name one habit that you feel has helped you significantly on this journey?

ican_doallthings

For me, I feel that drinking plenty (and I do mean plenty) of water every day has helped me significantly. Even on those bad days when I have eaten more than I wished I did, when I have been well hydrated it really kept me feeling "less bloated" the next day, on track and feeling good!

laffek

This^^^ I am in 100% agreement with this. I aim for 10-12 cups a day. Anything less than 8 and I find myself giving in to cravings, thinking about food constantly, etc.

maddyk91

Drinking water and weighing my food.

My food scale was one of the BEST purchases to help me reach my goals.

sliverqueen

Same here, ditching diet cokes and drinking water instead! I don't crave sweets anymore and I think that has something to do with it.

GiveMeCoffee

Being brutally honest with myself and taking personal responsibility for all my choices

4leighbee

Making the gym at noon a priority like any other meeting on my calendar - and eating healthy snacks at my desk throughout the day, instead of envisioning "lunch." Making sure I'm never hungry.

kaylaaah88

Buying a scale and weighing in once a week. That was a turning point for me. Before I was scared to see the number and now I've accepted my weight and that I'm the one responsible for it. Also, getting up and going to the gym first thing was a big deal for me too. Now I love going and look forward to it even.

snickerscharlie

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

Being brutally honest with myself and taking personal responsibility for all my choices

^^^ This!

I'm now drinking 7 - 8 cups of water a day, and find that it really does help curb the munchies. What also helps me is small ice cubes. It adds to my water intake and having one in my mouth really seems to satisfy the craving to actually *have* something in my mouth. Not sure why it works for me, but it does!

snickerscharlie

Oh, I forgot to mention - I've read that a lot of times, food cravings are actually a result of being dehydrated, instead.

NinjaoftheBeastAjah

Exercise whether I feel like it or not. Just get in the door of the gym. 9 times out of 10 I feel better once I get started and get a great workout.

AmazonMayan

Actually weighing my food is way up on the list. I bought my food scale almost 2 years ago and it became a dust collector until late December 2014.

Best habit is accurate logging. I'm more full now on less quantity food since paying attention to nutrition with logging. It makes me choose nutrient dense food most of the time.

kpkraft

Food scale all the way! Really knowing what a serving is can completely change things because you realize you've probably been over eating everything. What I used to think was a serving of cereal is really 2 and when I took the time to measure out the cheese I was putting on something, a serving was like 3x less than what I would typically use. Those little things add up and knowing is half the battle

dalhectar

Three things because 1 isn't enough:

1. Running daily, regardless of weather or what else is happening during the day.
2. Being honest about what I eat. Logging food even on days I go over calorie budget.
3. Planning meals in advance.

tinascar2015

My biggest problem has always been compulsion: I think about food, I eat food. Period. Having healthy alternatives ready has been a huge help.

One thing that really saves me is making sure I keep up with grocery shopping and always have fruits and veggies prepared and ready to go for snacks, breakfasts, etc. I'm now shopping twice a week because we run out of produce. I get lazy and won't peel an orange for a snack, but I'll gladly pull out a container of citrus sections or fruit salad. Same with veggies. I roast butternut squash, cauliflower and broccoli have them ready to go for those I get compulsive.

Oh, and also the OXO digital kitchen scale. It used to be in a drawer and I pulled it out once a week. Now it has a permanent place on the counter.

riffraff2112

logging. When I log I succeed. When I stop, I slide.
Obviously MFP keeps me accountable but it goes beyond that.
I keep a separate journal where I log my exercise and fitness workouts. Something so rewarding about filling up those pages makes me want to get back in the gym or hit the open road.

AmandaHugginkiss

Working out. Exercise. Lifting Weights. Biking. Getting off my butt. Moving around. Walking.

I sit, I eat. I don't sit, I still eat, but the calories aren't nearly as detrimental.

spookyface

I won't eat lunch until I have exercised.

healthybodyhealthylife

Telling myself I don't NEED to eat what everyone else is eating and just following my plan. Not sure if this counts as a 'habit'

Jolinia

I stopped seeing food as a form of entertainment and started eating the foods that give me the most energy for healthy entertainment instead.

Sadly the cupcakes were much cheaper. But someone gave me a bike and I found some rollerblades at the thrift store for six bucks, so I shouldn't cry too much. And I still have video games.

Francl27

Weighing my food and logging everything.

Lounmoun

Pre-logging my whole day in advance.
Being patient and trusting that if I eat at my calorie limit I will lose weight.
Not cutting things out of my diet, just eating less of some things and more of others.
Drinking water and waiting a bit to see if I am really hungry or the feeling goes away instead of automatically reaching for a snack.

lstyper

Making sure I log everything I shouldn't be eating

echmainfit619

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

Being brutally honest with myself and taking personal responsibility for all my choices

Something that 99% of people in the world can't do (or refuse to do). It's always someone else's fault, right?

Capt_Apollo

logging everything.

everything.

usmcmp

Logging everything.

Lifting.

malibu927

Weighing my food and logging everything as accurately as possible

KrunchyMama

Giving up coffee.

It always gives me a blah gross feeling afterwards, and I feel super dehydrated, even if I drink a lot of water. Makes me want to eat to try and get rid of that gut-rot feeling too. I started out by just drinking coffee on weekends, and now I prefer tea to coffee any day.

I love the smell of coffee though, and I miss the social aspect of sharing a pot of coffee with my husband.

Jruzer

Consistent exercise.

SideSteel

Increasing (significantly) the whole foods portion of my diet and eating a lot of vegetables.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Oh so many:
1. logging every single morsel, every single day
2. not making excuses and not letting "life" get in the way of me reaching my goals
3. getting creative - such as swimming lengths while my son is in lessons instead of sitting on the sidelines
4. staying the course with diet and exercise rather than falling for the latest diet fad
5. not being too hard on myself. I'm never going to look like a model, and I'm okay with that
6. trying new things, both exercise and personal interest (have to exercise the brain too). Going outside of my comfort zone
7. Not letting my anxiety issues rule my life. Going to a new class with new people terrifies me and I have a panic attack every time. But I always enjoy myself and am glad I went (and bonus, activity helps with anxiety)
8. Trying new foods and recipes. Switching it up. Enjoying food instead of seeing it as evil.
9. Bringing my family in on the action. My son loves to run and play soccer and even though it doesn't burn a lot of calories for me since he's only 4, it's instilling a love of activity and healthy habits in him. Trying to get my husband to run but....
10. Understanding that this journey is just as tough mentally as it is physically.

OK so I have 10....whoops

Sabine_Stroehm

Drinking water.
Moving more
Looking at the sugar and fiber content of my store bought foods.