Weight loss of 100+ please, to motivate us bigger people

blondageh · June 2014

I've kept off around 120 pounds for a couple of years now. At one point it was about 140 pounds, but maintenance is hard.

HOW on earth are your arms so amazing after such a big weight loss? JEALOUS!!!!!! You look AWESOME!!!

tmauck4472 · June 2014

It can be done. January 2012 I started and I've got some to lose but it's going slower and that's okay I'll get there eventually and so can you

Macyfiinks · June 2014

Wow!! What a difference! That's really inspirational. Thank you for sharing.

sbear867 · June 2014

133 pounds lost, and I'm nearing two years of maintenance.

Biggest piece of advice: Start, and then don't stop.

The difference between those who succeed and those who don't is perseverance. The rest - how big a deficit, macro ratio, exercise routine - is really just details. Those details are important, because they can speed or slow your loss and may contribute to it being a more sustainable loss. But the most important thing is starting to make the change, and then continuing it.

Second piece of advice: Don't be miserable.

I never made any change I wasn't willing to live with forever. That meant I didn't subscribe to a fad diet, cut calories drastically, or exercise three hours a day. Instead I just started living like a healthy person instead of an obese one. That meant that usually I stuck to my plan, but sometimes I indulged. I usually did my workouts, but sometimes I missed one. I was only rarely hungry, almost never felt like I was on a diet, and generally my life and mood improved by leaps and bounds. The ones who starve themselves, who never enjoy a cookie, who never eat a "cheat" meal, are the ones who quit a couple months in, from my observation.

This method also means that when I switched to maintenance, almost nothing changed. I ate slightly more food, that's all. There was no diet to go off. I didn't have to jump from 1200 calories to maintenance because I never ate that little. It was seamless, and maybe that's why I've been able to maintain my loss since September 2012 fairly effortlessly.

Third piece of advice: Exercise.

Exercise changes your relationship with your body and food. It makes you happy. It makes you feel better about yourself. It makes it easier to stick to a healthy diet. It makes maintenance easier. It means you can eat more. Find something you enjoy, and do it.

more tips on my blog, along with pictures:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls

THANK YOU!

Teliooo · June 2014

It CAN be done and maintained, I am still looking to get to my ultimatre goal and have been for a a while but I have kepet the 100 plus bulk off for years and i always will.

blondageh · June 2014

Love that you are wearing the same style of top! Adorable!!

pattycakes80 · June 2014

it is super possible. and the harder you work, the easier it gets. trust in yourself and anything is possible.

Samstan101 · June 2014

I still have around 45lbs to go having started at 303lbs but the weight loss has been reasonably steady since I started last Mar/Apr.

Best tips I can give that are working for me are:
1)Weigh and measure everything
2)Get into a sustainable routine - you need new lifetime habits and not a fad diet.
3)Learn moderation - its better to have a small amount of chocolate and factor it into your cals than deny yourself until the craving leads to a binge.
4)Exercise - walk, swim, bike anything that you can do to be more active. Its gets easier and more fun, honest!
5) Set a realistic calorie amount. If you're 300lbs 1200cals a day isn't going to cut it. There's plenty of threads with explanation of BMR & TDEE, make time to read them.
6)Get your head around the fact this is a long term lifestyle change and if it takes 2 or 3 years to lose the weight, over your life time that's nothing
7)If you have a day where you don't stick to plan get back on track the next day.
8) Allow yourself the odd cheat day (Xmas, Birthday, night out with friends etc) but don't use it as an excuse to binge. Try to make sensible choices eg not forcing down that last mouthful of dessert when you're full. These small things add up and help reinforce the new lifestyle you've chosen.
9)Drink lots of water - it makes you feel fuller and actually helps stop you retaining water (TOM or too much salt in your diet)
10)Don't get obsessed with the scales, your weight will fluctuate during the day and from one day to the next. Its the overall trend that's important.
11) Linked to 10) take photos (I know you hate them now but you'll regret not having 'before' pics later!) and take measurements. I've found I'll have the odd period where my weight loss stalls but that's when I change shape and lose inches and people comment I've lost weight!

Best of luck to you all. Here's my before and now face pics.

[img]http://www.standerwick-images.com/8st Face Comparison.jpg[/img]

nhoffman26 · June 2014

Treat the gym like a job. So important to do.

contingencyplan · June 2014

125 lbs down here. Going for a little bit more.

jenniferv38 · June 2014

These posts are amazing! I can't wait until I become a "before and after" story.

lisarrogers · June 2014

I am down 105 pounds

Have a few more to go. Never posted pictures before so I hope this works:

ry%3D400

MegE_N · June 2014

So motivational. I'M SO EXCITED TO BECOME ONE OF YOU SOMEDAY.

Right now I'm about 2 months in and 15lbs down.

pacman9270 · June 2014

Congrats to ALL!!!!!!

dunnodunno · June 2014

I lost around 144-150 pounds all together going from a size 2x-3x in tops & size 22-26 in pants to a size small to large in tops (depends on brands) & a size 8-10 in pants. I started out anywhere from 300-320 & I'm currently 156, but I want to try & lose around 16 more pounds to take me to 140. I follow the TDEE approach & exercise by either walking/jogging on the treadmill, ride the stationary bike, or Zumba on the Wii. I want to start to incorporate more strength into my exercise routine.

tiptoethruthetulips · June 2014

I lost around 144-150 pounds all together going from a size 2x-3x in tops & size 22-26 in pants to a size small to large in tops (depends on brands) & a size 8-10 in pants. I started out anywhere from 300-320 & I'm currently 156, but I want to try & lose around 16 more pounds to take me to 140. I follow the TDEE approach & exercise by either walking/jogging on the treadmill, ride the stationary bike, or Zumba on the Wii. I want to start to incorporate more strength into my exercise routine.

Looking great, well done!

tiptoethruthetulips · June 2014

Thank you for sharing everyone, awesome effort, certainly shows what we are capable of achieving if we do not give it up.

Wenchiness · June 2014

Joined in late June of last year, but started July 5th. Have lost 112 lbs and I'm nearin' 60. While I have been taking incredibly lousy selfies on a regular basis I don't have the nerve to post them. I was HUGE when I started, still big, have a long way to go. But I KNOW I can do it now, it hasn't been that hard. Better diet and much more exercise, mostly swimming. Due to surgery I've been out of the pool a couple of months but still continue to lose, just slower. Good luck to you. Anyone can friend me I keep an open diary listing all my many sins. Mmm chocolate!