I have realised even on this forum that a lot of threads are focused around calories, how many or what food and when, or supplements ,or metabolism bmi big boned, small boned, fitness with weights or cardio or both or interval, diet books, diet plans, blabla...and list goes on and on and on..

all this info is surely useful but ..

AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I cant process all this, and end up becoming diet obsessed.

I have noticed that this is counterproductive for me and I end up thinking about food too much, counting portions, obsessing about type of work out, etc.. and end up feeling down and wanting to eat those fries. Plus, I dont enjoy myself as much.

ANYONE ELSE FEELING LIKE THIS?

Now thank god, I have found my own tricks:

Waking Up Late (cuz never feel hungry early so have small breakfast then have a snack and dinner early, once I am cuddled up, I dont bother snacking. too far!)

Green Tea Have loved it ever since a kid

Going Out or Keeping Busy When I got free time, I go walk around the city, or jog around park and try go out a lot with friends. Also busy working during week. So not much time to eat!

Run Brussels 20Km and Buy Clothes in Japan Found that having other goals as your main goal works best for me! I just focus on: I really wanna run those 20k (and just enrolled!!), or I am going to japan yay and wanna fit in their clothes.. ==> hence

Exercise Because of other goals, I like running and pushing myself, I like getting fit! .. ==> hence

It's OK to Cheat When I dont feel like it, I eat. When I want those fries, I take them.

The Forum XD reading stuff about, people's experiences, jokes, before and afters, etc.. lifts my mood!

In my 2nd week, i had cravings: I had fast food 2x and 1x the following week, so what? the weight will come off, slowly but surely. I have lost 4.5 kg since 15th January, this time without becoming distressed or break down (i did before)!

=) Now share your own tricks with me hehehehehe.. I want your tricks!

I loved this Thread.

Here are 10 things I do while I’m on a diet.

1) I set really small goals. For example If I want to lose 50 pounds, I set a small goal of 8 pounds per week and I solely focus that IN THAT MONTH i need to lose 8 pounds. That’s it. Then the next month I do it again....

2) I have a timer that reminds me that I need to eat every 3.5 hours.

3) I "on purpose" buy small cloth that barely fit. Then I said to myself, these clothes are a reward if you lose 8 more pounds this month! (and it works!!)

4) Gym is a daily thing. Kind of like brushing your teeth at night, YOU MUST EXERCISE.

5) I play Guitar Hero on my XBOX360 standing up and kind of "dance" while playing for 1 hour. It burns calories and TIME. (I am not a kid, I am 26 y/o btw)

6) "Sometimes" I avoid social events where I work. I know there’s going to be Krispy Kreme donuts (They bring them all the time!!!) SO I avoid going to social events 50% of the time

7) I go to bed at exactly 3 hours AFTER my last meal.

8) I wake up and I IMEDIATLY eat breakfast EVERY DAY!

9) 1 drink 1 gallon of water a day (4 litters)

10) I cheat once a month and eat EVERYTHING I CAN that day. It's usually the 15th of every month.

1) Find something you love that isn't very caloric. For me it was Turkey Bologna Sandwich. 250 calories per sandwich. I ate those a lot. Sometimes for Lunch and then dinner. Also I had to live on little $$$

2) Iced Coffee - I'd drink this for breakfast. A very large one everyday. Got me to Lunch easy. Have it with Skim and 3 sweet and lows.

3) Baked Lays - I'd eat a handful of these with my TBS (Turkey Bologna Sandwich)

4) Small Plates - Heard it on TV or the internet or something. I would only eat what was on my smaller plate. No seconds. I'd make sure it was pretty full though.

5) When eating out I'd only get Grilled Chicken Cesar Salads, Grilled Chicken Sandwich (Only eat half and take half home) or Hamburger (only half take rest home for lunch next day)


6) Eating at the same times every day. To go along with my strict intake I had a strict time for eating. It allowed my body to adapt and I lost the desire to snack between the time I didn't eat. My times were 1 PM and 7 PM. I sometimes did have a snack at 5PM. Depending on my calorie intake during lunch.

Really when I read it now it's pretty much insane and against many of the rules dieters live by. It worked for me and I have found I love depriving myself of things. I find it very monastic.

I like #4 man. I will try this one! Thanks

This is fun!! heres some of my tricks!

1). if i reaaaally crave something after ive eaten all my calories for the day, i'll have a chicken soup (half of a conensed can is like 60 cals - the campbells kind) or some yummy mango and peach white tea
2). instead of snacking, i paint my nails - kills time, gives my hands something to do, and no touching anything for a while! lol and PLUS PRETTY NAILS! PS - trick is applicable to women only mmkay :P
3). small plates!! i use this trick too. trick my mind in thinking im having a larger portion
4). weighing everything i eat. so know exactly how much im having and can track calories more precisely
5). calorie cylcing - i dont eat the same amount of calories everyday. i know i will have more food when i see the boyfriend so i take like 300 cals from another day and substitute it for that day - that way i dont feel guilty about "going over" and it keeps my metabolism guessing

I don't bother with calories, but I do try to think about what I'm eating and how much.

Everyday I exercise. E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y. I walk everyday, do a little strength training every other day, and attend a circuit training class once a week. I also try and keep quite active in general by keeping the house clean, gardening, cycling around town....etc!

Here are some of my "diet" tricks to keep me on track:

1) Think frequent mini-meals will always be the size of my fist--and the size of my stomach is the size of my fist--so if I eat more than the size of my fist in one sitting, I'm over-stretching my stomach.

2) To slow down--cos I can mindlessly gobble up my meal in seconds--I halve-up what's on the dish, then halve-up one of the halves, then halve those up, and continue halving until a spoon/forkful is formed. It bothers everyone I dine with...but I don't care. At least I'm savouring every bite. Also, if I am dining with someone else, I like to be the last to finish. Makes him/her look like the pig.

3) Water before, water after. I down a glass or 2 of water before a meal to fill up my belly--to keep from overeating--then when I'm finished with my meal I immediately down another glass or 2, to avoid going for seconds.

4) 20-minute rule. Still feeling hungry after a meal? Wait 20-minutes for your brain to register that you'd just dined. After the 20-minutes are up, and you're still hungry? Well, either go ahead and eat something else...or go for a walk. Most of the time I wasn't really that hungry, and after the 20 minutes I feel that I'm actually quite full and satisfied.

I highly recommend it. It helped a lot. Also if you can get small dinner plates and then even smaller lunch plates it makes a huge difference. It limited my chip intake for sure.

Honestly, I think it all boils down to discipline.

Good luck.

Amagheti: I really like your idea to paint nails =P mine really need some taking care of. But it's so annoying because you cant do anything but watch tv.
And I also cycle my calories: monday I had pizza hut cheesy crust (in belgium I think they're smaller) but still a whopping 1k kcal! so yesterday I went to gym 3h and kept to 1100 kcal. =)

hehe we seem to have a lot of the same tricks!! good luck with your goals