To those of You Who have lost over 30lbs

Counted calories, measured out / weighed portions, and moved more.

This

As of my weigh in this week coming, I've lost 60 pounds. However, 45 that is since becoming active on MFP last August. My weight loss went fast for the first 6 months, but had to relose some gained on vacation.

My lifestyle change came about for health reasons, and weight loss was not the primary motivation. So, my lifestyle is ketogenic (high fat, very low carb) and based on a minimum of processed foods. So I guess my lifestyle could be called keto primal. ALL of my serious health problems have been resolved, including severe depression, binge eating disorder, chronic pain/fatigue, pre-diabetes, etc etc. The weight loss has been effortless and I never struggle with hunger. However, now that I only have 30 pounds to go, weight loss is slow, but since my lifestyle change is permanent and I am enjoying the best health of my life, it just doesn't matter. My body will achieve a healthy weight without me stressing out about it and trying to rush it along.

I've lost about 85 lbs.

It took me about 7 months to lose the last 30lbs, that brought me to my goal weight. (The first 30lbs went faster).

I ate all the kinds of foods that I ate before I started losing weight, just food that I enjoy. I didn't cut out any particular foods or food groups. I didn't go low carb or low fat. I don't eat "diet" food (except that I drink skimmed milk because I prefer it). I decided that if I was going to stick to this long-term, I would need to not feel too restricted. All through my weight loss I regularly ate things like chocolate, butter, cheese, bacon, bread, pasta, cookies etc.

Obviously I had to make some changes otherwise I wouldn't have lost weight. The higher calorie foods that I like to eat, I just eat them in smaller portions and/or less often. As time went on on MFP, I started paying attention to other things in my diet, and trying to eat more protein. I wasn't getting much fibre, so I increased the amount of vegetables I eat. I now try to get a wide variety of whole foods, to try to hit micro-nutrient targets.

In a typical day I will eat oatmeal, Greek yoghurt, cheese, salad, bread or pasta or potatoes, some meat like chicken or some fish like salmon, several portions of vegetables (like broccoli, carrots, kale), some nuts and seeds, a few cups of tea and some chocolate and/or biscuits (cookies). That's most days. If my routine's a bit different because I'm on holiday or going out to eat etc then obviously it will be different and will probably be less nutritious.

I tend to eat more in the evening that the rest of the day. That's just what suits me. I either eat a small breakfast and lunch, and a larger dinner with after dinner snacks. Or, I skip breakfast altogether, have a small lunch and a larger dinner/snacks. I do a bit of Intermittent Fasting, but that's mostly been since I've been maintaining, not while I was losing.

For exercise, I started off walking and cycling on an indoor bike. Now, I run 3x a week, lift heavy weight 3x a week, do some walking in between and do yoga a couple of times a week. I try to burn around 1500 calories a week through exercise, but I don't always burn that much. I always ate all my exercise calories back.

Most important for me has been the calorie counting. That keeps me on track. Eating too few calories didn't work for me. I started off on MFP on the 1200 calories it recommended, but even adding in exercise calories, it wasn't enough for me. I was tired and showing signs of nutrient deficiencies. 1500 (plus exercise calories) worked much better for me.

tl;dr: Counting calories with a small calorie deficit, a mixture of cardio and strength training, eating all the foods I enjoy.

Mostly running and circuit training

I did the same thing as everyone else who has lost weight- create a substantial calorie deficit through reducing the amount of food I ate (while not completely denying myself anything) and by exercise.

I lost 30lb just through reducing the amount I ate; the last 14lb I lost by adding in exercise, too.

I lost over 60 pounds before joining MFP. I never wanted to calorie count, so I just tried to reduce my portions, eat in every meal at least half veggies or fruit (depending if the meal was sweet, like breakfast cereals, or savoury, like lunch), always carried an apple in my handbag to eat in case of feeling really hungry and stopped drinking coke (changed that one to coke zero, I know, not healthy, but it worked). I started to cook a lot for myself, even if I was the only one in the house eating it.

I also started to do little exercise things in the launch room and to go for a walk most days.

Getting those 30kgs of took about 9 months. Then... I stalled.

I stalled for over a year and a month ago I noticed that my weight had started to creep up again ever so slightly, so I decided I had to change things and maybe this time go full out.

And that's why I joind MFP and am now actually calorie counting even though I never wanted to do it. Have started to (slowly) lose weight again, too.

I started out slowly with watching what I eat and walking...fast forward five months later I am down 62 pounds and running 1/2 marathons. My success is surrounding myself with positive people, using fitness pal everyday and exercising. I have a gym at work, and believe it or not I now use it everyday. I keep really healthy food on hand at all times and let myself live a little on weekends but eating food I really enjoy. I also chew a lot of gum now...sounds crazy but it really helps me.