I most recently was on the LA weight loss plan, and followed it religiously. However, I lost only 9 pounds in 12 weeks. Lets just say I was alittle bit disappointed that all my hard work yielded such small results. Does anyone have any diet plans that can help me drop weight in a more timely manner? I'm desperate, but I need some motivation!

Exercise?

Drinking enough water?

check and check, although not enough of either currently. When i was on LA weightloss I drank excessive amounts of water, they just kept upping my dosage. Currently I'm trying to exercise 3 times a week, but its finals time right now so its been on hold. Anything diet wise I should do?

I'm no expert, use using some of my common sense factor here. really take a look and see what your diet really is. make some logs if you need to track some of it. identify how much fat's, sugars, and carbs your eating. see if it's on par with what you should be doing. if not look for healthier foods to eat.

A good friend of mine would do quick sets (push-ups, sit-ups) whenever there was an idle moment, that might help, when taking a study break do 5-10 minutes of something physical.

thanks for the feedback... i'll try your suggestion of quick sets during my studying tonight!

Cool, and Jason's advice is solid on checking your actual calorie intake. Hopefully when finals are over you can get back into things. Good luck in all that!

@Bailey: Check out Consumer Reports's recommendations. Good luck!

Bailey,
Here are a few things I have learnt on my journey to fitness and weight loss.

Healthy eating and exercise is a life time commitment. The changes one makes to lose weight have to be lifestyle changes that are permanant.

None of the so called 'Diet Plans' work on a permanent basis. When you get off the diet, the weight comes back.

There are no quick fixes. You gained that weight over a period of time and it will take a certain amount of time and effort to lose it.

Fat burner pills are either making tall claims or have harmful side effects or have a rebound effect when you get off them. It is a wise decision to avoid them.

Targets must be realistic otherwise one invariably gets disappointed.

Repeated weight loss and weight gain makes subsequent efforts at losing weight even more difficult. [ I learnt this the hard way! ] So it is really important to maintain any weight loss and not let it go up beyond a couple of pounds.

The only reason one must eat is to satisfy stomach hunger. Food is not a solution for emotional situations. No amount of eating will make other problems go away. It only creates one more problem: coping with being fat.

Keeping a food diary and being honest with yourself is vital to weight loss and maintainance. It takes only a couple of minutes a day.

Weighing oneself regularly helps to keep on track. Any weight gain beyond a couple of pounds will set warning bells ringing and helps one to tighten on the control.

Learning to identify foods that makes one fat and avoiding them is a skill one needs to develop.

Learning to identify foods that are good for health and promote weight loss and making it a permanent part of one's life is an equally important skill.

Identifying situtations that trigger unhealthy eating helps to set warning bells ringing and one can learn to avoid these situations.

Keeping well hydrated by drinking plenty of plain water promotes weight loss.

Most of us do fall of the wagon on occassion. The trick is to stop the wagon and climb right back on.

Keeping in touch with people who are supportive and will come clean with you helps.

Reading magazines like Oxygen, M&F Hers and Shape or similar websites on the internet keeps motivation levels up. I buy old issues at cheaper rates. I do not throw out a single fitness mag and keep pulling an old mag out to browse through in my free time.

Rewarding yourself for small acheivements in weight loss also keeps motivation up. Do not use food as a reward.

You may not have time to workout right now till your exams finish but you can still eat healthy. This will ensure that you will not gain weight and, if you are lucky, might actually lose weight.

And yes, if you are taking a study break, you could try jogging in place, or throw some punches or do some plyometric jumps or use your body weight to do exercises like squats, lunges, pushups and dips. Just 10 minutes at a time will keep the metabolism up and you will find that the break actually makes you more alert for the next study session.

If you want it bad enough, the will power will come.

Good luck with your exams and your weight loss efforts.

thank you so much, the amount of time you've taken to give me that response really means alot to me! I'll work on a stricter diet, and balancing out my unhealthy habits (which are numerous). I really appreciate all the suggestions so far!

Bailey,
I just thought that my post on this thread will not be cpmplete if I did not add a few more words about exercise.

In my attempts to lose weight one key thing I learnt was that eating healthy alone was not enough.

It is equally important to have a fitness routine and lead an active life.

Maybe it is a little difficult during exams but on other days working out three days a week will increase fitness but will not lead to much weight loss.

An absolute minimum is half hour of heart pumping exercise, 5 days a week as well as resistance training, 2 to 3 times a week.

You are young and have your whole life ahead of you.

By adopting a healthy lifestyle of good eating and exercise, you can look forward to a lifetime of a great body, a strong and healthy heart and a happy and confident psyche.

Thanks for your words! I just got back from working out (my final was conveniently located right beside the gym so I just popped by afterward!). I'm starting to really get motivated. I really appreciate all your advice and comments!

In regards to the push-ups/sit-ups while studying, I cannot stress how well this has worked for me. In an hour of research, I probably push out ~ 300 pushups, which ends quite well. These might only be sets of 50 every 10 minnutes or so, but it adds up. It also gives you a chance to think about the information you just read and really absorb it.

Willpower is a myth. It's like that cool friend that you hang out with who is all fun and games, gives you the guts to do things you think you could never do, and then when you really need him, he's gone. You leave messages. He doesn't call back.

You might feel a little lost without him. Like you can't go do those fun things any more. You might sit in your apartment and mope for a little while. But the deal is, just like sitting at home alone on a Saturday night because your friend didn't return your call is a choice, so is over indulging on food that isn't healthy.

It's not easy. Trust me, I know. It wasn't easy to start 100 pounds ago. It's not always easy to maintain. But the trick is to forget motivation. Forget willpower. Depend only on habit, structure, setting up a no-fail environment, common sense, and if you're a control freak like me, numbers. Journal what you eat and go for a net caloric intake of 1200-1300 calories a day for weight loss. (That means if you burn 500 calories, eat 1700 since 1200 is a "loss" number which should be below your BMR.)

Get the junk food out of the house. Bring in healthy choices. Set up things in your house that will help you be successful. For example, I have a "2 point drawer." It has snacks in it that are only 2 points (or about 80-130 calories...I am on Weight Watchers). When I need a snack, I know I can grab anything out of there without worrying that I'm going to overdo it. I also keep a bowl of fresh fruit out on the counter at all times. In my fridge I keep lowfat string cheese, yogurt, etc. Things I can grab that are healthy, low in fat, and satisfying.

Make exercise a priority. I get up every morning an hour early to go to the gym. It is the best time to go. It's quiet, the pool lanes are open, and it's my reason for getting up each morning. IN other words, I don't get up to go to work. I get up to go work out, which is all about me. At first it was hard and I started by only getting up 10 min earlier, then another 10 min earlier, etc. It was easier that way.

I also run after work. I set an alarm on my watch that tells me it's 10 minutes from time to leave. (I'm a teacher and I realized I will never ever be "done" with everything. I used to stay two or three hours late and it never made a difference in the quality of education for my kids because I was trying to get stuff done at the end of the day when I was tired. This reminds me to leave on time and work AFTER I'm rejuvenated from a run.) I change into my running gear (and always keep an extra set at work just in case I forget something). I change into my running clothes, even if my plan is to run when I get home, so that I am transitioning from Work Tory to Runner Girl. No excuses not to work out when you're dressed for the part!

I'm not suggesting you work out morning and afternoon, but just showing you ways to make it a priority. Plan for it as if it were an integral part of your life because it is!

I know we all want to look better. We all want to have sexy bodies. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy wearing size 2s and looking good in my clothes. (Out of them, not so much after losing over 100 lbs...fortunately I am not a nudist.) But in the long run the looks will fade but I still have my health. It has to be about health. To me, a healthy body is like investing in retirement. I want to live long and I want to be one of those retirees (years from now, obviously) who travels and has this active fulfilling life. I can't decide to start thinking about my health at 64. I have to start investing in that NOW! I wish I'd started in my 20s, but I can't undo time! What's in the past is in the past and I can only think of the future. You are probably not thinking in those terms, but if you're in your 20s (which you look like you are young 20s) you do have motherhood (possibly) to look forward to, running around with kids, etc. Think about all the upcoming stages of your life and just like you're going to college to get an education that will benefit you in your future; think about what you can do health-wise that will benefit you now and in your future.

I am truly baffled by the amount of thought and time you all have put into your posts for me. It has really meant something that so many people are taking time out of their busy schedules to help me in my quest to better myself. It really has given me a new motivation to start again and transition into a new phase of life. This is the best resource I have found for my weight loss and I am truly blessed because of it (although I've only been involved for 2 days!). Thank you all so much!

Hi Bailey,

Interesting thread going on here, with a lot of great tips. A couple of key things that have really helped me in my journey (lost 43 pounds after a lifetime of weight challenges) stuck out in this thread. What do you eat for breakfast? I didn't eat breakfast while in college and it was horrible for my health. Secondly, do you own a pedometer. As a former student, I spent a great deal of time sitting (class, homework, etc.). Probably the best $10 I ever spent was a pedometer to help me understand how my physical activity measured in a given day.

Hope that helps.

Andy

Bailey,

Because you mentioned 'will power' in the title of your post: I suggest you check out the Weightloss and the Mind podcast.

Ignore the fact that the audio quality is strange, and that it's a little cheesie (I love those Canadians!). The podcasts have a lot of great information for changing your mindset about weightloss and being healthy. Their website isn't that fantastic, but make the time to listen to their podcast archives -- there's a lot of good advice in there.

thanks so much Andy and Ben I'll keep your suggestions in mind. And I'm half Canadian so the cheesiness might not be that much of an issue for me! haha!

@Bailey: Since you mentioned a final above, I assume you're in school. I invite you to join College Students, a Group established specifically for topics and issues of interest to you and your peers.

@ Tory - Great ideas, and a big high five for the "Get the junk food out of the house" line. That was one of my first moves. If it is not there, you can not eat it. My grandmother's advice to those who shop to much: You can't buy things if you don't go to the store (well not so true post internet, but you know the gist! haha) I figure same idea with the junk food. Soon enough you crave apples and bananas over chips and cookies.

Since Joining Traineo if lost only 10 lbs. In the past 4 years ive 40 altogether. Many People here will tell you that slow is the better way to go. I've slowly been losing weight and Its totally manageable. Im sad. I dont starve myself. I make sure that it doesnt feel like a battle. Its just a mental shift of thinking.

You body will learn how to cope with the changes slowly. Think of it like studying for test. Your brain will remember things. If you give your brain extra time and you study effeciently you will most likely perform better on the test. If you were to cram a whole semester's worth of studying into a week studyfest well we know how that can be. Sure you will learn it, but are you studying to get a good grade on the final or so that you can use it later on in life.

Hi Bailey,

I too, am new to this & I'm also really impressed by all the energy folks are willing to share! Pretty neet!

I'm having far more success at winnowing down my weight now than I ever had before. This past month I decided that my weight loss progress had 'bottomed out' after more that a year being a pretty good gym-rat. I'd shyed away from using any products or programs & just wanted to use that ol' willpower and stubbornness to get my weight down where I want it. I just didn't trust claims about safety & healthiness, besides it all sounded expensive.

But that route wasn't working beyond a certain point, so my research of quite a few systems out there led me to something I began last month. So, I can't say I'm an old hand at this yet, but so far I'm really stoked! I've lost significant weight every week. I've already successfully moved out of the obese category (according to BMI standards)! (I'd been told for years by fitness professionals that such a shift takes many months of hard work & dedication.) Sure glad they were wrong!

At this point, I no longer believe suffering is a necessary part of this game! And, that's a real good thing, given how bad I suck at suffering! I'd also heard that the only lasting changes are those begotten through long term efforts. I don't have that experience behind me yet, but there's a whole pile of folks who do & they agree that the long term thing is Old School now.

Bailey, I'll tell you that if I continue to be this impressed with the system I'm using, I'll become someone who's promoting it. Why not? Stay tuned!

I've read a few posts from folks on this forum that take the position that anyone who's selling something is automatically a fraud. I don't see it at all that way. Au Contrare! Doesn't that mean that whatever those people (the complainers) get paid to do is somehow automatically fraudulent? hmmm… Nope, I don't follow that at all. It's really quite simple: If I thoroughly check something out, find it to be a great thing, & then also feel good about the business side of it, I'm in! This is what investors do! Please excuse my soapbox - it just riles me to hear folks' paranoia & small mindedness get the best of them in public, no less.

Oh, & Happy Holy-Daze to All as well!