How much weight have you lost so far? How did you do it?

I've lost almost 22lbs. I eat only fish, turkey and chicken....occasionally super lean beef! I limit my salt and sugar intake and most of all log all my foods. Oh, I cut out sodas and juices too! I have totally changed most of my bad eating habits and make better choices. I exercise and really for the first time believe in myself that I can accomplish my goals!

Hi there! So far in about 1 month I have lost 9 pounds. I have done this with
a combination of eating right, and exercising. I really like the treadmill, and the
recumbent bike. When the weather is nice I like exercising outside in the fresh
air. MFP really has helped me keep track of how much I really eat. I wish you
much success, just keep with it! Try adding in some exercise that will increase
your heart rate, your heart will thank you!

I've lost 61 pounds in 6.5 months by educating myself and never giving up.

I'm struggling through plateau after plateau these days (since the end of January - took me 3 weeks to get over the first one, dropped 5 pounds in 1.5 weeks and I guess I'm nearing 3 weeks into the 2nd one now) so I'm still adjusting to try to find what will rid me of the other half of the weight I'm trying to lose. It seems lame, but this is why I feel never giving up is the one of the things that is the most importantwhen trying to lose weight/gain health. Education is obviously hugely important because if you don't know how to change what you're doing and how it will/should affect your body, you could endanger your own health.
I know those are general concepts and I'm sure you were looking for something more specific, so sorry.
Oh, and I exercise. A lot.

I've lost about 30 lbs in six months.

I did the first part through diet alone. I was well over 200 lbs and I wanted to get down to 200 before I started exercising. The first month I only lost inches but I also taught myself a lot about dieting. The next two months I came back to MFP and started tracking EVERY THING that went into my mouth - that helped a lot and I saw the scale really move! I was shopping for new work pants Christmas week because my primary outfits were getting goofy looking!

In January I started exercising on our elliptical machine. I was so out of shape that I could only go about 3 minutes and my heart rate would be up over my max! I made myself get on the dang machine and stay on it for at least 30 minutes every work day morning and even though I spent a lot of those first couple weeks just standing still gasping for breath, the weight started to not only come off but OMG I saw things that might be muscles on my thighs! January I lost 8 lbs and February 6.

Now I've added more exercise - I'm doing the 5K101 by Runningmate - which is very similar to the Couch to 5K (or C25K) program lots of MFP folks are using. I'm also walking at lunch with long legged co-workers who keep me huffing and puffing for 45 minutes. In the last week I've also started using an exercise bike and I'm swimming but so far my swimming is only about 10 minutes because I just wear out so fast!

Tricks-
1. I use chopsticks to eat my lunch. Granted after a month of taking forever to eat I've gotten quite good - but it limits how much I can get into my mouth, and it is a constant reminder to be "mindful" while I eat.

2. I walk up the steps at work several times a day. We have three flights (4 floors) and I'll go from the bottom to the top and back every hour or so. It killed me the first time I tried it - I must have about crawled up the last two flights and I took lots of rest stops. Now I'm still winded but I can do three in a row.

3. I have accepted that I will need to get completely sweaty and gross, and I'll have to wash my hair every day. I've got thick long hair and it's a pain to wash. I hate getting wet. I hate taking showers. I hate feeling hot and sticky. I HATE EXERCISE!!! I had to just get over it and do it. Now I have it worked out - When I shower after a work out every other day I just rinse out my hair to get the sweat out of it but don't wash it - this keeps it from getting too dried out. I'm also OK going to work with wet hair. I either leave it down and wet, or I put it into a French twist. Drying it just takes way too long!

4. I eat a small amount of what I crave. I LOVE hot wings - but if I eat only one or two, and eat them slowly, it will satisfy me and I'll get more enjoyment than mindlessly eating an entire basket of wings. I split turkey Rubens - if no one wants to split a sandwich I'll put the other half in a 'to-go' carton before I start eating.

5. I cut out empty calories. Next to no sweet drinks, only a bite of bread.

6. Lunch is (usually) my biggest meal.

7. I eat a smart breakfast. Usually it's 2% Greek yogurt with a Tb. of maple syrup and 1/2 cup of fiber cereal. I NEVER ate breakfast now I always do. If I miss breakfast I eat a hard boiled egg or an apple when I get to work.

8. APPLES. I keep a bag of small tart green apples at work so I can munch on one when I'm hungry and before I go someplace tempting! I eat an apple on the way out to lunch with my co-workers.

9. I still have a glass of wine - just not every night.

10. I plan for overages by eating under the day before and after.

You can do this without exercise but I think you'll find it goes MUCH easier if you do exercise, and you'll like the look a lot better. I also LOVE the energy I get from exercise. I hate it every single time I do it, but I love how I feel later and I love having strength! I feel like super man when I pick up a five lb bag of potatoes and my arm flies up into the air because I overestimate the effort needed

I'm down 15 pounds in 4 weeks! I weighed in on Sunday and I'm so happy with the progress!

I am doing Jenny Craig (I have had success with them before, just haven't stayed with the program long enough to move into maintenance) and tracking through MFP.

It's amazing to see this loss in my clothes (baggy jeans!?!), energy level, internalized self-control ("No, I don't really need those Girl Scout cookies and I really don't want them anyway!", and enjoying exercise. The best is when my friends and my husband tell me they can see a difference. Love that!

This is my first post - I've been reading the boards for awhile, but finally realized that it's more fun to actually participate. Thanks to all for the support!

Prior to using MFP regularly I lost 53 pounds on my own. Since joining I've lost another 11, for a total of 64 pounds. The things that help me are not the big, grand changes but rather the smaller, more attainable changes. I drink more water. I park my car further away. I take the stairs. I say no to dessert (most of the time, at least). And I log every calorie that passes my lips.

Well before I go on rambling about myself, I just want to say you all are an inspiration to me! Everyone is doing great... as long you're all losing weight in a healthy matter that is. Anyway, I'm fairly new to this website but man from just the past couple days it has been a great tool for me. In my first week of weight loss I weighed 170 lbs; I'm now in the second week so far and I weigh 167 lbs. My "ULTIMATE" goal is to weigh 135-150 lbs. I'm also 5 ft. 7 in. I'm very pleased with my progress and I'm thankful for all of you sharing your stories. Hope the best for everyone!

Hey! congratulations everyone on your weightloss- some good ideas on here as well, thanks! I started trying to lose weight at the start of October (2009) and before I joined my fitness pal I lost I think it was 62 pounds- that was up to mid February I think! I've lost 16 more since then, using my fitness pal. So 78 pounds in total over nearly 6 months. Basically I just really cut back on food, I make everything from scratch, really carefully weigh everything so that I know exactly how much I've been eating. I still want to lose about another 50 pounds, i started at 313 (yes morbidly obese, bmi 44.8 :-( ) but now I'm 235 (bmi 33.9 :-) ) but ideally I'd like to be about 180-190. I had a big surge in weight-loss in january/february though because I was on Lansoprazole (which is a medication prescribed for stomach ulcers, acid reflux etc), which limited when I could eat etc; that month I lost literally a stone and a half or something crazy! other than that though, I try not to exceed 800-1000 calories a day but I really don't exercise, all done through diet! xxx

I rejoined MFP in February. I lost my baby in January at 6 1/2 months pregnant. It was very hard, but I had a lot of people praying for me and my husband. I also have a two year old who is the light of my life. Unfortunately I never went back to my pre-pregnancy weight after having him in Jan 08. I knew that I needed to get healthy so once my doctor gave me the okay to start going to the gym, I started. I have lost 12 lbs since my doctor's appt on Feb 11th. I log my food every day and try and keep my calorie goal. I also go to the gym 3x a week. About a week ago, I started the spinning class at the gym. It is a butt-kicking workout, but boy do I feel awesome afterward!!! My husband also goes to the gym so we are doing this together although he hasn't used MFP yet. I'll get him there yet!