Those of you who have lost 40+ pounds

I have lost 65 lbs over the last two years - I haven't cut out anything, just cut back on portion sizes. At the start I was exercising 1.5 hours 4x a week, not eating back calories. Then I started eating them back. Now, I have a fitbit so just eat to maintain a 1000 calories deficit in my day, regardless of how much (or how little exercise) I do. I'm in a bit of a rut at the moment (eating chocolate and then having to work it off) but I'm slowly getting my head around my binge issues, even if that doesn't reflect in my diary.

I've been consistently losing about 5lbs a month for the last 3 months - which is where I want it to be. Not too fast, not too slow. I have about 40lbs to go.

I have cut absolutely nothing out of my diet, I just make sure to meet my calorie goals. If I cut things out then I wouldn't feel like I could sustain this longterm and that's the point of this whole thing! I do drink, again - this is a lifestyle! I pick lower calorie things, and make sure I get a good workout in that day to make up for it and drink lots of water. I work out 5-6 days a week, depending on the week for about an hour a day.

It was a while back but I just switched out my lunches and breakfasts for healthier options. Lots of fruits and veggies. I still ate what I wanted for dinner and went out with friends to eat on weekends. I actually never exercised aside from colorguard practice. It was years ago though. I just made sure to keep track of my calories and made most of my meals big from veggies or fruits so I felt more satisfied.

How exactly did you do it?? What foods did you cut out of your diet?? How many hours a day did/do you work out?? Did you ever allow yourself drinks with friends or drinks on weekends????? I need to switch some things up because I am a stand still for over 2 months now... Help

1) Nothing is cut out. I eat a lot less of some foods (like refined carbs) and a lot more of others (fresh veggies and protein). We cook virtually all of our food, but that isn't a change I made when I started losing weight...we've always done that. I just eat less and plan higher calorie foods into my day. You can look at my diary; it's open. Foods that should be treats finally ARE treats, versus things I have whenever I feel like it.

2) I am at the gym 5-7 hours a week. I also have more activity in my daily life too...more walks for the dog, bike rides with the family, etc. I love exercise and it's now a very important part of my life.

3) Yes. I had a very nice vodka soda last night, I drink (good) beer when I go out and there's great stuff on tap, I go out for dinner a few times a month.

Generally: When I am good I am very very good, and when I am bad I am horrid. Apparently that balance works well for my weight loss; I have lost 113.5 pounds and never once plateaued. I had weeks where I didn't lose but those were generally following one of those horrid weekends I mentioned above.

I have lost almost 60 pounds, but it took 1.5 years to do it.

i upped my protein, cut my carbs way back except for one day a week, when i allow myself more. Increased water intake, and i work out about 15 hours a week. That include 9 hours of weight training, and the rest cardio. i've recently started doing intervals on my cardio training, and it released me from a plateau. Just needed to change things up, i guess.

It seems more likely that the weight will stay off when it comes off slowly, so i'm happy with my progress. And these days i worry more about moving my bodyfat percentage downwards, and less about scale weight.

I've got from a size 16 to a size 6.

I don't cut out any foods, I just eat in moderation and I make sure that what I am eating stays within my calorie goals for the day. I have a splurge day about every 2-3 weeks where I don't count anything. I find that this helps to jumpstart my losses again, especially now that I am nearing the end of the losing weight part of my journey (I only plan on losing 12-15 more pounds and it's getting harder to shed those). Next, I plan on moving on to some serious weight training.

I only drink water and skim milk. But I was that way before I started to lose weight. I just don't like alcohol. My decision to not drink has nothing to do with weight loss. I try to drink 12 cups of water every day.

I workout 6 days every week and make sure to get my rest day in. I do NOT spend hours in the gym. In fact, I have only been to an actual gym to work out maybe 3 times since I have started to lose weight. I LOVE workout DVDS, especially Jillian Michaels. I also love running and swimming. Truthfully, the large majority of my workouts last between 30-45 minutes except if I'm going for a long run (more than 5 miles). This has worked for me. When I workout, I go hard and I push myself but I don't feel like I need to go for hours to see results. I have lost 82 pounds this way.

I hope this helps you! Best of luck and congrats on your loss so far!

How exactly did you do it?? What foods did you cut out of your diet?? How many hours a day did/do you work out?? Did you ever allow yourself drinks with friends or drinks on weekends????? I need to switch some things up because I am a stand still for over 2 months now... Help

I work out 5 days a week 1hr to 1,5 per day, eat normal food just watch the porition size, Drink every now and then, The big thing for me was portion size, and lots of water. Good luck

Hi. I've been losing consistently for the last 8+ months. I haven't really cut out much, I just eat less of everything. Trying to eat balanced meals. But i do have a sweet tooth. I just don't binge anymore, and dont eat quite as many fried foods. My doc told me to workout more days of the week than not, so that means at least 4 days a week. I've been trying to get 5-6 here lately though.My workouts are generally between 30 minutes to an hour. But I also try to be more active in general. I have hit several plateaus along the way but like Hapoo...I found that when i increased my calorie intake, I would start losing again. I don't drink alcohol so I cant help you with that. Hope you are able to find what works for you!

modest calorie deficit (eat above BMR for your net), cardio 4 times a week, lifting weights 3 times a week. Cardio maybe 30 minutes at a time, weights for 30 minutes, too (some days would have both cardio and strength). At least one rest day a week, too. I didn't cut anything out. Everything in moderation. If I could go back I would cut back on the drinking. I am doing that now though..

I cut a lot out.

Fast food. Pop. **** like that.

But....if I had calories left and I wanted something I ate it.

I've had cheat days. Hell all last week was a cheat week.

I go to the gym 3-4 days a week and mostly do cardio.

I also do pilates and yoga twice a week and play a few fitness games on my kinect 3-4 times a week.

I'm still learning.

I weighed 180 at age 15. Mostly muscle from Mixed martial arts but also way too much fat percentage from all the junk I considered to be food.
I started dating my Boyfriend Dan at 16, hes all about health and putting good **** into his body so I decided to transform myself .

I cut out all sodas,all corn syrop/artificial flavor products, nothing in cans or packaged for convenience(so much salt)
No white flour products,nothing with MSG or Trans Fat, no alcohol, no coffee.

It's important to take vitamins everyday especially Fish oil because the omega 3/6 fats help you metabolize fat and gives you a higher mood because fish oil niacin and glutamine is what your brain basically eats.

Green tea,hemphearts,salmon,oats,spirulina,all seaweeds,all fruits and veggies << these were my secrets, Whole Foods

Lots of cardio(x3 a week or more) plus strength training which is very important because building lean muscle and losing fat percentage go hand in hand.
So my favorite exercises are using the Kettlebell(1 minute of kettlebell is 20 calories! )elliptical,,jogging,Pilates(for nice bum,lower abs and thighs), And any kind of martial arts training is ideal as it focuses on making you a lean mean fighting machine.

What I did definitely works because I am just under 130lbs now, Although it did take me well over a year to get there.

Progress not perfection, your body is undergoing a transformation it can't be rushed.
It is a beautiful thing so cherish the time you put in with your body to become happy and healthy.
-Kiera

I'm down 46 pounds. I don't work out at all and have done this with sensible diet. I cut my calories down to the level recommended here. the home run was losing my apetite for sweets and carbs by cutting back. I have some carbs each day, but never feature them with a meal. I don't drink hardly anyway, so that didn't affect me, but I did cut out all drinks except water and green tea, with an occasional cup of coffee unsweetened.

How exactly did you do it?? What foods did you cut out of your diet?? How many hours a day did/do you work out?? Did you ever allow yourself drinks with friends or drinks on weekends????? I need to switch some things up because I am a stand still for over 2 months now... Help

I didn't cut anything out, I just started following portion sizes and keeping track of how many calories I ate. It helps that I haven't liked wasting precious calories on drinks for years anyway (I drink diet soda, coffee with creamer and sweetener, and water).

I currently work out about an hour and a half at least 5 days per week (I'm in a challenge) but at first I did 30-45min cardio per day or a session of 30DS.

I did and do still go out for alcoholic drinks sometimes. Sometimes when I go I limit myself to Diet Coke if I haven't got the calories. It still looks like I'm having my usual rum and diet but no one but me can tell there is no alcohol so I don't feel left out. I'm probably a better dancer without the alcohol anyway.

I stuck to 1,200 calories a day after exercise (which is 1,000 cal under my TDEE and amounted to a weight loss of about 2 lbs. a week). So, if I burned 400 calories at the gym, I'd eat 1,600 calories (1,200 & 400).

I do cardio every day for a minimum of 30 minutes. Started out walking (two 15-min. sessions) and progressed to joining a gym and hitting the elliptical machine for a higher calorie burn. Some days I'd go to the gym twice just to burn some extra calories!

At first, I just tried eating less of everything I normally ate, but I couldn't stand the small portions and feeling hungry. I quickly learned to make better food choices -- big salads with loads of veggies and just a little balsamic vinegar, TONS of broccoli, lean proteins with every meal, drinking lots of water. I would joke "I've never eaten so much food in my life as when I've been on a diet).

I also got a body fat scale so that on weeks where I might show no weight loss, and I'd otherwise conclude I had stalled, I could see that my body fat was going down.

OK, so I've shared what works for me, but what about you? How many calories do you eat each day? How often do you work out? Is there anything else besides you weight which has changed over the last couple months -- like less body fat, a smaller waistline, etc?

Finally, I'd say -- if you're stuck change something...eat less and workout more!