How did you begin?

prattiger65

I started by cutting out garbage and nasty foods like pop and pizza. Take out was banned. It was good but the hard part was sticking with it. That's when I went hunting for a coach. (I was and am still doing beachbody programs) I was invited to a challenge group on facebook and with the help of the team I learned about nutrition and consistency helping me lose 64 pounds. I was so inspired and revved up by my results I became a team coach myself! Hah!

Ahhh, beachbody coach....OP, if you havent already, you will be getting messages from the beachbody coach trolls who want to "help" you. steer clear of them and their products they try to sell you. You dont need any of that stuff. Calorie deficit/patience, thats all you need to start.

pickered

Firstly, congratulations on asking the question. That is a great initial step.

I recommend this. It's by no means the only answer, but in my experience it works well.

If you have trouble with the link or don't trust urls from random folks (I wouldn't) just google "three food rule"

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-three-food-rule-healthier-eating-106383.html?cat=51

SarahMS79

I started my journey on the New Year. I topped almost 200 pounds and today stepping on the scale I am under 170! The best thing I did for myself was buying an elliptical machine. I stopped buying junk food! I found a new love for vegetables! Also, I started counting calories. I think it's really important to log everything you eat...EVERYTHING. You've got to really think of it is a new way of life...think about the long term benefits and how wonder you will feel if you can lose weight and reach your goals. I wish you the best of luck this 2014.

NCchar130

I only counted calories.

Like someone above said, you'll quickly see which foods are the biggest "waste" of calories, so to speak. My habit before I started logging was to drink four of those bottled Starbucks frappucinos a day :sad: :blushing: which was costing me 720 calories a day. Pretty sure they were the major contributing factor to me getting fat LOL. By the end of week 1 I was down to 1 per day and then none. I'm not calling them 'bad', just a waste, since they did nothing to fill me up. Other than that, though, I still eat the same foods I always did, just much smaller portions, and now I eat far more vegetables than I used to. So I ended up eating far fewer processed foods but only because of the calorie count. :flowerforyou:

atfirstblush

I started by cutting out sweets completely 4 days before I got serious about this. That alone stopped my cravings for bad carbs. Then on my first day I walked 1.5 miles on the treadmill and drank 15 glasses of water to further kill my appetite. It really helped to boost my initial success.

_lyndseybrooke_

My first dieting experience was Atkins when I was 16. I had to stay at 20 g of carbs or else I stopped losing - I was on it for 4 months and lost 40 lbs. At 5'5", I went from 165 to 125. I then swore off of low-carb forever because it made me hate so many foods I used to like. I switched to a low calorie, low fat diet and maintained for awhile, followed by a few years of yo-yo dieting with the trusty 1200 calorie failure plan. About a year ago, at 155 lbs, I decided enough was enough.

I no longer "diet." A diet is temporary. I simply changed my way of eating without depriving myself of calories my body needs to function or foods that I enjoy. I now count calories as well as keep an eye on my macros, especially protein. I recently started drinking protein shakes in order to take in .75-1 g protein per lb of body weight. I also started lifting heavy (for me) and am about to start the StrongLifts 5x5 program.

The biggest change was tossing out the, "I want to be skinny" and adopting the "I want to be fit and healthy" frame of mind. I don't care about a thigh gap or a bikini bridge. I just want to look in the mirror and like what I see. I want to be stronger, more flexible, and gain endurance. I want to FEEL healthy, and not revert back to old habits. This is the way I plan to eat forever, just more of the same once I lose the last few pounds.

This is the first time in my life weight loss hasn't made me absolutely miserable. This is the first time I've been excited about nutrition and fitness.

Alsvic

The very first thing was to start logging everything I ate. After that everything was is self explanatory. The Calorie data base will show you what you can eat and what you no longer want to eat.

psylvester1

bump

sassidy13

Thank you all for your input! I really appreciate your ideas. I think I might just stick to counting calories for now, and seeing where that leads me (as many of you have suggested).

seltzermint555

When I had reached my highest weight (in '08) and knew I wanted to change, I started by walking a LOT...several miles most nights. And by changing my lunchtime habits. Before that I grabbed fast food, had a full-on dinner type meal at my mom's house complete with a dessert, or went out to restaurants with friends/coworkers. I started only doing those things on Friday. Mon-Thurs I packed myself a healthy light lunch like veggies & hummus and some fruit or crackers, premade salads (made a batch for 4 days on Sunday evening) or tiny portions of baked goods along with a small healthier wrap.

By the time I joined MFP, I was down 45 lb and had developed some better habits mostly thanks to my now-husband's good influence. I stopped putting tons of creamer in my coffee, going for just a splash of milk instead. I'd started using cheese, cream, and butter very sparingly in my cooking and food prep, and adding "unnecessary vegetables" to everything (for example, a perfectly good grilled cheese sandwich was stepped up by including sautéed onion, bell pepper and/or mushrooms).

That made my transition pretty smooth. For me, being on MFP was just another step in the right direction. It's helped me make decisions that are actually way more satisfying...one example I've given before is when I used to go to Starbucks or a local coffeehouse with my best friend, I ordered a grande white mocha and now I get an iced black coffee and a sugary pastry...while it is still not a healthy choice, it's way less calories and I enjoy it so much more. I do try to aim for healthy and nutritious eating though so maybe that is not the best example...another example would be my go-to egg taco for breakfast when I am in a hurry. 77 calorie Mama Lupe's fajita tortilla, pan-fried egg and a tiny bit of chipotle dressing. SO good and around 180 calories. I used to think I was making a better choice by eating a big bowl of non-sugary cereal with 1% milk which wasn't very tasty and way more calories to boot.

Eastmont87

Well, since i've never been overweight but wanted to build muscle I really didn't change anything drastically.
Just ate a bit less fat and calorie dense stuff like cookies and icecream, that sort of thing.... and ate more of protein.
When I wanted to lose some weight I just lowered my intake of overall calories, so mostly portion size. Something that is really good to watch out for is oil, butter and stuff like that in your pan. 1 tablespoon of oil is 120 calories, so it does a lot in the end if you fry stuff a lot! And just take a walk a day

But the trick is like I wrote in some other thread, is just to allow yourself to eat unhealthy stuff as well, but just watch the portion size

emmaxbon

Calorie counting and portion control. Portion control was and still is my biggest issue. But weighing all my food and seeing what is a correct portion size helps with that. Ive not cut anything out completely and I still have a wee bit of junk when I feel like it.

I always been a walker but set myself a daily distance target and after doing that for 3 months I've started the 5k runner programme.

mcibty

My girlfriend started it. She joined the gym and I got jealous and joined too. I said at the time, "I don't want to get obsessed with this, I'll do it at my own pace..." Needless to say I became obsessed.

I worked out, a lot, probably too much, hitting cardio every day for over an hour. Then I joined here about a year ago and have been counting calories ever since. I started out on 1,200 like every newbie on here does, and lost some weight quickly. Now I'm at a weight I'm happy with I'm concentrating more on lifting and strength than losing the lbs and making sure I stick to a specific deficit, and I try to eat as naturally as possible.

GiveMeCoffee

I began by logging everything so I could get an honest answer to exactly what I was consuming, and to see where I could cut back on calories without giving up anything I enjoy. Then I started doing research, because what I had done in the past obviously hadn't worked since I was back again. After stalking the forums for a bit and watching what the successful people were saying, I researched BMR and TDEE and slowly started changing my mindset on how to lose weight.

I bought a food scale, and have learned portion control and everything in moderation. Changing my relationship with dieting and food and not falling into the demonizing any food group was my biggest change and the reason this time I have been successful while still enjoying pasta, pizza, ice cream, etc.

_Zardoz_

I just started counting calories. I've never really changed the type of foods I eat because my main issue was portion size. After a while counting you realise how you can reduce the calories such as the amount of oil etc you use to cook with. My mantra through the whole of this is no food is out of bounds and anything as long as it's in moderation. yes the base of my everyday is what people may consider 'Healthy foods' (though to me there are no unhealthy foods it's all food) but it doesn't stop me having things I want within my calories. Though some of my choices have changed over the past year and a bit in order to fuel my running more. Tonight I will sit down with Mrs Fatdoob and watch a film while eating popcorn because I've planned for it and it's within my calorie goals.

The best bit of advice I can give anyone is don't eliminate foods you like just learn to eat them in moderation.

Phrick

I started by eating oatmeal for breakfast, having a Lean Cuisine for lunch and dinner. That got me started. From there, I evolved to where I am now.

This gives me so much hope for my husband. He is on board with me but not as gung-ho as I am, if that makes sense - and eats Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice every blessed day for lunch. If you could start there and get to where you are now, that just gives me hope.

Lola2248

I did not diet for my first week and just kept track of the calories I ate.... it was an eye opener because I often felt hungry but the calorie intake was high. I think being aware of how many calories are in something is vital. Yesterday I had this tiny egg cup size cheesecake in the fridge. I looked at the calories and it was 275.... and it just put me off straight away. The exercise I'd have to do to burn that off was enough of an incentive not to eat it.

Once you are in the habit of eating better you can then look at exercise.

I think to change everything is too much. Baby steps is my motto. Rome wasn't built in a day is another!

hilaria81

In January I hit a real low point and knew I needed to change how much I was eating, so I started by writing down everything I ate, reading labels, counting calories. I hated doing it that way. It was tedious and frankly miserable; I knew I couldn't live that way. That lasted for all of 2 days before I spontaneously decided to give My Fitness Pal a try. (Had had an account sitting gathering dust for 2 years.) Right away, I was amazed at how much easier and more FUN it was. I lost the first 5 pounds very quickly and that really fueled my motivation to keep going. Haven't missed a day of logging since. And really, the actual food I eat hasn't changed all that much (though some junk food tastes much less appealing now). It's mainly that I watch my portions, measure or weigh things at home as much as I can, eat out a lot less, and prioritize/budget for special treats I want.

Exercise hasn't been an issue at all, I've been a big exerciser since high school and these days I enjoy it even more. If I can't make it to the gym, I at least try to do treadmill or an Xbox workout every day while waiting for outdoor walking / biking / swimming weather.

beautifulwarrior18

I have been trying to eat healthier for ages. Which I have successfully done, but that didn't mean automatic weightloss for me. The biggest difference is once I started logging I cut out a lot of fast food. I didn't worry about my macros right away, just calories. Then as I became more concerned with my macros it was easier to cut out fast food because of the sodium and fat levels. I don't like meal planning because then I end up eating lasagna for 3 weeks because I made a 12 serving lasagna. I generally eat what I call rabbit food (Salads, raw nuts, chicken and rice). I try to steer away from candy and fast food and I don't cook very frequently. Ocassionally (I've done this like 2 or 3 times since December to tell you how infrequently I do it) I just go to the gas station, get two kinds of chips with two kinds of dip (a couple of my favorite Easter Candies this time of year) and rent movies from the red box. I totally pig out but that's all I eat for the day and whatever is left over the next day I throw in the garbage and go back to healthy eating. I usually only do that on the end of a long stretch of shifts (I work nights). So I watch movies and eat chips until I fall asleep. Never takes very long lol.

robabob3

I started off doing very low calories and running everyday, I love to eat and loathe running for the sake of running, so needless to say that was a temporary solution for me. Lost 18kg in 2 months, piled it all back on in a month long binge before finding MFP and weightlifting, now i've lost 32kg over a period of about a year, stacked on a lot of muscle and strength and get to eat a heap of calories, still slowly losing weight on anywhere from 2600-3000 cal a day.

Eat what i want, (IIFYM) lift all the heavy things. Life is good.