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

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.

ysalgad2 wrote: »

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.

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.

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.

Currently maintaining a 100+ pound loss. I did it via pullups, deadlifts, squats, and most importantly, table pushaways.

I'm 5'3; highest weight was 184lbs (at age 14). I'm almost 37. I lost 65+lbs over a period of about 3-4 years. I cut soda and a few other unnecessary foods that I would overeat (like ranch dressing). I started jogging...in college, I had to walk everywhere. The small changes led to bigger changes (especially food related changes). I started lifting heavy, and that made a huge difference in my body comp too.

I have lost 104 pounds so far, and I'm taller and still heavier than you are so my calories may not apply. My average net calories a day is about 1400-1500, that means averaging 1400 some weeks and all the way up to 2000+ some others to lose the same amount, depending on how active I am.

What you are experiencing is a natural slowdown that happens when get smaller and your body starts needing fewer calories. You don't need to sustain a 2 lb loss a week all the time, in fact it's not recommended that you do. The closer you are to weight goal the slower you should be aiming to lose, and the slower you lose the more likely it is for the scale to play water weight games with you.

How I personally did it?
I imagined how it would be to maintain my weight and tried to eat like that, a few substitutions and tricks that would help me achieve a slight deficit over that. (basically chose my calorie goal to be my future sedentary maintenance minus 200-250 calories). Picking a static calorie goal slows my loss gradually and appropriately as I lose weight. My exercise consists of walking, some running and some bodyweight exercises, nothing that isn't sustainable to me. My calorie goal increases or decreases depending on the circumstances. Sometimes I'm just not hungry, so I take a chance at a 1200 (net) diet, other times I'm hungry or have events or hard work projects, I increase my calories to maintenance.

I don't personally have timed goals, more like soft goals that I expect to reach to call a milestone. Controling my calories is just what I do now, it doesn't feel different (as in, feeling like a special phase) whether I'm eating to lose or eating to maintain, except that I have more food when I maintain. I do have a yearly loss target, but it's attainable and more like a range than a number.

I've personally never been one to overeat "junk food" on a regular basis to the point where it would make weight loss hard, so that hasn't changed. I eat it when I want it, just like I did when I was morbidly obese, I just make sure the calories balance out. I generally eat most of the foods I've always eaten, but I'm now more aware of each food's impact on my calories and this helps me decide if something is worth it on any given day, some days it's worth it other days it's not.

In a nutshell: I'm a relaxed flexible dieter, and that fits my personality and preferences.

Never giving up. Never stop weighing yourself. Keep in touch with your healthy, fitness-minded friends. When I started slipping into old bad habits I blocked my "fitness" friends on FB and stopped hanging out with my yoga girls. Don't do that, refuse to let yourself go to that isolated, dark space.

I wish it was a one time decision to eat right and smooth sailing since but it wasn't that way. I did Weight Watchers and lost 35 pounds, Medifast and lost 70 pounds. Took a break, regained 30 pounds. Back on a ketogenic diet to lose those 30 and 10 more. Down 12 pounds, 28 to go.

I had trainers, signed up for 1/2 marathons which forced me to train regularly. I did boot camp classes, tried yoga, went to the gym when I wasn't doing the above. I just never stopped wanting to reach my goal and I never stopped trying even if it was different stuff.

Basically, PERSISTENCE

Iv lost 50lbs but the last 2 months I also seem to lose 1lb then gain it back....its so frustrating. I stoppped smoking recently which isnt helping. Iv tried eating less but the cheat days are becoming more regular...even tried slimming world for 2 weeks and gained 2lbs. Back to calorie counting but im freakin starvin. Iv still got 18lbs to go and its just not budging. No advice sorry ....just that I feel your pain....