What small changes have helped you lose weight?

The best thing I can suggest is that any beneficial small changes you find valuable be forged into a schedule, at least those that are sensible to do each day and are reasonable. Forming good habits is extremely important for a multitude of reasons. Here are the small incremental changes I added into my schedule that really benefited my life:

Wake up early, ideally same time every morning via alarm (I wake up 6am)

Establish a morning routine you do before anything else, no looking at phone or getting distracted, just get out of bed and allow yourself to get into the flow of a new day (I weigh-in, drink water, stretch, make bed, drink coffee, eat breakfast, admire the sunrise and take a two). When I find myself getting off track, I don't get hung up on it or prolong it, I just jump into motion and tell myself good watching out.

Doing that morning routine helps me get into a motivated mindset a lot even if I wasn't when I woke up, which I usually am not, usually I'm stressed out from nightmares and hallucinations (had them my whole life), but it's an easy routine to carry out and thus a great catalyst for allowing yourself to wake up feeling accomplished putting you into a better mindset and gearing up for a happy day. Put everything behind you and greet the challenge of a new day. Be mindful of the present moment and where you are putting your time. Your time is who you will become.

Something I highly recommend is a cold shower every morning. I go cold as I can go. It's tough getting in every single time but I get it done. Halfway through I start to love it and by the end I'm boundless with motivation. Anything else I gotta deal with that day probably won't get to me as much or even come on my radar considering I started the day doing something I really didn't want to. I started to learn that discomfort is important to tackle and triumph over. Cold showers are also beneficial for weight loss.

Drinking the coffee first thing in the morning lets me take a two every single morning without fail before the shower thus setting things up so I'm very hygienic and comfortable to workout later. Your bathroom schedule is important, so eating a well-rounded diet with a good amount of fiber and protein and drinking enough water is paramount. I limit myself to one cup of coffee per day at this point as well so I don't have digestive issues. All things in balance.

Following up on that, digestion schedule is important. It's good to be mindful of when you'll be working out and when you'll be eating so you aren't stuck digesting a big meal during an intense workout or running low on fuel. It can really ruin your plans. I make it simple by working out first thing in the morning after my quick breakfast of grape nuts and my shower. The cold shower gives me time to digest the breakfast which isn't a big meal to begin with and energizes me for the workout. If the energy doesn't come, that's OK, be patient and go through the motions. Your body likes habits and good ones take time to form and come into fruition. It takes practice and patience for yourself, don't give in to frustration or anger, feed mindfulness instead and you'll grow much happier.

I save my biggest and hardest to digest meal of the day for dinner after all my working out for the day is done so I can relax and enjoy it knowing I won't be doing anything strenuous the rest of the night, but sometimes I'll also have a sizable lunch in between. If I'm doing a long workout and need fuel in between I eat smaller snacks that won't disrupt my digestion so much like banana, pickles, greek yogurt or a bagel. Adding on to the whole digestion thing, I walk in nature every day to help aid digestion as well. I do it after lunch. Sometimes it works a little too well though and you gotta run home lol, that's why I try and study everything I put into my body and figure out the effects to keep my body running smoothly. Regardless, just walking around can help ease your body and mind. If you do it in nature, that will make you happier and more at peace! I highly recommend if it's available, if not, walking anywhere is good, or even opting to stand or stretch rather than sit for prolonged periods of time.

I like the morning workout to be hardest because I read working out in the morning boosts your metabolism and mood throughout the day and doesn't disrupt your sleep as much. I found this to be the case as I was failing to balance working out before bed for months with digestive issues before switching over and benefiting greatly. Work with your body and its needs. I also recommend starting with something simple and learning it well and practicing it in your schedule rather than trying to do too much at once. That's what I do to this day. If I plan to do too much or learn too much in a day it never works out. That's just life. The things you do learn, it's good to cherish them and give them your full attention and energy.

Mindset being so important, I have highly benefited from meditation, mindfulness, Qi Gong, Yoga, things of that nature. I highly recommend balancing the physical and mental aspects of life. If you put too much of your time focusing only on your body, your mind will be neglected and it will make problems. Ego. Anger. Bitterness. Irritability. Confusion. Sporadic thoughts. That's why I have days where I don't workout at all, just focus completely on finding peace. That's why I often focus on doing less things in a day and just giving it all of my attention and finding fulfillment in that act rather than aiming to do too much and only getting half the effects. We want to lose weight to find happiness after all, so find the things that bring you happiness and health at the same time.

Final suggestions:

For beverages, I only drink water, coffee (no sweetener), tea or raw cacao powder mixed with boiling water. Drinking calories upsets my digestion.

A big change for me was cutting added sugar out completely, and minimizing sugar as much as reasonable (except for fruits). I think the break from sugar is a big reason why people who water fast experience clarity and control over their perspective on food, it really clouds your mind. I get the same clarity now except I eat a normal diet. I also stopped eating when cooking unless I seriously need to taste the food. I log everything I eat no matter what in my journal and that helps stay focused. I don't distract myself with entertainment while I eat, I either sit in the sun and enjoy it or sit at the dinner table and enjoy it. I try to eat it slow and drink water every time I eat.

I don't eat after dinner, which is usually 4-5pm.

I highly suggest having a preparing for bed routine. I turn my computer off at 6, dim my phone screen to the lowest light, brew and drink hot tea and enjoy a warmer shower or bath. I also do dishes every night no matter how little or how much because it keeps my eyes off screens and my thoughts begin to slow, plus its nice waking up to a clean house. I am always in bed at 8 or 9 as much as I can help it and fall asleep before 10. I aim for 8 hrs sleep per night if I can. If I do the preparing for bed routine, I am groggy enough to sleep before I even hit the bed. If I neglect the routine, I will be stuck lying in bed with anxious energy and sporadic thoughts.

If I go too long without meditating or committing myself to patience and mindfulness, my energy will fall into the traps of the ego and it will keep me awake as well even with the bed time routine.

Perhaps that was all too much for a small changes thread, but I hope it may be helpful in any way to any one person.

I am 46 and realized I can't eat the food I used to. So:
1. Organized my kitchen, keeping kid's trigger foods in basement storage if I can, or in one cabinet that I don't open unless I prep for them.
2. I drink two liters of cranberry infused water everyday.
3. Only one cup of coffee with a splash of oatly
3. Cut out alcohol and instead smoke weed if I need to relax.
4. I basically took out dairy from my life. Sometimes I have a little yoghurt in the shake or use cottage cheese and perhaps parmesan in a dish. I drink hot lemon water before breakfast.
5. I eat shakes in the morning, and realize I can't eat unlimited fruits. I think in servings of fruit for the day. My shake has protein powder, frozen fruit, kale, a splash of cranberry water, ground flaxseed, spices and a little peanut butter or coconut fat. Sometime I toast nuts and make it a smoothie bowl with seeds and nuts.
6. I try to never ever eat gluten. Like no white flour, ever, hardly . I eat crisp breads, very sparingly.
7. I don't eat potatoes, rice or any other starch. Except for my
8. I don't eat sweets, if it is not fruit. No processed sugar. A couple of cherries is a huge indulgence, that is my sweet thing. I eat a few and savor them, rather than many.
9. I don't use butter. I use healthy fats such as coconut oil, olive oil etc. I bought sprays instead of bottles.
10. Avocado is my friend. Healthy fat, filling.
11. I eat seafood, chicken, eggs for protein.
12. I stopped eating to help my emotions. Trying to disconnect the two. I actually don't feel deprived. The food industry has created so much unhealthy foods for us and I don't want to buy into it any longer.
13. I don't cheat, like have an unhealthy meal or sweets, ever. I know it will break my diet. The only snack I allow is the occasional popcorn (no butter).
14. I usually don't eat out, unless it is Japanese (no mayo Poke bowls, sashimi.)

At my pandemic worst, my weight was in the mid 150s, now I am at 126 lbs at 5,5. 8 lbs away from my weight at age 20. I track my weight but not calorie intake, as I feel I know what my body needs: lean proteins, vegetables, healthy fats, small portions, water. I have not exercised, but starting now, hoping to firm up.

ReenieHJ wrote: »

I've come to the point of realization there are just certain foods I cannot keep in the house anymore.

DD265 wrote: »

I'm the opposite; if we have it in the house, I don't need to go out and buy it when I'm craving/stressed because in that situation I'm more likely to buy and consume a larger quantity. I try to buy pre-portioned items; for example Cadbury mini bars (16g I think) rather than a 200g bar that I then break down. That makes it easier to stick to one portion (or it's a conscious decision to eat more).

I try to get my 5-a-day of fruit/vegetables, then I flipped it on it's head and try to have 1-a-day of crisps/chocolate/baked goods/ice cream. As my calorie goal has reduced (as I've lost weight) I can't necessarily have one of each, but I'd try not to have two cookies on an average day even if it would fit in my calorie goal.

I can't moderate the big chocolate bars, but I can moderate bags full of single servings, like Ghirardelli squares, and I can weigh out 15 g of chocolate chips and be satisfied with that.

At a certain time of the month I have a harder time with some foods and this month I moved them all down to the basement so I wouldn't see them every time I opened the cupboard. Worked great! (At this time I get sleep and blood deprived and am very low energy so avoid stairs anyway. This might not work if I were 100%, although I think not seeing them would still be helpful.)

I have tried and tried and tried to moderate pints of Ben & Jerry's and have now given up. Sometimes I get the single serve containers or a single Snickers ice cream bar, but usually I am satisfied with vanilla Greek yogurt and frozen raspberries, which is NOT the same, but still works for me for most of the summer. (I have no interest in ice cream during the winter.)

autobahn66 wrote: »

Does this come from an article of some sort which explains it. I can't really fully work out what it is suppose to mean just from the picture. Like is this a level of importance in weight loss success?