29 Weight Loss Tips From Women Who Have Lost 100 Pounds

It's hard work to lose weight, for sure. Sometimes you need a little inspiration. Get it from these women have each lost almost 100 pounds — or much, much more:


1. Start small. "I began walking or jogging for 15 minutes a day. I worked up to 30 minutes, and then increased it again. It was a very gradual process."

2. Don't give up when your weight loss plateaus. "I remember hitting the first plateau and feeling so defeated, but you have to push through and keep putting in the effort for your plan to work. You can't get discouraged."

3. Be realistic about which habits need to go. "When I was heavy, I'd eat French fries every single day, plus carbs at almost every meal — like a sandwich for lunch or bread with pasta for dinner. A diet so heavy in fried food and carbs just isn't conducive to weight loss. To lose the weight, I went from three large meals a day to six small meals, mostly made of fresh vegetable salads with lean meats and nuts. And no more bread!"

4. Find a healthy meal you like and eat it all the time. "In college, I researched the food available in the dining hall to find the healthiest options, settling on a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with mustard. I ate that for most lunches and dinners — and I was so focused on achieving my goals that it didn't even feel repetitive."


5. Start with one small change. "I realized that a lot of sugar and calories that I consumed came from drinks, so I challenged myself to drink only water — no sugary drinks! — for 30 days. After just one successful week, I decided to add another challenge: to cut back on the carbs I was eating. When I did eat bread, I switched to wheat bread and when I wanted rice, I used brown rice."

6. Make your old favorites healthier. "I've always loved burger and fries, so I also started making healthier versions of foods that were familiar to me, like turkey burgers with wheat bread and sweet potato fries."

7. Prepare for heavy meals. "When I know I'm going out for dinner, where I'll probably want to eat extra calories, I eat lighter meals throughout the day, like a smoothie for breakfast and a salad for lunch."


8. Switch out bad snacks for good snacks. "I used to snack on chips, candy bars, and other junk food throughout the day, but now I eat a set six times a day. My new snacks include protein bars or shakes, pistachios, celery sticks with PB2 (a lower-fat peanut butter), and low-fat string cheese."

9. Order smarter salads. "I cook most of my meals at home now but make healthy choices at restaurants like Applebee's if I go out. For instance, while I used to eat tacos, burgers, fries, and shakes, I now have salads without croutons and ask for a low-fat dressing on the side."



10. Cook for yourself. "I bake fish with olive oil or make barbecue-style ground turkey. I eat green beans, carrots, celery, low-fat cottage cheese, string cheese, pistachios, olives, low-fat yogurt, grapes, and tangerines. And I usually don't feel hungry."

11. Double down on veggies if you're unsatisfied after eating a snack or meal. "If I'm still hungry, I turn to vegetables rather than junk food."

12. Pack snacks for late nights at work. "At my heaviest weight, my downfall was eating fast food on my way home from work at 9:30 or 10 p.m. Now I bring food and snacks to work so when I get home, I'm not starving and feel more in control."

13. Say no to free refills. "I used to drink diet and regular pop regularly — restaurants gave me refill after refill, and I would lose track of how much I drank. Now I ask for water instead of pop, which I've given up altogether."


14. Don't stock foods that tempt you. "I don't keep ice cream in the house because I can't say stop myself from going back for more helpings. This way, I have to go out and buy a single-serving ice cream cone when I want to indulge. Even then, it's just one helping, and then I'm done."

15. Move during your lunch break. "During my lunch, I'll walk on the treadmill at work or outside for 30 to 40 minutes."

16. Stash snacks everywhere. "I carry meal replacement or protein bars in my purse and car to eat whenever I miss a meal. This way, I fend off hunger so I don't overeat later."

17. Eat more often. "I switched from three meals a day to six small meals a day."

18. Split edifice meals with an exponent. "When I share meals, I find yourself consumption smaller parts while not being tempted by leftovers on my plate. If i do not have someone to separate a meal with, I at once place half the portion i am served into a takeout box, and vow to not decide at it for a minimum of 2 days."

19. raise weights to reduce. "While cardio has helped Pine Tree State burn fat, power-lifting has been such an enormous a part of my success: Lifting serious weights with a trainer extremely helped Pine Tree State sculpt my body. once regarding four months of coaching, i used to be ready to squat holding 360 pounds — twenty five pounds quite I weighed once I began my weight loss journey."

20. Move even on rest days. "I calculate six days per week and take an energetic day of rest once per week wherever I hike or take a yoga category."

21. Take responsibility for unhealthy habits. "It's still arduous on behalf of me to admit that i used to be a binge eater. a minimum of once per week, i might stop at a beigel place on my thanks to faculty and order a beigel with cheese, and a Taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on a tough roll, and a sausage, egg, and cheese on another beigel — i might even get 3 drinks therefore the employees would suppose i used to be reading breakfast for 3 individuals. Then eat all 3 sandwiches in my automobile. I referred to as it associate addiction, however that was simply associate excuse."


22. do not use exercise as associate excuse to eat poorly. "When i started my journey, i made a decision that I did not need to "ease" into a healthy life. I at once cut out all the unhealthy foods i used to be consumption thus i would not use my fitness program as a license to still eat poorly underneath the gloss of "Well, i am understanding, so it's OK."

23. Keep it straightforward. "I take a minimalist approach to nutrition: My diet consists of lean supermolecule (chicken breast, egg whites, ground turkey), advanced carbs (quinoa, sweet potatoes, oatmeal), healthy fats (coconut oil, almonds, avocados), and leafed inexperienced veggies. I eat as clean as I will — regionally full-grown vegetables, organic once attainable, and minimally processed everything."

24. At the market, look the perimeter. "Everything i want is within the turn out section, at the counter, or within the farm section. I avoid the middle aisles of the market unless searching for specific buttery things like quinoa or oatmeal."

25. Prepare food before. "I eat 5 tiny meals every day, however solely prepare them double per week in massive batches in order that everything is formed and prepared to travel once I get hungry."

26. Schedule a weekly cheat meal. "I enable myself one cheat meal per week right once my hardest exercising and use it as the simplest way to derive pleasure foods I crave heedfully whereas still staying on target."

27. Drink all the water. "I carry a gallon of water with Pine Tree State all day long till it's finished. Dragging it around field appearance ridiculous, however i do not care."

28. placed on music once you do not feel like planning to the gymnasium. "Being physically active has nothing to try and do with planning to the gymnasium, however moving your body and burning calories is what matters. once I don't need to travel, I simply activate my music and either dance or rain dance hoop with my kinswoman."

29. Treats do not belong in your house. "I do not keep juice, chips, or cookies in my house as a result of they are treats: i do not eat them daily. Time to time, I do indulge, however solely in tiny parts."