So how did YOU lose weight?

Power400

I'm curious to know some of your weight loss secrets that I can use to help myself

sarko15

There's no "secret."

It would also help to read some of the other threads.

cnbbnc

There's no secret to keep. I lost 45lbs just by using the app as it's intended. Weigh all your food. Log it in your diary. You're done eating for the day when your calories are used up. That's it.

cerise_noir

No secret.
I just use myfitnesspal to log my food every day, a food scale to weigh all my food, and eat what I like within my calories; I did not cut out any food that I ate when I was obese, I just eat less.

DonM46

I typed in all the info that MFP wanted. The software set a recommended calorie intake. After each 10 pound loss, repeat the inputs because you won't burn as many calories just walking around. Follow the established calorie budget.
I lost 35 pounds in 10 months.
My weight has varied +/- 3 pounds since November, 2011, and I'm still logging.
It works.

SusanMFindlay

Weighing my food and logging everything almost goes without saying on MFP. Other things I do to help my stick to my calorie goal include:

• Try to eat lots of vegetables. They fill me up for not a lot of calories.
• Rarely drink calories with the exception of milk (which I consider to be "food")
• Spend as much time as possible on my feet and walk as much as possible to keep my NEAT high and therefore my daily calorie burn high enough that I can eat a reasonable amount of food. (Some people can live on 1200 calories/day. I never could.)
• Try to eliminate "mindless eating".
• Replace foods which I could consume in enormous quantities (e.g. snack crackers) with similar items which I can more easily portion control (e.g. Triscuits or Ryvita/Wasa crackers)
• Cut down dramatically on eating out (especially at chain restaurants - which actually tend to be worse than fast food)

kommodevaran

There are no secrets, just some ideas that can be hard to grasp because lots of people earn a lot of money from confusion, and sometimes it can feel like it's better to keep doing the same even though it's painful, than trying something new that seems scary:

Weight loss/management is simple - pure physics, maths, logic, just get in the right amount of food every day and you lose/maintain weight, but not necessarily easy - food tastes good and temptations are everywhere, food is heavily marketed and associated with a lot of emotions, we use food for comfort and celebration, sometimes even as punishment. To be successful, you need to make weight management as easy as possible, you have to find out which strategies are useful for you and which aren't, and finding that out, takes time and commitment and awareness and patience and focus, kindness and firmness, planning and critical thinking. Not everybody are able to muster all that. We all have it in us, but the mustering is hard for some.

cityruss

Accurate logging.
Sustained calorie deficit.
Willpower.

sijomial

My only "secret" was to find a method of adherence that suited me better than everyday calorie restriction.

The 5:2 fasting schedule gave me a moderate but sustainable weekly calorie deficit and fitted my exercise and social life schedules well. But more importantly it matched my personality - ridiculously determined short term but I get bored/frustrated by routine and daily restriction.

Food logging was very educational about serving sizes and the consequences of making different choices. I didn't actually stop eating any of my favourite foods but the frequency changed for some of the higher calorie options.

The MFP "eat back exercise calories" method suits me very well as I have a high but very variable exercise calorie burn.

amusedmonkey

The secret to my weight loss has been to modify what is known to work in a way that is personalized to me. The basic principle was achieving a calorie deficit, which I tried to personalize further by testing various strategies to see what makes that deficit easier for me to achieve. Nothing grand or drastic, I just use intermittent fasting sometimes when needed, adjust my meals to fit if I'm planning a higher meal, adjust my activity, experiment with foods to see what satiates me best, arbitrary rules that work (like never buying more than one serving of the foods I tend to overeat)...etc. All food is logged and tracked on MFP of course, eating back any extra activity calories.

Machka9

Here's the secret ... I ate fewer calories than I burned.

GottaBurnEmAll

In the very beginning, I found the greatest tool to be prelogging my day. I did that for about a year. Having a roadmap and sticking to it made dieting almost effortless. I found foods that satiated me and planned for them. Knowing when and what I was going to eat kept me on track.

The other has been the power of habit. Forming the habit of exercise has been one of the best gifts I've ever given myself. That hasn't been so much about weight loss, but the health benefits have been substantial.

lemonychild

By eating less than I burn ..

CaptainJoy

There are two big secrets. CI<CO and taking a multivitamin to keep from getting sick. The CI part of CI<CO took time to figure out. The MFP app gives you the calories you need to eat to lose weight but you must figure out how many calories are in your food and drinks. I used a food scale and measuring cups for this. The CO part was harder so I bought a fitness tracker. Then as I lost weight I would increase my walking distance which meant I could eat more and still lose weight. 105 pounds and one year later I just finished my first 10k Santa Claus Classic run. Aside from a few sniffles, I haven't been sick all year. I'm really loving life!

crzycatlady1

Back when I was in my active weight loss phase I didn't know MFP existed. I was part of a different group and I did alternate day IF-in a nut shell it's just an extreme form of calorie zig-zagging. It worked well for me and I lost the extra weight with no issues. Now several years into maintenance I do a more laid back version of it and eat a little less calories during the week and have higher calorie weekends.

DaisukeYuki

Alternate day fasting, eating 1200 one day and 500 the next

I wouldn't recommend it, but it gets the job done. It makes figuring out calories to maintain without gaining weight back a complete pain as you don't really learn much by starving yourself the best part of a year,

duddysdad

I lost 160 pounds in 8.5 months last year by eating 1300 calories. I custom set my calories and lost way more than two pounds per week. I was medically supervised because I needed to get the weight off as quickly as possible. Do not do this. Do not lose faster than 2 pounds per week and do not go under the recommended calorie goal set by MFP.

ScratchyAnderson

I'm a newcomer who's lost 12 pounds in 5 weeks logging and maintaining a calorie deficit through diet and exercise. What everyone says here is true: you need to burn more than you take it to lose weight, and at the end of the day, it's as simple as that.

For me, changing how I eat has been helpful in boosting satiety--feeling full longer, so I can meet my calorie goals. It's true that in a perfect world you could eat anything within your calorie limit and lose weight, but some foods will help you feel full longer and some will not. For me, added sugars and refined grains are kind of a waste of calories, which is sometimes absolutely worth it. But as a rule, I try to stick to whole grains, lots of fruits and veg, lean meats, nuts, eggs, and healthy fats in cooking. A handful of almonds or a Quest bar as a snack stays with me much longer than a pile of my kids' goldfish crackers, and that keeps me on target for the day. Willpower is essential, yes, but we can make it easier on ourselves, I find, with what we choose. This hasnt meant eliminating everything I love, it's just meant being mindful about when I choose to add it in to my day.

AspenDan

125lb down, 1.5 years.

I started by using this app and limiting calories..never a specific number, sometimes id eat 900cal in a day, sometimes 3000, but usually my week long daily average was like 1500-2000.

I didn't exercise at all for the weight loss, but I do have a fairly active job.

As far as what I eat..I batch cook chicken breasts or thighs, I eat a lot of microwavable bags of veggies. I don't drink any calories (except I drink alcohol excessively a couple times a week). I also eat a lot of oatmeal(with splenda), egg whites, avocado, brown rice, sweet potato, unsalted nuts, mushrooms, and other unprocessed whole foods.

Basically my way has been a lot of trial and error, certainly not the most "healthy", but VERY sustainable, and easy to do while still living like a normal member of society. If you have any more questions, let me know!

nutmegoreo

I reduced the number of calories I was shoving into my mouth. Tracking for nutrition and satiety. Did a lot of reading on the forums here to learn what worked for others, and listened to those who had been around and successful.

kgirlhart

I entered my stats in mfp and ate at a calorie deficit. I also started walking daily and doing some yoga, but I lost my weight by eating at a deficit.

fitoverfortymom

I weigh everything I eat to make sure I eat at a deficit. Sometimes I exercise. Down 35+ lbs so far (out of 100).

ashjongfit

I lost 150 lbs by using portion control, counting calories, working out. Eating things I like still and just eating calorie dense treats less often. I had lots of times where I gave up for a few weeks and a few times were I gained some back. There is no secret, figure out what works for you and do it.

nvmomketo

I needed to change my macros. I failed miserably on a "balanced" diet because my hunger/cravings was too high, and it did nothing for my blood glucose levels.

I switched to a very low carb high fat ketogenic diet and I finally found a way of eating that blunted my hunger. The only time I gain weight is if I choose to eat more carbs, and consequently my calories go up... and my hunger and cravings go up and so I eat more...I find it difficult to stop that cycle. Keeping carbs low keeps it easy, past the first day or two anyways.

Showthyme

Weigh every day
Weigh food on the scale
Include the tastes or bites that I eat from other people's plates
Post my current weight and my 5 pound monthly goal on my refrigerator
Always have a measured portion of soup in the freezer so I cannot use the excuse that there is no food in the house or I don't have time to cook
Take lunch to work
Drink hot lemon water in the morning
Tell people that I am dieting when I get asked to eat out or go to their home to eat
Have dark chocolate squares in the freezer for an occasional treat
Limit carbs
Take supplements
Do not add back exercise calories but allow for extra protein if I am hungry
Remind myself that I am losing weight and saving money by eating cleaner and preparing my own food

JaydedMiss

I always eat a 500 or so calorie lunch and then go for a walk, And after lunch i pre plan the rest of my night. So i feel good and full still, And i know how many calories i burned so i can wiggle in some yummy stuff, Or feel so good after walking i dont want to waste all the calories and find ill be just fine hitting 1200 only. I found it the best for me to start my day with a little bit of a splurge unplanned meal to make me feel less strict. And always made me walk harder

bwogilvie

No secrets here, either. I entered my weight, estimated activity level, and weight loss goal on MFP, got a digital kitchen scale, started to weigh and measure my food (weight for solids, measuring cups for liquids), and tracked my weight every morning (using TrendWeight.com to calculate the trend).

The only thing else I did that trips up a lot of people: After a month, I compared my results to my weight loss goal and realized that I was only losing 1.1 lb./week, not the 1.5 lb./week I had targeted. That meant I was missing 200 calories a day in my logging (food, exercise, or both), or that my activity level was too high. Rather than tighten up logging I just set my activity level down a notch, and that fixed the problem.

A lot of people forget that these numbers are all estimates, and that you need to adjust them based on results. Otherwise you can fool yourself into thinking that you're some special snowflake whose body is miraculously free from the laws of thermodynamics.

SLLRunner

Power400 wrote: »

I'm curious to know some of your weight loss secrets that I can use to help myself

My secret? I make sure I ate less calories than I burned. Each person has to find their own method to ensure a calorie deficit, so I did this by weighing food, logging everything I consumed, logging cardio calories burned, and being as accurate as posdible.

Accuracy is key to weight management, whether you want to lose,gain or maintain.

SLLRunner

DaisukeYuki wrote: »

Alternate day fasting, eating 1200 one day and 500 the next

I wouldn't recommend it, but it gets the job done. It makes figuring out calories to maintain without gaining weight back a complete pain as you don't really learn much by starving yourself the best part of a year,

Hopefully you are not doing this now. If you are, you need to increase your calories on your non If days. You need to reach your calorie goals weekly rather than daily. With 500 and 1200, you are averaging about 900 calories a day.

OP, please dont do this.

courtneyfabulous

Eat less than TDEE
Eat more than BMR
Count calories
Weigh and track food
Get enough protein
Get enough fiber
Eat mostly healthy but have treat foods too (within calories limit)
Cheat days are ok but try to keep them at no more calories than maintenance and only 1 per week
Lift weights
Do hiit cardio
Have rest days too (2 or 3 per week is good for me)
Sleep!
Patience
Determination
When you reach your weight loss goal it's time to focus on maintenance as a goal (not just go back to your old ways)
Keep it simple, don't overthink or over complicate things

brokenstar1

I did once! 9 months after baby I realised I was still as heavy. Did "Kellog's K diet". Cereals twice per day. Plus one small meal. Only snacks allowed were fruit.
Did as many press ups plus sit ups as poss, plus 15 min jog.
Lost 1.5 stone in 2 weeks and it stayed off.