<p>OP - you might wish to try a Fitbit or similar, and try to get in x steps a day - you can do that by walking if you don’t wish to do other exercise.</p>
<p>With respect to tempting foods, the nutritionist I’ve been working with suggested “seven french fries” at one point. I tried it. The fact is, I really enjoy seven french fries. By the eighth or ninth, though, I’m not paying attention and it’s just food. So now I carefully eat and carefully enjoy the seven french fries, or the two bites of cake (and really, there is a point where cake just isn’t as good as those first two bites, and it comes along pretty quickly). </p>
<p>And I’m with Cardinal Fang: there is no amount of “retraining” that will make me think cake and ice cream aren’t pretty good things. However, mindful eating has gone a long way toward making it controlled eating as well.</p>
<p>I like the idea of mindful eating, because I think it respects my reality.</p>
<p>And I’m also lucky that I love vigorous exercise. For me, an eight-hour bike ride is fun.</p>
<p>I have also added ten or so pounds in the last two years; I blame it on menopause and some “self-medicating” as I deal with an extremely stressful situation with my elderly parents. I have always been good enough about exercising and following a healthy diet that the occasional treat or day off (ok, week off) from exercising was not a problem; that no longer seems to be the case. Just three days ago I started writing down what I eat and tracking my runs on my iPhone. I have switched from drinking my usual 200 kcal IPA to gin and diet tonic (~ 100 kcals). I continue to eat a high protein breakfast, lots of fruits and veggies, additional protein and not too much carbohydrate (my downfall) the rest of the day. I ride my bike on errands which I would sometimes do in the car. My hope is that small changes and just being more mindful of what I eat and do will allow me to slowly get back to my former weight. Maybe we need a “support thread” for folks trying to lose ten pounds.</p>
<p>Generally, eat a little less, and move a little more.</p>
<p>You can overthink this to the point where you are unable to figure out what the “right” method is. And if you are taking meds with a known side effect of weight gain, you may not be able to lose weight. </p>
<p>In the end you know yourself, and your own weaknesses. Or you are oblivious to your weak spots, in which case the first thing you need to do is keep a food journal for a week or so. You don’t need to use a computer or an app. If a notebook and pen are comfortable, and easier to keep track of, then use that. Just write it all down.</p>
<p>In the same notebook, record the daily exercise you get. Count steps if you walk, write down how much you sweat during 50 minutes of Zumba, how many flights of stairs you climb, whatever.</p>
<p>At the end of the week take an hour or two to look up the calories you ate each day, and the number of calories you burned exercising. Your answers don’t have to be exact, you just want to get a good idea of what you are really putting in your mouth and how much you are really moving.</p>
<p>Then figure out where you can cut 200-300 calories with the least amount of pain, and figure out where you can add 200-300 calorie burning movements each day.</p>
<p>That comes to 500 calories you have removed each day, by using a combination of cutting food snd adding movement.</p>
<p>500 calories a day will add up somewhat painlessly to losing a pound every couple of weeks. </p>
<p>And once that starts working, THEN add more exercise, and continue tweeking your food intake. Find something that gets you moving and feels fun. Ride a real bike, walk a path, start taking nature photographs when you walk, take Zumba, and then maybe take an actual dance class, do your own yard work, add a 200 step run after every 200 steps of walking…</p>
<p>That worked as a somewhat painless way for me to drop most of my menopausal weight gain.</p>
<p>I recently read a medical study that showed two groups of people (all women, I believe) eating the exact same number of calories per day. No exercise involved. Their lunches were the same, but the number of calories in the breakfasts and dinners were reversed. One group had high calorie breakfast/low calorie dinner. The other had a low calorie breakfast/high calorie dinner. Those with the high calorie breakfasts lost weight (not a big amount), and had more stable blood sugars throughout the day (implications for avoiding diabetes?)
I know this type of eating pattern has been suggested before, but it was interesting to see an actual study. (I need to gain weight, so I try to have an extra snack before going to bed!)</p>
<p>For the OP: I think a lot of these comments (mine included) confirm my belief that there’s no one size fits all solution. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. My 50+ H has just started adding a few lbs and has had to diet for the first time in his life. I become really frustrated when he is suddenly the expert and tries to tell me how to lose weight. He loves to start the morning with oatmeal. I don’t care for oatmeal, and yes, I’ve tried to eat it many times. I find I need to start the morning with some lean protein. He’s not wrong, but I’m not wrong either.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say is: you can consider tips from people on what’s worked for them for weight loss, but ultimately you’ll need to decide what works best for you.</p>
<p>Buy a doctors scale. The balance kind, not the dial kind. You can find them on Craigs list for under $100 and they work great even if they’re decades old. </p>
<p>Start using it. Weigh yourself at the same time every morning when you get up, before you’ve eaten breakfast. Start writing that down. Don’t worry at first about gaining or losing, just watch your patterns from week to week. In other words last monday’s weight compared to this monday’s. And note the pattern during the week. If you have big weekends, you’ll weigh a little more on Sat Sun and Monday than you do on Thursday and Friday. </p>
<p>Once you’ve gotten comfortable with the scale and away from the hysteria that I hear from people (I didn’t eat anything all day and I gained weight!!!) you can start to manage your way down. (Note: THere is a difference between weighing more, and gaining weight, and weighing less and losing weight. If I drink a pint of water I weigh one pound more, but I haven’t gained any flesh at all. Similarly, if I sweat a couple of pounds off mowing the lawn, I weigh less, but I haven’t consumed any flesh. </p>
<p>Losing weight isn’t fun. Normal people can consume about 4-8 ounces of flesh per day if they are on a strict diet. That’s what losing is…you have to make your body consume itself. But you’ll have a hard time doing that without having a good scale to help you manage it. The exact diet doesn’t matter so much. Just make sure you consume less. And excercising a little will help you too. </p>
<p>That’s my two cents. If you can do it some other way, more power to you.</p>
<p>I read an article ten plus years ago that I wish I had cut out as it had many common sense suggestions, including a couple I have read here. One was dadx’s suggestion to weigh yourself at the same time every day. Another was to attempt to eat the same thing each day as the variety is what tempts us to consume more calories. If you know that breakfast is oatmeal and fruit, you probably won’t be tempted to overeat oatmeal and fruit.</p>
<p>I am a huge fan of the FitBit. Wearing it encourages me to walk around the house while talking on the phone, park further away from the store and/or walk instead of moving the car. It is amazing how many miles we can cover during the day, especially if we set out to do so. Best of luck!</p>
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<p>OP, unfortunately, abasket is exactly right, at least for those of us in middle age. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I could lose 5 lbs in a weekend and 10 in a week just by switching to salads, but no more. My metabolism is no longer my friend and there’s just no way around that. </p>
<p>When I decided to lose some weight, I did what someone upthread suggested – I kept track of every bite that went into my mouth, but I kicked it up a notch. At the end of the day, I sat down and [tallied</a> the total calories](<a href=“http://www.calorieking.com/foods/]tallied”>http://www.calorieking.com/foods/) I’d put into my mouth for the whole day. It was eye-opening; for example, that virtuous chicken and walnut salad I’d been having for lunch was actually busting my diet!</p>
<p>Another thing I did was set up an Excel spreadsheet graph and record my daily weigh-in. Watching the line head downward was motivating for me. It helped me to see that I really was making progress even if it was slower than I’d have liked.</p>
<p>^^^ and you don’t need a computer or app to do this, but honestly it really makes it easier (and can save more time, be more accurate, etc so you can have more to e to do other things than eat!!)</p>
<p>Absolutely do what is best for you but you MUST be ready, you MUST be dedicated and you MUST have be patient - I disagree that it isn’t “fun” - when you start having success, when you feel in control, when your body feels better, your clothes feel a little loser or the umber on the scale moves down - whatever one is most motivating for you - it CAN be fun - and you will likely feel more fun too!</p>
<p>I haven’t totally reset my taste buds. I certainly ate too much baklava today. But I know I won’t have it again until the next time dh makes it for a party. But I do think that you can decide which junk foods you are going to eat and when so that you can keep things in check. I have a lot of silly rules that work for me. I don’t buy cookies unless my boys are home, because I can’t eat just one. If I feel like dessert after dinner I eat 3-4 chocolate chips, which actually make me feel happy. I don’t drink wine during the week, because it’s just too many calories, but we have it for dinner on the weekends. I only drink beer on vacation and when we go out for BBQ.</p>
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<p>Does it really make a difference? Goodness knows, we all have negative thoughts and impulses…what you actually do is what matters. If it entered your mind, you considered it, and you overcame the thought, that’s good…if you’re looking for a simpler process and assuming others don’t have to think about such things, they do too - it’s called self control.</p>
<p>In April 2011 I started working on losing weight. First thing I did was cut out fast food. Have not been through a drive-through since – though there are times I am sorely tempted. That got me 20 lbs. Changed one of my meds – that was another 20. </p>
<p>I have several trigger foods and it is just better if I avoid them altogether. Low fat crackers aren’t so healthy when you eat an entire sleeve of them…</p>
<p>Count me among those who find that diet soda triggers carb cravings. I quit caffeine, which helped me avoid other sins, but find that even caffeine-free tea with artificial sweetener is a bad thing. :(</p>
<p>My downfall is carbs. I can pass up dessert without a problem, but not a bowl of hot pasta with a sprinkling of parm. </p>
<p>I tried walking more when I started working on weight loss, but didn’t get serious til after the heart attack.</p>
<p>I am down 97, but still have another 20-25 to go. It is taking a long time to lose this last bit.</p>
<p>Way to go, Counting. It’s difficult to lose 100 pounds.</p>
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<p>Most people become less active as they get older, resulting in muscle loss. Dieting without exercise can cause much of the weight loss to be muscle loss. Muscle loss reduces metabolism, which makes it even harder to keep body fat down.</p>
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<p>What about plain tea with no sweetener or anything else in it?</p>
<p>That’s amazing, CountingDown. Congratulations.</p>
<p>Good for you, counting down! That’s a lot of work. </p>
<p>“i don’t have to not want to eat half a cake or a quart of ice cream-- that is hopeless. I merely have to not eat half a cake or a quart of ice cream, which is another matter entirely.”</p>
<p>I think the point is that it’s a heck of a lot easier to not eat the cake or ice cream when it is not as tempting as it used to be – when you CAN look at it and go “eh” or “just a small piece and be totally satisfied.” Willpower is hard.</p>
<p>[Health</a> Behaviour Research Centre](<a href=“http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hbrc/diet/lallyp.html]Health”>Health Behaviour Research Centre)</p>
<p>[Does</a> It Really Take 21 Days To Break a Habit?](<a href=“http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2013/05/06/does_it_really_take_21_days_to_break_a_habit.html]Does”>Does It Really Take 21 Days To Break a Habit?)</p>
<p><a href=“http://today.duke.edu/2007/12/habit.html[/url]”>http://today.duke.edu/2007/12/habit.html</a></p>