How does everyone make changes?

James4784
James4784 Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm intrigued as to how everyone makes changes to their lives to help them change their existing habits to help them lose weight.

Do people just say that's it i'm changing everything or do they make lots of small changes?

I personally find small changes are working for me because if i change everything at once i don't stick to it.

I appreciate it works differently for everyone but wondered what the majority of people did and have they been able to maintain their weight loss and changes?

Thanks :)

Replies

  • kganc001
    kganc001 Posts: 317
    I changed everything cold turkey so I could figure out exactly where my trouble spots were (i.e. mindless eating). My favorite two tricks are to put a single portion of a snack (i'm also a HUGE snacker...who mindlessly eats when she's bored lol) in to a bowl and bring it over to wherever I'm sitting before I start to eat. I'm too darn lazy to get back up and get more...haha! Also, I buy anything unhealthy with my fiance's money (it's always 'his' food anyway) that way I feel too guilty to pick it up...I didn't spend my money on it, so it isn't mine kind of deal. :P I use my laziness to my advantage...haha
  • ELEANOR43da
    ELEANOR43da Posts: 166 Member
    Your definitely right in saying it works differently for each individual. For me I found when I went baby steps over the years with many diets I always fell back into my old ways. When I joined here and seen that I would be counting calories and be accountable each day I felt compelled and excited,,almost challenged to be sure at the end of each day I could proudly say I did it!! So for me its been 27 days and I have not felt a need to go back to old habits. Even with exercise it comes naturally.
  • primalpam
    primalpam Posts: 64 Member
    It has to be all or nothing for me.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    In the beginning I spent time focusing on making changes in my diet. Once I felt confident I started focusing on exercise as well. I found that setting monthly goals on forming habits has helped keep things fresh for me.
  • LarryDUk
    LarryDUk Posts: 279 Member
    It is generally all or nothing for me, but this time I have basically replaced bad with good. I quit drinking and starting walking/running and tracking my food. I then quit smoking and got a personal trainer with the money. I've been logging food for two months and exercising for three, I am down 30 pounds and look 'normal' now. I still want to lose another 20, but I would be happy to replace 20 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    Honestly, I think it's a constantly evolving process, whether you realize it or not. When I first started trying to lose weight, I thought I was going all in. But there are tons of things I do now that I wasn't doing back then, and there are things I was doing then that I'm not doing now. As you learn more about weight loss and nutrition and fitness, as well as your own lifestyle preferences, you continue to fine-tune your habits.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I'm a little bit cold turkey and a little bit working things in. I've been at this 32 days now. I went cold turkey with bringing my calories down and sticking to it. I meal plan my dinners and I pre-log my breakfast/lunch and snacks. I weigh every gram and ounce of food that enters my body. I cut out soda cold turkey and switched to just water (this was pretty hard because I was a soda junkie). I started doing 30 day shred. I started walking on Sundays.
    After the first 2 weeks I slowly worked in some other 30 day challenges, like crunches and squats. I recently added in a pushup challenge. I've also recently taken up more walking. I now walk 2 miles everyday before my husband leaves for work (I stay at home with our daughter during the weekdays).
    So yea, I do add things in to the mix, with a bit of cold turkey ;)
  • Vivian06703188
    Vivian06703188 Posts: 310 Member
    The only changes I have made have been in making healthier food choices and I don't miss a thing. Now I have trouble making my calorie goals I am always too far under, but my macros line up so I don't worry. I don't understand people who set short term goals for themselves. This would make me feel like I was not accomplishing anything. I put it all out there and face reality everyday. I love MFP it has given me the tools to use in losing the weight I needed.
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
    I drink ALOT more water now, and try and eat ALOT more low fat things now, I also eat a lot more protein!!
  • Iron_Duchess
    Iron_Duchess Posts: 429 Member
    Changes and new habits are made little by little. Pick one or two things that you would like to change and focus on that for a few weeks until it becomes automatic; when you have those down, move on to the next. Don’t set yourself for failure by trying to complicate things, what do I mean by that? Some people just try to do too much and end up being frustrated and quitting. E.g. trying to exercise for hours six days a week when they've never exercised before. It is more sensible to create a plan to exercise three days a week for 45 to 60 minutes no matter what. Create your foundation and then built upon that. :smile:
  • rachseby
    rachseby Posts: 285 Member
    Probably a combination...some things I have to go cold turkey (like refined sugars--if I have even a little, I want MORE) but other things were more gradual...I went from white bread, to "honey wheat" to finally 100% wheat bread. I have also been gradually lowering portion sizes.
  • rachseby
    rachseby Posts: 285 Member
    Honestly, I think it's a constantly evolving process, whether you realize it or not. When I first started trying to lose weight, I thought I was going all in. But there are tons of things I do now that I wasn't doing back then, and there are things I was doing then that I'm not doing now. As you learn more about weight loss and nutrition and fitness, as well as your own lifestyle preferences, you continue to fine-tune your habits.
    Also this!
  • bobf279
    bobf279 Posts: 342 Member
    In UK after every Xmas there used to be an advertising campaign aimed at chnging things for the better in the new year. The focus was always on change one thing at a time as too much too soon may be difficult to sustain. That has been my approach, stop smoking first then start to eat less and move more.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    By accurately tracking my calories, the other changes flowed on from there.... Can't fit my usual amount of cheese in my calories, so eat less and get a lighter version. No calories left for a glass of wine with dinner, so do a longer workout when I get home.

    The only thing I miss is being able to mindlessly snack - just grab a pack of something salty and a beer before dinner, open a second bottle to go with cheese and biscuits after dinner, couple of biscuits (or more) with a cup of tea........
  • Luwright321
    Luwright321 Posts: 38 Member
    I have to make small changes. Like you if I change everything at once I won't stick to it. I went from drinking 2-3 2 liter bottles of regular soda a day to drinking 1 bottle of diet soda a day. Now I drink maybe 1 bottle of diet soda a week and drink more water than anything else. Making the changes slowly helps me stick to it and I don't feel deprived. My body is adjusting and my tastes are changing. I couldn't drink regular soda now because it tastes too sweet. The weight is coming off slowly but it's coming off and that's what counts.
  • gigglybeth
    gigglybeth Posts: 365 Member
    Honestly, I think it's a constantly evolving process, whether you realize it or not. When I first started trying to lose weight, I thought I was going all in. But there are tons of things I do now that I wasn't doing back then, and there are things I was doing then that I'm not doing now. As you learn more about weight loss and nutrition and fitness, as well as your own lifestyle preferences, you continue to fine-tune your habits.

    This for sure. A big thing for me was realizing that it's never going to stop. I can't get to my goal and then go back to old habits, so what can I live with forever.
  • anniegail1961
    anniegail1961 Posts: 116 Member
    Hi There: The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.
    Tweaking here and there-as I learn about my poor habits-I'm making better choices for myself.
    Logging and Blogging really helps!
  • James4784
    James4784 Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks for the comments everyone :)
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Hi There: The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.
    Tweaking here and there-as I learn about my poor habits-I'm making better choices for myself.
    Logging and Blogging really helps!

    Exactly!! I think in many cases, the all or nothing approach leads to failure because it's too much too soon. You're excited about it for a while but life's little challenges start popping up (parties, dinners out, work events, etc) and it's harder to keep that strict new diet and exercise regime going. That's the whole point of thinking of it as a lifestyle change - you start changing things up with your diet and trying new exercises and figure out what you can live with and what doesn't work so great until you eventually come up with a plan that will help you get to goal and maintain. I've been at this for 3+ years and I'm still learning new things all the time!

    The however to that is that as with all things, everyone's different. Some can't deal with the gray areas and need that all or nothing and good for them if that's what gets them to goal!
  • Amy11108
    Amy11108 Posts: 74
    Small changes for me has led to a calorie deficit. Cutting things out slowly that I don't care much about, and learning to have balance in my day. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Tonight I am planning on eating a fried chicken basket for dinner, but I will eat moderately all day, drink plenty of water, go for a walk and not stuff myself into oblivion tonight.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    A few big changes at first...but the small ones just keep coming too. Logging my food and getting serious about exercise were the first big changes. That's where it all starts. But I'm still making adjustments...I just switched to a different kind of almond milk with fewer calories, and am adding some different exercise options. One step at a time--even if they are tiny steps.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    Smaller changes have worked for me.

    Especially with exercise, I know I have a tendency to go all in and then overdo it then I'm so stiff and sore I can't move and give up. So I started with 2-3 days a week and moved up gradually to 5-6 days a week. I also started out slowly with the exercises themselves so I didn't hurt anything. Recovering from dual knee replacement helped slow me down to be sure, but even recently I'm just getting back to working out after a 4 month hiatus and keep having to remind myself that I'm not going to be able to just jump back in at the same level I was at before.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
    I identified my worse habits first and focused on those. One of my first was regular pop and energy drinks. I kinda used Lent as a motivator to quit for 40 days. Once that was up I only drank diet. After about 2 years of that and going from maybe 1 in the morning to having 2 16oz diet energy drinks a day I thought it was time to quit that. It took a couple false starts but last month I finally got pissed and finally stopped. I had a little bit of coffee to take the edge off but overall after a week I didn't really notice any drop in energy.

    At that same time I also got really strict on not eating any candy or donuts which some how started getting back in my diet more and more. I kinda blame the excessive diet drinks for those sweet cravings and stumbling on insanely good bakery that stocks my local gas station. To stave those off I got a few 85% dark chocolate bars and when I get a little craving I would break a square off (1/4 a serving) and nibble on it. With a good dose of filling fat and only 5g of sugar a serving and only eating 1/2 a serving in a day it is just enough for me.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I started the logging of food and hitting calorie goals immediately and all at once. That was not a big change for me, though, even though I had never dieted before. My eating was pretty good. The changes I had to make was learning which foods had more calories than I thought (which I slowly eliminated) and which had less (which I started to more of).

    Portion sizes I changed immediately.

    Exercise has come on me slowly. I started walking more slowly (I already walked to work, but now added additional 'exercise' walking.) I have started to swim and started to feel compulsive about 'having' to exercise because I 'should'. That did take time. Exercising while traveling took time.

    So I guess I'd say slowly. I've been doing this more than a year and I think I'm getting more into it, not less, even though I have hit a weight goal I never expected to see again.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    I'm with you!

    I saw success by changing one small thing at a time. Once this change became a habit (3 -4 weeks), I would then focus on something else. It does not take too many small changes to start seeing great results.

    Best of all, with this I never felt deprived of anything! (There were some issues at the beginning but these past quickly)

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