Motivation thread - 24lbs in 2 months

DRC0086
DRC0086 Posts: 7
edited October 5 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone,

Today makes two months of dieting for me, with a weight loss of 25lbs. I thought I'd share my experience to help motivate some people who are struggling.

I was 260lbs at 5'10" 8 weeks ago. About 4 weeks ago I found this site and started logging my meals. I barely exercise, and when I do it's walking. I haven't changed my diet a great deal and I still drink soda. The only thing I'm doing different is making sure I'm eating less calories than I expend each day. If I know I'm going to go over my calorie goal of 2,100 I just make sure to go for a walk, or make up the calorie surplus over the next day or two. At a daily deficit of roughly 500cal per day the weight started to pour off. It's slowed down to a healthier pace and I'm feeling great.

Next week I'm going to change my diet and cut out most of the bad foods I've continued to eat, but I just wanted to stress that what you eat means relatively little in terms of weight loss. You can eat junk food all day and still lose weight, or you could eat broccoli all day and gain weight. It's all about calories in vs. calories out. Poor foods are going to effect your health and nutrition and you certainly should strive to eat healthy and nutritious foods, but don't beat yourself up if you're dying for a twinkie, lol.

Anyway, I've made my food log public so you guys can see that I've been very successful even though I'm eating all kinds of sugary, fatty foods.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/DRC0086

Good luck everyone, hope this gives you some motivation and makes you realize that a calorie deficit is the only way to shed weight and that even the healthiest of foods can cause weight gain if eaten in excess.

Replies

  • DRC0086
    DRC0086 Posts: 7
    Just to clarify, I'm certainly not endorsing eating unhealthy foods, and I intend to make drastic changes to my diet, I just want to stress that weight loss is simple and needn't be a tortuous process filled with boiled chicken breast and tofu.

    Good luck
  • Stormyyy
    Stormyyy Posts: 247 Member
    Well done and thanks for sharing ur experience :)
  • MummaAimz
    MummaAimz Posts: 81 Member
    Well done! 24 pounds in 2 months is amazing! I'm down 21 in 2 months and I couldn't be more proud of myself! HIGH FIVE!
  • mroper
    mroper Posts: 92 Member
    If I looked at my food log every day and only had 5 things listed on there I would freak out. Im glad this is working for you but just wait until you clean up your eating some...you will feel like you are eating all the time rather than 2 meals a day. So many things you can eat that are WAY less calories than half a pizza. Im not in any way judging you because I honestly only looked back like 5 days on your log but I do think you will be so much more satisfied when you eat healthier choices. :D
  • mroper
    mroper Posts: 92 Member
    Oh and CONGRATS on 24lbs!!!
  • ksimmons19
    ksimmons19 Posts: 223 Member
    It works right now because you're not all that calorie restricted. It gets much more difficult as you get smaller and have to restrict your calories more and more to see results. That's when it will matter what you eat because just like the above poster mentioned you will be searching for anything that will fill you up for longer than an hour while staying under your calorie goal. That said, I agree with what you're trying to say it doesn't really matter what you eat for weight loss as long as you're under your calorie goal. I go to fast food places and get something off the dollar menu and eat ONLY that if I'm craving junk food. Otherwise, it just makes you FEEL so much butter when you eat clean. I still don't really know what that feels like but I'm working on it ;) congrats on your weight loss and good luck to you!
  • gmrgirl
    gmrgirl Posts: 50 Member
    congratulations on your success! I don't even know you and I'm proud of you. not only am I proud of your current success, but also of your commitment. You took the last two months to become aware of WHAT you eat, now you are taking the next logical step "How can I make better choices?"

    You're starting with solid information about your habits, how to make adjustments when you have a craving and encouraging a positive relationship with food (rather than cultivating an negative "I failed because I had X" relationship).

    I applaud your determination to move to the next level by changing your habits. i know you'll have success because you are starting with a solid foundation. Whatever you do, keep your eyes on the prize. Keep the deficit. Maintain walking or whatever you determine to be your ideal workout and you will continue to see the success you want to see!

    as for only seeing 5 items on the food journal, the journal is not split up to inform when the items are eaten. If it was 2 slices of pizza for lunch, 2 slices of pizza for dinner, a few eggs for breakfast, a soda during lunch, a little debby during dinner, and eggs for snacks, it's the same amount of food, but broken up throughout the day. Without knowing *when* the food was consumed, it is my personal (and professional) opinion that I cannot make a judgment call on whether to be alarmed or not.

    At any rate - may you see every continued success as you move to healthier choices! one step at a time!
  • dizam
    dizam Posts: 25 Member
    Keep up the good work!
  • joysyear
    joysyear Posts: 48 Member
    Wow, that's amazing. So all you did was eat less calories. Everytime I go below my calorie level the screen yells at me and tells me that my body will go into starvation mode and make it harder to lose weight. So I've been trying to meet my calorie goal but haven't really changed much since i joined 2 weeks ago. What am i doing wrong?
  • MoooveOverFluffy
    MoooveOverFluffy Posts: 398 Member
    GREAT JOB!! I agree, a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss, but definitely not when it comes to nutrition and health. For instance, i recently had a major FAIL for dinner: McDonald's quarter pounder (with cheese ;/) and fries......... then a few hours later on my nightly walk/run i was DRAGGING.... could barely finish what was normally not that difficult. I know it was from all that heavy/awful/nutrient-empty food i ate....
  • Gemnildy
    Gemnildy Posts: 124 Member
    Kudos for the loss!!! I am nowhere near your loss in only 2 months but I finally realizedn where I needed to be to kick my metabolism into gear. The learning curve is the greatest asset that will make this work for you. Every body is different, and at different points in your live as well. At my age, it took me a little longer to make it all start working.. but the daily committment to 20-40 of cardio has absolutely made the difference!

    Good job and keep at it!!! :flowerforyou:
  • awdhemi
    awdhemi Posts: 99 Member
    If I looked at my food log every day and only had 5 things listed on there I would freak out. Im glad this is working for you but just wait until you clean up your eating some...you will feel like you are eating all the time rather than 2 meals a day. So many things you can eat that are WAY less calories than half a pizza. Im not in any way judging you because I honestly only looked back like 5 days on your log but I do think you will be so much more satisfied when you eat healthier choices. :D

    I agree, if you now focus on what you are eating, you will be much better off than you are now! Trust me, I don't eat tofu or any of that stuff. Some people's diaries that I look at, I don't even know what half the stuff is that they are eating. But making sure I have fruits, veggies and lean meats has helped. I still have pizza and pasta every now and then...
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    Hey everyone,

    Today makes two months of dieting for me, with a weight loss of 25lbs. I thought I'd share my experience to help motivate some people who are struggling.

    I was 260lbs at 5'10" 8 weeks ago. About 4 weeks ago I found this site and started logging my meals. I barely exercise, and when I do it's walking. I haven't changed my diet a great deal and I still drink soda. The only thing I'm doing different is making sure I'm eating less calories than I expend each day. If I know I'm going to go over my calorie goal of 2,100 I just make sure to go for a walk, or make up the calorie surplus over the next day or two. At a daily deficit of roughly 500cal per day the weight started to pour off. It's slowed down to a healthier pace and I'm feeling great.

    Next week I'm going to change my diet and cut out most of the bad foods I've continued to eat, but I just wanted to stress that what you eat means relatively little in terms of weight loss. You can eat junk food all day and still lose weight, or you could eat broccoli all day and gain weight. It's all about calories in vs. calories out. Poor foods are going to effect your health and nutrition and you certainly should strive to eat healthy and nutritious foods, but don't beat yourself up if you're dying for a twinkie, lol.

    Anyway, I've made my food log public so you guys can see that I've been very successful even though I'm eating all kinds of sugary, fatty foods.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/DRC0086

    Good luck everyone, hope this gives you some motivation and makes you realize that a calorie deficit is the only way to shed weight and that even the healthiest of foods can cause weight gain if eaten in excess.

    THANK YOU!!!!!

    so ,many,many,many,many people get bogged down in the biology of it all, but you hit it on the head in simple terms...if calories in is less than calories OUT, hey presto..you lose weight!! and of course it's far beneficial to do this whilst eating 'healthy'. great post!!
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    GREAT JOB!! I agree, a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss, but definitely not when it comes to nutrition and health. For instance, i recently had a major FAIL for dinner: McDonald's quarter pounder (with cheese ;/) and fries......... then a few hours later on my nightly walk/run i was DRAGGING.... could barely finish what was normally not that difficult. I know it was from all that heavy/awful/nutrient-empty food i ate....
    What "nutrient empty food" are you referring to?

    A McD quarter-pounder and fries is FAR from being "nutrient-empty"!

    A few weeks ago I did a run (I don't know if it was 6 or 10 miles) and it absolutely sucked. I felt like my feet we stuck in cement. What was frustrating was that I was heading into the weekend, when I do my long runs, so on Fri and Sat, I increase my carbs. I ate a bagel for breakfast and another one, with PB, for morning snack. My plan was that when I rolled out to run, I'd be filled to the brim with glycogen.

    No chance! It was awful!

    My post-run thinking was that I had too much food in my stomach when I started running so the blood flow to my legs and lungs was reduced. Perhaps I was still trying to digest the PB&B ("peanut butter & bagel")?

    I can't be sure if that was the cause but, since I'd had great runs earlier that week, I couldn't think of any other explanation.

    For you, I'd be more inclined to think that having what might be a lot of food for you in your stomach was more of a factor than the idea that it was from McD's (heh, it's just ground beef, cooked potatoes and a "cheese-like" substance).

    Alternatively, it could be that you just had a workout that sucked. That does happen! :-)
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