Have you lost over 50 lbs? How did you do it?
ysalgad2
Posts: 17 Member
I am a 22 year old 5'3 female and I weigh 184lbs. I need to lose 66 lbs to be at a healthy weight range on the BMI scale. However I've already lost 62 lbs but I feel like it's become harder to lose the remaining weight and I'm getting discouraged. What have you been doing that's helped you lose weight? Eating and exercise wise, what's your calorie intake look like?
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Replies
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I've lost 70+lbs. My only exercise is walking. I'm at a significantly higher weight and height than you, though, so my calorie intake won't really be applicable.5
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Good work so far! 62 lbs is a great loss.
I lost 52 lbs in 2014. I cut out the majority of junk I was eating in excess and started exercising (baby steps first, moving up to 5-6 times a week.) It sounds like you may have already gone through that process since you've lost 62 lbs.
Did you find the 62 lbs relatively easy to lose? I know that I found the 52 lbs relatively easy to lose once I started eating in a healthy manner and moving more. After that, weight loss has been more challenging, in part due to dieting fatigue (just being tired of the process.) What are you finding more difficult and in what way are you getting discouraged?2 -
I am a 22 year old 5'3 female and I weigh 184lbs. I need to lose 66 lbs to be at a healthy weight range on the BMI scale.
I'm confused by this. I'm 5'3, and 25 BMI is around 140. I like a lower weight too--my goal is, in fact, around 118 (which is a BMI of about 21), although I've been unmotivated and maintaining between 125 and 130.
What helps me is to really focus on activity, so I get about 1800 calories on a non exercise day (you should get more, as you are younger, with the same amount of activity -- this is more than I would get if sedentary, of course, as I walk a decent amount every day). On a more active day I'll get 2000-2200 calories. I figured out my loss calories based on past results and checked with the scooby calculator -- they seemed to be pretty consistent.
When I was losing down to 125 I mostly ate around 1500-1600 and then exercised regularly and did not add in exercise calories (TDEE method). The rate of loss did slow. I was losing around 2 lb/week doing that at 180, and then it went down to probably less than 1 lb toward the end, but for the most part it stayed around 1 lb/week.
I did find that after a period of time I was burnt out and having a harder time being as consistent with my logging, so took a maintenance break. Sometimes that helps get your head back in it, especially if it's a planned time with the idea you will get back to it. It's also nice to experiment with what maintenance is like and eating some more calories.
If you've been doing this for a while and eating really low there could be some metabolic adaptation too.
What helped me get through the whole thing was making sure I was eating in a way I'd enjoy at maintenance, though, because losing a lot of weight is going to take a long time, longer than anyone wants to "diet." And changing stuff up, adding activity, focusing on a new goal (like training for a race) helped when I felt not into it or like I was plateauing. I think it's probably superstition, but it always helped me to focus on something besides the scale and let the scale be a happy side effect.4 -
Thank you for the replies and congratulations on your weight loss! To answer your question jemhh, I did notice that losing those first 50 lbs was easy as long as I counted calories and got rid of fast food. What I find discouraging is the rate of how fast I'm losing weight now. I could lose a pound in a week but by the next week I've gained it back and it drives me mad. MFP has set up a 1200 calorie goal for me and I've always tried eating 100 calories below that. I have recently joined a gym and I've been going for 7 days, burning at least 300 calories with cardio and doing minimal lifting. I have to admit that I skip breakfast -_- and I have a feeling that it may be one of the reasons on why my metabolism is slow.1
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I lost almost 70lbs in late 2013 and early 2014. My only exercise was walking. My weight loss came from tracking my calories accurately and sticking to an appropriate deficit. Boring, but it worked.12
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I lost 45 lbs a couple of years ago by tracking calories. The main change I made that allowed me to track calories better was cutting out night eating. For decades I would wake up in the middle of the night and eat crap. At first I tried leaving some calories "free" to eat at night but that didn't work because in my half asleep state I wouldn't stick to my calorie allowance. As soon as I stopped eating at night I was able to stick to my calorie goal and the weight fell off at the 1-2 lbs a week I was targeting (on average, there were ups and downs).
I also exercised a ton but that wasn't new, I had been exercising for decades. As they say, I couldn't out-exercise over eating so I was in good shape as far as cardiovascular health goes... but fat.
Exercise to be healthy. Eat less to lose weight.2 -
Thank you for the replies and congratulations on your weight loss! To answer your question jemhh, I did notice that losing those first 50 lbs was easy as long as I counted calories and got rid of fast food. What I find discouraging is the rate of how fast I'm losing weight now. I could lose a pound in a week but by the next week I've gained it back and it drives me mad. MFP has set up a 1200 calorie goal for me and I've always tried eating 100 calories below that. I have recently joined a gym and I've been going for 7 days, burning at least 300 calories with cardio and doing minimal lifting. I have to admit that I skip breakfast -_- and I have a feeling that it may be one of the reasons on why my metabolism is slow.
Skipping breakfast isn't going to "slow your metabolism". There's no harm in skipping a meal you don't want.8 -
Thank you for the replies and congratulations on your weight loss! To answer your question jemhh, I did notice that losing those first 50 lbs was easy as long as I counted calories and got rid of fast food. What I find discouraging is the rate of how fast I'm losing weight now. I could lose a pound in a week but by the next week I've gained it back and it drives me mad. MFP has set up a 1200 calorie goal for me and I've always tried eating 100 calories below that. I have recently joined a gym and I've been going for 7 days, burning at least 300 calories with cardio and doing minimal lifting. I have to admit that I skip breakfast -_- and I have a feeling that it may be one of the reasons on why my metabolism is slow.
Not eating breakfast will not slow down your metabolism. I am a huge (HUGE) fan of breakfast but it really isn't needed in a "stoke your metabolic fire" kind of way.
You really should not be aiming to eat under 1200. It is not necessary and doing so likely is going to make you lose energy and burn fewer calories because you lower your NEAT activity (non-exercise activity) without even realizing it. Eat your full 1200 calories plus your exercise calories for 4-6 weeks and then evaluate your progress.3 -
I lost a little over 50lbs with alternate day intermittent fasting (also called JUDDD). I alternated between very low calorie days and then maintenance level calorie days. Worked well for me and I had no problem losing the extra weight, and now I'm several years into maintenance doing another variation of IF.1
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Thank you for the replies and congratulations on your weight loss! To answer your question jemhh, I did notice that losing those first 50 lbs was easy as long as I counted calories and got rid of fast food. What I find discouraging is the rate of how fast I'm losing weight now. I could lose a pound in a week but by the next week I've gained it back and it drives me mad. MFP has set up a 1200 calorie goal for me and I've always tried eating 100 calories below that. I have recently joined a gym and I've been going for 7 days, burning at least 300 calories with cardio and doing minimal lifting. I have to admit that I skip breakfast -_- and I have a feeling that it may be one of the reasons on why my metabolism is slow.
Skipping breakfast isn't going to "slow your metabolism". There's no harm in skipping a meal you don't want.
I was just going to say this.
OP, depending on how long you've been gaining and losing that same pound, you could be unknowingly eating at maintenance. Are you weighing your food? How are you calculating your exercise calories?
I lost 125 pounds by eating what I wanted when I wanted. I stayed within my points (when I was on weight watchers) and calories when on here.
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52.5 so far, 20-30 to go. Much much slower this year, compliance has been harder so whilst ideally I'd still be losing 1lb per week this year it's been mostly 0.5lbs. Diet fatigue is real and I am just happy to still be creeping slowly down!
When you have less to lose your logging has to be tight, if you aren't seeing the scale drop for 6-8 weeks you need to look where you can improve. Get a food scale and use it at a minimum for calorie dense items.1 -
I have lost 52 pounds, and to be honest mfp helped me sooooooo freaking much
I logged everything good/bad, walked 10,000 plus steps plus a day and drink at least 6 cups of water and the weight is still coming off:) Friends help big time on days I felt like giving in I have amazing friends who pushed me and babygirl 
You got to keep pushing and not give up, this journey is not easy at all:) Switch it up, and try something new3 -
Thank you for all of the replies! And congratulations to all of your success! I've decided to take your advice and go through a maintenance period. I have to admit that I haven't been weighing my food or paying attention to proportions lately. I'll have to pay more careful attention to what I eat and how much water I drink...since I've cut back on water drastically for no reason.2
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I am a 22 year old 5'3 female and I weigh 184lbs. I need to lose 66 lbs to be at a healthy weight range on the BMI scale.
No, you don't. Losing 66 pounds from 184 would put you at 118 pounds. That's a perfectly reasonable weight for some people of your height but is, by no means, the top of the "normal weight" range on the BMI scale. 118 pounds corresponds to a BMI of 20.9. That's in the lower half of the "normal" range from 18.5 to 24.9. You could weigh 140 and still have a "normal" BMI of 24.8. Your ideal weight may be anywhere within that really large "normal weight" range.
With that out of the way, well done on the 62 pounds lost so far!
I'm down 55 pounds from my maximum pregnancy weight. I weigh and accurately log all my food. I walk. A lot. I take a fitness class a couple of times a week. And I walk some more. All in all, I get 15-25K steps per day. That "buys" me over 1000 calories burned compared to if I was sedentary.
Even if that amount of walking is impossible for you, I'd still recommend trying to get as much non-exercise activity as possible. Choose parking spots farther from the door. Walk to the mailbox. Take the stairs. Go for a walk in the evening. Anything you can do to increase the ratio of "time on your feet" to "time on your butt". It all adds up.2 -
You need to lose 42lbs to be in the healthy BMI range...1
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15 years ago I lost over 60 pounds when my first daughter was born. I was younger so the weight was a little easier to get off. I just ate less and moved more. I am doing it once again. 3 years ago I was hit by a car and gained a lot of "pitty me" weight. In the last year I have had many ups and downs and had to get fit enough to get out of pain...but I lost 30 pounds. I still have anohter 50 to go. The only thing holding me back is my bad habits. weight loss is 80% diet and 10% exercise. You can not out train a bad diet.1
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Counting calories
Moving more
Weight training
And committing
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i'm down almost 62 lbs at this point. 1. track everything you eat. 2. drink TONS of water. even if you already think you're drinking a lot... drink more. 3. stay low carb. look into LCHF/KETO diet. game changer. 4. intermittent fasting. 5. STAY ACTIVE. heavy cardio with moderate strength training is how i really leaned out.0
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I lost 125lbs. CICO all the way. I did it at first by speed walking about 2 miles a day along with weighing and logging everything I ate with no exceptions. Later, once I lost enough weight to work a bit harder, I increased walking to 3-4 miles per day six days a week. Once I hit maintenance I settled in on doing a 5k (3.1 miles) every Tuesday - Friday mornings, and an 8-10k every Saturday and Sunday mornings. Also Tuesday through Friday I add in 60 minutes of cross training, and sometimes add it in on the weekends if I feel up to it. It averages me about an extra 800 calories a day that I can add back into my diet. The first 110lbs took about 420 days to lose. During that 420 days I managed to injure my back twice (walking too much with previous back and knee problems) and was down for a total of about 4 weeks. I'm well over 600 days into my journey now, and have lost even more weight (to the 125lb mark) and am working mostly on recomp. I even run a bit now, up to 2 miles, during my walks in the mornings several times a week. The key for me was matching my level of exercise to my appetite. I cut out the foods that were really bad for me (Twinkies, Oreos, etc.) and learned to eat more vegetables and lean meats. I will still eat those things, but log them and make myself accountable for the calories.6
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I have lost 100 pounds. Starting out I never even exercised because i had just had a baby and had no time or energy. All I worried about was tracking my calories. Taking it slow and only losing about one to two pounds per week was the best thing ever did. It has helped make it easier to keep off. You have to be patient and consistent most importantly. Don't rush the process as much as you want to!4
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littlebritttfit wrote: »i'm down almost 62 lbs at this point. 1. track everything you eat. 2. drink TONS of water. even if you already think you're drinking a lot... drink more. 3. stay within your calories. 4. no, really. Stay within your calories. 5. STAY ACTIVE. heavy cardio with moderate strength training is how i really leaned out.
There. I fixed it for you.
Unless you have a sensitivity to carbs, that really doesn't matter.
Intermittent fasting works for some but it's about CICO. Not when you eat them.
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I didn't lose it all at once first off. I'm 5'3 and 190 at my biggest. It took me a while to get it through my head that diets don't work and it REALLY IS about a lifestyle change! You hear that line all the time but it doesn't really resonate with you until you are ready. Diets imply that you're only doing it temporarily. No, this is your life! It wasn't until I really started noticing the sluggish feelings I got after I ate were in fact, caused by the crap I was shoveling in my mouth that I started to realize whole foods make me FEEL BETTER. I actually found out what a portion size actually looked like. I took everything really slow. I cut back and switched out things week by week, month by month until I got to wear I am today. That way I never felt deprived. It took a lot longer though but I also kept it off. I baby stepped into working out as well. Just added a little more week by week. Even if you don't feel like doing much, do something.4
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I took me 2,5 years, but I've lost around 55 pounds so far. I do calorie counting, cardio and weight training. I try to eat 80% clean.0
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Thank you for all of the replies! And congratulations to all of your success! I've decided to take your advice and go through a maintenance period. I have to admit that I haven't been weighing my food or paying attention to proportions lately. I'll have to pay more careful attention to what I eat and how much water I drink...since I've cut back on water drastically for no reason.
Do this. And then when you go back to deficit, as jemhh alluded, you've been chronically undereating and what that has an effect of slowing you down. All of your movement during the day slows. You fidget less, any activity you do, like walking to the car, or through stores - is less energetic. Your workouts are less intense than they could be.
Some people confuse all of this energy slow down with having a slow metabolism. It's not.
If you eat the calories you should be eating and eat back some of your exercise calories, the problem will self-correct.2 -
Yes, it does get harder, because you have less margin to create a calorie deficit. There is no reason to get discouraged. I lost the first 50 in about 6 months, the next 50 in about 8 more months, and it's taking over a year to lose the last 50. The last 5 pounds are just eeking off, less than 1 lb per month, but I'm not discouraged. Look at how far we've come! I've eaten at about the same calorie level the whole time (1700) and have gradually increased my exercise as my abilities have allowed. I'm probably a bit more lax now than I was the first 6 months, but that's ok. I exercise for fitness and any small "bonus burn" that might come with it.5
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My advice is first to look at this as a lifestyle change, if you look at it as a "diet" you will lose the weight and then put it back on. Figure out things that work for you on both exercising and eating.
Find exercise that you enjoy. Walking is the easiest but it gets boring, your body also gets used to things so you need to change it up. I love Zumba and can do it at home on my wii, it gives you cardio but the time goes by faster. Also, you should add some lean muscle building before, it will help you burn more cals during cardio and in general. Things such as squats, lunges, planks... maybe a few things with some dumbbells can be easily done at home.
Find food that you enjoy and if you are not logging food (and weighing/measuring it), you should do so at the very least a few months. People often over calculate the amount of exercise they get and under calculate the food portions. Never eat late at night either.
The biggest road block is mental, you need to keep yourself in it to win it. Tell yourself that if you do not get your crap together, losing all the weight so far will mean nothing. Sometimes its slow going and sometimes you reach those hills but when that happens, you need to change things up or work harder. Get creative, just do not give up. Feel free and add me if you want, I am not on as much anymore but message me anytime if you need advice or just to talk.2 -
88 pounds down so far. I take it one day at a time and maintain a deficit and the weight just keeps dropping. I also lift and do cardio but the deficit is what matters. Between an illness and working absolutely stupid hours and traveling, I haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks. (Do I even lift anymore?1
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It took 1 year to lose 80 pounds and another 9 months to lose another 37. 117 so far. I would like to lose another 8. I eat 1400 calories a day with only moderate exercise.
What helped is to keep repeating that THIS is the way I eat now. Fast weight loss, slow WL or no WL. For good.5 -
Hi my name is Shelia and I had my bypass just this month November 1st. I'm just searching to see if anyone that had the bypass, sleeve, or the band that wants to share their experience and help motivate me or anyone else.-1
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I am 5'1 and lost 82 lbs all together, now I am 100 lbs. All I did was cut down drastically on sugars/junk food in general and ate more protein and fiber while controlling my portions (it really helps if you buy a food scale), drank mostly water or hot tea- managed between 1000-1200 calories per day. I exercised with free weights and did some walking/jogging/Zumba for cardio at least 3-4 times a week, but I stopped exercising a couple months ago.1
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