Has anyone on MFP lost 50lbs?

JPat86

I want to hear your stories! Has anyone successfully lost 50lbs and kept it off? How long did it take you and what did you do to lose it? I want to get motivated so I can lose my 50lbs by July. Vacation has been officially booked for the summer! I'm stressing

TheBetterBecky

I've lost 130 pounds with MFP. Don't give up!! It's worth it I've kept it off for 3 years

JPat86

TheBetterBecky wrote: »

I've lost 130 pounds with MFP. Don't give up!! It's worth it I've kept it off for 3 years

You are truly amazing. I look up to you as true motovation and determination. I am so proud to hear your dedication, hard work and commitment. Thank you for sharing that with me. It really opened up my eyes....

lorrpb

I've lost 149 with mfp. Been in maintenance for a few months now. Set your plan and stick with it. Establish good habits, don't sit around and wait for motivation!

janetterdz93

If I could lose 151 pounds, you could lose 50! Just keep your head in the game!

schac061

As of this morning, I have lost 60.5 lbs (since Aug. 2016)! I still have about 65 lbs to go until my goal, but I'm on my way. I have been overweight/obese my entire adult life (13+ years) and have tried many diets/fads and have never gotten this far or felt this good! I feel like I am making changes to my life that I can handle/stick to. The biggest change is logging everything, I mean EVERYTHING, I consume. It helps keep me in check. The other big change is meal prep. I have a routine now every week. I cook chicken, brown rice, veggies, hard cooked eggs, etc. I still enjoy "cheat days" occasionally, but I try to eat healthy at least 90% of the time. And if I have a day that I feel like I've gone off the rails, I'm also learning that it's just one day. Log it and move on. If I can do it, you can! Best of luck to
you!

JPat86 wrote: »

I want to hear your stories! Has anyone successfully lost 50lbs and kept it off? How long did it take you and what did you do to lose it? I want to get motivated so I can lose my 50lbs by July. Vacation has been officially booked for the summer! I'm stressing

divcara

I've lost 67 pounds and dropped body fat 41% - 18% since February 2015. It took me about 8 months to drop the pounds, about 1.5 years to get the body fat under 20%, but the weight came off steadily. I first got a fitbit, started walking a ton, then taking HIIT type classes 3-4 times a week, and also a lot of strength training - lifting heavy and building muscle. I found an amazing personal trainer that helped a lot. I haven't gained any weight back and continue to build muscle.

I also completely overhauled my nutrition and stuck to it pretty strict. Got a food scale and weighed and measured everything. My meals mostly consist of lean proteins - skinless/boneless chicken, lean ground turkey, fish; good carbs like oats, rice, sweet potatos, pasta, ezekiel breads, and small amounts of portioned healthy fats - olive oils, almonds, avocado. Lots of veggies. Lots of water. No/low sugar and no/low sodium. I cut alcohol too. I do have treats here and there, but for the most part, that's how I eat.

There are obviously lots of philosophies and ways to do this. I think most things will work if you commit to them consistently. A lot of things helped me - meal prepping. not eating out so often. finding a fitness class I loved. texting my trainer a picture of every. single. meal. (It's a lot harder to cheat with pictures!) becoming a morning person. planning my week out to get in my workouts and meal prep time. sleep.

It did take work and discipline and I still get into little ruts, but I feel like I've changed my habits and patterns so much, that it's a lot easier to maintain and I never go too far off track.

I'm sure some people think I am rigid and too strict, but I wanted the weight off me as quickly (and safely) as possible. The thing is, the more disciplined I was, the more it became a lifestyle and something I enjoy now - being active, lifting, doing 5k races, my classes, eating healthy, fueling my body the right way, etc. That it's not so much a chore these days, it's what makes me feel pretty good, and I stay motivated to take care of my body. (For the most part, I have my days just like we all do.)

TheBetterBecky

I think you have to think of it as a lifestyle. It is a must. So, eat healthy, exercise, but if you want a cookie then eat one but only one and move on. The more you deprive yourself and only eat carrots and water the worse you'll feel and then you'll gain it back. Get support also! One friend that can support you will make a huge difference.

JPat86

Wow.... I read all of your inspirational stories... that is truly incredible. You all inspire me and I am so happy to read those. That's amazing. You all rock. Reading your post really has me motivated and is keeping me on my feet and dedicated to my goal

sschrock

Just recently hit my 50 lb mark! Hope to keep it off forever!

JeromeBarry1

@Jpat86 Drop the deadline, please. 6 months to lose 50 lb is 2 lb per week, which is a 1000 calorie daily deficit, which is too intense. Your risk of binging is high, your risk of excess muscle loss is 100%, your risk of experiencing metabolic damage is 100%. Use the tools of myfitnesspal to get into a calorie deficit of no more than 500 per day, every day. You'll feel much better, be more content, and know that when your 50th lb is finally gone next December that you've mastered the skills to maintain your perfect weight.

@leaninsc I love it!

AnnPT77

Suggestion: Go read posts in the "Success Stories" part of the forum. What you're reading here is just the tip of the iceberg.

I lost 60+ pounds in 10-11 months starting in April 2015 at age 59/60, and have been maintaining since,

melto1989

I'm trying to lose about that maybe a little less. Nice to see other successes

girlgroves

I lost 56lbs and have been maintaining that for around 7 months. Like AnnPT77 says - read some of the posts in the 'success stories' section - they're super-motivating and you'll get loads of tips. Two things I would say though:

- find what works for you and stick to it. By all means collect tips and ideas from everyone's experiences but realise that not everyone is into clean eating/weight lifting/giving up chocolate, carbs and Diet Coke - and to be honest you don't need to be! The best changes you can make will be the ones that you can keep up.... forever. Because they will be the ones that will make sure you can keep the weight off after you've lost it. Whatever you do it needs to be sustainable and fit your lifestyle.

- as JeromeBarry1 says - forget giving yourself a deadline. It took me around 16 months to lose 56lbs, which I recognise was slow, but it was consistent and steady and at the end I didn't feel like I'd deprived myself of anything. To my mind there's nothing less motivating than feeling like you're not making progress fast enough, or more stressing than trying to stick to something that you find too hard. Start with achievable mini-goals (say, 7lb increments) rather than unrealistic time-related deadlines. Consistency is the key and you'll get there if you stick to it.

50lbs is totally do-able! Good luck

Morgaen73

I've lost roughly 130lbs (in 2.5 years) and maintained for about a year. I would pick up a bit here and there armoung holidays and special occasions but then work it off again. Decided to lose another 30lbs though.

Stick with it and dont guestimate. Buy yourself a food scale and scan the packages with the app. It's not 100% accurate but it's better than guestimating.

Ceeceeann

I'm down 30 pounds in 35 days but I'm still on the journey so I can't speak for keeping it off long term.

tinamarie6624

I've lost 162 Lbs in just over a year. I still have just over a hundred to lose. It can be done. You can do this!

Rincewind_1965

Lost about 100 lbs in 9 1/2 months (The-Best-Of-All-Possible-Wives calls it a "Reverse Pregnancy").
Just finished in October and kept goalweight over the first holidays ... I'll let you know if any new developments come in.

FeraFilia

I guess I can't be considered a success as of yet... But I did use MFP to lose weight so I could get pregnant a little easier (I have PCOS), lost about 40 and then SURPRISE A BABY! (So I guess in that sense, it worked!) Pregnancy, and breastfeeding for a year kept me from using the app to lose more, but now that he's weaned I'm back, and am thisclose to hitting that 50 pounds down marker again.

If I can do it *twice* anyone can do it once. You got this!

P.S. Don't consider it a failure if you aim for 50 by your vacation and don't make it! Work hard, and be proud of what you accomplish by the time you go on your vacation. Have fun knowing you did good things for yourself even if you didn't hit a goal on the calendar!

TMcSter

I just started January 1st - hoping not to be a cliche but reading your responses here is inspiring.

DEBOO7

Have lost 83lbs since May 2014 with a further 7lbs to reach my goal weight.
How? I follow a ketogenic way of eating. Low carb, moderate protein and high fat.
Moderate exercise.... attempt to get in 10k steps a day and swim twice a week.
I'm too much of a sloth to go to the gym!
Stats: 55yo, 5' 2", current weight 127lbs
To be successful... stop thinking diet, start thinking way of life.
What you're doing is breaking a life time of habits and that doesn't occur in 5 minutes!
If you want to sustain it, it has to be ingrained as a habit, as what you do and how you live your life.
Success is more about what goes on in your brain than anything else.

Kst76

TheBetterBecky wrote: »

I've lost 130 pounds with MFP. Don't give up!! It's worth it I've kept it off for 3 years

Are you a Seahawks fan??????

geminiswede

I've lost 108 pounds over the last two years and my number one recommendation is get a food scale. Weigh everything. Even packaged foods aren't always the serving they say they are. I'll also echo what people have said about not depriving yourself. The only "off limits" foods I've had have been binge triggers, so I only avoid them for that reason.

Play around with foods to see what you find filling. For some that's protein, or fats, or carbs. I prefer volume to feel full so I add lots of veggies to meals to have more food for not a ton of calories.

And remember fluctuations are normal, regardless how often you're weighing yourself. Your weight might go up because of sodium, or your cycle, or a variety of things. Just keep at it.