What improvements have you made in your life/ diet?

Congratulations BrendaLee on all your accomplishments!!!! :flowerforyou: Sounds like you are doing wonderful!

I know exactly what you mean about the soda. I was once a pepsiaholic and now I don't drink it at all. In fact, I don't really like it a whole lot. I find that it doesn't quench my thirst and it upsets my belly with all the fizz.

I'm also very happy with my eating and exercise. I, as well, still have a long way to go in improving, but I am doing SO much better! And I feel great.

I think my biggest improvement is mornings. Before I NEVER wanted to get out of bed:grumble: And if DH tried to get me out of bed before I wanted, I would tear his head off (which is where I got nickname "the bear" - don't wake the bear and don't poke the bear). Anyways, I run and walk in the mornings now and LOVE IT I am usually awake and ready to go as soon as, if not before, the alarm goes off! It has brought a whole new peace and attitude into my life.

I find it so hard to believe with a few simple steps, I feel so much better about myself and life :bigsmile: I finally feel "truely" happy!

EDIT: Thanks for making this thread! It really made me realize more about how much I have achieved and how happy I am now

Nice! Excellent Brenda - making it about a lifetime and not about the short term seems to be what you're saying. If you goof up, just start again the next day, it's not a disaster that has to make you quit. And having that attitude takes the pressure off.

I have quit most bread - I know that was a problem area for me. I LOVE Italian or French Bread, used to eat an entire loaf of either at one sitting. *wince*

Now it's only whole grain tortillas once in a while.

I don't put 8 spoonfulls of sugar or splenda into my tea any more. I've learned to enjoy it plain.

I eat fresh food!!! A lot of it raw.

I stopped eating 'low fat' but now pay attention to what kind of fat I eat.

I don't crave JUST ONE COOKIE because I know I can have it if I want it. It's not off limits.

And I now walk up and down the stairwell at work and take walks with my daughter.

Thanks for this thread, Brenda, it's nice to see the positive changes!

great post!! When i think about the last four and a half months i can't believe the changes i made.

Fist, I have only had fast food once in the last four and a half months!!!! I can't believe that! I love McDonalds and use to give in at least once a week (usually more).

Also, I changed up my exercise routine and do it the mornings. Now i get up at 5:20 get my workout clothes on and get on the train to work, to use the gym we have there and get my 3-4 mile jog and then head up to my desk. I don't get home till 5:30 so, its a 12 hour day but i feel great and have surprised myself w/ the amount of energy i have. Also, i have not skipped a planned workout since changing it to the mornings, when i was going to the gym in the evenings, i would ususally flake out half the time!

Lastly, i have been good about planning my meals. I think that is such a major part of weight loss that a lot of people struggling don't realize. I make my grocery list and plan every meal every thursday night. It has made a huge difference, and cut down my grocery bill!

I like this thread!

I drink tons more water and crave that more than other things.

I excersize usually every day, even if just a little...and I want to do it. Makes me nuts to miss.

I forgive myself and I've stopped hearing the negative self-hate talk almost completely.

I eat healthy, tons of veggies.

I'm making health and wellness an integral part of my son and my lives, trying to break the cycle.

I've lowered my BMI by 11 points, so far.

I too have cut out most pop....it's really rare that we have it in the house, only for like parties and such and I occasionally get it when I go out to eat.

I pack my lunch most days but before when I would go out to lunch I would get taco bell, wendy's, mcdonalds. Now it's only subway, potbelly, panera....places where I can get something healthy.

I have stuck to working out on a regular basis for well over a year now which I think is my biggest accomplishment. In the past I would be determined to work out and I'd do it for a couple of weeks and then quit when I didn't see instant results. I laughed because I realized that back when I was single and would do online dating profiles, I always lied and said I worked out 2-3 times a week. Now I could actually say that's true, if not more like 4-6 times a week.

Like many others, when I fall off the wagon I dust myself off and get right back on the next day. Before I would have said oh well, it was good while it lasted and go back to eating bad all the time. I also don't fall to peer preassure as much. I'm not always good at it, but there are lots of times now where I can sip my water while everyone else is chugging beer or pop, and I have a salad while others are enjoying appetizers or desserts. I've also cut out almost all drinking alcohol....Four or five years ago I used to go to the bar EVERY weekend and some week nights and down either several beers or long islands. Even a year or two I would drink a lot at least every couple weekends, but now I can't even tell you the last time I had much more than one beer.

My biggest accomplishment I would have to say is working out. I would never stick with it. A while back my husbands friend gave me a treadmill and I started walking a mile on it everyday, well as soon as my son started baseball I used that as an excuse, having to go to practices and games would make it where I didn't have time when I got home. Well now that I have set my mind to working out I have been going to the gym 6 days a week at 6:45am. 3 of those days I work out with a trainer for a hour, the days I do that I go back after work at 4:30pm for cardio. So I am very proud of myself for that. I take one day a week off and I hate doing that.

I am also proud of how I eat now. That is such a big change.

I only ate one slice of pizza yesterday and for me that is huge. There is a fantastic pizza place down the street that we'd order from at least once every couple weeks and I'd proceed to eat half a large pizza. Now if we really want it, we walk to the shop and order a slice.

I've been downloading my calories and exercise to an Excel spreadsheet and I'm averaging at least 60 minutes of exercise a day for the last 2 months.

I started a month ago by just counting my calories and checking my fat intake. Subsequent to that I try my ad most to walk at least 3 times a week and do some exercise. Done to the mature of my work its not always possible to keep to the exercise program. :glasses:
In the last month I went over my daily calories only twice. :sad: I have started to eat more vegetables and fish. As you can see if have lost my first 10kgs. The difference in my sleeping habits due to the exercise is 100% better. You just feel better.

To all the people out. We can do it :drinker:

For me, it was basically going back to my previous lifestyle after years of letting everything else get in the way.

I come from a fitness background and spent many years working with others to implement healthy lifestyle changes. I lived the lifestyle that I "preached" about to others. About 10 years ago, things started to change for the worse. It was a combination of job hours, job stress, injuries, and lifestyle changes (2nd marriage). I fell into the cycle of "it's OK to "cheat" once in a while" where the "cheat" become a continuous occurrence. I started to binge late at night to deal with stress and my job also put me through stretches where I would be working 16-20 days for a couple of weeks on end. I was still in a fitness-related business, so the increasing weight just added to the stress and drastically lowered my self-esteem. I have no "before" pictures, because for the past 8 years I avoided cameras like a mafia hit man. At family gatherings there are either no pictures of me, or I am at the back of a group with just my head sticking up.

We always say we "want" to make changes, but I have found that two things are necessary--at least for me. It took one significant event to provide instant focus, and I also had to experience a significant change in lifestyle. The lifestyle change started when I lost my job in January of this year. That interrupted some of the self-destructive eating patterns (as well as removing a ton of stress). Even that wasn't enough to provide a catalyst, however. I made some changes and did a little more exercise, but nothing significant. The real "shock" came on 3/18/09 when my lab results indicated I was diabetic. I was already taking pills for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but the diabetes was the last straw. Given my background, I know exactly what that meant--not so much the long-term health complications, but the irrefutable evidence of the damage I was doing to my body.

At that point, everything snapped instantly into focus. It's amazing how one's perspective and priorities can change so definitively. All those foods that seemed so necessary and irresistable--cookies, junk food, move popcorn, etc--became completely unnecessary in the blink of an eye. And other foods quickly went on the "boycott" list as I tested my blood sugars and saw the negative effects. (It's interesting to see how many processed foods send your blood sugar levels skyrocketing--stuff you wouldn't necessarily expect, like brand-name peanut butter, fat-free salad dressings, rice-a-roni type boxed meals). I was able to go to parties and restaurants and (mostly) avoid overeating, go to the movies w/out eating popcorn, etc).

In looking for some internet programs to help track my food intake, I stumbled across MFP. I have to say that MFP has played a significant role in my success. I am a data-oriented person. Being able to easily calculate calorie intake and keep an online diary was very important to me. Having an established calorie goal gave me a clear "target" to shoot for. It was a lot easier to say "no" to a second helping or to junk food if I saw I was already at my daily limit. It also helped to see what I COULD eat (and in some cases, it was more than I thought), so I was able to plan meals that were tasty and had variety and yet still kept me in my program.

I immediately set up a spreadsheet to track weight loss, blood sugar readings, blood pressure, and exercise. That, along with MFP, gave me an empirical "framework" and structure that allowed me to effectively manage my program.

The diabetes diagnosis also enabled me to take complete control over grocery shopping and food preparation. Before I had deferred to my wife, partly because my job kept me too busy, but mostly because she and her two kids were more fussy eaters and it was just easier for me to give in. But she lacks both the knowledge and desire for healthy cooking, so that was always a problem. Now, I had some leverage to move in on her "turf" without being too threatening (she also quickly learned to enjoy coming home from work and having someone else do all the cooking and cleanup!). I made some compromises as well--specifically I started eating meat again and found some new recipes that weren't quite as "exotic" as the stuff I usually make.

So, my success consisted primarily of portion control and exercise. I modified my diet from a 60-25-15 carbohydrate-fat-protein ratio to more of a 40-30-30. (At first, I went EXTREMELY low-carb because of the diabetes, but that exhausted my glycogen stores so quickly I became a zombie and could barely make it up a flight of stairs). The ratio change helped control appetite as well as blood sugar spikes. I also emphasized whole grains and tons of fresh produce. I have also found that toasted soy nuts from Costco are a great hi-protein, low fat between-meal snack.

I purposely did not drastically cut fat or shy away from richer foods. I did not want to make the diet so "artificial" that I could not translate it back into a "real" lifestyle. It was better for me to eat smaller portions and fill in the "bulk" with salads, veggies, etc. I still made casseroles and lasagna and enchiladas, etc--just made a couple of substitutions and packed away the "leftovers" before I sat down to eat--found out I was getting 4-6 meals from a recipe that in the past only lasted for 1 or 2.

I was also able to recommit myself to an exercise program. In that I was helped immensely by the fact that I have two excellent pieces of cardio equipment in my basement--and a nearby park district facility that was cheap ($15 a month) for strength training. The low-impact machines (stairmaster and treadmill) meant I could ramp up my exercise volume without injuring myself.

So I threw myself into my "program" with full commitment and was able to stay rigidly focused. Because of that, I saw pretty quick results--16 lb in the first month. I knew it wasn't all fat and I knew I was losing some lean mass as well, but the positive reinforcement of seeing the scale go down was much more important--I could sort the rest out later. The next month I lost 13 more pounds and now it was "easy". I knew I had a good program going, so I didn't have to worry if I went to a party or relaxed for a meal--I just went back on the "plan" and everything continued on.

Now I am at 53 pounds lost. and I have gone off my blood pressure meds (actually, I did that in April) with no problems. I had my blood retested this week and my blood sugar readings are completely normal, meaning I am no longer considered diabetic (cholesterol was excellent as well, although that's also due to medication and that I probably will never be able to stop). My exercise level has gone up so much I actually have had to force myself to take 1 day off per week because I was developing overtraining symptoms. I have gone from barely being able fo complete a 20 min run of 4 min run/2 min walk at 6.0 mph for the run speed to this week where I ran 90 minutes continuously yesterday at 6.8 mph.

It has changed my life so dramatically, it's hard to explain. The funny thing is that I am still out of work, so I can't really afford to buy new clothes. So I am walking around in my old "fat clothes", looking like some refugee who just got off the boat and whose pants can barely stay on. I plan to lose another 20 pounds or so, and then it will be time for some SERIOUS shopping ;-)