Small Changes You've Made Since Joining MFP

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sunshinestater
sunshinestater Posts: 596 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I joined MFP for support, but I've discovered that I also do better with food when I track it. I've only been here four days, but I've already made a couple of small changes.

The first is switching from coffee to iced tea. We have a Keurig, so I have easy access to flavored coffee, and I drink it Boston. I didn't realize how killer the cream was for calories and fat until it was staring me in the face. I bought flavored iced tea for the brewer. It has some sugar in it, but I water it down big time because I only need a hint of flavor. That's saving me fat/calories and also increasing my water consumption, which MFP showed me is woefully inadequate.

The second is eating breakfast daily. I never used to do that, and I was normally ravenous by lunchtime. Now I work out in the morning, then have something light. It tides me over nicely until lunch.

I also find myself making healthier choices because I consider how everything fits together on my daily page. For example, instead of bread for lunch sandwiches, I bought fat free flour tortillas to have wraps.

Anyone else making little changes based on what you see when you enter your food?
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Replies

  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    Our family all drink so much more water than we used to.....I inspired us all. :bigsmile:
  • beckrichmond1
    beckrichmond1 Posts: 11
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    It's helped me realize that I really wasn't taking in enough calories to maintain my weight at my activity level. Less activity is not an option, so I'm finding ways to consume more healthy calories. It's a challenge, but doable.
  • ptreasures
    ptreasures Posts: 18
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    Great post! I am trying to focus on hitting my calories every day even if it means an extra protein shake after dinner just to hit that mark. It is very tough.
  • mellymo29
    mellymo29 Posts: 70 Member
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    I've noticed that I am gladly drinking much more water so that I feel less hunger pains, and the water makes me feel more clearheaded.

    I also have found myself leaning more toward proteins, because they stay in my system longer. Since sweets make me crave more sweets, the only thing sweet I have eaten since logging (4 days) is apples and oranges.

    Also it really pushes you to cook everything from scratch to avoid the massive amounts of sodium in processed foods. No wonder there is so much heart disease.
  • USMC1968
    USMC1968 Posts: 62 Member
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    MORE water...
  • xampx
    xampx Posts: 323 Member
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    I think before I eat!
  • ramonafrincu
    ramonafrincu Posts: 160 Member
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    I exercise every day now...
  • mreeves261
    mreeves261 Posts: 728 Member
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    I started eating breakfast.
    Added fruit as my snacks.
    Drink way more water and tossed soda. Occasionally still have the diet stuff but not nearly as much.
    Protein is my friend!
  • robinhardysmall
    robinhardysmall Posts: 246 Member
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    I think about everything I eat now~ a) because its healthier for me...but b) because my friends see it and will tell me real quick what was good in my day and the bad as well~ I want them to be honest with me. Being connected to others and them seeing what I'm doing right or wrong helps me daily!
  • catfive1
    catfive1 Posts: 529 Member
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    I eat carbs 1 hour before a workout and protien within 30 minutes after.
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
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    I never gave a thought to protein before! Now I base my weekly shop around the protein levels. Feeling good on it too :)
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
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    It made me change the way I look at food and my body. I only have one body, so I will treat it with respect.
    It definitely made me look at the ingredients and nutrition facts.
  • Blueyedtine
    Blueyedtine Posts: 52 Member
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    I used to always read, if you are hungry drink water and wait 30 minutes and see if you are still hungry. I always thought this was total BS.

    I tried it and it really does work!
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    I'm on Facebook/Twitter less since all my MFP posts can be sent right to FB/Twitter!
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    I shop around the perimeter of the grocery store now and rarely ever go down the aisles.
  • PamelaGatorMom
    PamelaGatorMom Posts: 348 Member
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    Just logging and seeing what you eat, makes me think about if I really want something

    I eat breakfast everyday now!! Something I never did before, I've also added a morning & afternoon snack to my day.

    Cut out the soda (except for a treat now & then)

    Started buying almond milk instead of whole milk

    I bring my lunch to work everyday so I'm not hitting the vending machine or eating junk!
  • kgerm317
    kgerm317 Posts: 191 Member
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    I've made so many small changes and some big ones too! The biggest is that I stopped eating starchy carbs for dinner. I eat them at breakfast or lunch rather than at dinner so that I have time to burn them off before bed. And when I do eat bread/pasta, I only eat whole wheat. HUGE difference in how I feel!

    Also, I started baking things from scratch. I use a small amount of chocolate chips in most recipes so I get my chocolate kick without having to feel guilty.

    The only calories I drink are in my morning coffee- and that's hardly any since I drink it black. I drink water the rest of the time (except for maybe an occasional glass of wine)

    I think about what I eat before I eat it. If I'm not sure about how it will affect my daily log, I look it up before eating it to decide if it's worth it or not.

    I PLAN meals. PLAN PLAN PLAN!!

    The list goes on and on...
  • VickiDiane22
    VickiDiane22 Posts: 118 Member
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    Everything Everyone has said. Eat less Move more Drink more water I wasn't drinking water just sodas. Carefull of what I but I don't deny myself It's wonderful on MFP and I'm losing weight through little changes that make a big lifestyle change.:smile: And I feel better and I'm happy
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
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    I've drastically inceased my water intake, stopped drinking soda, increased cooking at home, eliminated sugar out of my coffee (This was very hard to do :sad: ) and tried to make smarter choiced while dining out.

    I started bringing lunch to work- and they make fun of me lol. I started hitting the gym A LOT more. I also started reading my food labels much more throughly.
  • nvpixie
    nvpixie Posts: 483 Member
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    When I'm logging my calories, I tend not to "pick" at food while I'm preparing it. Since I hold myself accountable for every bite, I restrain from munching on a piece of ham while I make a sandwich.

    I also used to finish some of my kids' food if they didn't eat it (such as, my son will eat a few bites of avocado and leave a few slices). In the past, I'd eat them because they're so yummy and I didn't want to waste them. Now I'll either store the food as leftovers for later or just toss it, depending on what it is.

    Those two simple changes probably save me a couple hundred calories a day.

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