Asking for your success stories by justcounting calories

robot_potato

67 pounds down, and I restrict nothing. In fact, I'll be eating Reese's sticks after my workout. Not a success story yet, but I think I'm pretty spectacular. I exercise, cause I want to look good and not flabby.

aquasw16

20 pounds so far, just counting calories. Eating what I want, in moderation! 80 more to go!

neandermagnon

I went from obese to 22% body fat using the TDEE -x% method. I started off with I think TDEE -20% but as I got leaner I made the deficit smaller

when I was obese and first starting out I was eating 1300 cals/day
I upped that to 1400 cals/day along the way
then up to 1500 cals/day as I approached a healthy body fat %

Currently eating 1850 cals/day for maintenance, although I'm checking at the moment whether that's really maintenance, or a very small deficit. (i.e. it's my current calorie goal and I'm sticking to it for a couple of weeks to see if my weight is stable, or very slowly going down)

I also did heavy lifting throughout.... although now I'm at maintenance I'm focusing on getting stronger more than on what I look like, but I am aiming to slowly lower my body fat percentage to the 18-20% range (although it's a particular look that I'm after, more than a specific body fat percentage) and I'm also aiming to increase my lean body mass to 105lb+ (cycling between eating at a deficit and a surplus to achieve this)

I'm 5'1" 130lb (approx 100lb lean body mass/approx 22% body fat)

kbeech06

16 pounds since January 7th counting calories. I eat anything I want (even went out for ice cream yesterday) and just work it into my calories for the day. Its slow and steady and I LOVE IT!

cchierighini

Ive lost all the weight so far by just eating to my calorie goal. Ive been here 2 years and still don't know what tdee ect are and don't particularly care either. It took me a year to get to my current weight and now in trying for a last 15lb. I have always eaten a lot of fruit and veg anyway so it was more a portion control thing with me.

mamasyd

I have lost all of my weight by counting calories and maintaining a balanced nutritional intake. I have been on MFP for almost two years, but haven't always gone by their counts. Initially, in the weight loss phase, I made sure that my weekly intake was at or below 10,000 calories. Varying my daily intake through the week helped keep my metabolism guessing. I would have a couple of days at about 1000-1100, a couple at 1200-1400, one at 1500-1600, and two at 1700-2000. After losing about 80 pounds, I started (VERY slowly) to add in some exercise.

Now, for maintaining my weight (and it's been just about a year so far), I keep my weekly amount at 12,500 and use a similar method of varying the daily amounts (though, obviously, with slightly higher amounts each day).

I have been careful to focus on a healthy style of eating that was something with which I could live for the rest of my life. Throughout the loss phase I rarely ate anything that might even remotely be considered a dessert. Now I will occasionally have some frozen custard or a piece of dark chocolate, but I much prefer fruits and veggies. It really has become a new way of life for me.

Keep up the good work - this is very doable!!

Blessings,

Pastor Syd

bhayyy

Hey there! I started in July using MFP recommendations and successfully lost for two months. I then upped calories after reading about tdee and have still been consistently losing! I hardly exercise but am trying to do so more regularly

redraidergirl2009

I lost weight quickly eating a base of 1200 calories for a month. 12lbs. I did no exercise. I ate crappy processed food, I also felt like crap.

ldbuster0

bump for later reading

You all are doing great.

pamelalk

two years ago new years day quite smoking and went on a 1200 calorie a day diet, i ate anything i wanted just tracked everything diligently, i lost 60 pounds and have kept it off soo far..i am new to mfp but really like the easy tracking and community here. i am still at 1200 calories a day but i am finding it harder to maintain that i did lose...good luck

clpf243795

I lost 135 pounds six years ago and kept it off by journaling calories and exercise. I upper my calories to total 1,800 a day and never gained any weight. I ate everything. Nothing off limits but controlled the portions so calories never excessive.

I got married and unfortunately ill and it kept me out of gym for a year. I quit writing down what I ate. I gained 25 pounds. I am back to 1,200. Calories to lose now. I am back in gym. And I am sure I will increase calories back when done.

volume77

when i upped from 1200-1400 i saw steady loss still

Sarauk2sf

I ate to a reasonable caloric deficit (no more that 500 cals a day off TDEE), included a balanced mix of nutritious food for the most part, included treats, hit my macros and strength trained. Other than being a vegetarians for reasons other than health or weight loss, I did not restrict any foods, just fit them into my targets and my overall diet.

serenapitala

Hi,
I have lost 64 pounds so far by counting calories. I definitely burn more calories than I used to, but I watch what I eat as well. I average 750 below my TDEE. I never have a problem feeling hungry, although sometimes it is hard for me to eat enough. I burned about 3300 calories yesterday, I just cannot eat enough food (without eating junk which I wasn't hungry for) in order to hit my target. I have a bodymedia armband, so I actually know how much I burn every day. I go to the gym, yoga or a 5k at least three days a week. I lift two of those days. I also go for jogs or walks every day. I am big on the "everything in moderation" method of weight loss. I will not give up my trivia night gravy fries and beer for anything :drinker: I do, however, workout in order to even things out. I also adjust the rest of my foods on days like that to work toward my macros. I generally look at my macros and calorie deficit as a weekly average instead of focusing on each day. You can see before and current pics on my profile, if you're interested.
Serena

serenapitala

I lost weight quickly eating a base of 1200 calories for a month. 12lbs. I did no exercise. I ate crappy processed food, I also felt like crap.

I did that too for a little while. 1200 calories of crappy food with very little exercise made me super crabby, but I did lose weight.

kazzsjourney

I have lost 180 pounds....the first 30 pounds or so was via weight watchers....then the majority of the time I was eating 1800 calories, I was doing resistance work but 90% of my exercise was cardio. I still have another 20-40 pounds to lose which I will also be doing by calorie counting

(PS its taken me over 6 years so far to lose the weight)

Ascolti_la_musica

IIFYM
If It Fits Your Macros!

You may have to experiment a bit with your calories to find your happy place. Your metabolism may be faster or slower than someone else's, and your activity level will also vary. MFP and FitBit told me that my fat butt needed 1200. I find myself MUCH happier with 1400 + exercise calories. (You bet I eat them back!)

But no matter what your calorie setting, the most important thing is to stay in your macros. (Which you may also need to experiment with.) A million people will tell you to try the IPOARM setting of 40/30/30. This is good advice, but will be hard to stick to until you realize for yourself that it works. I tried everything from MFP's default of something like 55% carbs to 20/20/60 in favor of protein. 40/30/30 really is my happy place, macro-wise.

Plan your meals in the morning. If you know you want that special dinner or 'naughty' snack, you can budget for them out of your other meals. Telling yourself you can never have X again will do nothing but intensify your craving for X until you give in to a binge. Want a donut? Have your turkey sandwich on a bed of lettuce instead of bread and use a little less dressing at lunch. Just need to have fried chicken for dinner? Pull the yolks out of your morning scramble.

There is absolutely no reason to ever "go on a diet." Count your calories, watch your portion sizes, and make better choices overall. If you have a super fatty day, make up for it in lettuce and cardio the next day. Just try not to let it happen too often. With no "forbidden" foods, it really isn't that hard. :-)

lightdiva1

I lost 28 pounds without exercise in less than months. Now I am starting to add in some exercise because I want to reach my goal weight and be fit, not have to then tone up. I would like the fat to melt to reveal muscles.

chooriyah

I've lost 17 lbs by just counting calories and eating back exercise calories. Another 25 to go! I eat whatever I want, and to be honest there are a good few days when I go over. But the scale is still moving in the right direction, however slowly, and the bonus is that it doesn't feel like I'm restricting myself, and so really doesn't feel that hard. The biggest battle for me is not to despair when it seems to be taking too long; but I know that if I was more hardcore about it, it would be faster and but probably more painful (:

shst07

Thank you so much for your input everyone! You successes are inspirations to me! Congratulations to all of you!