How do you lose weight?

[Aurora63]

I mean, what method have you found that really works? I'm talking specific diets, routines, etc.

I have this very stubborn ten pounds I'd love to rid myself of. I've started out the new year on a plan of my own invention...the "eat more" plan...I'm eating more good stuff, i.e., fruits and veggies, more whole grain, and I've replaced my usual lunch of a PB sandwich with Lean Cuisine. Oh, and no soda ever, only water and unsweetened tea, sometimes a bit of fruit juice.

Trying to fit exercise into the schedule, but it is hard!!! But I'm trying to get in as much non-workout exercise as I can (such as using parking spaces that are far away, carrying groceries instead of carting them to the car, etc.)

So what do you do, and more importantly, have you done that works??

 

[CathrynRose]

I got rid of refined sugar and refined anything. Basically - low carb.

 

[MScott1851]

Well..so far, your plan sounds good.

One downfall to cutting out all the junkfood and soda I used to love was that I attempted to fill the cravings with "good" food, and ended up eating more calories than if I had just had the freaking brownie in the first place.

I say, everything in moderation. If you want a "bad" food, eat just a little bit of it, and round out the rest of the meal (and day) with healthier choices.

Do know that if you start working out, muscle weighs more than fat, so while your scale might not show improvement, your clothes will fit better, and you will look leaner!

But even that only got me so far, and I was running almost every day, lifting weights three times a week, and still couldn't drop those last 15 or 20 pounds and inch or two of pudge around the middle, either. The more I worked out, the hungrier I was, and the more I ate! I am actually taking Phentermine and Tenuate, which are appetite suppressants, and I've lost 13 pounds so far since Thanksgiving.

 

[helenabear]

I tried a bunch of things (including low carb, low fat, low fill in the blank) and seriously what works best for me is strictly counting calories. It's not the easiest for everyone, but I found out in my case I was simply over eating. After 2 weeks of being hungry it became easy (I assume my stomach shrank). I do a lot in moderation and I've kept the weight off (mostly... holidays got to me this year, but only about 5 pounds) for a couple of years now.

The calorie counting worked best for me because if I really wanted a sundae, I had one... I just had to make up for those calories elsewhere.

 

[Hercules10]

I tried a lot of the fad diets and none worked. The only way is to eat less and excercise more.

Things I avoid if I can though are alcohol and sugar. And I drink lots-and-lots of water (I think the benefit from this is all the excercise I get running back and forth to the bathroom)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I just lost 10 lbs....

We started drinking diet soda, we were drinking reg. soda.

Biggest thing I think was this.....
I eat breakfast. I used to skip it and then eat an early lunch & high fat, etc.... Not anymore.
I usually eat oatmeal, fruit, cereal with fruit, and then I do add things like smokies, bacon for BLT's, hashbrowns, once in awhile.

Portion control. I use the small Pyrex thing for my portion and use the general rule of thumb, size of your fist when eating out.

Walking...I walk the dogs...although haven't been lately...need to get back to doing that.

 

[Disneyland1084]

I'm eating more fruits and vegetables and making smarter choices.I'm just eating less calories and it's working!

 

[Jennifer S]

www.sparkpeople.com Track everything you eat and do cardio at LEAST 30 min. 3 times a week. This site tracks everything for you and it's FREE

 

[Fitswimmer]

The best thing I ever did regarding my health and weight was start going to the gym in the morning before work, that way nothing else can get in the way. I'm there at 5:30 in the morning, 5 days a week unless I'm ill or traveling. I do 30 minutes on the treadmill and a 20 minute weight circuit on Mondays and Wednesdays, on Tues, Thurs and Fridays I swim laps hard for 30minutes. I try and go once on the weekends for another treadmill/weight session just to even things out-but I don't always get there.

The other best thing I ever did was get healthy with breakfast. Half a grapefruit. Old fashioned sticky oatmeal that you cook 5 minutes on the stove with frozen bluberries and a little skim milk. Of course I still have my coffee, but I'm hoping the other good stuff cancels it out.

I'm no skinny Minnie, but I'm not Pooh sized either. I could lose about 15 or so and not miss it at all. My Doctor is happy with my blood pressure, my cholesterol and my sugar numbers. I lost about 6 pounds btw Thanksgivng and Christmas, and he seems to think it will keep coming off as I keep my food intake moderate, balanced and keep up my exercise.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I lost the baby weight last year by doing WATP 3x/week. We mainly eat turkey burger and chicken. I do still drink 1 pop/day. I don't cut out the sweets. I found that if I did that I would crave them so bad and eat more than if I just had something on hand that I could nibble on. I don't want it so much if I have it around. I don't know why that works. Psychological maybe?

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I went on Topamax for migraine prevention. Didn't help the migraines, but I did drop over 20 pounds. Basically I ended up eating less--ate until I was barely full and didn't snack as much between meals. I didn't have as much of an appetite. I'm still on the meds, but it doesn't work as well (haven't lost more weight, but am stable).

 

[cepmom]

I started cutting out sugar/sugar substitutes and processed stuff (only whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole grain bead, whole grain cerea, wheat flour etc), lots of healthy fruits and vegetables, lean proteins. No Lean Cuisine, nothing with any sort of additives. It sounds dreadful, but it's actually been pretty easy and I feel so much better. I lost 8 lbs in 4 weeks. Also, watching the portion control....I never knew how much I was overeating until I started to measure everything out.

I have also been getting on the treadmill 6 days a week. I found that knowing I had to exercise every day except Saturday, gets me in a routine. Before I used to do every other day and it was way too easy to put it off. Before I knew it, I hadn't exercised in weeks.

A friend of mine has been a huge inspiration to me...she has lost 140 lbs by following the same plan.

 

[disneyaggie]

The Somersize eating program (from Suzanne Somers) works like a charm! It basically is no refined sugar and no white flour products.

It also involves a bit of food combing. All in all, I found it very easy to stay on and lost the weight while never feeling like I was doing without.

Her foods are on www.suzannesomers.com which include chocolates that are outstanding! YUM! I like just about everything on her Somersize website.

 

[Martha7]

I'm also doing a half hour on the treadmill every morning, eating oatmeal for breakfast, salads for lunch, smaller portions for dinner, no snacks after dinner, only diet soda, and knocking off the wine and beer. I'm also working out with weights and trying to do a few sets of crunches after the treadmill. I had taken ten pounds off before the holidays, then went out to see my family in California. No treadmill for a week resulted in a five pound weight gain! Good luck to all of us!

 

[oxfordcircus]

cue music:

I like to ride my bicycle,
I like to ride my bike.


2000 miles on the bike last year = 20 of weight loss.

3000 miles is the goal this year. not to lose 30 more lbs, but to get to eat all those extra cookies and such.

 

[MichelleVW]

Jogging....it was the only thing that worked and it worked FAST!! Unfortunately I broke my heel summer of 05 and it hasn't been right since so not much jogging for me anymore.

I got to the point where I would jog a couple of miles every other day or so and that was it. I felt better and the weight just came off....it was great.

Oh, I also gave up my 2 glasses of OJ in the middle of the night habit at the same time. I believe it was a combination of the two, but the jogging really works.

I used to do step aerobics for an hour 3 times a week and although I felt better, it never made me lose any weight....I only jogged for about 3 1/2 months before I broke my heel and I lost probably 10-15 pounds in that time.

 

[TheGoofster]

When nobody's looking...I change the scale in the bathroom. Works like a charm.

Seriously though, It is hard for me to lose a lot of weight. I don't look heavy (it's all located in my tummy). I can't lose 20 pounds (at least not without cutting off an extremity). But I can lose about 10 - 12 pounds (which would put my at about my ideal weight). The best way for me to take off those pounds is to stop drinking soda (coke, pop, cola, tonic or whatever else you want to call it), stop hitting the snacks and sweets, drink a lot of water, walk fast about 50 minutes a day, take some fiber everyday, watch my carbs, and pay attention to what I eat.
Recently there was a report (can you believe it, a report on how to lose weight, what a novelty) that said the best way to lose weight is to first and foremost cut out the cokes. It really does make a difference.

 

[Virgo10]

Even before my gallbladder problems I had lost 14 pounds. I cut out as much fat as I possibly could. I started eating oatmeal for lunch 5 times a week which is very low fat and also good for the cholesterol levels. I switched from ice cream to frozen yogurt. I stayed as active as my back would allow me to.

After my first gallbladder attack I went to a nearly NO fat diet. Then the weight really peeled off. While it took me 6 months to lose 14 pounds, it only took me 10 weeks to lose another 19! I was eating the same 10 things for all those weeks but the weight loss was amazing.

Even though I've been eating regular stuff in the 3 weeks since the surgery, I've only gained back 2 pounds. Fatty foods just don't taste as good as they use to and that's probably a good thing.

If I ever need to lose weight again, I'll go back on my terrible ten diet:
Chicken (boneless/skinless), rice, potatoes, jello, frozen yogurt, vegetables, jelly, bread, fat free margarine/fat free cool whip, animal crackers.

Good luck!

 

[tynkerbell]

I've been maintaining a 98 pound weight loss for a few months now.

Here's what I did--

I got a notebook and wrote down all the calories I was eating. Limiting myself to around 1200-1500 calories a day. I measured and weighed everything to make sure I was staying within proper serving sizes.

Working out 5 days a week. I started out only able to do about 5 minutes of cardio a day, working up to finally doing 30-45 minutes daily.

I allowed myself one "cheat" day every week. Still writing down the calories but I allowed myself to eat around 2000 on cheat days.

It took me about 14 months to lose the 98 pounds. I now maintain my weight by still keeping track of my calories but my maintainance calories are around 1800-2000 daily. I still work out but have cut back to 3-4 days a week.

 

[Minnie824]

For me, Ive gone in increments losing weight. I'm all set for a diet, watch what I eat, lose 4 lbs, then I'm back to eating my sweets. I'm a really picky eater so diets are hard for me. I need to cut back on the sweets/soda and exercise more. I started Jan 2 again, and so far have lost about 2 lbs. One thing that has helped me a little, although who knows if they're the best for me, but all those 100 calorie snack packs of stuff. Theres a new Entemans chocolate chip cookie one, and Lorna Doone ones. Each one has like 3g of fat and 100 calories...I NEED my desserts so eating one small bag of these for a snack really helps me, and then I won't go eat 10 bags of oreos later. I have about 8 lbs left I want to lose, so hopefully I can keep up with it this time.