Being successful and when it finally clicked?

ArtsieSarah

Hi everyone, I was looking for HOW people were successful (some inspiration). When did eating healthy finally click and when did exercise become a daily routine? I'm struggling and want to know how everyone got to where they are today, thanks!

xbowhunter

I just joined MFP but have been @ this since Jan 04. I am down 12 pounds & have about 10 more to go.

Last night we had Dinner @ my mother in laws. She makes amazing Italian foods & the main event last night was home made pasta.

I had small portions (even the pasta) & said no to dessert. I managed to stay under my calories for the day.

This might not be a big deal to most but showing restraint to the many temptations is a small victory for me & I am proud of myself,,,,

Ninkyou

When I ditched the all-or-nothing mentality, lowered my expectations and realized I didn't have to be miserable.

If I have a day I go over, I log it and move on.
I expect to lose nothing and when I do lose, yay.
I don't exercise daily. I exercise when I can, and sometimes life gets in the way. I just try again. Also, rest days are important.
I eat all of the same foods (and more!) as before, I just eat less of them. I invested in a food scale, weigh my food, log it and bam done.

Nearly 80 lbs down (plus another 25 from a pregnancy I had in between). I've gone from Morbidly Obese to Normal. Size 16 (nearly 18) and XL/1XL to Size 4/6 and XS/S.

All the above happened when I read through the forums and really started sponging up the information to be had.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
^These are great threads to read through. HIGHLY recommend.

Penthesilea514

I can't say exactly (as I am still working on it and have a ways to go) but I started to focus on what exercise and new types and cuisines of food would ADD to my life, not have to GIVE UP/LOSE. I have started to love running and I have learned to cook with other spices and styles I never have before. I now cook a lot more, including some of my favorite Chinese food dinners- so much healthier and still delicious, and it feels like I am treating myself!

I feel happier now, not staring at a scale for some specific "gotta have it" number but rather focusing on how I felt. I think this has helped me look at this as a true lifestyle change not just a quick fix (which I hoped for in the past). Even though I rarely weigh myself anymore, this week I could put on jeans from the "not" plus size section of Target (which I haven't been able to do in almost 10 years!). And I have so much more energy doing something I LIKE to do (I have a 10k in April and I hope to do a half marathon by November). I may still be very slow, but I am having fun discovering these new experiences (love my wok!), in some ways I don't feel like I am missing out much at all.

Also, I will echo checking out these posts

Ninkyou wrote: »

All the above happened when I read through the forums and really started sponging up the information to be had.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
^These are great threads to read through. HIGHLY recommend.

In short- find what inspires you, educate yourself, be patient, and love yourself. I wish you good luck on your journey!

IncredibleShrinkingSandy

I did research. I got on the Internet and searched "weight loss success stories" I discovered that a majority of people seemed to have done it by simply eating less and moving more. I was skeptical. So, I broadened my search term to, "weight loss success stories from people who kept it off" and came to the realization that it is really after lifestyle change. You have to make a change forever because if you go back to your old ways you're just going to gain the weight back. Then, I found other things about how I didn't gain weight overnight so expecting to lose it overnight was ridiculous. I also read about just making small changes and how big of a difference that could make woth your weight. So, I started by cutting out soda and instead of eating fast food daily, I forced myself to cut back to once or twice a week. I also walked to work every day which was about about mile. As time went on I either cut something out or back from my diet or added more intense or longer exercise. I also don't let it bother me if I experience plateaus, eat the wrong thing, or get a lazy for a few days. I pick myself back up asap and keep on going. I use mfp to track what I eat so as I have lost weight and my calories automatically lowered this was an easy way for me to know when I should do more so I was prepared roughly every 10 pounds to do more. It has been motivating to see progress and change in myself that prove I am doing this right so, I don't want to quit until I'm done and I know I won't because the only direction to go now and non forever is forward. Reverting back just doesn't make sense to me. This is who I am now and it's a great feeling.

tnm7760

When I decided to trust the process and he consistent--I figured if I trusted it, and stuck to my calories, it would have to work eventually, regardless of how slow it felt.

And that made me realize I had to drop my perfectionism, that "all or nothing" mentality. A bad couple of days shouldn't mean I'd start over next week-- it should mean I recover as quickly as possible, to be consistent and trust the process. I started looking at it as a scientific process. If I wanted to lose, I needed to be more accurate with my logging, move more, and BE PATIENT! It's been a long two months because the scale has hardly budged. But I've worked my butt off and it's finally getting noticeable to me. But I didn't let that scale derail me, I didn't give up, I just kept trusting that it had to work.

scrittrice

tnm7760 wrote: »

When I decided to trust the process and he consistent--I figured if I trusted it, and stuck to my calories, it would have to work eventually, regardless of how slow it felt.

And that made me realize I had to drop my perfectionism, that "all or nothing" mentality. A bad couple of days shouldn't mean I'd start over next week-- it should mean I recover as quickly as possible, to be consistent and trust the process. I started looking at it as a scientific process. If I wanted to lose, I needed to be more accurate with my logging, move more, and BE PATIENT! It's been a long two months because the scale has hardly budged. But I've worked my butt off and it's finally getting noticeable to me. But I didn't let that scale derail me, I didn't give up, I just kept trusting that it had to work.

Along the lines of thinking of it as a scientific process, one day I was on MFP and it struck me: It's just math. That's it. It's not good/bad (me or the food or the exercise). Just math. I've always known that intellectually, but something about using a computer and having it calculate the numbers really brought it home and helped me think long-term. I've never lost so slowly, but I've also never kept the weight off the way I have this time. Not a coincidence.

wawa2nc

It clicked for me when I realized I can enjoy all foods just different ways of doing it. Example at work they might have a lunch meeting, they'll order pizza. My old ways would have been eat 2-3 slices until I got full. My new way is bring in a salad and have 1 slice of pizza. Start on the salad and slowly eat the pizza. I'm enjoying the pizza, but using the salad to help fill me up.

I'm currently down 71 lbs and have another 20 or so to go. I started almost 1 year ago( April 1st 2015)

Mersie1

Love these! What's going to click for me is learning from you guys and all you have learned and shared! I'll trust the process and gasp- be patient!

beanaj

Ninkyou wrote: »

When I ditched the all-or-nothing mentality, lowered my expectations and realized I didn't have to be miserable.

If I have a day I go over, I log it and move on.
I expect to lose nothing and when I do lose, yay.
I don't exercise daily. I exercise when I can, and sometimes life gets in the way. I just try again. Also, rest days are important.
I eat all of the same foods (and more!) as before, I just eat less of them. I invested in a food scale, weigh my food, log it and bam done

Yes! This is my problem...if I"m not perfect I give up and wait for a new "start over" date. This has done nothing for me. I need to remember to accept the bad days and KEEP GOING. Thanks

Karyn1120

It finally clicked when my doctor said to lose weight and get my sugar levels down or he was going to have to diagnose me as diabetic. I want to be here for my kids (and future grandkids!) so I decided it was time to take this seriously. I'm down 45 pounds thanks mostly to the support and motivation of the people on MFP.

I used to be the type of person that if I messed up, I'd say "aw screw it - I can't do this" and would walk away. Which is why I've left and come back to MFP 3 times. AND tried every fad diet in existence.

It clicked when I decided I needed to do this for myself. I still eat foods I enjoy, but logging EVERYTHING makes a huge difference. The only exercise I do is walking - I make sure I get one 30 minute walk every day.

Good luck and feel free to add me as a friend!

ntnunk

I guess I always knew it was a fairly simple equation: calories in vs. calories out. I was already fairly fit since I'd gotten hooked on cycling in 2011. I was riding a lot and starting to race some, and had managed to ride myself down from a max of 235 to about 200-210 lbs depending on the time of year. When it finally "clicked" for me was summer of 2014 when I finally decided I was serious enough about racing my bikes that I hired a coach. It occurred to me that it was pretty dumb to hire a coach to help me get more fit when I was still carrying an extra 40-50 lbs. So, hired the coach, got serious about tracking calories, and 6 months later I was down from 209 to 175. I'm still a little heavy, I really should be about 10 lbs lighter, but that's what it was for me. I knew what I needed to do, MFP just really helped me do it.

elaineamj

I don't know what exactly clicked for me. I've always believed in CICO but felt I had to starve and eat "diet food". Tried the moderation and portion control thing but quickly fell off the wagon. This time felt different almost from the beginning.

I'm still new though - 15 pounds since the beginning of January. The actual logging and weighing all makes so much sense and helps me trust the process. Sometimes DH says not to bother weighing and logging but it really makes a difference to me since I feel more secure in the math of it all. I know when I can eat more and when I need to cut back.

I've also learned too cook yummy skinny food. It's great when I am excited to eat my "diet food"! And about 90% of the time, I LOVE the food I am eating. The best part is, after the first week or two, I have rarely been "diet hungry" (i.e. dreaming of food, starving, etc). I have been hungry (controlling myself knowing a big meal is coming up in an hour or two, when I am late prepping dinnerl, etc etc) but they have all been choices I have been in control of. I have also been hangry a few times (those have been funny AFTERWARDS), but by and large, I feel very satisfied and have enough to eat.

USAMcK

Long, but here's what worked for me. Also, advice at the bottom:

I joined MFP in 2011 after a friend very kindly told me I was gaining so much weight he was worried about me. I already knew I was huge but it took someone I cared about saying it out loud to kick my brain on fully. I lost 80 lbs. the following year. Was still 30 lbs. from goal but looked and felt wonderful.

I took a job bartending (notoriously emotionally and physically unhealthy!) and gained it all back over about three years.

My boyfriend's been patient but we've talked about my weight a lot. I always originate the discussion. I kept losing and gaining the same 10 lbs.

Last month, I ordered a new digital food scale for the kitchen and new bathroom scale. When I stepped on the bathroom scale, I fully expected to weigh my heaviest of 235 but I was only 205! I'd accidentally lost a bunch of weight. I attribute that to my new, active job and immensely healthier home life.

That seemed to be kick enough to keep up the momentum this time around. Here we are three weeks later and I'm already under 200 lbs. 197.2 to be exact. My goal is to be down at least below 190 by my bf's birthday in early April.

I don't work out yet but I bought a used stationary bike from Craigslist ($15!) and am counting calories everyday. I spent all last week eating to maintenance because I was working a bunch of close/open shifts and was exhausted and stressed. But I logged EVERYTHING (no matter how embarrassing or frustrating) and didn't gain an ounce.

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COUNT EVERYTHING. LOG IT.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF WHEN YOU MAKE MISTAKES BUT HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE.

MAKE MINI GOALS. Instead of only thinking, "I have 90 lbs. to lose," I think, "I have 90 lbs. to lose but FIRST I want to get into the 180s in April." When I achieve that, I create a new mini-goal. They're not always number-on-the-scale based but my next one will be. I was 172 when I first met my boyfriend and I'd love to reach that ASAP. Then start making progress toward my lowest weight with him of 152. After that, it's the homestretch to somewhere around 120.

EXERCISE WHEN YOU CAN, HOW YOU CAN, MIX IT UP, TRACK IT, HAVE FUN! Weight loss is 80% diet. Though, since I lost 80 lbs. before without working out regularly, I'd say it's 100% diet. But if you want a body that's strong and lithe and not just "not fat", exercise is key. I like to hike and swim so the closer we get to summer, the more I'll get to do that. I'd love to start using this stationary bike more regularly and am taking steps to organize my home and schedule better in order to make that a reality. Maybe just 30 minutes here and there to start then go from there.

---

What it really comes down to is having your own internal desire to reach a goal. Weight loss or otherwise! If you want it, you can get it. But you have to be your own boss about it. Discipline, routine, self-motivating practices and a clear vision of your goals are absolutely pertinent.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

USAMcK

P.S.: I was miserable at 1200 calories so I kicked it up to 1400 and I am AMAZED at how much better I feel. I still WANT food sometimes but I'm not HUNGRY. HUUUUUGE difference! And much easier to manage. I'm losing a bit slower at this rate but still losing!

WaterBunnie

This site is what changed things for me. I'd been going it alone and struggling on too few calories for my size and my weight loss stalled and I started feeling a bit desperate at the thought of not losing despite being hungry most of the time. MFP was a revelation to me. Exercise calories to eat back? Yes please! That gave me the incentive to exercise - and the reward. I've just clocked up 4 years of almost daily logging and 139lbs lost so far. It's mostly the decision to do it, the rest is having the tools and the persistence - plus the realisation that a bad day here and there often does you good! Don't strive for daily exercise though. Rest days are important to health too.

dfranch

I always thought a diet meant you were good for a while and then when you lost the weight you wanted to lose, you go back to eating whatever you want again. This time I realized it is a lifetime of making good decisions instead of bad decisions (well more good than bad anyway).

arditarose

I logged my calories pretty well my first week or two, so seeing the scale drop immediately was enough to have me sold in that regard.

It took a few months for me to form a habit when it came to exercise. I was trying to run and hated it. Once I found heavy weight lifting my life changed. I was excited to go to the gym, my body was changing, I was losing more weight as I wasn't fixated on steady state cardio but rather logging my food accurately and working on body composition.

sammyantics

My ah-hah moment, mentally, was when I finally started logging everything, and doing so as honestly and accurately as possible. I don't have a food scale, and I don't see myself ever getting that precise, so I overestimate when I'm not 100% sure of calories.

It made me finally face the reality of my eating habits. And while I eat immensely better now than when I lied to myself, seeing the truth of when I go over and what that kind of day looks like on paper vs. reality has been eye-opening.

ChicagoCalifornian

When workouts and healthy eating becomes habit and second thought. Routines are singlehanded the most important thing to me. Yes my routine can get throw out of whack but you always make time for showers and brushing your teeth why can't workouts be the same?

laur357

(Motivation) I was overwhelmed by my highest weight. I cried (a bunch), then made a list of things I wanted. Some of the things were really superficial, some benefited my health, some were activities and goals. Seeing the giant list of things that were either actually or mentally putting my life on hold kind of changed my mindset, so I was able to finally lose weight.
I had been putting off traveling, picking up hobbies, dating, eating in public, visiting old friends, even going to the doctor because I felt like a failure. Seeing it all filling up page after page in a journal was a slap in the face.

(How It Happened) I already knew a lot about nutrition - I was a medical librarian who assisted a clinical dietetics program in a major university. I did a lot of extra research and started Weight Watchers. After I felt comfortable (and lost 30 pounds- so I then knew it was actually possible to lose weight), I switched to MFP. I'm now closing in on my second 30 pounds. I ate smaller portions, and ate out less. I also learned about binge eating, which I didn't know was a problem for me. And finally going to see a doctor and learning I had PCOS.
I also tried a lot of exercises. I love boot camp, hiking, and lifting weights now (NOT what I would have expected). Liking the exercise is helping me stick to it. And I've conquered a lot of stuff on that list . . . including going to the doctors, buying clothes in regular sizes, fitting comfortably in airplane seats, dating a really swell guy, going swimming/to the beach again. After I hit 100 pounds lost and maintain for 6 months, I'm taking a trip to learn to surf. I always wanted to try it. I lose slowly, but I'm getting there. Over halfway!

(Sticking To It) Track no matter what I'm eating (not always motivated, but seeing that I ate 2200 instead of 1200 calories in a day helps pull me back). Take breaks from restricting calories to see what maintaining is like at various weights (and also around holidays and vacations). Incorporating foods I like and try new things. Knowing I can fit some pizza and tacos into my week if I don't overdo it.

Afura

The food never "clicked", the portion sizes clicked. I still have pasta, and cheese, and ice cream, but I have it in appropriate portions. American restaurants are so set for "quantity" that most people eat 2+ servings of food without realizing it, and I was so used to eating a lot, that even just cutting down on that is a major improvement. If I'm hungry, there may be a day where I go over 100 calories, and while that's not good, that's what happened, and I have to move on, and not wallow in what I did wrong. Still learning to wallow in what I did right.

As for the exercise, not a fan. I try and walk a lot, but I let winter (the dreaded cold) deter me. I have to do something I like or find a way to motivate myself. For that I like MFP challenge groups to give me motivation, and also Zombies Run, because it has a storyline to motivate me to find out what happens next.

aleencarraec

I've gone through the ah-ha moment and weight loss twice now. Once 7 years ago when I dropped 75 pounds over 6 months, and then just a few weeks ago when I got fed up and realized I needed to lose 120 pounds (gained weight over 3 years due to traumatizing life event).

Spring is here, I got out my food scale, joined MFP, got a gym trial (getting membership this Friday! ), began eating clean with a few naughty foods thrown in to meet calorie goals), getting on Pinterest to flood my phone with motivational ideas and sayings, and lastly. Told myself to stop the excuses and get addicted to working out. It's all mental. Tell yourself you're going to lose it, give yourself the tools needed to do it, and just do it. It's what worked before, it'll work again!!!

ziggy2006

I've always been great at losing weight. I don't know how many times I've reached my goal weight. It is the maintaining weight that was difficult for me.

Realizing that my perfectionism, which I had been struggling against since I was a child, was leading me to embrace cognitive distortions was huge for me. Once I was able to identify and acknowledge my faulty thinking, I was able to successfully work on changing those thought patterns.

Another huge shift for me was when I took the concept of losing weight off the table. I focused on how I wanted to live the rest of my life instead. What choices can I make to ensure that I remain healthy and active? I had lost weight successfully often enough in the past that I could trust that would happen as a side effect of choosing to be healthy.

These shifts allowed me to take the focus off of the numbers (that dieting mentality). It didn't matter if I lost X pounds in Y weeks - that was no longer part of my thinking. Instead, I focused on setting goals that would lead me to increased health and fitness, such as running X miles this week or limiting my eating out to once per month.

wonna13

What clicked for me was that I didn't think I was worth it. I got into counseling built up my self esteem and self confidence. Now, I know I am worth it. I realize the foods I was choosing was allowing me to agree with myself about my self worth. So when I eat good foods that tells me. You are worth it. For me everything was tied into how I really felt about myself. I feel good about myself right now and I am only getting better.

wrknonmedaily

I had a health issue at work and had to be taken down to the clinic by co-workers were the doctor put me on a heart monitor for 72 hours. It also helped that when I looked down while working at my desk my gut was lying on top of it. I said enough is enough. Then after I cut out all the mountain dew , added water, and stopped all the overeating of processed foods, I stopped being in pain. My body did not ach anymore. I could workout and have the good ach not the bad, "I am not working out tomorrow!" ach. Most of all my clothes are lose again and taking the stairs is not so bad anymore. I feel bad when I don't take them. Oh and my gut is no longer hanging out on my desk. Jan 6 2016: 244 March 8 2016: 226.

smantha32

This was a good thread that died too soon.

cwolfman13

ArtsieSarah wrote: »

Hi everyone, I was looking for HOW people were successful (some inspiration). When did eating healthy finally click and when did exercise become a daily routine? I'm struggling and want to know how everyone got to where they are today, thanks!

When I went in for my 38th birthday wellness appointment and my doctor told me that my blood work showed me heading down a very bad path that was likely to leave me very sick if not dead by my early 60s...that's pretty much where the rubber met the road and I realized that a lot of my bad habits and *kitten* living had caught up to me. Deep down I always knew it would...

Fortunately, my diet really only needed some tweaking...I've learned to cook back in college namely because I was broke and it was an easy way to impress the ladies...but I learned how to cook a lot of things using scratch, whole ingredients and always enjoyed eating healthy...it was just that my unhealthy eating outweighed my healthy eating...so I just flipped that around.

As far as exerciser, I grew up involved in all manner of sports from about 2nd grade through my senior year in high school...so training wasn't really something unfamiliar to me. Really, I just had to get back into the swing of things which mean that I had to push myself initially to go do stuff even if I didn't really feel like it. I started out doing a lot of jogging and calisthenics which I really didn't like too much, but I made myself go out and do it...

I got a little more twinkle in my eye when I joined a gym a few months into things and started hitting the weights again...I had forgotten how good it felt to push and pull the iron and to dip my hands into a bucket of chalk and to hear the sound of a heavy clean and jerk dropping to the platform. It was kind of like a home coming of sorts.

I still wasn't into my jogging, but I slugged it out anyway and in an effort to motivate myself I signed up for a sprint triathlon...as part of my training I had to start riding and swimming...boom, another little twinkle...I had forgotten how much I used to love to ride and as a former lifeguard and swim team guy I take pretty naturally to water. I never did end up participating in that race as injury prevented me from doing so...but I found a passion in cycling and doing a little swimming here and there.

Exercise wise, I'd say it took me about six months to really find my stride...but to find my stride I had to find my passions...cycling and lifting...and a little swimming to cool me down when it's hot....I also enjoy a good hike in the mountains. I run a little here and there because as a matter of general fitness I feel like I should be able to at least run a decent 5K...but I loath every single minute of it.

Mersie1

Can you hear that? Click click click? I Keep reading advice, suggestions, getting support- patience patience patience. Of course a few days or weeks won't change everything. So why turn and run back to where I started. As a friend told me, picture a road trip, you get a flat tire so it will take longer than wanted/excepted to get to destination . Do you take the time to fix the flat? Or do you hails cab back home and start the trip over. It's clicking now!

sanfromny

My road started somewhere are the 220lb mark- I'm 5'2".
Why have I been successful? because I stopped looking for fads, diets, quick fixes or magic pills. Things clicked when I stopped depriving and starving myself because I wanted to lose 20lbs in a few weeks time. It's just not reasonable, nor sustainable. I've done it and afterwards would put on more weight than I had started with.

I now lose 4-5lbs a month, I eat whatever, whenever. Pasta at 11pm? Does it fit into my calories? then Yes, Please! The weight started coming off and keeps coming off. I like moving now, my body anticipates me moving. Even at work, I get up from my desk every 1-2hrs and take a 5-10min walk.

I have also accepted the slip ups. When I have gotten away from things and the weight began to creep back. I acknowledged it and fixed it. I am now 156lbs and 20lbs away from goal weight.

smantha32

bump again