looking for advice pls

I am currently at 166 lbs, I would love to loose another 20 lbs.  The problem is I am always feeling peckish, or hungry.  Does anyone have any advise on how to loose those evil 20 lbs.... thanks

Eat less and move more.  Sorry that's about the only way to lose weight.  It took me 1.5 years to lose my last 40 lbs, but I did it and kept it off by dilligence and dedication.

That's a rather condescending line for those of us who heard it about a million times before having the surgery we needed to help us lose weight and be healthier.

Hi,

Be sure and post this on your surgery type forum too  

Work with whichever surgery you have had. Whichever it was, the usual advice is protein or dense foods first, then veggies and carbs only at the end if you need more.

if you aren't losing you are taking in more calories than you are burning. Research now shows that all calories are not equal in the effect they have on the body  (insulin spikes, fat storage etc). But the basic fact remains, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn.

It helps if you plan your meals and snacks for the day and stick to the plan. Plan protein dense meals that will fill you and the snacking will happen less. Plus if you plan you will become more mindful of when you are eating extra/off your plan and know you'll need to account for that somehow.

Drink your water... the actually amount your Dr says you should per day... it's hard to do but we all should and the bonus is it is a natural appetite suppressant.

Well and all that being said... maybe you aren't meant to be 20 pounds less... find out from your Dr what is really feasible for you versus what your ideal is.

~Michelle "Shelly"

Track every bite that goes into your mouth. Myfitnesspal is a good site to use. Get out the measuring cups and food scale. We tend to forget what a real serving size looks like.  Try limiting your calories to 1000-1200. If you really want to lose 20 pounds, you can, but you have to make good choices.

Everything above plus start weighing yourself everyday.  Don't buy into the scale will just make you feel discouraged.  When you start tracking your food and exercise and meeting your weight loss goals, the scale will make you very happy.

An excellent place to start is the method If It Fits Your Macros.  Go to their site at iifym.com and calculate exactly how many carbs, calories, protein grams, fat, and fiber you need each day to lose your weight.  Then set up your goals in myfitnesspal.

Do you know the difference between a wish and a goal?  The goal has a date attached to it.

That 20 pounds will not come off like magic.  If you lose one pound a week, it will take about six months.  If you lose 1/2 pound a week, it will take almost a year.  If you are able to really cut back on food and do a lot of exercise, then it could take ten weeks, but that would mean cutting back 1000 calories a day. 

I have a couple things to recommend.

1. Go back to Phase 1 After Surgery Diet: The Liquid Diet: Do this 2 days per week...it is horrible and everybody hates this...but it will help reset your body to lose more weight.
2. You need a goal other than losing 20 pounds...you need something to really work for...we have all worked to lose weight and that is not very motivating.  But it is motivating to get in better shape for some event...like a 5k run, or a mud run, or a dance competition, or a difficult hike that you need to train for....set the dates for these events....then push yourself to get ready for whatever event this is.  

Too many people focus on the next 5 pounds...it gets old...you need to focus on something else. I just had surgery a couple months ago, so I am not in the same boat as you...but I am already looking forward to next November...my long term goal is to go Snowboarding again...when my trainer is yelling at me for slacking I think about snowboarding...this helps me push myself.  I am also looking for a 5k mud run to join late in the summer...this might help me stay motivated in the short run and give me something to train for since snowboarding is so far off...but I just haven't found the right event yet...still looking.

I hope that helps.

Good Luck.

Lonnie Jones