5ft 6in SW 200 who reached their goal weight

Hi there!

I'm also 5'6" with a SW of 202... I haven't reached my goal weight yet but I'm on my way! Its taken me about 3 months to get to where I am now... I lost 10 lbs in the first month and about 6 more each month... Slow going but it has been consistent!

My advice is to take it day by day. If you do eat more than you expected to one day, even one meal, just do better the next opportunity you have. Also - do at least SOMETHING every day - even if its a 20 minute walk. No matter how fast you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch!

I have a picture of myself that i keep in my phone to remind myself what i'm working for, even if I won't look exactly like that in the end... I have found that losing weight is truly is 70% what you eat and 30% working out more... If I can't keep away from the chocolate or fried foods then no matter how much I work out, I won't see results!

Here are some of my comparison pics - best of luck!!!

I keep to around 1300 calories a day, and if I exercise that day i'll eat back about 50% of my calories burned. I hovered around 1200 calories and was starving all of the time and 1500 I wasn't losing anything, so even that extra 100 calories of an apple in the afternoon helps now.

I'm 5'6 and my starting weight was 201.8 and I started losing weight in the beginning of January 2013. My current weight is 173 so I have lost 29lbs and my goal weight is 160. I have a larger bone structure/frame so I am not sure if I will go lower than 160. It will depend how I feel at that weight. I think the lowest I will consider going is 145.

Anyways, to answer your question of what I am doing. I am eating a mostly whole food diet, eating appropriate portions and exercising. MFP suggested 1200 calories a day for me and I did that for a long time, but hit a plateau. These days I range daily from 1200-1400.

Most basically, I eat good food! I don't eat fast food at all and don't eat out much. This is nice because when I eat out it's a treat so I get what I want and am mindful not to stuff myself. One of my favorite blogs is www.skinnytaste.com All of her recipes are awesome and healthy. She gives nutritional info which is helpful too!

For exercise I completed the couch to 5k program and now run several times a week. I also go to the gym for a yoga/pilates class once a week and lift weights on machines 1-2 times a week. This is really working for me and I highly suggest finding a form of exercise that you like. I hate cardio machines with a passion so I avoid them. There is no point in hating exercise!

Here's a quick example of what I eat everyday.

Water: 100-110 oz daily

Breakfast:

Example 1: 1 piece of toast (whole wheat, sprouted grain) with .25 TBSP butter and 1 tablespoon jam. 1 serving fruit.

Example 2: 1/2 cup oatmeal with 2tsp brown sugar. Fruit.

Lunch: Normally I eat leftovers from what I cooked for dinner last night. If I don't eat leftovers I will make myself a sandwich (ham, 1 piece cheese, mustard and lots of spinach) or a big salad with some toppings like an ounce of cheese, chickpeas, avocado, cherry tomatoes, carrots or a hard boiled egg etc)

Snack: This varies, but some of my favorites are roasted almonds, 1 piece of string cheese, yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit on top.

Dinner: Again this varies, but most nights of the week I cook at home. Some things that I have eaten this week are scape pesto with whole wheat pasta and salad. Large salad with feta cheese, orange slices, red onion, quinoa and honey balsamic dressing. Broccoli cheddar frittata. Feta and kalamata turkey burgers served with couscous and veggies.

Let me know if you have any questions!