Question, How did you lose your weight?

agrube1968

I have seen so many success stories and before and after pics of people who have lost 40, 50, 100 or more lbs. and I am just curious how did you do it?

Did you follow low carb or Keto diet? Did you count calories? Weight Watchers? Some other plan? I'm still struggling with finding out what's going to work the best for me. I am successful with low carb but my only problem with it is finding side dishes; I am not a veggie person; about the only veggies I like are the ones you can't have on low carb (and you can only eat so much cottage cheese before you get burned out on it).

So I'm wondering if just counting calories would be the best thing for me. I could have anything I wanted (in moderation) so I wouldn't feel so deprived but then again I don't want it to be something that will set me up for failure. Does that make any sense? Maybe something more stricter would be better for me; I just don't know.

Anyway would love to have your input on how you lost weight; struggles you had along the way; how you over came those. How much you exercised (if any) and what types of exercise you did and how often. Thanks so much and sorry for so many questions!

Also please feel free to add me as a friend; I love making new friends on here!

workinonit1956

Hi, I’m female, 5’2.5” and 62 years old (for context).
Since January, I’ve lost 38.5 pounds, going from 173 to 134.5. I’m still losing, slowly now.
I did this by plugging my stats in here and sticking to my calorie allotment, logging everything every day. *Every 10 pounds or so it’s important to update your stats.*
I exercise by walking and Pilates—walking at least 30 minutes most days and Pilates 3 times/week.
I eat what I’ve always eaten, just in proper quantities and not all the time. I don’t worry about carbs at all, but I do make sure I get enough protein, fat and fiber, as I personally find those satiating.
Best of luck!!

tcunbeliever

The single greatest factor for success is sustainability.

It doesn't matter what plan you do if you can't stick to it long-term then it's never going to work for you.

I started with weight watchers, which is just simplified calorie counting. I then started here with basic calorie counting and I was vegan for 5 years trying to control my migraines. Currently I'm doing keto for migraine control, but I still have my non-keto approved foods, just in very limited quantity.

At the end of the day it's all about eating less calories, however that is easiest for you to achieve.

Roosh513

I tried all the fad diets, and didn't stick with any of them. The best diet is the one you don't really know you're on or think about. This takes some experimenting in the kitchen, but you can start with a well balanced macronutrient split. Something to start with, and adjust to taste is the 40% carb, 40% protein, 20% fat. Figure out what your starting calorie requirements are and myfitnesspal will figure out how much of each you need.

From there, you can eat whatever you want. However, you'll quickly find that if you eat a candy bar or piece of cake, it's going to really screw up your macros for the rest of the day and you'll be stuck eating egg whites or tuna (yuck!). Focus on simple, balanced, and tasty meals. Only you know what meals taste good for you, so start experimenting! If you find that you enjoy meats with higher fat content, just balance it out by dialing carbs back a bit. If you like carbs, then keep your fats lower. You'll eventually find a list of foods that are easy to stick to long term and the fat will start falling off!

FWIW - exercise is just icing on the cake. Losing lots of weight is all about making small, comfortable (or slightly uncomfortable) changes over a LONG period of time. I hope this helps. Good luck!

hippysprout

Well everyone is different, obviously. For me, it was a matter of what I can do forever versus what I won't do forever. A pro-con list, if you will.

1. Not gonna give up carbs forever. Nope, not about that lifestyle.
2. Not gonna give up sugar forever. Hurts my heart just thinking about it.
3. Still need to eat ice cream, gotta have some birthday cake when it's time to celebrate.
4. I like whiskey.
5. etc etc etc...

1. I can totally weigh my food. It's not even hard, just use the tare button and add food to the plate/bowl.
2. I can log my food - in fact I thrive on planning so I plan whole weeks in advance sometimes.
3. I like to cook, so working old recipes into new healthy ones is fun for me.
4. I'm fully capable of finding an accurate entry or making my own if I can't find one.
5. etc etc etc...


So what type of eating pattern will accommodate my deal-breakers while creating a deficit? I just eat what I like and log it accurately. I've lost 54 pounds doing nothing but this, and because I don't feel deprived, I have absolutely no issue sticking to it. Be honest with yourself and figure out what you can do (and are willing to do) for the long haul. If you choose a path because you think it will be easier or take less effort from you, with the intention of switching to some other way of eating when you reach maintenance, then be very sure that you have a plan to maintain so you don't put the weight back on. My plan for maintaining is to continue eating the things I'm eating now, only about 500 calories more each day.

tbright1965

agrube1968 wrote: »

I have seen so many success stories and before and after pics of people who have lost 40, 50, 100 or more lbs. and I am just curious how did you do it?

Did you follow low carb or Keto diet? Did you count calories? Weight Watchers? Some other plan? I'm still struggling with finding out what's going to work the best for me. I am successful with low carb but my only problem with it is finding side dishes; I am not a veggie person; about the only veggies I like are the ones you can't have on low carb (and you can only eat so much cottage cheese before you get burned out on it).

So I'm wondering if just counting calories would be the best thing for me. I could have anything I wanted (in moderation) so I wouldn't feel so deprived but then again I don't want it to be something that will set me up for failure. Does that make any sense? Maybe something more stricter would be better for me; I just don't know.

Anyway would love to have your input on how you lost weight; struggles you had along the way; how you over came those. How much you exercised (if any) and what types of exercise you did and how often. Thanks so much and sorry for so many questions!

Also please feel free to add me as a friend; I love making new friends on here!

Eat less, move more. Well, really moving pretty much the same... My diary is open. No heroics, just paying attention to what was on my fork.

I was already exercising before I started taking my food intake seriously back in February.

Down about 49# since Valentine's Day.

I do use a food scale for calorie dense foods such as meats, sauces, cheeses. I don't weight packaged foods or most vegetables. If I get 10% extra raw spinach in a salad, that's not going to make a huge difference.

I do build in margin, so I round up most things. If I have a 7oz steak, I might log it as 8oz to leave room for other things I might not stay on top of such as the splash of 1/2 and 1/2 I put in my coffee. Ditto for the shredded cheese in my omelette. A serving is 28g. If I get between 25-28g, I log it as 28g, again maybe leaving a 10% margin for things I might forget, or just don't log.

If I have meat with a bone, I weigh the whole thing, bone in and log that. I don't weigh the bones at the end to subtract the uneaten weight.

Margin.

But I do use the food scale and on the grams setting. That's the most accurate. Measuring cups have too much variation.

stewarm01

I'm seeing progress right now, only 9 weeks into my restart after 5 years. For context, 46 year old male, 5'9, started at 262 now at 225.

I switch up weekly after weigh ins on Saturdays. Low carb week, calorie counting one week, vegetarian one week, etc. But counting calories is best for me.

I also brisk walk 4 to 6 miles every day except Saturdays. I use this day as a free day (cheat day). I've done this the entire 9 weeks so I don't feel deprived and it gives me something to look forward to. Although I must admit, those 4 thousand calorie days are high, but worth it to me. Tomorrow is free day, yay. I think we're having Mexican food for lunch. Lol

Bottom line, you have to find what works best for YOU and be consistent.

allisonlane161

You will lose weight by burning more calories than you eat. That being said, Weight Watchers was my tool to do this because for me, it was/is a sustainable way of eating less/exercising more. I couldn't stick to a meal plan that restricted any type of food, except maybe blood pudding and liver. I could refrain from them. What works is the plan you can stick to.

Kathryn247

Diets (keto, WW, low carb, ALL of them) only work for weight loss to the extent they create a calorie deficit and you can stick with it.
Eat what you want (what keeps you full, makes you happy, nourishes your body) within your calorie range and you'll lose weight.
Some people feel better doing keto or low carb, so that helps them stay within their calorie goal.

makkimakki2018

Army prt 5 days a week (mobility, 4 for the core, and prep drill) i put a lot of effort into core exercises and pushups. On top of that i did a lot of HIIT on the spin bike (dripping ridiculous amounts of sweat). And last but not least portioning my food. Eventually became somewhat vegetarian....

Crafty_camper123

I have started, and started over many times. But this time I made it stick. I'm 5'3 (F) and went from 155 to 135 since January. Things that worked for me:


- I started SLOW. I started my just being aware of how much I was eating, and just trying to eat a little less. A few weeks later, I incorporated calorie counting but ate what it my MFP stats told me was maintenance. A few weeks after that, I cut it back. I tried setting it to lose 2 lbs. a week, but never could reach that goal without being overly hungry. So I reassessed and set it to 1lbs a week. Once I got in the habit of eating less, then I added exercise. My previous failures were because I started too much too soon.
- I had specific goals in mind. I wanted to be able to hike this year without wanting to keel over. So I based my fitness goals around that. Also I had a goal to try and work out once a week (or more) every week. I picked once a week, because no matter how insane my life is, I can fit in 1 30 minute work out most weeks. Not ideal according to most statistics. But it was more then I was doing, and it was something I could sustain. Think about what is important to you. And make a goal to get there. Set a deadline. Have mini check in goals along the way.
- Expect set backs and embrace them. So you polished off an entire bag of chips when you were only planning on eating a handful? (We've all been there. ) Instead of thinking "Welp, diet's shot! It's over" Plan to eat better the next day. You may even ask why it happened to better plan to avoid it next time. I have a weekly calorie goal for this reason. I can either bank calories to save up for a special treat. Or decide I want treat now, and cut it back a bit for a few days.
- Embrace refeeds and diet breaks. If you find that it's getting tougher and tougher to stick to plan, it may be time to eat at maintenance for a week or two. There's nothing wrong with needing to eat at maintenance for a while. For me, it seemed to reset the hunger hormones, and probably reduce stress. After a week or 2 week long refeed, I was able to get back to my weight loss goal without feeling as hungry and deprived.


I'm sure there's more, but I already have a wall of text here. lol. Best of luck to you!

jjpptt2

Here's the deal. Ready for it? There is a what and a how to all this.

The WHAT is the same for everyone. Period. End of conversation. There are no special snowflakes here, there are no different circumstances. Every. Single. Person. If they controlled their weight, or more to your question, if they lost weight, they did it by controlling their calorie balance (the amount of calories coming in vs the amount going out). That is what they did. They controlled/managed their energy balance.

The HOW is what varies person to person. How did they control their calorie balance? Did they calorie count? Did they focus on potion control? Did they exercise more? Did they cut back on snacking or fast food or soda or dessert or... ? Did they IF? Did they hire a dietitian/nutritionist and do whatever plan they were given? There's a zillion things people have done and could have done... none are inherently more right or more better than another. This is where you have to figure out what works for you.

Personally, I calorie count. I have a few "trigger" foods that I manage a bit more closely than others, but by in large, I eat what I want as long as the numbers work out. I've worked hard to identifying habits/responses that are damaging, and replace them with less damaging habits/responses. It's certainly a work in progress.

Seffell

I lost the majority of my weight just by counting calories and eating things that I like. That doesn't mean I could eat everything I wanted. If I wasn't going to starve I had to eat low calorie high volume foods. Culturaly I eat a Mediterranean diet with a lot of vegetables, but we cook vegetables much more than they do in the UK or US. I would NOT eat the raw vegetables they eat there so I understand people who don't like them. (We boil grean beans for example for at least 30-40mins and not 3mins.)

I've lost 30lbs so far. I started at 165lbs which was barely overweight for my 5'7. For the most of the time I didn't do any exercise and spent most of the time sitting with almost no walking even at home (several health issues). So I had very few calories to eat because I maintained at 1600cals.

I have about 10lbs left to lose and I can't lose them because I've been counting for 2.5 years (using a kitchen scale and everything) and I'm so tired of eating little that I just can't sustain even the smallest deficit. I've been losing and gaining the same 4lbs for more than 1 year and I just can't eat at a deficit or even at maintanance for long enough. So I don't know what solution to offer for this problem. I've started working out now and have more calories to ear but I don't know for how long I'll be able to do this before I'm back sitting...

Hope you find what works for you.

quiksylver296

VUA21

So far, I've lost about 185lbs.

How I did it:
1. I didn't diet. Diets fail, they are not meant for long term results. I simply learned how to eat less of what I normally eat. Pure CICO, eat less calories. That's it.
2. I never quit. No matter how bad a day/week I had, how slow the progress was, how frustrated I got with the scale. I just didn't quit.

That's it in a nutshell. It's been 3 years since I started. Sometimes progress was eekingly slow, sometimes I felt like just giving up. I just kept going. I'm still losing, as I have another 10-20lbs to lose. It's probably going to take a year to drop those last one.

sijomial

I lost my weight eating the same foods but in an overall calorie deficit for the week. My pattern was 2 very low calorie days and 5 days at maintenance calories which resulted in roughly 1lb/week weight loss.
I calorie counted but not in a particularly accurate way, consistency was more my goal than absolute accuracy.

Exercised a lot (cycling and strength training mostly) and ate back my exercise calories the way this site is designed to be used. Exercise was and is about fitness, health and enjoyment for me with the nice bonus that I could lose (and subsequently maintain at goal weight) while eating a more generous amount of food than would be possible otherwise.

cwolfman13

I counted calories and ate a bit less and started exercising on the regular...lost 40 Lbs over about 7-8 months. Maintenance for over 5 years with the exception of a little winter weight I put on every year.

hesn92

Every time I've consistently lost weight, I just counted calories and cut portion sizes. I have never followed a "diet" like keto, atkins etc. They have never appealed to me.

My exception would be probably 6-7 years ago I was drinking a 32 oz dr pepper every single day and when I stopped doing that i lost like 15 lbs with no other conscious changes lol. I was also very active though.

sunfastrose

I lost 50 pounds on Weight Watchers, but as stated by someone else above it was just calorie counting under the covers. I've maintained that weight for 18 years now and am currently just sticking with "eat what I like in amounts that satisfy me and keep me within my weight range". I am definitely out of the current fashion, as my carbs % can get as high as 60%, but it works for me.

CarvedTones

65 pounds the mfp way; log it all and make it fit within your goal. Make very few exceptions to getting under goal that you don't correct by averaging across days. I made 2 - Thanksgiving and Christmas - and I still logged them.

ETA - I ate what I like and figured out the things I had to limit and/or not mix to stay under goal without too much effort. The way that happens is a lot of trial and error; I had some days where dinner had to be disappointingly small with nothing after.

kommodevaran

Look at the chart How named diets work for weightloss.
Then accept that weigtloss is what happens when you consistently eat less than you burn.
And accept that there are natural limitiations to everything.
When you've come this far, you have already won, because you've conquered your preconceptions and the attitudes that hold you back.
And then you can focus on you and your own process and progress and find out about your own strengths and weaknesses and find strategies that fit you, not rely on cookiecutter tips, tricks, diets, exercises, motivation, support and the general shizzle of the day.

I personally struggled with my weight for years, because I didn't connect the dots. I knew about calories, but I believed there had to be something more. And I wanted to eat a lot of chocolate and chips. So I followed a "lean/green/mean" diet (focus on vegetables, low fat and whole grains) and counted calories, and went to the gym, and walked, far and often. I did lose weight, but I also did regain, and still I didn't have a clue, so I started again. But this time I just understood things that I didn't understand before - it's all about calories, no foods are healthy/unhealthy or clean/fattening, the advice about being active is just that, not supposed to be specific prescriptions. Over the years I had accumulated 50 excess pounds - it took me a little over a year to reach goal weight, but most importantly, I have been at goal weight for almost 4 years now. I counted calories a few months into maintenance, but now I just plan/log my meals in a spreadsheet. My strategy now is 3 meals per day, treats on Saturday, weekly dinner themes, protein, fat, vegetables and starch for every meal, fruit for breakfast and lunch, get as much variety as possible, while sticking to favorite foods and dishes.