Have you lost over 50 lbs? How did you do it?

ysalgad2 · November 2016

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?

daniip_la · November 2016

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.

jemhh · November 2016

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?

lemurcat12 · November 2016

ysalgad2 wrote: »

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.

ysalgad2 · November 2016

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.

avskk · November 2016

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.

mburgess458 · November 2016

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.

daniip_la · November 2016

ysalgad2 wrote: »

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.

jemhh · November 2016

ysalgad2 wrote: »

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.

crzycatlady1 · November 2016

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.

glassyo · November 2016

daniip_la wrote: »

ysalgad2 wrote: »

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.

VintageFeline · November 2016

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.

LizIsBack86 · November 2016

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 new

ysalgad2 · November 2016

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.

SusanMFindlay · November 2016

ysalgad2 wrote: »

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.

HaleCry · November 2016

You need to lose 42lbs to be in the healthy BMI range...

amberlyda1 · November 2016

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.

Sued0nim · November 2016

Counting calories
Moving more
Weight training
And committing

littlebritttfit · November 2016

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.

Spliner1969 · November 2016

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.

k_nelson_24 · November 2016

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!

Have you lost over 50 lbs? How did you do it?

Replies

Categories