Those who had only 20-25 lbs to lose in total...

Hi

I only had 27ish pounds to lose and I'm nearly there, 22 lbs down. I have been doing the 5:2 diet since March 10th, this includes 2 holidays where I haven't watched what I was eating at all. It averages out at about one pound a week and because I don't feel that I'm dieting I am fine with that. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

I still have a long way to go, but I just run 4 times a week and monitor my intake, I've lost 7lbs in three weeks which seems right. I have another 14ish Ibs to lose before I hit my goal. What are your aims?

5:2 is where you fast for 2 days a week. It is called Intermittent Fasting and has many variations.

Can i be in for having that much left to lose?

I plan on increasing my cardio and changing up WHAT i eat, as well as my portions.. not so much my calories. My calories right now are around 1500 and that works for me being 5'5" (and a half!) and 159 pounds (I started here at MFP at 246 pounds on June 28th 2012)

My calories have jumped around from 1200 to 1600 to 1500 to 1300 to 1500, depending on when i was exercising. MAINLY, i controlled my calories, MAJORLY increased my water intake, cardio was a big helper when i was having a plateau and when i just needed some extra energy. Also when I crave something.. I have it! If not, i tend to binge! I also have 2 pieces of chocolate every night, because i love me some chocolate! LOL! The best i have found for the calories are either these: (one bar) http://www.skinnycow.com/products/detail.aspx?id=31 or these: (i have two of these in milk chocolate!) http://www.hersheys.com/simplepleasures/products.aspx

I also keep bags of apples, lots of fresh veggies & other healthy snacks available for "munchies"

I hope these things help you also, and I BELIEVE IN YOU!!! Good luck! We got this!!! :flowerforyou:

I lost 26 pounds. I gave myself 1450 calories a day and joined a gym. It took me about nine months with the lower calories and combining strength training plus cardio. I lost about a half pound a week and sometimes I plateaued. I wasn't worried about how long it took, just that I was either staying the same (not my favorite) or going down. I filled out my diary every day, made MFP friends who were helpful.

I may stop counting eventually, but not right now. I had a couple of crises that came up and I tend to under eat in crisis - not good.

I'm pretty good right now.

I've lost 24 lbs in the last 4 months (34 lbs total in the past 2 years).

What i did:

1. Track calories in and calories out (MFP and Fitbit). I have a food scale and i use it.
2. Hydraulic resistance training 3 times a week (Curves).
3. Intermittent fasting (8 hr feeding window) and also make sure i get a solid 8 hrs of sleep every night in a fasted state.
4. Gluten-free because of my hypothyroidism and to improve iron absorption (chronic anemia from blood loss).

That's basically it. No magic tricks, i just had to put the effort in.

As one who has tried every diet under the sun and got all the weight back plus some, I will now tell you about my journey on the 5:2 diet. It is very, very popular in the UK at the moment since Dr Michael Mosley made a TV programme about it, which was aired last August. You do not actually fast for 2 days as another person has posted, you restrict your calories to 500 a day for a woman and 600 for a man, then on the other 5 days you eat normally without bingeing on crap food. It is the only diet that I have ever been able to maintain and it works - for me and a whole lot of other people. On your so called "fast days" you know you will be eating normally tomorrow. There are two 5:2 diet groups on here that can give support and also if you Google Michael Mosley Fast Diet you will find all you need to know.

I have been on it since March 2013 and have lost 22lb averaging out at about a pound a week, this includes two holidays where I did not restrict my calories at all.