30 lbs in 12 weeks!

michelleindeed

I would say that overestimating your portion sizes is also a bad thing-
You're counting calories in your diary that you're not even eating by doing so and that's making your actual total even lower.

Stradalicious

That's fantastic! What an inspiration!

lavieboheme1229

I also just did the math on my own weight loss.

5 months, 42 pounds. That's about 2 pounds a week. Still high. A lot higher than I expected. BUT- I'm 6', started at 212.2. AKA- I had a bit to lose. And I also eat at least 1400-1500 calories a day before exercise (My logging hasn't been spectacular lately- don't hate on me internet world when you look at my diary! I eat 3 meals every day, I swear to god!) And I eat exercise calories back.

Just wanted to give a frame of reference that everyone is definitely different.

kjjm08

I also hesitate to say congrats because a few things pop out at me. Like the others have mentioned:

1. You aren't eating enough. Just because you get near 1200 doesn't mean anything imo. It's not healthy.
2. What you are eating, is a lot of processed crap.One day in your diary, all you had for lunch was a bunch of candy?
3. Overestimating your calories doesn't help you.By overestimating - you are really eating less then what is being accounted for.

I think people are just showing their concern for you, not being defensive. In any case, I wish you the best luck in your weight loss and may it be healthy weight loss

skellyness

. As long as 1200 calories are logged, I am not warned about starvation mode,.

You realise your diary is open and we can all see that you're regularly UNDER 1200 and by quite a long way some days?

I agree with this

Brenda_1965

I also just did the math on my own weight loss.

5 months, 42 pounds. That's about 2 pounds a week. Still high. A lot higher than I expected. BUT- I'm 6', started at 212.2. AKA- I had a bit to lose. And I also eat at least 1400-1500 calories a day before exercise (My logging hasn't been spectacular lately- don't hate on me internet world when you look at my diary! I eat 3 meals every day, I swear to god!) And I eat exercise calories back.

Just wanted to give a frame of reference that everyone is definitely different.

You aren't too far from me.
1. I started at 206 and I'm 5'7
2. Weight loss slows as you continue and hit plateaus.

I feel great, and the week I ate some candy, it was in absolute moderation. That week I was below 1200 quite a few days was the week I was recovering from my cerebral angiogram. I could not run, and I didn't feel like eating. WoW. Take a few days out of context and blow it out of proportion.

1200 calories a day is not set in stone. It is meant to be an average daily consumption over a week. SO... I can skim 100-200 a few days to save up for eating out on the weekend. If you look at the nutritional requirements, it is also an average. It's ok to eat mostly veggies one day, and load up on protein on another day. Just eat what your body craves on that day. EAT mindfully, and DON'T go to bed hungry!

I have tried mfp before...twice. I was not successful then, but I am this time. I just thought I would post the differences in my approach that are leading to my success this time.

As for teens, there is an age minimum of 18 on here because they have different nutritional requirements.

Melissa82434

GOOD FOR YOU!!! That is AWESOME!!! Are you exercising everyday? Im losing slowly, Watching my portions, but Im also NOT depriving myself. LOL Yes, I will eat a cookie LOL..........Maybe I shouldnt

Brenda_1965

Wed. 1044
Thurs 1016
Fri 978
Sat 1170
Sun 1723<

---

Mon. 761. (Did not log my 700+ calorie binge on turkey bacon)
Tues. 1253

---

Week 7945 +700+
Average 1135 per day
With I recorded binge on healthy food, = average of > 1235 per day.

Brenda_1965

Plus THIS week was awful for me because I didn't feel like cooking because I was in recovery. I also could not work out.

reenielovesthebeach

I have to say AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME! You are doing a terrific job!

I started on 8/8/12 and I weighed yesterday at my doctor's office and I'm down 26 pounds. YIPPIE! I weighed 262 and I'm 5'7" tall. I now weigh 236 pounds. My doctor, a true medical professional was thrilled with my success thus far...I will say that having high blood pressure like I DID, prior to a couple of weeks ago and taking medicine for it daily, clogging my arteries with unhealthy fattening foods, eating food like there's no tomorrow and no exercise at all is VERY UNHEALTHY! That was me prior to 8/8 when I started this. So for anyone to criticize- that's just plain ridiculous! I would much rather feel like I do now, have my blood pressure at a healthy rate now with no medication and actually look forward to working out. I eat 1360 calories per day usually- give or take a few. I eat plenty. I just eat a healthy loaded with veggie salad that's 400 calories now, instead of going to eat McDonald's and opting for 2,500 calories for one meal. I don't blow all of my daily calories on one meal. If I want a fattening cheeseburger- I'll have it. The key is not deprivation as this is why many people fail at this and it's why I have so many times. We gorge one day after not eating anything fattening and then we feel deprived and go back to our old ways. I choose to make wiser decisions now and learn that moderation with anything in life is best, food included. I "think" about everything I eat now. I LOVE working out on the treadmill for an hour at 3.6 speed and leaving the gym feeling stress free. I'm one of those people now who used to think that those who crave the workout were nuts.

When you are obese like I am, you will lose quicker in the beginning and then it will slow down. In the beginning you lose a lot of water weight. This has happened to me. I work out 3-5 days per week now for an hour or so each time. Instead of sitting at my desk job for eight hours- Monday thru Friday and I get up and go to the park and walk for at least a half hour- two or three days a week. The key to this is moving your butt and cutting your calories to what you can live with every single day. It's not making such a drastic change that you can't live with it. Remember this is a NEW LIFESTYLE CHANGE, not just until you lose the weight. I have decided to make this change as a 43 year old woman that realizes she needs to get off her butt and do this or risk being very ill one day and having to depend on everyone else to take care of me. How selfish would I be if I didn't at least try to change...I just joined MFP about a month ago and I'm amazed at the amount of people who dis-courage, rather than encourage. I beg to differ with anyone giving this successful woman a hard time over her weight loss! Think about the other option for her, myself and everyone else fighting this battle. I'm not here to argue with anyone. Everyone has and is entitled to their own opinions, but seriously think about what you are saying. Offer this lady encouragement...This lady is not 20 years old, nor am I or a lot of the people on here so it's not right to even compare her to a 20 year old. Nor do we only have ten pounds to lose to get to our goals, like a 20 year old can do in two weeks because their metabolism actually still works. That is what's wrong with society these days, we always look to put the blame elsewhere on someone else. Instead of worrying about a 20 year old seeing her post and not eating, look at it the other way and think about a 40 something who might be reading this post and is struggling through every bite they put in their mouth and looking at this as their inspiration. I'm telling you what I'm doing is working for me as well. You can look at my diary and pick it apart. We can all do that to each other all day long. I have dropped from a snug size 18 in jeans to a snug size 12 in jeans. I have gone from shopping in plus sizes only to being able to shop anywhere I please. I can walk into any given store now in my local mall and shop. That is my encouragement, my motivator to myself...I wish everyone luck, I understand people can't fathom losing this fast but it's all about moving...Getting up and moving and making conscious decisions to put healthy foods into your body. It's about learning everything you can and filling your brain with so much healthy info that you feel like you will explode. It's about surrounding yourself with like-minded and positive people who have a common goal. After all, this is what has brought each and every one of us together...

np11073

Congratulations Brenda. I am very proud of you. It has been a gratifying experience to see the fantastic progress you have made. It is too bad that we live so far apart. It would be neat to get together and celebrate our mutual successes. You are well on your way to your goal. You have improved your health, bolstered your self-esteem, and added years to your life.

Cristofori44

Outside of eating below 1200...which is just plain dumb....another thing struck me: the contention that it "takes three days for a binge to show up on the scale." Really? What's the science behind that?

"And I say unto you, if thou eats the doughnut, in three days it will rise and destroy the temple that is the body." -Acts of the Fat Apostles, 3:21

Brenda_1965

Outside of eating below 1200...which is just plain dumb....another thing struck me: the contention that it "takes three days for a binge to show up on the scale." Really? What's the science behind that?

"And I say unto you, if thou eats the doughnut, in three days it will rise and destroy the temple that is the body." -Acts of the Fat Apostles, 3:21

Really? Try weighing daily and you will see it. This is how MY body works. Are you "dumb" enough to think that eating a 1 pound burger will add 1 pound that day? Geesh! Water a plant and fertilize it, and it takes awhile to grow! That's what our bodies do. It takes awhile to process it into body weight!

I'm doing fine this time, and I have plenty of energy to run competitively. Not for medals, but that is my goal, in time.

Brenda_1965

AND my overall daily average is 1200! Not everything I eat after 6 goes in my diary, and some bad days, I don't finish logging!

Brenda_1965

Np, can you believe these people? Congrats on your success too! Wow, your ticker is up there.


By the way, I'm gonna go eat some almonds, and I have NO intention of logging them! I know how many calories are in them, and I can figure it out mentally!

Cristofori44

So human biology is equivalent to plant biology? Brilliant. You should feed burger meat to your ferns.

A 1lb burger incidentally is 1300 cals give or take. It wouldn't show up on the scale at all for me so long as it didn't push me over maintenance TDEE. In fact, you have to go over TDEE by a decent margin to gain a pound. As 3,500 cals = 1lb., unless you binged well above maintenance, ingesting 1k, 2k above your level, what likely showed on the scale was water retention.

shellydd

2 years ago this site was people supporting each other with very little bickering......now days it seems to run rampant. also....why so many skinny skinny people? "i weigh 110 pounds and want to lose 20......gross

Cristofori44

Well look, the whole point of posting on the "success" page is, in part, to tell people how you did it. While the weight loss is great, the OP says she would underestimate calories, then not log other cals, go under 1,200 some days, but then says she averaged over 1,200 every day (presumably by making up for it on following days).

Congrats on your loss, and glad it works for you, though given the number of members I've seen who go under 1,200 routinely and net 200 or 600 a day after exercise,..which can be very dangerous...I think people are right to say: proceed with caution.

kimad

I have also learned that it takes 3 days for MY body to register a binge. That is helpful because I don't get excited the day after a binge because the scale dropped. This keeps me from permitting myself to continue bingeing.

Yup!

selig0730

congrats and great job on the loss