One of the most important elements of successfulweight lossis establishing a support system. For some this means leaning on friends, family, and coworkers. But that's not always enough. Sometimes, you need a community of people who truly understand the challenges you're facing because they're going through it, too.
There are hundreds of weight-loss communities to choose from, but the least obvious has to be Reddit. But the social networking site'sLoseIt subredditis a community that's collectively lost over a million pounds and an average of 39 pounds per user. On this thread, users share their victories, struggles, and tips.
To help you with your goals, we've combed through this group discussion for the best pieces of weight-loss advice.
Here's what we found.
"The only way I managed to finally break this binge-eating cycle was to give all my money, credit cards, etc., to my wife as a temporary measure. I allowed myself zero spending at all. For six whole months, I carried no cash or cards on me, and my wife did all the shopping and made all the other household purchases. I couldn't even trust myself to get gas for the car because I knew I couldn't resist grabbing a bag of chips along the way. But with time, not eating junk food became a habit. Now, I don't crave it anymore. And, in the process of breaking that habit, I saved money. A f**k-ton of money. It turns out I was spending almost $50 per day on fast food and other junk that I didn't need. By the time spring rolled around and my wife gave me my wallet back, I realized we had piled up an extra $8,000 in our bank account, just from me not stuffing my face."—Scrivener83, down 95 pounds
Check out some of the weirdest weight-loss trends through history:
"Walking the dog is a great way to get exercise in! I started by committing to 30- to 40-minute walks every morning and night, and then slowly upped it to an hour or more. At that point, I was averaging 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day. Eventually, I found it to be therapeutic. I would listen to music, podcasts, or call my family while walking. At sunrise or sunset, the view can be especially stunning and it makes you realize how damn lucky you are to be able to walk around and just enjoy the world."—acciointernet, down 30 pounds
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"For me, finding something filling and tasty goes a long way.Costco/West End chicken skewersare awesome. Each skewer is roughly 75 calories, and I feel like three to four are more than enough for a filling entree. [I also rely on] Bai variety packs. I like soda, a lot. So having other flavored options that help cut out calories is fundamental to me."—PatrickKelly2012, down 75 pounds
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"I saw this Youtube video that I forgot the name of, but the message was basically that this woman is making garlic bread for herself and her overweight friend. As soon as the garlic bread comes out of the oven, her friend shoves it in her mouth without chewing and swallows three or four pieces. Her justification was 'I love garlic bread.' But what she just did does not reflect that. Someone who loves garlic bread would wait for it to cool and chew it slowly to savor it. Similarly, many people struggle with weight loss because they 'love food.' If they could adopt the mindset that loving food means having respect for it, that makes a huge difference."—ROSCOES-JUMPSUIT
"The most important thing you need to do to lose weight is to stick with your plan the best you can every day. So what if you have a bad day? Or a bad week? The only time you truly fail is when you stop trying. One perfect day is no competition for 10 good or okay days. Sometimes it pays to start small. Even baby steps are steps!" —sarahboola, down 100 pounds
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"I started off eating about 1,400 calories a day, which I continued to lower until about 1,200. At first the idea of eating only that much seemed insane, but then I learned that I really, really love vegetables. Broccoli and green beans pretty much became my best friends. I didn't even come close to dropping any of my favorite foods though! I still had cheesecake and ice cream, just smaller serving sizes every now and then instead of every single day."—xBinx, down 55 pounds
