In the past, I've tried to lose weight, but have usually leveled out around 180 lbs, then stagnated. My current goal weight is somewhere in the range of 165-170 or so. Since January, I've gone from a max weight of 194 (though averaging around 192), down to my current weight of 171.6 (averaging around ~172 currently).
I wanted to share what's made things more successful now, versus in the past.
1.) Being strict about socializing with friends during the diet A lot of weight loss strategies talk about the importance of being flexible, and also not going too hardcore. This is good advice, but I found that in the times where I was plateauing, I was being a little bit too loose with things - I'd give in to the temptation and go out with friends and eat, then when I got home, I'd tell myself, "Screw it, I haven't tracked anything, so I'll just snack on whatever."
A couple things helped with this problem for me: Being more strict about what I do when I hang out with friends. A weight loss diet is temporary, and in the period where I was committed to losing weight, I wanted to make sure I was actually sticking to it. If I did hang out with friends, I'd try to do something involving walking at a park, rather than going out to eat or drink.
Sometimes I would also let my friends know that I was taking a socializing break for a week or two (I'm also an introvert at heart, which helps), so I could just really focus on my deit and not eat out.
2.) Tracking food even when I eat out But I also decided enough was enough, and bought a folding food scale. My friends kind of teased me, but it only strengthened my resolve to be a complete hard ass about my diet. I would separate out my ingredients at restaurants and weigh them so I could at least have some general estimate of how many calories and how much protein I was intaking.
Even if it wasn't accurate, what this did is it put me in the mindset that I would continue to track what I ate the rest of the day - instead of spiraling into a binge where I just said "screw it."
Finally, when I was tempted to eat out or order in, I would at least do it from a restaurant that I knew listed their nutrition information. I've developed a list of some healthy go-to places for when I'm busy and don't have time to cook, or just being lazy and financially irresponsible, lol.
3.) Walking a ton I was already lifting weights, which should be a part of any weight loss plan IMO. But I ramped up my steps the further I got into my diet. First it was around 7,000-10,000 steps. Then over 10,000. Now, I strive for 15,000+ steps (though I don't always get that). I've noticed this helps me lose weight at a decent rate even when I've been a little less strict about my calories (albeit still in a deficit).
I've gotten down to a physique where you can just barely see my abs when I'm relaxed. I still want to try to get leaner (partly just to see how lean I can get, but partly because I want to do a lean bulk through the winter without losing too much progress and gaining too much fat). But so far this has been the most successful and sustainable diet I've done.
Hope this helps someone out there!
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