Have you lost over 100 pounds? Tell me about your experience, please!

I_Am_in_Here_Somewhere · July 2018

I would love to hear from people who have actually done this-- specifically, how much of a calorie cut you made at the beginning, and how you made the transition from comfort/boredom eater or grazer or fast food queen or whatever to becoming a successful loser of weight. Did you make changes gradually or all at once? Did you follow a diet plan or just eat whatever and count calories?

I'm 200 pounds overweight and kind of struggling to get started. I go to the grocery store and feel torn about what to buy-- do I get what I really feel like, or what I feel I "should" eat, or some of both? Not even ready to think about exercise at this point, I just want to get the food and calorie part sorted in a way that I can live with and maintain.

I live alone, so I guess that makes it easier, theoretically.

ruqayyahsmum · July 2018

Start by logging everything you eat for a week
Weigh all your foods and use cups/measuring spoons for all liquids

Then make tweaks to what you eat aiming to lower the calories towards what mfp says you should be aiming for

Find some form of exercise you enjoy doing

I've lost 160lb
I don't eat breakfast as I'm not hungry when I wake but by forcing myself to eat it I was going over my calories. I save them now as I like to eat halo top before bed

I enjoy hiking so my main form of exercise is walking, I actually hike with my toddler on my back, a baby I was told I could never have

I'm still chipping away at my weight, I have about 80lb still to go

Good luck

motivatedmartha · July 2018

Lots of stories on the Success story board - many people there have lost 100lbs+ but all of the losers there are inspirational and informative regardless.Lots of wise words and motivation there.

apullum · July 2018

I ate 1200 plus exercise calories for the entire time I was losing. HOWEVER, I am also very short, and I have a sedentary job. I would never say that 1200 is appropriate for all people, or even most people. It was just appropriate for me.

I decided one day that I was going to lose weight. I started an account here and started eating within that calorie goal the very next day. I also started running again with Couch to 5k. I had done C25K before, but then I got injured and stopped running for a year, so I was starting all over again from scratch. I weighed 215 pounds at that point, BMI of 42.

I never followed any named diet. I'm vegetarian, but I stopped eating meat long before I started trying to lose weight, and being vegetarian had nothing to do with my weight loss. The only thing you need to worry about is consistently making sure your calories eaten are less than your calories burned. If any specific diet works, it is only because that diet causes you to eat fewer calories than you burn. You do not have to follow a specific diet unless it's medically necessary for you.

There's no such thing as what you "should" or "shouldn't" eat, but there likely are foods that you'll find more filling or less filling. This is a matter of personal preference. Usually, people find protein, fiber, and/or fat to be filling. You should experiment to see which of these things, if any, helps you feel full. Some people also like to eat large quantities of food, and one of the easiest ways to do this within a tight calorie budget is to eat a lot of low-calorie vegetables.

I also never stopped eating sweets, because I like sweets. Specifically, I eat chocolate every day. I budgeted a few calories for a little bit of chocolate every day while I was losing weight. Now I'm in maintenance and I eat more chocolate

I lost a little over 100 pounds and now maintain at 110-115 lb.

Psychgrrl · July 2018

I lost 117 pounds. And 117 is pretty much what I weigh now. I followed no particular diet, I just ate less of what I was eating before. Weighing all my solids and measuring all my liquids made a huge difference. I am very active in spite of my sedentary job. I choose to get at least 10,000 steps outside of exercise daily and I exercise pretty much every day. It took several years and I took a break for about 4 months.

I still eat burgers and fries and pizza. But I also eat a lot of veggies, quinoa, tuna, and chicken.

lorrpb · July 2018

I encourage to look in success stories forum, there are lots of great stories (including mine lol).

kommodevaran · July 2018

I_Am_in_Here_Somewhere wrote: »

I would love to hear from people who have actually done this-- specifically, how much of a calorie cut you made at the beginning, and how you made the transition from comfort/boredom eater or grazer or fast food queen or whatever to becoming a successful loser of weight. Did you make changes gradually or all at once? Did you follow a diet plan or just eat whatever and count calories?

I'm 200 pounds overweight and kind of struggling to get started. I go to the grocery store and feel torn about what to buy-- do I get what I really feel like, or what I feel I "should" eat, or some of both? Not even ready to think about exercise at this point, I just want to get the food and calorie part sorted in a way that I can live with and maintain.

I live alone, so I guess that makes it easier, theoretically.

Your questions and situation seems familiar, so I hope I can contribute even if I "only" had 50 pounds to shed.

how much of a calorie cut you made at the beginning?
I started out just by eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, and not counting calories. I started to walk. Then I started to count calories, stayed low the first couple of weeks, then stuck like glue to the suggested amount.

how you made the transition from comfort/boredom eater or grazer or fast food queen or whatever to becoming a successful loser of weight
I am working on my mindset and attitudes every day. I use a range of techniques, one of them is "I am a person who". For instance, I tell myself "I think and feel like a normal weight person", "I am no longer a person who sits and eats candy all day", "I eat anything I want, but not everything at once, and not all the time". I "surf" urges. I eat for pleasure, but I don't abuse food. I eat treats now and then, but the majority of my diet is ordinary food, eaten in appropriate portions, at regular intervals.

Did you make changes gradually or all at once?
Yes to both. I implemented many changes, stuck to some, discarded many, learnt some new ones, always working on making them work better for me.

Did you follow a diet plan or just eat whatever and count calories?
This time around, I started to just eat what I want and count calories. I maintain my weight just by the things described above.

I go to the grocery store and feel torn about what to buy-- do I get what I really feel like, or what I feel I "should" eat, or some of both?
Solving this, was a gamechanger. Understanding that a healthy diet is balanced and varied, that there are no right and wrong foods, that I can eat anything in moderation, and that eating in moderation is attainable when I don't feel scared and helpless and entitled, turned the whole business of eating healthily and managing weight, upside down.

sschauer513 · July 2018

I lost 120+ at the beginning I went to a medical weight loss program that had dieticians and nurses and doctors to help with classes on nutrition etc. But they put me on a 1500 calorie diet started out at 389lbs and am male just for context. But for exercise all I did was walk the neighborhood could only really do a block for first few weeks but would add going 1 house farther every day or so and then became easier and normal. One nice thing when have that much to lose weight will come off real fast at first just by doing little things like walking. But best thing I ever did is went to a class at the grocery store on how to read food labels and understand what exactly I'm eating and just because it says healthy or low whatever on the package to understand portion size.

My advice is to look for a dietician or other program your insurance might pay for it all but one other word of advise look for small goal your goal can't be lose 200 lbs it is too much to wrap your head around and that is at best 1-2 years of work but say 5lbs lost in 2 weeks maybe at the beginning that can be done in 1 week but break it down by mini goals. Don't get frustrated too much it is a up and down ride we aren't perfect and weight doesn't solely define anyone it is just a number.

sschauer513 · July 2018

My other thought is until you can answer honestly why you want to lose the weight which can be anything you want even if just to look better in your eyes, life better longer etc. You must be honest with your inner voice this was key to me I can eat 1 oreo cookie a day and not affect my progress but I won't/can't only eat 1 a day if it is in the house so it never comes into the house. We all lie to ourselves which is pretty funny in a way "I am healthy fat", "I'm big boned", "I will only eat 1 cookie from the package" be honest with yourself and you will be fine. But answer the why question first the the how is easy eat less calories do more exercise but when you fall down have a bad day or week the "why" picks you back up and you can start again everyday is a new slate.

ceiswyn · July 2018

I never put anything in my mouth that I don’t actively want.

If I’m craving cheese, and decide that no, I’m going to have a low calorie salad instead, then what ends up happening is that I have the salad - and then the cheese as well. So no more of that. Now I just have the cheese right off, just in a very small portion that I make sure I really savour.

I also spend a reasonable amount of time convincing myself I’m not hungry, or getting buried in a task or going out for a walk so that I don’t start making myself ‘hungry’ by thinking about food. Similarly, I’ve noticed that if I tell myself ‘I’ll have it if I’m still hungry in ten minutes’ I will spend that ten minutes thinking about it, ensuring that I’m hungry; so now it’s a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’ immediately, and move on.

LosingLaurensWay · July 2018

I lost 175, then gained back 79. I’ve now lost 10 of the 79 I gained.

Be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself for an hiccups. Believe you will do it. It’s a long journey.

When I was 410 lbs I started by simply logging everything I did, eating smaller portions (like eating a jr whopper instead of a regular whopper, getting a value fry instead of a large), and keeping myself consistently under the suggested calorie deficit for my size (at the time I believe it was 2700). I was also actively walking on the treadmill and doing light weight lifting 3-4 times a week.

With every 20 lbs lost I noticed that’s when a plateau of some sort would hit. I then proceeded to up my exercise intensity, cut fast food even more, but maintained the suggested calorie deficit for my size.

When I weighed around 270 I started eating a clean diet, reduced my added sugar intake and started training for a half marathon. I was extremely active at this time and very conscious of my diet, but I worked my way up to this point.

One thing I didn’t expect was the sudden attention I was receiving. I’ve been heavy all my life and was pretty much invisible to men aside from being friends with them. I can honestly say I didn’t know how to handle what was happening to me on a daily basis (catcalling, sexual harassment, etc.) and ending up gaining back weight.

Check in with yourself regularly as to why you’ve gained this weight. I’m not talking about fast food, binging or overeating because they are all a symptom. Once I reached a “socially attractive” weight I was complete blind sided by all the attention I was receiving. Only now do I realize I had gained this weight in the first place to hide from being sexualized and when it returned I retreated back in to my old ways.

GW4321 · July 2018

I lost 125lbs. My diet probably wasn’t the healthiest way, but it worked and made me healthier in the end. I still ate foods that I enjoyed, but I counted calories and made sure to stay in a deficit. I probably ate a greater volume of food during my diet than I ever did when I was 300+ lbs.

I started by identifying the biggest factor. It was clear that I was drinking way too many calories (soda, sweet tea, espresso drinks). I went from drinking 800-1000 calories per day to allowing myself “only” 150 calories. That obviously made a huge difference.

My next step was eliminating most of the unnecessary calories. For example, I realized it was unnecessary for me to put cheese and mayo on a sandwich. That adds a lot of extra calories that won’t help me stay full. I also made better choices. Just simple changes like… grilled is a better option than fried. A side salad is usually better than French fries.

My daily goal was 30 minutes of exercise. That was usually lifting weights or just walking. Just remember that exercise is not the most important aspect of weight loss.

I’ve gained back 20lbs in the past 1.5 years. I now lift weights 5-6 days per week, so a good portion of that weight gain is muscle. I’m currently trying to get motivated to lose weight again to complete my transformation.

Best of luck to you.

I_Am_in_Here_Somewhere · July 2018

Wow, you guys, there is a lot of really helpful insight and info here. Thank you all. This will help me a lot, I think.

ChubbyMcChubface · July 2018

I started off at 485 lbs and have lost 195 lbs in 15-ish months. I started off very slow and gradual. I set my weight loss goal to only 2 lbs per week which, at that weight, allowed me to still eat over 2800 calories a day. I don't follow any particular diet I just started incorporating a lot more vegetables into my diet. Over time as the weight started to come off, my calorie goal went down and I slowly made my diet more strict, such as reducing bread and grains and sticking to high fiber items only, sticking to mainly lean meats like chicken and seafood, and .

I also started incorporating exercise very slowly. The first two weeks I only went to the gym 3 times and only lifted weights for 5 minutes before leaving. The next week I made it 10 minutes. Two weeks later I made it 15 minutes. The next week I added 5 minutes of running and started going 3 times a week. And so on. Now I go 5-6 times a week, run for 45 minutes and lift weights for another 10-30 minutes depending on how much energy I have left.

The slow and steady wins the race method worked really well for me because the changes happened more organically over time rather than diving full steam ahead into some radical changes that aren't sustainable. The changes were small enough over time that they were very easy to adapt to, and I still make sure to "cheat" several times a week so I don't feel like I'm depriving myself.

Hope that helps. And good luck! You can do it. I've been morbidly obese my entire adult life and thought I was going to die by the age of 40. Making small changes over time and not trying to force myself into a drastic lifestyle change is the first time in 37 years I've been able to successfully make a real lasting lifestyle change.

motivatedmartha · July 2018

ChubbyMcChubface wrote: »

I started off at 485 lbs and have lost 195 lbs in 15-ish months. I started off very slow and gradual. I set my weight loss goal to only 2 lbs per week which, at that weight, allowed me to still eat over 2800 calories a day. I don't follow any particular diet I just started incorporating a lot more vegetables into my diet. Over time as the weight started to come off, my calorie goal went down and I slowly made my diet more strict, such as reducing bread and grains and sticking to high fiber items only, sticking to mainly lean meats like chicken and seafood, and .

I also started incorporating exercise very slowly. The first two weeks I only went to the gym 3 times and only lifted weights for 5 minutes before leaving. The next week I made it 10 minutes. Two weeks later I made it 15 minutes. The next week I added 5 minutes of running and started going 3 times a week. And so on. Now I go 5-6 times a week, run for 45 minutes and lift weights for another 10-30 minutes depending on how much energy I have left.

The slow and steady wins the race method worked really well for me because the changes happened more organically over time rather than diving full steam ahead into some radical changes that aren't sustainable. The changes were small enough over time that they were very easy to adapt to, and I still make sure to "cheat" several times a week so I don't feel like I'm depriving myself.

Hope that helps. And good luck! You can do it. I've been morbidly obese my entire adult life and thought I was going to die by the age of 40. Making small changes over time and not trying to force myself into a drastic lifestyle change is the first time in 37 years I've been able to successfully make a real lasting lifestyle change.

All of this! Fantastic achievement and fantastic advice. Please see your weight loss as changing the way you do things to facilitate a healthy lifestyle - no fixed term drastic action and no aggressive 'dieting'. That way you will give yourself time to learn new and better eating/activity habits that stay with you when you have achieved a weight you find acceptable.

callsitlikeiseeit · July 2018

look in the success form. lots of good stories, and mine is in there somewhere, too.

Have you lost over 100 pounds? Tell me about your experience, please!

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