Your ONE best tip for losing 5 pounds by Christmas

[Anonymous]

Replace lunch with a vegetable soup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eat only single ingredient foods. Don't eat any of the crap at holiday parties.

I've also found an hour of walking first thing in the morning on an empty stomach helps a lot.

You can eat healthfully at parties!

Shrimp, hummus with veggies, berries, a few nuts, one small piece of dark chocolate. Just count it as a meal!

[Anonymous]

Get the flu.

I lost 7 pounds that way last spring (that was the net loss, after I was able to rehydrate after a week of not keeping anything down. Was probably down more in the interim, but never measured.)

[Anonymous]

No one loses 5 pounds in a month by eating cheese and cookies. Not even special ones. You have to do keto or a similar low carb program of basically chicken and vegetables and black coffee.

That's not true. You could lose 5 lbs in a month if you ate 1000 calories of just cheese and cookies. You wouldn't be healthy, but with the calorie deficit, you'd lose weight.

Yup. I've lost 5 pounds this month--and have had cheese, crackers, cookies, beer and wine. I just do it in relatively small portions and/or not that frequently. I found that getting a good app (my fitness pal) to meticulously track calories was the game changer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Track using My Fitness Pal -- like a PP said, tracking has been eye opening for me. I eat a lot of random crap and the calories add up very quickly.

THIS!!! No fad diets (no carbs, sugar, dairy, etc.) Track what you eat via My Fitness Pal, and use that information wisely. You want to eat a few cookies at an office holiday party? Great! But when you record it, you'll need to make smarter choices for the rest of the day to remain within your recommended calories. Deprivation diets may provide some short-term weight loss, but they are impossible to maintain, and don't help to "retrain" your brain in regards to lifelong eating habits.

In case you are wondering, I have lost almost 60 pounds since the start of January by carefully tracking what I eat, making smart choices, and definitely allowing myself to splurge. Everything is fine in moderation. I did add regular exercise into my daily routine, but only about 30 min a day (all I have time for). The exercise is not for weight loss, but for the health benefits. Exercise is wonderful for your health, but the only real way to lose weight is to cut the calories (unless you're one of those people who find the time and motivation to exercise for 4 hours a day!).

[Anonymous]

Eat only whole foods, and no grains. That’ll do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that I am committed to the basics--eating well, drinking water, good sleep and exercise--what is your ONE best tip that will "boost" me toward losing 5 pounds by Christmas?

I'm 5'8 and 181 pounds.

Consume under 20 grams of carbs a day. 100%, you’ll lose more than 5 lbs by Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For work holiday parties and such, have a little something, but only the very best things. Cheese tray? Have one piece of Brie or gouda or "special" cheese, but skip the pedestrian cheddar. If you go to a cookie party, have only the one best-looking cookie.

No one loses 5 pounds in a month by eating cheese and cookies. Not even special ones. You have to do keto or a similar low carb program of basically chicken and vegetables and black coffee.

A month is 4 weeks. Most normal weight loss programs aim for 1-2 lbs per week. I think 5 lbs in a month is reasonable.

Try reading the comment again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that I am committed to the basics--eating well, drinking water, good sleep and exercise--what is your ONE best tip that will "boost" me toward losing 5 pounds by Christmas?

I'm 5'8 and 181 pounds.

Consume under 20 grams of carbs a day. 100%, you’ll lose more than 5 lbs by Christmas.

And feel like crap all month!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For work holiday parties and such, have a little something, but only the very best things. Cheese tray? Have one piece of Brie or gouda or "special" cheese, but skip the pedestrian cheddar. If you go to a cookie party, have only the one best-looking cookie.

No one loses 5 pounds in a month by eating cheese and cookies. Not even special ones. You have to do keto or a similar low carb program of basically chicken and vegetables and black coffee.

A month is 4 weeks. Most normal weight loss programs aim for 1-2 lbs per week. I think 5 lbs in a month is reasonable.

Try reading the comment again.

I don't know to whom you are responding, but my point was a normal, balanced weight loss program like Ww allows for small splurgeof wine, cheese and cookies. And that wpuld result in a 4-5 lbs weight loss in a month. You dont have to go extreme like keto to lose 5 lbs in a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For work holiday parties and such, have a little something, but only the very best things. Cheese tray? Have one piece of Brie or gouda or "special" cheese, but skip the pedestrian cheddar. If you go to a cookie party, have only the one best-looking cookie.

No one loses 5 pounds in a month by eating cheese and cookies. Not even special ones. You have to do keto or a similar low carb program of basically chicken and vegetables and black coffee.

Wrong.

[Anonymous]

EXERCISE. Hard!!!

Only on DCUM will you be told that only diet matters and exercise if basically irrelevant. That’s what said in almost every diet thread in the other sections. It’s ridiculous. Of course you have to eat less but these STUPID extremely restrictive diets are not the only answer. GET MOVING. And eat less. It works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eat only single ingredient foods. Don't eat any of the crap at holiday parties.

I've also found an hour of walking first thing in the morning on an empty stomach helps a lot.

You can eat healthfully at parties!

Shrimp, hummus with veggies, berries, a few nuts, one small piece of dark chocolate. Just count it as a meal!

Thank you for your correct grammar! Drives me nuts when people say "eat healthy"

(And no, I am not usually a grammar policewoman here but thought this deserved a shout out)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eat only single ingredient foods. Don't eat any of the crap at holiday parties.

I've also found an hour of walking first thing in the morning on an empty stomach helps a lot.

You can eat healthfully at parties!

Shrimp, hummus with veggies, berries, a few nuts, one small piece of dark chocolate. Just count it as a meal!

Thank you for your correct grammar! Drives me nuts when people say "eat healthy"

(And no, I am not usually a grammar policewoman here but thought this deserved a shout out)

Unless there is an elipsis of "food." That would be grammatically correct: eat healthy food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eat only single ingredient foods. Don't eat any of the crap at holiday parties.

I've also found an hour of walking first thing in the morning on an empty stomach helps a lot.

You can eat healthfully at parties!

Shrimp, hummus with veggies, berries, a few nuts, one small piece of dark chocolate. Just count it as a meal!

Thank you for your correct grammar! Drives me nuts when people say "eat healthy"

(And no, I am not usually a grammar policewoman here but thought this deserved a shout out)

I'm chuckling at this praise...I'm an editor, and this is probably the nicest comment I've ever received on DCUM.