To those of You Who have lost over 30lbs

suzeexoxo

Can you share with me what you did what you ate type of exercises you did to achieve your loss? Also how long did it take?

fretless1965

I lost my first 30 pounds in about six months.

I ate whatever I wanted, but limited my portion sizes.

I put my data into the MFP app and set my weight loss at 1 pound per week. I was very careful to record my food accurately and stay under my calorie limit.

I walked at least two miles (sometimes up to five miles) five days a week.

After that first thirty I did a round of P90X and then switched to running plus circuit training three days a week.

I've lost a total of 53 pounds over (almost) two years.

For the record, I'm a 47 year old male.

rudarbe

Honestly, I didn't start working out until well after I lost a chunk of weight (about 50 lbs)
I became vegan and watched my portions. I ate three times a day.

Anyways, when I started working out I did 30-40 mins of cardio usually consisting of stairmaster.
I'm do strength training that work on all major muscles in my body. Arms/Legs alternating and abs everyday.
Doing that 6 times a week and I lost the rest of my unwanted weight.

Good luck!

monica2410

I'm a work in progress, but here's what I've been doing:
Set my goals to 2lbs a week as I have a lot to lose.
Eat pretty much the same thing every day as it's easier for me that way. I eat what I want and when i want as long as it meets my calorie goal.
Log what I eat as accurately and honestly as possible.
Don't eat all my exercise calories back unless I am hungry.
Try to do a full-body, free-weights program 3 times a week, but it averages out to 1-2 times.
Try getting in 1-2 spinning classes a week.
Take 30 minute walks with my co-workers 2-3 times a week during our lunch break.
Joined a challenge for accountability.
Stopped drinking alcohol regularly, as in a glass or two of wine a night, but that was more for emotional reasons.
Have been a member a long time but only got serious at the end of January.
Good luck:)

cityjaneLondon

I lost about 30 lbs in about 6 months. The next 13 has taken me five months :huh:
Don't be in a rush and dont worry if you hit a plateau.
I do 400 cals cardio 6 days a week and yoga on the other day. I eat 1700 cals inc my exercise cals. I have recently added strength training, but only about 20 mins.
I have about 3 lbs to go to get to healthy BMI. I feel terrific. Just haven't got any clothes that fit! :sad:
Good luck! :flowerforyou:

Frazzlenz

I have lost 35 pounds over the last 9 months and most of that was in the first 6 months. I cut out bread, pasta, rice and potatoes and limited sugar. I started out with bootcamp 3 days a week and then upped it to 4 days a week. Now as I have plateaued with 15-20 pounds to go I am adding in running twice a week. The exercise is good of course but for me it was all about cutting carbs and getting portions under control. Calorie intake was around 1800 but Im having to cut that back too now. . Getting weights this month and planning to start strength training a couple of times a week.
Cut back on the booze too. Im a 43 year old female.

WaimanaloMan

I lost 33lbs in 5 months with a combination of kettle bell workouts, fast pace walking, and healthy eating

IbiH

I lost 35lbs in 7 months, portion control and calorie counting. Did a mixture of walking and JM 30DS. I've kept it off too but the last few pounds are always the hardest.

pwittek10

I stuck to a 1000 calories a day diet.
I ate something every 2 hours and drank a lot of water.
2 pots of coffee a day, I like coffee
I walked 2 miles twice a week and 5 miles a day on the weekend.
It took 8 months and I lost 100 pounds.

AnalogX64

I lost 32 pounds following the JUDD Diet (Johnson Up Down Day)

On Down days very low calorie intake
On Up Days normal calorie intake.

Took about 5-6 months.

Lost about 1.5-2 pounds a week.

theCarlton

I lost 35lb. I ate about 1,350 calories every day. I walked like 3.8 - 4.0 MPH for 40 minutes M-F. That's all. I ate the same stuff, just smaller portions of it.

QuietRain

Counted calories, measured out / weighed portions, and moved more.

pinkraynedropjacki

Took me about 3 months, walking, zumba, eating right & workout every single day with no cheat day. Took me another 4 month to lose the other 50lbs (80 in total) and that was basically pure running daily.... 10km a day as well as eating right.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I've lost 44 lbs. All I did was set a reasonable calorie goal (usually around 1450 plus exercise calories, although it changed as I went along), eat back most of my exercise calories, and use a food scale to weigh all of my food. I did not follow any specific diet.

For the last 10 lbs or so I changed my goals from getting skinny to looking good naked so I increased my protein goal to 1 gram per pound of LBM and I started lifting weights.

As for how long it took I generally lost a pound a week until the last 10, at which point I switched to half a pound a week. I stalled out awhile after 20 lbs (it turned out to be logging inaccuracy) so I took a break for about 3 months.

oliviabog

Essentially 60/120 mins cardio a day. That was early on, back then i used a step machine, ran a bit and walked. Now i have a dog so walk a lot and i do long distance running 2 days on and 1 day off. On my day off in throwing in 30DS workouts.

i haven't weighed in a while because i plateaued at 46 lbs lost. There's still a stone to go but the intensity of my work outs should be taking care of that.

3 stone ago i couldn't have managed the runs im doing now, that's been a slow build up

Diet wise, when i started, i just ate porridge in the morning, soup at lunch with bread and mostly home cooked meals for dinner. I never have cut out treats and occasional splurges. I'm still eating porridge in the morning and salads for lunch with healthy proteins and healthy home cooked dinners. But still definitely having treats!

vickthedick

I never exercised, outside of walking, when I initially lost my weight after my son. I initially lost 111 lbs, but ended up gaining some back so I could have a more healthy look.

Now I exercise 3 days a week, combos of cardio and my weight training which is picking up my now 5 year old 45 lb son and doing squats with him lol :laugh:

LuciaLongIsland

I stuck to a 1000 calories a day diet.
I ate something every 2 hours and drank a lot of water.
2 pots of coffee a day, I like coffee
I walked 2 miles twice a week and 5 miles a day on the weekend.
It took 8 months and I lost 100 pounds.

Wow! I am 62 and it is so hard. I have logged over 600 days. I tried to do 1000 calories but I have not been so sucessful. It has taken me over a year to lose 30 pounds. For the last 5 months I have done cardio 6 to 7 days a week. A few weeks ago I started the 30DS.

zewolf77

I basically just followed what was in my calorie range on MFP and tried to get SOME kind of exercise in 4-5 times a week. It doesn't have to be some spectacular feat of athletic prowess, just get moving.. walking, riding a bike, etc.

Close to 70lbs later, I'm running 5k races with regularity, I've expanded my menu some and eat about whatever I want. I'm just cautious about the nutrients and impact on the rest of my day. 'Good food choices' is how some people put it.

Just remember, the weight didn't go on overnight, don't expect it to come off as such either.

cordianet

Let me simplify this for you. I think you'll find each of us have had a slightly different approach. So what are the things we likely all had in common?

1) Using MFP to track calories. Knowledge is power.
2) We all eat less than we burn
3) We probably move more than we used to
4) We all were patient and didn't expect it to happen overnight or try drastic things to lose weight

EVERYTHING else is just tweaking. What worked for me may or may not you. We all have different tastes, different likes and dislikes in food, exercise, etc. The #1 rule is find what works for YOU.

junyr

Everyone is different and what works for some may not work for you. Someone else's success story could be a complete bomb for another person. It sucks that there's no cookie cutter formula.

AmyMgetsfit

I have lost 30.5lbs, I totally changed my eating habits. I had to they were horrible. I gave up drinking regular coke. That used to be the only thing I drank besides my 1 morning cup of coffee. I gave up smothering pancakes and baked potatoes in butter. I gave up cooking with butter and now use just olive oil or bare when I can like for veggies. If I really need butter for the recipe I don't make it.. I lost 12lbs the first month just by changing my diet. I now eat oatmeal most of the time for breakfast instead of a donut or something equally bad for me for breakfast. I also try to get some type of exercise every day. Even on my rest day I will go for a walk. I think the weight loss mainly came from the change in diet. The healthy foods are more filling. I don't crave another bowl of oatmeal like I would another donut. Healthy and filling foods satisfy your hunger a longer and you are less likely to want to snack, at least for me. I log my food to use as a guide, especially for sodium and to make sure I am getting enough protein.

sevsmom

I had about 30-40 lbs to lose. I made it to 30 after a year of trying. But, I needed to make reasonable changes that could be sustained long term, so deprivation diets or manic workout sessions weren't going to do it. I started using some at home workout videos. . .I happen to like Chalene Johnson, so I did ChaLean Extreme and Turbo Fire. . .Then I started running. What I noticed is once I started running I hit about 20 lbs of weight loss (in total) and then kinda leveled off for about 4 months (even with running 5k + distances). When i returned to ChaLean Extreme and got serious about the amount of weight I was lifting, the last 10-12 lbs came off and people were going NUTS about how thin I'd become (not that I'm really all that thin). I readjusted my goal earlier this year to drop another 10 lbs, and my body just ain't having it. I'm settled at about 135-137. . .and I run up to half marathon distances now (just ran a half last Sunday). Food intake was a combo of *better* food choices, dropping my restaurant lunches, and better managing portions.

Good Luck!!

DotPett

As of today, I have logged in 105 days, so that is how long it has taken me to lose 44 lbs. I am 47 years old and female. Having a buddy, my hubby, to do this with has been my greatest motivator. We walk daily usually about 1/2 hour. We also use an elliptical that we own. I started at about 15 mins on it, now I do 40-45 mins on it. My hubby works out an hour on it. We also portion control and log what we eat.

Horsezee

Having a really active job made me lose the weight, then adding weight training and cardio to that. (At this time I ate what I wanted and how much I wanted.) But when I lost my job, I gained 20lbs within 2 months. It then took a year for me to get that off. It took so long because I wasn't taking it as seriously in the beginning, and wasn't counting calories, eating loads of junk, etc. I started doing cardio and weight training and then I began eating 1,500. The more weight I lost, the lower I brought the calories, eating between 1,200 - 1,400. After I gave up meat and processed foods, I lost another 15lbs, which by the way, I gained right back as soon as I went on vacation in sugar/salt land USA. I obviously overate while there and now I'm retrning to my healthy habits to get that back off.. so the reason I mentioned that is to realize that reverting to old ways will bring the weight right back.

(I should mention the reason why I say I started doing weight and cardio a second time is because I had moved, and wasn't working out or doing anything except stressing out about being homeless. Then I moved again and started working out and watching what I ate.)

Yanicka1

You should not worry about what others did and find what will work for you.

What is the best exercise to lose weight? The one you enjoy and that you will do consistently

What is the best diet to lose weight? The one that doesn't make your life miserable and you can do consistently

As you can see with the answers on top, many different things worked for different people and you have to try and see what will work for you.

Good luck

VeganCoco

I've lost 33lbs but it's taken me 18 months, I only stepped up my game about 3 months ago, for the most part before that I was being completely half assed!

erulasse

Honestly? I did hardly anything.
Ate whatever I wanted, just less of it.
Stuck to 1,500 calories a day, NO exercise.
Lost 30lbs in about 4 months...


Depends how much you have to lose in the first place though... The above wouldn't work for me now.

dessyjo

I just hit the 30lb mark today (=

I started at 238 around 3/14 (my brothers bday) and today I just weighed in at 208. (5/11)

That first day I decided to change I went shopping. Bought every fruit and veggie I could tolerate, cottage cheese, a healthier bread, etc. And I just quit eating junk. Gave up pop, chips, candy, chocolate, etc. (I wouldn't recommend this as you do get quite a few cravings.. or maybe that's just me.) I also got 30 minutes of exercise each day. (mostly walking)
That first week probably wasn't the best time to start because I had made my brother's favorite cake for him which also happens to be my favorite. Every night that week I had a little piece (then came to my senses and threw the rest out). But by changing my eating habits and moving more I managed to lose 9lbs. I know it was probably just water weight, but it was gone and it hasn't come back.

Since then I've maintained a 1200 calorie diet. I don't typically trust the calculators on here so I wouldn't eat back exercise calories unless I was truly hungry. After losing 25lbs I hit a plateau and I upped my calories to about 1600 every few days. Then I stayed with a 1300 calorie diet.

I exercise at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week. (I do the Rockin' body dvds with shaun T and the 30 day shred.)

I still don't know if I really know what I'm doing, but I'm giving it my best shot and it seems to be working. Believe me, I've messed up plenty! Even that first day when I sat down with a piece of ice cream cake. And I still order whatever the heck I want at restaurants. Lately i've gotten into the habit of getting sprite since I gave up diet coke when I started this diet. (This is not a healthy alternative! But it's soooo goood!) Im not sure if I've been any help or if I've been dieting right (most would tell me 1200 is to low, but believe me when I'm hungry and out of cals I still eat something, so I'm not starving) but feel free to add/email me. (=

ichorica

Great job to everyone!!

ichorica

I calorie counted, had a deficit, got rid of sugar and exercised. I still follow that today for the most part and i got seriously about lifting weights.

thistimewillbedifferent

I have lost 32 pounds since the beginning of 2013, when I finally got serious about MFP and decided to make my health a priority. I log everything and my diary is public, so feel free to take a look. My calorie goal is 1800-2000 calories/day; my nutritionist and doctor set that number for me after doing some metabolic testing on me. I try to eat a lot of fiber and to limit saturated fat, but I don't always hit those targets. I eat almost no processed food and greatly reduced the amount of alcohol I drink, but I do still partake. I hired a personal trainer whom I see twice a week; once or twice a week I take a shadowboxing class; once a week I use the Nautilus machines; once a week I go for a long (approx 60-90 minutes) walk. I have a ton of lean body mass so am focusing more on cardio than on strength training, although both factor into my workouts. Feel free to add me and good luck finding what works for you!