What are your best HABITS for losing weight?

AndreaEIE

Logging EVERYTHING, even down to the condiments, even if it puts me over my calories for the day.

ElizabethKalmbach

10k steps a day. Cooking my own food from scratch. Not snacking at work.

angelexperiment

Eat 5×a day. Preplan prepack if I have to be away from home. If I have to eat out eat a half portion or healthiest least calorie thing. Exercise first thing in morning and daily walks. Learning about calories and the best way to utilize for maximum satiety. Keep promises like I will work out for 5 min minimum today. Challenge myself with something new as ofyen as possible like miles, running, a goal like 50 mike walk to work and train toward.

angelexperiment

knitapeace wrote: »

It's now a total habit for me to pre-log for the next day at night. This has helped not only with weight loss, but also with getting prepped and out the door in the morning, saving money on groceries, and not needing to "run out for lunch" at work. I get a bit angry if I can't pre-log the night before now!

This is me. Prelogging the night before (except dinner, never know what Chef Husband will be cooking up for dinner) has prompted me also to set up the coffeemaker, lay out my exercise and work clothes, and pack my daughter's lunch ahead of time. My mornings start way earlier now that I have the habit of waking early for exercise, but they go more smoothly due to diligent planning.

So my 2 best new habits are prelogging and exercise.

And this girl works hard and diligently! She is so motivational!

BigLifter10

Logging, cooking own food and not eating after a certain time at night. Those three things have made such a difference for me!

vgnfarmer

Yes to logging and weighing! Plus I put my groceries in the trunk not the back seat so I can't mindlessly munch on the way home!

13suzie

Just rediscovered this thread! Thanks for the tips - any more good habits out there that you want to share? This is priceless!

tayloralanj

1. Drink water.
2. Train consistently.
3. Sleep.

sunandmoons

Planning and pre logging. Scaling food. Placing
utensils on my plate to savor the texture and flavor between bites. Drinking more water. Staying close or near my calorie requirements.
Exercise, mountain hiking. Just moving more.

Learning what foods fuel my body. (energy)
Taking each day one at a time.
Being accountable for myself.

Keeping a positive attitude.

Kalikel

Motivation is always what keeps you going, but habits help! These are my five big ones that I developed and work for me:

Weighing, then exercising first thing in the morning
Not eating at night
Drinking about 15oz water before I hit the hay
Eating healthy foods
Getting enough sleep

I realize that those things aren't necessary, but the question wasn't, "What is necessary?" - it was, "What do you do?"

missjones513

Exercising - it helps me focus on my calorie intake and puts me in a good mood

WeighToGoJudy

iRun_Butterfly wrote: »

Logging everything
Food Scale & Measuring cups/spoons
Some kind of activity, every single day, even if just a short walk. Keeps me focused on my goals.

This.

sarahlifts

BlueBombers wrote: »

+1

SeptemberFeyre

Planning a menu for the week and rarely buying the foods I know I'll have major trouble going overboard with(mainly ice cream).

Bshmerlie

Once I was into the routine for a little bit I started noticing my routine that I would end up going over my calorie goal Fridays and Saturdays. So I adjusted. I lowered my Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed-Thur calories down to 1200 so that I can have 2000 on Fridays and Saturdays. It helps me to stay on track and not have to worry so much about blowing my deficit that I was building all week. So I now look at my weekly totals more than my daily goals. It gives me more flexability and takes some of the stress off.

Timshel_

• Keep within +/- 200 calories of my daily goal every day, seven days a week, each month, for the year...every year from now on.
• Minimize off track days but enjoy them.
• Exercise at least 5 days per week.

For me, a key is to over-estimate food and under-estimate calories burned for exercise. I see waaaay too many people do the opposite.

AspenDan

Ranch dressing..which I put on my copious amounts of veggies.

MarcyKirkton

Zumba Gold!......

CrabNebula

Being consistent and disciplined over the long haul.

One of the most eye opening things for me is how I had to have been really eating to have got to my high weight. I thought my portion sizes were 'normal'. They definitely were not. Portion control is a huge deal. That and educating myself on how many calories were in all the foods I was eating and how to reduce that number significantly in my cooking and baking. I've become maybe too efficient at that part...

sarahrosheen

smaller portions

sarahrosheen

eating more veggies and drinking lots of water, tea

JustMissTracy

Logging has been lifechanging...so I'd say 1st and foremost, using a food scale and logging are great habits if you aren't already doing it...I've always logged my workouts, but never the food side of things...the moment I did, the whole game changed....lbs just started melting off, easily.. for the first time in years

13suzie

thanks! Any more? Keep them flowing...I really appreciate hearing everyone's habits...

Ponkeen

Tiamaria1010 wrote: »

Food prep is ESSENTIAL. If you have good food ready at all times, you will EAT IT. I had to learn that the hard way but it absolutely works. Log everything that you eat and I mean everything! Log all of your exercises too! I even log when I clean my house. It all adds up!! When you can see your numbers it increases your likeliness of making smarter choices. I prep my meals for the week--not each day.

Cardio! Cardio! Cardio!

I'm not a health nut or anything--I do have wonderful cheat days!! But I make sure that I don't go crazy with it. I have to have a special treat here and there to keep me normal.

^^^^YEP to the food prep.

levett09

jillian_fan2425 wrote: »

Good topic!

Planning is key for me. I have to know ahead of time what my meals are going to look like and where I have wiggle room. This helps not only with resisting temptation during the week but also on the weekends when I go to the grocery store. It's cheaper and healthier not to pick up unexpected items just because you see them on the shelf. (And never go grocery shopping while hungry!)

With exercise, I think you have to not force it -- find something you enjoy and use that to burn calories. For me, it's circuit training, kickboxing, walking wherever I can around town, and hanging out with my husband (playing soccer, hiking, etc.). I tried to get into running and really never fell in love with it, so I don't force myself to do that. Just keep trying new things until you find something you like.

I also struggle a little bit with getting enough water. I'll let myself have a different beverage with dinner (usually a diet soda), but I make an effort to drink only water during the workday. I also recently started letting myself only have water after dinner in order to resist the urge to have a bedtime snack. I've been slacking on it a little lately, but it's helped me get a couple more glasses in.

I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!

People think running is the answer but I hate it. Love playing football and that's what keeps me fit.

I've been slacking on water too, I feel so much better for it but it's so boring getting back on track today!

scolaris

Pretty much adding to the chorus:
1) weighing all foods as accurately as possible & verifying nutrition info outside MFP
2) logging it all - the good, the bad, the ugly!
3) planning simple meals, pre logging whenever possible
4) stocking up on my go-to proteins so they are readily available
5) going for modest deficits & slower weight loss... on good days I can speed things up if I'm able but on hard days I don't feel like a failure.
6) lots of water
7) lots of walking
8) laughing with myself when intentions go awry & ALWAYS starting fresh the next day!

Ashtoretet

Planning meals, making sure I get 8 hours of sleep, making the gym a priority.

ekat120

Weighing myself daily and walking places whenever possible.

kommodevaran

I'm in maintenance, but the same applies:

Weigh myself daily, look at the trend, adjust behavior slightly if trend points the wrong way.
Plan meals, keep running inventory, make shopping list, never shop hungry, bring and follow shopping list.
Cook and eat delicious food, enough fat and protein, aim for variety, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, portion control.
No eating between meals, only drink water, coffee and tea between meals.
Get some excercise every day, even if it's just a short walk to the store.
Get enough sleep and rest.

amillenium

Planning and food prep!