When needed, how do you lose weight?

Well despite the endless media blabbering, it is quite simple.

The less one consumes, the less is available to be added into the body minus nominal discharges.

A majority of people in this era choose to eat large meal proportions until their ever expanding bellies feel full instead of being content at what is healthy. Eating for pleasure is epidemic given how easy it is nowadays to drive down to supermarkets and fill up one's cupboards and refrigerators with about anything imaginable. If one over a period of weeks tries to eat less, one's stomach and intestines will slowly shrink and henceforth a Subway 6 inch tuna sandwich will satisfy one nicely instead of your usual 12 inch barbecue rib sandwich.
 

Losing weight for me is always "needed"! In fact I need to get serious about it right now which means I have to:
~Not watch T.V., my tablet, read or be otherwise engaged. I read an article that said when doing those things people eat 33% more but I find I eat almost twice as much.
~Make a conscious effort to get more exercise. I really need to get serious about that.
~Cut back on my starchy carbs, sweets and snacking.
~Don't allow myself to "bored, depressed or grief eat"
I had lost 26 pounds over the past couple of years and gained half of that back. Not pleased with myself. :sneaky:

@Nathan, Good for you..great job! I don't eat nearly as much as other people in one sitting but do snack a lot. I cut back by eating half of some things but it seems since COVID that just manages to maintain my weight not reduce it. So clearly I need to exercise more.
 

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When stressed, I lose weight! Can't eat much, and what I do I "worry off". My 84 divorces (seems like it) , stressed me for 6 months until it was final. I lost 15 pounds and looked better when done. Of course, it may have been the relief of it all that made me smile more.

Fortunately for me, the good and bad days equal out, so my weight doesn't fluctuate much anymore.:sneaky:
 
Bretrick said:
When I broke my ankle twelve months ago my weight increased by 15kg - 33lb through inactivity.
Very easy to put on weight, not so easy to remove it. Especially as we age and joints become problematic.
I have started to attempt shedding buy replacing my usual Macca's breakfast with a fruit smoothie.
There has been the necessity to add another hole to my belt. Having shed 5kg - 11lb - over the previous month.
Not really going to exercise, just use dietary practices for now.
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I am currently back on my program to lose 30 lbs. Down 8 pounds so far in four weeks time. 22 to go. I lost 50 lbs over an 8 month period about 15 years ago. Im doing it the same way this time as I did last time. And that is by maintaining a daily caloric deficit of around 400 calories under what is my daily weight maintenance calorie total. And also by increasing my weekly activity levels (includes exercise) to approx 150 minutes per week.
There is alot of talk over the past few years about not having to track calories in order to lose weight. But as for me I only consistently lose if I am dilligent in tracking my food and drink intake and keeping a daily deficit of calories. To me its not a logical path to weight loss if you have no idea exactly how much you are taking in each day. Tracking also takes away alot of the temptations to snack here and there. For example since I have to eat only 2300 calories daily to keep in my deficit, if I have eaten say 1300 calories over breakfast and lunch I then know I can only spend another 1000 calories for afternoon snack and dinner. Therefore I know that plate of cookies somebody left in the break room will not help me keep to the goal if I eat them and go over my daily calorie budget.
 
Mojaveoutdoors said:
There is alot of talk over the past few years about not having to track calories in order to lose weight.
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Of course you don't have to count them. However if you don't burn more calories than you eat you will not lose weight. For me, and it sounds like you, counting is the only way to insure that.

Good luck with it, you are off to a really good start!
 
David777 said:
Well despite the endless media blabbering, it is quite simple.

The less one consumes, the less is available to be added into the body minus nominal discharges.

A majority of people in this era choose to eat large meal proportions until their ever expanding bellies feel full instead of being content at what is healthy. Eating for pleasure is epidemic given how easy it is nowadays to drive down to supermarkets and fill up one's cupboards and refrigerators with about anything imaginable. If one over a period of weeks tries to eat less, one's stomach and intestines will slowly shrink and henceforth a Subway 6 inch tuna sandwich will satisfy one nicely instead of your usual 12 inch barbecue rib sandwich.
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Yes you are 100% on target. Weight loss is hard work but the concept is simple: Eat less, expend more !
 
Alligatorob said:
Of course you don't have to count them. However if you don't burn more calories than you eat you will not lose weight. For me, and it sounds like you, counting is the only way to insure that.

Good luck with it, you are off to a really good start!
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"However if you don't burn more calories than you eat you will not lose weight." Yep and that seems to be a long known fact that the modern weight loss industry is trying to obscure in its quest to sell more Weight Loss Snake Oils and push these fad diets that in the long run are not sustainable.
 
Mojaveoutdoors said:
"However if you don't burn more calories than you eat you will not lose weight." Yep and that seems to be a long known fact that the modern weight loss industry is trying to obscure in its quest to sell more Weight Loss Snake Oils and push these fad diets that in the long run are not sustainable.
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Yep, and they are taking advantage of folks who don't want to count calories... Hell, none of us do.
 
Alligatorob said:
Yep, and they are taking advantage of folks who don't want to count calories... Hell, none of us do.
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Yes I do not want to count calories. It takes both time and effort. But then time and effort is whats needed to achieve almost any goal in life. Counting calories allows me to know exactly where I stand every day (I also loosely keep an eye on my macros too). If Im not tracking my calories Its like shooting at a target with a blindfold on. You may hit it occasionally but you will mostly be off target.
 
Way, way back, I needed to lose weight. I read all I could and discovered it was all about caloric intake. I drew up a monthly chart and plotted my weight daily. The goal was to connect the daily dots and watch the plot go down. That visual evidence gives positive feedback as it goes down. I set a goal and lost 47 pounds in 3 months.
 
Chet said:
Way, way back, I needed to lose weight. I read all I could and discovered it was all about caloric intake. I drew up a monthly chart and plotted my weight daily. The goal was to connect the daily dots and watch the plot go down. That visual evidence gives positive feedback as it goes down. I set a goal and lost 47 pounds in 3 months.
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That is the long proven way to do it. Yet so many now have been conned into thinking that calorie tracking is not the way to lose weight. When in fact it is the most successful proven way to do it. It just takes some focus and work.
 
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Move more, I don't eat sugar or processed foods. Eat whole, real foods and cook from scratch. I do intermittent fasting and have been on the same schedule for over 10 years. Eat between 12-5. Sugar and processed foods are really like poison. Processed foods are just boxes and bags full of chemicals, not actual food. Leading to not just obesity but many health conditions. We are what we eat.
 
speaking of ice cream ... keep a jar of dill pickles in the fridge.

When you want to suppress your appetite, eat a pickle. It can help at times.

Also ... brush your teeth after eating. You might stay away from eating longer.
Toothpaste and mouthwash can help divert you from food.
 
I eat protein for breakfast, usually eggs and bacon or sausage. Or yogurt and blueberries.
No bread.

Lunch, salad with veg, lean protein , pumpkin seeds, avocado, sometimes feta.
A BIG salad. Dressing olive oil, good salt, herbs. Maybe a rye cracker or some lower carb bread.

Dinner is meat and veg. Maybe a sweet potato, occasionally rice.

Keep carbs at 5 to 1 rule. Divide carbs by fiber. 5 or less net carbs is ok.

If Im hungry and need a snack then apple with almond butter or pecans. Yogurt, plain BTW, sweetened with stevia. String cheese stick.

I don't eat like this all the time but when the pounds are creeping this is what I do and walk, walk, walk.
 
Mojaveoutdoors said:
I am currently back on my program to lose 30 lbs. Down 8 pounds so far in four weeks time. 22 to go. I lost 50 lbs over an 8 month period about 15 years ago. Im doing it the same way this time as I did last time. And that is by maintaining a daily caloric deficit of around 400 calories under what is my daily weight maintenance calorie total. And also by increasing my weekly activity levels (includes exercise) to approx 150 minutes per week.
There is alot of talk over the past few years about not having to track calories in order to lose weight. But as for me I only consistently lose if I am dilligent in tracking my food and drink intake and keeping a daily deficit of calories. To me its not a logical path to weight loss if you have no idea exactly how much you are taking in each day. Tracking also takes away alot of the temptations to snack here and there. For example since I have to eat only 2300 calories daily to keep in my deficit, if I have eaten say 1300 calories over breakfast and lunch I then know I can only spend another 1000 calories for afternoon snack and dinner. Therefore I know that plate of cookies somebody left in the break room will not help me keep to the goal if I eat them and go over my daily calorie budget.
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You've got a good start on your weight loss plan. Although I stopped doing it, I agree with you about tracking calories as a weight loss tool. When I was doing it, I used Spark People. My honorary daughter mentioned My Fitness Pal, but I never started using it. Are you using a site or app on your phone? If so, which one.
 
Give up pizza night. Yes, I eat pineapple and beef on top of my pizza, but only occasionally.
 

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