A recent survey was conducted on women who lost weight through various means and they were asked to share their tips with everyone. Here's what they had to say.
Calories aren't everything. "The one thing that I would tell myself is that skipping fruit and veggies to save calories isn't EVER going to do the trick," said Rachael Lenzmeier Jencks. "What you put in your body does matter and no amount of exercise can undo a bad diet."
You need to have your head in the game. "Anyone can work out and lose weight, but if you don't deal with the six inches between your ears, you will miss the most important part of the process," says Janelle Spady, 35. "What brought you to where you're at? What has caused you to struggle? Once you can get to the heart of the matter, everything else will follow suit."
With food, less isn't always more. Marie Rose Yardis said, "I worked with a trainer that told me I had to increase calories to support my workouts." "It felt impossible, but I did it and lost a good amount of weight as a result! We all see in the media that cutting calories equals a smaller body. But when you are combining your nutrition habits with tough training sessions, you can really do a disservice to your body by underfeeding it!"
Community support makes a huge difference. "Probably the most important lesson I've learned is that it's a constant struggle, but I've also learned that I am not alone in the battle," says Cara Lynn. "I've managed to find like-minded people who battle the same demons and who slay similar dragons. The fitness community is like no other I've ever been a part of, and I'm thrilled to have found it."
You should keep track of what you eat. "I've worked out regularly for over three years now and for the first two and a half years, my weight didn't move," says Tara Bird, 38. "It wasn't until I consistently started tracking everything that I ate that I saw the scale start to go down. I figured out what my maintenance calories were and created a deficit of 300 to 400 calories. Progress has been slow, but I've lost 23 pounds in the last year. Ideally, I would like to lose another 15 pounds, but I'm happy with my progress. Slow and steady!"
There's still time. It's never too late. "No matter how bad off you are when you start, you can still be successful," says Dawn Sabourin, 50. "Don't look at how far you have to go because you will become overwhelmed and quit." "Accept where you are starting and take one step at a time in the right direction. They will build, as will your confidence and success."
