I have questions for those who have been successful.

CJ_Holmes

Bump- this is really helpful! As I play around to figure out the best groove, it's great to learn from others!:drinker:

djames92

M/F? m
Age? 20
Height? 6foot 1
Start weight? 240
Goal weight? 160
Time it took? 6 months ish
Aloted daily calories? idk didnt use this site lol
Did your aloted calories change with loss? idk
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? no

victoriannsays

Female
22
5'5
Start-137 ish BF% - 25%
Current: 132 BF% - 20%
Five months
1700 cals a day - 20% from TDEE

Began with cardio&circuit training.

Now I lift, do yoga and little cardio.

Lacole216

bump

MamaMaryC

M/F? F
Age? 30
Height? 5'3"
Start weight? 214
Goal weight? 125 (but I made it down to 123)
Time it took? 5 years (on and off)
Aloted daily calories? 1350 calories (I didn't understand net back then.)
Did your aloted calories change with loss? I went back and forth between 1200 to 1350.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Never. (Again, I didn't understand net at the time.)

LuckyLeprechaun

M/F?
Age?
Height?
Start weight?
Goal weight?
Time it took?
Aloted daily calories?
Did your aloted calories change with loss?
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?

THANKS in advance!

Female.
36
5'9"
237
155
two years
varied throughout,,,,started at 1420, went up to 1600...that's my sweet spot for losing...maintenance is 1800-2000 for me.
yes. The less you weigh, the less it takes to feed you.
yes, I always ate back the calories I burned through exercise.

marycmeadows

M/F? F
Age? 30
Height? 5'6''
Start weight? 303.4
Goal weight? 155-165 *Current weight is 186.6*
Time it took? 2 years as of this month
Aloted daily calories? around 2000 give or take
Did your aloted calories change with loss? yes, it's increased
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? yes some of them.

LorinaLynn

M/F? Female
Age? 40, 38 when I joined
Height? 5'5
Start weight? 160
Goal weight? 135
Time it took? 6 months, been maintaining* for over a year and a half.
Aloted daily calories? 1350-1600 plus exercise calories
Did your aloted calories change with loss? As I got closer to my goal, I switched from 1 pound a week to a half pound a week, and increased my calories.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Abso-freakin-lutely. That was the missing link for me... why every other attempt at weight loss failed. I previously tried "too hard" and cut calories too much. It wasn't necessary. A small to moderate calorie deficit works best for long term results.


* "Maintaining" doesn't seem like quite the right word. I've been maintaining about the same weight since June of 2011, but I've completely changed my body since then.

SmartAlec03211988

M/F?: M
Age?: 24
Height?: 5'0"
Start weight?: 208
Goal weight?: 130
Time it took?: 11 months
Allotted daily calories?: 1750
Did your allotted calories change with loss?: I ate no less than 1500 calories in weight-loss mode. Maintaining I eat 1750-2300 (depending on exercise).
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?: Yes.

TheNewDodge

Male
35 Years Old
6'3"
SW: 395
CW: 272
GW: 225
My Daily Calories go down as I lose weight. Currently it sits at 2060.
I've been at it since June, 2011. I've gained a few pounds during the holidays both years.
I eat back most of calories. While I track everything daily, I am only concerned about my total net calories on a weekly basis. If I go over one day, I'll go under another and vice versa.

Mathguy1

Male
43
5'10"
SW-204
GW- 165-175
CW- 169 (lost 35 lbs)
Took 7 months. Would of been sooner but Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, and the week I spent traveling and interviewing each set me back a week or so. I'm guessing it would of taken 6 months to reach this goal.
My caloric allotment changed over time. (Currently at 1580).
Did your alloted calories change with loss? Yes (roughly 10 calories per lb lost)
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? I ate most of them. If I was hungry, I'd eat. If not, I didnt.

DonnaLeeCattes

M/F?
Age?
Height?
Start weight?
Goal weight?
Time it took?
Aloted daily calories?
Did your aloted calories change with loss?
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?

THANKS in advance!

Female
45
5'3
196
125 - I'm 128 right now
6 months
1200 calories
no
no

crystalflame

M/F? Female
Age? 23
Height? 5'5.5"
Start weight? 150
Goal weight? 120 (@ 122 now)
Time it took? 2 1/2 years, with 9 months of those being focused
Aloted daily calories? 1500
Did your aloted calories change with loss? Upped from 1200 to 1500
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? No

My biggest tips:

-Take your time. I lost 11 lbs in a 9 months, maintained for a year when life got crazy, and have lost another 17 lbs in another 9 months. I didn't have a lot to lose, and I never felt like I was depriving myself. Just don't give up, either!

-Lift heavy.

avababy05

M/F? Female
Age? 44
Height? 5'1
Start weight? 169
Goal weight? 130
Time it took? Four months ( three years ago.I want to lose five more pounds and learn about building muscle)
Aloted daily calories? 1200
Did your aloted calories change with loss? yes
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?
I eat back half of what I burn

supergirljen

bump for later

SurfyFriend

Female, 20, 5'7"
SW: 145
CW: 119 (9 to go)
Time? 18 months
Calories: 1200-1400 NET
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Always :laugh:

fittiephd

M/F? Female
Age? 22
Height? 5'8"
Start weight? 150 lbs
Goal weight? 130 lbs
Time it took? 9 months
Aloted daily calories? 1650-1750 while losing, 1800-1950 now that I'm maintaining.
Did your alloted calories change with loss? No because I didn't lose enough to need to change them.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? YES YES YES omg please eat them back.

mygrl4meee

M/F? Female
Age? 36
Height? 5 10
Start weight? 272
Goal weight? 220 not there yet. I am about 225
Time it took? been at it a few weeks shy of a month.
Aloted daily calories? 1720
Did your aloted calories change with loss? yes. I started out with over 2000
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? I eat them back if I am hungry. I also sort of bank them. So if I have quite a bit leftover one day. I don't sweat it if I am over 100 or so calories.

avababy05

M/F?
M
Age?
42
Height?
6 ft. 1 in.
Start weight?
560 lbs.
Current Weight?
249 lbs.
Goal weight?
238 lbs.
Time it took?
Still ongoing 42 months in......
Alloted daily calories?
3000-3400 (based on exercise calories for that day)
Did your aloted calories change with loss?
Yes started at 2500
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?
I eat back my exercise calories based on my HRM (eating back 85% leaving 15% for error in logging)

That's awesome! Congrats on your weight loss!

SanteMulberry

M/F?
Age?
Height?
Start weight?
Goal weight?
Time it took?
Aloted daily calories?
Did your aloted calories change with loss?
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?

THANKS in advance!

female
65
5'5"
242-245
145
Only half way there at 195 (two years so far--only four months on MFP and I'm down about 10-12 pounds since joining--my macros are set to lose 1 pound a week. So I'm a little shy of that but not by much.

1,620 calories now---was at 1,780 (I think) when I started.
I seem to have trouble eating back my exercise calories--too much food for me. I expect that I am not building muscle as fast as a younger person so I likely don't need as much food. I don't eat sugar and wheat (both addictive for me) so what I do eat seems to be pretty nutrient dense and I am satisfied with less I guess.

Valera0466

Awesome information in here.

_SABOTEUR_

M/F?
Age?
Height?
Start weight?
Goal weight?
Time it took?
Aloted daily calories?
Did your aloted calories change with loss?
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?

THANKS in advance!

Male
27
195cm 6ft5
255lbs
206lbs
May 2012 - December 2012
Started at 2150 cals, increased gradually to 2900 which is maintenance for me. Planning to cut back another 15lbs by July and then bulk up/build muscle for rest of year. Then rinse and repeat until happy with how my body looks.
Always eat back workout cals

Bulldogmomma3

Awesome post. Love seeing what worked for others!

CandiSki

Great post!

erinsueburns

Female
Age? 30 (almost 31)
Height?5'6"
Start weight?186+
Goal weight?140ish
Time it took?2+ years (1 before I found MFP, BUT I was doing the same thing)
Aloted daily calories? 1800 to start
Did your aloted calories change with loss? A little bit, but I also slowed my rate.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? At first I didn't exercise AT ALL, now I do and eat back my calories mostly. Wish I had started with weight training though.

keenesmom

M/F? Female
Age? 46
Height? 5' 6" (ish)
Start weight? 180
Goal weight? 150 (but I'm down to 140)
Time it took? August 20 - November 25
Aloted daily calories? 1200 during loss (1750 now on maintenance)
Did your aloted calories change with loss? no
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? no

Luv2ChewBaca

M/F? M

Age? 48

Height? 5'9"

Start weight? 240

Goal weight? 175 I am 18lbs from my goal

Time it took? 4 Months I joined MFP Sep 10, 2012 & hit 47lbs lost on Jan 13, 2013. Today is day 142 on MFP. The weight loss has slowed but the inches have continued to drop.

Aloted daily calories? 1340

Did your aloted calories change with loss? Yes, they were lowered as I lost.

Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Sometimes, If I've had an extra tough Workout. But most of the time I do not.

THANKS in advance! You are welcome!

cmdoiy

Bump

sam_gamgee

M/F? M
Age? 40
Height? 177cm (5ft 10)
Start weight? 114kg (251 lb)
Goal weight? Initially less than 80kg (176 lb). Been there for a little while, still losing slowly, will see how it goes.
Time it took? 10 months (to hit initial goal)
Aloted daily calories? 1600
Did your aloted calories change with loss? Obviously according to MFP's automatic setting, yes (keeping the same loss rate), but I haven't changed as I think I'd struggle with less than 1600, and am happy with slower loss closer to goal.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Not so much initially. Now definitely yes.

claresusan

M/F? Female
Age? 50
Height? 5ft6in
Start weight? 116kg or 255lb's
Current weight 66kg's or 145.2lb's
Goal weight? 65kg or 143lb's
Time it took? 1 year
Aloted daily calories? 1200
Did your aloted calories change with loss? No
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? No