I've been overweight all my life. I've been on every diet from the 3 day diet to cabbage soup and everything in between. Last year I moved to a size 24 after being a 22 for 5 years and in December started making little changes. First I gave up soda and I can proudly say since then i've only had 5(diet) sodas since! 2 months ago I stumbled upon a website from PETA about how KFC treats their chickens and I was horrified. Since I've given up meat including chicken and will only eat shrimp or crab("meat" wise.) I eat more veggies and feel healthier. I'm not going to lie...sometimes it is hard and all I want is a cheeseburger but for now I feel like I need to do this to be healthy. It stops me from eating so many bad things! My question is what has anyone else given up and why?

Welcome Jessica! Good for you on making a change for yourself and giving up things. While I have not really given anything up, I've cut back. I've cut back on meat and so on. I am recent diabetic and I should be giving up some thing and really cutting back on others. Its hard but I can only do things at a certain pace. Good luck to you!

Hi Jessica,

Firstly well done on all you have given up!

As someone who is really in to animal welfare, I am going to give a little preach.
Instead of giving up chicken, why not push for Free Range chickens in your local stores, it is so much better to try and change the way animals are treated and give them a good life. I was apalled to watch an Oprah show not long ago where I learned that free range Chickens and eggs were such a small percentage of the total produced in the US.
Instead of giving up meat, why not seek out amazing produce from farmers concerned with animal welfare?
Not that I am anti vegetarian...but just a suggestion!!

Don`t like the term "giving up", as it sounds like a sacrifice. I am in the process of freeing myself from my addiction to sugar by not having the first bite! :-)

Jason Vale writes very correctly in his excellent book "Slim for Live" that it is while you still eat the crap that you are giving things up (your health, gorgousness, etc) and not when you ditch them. I think that`s a very good and motivating way of looking at it.

i'm in the same boat as moni! i've tried to give things up before and it always ended in failure. i have horrible will power (and will obsess about a food that i want until i get it) and when i fail it always ends up in low self esteem. rather than giving up, i picked up. i started eating fruit and nuts, frozen yogurt, some organic foods, and all sorts of things. i've found that by cutting back on my junk, rather than eliminating it, i've been able to change my lifestyle, rather than just go on a short, unsuccessful diet.

Giving up does not work for me.I have to cut back. Because if there is something I am giving that is what I will want.Right now I am counting calories. Today is the first day on my restart. to everyone!

I haven't really given up anything which is nice. I follow the men's health abs diet and that incorporates a lot of the foods I ate before while cutting out the real crap, it also allows for one "free" meal a week which I've used on taco bell, ribs and french fries, olive garden ravioli, and crepes... so I pretty much use that one meal for whatever it is I miss the most. And it's great to do because when you stick to the plan and deviate with the one meal, your body works twice as hard to metabolise it :]

There are 2 things that come to mind but I will say I haven't given them up 100% just cut waaaaay back. I used to stop at the local bakery a couple of times a week and I would get a bagel with cream cheese or a bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on a bagel (and of course those bakery bagels are delicious but HUGE!) and I also used to stop at 1 of the many fast food joints a couple of times a week. I now have those things only once a month or even less.

I agree with what most have said and I do not give up any specific food group, I know that if I really really wanted I could have a piece of red velvet cake! Yum but I don't just because I know that isnt the healthiest option for me right now. I do think its great that you have been able to give those things up so hey if it works for you, more power to ya!! congrats and keep it up!!

I haven't given anything up, because I find that if I do, I end up binging on it later on. Eating things in moderation or just occasionally is easier for me. For example, in the past month I've only eaten red meat twice. Otherwise it's been fish, chicken and turkey. I drink a lot less Diet Coke now, and I lead a mostly whole foods lifestyle. The only thing I'm trying to give up is fast food, and when I do get fast food (which is a rare thing these days), I get 'healthier' options or a kids' meal.

I agree with everyone else. There is nothing I have given up 100%, there is just stuff I cut way back on. For example, I used to drink a couple of sodas a day, but in the last 6 weeks I have only had 2. It is nice to know if I really wanted it I can have it, but the cravings for it are just never there and I would rather spend my calories more wisely.

I had to "give up" pepsi and that was about it. I was drinking 3-4 a day.... I feel a lot healthier just not having that junk in my system!

For everything else I have substituted tasty stuff... instead of a plate of spaghetti (900+ cal) I make baked eggplant parmesan (400 cal). Tastes just as yummy but without all those pasta noodles. I'm a total pasta addict but I'm learning to love marinara and alfredo sauce over steamed, sauteed or roasted veggies instead of noodles!! I haven't had pasta (noodles) in over a month but I don't feel deprived at all.

There are a few things I've cut out. First, I went vegetarian, I still eat seafood but no more steak, turkey, chicken, etc. Also, I don't eat/drink anything with aspartame. No fake sweeteners for me! I'm also working on cutting out pop altogether. These are all for health reasons, but I'm not completely cutting out whole food groups (besides meat) I mean I'm not cutting out carbs or sugar. Just making healthier choices and cutting WAY back.

I haven't given up certain foods just cut back. I also tend to share those foods i crave with my husband. Yesterday we shared a small order of mcdonald's fries and we both agreed that was just enough. If i truly denied myself any food i would binge. For me, if this is truly a life change i can't cut those things out. I just get the smallest portion i can and share.

I have accepted that I have to give up ICE CREAM (major trigger for me - I'm the girl who will grab a spoon and stand at the freezer, digging out chunks of cookie dough!) and also tortilla chips. I LOOOOOVE popcorn but can't imagine living life without it, so that will be my seldom splurge.. and yes.. the good kind at the movie theatre. I know it's worse than eating a stick of butter, but it's so DAMN GOOD!