5'6 ladies who've lost over 50 lbs?

I'm 5'6", started at 221 and am currently at 149. I'll be back later....silly work is making me work right as I saw this message, but wanted to remember to come back to it. So, to be continued...

I know u wanted 5 6 ppl but I'm 5'5'' and and I also am intrigued with ppl around my starting weight and height so see how their progress was... So even tho I'm not the height ur looking for we may have a bit in a common... My start weight was 238 and I finally broke out of the 90's today (190's) lol as of this morning I was at 189.2!!! Lost about 3.1 lbs this week.. I walk atleast 3 miles a day since it's been nice out and I have a smoothie for breakfast and dinner and basically have my dinner at lunch and counting my cals of course Which def works for me !!! This was Something new I'm trying as far as my diet! Needed a boost!! I used to be in the gym all the time which is how I lost my weight and counting my cals. the last couple months I had been over it and I wasn't doing much and def not counting my cals! Honestly I still feel big! Hate my hips thighs never had them before then I got pregnant lol! Idk how long it will be till I'm comfortable in my skin again but the weight I lost took 2 years it's slow but there were bumps in the road and also I can I haven't gained any of it back even when I was feeling down on myself! In the end it will pay off and that 140 is looking mighty nice! I wanna be 138 just to say I lost 100 lbs lol!!

First off, congrats on your progress thus far

I forgot how to post pics, but there is one on my profile page. I weighed about 170 throughout high school, so I was a little on the thick side, but not super overweight. When I got to be about 19, I started piling on the weight. By 21, I was 225. I stayed that way for a good while, probably until I was about 24. To be honest, I think I lost my first couple of pounds just from being a poor college kid that could not afford to eat out a lot, as I had moved out on my own. But the real difference came when I stopped drinking soda. I lost a noticeable 10 lbs. I started walking around more on campus and sometimes walking around the neighborhood and soon I got to 200. I stayed at 200-195 until I was about 26 and I started really thinking about not eating so much fast food and in large quantities. I started a vegetarian way of eating. I also started trying to workout at least 2 times a week. I did that starting the summer of '12. Just a subtle change, really. I still ate cheese pizza, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, etc. I did implement more veggies though. By summer of 2013 I was down to 186ish. I implemented more exercise but still ate pretty badly. Sweets were my weakness. I still ate pizza often. I got to about 175 with the extra exercise. I started logging a little more often, but I was doing the 1200 cal, super high carb diet that My Fitness Pal gave me.

Winter of 2013, more specifically around Christmas, I started following random people that had great weight loss success on Instagram. There I learned about IIFYM (If it fits your macros) and learning about TDEE (how many cals my body expends on its own if I were to lay in bed all day). I started eating meat for protein again, lowered my carbs and practically vanished any white carbs. Upped my fiber to the recommended 30-40 g a day and upped my fat. Since then I have gotten down to 161. During Easter weekend, I slipped up an awful lot and haven't exercised much so I am back at 165. But that's pretty much my story. I am hoping to get to 155 before I get pregnant, so if I gain the expected 25, I will be at a weight that I believe I can still work with and not feel overwhelmed again.

One thing I do find helpful is meal planning the day before. I spend about 20 minutes a night before bed logging what I expect to eat the next day. I make sure it fits my cals, protein, fat, and carbs. I try not to stray from it too much.

I am 5'6. Started in January at 235 and today weighed in at 194! I am on a low carb and 1500 calorie diet.

I'm 5.5 and am also intereated in all these amazing stories! I gave birth to a surrogate baby for my Aunt on Feb 5th at 248lbs.i am now 208. I'm looking to get to 150 lbs!

That's great thanks for sharing

Alright, I'm back!

Let's see. As I said before, I am 5'6" and started at 221 lbs. I originally set my goal back in January 2013. I was really inconsistent and gained/lost the same 15 lbs. or so. In June, I found my motivation by having my heart completely broken. I stopped eating and unhealthily lost about 12 lbs. Once I started eating again, I managed to keep it off and got under 200 by early July. I joined MFP in early September and weighed 198 at that time. This is when I really got serious about weight loss. I cut out fast food, eating out, and alcohol for the most part. Between September and March, I logged my food everyday and gradually increased from about 1000 to 1500 calories. I did a couple of 30-day fitness challenges in the beginning to try and get myself to exercise more (I have a desk job and was otherwise pretty sedentary). In January, I started going to a cardio, circuit, and strength fitness class twice weekly. I hit my original goal weight of 154 on 3/14/14.

At this point, I weigh 149 and am no longer as focused on weight loss. I am in my 5th week of training for a half marathon. I am still attending my twice weekly fitness class and run four times a week on top of that. I'll be adding a 5th running day in a couple of weeks. My calories are set around 1700, but I may eat 2000-2500 on running days. I am still not entirely happy with how I look (namely, my stomach), but I am hoping that in time, with my increased exercise, I will feel better about my body.

(I have a few pictures in my profile, but haven't been super consistent in documenting progress)

First off, congrats on your progress thus far

I forgot how to post pics, but there is one on my profile page. I weighed about 170 throughout high school, so I was a little on the thick side, but not super overweight. When I got to be about 19, I started piling on the weight. By 21, I was 225. I stayed that way for a good while, probably until I was about 24. To be honest, I think I lost my first couple of pounds just from being a poor college kid that could not afford to eat out a lot, as I had moved out on my own. But the real difference came when I stopped drinking soda. I lost a noticeable 10 lbs. I started walking around more on campus and sometimes walking around the neighborhood and soon I got to 200. I stayed at 200-195 until I was about 26 and I started really thinking about not eating so much fast food and in large quantities. I started a vegetarian way of eating. I also started trying to workout at least 2 times a week. I did that starting the summer of '12. Just a subtle change, really. I still ate cheese pizza, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, etc. I did implement more veggies though. By summer of 2013 I was down to 186ish. I implemented more exercise but still ate pretty badly. Sweets were my weakness. I still ate pizza often. I got to about 175 with the extra exercise. I started logging a little more often, but I was doing the 1200 cal, super high carb diet that My Fitness Pal gave me.

Winter of 2013, more specifically around Christmas, I started following random people that had great weight loss success on Instagram. There I learned about IIFYM (If it fits your macros) and learning about TDEE (how many cals my body expends on its own if I were to lay in bed all day). I started eating meat for protein again, lowered my carbs and practically vanished any white carbs. Upped my fiber to the recommended 30-40 g a day and upped my fat. Since then I have gotten down to 161. During Easter weekend, I slipped up an awful lot and haven't exercised much so I am back at 165. But that's pretty much my story. I am hoping to get to 155 before I get pregnant, so if I gain the expected 25, I will be at a weight that I believe I can still work with and not feel overwhelmed again.

One thing I do find helpful is meal planning the day before. I spend about 20 minutes a night before bed logging what I expect to eat the next day. I make sure it fits my cals, protein, fat, and carbs. I try not to stray from it too much.

Thank you for your story congratulations on your success.
I would like to learn more about TDEE and IIFYM.... Where would you suggest I look at/read to learn more?

I have actually learned a bit by searching around here. But to calculate a basic idea of what you'll need, I would try http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

There you can answer info about your height, weight, activity level. Now the only flaws I have come across so far is that it suggests 1 g protein per lb of your weight. When I started at 170, that was a lot of protein! I don't meet that goal. I also lowered my carbs a bit because I tend to gain lots of water weight when I eat a lot of carbs (with fruit/veggies being an exception). Definitely play around with the numbers, but keep the same basic idea. This is the girl I follow on Instagram that first got me interested. She gives an explanation of how to use the site and plug in numbers to My Fitness Pal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S-drOj-xAk

I'm 5'7 started around 240 and I'm 154 today progress picks in my profile, special things I did to loose the weight were, calculating my BMR AND TDEE and eating to that then eating Some exercise caLs back , allowing a cheat day every now and then , exercising six days a week , I have completed INSNANITY at my heaviest dear lord....p90x .....turbo fire.... and now doing chalean extreme turbo hybrid . I try to mix up strength and cardio. My first goal is 150, then I will probably go to 140-145 so I have some wiggle room on maintenance be consistent and count calories and you WILL loose weight !

That's awesome! Nice progress already!

I'm 5'6". I started at 222. I'm at 166 now. I went from a tight size 18 to a comfortable size 10. I still want to lose a little bit more, but I can't tell you how much better I feel. I used to feel tired and sore all the time. Now I am so much more energetic. I actually feel younger. I'm 29 and is nice to feel like it.

I have pics on my profile. Feel free to add me.

My advice: losing weight is hard!! So if you're struggling then you know you're doing it right. Just keep being consistent. It took me about a year to lose 55 pounds. And that was a year ago for me. I've been maintaining this past year.

Exercise is so important. Start small. Did the first 3 months I just walked everyday for like 20 min to an hour. Anything I could fit in. Then I worked my way up to other exercises. Now I take classes at my gym.

You can do it!

I'm 5'6 and I've lost 64 lbs. since Nov. 2013. My SW was 220 and my CW is 156. I don't have pictures yet, I'm still a work in progress.
I started with a walking/running program until I could reach a full 30 minutes of running on my treadmill. I can now run 6 miles on the local paved trail. I try to log my food every day and stay within my calories. I work out at home at least 6 days/week. A gym membership isn't an option for me, so I run, bike, hike, walk, whatever I can find time for and most importantly that I enjoy. I'm hoping to start a body weight lifting program here soon, but I'm procrastinating. :ohwell:

I love this thread, I'm in the same boat. 5'6, SW 242 lbs, CW 238 lbs. I actually don't know what I should do with my goal weight. 145 lbs is where I ultimately want to be, but I thought it might be better to break it up a little so it doesn't seem so far off; I set my GW to 180 lbs instead and was going to change it once I reached that milestone. Anyone else do something similar?