let me have it!!

Amanda82691

What three things do you credit for helping get into a healthy lifestyle, stick with it and have all the success you have had? I would love to know!

csk0018

1. Eating in Moderation
2. Exercise
3. Maintaining 1 & 2 and making it a habit.

ThriftyChica12

1. Keeping a journal of: feelings, exercise notes, food notes, and recording my weight.
2. Eating mostly real, unprocessed food: avoiding food that makes me binge.
3. Doing exercises, and eating foods, that I truly ENJOY: never suffering through exercise or meals i hate to "make goal".

whitpitts

1. Eating fewer calories... at first I still ate most of the same stuff as before, just less. Now I notice I crave the healthier options.

2. Green tea fat burner pills ... those things helped me lose 9 lbs in my first week... I swear by them. I was ready to just stop trying because I was "too sore and tired" to continue. Then I saw the weight I lost in a week and it was instant motivation to continue.

3. MEASURE yourself and take pictures every week to compare to how you looked in the beginning. I have only lost 1 more pound in the last 3 weeks, but I know I'm burning fat and gaining muscle based on my shrinking measurements. You can't rely on a scale. That was the hardest thing for me to accept.

Niccole5878

I have barely just begun my journey to health and wellness! I started about 7 weeks ago and I am down 18 lbs. I still have a long ways to go. I have tried time and time again and have suffered with obesity most of my life and all of my adult life. Somehow I just knew that this time was different than the rest! I LOVE MFP, I use it to stay motivated. The strongest piece of advice I can offer is to take one day at a time. Heck, even just take one meal at a time. You cannot change what you ate this morning, but you can still make better choices for lunch and dinner!

The top three things that have helped me thus far are as follows..

1. My husband... He has never had weight issues, and he assures me that he loves me no matter what i weigh. He has been by my side, literally, every step of the way. He works out with me, counts calories (even though he is allowed to eat way more than me) he keeps me going without judgement! When I almost collapse from running/jogging a mile he picks me up and we laugh together at how silly I looked pusing myself for the last minute!!

2. My doctor.... about 8 weeks ago, she told me that I officially had high blook pressure and if I was not able to get it under control, she would put me medication to control it. I did not want to start this at the young age of 36! For as long as I can remember, my mother has been on BP and Cholesteral medication and I did not want this for myself. My Mom is also an insulin dependent diabetic. The doctor told me that if I didn't change my lifestyle immediately within a few years i would probably suffer from the same illness.

3. MFP... MFP is not only about accountability, but it is also about celebration! I have read countless weightloss success stories on this site and it truely keeps me motivated! Each morning as I am eating breakfast, I am browsing the success stores on MFP. This helps me to realize that if others can do it, I can to! I want it so badly that it helps me to envision myself hitting my goals!

Good luck to you and to everyone else that begins this journey! Together, we can do it!!!

MityMax96

Goals

dawnmcneil10

1. Nothing is "forbidden", if I enjoy it I have it in moderation.
2. "Exercise" is now called activity in my world - I don't have to burn a ton of calories I just keep on moving doing the things I enjoy.
3. I am worth all of this, the fresh veggies, the time spent on a long walk or run it's all because I am worth this.

ajff

1. A serious change of mindset: from what I didn't have in my life to what I did have. I suddenly looked around and realized I had it really really good. Don't get me wrong, I want so much more than I have, but I finally started living the phrase "happiness is wanting what you have" (this probably makes no sense... I have tons of debt, a modest house, an old car.... but my life is full of really good people, and I live in a safe, clean world with a gorgeous blue sky no one can take from me --- get it?). Once I decided that the rest of my life was pretty darn good, I could focus my energy on my own fitness (which was NOT GOOD).

2. I have a lot to lose. All I worry about is today and this week. At the end of the day/week, am I going to be satisfied with my effort? Little steps made all the difference.

3. I am pretty private, but I let a few people in on my goals and let them support me.

sweetcurlz67

modify my eating behavior - less processed food - more healthy food - cut out soft drinks & drink lots of water!
consistent workout plan - consistency is key (cardio, strength, including weights)
MFP support is super AMAZING!

embracethepainfitness

1. MyFitnessPal - It was eye-opening how out of whack my calorie intake was. I would just eat and not even think about calories.
2. My Polar FT4 - I bought it when I got determined to lose weight. I wanted to know just exactly how many calories I was burning so I wouldn't have to guess with MFP.
3. Planning Ahead - I would plan my meals a week in advance and grocery shop for ONLY what was required to make those meals. That was I wasn't buying junk food. It saved me some money on my shopping bill too.

Fit_Fox88

1. Honestly and consistently logging the amount of food I eat and putting in notes on excessive eating days (how I was feeling, what was going on that day, etc)

2. Working out on a pre-planned work out day even when I didn't feel like it

3. Moderation- Learning that I don't need an entire bowl of ice cream or 10 cookies for dessert. It's ok to only have 1 serving if that still means I get to enjoy it almost daily.

seltzermint555

1. counting ALL of my calories, every single day, no matter what.
2. pre-planning and having an easy, yummy, low calorie breakfast that contains protein every day.
3. counseling to deal with my lifelong anxiety disorder

xcalygrl

1. Food-logging everything and realizing I could enjoy everything in moderation.
2. Finding exercise(s) that I really enjoy.
3. Looking ahead to goals I wanted to achieve and setting out to achieve them.