The best thing I have done for my health is...

I am looking for one single thing you have changed in your life that you feel has had the most positive effect on your health and well being.

The best thing I have done for my health is...making alcohol a rare treat and not a daily habit. I love beer and somehow I managed to get in the habit of drinking a couple beers a night and more on the weekends (you would be shocked how much beer I can drink in a night). I have only had one drink since New Year's Eve. It is better for my weight, better for my liver and better for my mindset.

 

I cant pinpoint just one benefit from losing weight so I will just name a few.

I enjoy my food more and I dont just scarf it down as fast as I can and look for more to satisfy....I literally endulge every bite like its my last one.

I love the fact that my risks are going down for certain horrible diseases that are obese related.

I am enjoying my new body all of the changes I take the good with the bad because I know  I am all the better for it.

I dont look at junkfood as the enemy anymore nor blame everything on it for my weightgain in the past, I look at it as a once in a while treat that tastes so much more better to me.

I could probably keep going on but these are the most important ones to me.

This is a good one, kory :)

My best change so far is upping my fiber and water intake. It's helped a bit with my weight loss efforts, but more than that, I've stopped having stomach aches everyday. AND I eat less and feel just as full from a little bit of high fiber food than with twice as much food with little or no fiber.

This might sound strange, but I am really enjoying this site. Most people HATE counting calories, but I actaully love it. When I eat something, I can't wait to jump online to log it. Weird :)

Defintely drinking 8 8 oz glasses of water a day, and exercising by walking 2 miles consistently every morning.

I would say losing weight, or getting back into running, but the real truth is that the single most important change I made was finally quitting smoking.

Quitting smoking as well. It really gives me a strange feeling in my stomach just thinking of what it does inside considering the improvement I saw on the outside. Not to mention coughing grey stuff up and yellow teeth isnt great for beauty and allure. LOL

I feel like I am in a totally new body and 10 years peeled off.

Increasing my fiber intake and lowering my transfat intake. That little word ... transfat ... is the source of virtually all of my "Oh my God, I can't believe I used to eat those" moments.

Drinking water....I used to only drink water on really rare occasions other then that it was coffee, tea, diet soda....all with caffine....wonder why I didn't become severly dehydrated....

Realizing I didn't want to live until I was 40, have a heart attack, and die from being overweight and having high blood pressure.

That single realization was enough to fuel the first 50 lb. drop.
After that, it's been a more even split between wanting to be healthy, and vainly wanting to be thin and toned.

Best thing I ever did was stop cutting myself.  'Cause that led to me popping pills, and drinking excessively, and getting infections constantly, which would lead to me not wanting to eat or drink, and then wounds would hurt and I wouldn't want to move, and blah blah blah.  End dark spiral story.

Other than that, drinking water on a daily basis. =)  Mmm, ice water.

The best thing that I have done for my health is drinking water!  I've also cut out soda almost completely.  I rarely drink it.  I think since drinking more water that my headaches have decreased.  I'd always get a sleepy headache.  But I haven't had one in a while!

Getting active!  I used to be so sedentary and out of shape.  Now I am fit, toned, and have tons of endurance!  Also, cutting trans fats out of my diet.

Eating more vegetables and fruit!!!! Yummy and now my skin is clear!

Eating a healthy diet that is full of fruits and veggies is the best thing I have ever done for myself.  Before when I used to literally live of fast food and fried food I was sick all the time.  Plus my stomach bothered me a lot.  Now that I cut out both fast and fried foods (for the most part) I have so much more energy and have yet to be sick!

It IS hard to pick just one thing, because they all relate so much, but....

I think exercising most every day helps with the water, staying away from processed foods and soda, feeling better in general. Sort of like a row of dominoes, if you mess with one, everything else tumbles. And checking in here, logging, journaling, is definitely a BIG domino :-) 

Oh, well I have a few.

First of all would be quitting smoking 2 years ago. That single choice has made me feel so much better physically, and emotionally. I used to have a lot of anxiety and I would turn to smoking to ease that feeling but my body as compensated and I don't have those issues anymore. I can workout without it ever hurting my chest, even if I get pretty winded. I can go the whole winter without getting sick. I don't get bronchitis every year anymore. I don't catch every cold my kids or husband come down with. I don't have smoker's cough anymore! It has to be the BEST thing I have done for my health, by far. 

After that, I would say joining this web site has been the 2nd best thing. I had no idea what I was putting into my body before I found this site. Now I know and I will always have that knowledge, for the rest of my life. I have so much more control.  It's really changed my life.

The 3rd thing would be getting active! I found some workouts that I really enjoy and that has made all the difference for me. I have a hard time losing weight if I am inactive but the weight seems to just fall off when I work out regularly. I love my WholyFit DVD and I LOVE my Needak rebounder! Leslie Sansone's Walk Away The Pounds has really helped me, as well.

#1 Quit smoking 2 years ago

#2 Realized that happiness @ work is ultimately more important than money and made a switch to a happy workplace.  Emotional wellness ;)

#3 Decided to lose weight and doing it (down 30 with 5 to go)

 

1. Eating more veggies and fruits/ Eating healthy

2. Exercise more frequently  

I started exercising consistently. Before I was out of shape and nothing that involved activity seemed fun. Now I am able to get out and hike in the mountains in the summer and snowshoe in the winter. I enjoy my workouts, where before they were a chore and misery. My heart is now (according to my dr.) like a teenager's healthy heart with a very low resting heart rate and my 80% capacity when I work is up to about 165. I've developed more endurance than most people, and when I go hiking it's always a secret little source of pride that I can outdo anyone I've gone with so far because I used to be the fat girl that couldn't do anything without huffing and puffing.

Getting a new job! I never thought switching from a reasonably active job to a sedentary one might help my health, but it has. In my previous job I was a lab/field assistant and I never knew what my day or week would be like. Sometime I'd be driving around all day (so easy to stop at McDonalds!), sometimes in the lab running boring tests, sometimes working hard on the farm or in the woods. Sometimes it would be 9-5, 7-3, or even 7-7 with a partial day the next day. Sometimes it would be ten hour days with Friday off. There was no structure, and no consistency.

Now I have a less exciting desk job, but I work 6:30-3 every day. And I eat breakfast everyday. And I drink a ton of water. And as soon as my gym membership gets sorted out I'll be able to go after work at the same time everday. Also, I make twice as much as I used to (still not alot, but hey) so I'm not stressed over money all the time and I can afford to buy healthier foods. Consistency and stability are highly underrated. I haven't lost weight yet because I'm still a big snacker at home, but I feel better and have a ton more energy!

you are soooooo on the ball with this question!!!  :D  even just ONE change is all you need!!!

i can't even choose one...  well, i will never eat a giant symphony toffee bar all at one time again  :D

LOL  i'm still such a pig!!!  i love to eat!!!  BUT i don't anymore...  not like i used to, at least...  moderation!!!  moderation is the key...  i found this site because i wanted to start counting my calories AND it works!!!

hello?!  burn MORE than you eat!!!  it's that simple...  well, and eat more good foods...