Losing weight

justing wrote: Ten years ago at age 33 I lost around 40 pounds in five months (205 => 165), and I've been able to keep it off. I just did it the old-fashioned way -- eat less (way less), exercise more (way more).

This. If I do manage to yoink a donut before my coworkers hoover them all, it means I get to eat a lot less tuna & quinoa for lunch. Decrease input, increase output. 

Marc801 C wrote:
Your profile says you're 28 - come back in 30 years when your metabolism slows and you can't eat as much yet you still find you're putting on weight or having a more difficult time losing it.
I'm 63 and noticed a significant change about 2 years ago, but frankly I couldn't eat a 12oz steak even when I was 35 - just too much. These days most restaurants target a protein portion for a dinner entree at 6oz.

Lol! When I was a little kid, early elementary age, I could pack away a full steak dinner, baked potato, dessert too! That only happened very rarely though, like for our birthdays when we went out (dad and I both with January birthdays).

I'm only 4'11", and around 130-135 for a fair stretch of time (a year? longer??). About ten years ago, I was 160-165. That, was unacceptable, and fivish years ago I set out to change it.

My strategy? I don't aim to lose weight. Instead, I weigh once a week, and the point is to not gain​ weight. Each five pound increment is where I have to stay. If I am near the top, I eat less dinner, skip Starbucks, or only have the coffee OR the pastry, but not both. Put off ice cream until next week. Whatever. Once I slide down into the next five pounds, that's where I aim to stay.

Doing this, very slowly, I have slipped down into lower five pound brackets and lost a really significant percentage of my body weight without it being an onerous burden.

Now, with climbing added in the last couple of years, and arthritis, my exercise is being upped, and my sugar consumption is being lowered as much as I can. No treats is a no go, but the treats will be true treats. Still, the weight is something I consider separately and I'm sticking with my basic strategy.

Eat slowly, use small plates, start with small portions, put half your lunch in the to go box first, don't snack after dinner, eat before you're super hungry, stop when you are satisfied, don't lick the plate clean, eat real food, cook your own stuff from high quality ingredients (and tweak the recipe, you won't notice the sugar that's missing)... .the list of strategies is a long one. Much like climbing, though, it's the head game. I've lost my weight by never using "diet" as a verb! Actually, I never use it at all. 

Stay active, for it's own sake, be reasonable with what I eat (and truly enjoy it), don't gain weight. That's it, for me. YMMV

Best, Helen 132.6 at the moment ;-)