How long has it taken you to get where you are?

Thanks for sharing that some weeks you didn't loose any but overall it is working. I'm stuck right now too but going to hope that like you, another week will bring a differnce. Again, thanks!

It has been 5 years and a bit of a zigzag.

October 2007 at my peak: 248 lbs
Dropped to 214 by August 2008
Regained to 232 by January 2010
Dropped to 190 by January 2011
Mostly stable weight (but shrinking clothes sizes still) in 2011.Ended 2011/began 2012 @ 190 lbs
Reached 174 yesterday (target 175).

I started this before MFP so i'll post up the stats from my spreadsheet (it has a pretty progress graph and everything!)

11 weeks so far. Started on September 2nd 2012.

Started at 283lbs
Started at 40% Body Fat

Currently 251lbs
Currently 34.8% Body Fat

Weight lost to date = 32lbs
Body fat loss to date = 5.2%

I feel empowered, like im a completely new person. I dont deprive myself of anything, i try and get a good mixture of different foods including carbs but i control the portions. I actually feel like im eating more than i used to but its just less and more often and things that are better for me! At this time of day in the past I would have already had my lunch and i'd be considering a chocolate bar and a bottle of pepsi or dr pepper. Now I spread my lunch out over a few hours and pick at it as im working, i have blueberries to snack on right now and i love them!

I'm so impressed with my fitness already. I can play a 60 minute basketball game and now I can do a round of P90X and then go and play basketball. For me im worrying less about the weight loss as that is a side product of becoming fit and healthy, it just happens to be the only metric measure for my progress.

I think I have a year or so until I get to where I want to be. Who knows it might take me 5 years but im not in a race now it can take as long as it takes as long as each day I get a bit healthier

(also, i love food more in a different way. I'm cooking belly of lamb tonight, im putting sage and onion stuffing into it, rolling it and making a breadcrumb and mint coating. I'll side it with a leek mash and some green veg. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 months ago it would have just been some takeaway or a pizza).

A long road and currently a slow journey! I started about 8 years ago weighing 360 lbs which is just under 26 stone (Around 160 kg). I lost quite a lot over the next 2 years and in 2006 I weighed about 270 (19 and a half stone; 120 kg). Since then y weight has yo yoed between that and 300lbs. Currently i weigh 285. Started this leg of my journey 7 weeks ago and have lost 7lbs. Very slow and frustrating at points. For the last 2 years I have been regularly exercising at the gym, including regular weight training. Got very disillusioned earlier this year when 18 months work had only yielded a 28lb loss so I slacked off over the summer. I think being diabetic and in my late 40s doesn't help but it shouldn't be an excuse! I seem to gain and lose the 'same' 10lbs or so but I have changed tactics!! I try not to pay so much attention to the scale, I measure progress with a tape measure and a body fat monitor. I lose inches and body fat percentage, but the weight training has meant I gain muscle mass, hence the 'slow' scale. I would love to lose fat quicker but I feel fantastic and went down a clothes size in 4 weeks recently! It isn't all about the scale for me. I am now training for a 5km run, walked it previously going to run next time!

I joined MFP 108 days ago and I've lost 27 pounds so far. I'm still in progress.

Biggest hurdles:

1. Caffeine withdrawal - I was drinking far too many sweetened drinks and cutting way back on them was one of my first big challenges. Unfortunately, this was how I liked my caffeine. Reduced my caffeine by about 75% (and this has turned out to be a really good thing actually) but I felt like I had the flu for 2 weeks.

2. Sticking with working out during the first month or so when my lungs were screaming, I was so sore I could barely walk or lift my arms, etc. It did get "easier" in that respect as I have built my endurance. I don't mean that my workouts are easier, as I continue to challenge myself, but I don't have to stop partway through to work out muscle cramps or catch my breath.

3. Dealing with the people in my life, especially certain coworkers, who find my now-visible weight loss to be insulting or something to them. They want to feed me, they give me backhanded compliments, and they find other things about me to make fun of....fortunately, they are JUST coworkers and I find the best revenge has been to keep on losing!

Four years and a pregnancy to lose 80+lbs... 50 of that since April of this year. I still have about 60lbs to go. There's been a lot of ups and downs, but this is a learning game. I've self sabotaged and started over many times. But I WILL get there

I started on the 18th June this year, so that's nearly 5 months and I've lost 55lbs. I've had weeks I didn't lose then others when I've lost 6lbs, but now it's beginning to slow down to 1-2lbs a week. However I'm happy with that, slow and steady wins the race

I don't take cheat days, I don't eat junk food or drink any sodas and I eat way more protein, veggies and fruit. I went from not being able to run for a minute to completing a 5K race and workout 5 days a week.

OOh you're almost my twin! I started on 19 June (day I was diganosed with diabetes!) and have lost 57lbs (26kgs)
I didnt initially do any exercise (my specialist said he didnt want me exercising hard until I was 20kg lighter) but have started in the last few weeks. so 90% of the loss has been diet so far. I have a bit more to go but I feel fantastic.

Ah we are twins! I've added you as a friend, congrats on the great job so far!

I started this diet around tax time so about 8 monthsa ago. I am close to 40 lbs down. Its hard to say what my biggest challenge was. I gave up the majority of fast food which was hard but I don't miss it but my children probably do. I guess my biggest struggle has to be with time. I work full time, volunteer and of course a Mom to 2 kids that I have to cook for. I like to go to the Y about 3 to 4 times a week to get the results I have been getting. Luckily my husband is very supportive of my changes in diet and the time I spend away from home.

I started on March 11th of this year, and have lost 105 pounds. My biggest hurdle has been living in a house with 5 other people who still eat junk, and having to prepare different meals for myself. It has gotten easier now, and I tend to prepare a lot of stuff ahead of time for myself, but it is still probably my biggest challenge. SO worth it though, I feel like a new person.

Its been 18 months for me, but I lost the bulk of my weight the first six months. The smaller I get the slower it is to take off. I haven't lost a thing in about 5 months, but I am pushing to lose my last 10-15 by the end of the year.

Great job everyone! Bumping because I'm also wondering how long it took everyone

It has taken me three years. I was at my goal weight this time last year but I lost my job and gained back 12 pounds. I joined the "Y" 3 weeks ago and am down 2.5 pounds. Ten left to go!
Good Luck Love Muffin!

I started in March and I am only down almost 30 :-/

2.5 years of training daily and having a sound diet... used to be 218lbs fat now im 200lbs more solid at 5'11

The first time I lost weight (about 3 years ago), I lost 67 pounds in about 8 months. I stayed at goal for a while, but then eventually gained most of it back. This time around, the weight was coming off A LOT slower and I was getting discouraged, so I stopped weighing myself. However, I have dropped from a size 12 to a size 8 in just over a month.