What have you done to make this a lifestyle and not just a diet?

isabellapanzica9387 · December 2016

I learned to eat in moderation. Also I started to enjoy diffrent things I avoided before. For example I like the gym, long walks, brussle sprots, asparagus, rosted root vegstables, coconut and cheeros. Also I always count calories and just got a food scale that I love.

brookielaw · December 2016

I started with small changes. I have found activities I truly enjoy (swimming, weight training, boxing) that I can and will do for the rest of my life. I set small, sustainable goals for each week and month, like drinking X amount of water, or exercising X minutes a week, along with the small, incremental goals on the scale. I log in every day and honestly log all of my food. Try new healthy foods! I had my first pomegranate 2 years ago, and brussel sprouts for the first time this year. Can you believe brussel sprouts can be tasty? True story! I use a food scale and do my best to listen to my body to figure out whether I am actually hungry and/or why. I think one of the biggest things that has helped me is that I have spent a significant amount of time looking at and dealing with the underlying issues that had me 177 lbs above where I am today.

SiegfriedXXL · December 2016

106 pounds down so far and the biggest thing for me was figuring out why I was eating the way I was. Why I was relying on food as a coping mechanism. Once I started to address the problems underneath then it became easier to say no to overeating and start making small changes. Now it's largely a matter of staying the course and waiting for the weight to fall off. My life is much better now. My health is much better now. I still avoid some trigger foods but I feel I will eventually be able to incorporate them back into my life as my relationship with food continues to get healthier.

treehugnmama · December 2016

I integrated exercise that I enjoy into my life such as walking on breaks at lunch, hiking swimming, just started karate...fun stuff.

didknot226 · December 2016

I used to hate weighing myself. Now look forward to it every Saturday because I am doing intermittent fasting plus calories count that worked for my body.

kmurrelli · December 2016

Over the past year of successfully logging on MFP, I've learned that I really like to eat the bulk of my food in the evening. I don't mind having a small breakfast like yogurt and coffee and a smallish lunch so that I can really eat anything I crave (within reason) in the evenings. I used to eat much more in the morning and afternoon and would still want a big dinner with wine and dessert. I discovered that I really do well by saving most of my calories for the evening so I don't ever feel deprived. I don't really get hungry during the morning hours, especially if I'm busy running around at work. I like to savor my big evening meal, sit down and really enjoy it. Some people may prefer lots of small meals, one large meal, or 3 square meals a day. I think you just have to figure out what satisfies you and do that.

keezo1 · December 2016

I love to cook and i eat mostly homemade and i drink mostly water so for years i wondered why i kept gaining weight when i rarely ate "bad" foods. When i decided to lose weight i did a lot of research and realised it was not what i was eating but how much. I had no idea what a "serving" was. Once i figured it out the weightloss just started to happen naturally.

conor937 · January 2017

So nice to read all the positive changes people have made

For me the most effective lifestyle change was tracking down delicious low cal recipes for dinners that i can batch cook and freeze in portions. Makes getting a healthy dinner so easy as i hate cooking a full on meal every night which used to result in eating nothing but junk. Now i do all the cooking in one go and day to day just stick a portion in the microwave and boil up some rice or pasta.

irishhealthy · January 2017

I've a long way to go but what keeps me going is the goal of better health. Ive suffered badly as a result of being obese, inactive and making poor choices in life. Ive gone past the desire to look good and what really keeps me going now, is the thought that everything I put in my body, feeds every cell. So I'm logging and making healthy choices. Im in a mindset that putting rubbish in my mouth, has given me too many issues. Its a learning curve but the results are coming in with healthy choices, within my food diary limits. The weight is now coming off and my health is slowly improving.

KpopGrad92 · January 2017

I think with a lifestyle for me, I learned I cannot be in control of everything regarding my weight loss. Moving abroad really helped me with this. I can't control that most the restaurants here do not have calorie information, I can't control my boss having us work long hours and me not always knowing so I don't have something healthy. I can't make the people I travel around with have the some dietary guidelines for picking a place to eat. What I can do is make the best choices for me, plan for what I can, and enjoy my life in Korea regardless. I guess adaptability has been the key for me. I know this works because my first 4 months here I did not focus on weight loss and I maintained easily between 186-191 lbs. If you want it to last you have to adapt and if something goes wrong (binge eating, gain a few pounds, meal plan falls apart) you can bounce back and move on.

lorrpb · January 2017

For me, it started with a conscious decision that I would need to make changes for the rest of my life. Real serious changes. I did not make any changes during the weight loss part of my journey I did not think I could live with long term. I thought about maintenance every day for 2.5 years, reflecting on why I had failed in the past and what I would do differently this time.

It hasn't been as easy as saying "Eat anything you want, just less." The "just less" is the hard part. Some things that are "trigger foods" I choose to eliminate or find a suitable substitute or, or eat only when I'm out because I can have "just one" rather than wanting to consume "all" of it. I would rather do this than gain back the 148 lbs that it took me 2.5 years to lose. I feel and move so much better now that I simply don't want to go back there.

I've also kept a journal since I started. It includes my weight readings, measurements, progress pics, workout accomplishments, 5-10K pics and results, positive comments from others, favorite quotes, etc. It is fun to look back and see my progress. When I feel discouraged, I look through it and realize if I accomplished that, I will keep progressing. I truly feel that having this record will help keep me on track during maintenance because I have a a vivid reminder of where I was and what I've done.
SW 301
CW 153
60 yo

hzl22 · January 2017

For me it has been the way I view food. Yes I still slip up n eat not the healthiest food but I am aware of that and aware that I am not eating for nutrition and just for fun and that it is not my everyday nutritious food. I guess I kind of inversed it if it makes sense ... the nutritious food is my everyday and the junk food is the "diet" that I allow myself to get on once in a while .

riffraff2112 · January 2017

as i have gotten older, I came to the realization that I wasnt prepared to do something that I wasn't going to maintain for life. I also wasn't going to give up something for the same reason. Been there a few times already (lost close to 50 lbs - 3 times in my life)

Can I stop eating pizza, chips and bacon? NO...so why do it for a few weeks
Can I run 10km three times a week forever? NO...so why kill myself for a few months, lose a pile of weight and then regain it all?

So I decided to make changes that I can live with, but stick with them, MFP offers flexibility in choosing what you want to eat, how often I want to exercise and I am super happy with the progress and my maintenance.

soufauxgirl · January 2017

I have educated myself when it comes to healthy eating/exercise and everything in between and to be honest I don't think I will ever stop learning. These boards have played a huge role in expanding my limited knowledge resulting in countless "a-ha" moments for me, and has made me aware of why I have not been successful in weight loss and maintenance in the past - it has been a true eye-opener. The following quote resonates with me right now because its so appropriate in this regard - "education is power - being educated is powerful".

Womona · January 2017

What I did was finally put my foot down and get sick of my "bigger size" pants getting a little snug. I am not going up another size! Plus, I want to wear the clothes I bought just last year which are a size down and just too small. So, I am logging my food again, and for the first time in over 2 years, exercising 3-4 times per week. It is a lifestyle and not a diet if you decide it is. It's being consistent about the little changes every day.

JeromeBarry1 · January 2017

It may seem silly, but when I was obese I was concerned that any attempt at restricting calories would lead me into an ill-advised and unsupervised VLCD ending in anorexia. I didn't mention that to anyone at the time, but I also diligently followed my pappy's admonition "Never miss a free meal".

It takes less than 200 calories per day of surplus to gain 20 lb in a year.

The life change, not -style but simply life, is learning what a reasonable portion size does look like, and learning to be satisfied with it.

indiacaitlin · January 2017

Taken everything slowly and not made huge drastic changes all at once. Allowed myself to have the odd day off and to eat the kinds of foods I like. This has made 'a diet' turn in to a healthy lifestyle, which is all about balance and taking care of myself!

Adc7225 · January 2017

For me it took some self-evaluating . . . really thinking about why I ate the way I did and what I could do to better understand it. Also, educating myself about nutrition (nothing overboard, just general things that applied to me) and really fully understanding portion size. I took my time for the most part and if something was too much at the time I redirected my energy and would re-address it later.

I think it really has to be all about yourself, learning what works for you and listening to your body.

What have you done to make this a lifestyle and not just a diet?

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