - a great investment. It motivates me to work harder and logs calories burned. When I see 200 calories burned, I think, "Oh let's go for another 50" if that makes sense.

I guess you have to really make the commitment - both in nutrition and exercise, and you'll see results. I have tried EVERY diet - you name it, I tried it. But the only thing that worked for me is above - it's real life, it's my lifestyle and it's adaptable to any situation. Good luck!

[humanpitchpipe]

Watch the movie Supersize Me if you are a fast food junkie. There is one scene where he gets a Mcstomach ache... I saw this movie and vowed to never eat fast food again. Well, three weeks later and no fast food I decided to eat at McDonald's and my stomach could not tolerate the grease anymore. I can't eat any fried fast food without getting a bad stomach ache now. No matter how bad I want it, just knowing that I will get a wicked stomach ache later is enough to stop me.

[dance_muffin]

When I'm taking my kids to soccer, baseball, cheer or dance etc. I drop my kids on the field they are playing on with the coach. Then I park my car in the area that is far from that field. I also do this at the mall.

I slice up citrus fruits and add to my water. I tend to drink more water with a slice of lime or orange in it.

Low fat snacks and veggies. Hardboil eggs always in the frig available when I'm on the run.

[judymend]

Well unfortunately, what worked for me was a visit to my physician, blood work and the RESULTS!!! I had 209 cholesterol and my Triglycerides were off the charts!!!! Wanna know how off??? 890 off!!! The normal range is below 150!!! I am predisposed to Diabetes (mom's side), & High Triglycerides (mom & brother)....not a good thing!!! Those numbers in my face, WORKED FOR ME! I stopped eating all carbohydrates, no rice, no bread, no pasta...I am already a vegetarian, and it was one of the reasons why my carb intake was so high, I use to triple loud up on carbs!!! My portions were wayyyyyyyyyy off. So now I'm eating some poultry (3 oz.); some cheese (laughing cow cheese); some nuts; olive oil; some veggies and some of the fruits, my portions are very low, my caloric intake is about 1,000 calories right now, and will probably go only as high as 1,400 for life. I'm not a huge excerciser, so I walk about 30 minutes a day, every day. Okay....and the results now are:

I went for another blood test exactly 4 weeks later - I lost 23 pounds in 4 weeks, and my Triglycerides went down to 145 and my cholesterol dropped nearly 40 points to 169! It is working, and I'm not starving, I have simply opted to LIVE and to be healthy for the rest of my life with Peter Jack and my beautiful family...I was a walking heart attack, and I'm only 42!

So "In My Face" medical results did it for me! Thanks for letting me share - P.S.: And the energy level that I've gotten back, is beyond words!!! Yay, I can run after Peter Jack with a lot more endurance!!!