How I lost 140 lbs in six months with help from MFP

Coupongrl79

Awesome job! I have been making it a priority to walk daily. Love to hear that you have had such success by just walking. Way to go!

theprez98

one235 wrote: »

one question, I just have a hard time figuring out my deficit calories..

To figure out your deficit, you need to track two things: your calories burned (both BMR and active), and then everything you eat. A Fitbit or other fitness tracker can help you with the first; MFP can help you with the second. Plug in the numbers and it's all right there.

theprez98

lalapurpledog wrote: »

I guess excess skin isn't as bad as being overweight though.

Absolutely. Excess skin is something you can worry about later. It's annoying! But the health impacts of being overweight are far more important to consider than what is (in my view) a cosmetic concern.

lalapurpledog wrote: »

Also, it hurts for me to walk because I am so overweight. Every time I start an exercise program, I always get nasty blisters on my feet. Did you experience this?

Yes. Blisters happen, even with good walking shoes. What I found worked best for me was moleskin to reduce friction spots and it really helped to reduce blisters.

theprez98

AamirKhan2016 wrote: »

Most of of people here were not happy from my post because they were saying that i am not losing weight safely then i started walking less and eating 1800 calories per day but this way i was not losing too much weight.


But now i will follow your way and will lose weight.

The most important thing I can say is that, if you really want to go the way of big calorie deficits, make sure you're doing it under the supervision of a medical professional!

Orphia

theprez98 wrote: »

AamirKhan2016 wrote: »

Most of of people here were not happy from my post because they were saying that i am not losing weight safely then i started walking less and eating 1800 calories per day but this way i was not losing too much weight.


But now i will follow your way and will lose weight.

The most important thing I can say is that, if you really want to go the way of big calorie deficits, make sure you're doing it under the supervision of a medical professional!

Quoting this for the truth!

Orphia

Well done, @theprez98!

Nicely written OP, too!

anndelaney67

Very well done,im doing a similar thing, 3 weeks in 7.5lbs lost im aiming at 1000 calories deficits i call it my mathematical dietand its working

75in2013

Great job! I like your ABCD approach

minijoanna

Your transformation is inspiring. You can see the happiness in your face in the 'after' pic

1Nana2many

theprez98: Congratulations on your progress and I wish you the best on your continued success! To me, the thing that shines through in your story is your commitment to getting healthier every day. It kind of comes back to the slow and steady wins the race kind of philosophy. So many people approach weight loss as a starve and work yourself to death doing excessive exercise that they burn out quickly and quit and then start the failure/self-loathing cycle again and again when if they had just reduced the number of calories they eat to less then they are burning and move more each day then they did before, they would actually be able to sustain it longer and succeed. I know there are people reading this saying that losing 140 pounds in 6 months is not slow and steady, but what I mean is you committed to your plan, steadily increased your movement and decreased your food intake then moved forward every day doing what you knew you had to do to achieve success. I know it wasn't as easy as you make it sound. You had to figure out what foods to eat that make you feel full longer so you don't want to go eat every item in the kitchen! You had to commit to changing your life and some very ingrained habits, but you did it and you have a great success story to show for it! Thanks for sharing it! You are living proof that there is hope for the rest of us!

zydeco69

You look great! Congrats! Thanks for sharing your story...very motivating!

INDYM4SON

AMAZING JOB.... Definitely motivating!!!!

rocket_ace

fantastic job. I think you tackled it very thoughtfully...way to go!! what's the next steps?

rocket_ace

AamirKhan2016 wrote: »

theprez98 wrote: »

In the six months between August 2015 and February 2016, I went from 339 lbs. to 199 lbs.--a total of 140 lbs. of weight loss. Over the course of that six months, and especially since then, a lot of people have asked me how I did it. Rather than respond to them all individually (and to them I apologize that it's taken so long to answer your questions), I decided that it would be easier to put it all in a post so that others might find it useful as well. This post is a bit lengthy, so stay with me.

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. I'm not a physical trainer. I'm not a nutritionist. I have absolutely no knowledge other than what I have learned through experience...and through Google. What worked for me may or may not work for you. I'm not telling you what to do--I'm telling you my story in the hopes that you may find something interesting worth investigating on your own.

My path was as easy and simple as A-B-C-D.

OK, it wasn't that easy. And it wasn't as simple as A-B-C-D. But it wasn't as difficult as you might assume. And while there are a lot factors to consider, I want to explain how I simplified them in a way that made my daily goals easier to understand.

First, the backstory. I had been overweight for several years, and was planning on having bariatic surgery. As part of that process, my insurance company required me to go on a six month monitored weight loss program with my doctor. There is no requirement that one has to actually lose a certain amount of weight, but presumably the insurance company wants to make sure that you're a good candidate for surgery by having your weight monitored.

On August 21, 2015, I met with my doctor (she's actually a CRNP, but for the sake of my discussion I will refer to her as my doctor) and we developed a plan that including 30 minutes of physical activity, five days a week; and counting and limiting calories by using MyFitnessPal.

The integration of physical activity and calories consumed is where ABCD comes in. My simple equation, developed from MFP, is:

( A + B ) - C = D

where:

A = Active calories; those burned from doing physical activities.
B = Basal metabolic rate, or BMR; amount of energy expended while at rest.
C = Consumed calories; counted from scanning everything you eat.
D = Deficit of calories.

Again, this is simplified. It's designed to be as easy as possible.

(A)ctive calories. You may think that burning calories means intensive cardio, like stair-climbing, running, etc. And these activities will certainly burn a lot of calories. But you need not do these things to burn fat. In fact, some studies recommend that burning fat works best when your heart rate is in Zone 2. This varies by age, but for someone like me that's in the range of 110-120 bpm. At 339 lbs., I could pretty easily get into this range by walking. So that's what I did.

I very quickly ramped up, within a month, to walking 20-25k+ steps a day, on average. On some days I was walking a half marathon worth of steps. Yes, that's a lot of time. At about 3.3 mph, I was walking 3-4 hours a day. Before work, during work, after work.

You can measure your heart rate by hand, by using an app like Runtastic Heart Rate, or a step tracking device. I used a Fitbit to track steps (that's a story for another day...) and Garmin vivofit heart rate monitor for more detailed data, but the exact numbers don't really matter. If you're consistently getting into Zone 2, you're going to burn calories and fat. From September through December, I was consistently burning about 1,600 calories/day. Of course, as you lose weight, you'll have to do more activity to keep up your burn rate.

(B)asal metabolic rate. Apps like MFP will calculate this for you, or you can find calculators online. It will be higher when you're heavier, and get lower as you lose weight. When I started at 339 lbs., my BMR was about 2,400. Now it's closer to 1,800-1,900. Otherwise, you should consider this number a constant in your equation.

(C)onsumed calories. This is everything you eat. Almost everything has a bar code, and MFP has almost everything online. If you absolutely can't find calorie numbers, find something close and do your best guess. Otherwise Scan everything and don't cheat yourself. Buy yourself a scale and weigh your food portions. Buy measuring cups and measure your portions. I very quickly settled into a daily calorie consumption of about 1,400 calories/day. This is very low. It's even low for someone on a diet. But I can honestly say this--despite all of my walking, I was not hungry. I planned three, ~400 calorie meals with a snack in between; and added a daily multivitamin.

(D)eficit of calories. Keep in mind that 3,500 calories is equivalent to one pound.
So here's a rough approximation of an average day for me:

[Active calories (1,600) + BMR (2,400)] - Calories consumed (1,400) = Deficit (2,600)

I'll stop here briefly and mention that 2,600 calorie deficit per day is pretty ridiculous. To be sure, I met with my doctor every month, and did blood work and other monitoring. But please do not assume that this is normal or average. It is not.

A deficit of 2,600 calories a day is a deficit of 18,200 calories a week, or 5.2 lbs. In fact, For about four months I was losing an average of 7 lbs. a week. Over the course of the six months, it really did average out to just over 5 lbs. a week (I started a new job in January and did not have the opportunity to walk as much). I weighed myself every day first thing in the morning and logged it (as a side note, you might try weighing yourself before you go to bed and then again first thing in the morning--the results may surprise you). Here's the key: no matter what your weight loss goal, you must create calorie deficits. This is the single most important factor to consistent weight loss.

There is much more to my weight loss than this post--this is only a brief summary focusing on the basic math. I plan to follow up this post based on your questions and comments. If you're concerned about asking a question that might seem too personal, don't worry about it and just ask. Shoes, clothes, blisters, chafing, loose skin, food portions, types of food, macros, diets, pizza, junk food, sleep habits, body temperature, walking, running, biking, swimming...there are so many things that come along with weight loss I cannot possibly cover them here. So please feel free to ask whatever comes to mind and I'll be more than happy to answer.

SW: 277 lb (October 2015)
CW: 240 lb (1 March 2016)
Goal W: 180 lb

wow this is the first story here i liked too much because i want to lose weight like you did.

I was also walking like crazy 12+ miles per day.
eating 1500-1800 calories.
Most of of people here were not happy from my post because they were saying that i am not losing weight safely then i started walking less and eating 1800 calories per day but this way i was not losing too much weight.


But now i will follow your way and will lose weight.

Thank you so much for sharing.

-- ME TOO!!! Friend me if you are also going to take a similar journey. Also - on fitbit I'm at https://www.fitbit.com/user/22TFTX - I have about 100 pounds to lose - and I've done all the research and talked to doctors - I'm going to also walk like crazy and do a vlcd at least for the initial 50 pounds....

TorontoDiane

wow that is quite the story.. you are so inspirational.. great present you gave yourself.. a healthier life

Vanessalookingood

Great job! You look so much happier. Thank you for sharing.

PowerFwd

Great job and very inspiring. I started my latest journey on Feb 1 and slowly built up my walking to 11,000 steps per day (a little over 5 miles). I do not have time in my day for more. I have purchased a stationary bike for my office and I ride when reading a memo or report. I have along way to go, but your story and others like it keeps me going:

SW: 272
CW: 258
GW: 195

Weaz66

Kudo's to you! Truly inspirational. Thank you for sharing your story and explaining the (A+B)-C=D It made things so much clearer for me to see and understand about what I've been doing wrong and how I can better myself. Good Luck with the rest of your journey! There's no doubt in my mind you'll do it. May I add you as a friend (or feel free to add me) so I can follow your success?

ivanhogsmybed

Thanks for sharing your story. Very inspiring. I like that it is essentially very simple - eat healthy, but not too much, exercise more and keep at it.

rdgfreshstart2016

Congratulations - job well done. Thank you so much for sharing!

Jenn_M013

Congratulations on your success!

Stripeymitten

Woooooow! Well done that man!

babylovers

I have a question for you hopefully you are still answering questions. Did you count carbs at all? Right now I'm eating few carbs but its extremely hard cuz everything has carbs and idk if it even works? What kinda food did u eat healthy food or just eat whatever food you wanted? And did u eat breakfast everyday before working out? Thanks for answers!

orpingman

Well done, very inspiring.

xXxWhitneyxXx

Congratulations, you look wonderful!!

Unknown

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kittybenn

I've heard so much about how tough the surgery is, so very happy you did it on your own. You are amazing!

RodaRose

You have accomplished so much. Congratulations.

cbusnightowl

awesome work!

Mavrick_RN

WOW! Good for you! What a awesome alternative to bariatric surgery. You have a much better chance at long term, life long success. Great story, well told.

Now the personal questions. There is a theory out there that we get fat and stay fat for some psychological reason like fear of success or protection from harmful people. Women may get fat to be unattractive if they fear a repeat of some sexual trauma. Men want to be "big men" even if they can't be leaders or financially successful. Did you search for or find some psychological reason for getting so big and if so, what changed to make it acceptable to lose the weight that you had accumulated?

I dread social interactions and think I use my weight to keep people at a distance both physically and emotionally. I wonder if I don't develop better social skills will I put the weight back on to protect myself?