What has made you successful so far?

pjsdj

I'm interested if there are 1 or 2 things that have really helped pull you along on this journey? I'm finding pure logging is doing absolute wonders for me!!! Really helps me keep on track and stay organized. It's so much easier to sit down with a full tummy and pure plan the next day than to be in the moment and starving and be like eh it's only 200 cal and I'm Hungary and deserve it!! And by the end of the day those little moments add up to being way over my goal. Plus it's nice to see a snapshot of what I planned and than take a min to readjust so I can go lower or be more balanced.

GAsoulstar

What has made me successful so far? Just the belief that I can become healthier. I love the fact that I feel better and have more energy. I think we me everything starts with my confidence and the importance of being better. I enjoy working out and feeling better. My biggest successful so far is my effort to work on becoming a better me.:bigsmile:

momzeeee

1. Intermittent fasting (alternate day IF for weight loss and now 8:16 IF for maintenance)

2. Having a realistic idea of what maintenance is going to be and being 110% determined to be part of the 5% success rate for long term weight loss success and not the 95% that fail.

cruzcrzyMarie

Accountability(I check in daily with an internet group outside of MFP).

Daily weighing(works for me, even travel with a scale!)

Logging honestly

Daily exercise(walking 3-7 miles daily)

I've been in maintenance over a year now, and it does not get easier. It is a daily effort for me. It's worth it though.

cwaters120

My success has been because of three things: taking the time to PLAN my food, MAKING the time for exercise, and the determination to see myself succeed - without the last the first two mean nothing.

lil_pulp

Routine. I have a routine of working out most days of the weeks and it's become routine to buy/eat healthy food and only get one meal per week that isn't home-cooked. I now always park farther away than necessary, never use elevators, etc.

Also the thought: "How would the person I want to be approach this?"

GymBeast2

For me right now is: being ticked off at all the haters who have to make back handed comments about my loss. Makes me motivated to stay on track or keep trying ( I eat when I get upset).

Plus the lack of spouse support...More motivation to be stronger and healthier

I have more people who who know me through the gym and at work who cheer lead for me.

nikilis

how much better I felt once I started feeling so much better from eating well, and the fact that I'm stubborn so once I decided I was gonna do it that was it really.

caffeinekandie

1. Logging all my food (or lack thereof) honestly.
2. Accepting that I don't have to sacrifice what is important to me (health and eating well) for the benefit of everyone else.
3. Deciding not to really have a goal weight in mind, but I want to fit into my old clothes, and have set up specific fitness goals.

londonboyben

determination and and keeping emotions out of it

i am determined to do this simply because i started and see no reason to give up, would make all my efforts so far pointless and that would just annoy me

and i keep emotions out in the sense that i don't get angry or frustrated if i have a bad or lazy day, i just accept it and move on knowing that if emotions become involved its 100x harder,

BigBrunette

Consistency and patience.

beckieboomoo

I've always been a yoyo with my weight but when i reached my highest weight of 210lb enough was enough i wanted to be beautiful and healthy! What was different this time was me actually seeing what a fat *kitten* id become, what's keeps me going is motivation, loved ones, my very supportive bf, mfp and my friends on mfp just about 1/3 there of my weight loss 20 lb gone 43 lb to go

gogoyubarino

Bone hard toughness.

There were days I didn't want to go for a run, tired after work all I wanted to do was just veg out in front of the computer and play games. Those are the days I made myself go for that run- I have pushed myself out of the house while crying. If nothing else, I've been quite tough mentally and that is just an awesome bonus.

I have logged my food intake every single day- honestly.

I have reminded myself of how terrible I felt when I was overweight.

I have prioritised fitness over family events, work get togethers and drinks and short term satisfaction. I don't care if people think I'm boring, a kill-joy or addicted. I can live with that.

heatherlee33

Planning my day at the very beginning of the day. No wondering, breakfast and lunch are packed and taken with me everyday. No worries. If I don't plan it I wait, until I'm starving, and then I eat...at arbys. Unless I can get a co worker to talk me down and shame me into subway.

missylee117

learning to read food labels and how many calories, fat etc is in food. And EXERCISE of some form each day.

Samiamy2k

This has been a lifelong struggle for me (I"m 53) and my success is based on three things:
1.) MFP- they've tapped into the thing that makes men memorize baseball stats and women differentiate between thirty different high heels of essentially the same design. We love to categorize and classify. By keeping track and having access to instant information it feeds that thing in me that needs to have a constant flow of information, and as such keeps my interest and feeds my compulsive nature.
2.) Journal Keeping/Calorie Counting
The Journal plays into the compulsion stated above, and being able to access the nutritional information on any product makes it work. If I kept searching without finding what I was looking for I'd have given up long ago. As for the calories, I wouldn't guess some of the calorie counts I see. I'm sure I had many days in my past life that I consumed upwards from 2000-2500 calories in a single meal. Now I haven't had any days over 2600 calories in four months, or over 1500 calories in the last six weeks (adjusting for exercise)
3.) Getting kicked to the curb
My wife just decided to take a different path in February- she either went crazy or came to her senses, depending on your perspective. Either way, it was a serendipitous moment for me and catalyzed me into action. Now I'm closing in on my goals and about to take the feminine world by STORM.
Here's Louis CK discussing the dynamic- NSFW, but only mildly profane. --> http://youtu.be/8Kr6RGpmxtA

Samiamy2k

I don't know if they have them were you're at, but there are a number of fast food restaurants that are pretty low in calories. Pollo Tropical, El Pollo Loco, Taco Cabana and a number of other outlets offer rotisseried chicken, which is about as low fat as it gets. They all offer bowls as well, that you can have with any mix of rice, beans, salad, and toppings. Pollo Tropical, for example has a chicken bowl with half rice/beans and half salad, veggies, and a drink for $5.19 with a drink, and it comes in at about 350 calories.


Planning my day at the very beginning of the day. No wondering, breakfast and lunch are packed and taken with me everyday. No worries. If I don't plan it I wait, until I'm starving, and then I eat...at arbys. Unless I can get a co worker to talk me down and shame me into subway.
[/quote]

lithezebra

The best thing that I did was to detach from any stress over my goals and love myself now. I was happy with my body 20 pounds heavier, 10 pounds heavier, and, much more recently, 5 pounds heavier. It's a lot easier to stick with a plan, especially when weight loss goes slowly, if you aren't waiting on being able to live with yourself.

MelsAuntie

1. Logging daily and honestly. Exception; restaurant dinners when I don't know the ingredients/weights/measures.

2. NO binge days, cheat days, whatever euphemism you like, I won't do that. Self-defeating and counter-productive.

3. ALWAYS under my calorie goal.

4. Will power, pure and simple.

Duck_Puddle

1. Only doing things that I think I can reasonably maintain forever. No crazy fasts or "diets" or "jump starting" or 72 hr gym sessions or anything else extreme. Just making better choices in a way I feel I can do forever.

2. Realizing that there is no "done". You don't reach your goal then go back to "normal". This is it. Forever and ever, amen. So I set my goals based on behaviors I can control (eating better and getting some exercise), and let the results happen whenever they happen. I'm in no rush to reach a certain weight or size or whatever. I care about maintaining the behaviors that will allow me to reach that weight/size and maintain it when I get there.

LisaBeateith2012

The 5:2 lifestyle! ))

jonnythan

Allowing myself to eat whatever food I want as long as it fits into my nutrient goals.

My progress would have been short-lived if I had started out forbidding myself from eating Taco Bell, pizza, and ice cream.

chelstakencharge

I had to conquer my mind first before I could change the body. My numbers prove I have conquered my mind!

rachaelgifford

Setting small goals. Such as loose 5 pounds this month, or hit a certain weight by my birthday. It breaks the journey down and each mini goal is inspiring!!!

grimendale

Denying myself nothing but absurd portions. I eat what I want, when I want, as long as it fits my macros. If I want a particular food, I adjust the rest of my foods to make room for it. It keeps me from feeling restricted and turns this from a diet to a sustainable lifestyle.

savithny

Patience for the long haul: It look me over 3 yers to slowly put on the extra weight, it's not going to come off in three weeks, or three months.

Realism: having let my weight get where it is, I may never be able to maintain at my previous adult maintenance weight. My doctor has even said that. That doesn't mean I can't drop most of the extra and maintain that.

Paitent Realism: I can't change my eating and activity for a few months and then go back to what I was doing before. What I was doing wasn't working.

Realistic Patience: weight loss is not the only marker of success in my plan. Feeling better, fitter, and stronger are my main goal. I've previously let myself get discouraged when exercise didnt' result in noticeable weight loss. I'm remembering, this time, that regular actiivity and weight bearing exercise have much more to do with my health than the scale does. I'm doing this for my power, my endurance, my bone mass more than I'm doing this for my pants size.

Bernadette60614

Oh, my, I need coffee...when I read "pure logging" I thought is that some sort of fitness regimen?

I would say tweaking...be mindful of little changes I can make to live more healthfully.

SmartAlec03211988

A weekly free/cheat/splurge day.

LongIsland27itl

When I realized that fat loss doesn't have to be eating 100% clean, with brown rice and yams at every meal with grilled chicken.
And I found out that its about cals in vs cals out, with proper macro of course. I've had more success over the last 5 weeks without starving myself of hating my diet than any diet I've done previously.

Vailara

I'm another daily weigher. I know it's not for everyone, but it helps me feel in control, makes sure I log in here every day, and means I don't get discouraged when I don't see a loss.

Not eating between meals. I'm not strict about this, but it has been a good habit for me.

Not eating too little.

Just sticking with it.

Not making it any more difficult than it needs to be. I don't obsess about macros, I don't worry if I go over now and then, etc.

acogg

Belief in myself. Not trying to do change everything at once made my makeover adaptable. I also started with an open mind, willing to learn about nutrition and exercise.