how did you get started on your journey?

Well I always literally assumed i'd stay the same weight. I really did, because i never really saw my weight move for like....8? years. Then one day, I stepped on the scale and saw I gained like 28lbs over what I normally weigh.

After that i started to do exercises, except I never really had before? So I googled how to exercise at home and saw 'running/walking up and down stairs is effective and quick'. So I began to do that in the morning before eating. Then I ate a little less than what I normally did. Then I started food logging (though lazily/not as strictly).
Then I took a break for a few months.
Then I took it back up to lose the last few bits. I was much more strict on food logging and being honest on it, I exercised harder/longer. I got a heart rate monitor for accurate calorie burning counting.

Took almost a full year but im almost at my goal. In the beginning half though it was a hard struggle.

Winter_Girl92 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I have been counting calories on here on and off since july and just can't seem to stick with it. I am quite lazy about it sadly. I really do want to do better with it because I have gained about 3 kgs since the.n. and nearly 20kgs since I fell pregnant early last year so I know this weight is all me and not from the pregnancy.

I was not completely strict and I did end up putting it on pause for some months (I maintained during that time though).

But a huge help was I was surrounded by fit people. They, knowingly or not, REALLY motivated me to get in shape/skinnier. And i have, EVERYONE has noticed, and it's a nice feeling.

Honestly the best suggestion I have is to make fit friends who will help you with GOOD advice and are even willing to work out with you. Its so much MUCH MUCH more fun with friends

I starting logging my food, and signed up for a 5k a couple months out. Having that pushed me to start walking and then jogging. I now jog a 5k charity race monthly and try to always beat my prior time.

I joined MFP a bit over 4 years ago. I started counting and got bored...quit and took up vinyasa yoga for a couple years off and on. Was in real good shape. Then got lazy. Working 9 hours a day and just quit caring. Moved across the country and started to think about caring more for my health. Ive been counting for about 2 and a half months and half way to my goal!

A friend mentioned she was using MFP. Then she showed me the barcode scanner, which was fun. I thought, "hm, I wonder if this works?" and downloaded the app. I'm about 40 days in, and although I don't have a scale, I'm sure I'm progressing. My clothes fit better, and I feel happier in my skin. So - hooray for getting distracted by the shiny thing! (The barcode scanner)

I went in to get my yearly checkup and realized that I had gained nearly 20 lbs in a year. (It was my first year of grad school and I had developed some unhealthy habits.) I was overweight as a kid and it really freaked me out. I have a friend who lost like 30 pounds with MFP, so I gave it a shot.

Winter_Girl92 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for replying. Do any of you plan your meals for the week? I have good intentions to but I suck at planning anything haha

Not really. Of course, when I go grocery shopping and buy fresh produce or meat/poultry/fish that I don't plan on freezing, I generally have some idea of what I'm going to do with it, or if I decide to bake bread or cook beans or make a big batch of something (e.g., stew, soup, casserole) that will last for several meals, I generally will plan on that being the basis of meals during the week, but I don't get the sense that's exactly what most people mean when they talk about meal planning, which sounds much more structured and something they do before they ever get to the grocery store, and maybe includes pre-logging all of those planned meals. Or maybe I'm wrong about what other people mean by meal planning.

I started just by logging for a couple of weeks. That showed me where my food intake was not so good, and I started choosing foods I like that kept me within my macros and calorie goal. I know from past experience that I will not stick to a diet that says eat this, don't eat that. I am sticking to a way of eating that includes eating less of things I would normally eat, and eliminating foods I ate just because they were convenient when I was hungry. I'm changing my life, not dieting.

For me, I think the key way I got started (and continued) was to add a little bit of structure to my eating.

I started with calorie counting, something I'd done before, but what really changed this time was:
1. I'm being reasonable with my goals. The last time I was counting calories, I was 350 pounds and trying to eat 1350 calories per day. Not at all reasonable, and I was (for good reason) always starving. I lost fast before (too fast, actually) but it never stuck. This time I started at around 1900 per day, which was still aggressive but not too aggressive - I lose about as fast as I can safely lose without risking health or too much lean mass, and I'm rarely all that hungry.

2. I have a plan. I still make sure that every day, my meals are logged in advance for the next day. This really keeps me on track - I know what I'll eat and when.

3. I track success and failure. It sounds silly, but I use Habitica, which is a game that involves you creating tasks that you want to do, and rewards you like an RPG - experience, levels, gold, gear, etc. It's actually a good feeling when I get to click a little "I did that" on my page and see myself gaining XP.

4. I became active in this community, rather than just a user of the app without any interaction with others. I think that kind of focus helps me keep on target, and it's nice to motivate others and have them motivate you.

5. I planned how I would respond to failure, temptation, and frustration. I think this is key - even if you start with perfect intentions, reality is messier. Going over one day is a minor stumble, allowing that one day to progress into a week, month, or year of not caring is devastating. At least two prior attempts failed because I was frustrated at "plateaus" that really, in retrospect, were likely nothing more than prolonged water retention that I could have waited out if I hadn't gotten impatient and frustrated. This time I approached this with a different perspective - this isn't something I'm doing for a limited time, it's my new life, and the only real time limit is the number of years of life I have left.

I started two years ago when a Nephrologist told me the pain I was feeling in my flank was "just because of the extra weight." So I bought a new pair of sneakers that day and lost 26 lbs. She was wrong of course, the pain in my flank was a big ole kidney stone stuck in my ureter. It took 5 day surgeries to get the stone out. During that time, my grandfather passed away, then my dad had a stroke and passed a month later. I was devastated by the loss of my dad. Then two months later my uncle died and my mother sold the house I grew up in. Needless to say , with all the emotional stuff I gained all the weight I lost and more back.

This May, my fitbit flex broke so my husband surprised me with a new ChargeHR. It kind of motivated me to get my grove going again. Then I saw a picture of what I actually looked like and I went full force.

This time I am not depriving myself of anything I really want, I just fit it into my calorie goal. That has made all the difference and I feel like I got it this time.

Picked up my gym bag aand went to the gym

I hold off from eating snacks in the morning. That was my start

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