What was the first thing you changed?

Portions! I always thought I was a healthy eater..... Turns out my healthy meals were actually too small.... I gained weight during binge sessions because I was so hungry. Now I eat more and at regular intervals!

I stopped drinking pop significantly from 10 to 12 cans of pepsi a day sounds as bad as it was for me when I say it to 2 a day and stopped fast food entirely

The first thing I changed was my mind. I went from thinking "this is too hard. I can't." to "I CAN. Watch me!"

**edited for spelling.

Bought better coffee at home so it didn't need the extra crap to taste good, and got a food scale so I could see how much I was really eating

I stopped drinking soft drinks and started walking.

I just started 5 days ago. The first thing I've changed: logging everything I eat, without judgement. We'll see how it goes! Loved reading everyone's answers!! ^&^

I didn't really change a ton. I love to cook and have been doing so for years and I'm a big time foodie...so I've always enjoyed freshly prepared meals using whole ingredients and what not. I've never had a huge appetite or issue with things like candy, or cookies or cake or anything like that...I've always had much more of a savory tooth than a sweet tooth. i suppose I was fortunate that I didn't have to completely re-invent myself and figure out how to cook and figure out what veggies I liked, etc...I had that all down pretty good, I just ate way too much for my level of activity at the time.

That said, I did drink quite a bit of soda which I cut back on and ultimately I pretty much gave up...I have one once in a blue moon these days and actually just prefer to have bubbly water with a twist of lime or something these days. Barring that, my biggest change was moderating my portions and working in some exercise. Growing up I was involved in sports and all manner of athletics and then off to the military after high school where I was paid to train and even in college afterwards I was pretty active as my only transportation at the time was my feet and my bicycle and I was always off on hikes and playing roller hockey or whatever with my buddies. Basically I graduated, took a desk job, and stopped being as active but continued eating. The first month or so of getting back into exercise was kind of tough, but after that I started to fall back in love with it pretty quickly.

First stopped drinking soda, then stopped consuming anything with caffeine in it altogether. Now I don't even drink juice, it's just mostly water or herbal teas (with stevia if they're too bitter). I was given the advice to "never drink your calories", and it was the best advice I've received.

1. I stopped drinking soda.. Used to have one almost every day
2. I stopped eating cake and cookies and desert with every meal.. used to get a sweet baked item every day for breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner
3. started moving a lot more and eventually started regular exercise

I work as a restaurant manager, so the first thing I did was start bringing my own food to work rather than eating restaurant food every day. Now when I do have to eat food from the restaurant I limit it to kale and beet salads or simple fish dishes.

Oh, and water. Tons of water!

From the very first day, consuming way less calories than I was pre-MFP. It really works.

First thing I did was buy a Fitbit. I was stunned by how little activity I got in a day.

Next I started logging for a couple of weeks. Not really trying for a deficit, just logging it and paying attention to portions. Like many, I thought I was a healthy eater too. Until I started measuring. (I seriously was like - what do you mean one serving of crackers is only that many, and is 2tbs of peanut butter really only that much?).

Next I've committed myself to a calorie deficit, and a minimum of 20 minutes of activity every day. Sometimes I only have time for a quick walk with the dog, but other days I find I'm hopping on my elliptical machine, or doing some of the FitnessBlender.com workouts.

Cut the soda, started walking.

I went cold turkey with the sodas.

Me too , This was my very first thing .

Reading MFP and logging meals. I still don't get what macros and TDEE are. LOL! But I'm losing weight trying to stay under my calorie goal. I will learn more and buy a food scale if I stop losing before I reach my goal. It's an exciting slow journey Baby steps.