r/PetiteFitness • u/Wintermom • Sep 21 '23
What is One small change you made to your workout/diet/whatever that has made a big difference? Little Wins
We aren’t all built the same mentally and physically, so I thought it would be fun to see what little change you made in your life that has made a bigger difference than you thought
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u/PandaPartyPack Sep 21 '23
Getting more quality sleep. After I started exercising more, I was like “Why am I so tired?!” Turns out I need 7-9 hours now instead of 6-7.
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u/HoaryPuffleg Sep 21 '23
This was gonna be mine. I'm not sure there are many people who can make positive long-term changes without adequate sleep. Our body needs it, don't fight it. Read Why We Sleep by Walker if you want to become a fellow sleep cheerleader.
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u/Rosemarysage5 Sep 21 '23
People have given me SO MUCH grief over my lifetime for needing 7-9 hours of sleep. But now I’m almost 50 and I look great! NEVER skip your sleep!
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u/AlertParticular7695 Sep 21 '23
Walking at least 5 days a week. I was only slightly overweight and now I am not.
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u/West_Self_7280 Sep 21 '23
I've been walking only 30 mins every morning. But at a fast pace with some hills. For a long time (2 years or so) I couldn't walk for longer than 10 mins without pain due to a hip problem. Since being able to go for daily walks again, my overall fitness just skyrocketed.
My lifting and 1-2x a week cardio cycle sessions feel so much easier.
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u/funsizedaisy Sep 21 '23
i love walking too but i completely stopped when summer hit. it reached 115+ for several days straight here. it's just barely now reaching a point where i can take my daily walks again. idk what i'm gonna do by summer next year 😅 i have insomnia so waking up early, to walk when it's cooler, is out of the question.
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u/ThatThreesome Sep 21 '23
Same here in TX lots of 110*+ days. I either walk on a treadmill at the gym, walk at the mall (or a big store like Home Depot), or my favorite is walking at attractions like museums / exhibits / aquariums.
Our local zoos also do a lot to keep the area cool (shade, fans, misters) so sometimes I'll go there just to walk in a safe environment.
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u/funsizedaisy Sep 21 '23
i've done malls but it's just not the same. the reason i enjoy walks is because i get to go outside. i tried switching to swimming this summer but idk wtf happened 😂 i got soooo lazy this summer and ended up doing nothing. i really want 2024 to finally be the year i exercise consistently though so i think i'll do more swimming once it's too hot to walk.
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u/ThatThreesome Sep 21 '23
I tried swimming, too. I realized it was too much of a hassle to keep up with lol And painfully boring after awhile just doing laps!
I also don't think malls are the same but I walk for health benefits so I try to keep it up! I love listening to an audiobook while strolling around window shopping.
Summers are brutal on my fitness levels 😅
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u/funsizedaisy Sep 21 '23
i like to walk for mental health and walking outside had the best results. i get anxiety inside shops so the mall doesn't benefit me the same way :/ plus i end up wanting to eat junk food in the food court and spending money on clothes i won't wear lol
i find swimming kind of a hassle too but i'd rather do that than walk at a mall. swimming makes me feel sleepy which is a bonus for my insomnia. i just gotta stop being lazy come next summer.
Summers are brutal on my fitness levels 😅
and mental health! it's basically seasonal depression. can't go outside and enjoy fresh air because it burns 😭
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u/SugarHives Sep 21 '23
Summer is my hardest time too. This year I decided to just accept it and just try and be consistent to get through and not beat myself up about it. Now that fall is here I am so ready.
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u/funsizedaisy Sep 21 '23
This Friday will be my first time being able to take a walk and I'm so excited 😁
I'm hoping to stay consistent enough that by the time summer rolls around again it won't be too bad.
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u/AlertParticular7695 Sep 23 '23
I live in the south too. If I waited to late like past 9 am I would die.
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u/mermaidunderwater Sep 21 '23
Making sure I get enough fiber. I don’t get as bloated anymore and my high cholesterol went down to a healthy level at my last physical.
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u/trashconnaisseur Sep 21 '23
Yes! And probiotics have also helped my bloating a lot.
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u/funsizedaisy Sep 21 '23
i was just considering adding these to my daily routine. i get so bloated. have they helped a lot? which ones do you use?
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u/trashconnaisseur Sep 21 '23 edited Sep 21 '23
I only use the pill kind for a month, every few /two months or so. Idk where you live but I find these in the pharmacy. But i also eat probiotic yogurt every day —that is the easiest way for me to add protein and probiotics while still satisfying that dessert craving.
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u/theeyesdontlie Sep 21 '23
This is so awesome and underrated! If anyone has a hard time getting enough fiber, see if you can find Carbonauts bread. 1 slice is like half your daily recommended amount of fiber.
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u/m0neymochi Sep 21 '23
I also recommend Benefiber (or Costco's equivalent Optifiber)! I add it to my water/drink everyday and it's tasteless.
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u/Peachytesla Sep 21 '23
What foods did you start eating .
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u/mermaidunderwater Sep 21 '23
My go-to ways to get my fiber in: - fruit and veggie smoothie (~9g fiber) - high fiber fruit as a snack (pear, apple, mango) - Inked Keto bread. 45 calories and 10g fiber in 1 slice! I like to add avocado to it, which adds another 10g fiber. Just the toast with avocado alone gets me almost fully to my fiber goal for the day. - veggie sides with meals - hot chocolate - Metamucil supplements if it’s towards the end of the day and I haven’t reached my goal. The gummies taste like candy and their fiber thins are good with a cup of tea. - And also drinking enough water to push the fiber out in combination with enough exercise to keep things moving!
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u/iheartanimorphs Sep 21 '23
Giving up the idea that I had to lose weight by a certain date. Having a deadline encouraged black and white thinking, like deciding to go overboard at dinner because I already ate a bad lunch.
It also makes it way easier to make small changes even when I do go out to eat with coworkers/friends and can’t choose healthier options.
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Sep 21 '23
upping my protein! I think i’m going to post a before and after a year at the gym progress pic soon because it’s really telling. I stayed the same weight, just gained a bunch of muscle and lost fat by working out and eating high protein
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u/NYLady13 Sep 21 '23
Getting rid of alcohol.
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u/chouchouwolf37 Sep 21 '23
Yep, it works. Almost 2 years alcohol free and I’m now the leanest I’ve been since my early 20s. I eat a lot of carbs daily and sweets in moderation too. Before I avoided carbs at all costs to make room for beer ha.
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Sep 21 '23
Was gonna comment this.
Reintroducing it has stalled my progress. It makes a huge difference!
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u/Electrical_Crew7423 Sep 21 '23
Same here! I didn't cut it out completely, but I reduced it by 90%. I initially went from 120lbs down to 108lbs in a few months. I've slowly gained a bit of weight back, but it's been muscle gain as I finally felt comfortable enough to bulk for the first time. I've been able to maintain leanness at a heavier weight than I could when I was drinking a lot.
I've also found that my mood and mental health have improved greatly. Plus, no more hangovers to interrupt my workout routine.
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u/ProudCatLady Sep 21 '23
Chiming in to agree. I've made no diet or exercise routine changes besides cutting alcohol and it's THE BEST. It's only been 6 weeks of no alcohol, but the way my body just works better all around is amazing. I have let go of about 5 pounds in 5 weeks, much of it water retention I'm sure. I was at such a plateau for the longest time and going alcohol-free finally broke it.
I am way less bloated and I feel toned. I finally have the ab definition you'd expect for someone that's been doing Pilates for months... It's like it was already there, but hidden by puffiness/inflammation.
My favorite part is that my face is also less puffy. My features look a lot more defined and I feel like I look younger, brighter!
And I wasn't even a heavy drinker. Maybe 2-3 beers over the weekend and the occasional beer or wine with weekday dinner, but it was often enough to pause my progress.
I recently learned about alcohol's influence on cortisol. I've overall been focusing on lowering my cortisol (gentler workouts, don't chug coffee on an empty stomach, more fiber, and trying to chill the fuck out in general) and I really think that's been the key to breaking my plateau!
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Sep 21 '23
[deleted]
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u/ProudCatLady Sep 21 '23
Worth a try! I'm certainly no expert, but what I gathered is that it takes about 15-30 days to start noticing the effects and 90 days to fully adjust and see the full benefits (excited to see how it progresses!)
I think being an occasional light drinker almost made the impact of alcohol worse because while I was never getting hammered, I was frequently adding just enough alcohol to reset any progress! I don't know if I'll never drink again, but I will definitely focus on much longer breaks between drinking occasions.
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u/stilldreamingat2am Sep 21 '23
Altogether? Or less?
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u/Calm-Perspective-313 Sep 21 '23
One glass of red wine is actually good for you! It has antioxidants and helps your blood pressure
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u/NoGrocery4949 Sep 21 '23
Actually meditating.
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Sep 21 '23
I really want to start but don’t know how. Do you have any advice for how to get into it? I always feel like I’m doing it wrong and nothings happening
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u/NYLady13 Sep 21 '23
Spotify has a lot of great guided meditations. Search for what you're looking for, like "sleep meditation" "walking meditation" "meditation for panic attacks", etc.
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u/NoGrocery4949 Sep 21 '23
Yoga is a great opportunity to learn what meditation is about. It's the practice of freeing the mind of attachments that allow our thoughts to wander. The importance is complex but I find that many yoga teachers have a reasonable explanation of how one can enter the meditative state. It's practice. I still have trouble and I've been doing it for years now. It takes a lifetime of dedication but you experience the benefits relatively early on and it just gets better. I like it at the end of my yoga class because I do hot yoga and by the end I'm exhausted and it's much easier to meditate in that state for me, but probably for others as well
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u/naterz_28 Sep 21 '23
Medito is a really good (free!) app that guides you through. It has courses that start at like 3-5mins per day, it gradually works you up to sitting longer, there are specific courses if you need them (e.g meditation for sleep, or anxiety), and they change their daily meditation each day which is what I use most days now I’ve done a lot of the courses. Not affiliated at all, just think it’s SUCH a good app as I was a total beginner too and it’s really taught me a lot of the basics.
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u/ComesTzimtzum Sep 21 '23
Nothing is happening and that's precisesly what makes it so hard! Our minds are eager to get just about any kind of dopamine hit to keep them occupied. There are all kinds of techniques you can read about, basically some variation between concentrating on a target or just trying to stay present and take notice what's happening in your mind. However, I'd really encourage starting just by trying to sit still for five minutes, and when you can do that, then maybe ten or fifteen.
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u/piper1991 Sep 21 '23
Seconding the medito app, it is free and with no ads! I've just started meditating and it starts you off with like 3mins and gradually increases the time. Fantastic app.
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u/0atmilks Sep 21 '23
10k+ steps a day. Walking is so underrated
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u/alex12m Sep 22 '23
Did you lose weight doing this and if so, how much?
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u/0atmilks Sep 23 '23
I was also in a calorie deficit and lifting. I was losing about 2 pounds per week.
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u/lilihcooper Sep 21 '23
Taking my iron supplements daily - I used to put it off as I couldn’t find a brand that didn’t upset my stomach but now I have and it has helped enormously!
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u/espresso_6 Sep 21 '23
I just started taking iron as well! Could you say more about what changes you've noticed from taking it?
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u/ComesTzimtzum Sep 21 '23
I just thought that I'm going to suffer through this since nothing's worse than feeling fatigued all the time. Surprisingly, the stomach problems eased down after a while. It might make sense to start with a small dose and increase slowly.
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u/susjaguar Sep 21 '23
I've had zero issues taking Mary Ruth's Liquid Iron for anyone who's had stomach problems when taking iron
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u/ComesTzimtzum Sep 21 '23
I didn't react to those small doses either, but neither did my ferritin levels. Currently I'm taking 100mg in the morning and 200mg in the evening.
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u/hippopharmacist Sep 21 '23
Fyi studies show you can take iron 3x per week and it’s the same as daily. Will help with stomach upset and constipation too. For better absorption take with some vitamin c or drink with OJ.
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u/stolly92 Sep 21 '23
My doc also informed me that you can also take iron every other day to reduce an upset tummy! :)
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u/Louweeeze Sep 21 '23
How and why has it helped?
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u/lilihcooper Sep 21 '23
Iron deficiency is a major cause of fatigue so I’ve just noticed that since I’ve been vigilant with the tablets I’ve actually got more energy.
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u/spicytacosss Sep 21 '23
Fresh Fruit before every meal, especially before going out to eat. Getting that fiber in is super important.
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Sep 21 '23
[deleted]
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u/spicytacosss Sep 21 '23
Apples because they tend to fill me up the most!!! I buy a $5 bag from the store
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u/Maleficent_Minimum_9 Sep 21 '23
Idk if this is small but I started tracking what I’m eating. it really is as surprising as they claim. And it takes work to feel you’re doing it correctly or being precise
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u/Why_So_Dinosaur Sep 21 '23
Eating 5 small meals a day helps me be less hungry. Having protein meals in the beginning of the day and carbs at night helped me sleep better.
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u/shawtybcf Sep 21 '23
For me?
1) Downloading the Lose It app. It really helped me perceive the amount of food intake and calories.
My appetite adjusted accordingly, as I made more conscious efforts about my food as well as the quality of said food. Now I rarely crave fast food and things of that sort. Though I still indulge on occasion, as I don’t want to form a bad relationship with food. I also do know not everyone can count calories and apps like this can be triggering.
2) Also, reminding my self that going to the gym/exercise is half the effort. My boyfriend used this phrase and it stuck with me. “At least you’re there (referring to the gym.”
Any amount of movement…is movement. It doesn’t have to be a 45 minute HIIT or whatever. 20 minutes of any movement helps. That’s still 20 minutes of something versus nothing.
3) That the food will be there tomorrow. Food isn’t a punishment. Or a reward. It is food. And if I went over my set calories today, I can always consume it tomorrow.
And if I go over my calories? That’s okay too. Cause you can always restart the next day.
4) Time will go by, regardless. December will be here, so might as well make even the smallest of efforts. It’ll add up eventually. And if not, then some (hopefully) healthy habits have been formed for myself. A win is a win.
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u/snomachine Sep 21 '23
Minimizing dairy and gluten! I’m highly sensitive to both but by eliminating them mostly from my diet, I’ve noticed less bloating and I feel better in my skin!
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u/Pawtahmoose Sep 21 '23
Set meal times; avoid looking at screens when eating; eat most of the time by the plate method and slightly tweak according to activity and fitness goals(1/2 non-starchy veggies, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbs); consume content related to health outside of aesthetic reasons
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u/dubstepbunnies Sep 21 '23
Separating my time at my desk studying / doing work with having small 'step' breaks where I walk around (inside or outside). Helps me break up being sedentary for too long and gets me to 10k steps easier!
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u/ebolalol Sep 21 '23
mine is ordering water only when we go out and not buying anything juices or sodas. saves money and calories.
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u/matrixsphere Sep 21 '23 edited Sep 21 '23
I'm extremely short (maybe the shortest here) and always have a normal weight but a bit too much body fat (basically I'm skinny fat). I just recently started exercising when I found out my sedentary maintenance is just slightly below 1200. I saw on an article that daily vigorous aerobic exercise for 20 minutes will put me on the lightly active category, and that's what I do now.
TL;DR I started exercising when I found out that my sedentary maintenance is below 1200
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u/eleaena Sep 21 '23
Doing dance cardio every day before I do weightlifting. I use the Fitness Marshal videos on YouTube. It’s so fun and it really motivates me to push myself and complete my entire exercise routine. Before, I used to watch like one 10 minute video on abs or something and be so completely tired after. Now I can do 30 mins of dance cardio and do about 60 mins of weightlifting. It’s crazy how amazing it makes me feel.
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u/thesilkywitch Sep 21 '23
Maybe I'm extremely uncoordinated, but how do you keep up with the dances? I always fall behind and flail around trying to mimic what they're doing. 🤣
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u/eleaena Sep 21 '23
I picked out the easiest dances first and then I repeated them many many times to get the choreography down :) I’m pretty uncoordinated too so I totally understand you!
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u/Orangebird Sep 21 '23
Finding simple meals that I can eat over and over again that have 30 g of protein. I'm obsessed with a cilantro-lemon chickpea rice with a can of chicken breast. Vary with cilantro-lime black bean rice and canned turkey breast. I'm trying to up my bean intake!
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u/dryocopuspileatus Sep 21 '23
Drinking a lot more water. I take water with me everywhere now. I pee constantly but I feel great, my recovery is better, and my skin is improved.
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u/lifeuncommon Sep 21 '23
Not snacking.
I’d rather have larger meals than smaller meals plus snacks.
Also, it just simplifies life to have less decisions during the day.
To be clear, if I am actually hungry during meals of course I will get something. But I don’t have like two planned snacks and a dessert on top of my three meals a day. It’s just too much.
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u/mycoconutnut Sep 21 '23
Meditating. I know thats kinda weird but it helped me managed my anxiety and stress. Ofc if it gets too much, I still use my medications.
Its almost one year of no binge eating for me. I didnt lose a lot of weight yet but that one hurdle is a big win for me. ❤️
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u/naterz_28 Sep 21 '23
This is awesome, so proud of you! I also struggle with binge eating, one year is a huge achievement.
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u/mycoconutnut Sep 21 '23
Thank you so much 🥺you can do it too! One small goal at a time.
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u/naterz_28 Sep 22 '23
I did 7 weeks with no binging recently! Then had a bad week last week, with some difficult anniversary dates which set me back. But I’m 6 days binge free again. I’ve upped my calories & im allowing myself treats within that, and I’ve got a friend that I trust with my life as an accountability partner. I’m feeling way more positive about my potential this time than I have in ages. ☺️
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u/mycoconutnut Sep 23 '23
Oh thats really good! A few setbacks is normal, as long as you go back on track. :) I dont avoid any food and even would treat myself haha I found that counting calories help. I dont count for the sake of being in deficit, I count just to see if I'm eating a lot more than I should. Like if I can see my food in paper, it helps me to pump the brakes. It's only since a few months ago that I started counting for deficit. :)
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u/Then_Bird Sep 21 '23
I stopped looking at food as the enemy.
When I made peace with food, looked at it as fuel that pushed me towards my goal and started eating more - yes MORE - I finally saw the changes in my body that I wanted to. Smaller waist, thicker legs, capped shoulders... And the best part, I actually FELT strong.
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u/ieatcha Sep 21 '23
One thing for me was changing my mindset from "all or nothing" to a more flexible and realistic approach. I became a weekend flexible dieter, meaning eating less cals during the week and giving myself a bigger allowance on Friday and Saturday so I'm still within my goals but can have a few treats/meal here and there without totally blowing my progress. Helps my sanity a lot more when I know I can breathe a little.
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u/orlando20244 Sep 21 '23
Weighing my food, tracking everything i consume on macrofactor, writing my workouts for the week in my planner and actually crossing them off when completed. Finally broke my plateau using this method.
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u/burrito_slug Sep 21 '23
Cutting out Diet Coke. Even though it’s zero calories, it made me crave sweets and other junk. Once I stopped drinking it, my sugar cravings went down significantly.
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u/Natural-Blueberry657 Sep 21 '23
As someone else said, getting enough fiber has made a big difference for me. I’m still not at ~optimal~ levels, but I’ve been focused on increasing my daily fiber and been taking flaxseed oil supplements over the last year.
I have genetically high cholesterol and triglycerides, and a family history rich in heart disease. I’m in my mid 20s and have a regular, leaning healthy diet. My diet gets a little better every year.
After taking fiber supplements, increasing foods with fiber, and taking the flaxseed supplements, my cholesterol and triglycerides dropped significantly in just a year.
It’s a great feeling, and motivates me to do better in other areas.
I know a lot of people work out and lose weight to look good, and that’s always a plus, but the health benefits shouldn’t go ignored. Get a physical with blood work every year. Know where you stand. You don’t want to hit 30 or 40 and have to make drastic life changes so you don’t die suddenly.
Some notes: The American Heart Association recommends 25-30g of fiber a day.
I take the Psyllium Fiber from Costco that comes in two giant bottles of 360 each for like $25 total. I take 5 capsules a day. Metamucil is the same thing. You can get Metamucil in powder form but it’s not my favorite. Quaker Oats makes high fiber oatmeal that’s like 7g. Avocados have about 14g of fiber.
I take flaxseed oil instead of fish oil because I am down a gallbladder and the fish oil (even the burp less, easy on the stomach pills) make me dreadfully sick. Flaxseed isn’t considered a complete source of omega 3s, but it’s better than nothing. I also increased the amount of fish I eat.
If you’re worried about your lipids, talk to your doctor first, of course. If you can stomach fish oil that’s the best choice, but flaxseed oil has been a great substitute for me.
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u/thesilkywitch Sep 21 '23
Walking. I'm doing a body weight / calisthenics program (Hybrid Calisthenics, if anyone's interested) because I'm very weak and have a lot of issues. And I was slowly feeling stronger and more capable, but my cardio was still awful. Still got winded going up my flight of stairs.
Started walking outside (wear sunscreen!) and been seeing immediate cardiovascular benefits already. Couldn't walk eight minutes without being exhausted and having back pain. Just a week later, I was able to walk fifteen minutes. Now I aim for that sweet half-hour, and eventually that full-hour. Also, don't get winded from the stairs as easily!
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u/cherryshortcake24 Sep 21 '23
Over 10 years ago, I started eating raw celery with EVERYTHING - ice cream, sandwiches, pasta, you name it. The celery doesn't add any flavor that I can detect, but it bulks up snacks and meals, so I feel more full. It also adds more water to my diet. Most importantly for me, it keeps whatever I'm eating from sticking to my teeth.😁
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u/saphyu Sep 21 '23
I do this with cucumbers. Unfortunately celery leaves a really bad taste for me.
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u/cherryshortcake24 Sep 21 '23
It's so interesting how people's tastebuds work! That's how I feel about cucumbers LOL. What does cilantro taste like to you? I have heard that's another thing that literally tastes differently for different people.
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u/saphyu Sep 22 '23
Cilantro tastes fresh and delicious to me but the one thing that annoys me is the stem. I hate how stringy it is and it's annoying to pull at it when I'm eating food. I top cilantro on food but I have to cut off the stems or chop it REALLY fine so I can sprinkle it on food. TLDR: tastes fresh annoying stem
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u/planet_claiire Sep 21 '23
eating enough protein (min. 0.8 g/lb of body weight), and actually weighing my food for tracking calories
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u/jumpingfox99 Sep 21 '23
I eat the same thing for breakfast every day. It starts my calories in a good spot and I genuinely love the routine of it. Bringing a water bottle with me everywhere is big too.
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u/AccidentalAnalyst Sep 21 '23
When lifting, I’ve started getting curious when I couldn’t really ‘feel’ it. Reading about form cues and experimenting with slight form tweaks etc.
I’ve found that just taking the time to really GET a movement pays dividends in the long run.
For ages I wasn’t getting lat rows, and I read a thing on Reddit about doing the opposite of a shrug and it just clicked! It’s so exciting, now I feel like I can really start training my back.
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u/Classic-Rain-1057 Sep 21 '23
65 ounces of water a day and little packaged/processed foods. Not being afraid of healthy fats like certain types of nuts, cheese, and peanut butter.
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u/barcake Sep 21 '23
Ate less. I was on vacation and worked out a ton but ate and drank a ton. Now I'm off vacation mode so I'm more mindful of what I eat.
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Sep 21 '23
Not drinking any calories. And not drinking anything carbonated. It's improved the bloating of my stomach (which I thought was always fat) tremendously. (Now to cure my ibs but that's another story lol)
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u/8bitboogie Sep 21 '23
Portion control. Growing up my family would serve mounds of food and we were expected not to waste any of it. I stuck with that mentality till I learned about portion sizes and measuring food.
This in turn makes it okay for me to have a bowl of ice cream without going overboard (:
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u/RoadsidePoppy Sep 21 '23
Adding protein shakes to my diet! I'm literally NEVER sore anymore, even when I have a really intense workout. I can easily go to the gym 5 days a week without feeling exhausted and in pain. It's wonderful!
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u/danaaa405 Sep 21 '23
Taking time to cook/prepare food for myself (not just eating what everyone else eats or grabbing takeout or what’s around) and cutting most rice and pasta.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sun3107 Sep 21 '23
Very true! I found 3 servings of Flourish protein pancakes topped with yogurt or frozen berries (warmed up of course) and a consistent workout routine (not doing different workouts everyday) and less stressful work and time outside of the house made a huge difference. The big issue is work :)
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u/Itchy_Application532 Sep 21 '23
I got a fitness tracker watch. It made my progress with steps and especially runs more immediately visible and made me competitive with myself, lol. It's also had the unforeseen benefit of making my life with truly severe ADHD more manageable 😅 I'll never be without one again
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u/CityBeginning Sep 21 '23
I switched out my BC pill! I didn’t correlate it at first, and kept working hard but seeing no progress - worse, I kept gaining more and more body fat not realizing that it was my BC. Within 2 weeks of switching off, weight stabilized, and within 6 weeks, dropped 5 lbs. it’s been another few months and my hard work is finally showing slow and steady results, went from 35% body fat to 27% !! (I got inbody scans so was able to compare the stats)
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u/Downtown_Ad7047 Sep 21 '23
Im not on this bandwagon yet since this is a goal im starting ( ok still working on from… forever ago goals) working on but getting to bed at 10, preparing stuff for the next day ( lunch, breakfast, clothes, planner, anything else that is necessary for the next day) and drinking water.
I have ADHD and basically ADHD is a dysfunction of executive functioning, mostly due to lack of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin etc. the stuff that makes you happy, energized and motivated. I
for sure have a deficiency in these so I literally have to find ways to develop the motivation ( like physically/chemically ) in my body to get myself to do a thing- which my body is counterintuitively fighting against by making me want to do anything but the things that help with that.
So Get Sleep, Drink à liquid ( preferably water) and make sure you got your shit together so when you have an opportunity to do something like exercise or eat, so you are prepared. And have healthy food that you don’t need to do a bunch of steps to result in a finished meal in order to consume.
- that is im pretty sure the key. And it sounds dumb as all fuck but it is fucking difficult for me to do.
So!! I guess the next thing would be persist despite the failure/monotony/difficulty is also key. Cause consistency gets results ( it just takes time and patience- both things i also struggle with 😅 oh life.)
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u/MakenzieSky3 Sep 21 '23
I take a picture of my monthly calendar and put green dots on the days I achieve my calorie goal. I then use the picture as my lock screen. It’s so encouraging!! 😊
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Sep 21 '23
adding cardio/getting a fitbit, i now walk around 13-15k steps a day on top of my strength training and have visible abs for the first time ever
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u/AdequateTaco Sep 22 '23
For weight loss- using smaller plates and bowls. I straight up have a different set of dishes than my husband now because that’s the easiest way to keep my portions in check without actually weighing everything.
For muscle/strength gain- creatine + extra protein. Not that it immediately increased my lifts, but it drastically shortened my recovery time so I was able to exercise more without feeling exhausted every day and walking around constantly sore. I don’t want to demonize carbs, but I was such a carb fiend that I really wasn’t getting enough protein in. Protein shakes and bars have really helped redirect my sweet tooth.
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u/OB4L Sep 22 '23
My Apple Watch which was dusty from disuse. I was talking with my friends one night about heart rate. My friend who works out daily had a heart rate in the 60s. Mine was in the 90s. Normal but high. I started wearing the watch everyday and now I’m in the 70s, try to get in 10k steps and hit all of my move, stand and exercise goals daily. For my health. Also lost 38 lbs.
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u/Cautious_Guava Sep 22 '23
Lifting weights in general, but it really changed things for me when I started lifting until failure. I was capable of so much more than I knew and my body started changing much faster after I pushed until failure at every workout.
Taking creatine also made a huge difference. I never got any stomach upset from it and I made sure to flood myself with water, so I didn't gain any water weight. It helps my recovery SO much and I lift so much heavier when I have it in my system regularly.
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u/zukleine Sep 21 '23
Maybe controversial, stop exercising at the gym for a while and focusing on steps (made easier by buying an under-desk treadmill before I stopped the gym)
I believe muscle is important and I'm going to go back to it this month, but it's what allowed me to finally break my plateau even while traveling most of the time during 3something months.
I guess I couldn't do it all.
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u/user_mo Sep 21 '23
i hardly buy snacks for myself anymore unless i’m on my period or i’m hanging out with people
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u/No-Adhesiveness2929 Sep 21 '23
Making my diet 80% whole food plant based. It clears up my face and doesn’t cause any bloating issues. My stomach is very happy.
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u/idontwannabepicked Sep 21 '23
i don’t buy soda/juice at home. i only buy water. i lost my 20+ pounds mainly bc of chrons but i know that helped so much. not even that, but im no longer bloated 24/7 and i think my skin also cleared up so much. i’ll still get a soda on the occasion i go out for dinner but i’ll feel the bloat almost immediately. and i was a 4+ sodas a day person so the change was pretty dramatic. it frees up sooo many calories
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u/Exotic-Metal-3828 Sep 22 '23
Upping my calories. Went from 1200 to 1700 (to 2000 some days). I have so much more energy and my will to live has returned. Still losing weight, but getting stronger at the same time.
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u/aquaseajellybean Sep 22 '23
Intermittent fasting has made a huge difference for me. I’m down about 15lbs and feel better. I’ve always worked out and ate decently but this has made the biggest difference for me personally
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u/thegirlandglobe Sep 21 '23
I put a sticker on every day of the calendar when I work out. Just one of those cheap foil star stickers. It is shocking how motivating that tiny little gesture is - I now consistently get 6 workouts a week because I don't want to break the streak.