People who've lost 50lbs + help please!

Oh gosh hun, why are you eating so few calories?

It's great that you want to get in shape though!

I lost my first 30 or so pounds just by changing my exercise habits. I started biking to work and school (only 3 miles away for each) and got a job that kept me on my feet a lot more.

Since then I picked up C25k to keep me moving (I no longer work at the on-the-feet job). Once that was done, I started eating Paleo (lost 15 pounds in one month from that alone...) and started on the 10k trainer. Haven't finished the 10k trainer yet because I'm doing Insanity now, haha. On the recovery week, month two starts on Wednesday!

Success in the long run will be about consistency over time. Have patience and make changes to your life that will be permanent.

I slowly made changes. First was reducing intake with portion control (learning what a real serving was). Then, increased my exercise. Made my diet healthier. I set fitness goals. I only do exercises I enjoy.

I never ate at a huge deficit, btw. A reasonable deficit of 500 calories worked for me. Since you have more weight to lose, you can have a larger deficit for awhile, but be mindful to not starve yourself. A reasonable deficit will give you long-term success.

I kept pushing off starting the process because I was so overwhelmed by what lay before me. I faced that it was likely going to take me 2 years to reach my goal but I would never get there if I never started. Over the last 10 months I have learned to make better food choices and to hold myself accountable to my calories in and out. I used to diet by choking down food I hated just because it was healthy and I thought that's what I had to do to succeed. These diets never lasted long. I still don't have the healthiest diet around but it is sustainable and I eat enough calories to feel good and to continue to lose.

Exercise has been a big key. I started out by walking a mile a couple of times a week. Over the last ten months I have gradually worked my way up to walking 5 miles 4 days a week and 8-10 miles a day on the weekends. This gives me a great calorie burn and allows me to eat enough to not be hungry all the time.

This has been a gradual process. I'm about halfway to my goal and for the first time in 20 years I am positive that I will continue and reach my goals. You just have to get up every morning and decide you will continue to work at it. I don't always feel like getting out of bed when my alarm rings at 4:30 am during the week but I am committed and just do it every day.

You need to commit to yourself and be realistic in how long this will take you and that you will work through the desires to roll over and go back to sleep instead of going for a walk and will eat the healthier snack instead of the candy bar that will leave you empty.

Good luck!

900 calories is no where near enough for anyone. I bet you're starving all the time. I've lost the majority of my weight sticking to a lower carb plan and eating clean about 80% of the time.

I say this over and over but motivation comes and goes. It's dedication and commitment and wanting the end result of health more then I want french fries or cookies or whatever that have helped me get this far. It's hard, but, IMO, worth it. Best of luck! :-)

This! ^^^

Always remember this journey is yours alone and every triumph is yours! I remind myself that I want to be healthy and stick around until I am 90 so I can bug the piss out of my kids well into their adult hood. You CAN do it, just remember this is a life long change not a diet!

Oh!! That reminds me of something else! Do what you can reasonably commit to long term. Can you reasonably commit to eating only 900 calories for the rest of your life? Probably not. That's a huge order for anyone.

Same thing with exercise. When I started a year and a half ago, I asked myself what was a realistic amount of time I could workout each week? For me, it was 4 days, 30 minutes each session and that would be my minimum. Most weeks I do 5 days, 45-75 minutes, but I always try to meet that 4/30 goal.

900 calories is no where near enough for anyone. I bet you're starving all the time. I've lost the majority of my weight sticking to a lower carb plan and eating clean about 80% of the time.

I say this over and over but motivation comes and goes. It's dedication and commitment and wanting the end result of health more then I want french fries or cookies or whatever that have helped me get this far. It's hard, but, IMO, worth it. Best of luck! :-)

This! It's a marathon, not a sprint. As Dory says "Just keep swimming" My best days are when I make it through my worst days without giving up.

"I have a quote posted where I can see it every day. It reads, "Failure happens when I choose what I want RIGHT NOW over what I want MOST." What I want most is to get and stay healthy and be able to move with pleasure. Eat more than 900 calories a day, that's not enough for any adult. And don't wait for something to come in the mail to get you moving. Lace up some shoes, put the kids in the stroller and go for a walk. Get out there and enjoy this amazing world we live in. "


^^^^ I love this quote and also I agree with what she said about not waiting for something to come in the mail; if you're motivated now go for it because like someone else said, "motivation comes and goes." When I started, my exercise consisted of sitting in a chair and doing wii boxing and sometimes I would switch it up and do 10 min on my bike. Doesn't matter how much, just that you are moving and doing something. As I lost weight and moving became a little less painful, I increased it by a minute or so every 2 weeks. I now do 52 min on the bike and water aerobics twice a week and double up on exercise and do both the bike and a walk about once a week. I have lost 77 lbs in almost 8 months time. One of the things that has helped me a lot is being open to trying new foods that I wouldn't have before; hummus, eggplant, ceviche, grilled veggies, etc. If you are not a veggie lover, keep trying new ones and new ways to prepare them until you find something. I also gave up eating chocolate, added sugars and artificial sweeteners, which is another thing I said I would never do (cuz I loved my skinny cows too much) and found out it stopped most of my cravings for sweets & fatty foods making it just easier to keep eating healthier. I'm thankful for this site and the people who have supported me along the way and I hope I have helped them too. I have an open diary and feel free to peek and/or add me as a friend. Good luck to you!

At 314 lbs. I can guarantee you that there is no way you should be eating a measly 900 calories a day... That is not sustainable for the rest of your life. When you set up your account here on MFP what did it tell you your daily calorie goal should be?? I assumed you set it to lose 2 lbs. a week.... and another question is do you have any trouble walking?? If not that would be a good place to start. I start at 560lbs. and was unable to walk so they stuck me in a pool and used water displacement to allow me to stand so that I could begin to exercise. I spent 17 months in the pool walking from one side to the other and lost 170 lbs... If you can walk that is a great place to start and please eat more food... Best of Luck

It doesn't show it but I have lost 72 lbs since sept of last year. Just make up your mind that it is something that has to be done it isn't easy but the results are great. Find something that works for you and if you slide a little just say tomorrows another day and continue. I found that the biggest things that worked for me was reducing salt intake and quit drinking diet pepsi. I drink lots of water. and exercise. You need to start slow.

omg you are starving yourself!!
My starting weight was 340lbs at 5"7.5' and I am down to 288lbs.

Here's what I did... slowly worked off the soda's first! lowered how much i drank and then went to diet and then to non dark pops and now to the rare ones i have that are usully fresca unless i'm feeling really crazy haha.

Then! I joined this site and started tracking my calorie intake. I still ate pretty much whatever i wanted so i wasn't eating much because a bunch had high calories. I ate 1500 calories a day!

This was one tough part, changing how i think about food and fitness and everything. I started noticing the stuff i was eating was either high in bad fats or high in calories, or salt or .. etc etc. So i slowly took out foods that were insane in any of these things until i ended up eating mostly fruits, veggies, and lean meats. (you'd think i'd have learn from people telling me that was the thing to do. BUT NO i figured they were all silly!) anyways, I slowly weaned off the baddies. (though i'm still in the faze of 'treating' myself to my favorite junk.)

Ok so now, i've got to eating healthier meals, making sure my intake is under 1500 cals a day and i still don't think it's enough... So i decide... i should start exercising..

First thing i did, because i knew i was far to heavy and had far too many medical problems to just start stressing my body with my weight, was join the sportsplex (swimming pool) for a fairly low price to test it for a month. I could go into aquafitness classes or free swim on my own. Since i worked beside a indoor swimming pool this was also beneficial. So for about 5 months ish i went 3 hours before work into this swimming atmosphere. I did an hour of light aquafit led by instructor and then my last hour and a half i would swim and not stop swimming... in any way. then for the last 15 minutes i'd allow myself to soak in the hot tub (total bonus for swimming)

Let me just say, this got me really good, i lost about 21 pounds during those 5 months (very slow process to begin for me)

THEN i hit a point where it wasn't easy to get to swimming (job location switched), i was in school and couldn't find the time. My calories weren't being watched so much and i fell off the roll. I got really depressed when i noticed that my calories were starting to rise again and i don't know what kicked me but then i decided to do something else.

When the day came.. i came back onto mfp and decided to really put my all into this change. So i started to look for other ways to get fit. The first thing i did was the only thing i really could do... walk, speed walk as much as i could around the nearest park. I think happened to come across a skipping rope and got nostalgic. I used to love to skip so i had a go. it was rough but i loved it. I ended up doing that for a couple weeks. working up how many times i could jump and keep going longer and longer.

I bought a heart rate monitor to help me measure the calories lost and my heart weight during my work out. So i kept my heart between 140 and 175 at all times. i worked up to 20 minutes of skipping (with 2 min rests between each set) it really worked my core and legs. I felt great doing it, very pumped up!!

Then i somehow hurt my back and leg and had to be out for a while so i said to myself: "no no, i'm not done here, i still gotta do something!!" so i started to do some yoga, and some ankle stretches and squats. at least until i got better. during that time i told myself to look up more things i can do to push myself to do better!

it's been a week since then and i've found a few things i want to try to do (all on my profile if interested) and my back and legs are doing much better. This week i believe i will start C25K as best i can and see where that takes me.

As of this moment i am 288 (52lbs lost!)

I have much more to go... but just remember this.

so keep going, keep pushing yourself to do better, to work harder. If you mess up, it's okay! Life is full of mistakes, don't be guilty and move on. do your best next time. remember that if you want this, you will do all you can to achieve it. Look for more info if you need it. and were all here for you. I believe in you dearry, you can do this just as i'm doing this. Once you get into the swing of it, it'll be so much easier and so much fun.

sorry for the life story haha, but this is how i did it, hope it could help

Good for you for reaching out! I echo what everyone is saying that you are eating too few calories. For me, losing weight was only one motivation. My primary goal is improving my health. To get started, I had a long talk with a doctor. I explained my history which included some injuries. It's been a process that has included my husband. He's the family cook so he also made the commitment to become more educated. I enjoy exercising, so I'm fortunate to gradually gain the strength to be able to do a variety of activities. He supports me all the way!
Learn more about nutrition - make an appointment with a nutritionist - to set reasonable eating goals. As far as exercise. You mention you have kids. If they are of an age to be a a stroller, then enjoy a stroll!
Understand that changes like this take time...and they are changes for a lifetime. If that sounds intimidating, understand that once you make changes your body will respond in king. Set reasonable, achievable goals. They all add up!
Lastly, these are goals that you are setting for you...because you are a priority...your health is a priority.
Best wishes to you!

Make small changes - not one big drastic change overnight. Make sure you eat nutrient dense food that fills you up, plenty of proteins and veggies but eat more than 900 calories! I would calculate TDEE-25% or TDEE-30% since you have so much to lose, but then follow it. If you are hungry, eat. Nobody can live in a starved state and stick with the program. If you are craving something, go do a bit of exercise and earn your calories back to eat for what went over your daily goal.

Also just look at the next few pounds you are trying to lose, not the total. That is too overwhelming. I always do a countdown to the next decade. If you are 300, focus on getting to 290, etc. Celebrate those mini-goals... a new outfit, a gadget you wanted, etc.

Calories in, calories out, eat real food, drink plenty of water, keep moving as much as you can and focus on the small victories and health markers, and gather people around you who support you and hold you accountable. It's easy, but so not easy. You can do this!!!

They key is consistency and long term thinking.

800 calories is way too low but you already know that.

I thought about what things were making me fat int he first place. What habits I had etc.

Cutting out junk and processed foods has been key for me.

If you select a modest calorie deficit and then move every day you'll have success. Walk 30 minutes a day every day to start.

I think people get in the instant gratification where they think OMG I am so fat. I'll crash it all off to be thinner and then I can go back to eating the same foods I used to eat and miraculously I'll still be thin. Too bad it doesn't work that way.