Those that have lost a significant amount of weight, please

Years ago when I lost 70 lbs I was doing a low carb diet focused on lots of veggies and protein. I didnt count calories per say, but I'm sure I was eating somewhere along the line that was lower than mfp would recommend for losing 2 lbs per week. I also never ate back my calories. I worked out at the gym 5ish days per week. And had one "cheat" meal or night per week where I would eat/drink whatever I liked.

Even after I stopped watching what I was eating so closely but continued to exercise, I managed to maintain that weight for about a year....then I stopped the gym. Why oh why?!?!?

Mine was simple. I started moving and watched what I ate. I thought about food as fuel and not comfort. I tried to be hyper cognizant about what was going into my body and if it was going to do me any good nutritionally or not. Now I try to think of keeping my intake (primarily) to fairly nutrient dense foods. I've not been great at it as of late, but it's something that I keep in mind.

I went from little activity to adding cardio 3x a week, then 6x, now 9x. Intermittently I use weights but not enough.

Oops, 60 lb weight loss thus far, with 15 lbs to go.

Hi J.

Ok so this is my story........

After the birth of my kids I weighed 229lbs. I lost 100lbs from walking. Pure and simple. My diet consisted of - (and I'm ashamed to say) smoking and coffee for breakfast, junk food for lunch and whatever we were having for dinner as a family. Usually reasonable but in hindsight really not that good either. I walked up to 20km a day. I started by taking 30mins to do 1.7kms to doing it in 12 min (those were the days).


Over time, and some severe stress, I gained weight again. At the time I was also diagnosed with depression. So I enlisted the help of a personal trainer. Went to her three times a week - starting weight was 171lbs, left her to go on my own at 150lbs. Whilst the weight loss wasn't alot, the inches that had come off was amazing (Iwasn't a skinny fat like the time before)...... Still my diet wasn't really the best.

This time my weight has gone up to 216lbs. Bad eating, lots of alcohol and GIVING UP SMOKING........
So I've started the 17 day diet as a means to get in the mindset..... I have to say well on my way now. Have sourced everything I need to accomplish my goals. ie full home gym, dvd's, MFP, google etc etc..... In two weeks I have not faltered, not once till tonight. Even then my choices were brilliant even if I do say so myself. Can't say how this will pan out but we will soon see.

:happy:

I started by completely cutting alcohol and fast food. The prohibition lasted 3 weeks and I lost 9 lbs. I also went to the gym for classes an average of 5 days a week, signed up for a 5k and started the C25K program.
I work from home a half day on Fridays so, during the spring/summer/fall last year I rode my bike to the gym (the gym is at work), about 3 miles, took a class then rode home, that averaged about 800 - 900 calories which was awesome because I almost always eat back my exercise calories. I've been at about 1200 - 1250 calories a day plus exercise so I eat between 1500 and 1800 a day, Every Sunday is family dinner and exercise rest day so I almost always go over calories that day.

In September I watched a couple of documentaries that convinced me to switch my diet to plant-based. I lost about 8 lbs the first 2 weeks.

I hit a plateau Oct/Nov/Dec, I went on vacation and my alcohol intake started creeping up. I didn't log my food as much during this time so my weight pretty much stayed the same until I got tired of that. I started Insanity and signed up for a half Marathon (May 20) so now I'm working out 5 - 6 days a week, twice a day, Insanity in the morning and a class or running at lunch time. Since I started that 3 weeks ago I've lost about 5 lbs.

I have about 55 to go and my short term goal is about 20 lbs by half marathon day.

edited to add: I try to eat plant-based most of the time but I have added a morning egg/sausage sandwich back to my diet because I found that cereals (oatmeal or cold) just didn't do it for me, I'd be hungry an hour later and end up eating my snack at like 9:30 which was too early because my lunch workout starts at noon and I'd be hungry again. I was tired and hungry all the time and figured since I was doing 2 workouts a day I might need to up my protein.

I'm using Jenny Craig as a tool with my eating. I walk 40 min five days a week and play/train softball twice a week.

I've lost 62lb since July 2011. The main changes that have helped me do this are back to exercising and I pretty much don't drink alcohol anymore. I had got into a rut in a job I was hating more and more each day. I had a lot of personal stress too. I used to just survive - come home from work exhausted and sit and drink wine.
So I began exercising and didn't see any results for a good while - but I had it in my head it was going to change and I wasn't going to do it for weightloss but rather just to get healthy. My food has always been mainly good choices but a lack of it was a bit of a worry. With the stress I had it was not uncommon for me to eat nothing for days on end. The exercise took over the coming home and drinking - by the time I got home from the gym I wouldn't feel like drinking anyways - so that was a slow change. When I exercise well, I am also more in touch with my hunger.
Then I had the good fortune to tell work to shove their job where it fit and I haven't looked back. I exercise most days and eat most meals most days also, generally within the calorie allowance (sometimes over). I now have no reason to even want to drink alcohol.
You can see my diary as we are friends. I also rarely eat processed foods or takeaways and never drink soft drink etc. This is nothing new for me though - I have never consumed these things really. I have also always drank a lot of water.
So, I guess to sum it up - exercise most days, no empty calories of alcohol and more regular eating.

Ok,

I just got really honest about what was going on......

I started at about 320 and lost it in two stages over the last two years..... When I started I really had no expectations that this was going to be any different than any other time, I would lose a little, reward myself with a "treat" that would turn back into three months and all the weight gained back before I stopped "rewarding" myself.

Then I had a reality shock moment, and was forced to be honest.... if I didn't stop this cycle now... I was either going to be as big as I was now for life or bigger... probably bigger.... I was having a hard time walking, had to think about standing up off a chair and my right knee was in pain every step I took.... and I was only 40

I started with the atkins diet hard core .... and I tracked everything I ate.... I didn't exercise because I couldn't.... but I did start moving more.... I would stand instead of sit whenever I could... and I really did park "further" away from the store if not at the far end of the lot.... The Atkins diet works for me because I don't have to count calories so I just had to focus on what foods were ok and I didn't have to worry "too" much about the amounts I ate.... At first I ate a TON of meats and cheese and eggs every day and the weight just fell off me.... because I could eat until I was full I didn't feel like I was deprived and I was able to stick with it. Eventually I was full on a lot less and I started feeling in control of my portions. I started adding foods back into my diet, always sticking to the low carb base though... it's what works for me and I trust it... But I do have carb days and I know that for the next day or two I will have to watch my cravings and portions. Eventually I got to the point where I am now, where I am proud of myself for taking a smaller portion, knowing that it will be enough. Trusting my body to tell me what it needs instead of what it wants. And mostly being free to have a chocolate bar ( or two somedays) and be honestly able to enjoy it because I HAVE control of it!

That was the food part of it... .

The exercise part was like I said slow at first....But I did get up and move.... eventually after about six weeks and the first 15 pounds from dieting I had my "awakening" moment and realized that I had to change my usual pattern of rewarding myself by food or I was going to be like this forever......

I said ok.... it's a little easier than it was 15 pounds ago.... it's not going to get any easier to go back up before I start this..... I got out the kids wii and dug out the copy of wii fit that my son ( I LOVE HIM) had bought me two years ago and thought I will play on this for an hour a day and that's gonna help!..... 12 minutes later I was on the couch sweating, out of breath and embarassed... the damn thing told me I was obese! just said it right out..... "oh you're obese!" ... if I couldn't do a kids game for an hour where the hell was I going to be in ten years? I might as well pick out my scooter and flag cuz I wasn't going to be walking.....and I thought I was already in better shape after losing 15 pounds?? sometimes it really has to kick you in the face for you to understand how serious and how real the situation is.

So the next day I got back up and stuck to my diet and got back ON the Mii Fat and EVERY SINGLE DAY IT TOLD ME I WAS OBESE... It didn't take me as long as I thought to get into good enough shape to hit that hour a day target and what I wasn't expecting was the way I was feeling.... I was sticking to my diet.... I monitored everything that went in.... and I started paying attention to WHEN it went in.... I stopped eating after 5 at night with the exception of a cup of jello light with a spoon of whipped cream at night if I "really" wanted a treat.... If I wanted it I let myself have it guilt free and I enjoyed it! and I started looking for ways to burn those calories off....I noticed that I wasn't "eating" 800 calories at a time anymore... I was eating 240 in a complete lunch so why not think of calories burned the same way.... never mind choosing between taking the stairs or the elevators.... I was taking the stairs and putting extra effort into it.... I put a little EXTRA into everything, whether it's taking the stairs or cleaning the counters....even standing....try standing in a slouched position.... your body automatically goes to the economy mode to conserve it's energy.... I DON"T WANT THAT.... lol...... When I stand I stand UP, I pull my shoulders back and pull my fat tummy in.... ( all the weight hanging off the front of your muscles is a great work out tool for them! I didn't know what I was doing at the time, but it just FELT right, and the results were showing so I went with it.

Eventually I went to the Y and I worked out for 30 minutes a day on the recumbent bike, 30 minutes on the weight machines and 30 minutes of swimming and i did that 5 days a week. My weight loss was steadyish, andtI did tone a lot of muscle which caused my skin to start to sag and I ended up stopping my diet and went into maintenance for about 8 months to give my body chance to recover..... so the gym was a mixed blessing....... it taught me that I could do it.... and I could LOVE doing it... but I needed to be more aware of what I was doing. Clearly something had caught up with me.

during that time I had a lot of stress in my life ( to say the least) and I gained back about 25 of the 110 that I had lost..... I saw it happening and even though I was devestated to be going backwards I "knew" on some level that it was just my destiny and I had been lucky to have gotten as far as I could....

This time when I started I was mad again, I was back up to 225 from 198 and I just didn't CARE if it was my destiny to be fat all my life.... Why should some nameless "fate" decide that I have to be fat when I know how to change it.... So I started back on my diet..... first with the atkins and just recently I've changed it more towards caloric intake because I am concentrating more on slow weight loss combined with toning muscles....and I want to be able to feed my body the carbs it needs....... At best I only have 35 pounds to lose....and I don't know honestly if I am going to be able to lose that much...... I look like a skinny person inside a suit of skin.... it sloshes around and shifts like a hallowe'en costume... it's a totally different kind of fat than that solid fat I had before..... It almost feels as if the fat has separated from "me" like a parasite that has been feeding on me for years.......and now I just need for that to whither up and disappear.... I had no idea that underneath that body I carried for years there was this other "normal" me inside..... and it's awesome....


hope that helps

toning arms video? Where would I get such a thing?

Bump...

I've lost 170 lbs Low calorie, low carb, low sugar and high protien. I focused an cardio for exercise 1 hr 6 to 7 times a week.
I now have about 10 lbs top lose but I'm more concerned with reducing body fat and increasing muscle tone. My diet has lightened up but still low calorie, low carb, low sugar and high protien. But my exercise focus has switched to less cardio and lots of free weights.

I have lost right at 100 lbs in 2011, the last 40 or 50 was done through the help of MFP when I hit a plateau. I am now in the second phase you describe of needing to lose about 20 lbs of fat but also want to gain 20 lbs of muscle, so I've just started concentrating on weight training and maintaining the same scale weight.

How I lost- I just counted calories and did cardio. My loss goal was 2 lbs/week, which is roughly a 1000 calorie a day deficit. . I would not recommend losing it faster. Exercise-First walking, then ellipitcal and finally running.

What I did WRONG during my weight loss was not taking steps to preserve muscle mass early on in my diet. I was not ensuring enough protein and was only getting 50 g or so a day at one point. I didn't start doing resistance training until six months in. Then when I started, I did a lot of isolation exercises (bicep curls, tricep extensions, etc) instead of focusing on the "big lifts" that work all the muscle groups such as the Squat, Deadlift, and Bench press

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

I lost 60 pounds in five months, and I've lost about 33 pounds since that initial loss. The first loss was a combination of cutting way back on calories (I gained from medication, which made me eat and drink sugary things), and tons of cardio mixed with some weight training. Nothing really special in the food department--just a lot of exercise. About two hours a day at the gym, 6-7 days a week. The 23 pounds just kind of came off over time...I can't really explain a whole lot of that. Now I am a strict vegan who exercises 7 days a week, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

bump

I have lost 142 Lbs in one year on 800-900 calories per day all nutrition whole foods, no shakes or protein powders, walking just 30 mins a day...so yes it's a great way to lose weight...I'm in fantastic health with blood work and urinalysis tests to document it. I live a CRON lifestyle and could'nt be happier.