How did you do it? How did you lose so much weight?

moustache_flavored_lube

Laxatives and caffeine pills mostly

twinketta

Laxatives and caffeine pills mostly

Aww that is so sad, hope you get to be where you want to be in a good healthy fashion real soon and inspire people

gypsylosefat

Laxatives and caffeine pills mostly

i love it lol, most people wont admit to it but we all do it..... :blushing:

CEHayes73

I have a 3 yr old and a 9 month old baby and I stay at home with them, so working out is not practical for me right now, both due to time and money. I have been very consistent on MFP, logging EVERYTHING I eat and just walking pushing a stroller with my kids.

Walking and pushing a stroller with a toddler and a baby. That IS a workout!

twinketta

Laxatives and caffeine pills mostly

i love it lol, most people wont admit to it but we all do it..... :blushing:

Nope never done it! Even my drinks are caffeine free. Taken a mild laxative maybe once in a couple of years?

EroseT23

I lost the weight I did mostly by being very mindful about what I eat. Now, I'm not a big believer of "good" foods or "bad" foods, but I do try to eat mostly fresh food that I make myself. That said, I am not above splitting a pizza with my husband! I've learned to log everything, all the time, even if it puts me over my goals for the day. Your body doesn't care if you plug it into your food diary or not -- you still ate it! Fudging the numbers until you feel good about it isn't doing yourself any favors. You have to be honest and take accountability for the times you go overboard.

I've also learned that this takes time. Lots of time. It could take YEARS to lose 50 pounds. Then again, it could only take 6 months. No two people are going to progress the same, so don't ever try to compare yourself to other people! Take all advice with a grain of salt, and do your own research. And be patient! This is something you're doing to improve your health and well-being. Trust me, it's WORTH the time.

1two3four

Hello,

I am wondering what are your workout routines/eating habits...specially for those who have lost a lot of weight (50 lbs+).

Thanks :bigsmile:

I started Oct 2011 and at that point I was 287. I cut my portion sizes (like, instead of eating half a pound of chicken I ate the sizes of a deck of cards, I measured cereal and milk and ice cream, measured somethings by the palmful etc.) and for the most part (85%) I didn't drink calories. The only exercise I did was housework and childcare (which I wasn't doing before but it wasn't my house or kids so that's OK). I did this until June 2012 and got down to 227 (I was 211 at one point but it didn't stick.) It literally was eat less and move more.

From June through October I got depressed and stressed for reasons that weren't related to weight but also let the fact that my weight loss was stalled get me even more down. I donated all of my skinny (to me) summer clothes thinking I was destined to be 227 for the rest of my life.

Fast forward Nov 2012, I lost 10lbs that month. After the first week I was HOOKED and continued losing through Christmas (except for a small gain I can't say was holiday related or TOM -- either way I lost it pretty quickly). January 2013 rolled around and I was scared that I was going to stall out again so I got back to MFP and started reading the posts in this community.

As of March 2013 I'm doing TDEE - whatever percent is keeping me at a loss of 1.5lbs/wk. I really am not positive of my math here and did it a bit backwards. I still don't measure and weigh food 100% of the time but I log everything. Period. If my living situation allowed me to weigh and measure I would with out a doubt, and I recommend everyone that can does I'm just saying truthfully I don't right now.

I still don't exercise 95% of the time but I'm doing what's working for me right now.

Whatever you do DON'T GIVE UP. That's really all that matters. Keeping at it (switching things up when it's not working) and it will happen.

KathyPBiles

This is a great thread! Just what I needed to read tonight!

Mcgrawhaha

i eat 1200-1300 cals a day, and every other saturday, i have a day that i dont restrict my calories and i go about 50% to 100% over my maintenance calories. i do cardio and heavy lifting 3-5 days a week. ive lost 65 pounds in 6 months.

lindasuman

I joined the fb group Steps To Good Health in Jan 2013.I walk 3miles a day if the weathers nice I go outside if rainy and cold I go to the Mall.joined MTP and write down every thing I eat, I wear a pedometer everywhere i go and I try to log in 10,000 steps a day.Eating lots of fruit and veggie smoothies some days twice a day then just a dinner meal.

sateliteofluv

I totally agree with the cheat meal. For me that is Friday nights. On Friday nights, I allow myself to eat whatever I want. The longer you are making healthy choices though and seeing the results on the scale, the less tempting it is to overdo it. I find myself making healthier and healther choices on Friday nights despite the "permission" to do otherwise. But just knowing that I "can" eat whatever I want on Friday nights also gives me motivation to eat well the rest of the week. I always tell myself if I still want a cookie, or ice cream, or cheese fries, or whatever - I can eat it on Friday.

KathyPBiles

Laxatives and caffeine pills mostly

i love it lol, most people wont admit to it but we all do it..... :blushing:

Nope - never have - I've never taken a laxative in my life (fortunately I have never NEEDED one) and I drink 8-16 oz unsweet tea a day. That is all the caffeine I get.

thingeringer

You don't have to stay focused forever. Focus today. Tomorrow takes care of itself.

mygrl4meee

I have let mfp set my calories and it was went from 2050 to 1700 over the year and then some. I eat in moderation. I workout and do cycle my calories so I don't sweat it if I am over a couple hundred if I had a day I came in under goal. I have had patience with the weght loss.

nicolej1016

Honestly a big part of my change was that I found out I've been lactose intolerant my entire life. It turned out that once I cut out all dairy, including cheese, butter, and milk, it took an incredible amount of calories out of my diet. I also lost a lot of the health problems that were just my allergy that had been misdiagnosed. Instead of having chronic heart burn, bloating, fatigue, skin irritations, IBS, et cetera, it was simply lactose intolerance. That made a big difference, but that wasn't easy. Cutting out all milk and cheese when it had been most of my diet beforehand was very hard. I had serious cravings. But if you want a very easy way to cut down bloat and tons of calories, lose the dairy, and I mean everything. Even skim milk and yogurt, even cottage cheese. Instead, make sure to get your calcium other ways. I take calcium tabs and also drink fortified orange juice. I also take probiotics because I can't get good bacteria from yogurt anymore.
Also, I stopped having caloric drinks. I drink ONLY water and black coffee, and unsweetened tea. (I tried spenda and stevia, turns out I'm allergic to both, I get crazy hives and itching. Yeah my parents gave me a GREAT gene pool, lol.) Once you cut out sugary energy drinks and milk heavy and sugary frappes, you lose lots of calories.
I still eat fast food, I won't lie. I eat an exhorbitant amount of taco bell, but I order fresco style, which means they hold all the dairy and add pico de gallo instead. It's very nice and refreshing.
I also am now getting good at portion control. If you're going to tackle portion control though, my best advice is to eat VERY regularly. If you miss a single meal, if you get hungry but decide not to snack and save your appetite for dinner, you WILL eat too much. I like to split meals with my husband.
I also avoid potatoes and pasta, simply a personal choice because I find they fill me up too fast with minimal satisfaction, and I get hungry again rather soon. It feels like empty calories to me.
I honestly don't work out much. I love to dance, and I don't mind the occasional session on the elliptical. I like to play around, go on walks, dance around the house like a goof ball, and when I'm stressed, get on my hands and knees and scrub my kitchen floor like a mad woman.
All of that aside, the biggest key to losing weight is be happy. Forget your size, forget the amount of time it will take to reach your goal, just live life. That time will pass by whether you lose weight or not. Don't think about it, the next year will fly by faster than we realize. Be happy right this minute. Get up from your computer and go stand in the sunshine, cuddle your cat, have a rich cup of coffee, jump on the bed, I don't care. Do not let your size limit you, do not think "when I get skinny, I'm going to Vegas!" Freaking go to Vegas. Or somewhere, anywhere, but go today. Don't wait for skinny. Go start being skinny you, because when you see yourself as skinny you, and you live the lifestyle of healthy you, and you do what healthy people do, eventually your body will catch up to you and thank you, and you will be incredibly fulfilled instead of hopelessly longing and staring at pictures of jeans one leg couldn't fit into right now.
There are my success pointers. I hope you find success in any way or form, whether you need cold hard discipline, or you walk a forgiving and flexible path. You can find it. The body WANTS to be healthy. Just listen to it.

This is so motivational to me! Thank you for sharing. I am just 1 1/2 weeks into this journey and you have encouraged me so much: Don't wait for skinny!

KipDrordy

Thanks - All great pointers. I know in theory it is "simple". I find the hardest thing for me is to stay focused forever...basically.

My advice is to be failthful to the log. Log everything even if you know you're going to go over. At times, the logging gets tedious. But it's really important to be able to see the numbers. If I have a day where I'm 1000+ calories over, I still log. I also make my diary public. What's to hide? It also helps keep me in check knowing others can see what I'm doing. I'm still not a great eater. I'm simply eating much less than I did before. Stay in deficit, lose weight. Working out is secondary. It's a lot easier to not eat a 600 calorie bowl of ice scream than it is to burn 600 calories working out.

mamaomefo

No caffeine, no laxatives for me! None needed if we eat fiber and drink lots of water, both of which are quite healthy...and that's what we want!

_Lori_Lynn_

Bump

keem88

switching up my calories and exercise when i hit a plateua. currently i do 10 mins of crunches and 10 mins of dumbbells. works for me

moustache_flavored_lube

Laxatives and caffeine pills mostly

i love it lol, most people wont admit to it but we all do it..... :blushing:

Nope - never have - I've never taken a laxative in my life (fortunately I have never NEEDED one) and I drink 8-16 oz unsweet tea a day. That is all the caffeine I get.

Yawl may need to take yours in for yearly maintenance