Should I start with diet, exercise or both??

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40hereicome
40hereicome Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All,
I just joined MFP last week in my quest to lose 40 lbs by my 40th birthday (my SW is 180 & my bday is 11/26). I started by eating healthy & staying in my 1200 calorie range. I also started 30DS. I started off strong, losing 3 lbs in five days. The last four days have been spent eating like crap & doing no exercise at all. I'm not sure why I always end up doing this to myself. I've been told I should start by focusing on one goal (eating right OR exercising, but not both) until I make it a habit. What's your opinion/experience??
And please feel free to add me as a friend. I would love to offer you support, as well as receive some. :)

Replies

  • katm427
    katm427 Posts: 227 Member
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    What you could do, if you find yourself incapable of sticking to the routine of healthy eating and exercise all at once, you could try just having healthy eating and a small amount of exercise (such as a walk after dinner every day) to get you started. Sometimes, I find it daunting, too, to remember to do absolutely everything that needs to be done, and if I forget one part of the routine, it's discouraging.
  • maryd4love
    maryd4love Posts: 164 Member
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    - Do an exercise that you love? Do you have a pool? or do you take your kids swimming? Walk around in the pool........it adds resistance.
  • autiemommy
    autiemommy Posts: 238
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    What you could do, if you find yourself incapable of sticking to the routine of healthy eating and exercise all at once, you could try just having healthy eating and a small amount of exercise (such as a walk after dinner every day) to get you started. Sometimes, I find it daunting, too, to remember to do absolutely everything that needs to be done, and if I forget one part of the routine, it's discouraging.


    Very well said...

    I changed everything over time i started with changing my sodas and coffee for water and veggies for snack instead of chips then played more Wii and got Zumba. It takes time but you will get there...
  • Dahlface13
    Dahlface13 Posts: 65 Member
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    When I did Weight Watchers in the past the first week or two was just focused on the diet changes. Focus on changing your eating habits first then slowly start working in some exercise just to form the habit of making time for exercise. Good luck and welcome!
  • alexbowser
    alexbowser Posts: 322
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    I started with diet and added in long walks, gradually I moved up to more challenging exercises.
  • travishein
    travishein Posts: 78
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    i totally started with exercise, and diet was a new thing for me like a year later. obviously i am having much more results with both. because in the first year i only exercised and ate what ever and how much, and when ever i wanted.

    i found the exercise first was great because it didn't cause any culture shock or severe tissue rejection kinds of response i get when i try to change my eating. planning for meals is not my thing. also it comes up that i have to eat out for work lunches and cant always control what i eat anyway. so i would get stressed out and quit-ist attitude on the eating well.

    it was as if i had to learn how to make the lifestyle changes first before being able to attempt to take on the change of the eating habbits. and adding a daily exercise routine to my life, replacing the sitting on the couch time with a walk on the treadmill in front of th tv instead time was a great start for me. and eventually evolved more time in a day and more activities thry the week. now i dont even think or plan to exercise. it is more routine than shaving. also if i miss a couple days. i get really cranky now. my body craves the activity on me now. so with that mindset and framework established, i started to learn more about good foods and good eating practices. im still learning as i go too. but it is definitely a good extension to an already strong base of the lifestyle change i worked to install before with the activity.
  • Kelly_Wilson1990
    Kelly_Wilson1990 Posts: 3,245 Member
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    Welcome!!
  • clrrrr
    clrrrr Posts: 261 Member
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    You might find that having a really healthy, pure diet in your usual calorie range for a little bit and then gradually phasing down to your weight-loss range might give you enough energy that you'll really want to exercise.
  • sunnymoon8
    sunnymoon8 Posts: 14 Member
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    My weight loss has been kind of slow because although I was eating real healthy I was not exercising. I know it can seem overwhelming to have to watch what you eat and exercise. You could focus on the healthy eating and slowly start adding exercise. You could go for a walk. How about swimming are you near a pool? I have been doing the swimming cause I love being in the pool. You will see that after you lose a few pounds you will want to be more active. it will come. Good luck!
  • tdwalker
    tdwalker Posts: 1
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    i think u should do both. i started out at 190 and im down to 180 its been hard though. i like to eat and drink wine, yet i realized the more i exercise the more i can eat, and i dont eat it all back. i like having the option though. im trying to get down to 160 it seems so far away and there are days i get tired and yes i mess up, but im back on it the next day. all i can say is keep trying and never give up!!!!!:happy:
  • kristiteeter
    kristiteeter Posts: 12
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    I think for me it is a totally different way of thinking, although I don't know how to tell you to do it. The biggest help this time around has been my husband. He is making this change with me. Support is really important.
  • TakeOne
    TakeOne Posts: 345 Member
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    Utlimately its gotta be the combo..diet and exercise. In the long run that combo will help you to maintain your goal once you reach it. And when I say diet I don't mean the typical sence of the word, I just mean a healthy diet. That said I actually started with 2 goals: change the way I eat and start track my exercise. The exercise I did was simple walking my dog. That's all I really did in terms of exercise for about a year (which got me to my maintanance goal). I agree with the other person who said to choose something you enjoy. If setting a particular goal (like minutes per week) is too much, then simple start tracking your exercise. Maybe tried to think of your diet and exercise goals seperately. That way if you feel discouraged about one you can still stay focused with the other. I don't know if any of this helps...but good luck with achieving your goals! You can do it!! :)
  • OliveLucas
    OliveLucas Posts: 84
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    you can lose weight just by dieting alone.... but you won't get tone or have better body shape, also you will lose some muscle mess along the way, which will slow down your metabolism, that's not good.

    on the other hand, if you work out hard, but eat crapy food, your body won't improve either.

    as you mentioned you've done 30DS, that's a good program, you can do that again, or try other program.

    so I would say, start with both, but focus on diet first.
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
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    focus on the things you can handle. sounds like you went too hard too fast, and your body gave up on you!

    try substituting little things in your diet, and trying to exercise for at least 10 minutes every day. you might find that some days 10 minutes isn't enough, and you want to keep going. it's setting aside the time and making that commitment to yourself that is the important part.

    i started with just logging my food - without making changes. it was interesting to see what i was putting into my body. Then i started playing around with the food database - finding things i might like to try, and seeing what a difference that makes to the macros that I chose (cals, carbs, protein, sugar, fat). it's all about finding a balance that suits YOU.
  • LizC26
    LizC26 Posts: 319 Member
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    If you can only focus on one... Definitely focus on diet..It takes 2 minutes to eat 500 calories ( DBL Cheeseburger) and 2 hours to burn those same calories off.....

    But the healthiest thing is to do both :)

    Good Luck!!!
  • Cdcaldwe
    Cdcaldwe Posts: 189 Member
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    Diet and excercise is what is doing it for me. I have really cut my calories but i had to make a drastic change in my life. The lifestyle change is what the biggest key is. I know that i will loose big but the lifestyle has to change or it isn't going to matter in the long run.
  • bugnbeansmom
    bugnbeansmom Posts: 292 Member
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    For me, and this may just apply to me, I find that when I get that workout, I WANT to eat better as not to negate the hard work I did. Over time, I didn't see a few cookies, I started to see a half hour on the treadmill and that stack of cookies suddenly didn't look so tasty. If I eat poorly first, my workout feels like a punishment instead of the occasional treat feeling like a reward. If you are able to workout for at least a half hour a day, I would start there. It is easier to dedicate a half hour a day as opposed to focusing on every bite all day everyday. Works for me anyway.
  • larajp
    larajp Posts: 1
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    You will get the greatest results on the scale from just dieting (if you had to pick one). But, you do need the muscle or you won't really be happy with the final results - my opinion. So, get started on the diet and slowly add in some exercise. I think as you add more exercise it also helps to fuel your motivation.

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