how did you get started on your journey?

myheartsabattleground

At the age of 20, I had both of my ovaries removed.

MelodyandBarbells

Steadily increasing weight at each annual doctors appointment, I finally started back at the gym with 5 minutes of Zumba. That was all I could do before I got too winded and had to sit. Got fit, lost like 30 lbs, plateaued, read a post on another forum about not losing weight being about eating too many calories, and it finally clicked what MFP was even for LOL

TheSunshineQueen

- The first thing I did was take pictures and measure myself, I think. I can't even tell you how glad I am that I did, since, 57 lbs down, I can't see much of a difference in my appearance unless I'm looking at before and after photos.

- I immediately started counting calories, too. Like, from Day 1. I figured out how many calories I needed to consume daily in order to lose 2 lbs a week and promised myself I'd do my best to adhere to that. Next, I planned how to best do that. Since restrictive diets and low-carb diets have never worked for me in the past, I decided not to eliminate anything. Instead, I made a list of what I could cut down on (i.e., juice) and what I could substitute for healthier alternatives (dark chocolate, whole grain products, etc).

- I chose one day a week to weigh myself (Friday) and swore to stick with it.

- I decided what I was going to do for exercise, as well as when, where, and how often I was going to do it.

- I created a new Notebook in Evernote, because I'm one of those people who likes writing lists and journaling. Each month I create a new page that lists my goals for the month, my NSVs and other accomplishments, my fumbles and setbacks, etc. Here's an example of my entry for August, if anyone is curious:




That's it, basically. Make a plan of action and stick with it, and make sure you have something to measure your progress by, be it pictures, measurements, data/graphs, or some sort of journal system.

funfitfreeme

rankinsect wrote: »

For me, I think the key way I got started (and continued) was to add a little bit of structure to my eating.

I started with calorie counting, something I'd done before, but what really changed this time was:
1. I'm being reasonable with my goals. The last time I was counting calories, I was 350 pounds and trying to eat 1350 calories per day. Not at all reasonable, and I was (for good reason) always starving. I lost fast before (too fast, actually) but it never stuck. This time I started at around 1900 per day, which was still aggressive but not too aggressive - I lose about as fast as I can safely lose without risking health or too much lean mass, and I'm rarely all that hungry.

2. I have a plan. I still make sure that every day, my meals are logged in advance for the next day. This really keeps me on track - I know what I'll eat and when.

3. I track success and failure. It sounds silly, but I use Habitica, which is a game that involves you creating tasks that you want to do, and rewards you like an RPG - experience, levels, gold, gear, etc. It's actually a good feeling when I get to click a little "I did that" on my page and see myself gaining XP.

4. I became active in this community, rather than just a user of the app without any interaction with others. I think that kind of focus helps me keep on target, and it's nice to motivate others and have them motivate you.

5. I planned how I would respond to failure, temptation, and frustration. I think this is key - even if you start with perfect intentions, reality is messier. Going over one day is a minor stumble, allowing that one day to progress into a week, month, or year of not caring is devastating. At least two prior attempts failed because I was frustrated at "plateaus" that really, in retrospect, were likely nothing more than prolonged water retention that I could have waited out if I hadn't gotten impatient and frustrated. This time I approached this with a different perspective - this isn't something I'm doing for a limited time, it's my new life, and the only real time limit is the number of years of life I have left.

Great tips - especially #5. I'm also going to check out Habitica. Thanks!

AskTracyAnnK28

After my "ah ha" moment I didn't want to overwhelm myself too much and go off the rails. So I would say to myself "just for today I'm not going to snack after dinner" (mind you my idea of a snack was like 15 cookies or a huge bowl of cereal). Then after that it was like "ok - this week I'm going to brown bag my lunch instead of going out to eat with my co-workers". And so basically I made these little small changes, and then I started logging my food onto this app (I was on here I think in 2010 but kind of forgot about it). I saw people talking about food scales so I decided to get one and see what that was all about. And I lost weight, and I kept losing weight and I now weigh what I did when I graduated high school in 1991 (with MUCH better hair)

Achaila

I was in so much pain from my weight I couldn't take it anymore. I have 2 special needs toddler that I take care of by myself. I could not hardly bend over the change diapers or pick them. I was done with it.
I pretty much just dove right into it. I don't know what in me changed, or what the motivation was, but I just did it:

Alidecker

I can't even really tell you what the ah ha moment was, but I do remember that one day I just decided to join a gym. It was a Friday, I hired a personal trainer on the following Tuesday and I never really looked back. My trainer helped me with exercise and diet. I did not do it in small steps, I went all in and started exercising, cut out soda, stopped eating out at lunch, started measuring my portions and stopped buying my trigger foods....all in one week. Best decision I ever made.

scyian

I just started weighing and logging food. I worked on portion control so I never felt like I was depriving myself. For fitness I did what I enjoyed rather than what I thought I should do. I like to hike and walk so I kept doing that as much as I could. Exercising has gone out the window now the days are getting shorter though.

dianaiku

I have always felt overweight. It started in high school when I'd try to lose a size by writing down everything I ate and running twice a week on weekend mornings. After I graduated high school I started dieting and I got a job. Along the way I inspired my family to buy a scale and to go on diets. Now I am vegetarian and my sister is vegan. I eat a bar of dark chocolate at least once a week. I track all my calories on mfp. Not writing it down and having the mfp database helps so much. I do not exercise because I have problems with my feet. However I have not accomplished my target weight in these 7 years of dieting so I am still working to get there.

cwolfman13

I just started eating more healthfully and substantially reduced the amount of "junk" in my diet. I made it a point to get in 6-8 servings of veg and fruit daily (emphasis on veg), started eating more lean sourced protein, introduced myself to whole grains, and started eating things like avocado and nuts and cooking with avocado and olive oil more than butter.

I had a lot of bad blood work when I started out so I started researching how I should eat to address those issues.

I dropped a good 20 Lbs before signing on to MFP.

kat_princess12

I knew that to stay intentional about losing weight, I was going to have to overhaul my entire eating style. The afternoon that I decided there was nothing more to wait for, I went through my pantry/fridge/freezer and cleared out all my junk food. All the things I'd mindlessly graze on, all the "comfort" foods I would eat at the end of a stressful day, all the frozen pizzas I'd intend to eat only half of but eat the entirety of in one sitting - all of it. Gave most of it away to two skinny friends. Starting with a clean slate like that was a HUGE help. Then I went to the grocery store and spent way too much getting things I knew I'd eat that wouldn't break the calorie bank - fresh fruits and veggies, salad mix, nuts, Greek yogurt, tofu, oatmeal, etc. I came home and chopped up the fruits and veggies and put them into Tupperware or ziplocs to be added to salads or recipes throughout the week without a bunch of prep time. And then I did a google search for an online food diary or calorie counter and ended up on MFP

the_log_lady

VintageFeline wrote: »

I decided enough was enough and to get serious, this probably conveniently coincided with a hypomanic episode and for once was used usefully!

Hahahaha!

Me too. BP1 here. Comorbid panic attacks/ anxiety too.

brandid34

I started putting on weight after my second son was born. I had always been my high school weight even after my first son was born but after my second it wasn't easy to drop. I was 30 lbs heavier than my high school weight and then I got pregnant again 5 months after his birth. That did a number on my body. Fastforward a terrible few years with my husband having an addiction which resulted in divorce, struggling to get back on my feet for the past 3 years. I realized I'm 35 single, a mom of 3, 5 years away from 40 and I'm 25 lbs too heavy with a busy but a not healthy lifestyle. I want to get healthy. I'm not too concerned with weight as long as I feel good, am living an active lifestyle and enjoying my body. So the first thing I did was visit a doctor, he made sure I was healthy inside (which I am) and then suggested I drop 10 lbs. I starts really slow just learning about food and how to make small changes. I joined mfp 4 days ago when I realized that I had gained 6 lbs due to snacking and portion control and lack of activity. I needed a community to encourage and be part of that was also health minded. Glad you're here!