Are you losing weight...or making long lasting changes?

I have been making life changes. I have cut all pop (soda) from my diet for going on two years with no plans to drink it again. I am making healthy choices! And, most importantly, I've gotten rid of ALL of my too big clothes after my weight loss so I must make this permanent.

I'm trying to eat more healthily and drop some of the junk food, I am not saying for one minute I WILL NEVER EAT IT AGAIN, during this current journey I am on I am not going to ban myself from eating anything unhealthy I never have and probably won't unless advised by the doctor.

Just about moderation and watching what i am eating and my exercise. Hopefully i will get where i want to be!

Hopefully I will will change my eating pattern forever, but it is just about moderation for me, If I know I am going to have a bad dinner just take it easy for lunch and Breakfast.

I've lost my taste for a lot of the sugary drinks and processed carbs. It's not even appealing now, so I doubt I'd ever start on that crap again. Also, now that I've worked as hard as I have to be able to do it, I never want to lose my ability to run a 5K. I want to be as healthy as I can be now and get good habits instilled early so I don't struggle later in life.

Are you losing weight...or making long lasting changes?

Yes.

I eat less "junk," but still have it. Maybe one or two diet sodas a day instead of it being all I drink all day. I still have pasta, but not Hamburger Helper. I still have pizza, but once or twice a week, not 3-4 times a week.

Long lasting changes here. Cut out all pop (100%) and strive to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup products. I have occasional desserts, but not every night / day. Really trying to eat clean and drink water ALL the time. Trying to get 1 lb per body weight protein, eat lots of veggies and fruit for snacks instead of junk, and stick pretty close to my calorie limit for the day. Went from 220 to 188 so far. Looking to decrease body fat and increase muscular strength and definition at this point! I will never go back!

Both...originally started out to lose weight, but now that I've changed up my entire diet to eat healthier I've discovered that I can no longer tolerate or even desire a lot of the foods that I used to eat before. So even though I started out as losing weight, it's now become a lifestyle change.

I didn't grow up on junk food. My mum always made healthy, wholesome food for us. Just a lot of it. As an adult, I did the same. My basic diet has always been good, just large portions, and too many 'additions'.

I've filtered out the less healthy foods over the time I've been losing. I focus on making sure I get enough protein (as a vege, that's always been important to me, but more so now), avoiding too much refined food, and generally eating as well as I can.

So I guess I'm both losing weight, and focusing on making my food healthier. Perhaps more important to me though is securing long term fitness.

The day I left the hospital after I had my daughter I began changing my diet back to what it was the last time I was successful at losing weight. First I was still drinking diet soda, eating the so called healthy convenience foods, est, but I have gradually gotten away from some of that stuff and have completely quit soda and artificlal sweetener. I try to eat mostly whole foods, rarely go out to eat, watch sodium, try to avoid HFCS, and I only drink alcohol a few times a year. I have worked out in the past, but I would just go to the gym and use the cardio machines and put in the least effort possible to burn the calories I wanted to burn. Now I am training for a half marathon:).

Changed my eating habits almost 4 years ago ...... I seldom eat fast food or baked goods ...... and lost 40+ lbs along the way.

Now I'm here to tweak those calories and up the exercise ....... want to lose those last 10+ lbs :drinker:

Best of luck to you !

I have taken the words "I will never eat that again" out of my vocabulary because as soon as you make that food a taboo subject, you crave it more.
What I have replaced it with is "I choose not to eat _____ right now, and choose to have more of this healthy food. I plan out what i am going to eat if we go out, so I am not stunned later when I find out the stats.

I choose to monitor what goes in now since I was simply not responsible before.

If I HAVE to have that 'whatever' food item, I will plan out my day with exercise and watch the portions if I have it. I've found that you can manipulate every recipe for the healthier alternative and I find that I was craving the flavor combination rather than the actual fattening food.

I love the taste of Mexican food, I add salsa as a condiment side with my grilled chicken. If it is the crunch of tortilla chips, then I will find an organic whole grain tortilla chip and crunch up a few chips over a salad with a slice of lime to it to get that taste. I have a love for balsamic vinegar and make a very light alternative as a salad dressing so I get the zing but not all the calories with oils added.
My weakness is pasta and a certain kind of flatbread pizza....again I find alternatives like a whole grain pasta and a small serving of a veggie flatbread. I find that it is enough to curb the crave and move on with my life.

So the answer to the question is: I am loosing weight (a lot of it) and making a lifestyle change. A diet is a quick fix to solve a long term problem. A change in your life is a permanent change. I choose to grab life by the horns and take control back. No more self doubt and hatred of what I see in the mirror. It's time to suck up what is, acknowledge it, put behind what was, and change the aspect of the here and now to alter and protect the future.

It would be no different than a person who had a stroke, heart attack or had diabetes. You simply cannot continue on the path you were on.

I've been making incremental changes since April, and it seems to be working so far. I had a near panic attack last Saturday at a family gathering where there was literally no healthy food. Chips, dip, hot dogs, cake, potato salad, macaroni salad, ice cream, and sugary soft drinks.

The hostess was so proud of the spread she put on, I really didn't know what to do. I was also really hungry by the time I got to the party, and expected that there would be at least some fruit or something. So, I loaded up my plate, ate my hot dog with some mustard, had a little bit of macaroni salad and pushed the other foods around to look like I wasn't being a completely judgy *kitten*. I also didn't want to hear about "just this one time won't hurt" kind of bull**** that people say at those kinds of events.

Is the change lasting? I sure hope so because I like how I feel, and am beginning to like how I look, too.

I don't know what I would call it exactly.. Before I moved out of my mom's house, I was so frustrated with all the junk she would buy. I knew before I left that I wanted to be different. I'm in college so I will admit that my eating habits aren't always perfect, but I try to eat as healthy as I can. I cook as much of my own food as I can because the processed food really effects my body and my lifestyle. These are the kind of healthy habits that I want to contribute to my future family, so I guess that it really is a lifestyle change. There's nothing wrong with a splurge day now and then, but that's not my lifestyle now.