45 million Americans go on a diet every year. Moreover, Americans spend $33 billion each year on weight-loss products. The numbers are staggering, having in mind that two thirds of society are now classified as overweight and obese. So where did it go wrong?
Well, humans tend to overthink and end up trying too much. From counting calories to judging ourselves for a piece of cheesecake, some lose the simple joys of life, while others get fed up with their diet just not working.
But what if weight loss, like any other journey in the world, starts from some simple little steps? What if one or two basic changes in our lifestyle are all it takes to find the balance we crave? To find out, we looked at the little weight loss tips shared by people who genuinely claim they really worked. And no, you don’t need to give up on pizza any time soon.
#1
Make your couch a no-eating zone. I found that when I sat in my overused, sunken-in spot in the couch with food, it turned into a mindless binge-fest. Sitting at a table or kitchen bar with a plate and silverware made me more mindful and present when I ate, which in turn helped me to listen to my satiety cues and stop eating when I was full. Lost over 100 pounds in a little over a year.
#2
Don't try to ignore your cravings — just find healthier ways to satisfy them. I will never be the girl who says no to pizza or bread. Embracing it and not hating myself for it was the first step. Then I was able to find ways to satisfy those needs in a better way. For example, Cauliflower pizza crust pretty much satisfies my need for pizza. (I know, it doesn't sound believable but it's true!)
Image credits: Deb Nystrom
#3
Give up delivery and start preparing your own meals instead.
#4
Stop weighing yourself as a means of measuring your progress. For a while I was focused on making my weight number constantly decrease. When I stopped looking at that and just focused on being healthy — eating right, fruits and veggies for snacks, exercising — that was when I started losing weight and feeling better!
#5
Swap "boredom eating" with other mindless (or productive) tasks. [I stopped] snacking when I was bored, became more aware of what I was doing, and I soon realized I wasn't actually hungry. I was just restless and wanted something to do while I relaxed. So I replaced snacking with painting my nails. It's also become kind of a fun thing I do for myself. When I'm at the store and trying to make healthy decisions, I will reward myself with a new color. Essie has become my preferred reward, as opposed to a 'cheat meal'!
#6
Skip escalators and elevators. I took the stairs EVERYWHERE! I worked on the sixth floor when I started this endeavor. I had to start getting to work earlier than normal just to make sure I'd make it up in time without being disgustingly sweaty. I lost 40 pounds in the first eight months and now I'm running half marathons multiple times per year!
#7
Start taking your coffee black. Started drinking black coffee instead of having it with cream and sugar or the flavored creamers.
#8
Cut down on sugar. "Trying to eat healthier foods" is good to do, but it's also vague. For example, I've seen people go on strict low-carb diets and drink insane amounts of Gatorade. There are tons of things you wouldn't expect to have a lot of sugar in them, too- it's not always the obvious stuff like cookies.
Image credits: foreverfremdshamen
#9
Ditch friends who sabotage you or try to keep you from progressing on your goal. If you're 180 pounds of fat and they say you're getting too skinny they're not trying to help you.
Image credits: _ImperialScout_
#10
Water is your friend
Image credits: stop_being_ugly
#11
Chew flavored gum to keep your mouth busy and overcome eating addiction. It’s so much easier to quit chewing gum I find.
Image credits: unknown
#12
Just doing something in the gym everyday is better than nothing.This advice helped me so much. It really reinforces that this is a lifestyle change by forcing you to just go be active everyday. It also helps just in the sense its objectively true doing 10-15 minutes on the treadmill is better than nothing if you really arent motivated at all. The biggest way it helps though is on the days you are unmotivated, once you start you will often just do your full workout.
Image credits: totalloserx
#13
Buy smaller plates.I don't hear this one too often, but it's basically an aide to the common "Eat smaller portions" advice. Willing yourself to eat smaller portions can be difficult, but a smaller plate can look full with less food on it, and that can have a very real psychological effect. You still get that "I cleaned my whole plate" satisfaction, but you've eaten less to get it.
Image credits: Gluttony4
#14
Ditch the soda, seriously. I decided to give up soda for Lent since I had one almost every day at lunch. After the first two weeks I lost 10 pounds! When it was over I honestly didn't even crave it all at anymore. That was years ago and now the taste of soda is always too much sweetness in a drink for me.
#15
My mum says "Motivation helps to lose the weight but discipline is what keeps it off."
Image credits: Rithims
#16
The 70% ruleEat 70% of the meal. Take a break and talk for a while drink some water and enjoy the moment for a bit. You'll find that the majority of the time the food will settle in your stomach and you won't be hungry anymore.
Edit: many are saying it's a waste of food but I never said that. Get a to-go box and take it home.
Image credits: Pizanch
#17
Patience. Losing weight (especially a significant amount of weight) takes a considerable amount of time.I lost 60 pounds, but it took upwards of 16 months of constant work. It was a shade under a pound a week.
Image credits: Neb810
#18
I think a lot of people go into dieting with a mentality of “I’m going to diet constantly until I hit my goal weight” and either end up stopping along the way or putting the weight back on within a year or two of reaching their goal. What I have found that helped me was stopping my diet every 3-4 weeks and having a period just trying to maintain that particular weight before I start up again on my diet. It has helped me keep things under control and it’s nice to have a little break from a diet every once in awhile.
Image credits: ElPapiGrande
#19
Don't drink calories
Image credits: LordTachanka_LmgMaL
#20
Be prepared for the psychological barriers you will face if you are dieting. People will pressure you to eat badly all the time without really realizing it - when you go over to your parents' for Thanksgiving, when your co-workers go out for drinks and wings after work, when your partner wants to go out to eat and celebrate something, when you go over to a friends' house for a dinner party.People think they are being nice to you when they say that one piece of cake or big meal won't kill you and you should just go for it. In other circumstances, they just won't realize that are making you feel like a diva or a wet blanket when you don't eat what they clearly want you to. You have to be prepared for these curveballs or they can undo everything.
Most diets are designed for you to be able to construct your meals basically from scratch at home, or consume something prepackaged. But for many people their lifestyle and social life just can't accommodate that enough. You need to learn to have backup plans that don't make you feel like an ass or a killjoy. Plans can involve eating before, deciding what you eat when you get there, and how to talk to other people about it so everyone is comfortable. It takes some effort, but you get the hang of it pretty fast if you work on it.
Image credits: zazzlekdazzle
#21
Meal Prepping. You would be surprised how much control you give yourself over your calories when you plan ahead. It also saves a lot of time and money.
Image credits: totspur1982
#22
"You can't lose weight unless you are hungry." Accept it and deal with it.
Image credits: reddit
#23
Remove the sugar. Once you do that, it's stupid easy. It's not a secret, but it's rare for people to really do it. We all scramble around trying to find a trick to avoid doing just that. Lost 60lb and kept them off. For the past year and a half I've been eating less than 10 grams of added sugar per day, no exceptions. After the first 2 weeks, it gets pretty easy. After about 2 months, the idea of eating sugary [crap] feels pretty repulsive. After a year, it's a no-brainer.
Image credits: fixittillitbreaks
#24
Don't look in the mirror. This was sophomore year of college and my roommate didn't have a full-length mirror to hang in our room, and neither did I. Without it, I discovered that I could mark my progress based on how I felt rather than how I looked. This was great because it prevented me from being discouraged when I didn't see results right away. Looking back on it now, not having the opportunity to constantly glance at my reflection actually played a pretty key role in my success. I ended up losing around 40 pounds total.
#25
Don't stop at home before going to the gym after work or class. I cut out the middle step of going home before working out and started going to the gym straight from work. If I set foot in my apartment, all intentions of going to the gym fall by the wayside because my bed and Netflix always sound like better alternatives. Going to the gym straight from work helped me get into a routine, and in just over a year, I've lost 45-plus pound
#26
Stop forcing yourself to go to the gym if you hate it, and find an exercise you actually enjoy. I gave up trying to enjoy the gym and found things I actually like doing! What a difference! I've lost 30 pounds simply by finding exercise I enjoy, such as hiking, biking, yoga, swimming, snowshoeing, and kayaking, among other things. Now I crave exercise and can't wait for my next workout session, because nothing feels like a workout anymore!
#27
Ditch alcohol
#28
Make sure you're actually drinking enough water. I realized I was terrible at it and it's so stupid. I bought some 32-ounce bottles and put labels on them, so I have to drink 8 ounces by certain time points, fill up the bottle and do it again to get 64 ounces in a day. I feel a lot better and have an easier time exercising now that I'm not chronically dehydrated.
#29
Treat working out as a social activity. One of my friends got a Groupon deal for a gym, and about five of us signed up. I joined purely to hang out with the boys after work instead of going home and browsing the web. We started going every evening, and within a few weeks I started noticing significant differences (as all beginners can relate).A month later, I signed up for a gym closer to work and started eating better. Now, four years later, I have lost 100 pounds of fat, and put on over 25 pounds of muscle."
#30
Feeling hungry for a bit won't kill you. Drink water and deal with it.
Image credits: Kitehammer
#31
Full disclosure, am still fat (currently 301 pounds), but I have lost 50 pounds since my highest weight and am working on the remainder. Here is what is working for me: 1.) Track everything. Get an app, or a journal. Write down everything that goes in your mouth. You don't need to track calories at first if you're not used to it. Just write down what you eat. Be honest, don't cheat. 2.) Learn your triggers. What makes you eat? Is it normal hunger? Did you have a bad day at work? Did you fight with your SO? Are you "treating" yourself because you accomplished something? 3.) Redirect yourself. Don't be idle. If you sit in front of the TV and snack, start cross-stitching, knitting, paint-by-number, F**KING SOMETHING that gets you occupied while sitting and watching the latest mind-numbing crime drama. 4.) Make a plan. Meal plan for a week, or be ambitious and do a whole month. Plan what you're going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make a grocery list. ALWAYS GO GROCERY SHOPPING WITH A LIST. Never have to ask yourself "oh what's for dinner? what do we have anyway? am i going to have to buy x ingredient? f**k it, I'll just order a pizza". Include eating out in your meal plan. 5.) Move a little. You don't have to run a marathon. Just move more. Walk further. Do yoga in the morning. Just something to remind your body that it has a purpose. All I do is yoga in the morning and walk to and from the bus stop. 6.) Start small. Don't make a goal to lose 100 pounds. Make a goal to lose 5 pounds. That's a bag of potatoes. Those are huge and heavy! 5 pounds is a huge accomplishment. I never set a goal for myself except to lose 5 pounds at a time. Lose 5 pounds, drop one pants size, walk around the block without stopping, jog for 90 seconds. These are tiny goals that when added to incrementally make a HUGE DIFFERENCE. 7.) Ignore everyone else. Don't buy some junk your Aunt Marcy promises will cleanse your colon. Don't let your coworkers tell you "oh you look so good you don't need to lose weight". Don't let your family say "but grandma made this chocolate cake just for you". THIS STEP DOES NOT APPLY TO MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS SUCH AS A DOCTOR OR CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST. The world wants to sabotage you. Listen to people that you pay money to to take care of you. 8.) Forgive yourself. This is the most important step. Love yourself as you are now. You are beautiful. You are loved. You are important. You are a human being. You will move forward but you will have bad days. You will struggle and you will hate yourself for making a bad choice. You will fall down sometimes. But life is a series of failures and lessons. Life is a long journey and weight loss is a lifestyle change, a transformation, and those don't happen quickly. It will take longer than you think it will. And that's OKAY. You are doing your best and you will reap the rewards SOMEDAY. Don't be in a hurry. Enjoy the journey.
#32
unless you're Chris Traeger you're gonna f**k up. it took me two years of trying to get the momentum I needed to lose 110 pounds. I've got 50 to go and I've lost that momentum and it's taken me a few months to get back in the swing of it. [Messing] up is a part of progress and progress isn't linear.
#33
If you want to lose weight, start by honestly counting your calories. You dont need to cut back what you eat, just keep track. Keep doing this for 2-3 weeks. By doing this, you are showing yourself just how much you are consuming.From there, establish a small goal for yourself, e.g. 2100 calories per day. Keep track and measure your calories honestly. It's okay if you dont meet your goal every day, but aim for most days.
Once you are comfortable at that level, lower it a bit further down, to say 1800. Keep this up and repeat until you reach 1600, 1400, or 1200 calories per day.
Take time to work your way down. Dont deprive yourself of a once in a while treat. The end goal is not to hit a point and then go back to eating how you did when you started, it's about changing how you eat permanently. Sustainability for how you eat is what it's all about.
Personally, my goal is 1300/day and after doing this for 2 years, it has become normal. A bad cheat day for me is 1600-1900 calories, which is in line with what my body needs (BMR).
The hardest part of this process is being honest with what you are eating and sticking with your goals.
#34
Soda has to go, period. Sure you could balance it into you calorie counting but why bother when you could fill it with stuff that makes you feel better#35
There are no bad vs good foods.Try to eat a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, but if you want a donut and it fits into your daily caloric intake, eat the fucking donut. Don't demonize food. Learn about nutrition, drink plenty of water, and exercise.
#36
(Not fat, just had a brief "chubby" phase in my teens, but I cured it fast.)My tip: don't snack. it's easier than you think.
Eat your breakfast, lunch, dinner. In between those, stay the hell out of the kitchen and eliminate snacking as an option at all. Stay busy with life and fun. Don't wander around your house bored and depressed until you find yourself making peanut butter toast with cookies or chips. Just GTFO of the kitchen and into a life of some sort.
The bulk of the magic is in the diet, not exercise. It's a hell of a lot easier/quicker to refrain from eating 500 extra calories than it is to eat it then try to burn off 500 extra calories.
So when you're done a meal, brush your teeth and get on with your day.
#37
Walking. It's so underrated. Anyone can do it, can be done anywhere and it's free.What I've been doing is leaving early for my bus to work and walking 30 mins along the route before catching my bus. On the way home I'll get off early and walk 30 mins home again. Adds an hour of walking a day with very little disruption to my daily routine. That plus eating better and I've lost a stone in about 5/6 weeks
#38
My trainer wanted me to run, but I just could not for the absolute life of me get into the habit of running. So I would do this walking / running interval. I still hated itSo I decided to just cycle instead. Yes it burns fewer calories than running but you know what, I actually do cardio when I'm cycling. With running I wouldn't really do it, I'd be like "meh I can skip it today."
#39
Do simple exercises like push-ups and sit-ups every night. Start out with low numbers and by the end you'll be able to do 100+ push-ups a day. It's just involves making it a part of your routine.#40
Cut down on beer.Drink only water
Burn more calories than I consume
Eat smaller meals
Go hiking as much as possible in preferably challenging terrain.
Pull up bar.
I've went from 198-163 since the end of May and I look pretty damn fine now.
Also, mind numbing depression helps with the hunger...
#41
Realizing that you CAN actually control your body weight. You are in the driver seat. Eat 2000 calories but burn 2500 calories a day? You WILL lose weight.There is no secret to losing weight. End of the day it's Cals in vs Cals out. The control and results are addicting.
Source: Lost 50 pounds in the past year.
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