How did you lose weight, is there one specific way?

QuevedoM

I just started, and I wanted to know the different ways people have lost weight. I plan on counting my calories, and exercising at least 30 mins a day. I know time will only tell and I look in the future like man a year is a long time away for my goal, does it go quick? So my questions are can I lose weight this way and how does the time go?

sjeannot

I dieted and exercised. Disciplined and stuck to it. That's what works. Forget the naysayers and those who say you can't. Don't worry about those who say they will workout with you and then cancel. If it is your goal, it is your goal alone so get with it and stick with it.

helpfit101

Lose weight by eating at a deficit. Eat less calories than your body needs to maintain by -500. You will lose weight at approximately 1lbs per week. That's how you lose weight.

nomeejerome

Calorie deficit to lose weight and exercise for fitness......

Mr_Knight

I ate less, and exercised a lot more.

The way to ensure I kept eating less was to log everything that passes my lips. The way to ensure I kept exercising was to track all exercise activity.

Consistent, hard exercise was instrumental in increasing the rate of weight loss.

QuevedoM

So with the calorie deficit, can I go by the calorie counter on here?

nomeejerome

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

gmallan

So with the calorie deficit, can I go by the calorie counter on here?

Yep, that's how you make sure you are in a deficit by figuring out how much you should be eating and then sticking to it. See the link posted above for the calculations.

In terms of the time, remember it will pass whether or not you do it. A year from now you could be in the same spot or somewhere along the way to a healthier you

w0ndrw0mn1

I just stuck with the calorie counter on here and refused to skip a workout, no more excuses. It has only happened about a pound down a week and every now and then I work in a "cheat day", cause sometimes when everyone else is eating pizza, I don't want to feel so left out . If I had to say what one thing made the biggest difference, I would say logging every single thing that I eat so that I was eating the right amount of calories and not forgetting about the "one cookie" or just "a few from the candy jar"

QuevedoM

Great! Thank you guys

dawndm88

I began losing weight when my hubby and I decided to do the Whole30 diet. I lost about 8 pounds after the 30 days. I now continue to follow a Paleo diet with some slip ups along the way. I have continued to lose weight without a lot of exercise. I hope to get more exercising in weekly to speed up the weight loss now that I haven't lost much for a few weeks.

AllyCatXandi

As the above people said, at the end of the day weight loss comes down to burning more energy than you are consuming.

What specific things they have done depends on the person. But whatever it is they do decide, it has to be something that is sustainable for them. For instance, eating 100% 'clean' wouldn't work for me. Not in the long run. I'd be able to do it for maybe a week and then be like, "Stuff this, let's hit the drive-through." Some people struggle with overindulging on sugar, and they've found that going low-carb works for them. Again, not something I personally could see myself doing.

With exercise, ultimately you need to find something you enjoy. Again, it has to be something sustainable. I couldn't in a million years see myself sticking to a pilates regime. I'd go as a social thing with friends once in a blue moon, but to be independently motivated to do it day in day out I'd have to genuinely like it. Now, martial arts I do love. I know I could do that for a long, long time. So if you hate running, then don't feel like you have to do it because there is no one magical exercise that will make you lose weight. In fact, you don't need to exercise to lose weight so long as you continue to eat at a calorie defecit.

Look at yourself - your likes, dislikes, habits, hobbies, strengths, weaknesses, and overall lifestyle in general. It might take time to figure out what's best for you, but it's a lot better than feeling like you have to stick treligiously to someone else's plan.

Best of luck to you

BrendaLee

The time drags on, and it's tedious. Then, one day, you realize that seven months have gone by and you're 70 pounds lighter. Then, time continues to drag on, and it's still tedious. This isn't easy. You have to decide right now that you're going to do what you gotta do. It's totally doable, though.

My calorie goal is 1350. I try to hit that most days, but I have at least one day a week where I eat 1000 calories (give or take) more than that.

iechick

I just started, and I wanted to know the different ways people have lost weight. I plan on counting my calories, and exercising at least 30 mins a day. I know time will only tell and I look in the future like man a year is a long time away for my goal, does it go quick? So my questions are can I lose weight this way and how does the time go?

In less than a year I went from a size 14 jeans to a size 2 (and I can fit in a size 1, but not comfortably). A year is plenty of time to make a huge difference in your life I also found that the time went fast, as I learned to listen to my body for the first time, and then faced the challenges of weight loss and things like holidays, vacations etc, for the first time as well. My anniversary of starting my weight loss journey is in a few weeks and I can't believe how much my life/health/appearance has changed since this time last year!

I get bored easily so I did a mix of things to lose the weight. I also didn't really exercise during that time. Now I'm in maintenance, following Michael Pollan's simple idea- 'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.' I now also walk around 12 miles a week and run 4.

Samstan101

I log everything - if I don't I'm only lieing to myself. Whilst I have some supportive friend on MFP they are strangers on the internet, if I wanted to lie to them I could (I don't BTW) but then I'd only be fooling myself and ultimately its my health & my body! I weigh & measure all food to learn about portion size - my downfall as rather than eating lots of bad stuff I just ate too much most of the time (with some bad stuff at times).

I exercise at least 5 times a week and have actively worked to increase my movement (eg walk to see someone at work rather than phone them). My Fitbit has helped with this. I also use a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) so I get an accurate calorie burn for all cardio exercise.

I got my head around the fact that there are no quick fixes, to lose the amount of weight I want to lose is going to take years (2-3 is my best guess at this time). I didn't put the weight on in a year and can't expect to lose it in that time. No fad diet, pills or crash dieting are going to work in the long term for me to lose and keep off the weight. It has to be a lifestyle change for me. I don't want to have a deficit of more than 1000 cals or eat less than 1200 cals (net ie my deficit plus eating back my exercise calories) in a day as long term that isn't sustainable or healthy for me.

MaryJane_8810002

Portion control, running, walking, strength training and cardio.

ndj1979

eat in deficit + work out more = lose weight ....

goldied01

Hi,

I wouldn't go by what it says on here. My doctor told me not to go below 1400 calories. I was 197lbs at the time and I am 5' 4 1/2". How many calories to put in and how many to exercise off is the hardest thing to do. But, rule of thumb. I like the -500 calories a day and exercise. Good Luck. I know you can do it!!!!
Oh, I can now, at 160lbs, eat 1800 calories a day and exercise and still lose a pound a week. So, don't get discouraged. Just start moving! Each week, add something else. For me, it was walking. I started at 3mph and each week walked a little faster. Now I do interval training. One minute slow walk, one minute fast. As others have said. Do something you like to do. Otherwise you'll quit.

Inshape13

I started by tracking everything exactly as it was...EVERYTHING I was eating to see where I could make changes. Then I cut out one "bad" thing every week for a month until I was eating healthier. The first thing I got rid of was fried food, then Cokes, then decreased the sugar/processed foods, and finally cut back drastically on condiments and then began 5 mini meals rather than 3 large meals.

One of the biggest things that I did and still do is weigh everything if possible and look into restaurant calories before I get there. There are so many entries in the database that say things like "medium" on say a potato, well my medium and your medium are probably not the same so I go by ounces to get the exact count. I also track activity here and measure heart rate to make sure I have a number closer to compare it to. The calorie burn on here seems a bit high at times.

Just look at it as one day at a time and you will get there. If you mess up a day calorie wise then breathe and let it go, harping on it and feeling guilty won't change it....it will just set you up for failure. Best of luck!

darrensurrey

Ate less food than I needed but not so much that I couldn't operate.

dskyum

I counted calories (before fancy things like MFP existed) and worked my butt out in the gym every morning before work.