Mission accomplished, slowly but surely: 185 to 138.5 over a year and a half
mlinci
Posts: 402 Member
Hi everyone,
I did it - ive reached my goal weight!
A year and a half ago, just after I turned 40, I decided I had to do something about my weight. It reached 84kg (185 lbs) on my 5'5 frame, I was officially obese with a BMI over 30. I felt like a balloon that was about to pop, my breasts were ridiculously big and I thought I was still a hourglass figure, but my waist had pretty much disappeared. My clothes were all getting too small.
Starting measures:
84kg (185 lbs)
Chest about 41
Waist about 38
Hips about 42
Clothes - UK size 16 at least
I re-joined MFP and decided that this time I was going to take a different approach to dieting. In the past, I had lost weight successfully on diets like Atkins or South Beach, but unsurprisingly, I hadn't really thought about maintenance, and I'd regain weight immediately after going off diet.
This time I decided to eat everything in moderation. I also decided to go slowly, as I am totally unable to eat under 1,500 calories a day and knew I wouldn't last a day, let alone a year, on such a drastic low calorie diet. So I've been consistently eating about 1,600 - 1,700 calories a day for the first half year, and then about 1,700-1,800 a day since, losing about a pound a week for the first couple of months and about half a pound per week since. I've also increased my physical activity, to over 10,000 steps a day, and I've been very consistent about it.
And it all worked. I'm now 138.5 lbs (just under 63 kg) and happy to stay there. I've gained lots of good eating habits. I've gained good logging habits. I've entered my food in MFP literally every day since I started, logging everything, never hiding any food from the diary. I've become as good as I can at guessing calories when I eat out, and I eat out often - I have lunch at the staff restaurant every day, and I often go out to eat.
I like chocolate, so I work it into my calories - I probably have 20-40g of chocolate every day. I never say no to treats that are worth it, like home made cakes. I learned to say no to treats that are just meh - for example I can skip most donuts and biscuits or just have a tiny amount. I learned to enjoy special meals, and will not under any circumstances call them cheat meals - I hate that phrase. I haven't cut out any foods or food groups.
Current stats:
Weight 62.8kg (138.5 lbs), BMI under 23
Chest 38
Waist 27.5
Hips 38
Bra size about 34E/32F uk size
Clothes - mostly UK size 10
Here are some photos of before and after:
I did it - ive reached my goal weight!
A year and a half ago, just after I turned 40, I decided I had to do something about my weight. It reached 84kg (185 lbs) on my 5'5 frame, I was officially obese with a BMI over 30. I felt like a balloon that was about to pop, my breasts were ridiculously big and I thought I was still a hourglass figure, but my waist had pretty much disappeared. My clothes were all getting too small.
Starting measures:
84kg (185 lbs)
Chest about 41
Waist about 38
Hips about 42
Clothes - UK size 16 at least
I re-joined MFP and decided that this time I was going to take a different approach to dieting. In the past, I had lost weight successfully on diets like Atkins or South Beach, but unsurprisingly, I hadn't really thought about maintenance, and I'd regain weight immediately after going off diet.
This time I decided to eat everything in moderation. I also decided to go slowly, as I am totally unable to eat under 1,500 calories a day and knew I wouldn't last a day, let alone a year, on such a drastic low calorie diet. So I've been consistently eating about 1,600 - 1,700 calories a day for the first half year, and then about 1,700-1,800 a day since, losing about a pound a week for the first couple of months and about half a pound per week since. I've also increased my physical activity, to over 10,000 steps a day, and I've been very consistent about it.
And it all worked. I'm now 138.5 lbs (just under 63 kg) and happy to stay there. I've gained lots of good eating habits. I've gained good logging habits. I've entered my food in MFP literally every day since I started, logging everything, never hiding any food from the diary. I've become as good as I can at guessing calories when I eat out, and I eat out often - I have lunch at the staff restaurant every day, and I often go out to eat.
I like chocolate, so I work it into my calories - I probably have 20-40g of chocolate every day. I never say no to treats that are worth it, like home made cakes. I learned to say no to treats that are just meh - for example I can skip most donuts and biscuits or just have a tiny amount. I learned to enjoy special meals, and will not under any circumstances call them cheat meals - I hate that phrase. I haven't cut out any foods or food groups.
Current stats:
Weight 62.8kg (138.5 lbs), BMI under 23
Chest 38
Waist 27.5
Hips 38
Bra size about 34E/32F uk size
Clothes - mostly UK size 10
Here are some photos of before and after:
189
Replies
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You look great, well done.2
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Félicitations
your pace is like mine slow but sure.2 -
This is very inspiring! Congrats on reaching your goal slowly and steadily, you look wonderful! All the best for maintenance!1
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Well done, you are inspiring me to keep going, your starting stats are very similar to mine!1
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I see no jewelry before-- and a bit of bling now--I started to wear bling bling too when I got past 50 pounds lost--now 64 pounds and love bling!1
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Thank you all. I'm happy to accept any friend requests; also my diary is open for anyone who wants to see what a slow but steady diet diary looks like
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Congrats on your success and hard work!1
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fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing, I am starting off with a similar weight (81kg) and age, I have lost my first 5kg... would love to reach 65. To see you suceeding is sooooo inspirational... you can be so proud!1
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Great approach! Good job!
2 -
LOVE that dress. I can't wait until I weigh less and it's worth investing in some lovely officey dresses. I miss looking feminine. GREAT work
1 -
Wow! inspiring! I have similar stats too but I am just getting started ....again.
Beautiful dress!2 -
Thank you for this today! No tricks, no magic, no eliminated food groups. Just consistent hard work. Fantastic!!!!!6
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Great work! Your stats are very similar to mine. Thanks for the inspiration 1
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Awesome job!!1
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way to go you look great1
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Awesome job!! You look fantastic!!2
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This is GREAT! Good job! I wish I could get my 10k steps in a day, I love to walk, but being a receptionist makes that hard.1
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So inspiring! You look like a different person! It seems slow & steady is the way to go. Congrats!1
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Great job! So inspiring!
Question: why did you up calories halfway through? Was this due to working out more?1 -
Congratulations! So inspirational 1
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Great job! So inspiring!
Question: why did you up calories halfway through? Was this due to working out more?
It was more to do with the fact I really love eating, and I wanted to make sure I can sustain the diet/way of eating indefinitely! Starting to work out more was more of a coincidence, I got a new job which is next to a beautiful park so I am able to go for walks before or after work and during my lunch break and I can walk part of the way home - and then, yes, burning more calories allowed me to eat a bit more. But losing weight meant I burned less calories than when I was bigger, so I think those two cancelled each other out.2 -
I love this post!!! I have recently upped my calories after years of yo-yo-ing.... so many macro calculators have me eating under 1500 cals and it just isn't sustainable! I am currently eating around 2000-2200 (while still training 4 times a week as I always have, even on the lower 1300-1400 calorie phases I used to do).
I have only been doing this for 3 weeks so haven't started to see a change yet and I'm still panicking about eating so much, even if it is 'good healthy stuff'. It just goes against everything I've always done. This post is a breath of fresh air for when I'm having a wobble and feeling like I shouldn't be eating this many calories - I will persevere and play the long game and hopefully start to see a change soon 3 -
Your dress is super cute!2
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Thanks for bumping my thread earlier today! I'm glad to report I've been successfully maintaining since my original post in March, and in fact I've dropped another pound or two since then.
PS I should finally have the opportunity to wear this dress this coming Saturday 11 -
This was perfect for me to read today! I've been trying MFP again, after many years of an "on again, off again" relationship with foods/diets. I decided that this time it was going to be different because this time it was going to be slow. I would no longer starve myself for short term results but I would keep my calories around 1800-1900 a day to lose the weight slowly and still be able to have treats now and again (or daily, let's be honest). It's nice to see someone with the same mindset! Congrats on your progress 4
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This is a post I'm so glad to have come across. Slow and steady wins the race. Congratulations. At this rate maintenance shouldn't be a problem.1
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A fantastic journey with a practical planning. Kudos to you on your hard work! Your post showed that consistency and mindful eating is the way towards a sustainable weight loss. Thank you!1
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I'm really grateful for your post. I've been losing and gaining the same 25lbs for the last 5-10 years. Comes off in summer, goes back on in winter. I think that this approach of logging responsibly and consistently (or at least clocking what I eat before shovelling it in), together with building in more movement to the day is going to have to be my own post-40 plan (it's coming soon, later in the year)...1
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Pretty dress!0
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Firstly, I say "CONGRATULATIONS!"
About this: "I like chocolate, so I work it into my calories - I probably have 20-40g of chocolate every day. I never say no to treats that are worth it, like home made cakes. I learned to say no to treats that are just meh - for example I can skip most donuts and biscuits or just have a tiny amount. I learned to enjoy special meals, and will not under any circumstances call them cheat meals - I hate that phrase. I haven't cut out any foods or food groups."
Amen and amen. Ditto. I repeat every word of this with every opportunity!
(and, please, see a dermatologist about that skin condition)0
This discussion has been closed.
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