To those of You Who have lost over 30lbs

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!

BL_Mark

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.

BINGO!! I'm a 32 year old male with a desk job. I work out about 3 days/week because that's all my time allows. I've lost 40 pounds since Feb 2 of this year.

mnm424

I lost 32 lbs in 6 mths (20 since I joined here) calorie counting and definitely portion control was how I started. When I joined MFP I looked at the reports you can pull up and started tweaking my diet slowly. Exercises wise before MFP I did alot of calisthenics (body weight) and cardio... right know I'm doing 30DS for the second time with 8 lbs dumbbells (1st time was with 3 lbs).

Good luck :flowerforyou:

mrkpittman

Basically got rid of processed foods and after that ate whatever I wanted, just following MFP guidelines. I go to the gym 3 days a week for an hour with a combination of bike riding the other 3 days a week leaving a day off to relax. I was averaging 3 pounds a week but it slowed down a little the last 2 weeks, to 2 pounds a week.

BoomstickChick

It varies so much. Years ago, I lost 35 lbs in just about 2 months or so. Before getting pregnant, with MFP, exercise, and diet, I lost 24 lbs in a year and a half. I have thyroid issues now. It's just not possible for me to lose like I used to.

When I did lose that weight before though, I ate all the same stuff, just about half of what I was eating before. I had a very active job too, I worked in nursing.

katmustbeskinny

I tried to eat "clean". Which is basically staying away from as much processed food as possible. I ate lots and lots of fruit. I also ate in a certain order for each meal: crap loads of water (It helps you fill your stomach and not eat as much), fruit (fruit is very acidic, so eating fruit first will kick start your metabolism and help digest the rest of your food), starch (starch is very yummy and kind of addicting, which is why you don't want to eat it first or last, and that fruit will help break down those complex carbs), then vegetables (they alkalize your pH levels, and they are generally tasteless, so they help reduce your appetite), rarely have dessert.

For exercising, I just stayed in my room and did lots of jump rope, sit ups, and lunges. Really, I only exercised for thirty minutes almost everyday. Figure out what works for you. Now, I tend to ride my bike, do sit ups, and push ups. Find out what works for you.

I lost 25 pounds in less than three months. This was before I joined MFP.

Good Luck.

falewis

to lose my weight, I started with my fitness pal and a drug store pedometer. I logged all I ate, cut out between meal snacks and was almost religious about portion size. I made sure to drink at least 8 cups of water/day. Eventually I upgraded to a fitbit ultra (last Father's day).

For me, the cutting out of between meal snacks seemed to be the big change. it is amazing how quickly a muffin here, candy bar there will add up. I think the reason I had success was none of my changes seemed huge at the time, and over time they became habit. Now, I will have an occaisional snack, but, I still log everything and since I'm running ~15-20 miles each week, I've built in the ability to add a few extra calories here and there. For what its worth, my weight has fluctuated within a 4 pound window over the past 3 months, usually just a pound or two either way each week (I also have a fitbit aria scale that I use weekly to weigh myself - always straight out of bed, after the 1st morning trip to the restroom, to try to reduce variation due to bladder/colon fullness). Apologies if the last part was way too much information.

jb_2011

I lost 50 my first year, another 17 the following year, and have maintained since then. I cut way back on sugar, bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, increased vegs a million-fold. Lots of water and lots of walking. Even started jogging a wee bit.

stacifahlsing

I have lost multiple times and have fallen off the wagon multiple times. My yo-yo is lose 40, gain 35, lose 40, gain 50, lose 30... so on and so forth! I am determined to do it better this time! I can't be so severe or I will go off the wagon again!
This round, I had lost 5 lbs before I started using MFP again. So, I have lost 30 lbs this time. I have tried to eat non processed foods... in other words... I eat FOOD... not food like things from a box in the freezer or aisles. I try to eat the biggest portion of food from veggies, then protein, then fruit, and then whole grain. I thought I couldn't run... come to find out, I just needed to learn to run and practice it often. I try to run in intervals 5-6 times a week. My intervals were run for 30 seconds and walk for 1 minute...30 minutes. Now I am up to run for 4 minutes and walk for 1 minute...35-45 minutes. The more often I run, the better my ability to focus and actually get further than before. The lbs came off easily at first, but now average about 2-3 per month. It was frustrating, but now my mindset is "as long as I go down and not up"! I log EVERYDAY! Without fail, I log daily! Even if I end up splurging and eating 5 guys and fries, I log!

stacifahlsing

Oh and TONS, Gallons!!! of water EVERYDAY! I started out taking my weight and drinking half the lbs in ounces of water... 200 lbs...100 oz of water everyday! I have slowed down and that is probably why my weight has slowed down on coming off!

wendybird5

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?

It took me a year and a half to lose 88 pounds by doing mostly cardio and eating what I wanted, but in moderation.

I started out just counting calories. I ate what I wanted as long as it was within my limit. If I wanted to eat more, I would exercise first to "earn" more calories. And I had one cheat day a week. I lost 30 pounds in six months doing that.
Then I started working out three days a week for 30-45 minutes. I just did cardio. I also started eating a bit cleaner by swapping my faves for healthier options (hummus instead of mayo on my sandwiches or as a veggie dip instead of ranch, plain Greek yogurt with fruit instead of the Yoplait stuff, protein style burgers with no cheese or mayo). That helped me lose another 30 pounds in six months.
I started to struggle at this point and gained back some weight so I splurged on a personal trainer for three months (half hour sessions, three days a week). He put me on a special meal plan, had me do more intense cardio (Spinning classes, Stairmaster, walking on the treadmill at a 15-30% incline). I started working out 5-6 days a week for 45-90 minutes. That helped me drop another 30 pounds in four months.)
Now I workout five days a week for 60-90 minutes. I split the time between weights and cardio (Spinning, training for a 5K) and am starting to incorporate yoga to help my flexibility.