What strategy has worked best for you for consistent weight loss?

[AnnafromEstonia]

Just curious about different tips and strategies that have enabled people to actually be consistent with their weight loss? To count the tendncy of putting in two days or two weeks of effort, then getting derailed and then dropping the whole thing. Here are mine:

• Tracking incoming and outgoing calores to create about a thousand-calorie deficit.
• Exercise (both to be more fit and not to resort to extreme diet since my basal metabolic rate is only 1340 and usually need to burn additional 700 - 800 per day to be able to eat around 1100 kcal a day so I can actually enjoy myself. That makes the weight loss sustainable instead of a torture.
• Reducing alcohol intake to 120 - 150 ml of wine a few times a week to improve impulse control (if I drink more I will overeat the next day) -that's about 1 standard drink, very different from a glass of wine that can sometimes contain up to two standard drinks depending on your glass!
• Weighing myself consistently even after days when I've kind of let it go for several days for whatever reason. The act of observation eventually brings the behavior back on track, probably because it helps to return to mindfulness moving forward.

[Mattyyey]

My big tip for being consistent with the gym is simply to lie to yourself and say," I just have to get there"

There are days where I might just do a half an hour workout instead of my usual 2 hours (feeling sore, ill, tired, or just not in the mood). But giving myself the get out of jail free card of simply 'turning up at the gym' means that even if I only do a really short exercise, I am at least going consistently. 

When you'd manage this, you're more likely to do longer workouts anyway...

Secondly, I personally don't recommend people weight themselves more than once or twice a week. Pick a time and day and how it fits in your routine (have u eaten or had been loo or drank water) and keep everything the same each week. I prefer after my morning decaf and been to the loo. That's my lightest but also my most accurate... This way you won't find your weight going up and down as much, you'll see more consistent results.

[Gavra]

Sometimes people set overly ambitious goals which can be demotivating if not achieved quickly. Set small, achievable goals and celebrate each milestone along the way. Plan your meals ahead of time and prep them in advance. Include healthy meals and snacks like banana chips air fryer, London broil crock pot, or cheesy chicken casserole. This reduces the temptation to make unhealthy food choices when you're hungry and pressed for time. Whether it's a friend, family member, or online community, having a support system can help keep you accountable and motivated throughout your weight loss journey. Instead of following fad diets or extreme workout routines, focus on making sustainable lifestyle changes that you can maintain in the long term. Pay attention to your body's hunger and fullness cues, and try to eat slowly and mindfully. This can help prevent overeating and promote healthier eating habits. Lack of sleep can disrupt hormones that regulate hunger and appetite, making it harder to stick to your weight loss goals. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.

[Leslie747]

Every day is different for all of us, so what's good for me might not work for you.  I am retired so I make the gym a place to get away from it all. I start out with cardio, then do the elliptical.  I make my way to the treadmill to read the books I download to my phone or kindle.  Then to the pool I go.  After about 3 hours I come out of the gym refreshed and can build the rest of my day on that.  I only do that every other day.  My dog would never forgive me if I didn't give him some of my walking time. I walk over 10,000 steps on the days that I don't go to the gym.  No, my dog can't keep up with that anymore and gets a couple of my miles a day only.  My border/collie lab gave me the best 12 years of walking and kept me going.   I also do a weekly cooking and measuring of food.  I make up portions and treat myself once a week to something I've denied myself.  Keeping up with the Fitbit app has been very important, and I don't do it as if it's a job, do it like my life depends on it. Weight loss comes very slowly, but it's so rewarding when you see those inches disappear.  When I worked, I was so tired all I wanted to do was sit or sleep.  I understand that, but I should have taken a walk and breathed in the fresh air instead, even 15 minutes of that can make a big difference in how you sleep or deal with a busy lifestyle. 

[SteveL1964]

Intermittent fasting works for me.  I do an 18 hour fast followed by a 6 hour eating window (it took me around 1 week to work up to this, I started with a 14 hour fast but increased it by a couple of hours every few days until I got used to it). 

During my eating window I largely follow a Mediterranean diet. Plus lots of fermented foods: kimchi, kraut, kefir. 

I build in a few treats. e.g. I like dark beer (stout, porter) so I have a pint or two on the weekend. 

I do a minimum 17K steps per day, but usually more on the weekend getting to an average of around 20K/day over a 7 day period. 

It's going well so far. 12.6 kgs lost in 12.5 weeks. 

[AnnafromEstonia]

1) How many hours after waking up do you start the eating window?

2) And does fasting mean no calories period or would you allow for something like say coffee with milk?

I've always wondered about the intermittent fasting because it follows probably our natural cycle of eating as the species evolved, but it has felt a bit inimidating due to social aspect - say if I eat 10am - 4pm, I would have to skip dinners with others or drool. It would sound more doable with say 1pm - 7pm - plus morning coffee if that sin is allowed, then late lunch and earlier dinner. Though I'm not sure about accumulating all the calories to before-bed period, is that a poor choice?

[RiekoC]

Hello @SteveL1964 & @AnnafromEstonia 

You might be interested in this recent article about intermittent fasting from the American Heart Association: https://newsroom.heart.org/news/8-hour-time-restricted-eating-linked-to-a-91-higher-risk-of-cardiova... 

[AnnafromEstonia]

Interesting. Now, the question is, it was not a randomized controlled trial, which makes me ask a question - was that "restricted eating group" just the group that was most overweight and most desperate? And it's their weight that led to increased cardiovascular deaths, not the intermittent diet itself. People who are healthy and maintain their ideal weight, are less likely to engage in intermittent fasting. 

An analogy for that is - if people with diabetes who inject insulin, we could erroneously conclude that insulin injections lead to neuropathy because if we compare people who inject insulin (and have diabetes), and people who don't, the insulin group will be more likely to have neuropathy. Just not because of the insulin!

[RiekoC]

Hello @AnnafromEstonia 

I agree that the information provided in the article and abstract summary isn't sufficient. As Dr. Gardner in the article pointed out, there are more details needed to understand the analysis.

I personally know of 2 couples who are healthy, active, and maintain their weight in the ideal range who practice occasional intermittent fasting. They do this for the implied health benefits.

It will definitely be interesting to see if there are other studies regarding intermittent fasting, both short & long term, and the resulting analysis.

[SteveL1964]

Hi Anna

I usually open my eating window at midday and close it at 6pm. But, if there are things going on I might adjust accordingly, say to 1pm-7pm or 2pm-8pm. But I definitely find the 12noon-6pm one is the easiest one for me. 

I drink black decaf coffee to help manage any hungry feelings that might occur. Actually, the time I seem to get a bit hungry most often is around 9pm-10pm, in which case I tend to drink tea. I have been drinking tea without milk for around 40 years, so that is no hardship for me.  

The perhaps surprising thing is that although I might be feeling a bit hungry at 10pm I never wake in the morning feeling hungry. The earliest I might start feeling I need to eat something in the morning is around 10am.  But with some coffee I find that that is quite manageable for a couple of hours until I can eat my 'breakfast' at midday.

[MrBosco]

Tips I've gathered along the way:

• Weight loss starts in the supermarket - you can't eat it if you don't buy it.  Make a shopping list, plan to stick to it, and don't go shopping while hungry as it may lead to buying something you crave on impulse.  Avoid unplanned trips to the store.  If you share a house with others let them know that it would be great if they could avoid stocking the house with foods that you might find hard to resist.  If you have a weakness for chocolate or cookies for example, ask others to buy these things in small amounts and eat them the same day, so there isn't a tempting stash of chocolate or cookies in the house every night.
• Identify meals which you like which are filling and nutritious and which are particularly low in calories.  Plan to buy enough for many such meals during the week.  Example for me - vegetable soup for lunch.  A packet of pre-prepared soup vegetables and some chicken stock, seasoned with pepper - 56 calories per bowl of soup.  Eaten with a turkey sandwich made with light mayo on reduced-carb bread - 313 calories in total for the meal.  Filling and satisfying enough that I don't feel too hungry coming up to dinner time.  If I buy enough materials for four 'soup lunch days', and as I hate to waste food - I'll strive to use up the vegetables before they go off - then I'm practically guaranteeing that my total 'lunch calories' for the coming week will be low.  I have several low-calorie options for breakfasts and lunches.  I worry less about dinners as I like variety and bigger tastier dinners are my 'treats', but I try to make sure that for every moderately higher-calorie dinner I buy, I also buy a lower-calorie dinner to balance it out over the course of a week.  Eliminate very high-calorie meals completely - there's no point dieting for days just to reverse that good work in half an hour by eating pizza or lasagne.  That might be a difficult thing to do in the beginning but it gets very much easier over time.
• Protein is your friend.  It takes a long time to digest and it supresses hunger.  Protein calories are actually better than carb or fat calories as the body does not convert protein into energy as efficiently - somewhere around 20% to 30% of protein calories go 'missing'.  What this means for weight loss is that high-protein meals are a great way to avoid hunger and lose some weight at the same time.  Eggs for breakfast for example makes for less hunger coming up to lunch.  The turkey in that sandwich with my soup makes it less likely that I'll be hungry coming up to dinner, so I don't skimp on the turkey.  If you find you like a particular salad which is very low in calories, but find yourself unsatisfied or hungry a couple of hours later, try adding tuna, or chicken for example.  The calories you add in the form of protein, if it makes it easier to stick with your eating plan, will be better in the long run.
• Avoid food treats as much as possible while you're attempting to lose weight.  It's easier to resist eating the first cookie than it is to avoid eating the second, or the third.  Hunger and appetite are not the same thing - you might eat a filling dinner for example and no longer be hungry, but still have an appetite, a craving, for desert.  Appetite and cravings will pass and get easier to deal with over time - drink a hot drink or some cold sparkling water and so long as you're not actually very hungry the cravings will pass.  Give in and eat a single cookie however and the appetite/craving won't be satisfied - it might just grow stronger.  Some foods just have to be avoided - anything that reminds you of the old Pringles slogan 'Once You Pop, You Can't Stop'.  For me any kind of cake, cookie, potato chip, chocolate or ice cream are just too hard to resist once I eat a little - I always want more and before I know it I've eaten many hundreds of calories and set my weight loss efforts back by a day or two.  Again - it's much easier to resist buying any of these things in the first place, and easier to resist eating any at all if they are already in the house, than it is to resist stopping at just a few bites if a whole box of cookies or tub of ice cream is right there in front of you.
• Don't be afraid to be a little hungry.  I've actually come to get some satisfaction from feeling quite hungry coming up to dinner time - it's a sign that I'm likely to lose weight that day.  'Job done'.  I've been a little hungry at some point during almost every day during the past five months.  I've only felt 'starving' a couple of times, where the hunger was very distracting.  The only time a little hunger is a real problem is coming up to bedtime.  If you find you're too hungry to easily fall sleep, find something filling and low in calories that stops the hunger and lets you get to sleep.  For me that's a low-fat yogurt or a small apple - just filling enough to satisfy my hunger for the short length of time it takes to get to sleep.
• If it all goes wrong and you put some weight back on don't give up.  I've fallen off the wagon three or four times now, reversing some progress, but once I resolved to continue and saw the weight loss start to happen again it renewed my sense of purpose and achievement.  Losing weight is not at all easy - it's very challenging to make big changes to your way of eating, and it's hard to feel hungry and not reach for something to eat.  That said, losing weight is also very straightforward - eat less food than your body needs relative to your levels of activity.  That's it - not rocket science.  In the long run the only way you can fail to lose weight, assuming you are healthy and don't have an eating disorder or similar, is if you quit trying.

[Baltoscott]

@MrBosco - very thoughtful and detailed tips. I'd only add to take care not to drink a lot of calories. Alcohol intake can be a problem for some, and sweetened beverages (even juices and 'healthy' smoothies), fancy coffees, and the like can add up quickly and do very little to curb your appetite.