10 Unconventional Diet Tips: How to lose 50 pounds in three months
The following are 10 unconventional weight loss tips that worked for me. Between January 4, 2006 and March 31, 2006 I lost fifty pounds. These tips work well because almost every tip is focused around completing a small goal. In my opinion, to stay motivated and lose a significant amount of weight, you should complete many goals in a short period of time. The reason I call these tips unconventional is that I had not seen a majority of them before starting my diet.
I will start by recognizing the typical “calories in, calories out” schpeil. Yes, to lose weight you have to eat well and exercise. But there is much more to it than that, and I don’t want to spend time regurgitating ideas you’ve heard before. That brings me to the first point:
Buy a digital scale
This seems easy enough. I recommend that before starting a diet, buy a scale that is accurate to .2 (two-hundredths of a pound). I will explain why below. I also recommend either buying a scale that can record your daily weight, or manually logging your weight everyday. I bought a scale that was accurate to .2 and logged my weight at Sam’s Club for $22. It has been a great investment.
Weigh yourself everyday
You’ll find that almost every other dieter will tell you to weigh yourself only once a week. I recommend the exact opposite. I am very goal oriented and I like to see results everyday. The reason I recommend buying a scale that is accurate to the .2 is that there is a very big difference between weighting 170.8 one day and 170.0 the next day. Losing .8 pounds in one day is excellent. However, if your scale is not accurate enough to report the loss and still shows 170 after a day of healthy eating and working out, you will feel extremely discouraged. A more detailed scale makes it easier to keep a positive outlook. The more successes (days with positive weight loss) the easier it is.
Drink 8 glasses of water everyday
This one is obvious and broadly recommended, however, the reason I recommend it is slightly different. Drinking eight glasses of water per day helps you “feel less hungry.” I can’t prove this scientifically, however, when I am at work, I drink 4 cups in the morning and 4 cups in the evening. On the days that I don’t drink the water, I feel hungrier, earlier. Also, on the days I don’t drink water I feel sleepier, sooner. Don’t feel intimidated by trying to drink 8 glasses of water. Try doing what I do: I have a pint glass I keep at work, it holds sixteen ounces (as all pint glasses do). All I do is drink two pints of water in the morning and two in the afternoon.
Make your diet public
Tell people you’re on a diet. There’s no reason to be ashamed to be on a diet. I found that trying to keep my diet a secret was harder than just telling people. In fact, telling your coworkers, girlfriend, family, etc. will increase your accountability. It motivated me knowing that my coworkers and family knew that I was dieting because I did not want to fail. I also chose a typical “fat picture” and put it on my fridge, in my cubicle, and on my wall. I wanted to have a continual reminder to lose the weight. I know it’s a cliche, but it was important for me to remind myself of my ultimate goal.
I feel I should also note that although I was 50 pounds over weight, when I told people I was on a diet they often said “you don’t need to diet.” I found this surprising because I was obviously overweight. Beware that you will likely hear similar comments. I found it easier to just accept the “compliment” than to try to justify my diet to them. Remember that you are on a diet for you, and that you do not need to justify yourself.
Don’t diet on the weekends
This is another unconventional bit of advice. I was able to lose 50 pounds without dieting on the weekends. I found myself tired, depressed, and unmotivated if I tried to continue my diet into the weekend. I felt that Friday and Saturday (my weekend) was a time to celebrate 5 days of dieting. You may not find this necessary, especially in the first few weeks of a diet. However, as many weeks passed, the weekend became a time for me to celebrate my weekly successes and get myself mentally prepared for another five days of dieting. I considered it a mental recharge.
Don’t sacrifice your life for your diet
On occasion, you will find yourself unable to eat healthy. Whether this is because of lunches with your team at work, birthdays, or special occasions, there will be events that you just can’t (or don’t want to) eat healthy. A diet will feel overwhelming if you have to sacrifice special events in your life. The way I combated this was to exchange a day that I was not going to diet on the weekend. In other words, if I didn’t diet on Tuesday, for example, I would diet on Saturday, instead.
Make the small changes
This is a pretty common tip, however, I have a twist to it. Rather than giving up what most diets say you should give up (soda, coffee, beer, caffeine, etc.) just make healthier decisions. I didn’t want to give anything up, so I decided to make some changes instead. The first switch I made was switching to diet soda. Don’t worry, you’ll quickly get used to the flavor. Before I started my diet, I swore I would never drink diet soda. Now thanks to my girlfriend, diet is the only soda I drink. The second switch I made was to drinking black coffee. Cut out the sugar and creme, and you get the benefits of coffee (caffeine) without the calories. The last major switch I made was to “healthy” beer. I’m a Miller Lite drinker, however, by temporarily switching to Beck’s Premier Light (60 calories per serving) I was able to still enjoy a healthy social life while maintaining my diet.
In addition to making the small changes in your diet, make the small changes in your life: park further away, walk to the end of the train platform and get in the last car, and vow not to take an elevator for an entire week. I also found it advantageous to wear a pedometer and try to compete against myself for how far I could walk in a single day. The furthest I walked in a day was 6.5 miles. I voluntarily walked to work twice a week.
Gain perspective by understanding the fractions
Your diet is an incredibly small fraction of your life. If you live for 80 years, and dieted for four months, that would only be .42% of your life. That’s right, if you diet for four months, it will be less than one half of one percent of your life. On the other hand think of the major benefits you can get from .42% of your life. If it helps you stay motivated, count down the days starting at 120.
Rationalize your workouts
Finding the time to get to the gym can be very difficult. However a 1/2 hour workout is only 2% of your day (assuming 24 hour days). For me, the most motivating thought was comparing my workouts to sitcoms. As a huge Everybody Loves Raymond fan, every time I would sit down to watch an episode, I would remind myself that in the 1/2 hour that I was sitting and doing nothing, I could complete my daily workout.
You’ve lost the weight, what now?
Have a red flag weight
Once you’ve lost the weight, you need to keep it off. This is where the red flag comes in. You need to pick a weight and vow to never get heavier than it again. It is normal for your body to fluctuate five to ten pounds. I recommend picking a weight that is ten pounds heavier than what you “normally” weigh and never weigh more than it again. Setting a red flag weight allowed me to keep off every pound for over 1 year.
Lastly, for the curious out there…I followed the Weight Watchers diet. I did not pay for the diet, nor did I go to meetings. I found out all the information about the diet on-line. The first place to look is at their patent.
All well known diets are available via Google Patent Search. For the several months that I was dieting, I also gave up red meat and made sure to drink a lot of milk. The preceding tips worked perfectly for me and they will work for you, too. Prior to creating my own diet plan, I tried to diet several times and failed every time. I swear by these weight loss tips. What do you think of them? Do you have a tip that didn’t make my list? Let us know in the comments. I will be glad to answer any questions or defend any point.
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Comments
C.C. Chapman says on January 24th, 2007 at 9:36 am
As someone headed down this path right now these tips were great and match my personal mentality quite well.
Thank you for posting them!
Matt says on January 24th, 2007 at 10:21 am
First of all, congratulations!
Now, I hate to be “that guy”, but 0.2 is two-tenths. Two-hundrendths would be 0.02.
Tom Jacobs says on January 24th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Congratulations! Very awesome.
I heartily agree with your ideas although I could practice the water bit much better.
I have also lost wait and kept it off and found that substitutions like your diet soda example have been key. Here is a list:
Hot tea with artificial sweetener as well as diet soda
La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat Low Carb/Low Fat Tortillas for bread (only 50 cal w/8 g fiber)
Caesar salads (I like Cardini’s light) with canned salmon (wild - no farmed), canned chicken, or even canned turkey have become lunch staples for me instead of sandwiches
the biggest challenge has been to stop eating candy, cookies, and ice cream. here is what I substitute there:
Slim Fast Optima Milk Chocolate or Chocolate Royale shakes (190 cal)
Dark Chocolate (at least 70% Cocoa) just as satisfying although not nearly as sweet but lower in calories.
Luna (yes I know their for women!) Chocolate Peppermint Stick Protein Bars (180 cal) or 1/2 of a Promax Energy Bar either Chocolate Mint or Double Fudge Brownie (1/2 bar is 140 cal)
Cutting out as much bread as possible was key for me.
Hope that helps!
Guy Sie says on January 24th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I’ve been on a diet since last october. In 2005 I was treasurer of a students association, a full time job which often involved staying late and eating pizza at the office or drinking too much beer after a day’s work. I weighed 75kg for a 1.73m frame - not terribly bad BMI wise, but… A fat test I took rated me at 26% fat - which is considered dangerously obese, no matter how good your BMI is.
So I decided to lose it. Before I was a student I weighed just 60kg and I wanted to weigh that again. I gave myself 6 months to attain that, which ends March 1st. I’m now 61.5kg so I’m close, but the last stretch is always the hardest.
I based my diet on the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle ebook which is basically a Zone Diet variation, but with a lot of added information about how the body works and how nutrition works. I think this was the most important part for me personally: I now understand how proteins, carbs and fat work for my body. I understand what my metabolism does. This means that I can look at a nutrition label and understand if a product is good for me, which is often the exact reverse of what it says on the package (take a look at the label for almost anything that says “0% fat!” and check out the amount of sugar in it). I really recommend the ebook!
Some practical tips: I have a SIGG aluminum waterbottle, like those used by hikers, which I carry in my bag all the time. It’s a 0.6l bottle and I want to drink 3l a day, so I know I have to finish the bottle 5 times daily. This works with any easy container you can carry around, I just prefer the SIGG since it doesn’t leak over my laptop.
Every time you open the fridge door, ask yourself one question: Why am I doing this? If it’s because you’re hungry, my-body-needs-sustenance hungry, go ahead and eat. No problem. But if it’s because you’re just bored, want something to do, feel the need to snack, close that door and walk away.
Also check out the Hacker’s Diet, not for it’s dieting advice which is basically sound yet far too simplistic for my tastes (it skips over all nutrition aspects and considers every calorie the same), but for it’s Excel sheets. It has some great sheets with macros that can calculate your weighted average trend line from your daily weigh-ins. Knowing your trend-line is a far better motivational tool than just the weigh-ins, which can fluctuate up and down by several kilos. This also gives you more information than the ‘red flag’ weight, since your trend line will be telling you you’re gaining weight long before you hit that dreaded flag - and the sooner you fix it, the better.
Brooke says on January 24th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
If you’d rather not deal with Excel, http://www.physicsdiet.com is a web-based version of the Hacker’s Diet charts.
tina seamonster says on January 24th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
hihi
this is all great advice. i lost 70 pounds, but it took me 14months and then i got pregnant with twins and gained it all back! anyway, i am on my way down again and this article really really helped me to know that what i am doing will work. i totally agree with you on this.
Zeljko Dakic says on January 24th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Hi,
great tips. I had to write a comment as I saw a lot of things I did few months ago.
I never had a weight problem and I didn’t really have serious problem also, just a tendency to keep gaining weight since we moved to US. Anyway, I decided to attack it straight forward and set a goal of loosing 15 pounds in three months.
I did not eat more then one meal a day, most of the days I would just take plain cookies 2 every 2 hours. I drank water of course, but then I do that anyway.
I also rested over weekends from my diet, went to parties and barbecues.
I think most important thing was having a digital scale, I would do measurements through the day and see how weight oscillate.
I got to the goal very quickly, in 5 weeks and it wasn’t that hard. I think this is probably one of better ways to lose excess weight as it is not painful. Of course in the beginning it goes fast, then it slows to a crawl.
Oh one thing. That diet sodas, come on people that is sad. Just don’t drink any soda. It is like smoking light cigarettes.
Best,
Zeljko Dakic
David Nesting says on January 24th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Some thoughts:
1. Be careful interpreting your weight from day to day. A change of 0.8 pounds could easily be food you ate (or just passed). If your body works on a good cycle from one day to the next, be sure to weigh yourself at the same point in that cycle. Clothes weigh a lot too.
2. An easy way to keep yourself drinking water is to have some of it at your desk all day. Our public water doesn’t taste that great, so I have some bottles of water that I keep stocked up on and I easily go through 1-2 liters or more a day at my desk just because it’s convenient. (If that doesn’t appeal to you because you don’t have a mini-fridge in your office, try drinking it room temperature. It’s really not that bad.)
3. The biggest problem I always had with finding time to exercise was setting unrealistic rules and then giving up when I inevitably broke them. Set realistic rules, like maybe only exercising 4 days a week instead of 5, but try for 5 anyway. If you are in a foul mood one day and skip a day, you’re not “off track” and you don’t get discouraged from going back the day after. Exercising that 1 extra day also makes you feel like you’re doing better than you expected, which is a nice bit of positive reinforcement.
3a. If exercising seems like a chore, find a way to turn it into a routine that you can ignore, just like walking to the bus or driving to work. If it becomes a regular part of your life, you’ll stop focusing on it as something “new” that you should give your attention to. Make a point to avoid looking at the clock. I accomplished this by giving myself a distraction. I found a TV show that was on for an hour at the same time every day, and made myself an avid watcher while I worked out. Once it becomes a routine, it’s easier to keep going.
4. Candy acts like an addiction. I used to have mini candy bars at/near my office, and I would eat them all the time. I’d frequently have desserts at restaurants. When I started trying to eat healthier, I made a point to cut these out of my diet. After a few months, I found that I didn’t crave sweets at all anymore, and it’s much easier to pass on desserts.
4a. One of the easiest ways to avoid eating bad food at home is to not buy it in the first place. Avoid shopping when you’re hungry and make your “is this a want or a need” decisions at the grocery store where you can only be tempted once, instead of your kitchen, where the temptation is always there. If you don’t own any Twinkies, it’s harder to binge on them. (But do give yourself some sort of snack food. Again, be realistic and don’t set yourself up to fail.)
Sorry for the length of my comment! Your tips are good. I just wanted to add a few things that helped me personally.
Laura says on January 24th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Don’t eat anything after 7 pm in the evening. That way your stomach is not full of food when your metabolism slows down at night.
Join SparkPeople.com - it has TONS of tools, personalized meal plans and fitness plans, community boards, articles etc. It’s all free and has actually been fun to use for me, so I look forward to that aspect of dieting. It’s the sort of information I would expect to pay for from a company such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig.
Do your best to track your calories or, if you’re not that meticulous, keep a food journal where you write down everything you put in your mouth. EVERYTHING. Even if you keep the journal private, just writing it down on paper makes you face your food intake head on and it’s often a shock how much we underestimate our food consumption. It can be the wake-up call you need.
Even if you have one or two non-diet days per week, I think it should be noted not to go completely overboard on these days otherwise you will undo all your hard work. Maybe eat the foods you want that are off-limits while dieting, but still keep your portions under control.
Travis Ulrich says on January 24th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
A good tip for those who don’t like to drink water: Put one Starburst in your mouth, bite down. That sweetness will have you guzzling 500 mL to 1L of water easy!
Jeremy says on January 24th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
These are great tips! I have been doing some of the above and have lost 20 pounds in three months so far. In regards to sharing your diet — it can be really helpful to track your calories when you are getting started online.
Lots of places charge for this, but you can do it for free at The Daily Plate ( http://www.thedailyplate.com/ ). It can make a huge difference to see how the little things add up.
Jim Jones says on January 24th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Check out RunFatBoy ( http://www.runfatboy.net ). It will simplify the process of creating a workout.
Dee says on January 25th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Thanks for the advice I will try this out sounds just perfect for me.
Nice to see success well done!
Dee
From South Africa
Nathania Johnson says on January 25th, 2007 at 10:47 am
When you’re eating out at a sit-down restaurant, ask for a box for your food when they first serve it. Immediately put 1/2 of the food into the box. Only eat what’s left on your plate.
Portion sizes in restaurants are ridiculous. This way you can maximize your money by getting two meals out of one and you can reduce your caloric intake when eating out.
Dalia says on January 25th, 2007 at 11:36 am
This is great!
I love your tips, the only thing I can add is BEWARE OF ASPARTAME! this is some serious poison so if you can manage without sodas - you’ll do even better because you’ll avoid the side effects such as losing eye-sight and brain power!
G says on January 25th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I’ve noticed when I’m dieting and making rapid progress, some people will say that it’s just “water weight”. It could be true, but also discouraging for whatever reason. Weight is weight, and progress is progress. Don’t get discouraged by seemingly negative comments. Keep with it.
Tim Oppenheim says on January 25th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I am on the same track and have lost 45 pounds in the last 4 months. Don’t forget snacks, A handful of nuts or carrot sticks keep you from feeling deprived all day. I was never a tea drinker, but it really helps too ( no sugar!)
Great article!
Erik says on January 25th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Eat after 8 - put on weight. I try to always remember that. A nice tip to add might be to think about the times you eat. If you keep a normal eating schedule, you’re less likely to feel hungry at different times of the day. Its no different than keeping a normalized sleep schedule so you don’t feel tired.
No snacking at night when you’re watching Everybody’s Loves Raymond.
- Erik
Jesse says on January 25th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Here’s one that can be very easy or difficult depending on how addicted you are. Stop drinking soda, stop eating fast food.
If either one of these things are a significant part of your diet, stop now and you will in fact lose weight.
Filter says on January 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I don’t post “great job!” on blogs but this was written very well. I follow the same outline (have for years), you are right on the money.
Tim says on January 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
That’s funny; I independently did basically this same plan (just not weight watchers) and it worked wonders for me… the problem I had was not setting my “red flag weight”. I got a better job, made more money, and ate out too much… essentially, I lost all discipline. I’m working back to it, and have already lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks.
David Wheeler says on January 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
This is almost exactly the same strategy I used to lose 60 pounds from July 05 -> Nov 05. Digital scale, daily weigh ins where the goal was simply to never gain weight. The only difference between the strategy you you used and mine was that I didn’t stop on weekends.
Thank you for posting this.
Bill Nadraszky says on January 25th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Thanks for the cool tips. The one part I would like to see though is how you broke down the fats-carbs-protein ratio and what you did about servings per day as well as serving sizes
Brandon says on January 25th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I’m currently in the process of losing 50 pounds in 3 months as well. Actually, I’m shooting for 70 in 4. I’ve lost 20 pounds within the first 3 weeks alone. I drink a lot of water and I drink whey protein for lunch. Currently I’m doing two weeks of only raw veggies and fruits. It’s tough but I’m determined. I really suggest Traineo.com as a tracking tool for weight loss, it’s helped A LOT!
Jay says on January 25th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
*not sure is someone mentioned this but
Diet soda is not all that good for you because it does contain aspertame (http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html) and that is known to have some deadly effects.
On a bright side though, I am glad I stumbled upon your article, some great ideas here, keep up the good work!
Amar says on January 25th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
These are exactly the type of tips I give to others. I did not cut anything from my diet, I just made changes, like less soda, more fruits when hungry, but if I really feel like a cookie, I’ll have one. You have to make changes that will last a lifetime, not something you will only do for a month.
hb says on January 25th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Intuitive eating is much more effective than dieting…
phillip skinner says on January 25th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
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Simon says on January 25th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Great tips that I have been doing for a number of years, and I let my weight oscillate between 180 and 190. Never again will I wear fat pants!
I eat pretty much what I want (chocolate, pizza) but 5 days out of 7 I eat healthy with the Rule of The Plate (Mercedes logo rule):
* Look at your plate, you should have the following proportions:
1/3 fibers (veggies, fruit, grain),
1/3 protein (lentils, fish, poultry, meat; alternate every day!),
1/3 carbs.
If you can see your food like this, you have a healthy, balanced plate. No more huge spaghetti extravaganza, need to put some meat and some veggies in there!
* Feel the need for a soda instead of drinking plain water? Get a soda club machine, and fizz your own water.
* Never eat 4 hours before going to bed (someone mentionned 7pm).
* Feel hungry for a snack? Drink a big glass of COLD water. Still feel hungry for a snack? Go for it.
Follow these simple rules, it works for a lifetime!
Gavin the Photographer says on January 25th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
In answer to the water, the body can’t distinguish between thirst or hunger. By drinking water you eliminate the times you eat when really your body only wanted something to drink.
Jeff says on January 25th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
I lost 25 pounds in about 8 months, and a huge motivating factor for me was to have my wife agree to “awards” for every pound lost, the further down, the better the rewards. By making it every pound, I was always within reach of the next goal. It forced me to focus one pound at a time.
Beer Geek says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
An Imperial Pint glass holds 20oz.
Dan says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
First, congratulations. I lost about 30 lbs over the course of several months. It was tough, I’ve been heavy for what seems like my entire adult life. I’ve put a few pounds back on and want to finally close the deal once and for all. Your tips are inspiring - it’s good to see someone who’s realistic for a change.
ogre says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I had a similar rapid loss of weight. I had many more little goals. Those included ones described. I avoided meat and sweets. I tried to eat no more than 1000-1500 calories per day. I drank tea/water until it didn’t help killing hunger, only then I ate. NEVER ate until feeling full! I drank a good gulp of tea/water (whatever that has no calories) after every bite of food. Had breakfast as late as possible. Had last meal as early as possible. Got used going to bed a little hungry. Tried to eat more vegetables and fruit instead of cheese, bread, etc.. Did push-ups and sit-ups every morning and evening and sometimes during the day. Eventually I got so used to those exercises that felt bad if I sometimes didn’t to them in the morning. And I ate ‘bad’ food only on weekends, too. I went from 117 kilos to 74 (lowest registered). The sad thing is, I could not handle it after some time. Now I am gaining weight back. And it is damn hard to start loosing weight again. I fail every day or two. Gonna try gym this time
1warning says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
One word of warning on artificial sweeteners. Aspartame can cause migraines ranging from persistent aura through full headbanging, in the dark, puking your guts out pain. Sucralose can cause significant intestinal distress ranging from excessive flatulence through brown underwear.
Healthwise, you are far better off staying away from artificial sweeteners because of their mental and physical side effects. Stick to water and herbal tea to keep your body happy.
Escavar says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
If you can take it, cut back the meat+processed food. I do the flesh once a week and have dropped alot of the fat I had from when I was eating lots of cow/pig/chicken. Also, check the milk intake. And of course lots of water,till the piss runs clear.
Scarlett says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
After my first two years of college, eating poorly led me to gain 30 pounds or so. I carried it well, i.e., no one actually noticed it when I was clothed, but I could definitely see it when I was nude.
So I decided to go on a diet, and in three months, I lost that 30 pounds. I gave up all dairy, meat (except fish), and many carbs. I kept my blood sugar up by eating very small amounts of candy.
For me, the thing that bothered me wasn’t being hungry - it was the light-headedness and nausea that came with it.
George says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
I’ve found that nothing after 7pm and no carbs doesnt work too well. It’s all about strategy. If you want to eat something after 7pm, have some protein, which actually revs up your metabolism. As far as bread goes. I don’t eat any white and all whole wheat is eaten before dinner. And if you’re craving sweets, just have them immediately after you workout. At this time, its actually important to spike your blood sugar to get nutrient rich blood to flood the muscles. Just make sure not to overdue it and to also include high quality protein. I.E. have a chicken salad or post workout shake and allow yourself a bit of chocolate for dessert; the key being moderation. Also weekends off is the greatest idea ever. This is what allows me to maintain such a strict regiment throughout the week and also provides me with an opportunity to increase glycogen stores in order to have some kick-ass workouts throughout the week.
Phatty says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
One other thing, SLOW DOWN when you eat. I’ve found that helps me feel full quicker. One of my problems is the portions I tend to eat are ginormous. Eating slower helps me control my portions…
Andrew says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
It’s also important to weigh yourself at the same time everyday. Coming home after work (and after you’ve downed 32 oz of water) to find that you’ve gained or kept the same weight can be discouraging. From my experience, the best time to weigh in is first thing in the morning.
Mike says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Simply put, congratulations and here’s to inspiring others (myself included!).
Sandman says on January 25th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Congratulations! I myself am about 34 lbs down since I started dieting back in august. I slipped up in the holidays and need to get back on track, this post has motivated me to do so.
I find that I am already doing a lot of the tips that you suggested as well. Best of luck continuing in keeping it off.
Chris says on January 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Congrats! I think you are right on the money with your methods for weight loss. 1.) Obviously it worked for you 2.) I’ve been using my own variation of it and it has been working well for me. Although, I had much farther to got. I’ve lost about 70 pounds and I have roughly 60 more to go.
I totally agree on weighing yourself every day. For me, it helps me keep focused on losing. I also made a deal with myself that I wasn’t going to “freak out” if I have set back. Set backs will happen, but its no big deal. Once I recognize the setback I can always get myself back on track.
I have also taken the perspective that there is no food that I “can’t have”. I allow myself to indulge from time to time. Although, I’m intrigued by your “weekend celebration” idea. I will have to give that some thought.
Cheers!
Chris
BobH says on January 25th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Ignore all the artificial-sweetener fear-mongers. They have little scientific data to back them up. If you get migraines, etc., of course you should cut back (although it could be the caffeine at work).
I’m not suggesting you drink 8 cans a day. But compared to non-diet soda, diet is a great alternative with minimal risks.
Austin says on January 25th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Great post! I did exactly what you did a while back except a totally gained my weight back because I had been not eating anything I wanted and decided it wasn’t worth it. This post really has motivated me to try again and use your methods. The best suggestion you have it telling everyone you know. That really will help in motivation! I’ll let you know when I’ve lost my 50lbs!
Dude says on January 25th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Great tips man! The google patents search its pretty clever
SportingWood says on January 25th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Wow. This is the FIRST time I’ve encountered ANYONE else that loses weight exactly like I do. Right down to the .2 increment scale, weighing every day, not giving up anything that I like and even quickly getting used to diet soda. If you hadn’t mentioned that you drink beer, I’d swear I wrote this… seriously… it’s that accurate to my own regimen.
As of this morning 16.2 pounds shed since the first of the year and I just finished off a heaping bowl of chocolate Lucky Charms. How’s that for diet food?
To hell with all of the diet plans out there. It’s 100% about calories… burn more than you eat. Very simple math. The wider that gap is, the more weight you lose. There are other reasons to change how you eat, but if you’re strictly speaking of weight loss, you could eat McDonald’s cheeseburgers and fries and lose weight, as long as you burned more than you consumed.
The biggest difference for me was in cutting out regular soda. I happened to want to break the caffeine addiction as well, so I don’t drink any soda now. Took about 2 days of having a stiff, but tolerable headache and I was through it. Pick a rainy weekend, buy some OTC drugs and get out of that caffeine rut. I must admit, I can wake up and function a LOT easier in the morning now. The snooze bar rarely sees action, and I used to wear that thing out!
got80s says on January 25th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Way to go man, weight watchers is a great program it’s been 6 years and I’m still holding it off.
You can easily create the daily food logs using the formula and every now and then I go back to the program by using the spreadsheet I uploaded to zohosheets.com. That way my point calculator & log is wherever I am connected to the net.
Also, aside from it being a horribly designed website, Dottie’s Weight Loss Zone is a great resource for free point information for restaurants http://www.dwlz.com.
Lindsay says on January 25th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Great tips! Thanks for sharing. I will have to try some of these. Congrats on the weight loss.
As far as dieting goes, I think one thing that works for me is. If you want a cookie…eat a damn cookie. If you constantly deny yourself what you want or crave, eventually your body is going to give in x’s 100 and instead of having 1 cookie you are going to eat a whole bag.
Hasan Bazerbashi says on January 25th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Congratulations man
And I agree with you about the Digital Scale, it does motivate you.
I feel I did all the tips (Oh man the Diet soda…Weekends break:D!) you did, and I must say they helped so much to make me lose about 80 pounds over a year!
Maybe it took me a while, but I know myself, and I have a feeling that if you lose wieght quickly you will gain it again quickly. The habbits and the behavior that you have change, and that takes time.
Good luck for all… you can do it
Mark says on January 25th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
I also did a lot of the things you mentioned when I went on my diet and they did help. About three years ago, I sacrificed 6 months and dropped roughly 60lbs.
Other things I recommended and/or did:
1.) Stay away from carbs. I gave up rice on the weekdays (I’m Asian..not easy). Instead of two slices of bread for a sandwich, I would use one slice (not folded…so it would seem like a lot).
2.) Spread your meal. For a few months of my diet, I used to eat protein/health bars as a substitute for breakfast/lunch (some ppl may not approve). Instead of eating the whole thing at once, I typically broke into three pieces or paced finishing it throughout the morning. Same thing for dinner…if I had soup or sandwich, I typically divided it and ate it at two separate times.
3.) Make it seem like exercise is something you have to do daily, like taking a shower, commuting to work, eating, pooping, etc. Treat it like that mandatory weekly staff meeting, that you can never miss. It should not feel like an optional activity or added chore, but more of a routine that you can’t live without.
4.) Distract yourself while you exercise, life goes a lot faster. Watch television, throw on that IPOD, talk to somebody on the phone, read a book…or even pace yourself behind the cute girl jogging. When you start thinking about the pain, or counting down the minutes left on the treadmill clock, time moves even slower and it starts feeling like a chore again.
5.) Make a competition of it, set goals, realistic deadlines and give yourself rewards. I find that I work harder when I’ve got some kind of competition, even if it’s against myself. For example, when running the track, if somebody else was on the track, I’d try to outpace that person or overlap him, or try my best to not let him pass me up. If I went to the gym with a buddy, I’d try to push more weight, run one extra lap, or do one extra set of sit-ups than him. If I was watching a show, I’d make it a goal to run at a quick pace until each commercial…etc.
6.) Like it says at the top, make substitutions. I also replaced soda with diet soda. I used nonfat milk instead of regular milk. I gave up ketchup and stuck to mustard (0 Calories). I went to fat free mayo, chips, and yogurt. After awhile, you can’t really tell the difference between a lot of the fat free, low fat and regular products. I walked to the gym or to the market instead of driving. If you eat a lot one day, make it up on the weekend.
7.) I sorta agree with the “Don’t give up your life” But how about…sometimes be fashionably late. There are those days or weeks where its every1s bday dinner/party or maybe its xmas time and you have all those parties you have to go to. You can avoid a lot of the food and still enjoy by coming in fashionably late. The meal is typically the first thing to take place anyway, so usually you don’t miss much.
8.) Keep yourself busy and away from the kitchen or snack drawer. I find that when you’re home and sitting around, you have more chances of heading into that kitchen or snacking. If I needed to study, I went to the library or studied with somebody. During my work breaks, I would take naps instead of eating. Talk to somebody while you eat, the waiter will take away your plate before you know it.
sewdough says on January 25th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
This is a great article! I am sent a few dieting newsletters and it gets old to read the same three bits of advice over and over. Ceasar salads ARE the best! I lost 50 pounds a few years ago. My MAIN source of weight loss was excercise. I worked out a lot, at least an hour a day - and lifted weights twice a week. In the beginning I was tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill, by three months I was running for 40 minutes easily. Putting lots of effort into working out, just makes you think twice about what you put into your mouth. I still ate almost anything I wanted, but not as often and SMALL portions. Like I said before, cesear salads with chicken or seafood, tuna sandwiches and toast with sliced tomato and cream cheese (drizzled with balsamic vinegar) became breakfast, lunch and dinner quite frequently. Good luck to all. It is SO WORTH IT to bust your butt to look and feel your best. Your life changes totally and you finally feel in full control of yourself.
Steve says on January 25th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Eat breakfast, everyday. Even a granola bar or two. Starts your metabolism going early. Keep a few (3-4) more in your desk (1 an hour)at work to fight off the hungry feeling, while still keeping the metabolism going. And as said above, lots of water. Surprising how much it can fill you up.
Lots of small meals
Roo says on January 25th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Wow this is a great great article. I am in fact going to use your tips in the diet I’m starting, as soon as I finish procrastinating
And congratulations, you look so healthy and active!
rob says on January 25th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
a hidden gem that goes along with ‘weigh yourself every day’ is EatWatch. you put your weight in every day, and it backcalculates how many calores per day you were either under or over your caloric requirements. also makes nice graphs.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/palm/
Unbeta says on January 25th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
The last comment about aspartame is completely untrue. You need to check out the facts and decide for yourself (http://www.aspartame.net/). Good post, by the way. Thanks for sharing your dieting secrets.
Ev says on January 25th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Hi and well done,
I am following a low-carb diet (http://www.tonyferguson.com/) with great success. I am averaging 2-3kg (4.4-6.6lbs) per week. And I have done stuff all exercise too (some bad foot pain which is being addressed but not fixed yet being the main culprit).
My wife is also on the diet and is averaging 1-2 kg (2.2-4.4lbs) per week. (Sorry, generally men can lose weight easier than women. Plus I have a lot more to lose to start with…)
One of the main differences is that there are no days off (but it is not so painful). The idea of this diet is to put your body into a fat burning mode called ketosis. Having a day or two off would kick your body out of that mode and it takes two or three days to get back into it.
The high water intake is good. I have to drink 2 litres (4.2 pints) per day, no caffeine or alcohol. The water helps my kidneys flush out the fat, and the caffiene, etc helps retain fat, so out they go.
Some of the advantages of the diet I’ve found are:
- Two meals a day are taken care of for you with replacement meals, so you only have to think about one meal a day.
- You can have meat regularly.
- I’ve found that after the first couple of weeks with coming down off the coffee or sugar it has been not too much of a chore.
I like your red flag weight idea, and will adopt it once I’m at my goal.
I also like your understanding the fractions rational too, however you should take into account that a half hour gym work-out also includes driving to/from the gym, getting changed before and after, post work-out shower, etc, so is more like an hour.
Also, if you can’t afford or dislike the gym, the best exercise for fat loss is walking. It is not the best for body toning or such, but if you are concentrating on fat loss, walking is best. Cycling and/or swimming are other alternatives (although not as good as the walking because the cycle or water is supporting your weight instead of your legs). Basically getting your heart-rate up for 20-40 minutes a day is a good thing.
In addition to measuring your weight, you may also want to take a weekly measurement around your waist (belly-button level) and log that.
Doing you measurements at the same time of the day every time is a good thing I think. For me it is first think in the morning, post toilet, pre eating or drinking anything (I figure that is my lightest point in the day).
One thing no one has mentioned so far is that you should probably talk your planned dietary methods over with your doctor. There’s plenty of bad and conflicting advice about diets out there. Some things could impact your health in detrimental ways you don’t expect.
You also need to find what works for you as everyone is different.
lawks says on January 25th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Does diet soda count towards the 8 glasses of water per day?
michelle says on January 25th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Awesome.
So here’s my two cents:
Drink tons of water when you’re sitting down, about to have your meal. Drink at least 2-3 full cups so that you’re full with water. Wait until everyone has already begun eating, then slowly, take tiny little bites- remembering to maintain drinking water in between bites. By the time everyone is done eating, you will have only eaten 5 tiny bites and a stomach full of water/food.
If you’re not big on drinking water, eat lots of watermelons or fruits high in water before you sit down for your actual meal. Trust me, I lost about 15lbs in 1 and a half weeks. Goodluck all!
PS: Jogging a very very slow pace for about 30 min a day (and keeping up with the above intake strategy) will guarantee your weight loss.
Dave says on January 25th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Sounds a lot like what I am doing to lose weight.
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Mark The shark says on January 25th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
WARNING! Diet sodas contain aspartame - that becomes a toxic alcohol in your liver.
This is a scientifically proven fact, and people consuming more than 5 diet drinks a day have been found to have an increase of obesity and liver failure, up to death.
Please research the following, “aspartame liver failure”, should get you started…
It is best to drink green tea and water.
Colas are to be avoided.