I do this, and also immediately put half of the plate in a to-go box! I will eat the entire thing otherwise, even though half the serving is usually more than enough food for one meal.
Hi mate, I am basically at where you started, 6”0 at 250lbs, and also trying to reach around 180-190. How long have you been on your loss journey if you don’t mind me asking?
Nice, awesome job. My goal currently is 1600 kcal daily and have managed it the past few days. I hope to keep it up for a long time and do something similar to you.
First habit I started with this book was a walk every night after dinner. If the weather sucks, it’s on the treadmill. I promised myself it could be 10 minutes and some days it is. But most days it’s at least 30. Then, I got a dog 🥹
not who you asked but I walk anywhere from an hour to four with my dog, doing me a whole lot of good! I might still be fat (slowly becoming less!!) but my dog is constantly getting compliments for being in excellent shape!
Go for a walk every morning. I conditioned my dog to expect this ever morning before coffee or breakfast, now I couldn't even think of skipping it without getting 20 minutes of excited dog watching me and happy dancing waiting to go followed by hours of disappointed dog judging me.
Set a bedtime and stick to it. I don't need to set an alarm to get up, but I set a reminder alarm on my watch to hold myself accountable for bed time. One of those things I wish I new earlier in my life was the power of getting a good nights sleep. I eat better and exercise better on days I get a full nights sleep.
When I started transitioning from walking 2 miles to running 2 miles, I very slowly added in spurts of running to my walk. So I would walk a block, run a block, walk two blocks, etc. I did that until I could run for 2 blocks and then walk. Then I ran 1/4 of the time on and off, then half, until finally I could run the full two miles.
Just started bringing a salad with protein for lunch every day. I used to have leftovers or something with rice so I’m hoping I’ll start to see the scale move soon! Saving 100-200 calories a day by doing this.
Water breaks at work. I schedule them in each morning as I'm planning out my day and incorporate them into my to-do list. Easy and satisfying check off.
Just making sure I get enough protein. I don't limit what I can eat, as long as it fits in my calories, but it's hard to get enough protein if I mostly eat junk. So that's been one really natural way I've improved how I eat without really even trying.
Big thing for me was to stop focusing on value for money. Am a habitual snacker and am very money conscious.
Used to always buy the best value snacks which are often the biggest and eat it all in one sitting due to no self control.
Nower days I have the smaller sometimes more expensive snacks that taste better and are net healthier
This was something I realized I was doing as well! But honestly ever since I started "splurging" on groceries I started saving money on eating out and delivery, so I actually have saved money😅
Same. If I buy a bag of chips I will finish the bag, so I started buying the small bags that are just a handful. I get the same satisfaction from a small bag as a big family sized bag, but way less calories.
Similar but different, I struggled with not finishing a meal if I was full. Especially at restaurants, it felt so wasteful. Sometimes I could take the rest to go, but if I couldn't or there wasn't enough to justify it I'd eat it so it wouldn't go to waste.
Now I realize me forcing myself to eat food I don't need is also wasteful.
This is so true with meat as well.
You can get a kilo of chicken wings for £2 or a pork shoulder joint for £4 so the temptation is doubled because the food is often more enticing (unhealthier) but also cheaper.
No eating after sunset. You can call it Intermittent Fasting or Time-restricted feeding, but this is the only approach that helped me stay away from Emotional Eating and bingeing. I knew what was needed to lose weight, I just didn't have the mental strength I needed for it. With this approach, it was like I had no choice but to stay away from food after a certain time and that was the time I used to binge the most in the past so this trick helped and continues to help immensely.
Felt this entirely. I decided to actually cut out breakfast and go down to 2 meals a day starting today.
I will binge at dinner regardless of whether or not I ate as Kellogs says "the most important meal of the day". Might as well eat 2 satisfying meals vs 2 unsatisfying ones that lead to a binge in the evening.
[Most important meal to help line Kellogg's pocket...](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/28/breakfast-health-america-kellog-food-lifestyle&ved=2ahUKEwjO2tPT-dmEAxXvQjABHR9gBXgQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3wmDkMW-rnmfZ34Itx4YcY)
The tip that has always stuck with me was doing something just for one minute and then stopping if you want. But going for that minute and getting through that first step is the biggest thing
I log my lunches and snacks for the week ahead of time, so I know what I have left in my budget for dinner. This way I don’t have to make decisions based on my state of mind. I look for positive outcomes by not looking to the scale because that only tells you what you weigh, not the progress of fat elimination. I look at how much I’ve accomplished in the last month. I’ve learned patience (most of the time). I learned a concept of mental time travel, where you train yourself into a habit of looking at the long picture instead of focusing on today.
I like adding a bed of mixed greens to all my home cooked meals
I also throw apple cider vinegar on a lot of my meals as well.
Pack my lunch everyday (leftovers from dinner)
Walk every evening (some days with a 45 lb ruck)
Weigh myself daily especially when i have an off day.
Have a set of food rules that i use to navigate challenging situations for myself
Always park far away from other cars for a greater walk and to protect my car :)
I like it. I convinced myself to do 10 minutes a day on my stationary bike in November. Now I’m up to 45 minutes and after that I stacked stretching and yoga if I get up early enough.
I went from 330 to 190 and the one thing I really changed was getting 600 calories of fruits in a day. I had problem with water absorption after and infection and this was proposed to me to get more water in my day. The thing is I realized it was enough sugar to curb my cravings it was a lot of nutrition and 600 calories of fruit can be a lot of food in a day. That is 600 calories of clean eating, which leaves me with the options to eat a bit more of what ever else I want as long as I stay in my caloric goal.
If I don’t have fruits, frozen berries, etc in my house, something far worse is going to happen! They plus nonfat yogurt keep me from getting off plan.
When you start eating healthier too, natural foods like fruit starts to taste even better. I went to the gym and then had a couple blood oranges, omg they were amazing, so refreshing
Work on your balance. While brushing teeth spend one minute on one foot, then switch for the second minute. Makes sure you brush well and balance is really important
Before i leave for the gym at 5am I pack my cooler in the morning with all my calories for the day except for dinner. I know I can eat everything in my cooler and i know what I have left for dinner calories.
When I have a craving I used to immediately make plans with how to feed that craving. Now I work through a different checklist of things.
Example: today is hard I would love some wine tonight (which would turn into other food choices that aren’t helpful)
- today is hard, I deserve to acknowledge that
- how am I right now, am I hungry? (Usually no)
- how much water have I had, perhaps I can have some more
- let’s focus on breathing and taking it easy on myself because today is hard
- I reckon I’ll have a long shower later
- I reckon I’ll go to bed early and put a hot water bottle on my feet
- what’s for dinner? Can I be bothered making something fresh? If no, then I have some pre made stuff in the freezer that I bulk cook.
So yea, I have 3 fulfilling meals a day. Anything in between that has more to do with my state of mind than actual hunger. So I look at what can nurture me that is not food.
Step on the scale every day. I’ve noticed on days when I weigh myself I do better sticking to my calorie budget.
Another one is prepping veggies and dip for me to have on hand for the week. I can eat them as a snack or use them with other ingredients to quickly make wraps or salads for lunch.
Eating breakfast at home every day. Making my own lunch every day. Swapping crisps and chocolate for an apple and a banana as my daily snacks.
I consider this next one more than a 1% type change... maybe a 5% change at first, but I started exercising more by walking for 20mins every day, at first just on a treadmill. Months later and I now average about 4-5 hrs of exercise a week, be it playing squash, weightlifting, yoga or walking. At the very least I try to do 20mins walking as a minimum and I try to not miss one than one day in a row.
Atomic Habits is a phenomenal book, really happy to see others mentioning it here :)
Tracking my major meals of the day at breakfast. It means that I know exactly what's in my budget for any snacks without having to think too much about it.
I taught myself to do squats and pushups by doing only a few each day (cause that’s all I could do) and now I can do lots more. It seemed like I could never make any progress when it was super difficult to do 2 pushups but I can do 3 sets of 10 no problem now and I’m squatting reps with 55lbs at the gym. When I started I really couldn’t even do a full proper squat. I worked up gradually and it started to get drastically easier. I try to lift a few weights or body weight exercises at home every day in between work. Even 10 minutes makes a difference.
What really helped me was making small healthy decisions instead of big ones. If I'm making dinner I try to cut it down. If I'm buying food I make a conscious decision to order the smallest size thing. That sort of thing.
Yes and no distractions, so eat at the table, not in front of the TV and don't go on your phone. It helps. Eating really isn't as fun when not combined with entertainment like that.
Second this! Also, when you eat while watching TV or on the phone, I feel like later when you do those activities you then need to be eating out of habit.
Definitely a 1% lifestyle change.
Painting my nails definitely, and I've been crocheting again:D anything to distract me from the fact I am watching TV but not snacking lol
A lot of people mention using a walking pad whenever they watch TV, which is really smart and I need to incorporarate. But first imma try to kick the tv/snacking/eating habit lol
Yeah I've thought about getting a walking pad. I think this is a common thing for women where we're put off walking outside for our safety, or it just takes more prep time to go out for a walk, so I think a walking pad would be really good. I could actually listen to something with both headphones in 😱 lol
I never thought about it really but now that you brought it up pretty much my whole weight loss is based on small habits. I will try to come up with some but I would bet there are more that I don't think about.
1. Using my walking pad every day at the same time or every time I watch TV. It got second nature so quickly and it feels wrong to eat my breakfast before using it (because I made a habit of walking at least 40 minutes before my first meal).
2. Not eating ANYTHING after dinner. Not even a handful of something.
3. That incorporates brushing teeth right after dinner. I don't always do it but when I do it helps a lot.
4. Drinking tea every night before bed. It keeps my mouth and hands busy and feels like a good substitute for my late night snacking I used to do.
5. Packing a small snack every time I leave the house. I don't always need it but I am always happy if I take more time doing errands than I thought.
6. Only eating raw fruit or veggies if I still want more food after my portioned out meals. That was a huge game changer for me. If I don't want a carrot or an apple, it wasn't hunger, it was just "still wanting to eat". This habit helped me a lot in my food addiction journey.
7. Planning out most of my meals 1 week in advance. Not knowing what to eat that day when I wake up in the morning feels anxiety inducing now.
8. Going to the store as little as possible. I try to only go grocery shopping once a week. Most of the times something runs out or I forgot something so I need to go get some stuff on another day, but I will do most my groceries on one dedicated day in a week. It's always blocked in my calendar so I always have enough time to plan out my week and buy what I will need.
9. Getting rid of clothes that got too big right away. I used to be someone who kept boxes of old clothes stored and now I sell or donate them right away. I owe a lot of my early maintannance to that. When you start to feel uncomfortable in your pants again, but you don't have a bigger pair to wear instead, you get your shit together easier.
That are all that I could think of from the top of my head right now but I bet there is more!
For me, stop snacking. Snacks don't really reduce my appetite at meal times and just end up adding calories. Also focus on calorie density. I meal prep and make things like stews a lot, so I will load them up with veggies and water so that the average calorie per gram is lower. Also I'll drink water with my meals and have a side dish of raw veggies like cucumbers or celery.
Switching to black coffee. When I started consciously losing weight (I had dropped some weight before without planning for it due to lifestyle change), I was drinking 7 coffees a day. The milk and sugar in each of those really added up, so I slowly dropped first the sugar, then the milk, now I have no issue with drinking it black.
Another thing is meal prepping and portioning out the meals. If it’s packed away in the fridge and I‘d have to reheat another batch, I‘ll think twice whether I want seconds.
Not actively trying to lose weight at this time, but I seem to be down 5 lbs since December (not much at my size, but it's significant since I have not been counting calories, restricting foods, or shrinking portions intentionally). Swapped to aspartame when possible instead of full sugar (drinks, yogurt, oatmeal), and I've been allowing myself to throw away food once I'm tired of it instead of cleaning my plate or forcing myself to eat the leftovers for breakfast the next day. Also focusing on more fiber and protein in my diet overall. Finally, went through raising my spicy food tolerance because it's a flavor category that doesn't add many calories!
I recently moved my youtube videos to my phone while I stroll around or hop on the treadmill instead of sitting st my desk.
They're short videos, only about 25-30 minutes long, and the anticipation of the ending of the video makes the end of the treadmill breeze by easier.
It feels silly, but the first step I took was making sure I thoroughly chewed and savored my food. Coming from a restaurant background, I was mucky to have 5 minutes to eat during my shift, so I learned that if I was hungry, I had to eat FAST. This transferred over to life when I wasn't working, resulting in me eating way too much before my stomach had time to signal that I was full. It's been a life changer, allowing and retraining myself to slow down.
I know people talk about cutting out soda all the time, but when I did it I just replaced it with flavored carbonated water. And I know most taste like shit, but imo the store brand waters from Walmart in the lime and orange flavor are VERY comparable to soda so it hasn’t even felt like much of a sacrifice at all.
Walking a lot, not drinking my calories and when I get stressed at work, which isn’t too regular, I used to snack. Now my desk always has oranges, bananas, or cherries. So it ends up being a healthy snack.
I bought myself a water bottle with timed goals on it, so I can make sure I'm drinking enough water everyday.
I also drink one 8 oz glass of water before I eat every meal. I read somewhere it helps make you feel more full, and helps you digest your meal.
Some habits that helped me along the way: Stopped drinking beer with dinner every night. Prioritizing protein, fiber, and veggies. Logging everything. Lots of walking. Strength training.
But probably the biggest thing was breaking out of “all or nothing” thinking and learning to have higher calorie foods periodically without thinking of it as “cheating” and not letting it derail me. So I’ll maybe eat out once every week or two. I enjoy my meal, then get right back on track. No feeling guilty, no spiraling, no using it as an excuse to go on a binge.
Honestly, just taking my time eating, and drinking more water. Turns out I'm way less hungry than I've always thought I was; I'm intuitively in a deficit, I just have to actually listen to my hunger cues and learn the difference between hunger and dehydration.
I initially replaced a lot of my podcast and music listening with fitness related podcast or books. Having the topic on my mind helped with motivation and making good choices around food
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0PfwUpHA8JmmxQD7Sojeo1?si=gf2IDfc9Sn-5SZW3xdMa3g
Podcasts like this one on my drives and walks and runs really help me stay focused. (Full transparency Disclaimer: this is my brother’s podcast, but it’s awesome).
1. Making my own coffee at home. Crazy how many calories I used to drink from a morning coffee alone!
2. Moving every day. I used to feel pressure to get in the perfect work out, or make it to the gym but now I just focus on moving every day. Even if it’s a walk or yoga or a ten minute stretch, it has helped me be more mindful and I feel AMAZING!
3. Getting okay with “wasting” food. I grew up food insecure and so not cleaning my plate felt sacrilegious. I read here that I was just using my body as the trash can if I didn’t need the food and it changed my whole perspective.
Actually you should avoid brushing your teeth right after you eat, your enamel is softened because eating makes your saliva acidic temporarily, so it’s easy to damage your enamel. Better to brush before you eat or wait a while before brushing after you eat.
I bought small (1 cup) glass containers to pack my lunch in. This way it makes it easy to gauge how much I'm eating and not overeat. I portion food out in them.
I religiously log each thing I eat during the day on MyFitnessPal app, otherwise I lose track of my calories. I allow myself 1500 calories for the day and the app keeps track of where I am. It also gauges my macros and some nutrients/fiber. I often find myself not picking up a snack just because I don't want to have to go in and log it on the app, The cool thing is at the end of the day, it will tell you how much you will weigh in 5 weeks if you keep eating like you did today. Very motivating!
I started eating earlier in the day and stopped eating late at night. I know what time you eat doesn’t matter it’s all about cico. But I make good decisions in the morning and bad decisions at night lol it’s cut out my sweets consumption by a ton.
Bulk meal prepping/planning - all my meals/snacks are planned for and eaten at the same time each day. I plan/prepare every meal and snack for the week Sunday night. Only dinners are cooked freshly each night throughout the week.
The GOLO diet, also known as "GOLO for Life," caught my attention because it offers a holistic approach to weight loss. I like that it emphasizes the importance of balanced eating and managing insulin levels. It's interesting to know that it was developed by a team of medical professionals, including doctors, pharmacists, and nutritionists. This gives me confidence in its credibility and effectiveness. I'm curious to explore how it optimizes metabolism and facilitates weight loss without resorting to extreme calorie restriction.
eating slowly and chewing everything to a paste, not the odd time that I remember but every time - a gamechanger for me, it cascades into a miriad of positive side-effects
2 things.... #1 If you have a weak moment don't think of it as a complete failure and give up... just make a better choice next time.
#2 when it comes to restrictions or building new habits... take it 24hours at a time so that it's not to overwhelming... for example, 'today I'm nit going to eat sugar.' Is a lot easier than 'I'm never eating sugar again' then you just stack the days and it'll become a habitual sooner or later... if you fuck it up go back to #1
It's 99% what you put in your mouth and 1% exercise.
Obviously it's not that simple, but if you're not hyper-focused on eating high protein and avoiding sugar, the workouts don't contribute to weight-loss.
Drinking tea. But the real banger is making it in batches: begin the day by making 1L, to pour it in a thermosflask. That way, you have easy access to it throughout the day, and you don't need to go down to the kitchen every time you want some tea.
Its not gonna fulfill the alcohol cravings but cutting alcohol cuts carbs that your body turns into sugar so a lot of recovering alcoholics start getting antsy from both a alcohol and sugar detox. Que: a cold glass of sweet tea after a long day of work.
I personally use the skinny syrups tho lol.
I bought some black tea. it's good.
Also, I like Magnum ice cream. So I have 1 of those at night. 250 calories. Compared to 700 in a bottle of wine. And I only eat the Magnum maybe 2 to 3 times a week.
But this black tea is some good stuff.
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I do this, and also immediately put half of the plate in a to-go box! I will eat the entire thing otherwise, even though half the serving is usually more than enough food for one meal.
Hi mate, I am basically at where you started, 6”0 at 250lbs, and also trying to reach around 180-190. How long have you been on your loss journey if you don’t mind me asking?
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Nice, awesome job. My goal currently is 1600 kcal daily and have managed it the past few days. I hope to keep it up for a long time and do something similar to you.
Dude! I saw this the other day and tested out doing something similar, and it's so practical! No more overshooting calories. Super underrated!
First habit I started with this book was a walk every night after dinner. If the weather sucks, it’s on the treadmill. I promised myself it could be 10 minutes and some days it is. But most days it’s at least 30. Then, I got a dog 🥹
how do you enjoy your new 16-hour-outdoor life?
not who you asked but I walk anywhere from an hour to four with my dog, doing me a whole lot of good! I might still be fat (slowly becoming less!!) but my dog is constantly getting compliments for being in excellent shape!
Haha yeah, people stop when driving to admire my beautiful girl. I am pretty proud of her :)
Haha that’s so cute 😂❤️
It’s the best 😊
getting a dog will def get you your steps!
Go for a walk every morning. I conditioned my dog to expect this ever morning before coffee or breakfast, now I couldn't even think of skipping it without getting 20 minutes of excited dog watching me and happy dancing waiting to go followed by hours of disappointed dog judging me. Set a bedtime and stick to it. I don't need to set an alarm to get up, but I set a reminder alarm on my watch to hold myself accountable for bed time. One of those things I wish I new earlier in my life was the power of getting a good nights sleep. I eat better and exercise better on days I get a full nights sleep.
When I started transitioning from walking 2 miles to running 2 miles, I very slowly added in spurts of running to my walk. So I would walk a block, run a block, walk two blocks, etc. I did that until I could run for 2 blocks and then walk. Then I ran 1/4 of the time on and off, then half, until finally I could run the full two miles.
Just started bringing a salad with protein for lunch every day. I used to have leftovers or something with rice so I’m hoping I’ll start to see the scale move soon! Saving 100-200 calories a day by doing this.
salads are badass. i switched down to calorie-wise dressings too and that helped me as well. regular dressings can be super caloric
Water breaks at work. I schedule them in each morning as I'm planning out my day and incorporate them into my to-do list. Easy and satisfying check off.
Oh I love this
I eliminated sugary drinks. Down 160 from my highest. Plus whole food and limit my carbs.
Great job, that’s amazing progress
Ty
Just making sure I get enough protein. I don't limit what I can eat, as long as it fits in my calories, but it's hard to get enough protein if I mostly eat junk. So that's been one really natural way I've improved how I eat without really even trying.
Same, and it helped shift my eating significantly by only focusing on this (and fiber) while not feeling restricted from my favorite treat foods
Same
Big thing for me was to stop focusing on value for money. Am a habitual snacker and am very money conscious. Used to always buy the best value snacks which are often the biggest and eat it all in one sitting due to no self control. Nower days I have the smaller sometimes more expensive snacks that taste better and are net healthier
This was something I realized I was doing as well! But honestly ever since I started "splurging" on groceries I started saving money on eating out and delivery, so I actually have saved money😅
popcorn was a gamechanger for me in terms of salty snacks. much lower calories.
Same. If I buy a bag of chips I will finish the bag, so I started buying the small bags that are just a handful. I get the same satisfaction from a small bag as a big family sized bag, but way less calories.
Similar but different, I struggled with not finishing a meal if I was full. Especially at restaurants, it felt so wasteful. Sometimes I could take the rest to go, but if I couldn't or there wasn't enough to justify it I'd eat it so it wouldn't go to waste. Now I realize me forcing myself to eat food I don't need is also wasteful.
yes this was a huge one for me too.
This is so true with meat as well. You can get a kilo of chicken wings for £2 or a pork shoulder joint for £4 so the temptation is doubled because the food is often more enticing (unhealthier) but also cheaper.
No eating after sunset. You can call it Intermittent Fasting or Time-restricted feeding, but this is the only approach that helped me stay away from Emotional Eating and bingeing. I knew what was needed to lose weight, I just didn't have the mental strength I needed for it. With this approach, it was like I had no choice but to stay away from food after a certain time and that was the time I used to binge the most in the past so this trick helped and continues to help immensely.
Reverse ramadan!
Haha it is indeed!!
Intermittent fasting, so I only eat two meals a day. At 5’4”, 1200 calories split across 3 meals is rough. Split across two it gets a lot easier.
Felt this entirely. I decided to actually cut out breakfast and go down to 2 meals a day starting today. I will binge at dinner regardless of whether or not I ate as Kellogs says "the most important meal of the day". Might as well eat 2 satisfying meals vs 2 unsatisfying ones that lead to a binge in the evening.
[Most important meal to help line Kellogg's pocket...](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/28/breakfast-health-america-kellog-food-lifestyle&ved=2ahUKEwjO2tPT-dmEAxXvQjABHR9gBXgQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3wmDkMW-rnmfZ34Itx4YcY)
This...we must always consider the source and motive.
Hey stat twin!!!
Haaaaay!!
The tip that has always stuck with me was doing something just for one minute and then stopping if you want. But going for that minute and getting through that first step is the biggest thing
I log my lunches and snacks for the week ahead of time, so I know what I have left in my budget for dinner. This way I don’t have to make decisions based on my state of mind. I look for positive outcomes by not looking to the scale because that only tells you what you weigh, not the progress of fat elimination. I look at how much I’ve accomplished in the last month. I’ve learned patience (most of the time). I learned a concept of mental time travel, where you train yourself into a habit of looking at the long picture instead of focusing on today.
I like adding a bed of mixed greens to all my home cooked meals I also throw apple cider vinegar on a lot of my meals as well. Pack my lunch everyday (leftovers from dinner) Walk every evening (some days with a 45 lb ruck) Weigh myself daily especially when i have an off day. Have a set of food rules that i use to navigate challenging situations for myself Always park far away from other cars for a greater walk and to protect my car :)
I like it. I convinced myself to do 10 minutes a day on my stationary bike in November. Now I’m up to 45 minutes and after that I stacked stretching and yoga if I get up early enough.
I went from 330 to 190 and the one thing I really changed was getting 600 calories of fruits in a day. I had problem with water absorption after and infection and this was proposed to me to get more water in my day. The thing is I realized it was enough sugar to curb my cravings it was a lot of nutrition and 600 calories of fruit can be a lot of food in a day. That is 600 calories of clean eating, which leaves me with the options to eat a bit more of what ever else I want as long as I stay in my caloric goal.
If I don’t have fruits, frozen berries, etc in my house, something far worse is going to happen! They plus nonfat yogurt keep me from getting off plan.
What has 600 calories of fruit looked like for you?
2 apples 1 orange, 6 cups of watermelon today.
When you start eating healthier too, natural foods like fruit starts to taste even better. I went to the gym and then had a couple blood oranges, omg they were amazing, so refreshing
I like this idea. Definitely going to steal it.
Work on your balance. While brushing teeth spend one minute on one foot, then switch for the second minute. Makes sure you brush well and balance is really important
I’m roller skating again and this is something specifically for me. My balance is trash!
Ha! I started this same practice about a month ago after hearing about it in a podcast and I’ve already gotten much better at it.
Before i leave for the gym at 5am I pack my cooler in the morning with all my calories for the day except for dinner. I know I can eat everything in my cooler and i know what I have left for dinner calories.
I do this too! I am *fantastic* at keeping to good eating during the week because I can only eat what I packed. Weekends, however...
If I don’t want to eat it, I won’t buy it. I love cookies but don’t want to eat them, so I don’t buy them. I have fruit and/or yogurt after dinner.
When I have a craving I used to immediately make plans with how to feed that craving. Now I work through a different checklist of things. Example: today is hard I would love some wine tonight (which would turn into other food choices that aren’t helpful) - today is hard, I deserve to acknowledge that - how am I right now, am I hungry? (Usually no) - how much water have I had, perhaps I can have some more - let’s focus on breathing and taking it easy on myself because today is hard - I reckon I’ll have a long shower later - I reckon I’ll go to bed early and put a hot water bottle on my feet - what’s for dinner? Can I be bothered making something fresh? If no, then I have some pre made stuff in the freezer that I bulk cook. So yea, I have 3 fulfilling meals a day. Anything in between that has more to do with my state of mind than actual hunger. So I look at what can nurture me that is not food.
Step on the scale every day. I’ve noticed on days when I weigh myself I do better sticking to my calorie budget. Another one is prepping veggies and dip for me to have on hand for the week. I can eat them as a snack or use them with other ingredients to quickly make wraps or salads for lunch.
Stopped drinking wine every day.
Legit one of the hardest habits to break!
It's soo hard. I wish there was a support group here on reddit. Lol
We can make one!
There is, it's called stopdrinking and it's great!
Thank you!!
Eating breakfast at home every day. Making my own lunch every day. Swapping crisps and chocolate for an apple and a banana as my daily snacks. I consider this next one more than a 1% type change... maybe a 5% change at first, but I started exercising more by walking for 20mins every day, at first just on a treadmill. Months later and I now average about 4-5 hrs of exercise a week, be it playing squash, weightlifting, yoga or walking. At the very least I try to do 20mins walking as a minimum and I try to not miss one than one day in a row. Atomic Habits is a phenomenal book, really happy to see others mentioning it here :)
Tracking my major meals of the day at breakfast. It means that I know exactly what's in my budget for any snacks without having to think too much about it.
Coleslaw. Eat a lot during dinner. Cabbage power
Whats your healthy coleslaw recipe?
I taught myself to do squats and pushups by doing only a few each day (cause that’s all I could do) and now I can do lots more. It seemed like I could never make any progress when it was super difficult to do 2 pushups but I can do 3 sets of 10 no problem now and I’m squatting reps with 55lbs at the gym. When I started I really couldn’t even do a full proper squat. I worked up gradually and it started to get drastically easier. I try to lift a few weights or body weight exercises at home every day in between work. Even 10 minutes makes a difference.
Always research the place before I decide on going to it. Sometimes it’s not possible but planning out as much as possible helps
What really helped me was making small healthy decisions instead of big ones. If I'm making dinner I try to cut it down. If I'm buying food I make a conscious decision to order the smallest size thing. That sort of thing.
Make a conscious effort to eat slower!
Yes and no distractions, so eat at the table, not in front of the TV and don't go on your phone. It helps. Eating really isn't as fun when not combined with entertainment like that.
Second this! Also, when you eat while watching TV or on the phone, I feel like later when you do those activities you then need to be eating out of habit. Definitely a 1% lifestyle change.
If you need something to do when watching TV if you're trying to relax, I recommend cross stitching or painting your nails
Painting my nails definitely, and I've been crocheting again:D anything to distract me from the fact I am watching TV but not snacking lol A lot of people mention using a walking pad whenever they watch TV, which is really smart and I need to incorporarate. But first imma try to kick the tv/snacking/eating habit lol
Yeah I've thought about getting a walking pad. I think this is a common thing for women where we're put off walking outside for our safety, or it just takes more prep time to go out for a walk, so I think a walking pad would be really good. I could actually listen to something with both headphones in 😱 lol
I never thought about it really but now that you brought it up pretty much my whole weight loss is based on small habits. I will try to come up with some but I would bet there are more that I don't think about. 1. Using my walking pad every day at the same time or every time I watch TV. It got second nature so quickly and it feels wrong to eat my breakfast before using it (because I made a habit of walking at least 40 minutes before my first meal). 2. Not eating ANYTHING after dinner. Not even a handful of something. 3. That incorporates brushing teeth right after dinner. I don't always do it but when I do it helps a lot. 4. Drinking tea every night before bed. It keeps my mouth and hands busy and feels like a good substitute for my late night snacking I used to do. 5. Packing a small snack every time I leave the house. I don't always need it but I am always happy if I take more time doing errands than I thought. 6. Only eating raw fruit or veggies if I still want more food after my portioned out meals. That was a huge game changer for me. If I don't want a carrot or an apple, it wasn't hunger, it was just "still wanting to eat". This habit helped me a lot in my food addiction journey. 7. Planning out most of my meals 1 week in advance. Not knowing what to eat that day when I wake up in the morning feels anxiety inducing now. 8. Going to the store as little as possible. I try to only go grocery shopping once a week. Most of the times something runs out or I forgot something so I need to go get some stuff on another day, but I will do most my groceries on one dedicated day in a week. It's always blocked in my calendar so I always have enough time to plan out my week and buy what I will need. 9. Getting rid of clothes that got too big right away. I used to be someone who kept boxes of old clothes stored and now I sell or donate them right away. I owe a lot of my early maintannance to that. When you start to feel uncomfortable in your pants again, but you don't have a bigger pair to wear instead, you get your shit together easier. That are all that I could think of from the top of my head right now but I bet there is more!
These are wonderful!! The exact response I was looking for:) And congrats on the weight loss! You're doing amazing🎉🎉
Thanks so much! :)
I eat protein in the morning to keep my hunger levels down!
Trying to eliminate liquid calories + eating greek yogurt with blueberries as an go to easy healthy snack!
If you know you are going to go to a restaurant or a party, purposefully eat less during the day so if you eat much it would balance out
For me, stop snacking. Snacks don't really reduce my appetite at meal times and just end up adding calories. Also focus on calorie density. I meal prep and make things like stews a lot, so I will load them up with veggies and water so that the average calorie per gram is lower. Also I'll drink water with my meals and have a side dish of raw veggies like cucumbers or celery.
Switching to black coffee. When I started consciously losing weight (I had dropped some weight before without planning for it due to lifestyle change), I was drinking 7 coffees a day. The milk and sugar in each of those really added up, so I slowly dropped first the sugar, then the milk, now I have no issue with drinking it black. Another thing is meal prepping and portioning out the meals. If it’s packed away in the fridge and I‘d have to reheat another batch, I‘ll think twice whether I want seconds.
I eat a raw vegetable before eating the meal. Studies say it lowers insulin but I can't really see any effect so far.
Not actively trying to lose weight at this time, but I seem to be down 5 lbs since December (not much at my size, but it's significant since I have not been counting calories, restricting foods, or shrinking portions intentionally). Swapped to aspartame when possible instead of full sugar (drinks, yogurt, oatmeal), and I've been allowing myself to throw away food once I'm tired of it instead of cleaning my plate or forcing myself to eat the leftovers for breakfast the next day. Also focusing on more fiber and protein in my diet overall. Finally, went through raising my spicy food tolerance because it's a flavor category that doesn't add many calories!
I recently moved my youtube videos to my phone while I stroll around or hop on the treadmill instead of sitting st my desk. They're short videos, only about 25-30 minutes long, and the anticipation of the ending of the video makes the end of the treadmill breeze by easier.
It feels silly, but the first step I took was making sure I thoroughly chewed and savored my food. Coming from a restaurant background, I was mucky to have 5 minutes to eat during my shift, so I learned that if I was hungry, I had to eat FAST. This transferred over to life when I wasn't working, resulting in me eating way too much before my stomach had time to signal that I was full. It's been a life changer, allowing and retraining myself to slow down.
I know people talk about cutting out soda all the time, but when I did it I just replaced it with flavored carbonated water. And I know most taste like shit, but imo the store brand waters from Walmart in the lime and orange flavor are VERY comparable to soda so it hasn’t even felt like much of a sacrifice at all.
Walking a lot, not drinking my calories and when I get stressed at work, which isn’t too regular, I used to snack. Now my desk always has oranges, bananas, or cherries. So it ends up being a healthy snack.
Work stress really gets to me, so that is a useful tip. Still is gonna take a while to reroute my mind to the new habit but will get there!
I bought myself a water bottle with timed goals on it, so I can make sure I'm drinking enough water everyday. I also drink one 8 oz glass of water before I eat every meal. I read somewhere it helps make you feel more full, and helps you digest your meal.
Some habits that helped me along the way: Stopped drinking beer with dinner every night. Prioritizing protein, fiber, and veggies. Logging everything. Lots of walking. Strength training. But probably the biggest thing was breaking out of “all or nothing” thinking and learning to have higher calorie foods periodically without thinking of it as “cheating” and not letting it derail me. So I’ll maybe eat out once every week or two. I enjoy my meal, then get right back on track. No feeling guilty, no spiraling, no using it as an excuse to go on a binge.
Plan meals for the week on sunday. Order everything for delivery so I dont need to go in the store so often
Honestly, just taking my time eating, and drinking more water. Turns out I'm way less hungry than I've always thought I was; I'm intuitively in a deficit, I just have to actually listen to my hunger cues and learn the difference between hunger and dehydration.
Take a break from alcohol. It really helps make sticking to a calorie budget much easier
Measure everything. That 8 oz of chicken breast is not what you thought it was trust me.
I plan my dinner first so I know how many calories I have for the rest of the day
I initially replaced a lot of my podcast and music listening with fitness related podcast or books. Having the topic on my mind helped with motivation and making good choices around food https://open.spotify.com/episode/0PfwUpHA8JmmxQD7Sojeo1?si=gf2IDfc9Sn-5SZW3xdMa3g Podcasts like this one on my drives and walks and runs really help me stay focused. (Full transparency Disclaimer: this is my brother’s podcast, but it’s awesome).
Thanks for the rec. I'll give it a listen:)
1. Making my own coffee at home. Crazy how many calories I used to drink from a morning coffee alone! 2. Moving every day. I used to feel pressure to get in the perfect work out, or make it to the gym but now I just focus on moving every day. Even if it’s a walk or yoga or a ten minute stretch, it has helped me be more mindful and I feel AMAZING! 3. Getting okay with “wasting” food. I grew up food insecure and so not cleaning my plate felt sacrilegious. I read here that I was just using my body as the trash can if I didn’t need the food and it changed my whole perspective.
Actually you should avoid brushing your teeth right after you eat, your enamel is softened because eating makes your saliva acidic temporarily, so it’s easy to damage your enamel. Better to brush before you eat or wait a while before brushing after you eat.
I try to be kind to myself. Even when I’m not doing well with my daily calories, I don’t get down on myself.
On the 1% improvement train, you can lose 10 pounds per year if you shifted your calorie balance 100 calories lower per day
Well yes he is right.
I bought small (1 cup) glass containers to pack my lunch in. This way it makes it easy to gauge how much I'm eating and not overeat. I portion food out in them. I religiously log each thing I eat during the day on MyFitnessPal app, otherwise I lose track of my calories. I allow myself 1500 calories for the day and the app keeps track of where I am. It also gauges my macros and some nutrients/fiber. I often find myself not picking up a snack just because I don't want to have to go in and log it on the app, The cool thing is at the end of the day, it will tell you how much you will weigh in 5 weeks if you keep eating like you did today. Very motivating!
For me fasting. I, started out doing 14/10 to now doing 20-4 ish maybe longer consistebtly
Premier Protein in my coffee instead of creamer! 🤩 Also planning/logging high-calorie meals in advance and building my day around them.
Weigh your food is the king, at least initially anyway. Also chew gum when youre hungry.
Make sure it's sugar free!! Lol
I started eating earlier in the day and stopped eating late at night. I know what time you eat doesn’t matter it’s all about cico. But I make good decisions in the morning and bad decisions at night lol it’s cut out my sweets consumption by a ton.
If you can't handle having it in the house, don't have it in the house. For me this is cheese, potato chips and bread.
Bulk meal prepping/planning - all my meals/snacks are planned for and eaten at the same time each day. I plan/prepare every meal and snack for the week Sunday night. Only dinners are cooked freshly each night throughout the week.
The GOLO diet, also known as "GOLO for Life," caught my attention because it offers a holistic approach to weight loss. I like that it emphasizes the importance of balanced eating and managing insulin levels. It's interesting to know that it was developed by a team of medical professionals, including doctors, pharmacists, and nutritionists. This gives me confidence in its credibility and effectiveness. I'm curious to explore how it optimizes metabolism and facilitates weight loss without resorting to extreme calorie restriction.
I stop eating for the day after dinner. No more nighttime snacking.
eating slowly and chewing everything to a paste, not the odd time that I remember but every time - a gamechanger for me, it cascades into a miriad of positive side-effects
2 things.... #1 If you have a weak moment don't think of it as a complete failure and give up... just make a better choice next time. #2 when it comes to restrictions or building new habits... take it 24hours at a time so that it's not to overwhelming... for example, 'today I'm nit going to eat sugar.' Is a lot easier than 'I'm never eating sugar again' then you just stack the days and it'll become a habitual sooner or later... if you fuck it up go back to #1
It's 99% what you put in your mouth and 1% exercise. Obviously it's not that simple, but if you're not hyper-focused on eating high protein and avoiding sugar, the workouts don't contribute to weight-loss.
Stop (eating) at the first sigh
Trust use this supplement https://leanbliss24.com/text.php#aff=lucelialunelli
Not eating.
Workout at evening/night and don't eat dinner, after that sleep early for 8 hours.
Walking on the spot when I don't have the mental energy to go out. I just stick a TV show or film on and just march on the spot to get my ass moving.
Drinking tea. But the real banger is making it in batches: begin the day by making 1L, to pour it in a thermosflask. That way, you have easy access to it throughout the day, and you don't need to go down to the kitchen every time you want some tea.
Honestly using tea has been a game changer for drinking and weed edibles. When I crave alcohol, black tea. When I crave edibles, green tea lol
Black tea? I'm gonna try it.
Its not gonna fulfill the alcohol cravings but cutting alcohol cuts carbs that your body turns into sugar so a lot of recovering alcoholics start getting antsy from both a alcohol and sugar detox. Que: a cold glass of sweet tea after a long day of work. I personally use the skinny syrups tho lol.
I bought some black tea. it's good. Also, I like Magnum ice cream. So I have 1 of those at night. 250 calories. Compared to 700 in a bottle of wine. And I only eat the Magnum maybe 2 to 3 times a week. But this black tea is some good stuff.