What One Small Change Made the Biggest Difference?

2

Replies

  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    LolBroScience wrote: »
    Consistency

    Yes. I've lost 83 pounds and this is why.
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    Not having so many cookies, cakes and doughnuts in my home = 0
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Pre-logging my whole day has been very helpful. I have really thought about my choices more and pay attention to how I feel with different choices. I don't worry that I will be eating too much or too little because I already figured it out.
    Not being restrictive or negative about food. I still eat and enjoy most of the same foods just appropriate portion sizes for my goals. I see I get more satisfaction from a certain amount of protein, vegetables, etc vs a small amount of another higher calorie food that will actually leave me wanting to eat more sooner. I want the food that will give me more satisfaction for the amount of calories.
    Drinking water or unsweetened tea and saving my calories for food most of the time.
    Setting a moderate regular exercise goal instead of trying to do hours every day and giving up. I can do about 30 minutes of some exercise 6 days a week.
    Not freaking out if I go over my calories one day or the scale is up one week. Look at weekly calorie intake and weight loss trends over time.
    Not putting a time limit on my progress. I have accepted that it will take time to get to my goal. Every day I am better off than I was even if it takes a year or more to get to my goal.
  • mirandafromwv
    mirandafromwv Posts: 1 Member
    For me it was water. Drinking only water with the occasional cup of coffee. I used to drink at least six-eight cans of Mountain Dew a day. Being able to cut that sugar out and drink at least 72 ounces of water has made me feel wonderful. Also, logging everything that goes into my body makes me seem more accountable to not only myself but also friends who have access to my diet on mfp.
  • BioQueen
    BioQueen Posts: 694 Member
    The biggest thing for me was to stay on track. I can be an all-or-nothing type of person with my eating and exercise, so if I stop logging then it will be a while until I come back, and I would come back having gained weight. I tended to stop logging during stressful times or during big life changes. This time around the biggest change was that I log ALL days, even the bad ones (I wouldn't do this before). Even if I wasn't 100% accurate or forgot to log everything, I logged on every day. This way, I quickly see when there is a problem and I am able to fix it quickly with minimal, if any, damage to my progress. It also reminds me that just because I have a bad day (or couple of days), I won't ruin everything I've worked for.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    reading nutrition labels
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    reading nutrition labels
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    I bought a pedometer and started using it. First an Up band, then a Fitbit. I lost most of my weight just walking. After over two years of maintenance, I still use the Fitbit, although my main fitness activity has changed.
  • AChildAtHeart
    AChildAtHeart Posts: 22 Member
    I think the wearable tech is great. My Microsoft Band is helping me with the "get up and move" change because I have an app for it that makes it vibrate and scroll a little reminder. Otherwise it's too easy to lose myself in my work, or even in being sedentary in front of the TV. I watch almost everything on DVR, Hulu or Netflix, so there's no excuse not to pause, get up and take a break.
  • Achaila
    Achaila Posts: 264 Member
    Giving up soda. All soda. Even diet.

    Letting go of the belief that I had to make myself miserable to lose weight by never enjoying the foods that I love. Moderation is key and I could not imagine a life without chocolate, pizza, and cheeseburgers!
  • fr3smyl
    fr3smyl Posts: 1,418 Member
    I learned not to eat breakfast first thing in the morning. I eat less throughout the day that way.
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    1. FOOD SCALE!!!! I can not say that enough. 2. Moving more even in the smallest way. Not asking others to grab something for you. Taking the stairs. Etc. 3. Water. Water. Water.
  • fr3smyl
    fr3smyl Posts: 1,418 Member
    DanniB423 wrote: »
    1. FOOD SCALE!!!! I can not say that enough. 2. Moving more even in the smallest way. Not asking others to grab something for you. Taking the stairs. Etc. 3. Water. Water. Water.

    Hear hear!
  • fishcat123
    fishcat123 Posts: 74 Member
    Logging no matter what. Good day, cheat a little, binge, whatever, I honestly log whatever I've eaten.
  • fr3smyl
    fr3smyl Posts: 1,418 Member
    fishcat123 wrote: »
    Logging no matter what. Good day, cheat a little, binge, whatever, I honestly log whatever I've eaten.

    So true!
  • HAS415
    HAS415 Posts: 48 Member
    You are on the right track! Keep moving! Go to the gym! Take a walk. Walk some more. Run. Cross train. But eat healthily because you can'tout train a bad diet. Good luck!
  • Annr
    Annr Posts: 2,765 Member
    attending TOPS every week and staying accountable. To look at my food as fuel, and treating my body with respect, giving it great stuff to eat not crap.
  • tedioustrainingap
    tedioustrainingap Posts: 78 Member
    I've realised another thing which has made a big difference - not snacking when the children do! They tend to graze, particularly on weekends. It had become easy for me to join in mindlessly (may as well have a piece of toast too, another piece of fruit, the last few biscuits in the pack or a left over yoghurt). I only took to grazing with them over the last few years and hadn't even realised I had started. It had definitely led to a marked increase in my calorie intake per week but was an easy habit to break.
  • zira91
    zira91 Posts: 670 Member
    weighing my food and drinking at least 3lit of water a day...
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I was a yo yo dieter. It's easy to lose weight. The hard thing is not gaining it back. The one thing that made the difference was finding a way to own my choices. How I did that was I stopped ascribing value judgments to food.

    Once food stopped having human attributes for me, I no longer maintained an intimate relationship with it and I had room to do other things with my life.
  • GalaxyPants
    GalaxyPants Posts: 16 Member
    Ive found that if I actually am honest about my logging I hold myself more accountable.
    Another small thing that has helped is portion size! I make the same meal, but smaller and realise Im actually incredibly satisfied with less (helps if you use a smaller plate too)
  • 13muthonikimani
    13muthonikimani Posts: 29 Member
    Homemade meals instead of eating out
  • shroodle88
    shroodle88 Posts: 123 Member
    Packing my lunch. And ... logging, logging, logging ...
  • fr3smyl
    fr3smyl Posts: 1,418 Member
    13muthonikimani wrote: »
    Homemade meals instead of eating out

    Yup, me too!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Weighing my food.

    Also, changing from grazing to making actual meals.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    One small change: I started weighing my food on a food scale. I still ate the same foods, so i didn't like, overhaul my diet. I learned a lot about serving sizes and portion control.
  • ellesMFP93
    ellesMFP93 Posts: 43 Member
    Learning to love myself. Making healthy choices and doing good things for my body out of love rather than hate has been the game changer for me. Now eating well is enjoyable and working out feels like 'me time'. :)
  • DuckReconMajor
    DuckReconMajor Posts: 434 Member
    Achaila wrote: »
    Giving up soda. All soda. Even diet.

    Oh man I did this so long ago i forgot to list it but yes! Not only losing out on the calories but giving it up destroyed my sweet tooth and i lost 40 lb.
  • rbee2015
    rbee2015 Posts: 50 Member
    Spending my calories on nutrient dense foods.
  • Steam_Powered_Awesome
    Steam_Powered_Awesome Posts: 301 Member
    I cut all meat but fish from my diet
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