EMAIL THREAD

What is the single most important thing that has helped you lose weight?

want to pick the brains of you all, looking for a little inspiration to motivate me!!

Thu. Apr 20, 11:06am

Counting calories, measuring portions - I could easily eat twice the amount I need if I didn't pay attention.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 11:07 AM

Exercising in the morning, before breakfast. This small change has had huge results. I'm burning my fat stores, instead of my lunch. And it gives me a motivation to eat smart for the rest of the day-so that getting up early and exercising wasn't for nothing.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 11:24 AM

I just discovered this one a couple days ago and it is beggining to pay off immensely.

I am a horrible picker/snacker. I can eat an enourmous amount of food just from nibbling all day long if I let myself. My husband (and the holidays) keeps bringing in high calorie foods, even against my wishes, so I have to really watch myself.

I just began asking myself everytime I reach for a cookie, chip, chocolate, whatever, how will this bite help me reach my goals? When I find myself honestly anwering "It won't" it makes it so much easier to set the junk food down. You see, when I set it down it is not because I have to but because I choose not to eat a food that isn't serving me and my dreams. There is no deprivation in my mind only a choice.

I hope this helps. Write down your reasons for wanting to lose weight and when tempatations hit ask yourself will giving into this thing help me reach the dream I have for myself.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 11:24 AM

Measuring my portions and counting calories.

Nothing else I did had quite the effect of doing that. For months I measured every bite that went in my mouth and now I still do this occasionally to make sure they don't 'creep up'. It's just amazing how much an extra 100 calories here or there can add up.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 11:29 AM

counting calories and weighing in regularly!

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 11:38 AM

Portion Control

and recgonizing full versus stuffed. Everything is measured, weighed, etc and now I understand what's normal versus over-eating. It's been true enlightenment.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 11:48 AM

Training for marathons, or just running like I'm training for one.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 11:54 AM

Two things:
1) eliminating snacks - if you consume extra 100 cal everyday, of course pounds will creep on you.
2) learn to love exercising. I used to have "Hate running, but love what it does to my body' approach, but now I genuinely enjoy running! Just think of yourself as a kid, kids love running around - everyone should have that inside.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 12:03 PM

Finding what foods are filling, and which ones are not, and sticking to the ones that are (at least most of the time), because it's much easier to diet when it doesn't mean being hungry all the time. I used to think low fat was good, but now I don't, because fat is more filling to me than protein, and definitely moreso than carbs. If I want a burger, rather than opting for the grilled chicken to cut 100-200 calories, I'll get the burger and skip the bun, it cuts the same number of calories. And I don't feel deprived at all. You just have to figure out what the things are that you can give up without feeling deprived. For me, it was a lot of simple carbs (though I definitely don't "do" Atkins/low-carb/etc). They're just the calories that I find I need the least.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 12:25 PM

Definitely counting calories (I use fitday.com), and not eating off of the kids plates.

Also, I started exercising 1-3 days a week, and now I'm up at 5 days a week. If you start slow, it doesn't seem like such a big impossible thing to do. When I started running intervals (running really fast for 20 seconds, then walking for 40 seconds) I really noticed the inches coming off. Now that I think of it, that was a piece of advice I got from someone on peertrainer!!

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 12:32 PM

One for food, one for mindset, one for fitness...plus a bonus

1) When temptation hits and I'm fighting the urge, I think "food has no IQ points, so why is it winning this argument??".

2) I read somewhere that our personalities are pretty much formed by the age of 6 and that in a lot of ways, we don't change. So I think of the happy perky healthy little kid I once was and try to be her again...and ALL little kids think that they're invincible and can do anything. Resurrect that feeling!!

3) As someone above said, learn to love exercise. I hated it, made myself do it every day for hours...and then after about a month, I started loving the rush of happy brain chemicals. Endorphins, you rock!!

Bonus: Think "I can do anything for 10 minutes/24 hours/15 days". For me it was the best way to get myself started or re-started (10 minutes of climbing stairs, 24 hours without cheating, 15 days of sticking to a plan).

KatieMc80

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 1:54 PM

Planning my workouts - recording my results - the accountability of PEERtrainer

Imagining my future, fit, healthy self.

Buying a tank top that I actually look good in.

Being able to race my son.

Having more energy to clean the house.

Learning how to cook withoug grease and fat. More healthy.

Okay, that's more than one!

-Star

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 2:04 PM

Finding a fitness goal to train for. I've chosen training for a 1/2 marathon.

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 4:33 PM

Consistancy! Anything that you do will work so long as you do it and keep doing it. Any program will work! Count the days you go for sticking on the plan! Even on day 3 you won't want to go back to day 1

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 4:53 PM

Counting calories and measuring out items has helped me gain the knowledge/information I need to know to stay within a good range for me. Plus, the accountability of logging foods helped me tremendously! Because at one point in my life I could eat 1000 calories of candy instead of something else and not necessarily gain weight but that wasn't "healthy".

Thursday, April 20, 2006, 8:57 PM

PeerTrainer :)

yogurt twice a day, big salad at least once a day

portion control

very little cheese (my favorite food)

- Trumom

Friday, April 21, 2006, 11:59 AM

stepping off the sugar roller coaster

Cutting out sugar in the morning made it easier to eat healthier all day. I used to have sugary cereal, now I have eggs on whole grain toast or maybe kashi (higher protein) cereal. Made a huge difference.

Plus I started exercising like crazy. :) (hours every day for awhile).

But really, the sugar thing was a big one. And still, if I have all carbs for breakfast my appetite is out of control all day.

Friday, April 21, 2006, 5:47 PM

Very good point on sugar. I have cut out probably 75% of the sugar I used to eat and a big chunk of that was for breakfast. My breakfast is now high in fiber and protein (where before it had no protein and trace amounts of fiber) and I think that contributes greatly to my ability to stay on track with my eating. It is much more satisfying and I stay statisfied wheras before I was hungry by 10 am and could snack all day.

I think the calorie-counting and portion control was the biggest single change that contributed to my success so far. I ended up cutting out most sugars and processed carbs simply because there wasn't 'room' for them. However no matter how many calories I counted or portions I watched I couldn't stick to a plan where I was hungry all the time. Getting rid of all those sugars allows me to consume fewer calories and yet stay satisfied.

Friday, April 21, 2006, 5:58 PM

Logging my food and exercising consistantly.

Friday, April 21, 2006, 7:48 PM

From previous experiences with weight loss, here are things that have worked for me:

1. Keeping a lot of all my exercise. There were days I missed, and there were weeks when I felt like I'd ruined everything because I missed more days than one. I could pull out that paper and say, "In the past six months you have done X number of pushups that you wouldn't have done if you hadn't started." Somehow that made me feel less defeated by a few days off, and also more motivated to get out there again.

2. Eating mindfully. NOT eating a whole bag of Chips Ahoy that was in the cupboard when what I really wanted was fudge that wasn't. I actually would let myself go to the shop and buy a piece of fudge. I found that 4 times out of 5, when I thought I wanted something, I wanted something else--and usually it was a sense of indulgence. Well, when orange bell peppers are $1.59 each and I buy one and eat the whole thing out of hand, I feel just as indulged if I just think about it before I stuff chocolate into my mouth!

3. Cutting my milk consumption from "all I want" (usually about 7 cups 1% a day) to the recommended 2.5 cups. I did this after wishing I was a soda drinker, so that I could cut soda and POOF, lose weight. Then I realized that MILK was my soda!!

4. Giving myself treats if I wanted them--but beginning with 1/4 of whatever my "normal" portion to that point had been. Then, if I wanted, having "seconds," another 1/4 portion, which added up to half of what I'd "normally" been eating.

5. Getting active! Think about what you loved to do as a kid, because chances are you still do.

6. Recognizing that it's little changes over a lifetime, and that I'm making progress most of the time.

Friday, April 21, 2006, 10:39 PM

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