Age 37
Height 5’9"
Starting Weight: 390 lbs (June, 2020)
Current Weight: 311.4 lbs
Long Term Goal Weight: 155-160 lbs
Short Term Goal Weight: 299 lbs

I am so close to that 299. I know as soon as I hit it, I'm gonna cry

Age 57
Height 5’9"
Starting Weight: 275.6 lbs (Jan 2020)
Current Weight: 179.2 lbs
Long Term Goal Weight: 150 - 160 lbs (????)
Short Term Goal Weight: 175 lbs (100 lbs down!!)
Normal BMI - 169 (ten pounds away!)

If someone had told me back in January that I would weight less than 180lbs on the last morning of the year I would have been in absolute disbelief. I'm thankful for this place to celebrate!!!!! Otherwise I find myself lost in my mistakes (like that chocolate "L" - a Dutch Christmas tradition - that arrived by surprise and found its way into my belly yesterday when dinner was delayed). And people can be a bit weird when you lose a lot of weight. Instead of goodwill, it can bring out their insecurities and unhappiness with their own body - or fear that you are changing (and I am - but in a good way).

I don't know what weight will find me happy and thinking "woohoo I've made it!" My body is such a mess of loose skin, jiggly bits, cords of muscle and bones (!) it is weird and something I'm not familiar with. It might end up being more a case of finding what maintenance level of calories I am content with? How much energy I have in the evening? Maybe it will be the size of new jeans? Will the significance of the scale number fade?

As I add calories to each day, and have more days of eating at maintenance, I don't know how long it will take me to reach this unknown goal. I was thinking my birthday near the end of Mar - but that is too soon - maybe my quitting smoking - which brought me 80 lbs :-( - anniversary in mid May?

It is starting to mean less than it did. Success in the process is my new reward. Every week that I stay on my new course is a big win. I guess over time that will be measured my months and then years?

Starting weight: 272 (2/27/2020)
Current weight: 202 (1/7/2021)
Total lost to date: 70

I am super close to "onederland" which will be awesome and then my next official goal is 172, but I get pretty excited at each decade, so will be happy at 192 and 182 as well. Feeling good overall, somedays the loss feels so quick, and somedays it feels like it's taking forever (although I know that's not realistic). The odd thing is weight loss doesn't feel magical anymore - it's a science that makes sense in my brain, so as long as I am honest with my intake and stick to my daily goals, the goals WILL keep happening (still amazed that this is where my brain is at).

Coming up on one year tracking next month, excited to see what my total loss for the year will be, I am estimating it'll be 194-ish, or a 78-pound loss, as I have been averaging about 5-6 pounds a month.

My daughter and I are moving 2/1/21, into a basement apartment, so it's a health goal of mine to get a treadmill as walking/running is my first fitness love, but I live in Minnesota and am a winter wimp. My personal goal is to get our first cat.

Feel free to request me as a friend if we're not connected yet. I find the connections to be SOOOO motivating and encouraging for me.

gewel321 wrote: »

@lauriekallis I was wondering what your daily calorie goals are and how much exercise you are doing each day. Essentially what is your plan? We started in the same place ( I was 250) and our goals are the same since we are almost the same height but I have been working at it for much longer and you have had better results. Just curious what you were doing. Thanks!

I read your question yesterday and hesitated because although I made it here I'm not certain my route was ideal. And it is quite particular to my thoughts about food and my way of living. I work from home and therefore have a bit more freedom on how and when I eat. But for better or worse - here goes!

From the end of April until into October my daily calories were between 1000 and 1300 - started lower and got higher as I lost fat and couldn't function well on that high of a deficit. I've been eating a lot of vegetables. Lots! And mostly avoided processed foods, eating instead pretty plain fare - plus some treats. I'm a vegetarian - which I don't think helps with weight loss because sometimes the idea of eating a chicken breast for protein sounds so much easier and more efficient on a nutrient level than beans, lentils, eggs and dairy - but it certainly impacts my food choices.

I walked a lot in 2020. I have a serious shoulder injury (I'm waiting for surgery in these crazy times) that is stopping me from doing things that involve my torso or arms, so I walk. I've been walking an average of 3 hours or 17-18,000 steps a day.

Since October, as I hit my original and near my final goal, my weight loss has slowed down quite a bit. I have been working to find an "inbetween" stage to lose the last 20 or 30 pounds and find my way to "maintenance" eating. Which is harder than the full out high deficit period of this journey.

The only hard eating "rule" I imposed because it was a major problem for me is "no bread or cereal." I'm naturally lazy when it comes to feeding myself. When I ate those things, together they became the most prominent component of my daily eating routine. Sandwiches, and toast or cereal for breakfast, toast or cereal for snacks etc. Over this past summer, because I was trying to squeeze as much food (I'm talking bulk here!) into my low calorie goal I gave up most other refined grains like pasta and rice (I still ate an occasional cookie or other sweet treat (once or twice a week), or pizza (once a month or so). Now, if I'm craving carbs I'll boil or roast a potato (white or sweet). I've come to love and really appreciate the magnificent potato! They are filling and never add as many calories to my day as bread did when I was on one of my "another slice of toast won't hurt" rolls, and they don't seem to trigger a binge.

I feel so much healthier now. I have never eaten better in my life and I've come to really love it! It takes more time to prepare, but I'm trying very hard to learn that 1) I am worth it and 2) some of the other nonsense things I do with my time are not more important than feeding myself well. My main meal is in the middle of the day, after a good walk. My goal "main" meal is 2 scrambled eggs, black beans, and 3 or 4 vegetables with a splash of olive oil and/or feta cheese. An impressive plate of food, but sometimes it is really hard to bring myself to fix this meal - I just want to eat something quick. My trick now is to think of some favourite record while I'm on the last leg of my walk and put it one as soon as I get in the door - and then straight to the cutting board! I'm also noticing that the more time I spend preparing food - the less I tend to eat !? If I pull a frozen container of chili out of the freezer and quickly heat it up, I could easily eat two servings. If, at the moment, I make the equivalent from scratch one serving leaves me feeling satisfied, with no cravings for more. ???? That makes no sense on the "trigger" front, but it is something I've noticed. Does part of my obsession with food get used up during the preparation stage???? Who knows. lol.


I've had a heck of a time getting back on track this month. I'm not sure if that is because my weight loss journey was too fast? or too extreme? Until I have a better understanding of that I'm not sure what I would recommend.

I'm starting to think though that those refined grains that are creeping back into regular rotation as I add calories - different types of crackers mainly, no pasta yet, and no bread - are the source of my problem. They are inciting a riot in my gut (the gas has been ridiculous!) and brought back all the old cravings.

For now, all those "healthy" multigrain crackers and flatbreads are going the way of the dodo. They are simply not worth this struggle. I don't plan on dieting the rest of my life - but if giving up regular consumption of processed grains means I can live at a healthy weight and not have to battle every freaking day - that is the route I'm going. Which doesn't mean that if the world ever returns to normal I won't enjoy a pasta dinner at a restaurant or friends, or some naan bread with an Indian meal. It just won't be part of my everyday food options.

Long response! Thank you for your question @gewel321 because it made me think deeply about this journey I've been on and where I'm at now.