But what did you really do to lose weight?

youngmomtaz

Counted calories. If I want to eat a lot and tell the calories to screw off I still do it up to my maintenance calories only. I workout once a day for sure and sometimes twice if I do yoga or a walk in my day somewhere. I pack food, I bring runners on day trips and overnight trips, I log EVERYTHING. Calorie counting works, not starving myself at 1200 calories, not living on shakes a la slim fast style, and not beating myself up. I am 8lbs from goal as of today. It has taken me a long time to finally get all my ducks in a row but once I quit googling "how to lose 20lbs fast" and just followed the process, surprisingly, it worked!!

Francl27

Exercised 6/7 days a week (lots of walks, some strength training, some spinning, some treadmill, some group classes, some home videos...). Figured out my TDEE and cut 20%. Tracked my calories to stay as close to 40 carb 30 fat 30 protein as possible (weighing everything), and tried to stay under my goal as much as possible, no clean eating or any of that garbage.. just watching calories and protein pretty much.

vivelajackie

I counted calories. Sure, the gym is nice and GOOD for maintaining cardiovascular health, but you aren't really going to run off a poor diet in the gym. It's not really the type of existence you'd want, anyway. You have all these sources for awesome recipes and a FREE calorie counting tool. The argument that healthy eating is boring is increasingly weaker, and that's how it should be.

I weigh things out. I've also had a job where I walk 13+ miles a day, which helps in being on the move. We do meal prep here so neither of us has to focus too much on meals during the work week. Despite what I said about the gym I do that as well. Not so much cardio-centric anymore. I do weight training... using that term loosely haha

larali1980

I lost 20 pounds last year. I used MFP a bit, but I also was on a weight-loss program which just meant that I had to control my eating habits and check in with them once a week. I should have lost more (I only lost 10 pounds on that program.) The rest of the weight I lost when I went off my medication. I still need to lose 40-50 pounds.

earlnabby

daross16 wrote: »

So tl;dr: What, in reasonable detail, did you do to lose weight?

I ate less and moved more.



Reasonable detail:

• I plugged my height, weight, age into MFP
• I chose 1 lb a week loss goal
• I weighed, measured, and logged all my foods
• I paid attention to my macronutrients, aiming for close to the targets each day but especially making sure I got my protein in
• I did not cut out anything
• I started walking most days
• I started a water aerobics class
• A year later I started swimming laps.
• I still do all of these and plan to for the last 25 lb I need to lose

Carlos_421

I'm a dude but here goes:

I went to iifym.com and and used their online calculator to determine my average daily TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, the total amount of calories I burn on average) and subtracted 500 from that. That is my calorie goal.

I weigh every single thing that goes in my mouth (I use measuring cups only for liquids) and I log it.
I'm deliberate in my eating and make sure that I work delicious things I enjoy eating (actually, if I don't enjoy eating it, I don't).

From there, I make sure I get enough fat (about .4 grams per pound of body weight) so that my hormone, skin, hair and joint health are properly supported.
I also make sure I get lots of protein (at least .8 grams per pound of body weight but aiming for 1 gram per pound) because 1) I like it 2) it helps to preserve muscle mass while eating in a deficit and 3) I am engaged in a heavy lifting program and need the protein to support workouts and recovery.

As for exercise, I do lift weights as I mentioned. However, this is not a real factor in the speed of my weight loss because I am eating more calories as a result (more exercise means higher TDEE which means I eat more so I'm losing weight at the same rate).
It is a factor in making sure I retain as much muscle as possible while losing weight so that most of the weight lost is actually fat (many don't know that when you lose weight, you lose a certain amount of muscle along with the fat).
I mainly lift so that I can get stronger, not to help weight loss.

I don't do any cardio at the moment although I do plan to start training for another 5k (which will raise my TDEE so eating more food again and not speeding weight loss) just so that I'm in shape to run moderate distances in case of zombies. And because my dog prefers running to walking.

That's all there is to it. I know how many calories I burn in an average day and eat fewer than that (making sure I'm totally accurate in my food log). From there, I eat for my other goals of health and strength by getting enough fat and protein.
Because I eat fewer calories than I burn, I lose weight.


ETA just kidding. I really just drink a lot of lemon water and sleep in a belly band and the fat just melts right off.

tara_means_star

Carlos_421 wrote: »

I'm a dude but here goes:

I went to iifym.com and and used their online calculator to determine my average daily TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, the total amount of calories I burn on average) and subtracted 500 from that. That is my calorie goal.

I weigh every single thing that goes in my mouth (I use measuring cups only for liquids) and I log it.
I'm deliberate in my eating and make sure that I work delicious things I enjoy eating (actually, if I don't enjoy eating it, I don't).

From there, I make sure I get enough fat (about .4 grams per pound of body weight) so that my hormone, skin, hair and joint health are properly supported.
I also make sure I get lots of protein (at least .8 grams per pound of body weight but aiming for 1 gram per pound) because 1) I like it 2) it helps to preserve muscle mass while eating in a deficit and 3) I am engaged in a heavy lifting program and need the protein to support workouts and recovery.

As for exercise, I do lift weights as I mentioned. However, this is not a real factor in the speed of my weight loss because I am eating more calories as a result (more exercise means higher TDEE which means I eat more so I'm losing weight at the same rate).
It is a factor in making sure I retain as much muscle as possible while losing weight so that most of the weight lost is actually fat (many don't know that when you lose weight, you lose a certain amount of muscle along with the fat).
I mainly lift so that I can get stronger, not to help weight loss.

I don't do any cardio at the moment although I do plan to start training for another 5k (which will raise my TDEE so eating more food again and not speeding weight loss) just so that I'm in shape to run moderate distances in case of zombies. And because my dog prefers running to walking.

That's all there is to it. I know how many calories I burn in an average day and eat fewer than that (making sure I'm totally accurate in my food log). From there, I eat for my other goals of health and strength by getting enough fat and protein.
Because I eat fewer calories than I burn, I lose weight.


ETA just kidding. I really just drink a lot of lemon water and sleep in a belly band and the fat just melts right off.

I really love your snarky-ness. And in case of the Zombi-lypse, you might want to start your cardio training like...now.

larali1980

Carlos_421 wrote: »

ETA just kidding. I really just drink a lot of lemon water and sleep in a belly band and the fat just melts right off.

LOL!! But don't forget to take your green tea capsules!

daross16

Carlos_421 wrote: »

I'm a dude but here goes:

I went to iifym.com and and used their online calculator to determine my average daily TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, the total amount of calories I burn on average) and subtracted 500 from that. That is my calorie goal.

I appreciate when people put what acronyms mean next to the acronym. Even though I have google but still!

alohajls

I have lost 57 pounds since August 3 2015. I have at least 65 (maybe 85?) more pounds to lose. I try not to think about that too much, it seems inconceivable (in Princess Bride voice)!

I went to my doctor and a registered dietitian to make sure I was healthy and not doing anything crazy.

I eat a lot less than I used to, about 1250 calories a day, which is a big deficit, but I have wiggled it enough to make it very doable for me (protein and fiber are my friends). Everything gets weighed and logged, and I pre-log my days the night before. I travel a fair bit and sometimes I go up to 1500, sometimes 1800, but I mainly cook at home, so I am most often at 1250. This means I no longer eat a cake a day. Or a pie. Or a big container of ice cream. I still have sweets, but not in mass quantities the way I used to. My macros have settled into 40-30-30, which I find satisfying.

I move a little more than I used to. I loathe the gym, but I have committed to doing 35 minutes of cardio 3 times a week (recumbent bike). Yes, I could/should probably do more, but I actually *do* this, so I'm sticking with it for now. I was lifting weights a bit, but aggravated a rotator cuff injury and now go to PT regularly, so weights are sidelined for a while. Maybe the day will come when I don't hate the gym as much (again, inconceivable)...we will see.

I learned not to freak out when the scale does not move the way I think it should. I weigh myself most days and use weightgrapher.com to track.

Persistence and consistency. What I am doing doesn't seem awful and torturous, so sticking with it seems very doable for the foreseeable future.

daross16

Carlos_421 wrote: »

I'm a dude but here goes:


ETA just kidding. I really just drink a lot of lemon water and sleep in a belly band and the fat just melts right off.

I couldn't imagine sleeping in something like that. My room goes from being frosty hell to fire hell all the time and I feel like I'd just wake up all gross an hot and uncomfortable

tara_means_star

What exactly....IS....a belly band, anyway? Sounds horrendous.

daross16

projectsix wrote: »

Starved myself consistently, aimed for a protein goal, lifted in the gym consistently, did cardio consistently. Lost 100+ lbs, got fit.

KathyApplebaum

Exercise: run 4 miles 2-3x / week, bike 40-80 miles a week, lift heavy 2x / week

Eating: cut out McD's fries, cut out candy bars, ate more veggies as snacks. Logged everything.

Carlos_421

larali1980 wrote: »

Carlos_421 wrote: »

ETA just kidding. I really just drink a lot of lemon water and sleep in a belly band and the fat just melts right off.

LOL!! But don't forget to take your green tea capsules!

Awe man!! I hope I don't plateau!!!

Carlos_421

daross16 wrote: »

Carlos_421 wrote: »

I'm a dude but here goes:


ETA just kidding. I really just drink a lot of lemon water and sleep in a belly band and the fat just melts right off.

I couldn't imagine sleeping in something like that. My room goes from being frosty hell to fire hell all the time and I feel like I'd just wake up all gross an hot and uncomfortable

My rugged inherent manliness would never allow me to wrap such a contraption around my belly. Too much like a girdle.

Carlos_421

tara_means_star wrote: »

What exactly....IS....a belly band, anyway? Sounds horrendous.

Some bogus thing you wrap around your middle to melt the fat right off your belly.
Three easy payments of 19.95.

daross16

Okay getting off track

tara_means_star

Carlos_421 wrote: »

tara_means_star wrote: »

What exactly....IS....a belly band, anyway? Sounds horrendous.

Some bogus thing you wrap around your middle to melt the fat right off your belly.
Three easy payments of 19.95.

There is no way I'd be able to sleep in that. The things they come up with....sheesh.

mizzmercury

I've lost 16 pounds since November by tracking all of my calories (in & out), eliminating the unnecessary liquid calories (soda, etc) from my diet, going to the gym 3-5 times a week (1 hour on treadmill doing intervals), weight training 2-3 days a week, and on the days when I go to the gym I usually do a YouTube video (usually either a total body workout or a video that is targeted at one specific area) or Daily Burn workout at home as well.

VintageFeline

Oh you want the minutiae?

Okay, here goes.

Came off psych meds that contributed to prior weight gain by making me hungrier. Had appointment with my lovely GP who made it clear I was at the point where I do something or my physical health would start to suffer. I'm good with just being mental so decided it was time to not be fat any more. Started eating less, lost about 8lbs. Suddenly got a lot more motivated.

Bought Insanity, overhauled my diet. About a month into Insanity got really serious and started weighing everything and got a HRM (heart rate monitor). I was at about 1550 calories plus exercise burns at that point. My goal is 1lb per week because I like to eat and my muscle mass, eating and body composition trumps rate of loss.

Completed Insanity with a bit of knee ache because realistically I was too fat to be doing it. Started T25. Started running with a friend. She stopped after a couple of weeks, I kept going. Started free wheeling with the exercise, running about 3-4 times a week and doing an Insanity/T25 or Fitness Blender workout 1-2 times a week.

That brings us to now. I've relaxed my diet now I'm in control (for the most part, I still have the odd emotional binge). I log everything, weigh most calorie dense items. I still have take away and junk food and all that good stuff, it just has to fit. I'm currently doing an 8 week Fitness Blender program just because I felt like it. I never set foot in a gym. Run maybe once a week at the moment but I bore easily so I'll chop and change all the time.

Now I have 1400 calories per day plus exercise burns. Lower target because I'm 41lbs lighter and my burns are lower because I'm lighter too. I track my weekly average calorie intake, so some days I eat more, some less, as long as it's reasonably close to my weekly goal, I'm happy. About 30lbs to go, ish, won't know until I get to where I'm going what my target is. Likely the upper end of a healthy BMI for my height because I have reasonable muscle mass.

I have also had a two week break from exercise due to mental health and a two "diet" break just to help me keep on track, which worked perfectly.

Duchy82

I put my stats into mfp set it to 1kg weightloss a week initially and ate the calories it gave me. I haven't really changed my eating habits that much but I stopped adding sugar to anything and slowly but surely I changed my choices because I just don't think certain foods are worth it, tastes change and all that. I just don't love donuts enough for the calories they are for example.

I have managed to lose 28kg that way, I am more adventurous and I am more willing to try new foods (mainly vegetables I've never tried before). As the weight goes down I have to make more changes to get more bang for my buck so to speak.

As for exercise it's sporadic at best mainly walking and yoga. I'm trying to add body weight exercises too to start 'toning' so to speak. But I can't say I have been consistent enough to say it contributed to my weightloss.

Jen2133

For a couple of years I had been trying to lose 20lbs – very unsuccessfully. My past strategies have been to try any drastic "diet" and run obsessive distances very frequently.

Eight months ago I started weighing and tracking all of my food with MFP, reduced my running and joined Crossfit. I was able to determine that for me – 5' 3" and age 48, a 1600 calorie diet would allow me to lose about 0.5 lbs per week. I do avoid processed foods, and reducing the amount of sugar in my diet has changed my 'hangry' feelings to just hungry, which is much more manageable. I still enjoy a bit of red wine and agree with all of those who follow the CICO plan. You must track everything honestly and be OK with being hungry from time to time. I eat what I want, but my choices do tend to be pretty healthy.

I enjoy exercise and I think the change for me from low-end endurance to interval-style training (Crossfit) was a shake-up. I have now added some pure strength training to add more muscle definition now that the fat is gone. I do Crossfit three times per week, strength 2x and then run or cross country ski 2x – each session about 1.5 hours with warm-up and cool down. I will also do some walking if I want to earn some extra calories.

I believe another positive move on my part was to expect less weight loss per week and to have the patience to wait out the ups and plateaus. I've lost 18lbs and am now 124lbs.

jonathansilas1984

I eat one meal a day . breakfast is black coffee, around 4pm ill have a V8 juice then around 8pm ill eat anywhere from 900-1300 calories.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

My method:

I ate a calorie deficit. Consistently, and without regard to what types of food it was. I simply focused on staying at a specific number of calories.

Then I slowly started figuring out which foods were keeping me full better, and making me feel better and more energetic, and I kept eating those foods more often, while gradually cutting back on the frequency of foods that made me feel like crap, or left me feeling hungry.

Then when I got that down as a solid habit I joined a gym and started lifting heavy weights.

jenilla1

I logged my calories and stayed at or under my daily limits. I weighed and measured my food for accuracy. I eat what I feel like, but tend to naturally prefer less processed foods. I cook most of my own meals, but that's just my preference. To earn more calories I exercised whenever I felt like it. It's not complicated. In fact, it's very straightforward and simple. I do the same thing to maintain. I've been successfully on maintenance now for well over 3 years.

mjwarbeck

After I lost my job (fortunately with enough severance to not worry for a while), I had to set a routine, of which exercise was a key component. I am now at the gym pretty much every day. 30 minutes on weights, 30-40 minutes cardio. Also, since I no longer have a company car, I walk pretty much everywhere. In the morning I walk my kids to daycare and continue to the gym and then back home. This is about 3km. In the evening I pick up the kids as well for another 3km. Given the snow it is a bit more effort to push the stroller :-)

For food, I had been just eating properly...but am now starting to record so as to ensure to me and others I am getting enough calories around (~2250)...but still lose in the 1.5-2lbs per week.

Haven't really cut out any foods...though exploring the grocery, the kids and I have started buying honey pomelo...fruit of the month for us!

FWIW: down 19lbs in a bit over 2 months.

alphastarz

1. Truly decide you want to change and you have the power to do so, no excuses.
2. Let MFP determine calorie deficit goal based on age, weight, planned loss. For me that is about 1400 currently
3. Log everything, try to meet or be under goal 9 times out of 10, without eating back exercise calories. Splurge days or special occasions no more than 1 out of 10 days, still log and goal to stay within maintenance calories and eat exercise calories back. Splurge days for me work out to be about no exercise 1800, with exercise up to 2300.
4. Log everything even better, if your using cups vs scale you probably end up under counting. If you eat back exercise calories, careful you don't overestimate calories burned, which is easy to do without heart rate monitor.
5. Bonus points: Deal with emotional eating, self image and worth issues if applicable. Frame success with flexible and attainable goals, short term and long term. Drink more water. Exercise more, even if starting small like walking more. Get friends, support or other motivation to surround yourself with positive thoughts and encouragement. Work on improving macronutrients goals, eating healthier with the same calories.

jdhcm2006

I figured out my TDEE (someone already posted the acronym, so I won't do it again), and subtracted that by 500. That was my goal to eat daily. I logged everything that I ate on MFP. I exercised for about 5-6 times a week. I used Shaun T's T25, Insanity, and Insanity Max 30. Now, I do pole dancing, which is cardio and strength training rolled into one addicting hobby, and I've just added in yoga this month to help supplement my poling.

The key is burning more than you eat. So invest in a digital food scale. It's really necessary, IMO. Even if you decide you don't want to workout, you can still lose solely by eating less. If you do decide to also workout, find something that you really enjoy doing. That way doing it won't seem like a chore, and you'll be excited to workout.

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