Healthy Habits!!!

c_white1990

Hey there! This is my 2nd week of Healthy Habits and I've lost 9 lbs! I'm not going to say its easy but its worth it. I cut out sodas, butter, cooking with oil, salt (I actually don't use any seasonings), white breads, fast food, junk food, etc.... My diet consist of whole wheat breads, noodles, etc. Boiled, grilled or baked veggies. Boiled eggs and I take out half of the yoke. Salads with no dressings or just vinegar or Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing. Lots and lots of raw veggies for snacks. Small portions of Jasmine rice a couple times a week. Low fat yogurts and string cheese. Plain tuna, tilapia, or skinless baked, boiled or grilled chicken...............
My main thing is just watching what I eat and how I cook it. It works for me. I also exercise daily. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I try to do intense workouts and Tuesdays and Thursdays I take it easy but still do basic exercise.
I hope I can be motivation for someone else and if anyone wants to chat about their diet or routine feel free to message me!

Liftng4Lis

Welcome to MFP. Personally, I haven't had to give up a single thing. Eat at a deficit and you'll lose. Glad its working for you!

c_white1990

Thank you! Thats awesome you don't have to cut out anything. I grew up eating all the wrong things so I'm trying to turn my eating habits around not only to lose weight but to be healthier... Heart disease and diabetes runs in both sides of my family so I want to do what I can to avoid going down that road!

lemurcat12

Welcome!

I have somewhat different strategies and eating preferences and don't think there's a one-size-fits-all recipe for how to do this--cutting out egg yolks or normal salt in cooking or all butter and olive oil wouldn't work for me, for example, since I have no reason to do that, but there are probably things you choose to eat that I don't, who knows. Instead, what I do is focus on getting a balanced diet of mostly nutrient dense foods, protein and veggies at all meals, limit non-meal snacks (not something that is necessary for everyone, but it works for me), and keep higher calorie lower nutrient items as a treat or for when I have excess calories. Even more important, I keep an eye on the amount I'm eating and make sure I have an active life, since I ate pretty healthy when I started gaining weight, I just stopped being active.

What I think makes sense and is consistent with what you are doing is to understand where you were getting excess calories and can cut them out without it being too much of a hardship. IMO, it's a mistake if you decide that taste and satisfaction don't matter, since this is a lifelong thing, and I'll be honest, they do matter for me, but IMO it's certainly possible to be happy and satisfied eating an overall healthy diet with an appropriate number of calories for weight loss or maintenance.

c_white1990

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Welcome!

I have somewhat different strategies and eating preferences and don't think there's a one-size-fits-all recipe for how to do this--cutting out egg yolks or normal salt in cooking or all butter and olive oil wouldn't work for me, for example, since I have no reason to do that, but there are probably things you choose to eat that I don't, who knows. Instead, what I do is focus on getting a balanced diet of mostly nutrient dense foods, protein and veggies at all meals, limit non-meal snacks (not something that is necessary for everyone, but it works for me), and keep higher calorie lower nutrient items as a treat or for when I have excess calories. Even more important, I keep an eye on the amount I'm eating and make sure I have an active life, since I ate pretty healthy when I started gaining weight, I just stopped being active.

What I think makes sense and is consistent with what you are doing is to understand where you were getting excess calories and can cut them out without it being too much of a hardship. IMO, it's a mistake if you decide that taste and satisfaction don't matter, since this is a lifelong thing, and I'll be honest, they do matter for me, but IMO it's certainly possible to be happy and satisfied eating an overall healthy diet with an appropriate number of calories for weight loss or maintenance.

Hey there! Thanks for your input! I have done this diet before for two months and lost 21 lbs and then started slacking and gained back plus more. So I know it works for me that why I choose to do it. I'm sure there are things I should do differently like I don't think I get enough protein and I know that's very important in dieting. This go round this is only my second week so I haven't had any cheat days but starting this Sunday I'm going to allow myself 1 cheat meal every Sunday but I won't allow myself to go overboard. I've read when having a strict diet allowing cheat days is a good thing just not too many too often. I know in a couple weeks I'll start slowing down with losing the pounds and I'll have to switch things up a little due to my body getting use to my eating habits and workouts.. Its a very frustrating thing but I'm mindset and have the will power to accomplish my goal!

ezpa0801

Congrats on making this switch! Very happy for you! I'm very new to this my fitness pal thing even though it was introduced to me long time ago. I really don't know how to use it well yet...I've always been active but had/still have voracious appetite so the weight slowly n surely increased. My healthy eating habits began few yrs ago. For me, it was important to understand the body mechanism, and how my diet n exercise/sleep play a role in it. So I'm motivated by these factors in addition to the fact that I'm predisposed diabetes, hypertension, etc. I just play the balancing game. For long term weight loss n maintenance I don't believe in completely cutting out the things u like. balance and moderation will help bearing in mind that everything u put in ur mouth can either improve ur health or destroy it. Congrats again on being proactive!