Eating fewer calories and exercising more sounds like a simple enough formula to lose weight, but actually putting those words into practice can be tricky. So whenever possible, it helps to learn a few tricks from those who have successfully battled the bulge. We've featured various weight-loss success stories over the past several months and have found a few common threads among them. And when something works, we share it!
>>RELATED: 12 weight-loss secrets from Atlantans who shed 100-plus pounds
They put one foot in front of the other.
One thing that helped Atlantans drop the weight was walking. While running marathons and taking three-hour aerobics classes are ways to shed excess pounds, sometimes all it takes is getting up, getting out and going for a walk.
Marietta resident Kim Ryan found walking to be a key to her weight-loss success. "I walk almost every day. If it's raining or too cold, I head to an indoor track," Ryan said. "I have a Fitbit and average 12,000 steps a day."
Wanda Cagle Gray of Cartersville walked her way to being 65 pounds lighter. "I walk all the time. ... I walked 30 miles four times this past year. ... I didn't like to walk at the beginning, but I love, love, love it now," she said.
In addition to Jazzercise three to four times per week, Debbie Touart credits her 31-pound weight loss to regular walking, doing "20 minutes of walking, five times per week."
Kimberley Craft of Decatur explained it this way: "A dedicated gym routine was not an option for me but increased movement was - and is - always possible," she said. "See a flight of stairs as an invitation; make several trips to the car to bring in the groceries; offer to be the delivery person at the office for errands. I love my pedometer - those daily steps add up quickly."
Their dinner includes a lean protein and veggies.
Evening meals for Atlantans who dropped weight consisted of a steamed vegetable with either skinless chicken or a piece of fish. This simple one-two punch provides lean protein, the must-have element of any successful diet plan.
Craft paired her steamed vegetables and grilled chicken or fish with quinoa, while Ryan added a salad to her dynamic duo (and brushed her teeth after dinner to limit evening snacking). June Cline of Kennesaw lost 50 pounds in seven months. Her version of a healthy dinner is tilapia with asparagus, and lunch might look like boiled shrimp and spinach salad. Whichever flavor you choose, replacing a creamy or sauce-laden entree with a protein and veggie combo seems to be a sure win for lasting weight loss.
They hold the sugar.
If there's one thing that sabotages diets everywhere, it's sugar. Full of empty calories and highly addictive, it causes jerky highs and lows in energy levels and takes up space on your daily calorie roster that should be filled with whole grains, lean proteins and complex carbohydrates.
Ryan adopted a healthier lifestyle that limited sugar, white flour and alcohol, and Michelle Cox lost 26 pounds with a diet plan that is high protein, low carb and no sugar. For sugar cravings, Cox adds stevia and vanilla to plain yogurt.
Rosalind Canty of Jonesboro lost more than 30 pounds by divorcing those empty calories. "I stay away from sugar and eat nothing sweet until it's a special occasion," she said. Sure, she might miss those sweets but her reward feels far better than anything treat could taste. "When I walk, my thighs don't rub together," she said. "I can wear clothes that I never could wear."
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