What's the single most effective change you've made?

145679

Replies

  • onsugarhill
    onsugarhill Posts: 39 Member
    I can't decide between two:

    - Bringing lunch to work at least 3 days per week instead of getting takeout every day. This has helped my budget & my calorie count!

    - Planning the next day or two in advance. It's a great feeling to know I can hit my calorie and macro goals by just following my plan, and I give myself an evening treat almost every day so I have something extra to look forward to.
  • herz28camaro
    herz28camaro Posts: 26 Member
    keep my makeup in my gym locker to force me to go.
  • SophinMaine
    SophinMaine Posts: 48 Member
    keep my makeup in my gym locker to force me to go.

    LOL! I'd never heard that one before!

    For me, it's reducing bread and cookies intake.
    Or, burning more calories by exercising more.
  • cccatron
    cccatron Posts: 8 Member
    limit carbs and sugars and drink water
  • keep my makeup in my gym locker to force me to go.

    That is an amazing idea.


    Definitely just logging EVERYTHING, being honest and overestimating instead of underestimating (for example, before I'd log "1 tbsp peanut butter" when it was actually a more generous scoop...). Planning the next day's meals in the food tracker ahead of time (to budget for weekend treats).

    Also, simply being more mindful has lessened my sugar cravings. In fact, i basically never want sweets now! Now I just have to watch I don't eat too much salty stuff, haha.
  • WDEvy
    WDEvy Posts: 814 Member
    Quit smoking.
  • woodsygirl
    woodsygirl Posts: 354 Member
    Eating a crap ton of food and weight training. ;)
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Eating a crap ton of food and weight training. ;)

    That ^^^
  • leanbody4life
    leanbody4life Posts: 21 Member
    Portion control and staying away from soda !!
  • Dlacenere
    Dlacenere Posts: 198 Member
    Hard to put just one - eating a lot more calories, lifting weights and drinking a lot of water
  • Cutting out pop and fast foods. I'm a bit of a mountain dew addict and my husband and I used to eat out a lot. So I'm trying to hardly ever eat out and mainly drink water.
  • lh1626
    lh1626 Posts: 241 Member
    I have been logging religiously since last May. I think I skipped a total of 5 days due to being sick....and Christmas! I need to log to keep myself accountable. It drives me nuts if I don't! :laugh:
  • Logging every single bite! If it goes in the mouth, it goes in the log.
  • linxus
    linxus Posts: 87
    I would say the most effective change I've ever experienced, is only having water as a drink. : )
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
    Going back to my personal trainer 2 times a week! I wasn't budging on the scales - been back for 2 weeks & it's coming off. YAY
  • Eating more often and eating smaller meals and more fruit and veg : )
  • gfedex
    gfedex Posts: 226 Member
    It's a tie between daily gym visits and eating clean, because I think they influence each other: I don't want to eat crap if I've worked out, and I don't want to fuel myself with crap if I'm going to be working out.
  • adding strength training with my cardio, drinking more water, and logging in EVERYTHING...made me realize how much I was really eating
  • andreagreen1974
    andreagreen1974 Posts: 64 Member
    Clean eating! No processed garbage!
  • Getting up at 5am workout M-F, before anyone else is up, to get it done and over with for the day. Sucked for a long time, but a year later, It's just my schedule. LOVE IT!!!
  • michelle7673
    michelle7673 Posts: 370 Member
    Realizing that there's a difference between "I could live like this (the eating, logging, exercise) indefinitely" and "I am going to live like this (the eating, the logging, the exercise) forever." Once I realized that version one was a clever way of lying to myself, and adopted version two, the weight of the world came off of me in terms of rate of weight loss, etc. It doesn't matter how fast it happens. It will happen.
  • keepitnewmarcia
    keepitnewmarcia Posts: 42 Member
    Started walking a mile plus every day at work with a friend; she's a talker and it is fun and entertaining walking with someone. Also, the accountability helps. If I didn't know there was someone there expecting me, counting on me to walk every day, I would find it easier to talk myself out of it.
  • Well really three things but #1 portion control and then protein every meal and 3 fruit a day
  • Cutting out fast food, cleansing out my body, and exercising 30 minutes a day.
  • artickb22
    artickb22 Posts: 411 Member
    developing a routine. I get out of bed every am and before I can think straight I'm in the gym. That way I have no time to talk myself out of it because the laundry needs folding, dishes need washed, floor needs hoovering ect. Then after I have a filling smoothie homemade with spinach, flax seed and some frozen berries while I ice my knees. I don't feel right if I don't start my day this way!
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
    Mine's a bit different. It was a change in attitude I guess. I've done the yoyo thing for years. Lose the weight, swear I was never going "back there" again, and did it anyway. This time seems different. At times, when the weight wasn't dropping off, I just relaxed and figured my body was adjusting itself and, sure enough, pounds would begin to drop off again. I'd always keep "fat clothes" in a box...just in case...and they'd always be out and used again. I've relaxed about the whole thing, taken the fear of regaining the weight out of my head, and even though I could stand to lose a few more pounds, the fifty-four I've taken off have not reappeared in over 9 months...a record for me. If I a gain a couple pounds, I immediately get back to watching my meals a little more carefully and they drop off again. I think when I tell myself, "Never again," this time I will follow through.
  • leeanneowens
    leeanneowens Posts: 319 Member
    The most effective change for me has been logging every single thing I eat here on MFP.
  • hunterjumper642
    hunterjumper642 Posts: 115 Member
    Planning meals in advance.....it helps, also, if you go ahead and enter it into your food diary. That way, you won't be as inclined to have to add extra calories that you've eaten.

    Also....drinking water. drink as much water as you possibly can. I carry a bottle around wherever I go and I drink a lot of tea as well.
  • Carmella9
    Carmella9 Posts: 171 Member
    1st writing a food diary ( couldn't live without now)
    2nd running
    3rd joining the gym
  • brewman01
    brewman01 Posts: 44 Member
    I make all of my meals that I take to work on Sunday. I freeze them and pull them on the way out the door. Even breakfast and snacks. Makes decisions easy.