You won't believe how I've lost weight...

I have lost 8 lbs since April, really toned my waist, and I try to login every day to MFP

It is great that it works for you. Kinda slow progress, don't you think? 8LB in 5 months? I just don't know if your "diet" is sustainable and successful. If so, more power to you. But why would you stop working out? I find it pleasure of coming home from a gym. Maybe you doing physical work for a living. But still... Don't you agree you want to keep in shape? We are not getting any younger. Anyway, enough my my rant, and again - glad it worked for you

i thought slow and steady wins the race? personally i think 8lbs in 5months is fan-FREAKING-tastic! great job, OP! i've lost 1lb and i've been at this since august 1st. but i've dropped my BF% from 20.4% to 19.2%. i also lost 2cm in my waistline and a little over 1cm in my thigh circumference. and like the OP, i no longer deprive myself. i eat ice cream, pasta, rice, bread, chocolate...all on a regular basis. sure i'd like to drop lbs faster but i'm in no rush to lose the weight. my goal is a lifestyle change and to be able to keep at whatever i'm doing in the long run.

i think the point the OP is making is that they are no longer on a "diet" and they were able to lose weight. they're eating in a realistic manner that includes all foods and especially foods that they love.

Thanks for explaining what 'phoning it in' to the gym actually means. I've been doing 30 day shred but I didn't have a clue! Recently over the summer I experienced a month long plateau when no weight came off although I was sticking to my calorie goals and exercising. It's only since switching it up with exercise, starting 30 day shred, running more, going swimming, that the weight had started to shift again. I think the original point has been lost in the arguing over how much weight she lost. If she is happy, and no reason why she shouldn't be, its all good. Also the point that you don't have to belong to a gym or do hours of cardio to see results!

Nice one OP. That kinda thing has helped me as well.
To those who say the rate the OP is losing weight is not enough for you, you seem to have considerably a lot more to lose. When you're only a handful of pounds to your goal, let's see how fast you go.

Think about it like this, y'all...lose 8 pounds over a few months while not even feeling like you are on a diet?
Or lose 10 lbs in a month trying to stick to an abitrarily low calorie number and be back where you started (plus some) when "life" gets in the way and you find it impossible to stick to so few calories forever? (That was me before.)

I was also one of those slow and steady losers when losing weight, losing about 2 lbs a month, taking almost a year to lose 30 lbs. My last 6 pounds were lost over a five month period...but that equaled a jeans size and my progress pictures in a thong were exactly the results I was hoping for! It works well for some of us!

Congrats, girl! :drinker:

Amazing dedication! I so love the 'slow and steady' way, its the only way that works LONG-TERM. If people cant wait a few months to lose 8lbs, how the hell are they going to keep the weight off for life?

Can I ask, how many calories were you eating while losing this slow + what type of workouts & how often? x

I'm being much more successful and consistent with exercise now that I'm not going to the gym. Too easy, for me, to make excuses not to go to the gym, but excuses are harder when I work out at home. I alternate between several DVD workouts and YouTube videos and I never get bored. I also work harder, and get much sweatier, than I would feel comfortable with at the gym. The secret is finding what works for you and sticking with it. If there was one fix that worked for everyone, someone would be very rich and none of us would need to be here.

:happy:

OP: it just means you're eating at a mild calorie deficit, which is the same as me. I eat anything. Well, I haven't nibbled this desk yet... not been that hungry.

As for weight loss rates, I don't think I've lost any weight in the last 3 months. The mirror says I'm on the right track, though...

well i think you have done brillant. by the sound of it u have changed your out ylook on food to be a more . planned/ healthy and balanced. you have made a life time change and thats great

There's actually a very good (and scientific) reason why this is working for you, why "slow and steady" is better for long-term weight loss, and why people gain everything back when they do the hardcore Calorie cutting.

That reason is: Metabolism.

Sure, it all sounds strange at first, but think of it like a fan. The less energy you give the fan, the slower it's going to blow. When you deprive your body of the nutrients, including Calories, your metabolism starts to slow down. In other words, it goes into starvation mode. This enables your body to store everything into fat because you need the extra padding to survive until your next meal. Yes, after a while your body -will- start eating that fat in order to keep itself alive. However, there's a key consequence to this! The reason you gain everything back when you get off these diets is because your metabolism is in no way, shape, or form able to process everything you're putting into it at the speed that it enters your stomach. So, again. It throws everything into fat, fully expecting you not to feed it for weeks.

On the other hand, if you keep your Calories from going below 1200, your metabolism doesn't feel the need to store everything and so it starts moving faster. Do mind though that this number is for sedate lifestyles and is based on how much your body burns just by keeping itself functioning. If you do a lot of exercising, that number is going up because you're taking away the Calories that could potentially be going to your vitals. By speeding up your metabolism, you ensure that what you eat is quickly and effectively digested. The "daily calorie goal" that this site gives you is built around how you answered the questions dealing with your weight loss speed and activity level. Pay. Attention. To. It.

If you eat above your living standard and do a little exercise on the side, you not only further increase your metabolism, but you also start building a bit of muscle. If all you do is watch the scale, this will be your bane. Muscle is -heavy-. Certainly more so than fat. However, the nice thing about muscle is that it helps your body get rid of the built up fat more quickly. This is why you may very well gain a bit of weight at the start while still losing inches. It's far healthier for your body however. Shifting up the exercises a little bit will ensure that you gain muscle everywhere instead of just in your arms or legs. Which, bridging off of what I just pointed out, will help get rid of fat everywhere. Muscle in your legs can't very well reach the fat in your arms, now can it?

As for long-term results, keeping your metabolism up keeps you healthier. It's also much, much easier to change your lifestyle in order to match your diet than vice versa. Cutting out things like soda, replacing Carbs with Protein, eating an orange and a banana a day... These things don't take much effort to change. You're still eating what you like (mostly) and your stress levels are kept to a minimum. You don't feel the need to binge for craving satisfaction and you'll have -energy-. There are no words to describe how amazing energy is. You'll just have to taste it!

(Please note that what I say here may not be 100% absolute truth, but it's the best I can do to summarize what I've learned.)

Hard to read a magazine when doing dumbells snatches

Congratulations!! You dont have a lot to lose in the first place so 8lbs is a big deal. And to all those complaining that its not quick enough..........read her profile and we should celebrate ANY loss!