Out with the bad habits, in with the new

webdiva1

I've been thinking about all the habits I've changed over the last six months or so ... there've been many. Made me think folks looking for inspiration might get some if we share some bad old habits and how we broke/are working to break them.

At the end of the day, this journey is about DOING, not hoping or wishing ... so share some of your practical tips and suggestions if you're so inclined.

Here are a couple of mine.

OLD HABIT: I drank a lot of stuff, but very rarely just water.
NEW HABIT: I drink A LOT of water, and that's about it.
HOW I DO IT: I keep about 20 bottles of filtered tap water in the fridge and usually have one within arm's reach.

OLD HABIT: I eat way, way too fast.
NEW HABIT: Working to eat more slowly (this is a work in progress)
WHAT I'M DOING: There's a post-it on the fridge to remind myself to take smaller bites, chew longer, put my fork down between bites, etc.

OK, you go.

MarieNevada

bad habit: drank almost a gallon of diet coke a day and nothing else.
new habit: drink mostly water with maybe 2 diet cokes a week. It's a very very difficult habit to break

bad habit: ate two or three chocolate bars for breakfast followed by homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. (not by me, we have a "lunch lady" who comes to work to sell food)
new habit: have a cup of oatmeal and a protein shake for breakfast.

bad habit: never ever exercised. in fact, had panic attacks for a month after I joined the gym before i even managed to go.
new habit: work out every day, lift weights 3 times a week, bootcamp classes twice a week. ( i was 300 lbs when I started. If i can do it, so can you. yes you can)

bad habit: never made my lunch, instead bought fried eggs and bacon bagels from aforementioned lunch lady, sometimes replaced by chicken shawarmas.
new habit: eat 5 meals a day, make my lunch every day the night before so I have no excuse. In four months i have only once not eaten the lunch that i brought. Had the chicken shawarma and found out that it was, in fact, *not* the best thing I've ever tasted.

bad habit; kept to myself, didnt trust anyone, never opened up to anyone about how i felt.
new habit: trust my friends, allow them to support me, trusted the good things they said about me, allowed a man into my life without questioning why he would want to be with me.

Was it hard? Very. Is it worth it? Hell yeah. In four months, i'm 53 lbs lighter, so much stronger, happy, positive, and possibly in love for the first time in my life. Will I ever go back to my lonely, food centered misery? NOT EVER. I have another 113 lbs to go to my lofty goal. And I have no doubt that I will make it. How long did it take me to make the decision to change all my habits? Once I decided I was serious and for once in my life I was going to do the right thing the right way, about 5 minutes. That's the time it took to ring in the book I bought that started me on this journey. Body By Design. I've sinced moved on to a new book and a new lifting routine, but something in that book clicked with me and changed my life forever. Thank you, Kris Gethin.

Packerfan23

In the last 6 months here are some changes that I have made:

OLD HABIT: Drank way to much Diet Coke...I was seriously addicted to the stuff.
NEW HABIT: I do not drink pop/soda/coke, having replaced it with water for the most part. I also like Sobe Lifewater, Vitaminwater, and green tea.
HOW I DO THIS: I always have a water bottle nearby...and I usually bring it with me when I am running errands.

OLD HABIT: I never really watched what I ate and we went out to eat quite a bit. Did not like lots of veggies and hardly ever read the nutrition information on food I was buying at the grocery store.
NEW HABIT: I am watching what I eat & track it every day. We do not go out to eat quite as much, but I try to take a look at the menu online before we go if possible and make the best choice I can when eating out. I have found that I like a lot more veggies than I used to and I always look at the nutrition information on packages now. Especially watch the sodium intake.
HOW I DO THIS: I keep MFP up on my computer at all times so that I can easily track my food intake and by looking at the nutrition information on the packages we make better choices for our family.

OLD HABIT: Hardly ever really exercised. Was afraid to go to any classes fearing that others would make fun of me and my weight.
NEW HABIT: I now exercise at least 4-5 days a week. Love Body Pump, bicycling, Zumba, and I am in Week 4 of Couch to 5K and plan to run my first 5K the end of September and plan on trying a new class in the next couple of weeks (Body Step).
HOW I DO THIS: We have a gym membership and I love going to classes now as I am getting addicted to them (and the people who are in the classes! They do not make fun of me at all!) I also have 2 bikes now...a road bike as well as my hybrid/comfort bike. And my dear husband goes with me to classes and riding...have not convinced him to do the 5K yet! It is good to have people in your corner cheering you on!

:happy:

cheeksv

BH : Avoided water. I liked it but why drink it when I could have coke ?
NH:Drink filtered water as much as possible
HOW: Keep my britta water bottle on me AT ALL TIMES. Filtered water where ever I go so no excuse not to drink up!

BH: Ate too much fast food
NH: No fast food at all
HOW: Pack snacks and plan my meals ahead of time. This way I am not starving when I am out which often lead to overeating of fast foods.

BH: Drank too often
NH: One drink per outing 2 MAX
HOW: Will power and sipping through a tiny straw. Also knowing the calorie count of your favorite beverages helps.

BH: no exercise
NH: Running 6 days a week when I wake up and walking 6 days a week before bed ( sometimes).
HOW: C25K has kindled my love for running!

BH: TOO MUCH SUGAR, Lattes, Machiatos, Cookies, Cakes, Pastries, Muffins sodas and sweet teas
NH: All hot beverages are smalls with skim and no syrups or sugars. No sodas or juices,No cakes and pastries and no added sugar to anything.
HOW: Willpower again, getting only natural sugars from milk, fruits, veggies and sometimes yogurt with the occasional skinny cow snack. Always make sure I try to stay within the allotted amount listed on MFP.

webdiva1

Good ones! Here's another of mine:

OLD & BAD: I ate fast food. A lot. No, really: A LOT. Biggest culprit: fast food cheeseburgers.
NEW & SO MUCH BETTER: Only fast food I do now is KFC Grilled Chicken and Subway sandwiches on whole grain bread.
HOW I CHANGED: Realized I made much better cheeseburgers at home, where I control everything from the quality of the beef to how much sodium I used. I believe this really, truly was nothing more than a habit, and wanting those burgers (which I now don't like at all) was truly just in my head.

Biggest realization: Fast food made me happy for, like, 5-10 minutes. Eating healthy is making me happy for the rest of my life.

Packerfan23

I so agree! These are great changes we have all made!

I LOVE my husbands grilled hamburgers so much better than anything you can buy out at a fast food restaurant! And actually the only fast food restaurants that I still go to are ARBY'S, Wendy's (both occasionally), Jimmy John's, Chipotle, and Subway. I haven't gone to McDonalds or Burger King in quite a few years since I had my gallbladder out...I couldn't handle the high fat content.

I still love to go out and we have a couple of favorite places that we tend to go when we do go out and I try to make sure that I just drink more water those days and for a couple of days afterwards so that I can flush the excess sodium out...which is usually the biggest issue of eating out.

MarieNevada

oh i forgot about fast food. Before, I ate at wendy's almost every day. The Bacinator. and then I'd go home and eat dinner. I lived with my mom and overeating was my way of expressing anger. I moved out and havent had fast food since. There's nothing near by and I guess my laziness overrode my desire for fake beef and bacon. Also, finding out that Taco Bell ground beef is only 30% beef and the rest is filler kinda curbed my enthusiasm for anything fast food. I'm just not putting "filler" into my body. Just the thought of a baconator makes me want to retch now.