how did you lose the way, in steps please. thanks

uchaniece

i want to know how others have lost weight, i want to see what things i can change and put into my plan, for better results

SpaceMarkus

I started off in college just changing my diet. This dropped me from 265 to about 235. I started to run and got down to about 215. From there I kept going between 215 and 230.

I did P90X and got down to a consistent 210. I started drinking Shakeology and did Insanity, Chalean Extreme, and RevAbs and I've stayed in the 180's for a year now.

Sasha_Bear

My plan was simple I found the MFP App joined the site, started watching my calories, sodium etc. Logging everything I put in my face. Maybe after a month of doing this I decided exercise was a must started off doing the Jillian Michael 30 day Shred probably about 3 times a week gradually increasing workout days as I built up my endurance.

Today I am doing everything I started off doing, my workouts are more frequent pretty much 6 days a week, and I've added a little strength training as well as running.

uchaniece

thanks

Larius

1. Count Calories on MFP and eat exercise Calories as directed.
2. (optional) Begin a regular exercise regime, no matter how small or easy. Consistency is the only important thing here.
3. Celebrate!

SarahofTwins

Being unhappy for awhile took a toll...

I started by mentally preparing myself for the road ahead and set goals for the weeks and months. I had to tell myself to be patient but each day counted towards losing little by little. Patience and determination are key and making sure to follow a set plan day in and day out. Overall the question I asked myself was how bad did I want to lose the weight...very badly! Just remember why it's important to you and how much happier you'll feel overall. :flowerforyou:

NeuroticVirgo

First, I joined MFP on a friends recommendation.

Next, I started logging my food and trying to stay under calories. I didn't really "change" my foods, as much as my habits at first. Like eating 1 piece of pizza, instead of 4....

After I felt more confident controlling my food, I started walking 1 - 2 miles everyday. And hit my first plateau..... (which was really frustrating because it felt like it was the exercise's fault)

Then I learned about water & sodium. Started making sure I drank at least 8 glasses of water a day (but tried for more). And tried to keep my sodium under 2500 (this is about 6 mo into the weigh loss).

I'm currently, still trying to lose weight (I have about another 100lbs to go). I'm training for my first half-marathon. I generally keep my sodium levels around 1500. I eat more home cooked foods than eating out (which is a big change, since when I started a year ago I couldn't cook AT ALL) I still have bad days, bad weeks...usually triggered by bad moods. But I've come pretty far in a year, making baby steps along the way.

Good luck on your weigh loss

slbeutler

You are so right that you need take steps, because sometimes when you jump in too fast, you will give up and fail. I started first by adding one new habit per week and set different action oriented goals each week. Here is an example:

Week 1: Write down everything I eat
Week 2: Stay in my calorie goal and write down everything I eat and allow one cheat meal.
Week 3: Pick a workout and do it 6 days a week at a set time that I have prescheduled for myself.
Week 4. Eliminate food with white flour from my diet and replace them with whole grain options

These are just examples and certainly not the only way, but it helped me because I could measure whether I had met them and the weight started coming off as a result.

NeuroticVirgo

1. Count Calories on MFP and eat exercise Calories as directed.
2. (optional) Begin a regular exercise regime, no matter how small or easy. Consistency is the only important thing here.
3. Celebrate!

lol, I love step 3!

jennarandhayes

I drink tons of water every day. Besides being really good for you it makes you feel full.
I choose whole grains over empty calories (white bread or sugary treats)
I log my calories every day-sure I've missed a few, but holding yourself accountable is half the battle.
I choose to exercise even though I hate the thought of doing it-I feel awesome afterward.
I give myself small goals and rewards for hitting those goals (who doesn't want a new dress?)
I enjoy myself and occasionally have a high calorie meal or a few (too many) glasses of wine.
-Then I eat healthy the next day-NO GUILT!
I pre-plan my meals for the week so I don't go astray.
I eat food that I like every day, examples: peanut butter, avocado, cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, and sometimes a few chocolate chips sprinkled on something really makes my day!
I try to keep a positive attitude even when I hit a plateau. When I am not losing weight I am making healthy choices and I look better than I did last year, last month, or last night.

Good luck on your journey. I hope you find what works for YOU!

uchaniece

thanks everyone :flowerforyou:

ingot81

I began by using the Tap and Track app and doing three Zumba classes in a week. That helped me lose the first 50lbs (leading up to Christmas 2010). I then hit a massive plateau which resulted in gain and loss for the next six months. I discovered MFP and joined a new gym (and discovered Les Mills classes - Body Attack, Body Combat and Body Step). I also trained as a Zumba instructor and now run a weekly class. All of this helped me to lose the next 15 lbs. I am finding MFP brilliant and am going to do as many challenges as I can to lose my final 33lbs.

Hope that helps.

bjshooter

Drinking lots of water.
Buy a heart rate monitor
Have treats
Find exercise you enjoy

trishftwwechanged

I drink tons of water every day. Besides being really good for you it makes you feel full.
I choose whole grains over empty calories (white bread or sugary treats)
I log my calories every day-sure I've missed a few, but holding yourself accountable is half the battle.
I choose to exercise even though I hate the thought of doing it-I feel awesome afterward.
I give myself small goals and rewards for hitting those goals (who doesn't want a new dress?)
I enjoy myself and occasionally have a high calorie meal or a few (too many) glasses of wine.
-Then I eat healthy the next day-NO GUILT!
I pre-plan my meals for the week so I don't go astray.
I eat food that I like every day, examples: peanut butter, avocado, cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, and sometimes a few chocolate chips sprinkled on something really makes my day!
I try to keep a positive attitude even when I hit a plateau. When I am not losing weight I am making healthy choices and I look better than I did last year, last month, or last night.

Good luck on your journey. I hope you find what works for YOU!

^agreed. awesome advice!

kathleennf

Great topic! Well I made some mistakes so I'll answer and maybe you can avoid them!

Jan 2006: I weighed 180 and on Jan 2 started on Slim Fast. I did 2 shakes a day until Easter (some time in April that year), at which point I was lower than my first "goal" weight of 150-155. Also I found out that I was not happy with that goal because I was still 'bottom heavy" LOL and I lowered the goal weight. At Easter, I went down to once a day SlimFast, and continued that until my birthday in June. After that I was at about 140-145 and went off the Slim-Fast but continued a pretty restricted diet. I weighed 139 when I moved to Managua in Dec 2006. A lot of people (besides just my mom LOL) said I was "too skinny" but I still felt bottom heavy.

Between Dec 2006 and Nov 2008 my weight went up and down between 140 and 150. I had intentionally gone up to 145 because everybody kept telling me I was skinny, but I was not happy with it and was even less happy around Nov 2008 when I was close to 155 again and living on pretty strict calorie restriction I thought. So I decided I needed to work out, looked for various options in Managua and joined Curves. It was there that I found out that my problem was really not my weight (at that point) but my low lean body mass (ie high percent fat- it was about 34% even though my weight was in the normal range).

So, Nov 2008 I started exercising regularly at Curves which gave me stregth training plus cardio. On that program I dropped my weight again down to about 144 without cutting back on diet (actually eating more I think) but in fact was losing weight too much and not gaining muscle mass. I did some research and found out I was not eating enough protein so ....

Spring 2010 I tried to intentionally eat more protein- around 80gm per day. Also I broke my ankle LOL. Between those two I got my weight back up above 150. That's when I looked for and found MFP.

Oct 2010 joined MFP- and it is helping me a LOT to eat more protein without eating too much, to maintain my weight and slowly drop the % body fat. I have recently started doing weights and that is helping too.

That's my story!

The morals are:
1> Don't go on a strict diet without working out. You will lose too much muscle- I did!!
2> Eat plenty of protein.

Corruptkitten

I haven't lost all my weight yet, but the time I was really successful with losing 50lbs in one shot was when I couldn't find it in me to do it on my own. I hired a personal trainer to teach me what I needed to know in order to have a healthy lifestyle. The trainer that I had was all about weight-lifting so I began with her. A couple weeks after that I got a pilates trainer as well. This was all very expensive, but I lost 50lbs in 3 months, gained a ton of muscle and looked and felt way better than I had in a long time. Eventually I started doing fun classes that I enjoyed on top of the pilates and weight-lifting and was quite successful. I think as long as you are working out and having a good time, no matter what the exercise and you are consistent you will get results the main thing is to have a good time and stick to it. Obviously, there are some workouts that work better than others, you just have to find what works best for you.

As far as the food aspect goes I ate everything as close to nature as I could minimal processed foods, lots of salads, fruit, nuts, eggs, etc., and drank lots of water.

uchaniece

thanks everyone

narenn

SW: 266lbs March '11

Started during 2nd semester of college. 5 meals a day - 1,100 calorie diet. Drank nothing but water (at least a gallon/day).

Worked out at least 5 days a week (burned at least 400 calories per session; my goal each workout was to keep my heart rate over 70% for at least 30 minutes). Lifted every 2-3 days. I only used the stationary bike for first 5 weeks (followed by plateau), then switched to elliptical for the next 7 weeks.

Dropped 35 pounds in about 10 weeks. Went home for early summer break. Started summer school and lost 8 pounds over 7 weeks (barely stuck with diet).

Started fall semester and lost 8 pounds so far over the last 3 weeks. I'm back to 1,200 calorie diet and upped my calorie burn to roughly 4,500 calories/week. Cardio is running and LOTS of inclined and normal walking. Using the elliptical every now and then...

I should mention that I packed on a solid amount of muscle, so I have lost more than the 50lbs so far. Was benching 170ish when I started. Now I'm around 230ish.

Hope this helps!

KEN1013

great topic

andypady

I liked everybody's success stories, but I feel the most important aspect of any weight loss program is - NOT to regain all that you had lost. So when you reach your goal - don't go celebrating too much and gain all the weight back. Remember being fit and trim is not a 1 or 2 year program - It should become your way of life. I learnt this after personal experience.

And yes - Like everybody says - Keep a Positive Attitude - no matter what !! It always helps!

LaurieEReid

Logging all food and exercise. (Eating my exercise calories since I'm close to 1200 cal).
Portion control.
Increase vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Decrease (but not eliminate) sugary treats, empty carbs (rice, potatoes and alcohol) and fried foods.
Don't drink calories (no juice or soda, only non-fat milk and black coffee, not much alcohol).
More walking.

sarahi2009

This is how I did mine:

1. I went to see dr. make sure everything was working the it was suppose to. I complete physical (wanted so see if I had any excuse for being fat, and it turns out I didn't...lol )

2. I started logging in EVERYTHING i ate on MFP, this made me aware of what I was eating

3. Started substituting and doing research on better foods that I like and making better food choices

4.. I started doing the Wii dance for 30 minutes each morning.

5.. I started walking at lunch for 30 min. each day

6. Started getting up earlier and doing kickboxing in the mornings for an hour

7. started jogging for 30 min at lunch

This all happened in a 6-7 month period or so, and 20 pounds down. Good luck on your journey, and you can still have chocolate and what you want as long as 80-90% percent of the time, you make good healthy choices

Remember, you didn't put (x) amount of weight over night, so don't expect to lose it over night

melaniecheeks

Some great ideas in here!

Here's my approach:

1. Take it one step at a time - each week try to make something a bit better.
2. Strength train, and go heavy. I aimed for 2 weight classes a week, increasing my weights each time.
3. Watch carbs - not in a strict Atkins way, but just keep them under control. And up protein.
4. Find healthy switches - experiment with new foods. I now love quinoa, roast soy beans, and soy yoghurt.
5. Get enough sleep, and enough water.
6. Choose exercise routines that you enjoy.

NovemberJune

I saved up for an exercise bike. Joined myfitnesspal. started out slowly. first I was eating about 1800 calories on average, then 1700, then 1600. i've recently been averaging 1400-1600 calories. I exercise almost everyday for 40-60 minutes. at first it was all my exercise bike, then i started doing jillian michaels DVDs a few days per week. I lose about 1.15 lbs per week.

i have logged everything i have eaten for 7 months, even on days where i eat like 3000 calories. it's important for me to log everything everyday.

good luck!

afiqahamdan

i practice calorie deficit and treadmill everyday..i burn 500 calories everyday and i lose about 0.17kg everyday.

MrsM1ggins

I decided that I was unhappy with my weight/health and decided to make a change.

I started off by cutting down - cutting out the crap foods and watching my portions.

I then introduced exercise - started off with EA Sports Active 2 on the PS3 which was good 'cos i could do it when no-one else was watching: there's no way I would have gone to a gym!

Found MFP and started logging, which helped me tweak my diet so I don't kid myself on what I'm taking in and what I'm burning.

I learned to give myself a break. If I have a bad day I get over it and get back to eating right and exercising. I've still got a long way to go, but I feel so much better now than I did last year.

lisab64

In July 2010, I started tracking my food (and limiting calories) and didn't really focus on changing my diet. Over the first 10 weeks I had some diet changes (mostly stopped eating bread, rice, pasta, cereal, and limited potatoes -- mostly cuz they are calorie dense and I was hungry - stayed around 1400 calories/day during that time) and noticed with those changes that I craved those items (and sugary/junky stuff) less and less. I lost 25 pounds in those 10 weeks and then went on vacation (11 day trip to Ireland w/daughter). Once I returned from vacation (at same weight), I upped my calories to 1700/day and lost another 10 pounds in 10 weeks (that took me to Xmas). Once the holidays were over (but before New Years), I upped my calories to just over 1800/day and lost an additional 15 pounds by April 11 -- hitting my goal of high school weight (29 years later). Walking (snowshoeing in winter) has pretty much been my only exercise this whole time (I am quite physically active in my day to day life) -- prior toJune I just tried to get in 10,000 steps/day but in June I decided to enter a race and started working on my distance and speed. I still haven't gotten the maintenance thing figured out (currently almost 8 pounds less than goal) but am currently eating approximately 2100 calories/day and figure I'll find the weight come winter. I still track daily.
I think the "secret" of dieting is to not diet. By that I mean -- only make changes in your eating that you can live with the rest of your life. That way you'll never go "off your diet" and gain the weight back. For me that was cutting out the starchy carbs. I'm a big breakfast person -- I ate (and continue to eat) bacon and eggs for breakfast most mornings. I love milk and prefer it raw -- so I drink full fat milk (1 or 2 glasses/daily) and did so while "losing".

alliebeck2

I have lost weight through intermittent fasting and regular exercise. I do the following:

1. a combination of ESE and leangains, meaning I currently do a full-day fast twice per week, and the other 5 days each week, I do a condensed eating window of 8 hours and keep track of my calories on these days so I don't go over my weekly total. Throwing in ESE along with leangains provides some measure of carb cycling, which has helped me to avoid plateauing.
2. cardio 3 times per week and lift weights twice per week. I only workout on days that I eat, although I might go for a nice low intensity walk on fasting days to boost fat burning.

So far, I've lost 6.1% body fat, which has manifested as: 4.75 inches off my waist, 2.5 inches off each thigh and 3.5 inches off my hips.

outersoul

I like this topic. Here are the steps I took:

1. I saw vacation pics that I hated.

2. Got it in my head that I was going to do this and stick with it. (The most important step for me!)

3. Tracked my food for two weeks without making changes so I could see exactly how much I was eating.

4. Started making small changes such as cutting out soda and doughnuts over the course of weeks.

5. Found an exercising plan for weights and running. For weights I went to bodybuilding.com and found a beginners program. For running I started C25K.

6. I got fitted properly for running shoes.

7. I created short term goals and long term goals.

8. I started blogging every week to track my progress.

9. I challenged myself every week with weekly goals.

10. I keep reminding myself that I can do this!

rachel_onamission

I started by getting rid of all the junk food in my fridge and house and restocking it with healthy foods. I log everything into MFP. It helps so much!!!

If I have a craving, I don't go without, I just watch the proportion. Otherwise you'll end up going crazy and benging.(sp?)

I work out 3X a week. Monday-Wednesday-Friday. This way, I dont get burnt out on it, and I actually look forward to my work out days.

Really I haven't done much else but eat healthy and exercise. I did hit a bit of a bumpy road where I went for a month without losing anything. My body got used to the workout I was doing...so make sure you're switching it up! As soon as I switched things up, I started losing instantly.

Best of luck

rachel_onamission

Ohh, and I also set mini goals for myself!

I seem to stay alot more motivated when I have something to look forward to!