How did you kick start your weight loss? How did you begin?

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Replies

  • ems1583
    ems1583 Posts: 150 Member
    I stopped drinking soda, started doing turbofire 2-3x/week, bought healthy foods and watch the calories whenever I do my groceries. Basically, small things at first and then I decided to get serious with it. Now doing MFP calorie counting and Insanity workout :) forgot, less fastfood, like once/month now...:)
  • When I started my "healthy eating", I started by cutting out junk food, exchange chips for popcorn, major difference, give up soda, coffee, etc, and drink nothing but water. Very hard to do, trust me I know. If you are addicted to caffeine like I am, get you some Crystal Light packets to go in your bottles of water, I use Wild Strawberry Energy. But only drink one or two per day, they are high in caffeine. I have also started the Couch to 5K program. My profile is going to say I haven't lost any weight because a friend told me about this website and I just logged on yesterday. But after I had my baby (he is now 7 months old) I was about 190lbs, I would say. Now I'm down to 174lbs. So I'm slowly getting there. But I know everyone has heard this before but it's very true. If I can do it, anyone can do it.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    I just decided one random day (April 10, 2011) that I didn't want to be fat anymore... especially with my 40th birthday approaching. I joined MFP, set it to keep me on track to lose a half pound per week, exercised, stayed within my calories and let nature take it's course.

    The one thing different this time from other times I've lost weight in the past is that I decided NO DIETING this time around. I didn't follow any special plan. I didn't have any forbidden foods. I didn't do anything radical or special - I just ate less and moved more.

    Now, a little over a year later, I'm 57 pounds lighter, wearing sizes 6/8 and feeling/looking better than I have in years.
  • Suzieq5
    Suzieq5 Posts: 19
    In reality I have lost 47lbs. before I come on here. I started the diet due to Freddy Kruger Gallstones. You eat fat and you are in pain. (Mine were so bad I likened it to the last stages of giving birth). So that was my incentive to lose weight.. No fat = no pain. When I had the gallbladder out, it became harder because I could eat anything and be ok. Unfortunately Freddy Kruger's gallstone twin, arrived and Laugh a minute kidney stones developed with a nice does of blood poisoning as the side dish It just made me realise that if I did not listen and take notice of what my body was telling me I would not be around long enough to enjoy old age. I don't like ww, but I knew I needed to record what I ate. I sometimes don't eat and then binge. To stop that I eat regularly and record everything. I record everything for a reason, cos if I do, and I count it, at least it won't make me feel guilty for eating it and half the time when you think something has a zillion calories in it, it has not. I also gave up chocolate for 3 months and now it does not bother me. It is a hard struggle, and I have had blips but I must keep going. I am a realist, I know I won't get back to my younger self, where I could get a size 10 (English size), jeans on (if I laid on the floor and pulled the zip up with a coat hanger!), or have a body like Claudia Schiffer, I just want to be able to walk in a shop and be able to try clothes on that I don't even look at, and the most important thing, be a much healthier person, and lose the weight. So that is my story
  • Yes major difference. I cut out soda completely and by doing that, I have lost about 20 lbs, with no exercise. Yeah it works. And it will make you feel like a new person, you won't feel so run down, you will have tons of energy. It's amazing what your body will feel like without soda.
  • TheDoctorDana
    TheDoctorDana Posts: 595 Member
    I have health issues (Fibromyalgia) and my aunt got me on these shakes to help with it because it helped a friend of hers. I figured after dealing with the pain for as long as I had what the heck, I'll try it. Well, the side effect was, I lost weight! That got me started here. I started logging everything I ate. I drink only water and I FEEL AMAZING. Quite a change for someone who didn't get out of bed most days until 2 in the afternoon. If I feel this good now, I can only imagine how good I'll feel after I get to goal weight :)
  • myjourney2
    myjourney2 Posts: 424 Member
    Joined a gym, hired a personal trainer and the healthy eating just seemed to follow naturally.

    Forgot to add - I havent cut out any specific type of food. I just stay away from processed, packaged junk and I am very careful about my portions now.

    I have never been a pop (soda) drinker but I do love club soda which has no calories!
  • yes sodas have tons of calories .. I have cut down to diets .. i know they arent the best either because of the acids and such.. but no calories.. I cant cut out my sodas completely either.. lol. but coke zero is good and so is pepsi max.
  • _Schatzi_
    _Schatzi_ Posts: 112 Member
    I learned to cook! And how rewarding it can be to take simple, really good ingredients and turn them into something with FLAVOR! I especially love Mediterranean... basil, mozzarella, kalamata olives, sea salt... such glorious flavors in such small things!
  • PlumeriaToo
    PlumeriaToo Posts: 188 Member
    Cut out ice cream (so sad), cookies, cake, pancakes, waffles -- you get the picture. I doubled the amount of vegetables, lowered the amount of meat. I allow myself to actually feel hungry before meals. I do allow myself to have dessert on Sunday so I don't go mad. I've been doing this since 3/20 and by last weigh-in have lost 10 pounds. Now, I really have to get moving and add in that part of the program. Add pals here and accept all the support and ideas they offer. This site really works! Good luck to you.
  • CeeRawr89
    CeeRawr89 Posts: 328 Member
    Cut out soda, salt, most (bad) fats, junk food, and upped my intake of water, and drastically reduced the amount of coffee I drink in a day.

    How did I begin? I finally got SO sick of myself, and it just so happened after my boyfriend, and the father of my child and I broke up.
    I was depressed, and sick of myself and sick of feeling like a piece of flubby grossness.
    My loss journey started Oct 2010. Within a year, at Oct 2011 I lost 40 lbs and 14 inches. I've gained a bit back because I was slacking, but I'm back on and going good. I've plateaued, but I think that's because of the weird sleep hours I've been keeping.
    I play Just Dance 1, 2 and 3 on the Just Sweat things and burn TONS of calories and I try to maintain my healthy choices, and I've been making a lot of fresh food at home, including tasty smoothies. I made oatmeal raisin cookies, and they are amazing, and only 190 calories per cookie, and I can eat one and stop. It's all about portion control and lots and lots of water!
    Working out every day for 30-45 minutes a day (sometimes an hour) has definitely made a difference in how I've been feeling and losing weight. I just really need to tone!
  • CeeRawr89
    CeeRawr89 Posts: 328 Member
    Oh, I've also cut out red meat almost completely, I don't miss it at all :)
  • lovediets
    lovediets Posts: 375 Member
    I love that comparison to the lawn mower!!! Thanks!
  • Great advice! Just starting. Hope these posts keep me motivated. I have steadily gained weight year after year NOW I have to turn that trend around.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    I love that comparison to the lawn mower!!! Thanks!

    Me too!!!!!! :happy:
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
    I have a question I noticed a lot of people cut out soda. Does it really help that much? I'm starting MFP and staying under my calories
    about -800 almost a day.(I walk alot being a security guard) and I also walk for 50 minutes at the local park.

    So does it really matter? I just can't give up both(portion control) and (soda) so I just limit my soda intake.

    For me it did. I was drinking a LOT of soda. Some diet, some not. I was wasting 260 calories every morning on a Mountain Dew and then any other number of calories depending on what else I had throughout the day. In the end, even though a good majority of what I drank was zero calorie, I decided that the calories were less important to me than the fact that it added absolutely no nutritional value at all. Basically I decided that my body deserved better. No judgement for those that don't make that choice - there are lots of things I decided I didn't want to give up that many others have. It was just my personal choice. It became a challenge that snowballed into other challenges. It also made me less likely to go for the candy bowl at work. So, yes, it has made a big difference for me.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    I began by eating anything I wanted while on a week long trip to Seoul. This involved HUGE amounts of walking and I lost 6 pounds LOL.
  • I got OFF BIRTH CONTROL!!!!! :laugh: :laugh: ........I do everything I used to only difference is NOW I am losing weight & inches~
  • I started with Weight watchers. The hardest thing was shrinking the amount that my stomach was used to eating. Then starting swimming laps. Currently i'm doing zumba, running and weight strength classes at the gym and fitness pal. I have been at the same weight for awhile now and am trying to stick with this to lose the rest of my weight!
  • buffon85
    buffon85 Posts: 14
    i cut out the soda. i think the calories you receive from the drinks are the most important. are the ones you forget to count. also if you don't drink soda you ll drink more water. the same with the alcohol and the high calories coffes. i didn't cut out the alcohol completely, just reduced it!! :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: also i reduced the junk food. and last i started walking and going out for dancing (that's why i needed tha alcohol! :drinker: )
  • NSQuintana
    NSQuintana Posts: 207
    A great way to jump start your diet/weight loss is to do a 7 day dietary detox & cleanse. You can loose up to 5 pounds of wastes trapped in the colon right off the bat.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    I did wii fit, 'payed attention' to what i ate. I was clueless, starved myself and ended up sick. Lost 45 pounds and not sure how i didn't gain it back. Then i bought a food scale, and started running, biking, hikng, rock climbing. I do some medicine ball exercises. My next goal is to start lifting, just waiting to be cleared by my doctor. Lost an additional 31.5ish pounds since jan 31.
  • kelleyke
    kelleyke Posts: 20
    I have a question I noticed a lot of people cut out soda. Does it really help that much? I'm starting MFP and staying under my calories
    about -800 almost a day.(I walk alot being a security guard) and I also walk for 50 minutes at the local park.

    So does it really matter? I just can't give up both(portion control) and (soda) so I just limit my soda intake.

    Giving up soda was huge for me.
    I was drinking around 4 cans a day, everyday (sound familiar to anyone?). Since I gave it up back in November that is approximately 100,000 calories! ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND! that I haven't consumed. Over 50 POUNDS of sugar I haven't put into my body. Just to give you an idea how much I've saved on calories, That is enough calories to sustain my BMR for almost 2 months in 6 months of not drinking soda.

    On the one hand yes, limiting calories is better but on the other hand soda isn't really going to fill you up like food and it lacks nutritional value so you are way more prone to overeating.
  • kenny_johnson
    kenny_johnson Posts: 108 Member
    Back in July of 2011, I started to feel really big. I had no idea how much I weighed at that moment, but I felt terrible and out of shape. I remember that over a few days I noticed that I was having a hard time getting off the couch (literally -- physically). I felt like a pregnant women in her 39th week. :)

    So I bought a scale and saw a number that absolutely frightened me (373). The heaviest I had ever been. I started eating a little better and walking more. I ended up losing about 23 pounds by the end of November. But, I lost a bit of my focus and drive around the holidays. I ended up gaining about 11 pounds back (361) when I finally got the guts to weight myself again in February.

    I decided I had to make a change for good. Not just "lose some weight." I needed a whole new life. I told everyone I cared about my plans so I could be kept accountable. I ordered Power 90 from Amazon and made a commitment to do that for at least 90 days (I'm almost at day 60). I joined MFP (a friend's recommendation) and I started making better food choices. I haven't completely changed my diet. I still eat some foods that aren't great choices -- but I keep tabs on my calories. I started walking on top of the Power 90. I have MFP post my weight check-ins to my Facebook to get the encouragement and (hopefully) accountability from my friends and family. I told my wife she has to push me and make sure I don't quit or get lazy or go back to old ways.
  • charie79
    charie79 Posts: 1
    It's so nice to see everyone's success
  • How did you kick start your weight loss? How did you begin?

    The story brings tears to my eyes but I will make it short and sweet

    I was 24 years old and getting ready to go back to school for my B.S. in Criminal Justice...It was awhile since I went to the doctor and was feeling light headed, short of breathe and had problems sleeping

    I went to the doctors got on the scale and well it read 268.8 pounds and my doctor said you becoming a cop will be impossible and the next time I see you will be for medicine for high blood pressure, diabetes and etc

    I went home and cried and said I would not let this stop me or get me down..I started exercising,eating right and now about 14months later

    I started at 268.8
    Now I am about 204.9

    and about 15 pounds away from my goal...that's my story:)
  • Cmonnowguys
    Cmonnowguys Posts: 361 Member
    Wii Fit, paying *some* attention to what I shoved in my face-hole, and bodyweight exercise.

    Looking back, it was a terrible way to start. I wish I'd known then what I know now.

    Start lifting weights. Like, right now. Lift heavy, eat lots of protein, and follow these macros guidelines. http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

    Thanks for the info!
  • AmberJslimsAWAY
    AmberJslimsAWAY Posts: 2,339 Member
    I started by watching what I eat. Slowly working in working out.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    These stories are just too fabulous and inspirational--that y'all so MUCH for sharing:heart:
  • kateflourishes
    kateflourishes Posts: 246 Member
    To start my weight loss, I stuck to these principles:

    5 fruits and veggies a day
    Some form of exercise, even walking, for at least 20 min a day.
    At least 8 glasses of water a day
    If i'm hungry between meals, I EAT. But only high protein, low sugar things (string cheese, nuts, edamame, etc). If i have a sweet tooth I drink unsweetened flavored tea or chew sugar free gum.
    Stick to your cal goal for the WEEK, not necessarily the day.

    That's it! 6 lbs so far! I have to say that following these principles has basically cut out all fast food, all soda, most white/refined sugars/starches (i rarely eat any bread, will sometimes snack on one cookie). I also DON'T beat myself up if I slip up. I have one day a week where I usually eat more than I should. I jsut make up for it in exercise sometime during the week. I'm still leveling out what works for me. But like I said, 6lbs so far in 3 and a half weeks! :)
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