What was the main thing you did to help you lose the weight?

jax_006

What was the main contributor that helped you lose the weight you did? I am looking to readjust things for myself. I would love to hear some insight from the MFP community thanks!

quiksylver296

Buy and religiously use a food scale. Log everything.

ETA: Oh, and cutting out alcohol was big for me, personally, too.

cityruss

Trusting in the irrefutable laws of the universe.

koreangurl

Stick to the basics which is calories in vs out

42firm03

In addition to sticking to a calorie deficit and weighing my food?

Finally grasping that it takes time. Allowing it to take time and getting over the fact that it wasn't going to be fast. This finally allowed me to do the first part long enough to get 60lbs off myself.

I have more to lose but not being morbidly obese is awesome and well worth the patience.

Citycat2015

As above. Keep it simple and just focus on maintaining a calorie deficit. It's all that counts.

Serah87

Digital food scale, once I got that the weight fell off.

ETA: Eating anything I wanted within my calories, etc.

sijomial

Finding a way to adhere to the correct calorie balance over an extended period of time.

For me that was 5:2 intermittent fasting on the Calories In part and a whole load of exercise on the Calories Out part so I could maintain a reasonable deficit whilst still eating plenty of food over the course of a week.

kommodevaran

Keeping it simple, and at the same time not counting on one thing to be the solution to all my problems - instead making lots and lots of small adjustments to habits, attitude and environment that together created a "lifestyle change" (I hate that expression lol).

KateTii

Learnt about calorie counting and how I could eat foods I liked without needing to guess if I was doing "ok". I never, ever would have started if I had to give up pizza.

Shells918

Measuring my food and significantly lowering my carb intake for medical reasons. I'd never had to eat low carb before, but once I realized they were the X factor in my struggle to lose, it changed everything.

kgirlhart

I started counting calories and eating at a deficit. I have not restricted anything except calories. I sometimes choose not to eat certain things if the calorie count is too high, but if I really want something I make it fit. I do measure almost all of my food but I also eat out usually once or twice a week and so I have to guesstimate on that. I have also started walking every day. But that is more because I am trying to be more fit and not just lose weight. Eating at a deficit has been the key for me.

rsclause

I found MFP and because I was counting and logging I ate less, ate better quality food, upped my exercise & fitness. That's more than one thing so I will say MFP!

rbfdac

42firm03 wrote: »

In addition to sticking to a calorie deficit and weighing my food?

Finally grasping that it takes time. Allowing it to take time and getting over the fact that it wasn't going to be fast. This finally allowed me to do the first part long enough to get 60lbs off myself.

I have more to lose but not being morbidly obese is awesome and well worth the patience.

This, exactly. I stick to a calorie deficit and weigh all food in addition to working out for a cardio health and a little additional deficit.

In the past I was entirely too impatient. I have(had) a lot of weight to lose (100 pounds) and starting from the beginning was scary. I have been up and down for years because when I didn't see the weight coming off "fast enough" I would become frustrated and give up. I've also finally just kept on trucking, knowing that my diligence would pay off. And 60 pounds later, it sure has. I've got 40 more to go, and I'm well aware it's going to take some more time, so I'll just stick with it!

DejahVoodoo

Weighing my food. Everything else (like exercise, steering clear of certain foods I didn't NEED, but wanted) was a bonus. Weighing the food was the number one contributor to weight loss. It just made it so much more accurate.

jellio98

Taking it slow and steady. I'm eating 1700 calories a day, which is enough to be able to still enjoy sweets/treats and not feel deprived. I've lost 57 lbs in a bit over a year. In times past, I'd exercise like crazy and restrict to 1200 calories. Never lasted more than a couple months. This time, these are changes I can live with for the rest of my life.

cavia

Weighed all of my caloric solids on a food scale. Began measuring caloric liquids with cups and measuring spoons. Double checked mfp entries in the beginning against the usda or the product packaging to make sure I was picking an accurate entry. Logged everything and logged every day. Only focused on losing the *next* pound as opposed to all the pounds still to go.

brb_2013

My biggest strategy is to not make it complicated. I don't need new food, I don't need anything fancy or expensive.
And of course patience and a dash of self acceptance. I accept that this is my body but it has control of how it lets the weight go, it decides when. I can control what goes into my body and how much I move but I don't get to decide how quickly the fat goes away. That helps.

faramelee

Changed up my food to more nutrient dense options, moved more and cut out Starbucks Caramel Macchiatos.....

SezxyStef

bought and used a food scale with correct entries.

I went from losing 1/2lb a week to 1lb a week instantly after using the food scale...

even now I use it...3 years later.

kristen6350

Plan what I'd eat each day and stick to it. Avoid "extra" food. Our office is a pitfall of extra goodies so my main rule was "no work free food".

dahliagrower11

For me it's getting the portion size under control. If I am logging my food intake then I am accountable to that number. For me the other big one is managing stress as when I'm very stressed I eat more and move less. Eventually it will be important to do the cardio 3 x a day but if you only do that and don't manage what's going in then you won't lose any weight.

emdeesea

Yep. Getting a digital scale and learning how to be patient.

hollen_carol

Jumped right back to it after a "bad" day

MommyL2015

Two things: Eating at a moderate caloric deficit by learning what actual portion sizes are (Sadly, an overflowing bowl of cereal is not "a recommended serving size" lol) and using a food scale so I can be in control of how much I eat. Being patient is also pretty necessary if you want to be successful in the long run.

Through the learning process, I figured out what kinds of foods to eat that help me not be hungry all the time and that properly fuel me. I also got a treadmill and started walking.

opalquartz

Focusing on fitting in as many nutrient-dense foods as I can into my diet to fuel my body and keep it healthy, rather than focusing on what I "can't" or "shouldn't" eat.

ericatoday

I never used a scale. Ive lost 30lbs but maybe it would help the rest.

But mine has just been about what i eat. I eat generally healthy with a few slip ups.

I have a cheat meal not a whole cheat day about once a week.

I dont eat back my exercise calories thats a waste. But if your workout makes you extra hungry try not to eat more than 50% of them back.

Dont get discouraged during a plateau it took me 6 1/2 months to lose 30 lbs and the very first 15lbs took less than a month to come off so 5 months and 15lbs but its been well worth it.

zalmann919

Given that I was already weighing everything, reducing my carbohydrates, and sticking to verifiable nutritional information, not to mention a sizeable calorie deficit, the most important additional thing I did to lock in the weight loss and start feeling really better (both physically and mentally) was to begin walking. I gradually worked into 90 minutes or more 5-6 times a week. Besides feeling physically stronger, it has freed me from the tyranny of numbers that strict weighing-and-counting can become. Having 400-500 extra calories to work with means that I don't have to be perfect. I normally don't eat them, but it's freeing to know that I have that option.

NikolaosKey

I dont weight my food yet just log it, but I exercise daily burning between 400-100 calories

californiagirl2012

Trusting the process of food intake, deficit vs maintenance, using that window of calories CONSISTENTLY. Too many lows and highs in calories will hinder you. Getting discouraged by the body weight scale will hinder you. Just focus on consistency with food intake and workouts, day in and day out, and the success will happen even if you never stepped on the scale again the rest of your life. The scale does not make it happen and it does not give you motivation, your life changing does, and the focus should be on food choices and amounts, and workouts. Nothing else matters.

ashleyjongepier

Finding a workout that I actually liked! At the start of my journey (start after my daughter was born) I would use a treadmill for my workouts and I dreaded every minute of it.

I found workouts I loved to do and it made everything smoother!