What has made you successful so far?

Allowing myself to eat whatever food I want as long as it fits into my nutrient goals.

My progress would have been short-lived if I had started out forbidding myself from eating Taco Bell, pizza, and ice cream.

Setting small goals. Such as loose 5 pounds this month, or hit a certain weight by my birthday. It breaks the journey down and each mini goal is inspiring!!!

Patience for the long haul: It look me over 3 yers to slowly put on the extra weight, it's not going to come off in three weeks, or three months.

Realism: having let my weight get where it is, I may never be able to maintain at my previous adult maintenance weight. My doctor has even said that. That doesn't mean I can't drop most of the extra and maintain that.

Paitent Realism: I can't change my eating and activity for a few months and then go back to what I was doing before. What I was doing wasn't working.

Realistic Patience: weight loss is not the only marker of success in my plan. Feeling better, fitter, and stronger are my main goal. I've previously let myself get discouraged when exercise didnt' result in noticeable weight loss. I'm remembering, this time, that regular actiivity and weight bearing exercise have much more to do with my health than the scale does. I'm doing this for my power, my endurance, my bone mass more than I'm doing this for my pants size.

A weekly free/cheat/splurge day.

I'm another daily weigher. I know it's not for everyone, but it helps me feel in control, makes sure I log in here every day, and means I don't get discouraged when I don't see a loss.

Not eating between meals. I'm not strict about this, but it has been a good habit for me.

Not eating too little.

Just sticking with it.

Not making it any more difficult than it needs to be. I don't obsess about macros, I don't worry if I go over now and then, etc.

What has really helped me was having a set # calories protein and ETC/////////////. I have worked out for a very long time with no real results until I started eating right and tracking it. Diet=70%

For me it boils down to the right mentality. I made excuses for years. When I finally discovered MFP and saw a licensed nutritionist I finally had to face reality that the reason I was 223 pounds was because of my own choices. No one had forced me to live the way I had lived, and I had no one to blame but myself. That realization was actually very empowering. It allowed me to set a goal and stick to it. I realized that I control my destiny, and that I could either continue to live like I had or make the proper changes. One year later, and 64 pounds later I feel fantastic. I continue to log everyday, exercise daily, and most importantly keep a positive attitude about my diet, habits, etc.

Consistency and patience.

This ^^^ for real

I am turning 62 next month, and have lost 46 lbs. I started 171 days ago, and have logged 171 days. Even on Mother's Day, when I ate that home made butterscotch pie, and the key lime pie, and.......you get my point. Everything I've eaten is on here. When I hit a plateau, I got a BodyMedia Fit monitor. WOW! That really works...no more guessing. No more plateau. They aren't that expensive anymore. I found a sale, then found a promotional code and got it for about $100. WORTH IT! My exercise? I walk every day for about an hour, and I ride a recumbent exercise bike for 30 minutes, that's it. I have dropped so many sizes, I'm amazed.

1. Love of working out. Love the feeling, love to spend energy to have energy.

2. Intermittent Fasting 16/8. Working wonders. A great way to keep calorie deficit and be in more control over my food intake.

3. Logging my workouts. In Polarpersonaltrainer, Endomondo, MFP and Fitocracy. It's great to keep track and be able to see all the work that I've done. For example recently pulled out a summary. May 2012 til May 2013. 354 workouts. 279 hours spent sweating. 1435 km traveled through running and cycling. 212357 calories burned.