strangest thing...

PhillyGal34

i just had some sushi for lunch and was eating with chopsticks and my coworker came to my door and was amazed at how easily I could use them.  She asked how I got so good with them and I explained that I used to make myself eat everything with chopsticks to slow myself down so I could feel full and lose weight... only problem is that eventually I got really good with chopsticks so it didn't work...

so i got to thinking, whats the weirdest (but safe... not pills!) thing you have done to lose weight???

LittleKatie13

For a while when I started grad school, I would only eat prepackaged food (mostly lean cuisines) on weekends when I had to study so I didn't have to measure anything.  Even when I wanted salad, I got one of the kits from the grocery store so I knew exactly how many calories were in everything.

raynes

I went to a University that was (or at least in my program was) predominatbly Asian.  I rather quickly picked up chopstick useage. 

I don't really have any odd quirks.  Unless you count the billion containers that I bring my lunch in everyday.

Steph0871

The thing that really helped me was going to college.  I was at a pretty large University... I usually walked at least 20-25 minutes between each class and work and home.  I actaully lost about 15 pounds freshman year.

After I graduated, though, was a different story.  But I still LOVE walking thanks to the 4 years of school!

jabeckner

I still do this and a lot of people think I am weird, but I swear it works. When eating a salad I always order or put my dressing on the side and dip my fork into the dressing then salad. I use about 1/4 of the amount I would use if I poured the dressing on my salad. And because I love full fat thousand island ( I know so 80's) I can still have it since the amount I use really only has like 5 grams of fat and 60 calories.

jenb1205

Raynes, I do the same thing.  I have a built NY bag and most days I can't zip it.  It's primarily because of my green monsters.  I end up with a container for kefir, a container for spinach, a container for protein powder and a baggie of frozen fruit.  All for one glass!  I could probably mix it all up in advance in one container but I'm odd like that. 

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astone2011

jabeckner, I do the fork/salad thing too!  I actually just did that today for lunch!  I love Ceasar dressing, which is NOT good for you, but doing it that way I used maybe 1/4 of the packet of dressing.  I also pour syrup on the side if I have whole grain waffles for breakfast.  It doesn't soak into the bread that way and you still get the taste of syrup when you dip it.  Not to mention you use WAY less!

maria1012

I've replaced all salad dressings (I used to love French or Catalina) with fresh salsa. Not only does it really add flavor, it adds to my veggie count. I will never go back. 

Another weird quick: Ice. I love to eat ice and when I crave something, I have a glass full of crushed ice first to see if I'm just really thirsty instead of hungry. I've always craved ice, even as a child. So much that my mom would just get me snowcones without the syrup (thanks for keeping me healthy, Mom). 

kee80

I've stopped using public transport.  If I need to be somewhere, I walk.  Sometimes it means leaving waaaaay ahead of time so I'm not sweaty by the time I arrive, but I've lost almost 20 lbs!

danielleleandra

I dip my fork in the dressing too! They only salad dressing I really like is Ranch and I only like the full fat kind so instead of sacrificing it all together I just dip my fork in it. My friends all think I am nuts, but they are the ones having to eat the not so tasty low-fat and fat-free Ranches!

bblouin

I don't even use salad dressing on my salads.  Just fresh squeezed lemon... I don't miss it at all although I find I get chapped lips much more often.

weseloh

I don't eat carbs for dinner and dont eat after 7pm the latest.

I started to lose a few pounds quickly this way but since my wedding is a short 3 months away, I'm eating very lean and low carb now. That means egg white and veggie omelette (or 1 hard boiled egg) for breakfast, 10 raw almonds mid morning, chicken and vegg or salad for lunch, few slices of turkey mid afternoon and salmon or chicken with broccoli or spinach for dinner. tons of water.

I swear, I've never seen the weight come off this fast!  oh, and I switched from coffee to pomegranate green tea.  I'm lazy for working out (starting to do weights for toning) and this does require will power but the rush you get from the scale is WELL worth it!!

Good luck to all! I think I'm going to rock that honemoon bikini!

drh0818

Breakfast breakfast breakfast!! And a healthy one at that, not something you get through a drive-through.

Next thing would be smaller portions.

You don't have to cut meat out of your diet...you need the protein--especially if you're exercising. Just make sure it's LEAN (p.s. turkey has more cholesterol than lean beef).

Drink WATER if you're drinking anything at all, and only eat when you're HUNGRY.

PetraStonegirl

For me, it's about the math. 

I calculated out my daily caloric need to maintain my current weight (2800/day), and then deducted 750 calories for each pound I wanted to loose per week (2), and logged onto a free website (www my-calorie-counter com) to track what I eat every day. It was working like a charm, and I had lost 25 of the 60 pounds I had to loose. Unfortunately, I was in an accident an broke/tore pretty much everything in my leg, and the surgeon took me off the diet, so that I would have a surplus of everything my body might need to heal. In short, by the time I got the thumbs up to restart the diet, 10 months later, I had gained 20 pounds back. So, I'm back on the diet and the weight is coming off again, two pounds a week like clockwork. I'm only eating 1300 calories a day and I'd never, never recommend anyone dropping below that. 

I've found that keeping to that calorie count isn't the most difficult part, but rather the true challenge is keeping a well balanced diet for all the nutrients I need. So, I try balance meats, veggies, fruits, and carbs, as well as vitamins and minerals. My favorite dinner is a huge salad with a warm meat (steak, shrimp, or chicken) a fruit, (mango, strawberries, blackberries), and several handfuls of greens. I either use the fork trick for salad dressing, or I use those salad spritzers. I found that the red wine vinaigrette doesn't have any unnecessary ingredients, and I refill the spray bottle with my own vinaigrette afterwards. I do take a multivitamin and extra vitamin D, as I live very far north. 

So, maybe not strange, but in this day of fad diets, just doing the math seems a bit odd. I think chopsticks is a clever idea, but I've always been too efficient with them to do any good.

Best of luck with your diet! 

marie22larson

I used to chew on ice too, it turned out that I was anemic!  Chewing ice is great for water intake (really bad for teeth), but you could have an iron deficiency!  Get your blood (hemoglobin) checked!  You'll have so much more energy!  Good luck

dr52383

i've cut way down on my soda consumption...

barino

I signed up to run a triathlon 10 days before my wedding. I'm in week 2 of my training...

We'll see how that goes!

lele7575

these are some really good ideas that i will incorporate in my weight lost plan!!  i havent done anything weird or strange yet but i'm sure it's coming 

memoriesof

Ok, I don't think its strange, but I've cut out all juice and soda and vitamin drinks and alcohol in favor of water or lemon water.  Coffee and tea without half and half and sugar.  So far, nothing else has changed and I've cut out about 5 lbs in 2 months!  If I can keep it up, by wedding time, I'll be able to fit into the dress!

RunNTeach23

I did the same thing!  I love adding fresh salsa to my salads... I never liked dressing so I always used to top it with TONS of cheese- which is probably even worse.  But I gave up cheese a few months back so now I use salsa.  If you add baked tostito nacho chips with some chicken its amazing!  I also once in awhile add a small amount of buffalo sauce to a chicken salad. It is very high in sodium so I mean add very little, but it adds an awesome kick and you only need a very small amount!

KatlinW

This isn't something I do but to help with portions there is dinnerware called Slimware. It has 3 flowers on it for decoration but the flowers are actually used for portions measurements! I'm sure you can just google "Slimware" and find it.

Grasia16

IF anyone has an iPod touch or iPhone, there is an app called "Lose It". You basically put in your information about your weight and how much you want to lose. It calculates it for you and tells you how many calories you can consume in one day. During the day, you plug in how much calories you eat for each meal (it has most food items listed with the app!) and you can also plug in how many calories you lose through exercise!
I used this ALL the time, and it is great at showing you portion control and how important exercise is (even walking!). I have lost weight doing this, especially because my exercise is not consistent, I need to know how much I can eat!

alysia0615

i switched to crystal light in my water instead of pop. the crystal light is only 5 calories per 16 once bottle so im drinking aleast two bottles a day and nothing else except the 1 8oz. cup of coffeei despritley need in the morning 

bbyckes

In my late teens and early 20's, I had a boyfriend who was naturally thin.  He couldn't gain weight to save his life.  He actually took weight gain and it never worked. Granted he never really ate.  I mean, he's one of those people who "forgot" to eat.  Can you imagine that?  Forgetting to eat? 

Anyway, not knowing a whole lot about metabolism back then, I just thought, well he doesn't eat very often, I'll just eat when he eats.  I'll be sure to lose weight, right?  Uh, no.  He literally never ate and I was so hungry all the time.  I would say things like, "Are you sure you're not hungry now? haha  It was bad.  I think I lasted about 3 days.  That was definitely a no-go.

loritajean

Haven't done anything weird. Right now I'm calorie counting (a pain, but it helps train you to learn portion control)

I've lost about 12 pounds in a month and a half, all while eating stuff I love. (just smaller portions and eating on a regular schedule)

It's the best diet ever, because it doesn't really feel like a diet.

loveboat1

I know this is going to sound crazy but my wedding is July 17, 2010.  I started on March 1st going to the gym 6 days a week and my fience' hired a personal trainer.  My goal is to loss 40 pounds and my last main fitting is June 10th for my dress to see what need to altered or what I need to work on.  So far, along with changing my eating habits, I've lost 23 pounds.  I know it's a little drastic but I know working out and eating right really works for me.

KatrinaandTim

I have been trying to do the "lemonade diet" which is kind of a "cleanse" also.  I don't do it for days at a time, just like half a day at a time.  You take 14 oz of water and squeeze a whole lemon into it, then add grade B maple syrup and a TINY dash of cayanne pepper.  Mix and drink.  It really does take away your hunger.

mendy16

Wear small or tight jeans to feel full faster. Also I try not to eat after the sun goes down. So as long as the sun is up, I'm able to eat, but when it's setting I'm gonna have to go straight to bed. (the winter months kill because the days are so short )
Also Bikram Yoga helped me shed the water weight fast. It also helps you tone up and lean out because of all the stretching. but initially it is a lot of water weight that you lose.

Lissa9461

http://www.miraclenoodle.com/

Completely calorie free..... ate with chicken breast and low-carb sauces.... When you first open the package they smelll SO bad!! But once you rinse and dry them they don't taste like much of anything but they fill you up.

I lost 20+ pounds in two months.

silverbeltgirl

I am using the book "Denise's Daily Dozen" by Denise Austin. Her workouts or quick and help tone. I also bike or walk instead of driving when possible or walk around the lakes in my town (5.5 miles) with a friend in the mornings. I hit the gym to read bridal magazines.

I also changed many of my eating habits. I eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. Snacks are usually veggies and hummus, almonds, or fruit. I only eat 100% whole wheat bread products (including tortillas) and I always check ingredient lists for added sugar, high sodium and added preservatives. I never buy anything with corn syrup or hydrogenated oils.

Good luck!

jayasolo

I have a friend who likes to eat ice. I heard somewhere along the way that craving ice means you have low iron or something like that. No idea if that's actually true though.