Success Stories || Whats and Hows

Age 46. Height 5'8"
Start weight. 210 lb
Goal weight. 165-170
Current weight 179
Weight loss start date. Oct 2015
Weight loss till now. 31 lbs
Motivation. Wanted to be healthier
Medical conditions. Had high sugar and cholesterol. Normal after exercise and weight loss
Number of calories. 1700 at first now 1600 as I am smaller
Diet program. No. Just at to my calorie goal. Did cut way back on soda and chocolate
Exercise. Elliptical,walking
Suggestions. Take lots of before pics and measurements. Download happy scale app. Don't expect two and three pounds a week. Be happy with .5-1. Expect weeks where the scales are not gonna move or may even slightly increase. It is going to take a lot of commitment to make this work so it is something that you need to want for yourself. Track your calories every day for everything. Food scales do keep tracking more accurate.

Age & Height: 62, 5'10"
Start Weight: 228
Goal Weight: 175
Current Weight: 176
Weight Loss Start Date: August 2013
Weight Lost Till Now: 52 lbs
What motivated you to take the initiative: High sugar and cholesterol, and desire to be more active
Did you have any medical conditions: None relevant
How many calories did you eat: ~1800
Did you follow any diet program: No, just lots of vegetables, v. little red meat, higher protein, less refined carbohydrate, dropped most sweetened things but do love a bit of chocolate.
What was your focused exercise? Biking, weight training
What is the first thing that you suggest all the member's losing weight to do?(Like: Buy a Scale etc): Yes, buy a scale and count calories precisely (calories in/calories out). Also, do daily exercise if possible to increase the amount of calories you can eat back. I chose first working out in the gym with cardio, but now love biking. Commute to work if you can! I was lucky enough to have what to me now is the perfect commute distance (14-20 miles total with hills). Before a year and a half ago, I would have thought that was too far. No excuses (except rain)!

Age & Height: 41, 5'7"
Start Weight: 283
Goal Weight: 160
Current Weight: 257
Weight Loss Start Date: January 1st, 2016
Weight Lost Till Now: 26 lbs
What motivated you to take the initiative: Feeling utterly at my lowest emotionally. Ready to change my life. A desire to feel good about myself.
Did you have any medical conditions: No
How many calories did you eat? Between 1200-1600 cals daily and about 1800-2000 on Saturday (Treat day)
Did you follow any diet program? I eat smaller meals on smaller plates, I eat more slowly, I do eat often,every few hours. Drink water only with one coffee daily, Lots of vegetables and healthy meals prepared from scratch not much high processed foods (boxed carbs, granola bars, high sugar foods etc.) Gave up diet pepsi, No alcohol.
What was your focused exercise? I hour walk on treadmill 5 days per week
What is the first thing that you suggest all the member's losing to do?(Like buy a scale etc): Lose the " I am just going to eat 800 cals a day and this weight will just disappear overnight" mentality. Be ready for a "lifestyle change" there is no magic speedy way. Small changes over time are what bring lasting success.

Age & Height: 33, 5'-9"
Start Weight: 235
Goal Weight: 175lbs@10-12%BF
Current Weight: 180lbs@~16%BF (I had gotten as low as 168, but then I moved and bulked up for a few months...trying to get back down in the 170-175 range at least)
Weight Loss Start Date: 1/1/2014
Weight Lost Till Now: 53lbs
What motivated you to take the initiative: Didn't like how I looked and how inactive I was after growing up always playing sports
Did you have any medical conditions: no
How many calories did you eat: 1900 to 1700 to 1500.
Did you follow any diet program: Just calories in/calories out
What was your focused exercise? The first 50ish lbs came off in about 4 months doing only running. Then, I added in weight training having never lifted weights in my life.
What is the first thing that you suggest all the member's losing weight to do? Start *progressive* weight training early on. If you don't like how you look fat, you probably won't like how you look "skinny fat" either. Lifting helps you hold onto the muscle that you already have so that more of the weight that you're losing is fat. And along with that, not all scale weight is equal. 1lb of fat weighs the same as 1lb of muscle, but looks ALOT different on your body. Look at the difference in my pictures between 185 and 182. This is when I started lifting weights and is only 3lbs different.

Age & Height: 48/5'6"
Start Weight:348
Goal Weight:155
Current Weight:165
Weight Loss Start Date:2/2/14
Weight Lost Till Now:183#
What motivated you to take the initiative:decided I wanted to be healthy
Did you have any medical conditions:luckily no
How many calories did you eat:1500
Did you follow any diet program: just CICO
What was your focused exercise?none in particular
What is the first thing that you suggest all the member's losing weight to do? created a MFP profile and bought a food scale

Age & Height: 44, 6'1"
Start Weight: 284
Goal Weight: 180-185
Current Weight: 253
Weight Loss Start Date: 12/27/14
Weight Lost Till Now: 31 lbs.
What motivated you to take the initiative: Tired of being tired and out of shape
Did you have any medical conditions: No
How many calories did you eat: I eat between 1,800 - 2,700 per day - depending on activity level
Did you follow any diet program: I eat similar foods as before, just less of them. I do try to make healthier choices though.
What was your focused exercise? I started out walking. I am now up to around 7 miles per day as a goal. I've also started C25K and play pick up basketball 1 or 2 nights per week.
What is the first thing that you suggest all the member's losing weight to do? Get started for you, nobody else. Realize that the process will take time. Some weeks are great, some weeks aren't. The longer that I've stuck with this the more motivated that I have become. Enjoy the journey and picture yourself reaching your goals.