What works for you?

There seem to be so many varieties of what works for weight loss, what works for one doesn't work for another. So what works for you?

Following the rules, Protein first,  keep carb count down, and away from white carbs.  Water, water, water.  No carbonated drinks ever,  no grazing and plan my eating.  This from someone who has had a 30 pound regain.  I was not doing these things hence the regain.  Back on track .  Excercise helps alot too..

Thanks.  Do you stick to 3 meals a day or include planned snacks?

I journal everything I eat on fitday.com  I start my morning with a protien drink, then when I get to the office I have my 24 ounce suger free cherry mocha with 4 shots of espresso and skim milk.  I eat Protein for lunch.  I keep tuna, cheese sticks, boiled eggs, protien bars nuts ect. handy.  sometimes I will eat a regular lunch, but I really try to stick to stuff like that.  I have a regular dinner and eat the dense protein first.  I shoot for 80-100 carbs, below 60 fat and over 100 protein a day.  If I am low in the evening I will add a protein shake or something.  I log my intake right away at fitday so I know where I am.  I am still fiddling around with a plan that will work best for me,  But I am on the right track.  I walk at least 5 days a week and am going to start strength training soon.  I want to make sure I get enough food in so that my body doesn't hold on to everything.  The 5DPT was great and got me in the right direction.  The scale will move soon.  I lost 11 pounds in a month,  I was sick last week and a death in the family so I got off track for a week and gained 4-5 pounds back but that is OK.  I know what I need to do and I am doing it.

I have to say, the only thing that consistantly keeps me on track is weight lifting.  It feels so great to see that definition!! 

Thanks. Do you lift weights at the gym or home?  Have you done this by yourself or with a trainer?  It certainly gives a good shape to the body doesn't it.

I lifted at a gym with a trainer from 2 months out (Aug '06****il I went back to work (after 7 years as an at-home mom) this past Dec.  Now I lift at home.  Working with the trainer was huge for me.

I follow the pouch rules... I one bite things that arent a good choice.. and weighing daily to face the numbers and never let it get out of control  :)

Everything Dana said & remember 30 min before/after you eat. For example today I had whey protein w/water (out of low fat milk) ate shrimp for early lunch, a Dannon lite yogurt w/brand cereal, I just had a salad & cottage cheese & couldn't fini****my pouch feels tight.  As before I got back on track that wouldn't have happened. I'm now waiting my 30 min to drink green tea the rest of the night. The problem is right now I still feel very full & think I should wait.  Tonight now, I may have pudding...maybe a protein bar if I get the "munchies"...sunflower seeds. Rice cake maybe. Of course some days are differant but, the choices are similiar. Not totally sure if this will continue to work but, I have lost about 10 lbs or maybe more by now. FingersX Take care !

Hi, Ruth!  Here's what's working for me right now: 1.  Keep a daily food journal in software for my PDA from calorieking.com.  (It's similar to what's available at fitday.com, sparkpeople.com, thedailyplate.com, etc., except it's stored on my PDA.) 2.  Weigh myself every day and keep a record of my weight. 3.  I eat about 8 times a day - about every 2 hours or so.  This keeps my metabolism up, and it usually keeps me from battling with head hunger because another "feeding" is always right around the corner.  (I had my resting metabolism tested about 8 months ago and it was around 2000, meaning I needed to eat at least 2000 calories a day to maintain my weight at that time.  Based on my experience since that test, that number is pretty darn accurate.)  4.  Exercise 6-8 times per week, doing both strength training and cardio at 70-80% of my target heart rate.  Keep track of my exercise. 5.  Drink at least 64 oz. of non-caffeinated liquids per day, often more.   6.  Eating about 2000 calories per day, composed of 250 g. of carbs, 125 g. of protein, 55 g. of fat (or somewhere close to those numbers - varies a bit each day depending on what I eat).  I can only eat this much, esp. carbs, when I'm exercising 6-8 times/week.  If I cut back on the exercise, I must cut back on the calories and limit the carbs if I want to maintain or lose.   7.  When I want a treat, I have it.  But I make sure I really want it before I indulge.  I probably have something special once a week or so.  This makes it easier to say no to the everyday goodies/snacks that always seem to be around.   8.  When I stop losing or begin to gain, I reevaluate what I'm doing and make minor changes.  If I do the same thing for an extended period of time, my body adjusts and wants to maintain.  Frankly, I think it's tired of losing weight for 27+ months.  But I keep tweaking away and am still losing 3-5 pounds per month.   Anyway, that's what's currently working for me!  I'm interested to see what's working for other folks -  Kellie