Lifestyle changes to maintain weight loss

[Anonymous]

I am a good and disciplined dieter and can lose 10-15 lbs in 2-3 months, the problem is that I can’t maintain it because I always end up right back where I started - overeating and not eating healthy in general.

I work long hours and eat out a lot, which is a big part of the problem. Even when I order something healthy there are always extra appetizers or desserts I should not touch, but once I have one bite I am having 10. When I look around at my friends and colleagues I notice that they must have much better willpower because they eat half as much as I do. They are content having two bites of something instead of eating it all.

Can you share tips for how you control the volume you eat and truly stop eating when you’re satiated? And how do you ensure you’re maintaining your weight loss without falling off the wagon completely but still living your life?

[Anonymous]

For me I drink a lot of water and pretty much drink only water. It helps curb your appetite amd it is good for your body.

Working long hours is tough though, your brain is tired and you get hungry Moreno than just relaxing at home.

[Anonymous]

When I’m working long hours, I can’t. I enjoy cooking and happily cook healthy meals for myself but when I’m working too much, I’m not sleeping enough, so I’m constantly tired, so I end up eating too much sugary/fatty foods and/or constantly increasing my caffeine intake. My best diet advice is to control my work schedule, get regular exercise, socialize with friends, clean my house, and sleep properly. Sorry. :-/

[Anonymous]

Do you have time on Sundays to prep some things? I like to grill chicken and make a couple of salads to last a few days.

[Anonymous]

The long hours and eating out is truly very hard to overcome from a willpower perspective. You only have so much discipline! The good news is that it’s like a muscle - the more you exercise your willpower, the stronger and easier it will get. Start by promising yourself one small thing - like you will skip the bread basket at dinner on Tuesday. And once you have that down for each meal, skip the bites of dessert - for many of us, it easier to skip it completely than to get a few bites and stop. Sugar plus fat are too hard to resist once you get a taste!

And lastly, I am able to eat a lower volume by really pumping up the fat and protein in the foods I eat. The are very satisfying so it ends up being less calories than if I tried to eat a salad with no dressing, then binged on chocolate cake because I was ravenous.

[Anonymous]

If you are losing that much weight that quickly and then yo-yo'ing forever, you are not truly setting yourself up for success.

I think for someone in your position, it would be well worth investing in a nutritionist and a trainer to develop a long-term eating plan that works for your individual needs and a muscle-building fitness routine that will help you maintain your body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are losing that much weight that quickly and then yo-yo'ing forever, you are not truly setting yourself up for success.

I think for someone in your position, it would be well worth investing in a nutritionist and a trainer to develop a long-term eating plan that works for your individual needs and a muscle-building fitness routine that will help you maintain your body.

+1 I’m a serious yo-yo dieter which ended up killing my body composition and metabolism. Just checking in with a nutritionist or trainer once a month keeps me on target. I’ve just hit my fat loss goal and now the hard part begins. I’m planning to continue monthly checkins for another 6 months to ensure my habits are sustainable.

[Anonymous]

The only thing that ever worked for me was calorie restriction via OMAD. I only drink tea/coffee (w/ a splash of cream)/no-calorie seltzer up until about 6p and then I eat a good, healthy meal and that's it. I never feel starved.

[Anonymous]

Make rules for yourself. No dessert, ever. Only order salads or grilled fish or veg. No bread. I find it easier to have a global rule and then just follow it automatically.

[Anonymous]

Split one dessert with everyone at the table. Then everyone gets about two bites. I remember Bethenny Frankel once saying "Taste everything, eat nothing." Which I wouldn't apply across the board, but for desserts or carbs like bread baskets, it's the way to go.

[Anonymous]

You sound like you are easily influenced and need more willpower. No dessert means not even one bite. No apps. You have to want the results.

[Anonymous]

Sounds to me like the central issue you have is your work life. That was a central issue of mine too. Then I came to realize that excelling in my career was tanking my physical health.

So, I stopped caring so much about work. I also realized I am a very capable at what I do, and nothing has ever gone completely sideways, so there isn't a need to be stressing out all the time. I still care, but I just place it at a much lower level of importance. The result is I prioritized my health, which also involved getting quality sleep. I started structuring my eating in a way that worked better, while still eating out on occasion. I drank water and not massive volumes of caffeine. I integrated an exercise routine, which is now a passion for endurance sports.

So, my advice is prioritize your health. I still work long hours and manage to do marginally insane things like get on a bike in my house for 2 hours and then run afterwards after a 12 hour work day. I won't ever be a partner at Covington/Williams and Connolly, but I will at my other big law firm, and I won't be killing myself or overly stressing out about work. I will also close the door on my home office and go have dinner with my family every night.

YMMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are losing that much weight that quickly and then yo-yo'ing forever, you are not truly setting yourself up for success.

I think for someone in your position, it would be well worth investing in a nutritionist and a trainer to develop a long-term eating plan that works for your individual needs and a muscle-building fitness routine that will help you maintain your body.

Yup.

You're losing weight too quickly and not setting in place plans that are sustainable. Stop dieting - start making sustainable changes.

Examples are:
- Eat out MAX 1-2 meals in a week. Make sure those meals are not horrid, and include a lot of vegetables.
- Exercise 4-5 days a week.
- Don't drink your calories if at all possible.
- Eat all the fruit and vegetables you want.

And then fill in the rest with things that are doable. But these are things you have to be able to commit to, forever. Not for a 2 weeks, not for a month... but forever. It doesn't have to be perfect or strict, but you need a paradigm that you commit to, forever, if you want to keep the weight off. Or lose it in a sustainable way to begin with so you stop yo-yo-ing.

[Anonymous]

-Less bread/carbs overall. But do keep a couple servings of heathy whole grains daily in your diet.

-never get takeout

-if you are at a restaurant, don’t order apps or dessert if you cannot just take a bite or two and stop. Take zero bites if someone else orders to share and you cannot control yourself. No matter what entree you order, only eat half.

[Anonymous]

I have the same problem. I can be disciplined for a few months and once I start relaxing the rules, I relax them all the way. Some things that I've tried - drink lots of water and only water. When I feel like snacking, I eat a bit and make myself wait 10-20 minutes before I have more. Usually, I will feel full at that point and not feel like eating more. If I order appetizer or desert, I will take a few bites and bring home the rest. It helps mentally to think I can have it later and usually later, I'm not in the same mindset where I feel like I need it all.