Have you lost over 50 pounds? I need tips.

You don't need to be a pro, you just need to keep going. For me, the tedium is the hardest part.

I'll narrow it down to a few things:

1. Keep your diary every day even if it is a bad day and you are overeating. It is important to be able to identify patterns.

2. Eat enough. If your daily calorie limit is 1200, eat them. Don't come up short and think you are doing yourself favors. If you are hungry all of the time, you will overeat.

3. I eat every 3 hours while I'm awake whether I'm hungry or not. I try to avoid actually getting hungry. My between meal snacks are usually about 100 calories each.

4. Drink lots of water. It makes you feel better and help keeps you satisfied. Aim for 8 or more glasses a day.

5. I don't buy into the "cheat day" thing. No foods are off limits, but if you pig out at a meal and eat your daily calories, chill out for the rest of the day. We all have foods we want to eat, but if I'm going to eat 800 calories in a burger you best believe the rest of my meals that day will be tiny. One splurge doesn't mean eat like crazy until the next day.

6. Don't beat yourself up when you screw up (and you will). Start again immediately.

7. Get some exercise, even if it is just walking. Extra calories burned means extra food you can eat.

I'm down 68 lbs in the past year, 38 since joining MFP. Above all else, above the tricks, tips, techniques, and conflicting advice... adherence is the most important thing. Pick a plan that feels like it will work for you, try it out for a month or two, and decide if it is delivering the results you want. Then just stick to that plan, adjusting your intake for weight lost as you go. Stick to the plan.

Hi, I am 5'4" and I too almost tipped the 200 pound mark. The greatest contributors to my 87 pound weight loss was:

1. Finding the right high protein, low calorie food for me
2. Sticking to the same foods (little deviation)
3. Logging my food every day
4. Cutting out sugar (I *WAS* a diabetic)
5. Walking (I walk 1-3 miles a day)
6. Eating under my allotted calories
7. Don't ever give up!

I reached my goal over a year ago and have been able to maintain, with NO weight gain.

My coworkers say "I am not living" because I do not as they say "enjoy" my food... I no longer eat out much and NEVER eat fast foods (McDonalds, Burger King etc...) but I totally disagree! I so enjoy wearing a size 0 (instead of 18) and would rather spend my time trying on new things v.s. stuffing my face with pizza.

P.S. There are many restaurants that serve healthy alternatives to that burger. Consider Rubio's, Del Taco, Chilis (nearly any Mexican food place will offer high protein low to moderate calorie alternatives) and of course Subway. Subway is my "go to choice" when traveling... you can find one anywhere and the right 6" sub can be less than 300 calories.

Great success on your journey!

Well I started off at about 200lbs and so far I've lost about 22 kilos which is about...

OH SO CLOSE I'LL COME BACK TO THIS THREAD IN A FEW WEEKS.

But really, the main thing that I think has helped me is to avoid drinking sugar, it's just sweetness that lasts for a few seconds, skyrockets me over my sugar for the day and doesn't actually do much more than that????????
BUT YEAH eat whatever you want as long as it's under your macros????
(Though MFP judges protein rly low so you can have more protein I guess???)

You have taken the first positive step!

I’m 5’4 and I started at 245 lbs. As of today, I’m 53 lbs down. Each person’s body is different and will react different to different changes. For me, personally, I cut back on carbs, bad carbs like like bread, pasta and rice. I still have fruits.

I then started exercising. For my body and my slow metabolism, I exercise 4-5 times a week for 30 minutes at a time. I just power walk on the treadmill. Every once in a while, I’ll throw a little jog in to get the heart pumping but for the most part, it’s all about power walking. I also lift a little but not to much.

It’s a lifestyle change. I still have another 50 lbs to lose and my motivation is that I can NOW keep up with my crazy 9 year old boy. Find your own personal motivation and you will succeed.

I started exactly where you are.
My experience - I hated HAAAAATED exercise. So I didn't exercise. I lost my first 20lbs just by following MFP's guidelines for calories.
That's it.

Then, after I hit that 20, I started walking, adding those calories and eating at LEAST half.

Then, in January, I was down 35lbs, and decided to add in a crazy-*kitten* fitness/taekwondo class to the mix (and I still go). Again, adding and eating at LEAST half of those calories.

At one point, before Christmas, I was at around 1200 calories, and I didn't like it. So I changed my goal at that point to 1 pound per week. Then I started reading into TDEE and all that fun stuff. Now I'm eating 2000 calories. I haven't lost much SCALE weight in the last while, but the fat that I've lost (inches) is amazing!

Stick to this, take it one day at time, log everything, every day, and only weigh once a week!!
You can and WILL do this!!!
(you can also send a friend request, if you'd like!)

In addition to what others have said that worked for me. I had two different things going on in my head 1) lose weight as quickly as I could (which means eating little) and 2) I'm hungry and want to eat (which means not losing weight as quickly). So at each weight level, basically every five pounds lost, I calculated both of those with my fitness pal. So for an example, lets say to lose 2 lbs a week I need to eat 1500 calories and to lose 1 lb a week I need to eat 1700 calories. I set MFP to 1 lb a week, so if I eat that much I'm still losing. Then I try really hard to stay under 1500 calories, even doing some brisk walking or riding on the exercise bike to stay under that 1500, however if I go up to 1700 on a given day or certainly on my birthday or at a friend's wedding, then I'm still losing. Some people do it with what they need to eat to lose versus what they need to maintain. That works too, especially if you're near the end goal, but it's really good to know an upper limit that you just can't go over, but you can go to, on important days. At least it was for me.

Another thing I use a lot is distraction. Find things that you can do that stop you thinking about how hungry you are when you're hungry, especially when you shouldn't be. After I eat lunch every day and sometimes in the evening I seem to want to reach for the next serving of food. I just ate, yet I'm hungry. If I can take a walk then, or do something else, that takes me physically or mentally away from where the food is for even 15 minutes, I can get through that period successfully.

Don't put yourself in a position of making food choices when you're hungry. My work cafeteria has a lot of bad choices and foods that I like, but don't really want to eat when I'm thinking clearly. I know what they are serving each day and in the beginning of the week decide what I want to eat from there during the week. I set that it my mind, "Today I'm having beef and vegetable soup" and I go and get it and leave. I ignore the Fritos, ignore the meatloaf, etc and focus on what I had decided that I was going to eat that day because I both like it and it fits within my calories. Ditto, if I'm starving at the end of the day and stop at the supermarket either I set in my mind what I'm stopping for and only get that and nothing else, or I eat something before I leave work, then browse the supermarket. I keep a stash of food that I'm okay with and are healthy but I don't love and is shelf stable at my desk at work.

Hey Jessica!

Here is what helped me lose the first 100 pounds...



Exercise - Aim for a reasonable amount of exercise every day. If you don't think you have the time now... how much of that will come off the end of your life. Seriously... pay now or pay later. To ensure I kept it up and to eliminate excuses, I put my treadmill in front of the TV as a reminder.

Drinks - A leading source of empty calories. I switched to drinking water instead of coffee or pop. No one ever got fat drinking water, but when your extra large double double coffee has 300 calories... what do you suppose happens? Imagine if you drink 3-4 cups a day? Water also helps satisfy thirst which the body sometimes mistakes for hunger. Try drinking a small 5 oz. juice cup full every hour or so. It does wonders for the complexion, keeps you regular and helps with mental alertness.

Food - Portion control. No one ever told me how much to eat. I thought the portion they gave you in a restaraunt was to be consumed right there. A typical plate should be 50% vegetables, 25 % starches, and your serving of meat should be about the size of a deck of cards. You might even consider using a smaller plate. Know too that restaraunt meals often contain 2-3 times your recommended calories for a meal. Ask for a takeout container when you sit down and divide your meal before you eat it.

Hidden Calories - Just because somethings Low Fat or Low Calorie doesn't mean there aren't hidden calories or healthier alternatives (i.e. instead of salad dressing, I often use low sodium salsa.) Reading the label is always good advise.

Exercise - People are meant to move. No one ever prepares us for the day school ends and we no longer have recess or gym class. We need to keep moving. Only 15% of the Canadian population ever achieves the recommended amount of exercise. I doubt the numbers are much different in the US. Aim for a manageable 30 minutes of exercise per day... even going for a walk will help. In my case I chose to run and walk. By running and walking 30 minutes a day, I engaged the largest muscles in the human body (the quads) and turned them into fat burning engines.

Set reasonable and attainable goals and reward yourself with a non food based reward. Short term might be a new pair of shoes after 30 days of exercise or losing 20 pounds. A medium term goal would be a trip to the salon. Long term... maybe a vacation? IN my case, my long term reward was a trip to Honolulu to run a marathon. I achieved that reward 11 months after I started.

Keep it manageable. You took years to get to where you are. Expect it will take some time to get where you want to be. Make sure you take time to celebrate the little victories along the way!

My last thought is a challenge. I call it 5:30. For the next month try this... Eat a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily AND try for 30 minutes of exercise daily. See how you feel in 30 days.

I would be more than happy to offer you advice or support. I know how very hard it can be. Please feel free to add me as a friend.

Best Wishes!

Everything you need to know right here
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

THIS^^^^

and DON'T GIVE UP!!! I know that sounds cliché BUT it works!!!

**I started out with just diet and no workouts, but have since progressed to two workouts a day! One at lunch then when I get home! Now I couldn't imagine my day without it!!

**Make sure you're eating enough of the RIGHT things! Fresh Veggies are low in calories and fill you up fast!!! Don't deprive yourself of anything! it will just make you binge more later! Just be aware of portion size and moderation!! And LOG EVERYTHING even on bad days!!

**Drink as much water as you can! Helps with the hunger I find.

You can do this!! once you find out what works for you stick with it!! you'll have bad days, weeks where the scale doesn't move and temptations... just don't give up!!

I’m always here to give support when i can if you want to add me Good luck! you got this!

I've lost 70 lbs since January of this year. I haven't cut anything out of my diet except for soda and honestly, that was unintentional at first, I never went into this thinking I'd cut it out but it just wasn't something I wanted to spend calories on so it quickly disappeared from my diet. I exercise at least 3 times a week. I intend to keep my exercise routine once I reach goal.

So much great advice. Just wanted to BUMP this to read for myself later.
Dont give up though. Slow and steady is def the way to go.