What is your weight loss strategy?

[mefordis]

I am getting serious about losing all of the weight that I have been carrying for the last 10 or so years! 2011 is the year I shed it for good!

For everyone who is also trying to or successful in losing weight, what is your strategy?

Mine is the following:
- 1200 - 1400 calories a day, 8 cups of water
- walk/jog 25 minutes a day (at least) for 6 days a week.

Since I am a night eater/muncher I am going to save most of my calories for the evening for a cushion, just in case I lose a bit of control, I am still within my calorie range.

Care to share your strategy and any tips?

Thanks!!

 

[kirstenb1]

I'm taking the easy way, and doing Nutrisystem. I lost 15 lbs ten yrs ago, with NS. Now I need to lose 20. DH is doing it too.

I've tried doing it on my own, but because I had to cook for dh and the kids, I'd always eat some of whatever I prepared. With dh onboard, it should be easy. I'll just fix the kids' dinners, and voila!

I did try WW, and think it's a good program. We just have so much chronic stress, due to our younger dd having special needs that I could never stick to it, for any length of time. I've come to the conclusion I really need a very regimented program.

I've always exercised, so there's really no change there.

 

[cewait]

Honestly, you are about half way there.

First, make sure to break your meals into a true grazing pattern. Generally 6 small meals a day, within you Kcal limits.

Do not, repeat, Do not save you Kcal input til the end of the day. It IS a failure method. Eat large in the morning and taper through the day. Breakfast, lunc and dinner should still be larger than the other three with Breakfast, then lunch and finally dinner being smaller and smaller.

Make sure that each meal contains protien. Today we tend to eat carb heavy. A reduction in carbs down to 50% will feel like a reduction for most.

Shop on the perimeter of your grocery store. Fresh and whole should be your matra.

Add some strength training to your week. 2-3 times per week is all that is needed and it does not need to be in a gym.

Finally, the government says 25 minutes a day. When you actually read what they are basing their goal on is in fct a goal of getting sedintary folks off the couch. Push i mediately for an hour a day and I would roll it back to 5 days if needed.

Finally, the walking/jogging should occur and an effort that keeps you winded, but not out of breath. If you are not sweaty when you get back, you did not maximize your effort.

 

[NancyIL]

I have been doing very well with my exercise program this year, thanks to posting my monthly goals on the WISH board since February. I have not done well with what goes in my mouth. I intend to join Weight Watchers Online tomorrow for at least 3 months and try to drop the 20-25 pounds I'd like to lose.

 

[mefordis]

Thanks for the input! Anyone else care to share?

 

[happily single]

I found Myfitnesspal .com on this site and absolutely love it.

Also I find that if I fail to eat a good amount og veggies every day I gain back what I"ve lost.

Finally I bought a 64 ounce plastic water bottle from Bed Bath and Beyond. I fill it every morning with water and lemon or water with 2 crystal light packets. I try to finish the entire bottle every day.

 

[tggrrstarr]

I am getting serious about losing all of the weight that I have been carrying for the last 10 or so years! 2011 is the year I shed it for good!

For everyone who is also trying to or successful in losing weight, what is your strategy?

Mine is the following:
- 1200 - 1400 calories a day, 8 cups of water
- walk/jog 25 minutes a day (at least) for 6 days a week.

Since I am a night eater/muncher I am going to save most of my calories for the evening for a cushion, just in case I lose a bit of control, I am still within my calorie range.

Care to share your strategy and any tips?

Thanks!!

This is almost precisely what I did when I started my weight loss. All of it. I have lost 50 pounds in 5 months because of it. As time went on, I have increased my exercise a bit and have started the transition to running, but stick to that plan as your guide and I think you should be fine. 25-30 minutes walking is perfect.

Come join over on the BL 11 thread and you might find some even better tips. And FYI, I also tend to save a few extra calories for dinner, and it has worked great for me. I eat 500-700 between bf and lunch, and save the rest for dinner and a healthy desert.

If you have an ipod touch or iphone, there are some great apps that I use that have been a great help.

 

[Go Saints!]

I would also recommend keeping a food diary. Write down everything you eat and drink and the amount of calories for each. (Also the time you ate or drank something.) Once you start reading how much you are eating and the amount of calories you are intaking, you will stop the snacking. It really helped me. Good Luck! I will begin it all over again on the 3rd.

(I also recommend a high fiber diet. It keeps you full a lot longer.)

 

[Happy Mom2]

Exercise and eatling healthy, whole foods and smaller portions. I have a lot of weight to lose, and 2011 is the year for me to do it. I actually started this week!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

So far my strategy is going to be to cut way down on sugar, ie cut out the junk.

Very hard when dd brings her lunch and I buy it FOR her lunch. Hopefully as we get further into planning I will be able to introduce better, homemade snacks.

I am going to have to back off the soda slowly. I quit smoking in Oct and by far quitting soda and coffee is harder.

I am going to do food journaling which will include counting my caloric intake, and then putting together menus, meals, and snacks. That is my biggest challenge for this season. We have picky eaters and dietary issues that make planning difficult.

Not sure about the exercise. Might have to see a physical therapist. I am going to start off walking and do light exercise. I hurt my back with Jillian Micheal's DVD almost a yr ago. The lunging really did a number on me.

 

[kinntj]

I don't really have a calorie range I'm going for right now. Over time I will develop that.

My diet will consist of:
3 protiens a day of serving size (2 eggs, serving sizes of meat, etc)
2 probiotics a day (this is usually breakfast or snack)
unlimited veggies until I feel satisfied
Eating 2 nutritious/whole grain carbs a day -Eat early in the day. My dr. says I really don't need to eat carbs at night when the body doesn't need them.

Once I start working out more, I'll need to up my carbs a bit for endurance.

Drink 8 glasses of water. Exercise for 30 minutes at least. I talked to my dr. about preventing diabetes and he said research proven to prevent diabetes was mainly due to 30 minutes of exercise every day. It didn't matter what diet the person was on, but the common denominator was exercise. He sold me on that.

Since before Christmas I have lost 8 lbs. Just switching some things around. I'm just happy to be losing instead of gaining over the holidays.

I've also joined the Biggest Loser 11 challenge to keep motivated. hope to see ya there.

 

[ScubaD]

My wife's uncle has lost over 100 pounds on Weight Watchers so I too am doing WW Points Plus. It makes me keep track of everything I eat, gives me bonus points for exercising, and allows me to eat anything I want, I just have to determine if the points for a peice of cake is worth it.

Plus, I will be starting P90X on January 1st, and this should get me into overdrive.

Dave

 

[czycropper]

I'm joining WW tomorrow - I know it may seem kind of weird to join on New Years Eve but I've decided that the sooner the better. I did WW a couple of years ago and lost 14 lbs in 3 weeks, then I began having to take care of my parents and with the travelling (they lived in Florida) and stress I just let it go. NOT this time!

I've also requested to join the Biggest Loser 11 Challenge on this forum so I'm sure that will also be an extra incentive

Good luck to everyone!!!!

 

[Lots-o-Huggin]

Thanks for the input! Anyone else care to share?

Dropping down to 1200 calories/day seems pretty dramatic even without knowing what your pre-diet averages were. Our bodies tend to reject drastic changes. Some people find more sustainable success with a more gradual 1/2 lb a week approach.

One thing I've noticed is that there are tons of hidden/overlooked calories in drinks. One person I know had a 2 cup per day coffee habit with each cup containing something like 250 calories in sugar and cream. By simply dropping the cream and sugar, she eliminated 26 pounds worth of calories over the course of 6 months.

I found Myfitnesspal .com on this site and absolutely love it.

I agree. It's a great app for iphones and ipads too.

 

[Zoesmama03]

My plan is eating clean whole foods when possible. I'm working towards that though and I do eat a lot of raw veggies and fruit. I would like to try Raw fasting where I go so many days just on raw foods.

For exercise I'm exercising at home so it can be hard sometimes but I'm slowly getting in the habit. I have several dvds in my collection Jillian's 30 Day Shred which is intense for me but a good all over workout and I have her Banish Fat Boost Metabolism which are both new as well as Bob Harper's Yoga for the Warrior. Then I have my old collection of Walk Away the pounds, Tae Bo, a Denise Austin cardio/strength and Pilates for Dummies. I also bought a set of 3 lb hand weights to get me started. I use them with 30 Day Shred but will try them out with my Walk Away the Pounds tomorrow morning. I would like to start scheduling 3 track days a week(alternating days) and build up to walking 2-3 miles and start a walk/jog program again but thinking I will lose 20-30 lbs before hand to prevent injuries.


In the past I had good results with Weight Watchers. If I could afford it I would do the meetings. The accountability of weighing in in front of someone else and paying for it helped keep me motivated and on track.

You are on your way to a plan if you are making small steps to make permanent changes to eating and exercise habits that is the best plan but easier said than done, I know.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I have tried a huge variety of things in the past: Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers (multiple times), Jenny Craig, Fish and Green Beans (yeah, I made that one up and it was awful), Atkins, Slim Fast, Dr. Phil and more I can't even remember. But South Beach has the one that I can not only stick with but make a lifestyle change, not just a diet. I don't do well with weighing, measuring, counting, tracking etc.

My body needs/wants protein with a small amount of carbs. So sticking to SB is really not too difficult for me or my family.

I am tracking my intake on Spark People just because I do think that it is important to hold myself accountable and keep a log and I am getting valuable feedback on what I am eating, but as long as I know I am sticking to my plan I don't worry so much about it if the numbers SP uses indicate that I am off on something.

 

[CrazyaboutCinderella]

I've put myself on an 1800 calorie a day diet and exercising 5 days a week. I have been doing it since January 1 and have lost 8 lbs. The good thing is I don't feel hungry and I'm still getting to eat a lot of the food I ate before. I also write everything down in a food journal. I lost about 70 lbs about 10 years ago with Weight Watchers and they always emphasized the importance of writing down what you eat. It makes you accountable, even if it is just to yourself.

 

[Alice_in_Wonderland]

So glad to have found this thread. I've been trying anything but nothing is really working for me. Lately, I have been eating according to the Paleo/Primal style of eating. I have never felt better and immediately 15lbs just dropped off. But, my weight loss has seriously stalled out for the last few months. Since I weight 305lbs I am desperate to get the weight loss going again. Sounds like most of you count calories with a lot of success. Sounds like something I need to try Good luck everyone!!

 

[Bertt]

Hi...
My total focus is on exercise to reduce weight and want to lose 20 kg weight..
If i can't get results from the exercise then i will try a dieting program..

 

[NY Disney fan]

Hi...
My total focus is on exercise to reduce weight and want to lose 20 kg weight..
If i can't get results from the exercise then i will try a dieting program..

It is much easier to drop weight by eating healthier (low carb/no sugar) than it is by exercise alone. If you don't watch your nutrition, you could be the world's fittest fat person. I should know.