How did you kick start your weight loss? How did you begin?

NewLIFEstyle4ME

How did you kick start your weight loss? How did you begin?

Gerald_King

I just cut out all soda and junk from my diet and cut down my portion sizes

kriztyn723

Great question! I would like to know also.... am in such a slump....

Huffdogg

Wii Fit, paying *some* attention to what I shoved in my face-hole, and bodyweight exercise.

Looking back, it was a terrible way to start. I wish I'd known then what I know now.

Start lifting weights. Like, right now. Lift heavy, eat lots of protein, and follow these macros guidelines. http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

Skeebee

Wasn't easy. It was like starting an old lawn mower. I would finally get it started, it would idle, and then die......I figured it was time for a new lawn mower (needed to set smaller goals, get serious, and build my self confidence up again without worrying what other people think). That lawn mower has been running beautifully. It occasionally gets clogged from time to time, but a good cleaning gets it back on track.

Lindamack5987

I started out counting calories at 1500. Started walking. Only could walk about .50 starting out. Now walking 2.5 miles. Of course it is taking a long time to lose the weight. Had a plateau for about 2 months. That sucked. sw 203 cw 176 gw 150.

kayl3igh88

- Cut down my portions
- Switched full-sugar pop for sugar-free (can't live without it)
- Bought a blender (I can't stand to eat veg except for in a smoothie)

aippolito1

I started by cutting unnecessary sugars (cookies, snacks, m&ms, etc.) since I was eating a LOT of that. I started working out, then I cut out soda, then I started drinking more water, then I worked on eating out less and cooking more ... after a while I found a calorie counter on self.com I was using and figured out I was eating an average of 1200-1300 calories, so I worked on keeping it there per day, then found MFP, and went back down to 1200 ...

JoolieW68

Stopped eating crap, started counting calories, and started exercising daily (just power walking at first).

marquesajen

Circuit training, hiking, cycling, cutting out soda, most processed foods. Basically I found physical activity I enjoy and started eating more fresh vegetables and fruits and so forth.

Thesis_gut

I got the flu and was so ill for days I just had no appetite. Dropped 3 pounds within a week (and I had been trying to loose weight for months without success). When I got well again that motivated me to keep going and actually stick to my calorie allowance for a change so I wouldn't gain the weight back. It's only been 3 weeks since then, but I've managed to keep the 3lbs away and lost another 2. Of course I don't recommend getting sick though!

emdeegan

I started by honestly logging everything I consumed and began walking... Now I am running and still logging all my food. My weight loss seemed to slow down, so I am doing a middle of the weightloss road change in my eating habits and am following the south beach diet, which has been working... Also getting my close friends to join mfp with me.. We all check out each others food diaries and motivate each other to be successful....

Wilson336

I am in the process of going back up to my maintenance calories for three weeks in hopes of resetting my metabolism. I will then lower my intake for the final push to my weight goal. I have been stuck at 6 pounds to go for almost a month regardless of what I do for exercise, so I figure the stall must be due to not taking in enough calories.

BonMetz

I started out following the recommended calories on MFP. The weight was not coming off so I played around with calories, fat, and protein to find what works for me. Turns out, low are is my key, then I have just stuck with it no matter what. It was a struggle in the beginning to find what worked for my body but now that I am seeing results so worth it.

Koshkaxo

Same as Gedrick for me... I began by greatly reducing the amount of fast food and soda I was eating, then started smaller portion sizes... And once I became accustomed to these changes (a week or 2) I added exercise to the mix I made the change zlowly because I didnt want to feel overwhelmed by too many lifestyle changes. Im on week 10 and down roughly 10 lbs!

cmazdog

17 day diet!

scrang37

I cut out sweets cold turkey since that was my downfall. I logged everything!! This allowed me to see whether the things I were putting in my mouth were good for me or not. Logging my food helped me become more accountable for my food choices. Now, I will check calories BEFORE I eat something:)

joytron

I made a list of things I wanted to change, both diet related and exercise related. Some of the stuff on the list: eliminate fast food, start eating fruit at breakfast, exercise every day (even if just walking), do kickboxing 3 times a week, limit alcoholic beverages, eliminate mayo, etc. AND THEN -- key point -- I implemented just one every week. This made it fairly easy and I didn't get frustrated and give up the first time I made a mistake, as I did several times in the past when I attempted to completely revamp my entire life all on the same day.

TL;DR: I made a list of stuff I wanted to change and then implemented one list item per week.

kuger4119

I have been on a gradually worsening roller coaster ride for 17 years and I'm hoping that MFP ends the ride. I was about 155 lbs in college and kept my weight down by playing racquetball about 10 hours per week. After college, I started to gain about a lb per month when my activity level dropped off. Since then I've bounced between 168 lbs and 182 lbs depending on my inspiration to be healthy with my peak weight gradually increasing every year.

So, back on topic. I had been running a lot more but eating very unhealthy so I was just hanging around the 175 to 179 lb range in the last half of 2011. The thing that MFP has done for me is to give me a specific measure on whether or not I could eat another snack in the evening or if a meal was appropriate. The other thing that it did was encourage me to was hit the gym so I could eat that snack and feel good about it. I didn't try to follow any specific program or buy anything special. Personally, I believe that using any kind of a pill or product to lose weight is dangerous. We have a friend who lost 50+ lbs using a pill. She looked great and was very, very happy with her new life. Unfortunately, because she didn't develop good habits along the way, she gradually gained ALL of the weight back. So, I just hope that whatever means that someone uses, they figure out the good habits that they need to implement in order to make it a long term lifestyle change.

EDIT: One of the biggest specific changes that I made was to virtually eliminate soda from my diet.

absmom85

LOL facehole, I think I love that.

lc971

I was sick for Thanksgiving, and Christmas and I just felt so unhealthy. My main issue was portion control. I bought smaller dinner plates, and I bought a food scale. I cut out white sugar, baked goods, and beer. Too much temptation, so I don't keep them in my house. I still have them once in awhile, though. I started incorporating more fresh vegetables and fruits in my diet..
Now, I am focusing on exercising more.