Small Changes You've Made Since Joining MFP

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: 4,078 Member
    Our family all drink so much more water than we used to.....I inspired us all. :bigsmile:
  • beckrichmond1
    beckrichmond1 Posts: 11
    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
    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
    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
    MORE water...
  • xampx
    xampx Posts: 323 Member
    I think before I eat!
  • ramonafrincu
    ramonafrincu Posts: 160 Member
    I exercise every day now...
  • mreeves261
    mreeves261 Posts: 728 Member
    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
    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
    I eat carbs 1 hour before a workout and protien within 30 minutes after.
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
    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
    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
    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
    I'm on Facebook/Twitter less since all my MFP posts can be sent right to FB/Twitter!
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    I shop around the perimeter of the grocery store now and rarely ever go down the aisles.
  • PamelaGatorMom
    PamelaGatorMom Posts: 348 Member
    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
    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: 114 Member
    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
    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
    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.
  • jdyer90
    jdyer90 Posts: 15 Member
    I look up the calories before I eat, and think, do I really want this?
    I didn't realize how many calories I was eating at the end of the day when I should of been reversing it!
    I feel guilty if I don't jog that day.
    I've inspired my roommate to make healthier eating choices (although she's a twig!)
  • delor44
    delor44 Posts: 71
    Like many of you, I really think about what it is that I am going to eat - still have treats, but much less. MFP made me much more aware of the types of food I needed (protein) versus where I was getting too much. Protein is my friend - on so many levels.
  • yowza101
    yowza101 Posts: 196 Member
    I drink more water. This is the longest I've ever tracked my food, etc. I try to eat more fruit and vegetables. But the main thing is whenever I have a bad eating day, I don't consider myself a failure and give up like I used to do yearssssssssss ago. Now I just try to exercise more that day or if I don't do that, I don't beat myself up over it. I just do better the next day with my food and working out. So I guess you can say being on here helped changed my attitude towards getting healthy and working out. Sometimes its not about the pounds it's about the inches. I lose inches before it starts showing up on the scale, so I go by my clothes and not what the scale says. It is nice seeing the numbers go down on the scale but as long as my clothes are starting to feel big and I can see it in my face, etc... I'm thrilled.
  • stumpycow
    stumpycow Posts: 94 Member
    When eating dinner, I don't go immediately for a second helping. I wait a little while to see if I'm really still hungry or if it's just the food is there. I haven't had that overly full feeling after dinner in quite awhile. I also drink a glass of water if I feel hungry, especially when the night cravings start. I've even managed to convince my husband to do these two things!

    ETA: And I've also kicked my Mt. Dew habit... and I don't miss it!
  • willafan
    willafan Posts: 101
    No more mindless snacking! I used to have a drawer of snacks at work, a whole cabinet of them at home and even a little stash in the car.. Logging every bite in MFP and seeing how many calories I was eating outside of my meals was very eye-opening. I'm now on a very good pattern of 3 meals, two snacks and appreciate an occasional treat. Good Topic!
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    I've seriously been cured of mild orthorexia. I can eat "bad foods" in moderation without derailing progress toward my dietary goals. In the past there were periods where if I did eat something bad (like candy or a desert) it would send me on a weekend long spiral of terrible food choices (that I could easily work off in a few days with all the working out and exercise and lifting I was doing but still were unhealthy).
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    1. Drinking more water. I haven't had a soda in about 2-3 weeks. And I don't miss it. I drink water, coffee and ice tea.
    2. Exercising more. Even if I don't make it to the gym (which I joined b/c of MFP), I take the dog for a walk. I love when I get home from the gym and 2 miles on the treadmill and then take Cora (the dog) for a 1 mile walk. It amazes me that what used to be a PITA is now something I look forward to and enjoy, esp when I can log 3 miles for the day.
    3. Eating better. More fresh fruit and veggies, less processed crap.
    4. NO sweets for about 5 weeks now, not by conscious effort. I'm eating better, so I don't crave the sweets. And I don't even miss it. AMAZING.
  • Whipppets
    Whipppets Posts: 267
    Like everyone else I think before I eat something. I now eat my breakfast at dinner a lot of times because
    I am running out of calories.
    I lost 4lbs when I only wanted to maintain so it does work.
  • krucks
    krucks Posts: 10 Member
    I am definitely more mindful of what I eat, when, and how much...I never tracked my eating before and what an eye opener this has been. I have found that I need to pay attention to the amount of sugar I take in - the first week was depressing as I saw that by the end of breakfast I had way too much sugar!!! (I eat usually a greek yogurt with fruit on the bottom, and my cup of coffee with cream and sugar) Now I use truvia, and am trying cream substitutes (soymilk, almond milk, etc...). Love the experience and hope to make my goal by the time summer hits. :)
  • arrawyn79
    arrawyn79 Posts: 275 Member
    I drink lots more water, and am conscious about what I eat now. I eat a lot more whole/clean/nutritious foods. And the major change for me is I've cut out milk and switched to almond milk instead for way less sugar and carbs (and cals!) (though I do still sometimes have cream in my coffee at work, but...i'm trying to maintain and I measure out my tbsp of cream into my coffee instead of just dumping it in!)

    I eat lots more veggies.

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