How did you lose your first few pounds?

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  • ForumLurker
    ForumLurker Posts: 36
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    I tried many times and failed. So many different fad diets, crash diets, starvation diets and I always gained the weight right back and then-some. My peak weight was 265 lbs.

    What really got me to losing weight was making an investment, the most important investment I think I ever made... A food scale. It cost $20, I was on a budget and thought it was quite a splurge for something for my weight loss when so many things had failed in the past, was this going to fail too?

    I started weighing all of my food (and condiments, they have calories too), I was surprised to see the actual portions of food. Relative to what I had been eyeballing out every day, I was actually eating A LOT more calories than I was logging. I would fill a bowl with cereal and say "yeah, that's about 2 servings" and log it like that, I was actually eating closer to 4 servings, consuming probably 300 calories more than what I had logged FOR A SINGLE MEAL. That adds up over the day, I probably ate thousands of calories more than I thought every week, no wonder I was stuck and/or gaining weight.

    An important thing I've learned is to weigh the food and log BEFORE you eat it. A lot at the start, I would weigh something, eat it and then log it without remembering how many calories I had left for the day, I went over a lot just from thinking I had more calories left than I actually did.

    I started exercising after I lost 30 lbs just from eating at a deficit. Money was better for me at the time and I invested in a cheap exercise bike ($140). I would do 2 sets of body weight exercises (to failure) and then do 15 minutes on the bike. I did that 2 times a day, once in the morning and once about 2 hours before bed. Took about 20 minutes, I would watch TV or listen to an audio book while on the exercise bike.
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
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    What did you do? How were you able to start? When did you start noticing the results?

    I have to be honest. Although i have been logging in for almost a week now and i heard/read that this is the best place to start, I still find it hard to wrap my head around the idea that it is possible for me to lose weight. Like, since I still haven't seen results in me yet, in my head, I feel like it won't happen. I'm not sure if any of you out there get what I mean. Anyway, this is why I am so hungry for information on how those who have had success with weight loss were able to start the whole journey. Were you able to see results after a week? A month? What triggered it? What made it happen?

    What did I do? Changed my lifestyle, trained myself in the art of moderation, ate less and exercised.
    How was I able to start? Decided it was time to stop being fat and lazy and got off my *kitten* and did it.
    When did I start noticing results? On the scale/1 week. In the mirror/2 weeks.
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
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    I started off just by logging my foods on MFP. then I was horrified by what i was logging and started slowly making changes. I then added just 20 mins of exercise (30 day shred) every day. once i started to reduce calorie intake the weight started to drop each week. first week was 4 pounds, then after that 1 or 2 pounds a week. I have reduced soda, chocolate, crisps, cookies, but have cut out nothing. so far its working, but its not easy but worth it in the end. good luck and keep on logging

    edited to add - trigger was when i thought my scales were faulty. when i realised how much i weighed spurred me into action.
  • Vansy
    Vansy Posts: 419 Member
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    Dedication. Perseverance.

    For the two months I've solely focused on little changes -- so in June I cut sugars (desserts, candy) and it took all of 5 days for my taste buds to even out. Then the past 3 weeks I've cut out chewing gum and diet soda. ALSO in the past two months I focused on increasing my activeness and my exercise -- joined a running group which helped a tonnn with motivation. And now I'm to the point where the past month I've burned 2200-3000 calories per week and NOW I'm finally spending my next month focusing on my calorie-intake; sticking to a strict 1600 calories whereas the past month I've hovered more in the 1700-2000 calorie range.

    I've lost 4ish pounds so far just by increasing what I was doing and making a couple small changes. I expect more results in the next month or two with the calorie decrease.

    Find what works for you. If that means keeping your calories higher and increasing your exercise and activeness, then do that. If it means cutting back to 1300 calories, then do that. There's no right or wrong method for going about it.
  • raeandem
    raeandem Posts: 2 Member
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    Your post could have been written by me. I feel the same way. I just started logging today and I am more determined than ever to finally do something about my weight. I hope we both are successful. I know it's a slow process but we have to plug on take every loss small as it may be as a success.
  • rachseby
    rachseby Posts: 285 Member
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    Your post could have been written by me. I feel the same way. I just started logging today and I am more determined than ever to finally do something about my weight. I hope we both are successful. I know it's a slow process but we have to plug on take every loss small as it may be as a success.
    Me too! For me, logging has been my wakeup call. I was really in denial about how many calories I was eating. I always thought that if it was so easy to lose weight by just cutting calories that everyone would be thin. The first few months I cut out some things (mainly sweets) and started exercising, but wasn't losing weight. As soon as I started logging I started losing. And I have also really upped my water intake. I lost about 15 lbs in my first serious month, now I'm on my 2nd...we'll see! Also, make sure that your exercise calories are accurate before eating them back. My elliptical has been saying I've burned about 650-700 cals per hour, but I'm not sure if that is true. Thinking about investing in an HRM.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    MFP. Seriously. Paid attention to what I was eating. The end :)
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    Started with the 1200 like most others that begin here then found the road map which I have been using. (TDEE-%)
    I started light movement - treadmill. Found that boring but did it at first. Then I tried different work out DVDs. When I found the ones I love...I stuck to those mixing them up a bit. Find exercise that you enjoy and run with it!!! If you like it - you will actually look forward to it.

    I have been on and off diets for a few years - never really getting far. I saw a picture of myself at my heaviest (last July) and said..ya thats just not going to work for me! Started January first and have not looked back! You have to jump in with determination. You have to want it!!

    Advice - do not completely restrict yourself. Removing ever single food you love because it is not "diet" food is dangerous. Moderation..moderation!!!! Find alternatives for foods - do lots of research on this board and on line to find out how your body REALLY works! You will be amazed at how much we really do not know lol

    If you have a bad day...or moment...do not beat yourself up. Tomorrow is a new day!!! :)

    Last but not least - trust and believe....YOU CAN do this!!!!!
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    The very first few (#5), I lost having major surgery to remove a fibroid tumor. The next 10 I lost by lowering my calories a bit and exercising a bit more.

    I haven't lost much (maybe 1-2#) in the last 4-5 months, but I have lost about 4-5% body fat.
  • happieharpie
    happieharpie Posts: 229 Member
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    FEAR! My choice was lose weight and lower your blood pressure or start taking icky medicine. I made drastic changes to my eating and it worked. Got a hug from my internist yesterday!
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    1. Cut out the soda (cold turkey) and switched to bottled water.
    2. Cut my calories. I started out doing the 1200 calories that MFP gave me, but I've since bumped it up. First to1400 and now I have it set at 1500. I eat back most of my exercise calories.
    3. Moved more. I started off doing 30 Day Shred, but once I hit Level 2 I stopped cause I suck at plank position. I started walking 2 miles at my local park (that has mile markers). That was July 4th. I'm now doing 3 miles.
    4. Keeping a positive attitude.
    5. Making this a lifestyle.
    6. Lowering my expectations to have high losses ever week. It just ain't gonna happen like that. Some weeks are more, some week are less. What matters is that I'm working hard. The scale/measurements might not reflect my hard work, but how I feel & my endurance increasing says I'm doing good.
    7. Not restricting foods. I still have fast foods on the weekends (I work on the weekends). I just eat waaaaaay less of it and pre-log it so I know where my calorie count/macros will be. Instead of getting a value meal I'll get a value burger and value fries. BAM! Done and satisfied. If I know I'm eating out, I'll look up the nutritional values of the foods to wherever I'm going and find one that looks both yummy and good calorie wise and I work it into my day.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    I just started eating less and working out more ....

    You will not see any results until four to six weeks as this is the time it takes for you body to adapt to any new regimen...
  • Tiff050709
    Tiff050709 Posts: 497 Member
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    I cut out all junk and used my treadmill.
  • SNeumeister
    SNeumeister Posts: 12
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    Go one day, eating as you have. See how many calories you are eating. Go to your doctor, tell them you are looking to lose weight, they can help with a healthy calorie goal. Then work towards that calorie goal.

    I was eating fast food for breakfast, Sit down chain restaurant for lunch, binge eating dinner with my family, then no moving AT ALL.

    In reality I was consuming up to 3k calories a day, which is what you will find when you track realistically for a day or two.

    Then tweak it down, take out processed foods & add fruits and veggies.

    I am down 17 pounds today, I have been doing this for 45ish days, but I have a lot of weight to lose.

    I basically set it up so I consume my calories with breakfast, lunch, dinner, & fresh fruit & veggie snacks.

    If I want that ice cream, potato chips or candy bar, I have to work those calories off first, then om nom nom!


    So TL;DR, Calorie Deficit & moving a little bit, like 20 min walks, got me about 2-3 pounds each week.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    Weighing my food, not guessing. Not cutting anything out because it's "bad." Counting EVERYTHING I ate... yeah, everything. I lost weight simply by caloric deficit.
  • luckynky
    luckynky Posts: 123 Member
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    I've lost weight before on calorie counting alone, but of course, it can't last forever when you're taking in only 900 calories a day. I'm almost 40 and I've been pretty inactive for some years. I started feeling some of the health problems of being overweight, and my scale kept going up and up and up (this happens as you age, if you don't change something about your lifestyle).

    So about 3 months ago, I decided I had enough. I needed to make a lifestyle change and get active. I found this site and started tracking food intake. Just by tracking food, I was able to get the motivation I needed to stop snacking throughout the day (I run a daycare and these toddlers eat constantly, and I was taking bites of this and handfuls of that right along with them). I cut out the junk food that my husband insists on eating.

    At the same time, I decided I had to find a cardio exercise that I could do and that I would like because I wanted to get my heart in shape. Historically, I have always hated exercise. So I found Zumba. It was very challenging at first because I am uncoordinated and never danced, and also I had some emotional/mental blocks about dancing and about my body. But I love music and knew that a treadmill is just not something I can stick with.

    Seeing how difficult it was for me to move and keep up was shocking to me. I was so sore the first 2 weeks, and another thing I noticed was that my lungs were kind of sore (they weren't used to heavy breathing, sadly). It motivated me to keep at it. After a few weeks, I noticed a lot of improvement. After a few months, I no longer noticed any soreness. Now I'm adding in strength training because I want to tone up some areas and push myself in a different way.

    I lost 3 lbs in my first week, which was amazing to me. Once i lost about 5 lbs, I started noticing the difference (it was subtle, but it was there). I felt less puffy and bloated and my clothes fit better. I'm only down 11 lbs, but I actually feel more like me-- the more energetic, stronger me. Getting active has made me feel so much better and I want to keep it up for the rest of my life.

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