Diet - Day Two...What are your secrets for dropping lbs?

Day Two of the diet.  I really hate calling it a "diet" because I know it's supposed to be a "lifestyle change" and "diets don't work."  I know, I get it.  The fact is that this time three years ago I was about 155 lbs (I'm 5'2), a size 12 and couldn't run a 1/4 mile to save my life.  I am now right around 130 lbs, a size 6 and run 15 to 20 miles a week.  At my "best" I was down to about 120 lbs and I find that I am happiest with my weight and how I look and feel when I am between 120 and 125 lbs.  I have made the "lifestyle change" already and have stuck with it for three years but every now and again, I start indulging a little too much in sweets, wine and cheesy tex-mex and get a little sloppy with my workouts and as soon as I do that...BOOM!....I have gained 5 or 6 lbs.  So, I am working to take those off.

I think this thought may have crossed my mind before

I have found that there is no real secret to losing weight.  I am a believer in calories in-calories out and nothing more.  I will say that losing weight is hard, regardless of whether it is 5 lbs or 50 lbs.  My technique(s) for losing weight is the following:

1.  Plan your meals and prepared them in advance.  This is critical for me.  I try to take two days a week to plan and prep food in advance, especially breakfast, snacks and lunches.  When I forget my lunch is when I go out to eat and either make bad choices or simply eat too much because portion sizes are always way too large at restaurants.  It also helps to prep a few things in advance for dinner as I am usually tired when I get in and the thought of spending 20+ minutes chopping vegetables is enough to make me say "screw it, let's order a pizza."  So, I chop up all my veggies in advance and throw them in containers.  Some of my favorite, easy to prepare in advance foods are:

All over pinterest - the no bake energy bites.  They really are easy.

These are the best for breakfast!

Black Bean Cakes

2.  Plan your workouts and try to stick to it.  I usually work out 4 to 5 days a week anyway but when I need to drop lbs, I will up that to 6 days a week and sometimes even 7 but my 7th day workout is usually an easy one like a nice walk to the lake or yoga.  It's easy for me to say "I'll get up at 5am and workout" and then hit snooze until it's too late.  You really have to motivate yourself to get up and go - I always think of it as I have a plane to catch and I have never missed a flight.  That being said, if 5am is not your thing, then plan to work out over lunch or in the afternoon.  Then just go do it.



3.  Drink lots of green tea and water.  These help fill you up somewhat and a little caffeine before a workout is a good boost.  When I am eating on a diet, I try to limit my calories to less than 1500 a day.  When I do that, I typically go to bed hungry and wake up ravenous.  That's where the water and green tea help.  If you get desperate, make sure you have low calorie, healthy snacks on hand.

My go-to green tea.  Dandelion root is great for helping in digestion
and flushes out bloat.

4.  Allow yourself a few treats along the way - it's not Survivor.   Losing weight in a healthy way takes time.  For me to drop 6 or 7 lbs will mean sacrificing a lot for at least 3 to 4 weeks.  That also means no alcohol for 99% of the time.  Total deprivation is where people breakdown and I am as susceptible to that as anyone.  What helps me is having something to look forward to after a week or two of "being good."  That may mean a nice massage and pedi at the spa, a new pair of earrings or shoes or allowing myself a glass or two of wine with a dinner at a restaurant.

5.  Be patient and don't weigh yourself everyday.  I have been guilty of doing the weigh every day and then getting pissed off when I don't see immediate progress or when I see the scale tip up a pound or two.  The fact is that our weights can fluctuate up to 4 or even 5 lbs a day depending on what you eat and water retention.  So you may weigh 126 this morning and if you weigh again at 5pm, it may say 129.  The scale is just a number anyway - I really try to go by how my clothes fit and how comfortable do I feel (i.e, am I tugging at my shirt to make it looser b/c I am afraid you can see my stomach fat roll?).  The scale does help put some things in perspective so I try to use it as a gauge and only weigh myself once a week, maximum.

I know this is what it wants to say to me

Any other tips or secrets out there?