Lost Over 100 Pounds?

AuntieMC

If you have lost over 100 pounds, would you mind sharing with us how you did it, and what your current eating and exercise habits are like? Your age would be nice, too!

titi4j

Great topic! I'm always interested in anything people who have lost 100lbs or have 100lbs to lose can offer. I have a bit over 130lbs to lose.

kazzsjourney

I have lost 180+ pounds. I started at 380 pounds. Until I got down to about 210 pounds I ate 1800 calories...and calorie cycled or zigzagged. I also exercised 4-5 times a week. (Predominantly cardio in the form of les mills classes - combat, RPM also kickboxing classes) I also did a minimum of 1 resistance session of week. Once i got under that 210 mark...I then lowered cals (I am still playing with them to work out exactly where to sit), I now do 3 days of resistance per week (1 session is a mix of body weight work plus super sets, one is straight free weights and one to two classes per week of body pump) aside from that I run 1-2 times a week outdoors for 60 mins, and do a mix of cycle classes, body balance, boxing, body attack etc (altho im recovering from a broken wrist so not in major weight loss just at the moment).

Also I am 45, 5"9 and currently about 198 pounds - also I have a desk job.

mjterp

Bump for later. GOOD QUESTION OP!!! ;-)

PosterGuy1

I'm also curious as to what advice they might have.

I have a ton of weight to lose. I began my journey on 1/1, and have lost 38 pounds so far.

I'm 6'3" and eat 1,400 calories. I have not started exercising yet.

ashleey1000

I'm also curious as to what advice they might have.

I have a ton of weight to lose. I began my journey on 1/1, and have lost 38 pounds so far.

I'm 6'3" and eat 1,400 calories. I have not started exercising yet.

Wow 38lbs with no exercise since last month. I wish.

PosterGuy1

I'm also curious as to what advice they might have.

I have a ton of weight to lose. I began my journey on 1/1, and have lost 38 pounds so far.

I'm 6'3" and eat 1,400 calories. I have not started exercising yet.

Wow 38lbs with no exercise since last month. I wish.

I'm also extremely overweight.

My menu is repetitive, but I eat healthy stuff that I enjoy.

I'll start exercising in the next few months.

WBB55

I lost 95 lbs. over 2 years. Don't know if that's close enough to your parameters or not. Here's the gist of my journey. This was all during the pre-MFP days of the mid-2000s

First 1/3 of the weight: 100% gave up high fructose corn syrup, white bread/rice, and trans fats. Didn't count calories, per se, but stopped eating like calories and fat didn't matter. Stopped eating out. Started eating 99% whole, fresh foods I made myself.

Second 1/3 of the weight: counted calories. I "pretended" I was diabetic (following ADA "exchange" diet). Then I "pretended" I was vegan and also gave up meat, fish and dairy

Last 1/3 of the weight: counting calories like a fiend (bought a digital food scale, measured everything I ate) and ran 3-4x per week.

AuntieMC

I would like to bump this for more people to respond to. I also wanted to add my own story.

I am 56 years old, and I have lost 175 pounds since August of 2011. A medical crisis gave me some very strong motivation to make major changes. Overnight, cold turkey, I got off all sugar, all white flour, white rice, white potatoes, fast food, junk food, and almost all processed foods (with a few exceptions for high quality organic foods with no sugar or white flour). I shifted from drinking coca cola all day to drinking green tea all day. I ate hardboiled egg whites for protein, and got off meat. I started eating vegetables. Lots of vegetables. Even for breakfast, sometimes! (yum, steamed vegetables and rice!). I was in bed most of the day for the first six months, and I still lost 100 pounds that way! When I started counting calories, I aimed for 1200 calories per day (I am short, small framed, and sedentary). Now I aim for 1400, which I will probably have to reduce again, to reach my goal weight, but it is what I am doing right now.

The radical change in foods may sound extreme, but the strangest thing happened once I got off white sugar and processed foods -- I started liking vegetables I never would have touched before! I also stopped being hungry ALL the time.

I have gone from a size 34W to a size 12-14. I am an inch taller! Seriously! I think perhaps the excess weight had been causing my back to bow, because there is no way I am growing, at the age of 56, lol!

Now that I am out of "health emergency" mode, I find that I am once again grappling with wanting to eat when I am not hungry, for all the wrong reasons. That is my next challenge to overcome. I don't eat junk at these times, it is too important to me not to, but too many calories are too many calories, no matter how healthy the food is. (Today, I am out of sorts and want pizza and ice cream. Instead, I splurged on a Two Moms in the Raw Cranberry Nut Bar. Healthy, yummy, but way too many extra calories for me today! And I actually think the junk foods I used to eat would probably make me sick now, anyway, lol!)

Once I could be out of bed, I started walking back and forth in my home (I wasn't supposed to be out in the sunshine or around crowds). I tried some inhome walking DVDs, and occasionally other exercises. Trying to add exercise has been hard for me, and is going slowly, but I am trying!

kittenbobitten

Hello! I have lost 105 pounds and am still going. Here is a little background about me, taken from my profile: I have been overweight all my life. I nearly starved to death as a newborn because I was unable to digest or process any type of food or liquid. I spent the next year in a constant struggle to survive, always starving. At one-year old I was still almost newborn weight. Because of that year I feel like I have struggled emotionally and psychologically with my weight most of all. I have been a compulsive eater for the majority of my life and suffer from "food fear". I worry about not having enough food in the house, not having enough for other people to eat, not enough food options, etc. I have gotten most of the compulsive eating under control, however I still go to the grocery store at least every day or every other day, even if only for a vegetable or something small. It comforts me to be around all that food.

In 6th grade I wore a woman's size 12. I weighed in at 215 in the first week of high school, when they weigh everyone in front of everyone else in the gym. I weighed 325 in 2010 when I was admitted to the ER and hospitalized for a week. I was diagnosed as diabetic with a fasting blood sugar of over 300. I went on oral meds and tried to change and lose weight, but overall I continued with my regular eating habits. I switched to diet soda from regular and stopped eating out every day for lunch (while at work) and dropped down to 310. Then I yo-yo'd between 285-300 for a couple months while trying different things. Then my mother died and I lost all motivation to do anything. My weight fluctuated as did my eating, sleeping and really every other habit and became inconsistent and unreliable. I dropped down to 255 then gradually went back up to 285, all without putting any thought or effort into my health or weight loss.

After dealing with my grief over the death of my mother, I refocused my weight loss efforts. I joined a gym and started trying to go pretty regularly, although I was not that consistent. In July of 2012 I lost my job and thought, wow this is the perfect time to really hit the gym hard. By that point I was down to 285. I started going 3-5 times a week, mainly focusing on the leg and squat machines and the sitting elliptical. When I did my fitness consultation, they recommended MFP. After one month at the gym, and trying to eat better I finally joined MFP, weighing in at 275. I am now at 220.

So what happened in between joining MFP and today? A lot! I was SHOCKED the first day I logged my food to see that my lunch (bbq sandwich, mac-n-cheese and diet coke) was like 1500 calories. That was the first and last time I have waited all day to log stuff I don't have any idea on the calories. It was crazy. Needless to say I did not stay under my calories that day. So then, at first I started trying to eat better, healthier, and less. I wasn't always sure what that was, but I did try to follow the recommended calories. I ate wheat bread, oatmeal, grilled chicken. I forced some yogurt on myself and tried to avoid mayo and butter as much as possible. I still struggled with keeping my blood sugar under control. This approach helped with my weight loss, and i did continue to eat fast food, etc. I just tried to really manage my calories.

Then I slowly started leaning toward a low carb diet. I cut out all sugar, potatoes, rice, bread and pasta. I added in veggies I knew I liked (cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, squash) and tried to gradually add in veggies I either disliked or wasn't sure about (zucchini, onions, tomatoes, eggplant) and started experimenting with different recipes and foods. Eventually I gave up my 20-25 a day diet coke habit and replaced them with 120-150 ounces of water a day. Sometimes I still fall back and drink diet coke, but I am trying to keep it to a minimum.

So now I am 220. I have struggled, like we all do, with lost motivation, doubt and fear. But I have AMAZING MFP friends and they have helped me through every funk, including the one I am edging out of now. I currently hit the low carbs like a champ. I can average anywhere from 20-60 but they almost all come from veggies. I now experiment with flaxseed meal, coconut flour, almond flour and my latest, hazelnut flour and make all kinds of interesting veggie dishes. If I see something I just HAVE to have or eat, I try to modify the recipe so it doesn't contain sugar, flour, etc.

As far as exercise goes, I have slacked off a bit lately, but (normally) I hit the gym a couple times a week, LOVE Zumba, do Couch-to-5K, Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, The Butt Bible and I walked a 4-mile ZOMBIE run and signed up for a 5K at the end of March. I also just ordered Zumba for the XBOX and INSANITY. Lately all of my exercise has come from packing, sorting and lifting boxes, but I plan on getting back into a more structured routine.

I guess what I would say as to how I have done it, how I have lost 105 pounds so far is to just keep going. I know that sounds simple, but it can be that simple. Simple is not always easy, however, I struggle as well, but I pick myself up (maybe after a good bit of whining!!) and keep moving forward, past no workout days, past bad food days, past diet coke slip-ups, past holidays and dinners out.

I hope this helps!

Elboogie115

My story is in May 2012 i started at 345lbs as of October 2013 i am currently 180 lbs.
I work out 5-7x a week, drink ONLY water, and low carb diet. I am dealing with loose skin now being that i did too much cardio in the beginning. If any tips i would like that