Whats ur secret?

lisabelle69 · February 2020

What are u doing/following to lose weight? How much have you lost?

serindipte · February 2020

50lb loss doing this, with no real exercise:

1. Create account on MFP, enter your stats, goals, activity levels and allow MFP to set a calorie goal. (As much as we'd all love to lose 2lbs+ a week, that is only recommended for those with 75lbs+. For 25lbs -50lbs, set it at 1lb and for under 25lbs, go with .5lbs)
2. Buy a food scale.
3. Eat real food. Yes, real food you can buy at any grocery store! Weigh it, log it, and keep within the calorie goals. If you have calories left at the end of the day? Eat a cookie!!!

That's it! No magic pills, no restrictive eating.. Just cookies.

Seriously, though.. countless threads show up with this diet and that diet, this restriction and that one. So many question what to do if they really want dessert or to go out to eat.

Look at your calories as a weekly average rather than daily. If you want to indulge one day? Eat a bit less on the days leading up to it and then enjoy. Log it, watch your average and keep it around your goal calories.

nighthawk584 · February 2020

I've lost 95 lbs since last April following my three C's.
Consistency, Control, Commitment.
Consistently staying at my calorie deficit goal every day. Being as accurate as possible and weighing everything on a food scale. EVERYTHING.
Controlling my mind to stay positive and quit making excuses, and most important, controlling my portion size.
Committing to this LONG TERM for my overall health and not ever giving up. This isn't a diet, it's a complete lifestyle commitment.

I also exercise 7 days a week for better health and body.

fitzmommy8 · February 2020

I have lost 32 lbs with 6 months of tracking food on myfitnesspal. I have no restrictions except that portion sizes are much smaller than I was accustomed to in order to maintain the calorie goals. After New Years I have been straying from the calorie goals due to increased hunger with exercise, I've been doing weight training, swimming, in-line skating, walking, etc. I have gained back 6 lbs but maintaining the same size in clothes. I am trying to tweak my diet to curb cravings! Working on 40% calories from protein and trying to limit sugar.

fdlewenstein · February 2020

i've lost 50 pounds since August. I am seeing a doctor and following a specific food plan, however, I log all my meals on MFP to track macros (and get support). I walked everyday and work out on the elliptical. I'm three weeks into isokinetic strength training ( 2x/wk) and pilates (2x/wk). On days that I am strength training I either walk or use the elliptical. I try to log 10,000 steps a day and one day a week I rest.

Portion control, logging, staying hydrated, staying positive, trying new recipes, and having a growth mindset have all helped me to stay on track. I haven't reached my goal weight yet, but I am confident that I will.

lx1x · February 2020

50lbs..

Eating in deficit and patience.

hmaddpear · February 2020

I lost 80lb in 2013 / 14 by logging consistently, eating less and moving more. I've put half of that back by failing to log consistently. So I'm recommiting to logging every day. On the way I've found out what things I can eat to make me feel full, what I have to eat on sparing amounts, and how my body behaves when I start to exercise use more.

My secrets? Patience, consistency, learning about what my body needs and more patience.

mada2u1984 · February 2020

nighthawk584 wrote: »

I've lost 95 lbs since last April following my three C's.
Consistency, Control, Commitment.
Consistently staying at my calorie deficit goal every day. Being as accurate as possible and weighing everything on a food scale. EVERYTHING.
Controlling my mind to stay positive and quit making excuses, and most important, controlling my portion size.
Committing to this LONG TERM for my overall health and not ever giving up. This isn't a diet, it's a complete lifestyle commitment.

I also exercise 7 days a week for better health and body.

Love this! Thanks for sharing

noelkro80 · February 2020

I want to lose about 126lbs & aiming for around 10lbs a month weight loss. I walk for 1 hour a day 5 days a week (to work & back home) I started today restricting myself to 1500 calories a day

sarabushby · February 2020

The best Secret? ... No Secrets.
Log all those blips, binges, cheat meals, boozey nights out etc. If you’re not sure what you had, just estimate or over estimate a little or take photos and work it out later or ask a friend.
This way you won’t be kidding yourself when you think you’re eating 1300 a day but that one ‘evening out’ actually means your weekly average is more like your maintenance number and that explains why you’re not losing weight.

AnnPT77 · February 2020

The secret of weight loss is that there is no secret, no matter how often people trying to sell you something will try to convince you otherwise.

Set up MFP for a sensibly slow weight-loss calorie goal. Monitor results for 4-6 weeks, then adjust the goal to keep the loss rate sensibly moderate, not punitively fast. (If you're a premenopausal woman, compare the same point in two or more different menstrual cycles to minimize the distortion of hormonal water-weight fluctuations).

Don't strive for crazy amounts of exercise, but do some things you find fun that involve movement, and do some strength-challenging thing if you can, to preserve muscle mass. Eat back a reasonable estimate of exercise calories, on top of your base calorie goal.

Once your personalized sensible weight loss calorie goal is dialed in based on your individual results, stick to that goal the overwhelming majority of the time for an extended time period, with maintenance-calorie breaks of a couple of weeks interspersed in there if you get weary of the deficit. Use the time when you're losing weight to figure out what habits will help you stay at a healthy weight permanently, balancing calorie needs, enjoyable exercise, nutrition, tastiness, social connections and celebrations that involve food, practicality of food prep and exercise, etc. Have a treat within your calorie goal now and then, and enjoy some over-goal days occasionally on very special occasions, just as you'll want to do for the rest of life.

It's pretty boring, in practice.

I lost about 50 pounds back in 2015, at age 59-60, after 3+ decades of obesity, while hypothyroid (if that matters); today, at age 64, I'm still at a healthy weight (BMI 22-point-something this morning).

There's a post here about that's pretty much how I handled the eating side of things; it's all about eating in ways you personally enjoy while gradually tweaking habits in manageable, pleasant ways to improve nutrition, satiation, etc., over a period of time:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

Best wishes!

RelCanonical · February 2020

I only worry about holding myself accountable, nobody else needs to be involved.
I work on filling my days with healthy habits (mental and physical) and foods rather than placing the focus on "cutting out" things.
I take it slow and focus more on consistency than perfection. I never try to push too hard - this is what works for me.

I've lost 65 pounds so far, have about 15 left.

sugarlemonpie · February 2020

Lots of great advice here!!

For me, I think having my husband be so supportive and both of us going on this journey together has really been instrumental in us succeeding. We keep each other accountable in a healthy way, like being able to say no to going out to eat when we have good things to eat at home. Motivating each other to go for walks together in the evening instead of watching a movie and snacking. Doing the shopping and also cooking together, so we spend plenty of quality time as a couple. It's the small everyday choices that make the biggest impact, and it helps us stay healthy and happy together. It's not a diet. For us, it genuinely has been a change in our lifestyle by making better choices.

cupcakesandproteinshakes · February 2020

Calorie deficit. Shh, don’t tell anyone it’s my secret

cwolfman13 · February 2020

lisabelle69 wrote: »

What are u doing/following to lose weight? How much have you lost?

There really isn't a secret...you need XXXX calories to maintain your weight based on your stats and activity and exercise...when you consume fewer calories than you need to maintain your weight (ie calorie deficit), you burn body fat (stored energy) to make up for that deficiency and you lose weight.

There's a million and one ways to create a calorie deficit...but by and large you will find most people on MFP are counting calories to achieve that.

I lost 40 Lbs almost 7 years ago...I didn't make whole sale changes overnight but rather worked on bits and pieces, changing little things over time. I started exercising regularly. I started incorporating more fruits and veg. I started eating leaner sources of protein like fish and chicken. I started eating more whole grains like oats and things like beans and lentils. I ditched full sugar soda. I started having planned snacks rather than just mindlessly grabbing stuff. I didn't do all of this in one go and try to do a full 180 with my life...I made these changes over time and allowed myself to develop healthier habits bit by bit.

Curves73 · February 2020

Weigh everyday, count calories. I lost 55lbs in 9.5 months with no exercise

csplatt · February 2020

perfect math.

sweetbe44 · February 2020

Being consistent and not quitting ... 104 lbs lost so far by eating at a calorie deficit (most of the time)

Shana67 · February 2020

I am doing 20:4 intermittent fasting and my secret is drinking lots and lots and lots of sparkling water. I'm not sure if it's the bubbles or what, but it helps so much

Mr_Healthy_Habits · February 2020

I will get down to some Carly Rae Jaspen when nobody's watching 😬

gothchiq · February 2020

I have no secrets, it's all the same things others are doing, with added restrictions for diabetes management. Eating foods with as much nutrition as I can pack into the allotted calories, logging and tracking, and exercising.

AwesomeSquirrel · February 2020

I moved last fall and managed to break some habits with a change of scene. For example not buying candy/snacks in my new grocery store and eating at the Kitchen table instead of on the sofa.

Thinupgirl86 · February 2020

1. Logging every thing I eat & trying not to exceed 1,400 calories.

Some days I do, but that's okay. Its happening less and less now that I am more conscious of what I am eatting

2. Gym 3 days per week for weight training.

Currently Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Full body workout (approx. 75 min.) Plus 10 min. cardio warm up.

Cardio the other 4 days a week min. at home. I like to put on a show and do intervals on my treadmill. So 45 min.

3. Drinking 3-4 L of water daily.

4. Intermittent fasting. I eat between 2pm-8pm Monday-Friday. On the weekend I do 12-8pm.

5. Only weigh in on Monday morning.

Currently down 17lbs. Started Jan. 6, 2020.

fatoldladyonamission · February 2020

As the others have said, there really isn't a secret to this, it's pretty boring actually. Set up your profile on MFP, follow the calorie allowance it gives you and try to do more to create extra exercise calories whilst also thinking about trying to meet macros. That's all I've done and I'm 5.5 months in and 72lbs down. Only another 108lbs to go.

To be honest I've tried to stick with eating habits that I'll be able to live with once at maintenance so I want as much for my calories as I can get. The only thing I'd consider that helps is to add loads of water! I drink between 3 and 4 litres a day on average and I know when I haven't drunk enough because my weight loss will slow or I'll gain a little. I weigh every day because I like to see the fluctuations but don't do that if you're likely to stress over it. If it upset me I'd weigh weekly or even monthly. Good luck.

NovusDies · February 2020

My main secret was to stop believing there were secrets. Obesity is everywhere. If there was an easy cure it would not be a secret it would be major news.

When I was gaining weight I made 8000 mistakes and good decisions 2000 times. To lose weight I need only to make 8000 good decisions and accept that it is okay if I make 2000 mistakes.

Scotty2HotPie · February 2020

The #1 thing I consistently do that's helped me the most is prepping my work lunches on the weekend.

I found that lunch was the hardest meal to find something healthy to eat and I was always most likely to "Fall Off Wagon" if I had to drive and buy lunch somewhere everyday. The Fast Food temptation is too easy when you're starving at lunch and there's nothing else really to eat.

Making my lunches has absolutely helped me reach my daily calories/macro goals by having a great meal ready to eat and I already know and accounted for the calories ahead of time.

gemiller87 · February 2020

NovusDies wrote: »

My main secret was to stop believing there were secrets.

Cheers to that. People have been working at this for a long long time and tons of money has been invested in it and yet simply put, there is no miracle answer!

You want it... you get it. You just have to do it the old fashioned way. Put in the work....

hesn92 · February 2020

Log calories and eat in a deficit, weigh myself regularly, patience.

ploomka · February 2020

I practice sugar/flour/alcohol avoidance and log everything. I try to stay under 1400 calories, and I find that without sugar, I’m just not nearly as hungry as I used to be. I love sparkling water and tea. 75 down since June 2019.