I'm curious to know.....

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futuremccomb
futuremccomb Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
Fellow MFP members - when starting your journey did you start off slowly cutting away certain foods/drinks and by slowly adding exercise into your life or did you hop on full fled & cut everything all at once and jumped right into exercise?

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  • futuremccomb
    futuremccomb Posts: 4
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    Fellow MFP members - when starting your journey did you start off slowly cutting away certain foods/drinks and by slowly adding exercise into your life or did you hop on full fled & cut everything all at once and jumped right into exercise?
  • figueres3
    figueres3 Posts: 104 Member
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    It was a process... I've lost 6 lb in the past 2 months (tho my profile doesn't say it!!!)... I've been loosing about 1 lb per week... I've changed my lifestyle in the past 3 months....
  • j_g4ever
    j_g4ever Posts: 1,925 Member
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    I have a seizure disorder so I had to start out slowly with exercise. I did however cut my calories back right away. I felt hungry right away but that goes away after the first couple of days. Drink lots of water. Good luck and welcome. :flowerforyou:
  • Bachelle
    Bachelle Posts: 12
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    I personally went for the all or nothing approach. I figured if I'm going to do this and be successful, I've got to be 100% committed right from the beginning. That was definitely the right approach for me. It has kept me from talking myself out of my daily exercise or cheating on my journal because I view it all as being a package deal.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    Myself, I did baby steps, which is how I felt I'd be able to make permanent, lasting lifestyle changes.

    I made one change at a time. First, I started going to the gym every day. Then, I quit eating chocolate from gas stations. I forget what came next. . .my weight loss was very slow, but I've maintained it for over two years. I think I had to go so slowly because I had so much to change!

    I think everyone is different, and you have to search your heart and decide if you're the kind of person who needs to go slowly or want to dive in. :flowerforyou:
  • pinkyjane48
    pinkyjane48 Posts: 81
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    Ive tried the "jump right into it" method and all that got me was a good month, then a burnout, followed by putting on everything I had lost plus 10 pounds. I am finding the slower start to be more effective and the changes I am making are lasting a LOT better. Plus I don't feel like Im going to keel over from exhaustion or hunger (always a plus) nor do I feel like Im living on rabbit food (I like my spices, lol)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,058 Member
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    I think you will probably learn a little bit at a time, and things in your life will naturally change as you start to feel better.

    I was able to see immediate changes in the way I felt AND the weight dropped off once I started to eat healthy food and exercise regularly. Logging your food and exercise here is so easy to do, and it is so important, so log your food and exercise even if you have an "off" day, and then you will begin to see your particular unique patterns more clearly.

    Also join in one of the challenges (or two or three) here. Instant support, friends, and accountability!

    Good luck!
  • BrandNewLaura
    BrandNewLaura Posts: 1,650 Member
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    I personally jumped right in and made all the changes at once. I started exercising (I started with small "doses" of exercising, but I went from completely sedentary to walking 5 or 6 times a week) and I started counting calories right away. That has worked for me, but in some ways I've also been doing the small changes. When I first started, I survived on 100 calorie packs, but now I am moving more toward low fat cheeses and fruits and vegetablesand wheat crackers for my snacks rather than eating mostly processed foods. Now i am starting to monitor my sodium and sugar intake and working toward lowering that. I think it will be a continuous process for me, and I will always be working on something...but I wholly committed myself to this process and made changes in my food and exercise as soon as I joined MFP.
  • raincloud
    raincloud Posts: 405 Member
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    I jumped right into it food wise. THen, after my surgery and recovery time I jumped right into exercise. In fact, since starting to exercise I have worked out 32 days in a row!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I took on the 1300 calories, then learned something new everyday. I have slowly incorporated new ideas, and now have an entirely different attitude toward food.

    Exercise changes daily.
  • allaboutme
    allaboutme Posts: 391 Member
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    started with food added exercise slowly.
  • Sunibc22
    Sunibc22 Posts: 330
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    I'm all about babysteps.

    In the past I've jumped in with both feet and it was such a drastic change that I couldn't stick to it.

    I first started just staying with in my calories eating what I want but in moderation.
    Once I felt comfortable with that I started to try and get more of my calories from healthy food but still some of the food I really like in moderation.
    I then added exercise. I am starting slow with the exercise...cardio first, walking first. I have now worked my cardio up to jogging and am enjoying it.
    I plan as my next step to add in the weight training.

    I have never stuck to a 'diet' this long cause it's always all or nothing with a diet. Instead I feel making these small changes as I go will make it more of a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

    Well, that's my two cents. :bigsmile:
  • Poison5119
    Poison5119 Posts: 1,460 Member
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    I took the baby steps on both sides.

    I was climbing brass poles 7 years ago, and 5 months ago started taking 15 minute rounds on the elliptical because I didn't want to burn myself out - slowly worked up to 30 minutes ++. Now I've added weight training two nights a week but can't seem to do cardio on those nights -- I'm 'maxed out' by the time I'm done with my circuit training and ready for cardio. :grumble:

    Food: took me a couple weeks to accumulate the equipment I needed to diet properly (gas grill, food scale), and decide what I liked to eat. I removed certain meats from my diet pretty much instantly (bratwurst, beef), added certain ones (more fish and chicken). I eliminated sugar from my coffee and brought in Stevia powder. Use less half and half. Didn't buy cookies for desserts. Eliminated chips and snack on fresh carrots/celery instead. Bought healthier bread and subbed it out instead of potatos or rice for more variety. When I eat rice, its brown rather than white. All these changes came one by one.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    I didn;t "cut" any foods. I eat whatever foods I like. I just eat less of them, less often. Jump right in, but don't deprive yourself of things you really like or you will never last!:flowerforyou:

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