What Other Factors (Besides Nutrition) Help You Succeed?

Getting real with myself. As someone who has been on a diet yoyo I found that not being realistic was a huge reason i failed. As a chef food is a huge thing in my life and I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of eating plain chicken with broccoli and rice for ever. It wasnt going to make me achieve my goal to lose weight because I was so uninterested in the food. So i got real with myself. Doing research and know from experience food pairings that went well with each other I was able to turn it into a healither version while still enjoying the taste. Now instead of plain chicken I'll season it with spices (which most of have no calories to begin with) and stuff it with veggies and bake it. Taste 100 times better and I enjoy it so much more!

Don't stop when you're tired. Stop when you're done.

I would say a big thing for me is not weighing myself. I stepped on the scale in the beginning to see where I was at and I won't step back on until I am at another doctor appointment or I feel the need to. Seeing what I look like and how I fit in my clothes is priority for me because if that part is getting better I know the eating and exercise is what is helping that part. I use the food diary each day and it yells at me when my sodium would be too high or fat content is too high so I try to adjust what I need to in order to stay under that threshold.

Having a variety of goals in addition to the scales -- measurements, progress pics, new foods, new recipes, new hacks, new exercises, more reps, more weight. more steps. That way a few things are always going well when other areas are slower.

10,000 steps and weight training 6days a week. Lost 100 pounds in 1 year. Plus I cut out eating out and sodas.

The key to my success is My Fitness Pal. Today marks 800 straight days of tracking!

1) Learning to look at food in terms of sugar content and nutrition-per-calorie instead of how much I feel like I want it at the moment.
2) Joining a gym, getting a personal trainer, and feeling like there is someone who will be disappointed if I don't exercise today. I'm better at follow through for other people than for myself.
3) Really paying attention to the connection between metabolic syndrome and healthy age and trying to think of my future self as someone whose life will be severely impaired by bad decisions I make today.
4) Eating a mostly lower-carb, higher-fat diet.
5) Giving up baking. If I bake something, I feel entitled to eat it, and I can't ever eat just one.
6) Finding life goals powerful enough to combat a lifetime of using food as a reward, food for comfort, food to show love, food to connect with others, and food as a way to enjoy leisure time.
7) Discovering that I really enjoy what it feels like to work hard at the gym, and making gym time part of my self-care routine.
8) Discovering that self-care is a daily necessity, not a reward for good behavior.
9) Scheduling gym time in my calendar, just like all my other obligations.
10) Intermittent fasting.
11) Weight training plus cardio.
12) Learning to love coffee without sugar. Using caffeine and stretching instead of sugar to combat daytime sleepiness at my desk.