What item did you cut out that made a difference?

Excuses!

Two things:

Candy - I had gotten into a terrible habit of buying candy after lunch every day at work. At first it was just two Hershey's miniatures, then three, then four, then "what the heck, let's eat a whole candy bar". I was "wasting" so many calories and of course eating candy didn't fill me up one bit. Then I'd get home and feel like I'd already started eating candy for the day, so I'd sneak a few jelly beans or skittles out of hubby's candy jar every time I'd walk by. I'd log the candy I ate at work, but not what I ate at home, so who knows how many extra calories I was eating each day.

Kids leftovers - I'd also nibble up things on my daughters' plates that they didn't finish after dinner. A few bites of chicken, a garlic bread crust, two spoonfuls of rice, etc. Stuff that was hard to measure out so I never logged it.

I believe these two bad habits helped contribute to an almost 10 pound weight gain in a year and a half (I know it doesn't sound like much, but I'm short so it bothers me). I hope that by cutting these bad habits out and replacing them with healthy ones, I'll lose this extra weight!

Bread, sweets and drinks. Biggest difference now and I love it.

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candy

When I started (not on here), I cut out all sugar, grains, and legumes (peanuts, beans, etc.) If you decides to cut out sugar make sure you read packaging as the food industry has soooooooo many things with sugar in them. Look for things like high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, evaporated cain juice, etc. And look for it in the most unlikely products (like cans of beans for heavens sake. I lost 10 lbs. my first month cuttingout those things.

And check out this too - super good!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/821596-257-names-for-hidden-sugar

Good luck, lovely! :happy:

What item did you give up that was fairly easy to do and made the biggest impact on jump starting your weight loss?

Getting started, I'm starting small, baby steps, as I feel I can stick to a diet easier if I do it one step at a time. I thought this question might give me ideas on what I can give up and not feel like I lost something or that I'm doing an extreme diet. Where can I make a small cut for a big difference.

Excuses, and the notion that I had to cut items completely out to achieve my goals

LOVE THIS GIF LOL

I cut out beer. Worked wonders (imagine that lol)

The only thing I cut out was a bunch of extra calories I didn't need. I did not eliminate any food groups or food items. I simply moved more and ate less. Worked well for me.

pastry. too many pies and nightime danish.

for all those that said soda, were you all still drinking full fat coke etc?
i dont know anyone in the uk over age 14 that still drinks that stuff.

i use diluted juice concentrate. robinsons barley etc. to consume gallon of water daily.minimal cals.

I cut out sitting on my butt all day and eating huge portions of food.

Now I exercise regularly, and I track my food. I still eat whatever i want - haven't cut out any foods - I just eat less of them.

Yup!

I gave up sugar & starch.

Very helpful post and encouraging. Thanks.

I have given up not having portion control! I still enjoy the foods I love but in moderation. I also work out a lot. I am doing this for good health, not to get skinny quickly.

I cut out soda completely and I don't even miss it even though I thought I would. I haven't given up on bread but I eat a lot less of it and I've found light, and healthier bread options(sara lee 45 calories and delightful or Pepperidge farm light style bread both are great!), I very rarely eat pasta anymore and when I do i only have a few bites(I miss stuffing my face with pasta though, I'm Italian you know!!! lol) and I rarely eat potatoes and rice.

I haven't intentionally cut out anything completely but I think one of the BIGGEST changes for me that has helped, is measuring cheese and using it much more sparingly.

Also, just omitting cheese in many cases...like I almost NEVER have cheese on a salad or burger these days, and very rarely add it to my omelets. I find by doing this I really do not miss it, and I still enjoy cheese (maybe even more so) as a snack, like 1 oz of sharp cheddar and really tasting it and enjoying it, instead of just having it smothering enchiladas or something.

I used to use 2 cups of mozzarella on a homemade pizza and now my husband does a healthier pizza with 1/2 to 2/3 cup of cheese on the entire thing...it's seriously just as good.