How did YOU lose the weight? tips please?

I am pleased that someone finally asked this!!

What I did was figure out how many calories I burn in an average day. Then I subtracted from that number to achieve a reasonable, sustainable deficit. Then I ate whatever I wanted until I reached that number for the day. Then boom, like magic, I lost some weight.

Hope that helps!

20 pounds gone as of yesterday! I just did this whole MFP thing. Plugged in my numbers. Adjusted my macronutrients to 40/30/30. Paid attention to the numbers. Noticed what certain food combinations added up to. Made adjustments. Refused to completely change my way of eating, because I have to do this for the next 40 or 50 years. Added another day to my workout routine. Changed the type of exercise that I do. 20-40 minutes, 5 days a week. Splurge with going out to eat maybe once a week. Pounds are coming off at about 1/2 pound per week. Might seem slow, but I'm happy with it because I know I'll be able to maintain it.

A change in mindset. Meaning a change in how I viewed food, when I ate, how often I ate, and how much. That is the first part. The second part was incorporating exercise. At first I could not do a whole lot, and now I can do more than ever. In fact last month I bought a bike and began riding a bike again, something that I have not done in over 15 years

Set your goals. Record your calories and exercise. All of 'em. Use the app on your phone so there's no excuses.

Pretty much it.

1. I count my calories and stay right at 1200 a day

2. I continue to experiment and learn new healthy low cal recipes. I can not stress how important learning HEALTHY versions of your favorite foods is. You could cut the calories in half by simply substituting and leaving out just a few things. A diet is temporary & therefore will only have temporary results. So I realized i need to set realistic goals for myself which meant i was not going to be satisfied with cabbage soup or carrot sticks. lol I was once the queen of fad dieting. Total mess.

For example, zucchini noodles instead of wheat, fat free everything, truvia instead of sugar, unlimited veggies (your body actually uses more energy to digest most), going easy on the oil, starch, & red meat, replacing cheese with nutritional yeast.

3. Increased water intake. A lot of the time people are just dehydrated not actually hungry. The body mixes those signals up.

4. I cut out everything processed and made by men. I stick to the things God created. I also researched about these chemicals and treatments of the animals which only served to help me stick to my plan. I just CAN not look at mcdonalds the same after some of the things I have read. Disgusting.

5. I am not a believer in "you have to eat breakfast" or the "six small meals a day". When I wake up I'm simply not hungry until like noon. When I do eat and listen to the health gurus i almost always go over my calorie goal and tend to be STARVING the whole day. Its the weirdest thing. So i simply listen to my body, when it tells me it needs some food, I eat. I don't wait till im starving because then I am way more likely to grab something quick and thats usually processed. I think this is one of the main reasons health gurus recommend the five small meals a day. But for me personally that was just to much brain power and I hated being restricted to 300 calorie snacks. I enjoy a good 500 calorie dinner. lol Again, every person is different but I just wish someone would have said these things to me five years ago.

6. I don't deprive myself either. If I really want a freakin martini, I have one. (skinny version though). If I really want a donut ill have one. I can usually indulge and still stay under my calorie goal for the day anyways, i may just have to have a huge green salad to finish off the day though. Balance is everything. Forbidden fruit never goes well. lol

7. I take vitamins, drink berky water, eat organic produce, free range, grass fed, lean proteins, & healthy oils like olive or coconut. & Im kinda freaked out with how SUPER easy losing 40 lbs has been although some of it was baby. Maybe these lab coat foods have like addictive chemicals in them to make us crave and desire there food so will buy more. Or maybe my body was running off like NO nutrients and even though I was eating it was not getting enough nutrition so it kept telling me I needed to eat more. I also eat pretty well balanced meals too, like protein, carb, and fat. I dont really try to alot of the time it just happens naturally which also maybe has to do with it. Who knows? lol

8. I wish i could put here like five days of insanity but the truth is i am super lazy and would rather cuddle up with my boys and watch a movie. I have lost all this weight and literally hardly worked out. I need to get going though, my body has like absolutely no shape or definition. lol

But yeah, with my history, my genetics, & my love for food... i feel like i FINALLY have it right. This is something I KNOW i can sustain for the rest of my life. It has been SO easy. I don't feel deprived. & I am only 5 pounds away from my goal weight of 135!

I will end this book now on one last note. YOU CAN DO IT! lol Good luck girl!

Oh & one last note. Just how diets our temporary if the goals are not realistic long term. To me, the same goes with exercise. Like why would I want to set for myself a lifestyle change I know i could not see myself doing 5 years from now? There are so many options for physical activity. & There are fit and in shape people who never had access to a gym. Something more realistic for me would be taking up a new active hobby like hiking, bike riding, rock climbing, basketball, tennis, swimming, kayaking, or gardening. This is easy for me because I LOVE the outdoors & I actually have done a few of these. Also simple things like taking the stairs, parking far away from the grocery store, using a basket rather than a cart. Come up with some physical activity that you actually ENJOY doing. Get your boyfriend in on it too. Maybe something active you guys could do together. Yall are probably one and the chances of success are much greater if your other half is on the same page.

bump

At first I followed the MFP calorie counting program. It had me set around 1350 calories and then I would eat back most of my workout calories. Now using TDEE -20%. Reduced my sugar & refined carbs/processed foods. I try not to be too restrictive on my food, I'm good about 80% of the time in choosing healthy foods.

Move, Move, and Move! I workout out 4-5 days a week, change it up when I can (cardio & wt. lifting). I try to do what I enjoy so I keep it up.

Best Tip: Don't give up! Seriously, we tend to stop when our progress stalls. But don't, keep it going. If you really want it, you will keep up the fight!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

I eat what I want, within moderation, and cook all my meals instead of eating prepackaged foods. I allow 10% of my calories to be free game, so I can eat junk food daily. I gave up caffeine and only drink water (sometimes gatorade if I'm doing an intense workout). I found cardio that I love, so I'm not bored walking on a treadmill; I box, do yoga and pilates, belly dance, and lift. My off day from the gym is a weekend day, so I can enjoy a whole day off.

ETA I don't consider myself on a "diet" because eating healthier is a mindset to me. If I feel like I'm on a diet, I feel too restrictive, andam more llikely to give up, or give in. Hence, my reason for still eating some junk food.

1. I count my calories and stay right at 1200 a day

2. I continue to experiment and learn new healthy low cal recipes. I can not stress how important learning HEALTHY versions of your favorite foods is. You could cut the calories in half by simply substituting and leaving out just a few things. A diet is temporary & therefore will only have temporary results. So I realized i need to set realistic goals for myself which meant i was not going to be satisfied with cabbage soup or carrot sticks. lol I was once the queen of fad dieting. Total mess.

For example, zucchini noodles instead of wheat, fat free everything, truvia instead of sugar, unlimited veggies (your body actually uses more energy to digest most), going easy on the oil, starch, & red meat, replacing cheese with nutritional yeast.

3. Increased water intake. A lot of the time people are just dehydrated not actually hungry. The body mixes those signals up.

4. I cut out everything processed and made by men. I stick to the things God created. I also researched about these chemicals and treatments of the animals which only served to help me stick to my plan. I just CAN not look at mcdonalds the same after some of the things I have read. Disgusting.

5. I am not a believer in "you have to eat breakfast" or the "six small meals a day". When I wake up I'm simply not hungry until like noon. When I do eat and listen to the health gurus i almost always go over my calorie goal and tend to be STARVING the whole day. Its the weirdest thing. So i simply listen to my body, when it tells me it needs some food, I eat. I don't wait till im starving because then I am way more likely to grab something quick and thats usually processed. I think this is one of the main reasons health gurus recommend the five small meals a day. But for me personally that was just to much brain power and I hated being restricted to 300 calorie snacks. I enjoy a good 500 calorie dinner. lol Again, every person is different but I just wish someone would have said these things to me five years ago.

6. I don't deprive myself either. If I really want a freakin martini, I have one. (skinny version though). If I really want a donut ill have one. I can usually indulge and still stay under my calorie goal for the day anyways, i may just have to have a huge green salad to finish off the day though. Balance is everything. Forbidden fruit never goes well. lol

7. I take vitamins, drink berky water, eat organic produce, free range, grass fed, lean proteins, & healthy oils like olive or coconut. & Im kinda freaked out with how SUPER easy losing 40 lbs has been although some of it was baby. Maybe these lab coat foods have like addictive chemicals in them to make us crave and desire there food so will buy more. Or maybe my body was running off like NO nutrients and even though I was eating it was not getting enough nutrition so it kept telling me I needed to eat more. I also eat pretty well balanced meals too, like protein, carb, and fat. I dont really try to alot of the time it just happens naturally which also maybe has to do with it. Who knows? lol

8. I wish i could put here like five days of insanity but the truth is i am super lazy and would rather cuddle up with my boys and watch a movie. I have lost all this weight and literally hardly worked out. I need to get going though, my body has like absolutely no shape or definition. lol

But yeah, with my history, my genetics, & my love for food... i feel like i FINALLY have it right. This is something I KNOW i can sustain for the rest of my life. It has been SO easy. I don't feel deprived. & I am only 5 pounds away from my goal weight of 135!

I will end this book now on one last note. YOU CAN DO IT! lol Good luck girl!

^^^^MOSTLY THIS^^^^with a few exceptions. Men have a much easier time losing body fat with a simple "calories in, calories out" approach--they can basically eat anything they want and, if they are within their calorie restriction, they will lose body fat. Male physique and hormones favor calorie burning--women's hormones and smaller body mass do not. Doesn't seem exactly fair, since we are the ones who fret and fume over every excess bit of body fat--but there it is.

Unless you are very short and slight of build, it probably isn't necessary to cut all the way back to 1,200 (which is the basic minimum you can cut to and expect to stay healthy while losing body fat). Much better to exercise and eat back your exercise calories. I ate 1,800 calories the other day for example but I burned over 500 in exercise (my TDEE-20% is 1,360 calories). One of the reasons why women almost always regain is because they end a diet in a malnourished state and then their bodies push them to eat-eat-eat to put back what was drained away during the diet. Most women simply cannot afford empty calories while on calorie-restriction. Every calorie must contribute to maintaining health unless her level of exercise and weight-lifting is so high that she burns a lot of calories.

Every adult needs at least 35 grams of fat a day to maintain health (and they should be "good fats" as from avocado, olives, nuts as well as SOME saturated fat every day). While we tend to get too much saturated fat in our diets, the average person still does not get enough essential fatty acids. Women often make the mistake of going on a low fat/nearly no-fat diet and then ironically, they will include the empty calories of sugary foods. This is very unhealthy.

Vegetables and fruits are your friends. They are a primary source of essential minerals in the diet and treasure-troves of phyto-nutrients that preserve health. What I have noticed, when I examine food diaries, is that, when junk food is included, vegetable and fruit consumption decline. I eat organic, as much as possible, because I don't like eating pesticide residue, but pesticides or not, it is still better to eat them than not.

I have probably been on every crazy "quick loss" diet there is and I have lost a lot of weight on them. But I always regained. This time, I am on a plan (I don't even call it a diet) that is very healthy and since I have been on it for three years I am sure that I can stick to it for the rest of my life. My health has improved markedly during that time (a first for me--the crazy diets always ended up with me being in some kind of health crisis). Losing slower is better than losing fast--for many reasons. I actually only want to lose a half-pound per week--because I start feeling dragged out and have a hard time exercising when I lose any faster than that. But I am 65 years old (and have a bad health history) so I know that my health is not something I can afford to abuse. What I do know is that if I can do it, you can too. Patience and perseverance are the keys.

ETA: I think the collected wisdom here on MFP says that, if you have only 20 pounds or so to lose, that you should set your macros for only a half-pound per week.