Tips and Tricks to stay on track

gwal

New member
Hey everyone,

I thought it would be fun to start a thread where we could share little tips or tricks that help us stay on track with our dietary and fitness goals. Maybe this sort of thread has been started before, but I couldn't find one.

My recommendation would be to give a separate post for each tip or trick.

I'll post a few of my tricks that I've talked about elsewhere.

Jen
 
Water Intake

I find that even on one's worst dietary day, if you've gotten your adequate water intake, you've done something good for yourself.

Here's my trick...

I like to get aT at least 100 oz of water per day (I know that's more than most), but it can be difficult to keep track.

I have a 32 oz water bottle, so I know that I have to drink at least 3 of them to reach my goal. I start the day off with 3 (or 4) rubberbands on my water bottle. For each bottle I've finished, I move a rubberband to the top of the bottle (or remove it altogether). When the rubberbands are all moved, I'm all done.
 
eliminate too much "tasting"

When I'm cooking a meal, I chew a piece of minty gum. This eliminates my temptation to taste as I go.

I try not to bake cookies too often, but when I do, cookie dough is an enormous downfall for me (I could eat an entire batch). The gum trick works here too!
 
I don't feel like exercising....

I read this tip somewhere, but don't remember where.

There are so many times I just don't feel like working out. But, what I do now is force myself to do the first 10 minutes of my workout. If after that 10 minutes I am still miserable, I allow myself to stop, without guilt. The idea is that by the time you've done 10 minutes, the endorphins have started to work their magic, and you'll feel like finishing.
 
When I feel my motivation lagging I pull out my fat pics, or my fat pants or even my skinny pants and ask myself "do you want to have to wear these things again" or "would't you rather wear a size 14 then a size 20?" Usually works, but yesterday it sure didn't.
 
Thanks, Iwan!

Here's another idea...anytime I'm posting or surfing this site, I will have my water bottle at hand, drinking plenty!
 
Have a morning routine. I get up, take a vitamin, and drink 1 full 6 oz. glass of water before I do anything. That gets me moving to do the other stuff I have to do.
 
when I feel myself about to loose it.........I use self talk....ie...
I really don't want to eat this donut........I know i will feel like crap later if i do.........will this really matter 20 min from now?........Just breath deep and think of somthing else.........
I usually can talk my self out of doing something i will regret later............:D ;) sometimes i have to talk to my self for 2 or 3 min to get through it.....but what ever works right!!!!
STAR
 
I find that even on one's worst dietary day, if you've gotten your adequate water intake, you've done something good for yourself.

Here's my trick...

I like to get aT at least 100 oz of water per day (I know that's more than most), but it can be difficult to keep track.

I have a 32 oz water bottle, so I know that I have to drink at least 3 of them to reach my goal. I start the day off with 3 (or 4) rubberbands on my water bottle. For each bottle I've finished, I move a rubberband to the top of the bottle (or remove it altogether). When the rubberbands are all moved, I'm all done.

Great tip!! I do the same thing with the water bottle, knowing I just need to drink 3 a day, but never thought of the rubber band thing, think I'll try that. :)

x
monica
 
When I am tempted to eat or drink something I don't need, I try to calculate how much longer I am going to have to work out to burn off the calories from that ONE STUPID can of coke(or whatever the weakness). By the time I am done with the math, I usually realize it is just not worth it. If I think it IS worth it, I'll make a commitment to myself that I WILL do the work to burn it off that day.

I can't remember where I hear it(could have been on here), but I heard someone say once that when you are tempted just tell yourself to wait twenty minutes. If you still can not resisit in twenty minutes then go for it, but usually the craving passes and you have racked up another small victory. This one works well for me.

~tiffany
 
Brush your teeth after right after every meal.

The toothbrush may be the most overlooked tool for weight loss. Afterall, nothing tastes good with toothpaste and Listerine. Equally important, tooth brushing moves you away from the table and the time it takes to brush your teeth (you should be brushing for at least two minutes) is often long enough to turn back that craving for more food.

-Charles
 
I'm definitely someone who looks to the toothbrush thing...Not only after meals, but when I have cravings too. Turns out the only thing that actually tastes okay after teethbrushing is water...and that's always good.
 
I'm new to the board but I wanted to add.

I have been a huge water drinker for years and the one thing that keeps me from Sugar. Especially Coke is my teeth and breath. It's important to flush out your mouth. And I fear what the sugar does to my teeth. Call it paranoia but it works! I rarely drink the stuff... Although I do enjoy my coffee but don't put sugar in it. Who wants rotten teeth and Foul breath! lol I always have a water bottle at arms reach.
 
One bizarre way to keep me on track is to have more sex. Not only , it also helps me to keep my mind of eating.

Another way is to drink water to suppress the appetite. Also, I treat myself with no-diet day on weekends to keep me sane. That means I binge on everything. :D
 
tricks

I like that "chains that bind", I feel like I am in a rut, I usually can pull myself out but not this time, the water thing is definaltly a problem, there is no flavor, so I usually end of drinking the flavored kind, not sure if that counts the same as plain water???
 
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