Name one thing you did that helped you get to you goal..

debtay123

I learned to take it slow and steady for weight loss that lasts-

Mr_Healthy_Habits

I stopped blaming myself and realized that I had it in my too move forward one day at a time

sardelsa

joseejolie wrote: »

sardelsa wrote: »

Lifting weights (in particular following a proper program).. I stopped waffling around doing random exercises

Where did you find your program?

Sorry just saw this now.

I ran Strong Curves. It is a book but you can find the PDFs online (although I highly recommend the book, it is so awesome). You can also check out this list community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

4legsRbetterthan2

a few things:
stopped eating breakfast
pre-logged for restaurants or foods I wasn't familiar with
stop taking days off
food scale

Need2Exerc1se

Eating very light throughout the week so I could overeat on the weekends. I don't think I would have stuck with any other plan.

Mr_Healthy_Habits

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Eating very light throughout the week so I could overeat on the weekends. I don't think I would have stuck with any other plan.

I totally did this... Not by design though

Went pretty low all week and over exercised, only to collapse and binge on Saturday night

But I still lost every week

JasonMcS

I was in the gym for a year and a half and hit it hard with no success. Then I started counting calories to the best of my ability (without obsessing) along with the gym and watched the weight melt off. This is what I learned;

1) Listen to your body. It will tell you what is working. Everyone else has an opinion that may or may not be valid.
2) Own your decisions. Know that you eat to survive not the other way around.
3) Log it to see what is actually happening. I didn't think I ate 4000 calories a day but I did. I was doing a lot of cardio but It didn't help me as much as strength training did, in the long run. I know this because I can look and see what I did and what actually produced results.
4) Decide ahead of time. Don't let temptation drive you. Get clothes for the gym ahead of time so you don't have an excuse not to go back out. Decide what you will eat before you go in to eat. Plan some calorie splurges so you can work them off ahead of time.
5) Flex and take selfie. I am not vain but I love to see my body reacting to the effort I am putting in to it. Enjoy your journey. Why else would you do this?
6) Make you give yourself a weeks notice before you quit. It is easy to get tired, FRUSTRATED, and weak then quit in the moment. Take the decision out of the moment. Decide to plan your "quit". Sounds dumb but we all know we wouldn't quit if we thought it through so think it through. "I will quit next week, today I will push through this"

Learn you. Let folks do them and you do you. I have had so many people try to derail my train but I learned to listen and then let my body validate every bit of "advise". This is my train wreck so I want to be making the decisions that affect how much damage I do. I didn't get fat over night so I won't get skinny over night but I will see results in a few weeks or I will change it up.

And most important 7) You can do all things with God's help. Don't let anything convince you anything else.

kdbulger

Food preparation has been the biggest thing for me. If I can grab four slices of pre-cooked turkey bacon to add to my usual toast and banana breakfast, or if I can throw cooked chicken breast into my salad, it squashes my hunger/cravings and I just do so much better.

Lennonluv2

I started a daily meditation practice! It helps me stay in the moment and not self sabotage when I go over calories or skip the gym.

Fflpnari

food scale, eating more, fitting ice cream into my calories every day, Logging everything, Not letting a bad day, week, month, year whatever it is get me off my track completely.
Ive been consistent on exercising for years, food is where i always struggle,
Not worrying about the scale. Right not im trying only weigh monthly.

besdais

ALL OF THIS! This is a great thread, and great advice. I got a Fitbit and now feel "blah" if I don't get at least close to 5 miles of walking in every day - crazy! Log everything, and celebrate every day, especially those where you stayed in your calories, but don't beat yourself up when life happens and you veer off course. Just get back to it. I have taken the food we love and made it healthier, and quit making some of the recipes that were just junk. I like to try new recipes and challenge myself to cut the calories in them. It's all about starting new habits, and not trying to be a perfectionist. Remember it is all about starting a lifestyle you can live with forever - there is no end, and you can eat whatever you want, which is why it is not a diet. I've tried every diet in the book and I can tell you: just eat less, eat better, eat smarter, eat healthier, and move more.

Being fat is hard.
Losing weight is hard.
Maintaining weight is hard.
Pick your hard.

fitgymbunny

I had read this great book about HABITS and one theme stood out which was actually in an anecdotal chapter about a steel company, Alcoa. The new CEO came in and chose just ONE corporate habit to change and the anecdote was to illustrate that sometimes we overcomplicate things and just choosing one thing will make the others (activities surrounding that goal) fall in line. And that you can easily build on one good habit with others. So I decided to apply that to my eating/weight loss. Picked just tracking. I told myself that I could eat whatever I just had to log it. It was easier than EVER before in my weight loss attempts to stick to my given calories--I'm talking quick turnaround in my behavior sustained over time. And by doing that, I started to eat healthier so I could stay in line with my given calories. I always love to work out so that really wasn't much of an issue but I was able to go workout after a long hard work day because I was making progress with eating and actual weight loss. It's amazing how things build on each other quickly by just picking one thing. In the past, I think i've failed or been stalled by trying to do too MANY things and be perfect. Picking just the tracking (where I told myself I didn't have to be perfect) has gotten me closer than anything else ever did. So I highly recommend that book (they do have some anecdotes that relate to weight loss but those didn't mean as much to me as the steel company one did--anyway it's valuable book for sure).

Also can I just say, like most people usually do, I always make new year's resolutions. And every year they are usual require a huge burst of energy and major different lifestyle to even ATTEMPT to make good on them for a few weeks This year I already have the basics in place, because they are my normal lifestyle now (tracking, food prep, an exercise routine and options on that). So most of my goals this year with regard to lifestyle (last 5 pounds, leg/glute toning & strength, and continue to incorporate healthier foods) are about little tweaks not an overhaul and build on behaviors I already have going . I have to say that has made starting 2018 very exciting!

corinasue1143

I hope to reach my goal one day, too. I'm trying.

GoldenEye_

I'm not at my goal yet, but I did lose 19 lbs so far in a healthy weight range. What really helped me was simple logging. It allowed me to be patient and trust the process. When I lose 2 pounds in a month I am happy instead of dissapointed, because I know that I can keep this up and will get there in the end.

Another thing is tea. When I'm having a sweet tooth pickwick is there for me with tastes like caramelized pear. Yum! Even better when combined with a mandarin orange.

Need2Exerc1se

Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Eating very light throughout the week so I could overeat on the weekends. I don't think I would have stuck with any other plan.

I totally did this... Not by design though

Went pretty low all week and over exercised, only to collapse and binge on Saturday night

But I still lost every week

To be clear I didn't binge on the weekends. I've never been a binge eater or an over exerciser. I simply chose to eat light (1000-1300) during the work week when my life is very scheduled so that I could eat more (well over 2000) on the weekends.

I still do this now that I am in maintenance only with more calories to play with.

ItsMyLife1956

fitgymbunny wrote: »

I had read this great book about HABITS and one theme stood out which was actually in an anecdotal chapter about a steel company, Alcoa. The new CEO came in and chose just ONE corporate habit to change and the anecdote was to illustrate that sometimes we overcomplicate things and just choosing one thing will make the others (activities surrounding that goal) fall in line. And that you can easily build on one good habit with others. So I decided to apply that to my eating/weight loss. Picked just tracking. I told myself that I could eat whatever I just had to log it. It was easier than EVER before in my weight loss attempts to stick to my given calories--I'm talking quick turnaround in my behavior sustained over time. And by doing that, I started to eat healthier so I could stay in line with my given calories. I always love to work out so that really wasn't much of an issue but I was able to go workout after a long hard work day because I was making progress with eating and actual weight loss. It's amazing how things build on each other quickly by just picking one thing. In the past, I think i've failed or been stalled by trying to do too MANY things and be perfect. Picking just the tracking (where I told myself I didn't have to be perfect) has gotten me closer than anything else ever did. So I highly recommend that book (they do have some anecdotes that relate to weight loss but those didn't mean as much to me as the steel company one did--anyway it's valuable book for sure).

Also can I just say, like most people usually do, I always make new year's resolutions. And every year they are usual require a huge burst of energy and major different lifestyle to even ATTEMPT to make good on them for a few weeks This year I already have the basics in place, because they are my normal lifestyle now (tracking, food prep, an exercise routine and options on that). So most of my goals this year with regard to lifestyle (last 5 pounds, leg/glute toning & strength, and continue to incorporate healthier foods) are about little tweaks not an overhaul and build on behaviors I already have going . I have to say that has made starting 2018 very exciting!

I am currently reading that book (The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg) and it is an eye opener for figuring out why I eat what I eat when I eat, and for helping to figure out how to change these habits. Very empowering for taking back control of my life.

R2che

Moving more and NOT restricting anything. If I wanted a chocolate bar, I’d still have it but I’d make sure it would fit it into my daily allowance. It’s all about moderation

adele012

Logging everything on here AND chewing gum when I find myself getting hungry when I don’t need to be. (never been much of a big gum person but I heard this advice from a friend and it works.)

I also have an ideal body type in mind, and every time I get bad cravings I will think of it.

DebLaBounty

Ignoring the unsolicited advice of friends who say I should join Weight Watchers, go low carb, do intermittent fasting, switch to Keto or a vegan diet. I’ve lost 30 pounds using MFP. Gimme a break!!

rheddmobile

Exercise every morning, even if it's only ten minutes. Outside in the sunshine if weather permits. The act of getting up, putting on clothes and shoes, and making myself move sets a tone for my whole day. It also does amazing things for my blood glucose levels.

christinaostroff

Logging my food... I started off just on paper but now love using MFP. It held me accountable and more importantly, helped me adjust specific eating habits and make specific dietary goals. For example, I realized that if I ate a crappy breakfast I tended to make worse choices the rest of the day.

Jedi_Jo

Logging everything in MFP, and taking photographs of what I eat. At the end of the day I put a collage of my food diary on Instagram. It’s really helped me stay focused and accountable, I’m -47lb down so far.

Tinkachu

Appetite suppressants. No more binge eating on a regular basis, yay. It's easier for me to not obsess over food when I'm surrounded by it at work too now.

apullum

Weighing my food and logging everything. I'm very short, so my deficit became extremely small as I approached my goal weight, and I learned the value of logging every last bite I took. I didn't give up any food that I wanted to eat, as I don't think that approach is sustainable in the long term.

fshafaat

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I was just consistent in hitting my calorie targets...I didn't jump around from plan to plan or this or that...I remained consistent in the process and trusted the process, knowing that it was going to take time.

I always have this habit of not sticking to the calorie target and therefore derail every time. I started again and this time promised myself to be honest to myself and stick to 1800 calories and not jump around like it did before

sksk1026

I built a diet plan around my personal likes and dislikes. I didn't try and fit myself into some kind of 'healthy' plan.

mysteps2beauty

I come here daily, to log, to learn, to help anyway I can. If you keep coming here, I believe you will succeed. My bad days are getting fewer and fewer. I acknowledge this is a lifestyle not a race. I ate good for the holidays. But I'm back in the saddle. I'm a perfectionist, which means, or use to mean, if I can't do it perfectly, I'm not going to do it at all. So, I pushed aside being a perfectionist, but perfectly do one thing. If I eat breakfast and I choose to make it perfectly, that's what I do. The rest of the day is less perfect. And I'm okay with that. Just accept that you have your own unique ways to get to where you want to get to. Just don't stop. No. matter. what.

pamfgil

I work with my own traits, e.g. I'm better at keeping up with exercise if I don't need to go somewhere to start, so I exercise at or from home

GW4321

I decreased my calorie consumption significantly by cutting out “extra” calories. For example, not eating cheese or mayo on a sandwich. Another example is adding butter OR sour cream to a baked potato, but not both. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but small changes each meal can really add up throughout the day.