Small But Super Helpful Habits

Undertwo wrote: »

I've taken to doing twelve bodyweight squats each time I use the bathroom at home. Two weeks ago I could barely keep my balance with arms extended now I do deep squats with arms folded against my chest.

Small steps in a greater journey toward fitness.

Such a simple yet effective idea!

Log log log log log log log!

I run every day. Whether it''s a mile or two or 10.

Park at the back of the parking lot.

When I go out to dinner (though we don't do that too much anymore), I immediately order a to go box as the same time as the meal. When the meal comes, I immediately put half of it away in the box.

When I want a treat, I'll have something from the Atkins endulge products. Tastes great, satisfies my sweet tooth, but still has lots of protein.

Only take my fitbit off when I shower. Having that reminder all day everyday keeps me active.

Here is the most helpful thing I could say on this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1159755/looking-for-a-detox-cleanse/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

A lot of it is mental, I think, especially if you, like me, have formed bad habits due to mental or emotional reasons.

I try to push any negative thoughts surrounding anything I'm doing regarding weight out of my head. Things like "I don't want to," "I don't feel like it," "But I hate exercise," "I can't do it," completely out of my head. A lot of it is attitude, and if you have a poor attitude, you're gonna get poor results. I'd tried to applied this to my life, in general, but especially for my weight loss regime.

I've also tried to focus a lot on positive thoughts. I'm aware of the fact that I can't eat as much food if I wanna lose weight, and that makes me feel hungrier. A problem I'm sure many here are aware of. So rather than just mindlessly eating the food I've prepared and ignoring my eating experience for whatever else I might be doing, I make a conscious effort to savor every bite. I'm a slow eater, anyway, so there's no reason I shouldn't enjoy my food. Thinking about how good the food is makes me more emotionally satisfied, which helps to counter the physical dissatisfaction.

Along the same lines, appreciating my accomplishments. The other day, I weighed myself for the first time since starting working out and I had recorded my past two weigh-ins. I was a lot heavier than I thought I was and I was upset about it at first. But I just reminded myself, first, "It's been 2 weeks, and thanks to my hard work, I've already lost 3 kg," and "It won't always be like this. You're doing something now so you won't have to see that number on the scale. And it helped me to keep going and not want to give up, despite the fact that I was sad about how much I weighed.

So much of it is mental that you might not even realize. Change your attitude and things become so much easier.

Troutsy wrote: »

usmcmp wrote: »

Here is the most helpful thing I could say on this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1159755/looking-for-a-detox-cleanse/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

cosign

And I'll add

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary#latest

knowledge is power.

3bambi3 wrote: »

usmcmp wrote: »

Here is the most helpful thing I could say on this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1159755/looking-for-a-detox-cleanse/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

+1,000. These threads should be required reading.

Yup. Sadly, the MFP powers fail to recognize proper fitness/nutrition advice. On the other hand, they are good at censoring and warning those who try to provide actual guidance to people. But hey, there's a premium version now, so suckers can pay for info that is sure to be less useful than what is contained in the linked posts. Guess you can't sticky things that provide competition for your new revenue generator.

I've tried a lot of different things. To lose weight over the years and I realized that the only thing that works time and time is again is a proper diet. I stayed away from sugary empty calories with no nutritional benefits and avoided starchy foods. I ate lean meats that was high in protein and low and fat and ate veggies with just about every meal. I traded in not drinking my calories for just drinking water and green tea, or any type of tea. I substituted whole grain bread for my sandwiches. I ate out less because honestly you have no idea what kind of stuff that is bad for you that restaurants use to prepare the food and normally they give you larger portions then you should actually eat. I became more active. I parked further away to walk more. I went to the park as often as I could. I ate every 2 to 3 hours by snacking in between my 3 main meals. A snack could be anything that I believe is under 200 calories and low in fat and sugar. An apple, handful of almonds, low fat yogurt with good protein and low in sugar, protein bars low in sugar, there's plenty of good snacks out there. I couldn't avoid junk all together , especially on weekends so I allowed myself one cheat meal on Saturdays. I workout and watched what I ate Monday through Friday. As long as your moving and active you are winning. It's just mainly changing what you eat. Substituting stuff that you normally eat with reduced fat or fat free can go a long way. Also joining a fitness club of people who work out together and who have a common goal helps too. Add me, I don't mind throwing suggestions out there or hearing yours as well.

This content has been removed.

galeanneglover wrote: »

I cut out dairy, all grains but brown rice and oatmeal, and pork. I use coconut oil for cooking. I love stir fry and they're always different. Lots a veggies of all colors. I do allow myself an occasional alcoholic beverage. Once a month I allow myself to eat whatever pleases me. Usually that means adding a slice of cheese because I'm not a big fan of sweets.

This makes me sad.

And this is what MFP is being reduced to. Which makes me even sadder.

Carlos_421 wrote: »

They may find this interesting.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15090625

This content has been removed.

galeanneglover wrote: »

I found taking my weight (say 160) and dividing by two (80) and drinking at least that many ounces of water a day helped tremendously.

I HATE exercising so I added walking my dog 1 block more, 10 reps of arm lifts with whatever is handy (water bottles, canned food, weights) several times a day, and lying on the floor while watching tv and holding an exercise ball with my legs tucked close to my buttocks doing 10-25 crunches is doable.

I cut out dairy, all grains but brown rice and oatmeal, and pork. I use coconut oil for cooking. I love stir fry and they're always different. Lots a veggies of all colors. I do allow myself an occasional alcoholic beverage. Once a month I allow myself to eat whatever pleases me. Usually that means adding a slice of cheese because I'm not a big fan of sweets.

Hope this helps. I've lost 30 pounds since January.

I......just......can't.

usmcmp wrote: »

Carlos_421 wrote: »

They may find this interesting.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15090625

Someone has already said that research would take the fun out of dieting. They would rather just go with what some random stranger on a web site tells them.

IDK

This thread is super helpful in making me feel sad about the forums.