The secret of *your* success?

dagza

What one or two things do you attribute you success to?

I would be interested to see where the common ground is and also alternative approaches that I have not considered.

Ta.

Dagza

staciekins

Determination

shelly650

Being aware of what im eating!! Carbs especially and willpower!!

alliecore

Clean eating. When I stray, I see a difference in the mirror the next morning. Consistent exercise is very important, but in my experience, a clean diet is even more important.

Firesign

No sugar and low carb

rudy0001

Unfortunately haven't been that successful :-( So, I was hoping for more tips/replies!

CassieLEO

I do as many fitness classes as I can. (I figure its better than just sitting around doing nothing) I eat a ton more veggies, dont skip meals, drink a ton of water. I exercise daily, 60+ mins a day. And the classes I take a hour long too. I take many vitamins and supplements, and add a lot of protein to my diet,

velix

for me - it has been about finding a balance between being eating healthily and working out, and still enjoying a night out and a few beers on a terrace. I knew going into this, I knew I wanted to keep some of my "bad" habits - so I've adapted them to fit into my lifestyle - from drinking light beer, and snacking on veggies while out instead of nachos, to having days where I just work out an extra hour before going out....

luisabaeta

1. No guilt. Being chilled about the whole thing.

I still allow myself to go out, eat nice stuff, drink beer, etc, I just try to be a bit more discerning on what I choose, without becoming obsessed. And if I go over the calorie limit every now and then, it's ok. With an irregular lifestyle / traveling / varying mealtimes it's hard to always keep on track, but i'm trying to do little changes (e.g. switching to skimmed milk, ordering small coffee instead of large, etc), and not be too hard on myself when I go over. This has been helping with motivation, so I'm happy when I make the right choices but don't freak out when I can't, and so far it seems to be working.

2. Lots of water, lots and lots and lots of water.

robertf57

Lower carb higher protein

luisabaeta

"I knew going into this, I knew I wanted to keep some of my "bad" habits - so I've adapted them to fit into my lifestyle" ---> couldn't agree more, that's exactly what I meant!

ysamatar

Bump! Determination.

Remi79

Water, water, water, water! I've really up'd my water the last couple weeks and have lost more weight than when I wasn't drinking that much water.

jesatank

Moving I go to college so I sit for hours. The freshman 15 and then some... By moving more I have lost weight.

ababygrace

I drink at least half of my body weight in water a day, limit my sweets to a couple days a week, and watch my portions with everything! For example, I am learning to be able to eat a couple of bites of ice cream and be satisfied instead of binging on it. Also don't fall into temptations too quickly. When I am in the grocery store and I smell the bakery, I do just that instead instead of giving up and buying something I dont need like a cupcake or cookie.

bjohs

This doesn't seem possible, but I started exercising less and eating more. My workouts included Taekwondo twice a week, 60 minutes on the elliptical 4 times a week and P90X 6 times a week. I have old sports injuries which causes problems in my right hip and right knee, so I had to give up P90X for a while. I also cut back on the elliptical to 30 minutes 3 times a week but still go to TKD class.

Sticking with a 1,200 calorie in-take each day, I switched to eating almost half of my calories at breakfast (the most important meal of the day). Then I spread the remaining calories out between lunch, supper and 3 daily snacks. The first 3 weeks of following this new routine, I lost 10 lbs. That wasn't supposed to be an easy feat since I'm on the last few pounds to reach my overall goal. I was at 141.2 and after 3 weeks I was at 130.8. Today, I am at 128.8 and working on the last 3.8 pounds.

Remember that the more exercise you do, the more efficient your body becomes as it adjusts to your routine. I try to change up my routine every 2-3 months to force my body to do new things. Results will vary from person to person, so definitely try different approaches to see what works for you... but be sure to give yourself at least a couple months before deciding if you are seeing results. Many people try something for a couple of weeks and that is just not enough time. My best advice is to stop using the scale to track your success. Rather, use a tape measure because you will see inches lost before you see large numbers drop off the scale. Or even better, find an article of clothing that fits snuggly on your body now, then try it on again in a couple of months. The way you feel in your clothes should be your first indication that what you are doing is working!

Just for the record, I'm a 43 year old mother of 2 and I'm 5'2". If I can do it... anyone can!

PJilly

1. Setting reasonable expectations for myself regarding diet and exercise.
2. Sticking to those expectations 95 percent of the time, whether I feel like it or not.

Regarding No. 2, I don't always feel motivated to work out six days a week, and I don't always feel motivated to stick to my food diary (which I log before I eat), but I know those are the things I need to do to get the results I want. However, if I don't start with No. 1, I am setting myself up for failure by making it too difficult.

WomanofWorth

bump

pittielover23

Not that I would consider what I am doing successful yet, but I think what is working for me is not putting so much pressure on myself. If I stay under my net calories for the day, it was a success, even if I did not eat as healthy as I would like. When I put too much pressure on myself then fail to live up to those expectations, I am much more likely to quit because I feel like I cannot do it.

broadsword7

Determination

That, and sometimes, I remember this quote from the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales:

"Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live, nor win. That's just the way it is."

When you are huffing and puffing up a hill while you are running, and you feel like you can't do it, sometimes, you just gotta get "plumb, mad-dog mean" to get up it.

beccarockslife

Getting my head in the right place before I started dieting. I spent 12 months working out my problems that led me to overeat and get fat in the first place THEN I started to diet.

MFP and Slimming World have been helping me along.

I've lost 33lb since last autumn and I'm still going.

BobbyDaniel

Healthy & balanced diet, portion control, exercise, great support system and setting realistic but challenging goals.

Bob_Sugar

Awareness: Of both portion size and when I'm prone to snaking/ over eating.

potluck965

MFP, primarily. It's amazing when you start journaling and find out how much you are cramming down each day.

A food scale, for me a very valuable tool in determining portion control.

"Won't power" (my friend's play on words for willpower)

And not depriving myself of anything. All things in moderation.

achampionsheart

i attribute my success to my diabetes diagnosis....ever since being diagnosed april 6th i have changed my eating, started exercising and i drink nothing but water.....i like variety so i alternate what i do for exercise everyday....its either elliptical, treadmill (i can do an hour on both), combine either of those machines with a dvd of some kind for strength training and on my off days i go to the outdoor track in a nearby city and walk or i do zumba or yoga.....variety keeps me motivated....

i also attribute my success to my determination to reverse my diagnosis and to living a healthy life in general. my positive attitude helps too......

Elle408

Persistence. Might sound cliched but so many people expect amazing results quickly and then fall at the first hurdle (re:plateau).

I have periods of MONTHS (not weeks or days) but months and months where I don't lose weight and I didn't give up because I knew I was eating right and knew I was exercising right and I knew that if I was persistent and kept on keeping on it would have to come off and sure enough, it did. I had a 2 year away goal date, in 2 years time I want to weigh such and such, that way I wasn't overly disappointed if I hadn't met my goal to lose 300lbs in 3 weeks. So I guess that realistic goals goes hand in hand with persistence.

suzycreamcheese

obsessive compulsiver disorder

rybo

self-control/portion control

And trying to eat as much "real" food as possible.

bcpie

intermittent fasting has helped me deal with self control issues, drinking a ton of water ( feel like crap if i don't), being able to eat the things i like in moderation <---that one is huge, i would die without chocolate, and checking out success stories. I am so super motivated by seeing other people succeed.

sarah307

awareness**

sweet_lotus

Gradual habitual replacements! Knitting at night instead of eating. Tea in the afternoon instead of a heavy snack or starbucks. Yoga while watching tv instead of sitting. (Well, I know you're not supposed to watch tv and do yoga but it makes it much less boring....)

It's amazing how quickly tiny changes can have an impact.