Looking for others who have started at 250ish and trying to

ME ME ME ME......I started at 275---aiming to hit 155. I am on a program of prepackaged foods--so cannot help you out too much, but I love to exercise every day--ChaLEAN Extreme and TurboJam.

I've learned to love new foods and no longer need my old loves in my life - LOL!

Hey, you're talking to me! I started at 259 in March of 2010. Right now I'm at 160 and my ultimate goal is 150 so only 10lbs away. I've been overweight most of my life and the biggest change for me this time is the kinds of foods I'm eating not just "how much". I eat mostly whole, clean foods, lots of fruits and vegetables but I believe this is a lifetime change not just a diet so I do indulge in some "not so good for me" stuff on occasion too. (Got to have my chocolate once in a while.) Anyway filling up on fruits and veggies keeps me satisfied without being really hungry all the time and after almost a year of this, I FEEL great. I do excercise about 5-6 times a week but nothing radical. Just walking, bike riding, treadmill in the winter and just started working on run/walk and hoping to get to the 5k run level sometime this summer. Good luck on your journey. If I can do it, anyone can. And feel free to add me as a friend if you like.

Welcome to the journey!! I started out at 242 in May 2010, am currently 210, and my goal is 160. I viewed this journey as a lifestyle change vs. a diet.

I've changed up what I've eaten, without entirely cutting out the things I love. A lot of portion control and making better decisions. Some food items I've swapped out for healthier options (i.e., lower sugar ketchup). I generally eat about 1300-1400 net calories/day.

I exercise 5 or 6 times a week. I've used all the Beachbody programs. I started with P90X in May, ChaLEAN Extreme in September, tried Hip Hop Abs for a few weeks in January, and am currently using TurboFire. In March, I plan to start the ChaLEAN Extreme/TurboFire Hybrid.

The biggest thing I've noticed was during ChaLEAN Extreme, I was toning my muscles. While I lost 18 pounds on that program alone in three months, I lost over 23 inches because the lean muscle was replacing the fatty fat. That's a big reason why I'm going to add it back into my program in March!!

Good luck on your journey!! MFP is a great source for information, ideas, and support!!

I started at 305 and am down to just over 250 now, I've lost about 54-55 lbs (my official weigh ins are Mondays so hard to say right now).

My calories are right around 1400 and have been about that much since I started in late Oct. of 2010. I don't stay away from anything really. If I want something and I have calories for it, I eat it. However, I don't do that EVERYDAY. I drink protein shakes for breakfast a lot, and for my meals get in lean protein and veggies, fresh fruit. I don't eat too many carbs but when I do its whole grain bread, pastas, and rice or quinoa is really good. Snacks are normally low fat cheese, veggies, almonds, walnuts, etc. In the evenings I love sugar free jell-o and sugar free puddings. My diary is public so you can view it there, I've logged everyday since I started. I try to limit my soda to one diet soda a day and drink water aside from that.

ETA: As far as working out goes, I started with the first Power 90 program but only did two months b/c I was bored. Then I just stuck to the gym for a bit, now I just started ChaLean Extreme, this is my second week of that so I can't comment too much on results but pretty much anything you do is better than nothing and will get you results!

Hi!! My highest weight was about 260. I started actively working on my weight
at 239.8. I eat about 1500 calories a day. I try to burn at least 2500cals as per
my BodyBug. I try to eat under 190g of carbs a day. I also watch my salt. No
more than 2000mg of sodium and at least 1000mg potassium a day.
I aim to drink 90-120oz of water a day (so at least 10cups)

My weight now is around 207-209, it fluctuates when I do weight training
My goal weight is between 155 and 160. I'm 5'6.5

Good luck on your journey!!!

I started at 265 and right now my goal is 155, 150 at the lowest. I actually reached my goal in October 2009, then found out I was pregnant with my 8 month old the same week! :laugh: I have before and after pictures in my profile. The close up face shot was at 155, the week where I reached my goal and found out I was pregnant! :laugh:

I have been nursing a baby throughout my journey, first my three year old and currently my 8 month old son. So that might make my calories a bit higher, but I eat between 1550-2000 calories a day depending on my exercise. I am currently doing the 30 day shred 6 days a week, then walking/jogging 2-3 miles on the treadmill for a total workout of around an hour. My hubby and I are planning on starting P90x soon. My current eating plan is called God made/Man made. For two days I eat completely clean, whole foods. Then on day three I can eat less clean if I want, but I still stay within my calories.

What has helped me the most with being successful is to realize that I am human, and I will have days that I struggle and fall. I have to remember to pick myself up the next day, dust myself off and KEEP ON GOING!!!!!! This journey is a marathon, not a sprint!

Keep encouraged! You CAN do it!!!!! :bigsmile:

I was right around that weight and lost about 50-55 pounds. My goal is 160 so i feel good that half the battle is over....but we started doing biggest loser at my job. Your not gonna like what I have to say but I kept on a very strict 1200-1500 calorie diet...eating 3 balanced meals and 3 snacks a day.

Breakfast- Coffee and wake up wrap (egg and cheese)
Snack - granola bar of some sort or the quaker rices cakes (carmel is my favorite)
Lunch - Aronolds sandwich thins, turkey, cheese and mustard with sunchips and a pudding or yogart
snack - granola bar or quaker rice cakes
Dinner- salmon, vegatables and sometimes rice or potatoes
Snack - bryers smooth and creamy chocolate dipped bars

This is typical of what I would eat on any given day. Of course, I might have baked chicken instead of salmon or a poptart instead of my wrap. I started doing Zumba about 3 times a week mixed with an abs class twice a week. It is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do but I know the weight came off the way it was suppose to and I am doing it the right way. I have done about 1000 differrent fad diets and I always gained the weight back. It has been a year and I'm on my second round of biggest loser and I am down 14 pounds already. I did have to pick up some more cardio classes so I go to Body combat and Zumba. I also throw a body pump class in as well to help with my muscles and skin. My body got used to Zumba so I needed more. You can do it!!!! Keep it up!!!!!!!!!

Q) I would love to meet up with other women who started in the 250s and are trying to get to the 150-160 ranges.

A) Hi I'm 5'6.5 or ( 5'7) and I am aiming for 145Lb or so, I started out at 240 Lbs and current weight is 228Lbs.

Q) How many calories are you eating?

A) I am eating about 1480 Calories a day, and do occasionally go over. At other times I don't necessarily go over by mistake, because I sometimes eat back some (NOT ALL) but some of my exercise/workout calories. Basically if I'm hungry.

Q) Has that changed as you've lost weight?

A) I'm still a beginner so I not yet, I only became serious and organized about losing the weight using this website in late December 2010 early January 2011. SO maybe about 6-8 weeks or so. In that time I'm down 12LBS.

Q) What kinds of foods are you avoiding, and what kinds of foods are staples?

A) I am pretty much on a Calorie Watching type of diet. For example I generally avoid Candies, Chocolates, Cakes etc. BUT every 1 and 1/2 to 2 weeks I reward myself with a piece of one of them...NOT ALL and I log it and still have leftover calories because it was a great week or two and good day and I've earned that reward. So basically that's the part about moderation verses deprivation. My staples are rice, vegetables and either chicken or fish mostly, I do occasionally have a different meat group such as a piece of beef or pork but that might be twice a month if that much. I am Caribbean so rice is a big staple food for me. However often I will have a HUGE SALAD with some Grilled Chicken and that will also hold me for half a day or more. I haven't been able to work towards 6-8small meals. Thought research shows that's the best diet plan. It keeps your metabolism very Hyperactive which is a good thing. I am a nurse so it's very difficult in my setting for me to achieve this.

I have however managed to eat a light breakfast to kick start my metabolism (plus I'm not a big breakfast lover). A heavy lunch so that I can leave work and head to the gym, then get home and eat a light dinner. If I'm still hungry when I leave work, then I have dinner first and then go to the gym. You've got to listen to your body, it knows what it needs and when it needs it.

Q) Do you exercise, and if so, how often, how much?

Yes I do exercise. I have my goals set up to 4-5 times per week, but unfortunately fall off that wagon at times and only make it to exercise 3-4 times per week, and occasionally less. BUT when I go to the gym I always aim for 30-min and from there when the time is running short if I feel like "My Body" can do more and my mind wants to do more I keep going. So often times my work outs last between 45min-70min. (Perhaps that makes up for the inconsistency from week to week)

Q) If you've been successful, what has helped you the most?

A) Browsing other members success stories, pages, forum posts, BEFORE and AFTER pics....all of those things keep me going. Even when I feel like giving up, I call it a bad day, I browse all of the above and I get back to my routine the next day. In other words it becomes a Mental Day of Rest. A few of my MFP friends and I have a shared motto "Tomorrow is another day"

GOOD Luck in your journey and much success to you, hope that feedback from this MFP freshman can be helpful to you sometime down the line.

Cheers to you for making a Healthy Decision!!!:drinker:

I started at 270 the 2nd week of January. I have lost 8 pound so far. I aim for 1900 calories/ day. I have been adding lots of vegetables and fruit and try to log the food everyday. I work out at home with the biggest loser and 30-day shred dvd's 5-6 days a week. Feel free to add me and we can keep each other on track.