How did you guys start your diet/lifestyle change?

I went for a walk.

Of course there were other things leading up to it (cloths not fitting, feeling cruddy, etc.), but on a pretty afternoon I went for a walk. I liked the way it made me feel, so the next day I did it again, and again...

It snowballed into making me feel better, so I wanted to eat better, which made me feel even better...

The first thing I did when I started getting into fitness was cutting out pop and drinking only water. I lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks! Then I tried to make more meals at home and avoid eating fast food. Then I started logging food on mfp and then started working out. Slowly I am changing my habits and becomming healthier day by day. I still have a lot of work to do but I see every day as a new opportunity to make good choices. Setting goals and logging onto mfp daily helps so much. Tell your friend she can learn a lot by reading the forums on here.

I would like to see more of these responses.

Bump!

Last July I just started eating a bit less and lost weight without doing anything too tough. I started logging my food in August and really saw progress after that.

Got rid of soda and nutella (i miss the hazelnutty goodness) first. Then started browsing reddit and the rest of the internet for success stories to motivate me. Downloaded some tracking apps (they're a pain to use imo) but eventually found mfp. Love it here so I stick to this now. In terms of exercise, I found the Stronglifts 5x5 program (also on here). It's got a really nice progression so that you don't get hit with anything too difficult to early. It's got a membership but I did without it (might consider one in the future though). Also looking into keto now as well.

I just randomly decided one day I wanted to start working out. End of my story!

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my husband joined a gym on our anniversary and said, "GO JOIN TOO!" so i did. RELUCTANTLY, i might add! but i went every weekday (forced myself) until it became habit - which didn't take long! now i LOVE It and can't imagine NOT going. i changed my diet, too, but started the exercise first. my advice: don't do too much at once - it's easier to make changes if you do baby steps. i think it took a good 6 months before i had changed my diet, exercise and living habits.

I have a friend who wants to lose about 15-20 lbs, but can't seem to be able to start her diet. I've told her how I began mine, but of course, different strokes blah blah.

I would like to know how you guys started yours, and show her. Did you guys just wake up one morning and started portion controlling? Did you look up certain diets and made food plan/lists? Maybe something will stick, if I give her options.

I was researching different plans and stumbled onto a forum that had a group of people who were doing alternate day intermittent fasting. I'd never heard of it, but reading all of their successes with it I decided to chose that as my plan. I'm here today, 50lbs lighter, and in maintenance I'm very fortunate that I chose a plan that was the perfect fit for me!

I went to a party in Dec and had a picture taken of me and a group of friends. I was horrified at how fat I looked. I was always thin until I had kids. So I decided I could eat and drink whatever i wanted until the end of the year and then I'd start back on MFP. On Jan 2, on our ride home from our annual trip with our friends, I logged in. I've logged just about everything I've eaten since then.

Getting into working out took longer. I lost a lot of weight without doing any exercise. Then the weight loss slowed down so I joined a group here and started 30 Day Shred. I never would have done it without that group. I found I need to do quick workouts at home or I won't commit to doing it. I set small goals or I'll feel overwhelmed and stop.

First thing I did was look at my really bad items that I was eating. I exchanged my bad choices at mcdonalds for less calories until I lost the craving all together. I also quit buying little debbies and hostess at the gas station. If I wanted chocolate. I will eat a candy bar or have a homemade treat.

I have a friend who wants to lose about 15-20 lbs, but can't seem to be able to start her diet. I've told her how I began mine, but of course, different strokes blah blah.

I would like to know how you guys started yours, and show her. Did you guys just wake up one morning and started portion controlling? Did you look up certain diets and made food plan/lists? Maybe something will stick, if I give her options.

Little by little ... started making healthy breakfast choices. Then took a good look at what I was making my meals out of and made changes to that such as no white or enriched bread, whole wheat only. Brown rice, quinoa replaced potatoes and white rice. Added more veggies to my diet and things like that.

I avoid soda, and anything that is marketed as a "Diet" product. I read labels like crazy, my poor husband is so patient with me in the grocery store- he waits while I do all my ingredient and price comparisons. I do not follow or add in any plan that tells you to eliminate certain types of food (even if those foods are supposed to be introduced back later). I have added components of juicing, blending and the Raw food diet to my dietary options.

Very importantly I DO allow myself binge days, usually as a treat when it's a girls night with my two youngest daughters.

I remember that this is a life style change and will not change over night, so I'm not going to make it a horrible life experience,

The short answer is that I realized last December that what worked in my 20s to lose 60 lbs.--exercising lots and paying more attention to food, but without counting calories--didn't work in my 40s. I decided after Christmas that I needed to actually compare intake and output. Fortunately, I saw a review of MFP in Consumer Reports in January while visiting my sister, and decided to give it a try.

The longer answer, though, is that over the course of many years, I've tried to stay physically active and to eat well. Physical activity went from swimming to running to cycling, depending on whether I had easy access to a pool (no longer the case) and the state of my knees (which is why I quit running and started cycling). There were a few years when I didn't get much exercise due to a number of factors. Eating well involved learning to cook well, so that my wife and I don't eat out much and don't have too many meals from boxes or the freezer.

I put on weight despite all that because I was simply eating more than I needed. My change in January was really not a change in diet or lifestyle, but rather, a realization that my sense of how much to eat was out of whack, and that if I just continued the exercise I was getting, while cutting back on the amount I ate without really changing my diet, I could lose the weight I had slowly put on over the years.

The only moderate change I've made to my diet recently is to cook more vegan food, because a good friend became vegan and we like to have her over for dinner a few times a month. That inevitably results in vegan leftovers for dinner a few days later. But I compensate by eating extra cheese, so I can't claim it's eating more healthily.

I started working out. Eating better followed later because I wasn't getting anywhere with my workouts.

why did you get rid of nutella? The calories? I need to know because I eat it a lot, but I stay within my calories.