What are your best HABITS for losing weight?

WBB55

-Drinking tea
-Walking every day
-Logging/weighing food
-Logging/weighing myself
-Packing lunch and travel-friendly snacks
-Taking the stairs
-Parking further away than I need to
-Getting off the bus a stop early and walking the rest of the way
-Wearing my FitBit
-Making my own recipes
-Believing in myself

scolaris

Walking... every day. Weighing... myself & everything I eat, except for food served to me in other people's homes or restaurants. Waiting... before I eat; just to check in & make sure that's really what I want to be doing at that moment. I was surprised at how much unconscious, knee jerk 'see food diet' eating I was doing. I really try to pause and reflect a little before I just dive in.

riffraff2112

journal writing.
Keep track of exercise, diet, goals. Keeps me honest.

Optimistical1

Intermittent fasting!!

Working2BLean

Regular long duration cardio

I am assuming you don't consider following the calorie amount listed by MFP using a food scale as a good add on habit

That is a core part of just following the plan.

13suzie

These are awesome habits!!!! Thanks!!!!

LucyP12342014

I no longer always find an excuse. I used to have an excuse for everything, I'm a busy single mum etc. I work out at home when the little one is in bed if I can't get to the gym and I pre cook two weeks worth of meals and freeze them. Then I can make healthy convenient choices all week and a little treat on the weekend

shut_up_legs

Logging everything
Being aware of how many calories are in biscuits/crisps etc....
Running

Dreysander

Wearing a Fitbit Charge HR (love that thing)
Using a food scale
Staying over 10k steps a day
Getting enough sleep
Strength training

13suzie

bump

Expatmommy79

Doing some form of conscious exercise daily: walking, bike, golf, Pilates...
Planning ahead
Having healthy snacks available at home
Weigh and log all the food
Plan heavy meals in advance to ensure I have enough calories for nights out.
Weighing regularly and taking measurements
Staying positive

IILikeToMoveItMoveIt

Counting and logging calorie intake daily. All the ups and downs. Being perpetually honest every day, with every bite.
Weighing daily for trends and progress.
Weighing food for tighter cal. counting.
MFP habit, every day. I notice I tend to slip if I don't get on here daily...
Also, big habit I need, keeping dry erase boards in the kitchen for daily calorie counts, (A bite? I write it down. Calorie amnesia is thing for me.) and recipe calorie counts. If I want to make a dinner, I write down all ingredients before I cook it. No surprises, and can alter/sub out whatever I need to keep things on point.

ilovesweeties

Similar to so many posters:

• At least 10,000 steps/day (but always aiming for as many as possible), measured with my FitBit (Flex, then Charge HR)
• Not eating when travelling (i.e. during the journey)
• Pre-logging with MFP everyday
• Accounting for big meals in advance
• Weighing all my food
• Weighing myself
• Reading threads in the maintenance forum before I got there myself
• Taking up running
• Drinking more water and really limiting calories from drinks
• Learning to say no to offers of delicious morsels at work
• Stopping spoiling myself (and others) with food
• Stopping feeling like I was hard done by because I couldn't have everything I wanted, in the amounts I wanted, whenever I wanted
• Letting my partner know what I was up to and accepting his support
• Rejoicing in the small wins- a smaller dress size, the end of chub rub, high heels being more comfortable again, realising I wasn't actually a completely different shape to my enviably slim sister, I had just been covered up with 70lbs of fat instead...

Also, setting a long-term goal (lose 67 lbs with no time limit, just an estimate of how long it might take) allowed me to be more accepting of short term plateaus or small gains along the way.

cbelc2

I made the living room into a no calorie zone and only eat at the table with no electronics. Works against nighttime nibbling!

spzjlb

Great tips here! I've recently made it to maintenance and am so worried about gaining back that extra weight. I never dreamed that I could ever feel proud and pleased with my body (and I'm 51 yrs old). For me:
1 - weighing myself daily to keep me mindful
2 - getting 30 min of fairly intense exercise every single day
3 - realizing that I am a small person, so typical portion sizes are just too big for me
4 - learning to just take a bit of something delicious and not feel guilty about putting the rest in the trash

toe1226

Agree with all the things, but also

1) free writing, checking in on how I'm thinking, feeling, what kind of mood I'm in.

2) tracking my period and eating maintenance during PMS to avoid binges!

PamOliva

As a former binge eater, my most effective way to lose weight was learning to eat 3 times a day and not snacking. I still do this in maintenance and it works great for me. Does that mean I never have treats? Course not, but I have them with my meal and then "fast" until the next meal. Meal times vary based on hunger levels. I even ate this way on vacation and lost a pound.

13suzie

These are great tips/habits to consider incorporating!!!!

Drewdizm

Have your food weighed accurately using a scale
Drink 13 8oz glasses a day.
Drink Earl grey tea.
Use coffee as a pre workout.
Exercise whenever you can depending on your schedule, no excuses. 24hour gyms exist or a night run would do more good than harm.
Get a fitness tracker + HRM chest strap to further record your calories burned on your activity.
Don't be afraid of having a rest day
Don't be afraid of having a cheat meal. But get back once you feel satisfied that you've tasted the food you wanted to eat.
Fiber is your friend.
Protein is as important as Carbohydrates.
Adjust your carbohydrates according to the intensity of your activity.
Plan your meals with the corresponding macronutrient goals in check.

Important***
Know the amount of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight. Depending on your goals decrease or increase that with +-300 calories, and then get some exercise.

jplinis

Planning weekly meals, setting aside a day to meal prep and keeping treats out of sight and reach!!

amusedmonkey

I arrange the foods in my fridge and pantry so that the lower calorie foods are in front and the higher calorie things that I don't eat often are in the back. Silly, but this has helped me a lot because I'm the kind of person who would open the fridge and grab whatever is in sight. If I really want a higher calorie food I will have to consciously want it and reach for it instead of mindlessly grabbing it.

As for the foods that I don't have often like sweets and chips I don't stock them. If I really want them I have to make a trip to the shop and buy a single serving. If I don't want them enough to make that trip (a 10 minute walk) then I don't need to have them.

tcatcarson

Having a default "No thank you" to biscuits at work instead of a default "Oh, go on then...".

vaguelyvegan

One of the things that has helped me is a fallback plan, one easy go-to meal that fills me up and is super low in calories. For me this is a bowl of vegetarian pho at the noodle house down the street. It's a huge bowl full of veggies and rice noodles and tofu, and it keeps me full for hours. Because it's only 210 calories, I can plan a day around it to either compensate for overeating the day before, or have it for lunch when I have a big dinner planned later on.

I make soup at home for this same purpose: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/09/25/luxurious-7-vegetable-and-cheese-soup/

rankinsect

I have several good habits now, but my secret sauce is pre-logging the day before. Every day where I can practically do so, I come into the day with a plan and I just have to execute it.

NotGnarly

Eat clean organic foods. Avoid things with msg, high fructose corn syrup, and gmo. We rarely eat out and I honestly can't remember the last time. Oh and avoid alcohol. When I do these things I lose weight and don't have to track or measure my food.

Turns out a lot of these things turn off your leptin signal (fullness) and this is how they make lab rats fat. I still eat a good amount of meat, eggs, cheese, etc. If we want pizza or French fries we make them at home. When we move to Georgia I will be growing my own organic veggies and this will save us a lot of money.

I'd much rather eat this way and not have to obsess about calories or tracking. It's the way nature intended before all these other things were inserted into our food to make us eat more and crave it. Eating organic makes losing for me effortless.

Mzzlin

Thanks for all the great tips!!! I'm trying to get my "fitness groove" back. Trying to find a balance between family, fitness, school and work. Looking for people with the same goals so we can support/motivate each other. Friend requests are welcome.

13suzie

If I really want a cookie, I have to ride my bike to the store to get it! It's my new habit. I decided not to deprive myself but rather make it a calorie wash! The nearest Whole Foods store that has my favorite cookie is a 20 minute bike ride away!!! And, the "habit" includes only buying one at a time...

13suzie

nm212 wrote: »

I got into the habit to eat half portions when I go out to eat and take the rest home for lunch the next day. It automatically cuts your portion sizes and still allows you to eat what you enjoy! I also try to have fruit or salad/veggies with every meal to keep me fuller longer. Club Soda (Seltzer Water) instead of Soft Drinks and less carbs!

Eat half portions when eating out! Great habit....I have to start that!

allbandrelatednamesaretaken

idk why but sitting on sites like these and watching diet/food related shows helps me a load.

socioseguro

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.

+1