What Works?

d090882

Please list briefly -1. How much weight you lost, 2. How long it took, 3. How was your maintenance? In short, what works?

Andy10725

1. ~60lb
2. 7 months
3. Not there yet
4. Weighing daily

AnnieGottaRun

1. 40 lbs
2. ~9 months
3. Maintenance is going well. To get here, I consistently exercised and kept a calorie deficit. I've been maintaining by continuing to exercise, log my food and weight, and eat at my maintenance calorie range.

MrsPinterest34

1. 37 lbs ( 3lbs remainig to reach a normal BMI)
2. 14 months ( i'm 5'2" i'm taking it slow. I like to eat and I don't want loose skin either)
3. Not there yet but i should be by end of this year.
4. Failure is not an option mindset. Self-accountability, honest logging of my meals and counting steps through daily walking ( every single day). I enjoy walking.

elothen

1. 75 lbs
2. 5 months
3. Over 8 years I've floated between 190 and 210 @ 6'4" (started at 265). I let my diet go back to garbage but started playing soccer 2-3 nights a week. I'd say what works above all else is moderation in eating/drinking, w/e it is you choose to eat/drink, and finding a physically demanding activity you love.

BecMarty14

1. 22.2 #, still going
2. Almost 5 months
3. My true goal is to return to peak physical condition / fitness, so my maintenance plan is to get back to focus my efforts to support physical fitness pursuits.
4. Simply paying attention* is remarkably helpful. Consciously deciding to give my body the best resources I can each day & finding ways to enjoy fewer calories. Being grateful that, as my body's mass decreases, I need fewer calories to operate well - it can feel like freedom from a junk food prison. (attitude is key)
* paying attention to what my body needs / asks for & realize that needs change based on the demands on it .

CarvedTones

1 - 63#
2 - 7 months (on mfp for 5 after an unhealthy crash diet at the beginning; not recommended)
3 - going well for 2 months; still logging as I eat throughout the day and using where I am and how much is left to make good decisions.
4 - Discipline. Motivation comes and goes. Frustration sets in sometimes. Sometimes I make bad choices early in the day and end up pretty hungry late in the day. Discipline keeps me from cheating (not logging something) and rarely going over (IMO, logging that you went over is not cheating). Sometimes I log something for the next day to keep from going over and then deal with the next day being lower than usual calories. Knowing that first thing, it isn't so bad.

rainbow198

1. How much weight you lost: 85 pounds

2. How long it took: 15 months

3. How was your maintenance? I celebrated my 5th year maintenance anniversary last week and it's going amazing. I've been in a very happy place with my eating and workouts for a while. I maintain a 10 pound range year round.

I did have some mental struggles when I first hit maintenance however. I worked so hard and it felt incredible being at a normal size! I did not want the weight to regain, but with time I worked through it.

5. In short, what works?

- Learning about my eating habits and working with it.
- Not dieting or cutting things I enjoy out (which made me want what I was missing even more).
- Finding workouts and activities I enjoy.
- Not beating myself up.
- Staying consistent.
- Focusing more on fat loss, my body composition and losing inches. Not so much scale weight.
- Trying new things (food, workouts, fitness classes/studios, reading health/fitness/nutrition books etc). This keeps me from getting bored.
- Planning and tracking my meals in my food journal everyday.
- Always working towards and setting new fitness goals.
- CICO

This all helps me to stay on track, it keeps me fit and the excess weight off.

workinonit1956

1– 28 pounds
2– 4 months
3– Not at goal yet. 3 pounds from normal BMI and 10 pounds from “goal”. What is working for me: logging religiously and enjoyable movement like walking and Pilates.

hesn92

I lost 25 lbs and I didn’t try very hard, i didn’t lose it all for like a year and a half. (This was after I had my last child) I’ve been maintaining my weight for almost a year.

philrtx

-From Over 450 Pounds to 180 Pounds
-12 Months, June 14, 2015-June 14, 2016
-Maintenance for 2 years at 200 Pounds
-Low-Carb for the first six months, Keto for the last six months. No stalls, Average loss over 22 pounds/month.

You have to figure out what works best for you; Everyone has a different medical history, everyone has different life experiences to draw from, everyone has a different psychological profile, everyone has a different life perspective, and, everyone has different preferences.

JoAnna4731

1. 16 lbs.
2. 5 months (taking it really slow so that I don't get hangry, lol)
3. Not there yet - I have 14 lbs to go.
4. Patience - trusting the process.

VUA21

Weight lost: 170lbs
Time: 3 years
Maintenance: maintained for about a year, stomach flap was getting bad and prone to infection. Insurance covering flap removal, so I'm trying to drop another 10-20lbs before my surgery.
What works: eating fewer calories than I use. That's it. I no longer care about macros, "good" vs "bad" food, carbs, just try to eat well balanced foods and enjoy treats in moderation.

brig220

no extremes, portion control, snack control, enjoy all foods (including chocolate cake ) but eat mostly healthy ones, again, portion control

elisa123gal

35 pounds lost in five months ,six pounds to my goal weight
i didn't count caloires but ate six meals a day,whole foods paired with protein, carbs, vegs and fruit.
i credit my success to feeding my body all day long,drinking a lot of water, eliminating all sodium and sugar from my diet.
looking at my "before" picture every day..and especially on days when i don't feel motivated..keeps me on track.

Back_4_more

27lbs in 7 weeks.
Strictly diet and only worked out 3 times on the elliptical.
Cheat meal on Sunday, but strict the rest of the week.
45f, 30p, 25c

CILLAJ8

48lbs in 9 months, @ 20lbs from 1st goal
I log all my meals daily and exercise as often as I can.
Portion control, CICO. I also weigh in daily because I feel it keeps me accountable.

Spliner1969

1. 127 lbs
2. 14 months
3. Been in maintenance for 2+ years now. It's been up and down. My lowest weight was 178 (I'm 6'2") and I'm currently hovering around ~200. I started bulking slowly before the holidays of 2017 and have gained about 22ish pounds since then. I'd say it's probably a 50/50 split of muscle and fat, currently still working on muscle but have dropped the calories back from surplus to maintenance. Hoping by the end of the summer to be back around the 10-12% body fat range, and I expect my final weight will be 190-195ish. The only thing that works for me is to continue logging and staying within my calorie goal. It doesn't matter what your goals are, calories are what control your weight. I'm not certain I'll log forever, but I am certain that for now it's a must.

amy740404

Down 45 lbs - one year, one month
Logging everything, even bad days - trainer x3 per week, every week, cardio 30 min 3 x week, every week
Not at maintenance yet - 20 more pounds to go

DomesticKat

- 60 pounds
- Just over a year
- Not at maintenance yet. I have 5 pounds to go to hit the top of a healthy BMI then will reassess. I may shoot for 70-75 pounds total.
- What works for me? A modest deficit. Eating slightly less than what I used to eat. Eating the same things I used to eat. Using a food scale. Strength training to retain muscle. Playing the long game. Not expecting overnight results.

kami3006

25 lbs in about 4 months back in 2013 after joining MFP
I maintained for a year, and have since done two small bulks and then cut a few pounds each time afterwards. I am currently maintaining.
What worked for me was simply following MFP, using a food scale, eating what I've always eaten and not restricting any foods, experimenting with what foods keep me fuller the longest, weight training, fueling my workouts by hitting my calorie goal including exercise, and using measurements, photos, and the scale for progress.

ETA: prelogging an evening snack and/or when I plan to have a particularly heavy meal so I can plan the rest of my day around it. I also follow a weekly average for calories so over one day and under another balances out with no worries.

SalinitySally

elisa123gal wrote: »

35 pounds lost in five months ,six pounds to my goal weight
i didn't count caloires but ate six meals a day,whole foods paired with protein, carbs, vegs and fruit.
i credit my success to feeding my body all day long,drinking a lot of water, eliminating all sodium and sugar from my diet.
looking at my "before" picture every day..and especially on days when i don't feel motivated..keeps me on track.

Twenty years ago I lost 70 pounds doing exactly this. Ignore the people who “woo” at it.

BattyKnitter

1. How much weight you lost so far 25 lbs
2. How long it took I've been doing this for about 4 months
3. How was your maintenance? Not there yet
4. In short, what works? Prelogging my days and using a food scale to weigh all my food and log as accurately as possible.

Schila64

~12 lbs
2 to 3 months
Logging EVERYTHING I ate keeping it under 1200 cal
Eating only healthy foods
No Process Foods
0 Diet Sodas
Working Out 5-6 times a week : cardio and strength training

60Chevy

1. 50 lbs.

2. 6 months.

3. Not there yet.

4. Hospital sponsored weight loss program w weekly weigh ins (accountability); logging foods; walking 5-7 days a week for an hour; no diet sodas, replaced with sparkling water; more protein and less processed food;
not quitting when I cheat (because you will cheat and probably should to remember to “see above” and what got you where you want to go.)

60Chevy

Oh yeah. Halo Top ice cream.

itsgood

@45 lbs, 5 months, 1 month maintenance "break" (I had several social events, birthdays, vacation, etc. lined up and I knew I'd be challenged to stay in a deficit, so I aimed to hold steady. Still tracked calories, just not as stringently, and ate things I no longer make a habit of...cake, wine, bread. After a month I gained 1 lb. Yay!) I took several days to ease back into my plan, and now I'm back on track and satisfied. This is what it's all about, I think.