But what did you really do to lose weight?
Replies
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Negative_X wrote: »Ate less, moved more. Tracked every calorie going in and all my workouts. Cut out junk food, sweets and most processed crap. Initiated a total life style overhaul/change.
This. No point in losing the weight if one is going to go back to old habits and gain it all back...and then some.
Two sayings I kept posted by my desk to remind me that weight loss and fitness are long-term goals and processes:
1. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
2. The 80/20 rule applies: 20% exercise and 80% nutrition. You can't outrun your fork. (Meaning, unless you are an elite or professional athlete, you almost certainly can't burn enough calories to make up for the extra you're eating.)0 -
Negative_X wrote: »Ate less, moved more. Tracked every calorie going in and all my workouts. Cut out junk food, sweets and most processed crap. Initiated a total life style overhaul/change.
This. No point in losing the weight if one is going to go back to old habits and gain it all back...and then some.
Two sayings I kept posted by my desk to remind me that weight loss and fitness are long-term goals and processes:
1. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
2. The 80/20 rule applies: 20% exercise and 80% nutrition. You can't outrun your fork. (Meaning, unless you are an elite or professional athlete, you almost certainly can't burn enough calories to make up for the extra you're eating.)
^this!! That's why most fad diets fail, sure you lost the weight, but you didn't teach yourself healthier habits. I like that, you can't out run your fork... so true!0 -
Negative_X wrote: »Ate less, moved more. Tracked every calorie going in and all my workouts. Cut out junk food, sweets and most processed crap. Initiated a total life style overhaul/change.
This. No point in losing the weight if one is going to go back to old habits and gain it all back...and then some.
Two sayings I kept posted by my desk to remind me that weight loss and fitness are long-term goals and processes:
1. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
2. The 80/20 rule applies: 20% exercise and 80% nutrition. You can't outrun your fork. (Meaning, unless you are an elite or professional athlete, you almost certainly can't burn enough calories to make up for the extra you're eating.)
I read today where some experts say, it is actually 80% diet, 10% exercise, and 10% genetics. The sad statistic is over 80% of the people that lose the weight, gain it all back and some gain even more. Very few people actually keep it off more than 5 years. I am into my 3rd year of maintenance and hoping that I will be able to keep it off.
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melonaulait wrote: »
Yes! I can't eat nearly the same amount that I used to. I just ordered a calzone today (planning on a super light dinner) and I was full after half of it. I went on to eat 3/4 of it, just for good measure, but back in the day I could down the entire thing. It's obvious to stop eating when you are full, but I trained my brain to finish my meal in the past. I should like to add more to what I did... I eat slower and drink a lot of water during my meal. I definitely eat a lot less or am satisfied over a smaller meal.0 -
check in check out...or Chongqing International Construction Corporation?middlehaitch wrote: »CICO
Where did you even find that company anyway? LOL0 -
I tracked every calorie I ate even if it meant that I went way over my day limit it just motivated me to decrease the red negative Nymet for the next day.
I have double pram with two babies weighing around 20kg together plus pram that's 35kg i walk around 2 hours a day pushing that thing around. I walk to take my daughter to pre school and to get my grocery shopping i do a little shopping everyday as my pram doesn't fit etc.
That's all i did
The days I knew I was going to eat over my calories I'd do a workout video in the morning from youtube. Usually kick boxing workout or zumba.
Hope this helps.0 -
Oh I've lost 8kg so far0
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I knew I would not lose weight unless I was honest with myself. I'm not a runner or a weight-lifter. I'm a walker that likes to eat good food. Thus, my goal was to be at a Healthy BMI and at a long-term sustainable weight without feeling deprived. I used the Guided Setup, entered accurate information, set it to lose 1 lb. a week, and tracked semi-religiously for about a year. At maintenance, I set my profile to lose .5 lbs. a week, track roughly every day, and track more rigorously if I start seeing any inching up on the scale.
The top reasons I lost weight and have continued to maintain are:
1) Finding an easy, repeatable protein-packed lunch that kept me satiated and allows me more calories at dinner.
2) Weighing myself EVERY DARN DAY.
3) Eating breakfast EVERY DARN DAY.
4) Walking more & taking the stairs.
5) Limiting alcoholic drinks to the weekend.
6) Understanding that one day of OMG-calories is not the end of the world.
7) Eating smaller quantities of high quality, super-tasty foods. Not wasting precious calories on poor quality junk food.
8) Creating easy, repeatable Meals with lower calories that I actually like to eat!
9) Realizing that feeling HUNGRY is OK, especially before bed. If I'm hungry when I wake up, I know I'm on track.
10) Drinking herbal teas instead of snacking.
To use MyFitnessPal to track calories in/out, click Goals > Change Goals > View Guided Setup, enter accurate information and realistic goal weight, and click Update Profile. GOOD LUCK!
Direct Link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided
BMI Calculator: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmi-calculator
BMR Calculator: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator
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I suppose a better question is, how many calories do you tend to stick around and what do you normally eat (I understand everyone is different. I'm just curious. I understand the in and out thing )
I started at 1290 calories in 2014 based on MFP's guidelines for my height and weight. I fluctuated around that number based on how much exercise I did that day, as I eat back some of my calories burned (I found this motivational!). When I got to goal weight in 2015, I shifted to .5 lbs./week, and I'm at 1350. I lost very slowly because I knew that would be the only way I personally could achieve and maintain my goal.0 -
Yeah... It wasn't terribly simple for me. It took a period of experimentation to find lower calorie lunch foods that would keep me satiated at work and not have me feeling woozy and starving by 3pm. I need to be clear-headed all day long, and it took me a while to realize that protein is the key. Once I got my "go-to" repeatable meals identified, only then did it become MUCH EASIER.0 -
Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.insearchofcheese wrote: »Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
Um...what?
Planet Fitness is $10/month. There are lots of options out there if you want to find them.
Here is the deep, dark secret that nobody will tell you: stop making excuses, stop being silly, do the work and MOVE your body.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »
Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.insearchofcheese wrote: »Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
Um...what?
Planet Fitness is $10/month. There are lots of options out there if you want to find them.
Here is the deep, dark secret that nobody will tell you: stop making excuses, stop being silly, do the work and MOVE your body.
Lots of smallish or rural towns don't have a affordable private club options (if they have any at all!), but YMCA or a local university might be available?0 -
snowflake930 wrote: »The sad statistic is over 80% of the people that lose the weight, gain it all back and some gain even more. Very few people actually keep it off more than 5 years. I am into my 3rd year of maintenance and hoping that I will be able to keep it off.
Take a look at the National Weight Loss Registry. They track the people who do succeed. Many if not most of those who put the weight back on do so because they return to the habits that led them to gain weight in the first place. Those who are successful retain some of the habits that helped them lose weight.
What I find particularly interesting is that 90% of participants in the Registry exercise, on average, an hour a day. Alex Hutchinson had a recent piece in his Sweat Science blog about a 1956 study of Indian jute factory workers that found that those who were moderately or heavily active tended to eat what they needed to sustain their activity, while those who were sedentary tended to eat more than they needed.[Yeah... It wasn't terribly simple for me.
Simple doesn't mean easy, though! Congratulations on finding something that worked for you. In my case, it was helpful to learn that if I eat a bowl of cereal with milk (300 calories) for breakfast, I'm hungry again by 10, while a slice of buttered toast (150 calories) keeps me sated until lunchtime.0 -
There is no ONE answer. I've spent a lifetime chasing that miracle answer. I've lost a lot of fat and put on pounds of muscle in 2 years. (After being a lifetime dieter) There are 3 main componets to successful fatloss. Input/Output/Rest. The ratio will be different for each person and will not stay the same as your body changes. If you ate 2500 calories a day eating any type of food and your weight was staying the same then 2500 is your Maintenace calorie input. If you burned 250 calories a day by working out and shaved off 250 calories a day on your input you'd lose about a pound a week. But soon your body, being the miracle machine it is, adapts and what you are doing is the new normal and you maintain at that. So then you shave off another 250 calories and work out to 500 calories. The scale moves again and after a while your body adapts. This can go on a while until you get to an input/output ratio that is no longer sustainable. Too low calories, too much output = stress, hormonal imbalance, disturbed sleep ect. So the trick it to keep the diet in short period; Like 8-12 weeks with a planned time to slowly reverse and build back to a higher maintencne calorie level. The PROBLEM is that most diets go all or nothing. People go from 2500 calorie lifestyle right to 1200 with lots of output. They lose at first but once the metabolism down regulates and the low calorie/ high optput becomes the bodys maintenance point is right about when people get frustrated and either stay at that level wondering why they aren't losing any more or give up. The bad news now is that the body sees that new calorie level and activity level as maintenance and if they go cold turkey off that lifestyle then they are prime for a huge rebound gain. Not to mention if they dieted alone or dieted with cardio only and didn't lift weights and support muscle with proper food then a lot of that scale weight lost was muscle. Resulting in faster rebound gains and a person wondering if they are doomed to always be a yo you dieter and over fat. I've studied this every day for nearly 2 years now and at 44 years old I sure wish I had known it earlier. All the diet plans, and magazines are selling diets and no one tells you the truth but that's it. That said- I need to know exactly what I am eating to control that "wave" of calories and I weigh and track everything using a digital food scale and try to limit eating out and alcohol. I use guidelines for macros, not just calories and lift weights about an hour 4 times per week. (keeping my heart rate up to a high level by different methods like cardio moves inbetween) and I wear a fitbit HR and try to hit 10K steps minimum on non workout days. I run but not much, a few miles once per week for heart health or as a warm up a mile. I cook at home as much as possible and frequently "meal prep" for days in advance so I have something acceptable to eat in a hurry. Hope you find the answer that works for you earlier than I did!0
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Well, I for one have always found the details of your "CO" very exciting!
The cycling?
Heck yeah!!!
Well ... I do enjoy it!
I've also been doing it a long time.
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I suppose a better question is, how many calories do you tend to stick around and what do you normally eat (I understand everyone is different. I'm just curious. I understand the in and out thing )
One of the things I did when I started here was to spend several days thoroughly browsing through my local grocery stores to see what they actually had.
I've got several grocery stores and markets within walking distance of where I work, so I'd go there at lunch and roam the aisles, picking up stuff and reading labels.
Doing that enabled me to find a nice variety of good tasting, low calorie food.
As for my how many calories ... I used MFP for that.
I put my details into MFP, selected how much I wanted to lose each week, and MFP gave me a number.
Have you done that yet?
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I lost 45 pounds just by changing my eating and working out more. Its a complete lifestyle change not a diet or that's how I see it. I'd say lower the calorie input and try to exercise for a the least a minimal of 30 minutes a day every day.0
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Yeah... It wasn't terribly simple for me. It took a period of experimentation to find lower calorie lunch foods that would keep me satiated at work and not have me feeling woozy and starving by 3pm. I need to be clear-headed all day long, and it took me a while to realize that protein is the key. Once I got my "go-to" repeatable meals identified, only then did it become MUCH EASIER.
I was already eating within my calorie limit, or very close to it, right up till I got home from work. I didn't change much of anything between the time I got up in the morning until 6 pm. But there were a few minor tweaks during the first 3 weeks or so. That's when I discovered that cashews and pears are just not worth it.
It was my post 6 pm diet that went through the bigger change. But again, it took about 3 weeks to discover what was available in grocery stores and markets and to make the changes.
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Thanks for sharing! Do you tend to mix up during your work outs? Are you one of those people who have "leg day" or do you feel comfortable with sticking to one type of exercise?jessicarobinson00 wrote: »VERY SPECIFICALLY: I started at 174. If I remember right I tried to eat at the recommended 1200 calorie goal MFP set for me and failed: it was too drastic. So I refocused and decided that I was ok with not reaching my goals as fast as I would like and shot for 1350-1400 calories. This worked for me. After I was able to eat within those calories, I started incorporating 30 minutes of gym time 3 times a week. I told myself that as long as I went for 30 minutes...it was ok if I chose to sit on the floor and stretch as long as I went. Needless to say: once I was there, I ended up trying to make it worth my time and I NEVER spent 30 minutes stretching on the floor. Eventually I enjoyed how good I felt after working out! I hit maintenance in October and figure my calories with consistent exercise were about 1900-2000. Recently I have realigned my goals and have decided on a few more lbs weight loss..thus the calorie drop again. I don't eat "clean," nothing is off limits, and I love McDonalds. I know if I choose to eat there I need to bank more calories and I will probably be hungry before my next meal...so it's all about choices and deciding what's worth it and what's not.
I don't do specific workouts..I try to have a limited game plan when I get there so that I don't waste time and because I have 3 kids to get home to, but I mainly stick to body weight exercises: pushups, pull ups, sit ups, squats. When I was in maintenance I worked more with adding weights...now that I have another 5 lb loss in mind, I do the elliptical/biking. I try to stay away from any of the weight machines, but if the free weights are being hounded..I do occasionally hit them.
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I started to really get the results I wanted once I figured out my macros! (Diet is key) I use MFP to log my meals. I lift heavy in the gym and do cardio at least 3 days a week. I find if I need to lean out quickly I will do fasted HIIT cardio for 30 minutes a couple days a week. It works if you do it right!!0
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azulvioleta6 wrote: »
Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.insearchofcheese wrote: »Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
Um...what?
Planet Fitness is $10/month. There are lots of options out there if you want to find them.
Here is the deep, dark secret that nobody will tell you: stop making excuses, stop being silly, do the work and MOVE your body.
This isn't actually an option for everyone.
My in-laws, for instance, live about an hour from the nearest Planet Fitness.0 -
Cook and eat at home most of the time
Eat healthy most of the time
Immediately Get back on track ALL THE TIME!0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »
Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.insearchofcheese wrote: »Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
Um...what?
Planet Fitness is $10/month. There are lots of options out there if you want to find them.
Here is the deep, dark secret that nobody will tell you: stop making excuses, stop being silly, do the work and MOVE your body.
Lots of smallish or rural towns don't have a affordable private club options (if they have any at all!), but YMCA or a local university might be available?
Yup. And I hate to say it, but the Y is not necessarily inexpensive. In my area, it's substantially more expensive than the mass-market commercial places. The local Y is around $50 a month individual membership - I'm a member because I like it, but it's not cheap. And this is a mid-sized, midwestern US city, not New York or LA. They do offer a lot of scholarships to low-income folks, though (one reason I like it). I've even known of the big, expensive local private health club to give low-income people free membership under special circumstances, for that matter.0 -
1. Bought a digital food scale and measuring cups.
2. Weigh, measure and log every single thing I eat.
3. Found out my TDEE. Eat 20% fewer calories than that number everyday.
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CICO is most of it honestly. But, to be more detailed, measuring out my food, getting "back to" having meals, instead of grabbing a muffin, or a bag of chips. Reading about nutrition, I attended a six week class offered at Kaiser with a registered dietician that helped.
Journaling. Writing down every single thing that went in my mouth, even if it wound up being 3000 calories, then starting right back on track the next morning.
I started walking, just outside at first, wearing a fitbit, and when that broke, just a little clip on pedometer. When I started, I found it hard to get 2k steps a day. Worked up to 10k a day which took months. Got a treadmill. Still got my 10k but then added walking on the treadmill while watching my favorite programs. Then I got some hand weights, and a video of arm and ab exercises. Started with 3 lbs, do 5 lbs now. Watched more videos, started leg lifts, and some fanny work, bridges, tilts with a weight on my pelvis.
I think the most definitive thing was a conversation I had with a friend who is not overweight. I found that I tended to save calories, for cravings, than eating nutritionally. When she said she was going by subway, I exclaimed eww for one sandwich you could have a slice of chocolate cake and a scoop of ice cream, to which she replied yes, but the sandwich will be good for me. It really made me rethink my priority when it came to food overall.
Not that I don't indulge occasionally, nor do I think you shouldn't, I just realized that I didn't give my nutritional needs equal importance.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »
Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.insearchofcheese wrote: »Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
Um...what?
Planet Fitness is $10/month. There are lots of options out there if you want to find them.
Here is the deep, dark secret that nobody will tell you: stop making excuses, stop being silly, do the work and MOVE your body.
Lots of smallish or rural towns don't have a affordable private club options (if they have any at all!), but YMCA or a local university might be available?
Sure...but the OP is in San Francisco and appears to be college-aged. I would guess that she probably has about 20 options for affordable gym access.0 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »azulvioleta6 wrote: »
Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.insearchofcheese wrote: »Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
Um...what?
Planet Fitness is $10/month. There are lots of options out there if you want to find them.
Here is the deep, dark secret that nobody will tell you: stop making excuses, stop being silly, do the work and MOVE your body.
This isn't actually an option for everyone.
My in-laws, for instance, live about an hour from the nearest Planet Fitness.
Yeah, my closest Planet Fitness is 1570 km away. Little bit inconvenient. Plus there's a $50 joining fee and then it is $10/week (not month) after that. Total: $570/year plus several other small fees.
The Anytime Fitness and Zap are quite similar. I've considered them, but rejected both because I didn't feel comfortable.
My best option, the one I feel most comfortable at, is about $82/month. My husband and I had a 1-year membership there (just shy of $2000), but then my husband and I decided we could probably buy fitness equipment and set up a home gym for that kind of money ... which is what we did.
That, and we do most of our exercising outside or with whatever's available. For example, I've been climbing 40 flights of stairs each work day for a while now (up to my office several times a day). That's been helpful for building the leg muscles.
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My best tips came from eating only 3 times a day, portion control and not snacking. I also cut way back on alcohol. And I went from zero activity to about 4 workouts a week. I got used to going to sleep hungry sometimes. That brought me to goal in about 10 months. In maintenance I still essentially follow these "rules" tho my workouts are not as long or intense as they were for weight loss. I just try to keep moving. I still eat only 3 times a day.0
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thankyou4thevenom wrote: »I have no specifics or diet plan. I just ate less and moved more than I used to.
I see a lot of people say "move more" but that could mean
You're assuming I have a planet fitness nearby. Anyways, I've just been using the school track and working out at home. There is a pathetic fitness center in my apartment, but it's a gym. So I'll take it. And I'm going to try to see if I can go to the free group fitness stuff offered at school once the semester starts.azulvioleta6 wrote: »
Ooh. If I didn't have to sell my soul to get a gym membership, I would do kickboxing. Sounds fun.insearchofcheese wrote: »Let's see. 73 lbs in the last 10 months. For me I pre-log a week in advance, although I do make slight tweaks and changes as the week progresses. I exercise 6 days a week at minimum. This includes 3-4 days per week of kickboxing (real kickboxing with gloves and bags) and 2-3 days of weight training. I currently average about 1500-1600 calories per day. I am about 25 lbs away from goal. The most important things I've done to be successful are, not putting myself on a timeline and taking a break to maintain. I take a break every 12 weeks and work on eating at maintenance for no more than two weeks. I do this for the mental break it gives me and also to practice for when I do finally hit maintenance. Because I've managed to do this, I have a lot of confidence that I won't return to old habits when I reach goal.
Um...what?
Planet Fitness is $10/month. There are lots of options out there if you want to find them.
Here is the deep, dark secret that nobody will tell you: stop making excuses, stop being silly, do the work and MOVE your body.
0
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