How did you lose weight?

FightingGenetics

See exactly what I did and read about my journey at teamfightinggenetics.com

bronnyd

Do you weigh your food?
My weight loss isn't dropping as much as I think it should be and even though I really don't want to weigh my food (it seems to be kinda "extreme/obsessive to me" but I'm considering it.

Weighing your food isn't obsessive - it's a total game changer! I bought a digital food scale and it was one of the best things I ever did for my weight loss. I had been using MFP for a while (like a year) and seeing NO change. Once i bought my food scale I realized that it was because I'd been eating 4 or 5 servings of cheese and logging it as 1 (you'd be surprised how small 30g of cheese is!). Or I'd be eating a huge handful of almonds and again, counting it as one 30g serving. Since I started actually weighing my food and correctly counting calories, the weight is falling off. I bought my food scale about a month ago and have lost 8 pounds. This is after a FULL YEAR of "counting calories" with MFP (incorrectly) and seeing no change whatsoever.

jersey222

Well, the question is open ended and so to (selfishly) save myself a lot of typing, I am cutting and pasting the following from an answer I gave previously on MFP forums (with minor tweaking if I see something that's changed):

The five things that helped me most with losing 55 pounds (so far) over 18 months have been:
#1 - selfishness/independence: it doesn't matter what the rest of the world does or thinks (except for anything clearly unwise or unhealthy) I will eat when and what works best for me. I will schedule my meals separately from others, or have fewer or much smaller "meals", and friends/family/party hosts should understand in this day and age (it's the 21st century!)
#2 - portion control, don't let the size of dinner plates or packaged foods or restaurant entrees make you eat more than your daily calories can allow, eat less and save the rest for later or the next day. I found it is really, really important to be frequently eating things I enjoy and that satisfy me, but the trade off is I could not eat large portions without then having to wait longer. I eat all day long, but you would be surprised at the small size of my meals (except salads)
#3 - not eating what doesn't satisfy my brain/body, meaning some foots (salty, sugary, whatever) just make you want more,whereas some foods delay later hunger. Examples of the latter would be salad sprinkled with bacon, chicken and low fat shredded cheese; or caramel rice cakes, or a decent quality protein bar. I also drink a 24 ounce "cup" of coffee with splenda and half/half at about 3 PM every work day since it seems to eliminate my mid-afternoon munchees totally for the sake of 60 calories. If you are stuck in a convenience store (which is like a barren wasteland for dieters) then consider dark chocolate covered raisins, I find they do not create cravings as much as virtually every other snack food in those stores, but your mileage may vary.
#4 - aerobic exercise which helped to make me feel better and also nets out (in the MFP phone app) some of the calories I eat making the diet not so strict to stay on in the long haul
#5 - not everyone can spend the same amount of money on their diet/fitness program, but I spent money on a smart phone for the express purpose of being able to use MyFitnessPal, and also a good quality in home elliptical machine which costs a good bit. I quit the gym I belonged to both to help offset the cost of the elliptical and also because their hours did not match my work hours and life (I am not a 9 to 5 worker and I have a very long commute). I got better strength training at the gym that I can't do as well at home, but doing something 4 or 5 days of the week at home is better than 1 or 2 days at the gym.

In summary I can totally honestly say that with the above approaches my 18 months on this diet has not been unpleasant at all, and is now a way of life. I realize some people's lives may not allow them to follow all of those rules, but keep in mind that your health is important, so consider your choices with that in mind.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Do you weigh your food?
My weight loss isn't dropping as much as I think it should be and even though I really don't want to weigh my food (it seems to be kinda "extreme/obsessive to me" but I'm considering it.

Weighing your food isn't obsessive - it's a total game changer! I bought a digital food scale and it was one of the best things I ever did for my weight loss. I had been using MFP for a while (like a year) and seeing NO change. Once i bought my food scale I realized that it was because I'd been eating 4 or 5 servings of cheese and logging it as 1 (you'd be surprised how small 30g of cheese is!). Or I'd be eating a huge handful of almonds and again, counting it as one 30g serving. Since I started actually weighing my food and correctly counting calories, the weight is falling off. I bought my food scale about a month ago and have lost 8 pounds. This is after a FULL YEAR of "counting calories" with MFP (incorrectly) and seeing no change whatsoever.

Bronnyd

Thank you for this!

Melanie_xox

That is great everyone:)

Bearface115

BuMp!

jenaissance

I'm a SAHM of 3 (8, 5 and 4 years old). I get up at 6, workout at the gym for an hour, then start the school routine every Monday thru Friday. I take the weekends as "rest" days. I eat clean most of the time. I do not "diet". It's been easy once I decided this is how I want to live.

deb3129

I made huge changes in the way I eat. I saw a documentary called Forks Over Knives, and it really openend my eyes to what I was doing to myself. So I started earing tons of fresh whole foods. The first 50 pounds melted off without me doing any exercise at all. After that I felt better, so I started walking. I could barely do a mile at first, now I sometimes hike 7 or 8 miles on the weekends, and am considering starting to run.

heather_9931

bump

DonnaLeeCattes

bump

buffcleb

I ate less food...

Angie_1991

Walk a lot and watch my calorie intake....it's forever........

ChristyRunStarr

It's different for everyone but this is how I'm doing it...

I'm watching what I eat, especially poition sizes, I'm working out more/harder. I started running as well. If I don't know the calorie count, I don't eat it. If it won't fit into my day, I don't eat it. I haven't given anything up (still eat pizza, snacks, chocolate, pie, ect) I just do it smarter than before. I'm at the gym every day that I'm at my house (when I'm not, I go running with my boyfriend before work) doing either arms, legs, abs or running on the treadmill depending on the day. If I can fit it in, I do a second walk or run in the afternoon, since it's darker earlier now I'm cleaning space so I can do some workout DVDs I got.

MiloBloom83

It was really complicated. First, i stopped eating like a pig. As i was reducing my intake, i started running and continued cycling/spin classes to burn fat. Good bye 46 pounds(26? while on here).

kimedbs

I'm not one of those before/after people yet. I've still got a long way to go, but I am starting to figure out the art of working out with small children under foot (I have 2 y/o twins, and a 4 y/o). I try to include the kids as much as possible. I'll crank up the music and dance like crazy or run in place for 15 minutes with the kids for some quick cardio. I'll let them drive around the yard in their power wheels car and jog behind them. I use them like weights and bench press them, or do leg lifts with them hanging on "riding the horsey". Like I said, I don't have much success to back it up yet, but this is the only way I manage to get any exercise in right now. Hope it helps.

DontStopB_Leakin

Well look who showed up. Surprise, surprise.


I ate less. Pretty much it. And by less I mean I no longer force the buffetts to restock once I'm done eating. I leave enough food for atleast one other person now.....well, maybe only enough for a small child.


Oh, and I moved more......yup, that sums it up.

diinva

bump

Ladyiianae

When you have accumulated excess fat, you have accumulated a debt. It is hard to pay off the debt (you have less calories to spend). If you are sitting next to someone your same gender and height and they are not overweight and you are, they get to eat more than you (have more calories to spend) because they are debt free. You have less calories to spend because you are paying off your debt.

I am debt free and I never want to go into debt ever again!!!!

I loved your entire post but this portion most especially. THIS makes sense to me.

Thank you!

Skmellyg

thank you ladies, this has been very informational and great ideas.

lynns27

I'm only 10 pounds down but I look and feel so much better already, which is enough motivation to keep at this...
I wanted to share this, partly because I want to keep a record of it, partly because what I've been doing is just so EASY, I haven't even felt like I was on a diet.

Just a few simple steps, don't let people tell you it's got to be hard!
1. Switch out some of your go-to foods with lower calorie options, and ALWAYS keep them stocked in your kitchen. I have been eating Nickles 35 calorie bread, I Can't Believe it's Not Butter Light instead of butter, Egg Beaters Just Whites for omelettes and egg sandwiches, light soup instead of full fat (and having soup more often - a great low cal winter dinner which is also satisfying), light hot chocolate or coffee instead of full fat hot chocolate, 100 calorie packs instead of boxes of cookies, Sargento light cheese sticks instead of regular cheese (I use it for everything) and, probably the most significant one, light almond milk instead of dairy milk (soy is also good but has a lot of estrogen)...the taste takes a couple of tries to get used to but is actually pretty good.
2. Not stocking up on anything that could be a problem area. If you've got kids and a family, this is probably harder, but essentially, I just refuse to let myself buy things like oreos, candy, chips, etc. Out of sight, out of mind. (If you do have children and need to stock up on kid foods, I suggest keeping your food in a separate place, and don't go into the "kids cupboard" when looking for a snack).
3. Be positive! This is so hard sometimes but even when something's got you down (for me, it's usually studying for exams), tell yourself that this, too, shall pass and that coping by eating food will only make the problem worse, and you're better than that! This one has been a real struggling point for me in the past, but I've been getting better at it.
4. Try not to eat out. If your friends are all going to lunch or picking up ice cream during the day, take pride in being the one to say "ok then, just a fruit cup/salad/diet pop/granola bar for me" (or simply "nope! don't need that!") instead of the one who goes all out and regrets it later. Your friends, if they are like mine, might tease you or say "seriously? that's all you're eating? live a little!" but they are secretly jealous of your self control (:

Happy fitnessing!

akkimberly

This was so inspirational, thank you for all of the information!

ashumeow

I see all these before and after pictures (please keep them coming, I love them) but I how did you do it? I want to know in detail what exactly did you do to get to where you were. Do you have kids? How did you balance that? Do you work? How did you fit that? Did you go to a gym? Did you do video tapes at home? What did you eat? If you are low income how did you handle your want to eat healthy and the cost of it all? I am on a budget, I have 2 kids 3 years old and 2 years old. I work from 6-3 and then pick up husband. By the time I get home It is around 4:30. I have 30 minutes to either rest or work out. Then make dinner. Spend time with kids, get kids in bed and be in bed by 9 to get a full nights rest that I need. So how did you do it??

I am not married, so no kids... I don't goto gym...I am a vegetarian since june 2012 and I joined MFP on september 2012. I eat around 1400 to 1500 calories but i mostly avoid junk foods and oils... I am a self-trainer...I just have a pair of shoes... I have a treadmill in my home and i walk on treadmill sometimes. Mostly I lost weight by running a lot and rarely, i do abs workout... I don't work and i am studying masters from home... i do workouts everyday. When it comes to macros, i maintain less fat, good amount of carbs and moderate amount of protein and fiber.

Vinjol03

wooh - i am impressed. Same height like you and hefty as you put it hahahaha. I started my journey 3 months ago and have lost 13lbs. Still working at my exercise cos i get tired easily after many years of not exercising and with type 2 diabeties - i have every reasons to pay off my debts. will like to have you as a friend - send me an invite - i do not know how to etc.

xscarletXbegoniasx

I started my weight loss journey 3 years ago after having my first child. I weighed over 200lbs (pre pregnancy) and I am 5'7". I got down to 130 by jogging 5 miles a day and lifting weights...back then my schedule was a bit less demanding seeing as I only worked 3x a week. Now I work 5x a week plus I commute I have two kids ages 3 and 1.. and finding time to work out can be hard. I ended up investing in a gym pass because its the only way I could afford child care (its included in the gym membership) I go 6x a week to the gym and they will supervise the kids for up to 2 hours each visit. I doubt I'd be able to do this if I didn't have a very supportive boyfriend. He helps with the kids whenever I need help, he helps out with cooking and cleaning. Also I don't get much sleep, I know that isn't recommended but working out is more important to me than sleep so I am for 5-6 hours a night.

ladybyrdee

Thank you for sharing!

Muslimah1218

There's no real secret.

Eat less.

Exercise more.

All you have to do to lose weight is to put less fuel into your body than your body consumes. Over time, you will get to where you want to be. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

For a more disciplined approach, try counting calories. To lose a pound a week, you only need ot eat 500 calories a day less than your body burns. That may sound like a lot, but, pass on one candy bar and a dinner roll a day, and you're there. That would reduce your caloric intake by 3,500 calories per week. Assuming you were neither gaining or losing before, you would lose on average 1lb per week by eating 500 calories a day less. Wanna lose 20 pounds? Do that for 20 weeks.

Losing weight isn't any big secret. It's dedicatation. Determination. Commitment.

Good luck!

dunlunicor

I see all these before and after pictures (please keep them coming, I love them) but I how did you do it? I want to know in detail what exactly did you do to get to where you were. Do you have kids? How did you balance that? Do you work? How did you fit that? Did you go to a gym? Did you do video tapes at home? What did you eat? If you are low income how did you handle your want to eat healthy and the cost of it all? I am on a budget, I have 2 kids 3 years old and 2 years old. I work from 6-3 and then pick up husband. By the time I get home It is around 4:30. I have 30 minutes to either rest or work out. Then make dinner. Spend time with kids, get kids in bed and be in bed by 9 to get a full nights rest that I need. So how did you do it??

My kids are grown and married, but if I knew about calorie budgets and there were computers when I was raising kids I think I could have done this before way before age 50. I always found a way to exercise even when I was raising kids and working full time at a stressful job.

Here is what worked for me:

Being on a calorie deficit is hard. You can't do this journey on will power alone. You must set up your environment for success. Have a team around you in your real life, not just online. Get trigger foods out of the house. It will take some sacrifice and it's not easy. You might have to say no to some social events sometimes.

There is no mystery to weight loss, everyone thinks something is wrong, their metabolism is broken, they have low thyroid, they have menopause or whatever issue, they are as unique as a snowflake, whatever. I thought a lot of these things once too but once the doctor helped resolve the health issues for me I learned there is still no magic pill. Most people eat more than they need to and are not at good at estimating calories as they think they are. Most people have a lower BMR than they think they do. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested. It doesn't seem fair to have to eat less and feel a little hunger. It's hard to face the truth of it, very hard. It's not fun. It's drudgery at times. But if you learn to enjoy your smaller amounts of food (necessary to lose weight, since the reason we got fat in the first place was eating too much whether we knew it or not), and rejoice in your victories it can be done.

All I can do is share what worked for me. I achieved my goal at age 50 after beating my head against the wall for 15 years. Yeah anyone can do it, but I can tell you that you are up against a lot when you are older and I believe females have some unique issue to face with hormones and such. The sooner you can get a handle on it the better. DO NOT GIVE UP. As I got older and the weight piled on (and I didn't feel I was eating too much!) everyone kept telling me to give up, this is what happens when you get older. I'm small, and I didn't realize how small I was until I lost the weight. Everyone said I had big bones. I looked hefty because I worked out. Once I lost the weight I realized how small I really was and that small people don't need to eat as much as big people. HINT: If you are short you are probably small.

These were the diets I tried and failed and did the diet yo-yo with for 15 years:

Low fat high carb, Slim-Fast, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Organic, Weston Price Diet, The Schwarzbein Principle, Eat Fat Lose Fat, The Ultimate PH Solution, The Makers Diet, A friends diet from a personal trainer/dietician

I finally just got sick of it all and made up my own diet with healthy foods I enjoy and smaller portions. I ate my meals from small desert plates and bowls. I stopped eating in the evenings (not that when you eat matters.) I started calling what I did mini-meals and mini-fasts and I lost 40 lbs. Then I found Eat Stop Eat and learned why it worked and everything took off for me at that point.

Eat what you want, eat what you like, mostly healthy. Don’t deprive yourself of foods you love unless there is a serious health risk. Depriving yourself of food you love and creating extensive good food and bad food lists at some point borders on a mental disorder. It will drive you insane.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.


Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

It really is about calories. I tell people this all the time and they say "Well if calories are all that matter why do you eat so clean???!!" Well, because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and perform better at my sports.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

for me it's all about a calorie budget. I had less of a budget available when I was losing weight, more to spend now that I'm maintaining and all the tools I used for weight loss come into play for the rest of my life maintaining.

When you have accumulated excess fat, you have accumulated a debt. It is hard to pay off the debt (you have less calories to spend). If you are sitting next to someone your same gender and height and they are not overweight and you are, they get to eat more than you (have more calories to spend) because they are debt free. You have less calories to spend because you are paying off your debt.

I am debt free and I never want to go into debt ever again!!!!

I always see your posts and am so inspired by you. Always good to read a detailed, thorough answer with absolutely no bro-science or bullcrap.

karlalband

Bump

EdL1979

I've gotta say...

Read a lot on this site and others, learned mountains about nutrition but this girl, californiagirl2012 has GOT IT DOWN. I'm with you, and keep it Rollin.

To over simplify my experience, LIFT heavy, be HAPPY, and ENJOY the experience. It's not all fun and games, but there are too many smiles on the road to ignore. Too many obstacles that you'll love jumping over.

Stick with it, the tough spots are worth the end game. No I'm not done, but I've seen enough results that the light at the end of the tunnel has shown itself.

Molly_Maguire

I really despise working out, and am putting it off as long as possible. But so far I've lost over 20 lbs JUST by eating at a deficit. And speedwalking sometimes on the treddy while the baby naps. I know I'll have to amp up the exercise when I get closer to my goal to tone up, but so far, I lost a load of weight just by ceasing to eat like a fat cow and also consistently sticking to my calorie goal. Hope that helps!