But what did you really do to lose weight?

I aim to eat 1600-1800 calories or so a day. I listen to my body and try only to eat when I'm just starting to feel hunger--so trying not to eat when I don't feel hungry or let it go too long so I'm RAVENOUS and want to eat everything. I tend to work out 3-4 days a week, usually running for half an hour, or yoga for an hour, or the fitness classes the gym offers. If I feel extra hungry I'll eat back my exercise calories, otherwise I don't really.

I log consistently. I try not to stress out about food. Cook healthy things, eat lots of fruits and veggies, but if I really fancy takeout or cake, I eat it and work it into my day. I'm vegetarian, but that has no impact on my weight.

I've never gained or lost big amounts of weight except for when I had a severe eating disorder as a teen. This is what I do when I want to lose the 6-8 pounds I invariably gain when I stop tracking or go on an extended holiday. It usually takes me about 6-8 weeks to lose it, so I guess I lose a pound a week or so.

As so many have said, "ate less calories than I burned". Weigh, measure, and log everything you eat and drink, and stay within your calorie allotment.

Simple answer, but it is really all it takes.

I've lost 50 total (put on a little bit after the wedding because I was losing a little too aggressively but I am losing it now - about 10 pounds or so, but still within a healthy BMI). I went from obese (I was just on the edge there) to the middle of my healthy BMI. How I do it is:

- Log everything, and WEIGH it
- Log daily, as soon as you give yourself permission not to log the bad days, bad days will creep in and then storm in
- Figure out the amount of calories YOU need to lose. Don't listen to other people, or at least listen to ALL opinions and then form your own. I am closer to the 1,300-1,400 calories a day, but I don't do any vigorous exercise and my body loses weight best this way.
- Figure out why you are overweight in the first place and fix any emotional-mental blocks. Unless you do this you will probably gain the weight back.
- Forgive yourself for choosing to eat over your calories.
- Only do things that you can be sustainable for YOU. I can do this with food, but it is harder with exercise, I yo-yo hard core with my exercise attempts and I am still figuring that out. BUT I don't do it for weight loss, only for health benefits.
- Don't make excuses that involve other people, it is your body, not theirs. They aren't ruining YOUR "diet"
- I tend to eat the same things over and over. My menu changes slowly because I don't want food to go bad and I get really happy when I have tasty things that fit in my daily limit. If you look at my diary, most days are almost exactly the same.
- If you are going to cheat, try and have a cheat meal vs a cheat day. I get so sick when I end up cheating all day and physically feel awful.
- Personally when I cut out alcohol (wine on occasion) I am more successful.
- Try and work on your awareness. Are you actually hungry or do you just want to eat? I struggle with this all the time, but actively working on trying to be better.
- Try and prepare things at home as much as possible and buy smart choices. Substitute things when you can, i.e. I buy veggie straws vs. chips (and I love my veggie straws! I don't feel like I am compromising).
- If you want the half n half, have it! I am done with trying to make almond milk work for me tea and coffee, it does nothing. Just log it.
- Find a schedule that works for you. 1 meal or 6, make it work for you. Personally I don't like to snack because then I think about food MUCH more and I start to anticipate. I like 3 meals a day, and sometimes some cookies with my afternoon tea .
- Please don't follow any "diets". I don't know anyone who was able to sustain them for their whole life. I've tried many when I first started in college, I felt awful and couldn't keep them up.
- Life happens! I'm in medical school and sometimes my focus is not on my diet and exercise and I can't perfectly follow my plan. Don't go overboard and recognize when priorities shift, but remember that your health must still be highly prioritized!
- I do yoga, if I could horseback ride and snowboard I would, but right now I can't, find what works for you for the hear and now.

TLDR: Be happy, and do what works for YOU.

daross16 wrote: »

I suppose a better question is, how many calories do you tend to stick around and what do you normally eat (I understand everyone is different. I'm just curious. I understand the in and out thing )

I tend to stick around 1400 calories or so a day (very slightly under TDEE-20%). I am ten days away from foot surgery, and per doctor's orders (and pain) my exercise right now is very, very limited (yoga and swimming, for example, are both out of the question). For people who are more active and/or have more to lose (I'm about 10lbs away from goal), 1400 calories might be too little.

Having said that, a typical day for me looks something like this:
Breakfast: protein powder in my morning coffee; banana or other fruit (I'm not a big breakfast person)
Morning snack: 1/8C pecans, 1/8C almonds
Lunch: Salad consisting of 2.5C raw spinach, 2tsp olive oil, 5 kalamatta olives, and protein of some sort (today it's 3oz of hamburger, some days it's a veggie burger, some days it's chicken); 1oz Colby cheese
Afternoon snack: 1/2C cottage cheese; veggies of some sort (carrot sticks, celery sticks, broccoli, etc.)
Dinner: Something. Tonight it's gluten-free (I'm severely gluten intolerant, I'm not doing it because I think gluten is teh devilz) spannakopita macaroni and cheese, with a salad of some sort.
After dinner snack (if I feel like it): Some type of veggie I didn't have earlier.

Occasionally, I will have a glass of wine (or two) on weekends. Sometimes, weekends start on Thursday...

I don't do "cheat days"; I just don't get the concept. If I want something that's relatively more calorie dense/low nutrient (like Butterfinger bites at the movie theatre), I will have it, I will enjoy every bite of it, I will log it in MFP, and I will get on with my life. I ate chocolate cake every day from Christmas through January 3rd or so, and still lost weight over the holidays. For days where I know I'm going to have something that's relatively more calorie dense than normal (i.e., chocolate cake every day from Christmas through January 3rd or so), I will compromise somewhere else in my day - for example, maybe one piece of pizza at dinner, rather than two.

I do not weigh much of what I eat, other than protein or cheese; that said, what I don't weigh, I measure; this works for me. I log everything (other than sugar-free gum). My highest weight was 253, after having my first child eight years ago (I gained 70lbs with that pregnancy, and was overweight to begin with); I lost the better part of 90lbs over the course of four years after having my second child nearly six years ago (average weight loss of about half a pound a week). I tracked what I ate when I was pregnant with my third child, and only gained 30lbs with that pregnancy (I did eat quite a bit more than 1400 calories when I was pregnant) and lost 15 of that this past year. I do not lose quickly; I've gotten over that. I'm happy with what I'm doing, it's sustainable for me, and it's working.

VERY SPECIFICALLY: I started at 174. If I remember right I tried to eat at the recommended 1200 calorie goal MFP set for me and failed: it was too drastic. So I refocused and decided that I was ok with not reaching my goals as fast as I would like and shot for 1350-1400 calories. This worked for me. After I was able to eat within those calories, I started incorporating 30 minutes of gym time 3 times a week. I told myself that as long as I went for 30 minutes...it was ok if I chose to sit on the floor and stretch as long as I went. Needless to say: once I was there, I ended up trying to make it worth my time and I NEVER spent 30 minutes stretching on the floor. Eventually I enjoyed how good I felt after working out! I hit maintenance in October and figure my calories with consistent exercise were about 1900-2000. Recently I have realigned my goals and have decided on a few more lbs weight loss..thus the calorie drop again. I don't eat "clean," nothing is off limits, and I love McDonalds. I know if I choose to eat there I need to bank more calories and I will probably be hungry before my next meal...so it's all about choices and deciding what's worth it and what's not.

I figured out my TDEE (you can google online calculators - I find Scooby's gets the closest for me) and ate 10% less than that - around 2250 cals/day - eating whatever I want as long as I get my veg & fruit, etc., first. Life without wine and chocolate is worthless, in my opinion.

40 minutes of bodyweight exercise (with barbell deadlifts because they rock) 3xweek and rowing or walking for 30 minutes 2xweek.

I've been nursing various injuries and what not for over a year now, so I've been maintaining on about 2000 cals/day, but I'm just a few weeks away from getting back to working out. I can't wait!!!

I lost 50lbs in about 16months (avg rate of loss = 1lb every 10 days like clockwork!)

I logged all my food most of the time.
I exercised (walked) daily most of the time.
I stayed within my calorie budget (TDEE-25%) most of the time.

I spent LOTS of time on MFP, chatting with my FL, perusing the forum, educating and entertaining myself.
I found activities I enjoy doing (walking, hiking, cycling, modest weight training) and incorporated them into my schedule.

Basically I followed my own 80/20 plan.
I try to make good, healthy food choices 80% of the time - the other 20% is life.
I try to fit at least 45min of exercise into my day 80% of the time - the other 20% is life.

I don't freak when the scale moves up a bit, I know it will move back down if I eat less than before and move more than before.

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

I'm learning to live with the hunger and listen to my body more.

I'm so happy for you! This kind of changes have been really difficult for me too, I'm learning to take it one day at a time.