How To: Achieve Lasting Weight Loss

All very good points not to sure about water though, seems that there is no real benefits to drinking lots of water as regards to weight loss, but it's better than diet soda or sugary drinks.

Drinking water is a good place to start. At the very least it replaces caloric drinks such as sodas or juices with something that has NO calories - and that will have an impact for those who consume a fair amount of juice or soda. Some studies have shown that dieters who choose water as their beverage of choice do in fact lose more weight... http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-10-24-water-diet_x.htm. Additionally drinking half a litre of water makes the body burn a quarter more energy at rest during one hour after ingestion, according to a study at Charité University Medicine in Berlin. see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17519319

Also water is needed for metabolic processes - if you don't get enough these processes slow down and - surprise surprise - this has an impact on weight loss too as dehydration slows down the fat-burning process...

get creative?

try new things which are good for you.

chia? tofu shirataki? things like that!

I lost about 30 lbs last year. I was in the mid-190's, now I'm in the 160's. Here are the main things that helped me do it:

1) First, I made time for 30 minute *light* exercise (mostly walking). The objective here is NOT to get a thorough workout, but to become accustomed to managing time for excercise.

2) Once I had worked light exercise into my schedule, I started to run during that time. I've been running 30 minutes/day almost every day since.

3) I researched the relationship between calorie intake and weight loss. I started to keep a food journal on The Daily Plate. I started eating much better. After 2 months, I stopped keeping the food journal because my good habits had become pretty ingrained at that point.

I know it's hard, but stick to it. Once people start asking you, "Did you lose some weight?", it will all be worth it.

I'd like to recommend Joe's Goals as a good tool for keeping track of your changes. It's really helped with my diet (and my flossing routine!)

Thanks for this reminder. I've been getting back into the nosdiet. The simplicity is what works for me.

It can seem overwhelming at first, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. I lost around 90 lbs, but when I started, I made a goal to lose 10 lbs at first, then another 10 and another 10 until I got to my goal. And yeah, it took about a year to get there, but I surely didn't gain it all overnight. I put it all on over the course of my teenage years...probably about 8 years in total. So to put things in perspective, losing the weight I gained in 8 years in only 1 year was pretty fast. I didn't make all the changes to my diet at once either. I started out by replacing my breakfast of pop tarts and Frappuccinos with a bowl of cereal and an apple and a cup of coffee. Then I cut out ice cream and replaced my snacks of chips, pretzels and cookies with fresh fruit and veggies. I started walking more, then I gradually started running. I discovered new ways to cook things and I started really liking my veggies. I stopped drinking caloric beverages and that definitely helped me lose the weight.

A word of warning to you caffeine addicts (like I was). When you give up do so in stages if you can. Make changes that remove the stuff in steps and the impact will be more easily contained.

Caffeine withdrawal is nasty and can last three to four days when you feel quite low. My body took almost two months to get over the fact that there was now no "wake up juice" when I needed to get started in the mornings.

Fruit juice helps when you need a boost and as well as being good for you has natural sugars that will give you energy the way your body was supposed to get it.

For chocolate cravings, allow yourself one piece of dark chocolate (with at least 80% cocoa) per day.

I started doing "two a days". Working out twice a day jumpstarted the weight loss.

I think it's excellent advice to only attempt small changes. I think it's also important to consolidate them for a period of time before moving on to the next thing. It's so easy to get dispirited if you bite off more than you can chew.

We're usually trying to transform habits that have been with us for many years or even a lifetime. It's a tricky business so it's important to approach it step by step. ~ James

And sometimes it can help to break it down into really small micro-movements. Eg..... you have 2 teaspoons of sugar in your coffee. Instead of cutting back to one.... but back to 1 and 3/4 for a week, then 1 and 1/2 the next and so on. We all want instant fixes, but those aren't the ones that are sustainable, but the ones that we implement and practise and get used to are the ones we can incorporate into our lives and keep up.
Cari

I lost 100 pounds over 2 yrs time (13 years ago), and have successfully kept it off. I focused on a couple changes at a time. The difference is that I made every change a big one, a sort of all encompassing change. I'd only be focusing one or two changes at a time, but the impact was huge because they were very basic changes. For example, early on in my weight loss I changed the types of fats I ate, focusing on eating monounsaturated fats as much as possible. This not only changed the type of fat I ate, but made a huge impact on my diet in regard to protein choices (began eating much leaner proteins, to avoid saturated fats), carb choices (chose far less processed foods to avoid the polyunsaturated fats in the processed versions), etc. By choosing the changes wisely you can greatly impact your diet and lifestyle in a relatively short time, while only focusing on a few basic overall changes.

Good topic! Eat small portion at each meal is important. Not forgetting exercise and keep fit all contributes to lasting weight loss.

I agree with the small portions at each meal. If you eat 5-6 times a day evenly spaced with about even calories you will lose weight super fast. More to the point you will lose fat. I eat every 3 hours and eat roughly the same amount of calories (around 400) at each meal, tapering it off during the day slightly so that breakfast is around 500, and dinner is a modest 300 calories. You get the idea.

The problem I have with the philosophy "drink lots of water" is that often it is a result of not eating enough 'water-content' foods i.e. foods that have water inbuilt in them like fruits and vege. These hydrate you naturally so you need less water anyway.

I think it's more important to get a regular supply of water during the day rather than sheer quantity that people suggest. Often it's people with secondary gain who promote it (i.e. water filtration companies LOL). If you are eating like the above with lots of lean protein / Omega 3 / Omega 6 / Omega 9 oils (flaxseed oil or fish oil) you won't need as much external hydration from water and you will feel like a million (losing fat too).

Mix the above with cardio workouts 4 times a week for 30 mins, with 4 times a week strength training on alternate weeks and your energy levels will go into turbo. You will look and feel 10 years younger too with a slim exterior.

I don't see protein listed as a neccesity. When you say 'lasting' keeping in mind, much of the fat burned is because of lean muscle mass.

Taking calories into minus is one thing and it is equally if not more important to have a high metabolism. Hence it is crucial to specify a protein intake and some muscle tension (could be pushups, bullworker-resistance band, anything!) to keep your fat burning longer with minimal efforts.

Regards,
-Vinesh

I thought this was a great article, because so many people are just waiting around for some magical "motivational" THING to happen before they start making a change for the better. Only it never does.

All one really needs to do is commit to one change NOW! Then when that habit is established, add another. And so on.

Small habit changes can really add up over time... and while you won't necessarily see huge weight loss instantly, you build a strong foundation for losing it and keeping it off afterwards. Habit by habit... that's how I'm doing it.

I second the recommendation for the Joe's Goals site!

I agree with the small changes approach. That list of things is great because over time they really add up and over the long term they are realistic to stick with.

People are too concerned with the weight loss home run and often it is so extreme that it can't be expected to stick with it so it is stopped.

I found a great blog article about keeping the weight from coming back after a successful diet. http://weightcontrolinfo.com/2008/05/12/weight-gain-after-weight-loss-diets-how-to-stop-unwanted-weight-gain/

Starting NOW is critical. The future always begins today. Secondly small changes can indeed make a BIG difference. I find many people really can cut down an enormous amount of calories by eating the right snacks to keep the metabolism moving.

Great post. Something I wanted to add was that's important to revisit your goals regularly and consider if they are working for you. many people stay on the same diet for months and complain when they don't lose weight. They may not be eating enough or they may be eating too much. they may have plateaued with their fitness regime. re-evaluating is so important to reaching your goal and being open to making changes.

Jeff
http://instantfeelgood.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-cant-i-lose-weight.html