Best lifestyle change

AmyRhubarb

Things I can stick with for life. That means no cutting out food groups, or pizza, burgers, beer/wine/cocktails, desserts, etc. It took some trial and error, but I've found what works for me - eating as MANY calories as I can while still losing and/or maintaining my weight. Doing so I've dropped 25lbs, reached goal weight, but more importantly - dropped fat and inches and have kept it all off for around 4 years now.

Bonny132

Realising leaving food on the plate is OK. I don't have to eat it all.

CICO, good fat is OK to eat, anything can be eaten in moderation.

distinctlybeautiful

If I had to pick one thing, it'd definitely be lifting weights! Discovering that passion and seeing results like I'd never seen before.. it sparked an interest in nutrition and in, well, nourishing my body instead of depriving it. Before now I'd never really thought about it in this light, but lifting is definitely what started this lifestyle change for me!

chiptease

Best change was learning how to count calories, serving sizes, and macros. I was surprised at how much I was eating (even though it didn't feel like a lot). I've sustained -35lbs for the last year and a half. Another change was learning how to jog properly. I enjoy it and I can almost say I'm addicted to it.

kristysaurus

The best change for me was realizing that it wasn't "all or nothing". I can make mistakes and not give up

Char231023

Buying a food scale and using it to track my food intake on MFP.

Oh and letting myself everything I want as long as it doesn't go over my cals for the day.

Will_Run_for_Food

Immersing myself in what a proper portion size is. MFP helped with that. Now I just have to keep it up!

jessicarobinson00

Learning to eat in moderation: it has helped smooth out the yo-yo'ing of my weight loss.

RavenLibra

I reduced sugar and carbs... increased vegetable varieties, and protein. and have added a whole lot of exercise (7 days/week)... steady state cardio,and weights 4x/week and HIIT 3x/week... along with trying to average 10K steps/day. Only a couple years ago I didn't think it was possible to find the time to get 1/2 that much exercise in. To get to this point, my only sacrifice has been sitting in front of the TV (even when there was nothing worth watching).

codename_steve

I got addicted to distance running. Now I choose the foods and amounts necessary to sustain my running. I stopped drinking soda on a regular basis (now very rare) because it was negatively impacting my running. I tend to eat a lot of carbs and protein because they fuel my running/recovery.

Nikion901

Soda pop free

Annamarie3404

No sodas, no fast food restaurants, no processed meats. I keep a low sodium diet with lots of vegetables. If I eat meat, it's baked or broiled fish.

_piaffe

Incorporating calorie tracking into my life as a habit. It's right up there with brushing my teeth. Portions, macros and intake. Being aware of how much I consume, when and why - and how much energy I expend.

In a word, metrics!

dlkfox

Dairy free sucks. I'm truly allergic and I can't imagine going through life voluntarily not having dairy if I could eat it. Besides, at social occasions I have to be THAT person who is "picky". Everyone is nice about it but I get tired of explaining myself.

As for the better change? Counting calories and exercise. One is for losing and maintaining the loss. The other is for fitness. I will fit in all the things I like to eat in the moderation that my body is built for.