What's helped you to be successful thus far?

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  • STrooper
    STrooper Posts: 659 Member
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    Being public and accountable with a supportive group of people.

    There are lots of people who can get a certain distance on their own. I certainly made progress on weight loss on my own. But when I got involved in a walking group and made the public commitment to walk 1 million steps in a 60 day period.

    Same thing held true when I began training for my first marathon. Once I signed up and made that public, the support from other people going through similar training helped a lot.

    The other thing that helped was being accurate in logging food and activity.

    I got to 190 through some small alterations in food intake and a lot of physical activity. And even when my weight plateaued for a year, my body was still changing and shrinking from fat loss and reshaping due to muscle mass. To take down the last 20 pounds took a step change in activity level (10%) and tracking food.

    I've been in weight maintenance since Thanksgiving 2012. Still continue to log but more out of habit than anything else.
  • gcbma
    gcbma Posts: 112 Member
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    * plan meals, and keep garbage you love out of the house!
    * a good support system (family, friends, coworkers)
    * when I'm frustrated with my plateau, remember it doesn't last forever
    * be honest about what you're eating, and don't drink your calories!
    * I'm all about proving myself wrong. I AM capable of losing weight and looking good.
  • Noiram55
    Noiram55 Posts: 43
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    I found your post really inspiring. Thanks. ????
  • FabulouslyMade
    FabulouslyMade Posts: 156
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    - big picture thinking. to really conceptualize what it means to change your "lifestyle" you need to see big picture. when you see the bigger picture then you understand that you are going to have good days and bad days and good weeks and bad weeks...you aren't going to be 100% perfect all of the time. You are going to miss workouts and you are going to have indulgences (holidays, birthdays, random neighborhood BBQs, etc). When you see big picture, you are able to just move on from these things because you realize that they are insignificant in the entirety of your life and thus your "lifestyle"...they are mere blips and bumps. When someone can't see big picture they get caught up in this minutia of day to day and it is debilitating and suddenly missing a workout or something derails everything.

    - logging consistently and honestly

    - maintaining a reasonable deficit and not worrying about speed or losing weight fast. It is tempting to try to lose as fast as possible, but most often, those kind of deficits aren't sustainable over the long term. You have to understand that it is a long haul so you need to maintain a sustainable calorie deficit.

    - focusing on the process and focusing on my nutrition and fitness rather than putting all of my stock into some arbitrary number on the scale. Focusing on that process allowed me to learn proper portion, moderation, proper nutrition, and helped to cultivate a healthy relationship between myself, food, and fitness. The next thing I knew, 9 months had flown by and I was down 40 Lbs and more fit and healthier than I have been since I was in my early 20s.


    Focusing on the big picture is one I need to do big time. Lots of great points. Thank you
  • FabulouslyMade
    FabulouslyMade Posts: 156
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    Being public and accountable with a supportive group of people.

    There are lots of people who can get a certain distance on their own. I certainly made progress on weight loss on my own. But when I got involved in a walking group and made the public commitment to walk 1 million steps in a 60 day period.

    Same thing held true when I began training for my first marathon. Once I signed up and made that public, the support from other people going through similar training helped a lot.

    The other thing that helped was being accurate in logging food and activity.

    I got to 190 through some small alterations in food intake and a lot of physical activity. And even when my weight plateaued for a year, my body was still changing and shrinking from fat loss and reshaping due to muscle mass. To take down the last 20 pounds took a step change in activity level (10%) and tracking food.

    I've been in weight maintenance since Thanksgiving 2012. Still continue to log but more out of habit than anything else.


    That's awesome for you maintaining. Accountability is a big one. I have a weight loss group I will start meeting with weekly and that will definitely help out. Thanks!
  • FabulouslyMade
    FabulouslyMade Posts: 156
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    * plan meals, and keep garbage you love out of the house!
    * a good support system (family, friends, coworkers)
    * when I'm frustrated with my plateau, remember it doesn't last forever
    * be honest about what you're eating, and don't drink your calories!
    * I'm all about proving myself wrong. I AM capable of losing weight and looking good.


    I love this! Thanks
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
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    The most important thing to focus on is building solid habits. Motivation comes and goes. Excitement about losing a few pounds will pale in the days when you don't lose anything.

    Eat at a healthy calorie deficit.
    Start doing something you enjoy and do it consistently.
    Weigh and measure every bite of your food and then log every bite.
    Never quit. No matter how tired or frustrated you are - don't quit

    This is what I would have said. Do these things consistently, and you will succeed.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
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    There are no magic beans to weight loss, just keep logging and eat a deficit.

    Also be accountable for yourself because no one else should and will.
  • herheighness
    herheighness Posts: 7
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    My biggest tip is to not obsess about good or bad, just keep plugging along. Moving more and eating less. Don't sweat the small stuff. If I can do it, so can anybody else!
  • reginachapman35
    reginachapman35 Posts: 16 Member
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    So far I've been successful because I do not stress myself out when I go way over my calories. I do eat frozen meals, but I also cook my own food, eat more fruit and vegetables, and exercise. Also, I don't deprive myself. If I want to eat a hot dog or fried chicken, I do it. Plus I've been very patient with my weight loss. I don't put pressure on myself to lose a certain amount per month.
  • wayander
    wayander Posts: 21 Member
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    Myfitnesspal was one thing that kept me losing wieght.

    keeping track of everything i eat, and then having people say well done, was the encouragement i needed.

    learning to deal with my hunger when i ran out of calories for the day.

    if anyone wants to add me as friend please do.
  • FabulouslyMade
    FabulouslyMade Posts: 156
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    Thanks everyone!
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    So far I've been successful because I do not stress myself out when I go way over my calories. I do eat frozen meals, but I also cook my own food, eat more fruit and vegetables, and exercise. Also, I don't deprive myself. If I want to eat a hot dog or fried chicken, I do it. Plus I've been very patient with my weight loss. I don't put pressure on myself to lose a certain amount per month.

    This.

    I try to only eat when I am hungry and stop when I am full, which took a while to get used to as I'd managed to override my hunger/fullness sensations over the years (I eat terribly when I'm revising for exams or I'm bored/stressed at work). Even if this means being under or over the calorie allowance.

    I read something a while ago that helped - imagine being in a cafe with some friends and spotting a lush baked cheesecake; you are hungry and that cake has your name on it. But, you can't just eat a slice of cheesecake for lunch, can you? You have to eat a 'proper' lunch, because your friends are having something else and it's just not healthy to eat nowt but cheesecake, is it? So you order a salad or sandwich, dutifully munching through it with only the cake in mind and you don't enjoy the meal because it's not what you want. Sadly, you don't enjoy the cheesecake afterwards, because you are full before you even start eating it. So you end up eating twice as much food as you planned and don't enjoy any of it as much.

    Nowadays I just eat the cake :wink:

    And patience, yes. It's taken me 18 months to get this far and I anticipate that it'll take another 12 to finish. At the start, I had almost 50% of my body weight to get rid of and I did not want to do this quickly as it would be unhealthy and unsustainable.

    I exercise a lot, eat when hungry and try not to when I'm full. I give myself some slack and eat a bit of what I like often.
  • bobbijodmb
    bobbijodmb Posts: 463 Member
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    The things that helped me the most:
    *Making small changes over time, so I never felt 'deprived'
    *Paying attention to everything I eat and aware of calories
    *Stopped going to fast food and stopped eating a lot of fried food
    *Became very active
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Trying new healthy recipes and still eating treats in Moderation. Finding exercise i like, volleyball is my fave.

    I think when people hear 'trying to lose weight' we cringe. But if you find healthy food and exercise you enjoy, it doesn't have to be so hard.

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