If you have one weight loss tip, what is it?

[ShakeSpears]

I'm interested in what has worked for people and what one thing might be the most important.

Low carb - exercise - drink more water. Nothing else has ever worked for me. When I stick to this I see weight loss begin within 3 weeks.

I have an exercise bike and free weights, both of which I use whilst listening to music or watching TV. Sometimes follow short YouTube exercise vids

See it as a way of life, not a diet. Replace high carb food with food you actually like, not necessarily 'diet foods'. Strength training alongside aerobic exercise is essential. Alternate daily.

Water! Staying hydrated is probably one of the most important things we can do for health, and it massively reduces cravings.

Don’t compare your journey to others
Choose a plan and stick to it for a few weeks

Reducing calories. For me, the easiest way to do it is 16:8 (although I do more 17:7!). I eat between 11am and 6pm most days and I try to include plenty of protein and veg.

I can’t stick to a strict diet, doesn’t work for me. I eat chocolate sometimes and I have the odd takeaway or Sunday roast.

I didn’t have a massive amount to lose though - about 20lbs - and I’ve lost it and kept it off over the past year doing the above.

Don't deprive yourself of anything, it only makes you crave things more.

Don’t tell family/friends/colleagues that you are trying to lose weight. They will try and saboutage it. Obvs a generalisation, but seems to happen a lot.

I try to avoid snacks, count my calories and have motivational pictures printed out and stuck to the mirrors/fridge. It really helps me when I look at the photo of my thinner future self (had to use a photo editor that makes you look skinny but I really hope it will become my reflection soon!) and realize how I want to be. Also I drink a glass of water whenever I feel like I'm hungry but it's not the time to eat yet. having a bottle of water with you everywhere is a great thing to practice, whether you are trying to lose weight or not.

Est less than you think you need to in order to lose weight. Count calories. Don't cheat.

Cut out sugar.

Soup, soup and more soup! Water based broths with no carbs (potatoes/carrots etc), so no tomato based soups. Cream would be ok.

Water & more water.

No sugars or artificial sweeteners so no fruit or diet fizzy drinks. Just tea & water.

10k steps minimum a day.

I'm having soup for 3 meals a day atm, with the odd bit of cheese and the occasional salad (once a week-ish) and am losing about 1lb a day. And haven't been hungry. I know people disapprove of fast weight loss but I want to get some weight off to control my blood sugars. Once I've lost enough 'll go back to something more sustainable.

I admire your dedication 3Britnee! I agree with soup drinking although swap with salads when it gets hotter. After dithering for ages, I finally bought a soup machine which has been a great help under lockdown. I could eat soup for lunch and dinner but do you mind me asking what sort of soup do you eat for breakfast?

@Haberdasheryhen The same soup. I just make a big pot of it and have some as and when I'm hungry, 3 or 4 bowls a day. I skip 'breakfast' though and don't start eating until 12 or after though.

The soup I've had this last week has been
Onion
Celery
Garlic
Ginger
Turmeric powder
Thyme/basil/oregano etc
Stock cubes
Salt & pepper
Mushrooms
Chicken
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Spinach
One batch had franks hot sauce and another had pesto
One lot had green beans as I ran out of cauliflower

So it's got very little carbs and when it has cauliflower in, that breaks down and thickens it a bit.

I can’t lose weight when going vegetarian or vegan. I don’t want to eat meat but it’s much more satisfying than vegetables and pulses. Processed vegetarian foods are full of carbs or fats.

Main meal is1/3 plate protein and carbs and 2/3rds leafy greens/veg/salad.

Walk minimum 5 miles a day.

Don’t eat past 5/6pm

Cut out these C's.

Crisps
Cake
Chocolate
Cheese

Eat more of these C's

Carrots
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Citrus fruits
Cucumber

Just to say that carbs are NOT the Devil’s work and if you’re doing lots of exercise (especially cardio) make sure you’re eating enough protein that you don’t just burn the muscle and keep the fat

Lose the carbs. Sad, but true.

@ShirleyPhallus

Just to say that carbs are NOT the Devil’s work and if you’re doing lots of exercise (especially cardio) make sure you’re eating enough protein that you don’t just burn the muscle and keep the fat

If you do weights/strength training you don't need to do lots of it, it just needs to be targeted and intense. Most weight loss is down to diet though. Lots of cardio can make you hungry. Agree you need a high protein diet. Can still eat carbs low.

Agree with you @IstandwithJackieWeaver, I just see a lot of diet advice on here which is to drop the carbs and do cardio and that does nothing but waste muscle / water but retain fat.

The one thing that worked for me was setting a calorie count and sticking to it rigidly. Mine was 1600. How I kept to that most days was by making a pile of whole wheat bread sandwiches and cutting them into quarters. I kept to the calorie count by using low cal salad cream or pickle instead of butter, and I had presliced ham or turkey or chicken inside the sandwiches.

I'd eat four quarters, slowly, with a pint of tea for breakfast, and 8 quarters, again with a pint of tea, for my main meal.

Second meal was a banana and an apple, cut into small pieces and eaten in between sips of a pint of fruit tea.

This took up bout 1400 calories, leaving 200 for chocolate or crisps. I lost 3 stone in 3 months.

Move.

@IWentAwayIStayedAway

Consistency 15000 steps EVERY day Track every meal. Stick to alloted calories EVERY day 80% of the good food and 20% crap allowed EVERY day

4 stone off in 9 months

I've been reading this on a FB group too but am just curious how on earth do you fit 15000 steps in every day?
I have a desk job so, even if I try to get up and move when I can, I get about 2,500 during the day. I average 5000+ a day by getting more in at weekends but it takes ages. How long does 15000 steps a day take and how do you fit it in?

Purchasing and using Nutracheck (I think it's approx 30 quid a year but there are offers that make it cheaper every so often - it was about 23 quid over Easter) rather than using MFP.

MFP I've tried several times and never really succeeded as there were 5432 listings of each item with different readings so never really was 100 percent.

Nutracheck is English so has English measurements for the weight of items. It also has UK items all listed by the site makers rather than members submitting them so has all Aldi/Lidl etc items of food/drink. It has pictures so you definitely know it's the right item as well as the barcode scanner. Depending on the plan you sign up for there's also access to nutritionists and a PT who can answer specific questions for you.

I also have found their calorie amounts is realistic for me and easier to stick to so I have been 100% for 7 days and lost 8lb! It's much more motivational for me than MFP ever was.

Minimal
Carbs. No eating between meals. Lots of protein and veg. Cut out alcohol and sugar. Lots of brisk walking and water.