Just do the work & trust the math...

I worship the math. Today is something like 110 for me and I've lost 26lbs. I've been consuming total crap as well as making some healthy choices, at varying/inconsistent times of day, and I work out when I work out and sometimes that's not for several weeks cause I have to live here.

The only thing that has made me lose weight is the math. Eating less, burning more and ensuring my logging is perfect.

Seconded.

Trust the Math.
CICO is King

ETA: Scolaris congratulations on your loss!!! I so hope you get a bikini, I want one too!

Have to keep telling myself this every day! Sometimes I have doubts that I'm doing something wrong, but I know the math is correct and my scale is accurate. Congrats on your success!

Yaaaasss! I looked back at my weight loss journey during 2014; 225 days to lose 23.4 lbs. Of course, I wasn't a "perfect" dieter (alas, there were parties and holidays scattered throughout). But dang, the math doesn't lie. It always works when we work it.

Sometimes I lost 4-5lbs in a month; sometimes it was 2 or 3. December it was nothing (by choice, lol). But, overall, I lost at a 0.73lb/week rate, just by eating by a 0.5lb/week setting plus most (75-100%) of what Fitbit added. And never giving up when I felt like going over.

Yes I agree 100%. it's all about the math.
Its been almost 365 days for me and Ive lost 50 pounds.
Ive maintained now for 4ish months as well thanks to counting calories, working out and making sure
I dont have a deficit or I dont over eat.
Its so simple yet some people keep on making excuses.

Love the math.

Assuming you are an "average" woman living in the US, you have a life expectancy of 80 years. Minus the 52 you have already enjoyed, that gives you about 28 more years or 10,220 days. You have spent 170 days or 1.6% of that time practicing your new lifestyle. Way to go!!

Another believer in the math over here! *waves*

scolaris wrote: »

Yay to you both! We have a problem with over-inflated notions of what 'success' really looks like and feels like in our larger society. Lots of adults gain 3-5 lbs per year over a long spell of years but losing weight that same way would feel shameful. It's really too bad. Perceived failure stops people in their tracks when they are actually progressing nicely!

This is true, and wise words!

When I started in September I couldn't see logging long-term so I did an Excel worksheet for six months to show me where I could be if I just followed the plan.
I have now done another spreadsheet going to June where I project myself to reaching a normal weight. So while the scale has been moving "slow" at 1.5 lbs per week on average, and every month seems like barely anything at all it is still -3% of starting body weight per month for a total of 12/13% of body weight lost excluding Jan when I took a break.
35 lbs down. From class II(just) obese to a couple of lbs shy of overweight. Looking forward to the next 5 months when I will reach normal BMI.
Can feel like glacier speed but it all adds up.

Edited to add: today is my 150th day on MFP

This is one of the great, most inspirational thread I have read in a long time. Thank you for starting it.

Maaaatttthhhh. Maaaaathhhh. It's my mantra. I love the math, too. The math, and the data - it makes the whole process simple and understandable. Like a fun science project that makes me feel healthy, and in control. (OK, I'm a geek. ).

I log carefully so I can do the math, and figure out loss rates, or - when I have the occasional over-goal day - so I can dispassionately estimate how much of the resulting scale increase is likely real weight gain, and how much is water weight, how trivially short a delay it means in progress toward my long-term goal, and whether that over-goal day was worth it to me in overall happiness.

I've been working at weight loss since April 2015, on MFP since July 2015 (190 days), have lost 62 pounds - 2 pounds a week initially, then 1, then 0.5 or less, as my weight surplus shrunk - with the math making those adjustments reasonably straightforward.

Now I'm pretty much at goal, at a weight I haven't seen since the 1970s, and thought I'd never see again. If you'd suggested such a thing to me at this time last year, I would've laughed you out of the room.

It's the math. Yay!

I agree..I'd bet 95%, maybe even 99% can trust the math and lose weight.
Still there are "snowflakes" out there that are special, and should consult professionals if things don't ever work out.

Wow. Congratulations on your success!!!
Thank you for starting such a nice thread. I needed this reminder about the power of the math behind CICO. It's my 228th day since I decided to make a permanent change, 181st day of logging, and I'm down 56 lbs, which averages to 1.75 lbs of weight loss a week. I'm really close to my goal weight now, and I have reached the upper limit of my target weight range, and I'm in the middle of reverse dieting, so the scale is BARELY moving. The weight loss is more like 0.2 lbs a week so far, and the day to day fluctuations are quite interesting/perplexing/annoying. Looking over my data again, it's clear, however, that though I've gone up and done so many times or stayed the same for days, the general trend is downward. It truly is a matter of patience and trust.

Always enjoy your posts OP.