Current Events > those who have successfully lost a lot of weight from dieting, what helped most?

(+) Yeah! (+)

a food scale and counting calories via MFP seem the most common answers but that seems like such a pain in the ass. I'd almost rather not eat than to have to count out each individual ingredient that goes into my food. I don't eat that unhealthy, but I definitely snack way too much which is my main problem. I'm trying to switch snacking to something like carrots with some lite ranch on the side. not a whole lot but something to have every few carrots or so to spice up the taste.
---

More protein and fat, less carbs

No sugar or sweets

Plenty of water

Apple cider vinegar diluted in water three times a day

Intermittent fasting

Basketball and weight training

That was basically how I lost like 20 lbs of fat, put on muscle, and became a more energetic person. You just have to continually think about your habits and just keep perfecting your habits which will in turn become your comfortable habits, so make them healthy habits. Just make them healthy and do it. Its change and uncomfortable at first but it will be a habit eventually, you will adapt, and your life will be much better because of your discipline to adhering to those healthy habits / ways

Just constantly make little changes. Adding cinnamin helps burn fats more efficiently. Ultimately, you need to keep the calories a little lower than usual or just exercise a little more

metralo posted...

I'd almost rather not eat than to have to count out each individual ingredient that goes into my food.

That's good, though. If you made a commitment to not eat unless you've counted the calories it could act as a deterrent.
---

More protein and fat, less carbs

working on this, I think I've made a dent in the amount of carbs I've been eating for sure.


No sugar or sweets

definite issue I need to fix

Plenty of water

I drink about 64oz a day


Apple cider vinegar diluted in water three times a day

why?


Intermittent fasting

explain?


Basketball and weight training


I'm super socially anxious about the gym so I haven't been lifting but I do run about 3-4 times a week
---

Soda to water.

I was going to post but I'm pretty sure you're the same guy who said Hurricane Katrina was a good thing and should happen again.
---

_Deuce_ posted...

I was going to post but I'm pretty sure you're the same guy who said Hurricane Katrina was a good thing and should happen again.

That could be a movie. Katrina's Revenge. A sentient hurricane comes back to finish what she started.

THIS SUMMER!
---

_Deuce_ posted...

I was going to post but I'm pretty sure you're the same guy who said Hurricane Katrina was a good thing and should happen again.

you definitely have me mixed up as most people would call me a sjw shitposter
---

I just used my fitness pal.

It helped keep me honest when I could actually see the numbers of Calories I was eating every day

That and Cardio every morning for at least 45 minutes
---

If you drink alcohol cut that out all together for a few weeks and exercise regularly and you'll see the weight roll off. I'm down 20lbs in the last 3 months

Put in as much vertical movement (steps, ladders, climbing) as you feel comfortable doing.
---

It's a simple formula. Good diet+lots of exercise= weight loss. And by exercise, I mean you should be drenched in sweat by the time you finish. You can lose pounds in body weight just from sweating and exercising. The diet will help keep the weight off.
---

Back in November i weighed at least 187, I might have weighed as much as 195. As of five minutes ago, I weigh 159 This means I lost around 30 pounds. Here's what I did:

I went to this website

http://afterburneffecttraining.com/afterburn-training/afterburn-effect-exercises/

And basically just looked at the cardio exercises that they have listed. I would do multiple of them in a row, for 30 minutes or so to really challenge my body (with rest periods in between obviously). I would do the cardio exercises maybe twice a week. Eventually I toned it down to once a week and added another lift day.

I would lift 3 (to 4) other days of the week.

In regard to diet, IMO this makes it super simple

http://afterburneffecttraining.com/afterburn-effect-diet/

It just flat out on a general level tells you what you should and shouldn't eat. I also viewed several YouTube videos of people that are known to work out. Many of them have a "Go shopping and see what I eat!!" video. Watch those so you can get an even better idea of what to buy.

After that, I picked out foods that I can live with and buy those when I go to the grocery store. The cool thing is that basically all of these foods are CHEAP, so it actually helps my grocery bill (I kid you not I only spent $105 in groceries last month, all healthy stuff). The only problem is that I more or less eat the same things the everyday, but I eat three meals a day with snacks in between. I never count calories, I just eat until I'm not hungry any more. I will admit that I still eat candy and what not from time to time but I eat WAY less than I used to on a weekly basis, candy is my only real weakness in my diet. I also don't drink any soda or alcohol (except on rare occasion but I was doing that already anyway so it wasn't a major change).

I basically have been EXTREMELY consistent with the above for the past 6 months, going to the gym 5 days a week on average. And voila, lost weight and gained muscle.

One more thing, I actually lost the 30 pounds or so in about 4 months, I've just maintained for the past 2 months.
---

metralo posted...

a food scale and counting calories via MFP seem the most common answers but that seems like such a pain in the ass.

It's not bad. When I first started I would spend about 10 minutes a day doing it. Now I spend about 3 minutes total figuring things out.

I would recommend doing it for a month or two. You would be surprised how unhealthy foods you think are good for you and how quickly calories add up.
---

TC: What do you mean by "a lot of weight"

Are we talking 400lbs to 250? or 210 to 195?
---

For me it was easy, eat less than you burn by tracking calories.

I still eat carbs, sweets, diet soda and tons of coffee I just eat less than I burn.

Track it with an app and stay under.

My only real "tip" is no cheat days, they frustrate your efforts. However, if you crave something terrible work out and earn it. I once ran for 3 hours so I could have at a whole pizza.
---

Going from 230lbs to about 195 currently over some months I did..

Lots of fruit and vegetables
Whole grains when I did eat them
More chicken and fish as main meats, absolutely < 500g of red meat per week, and I don't go out of my way to hit that limit

And yeah, I did get a food scale that helped track a lot of foods and I think it's been a big help

I use the Lose It app to track meals

Other than that, work on finding things you like that don't completely throw out your budget. I still have junk food occasionally but it's easier to adjust for it since I'm tracking everything
---

Cutting down soda.
Bringing lunch to work. Usually some type of chicken and rice combo.
Sometimes a green smoothie.
Drinking more water.
Switching from regular potatoes to sweet potatoes. This was tough.
---

Limiting calories.

From my heaviest to my lightest was about a 55 pound difference.
---

Post your current weight and weight goal your height as well.
---

Like others have said, cutting out carbs and sugar. You don't even really need to work out that much and you'll still lose weight.

I lost over 60lbs in just about a year with nothing but portion control and cutting out soda entirely. I ate anything I wanted, just in appropriately sized portions. When I realized how depressingly small an "appropriately sized portion" of unhealthy food is, it kind of naturally deterred me from eating it.

Getting entire plate full of boring grilled chicken and vegetables was far preferable to eating a lump of delicious mac and cheese the size of a tennis ball and still being hungry.
---