What worked for you??

Good music. Seriously. If I didn't have the music to keep up with I would be lost.

myfitnesspal.com

...and running

MFP and being more active.

logging EVERYTHING.

1. Small deficit (2000 calories), and eating anything I want if it fits in my macros
2. Lifting weights, moderately heavy in the 8-15 rep range
3. Cardio, so I feel good and can eat more...
4. Not beating myself up when I F^&K it all up sometimes

...repeat and repeat and repeat...

This. Except my calories we'e higher and rep ranges lower.

Running AND strength training. I found running was great but the strength training is what has helped to widdle away the inches.

oh yes, forgot weights, though dont overdo it, ive found its better to focus on weights when eating a full calorie diet, and use weights to suppliment cardio when cutting fat. also cycling is good for fasted cardio, because it keeps the heart rate lower so less chance of burning muscle.

1) Hitting rock bottom and deciding that I HAD to do something or I would die. I am only 5ft 3 and I had ballooned up to 179lbs by doing absolutely nothing but sitting on the couch with my laptop, watching tv and eating high calorie, sodium and fat filled junk.
2) Deciding what to do about it, I chose walking at a pace I'd ENJOY for just ten minutes per day, slow enough and easy enough that I would do it again the next day.
3) I did that for 2 weeks, gradually walking 30 minutes per day and noticed that the top of my thighs didn't look so flabby. That was a big motivator!
4) I joined MFP and started logging food. I didn't diet, I just logged.
5) I saw how horrible I was eating so I started adding fresh, real food instead of boxed, canned & frozen food.
6) I started to lose weight. Yay! I also searched the forums on here to get healthy weight loss tips.
7) I started to have more energy. It was kind of like I had ADD. What a change! I moved more, as in cleaning house and walking my dog in addition to my regular walking and lost more weight.
8) I learned to look up restaurant menus online and preplan what I was going to eat, picking healthier choices.
9) I started taking healthier foods to family potlucks and encouraged others to join me in physical activities, games, etc. instead of just sitting around eating cheese potatoes and desserts all afternoon.
10) I discovered clothing that made exercising a LOT more comfortable.
11) Bought a HRM and started biking over summer, then C25K after losing 40lbs in just 4 months.
12) Completed C25K and then finished the C25K bridge to 10K.
13) Started weight lifting 3 x's per week and occasional water aerobics.
14) Now I'm working on eating more protein, fewer carbs, becoming even stronger and healthier.

Ridiculously consistent logging. Even though it's ultimately still an estimate, a consistent estimate is incredibly invaluable. Otherwise, it's impossible to make educated tweaks to your programs when appropriate (and tweaks are an essential part of continued progress).

Planning meals and pre-logging has been one of the foundations of my success thus far. Insanity and running are my workouts of choice - but you have to find which ones you love to stick to them.

Cutting my calories worked most for me. I also don't eat most of them back because if I do I just stay the same and don't lose. But that varies person to person, some people have lots of luck eating them all back, some eat a few back, some none.

Making sure I had the eating part down before starting to work out. too much too fast makes me overwhelmed

While I've only been working at this for 5 weeks I have had some success and so far the things that I have been working for me include:
1) Tracking the food I eat daily and staying within my calorie range
2) Never telling myself a certain food is off limits. If I want a Blizzard from DQ for example I plan it out and try to eat better the rest of the day. I also researched which Blizzards were the "best" for me
3) Never beating myself up for going over my calories for the day. This is easy to do and it won't hurt you if you do it occasionally. The problem is when it becomes habit.
4) Working out each day. Now this does not mean I go at it hard every single day - I do 3-4 days of more intense working out with lighter days mixed in. For me taking off a day completely disrupts my momentum. For example this upcoming week I have one day I know I won't have the time to do a DVD so I hope the weather cooperates and I can go for a walk around my cousins neighborhood and if that doesn't work I'll run her stairs several times.
5) Surrounding myself with supportive people who care that I'm trying to become healthier
6) Reminding myself that I can do anything I set my mind to

Good luck with your journey!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

I am still work in progress. But so far this is what has worked for me:-
- being committed 100%
- logging food on MFP
- pretty much eating the same things to start with and then changing foods now and then for a bit of variety
- having a few treats in the house for me, like weight watchers hot chocolate, ww bars, jelly, yoghurt, cookies etc, oh and ice blocks
- exercise which started off as walking and then I started the C25K and finished it. Not I run 30 mins everyday. Often I take the dog for a walk as well and I throw in the odd swim and occasional bike ride
-sorting out my clothes by getting rid of my size 10s and keeping the size 12s. Everything that didn't fit I put at the top of my wardrobe and would try on now and then. Now there is only about 4 things that don't quite fit. It started off being a huge pile
-generally not eating exercise calories
-my fitbit keeps me motivated

Thats all I can think of really. So basically MFP (sticking to calorie goal), and EXERCISE

My Fitness Pal!

Also, I try to adhere to the philosophy of not eating your calories. If I do, I am aware of it. It is easy to drink thousands of calories in a day.

The big thing that worked for me was not cutting anything out of my diet. I ate whatever I want, just smaller portions. Yes, this includes stuff like potato chips, fast food, pizza, ice cream, and plenty of other "bad" food. If I wanted something, I ate it. If I went over on calories I didn't beat myself up over it. Maybe I worked a little longer at the gym the next day.

I also did a half-*kitten* workout at the gym involving a mix of cardio, dumbbells, and machines. A buddy and I recently started StrongLifts and we really like it. I love tracking my progress and having a lifting buddy helps with the accountability aspect of it. I was a big proponent of going to the gym solo but having a buddy there is really nice....even though we don't socialize all that much while we're there.