What has helped you lose weight?

To the OP

Fill your profile out completely (goals, inspiration etc)
Log all of your food (it's best before you eat it)
Like someone else said get the phone app with scan feature
Make sure your diary is open at least to your friends
Log in everyday
Walk, jog, run whatever you are capable of 30-50 minutes a day 5 days a week
Eat a bunch of veggies each day
Drink lots of water
Make friends with other's on MFP
Add me as friend if you like

Don't give up.

If you make a major change to your workout plan or have recently upped or lowered your calorie goal, give it at least a month to let your body adjust to it before you decide it's a failure.

Weight loss is not linear. That's probably the most important thing. There will be fluctuations upward due to water retention for a whole bunch of different reasons - if you're on target with eating/working out, you have to learn to ignore those or else only weigh-in weekly or even monthly.

Best of luck to you!

the main thing that helped me lose 70 pounds was my bike ,that and not giving up any of the foods i liked only eating them in moderation ,since joining mfp and logging my foods i found it easy to stick to my calorie goals
good luck and dont give up

I'm a newb here, but so far have lost 9.4lbs which is actually more then what I was shooting for! Part of it was getting sick and water loss. But I've been keeping it off, so I'll take it.

For ME, it's a lifestyle change. Not a diet. I have to live with my choices because my life depends on it. So I am cutting in areas some of the regulars will tell you not to. I have almost completely cut fast food (I have high cholesterol). I've had it 2x in the last 3 weeks and was very responsible with my choices, as responsible as you can be anyways! I've cut pop...I've had it since I started this journey and found it to be too sweet for my liking anymore. It's amazing how your tastes adjust. I no longer need the sweets. IF I get a craving for sweet, I'll typically have fruit or a homemade frozen yogurt. I need to watch my sugar intake, but at this point, until my doc says I can't have fruit, then I'm eating it!! My sugar isn't that bad. I've cut out fried foods almost completely. I think I've had something that was fried 1x and that was a kiddy fry from McD's. I eat fresh food as much as possible and try to avoid packaged foods. I cut way back on dairy. I'm drinking at least 60oz of water a day. I weigh ALL my food now! I log all my meals now. And, I'm getting my butt of the couch and walking 2.2mi a day, minimum. Right now, the weight is falling off. I know that it will slow down and I'm OK with that. I've got a long way to go.

Bottom line, find out how many calories your body needs and stay under your limit. And get your butt moving! LOL

My advice would be dont think about anything in a negative way.

You CAN have anything you want, in moderation. Ive only been at this for about 2 months, but have lost ~8lb in that time (im only aiming for about 16lb so im halfway there). And in that time, i've had mcdonalds, eaten out at pubs, gone for fancy meals with family for celebrations, eaten birthday cake etc etc.

Counting the calories, before you head out, is the best thing ever for me. If I fancy pizza, i input it, then I know how many calories I have left to play with.

I was never very active or sporty, but I made exercise an important part of my day too. I've made some changes in my schedule that made going to the gym more accessible and less of a chore/out of the way, i.e I take my work out clothes with me to uni, and go on the way home.

Everyone is different, what works for us may not work for you.

But being positive about things helps. Don't give yourself restrictions too much, this will cause cravings. And make exercise a part of your daily routine so it doesn't seem like a chore or extra hassle. Eventually, it will become second nature to walk to town instead of driving, or getting off the bus 2 stops earlier, or going for a pre-dinner bike ride around the town. What ever does it for you.

You CAN do it.

Best of Luck on your journey!

I have to say tracking and the forums I find very helpful, but once I start to lose that is motivating! But, I find if I dont track it throws me off. I wish you the best of luck, you will do great#

Definitely exercising. Keeps me focused and encourages me to make wiser food choices. Also not looking at life as a diet, but just eating for the feel good of my soul!

My best advice would be that "diets do not work".

Vegan gluten free diet works awesome. Amazing how much crappy food that rules out. I 'm down 15 pounds in 3 months. I used to be 195 a year and a half ago, but now I'm at 165. I feel way way better.

Calorie deficit and lifting HEAVY weights.

Break the 70 pounds down into smaller goals. 10 or 15 pounds at a time. A smaller number seems more attainable at the beginning and once you hit that, you want to keep going to the next goal

Don't cut out any of the foods that you love, just eat less of them less often. The minute I say I can't have something, I wanted it more and would binge on it.

Don't beat yourself up for a bad meal, bad day or bad week, just get back on track and keep going.

I started this in January, not a very active social participant on this site. Today is a big milestone for me so I will share. I just reached my final goal, started at 205, and my ideal target weight is 175 so had 30 lbs to lose. There are 2 things that helped me most with mfp, being completely honest with logging accurately (I bought a food scale) and I started running. Originally I was only able to run about a half mile without stopping, now I am running 20-30 miles/week. Map my Run is another great tool for calorie tracking with running, it also works for walks. You can track your miles and pace, and it will tell you calories burned. Just don't eat back all of your exercise calories every day. This was the magic bullet for me. Now onto maintenance mode beginning today. There are so many great stories here, just keep with it, look for inspiration, and don't let anyone get you down.

I would try to stay away from a lot of carbs after lunch. This has helped me tremendously. Get your carbs early in the day to give you energy for work, working out, etc.