What are the lifestyle changes you made?

hookandy

Tracking food and exercise

Everything else seems to have followed from there.

More water
Packing snacks
Always eating breakfast
More exercise, a little everyday
Tracking everything... Makes you eat better if you track it.

16lb since early Jan and feeling better for it.

Have just booked my first squash lesson as a reward for the first stone gone.

wrecked_willow

Wow good job! I am impressed by all of you I feel very inspired.. THANKS!!!

NiciS72

Your list and add:

-30 min more a day exercise
-eliminated all gluten from my diet (I have Celiac Disease)
-eliminated all caffeine from my diet (cuz I was too dependent on it)
-eliminated all artificial sweeteners-read up on the bad side effects of them. The minute I drink a diet pop (not literally) I get ringing/itching ears, headaches, etc.
-started taking my vitamins and supplements EVERY DAY
-wash off my makeup at night before bed
-use my night and day face creams (if I'm going to treat my body well no I should make sure my skin looks good on my face)
-try and cook dinner every night-this is a hard one, but I'm getting better at it
-do the grocery shopping weekly and with a planned list of meals (no winging it)
-weigh all my food

katsmo

Lots of things already mentioned, but also:
do something nice for my husband once a day (asked or not)
try something new every day
eat something organic every day
complete my to-do list each day

I have all this on a chart at home and pay myself a dime for each task I complete. I cash in at the end of the week and can buy myself something or save up for later.

wrecked_willow

I also forgot to mention that I'm now taking prenatal vitamins because we're trying to get pregnant

alyssa92982

Minimal soda pop. No fast food if possible. Watch calories closer and saturated fats. Exercise at least 5 to 6 days per week

saragato

I think the biggest change is my drinking water. I've never liked water, but to be fair I was drinking tap water. The worst was when I spent a week in Mississippi and an adult with our group (it was a church thing) made us drink 1 glass of water for every glass of soda and the water there, I kid you not, tasted like tires had been soaking in it. But I've been drinking nothing but water for a month straight now and I'm used to it.

I've also been watching what I eat as far as types. x amount of starches, x amount of meat, x amount of fruit, etc. I like to make sure I get a little bit of the essentials each day or at least when I can.

And yes, lots more physical activity! It's kind of hard when you're an artist who's literally in one spot, one position for hours on end but I manage.

CheleLynn44

I have made a few lifestyle changes since I started November 2011.

(1) logging everything that goes into my mouth, I mean everything!!
(2) being more active
(3) cooking and making more of my own meals
(4) becoming more aware of what I am eating, reading labels
(5) and learning there is pretty much nothing I can't incorporate into my food

I am actaually having a blast with all this. I have never gone this long before and this is how I know I can do this lifestyle change permanently!!

buckobuckobucko

I think the biggest change is my drinking water. I've never liked water, but to be fair I was drinking tap water. The worst was when I spent a week in Mississippi and an adult with our group (it was a church thing) made us drink 1 glass of water for every glass of soda and the water there, I kid you not, tasted like tires had been soaking in it. But I've been drinking nothing but water for a month straight now and I'm used to it.

I've also been watching what I eat as far as types. x amount of starches, x amount of meat, x amount of fruit, etc. I like to make sure I get a little bit of the essentials each day or at least when I can.

And yes, lots more physical activity! It's kind of hard when you're an artist who's literally in one spot, one position for hours on end but I manage.

I live in MS and I know EXACTLY what you mean about the water. I only drink bottled water.

Articeluvsmemphis

year ago . . .

Drink 8+ servings of water a day
Drink Hot Tea of all kinds at least once a day
One Banana a day
A vitamin a day
Exercise Everyday (just about)
Stopped eating McDonalds

ditzyFlip

If you converted 10 8oz cups of water a day to a water bottle, you'd be drinking 5 16oz water bottles a day. I don't think you have to drink that much. :O Three should be enough, right?

Some lifestyle changes I've made recently:
- Drinking (trying) at least three water bottles a day.
- Constantly sipping green tea throughout the day.
- At least 30-45min cardio exercise 3 times a week.
- Severely cutting my calories to 800-1000 calories a day.
- Making lunch instead of buying it at the university cafe.
- Cutting out fried dishes completely (and fast food in general).
- Cutting out sweets for the most part.

Kelra01

Without a doubt... recording my meals!! that alone made me change so many other aspects.

Recording my meals
Committed to workout more (4 days now)
Eating breakfast, I was a big offender of not eating in the morning.
Added additional fiber to the diet.
Taking a daily vitamin now including fish oil since my doc said so..
making smarter decisions about what I want to order when I do go out and eat.
Actually drinking more water helped me out a ton.

Those are the main things I have done and bumped up a bit (Recording foods and water mainly)
Good Luck!

PearsPeppersandPeanutButter

I started doing Zumba 5-6 times per week, and some light calesthenics on my work breaks. I'm now adding some free step with a weighted vest and dumbell work as well.

The only diet change I made was to limit to 1/2 bottle of wine per night on (most) weekdays. And I seem to have unintentionally developed an addiction to cocoa roast almonds.

Cocoa roast almonds are the BOMB

aippolito1

- 12 cups of water MINIMUM daily
- I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks most days
- Very little fast food
- When I eat out, I try to stay within my calories and pick a healthy veggie with chicken or fish
- No more eating things before I log them (unless I already know how many calories it has)
- Very little soda
- I mostly drink water, juice, and whole milk these days
- I eat cheese less frequently
- I work out 45 minutes to an hour everyday
- I try not to eat "out of the bag" (chips/crackers) - I count EVERY thing out
- I measure everything from peanut butter to chicken to oatmeal to soy sauce
- I only cook one portion unless I'm cooking for bf and I, and even then I measure his and mine so there are no leftovers for me to eat.

littledragonyee

Two things I can input:
1. No alcohol at all! Alcohol seriously affects performance and muscle growth (which is key to burning calories). Since women generally have less testosterone then men, they don't develop muscle as easily; anymore alcohol consumption will reduce that growth.
2. QUALITY/INTENSITY of your exercise sessions. For example, doing 10 minutes of a very difficult total body exercise regiment is more effective than a 30 minute "jog." I would say two 30+ minute jogs a week of at least 70% of your max HR, two 15-20 minute exercises that are much more intense and engage your whole body (squats, burpees, planks, pushups), and then one easy cross-training workout at around 30-40 minutes.

In my opinion, your caloric intake (1300 calories) is quite low especially if you exercise 5 times a week and if you are already going full blast with your workouts for 30 minutes.

Blodnie

I've made some big changes and some subtle ones.
- drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day
- cut way down on carbs
- tracking my calories and sticking to my daily allowance .. most days :-)
- I bring my lunch to work everyday instead of hitting the local burger joint
- Reduced my portion sizes
- More fruit and veggies
- Using light mayo, light butter, skim milk
- Not eating when I'm not really hungry
- More physical activity
- Not guilting myself to death when I do go over my allowance; I just get back on the track the next day
- Always allowing myself one free day

AWelden2012

Bump for later!

Heaven71

Drink Lots of water (atleast 8 glasses a day)
Watch what I eat (use turkey instead of hamburger and find alternatives to unhealthy foods)
Log Everything
Cut back on creamer in my coffee (this was actually major)
Workout for at least 1 hour 6 days a week.
Run as much and as far as I can without getting sick
Bought the equipment I need to quit the gym
Bought the right shoes to keep me propelled
I make no excuses
I feel terrible if I miss a workout day
Getting my family and loved ones involved
Trying to inspire others

ItsVJ

Logging EVERYTHING I eat. I've been tempted to "skip" a little snack here or there, but then remind myself that it would only be ME whom I was cheating!
Stopped about 98% of fast food. And now, when I HAVE to eat it, I try to select the healthiest options available.
Exercising 3-4 days a week, an hour each session. Have grown to really enjoy the "ME" time that workouts give me. I just close off the world, click on my music and sweat the stress out.
Read your success stories EVERY DAY on MFP. It really makes a difference in my motivation and, thus, my life as a whole, to read comments from people just like me who are trying to turn their lives around.

Thanks everybody!

:flowerforyou:

JayneWilson1963

Bump for later

ninelives58

- Cut my alcohol consumption in half
- Increased consumption of fruits and veggies
- Increased consumption of water
- Added 15-20 minutes of exercise to my schedule most days
- And, of course, I log in EVERY SINGLE THING that I eat and stay close to my calorie goal except for an occasional spike day.

With just these changes, I'm having the success that I didn't seem to be able to achieve before I found MFP. Woo hoo!!

ekz13

quit smoking 105 days ago... starting eating right (counting cals/1500/day) ... running... up to 4.5 mi/4x week now.. figured I enjoyed the hell outta my first 40 years, let us see how the next 40 go but on the flip side of the coin.