Who in 6 months has reached or are close to their goal?

niss63

Started 2012/02/13 @228 lbs. Joined MFP a few days later @226 lbs. Currently lack two pounds to reach my weight loss goal, which I should reach next week. However, the real goal was not weight loss, but was a changed lifestyle resulting in better numbers from the Doc. He was talking medication and I'm saying no way will I take a pill every day for the rest of my life. Also wanted to undo some of the damage to my kids by letting them observe me living a healthier lifestyle.

Next step will be to establish maintenance calories while shifting to exercises designed to improve muscle tone - not body building but more of an athletic build.

Encouragement to those that may be struggling is to not beat yourself up over a blown day or even three or four days consecutively. I've eaten double or triple my calories - with all the wrong foods - three or four times in these last few months. Sometimes it was because I didn't track the calories well, or forgot to add something until later. Traveling out of town did me in once - I learned it is not enough to pack a cooler full of healthy choices; you must also make a meal plan for each meal that you are going to eat while you are away. Otherwise, you'll blow it.

So when you do blow it (most of us will at some point), just shrug and get with the program the next day. We're in this for the long haul, so a blown day doesn't really matter. In fact, I plan to indulge around the holidays - within reason. ( A whole plate of fudge is not within reason.)

I would also add that if you are eating clean and are getting really hungry, you should eat. I don't mean to eat because you feel like you want food, but if your tummy is rumbling, there is a reason, so take care of it. If this happens often, you should look at your macros - make sure you are getting enough (think balance) of protein and fat, as well as carbs.

Anytime I went 4-5 days without weight loss, I took a hard look at my macros, my exercise duration/intensity, as well as water, salt, potassium, and fiber intake. While you want to hit all of your numbers, those eight have been crucial for me. I moved my macros around two or three times when the scale became stale.

BTW, as long as you aren't eating foods with added sugar (ketchup, candy, some nut butters, sodas, etc.) then ignore sugars. They show up in your carbs anyway, and a banana and a apple will put you at your limit, for most people.

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pixelberry

Started 181 on January 2, 2012. Last few pounds have been stubborn, but I'm still losing inches!

supersourbubble

Down close to 40 lbs in 6 months. Almost to goal, 4 lbs away...then I'll reasses and see if 10 more would be ok to lose. I think at my height 125 would be ok. My highest ever was 220!!! So, it's possible!!

quill16

Yesterday, 6-8-2012, I officially reached my goal wt. It was an aggressive 10lbs a month for 18 months. 179 lbs gone since the day after Thanksgiving Nov 2010. I feel awesome and I know with diet and exercise it is possible. I know that 1200 calories and 2 hours/day exercise is a bit much for some, but I chose that route(with my doctor's OK) and was able to be a success story. But it is not the end of the journey. I have become a whole new person and have a new healthy lifestyle. I use my deep faith as the basis for my strength to overcome the odds and I will continue that path to maintain my direction.

Kybelle132

This febuary I weighed 189 and now I am 161...so Im close..

TreyT3

Great thread. Congratulations everyone on your success so far. You are all inspirations and stories like these have kept me working hard instead of getting complacent with the fitness levels that I reached along the way.

I started 1/2/12 using another program before joining MFP and have lost a total of 55 lbs. My best NSV so far is fitting perfectly into my 32" jeans that haven't seen the light of day in eight years, in January I was wearing tight 38" jeans. I still got some body fat to lose, but I'm real close. The first thing I am going to do when I reach my goal is set new goals and keep working hard to put on some more lean muscle. I can't wait.

Let's all keep working hard and setting new goals that we think are unreachable because we've already proven to ourselves that we can reach goals that we once thought were unreachable. So let's set some new unreachable goals!

reneeot

Great posts! Keep them coming!