How did YOU lose weight?

Topsking2010

I reduce my portions and exercise!!!

Drink water and keep moving!!

miadhail

To put simply,

1. Get a Kitchen Weighing scale, and meticulously measure the food your make. Read nutritional labels carefully. If all that is not possible, eat relatively smaller portion than you would normally have, eat slowly and listen to your body. A calorie is a calorie, however, the quality of it does make a difference in how you feel i.e. energetic vs. sluggish. I'd recommend sticking with eating good food.

2. Drink lots of water, I usually go through 8-10 cups of water.

3. Find something active you love doing, and DO IT EVERYDAY!. Keep moving! Move more than you normally would and I guarantee the pounds will melt off. (Invest in a good HRM if you want actual calorie burns to log, or workout how much you should be eating with regards to your goals using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12). If you want to build muscle, lift heavy! Strength training will help with that. Which is great because you don't want to be skinny and play with loose skin, you want to be fit, tight and firm :P

4. PATIENCE!

Basically Calories in < Calories out Good luck!

flatblade

1) Joining MFP allowed me to log my food. I discovered how many extra calories I was eating every day on stuff that was not related to hunger. Logging food has continued to keep me in check a bit, so I think that is important.

2) I have changed how much I eat. I definitely eat less. That is a good thing. I didn't need to eat as much as I was eating.

3) I am eating things that are better for me and avoiding those that are worse.

4) I am exercising almost every day. I ride a stationary bike, swim, and walk. I also lift weights. The weights I lift are designed for me to build my core and maintain muscle mass.

5) I have adopted the idea that this is not a diet, but rather a lifestyle change to keep me fit and healthy through my middle age and into my "golden years".

MariaChele85

I fell into the 1200 calorie trap.
lol
seriously I did, but lost alot of muscle, got headaches, no energy, sleepless, hair thinned out etc.....

Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim

bump

bethygirlie

Hard work, dedication, cardio, not being mad at myself for setbacks, cheat days once in a while, loving myself, and eating healthy. Also I log everything I eat on here.

IslandDreamer64

I'm having a hard time with this. Was so easy in the past but this time around my body is refusing to collaborate.

^ This. It is SO much easier to lose weight whey you're younger. Now that I'm approaching 50 the extra weight just does NOT want to budge.

But to answer you question, when I am fully focused on losing weight I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, whole grain. Limit dairy (it's a huge trigger for me), and try to get some form of exercise 3-5 days a week. I also plan "treats" into my week so I don't feel deprived. Sigh. I need to get my mind back in the game.

RobinvdM

Eating less calories, but the same types of food. Eating more fruits and veggies, less McD, KFC, BK. Eating more lean proteins, yogurt, actually eating breakfast- a BIG breakfast from my usual of skipping it entirely for most of my adult life.

And moving. A lot more than I used to. Walking, walking, walking. I adopted and adjusted a motto: If you have time to lean, you have time to clean. So ya, if I see myself sitting down for too long, I find something to do for me, whether its yardwork, housework, shopping, doesn't matter.

Have been attending the gym to work on strength toning but going for foot surgery in a week and a half so that's going to be on hold for a while.

Also helpful: ignoring people like my mother who tell me I am an overachiever, I am intimidating to people around me, I can't eat carb heavy foods (LOL what? sure I can - pizza and pasta, 2 cheap food staples!)

Tools/toys: Smartphone apps: Endomondo Pro, FitBit, MyFitnessPal; Hardware: Zephyr HRM, FitBit Ultra (upgrading to The One for Christmas,) Smartphone arm band, Wireless BlueTooth Rocketfish Headset

Flixie00

I started off like most people, trying to lose as much as quickly as I could by doing lots of cardio and eating 1200 calores. Soon worked out that I didn't need to do that and:

1. Started eating back most of my exercise calories
2. Exercised more (I like to eat)
3. Made better food choices but did not deprive myself (I eat chocolate most days and I like the occassional pint)
4. Added strength training to my work outs (wish I done this sooner)
5. Got a good PT
6. Changed my eating pattern to regular small meals
7. Ate more protein
8. Drank plenty of water
9. Had the occassional cheat day
10. The nearer I got to goal, the more I ate
11. Didn't panic when I hit a plateau
12. Worked out what worked for me, as we are all special little snow flakes :bigsmile:
13. Made sure I had a good group of MFP pals who I could support, and they could support me
14. Weighed in every 2 weeks

Remember, there is no one size fits all approach to weight loss. Good luck.

danasings

1) Weighing, measuring and logging my food. This is number one because it has been the key to success for me this time, and it's also how I know that I will keep the weight off for good now. In the past I refused to keep a food journal, and failed every time.

2) Found exercise that I enjoy and can do either with my two toddlers or when they are napping/otherwise occupied. I walk/jog a lot while pushing them in a double stroller, and I do at-home workout DVDs in my kitchen, where i have a small TV and DVD player set up in a cabinet. I store my free weights in my attached garage. I don't enjoy going to gyms (and am unable to do so at this time anyway), so I workout at home. My point here is that I lost the excuses, got my **** together, and now I can not live without my workouts.

3) Properly fueling my body. Nothing about getting fit and healthy is "quick." It's a process. So eating enough and finding the macro balance that works for me was very important. In the beginning I was one of those 1200 a day devotees. Trial and error showed me the error of my ways, along with reading helloitsdan's road map and other info provided by helpful and knowledgeable MFP members (thanks, SideSteel!)

4) Eliminating negative self-talk. No more referring to myself as chubby, fat, lazy, etc. etc. etc. I am now strong, motivated, confident, determined, beautiful, yadda yadda yadda. When I overeat or binge, I forgive myself instead of berating myself. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, the bingeing behavior ends after a day or even an hour because I treat myself with kindness, not anger. That has made all the difference in the world.

5) I keep going. I keep setting goals, I keep lifting heavier weights, I keep trying new things. This is for the rest of my life, so I want to keep it interesting.

Sarauk2sf

Oh FFS! enough with the copy paste job of the wall of text. At least do the OP the courtesy of actually answering the question rather than over-loading the page with the same ad nausea non relevant information.

OP: I moved more, ate less.

- reasonable calorie deficit (1lb a week target usually)
- strength trained from day 1
- hit my calorie and macro targets
- eat/ate a good amount of my calories from nutritious foods. Eat/ate the rest of the cals from whatever I wanted
- eat/ate ice-cream every day

ETA: as I am on a calorie deficit, even though I strength train, I will not be gaining muscle - what I will be doing is maintaining what I have while losing weight.

_JR_

Oh FFS! enough with the copy paste job of the wall of text. At least do the OP the courtesy of actually answering the question rather than over-loading the page with the same ad nausea non relevant information.

:flowerforyou:

MoreBean13

I have a few simple rules:

1) Moderate calorie deficit - 500 calorie (1lb/wk) for most of my loss, now down to 250 (0.5 lb/wk)
2) Concentrate on Protein and getting some veggies everyday. I try for a minimum of 120 g of protein/day. (and I'm a vegetarian- no excuses!)
3) I found about halfway through that fat really helps me stick to my calorie limit- almost unlimited fat within my calorie limits.
4) I exercise. Strength training and running. Strength training to reshape my body, running for mental health and MORE FOOD! I eat ALL my exercise calories back.
5) I try to get all my nutrition goals with my base calories, and then am more liberal with treats with my exercise calories. So if I want a brownie or half a pizza, I run for it.
6) No guilt- if I have a bad day, I shake it off and restart the next day. No punishment, no guilt, no regret.

Nerdy_Rose

I started off with 1,200 calories and cardio, like most people. I lost weight, but was really unhappy with my body composition (bye bye muscles).

The most important thing I did was learn from the community on MFP. I listened to the veterans of awesomeness. They inspired me to eat more, and lift heavy... and surprise! In spite of my paralyzing fears of gaining weight, my body followed the laws of physics and I lost a few more pounds, and a LOT more inches, and I can see the faint outline of abs on my tummy now. Also, I can punch harder. It's neat-o.

Biggest lessons: lift heavy, do your research, face your fears, learn from the community instead of fighting "But this works for me!" so vehemently. I never fought out loud, but I felt that way on the inside.

BinaryPulsar

I didn't have a lot of weight to lose. When I joined MFP I realized I was sometimes eating 2500 to 3000 calories a day and could eat 1100 calories in one meal. So, I know I don't need to eat low calorie. As long as I am tracking my calories and know what I am eating and keep it within a normal amount for my size, and keep up with weight training, being active and dancing then I will maintain my weight and increase my fitness and not end up in a weight gaining pattern.

heatherloveslifting

I spent a miserable 6 or 7 months on 1200 calories a day and a lot of cardio exercise.

Then, about August I switched to IPOaRM and am eating about 1500-1600 calories a day
Trying to get at least 25% calories from protein, trying to keep my muscle as I lose the last few lbs slowly
Lifting weights 2-3x a week
Dancing about 3 days a week (maybe 5 hrs)
I log every single thing. Even when I'm way over

jlau13

I woke up after my WEDDING DAY!!!! I was at my heaviest and so unhappy with myself! I began to watch what I ate and slowly, but surely lost my weight. I have used My Fitness Pal for support and I have lost nearly 30 lbs! I am always looking for new friends and a wider support circle- it makes it much easier to remain accountable to yourself and your food choices!!! feel free to add me! Anyone!

divacat80

What did you eat? Did you workout? Did you eat healthy or eat bad but just a certain amount of calories? Did you make muscle after? Do you plan on making muscle?

I ate 100% lean poultry, no red meat except on cheat days, low fat fish (the last few months i've been eating salmon, but it's full of good fats). Low or 0%fat cheese, skim milk (or soy milk). Lots and lots of veggies.
I've always been hooked on coke or any sugary drink so i replaced it with diet coke (yes i know,i should drink only water, i'm trying hard to change this habit). Lots of fruits (low sugar ones, one banana per week until lately, when i discovered i can eat more than one per week and keep the same weightloss rate)

I eat fish at least 3 times a week, chicken at least 3 times a week and red meat only once per week as I already mentioned (i have high cholesterol levels, so I have to be strict about this)
I also eat two eggs per week maximum (i was told not to exceed one egg per week but i can't stay away from it for so long)

I only use olive oil for cooking, and sunflower oil for salads. One tbsp for cooking and one tbsp for salads per meal maximum. I don't have any other kinds of fat (except those things that already have fat in their composition, but as i said, i choose the low fat version).

When i eat bad, i make it one portion, i never binge eat. I have always set a day per week for eating bad, usually on saturdays because i go out with my husband. But if you can do this on a day when you workout a lot then it gets better because you burn it all off on the same day (or should i say, you burn an equal amount of calories, because you're still digesting what you ate).

Lately since i've been working out so hard, i've been making it two cheat days per week. Depending on what you eat and what you burn, you can do even more cheat days per week, it's trial and error.

At the beginning i was losing a lot of weight per month, i had on my mind the ridiculous thought every beginner dieter has, the "to lose weight you have to eat little". i never felt hungry but my calorie deficit was very high and i didn't know it until i bought a scale and started counting calories and proteins. So now i'm eating more than ever.

As for exercise,i've been going to the gym 5 days per week. I started with a basic program, and started exercising harder and challenging myself as my weight started going down and my fitness started improving. I have always done both cardio and strength training. Usually 60 minutes cardio, and i was given a 5 days a week strength training program that targeted one area per day,now i do a full body program three times per week.

What to do at the gym depends on what your body is capable of. If you're truly overweight you don't have to start with heavy exercising, and a little effort goes a long way, but once you progress you need to adapt the program and make it more challenging.
Also,you need to make it fun so it's good to try new things and different ways to reach the same fitness goals so that the boredom doesn't spoil the exercise.

I now eat more than ever, and i fill my stomach again with a lot of food,but it's nutritious stuff. I thought that the nearer i got to my goal the less i would have to eat,and it's not exactly that way. I have to eat less calories if i want to lose because I weigh less,but i have to fill my plate more because i work out a lot more (not because i need to,but becaue i love it!), and i burn almost as many calories as i did at the beginning.

So, summing it all up, i had to change my habits (didn't happen overnight), and i had to have lots of patience but i lost weight by learning how to eat and live healthily. I became a better cook, so I don't miss junk food so much anymore.

And my love for food didn't have to die. It's exactly the opposite, i find myself thinking about food even more often,but in a good way. I am always trying to find new ways to cook and to make my food more enjoyable.

I'm almost at my goal weight now, and i lost 42 kg (92 pounds) in a year and a half. I plateaued once for more than two months.

Keeping track of my progress has always been key,but i had to stay away from the mfp app when i was stuck in the plateau,since i was getting quite obsessed trying to find out what i was doing wrong.

sandra152

I just cut out the junk to and started doing Aquafit and going to the Gym just twice a week and have lost 20Ib since June also eat weightwatdhers bread instead of normal bread dont have low calorie meals so it must be the lack of junk food and exercise

zombilishious

I pick up heavy stuff. I put it down, and then I repeat. When I'm tired of that, I go run for a while. I eat 1700-2000 calories a day. My weight loss is slower than some people have patience for, but I can pick up some really heavy stuff now. Like my teenager (which I do sometimes to show him whose boss).

Food - lots of protein sources. I have to really focus on making sure I get enough veggies some days. I know I'm eating healthy when my trips to the grocery store do not involve going down an aisle.