Reply #15: My husband and I each lost 75 lbs 4 years ago and have kept it off. [View All]

[grace0418]

I still have more to lose, but that's another story.

Some advice I have...

First of all, ignore the bullshit about nighttime being the time you're not supposed to eat. There are multiple studies out that refute that claim. In fact, you do much better if you eat smaller meals every four hours than if you eat three meals and stop at 6 o'clock. That doesn't mean you should go nuts and eat a whole cake before going to bed, but you absolutely can eat at night if you work it into your day's calories. I try to have lots of cut up fruit and veggies in the fridge and I snack on those after the gym (we go at night after dinner). If you need something more substantial, keep hummus on hand (read the labels and make sure you're not buying high fat varieties). The kind we buy (Oasis, I think) is really low in calories and so delicious. A few spoonfuls on cucumber or a slice of whole grain bread is super satisfying.

Start making simple substitutions. Brown rice for white (now I like it better), sweet potatoes for white potatoes, whole fruit for juice, whole grain bread for white. These aren't necessarily lower in calories, but they are higher in nutrition and often more filling. Oh, and something I learned when we started doing this: unless the bread says 100% Whole ______ (wheat, rye, spelt, whatever grain) don't bother. If it says multi-grain, 7-grain, whole wheat, whole grain, etc. without the 100%, it can have as much as 99% processed white flour, and will often have a lot of additional sweeteners to make it "taste better".

If you are eating out and want a sandwich, eat only half the bread. For a burrito, eat the filling and not the tortilla, or just get a burrito bowl. If you look up the calorie count, you'll be AMAZED at how many calories the tortilla adds to a burrito. Skip one or two high-calorie ingredients in a salad or pizza or any other dish you might order. Even if the dish is a bit of a splurge, you can easily trim 150-200 calories from it by doing this. And you may not even notice the difference. Oh, and always get dressing on the side, and dip your fork in it rather than pouring it over the salad.

Learn to cook a few simple dishes that you love and are healthy. You have much more control over the calories, fat, sodium and all around nutritional content if you cook it yourself. If you learn something versatile like pasta sauce or stir fry, you can change up the ingredients and flavors to get a number of different combinations with the same basic recipe. One meal we make a lot, especially in the summer, is lettuce wraps. We make them Thai or Vietnamese style with fresh herbs (Thai basil, mint, cilantro), chicken or shrimp, thin slices of cucumber and carrot, ground peanuts, sometimes noodles or brown rice, and dipping sauces (there are tons of recipes online for basic Thai or Vietnamese dipping sauce). We make them Mexican with avocado, black beans, salsa, cilantro, grilled fish/chicken/shrimp. Or even Frenchy, with sliced pear, walnuts, fresh herbs, chicken, and a little goat cheese. They are super delicious, easy and filling, and they feel very fancy.