Weight loss tips?

[sumbirdy]

Anyone have any real good, proven-to-work weight loss tips? I'm tired of being big and I want to feel good about myself again and be healthier. I want to look good for my boyfriend and I want my brother to stop making all those fat jokes. My weight is really making my self esteem low. I'm in a size 16 now and would like to get down to a size 8. But I need some really good tips and ideas on how to get it off and keep it off. I've tried the eating right and excersizing but I have a busy life so can't exersize much so it doesn't really work for me. Please help anyone. Really need suggestions! Something that worked for you or someone you know.

[Karen]

The only tried and true method is to expend more calories than you take in. Whether that is exercising more, or eating less, that's the only real way to do it. There are plenty of fad diets that work for a little while, but really making a change in your behavior and eating patterns is the way to go. When I exercise, I do lose weight. When I stop, I don't. That's why I need to get back in the habit of exercising more.

[binka_nugget]

When it comes down to it, burning more calories than you take in = weight loss. Whether that's exercising more, taking in less calories, or both. I work two jobs, train in agility three times a week and groom dogs every week. I'm way too busy to go to the gym. So because I can't make it to the gym, I'm eating healthier foods and limiting my sugar intake (cutting the colas alone has done wonders for me). I'm too busy to cook most days so what I do is I cook healthy meals ahead of time and freeze them so I can just pop them in the microwave when I'm ready. It seems to be working so far!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

I've tried everything too, and the only method that works, is WeightWatchers!
They not only learn how to loose weight, but also how to live healthier.
Look on their site, and you will find an address close to where you live, and also lots of tips! Good luck!!

ps. There is a tread about this: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=126968

[Medusa]

I concur w/everyone. It's basic math: ya gotta put out more than you take in and the only way to do that is to eat less and exercise more. Not the answer you wanted to hear, I'm sure, but it's the truth. Several years ago, I went on a low fat, low carb diet and the weight melted off and stayed off until menopause. Now I have to eat half as much just to maintain; losing weight is even more difficult. So you're on the right track to do it now while you're young and still having periods because when your periods stop, your metabolism grinds to a halt. (Usually. I'm sure there are exceptions but all my crone friends agree w/me. ) I bought a cookbook that has yummy recipes that have only 6 grams of fat. I ate only 6 grams of fat a day until the weight came off and it was truly easy. Good luck. You can do it, girl!

P.S. Ignore your brother's remarks. Men have a totally different dynamic when it comes to weight loss. Unfortunately, most of them have one thing in common: insensitivity to and ignorance of women's body issues. You need encourgement, not berating. You'll get encourgement here. Keep us posted. We're w/ya!

[Moesha]

Here's something I heard on that show "I can make you thin". I didn't watch all of them, but I did watch the first one. He gave 4 golden rules to eating. This simple process did work for me, until I stopped applying it. Here's a link to the website that does a better job of explaining them than I could:
Paul McKenna's 4 Golden Rules Basically they help you to limit the amount of food you take in, which goes along will the previous posters.

[catnapper]

First, you can only do it when you're 100% behind it. I have half-heartedly tried a million times over the years. For some reason, this year it was finally the right timing. It started out being that my life was spinning out of control and I grasped onto the concept that if I can't control what was going on in life, I could control my eating. So if you're doing this for your brother and boyfriend.... it might not be the time. You need to do this for yourself, because you want to be a better you. Because you want to feel good inside and out.

I've lost nearly 50 pounds already, and plan on losing more. The first few weeks were tough.... but my resolve was tougher. I was constantly hungry. And no wonder! I was used to eating twice or even three times the amount of food my body really needed! Those first few weeks were actually the strictest. No fried foods, no sweets. Just fresh fruits and veggies and good proteins. Almost like detoxifying my body. I felt AWESOME after the first two weeks. I had sooooo much more energy. I was satisfied with a simple salad! That blew my mind!

Whatever you do, do NOT go with LOW/NO FAT snacks. Your body NEEDS fats. If you're hungry for icecream, have a small cone instead of a huge sundae Which is moderation, like others said). There's been many times where someone ate a no-fat icecream bar and then grabbed another one 30 minutes later because they didn't feel satisfied. One REAL icecream bar will leave you feeling satisfied hours later. Trust me on that one.

I had no idea what I was putting in my mouth until I kept a log of it. I journaled every day in the beginning. Now I only write a couple times a week. But its important to keep track of your thoughts. How you felt (both emotionally and physically). Write down your fears and frustrations. And go back to re-read them often. I can't tell you how many times I drew inspiration from my own words this year.

I also printed out a graph from the computer with the dates along the top and weights down the side. I would weight myself once or twice a week and enter the weight onto the grid. Its amazing seeing the grid dip lower and lower. Don't kill yourself if Monday says 123 lbs, and thursday says 124 lbs. Its totally natural to see weight fluctuations during the week.

As for exercise, thats soooo important. the first few pounds will go away without exercise but if you want consistent and permanent weight loss, you HAVE to exercise. I walk at least 5 miles a day and its not a stroll, its a fast paced, get-your-heart-rate-up walk.

[Medusa]

Whatever you do, do NOT go with LOW/NO FAT snacks. Your body NEEDS fats.

I feel that I must comment on this. It is true that our body needs fats; we do need something to move everything down the pipes, if you get my drift. However, the average American consumes 200 grams or more of fat each day and that's harmful. If you can keep the fat gram consumption to around 20 grams a day, you'll do great. Just watch your portion size and exercise more and you'll see the weight come off.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

When I wanted to lose weight I noticed it was the little things that made the difference.

Use the stairs not the lift if you can.

If you feel hungry have a drink of water instead because you often mistake hunger for being thirsty and..........

I replaced all the naughty stuff like crisps with nuts and dried fruit and took my two personal trainers out for walkies as often as I could

P.S. I would also sit on your brother until he learns to keep his smart*** remarks to himself

[catnapper]

I feel that I must comment on this. It is true that our body needs fats; we do need something to move everything down the pipes, if you get my drift. However, the average American consumes 200 grams or more of fat each day and that's harmful. If you can keep the fat gram consumption to around 20 grams a day, you'll do great. Just watch your portion size and exercise more and you'll see the weight come off.

True... but most people who are dieting forgo the real foods for the no-fat foods. In the need, they consume more calories and still feel unsatisfied at the end of the day. It all goes back to moderation, truly it does! I'm not saying to eat a ton of butter on your morning toast, then have a pile of real cheese and fattening ceasar dressing on your salad at lunch, then a bunch of sour cream on your taco at dinner. I'm saying that if your body is dying for icecream, go for the real thing. If you want cheese on your salad, go for it. Just watch how much cheese you put on that salad. Watch how many times you eat fats (or any other food for that manner) during the day.

At the end of the day though, If you NEED that cookie, then evaluate why.... its a good possibility its a craving. And if its a craving for ooey gooey, fattening yumminess, you'll be more sated with one real cookie than you would be with one that is basically like eating a piece of cardboard.

OR you could just do something like go for a brisk walk to take your mind off that cookie all together. I've found cravings are often out of boredom or looking for something to do... my coworkers and I often sit there looking at eat other saying how we're hungry when we're NOT. We know its hunger out of boredom. And that type of hunger is exactly when you're most prone to eating the fattening foods we shouldn't be eating.

[RICHARD]

I stopped working and my finances got tight so I cut back on the kinds of foods I eat. I'd eat out-burgers, fries and sodas because I was on the go all the time. I eat all day long and still have lost about 20 lbs, since the first of the year.

The secret?

Drink water instead of pop- I cut back on my pop intake- now it's more a treat than a thrist quencher.

Fruit and veggies, rice and beans.

Eat the fruit like a snack-Fix a bowl o'fruit and eat off of that when you get the sweet attack.

Veggies, rice and beans. There are tons of ways to fix veggies and make them taste great. I am not a real big fan of carrots-but in a stirfry or steamed they are really sweet! Rice and beans-rice fills you up nicely!


Meat? I eat a hamburger patty-fried - without the sauces and with a sliced tomato, lettuce and a slice of bread- like a deconstructed burger!

Lots of chicken -steamed or in a soup.

Soups are easy to make and you control what you put into them-salt and fats.

-----

Check out herbs and spices to take the place of your sauces -Ketchup is way to sweet to my palate since I cut back on using it. Louisiana hot sauce puts a kick into food with no real calories.

I was doing physical work and slimmed down before I started looking at what I ate. I was really scared that I was going to gain wieght when I stopped working. There was a time that I was 60 pounds over what I weigh now!

Keep positive and think thin - you can do it.

Some ideas for veggie meals- With a portion of meat and a slice of bread you can eat well, feel full and satisfied.
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...47#post2018647



P.S. I lost the weight without doing any real exercise. I could have a six pack abdomen but I'm not that motivated!

[sumbirdy]

Well I'm really proud of myself. I have not had any soda's today, when I had the opportunity to get one twice, I had water instead! I'm cutting out my soda's. I'm going to set aside a time each day and take up running, starting out short distances at first and working up. Also has anyone heard of Green Tea working for weight loss? I've heard it works but don't know how. I got some today just in case though. I've also vowed to get up and do stuff more throughout the day, at the times when I'm usually sitting. I am doing this somewhat for my boyfriend but am mainly doing it for myself. I'm tired of the way I look and feel and how I'm exhausted and have no energy most of the time. Everyone's suggestions are great. I'm not looking to lose weight instantly, since that weight usually comes back doublefold. But I am looking to losing it healthily, but I still don't want it to take too long! I don't have a scale in my home, so I'm just going to have to go by how well I can fit in my pants. lol. I would really like to get this weight off, I've been gaining weight steadily since I was 12, each year getting into a bigger size, and it's time for this cycle to stop. My senior year of high school I went from a size 15 to a 13because I excersized and felt so good about myself, but then I stopped, I would like to have that good feeling again and this time I'm not stopping until I hit size 8 and then I'm going to work to keep it off. Keep sending me your support, I don't really get it around here.

[Emeraldgreen]

I've heard that when doing stomach crunches, it's good to do them every other day to give your stomach muscles a chance to heal and strengthen. Then you can do a different exercise on the days inbetween and mix it up so it's not boring. We bought one of those stomach cruncher things that has a pad for your head and you hang on to the bar above your head with your arms upstretched. I think it cost about 30.00 and it really works well and keeps your back from hurting.
I'm a huge water drinker. I don't drink pop, mostly because the bubbles upset my stomach but I also don't really drink juice (though I probably should!). I have the odd orange juice now and then and of course my morning coffee but the rest of the day it's water. I bring a glass jar of it to work with me as well.
There are some good high protein snacks out there that can leave you feeling full without too many calories. I like to make humous and I leave the tahini out of it and it tastes exactly the same to me. I just throw a can of chick peas in a blender with some lemon juice, a dash of water, some garlic and cayenne and some olive oil. I eat it with one warmed tortilla ripped in pieces.
Refried beans also have less than a gram of fat. (I think!?!) I love beans.
And lately, we've been eating alot of Cobb salads for dinner with shredded turkey and boiled egg and sliced almonds and cranberries and some lowfat cheddar cheese with a lowfat dressing. It's sooooooooooooooo good!

[Catty1]

If you like green tea, since it's summer, make it into a nice iced tea!

I kinda think that artificial sweeteners just make a person crave for the 'real thing' - the only one I will use is Stevia, which is made from a plant, and sweetens a lot more than the usual sugar. It's not artifical.

You can get it in a small dropper bottle - it lasts a LONG time.

I'm going to look up a learn-to-run group here. Maybe there is one where you are? It's good because you are taught how to do it without hurting yourself...and you do it with nice people...and it's maybe one minute walking, one minute running to start with.

Take it easy on the body!

You go girl - good for you!

(PS Your bratty brother - I used to tell people "I'd rather have the fat on my hips than in my head!" Look at him MEANINGFULLY if you say that! LOL)

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

I'm trying to lose weight too.

Just to add my two cents---

NO SODA!

Seriously, I quit drinking soda about year ago, and stayed off of soda for 6-7 months, and I lost almost 20lbs. I started drinking soda again though, and out of bad habits and eating bad, I've gained most of it back.


I like the 4 steps that Moesha posted though.

Good luck everyone!