Weight Loss

Apr 2, 2012

Angel S.

what are some good weight loss tips for a first time dieter?

Apr 2, 2012

Rikki P.

1) Don't call it a diet.
(Especially since everyone has a diet, so I mean... )
That's just freakin' miserable, hahahaha.

Apr 2, 2012

Jessica F.

Rikki is right, don't call it a diet. I tried everything, but the only thing that worked for me was Weight Watchers. You can go to a free meeting to see if you like it and ask questions. The biggest thing you have to remember is a) don't call it a diet. Your chances of succeeding diminish greatly and b) strive for the lifestyle change. That is the trick to sustainable permanent weight loss. I would be more than happy to teach you all I know (for free!). I have lost over 80 pounds, so it can be done!

Apr 2, 2012

Jasmine P.

I call it a lifestyle change when I first started paying attention to the food I ate. Personally I stayed away from fast food, packaged foods (as much as possible). I cut out sugar drinks out of my diet, cut down on carbs and ate more veggies and fruits. I also tried to not fry things and worked on eating smaller meals every 3 hours to boost my metabolism. Oh and drink LOTS of water! I lost 60 lbs doing that (along with regularly exercising). 

Apr 2, 2012

Jessica F.

Kaitlin made a point that I forgot. Do NOT beat yourself up. Everyone has off days, and if you mess up one meal, shrug it off and start over at your next meal. Do not deprive yourself of the things you love ( I love potato chips. Did I stop eating them? No, but when I do, I pay attention more to how many I eat). It's a long journey and it's easy to get discouraged. It took me almost two years to loose 90 pounds, a year to gain back 40 and six months to loose 25. It takes time, but it is doable and worth every bit of hard work.

Apr 2, 2012

Catey P.

Great advice from everybody. Don't fall for fad diets, because they are usually terrible for you in the long run (like no carbs=fiber and lots of meat=cholesterol... seriously???). Like everybody said, change takes time and you have to permanently adjust the way you eat in order to keep the weight off. Start with small changes that you can actually stick with, then work your way up.

For me, healthy eating starts at the store. If you don't buy any junk, then you won't have it around the house to tempt you. Try finding a veggie that you actually like. For me, I love to munch on carrots because they have that satisfying crunch. Then make sure you always keep some around the house.

A neat little trick that I learned is to buy tiny little silverware and bowls for desserts. You can find really adorable sets at Kroger. This way, one small scoop of ice cream or a tiny sliver of cake seems delightful rather than disappointing!

Apr 3, 2012

Santina A.

@Catey, I love that trick of using smaller bowls and silverware! I've also heard eating your food slower can make you feel more full and ultimately eat less during a meal!

Everyone is making awesome points! My lifestyle change started during my weight loss! I've always loved the gym, and finding some form of exercise you actually enjoy doing is half the battle - it gives you actually incentive to keep at it! I would have ended up gaining some of that weight back if I hadn't been diagnosed with gallstones and had to get my gallbladder removed. The surgery put me on a low fat to non fat diet - permanently! Which effectively removed all processed and fast foods because they're so high in fat, and just that element was extremely effective for me. I've lost and kept off 50lbs with this lifestyle change and exercise (even though it's less exercise than I'd like, haha!)
Best of luck! xx 

Apr 10, 2012

LeeAnn B.

What works best for me is focusing on keeping my body functioning as healthy as possible. When my main focus became health rather than size all of the lifestyle changes became much easier to make! For instance, reaching for trail mix ( Home made kind WITHOUT chocolate) rather than potato chips for a snack was an easier decision to make because I knew what good things the nuts and grains in the trail mix would do for my body as opposed to what little potato chips can do for me.

Keeping the focus on being "healthy" rather than skinny has helped me in other areas as well such as exercise! Once I made it a huge part of my life I focused on working the whole mind + body through cardio, streching, yoga, and strength training. I learned where my body fat should be for my "body" rather than where I wanted it to be. Making the decision to focus on health vs. being skinny also doesn't drive me crazy like calorie counting and cutting out food groups that I sadly did while I was misinformed and so obssessed with being little.

Whatever you do, just make sure your lifestyle changes are for your overall health and not just for superficial beauty because that's when you start to do things like fad diets and take diet pills ( that are extremely dangerous for your heart!!!) that really damage your body and never produce the results that you want to see. Hope this has helped and good luck! We're all here to support you! =]

Apr 10, 2012

Rachel W.

If you have an iPhone/iPad/itouch you should get the app "lose it" it's free and works really well at counting your calories and telling you how much calories to take in based on your height/age/weight and your goals. It helped me a lot so far I lost 7 pounds!

Apr 11, 2012

Catey P.

Kimberly- I've never done Weight Watchers, but different methods work for different people. I've heard of a lot of people yo-yo-ing back after trying it, though.

Apr 12, 2012

Amelia R.

I read the book "French Woman Don't Get Fat", it's an excellent book to help guide you on a lifestyle change. The 2 things I learned from it that I do regularly is I walk more (it makes a huge difference, trust me) and I eat plain yogurt for breakfast every day. Then, of course, just try to mix in more fruits and vegetables and you'll be set!

Apr 12, 2012

Britt A.

I love this post! It came at a great time! I have a Kindle and I was actually looking to add French Women Don't Get Fat to my library! Love this thread ladies!

Apr 23, 2012

jazzica Q.

eat a healthy breakfast within an hour of waking up...make sure you have a mid morning snack as well...lean lunch, some fruit or nuts for an afternoon snack, then a sensible dinner later. eating small and healthy, every few hours will keep your metabolism up...also, make sure to get a good work out in...at least 30 minutes of good cardio! if you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight...take into consideration that you burn calories just by living & breathing. don't starve yourself or skip meals!

Apr 23, 2012

Skye D.

Stay positive. Your weight doesn't really matter as long as you are healthy :) But if you try to eat well you will feel better and be happier. Also exercising is important, it will up your energy and help you lose weight. Just try not to snack allot (twice a day?) and never feel guilty about what you ate, it only makes you sadder and then you might eat even more. Stay positive and happy! Good luck! :)