How much weight have you lost so far? How did you do it?

PattyTheUndefeated

I've lost 73 pounds since August '09 and I did it the good 'ol fashioned torturous way. I counted calories until I was blue in the face and worked out until I couldn't move. My body ached, my stomach rumbled, but I persevered and worked through it and realized that I'm not in this alone. Working out hard will make you puke and you'll hate eating what tastes like wet cardboard day in and day out. BUT it pays off greatly. You learn to make the right choices. When you only have a certain amount of calories to work with, you have to get creative, and there are foods out there that will keep you full for long and taste great.

Trust me, it sucked and will continue to suck. It wasn't fun. I hate sweating. It was completely foreign to me. But once you get going, and you see those pounds dropping, you can't stop. It's really the best feeling in the world.

Don't think about it, just do it.

:-)

KimbersNewLife

I am not sure how much I lost just before joining MFP but at when I was weighed my a nurse when I thought I broke my hand, you can read about that on my blog. The scale said 235!!! I was crushed and shocked and thought they must have a faulty scale. In that very moment I decided ENOUGH! I immediately gave up Mcdonalds, I had been getting breakfast there a lot and started drinking tons of water and gave up regular soda. Two weeks later I got on MFP Mind you, I had still not weighed myself on my scale because I was afraid of what I would see. When I found MFP I thought, ok #1 thing is I have to tell myself the truth, so I got on my scale at home and it said 225. I wasn't thrilled with that 10lb weight loss because I had never been that big before and knew it was from my soda and McDonald habit. I started logging everything I ate, excercising and drinking tons of water. I started slow by just having a goal to walk 30 mins 3 x's a week. I found myself doing it a lot more that 3Xs a week and started weighing myself daily, I know it's not a good idea but I felt SOO different. My pants wouldnt stay up and fat was disappearing I was firming up and even "felt" LIghter. I am now down to 214 with miles to go before I get there but I am doing this! It's funny now when I go to the grocery store I do not even recognize my own buggie. Lots of veggis, fruit, whole grains, pam, (pam is my best friend!) pita bread and bagel thins. Oh and tons of eggs I have eggs almost every day and they really fill me up. I have my up days and my down days. Right now I am sick and can not work out and last week TOM came to visit so that was a set back but the great news is I havent gained anything back so I am happy about that.!!!

htebaram

Lost 7 lbs in the past 7 days...counting every calorie. Haven't started exercising yet.
<a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"><img border="0" src="http://tickers.myfitnesspal.com/ticker/show/82/4887/824887.png&quot; /></a><p style="text-align:center;width:420px;"><small>Created by MyFitnessPal - <a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com">Nutrition Facts</a> For Foods</small></p>

DrBorkBork

I joined in mid October and have mostly accomplished my weight loss the good ol' fashioned hard way-- watch what I eat & work out. The first 20 lbs was thanks to my Wii, and the last 20 (and future 75 lbs) have been from running.

I used to be a carnivore, taco bell patron, and soda drinker. Now I crave veggies, think fast food is kinda gross, and only drink water. Everyone in my home has given up milk, and even hubby has lost 25 lbs. We are a healthier family because of MFP

Sweetie_Pie92

Congrats on your 18 pound loss. What exercises do you do?

Thank you!
I've joined Curves, and I try my best to get there three days a week. That burned about 380 calories for me, so that's great. I take a walk with the tiny tot almost every day. I hit the treadmill when I have the energy. I do small sets of weight lifting, sit-ups, and push-ups.

SimonLondon

I've only recently been using MFP but over the last 4 months I have lost 28 pounds by diet alone... but not an actual diet...

Each week I would cut out something that I would eat or drink almost daily. I stopped drinking fizzy drinks on the first week, chocolate on the second week (never thought that would be easy but it was!), takeaways the next week. At the same time I stopped eating 1 big meal each day and had 6 to 7 much smaller snacks and meals so I never felt hungry.

My body is now at its ideal weight and is fighting anymore weight loss. Problem is I still have a small tum that needs to go so I have finally turned to the gym for the last push.

I also decided to give up caffeine this week and as a workaholic who works in IT let me tell you that is a pretty rare thing!

kiki75243

i joined MFP in January of this year and so far I have lost 28 lbs. I count all my calories and log my food everyfday I haven't missed a day since I joined. I do hip hop abs and I do turbo jam I work out everyday even on my days I'm supposed to rest I do a 2 mile walk. I've completely changed the way I eat no eating out, eating late, no fried food no soda I mainly drink water and hot green tea. So far I'm doing good. I feel really good about the changes I've been making.

jilldan55

I've only lost 5lbs so far, but I don't have a lot to lose and it seems to come off s-l-o-w-l-y! However, I have recently started swimming with my kids at the gym I joined. I don't do laps, just make sure to keep swimming as often as I can for the hour we are there and that I have to say is the biggest workout I've done! I walk nearly everyday for an hour and I use my exercise bike daily for 35 minutes... but swimming seems to be working all of my muscles and makes for a great workout without really knowing it so much. I recommend it to everyone!

acakeforawife

I've lost 73 pounds since August '09 and I did it the good 'ol fashioned torturous way. I counted calories until I was blue in the face and worked out until I couldn't move. My body ached, my stomach rumbled, but I persevered and worked through it and realized that I'm not in this alone. Working out hard will make you puke and you'll hate eating what tastes like wet cardboard day in and day out. BUT it pays off greatly. You learn to make the right choices. When you only have a certain amount of calories to work with, you have to get creative, and there are foods out there that will keep you full for long and taste great.

Trust me, it sucked and will continue to suck. It wasn't fun. I hate sweating. It was completely foreign to me. But once you get going, and you see those pounds dropping, you can't stop. It's really the best feeling in the world.

Don't think about it, just do it.

:-)

Geez, don't scare everyone! :bigsmile: I've lost almost 85 lbs and it hasn't been torture at all! Of course there were times I wanted to chow down on wings and beer (and let's be honest, sometimes I did! ) but for the most part, I never felt starved or deprived and I never ate any food I didn't love. The best advice anyone ever gave me, in terms of losing weight, is that you can't just be in love with the end results. You have to fall in love with the whole process.

sbilyeu75

I've lost 15 lbs. through watching what I eat and exercise. There's no big secret on how to do it. I'm dedicated to being healthier so I commit myself to the gym at least 3 times a week.

weidner

The bottom line is, that it took you while to get where you are today; it is going to take a while to get where you want to be. That is the motto that I keep trying to tell myself and a statement that I am trying to live by!!!!

Sbilyeu75 you look great, I wish I had taken pictures of myself like you have, you look great, keep up the good work - what an inspiration it must be for you to look at those picture and see the changes in your body - I wish I would have had the guts to do that!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!

BADGIRLstl

I've lost almost 22lbs. I eat only fish, turkey and chicken....occasionally super lean beef! I limit my salt and sugar intake and most of all log all my foods. Oh, I cut out sodas and juices too! I have totally changed most of my bad eating habits and make better choices. I exercise and really for the first time believe in myself that I can accomplish my goals!

BADGIRLstl

I've lost almost 22lbs. I eat only fish, turkey and chicken....occasionally super lean beef! I limit my salt and sugar intake and most of all log all my foods. Oh, I cut out sodas and juices too! I have totally changed most of my bad eating habits and make better choices. I exercise and really for the first time believe in myself that I can accomplish my goals!

bjandlm

Hi there! So far in about 1 month I have lost 9 pounds. I have done this with
a combination of eating right, and exercising. I really like the treadmill, and the
recumbent bike. When the weather is nice I like exercising outside in the fresh
air. MFP really has helped me keep track of how much I really eat. I wish you
much success, just keep with it! Try adding in some exercise that will increase
your heart rate, your heart will thank you!

arfletcher

My weight loss started simply by me changing the way that I thought about food! I started enjoying food instead of feeling guilty about what I was eating. Slowly but surly I started reaching for healthier and healthier foods. It seems like once I gave myself permission to enjoy the crap foods with no guilt I started not wanting the crap foods as often, or at all. I also gave myself permission to be healthy and active - I actually had myself convinced that since my family was fat and I was fat that, in some way, I didnt deserve to be healthy. Once I made that change I started walking to and from work. In about two years I went from 315ish to 200ish. And in the last six months (about) I have lost another 40ish. (all are ish-es as I didnt have a scale until just recently!) So all told - I've probably lost around 155-160. I joined MFP mostly to keep track of my food, I needed somewhere to do an online food journal. Boy have I found WAY more than that here

LittleSpy

I've lost 61 pounds in 6.5 months by educating myself and never giving up.

I'm struggling through plateau after plateau these days (since the end of January - took me 3 weeks to get over the first one, dropped 5 pounds in 1.5 weeks and I guess I'm nearing 3 weeks into the 2nd one now) so I'm still adjusting to try to find what will rid me of the other half of the weight I'm trying to lose. It seems lame, but this is why I feel never giving up is the one of the things that is the most importantwhen trying to lose weight/gain health. Education is obviously hugely important because if you don't know how to change what you're doing and how it will/should affect your body, you could endanger your own health.
I know those are general concepts and I'm sure you were looking for something more specific, so sorry.
Oh, and I exercise. A lot.

sbilyeu75

The bottom line is, that it took you while to get where you are today; it is going to take a while to get where you want to be. That is the motto that I keep trying to tell myself and a statement that I am trying to live by!!!!

Sbilyeu75 you look great, I wish I had taken pictures of myself like you have, you look great, keep up the good work - what an inspiration it must be for you to look at those picture and see the changes in your body - I wish I would have had the guts to do that!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!

Thanks. I use a combination of this website and www.bodybuilding.com for my workouts. That's the reason I take the pictures. One of my favorite things is to look at other people's progress pictures. Now granted a lot of them are building muscle for competition but it's really great to see people's befores and afters. I will tell you this, I notice that when people are doing strength training and not just cardio, you can tell a vast in improvement in everything. They don't get the loose skin or at a maximum it's very little loose skin and their faces look younger. It's really amazing what lifting can do for you.

HonestOmnivore

I've lost about 30 lbs in six months.

I did the first part through diet alone. I was well over 200 lbs and I wanted to get down to 200 before I started exercising. The first month I only lost inches but I also taught myself a lot about dieting. The next two months I came back to MFP and started tracking EVERY THING that went into my mouth - that helped a lot and I saw the scale really move! I was shopping for new work pants Christmas week because my primary outfits were getting goofy looking!

In January I started exercising on our elliptical machine. I was so out of shape that I could only go about 3 minutes and my heart rate would be up over my max! I made myself get on the dang machine and stay on it for at least 30 minutes every work day morning and even though I spent a lot of those first couple weeks just standing still gasping for breath, the weight started to not only come off but OMG I saw things that might be muscles on my thighs! January I lost 8 lbs and February 6.

Now I've added more exercise - I'm doing the 5K101 by Runningmate - which is very similar to the Couch to 5K (or C25K) program lots of MFP folks are using. I'm also walking at lunch with long legged co-workers who keep me huffing and puffing for 45 minutes. In the last week I've also started using an exercise bike and I'm swimming but so far my swimming is only about 10 minutes because I just wear out so fast!

Tricks-
1. I use chopsticks to eat my lunch. Granted after a month of taking forever to eat I've gotten quite good - but it limits how much I can get into my mouth, and it is a constant reminder to be "mindful" while I eat.

2. I walk up the steps at work several times a day. We have three flights (4 floors) and I'll go from the bottom to the top and back every hour or so. It killed me the first time I tried it - I must have about crawled up the last two flights and I took lots of rest stops. Now I'm still winded but I can do three in a row.

3. I have accepted that I will need to get completely sweaty and gross, and I'll have to wash my hair every day. I've got thick long hair and it's a pain to wash. I hate getting wet. I hate taking showers. I hate feeling hot and sticky. I HATE EXERCISE!!! I had to just get over it and do it. Now I have it worked out - When I shower after a work out every other day I just rinse out my hair to get the sweat out of it but don't wash it - this keeps it from getting too dried out. I'm also OK going to work with wet hair. I either leave it down and wet, or I put it into a French twist. Drying it just takes way too long!

4. I eat a small amount of what I crave. I LOVE hot wings - but if I eat only one or two, and eat them slowly, it will satisfy me and I'll get more enjoyment than mindlessly eating an entire basket of wings. I split turkey Rubens - if no one wants to split a sandwich I'll put the other half in a 'to-go' carton before I start eating.

5. I cut out empty calories. Next to no sweet drinks, only a bite of bread.

6. Lunch is (usually) my biggest meal.

7. I eat a smart breakfast. Usually it's 2% Greek yogurt with a Tb. of maple syrup and 1/2 cup of fiber cereal. I NEVER ate breakfast now I always do. If I miss breakfast I eat a hard boiled egg or an apple when I get to work.

8. APPLES. I keep a bag of small tart green apples at work so I can munch on one when I'm hungry and before I go someplace tempting! I eat an apple on the way out to lunch with my co-workers.

9. I still have a glass of wine - just not every night.

10. I plan for overages by eating under the day before and after.

You can do this without exercise but I think you'll find it goes MUCH easier if you do exercise, and you'll like the look a lot better. I also LOVE the energy I get from exercise. I hate it every single time I do it, but I love how I feel later and I love having strength! I feel like super man when I pick up a five lb bag of potatoes and my arm flies up into the air because I overestimate the effort needed

Sunsh1ne

The best advice anyone ever gave me, in terms of losing weight, is that you can't just be in love with the end results. You have to fall in love with the whole process.

That is excellent advice!

elmox

I'm down 15 pounds in 4 weeks! I weighed in on Sunday and I'm so happy with the progress!

I am doing Jenny Craig (I have had success with them before, just haven't stayed with the program long enough to move into maintenance) and tracking through MFP.

It's amazing to see this loss in my clothes (baggy jeans!?!), energy level, internalized self-control ("No, I don't really need those Girl Scout cookies and I really don't want them anyway!", and enjoying exercise. The best is when my friends and my husband tell me they can see a difference. Love that!

This is my first post - I've been reading the boards for awhile, but finally realized that it's more fun to actually participate. Thanks to all for the support!