Roll Call!

LadyRoff

1. Alison
2. 17lb
3. 58lb

4. Still eat foods you love, just eat alot less of it! Ive been doing that and dont feel deprived!

Diondrea04

Name: Sha'kena
LBS Lost: 15 ish
More LBS: 50 ish
Advice: Everything in moderation.....stop the deprivation. Get down to the REAL culprit….it’s NEVER just about the food alone. For me it was to make myself a priority and be the best I can be in aspects of Life! 

marykpfist

1. Mary
2. About 13 pounds so far.
3. At least 15 more.
4. Don't drink your calories! Switch to zero calorie drinks, or better---water.
Eat three colors of veggies at every meal.
As much as possible, ditch the bread. I'm not saying be totally carb free, but all those bread slices and buns add up...and are not necessary. Have your food on its own, or in lettuce leaves, even when eating out.
Stick with it! My progress has not been quick, but it is progress! Without it, I would be at a big ol' FAT standstill.

CassieJTS

1. Cassie
2. I'm 22 down from my highest weight
3. I'd love to lose another 30-40

4. Don't buy/keep crap in the house. I'm not saying to deny yourself the things that you love, I'm just saying that you don't need to keep those things in your home. There will be plenty of friends offering you cookies, parties and late nights at Denny's, if you don't buy those doughnuts it doesn't mean that you'll never see one again, it just means that you can't eat ten of them in a single sitting (I know I would!). This was the hardest things for me to learn. Every now and again I still go crazy and freak out with food when I'm out, the other day I broke 4,000 and I feel really ashamed of it (which brings up another good piece of advice, LOG EVERYTHING, even when it hurts! -- ESPECIALLY when it hurts!). But now I'm back home and I know that I eat well 10x more than I don't and that thought makes the occasional binge seem less damning and it gives me the motivation to keep going.

dunkt10

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I make "deals" with myself.

-You want a cheeseburger? Okay, you can have it. If you're still hungry after a salad. (I'm never still hungry).
-You don't want to exercise? Okay, just do the first circuit of your Jillian Michaels DVD and then you can stop. (I never feel like stopping once I'm through that first circuit).
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I LOVE your strategy! I actually do this in my head but unconsciously.

dunkt10

1. KD
2. about 40 lbs since I started my weight loss journey. About 13lbs since recommitting myself to MFP.
3. about 30lbs left
4. Eat in moderation. Have what you want but do it sensibly!

Sparlingo

1. Jill
2. I'm down 25 lbs
3. 17-27 (we'll see as we approach what a healthy/realistic goal is)
4. My best advice for someone starting out would be: Be kind with yourself and be patient. Don't let an all-or-nothing attitude lead to you always doing nothing! For me, I had to be okay with failing at some of my goals and not letting that cause me to quit. If I tried to run 4 k and ran 2k instead, I was proud of those 2k and recognized that I still have my goal to shoot for. If I shot for 1g/lb of lean body mass in protein and only got half of that, I recognized that that half was still likely more protein than I would voluntarily eat on a normal day. I take that as a win of sorts and try again the next day. If I try for more weight in my weightlifting class and can't quite hack it, I pat myself on the back to returning to that weightlifting class when old me would have cried and never returned.

If I only ever tried at things which I already knew I could succeed at, I wouldn't have made any true discoveries about what I'm really capable of.

sundy2603

1. Name: Sundy
2. how much weight you have lost so far: i have lost 27 in total
3. How much you still want to lose, or are you maintaining? 45 lbs to go

4. Best single piece of advice you would give people just starting out: Stay focus on the purpose you are losing the weight. Being healthy is important for you body. Keep a goal that's is reasonable for you.

AliciaStinger

1. My name is Alicia
2. I had lost 34 pounds...
3. ...But I gained almost 20 back, so I now have 50 pounds to go.

4. If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be STICK WITH IT - whatever "it" is that you do to lose weight. I lost that 34 pounds from doing nothing more than watching my intake (wasn't exercising). I kept it off for almost two years - and then in two months of carelessness I gained most of it back. Find a way to make this work for you so that you CAN stick with it - fit some potato chips into your daily calories, or let the night you eat out be your "cheat day" - and then get right back to eating healthy. I've heard that it takes 4 weeks for you to notice a difference, 8 weeks for your family to notice a difference, and 12 weeks for everyone else to see it. Give yourself 12 little weeks of honest effort, and see how you feel about it then.

kanadian_bear

1. kanadian_bear
2. 16 LBS
3. 29 LBS

4. Don't live and die by the numbers on the scale

bkciddir

Name: bkciddir
Weight lost so far: 31 pounds (in 2 months - Started January 09, 2013)
Weight to loose: 99 pounds more to go (by January 09 2014)
Best piece of advice: Cleaning up my eating (healthy - extra extra fruits and vegtables) and working out for 1 hour minimum, 6 days per week (I also try to change things up at the gym - Cybex, Elliptical, Treadmill then combine weight lifting (3 sets of 10-15 repitions on each machine) every day and I will do arms one day, legs the next day, and mid-section the next day - then I start over arms, legs, mid-section: you get the idea). Also, when on the weight machines, when a particular weight gets too easy, I increase it to the next level. I also do this on the eliptical, cybex and treadmill. If 6.0 incline is easy on the treadmill at 3.3 mph, increase it to 7.0 incline at 3.4 mph. Today I did 9.5 incline at 3.6 mph. for 15 minutes on the treadmill. 45 minutes on the Cybex (weightloss - 2) and 45 minutes weightlifting (legs and mid-section). I burned near 900 calories today. Also, NO I NEVER EAT BACK MY CALORIES BURNED. I WORKED TO HARD TO BURN THEM - WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT TO EAT THEM BACK. However, if I want a little sweet snack at night, I will have a sugar free jello treat (10 calories) or a handful of postachios. But, never would I eat 900 calories back. Not only that, I tend to work out in the evening - after dinner. So, I don't have the energy to eat much after that anyway. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE. SOON I WILL BE A SUCCESS STORIE. LOVE CHIA SEEDS - also, my new found friend.

kazzsjourney

1. Name kazzsjourney
2. how much weight you have lost so far 82 kilos/181 pounds
3. How much you still want to lose, or are you maintaining? Another 20-40 pounds

4. Best single piece of advice you would give people just starting out. Just dont give up....no matter how many times you fall off track just get back up as quickly as possible

Fit_Kenzie

I'm Kenzie , just came back today
Need to lose 10 lbs, firm up

measuere don't weigh is my advice.

conniemaxwell5

Conniemaxwell5
Lost 3 since joining MFP 2 weeks ago, 40 overall
Would like to lose another 40 but even when on the swim team in high school was only 15 less than I am now. My real goal is to be healthy and flexible enough to get down and play with my grandchildren whenever my kids decide to bless me with them!

Best advice to a newbie - knowledge is power! Read, research, ask questions, talk to a nutritionist and/or a trainer - whatever it takes to educate you so you can make informed, good decisions about your lifestyle change. Second best advice - be patient - you didn't gain the weight overnight. Don't expect it to come off overnight either.

AllisonPlease

1. Name - AllisonPlease
2. how much weight you have lost so far- 35+
3. How much you still want to lose, or are you maintaining?- another 40ish

4. Best single piece of advice you would give people just starting out.

This is not a diet its a change in lifestyle so GIVE IT TIME. I once found a post that said it takes 4 weeks for you to notice change in your body, 8 weeks for your friends and family and 12 weeks for everybody else, and it was true!

winterswish

1. Amy
2. 19lbs down
3. 22 pounds to go to first goal, after that it's all new territory for me but I'm guessing another 35-40 to reach end goal weight.

4. Every step in this is a choice-- you won't always make the right ones and you're only wasting time when you beat yourself up over it. The biggest choice you face every day after taking this on is "Do I want to keep trying or do I want to go back to where I started?" Answering that one usually leads to better and better decision making.

babynun

Cindy, lost 12 lbs and need 8 lbs more to go.

Best advice: get motivated to exercise because it will help keep the weight off. Counting calories is a good habit and this site/app is easy to use. My workout routine consist of 45 minutes of cardio during my lunch hour (5x/week) and I'll do another 30-60 minutes of aerobics after dinner (5-6x/week). There aren't enough hours during the day but you have to make the time because we only get one life, so make the most of it.

1two3four

1. Name 1two3four
2. How much weight you have lost so far? 88 pounds
3. How much you still want to lose, or are you maintaining? 88 more pounds

4. Best single piece of advice you would give people just starting out.

Don't give up.

robot_potato

1. pbprincess
2. 67 pounds in 2 years, slow and steady
3. 15-30 more, depending on how I look and feel when I get there

4. Don't starve yourself, don't deprive yourself, and lift. The results I have seen from lifting are far better than any type of exercise I have done before, and I'm just getting started.

Angel0787

1. Tiffany
2. 35 lbs last year, gained sixteen, lost 12 lbs since January
3. 45 lbs

4. Take measurements and pictures. The scale can lie!