How did you do it?

The_Dej

Hello readers,

I'm in need of some major motivation. I have been trying to lose weight for a while and I just haven't found anything that worked for me. I'm just interested in hearing about what worked for you during your journey. How did you lose your weight and how much did you lose? How did you start? Any weight loss advice?

livingleanlivingclean

Calorie deficit worked for me.

I initially lost 25kgs over about 8-9 months, and since then ive been involved in bodybuilding so go up and down depending on my goals. I've used various methods and ways of eating in that time, but it's always because of creating a deficit that I lose weight.

Get yourself a food scale and start weighing (solids) and measuring (liquids) everything you put in your mouth. Put your stats in to MFP to get your calorie goal, eat that amount.

Evamutt

I weigh everything that goes in my mouth on my food scale & stayed within the calories mfp gave me. I experimented with foods that sustained me. for example, I found protein & fat sustains me most so I ate less of higher calorie carbs, like rice & ate more meat & veggies. I find lower calorie foods that I can eat a lot of, like veggies. I put butter & Parmesan cheese on it, I also eat lean ground turkey patties I make along with other meats. I make my own smoothie for breakfast with almond milk, yogurt, frozen tropical fruit, veggies & protein powder. I eat pretty much the same as I did before losing weight but less of it. I also found substitutes for some things I enjoy, like non fat greek yogurt, powdered peanut butter & lower calorie bread. I only have one slice of bread for a sandwhich. I also drink alot of water & tea with no sugar in it.

brdnw

I lift at the gym, i do HIIT cardio and I cook the majority of my meals. I used to eat fast food frequently and alot of processed food. I slowly started to eat more fruits and vegetables and lots of lean protein. The more consistent i stuck to eating this way the easier and more preferable it became. I lost 65lbs in under 7 months this way.

cmriverside

Log food. Stay under calories. Exercise. Eat more food. Prosper.

I lost 70 pounds in 2007-08 using only this site and the tools it provided.

nissarayna

Log everything. Exercise. Set yourself realistic goals. I say that I am on a diet, but really I have made a lifetime change in my eating habits. I still eat things that may not be the healthiest, but nowhere near as often as I did. What I eat now, while trying to lose weight, I will continue to eat once I reach my goal. I eat regular home cooked meals, not fads or gimmicks, for me, those will just set me up for a complete failure.

I started my journey on January 23rd this year, and I have lost 22.5lbs. The only purposeful exercise I do is I walk 60-90 minutes a day. My start weight was 151lb and my goal weight is 110-115lb, I had given myself until May 26th but it's going a little slower than I would have liked initially but I'm very happy with my progress so far.

Remember to take one day at a time and slow and steady ...

Keep reading the forums, there is some really great advice here.

Wish you luck on your journey!

hoorayselma

Lost 50 pounds using this app ... stayed under 1200 daily at 5-3" , took me 6 months .... ONLY ADVICE : NEVER GIVE UP EVEN WHEN SCALE GOES UP SOMETIMES!!!!!!!

neekonico

hoorayselma wrote: »

Lost 50 pounds using this app ... stayed under 1200 daily at 5-3" , took me 6 months .... ONLY ADVICE : NEVER GIVE UP EVEN WHEN SCALE GOES UP SOMETIMES!!!!!!!

This is so so true. After a little over a month I'm 8 pounds lighter. I weigh myself in the morning. Sometimes the scale can go up 1-3 pounds from day to day. At first it scared and frustrated me, but then I started to see patterns. I have 30 pounds to go, but I'm more confident than I was. The two biggest tips, make sure you track everything so you are as accurate a you can be and be persistent even if you don't think you are seeing progress.

TheLaser

I've never been overweight, but I think if I had been raised differently I would be, as I can easily put on weight even eating healthily and staying active. So my advice is, in addition to logging religiously on MPF, look hard at your lifestyle. I tend to choose active over passive activities in everyday life, even things as simple as ALWAYS taking the stairs instead of the elevator escalator, biking to the commuter train instead of taking the bus, walking my kids to daycare instead of driving, etc. During the years when my children were tiny and I was working a more than full time job and hardly sleeping, this was the only exercise I got, and I was glad of it. Also, on top of that, I think eating REAL food -prepared as much as possible by yourself-- is always a tastier, better choice. MFP doesn't distinguish calories, but I don't believe a calorie is a calorie: what is better for a person's overall health, an under-calorie fast food item, or an over-calorie home-cooked meal from fresh ingredients? I choose the latter. I also find it helpful to "reprogram" the mind -I think hard about how I'm going to feel (physically, emotionally) after eating something marginal, or about what chemicals might be in something, or about the preparation conditions of, say, airport food... That's usually enough to gross me out or drive me away from temptation.

Hypsibius

The_Dej wrote: »

Hello readers,

I'm in need of some major motivation. I have been trying to lose weight for a while and I just haven't found anything that worked for me. I'm just interested in hearing about what worked for you during your journey. How did you lose your weight and how much did you lose? How did you start? Any weight loss advice?

So I kicked off with Whole30.

The original goal wasn't to lose weight, it was to radically change my relationship with food. Get me back in the kitchen, testing new meals, learning to cook healthy meals that I liked -- bringing lunches to work, eating breakfast: these things are habits, so they took time to click.

When I saw results with Whole30, I kicked into a program called p90x. For the first 2-3 weeks, the hour-long workouts were hard/impossible, but I did them with modification and fought through. I reintroduced grains, milk, yogurt, nuts --> because doing all those workouts my body needed the calories.

By the the end of Whole30 and the 90-day home workout program, I went from 235 to 175. I didn't count calories, personally. p90x was so radical a shift in my daily routine that I couldn't get enough food.

In the time since, my weight fluctuated but I've found that base built a lot of core strength and muscles that make hitting the gym, developing a custom workout program, and preparing home meals baked into a healthier routine, and one that can involve other foods and treats from time to time.

Personally, I never had success when I tried to count calories while staying on Standard American Diet. I needed tectonic shifts in the way I think about and relate with food (and had to cut way, way back on alcohol which was often for the first domino for a lot of problem eating).

Hope that helps and keep it up!!

Tacklewasher

Down 90 lbs.

Took the time to read the stickies here (all of them) and get this CICO thing figured out. So I understand how weight loss happens. Figured out what advice to listen to and what to ignore. Also figured out who to listen to and who to ignore (i.e anyone making money off of weight loss plans).

So it became a math problem to me, and that suits my personality just fine. If I eat 7000 calories less than I burn in a week, and do it consistently over months, I will lose an average of 2 lbs per week. I overdid it a bit (as I can see) and from Sept to April I lost 2.7 per week on average, but I do know why.

I log anything that has calories. I don't bother with water or coffee (coffee might have 5 cals) and have a HR watch to log all activity.

Now I'm aiming for 1.5 lb per week.

Stalls happen (I'm in one now) but over time the numbers work.

Basically, I trust the the way MFP does it does work.

2013allen

I eat mostly plant based for health, but I log to make sure I don't over eat. Set an actualy fitness goal. Mine was a half marathon. I signed up, paid for it, and started training. I remind myself that if I don't run, I'll fail my marathon. Oh and a heart rate monitor is your friend, because MFP overestimates how many cals you burn in workouts.

quiksylver296

Food scale. Calorie deficit. Heavy lifting.

cwolfman13

I used this site to count calories...I hit my calorie targets consistently and lost 40 Lbs.

cheethnico

Switch it up with food and exercise when things slow down. I go between calorie counting and slimming world I love trying new recipes and healthy alternatives I'm 57lb down around another 40lb to go to my ideal

Spliner1969

I lost 105 lbs in the first year, and 126 lbs total within 15 months total by counting calories, using a food scale for everything and not doing cheat days. If I felt like eating more, I ate more, then I exercised more to make up for it. When I shifted to maintenance I slowly raised calories over a period of two to three months, then I have stayed at that level for almost a year now and maintained my weight within +/- 10 lbs and have gained significant muscle (for me anyway, I had none to start). The key was being honest about what I ate, choosing accurate entries in my diary, weighing everything that could be weighed by the gram, and I also incorporated iifym.com's calculators to increase protein macros and adjust both fat and carbs as well (as I didn't feel MFP did a very good job of it). Worked for me, and continues to work.

JeromeBarry1

The_Dej wrote: »

Hello readers,

I'm in need of some major motivation. I have been trying to lose weight for a while and I just haven't found anything that worked for me. I'm just interested in hearing about what worked for you during your journey. How did you lose your weight and how much did you lose? How did you start? Any weight loss advice?

The only things that ever worked for me was eating foods I already liked within the limits of my calorie budget.

I had to learn that it was necessary for me that I have a good breakfast, as failing that has tended to be the prelude to an afternoon and evening binge.

I've experimented with some foods I've found along the way, such as jicama, homemade bread, kefir, homemade yogurt, bok choy, Dr Pepper Pulled Pork, Low Calorie High Protein Cheesecake, homemade pizza, kimchi, and now kombucha.

Several of my co-workers cite me as their inspiration to undertake weight loss, and some have already reached their goals. That's big motivation to me to keep going now that the going is tough.

cosob

Spliner1969 wrote: »

I lost 105 lbs in the first year, and 126 lbs total within 15 months total by counting calories, using a food scale for everything and not doing cheat days. If I felt like eating more, I ate more, then I exercised more to make up for it. When I shifted to maintenance I slowly raised calories over a period of two to three months, then I have stayed at that level for almost a year now and maintained my weight within +/- 10 lbs and have gained significant muscle (for me anyway, I had none to start). The key was being honest about what I ate, choosing accurate entries in my diary, weighing everything that could be weighed by the gram, and I also incorporated iifym.com's calculators to increase protein macros and adjust both fat and carbs as well (as I didn't feel MFP did a very good job of it). Worked for me, and continues to work.

The best n the easiest approach I have come across thus far. That's how I have been doing it.

Thx for sharing, I was starting to feel out of place for not believing in cheat day and rest day.

Chadxx

I cleaned up my diet and got back to exercising but it is all about the calories. If you maintain a calories deficit, you will lose weight. Forget about cheating and start seeing your calorie goal as a budget. It really is that simple and I have lost a total of 143 pounds.