I've lost 40 lbs in four months on a nutritional ketogenic diet. This is high fat, moderate protein, and low carb. I didn't bother with calorie counting until I stalled for two months. This particular diet kind of does WHOOSH and stall. If the stall is longer than a couple of months, begin calorie counting and make sure you are not overdoing it on any of your macros.

Typical Day:

Breakfast - 2 eggs, breakfast sausage, and coffee with real cream
Lunch - Homemade beanless chili or a big spinach salad with homemade dressing.
Dinner - Shrimp in heavy cream with lemon zest over zucchini noodles.
Lots of water and tea

I don't normally snack because I'm just not hungry. I did not begin exercising until after losing my first 25 pounds. I decided to lift because I have plantar fasciitis, arthritis, and Achilles tendonitis so the less impact the better. 1 hour of various weights. I was surprised to find I was getting plenty of cardio with battle ropes and beating a tire with a sledgehammer.

Hello! For me Meal Prep and plan is the key in eating healthy. First I plan the food for the week - breakfast, snacks, lunches, and dinner. Then I do my food shopping based on the plan. I cook all the work lunches for me and my husband for the week on a Sunday which usually takes 1-2 hours depending on the kind of food. I usually cook 2 types of lunches where we can interchange. The food planning really cuts off all the stress on what to cook especially for dinner.

@vallet2017 do you eat cherries? They are sweet but healthy and low GI.

Hello. I'm looking to lose between 40-50#. I lost 55 last year, but life happened and part of it found me again. Any tips on meal prep would be great, as I've never done it. I am going to buckle down and get motivated to do this again. Any tips are appreciated.

@33scrappy I'm right there with you! I had a major tragedy in my life a few years ago and lost 25 lbs, which was the perfect weight for me, but because I lost it from the stress, I gained it all back plus another 20!! Ugh! I feel motivated today to start over though!!

Hello all, my name is Sonja. Started this journey Dec 1, so far I've lost 3.5 pounds, not easy, but im sticking to it. Working on losing 50 pounds by JUNE 2017/ i'll be 50 in 6 months.

Hello! I also am looking to lose about 50 lbs. I have lost weight in the past, but gained it back after having 2 more children. The last baby is 2 years old and I have bounced between 205-215 since loosing then. I just started working with a fitness coach last week and have forged a new commitment to my health. What has worked best for my food consumption is planning in advance. I am very excited to finally be mentally ready to change my lifestyle!

Also a quote that motivates me when I don't see the results as quick as I like...

"Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. "

Meaning you need to also need to exercise patience and keep setting yourself up for success in order to see results. Focus on the positive.

@sherecep Meal prep for several days just doesn't work for me. I get bored with what I have prepared and I usually throw meals away. Prepping for only 2 days seems to help me with that, but I know it isn't as time effective.. But if I am not excited or interested in the food I eat, I lose focus. Perhaps only prep for a couple days and make sure that there is something in the meal you look forward to eating. Keep at it and keep your calories under budget for the day.
What kind of workouts are you doing? If it is cardio only, I highly suggest incorporating weight lifting. Building muscle adds to your metabolism and is great for re-shaping your body.

My doctor told me this past week that all my stats look very good. My blood pressure and my sugar level is well below where in needs to be. My only problem right now is my vitamin D. I have always been anemic and now my anemia in under control with no medicine. All I am doing to taking all the bad stuff out of my diet. Its amazing to know that that this is all I needed to do. I am under so much stress right now and I am glad to know that I am still doing this. My goal this year to lose 5 pounds a month. That means I will lose 1.5 pounds a week. I start back my exercising tomorrow!!!

The elliptical machine since I have to start over I am going to try to do atleast 20 min @ 1. I am going to only do weights once a week. I think the problem I was having last time is I was doing to many weights and since muscle weighs more then fat I was not losing like I wanted because I was doing to many weights. I think I want to concentrate of losing the fat then I will concentrate on gaining muscle.

So my exercise plan for the year is to get to 5X's a week at the gym every week consistent and get on the elliptical atleast 60 min going level 4. I wont make that probable until December of this year but that is my goal for this year.

I am so proud of myself because I am sticking to my lifestyle change. People will bring things to work and ask me if I want some and 9x out of 10 I say no. My wheel power is getting really good. So I am eating real food and all my food is going to be cooked from whole food with whole ingredients.

I am not using box or processed food. Even when I need to make tomato sauce I am going to make it myself. That way I know what is going into my body. I need to work on serving size and I am going to try to eat 5-6 small meals a day as a posed to 3 large meals a day. What I am finding out is that when I eat 3 meals I want to snack more but I am going to try the 5-6 meals to see if that work better for me. I am going to still try to stay under my 1200 calories per day. I will let y'all know how this is working out.