Lost tons of weight without surgery??

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  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
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    oh no.! lol Not a week...1800 cals a day :)

    LOL, that makes more sense!
  • Bronx_Montgomery
    Bronx_Montgomery Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Its not about eating less but eating the right amounts of good clean foods. What some folks fail to realize is that you can eat the same amount of food (portions / amounts of times you eat) but if you eat clean you are taking less calories and less fat. For example lets say you eat 6 times a day but your constantly eating McDonalds well your going to gain a significant amount of weight. But if you eat 6 times a day and your eating Chicken, small portions of rice, vegetables, fruits, tuna, eggs etc well in theory you will lose weight as your fat and calorie intake are less. Too many people focus on eating less and only eating 1200 calories when they should be focused on what they are putting in their mouths instead.

    Oh and doing some sort of cardio (walking, running, HIIT, biking etc) at least 6 times a week for at least 20 mins a day helps as well
  • AlphamaleBAMF
    AlphamaleBAMF Posts: 373
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    How did you do it?!

    Diet and exercise.

    Here is some advice from Dr Rudi from life support.

    http://youtu.be/h-jy3OtZAss
  • Shrinking_Moody
    Shrinking_Moody Posts: 270 Member
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    I've been looking for a "secret" since my teenage years - and now at 31 I've finally found it with the helpf of MFP.

    I exercise 6 days a week (with a HRM) and I try to add variety to my workouts and track the calories of everything I eat. I've just upped my calories to 1350 - and I eat back about half of my exercise calories. I haven't lost 80 lbs yet - but I'm well on my way to my goal of losing 112 lbs. I've lost 15.2 in 55 days. It's a lifestyle change for me because I've learned that diets just don't work. I wish you the best in your journey - you can do anything you put your mind to - you just have to work for it but that's going to make the victory that much sweeter!
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
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    Its not about eating less but eating the right amounts of good clean foods. What some folks fail to realize is that you can eat the same amount of food (portions / amounts of times you eat) but if you eat clean you are taking less calories and less fat. For example lets say you eat 6 times a day but your constantly eating McDonalds well your going to gain a significant amount of weight. But if you eat 6 times a day and your eating Chicken, small portions of rice, vegetables, fruits, tuna, eggs etc well in theory you will lose weight as your fat and calorie intake are less. Too many people focus on eating less and only eating 1200 calories when they should be focused on what they are putting in their mouths instead.

    Oh and doing some sort of cardio (walking, running, HIIT, biking etc) at least 6 times a week for at least 20 mins a day helps as well


    No if you're like me a lot of it IS about eating less! I know about the "right, clean" foods, and I eat a lot of those too, but I also like more common foods, and less is the key there. One slice of pizza instead of the whole thing, a handful of fries instead of a plateful. That sort of thing. Baby steps. Yes we should all eat less processed crap but this is about lifestyle changes, and these need to be manageable and in stages.
  • Elise_healthy4life
    Elise_healthy4life Posts: 182 Member
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    pretty simple, believe it or not (no one ever really seems to want to hear this but here goes).

    eat right. lots of lean proteins, fresh foods, no fast food or packaged foods, healthy choices when eating out, limited alcohol. tons of water.

    exercise. strength training and cardio - exericse 5-6 days a week - every week.... get more active in your regular life. take the stairs more, park farther from the store, stop being lazy.

    that's it.


    I did it exactly this way just watch your portion sizes and eat as clean as you can an move more I started just half hour three days a week now I do an hour sometime more six days a week
  • jasperann
    jasperann Posts: 136 Member
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    A lot of what everyone else has said. Move more and eat less.

    I was told very early on in a class I took about nutrition, not to start something (ie diet) that I couldn't do for the rest of my life. Because if you do then the chances of gaining the weight back are high. He taught me how to modify my food so that I could still eat things that were similar to what I loved, but they were better for you. A lot of it is changing how you think about things. Change one thing at a time. Like add a cup of fresh veggies to dinner and remove some of the starch, or drink 8 glasses of water a day and cut out any liquid that has calories in it, or exercise for 30 minutes a day. That is basically how I started out, I changed one thing and focused on that for a week or two then added in a new thing to change while keeping the first thing I changed going as well. With that method it was more about me changing my habits than losing weight at first. I ignored the scale for the first few months, although I did lose weight during that time. Now I measure everything and log it 'before' I eat it, that way if I decided that I don't want to spend the calories on a food I won't eat it. I still have pizza and birthday cake (if I want it...), I can still eat out, I still live my life I just make better choices. If I were to tell myself that I couldn't' do any of that then I would have failed in this journey not long into it.
  • Kimmer2011
    Kimmer2011 Posts: 569 Member
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    Nope, no secrets. Just eating right (good carbs, good fats, lots of protein, lots of fiber, watch the salt), with occasional splurges, and plenty of walking. Oh, and PATIENCE. It doesn't happen overnight, or in a week, or in a month, or in a year. It happens for the rest of your life, so get used to it.
  • DietFemme
    DietFemme Posts: 16
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    Another eat less, move more proponent here - it really is the only way.

    I'm nearly 50lbs down now, after 7.5 months, the next 30-40lbs will be much slower but I'll get there hopefully by the end of next year.

    And to maintain that magical 130lb goal weight I will have to eat the way I eat right now for the rest of my life. It's not a "diet", it's a lifestyle. I've already done the hard work of changing my diet and exercise regime drastically so now it's just a waiting game while my body catches up, that's how you have to look at it I think.
  • MosierTim
    MosierTim Posts: 56 Member
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    How did you do it?!
    I want to hear from people who have lost lots of weight from dieting and exercising alone ;)

    Here is how I did it.

    I started small. I worked on making small changes like not going back for seconds and cutting back on how much I put on my plate. Then I added in changing what I drank to 90% water (or more). Then I moved on to changing my food choices. I had to make it realistic so that I stick to it. It is not realistic to me to say "I am never going to eat <insert favorite food> again". As soon as I say it, that food is the first thing I want and when I give in and eat it I go overboard with it. Because of this mentality, there is litterly NOTHING off limits for me. Now don't get me wrong, I have still drastically cut back on all of the horrible stuff I used to eat but when I want pasta, I eat pasta. I pick a healthier pasta (higher fiber) and I have a smaller portion, but I have it. I have found that as I have progressed in this, I want these things less and less because I have found equally as fulfilling healthy foods to take there place.

    The second half of this is the exercise portion. Again, start small. Walk around the block, Park at the back of the parking lot at the grocery store so you have to walk a little farher. Then work up from there. There are a couple keys here to me. 1) CONSTANTLY work toward doing more. While the small start is great, you will not achieve your goal if you just do the small stuff. 2) Vary your exercise. Your body builds up an endurance to any exercise you do so you need to switch it up. 3) Strength train, strength train,strength train. This was huge for me. Now I am not talking about becoming a body builder but in addition to cardio, you NEED to add strength training into your exercise! Why? Because Muscle burns calories even when you are not exercising. This does not need to be done at the gym. You can find many programs online or DVD's what allow you to do it at home with resistance bands or small weights

    The final thing is DO NOT GIVE UP! You had a candy bar? SO WHAT, get back on track. You went to an all you can eat buffet for dinner and got kicked out for eating to much? SO WHAT, get back on track. You went completly off the wagon for a week and gained 5 lbs? SO WHAT, get back on track. The bottom line is that some of these things WILL happen. Learn from them and get back on track. “It’s not how many times you fall that matters; it’s how many times you get back up.”
  • duckychic
    duckychic Posts: 57 Member
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    Check out my profile. I have several of my tips for success!
  • MCLA4mom
    MCLA4mom Posts: 219 Member
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    I lost 75lbs on a program and have kept it off for over a year. I did it on a program that helped me eat 6 small meals a day. I was insulin resistant and there was something magical about balancing my blood sugars. I had a lot of support. I didn't exercise much at first but now I love it. I am a runner . I would start my cutting out sugar. The first three days are tough but after that its easier and any cravings you have go away. Good luck
  • barky586
    barky586 Posts: 43
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    164 pounds down...proper diet (1800 calories), weightlifting and cardio. No surgery!
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
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    Most people will say by moving more and eating less. Good luck with your weight loss.
    Well yea smarty pants. But I see people that have lost 80+lbs, so I want in on their weight loss secrets lol

    There are no secrets. Seriously. Eat less and better, move more. End.

    patience. I also cut out soda pop entirely.
  • pdj1220
    pdj1220 Posts: 175
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    Most people will say by moving more and eating less. Good luck with your weight loss.
    Well yea smarty pants. But I see people that have lost 80+lbs, so I want in on their weight loss secrets lol
    Lol, I'm down 121 and it really was eat less and move more. One thing I really track is sodium. I'm not sure if controlling my salt had as much to do with my weight loss as it did with my portion control. I have to stay around a single serving of things to keep my sodium in the 2500 range.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    There's no secret to weight loss. A bunch of hard work, determination, self motivation, cutting back, but no secrets. Once you get your head wrapped around the fact that eating right and exercising is a lifestyle and your old life is, just that, your OLD life, you'll never get anywhere. Losing weight isn't a temporary thing then once you are at goal you can just go back to doing what made you heavy in the first place. It's finding a balance, finding something you can stick to.
  • steph1278
    steph1278 Posts: 483 Member
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    Hard work and dedication. You have to be in the right mind set and be committed to changing your life. I have lost mine by counting calories and exercising. No gimmicks or quick fixes. I can live the rest of my life doing what I am doing now, so I know I will lose the rest of my weight and keep it off.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
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    Most people will say by moving more and eating less. Good luck with your weight loss.
    Well yea smarty pants. But I see people that have lost 80+lbs, so I want in on their weight loss secrets lol

    No secrets here. Just tracking my food so that I didn't take in too many calories, and after a few months I started running (I did Couch to 5K), then Spinning. I Spin 4x/week and run 1-2x/week, depending on my schedule and how horrendously hot it is out. I eat between 1200 and 1400 calories/day (more on days that I work out, less on rest days).

    The biggest "secret" is that you have to self-motivate. No one else can motivate you or make you do it. If that "I'm-gonna-do-this switch" isn't turned on in your head, it's wasted effort. You have to want to succeed badly enough to stick to it and not give in when old habits are slapping you in the back of the head, telling you to just eat mindlessly the way you have (that got you where you are).

    Best wishes as you start your journey!
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
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    Its not about eating less but eating the right amounts of good clean foods. What some folks fail to realize is that you can eat the same amount of food (portions / amounts of times you eat) but if you eat clean you are taking less calories and less fat. For example lets say you eat 6 times a day but your constantly eating McDonalds well your going to gain a significant amount of weight. But if you eat 6 times a day and your eating Chicken, small portions of rice, vegetables, fruits, tuna, eggs etc well in theory you will lose weight as your fat and calorie intake are less. Too many people focus on eating less and only eating 1200 calories when they should be focused on what they are putting in their mouths instead.

    Oh and doing some sort of cardio (walking, running, HIIT, biking etc) at least 6 times a week for at least 20 mins a day helps as well


    No if you're like me a lot of it IS about eating less! I know about the "right, clean" foods, and I eat a lot of those too, but I also like more common foods, and less is the key there. One slice of pizza instead of the whole thing, a handful of fries instead of a plateful. That sort of thing. Baby steps. Yes we should all eat less processed crap but this is about lifestyle changes, and these need to be manageable and in stages.

    Agreed, I don't eat "clean" and have clearly lost a lot of weight that way. Could I have done better eating clean? Quite possibly. However I find that the better I eat, the more I want to eat clean foods and get rid of any junk. So even though I'm not technically eating clean, my diet is ending up that way, sort of naturally. As you said, baby steps. I started out with those little 100-calorie packs of snacks and low-calorie desserts and whatnot, but I haven't bought those in months. My snacks and desserts are usually fruit and/or Greek yogurt. I just crave better stuff and think of food more as fuel now rather than comfort.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    Options
    How did you do it?!
    I want to hear from people who have lost lots of weight from dieting and exercising alone ;)

    Here is how I did it.

    I started small. I worked on making small changes like not going back for seconds and cutting back on how much I put on my plate. Then I added in changing what I drank to 90% water (or more). Then I moved on to changing my food choices. I had to make it realistic so that I stick to it. It is not realistic to me to say "I am never going to eat <insert favorite food> again". As soon as I say it, that food is the first thing I want and when I give in and eat it I go overboard with it. Because of this mentality, there is litterly NOTHING off limits for me. Now don't get me wrong, I have still drastically cut back on all of the horrible stuff I used to eat but when I want pasta, I eat pasta. I pick a healthier pasta (higher fiber) and I have a smaller portion, but I have it. I have found that as I have progressed in this, I want these things less and less because I have found equally as fulfilling healthy foods to take there place.

    The second half of this is the exercise portion. Again, start small. Walk around the block, Park at the back of the parking lot at the grocery store so you have to walk a little farher. Then work up from there. There are a couple keys here to me. 1) CONSTANTLY work toward doing more. While the small start is great, you will not achieve your goal if you just do the small stuff. 2) Vary your exercise. Your body builds up an endurance to any exercise you do so you need to switch it up. 3) Strength train, strength train,strength train. This was huge for me. Now I am not talking about becoming a body builder but in addition to cardio, you NEED to add strength training into your exercise! Why? Because Muscle burns calories even when you are not exercising. This does not need to be done at the gym. You can find many programs online or DVD's what allow you to do it at home with resistance bands or small weights

    The final thing is DO NOT GIVE UP! You had a candy bar? SO WHAT, get back on track. You went to an all you can eat buffet for dinner and got kicked out for eating to much? SO WHAT, get back on track. You went completly off the wagon for a week and gained 5 lbs? SO WHAT, get back on track. The bottom line is that some of these things WILL happen. Learn from them and get back on track. “It’s not how many times you fall that matters; it’s how many times you get back up.”

    ^^^THIS is fabulous advice here, especially the part about not giving up because you messed up once (or twice, or three times, etc). If I quit every time I slipped up, I'd have quit a looooong time ago.

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