Small But Super Helpful Habits

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  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
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    I gave up drinking soda on a daily basis. Maybe once a month I may have a coke but daily now I drink water all day long. I gave up buying junk food and keeping it in the house...if I want it I stop at the store and buy what I want as I want it...I don't like to stop at the store...so that does not happen very often so I eliminated a lot of empty calories. I started buying fresh fruit every single week.
  • manukahoneybadger
    manukahoneybadger Posts: 30 Member
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    daaaaaanielle wrote: »

    Another thing is my Fitbit (though I'm sure any activity tracker would do). That has been such a big help with getting me to move around more. I've become incredibly ineffecient in everything I do, just to get more steps! Doing the washing, for example, normally I fill the basket and stop on my way to the machine to get the right amount of detergent. Now I walk to the machine, put down the basket, walk to get the detergent box, take that to the machine, take out what I need, go and put the box back, then come back and switch on the machine. Takes more time, yep, but I spend probably about 4 times more time on my feet than I would have otherwise. Likewise with cooking in the kitchen, I prepare things on the other end of the kitchen from my fridge, take out one ingredient at a time and go back and forth.

    Totally agree with this one- I have a polar loop & I love fizzing about inefficiently. Plus it makes an inconvenient 'damn I left this/that upstairs' turn into 'yay more steps!'

    Love this little conscience on my wrist :)
  • Shanairah1991
    Shanairah1991 Posts: 152 Member
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    If I'm craving a "bad" food like chips or cookies I'll buy a single cookie or the small single bag if chips instead of a full package. It keeps me from binging after I'm satisfied.
  • omnipotentmiku
    omnipotentmiku Posts: 107 Member
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    Basically what everyone has been saying.

    Personally, for me, the biggest factor was cutting out the soda as drinking way more water (and green tea as well--mm I love my tea) in place of caloric beverages. Also I left my dad's house for my mom's; his household almost always opted for fast food while at my mom's it's home cooked meals or at the worst Subway; which isn't all that bad when you really think about it. Once I start my job I'll also probably try incorporating as many more veggies as I can cause once I cut out the junk I really started craving fruits and vegetables; pretty funny considering maybe a little over a year ago I could care less for vegetables.

    I guess the biggest thing that will contribute to weight loss is cutting out as much junk as you can, not to say you can't have small treats here and there cause I know most of us including itself have them and still lose weight and feel great, and from there listening to your body for what it needs.

    Eat your vegetables, drink water, and get moving.

    Good luck on your weight loss journey, friend.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    edited May 2015
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    1. Educate yourself
    2. Establish a proper daily calorie goal (great calculators for this on IIFYM.com. Take time to learn about TDEE and how to use it in conjunction with MFP)
    3. Weigh/measure everything you eat and LOG IT
    4. Be patient learning how much you can eat within your calorie goal. You WILL lose weight this way (physically impossible to not lose fat if you're in a caloric deficit)
    5. Educate yourself
    6. Learn about macros and set appropriate macro goals for yourself (calculator at IIFYM.com)
    7. Start aiming for reaching your macro goals (it'll take a learning process as you start adjusting your diet)
    8. Start resistance training (look into one of the beginner lifting programs on bodybuilding.com, New Rules of Lifting or Stronglifts 5x5)
    9. Educate yourself
    10. Avoid fads
    11. Don't think that you have to cut out any particular foods. Just do what works for you as you meet your calorie and macro goals.
    12. Educate yourself
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    1. Educate yourself
    2. Establish a proper daily calorie goal (great calculators for this on IIFYM.com. Take time to learn about TDEE and how to use it in conjunction with MFP)
    3. Weigh/measure everything you eat and LOG IT
    4. Be patient learning how much you can eat within your calorie goal. You WILL lose weight this way (physically impossible to not lose fat if you're in a caloric deficit)
    5. Educate yourself
    6. Learn about macros and set appropriate macro goals for yourself (calculator at IIFYM.com)
    7. Start aiming for reaching your macro goals (it'll take a learning process as you start adjusting your diet)
    8. Start resistance training (look into one of the beginner lifting programs on bodybuilding.com, New Rules of Lifting or Stronglifts 5x5)
    9. Educate yourself
    10. Avoid fads
    11. Don't think that you have to cut out any particular foods. Just do what works for you as you meet your calorie and macro goals.
    12. Educate yourself

    This

    And take all of these "tips" with a large pinch of sodium ...a number of them are fairly personal, others are just nonsensical and go against current scientific thinking

    Read the original posts in

    1) http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    2) http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

    And

    3) http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    These threads should never have been removed from sticky status and replaced with chat threads in many successful MFPers opinions
  • Pootler74
    Pootler74 Posts: 223 Member
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    3lazlow wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Eat an apple every day.
    Take the stairs.
    Eat a salad every day.
    Park far away from the building.
    Walk to the next office instead of emailing.

    I don't recommend eating apples everyday as they are very high in sugars. They are actually a 'useless' fruit nutrition wise. They are reportedly more efficient at waking you up in the morning than a cup of coffee.

    Most fruit is full of sugar. It's also full of awesome stuff like vitamins, fibre and phytonutrients.

    If you eat your apple with the skin on, you'll get all of the polyphenols, which are actually pretty good for you in lots of ways.
  • Pootler74
    Pootler74 Posts: 223 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I've been dieting on an off for about 30 years, but this is the first time I've been consistently successful, and I'm now at my lowest adult weight ever. I'm actually in a much better situation now to focus completely on weight loss, and I know that's been a major part of my success.

    A few other things have made a difference this time round.

    1. When I screw up (and I do! Often!) I start again immediately. Not on Monday. Not tomorrow. Right now. This can save thousands of calories.
    2. Don't try too hard: Make no foods off-limits. Eat the most calories you can to still lose weight. It might take a few weeks or months to find out how many that is. If you accept losing more slowly in return for being able to eat all the nice things you like, I think you're more likely to reach your goal.
    3. Take the time to prepare picnics and packed lunches instead of eating out. If I'm out for the day, I'll tote along my lunch, drinks and snacks. It's a pain in the *kitten*, and it's heavy and I get sick or carrying it around, yes. But I have no excuse to pop into Greggs. (That's a bakery that pretty much has stopped being a bakery and now mostly sells high calorie but wonderfully tempting things like hot meat pies, cakes and mayo-stuffed sandwiches.)
    4. Eat. Lots. And. Lots. Of. Vegetables. And fruit. Frozen fruit and vegetables, and home made vegetable soups take up about 1/3 of my freezer. Cheap, easy, always available. No excuses to not eat them.
    5. Konjac noodles are great in case of point number one, when you have landed face down in the biscuit tin and need a low-calorie but filling dinner to get back on track.
    6. Make smart swaps. I've not given up anything, but sometimes I swap things out a bit. Frozen yoghurt instead of ice cream. Skimmed instead of full fat. Sugar free instead of regular. Carrot sticks and apple instead of fries at McDonald's. Home made instead of store bought. Snack pack instead of family size.
  • tammyeroller
    tammyeroller Posts: 1 Member
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    Having my desk raised at work. Make sure that you have a tall chair because standing all day get be a lot, but it makes a big difference. Getting out during lunch for a walk or booking a board room at lunch to do an aerobics video (my workplace doesn't have a gym). Taking every opportunity to move.
  • BTClan
    BTClan Posts: 16 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Pre-log every morning.

    Pre-log is a great idea and I try to do that as much as possible. It really helps organize my day and I find its easier to stay within my calorie range.
  • brandlefly
    brandlefly Posts: 24 Member
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    I completely respect this opinion and the info contained therein. However, in my humble opinion, this is way to intricate for a person just staring out. It was overwhelming just reading it. I felt it to be more deterring than getting me excited to try something new.

    MrM27 wrote: »
    This tip may not be small but it is super helpful. Read. Do a lot of reading. If you have some random question about anything involving this process type it into Google or whatever search engine you use and read a link, and the next link and the next. If you think you found the answer then go search for the opposite answer and see what you find. Try to understand why the answer is the answer.

    Don't search a question based on the answers you want to see. Look towards reputable sources, not blogs or opinion pieces.

    If you get advice on here in the forum, fact check it. Many people here may give you the right answer but how do you know if it's the right answer? Go find it. I can tell you the answer to a question but how does that really help you in the long run? Why is it the right answer? How can you pass that information forward properly if you aren't clear as to why the answer is the answer. All its going to do is take is for someone to asks you when you try to relay the answer you were given if you don't really understand.

    Question: Do I have to eat within 30 min of completing my training?
    You: Yes (This guy you know that is huuuuuge told you your muscles with break down if you don't)
    Person that asked the question: Why? Why would your body do that?
    Then what's your answer?

    Why? That's all it will take to trip you up. Maybe you have another answer to the 2nd question but you can get asked again, why? The answer is never.....because. Spend some time just reading topics hear and there and it can help make your journey a lot smoother.

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I'm finding the search function of the MFP forums to be extremely useful.
  • sajivchakrat
    sajivchakrat Posts: 1 Member
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    Keep a small bottle filled with water whenever i go to shops during my work schedule so that i keep on sipping water at frequent intervals during my round in shops
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Read this thread with utmost care ...it is a bunch of anecdotal tips some of which have sound principles behind them but many are just what people are latching on to as crutches...which is great because they have found their own way ...and that's what everyone has to do

    So 1) weigh and log your food accurately and carefully to a calorie defecit across the week and 2) move more

    And follow any of the "super helpful" (sic) tips that appeal to you ...but they aren't what make you lose weight

    If you are rational ..read up about what you're doing ...there are a number of good links posted up thread

    This is a chat thread ...many succesful MFP members have no idea why it is stickied
  • aliciamariaq
    aliciamariaq Posts: 272 Member
    edited May 2015
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    rabbitjb wrote: »

    Read the original posts in

    1) http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    2) http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

    And

    3) http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    These threads should never have been removed from sticky status and replaced with chat threads in many successful MFPers opinions

    Agreed! These helped me immensely. Don't understand why they would be removed!
  • wishiwasarunner
    wishiwasarunner Posts: 202 Member
    edited May 2015
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    deleted since the question I was answering was further back in the post than I thought.

    Agree with the above post and would add "I went from Morbidly obese to six pack abs. Ask me anything" Also used to be a sticky post but now removed.
  • shosek127
    shosek127 Posts: 5 Member
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    lorib642 wrote: »
    mgcarrillo wrote: »
    I'm pretty new here, and I'm trying to start making small changes to my eating and activities that will add up in the long run to a healthier lifestyle. I wanted to ask people here with more experience than me, what small changes have you made in your life that made a huge difference to your weight/fitness/general happiness? For example, I've always hated coffee, so in college and grad school I usually drank soda for caffeine :( Now I've begun substituting black tea for my daily soda, and it's definitely making a difference, both to my weight and to how my body feels. What are some other small but crucial steps I could take to ease myself into this whole awesome-but-slightly-scary health thing?

    I love this thread. I need ideas, too. Thank you :)

  • shosek127
    shosek127 Posts: 5 Member
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    I am another newbie. Sure appreciate all who took the time to post suggestions. Love the idea of filling out my meals and snacks first thing in the morning and then simply stick to it. Thank you!!

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