Have you lost over 50 lbs? How did you do it?

Verity1111

I haven't *now* but I lost about 60lbs after my older two kids were born. I ate less and walked a lot. The amount isn't really that important as long as it is a decent deficit. I am 5'4". If I do not exercise I eat between 1200-1500 calories and if I do exercise regularly I eat 1400-1700 calories (usually) when I am dieting.

Gallowmere1984

Currently maintaining a 100+ pound loss. I did it via pullups, deadlifts, squats, and most importantly, table pushaways.

JustMissTracy

I've lost 80 so far...I did it by eating less than I moved, and by working out, either cardio or kettlebells, ALOT. I'd say 4-5 days a week pretty consistently over two years.

deputy_randolph

I'm 5'3; highest weight was 184lbs (at age 14). I'm almost 37. I lost 65+lbs over a period of about 3-4 years. I cut soda and a few other unnecessary foods that I would overeat (like ranch dressing). I started jogging...in college, I had to walk everywhere. The small changes led to bigger changes (especially food related changes). I started lifting heavy, and that made a huge difference in my body comp too.

Merkavar

lost over 130lb. i didnt really do anything special. just ate less than I burned.

I think its consistency thats key and finding what works for you.

For me, I didnt have these diet breaks people always seem to have, that for me would just slow everything down.
Just followed MFP which was linked to my fitbit.

amusedmonkey

I have lost 104 pounds so far, and I'm taller and still heavier than you are so my calories may not apply. My average net calories a day is about 1400-1500, that means averaging 1400 some weeks and all the way up to 2000+ some others to lose the same amount, depending on how active I am.

What you are experiencing is a natural slowdown that happens when get smaller and your body starts needing fewer calories. You don't need to sustain a 2 lb loss a week all the time, in fact it's not recommended that you do. The closer you are to weight goal the slower you should be aiming to lose, and the slower you lose the more likely it is for the scale to play water weight games with you.

How I personally did it?
I imagined how it would be to maintain my weight and tried to eat like that, a few substitutions and tricks that would help me achieve a slight deficit over that. (basically chose my calorie goal to be my future sedentary maintenance minus 200-250 calories). Picking a static calorie goal slows my loss gradually and appropriately as I lose weight. My exercise consists of walking, some running and some bodyweight exercises, nothing that isn't sustainable to me. My calorie goal increases or decreases depending on the circumstances. Sometimes I'm just not hungry, so I take a chance at a 1200 (net) diet, other times I'm hungry or have events or hard work projects, I increase my calories to maintenance.

I don't personally have timed goals, more like soft goals that I expect to reach to call a milestone. Controling my calories is just what I do now, it doesn't feel different (as in, feeling like a special phase) whether I'm eating to lose or eating to maintain, except that I have more food when I maintain. I do have a yearly loss target, but it's attainable and more like a range than a number.

I've personally never been one to overeat "junk food" on a regular basis to the point where it would make weight loss hard, so that hasn't changed. I eat it when I want it, just like I did when I was morbidly obese, I just make sure the calories balance out. I generally eat most of the foods I've always eaten, but I'm now more aware of each food's impact on my calories and this helps me decide if something is worth it on any given day, some days it's worth it other days it's not.

In a nutshell: I'm a relaxed flexible dieter, and that fits my personality and preferences.

Michael190lbs

well over 50 lost- I moved more and ate less.. It was actually very easy-to easy- but I lost a lot of muscle in the process now getting it back and still maintaining 178-185 ripped. Read on this forum its amazing what you can learn from the discussions so much Bad info out there never believe what you read!! Do your home work and form your own plan based on evidence!!

walkdmc

Never giving up. Never stop weighing yourself. Keep in touch with your healthy, fitness-minded friends. When I started slipping into old bad habits I blocked my "fitness" friends on FB and stopped hanging out with my yoga girls. Don't do that, refuse to let yourself go to that isolated, dark space.

I wish it was a one time decision to eat right and smooth sailing since but it wasn't that way. I did Weight Watchers and lost 35 pounds, Medifast and lost 70 pounds. Took a break, regained 30 pounds. Back on a ketogenic diet to lose those 30 and 10 more. Down 12 pounds, 28 to go.

I had trainers, signed up for 1/2 marathons which forced me to train regularly. I did boot camp classes, tried yoga, went to the gym when I wasn't doing the above. I just never stopped wanting to reach my goal and I never stopped trying even if it was different stuff.

Basically, PERSISTENCE

newheavensearth

I'm 5'3" and went from 208 to 143 (on a good day). Patience is key. Other than that, educate yourself on nutrition and exercise, and find what works for you. I started on Weight Watchers, which taught me portion control and balancing healthy meals and indulgences, then moved to calorie counting after I plateaued at 158. I needed to drop my calorie level to 1200 to 1370 to keep losing. My goal for now is 135, then maybe 125.
I just started running sprint intervals, and I'm halfway through C210K with a goal of entering a few races. I weight train 3 to 4 days per week. Cardio is daily- running, elliptical, step aerobics, hiit. I eat regular food, just less and lower calorie options.

kermax39

Iv lost 50lbs but the last 2 months I also seem to lose 1lb then gain it back....its so frustrating. I stoppped smoking recently which isnt helping. Iv tried eating less but the cheat days are becoming more regular...even tried slimming world for 2 weeks and gained 2lbs. Back to calorie counting but im freakin starvin. Iv still got 18lbs to go and its just not budging. No advice sorry ....just that I feel your pain....

rainbow198

I lost 80 pounds in 2012 - early 2013 on my own and without a gym membership:

- I stayed in a slight calorie deficit.

- I took the slow and steady approach and I personally focused on fitness first. I did as much beginner exercises as I could. Just walking to start. Once I started seeing small improvements there, I was encouraged to start working on my diet. I slowly phased out frozen dinners/fast food and started cooking at home more and adding more fruits and vegetables. Then I started to see small changes with my body and eating habits. This motivated me to keep going!

- Lots of research. I learned how the body processes different foods, the different roles of hunger hormones, how alcohol is metabolized in the body, the physiology of weight loss, the science behind fat loss etc. I googled and read all kinds of things and I still continue with this today.

- Keeping track of my meals and exercises and my journal and planning out what I was going to eat in advance really helped me stay on track.

- Listening to my hunger cues. Instead of watching the clock, I paid attention to when I was getting hungry. Also I stopped stuffing myself and stopped eating until I was about 80% full.

- Trial and errors. For example I tried cutting things out like pizza and do well for a couple of weeks. I made my own which was okay, but not the same as my fav. place. Then eventually I would binge on what I was missing then feel deflated. It was a vicious cycle. I learned that I can enjoy things and don't have to cut things out, just watch the portions, the frequency and plan for it so I stay in control.

- I did a lot of soul searching. I had to think about things like why did I eat when I was not hungry or why did I have to eat whenever I was happy, sad, nervous etc. I learned that I did not have "clean my plate" or eat something just because it was there or offered to me.

- Lastly the things I did during weight loss I made sure I could keep up with it and be able to maintain it once I reached my goal.

After being overweight my whole life I have been maintaining with ease and without any weight gain since 2013.

Don't give up and stay strong!

Gotrek1

65lbs so far exercise is playing with kids and walking at lunch. Just watching how much I'm eating. I still eat anything I want. Just paying attention to how much.

LAWoman72

I just hit the 50-lb. mark fairly recently and am finding that mentally I feel like I wanted to put on the brakes for a minute there, diet-wise. I had more momentum to get "to" 50 lbs., if that makes sense.

However, I haven't gone off the rails or anything. I basically maintained for about three weeks and now it seems like things are inching downward again (my weight loss isn't very fast; it took me 11 months to lose those 50 lbs.). So I think I've broken through the mental barrier. And the rest is physical, all physical. Now just as it was at 212 lbs., it is a matter of CICO for me.

The only thing physically (v. mentally) harder for me, really, is that obviously, I can't eat as many calories now and lose; I am carrying around half a person worth of weight less than I was then. Yes, that's been an adjustment. In the beginning I felt much less that I was carefully restricting than now...there was more wiggle-room, simply because I required more calories just to move that much more weight around. But I'm dealing with it.

SusanMFindlay

I'm down 60 pounds from my maximum weight - but some of the loss came from giving birth, so those 20ish pounds don't really count. For the other 40, I watched what I ate and got more active. I was able to lose the first 10 by making some healthier choices and working out a few times a week, but it was a very slow process.

The last 30 pounds came off much faster because I started logging my intake (which made me cut down on some of my more calorific dinner and snack choices - and, more importantly, made me cut way back on restaurant meals). I also went back to work which dramatically increased my activity level. I am now averaging 20K steps per day and almost never under 15K.

ClosetBayesian

Consistency. Find what works for you. Do that.

tomteboda

105 lbs lost here in two years. For the most part I just did what I always had been doing, I just ate less. I keep track of my fiber (try to keep it above 25 g/day) and salt (try to keep it below 2000 mg), but other than that there's no real specific "rules".

Also, I took up walking. A lot of walking. 3+ miles a day of it. I love it.

dramaqueen45

Started at 180, I'm 5'4" (barely) and it took me about 20 months to lose 55 pounds. At first just counted calories and exercised- eating back all exercise calories. After about 4-5 months loss slowed down a lot so I started eating back only half of my calories and that helped. I also increased exercise intensity and started doing intervals more. It does slow down the less you have to lose, and it is also annoying that you burn fewer calories the less you weigh. For those last 5-10 pounds I stopped eating back all exercise calories just to see my goal weight once, and then for maintenance I have been trying to stay on calorie goal (which for me is about the same) only I eat back all of my exercise calories. So with exercise I am eating 1400-1500 calories per day. Sometimes I eat more but try to balance out the week. I also weigh myself weekly and my goal is just to stay within a 5 pound maintenance range. Just keep going- it will come off. I have had a few plateaus when I was doing everything right, but over time you will get there.

85Cardinals

I've lost 67 pounds since late February. I attribute it all to clean living and self-denial!

Seriously, I just weighed and logged all my food and tried to hit my numbers most days. Took a day or two off whenever I got a little frazzled or the weight loss stalled. Nothing magic, just being reasonably consistent with how I ate over several months. Also walked 30 minutes a day which helped more mentally than physically I suspect.