Successful habits:what are yours?

I love how you break this down. Milk is not a protein, cheese is not a protein. I think it would serve people well to follow your example.

I think the single most important factor in long-term success is food choices by a long shot.  Learn to enjoy simpler, less-processed whole foods, learn to love vegetables, and learn that even "bariatric friendly" treats are still treats.

I don't walk around judging other peoples' plates but it can be downright shocking how misinformed people are.  The other day I was with someone who wanted to "be healthy" so they got the tuna sub at Jimmy John's.  Bam 1000 calories.

Hmmm... My best "success" advice is to not try and tackle everything at once. Get one thing under you belt, then add the next. 

Immediatley post op I see so many freaking out and being down on themselves for Not meeting drinking/protein goals. I'm grateful for a team that told me flat out that I wouldn't meet them initially, but stressed sipping till I did meet goals and to avoid dehydration. 

Likewise I didn't jump on a treadmill immediately post op or walk mile after mile. I focused on increasing intake to meet goals. Then chewing to avoid stucks and learning which foods do and don't work for me. Then I started to track what I ate consistently. 

When I felt confident menu wise I added exercise and slowly built on that. Now at 7 months out I'm beginning to put more effort to weighing and measuring. 

My point is there are a lot if components to this to learn, incorporate, and consider; but none of it has to be done at once. There's a lifetime ahead of you, take your time to avoid being overwhelmed and burned out.

Food choices are key, so logging into MFP is a must.  I've drifted recently (and broke my streak!!!) but I am back on it.  

Another that works for me is exercise.  It makes be feel healthy and reminds me of why I wanted to lose weight to begin with - to live life and to be able to move!  So I get up 30 - 45 minutes earlier than I want to and exercise, at least 5 days a week.  

Good luck all!

I think my most successful habit I think has been to read here and try to follow the advice of people that I can tell have been successful. That's important to me to see others who have been where I am and to be able to take their advice and their constructive criticism and use it well. I wasn't weighing food or even considering it for the first 4-5 weeks I thin****il I asked some random question here and people that I trusted on here repeatedly said weigh your food and I thought well crap I should be weighing my food!! I also use MFP daily because of advice on here. Yes, these are things other people do on here and sounds simple but I swear that I wasn't doing it before until certain people said Ummm, DO THIS. 

I also only weigh once a week, which for me is important because I obsess over this if I do it daily. Weekly helps me unclench a bit.

I haven't "cheated" once since surgery. Which for me means I haven't had a bite of chocolate, a drink of pop, a bite of pasta - nothing. Which makes me ridiculously proud and hopefully, in the end, will make me successful. 

I've learned what I can eat at restaurants that are good choices.

I never leave the house without a measured out snack of beef jerky in my purse. I did early on and got stuck with having to choose between going without food and making a bad food choice. I went without then, now I have a safe protein snack with me at all times.

Last but not least - making sure my clothes fit. It makes a huge difference if how i see myself... I got rid of clothes that were too big.  

I decided that size 10/12 is the larger I would ever wear - and as I was losing weight -I was giving away - tossing anything too big.

I got as low as size 4... but realistically - I knew I would be Ok with size 8-10, so I kept some of those...

NOw - I try not to wear cloths that are too tight...but I also avoid too big items... 

Seeing myself in a mirror helped my head catch up with my body....

FYI: thrift stores, salvation army, consignments, etc.. - you can get very nice clothes on a very tight budget... 

Even my "cleaning items" or exercise items - need to fit...even though most of the time I am the only one that see me...  

So many good habits. I've employed most of them some of the time. The only habit I have been consistent with since 12/08 is waiting at least 30 minutes after eating to drink. It's a habit. I drin****il the food comes and used to move the glass. I don't even need to do that now.

The good thing about this habit is that even with regain my pouch is super tight and can be filled up with a small amount of dense proteins.

Deb T.

Weigh at least once a week and don't ever let yourself gain more than 3 pounds. 3 is easier to lose than 50 (it sounds simple but it always amazes me when people seem "shocked" they have gained 50 pounds).

Find some sort of activity to get your body moving. It does not have to be intense. I love walking now. I have been wearing a Fitbit Zip for the past six months. I did not want to spend a lot of money on something if I was not sure I was going to use it. I have worn it everyday and have kept my weekly steps above 70,000 every week except one since May. Today I found a Fit*****arge on sale for $79 at http://www.dickssportinggoods.com. They are regularly $130. It is my Christmas present to myself.

I am a total hermit eater and I will eat at home and not tell anyone.  I also eat and watch tv.  At the same time, I have this other side of myself where I eat extremely healthy, live and die by my FitBit/My Fitness Pal, watch my macronutrients, and lift weights/climb stairs 4-5 times a week.  I have a hard time with balance.  I am still, even after all these years, learning that about myself because I still screw up from time to time.  I want to see the day when I see a number in the 150's on the darn scale for Heaven's sake!  I will get close...like to 163...and for some reason, I go up and down and then I self-sabotage and blah blah blah.  So, If I could give you any advice for being successful, it would be to:

-Be consistent.  Decide what your protein/fat/carb goals are and don't go outside of those lines because you never know when that could set you up for going back in the direction you are trying to run from.  

-Cook big meals at home on the weekends, break them into small portions (weighted), and put them in the freezer for the week.  I take food with me wherever I go so I can't say, oh, I don't have anything to eat, I will just eat two double cheeseburgers.  

-Utilize the FitBit/My Fitness Pal accounts; like everyone else, yes I pay for the yearly account to MFP but in my opinion, I need the accountability.

-Take your body measurements every couple weeks so you can see inches lost as well as pounds because when stall**** I get so discouraged and I wish I had done a better job of that.

-Exercise.  Even when you are in the worst mood, go exercise, if even for an hour.  I still struggle with this part but if I can get over myself, I feel better by the time I leave.  Production of endorphins is a wonderful benefit of exercise.  And don't be afraid to lift weights...squat, lunge, deadlift...

-This is something I do because of my extreme hermit-like issue despite the fact that I am an extrovert:  I tell people that I am going to be around regularly about my RNY and what I can and cannot eat.  I don't care at all what they think; I am telling them to hold myself accountable.  This way, I won't eat what I'm not supposed to because I don't want to be a weenie.  The part I am working on is when no one is around...then, I am a weenie, and it's so hard.

Good luck on your journey!

All of the above, plus I wanted to throw in a plug for the Microsoft Band... pretty much like the FitBit and it integrates well with Windows 10... syncs to Windows phone for texts etc... all that good stuff....

But although gadgets are nice, keeping to the basics (protein/good fats yes, carbs no) are what have kept me maintaining.

Audrey