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.

DreamGirl8926

I lowered my portion sizes, cut out all soft drinks, and started walking a bit more!

ElizabethRoad

I just started counting calories. I don't even understand what "kickstart" means or why you would need to do it.

marriedwith

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/

I just restarted looking into my fitness. I started with a carb deplete to make me less hungry, then got into carb cycling which has worked well for me in the past. The IF calculator looks like a good tool and is similar to what I do - thanks for the link!

LovingLisa2012

November i stopped eating fast food mainly cuz my transmission went out on my car) lost 10 pounds in 2 months (with that simple change)
fast forward to March 2nd, i joined MFP and told myself i would simply track my food for a month ( no calorie restriction)
i have always been one to quit tracking after a few days ..
April 1st i started to get serious about adding in workouts and keeping my cals down to where they should be 2,000 - 2500 ( not 3,000 as they were)

i am now also limiting sodas to diet dr. pepper only and no more than 1 a day and some times i go 2- 3 days without 1 .. the rest is water

i have gone from 312 - 297 (slow yes, but i am slowly making changes)
i have done the whole cut all the bad stuff (fast food, fried foods, salt, soda, teas etc and drop weight quick (50 pounds in about 5 months) then i ended up binging so bad that i not only gained those 50 pounds back but 25 more

now its all about moderation, i still am limiting my fast food, i mostly cook at home now

mariiyah

-Cut down on my portion sizes, measure a portion with scale & according to info on packet. (before i used to just measure with my tummy, the more food on the plate the better :laugh: )

-Cut out processed & fast foods completely.

-Cut down on junk food majorly...but i dont deprive myself of anything. i'll still have chocolates & cakes but as part of my healthy diet, and not too much! maybe once or twice a week.

-Make meals from scratch. always opting for homemade food for lunch/snack etc. while at work rather than buying food from shops.

-Trying out ALL vegetables. (i used to count chips as my 1 a day cos its a potato. learnt that potato doesnt count!)

-Including exercise into my daily routine.

nsdjogger

The first 2 weeks I logged everything I ate, making no changes in my diet so I could honestly evaluate my nutrition. I then started to make small changes in food choices and increased my activity level. Nothing drastic, just being consistent and working on having a positive attitude.

SummerLovesPhil

I test-drove a truck. No, really, that's how it got started in earnest. I test-drove this truck that costs more than any vehicle I've ever even thought about buying, calculated the payment, then determined that by not eating out, I could save enough money to make A TRUCK PAYMENT. That was kind of a wake-up call, so I stopped eating out. I decided that I would use the money (actually, just a fraction of it) to join a gym and get some guidance. I spent two weeks trying out half a dozen gyms. A couple of them recommended MFP, so I signed up and started tracking calories meticulously. I felt a huge difference in those two weeks alone! Just the act of tracking calories helped me start eating better. I have cut out restaurant food and alcohol and otherwise just try to make the best choice in the moment.

Saruman_w

I started kinda slowly. Started drinking water exclusively. Started eating out less and less. But still went out. Finally I started adapting a way of eating low calorie stuff on a regular basis and kept that up for awhile.

mznisaelaine

- Cut down my portions
- Eat tons of fruits and salads
- Started to exercise more than just 1 day a week or a few times a month lol

That's how I got started!

seebeachrun

I tried "watching what I ate" for about 2 months and walking three days week for at least an hour. Then I realized that nothing was happening.

I looked around online for a free program like weight watchers and found MFP. I started out logging my food and trying to keep under my calorie goal for a month and again, realized not much was happening.

I again looked around online, including the boards here, and it finally dawned on me that I can't sit around all day and lose weight even if I eat my goal calories every day religiously. I needed to add exercise, specifically weight training because it will sculpt my body and help me lose fat (but not necessarily weight as I have found out.)

Baby steps or all at once. Figure what works best for you based on your prior experience trying new things. For me I have to make changes to my schedule gradually so it doesn't seem like so much all at once. It was a lot less overwhelming to go step by step for me because each step complimented the last step.

In only two weeks of weight training I already notice a big difference in how my body looks, even if the scale only says I have lost one pound, looking better and feeling better about myself is way more important.

Honestly, like Nike said "Just Do It!"

***Edit: Oh and one important detail that I didn't think was very important in the beginning. Measure your portions. You can buy measuring cups and spoons at the dollar store (buy two sets!) or Walmart (88 cent for a set of both!). You will be surprised how small some portion sizes are and how big your personal portions are.***