People who have had success through fitness pal

I haven't reached my goal yet, but I'll chime in.

In the beginning I did zero exercise. I wanted my nutrition to become second nature to me. I didn't want to struggle with eating healthier and counting calories PLUS an exercise routine.

I set my limit at 1950 calories, and began my journey. I weighed EVERYTHING, gave up drinking anything that wasn't water, tea, or protein powder shakes, and incorporated healthier options without giving up my snacks.

I did this for 18 weeks. Lost 78 pounds in this time period I do believe, and then I started to incorporate weight training and cardio into my day.

At first, I did a full body weight training workout three times a week, with 15 minutes on the elliptical twice a week. Once that became mundane I began doing a upper/lower split 4 times a week, with the elliptical 25 minutes threee times a week. Then when I got to around 90 pounds lost I decided I was going to run a half-marathon in September so I began training for that.

I'm also a competitive powerlifter, so I do heavy compound exercises once weekly. So for example, Mondays I'll incorporate deadlifts into my routine for 8 sets, Tuesday I'll do bench press for 8, and Wednesday or Thursday I'll do squats for 8. I never do these more than once a week to allow my body to recover after putting such a large load on it.

So currently, my exercise routine is a 4 day upper/lower split. I have one dedicated leg day, with the other leg day being dedicated as well, but I'll also throw in some quick multi-joint compound exercises for my upper body just to get the blood flowing. I'll run 45-60 minutes 5 days a week, increasing every week.

Biggest thing you need to remember is not how many sets or reps you do, not what kind of exercises you do, not how you messed up by eating that bowl of ice cream, NO NO NO... the biggest thing is 'consistency'. Any amount of movement and any positive fluctuation in your nutrition is going to yield results in the long run. Establish a routine (both nutritional and physical) that you can maintain for the rest of your life!

Good luck!

I lost weight with diet alone. Then I got to goal weight and was unhappy with how I looked. Now I lift at least 3 days per week. I do some stretching/mobility most days, and I walk for cardio (I used to run but I'm dealing with chronic illness so for right now it's a NOPENOPENOPE).

I'd recommend that you find some kind of exercise that you enjoy. It's helped me tremendously with maintenance, because once you get to your goal weight it can be hard to stay on track if you're just getting on the scale and hoping to see no change at all. Exercise allows for non-weight-based goals so you still have something toward which to strive.

That said, it's not necessary for weight loss. Follow those links _gypsyrunner_ posted.

I've lost over 60lbs but my overall goal was to get fitter so exercise came into that big time.

Currently my weight loss has stalled because I'm training for half marathons but as I'm getting fitter I'm still hitting my goals.

Just thought it would be a constant weight loss? Am I eating too few calories?

It definitely will not be constant. Even in maintenance I see fluctuations of up to 5 lbs. So you can be losing weight steadily but water retention and other factors can temporarily hide it.

Sit back and relax- you're in for the long haul It took me 11 months to lose 100 pounds, and my current weight is 218. You are smaller and can't lose as fast. It will likely take you 14-16 months to get to your goal weight. You need to figure out a long term plan you can live with, which will probably include a weekly cheat meal and a week long calorie nuetral "break" every few months

Exercise, even in small doses, is beneficial. Your body will make decisions based on the tasks you place on it. If you go on a severely calorically restricted diet and do no exercise your body will shed a higher percentage of muscle mass. the result will be flabby thighs and saggy arms. There are a lot of women weightlifting thread that demonstrate this. Some women have even gained weight and look leaner. But to answer your question, you don't have to do Insanity, P90x, or even "sweatin' to the oldies" every day to succeed. Go for slow and steady weight loss of about 1% of your body weight per week, eat a higher percentage of protein than MFP default recommends, and try to exercise a little. One weekly brief thirty minute session of intense weightlifting and one weekly session of sprints would be hugely beneficial. In addition, try to find some physical activity you enjoy, whatever it is, and do that a couple times a week.

I do fitness pal properly, weighing everything, logging everything that passes my lips, and I also started running again. 2-3 miles 2-3 times a week to start with and building up from there. I have lost 74lbs and ran my first marathon in May in 3hrs40mins. It's fair to say the running bug bit me!

I started on 1200 calories a day and now hit around 2000 on a non running day, and stuff my face as I like on a running day (I do about 8 miles now 2-3 times a week, so burn about 800 calories!)

As long as you do some sensible exercise and be honest with yourself on fitness pal, then you can't go wrong

It's just a matter of time then Be patient, and of course if you lose it too quickly its supposedly easier to put it back on!

No exercise, set for sedentary. Tracking everything by just knowing the food name in MFP made the difference. Website and the mobile apps means I can diary anywhere. I tried counting up calories years ago and it was just too stupid-boring to do all the lookups.

But as I lost weight now exercise does become more appealing and easier, so I bike more.

Inspiration matters a lot - I read a couple diet books that rang true to me. Diabetes runs in my family, so I have that to think about.

But MFP impact on my weight loss was HUGE.

I started out at 1650 calories pre-exercise calories, dropped to 1500 as I lost, and am now trying to find my maintenance "sweet spot." I hike, do power yoga, walk, garden pretty intensely (we grow a good percentage of our food), and have recently gotten back into bellydance, so I'm active. Basically I do some form of exercise most days, but some days it's yoga for 20 minutes--great for overall mental and physical health, not so much for calorie burning--and some days I'm hiking for a few hours and then coming home to spend a few hours in the garden. It took me from late December until last week to reach my goal, but since I didn't have a lot to lose, I was aiming for slow, steady and sustainable.

Not sure this is helpful in any way, but there you go--my experience.