Prioritize fat and protein.

I see so many women struggling and half starving themselves by eating the lowest calorie “meal” possible. That’s not a way to lose and successfully maintain a healthy weight. You need to eat a good meal, with fat and protein, to satiate yourself.

Anonymous wrote:
The other change was a mind change, from short term goal to long term lifestyle/ health change

this right here. You have to grieve your old lifestyle of not using food as an emotional crutch.

Anonymous wrote:Switched to black coffee. I used to love extra cream and sugar in my coffee. Not only did that add calories, it seemed to contribute to more cravings throughout the day. Black coffee ain’t great, but it made a huge difference.

I did that for almost 6 months. It made no difference in my weight and I hated drinking coffee every morning. Went back to my old ways and didn’t see any changes either, except I like my coffee again.

Relying less and less on processed frozen meals - even those labeled as healthy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I may get attacked for this, but.....

I don't eat before noon, ever.

You won’t get attacked, but that’s hardly a small change. Intermittent fasting is a big change.

No it's not. Please. For most of your fasting window you're asleep - it's not hard at all. If you can't control yourself until noon (11am in my case), then I don't know what to say.

It's not hard for you. For those of us who have different metabolisms or process our macros differently or have thyroid issues...it is hard. I get light headed and cranky when I don't have breakfast. I'm a teacher--do you want me to faint or snap at your children so I can lose weight? I'm guessing no.

I'm not the PP, who was being I think a little mean but I guess I have two things to add to the IF conversation

1) I had a hard time with the first month, but after that it was a piece of cake and is literally just how I eat now, so if it is something you were interested in trying, I would say you actually do need to push through like, 3-4 weeks, for your body to adjust

2) But that said, people's bodies are different! The reasons that we gain weight are different! The reasons that we struggle to lose weight are different! So acting like every piece of advice that doesn't apply to you is useless is unhelpful, it is useful to someone. And acting like everything that worked for you will be someone else's silver bullet is equally unhelpful, for many it will not work at all.

For me, it started with IF. That led to basically not really drinking anymore. I still drink at a party or if we go out to dinner or something, but I'm not sitting around watching TV with wine. That led to 15 pounds of weight loss which led to me buying a peloton. Which led to losing more weight. It all built on itself. The better I felt, the more I lost, the more motivating it was to keep going. And before I knew it it was two years later and I was down 50 pounds and even if I decide I want to eat breakfast with my kids it makes me feel like crap. My body has changed, what it wants has changed. Old me could NEVER live new me's life, had to take all the little steps along the way. Old me was also awesome, and cool, and worthy of love! But new me feels like I might live a few extra years and I'm pretty happy about that, and about all the physical things I can do now.

Anyway, its good to share what worked. Because I tried a lot of things before I finally tried IF, and that was my silver bullet (I have PCOS so it makes sense that it was!). If you stop people from sharing their success or talk down about stuff, then maybe someone won't try the thing that will work for them. The unfortunate reality is that its different for everyone, and its trial and error.

I have kept the weight off and lost baby weight doing the following:

1. No snacks. Never.

2. Eat 2 normal meals a day. Nothing low cal or any sort of special diet. Just normal portions.

3. Do not eat fries with a sandwich if getting fast food

4. Walk 4-6 miles daily with my dog

5. If I go out to eat I order whatever sounds good and try not to eat more than half

6. Only drink socially. Do not drink alone at home or with my spouse.

7. Go to bed a tiny bit hungry

Anonymous wrote:gastric bypass even if you are moderately obese

This is a ludicrous suggestion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meal prep my lunch and snacks for the week on Sunday night

Can you give examples of make-ahead lunches?

Lately for lunch - it's been tuna or salmon with quinoa or brown rice

Snacks - teff grain with kefir and fruit. I know this is somewhat obscure but I follow Dr. Mark Hyman and he thinks oats are too glycemic so I cook teff. Kefir is a type of liquid yogurt that is fermented.

Chopped up celery and carrot sticks.

Table spoon of nut butter.

I invested in stainless steel and glass containers as well as a freezer lunch bag. I should have done all of this 10 years ago. Wouldn't have gained weight and I would have saved money.

1. I brush my teeth and use mouthwash whenever I feel a snack attack coming on. Better breath and fewer cavities are fringe benefits.
2. Get in bed as early as you can. Trust me, you won't want to drag your ass out of bed for chips and you will have just gargled with Listerine which makes anything taste terrible. Extra sleep is way better than extra calories.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meal prep my lunch and snacks for the week on Sunday night

Can you give examples of make-ahead lunches?

I make anywhere between 5-10 of these a week:
Grilled chicken breast
Steamed broccoli
White rice

Use a scale and portion out the boxes in line with your macro targets. It sounds terrible eating the same thing every day, but you save a ton of time and money, and place a higher barrier to going off the rails.

Drink more water. Drink a tall glass when you wake up, before every meal, and at bedtime. Instead of snacking, try water first, then see how you feel and snack if you are still hungry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I may get attacked for this, but.....

I don't eat before noon, ever.

You won’t get attacked, but that’s hardly a small change. Intermittent fasting is a big change.

No it's not. Please. For most of your fasting window you're asleep - it's not hard at all. If you can't control yourself until noon (11am in my case), then I don't know what to say.

It's not hard for you. For those of us who have different metabolisms or process our macros differently or have thyroid issues...it is hard. I get light headed and cranky when I don't have breakfast. I'm a teacher--do you want me to faint or snap at your children so I can lose weight? I'm guessing no.

It IS hard.
And it is so mean to say, "If you can't control yourself, I don't know what to say." Why is that person even on this thread? So unhelpful. This thread was started to HELP people, not to make them feel like losers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I may get attacked for this, but.....

I don't eat before noon, ever.

You won’t get attacked, but that’s hardly a small change. Intermittent fasting is a big change.

No it's not. Please. For most of your fasting window you're asleep - it's not hard at all. If you can't control yourself until noon (11am in my case), then I don't know what to say.

It's not hard for you. For those of us who have different metabolisms or process our macros differently or have thyroid issues...it is hard. I get light headed and cranky when I don't have breakfast. I'm a teacher--do you want me to faint or snap at your children so I can lose weight? I'm guessing no.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I may get attacked for this, but.....

I don't eat before noon, ever.

You won’t get attacked, but that’s hardly a small change. Intermittent fasting is a big change.

No it's not. Please. For most of your fasting window you're asleep - it's not hard at all. If you can't control yourself until noon (11am in my case), then I don't know what to say.

Sure, it's easy if you're doing 12:12? 16:8 is torture for many of us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you tell us, in excruciating detail, HOW to store these cut up vegetables so they don't get limp or lose their crunch? No detail is too small. Thank you in advance.

Not the OP but I use tupperware fridgesmart containers and they work really really well.

OP here, let's see.
Yesterday I did food prep, and in my fridge right now are

1) 2 celery bunches chopped up
2) 5 pound bag of carrots chopped up
3) 1 small white cabbage chopped
4) 1 small red cabbage chopped
5) 2 16 oz trays of mushrooms chopped
6) 2 yellow onions chopped
7) 4 large beets, cooked and chopped
8) 2 bunches of Tuscan kale, shredded
9) 3-4 large peppers chopped
10) 1 head of cauliflower chopped into florets
11) 3 bunches of broccoli chopped into florets


I don't do a lot of "salad" ingredients (like spring mix) because they wilt. I try to have a lot of vegetables that easily last a week.

To give you an idea what I do all week: I basically start with a pan with a little vegetable broth. Then I just start throwing things in. I add different spices for flavoring, and usually finish whatever I'm making off with something fatty, like hummus or avocado or some dressing.
I also use the veggies for any recipes I'm making (tacos, veggie burgers, etc.)

I use both tupperware type containers and plastic bags -- again because the vegetables are a little more crispy, they last pretty long.