michalita

I lost 25 pounds without joining a gym, and I don't plan on joining one! I do 3 days of cardio and 3 days of strength/circuit training each week. The cardio is usually running/walking and swimming; for strength, I do a Jackie Warner video or some bodyweight circuits. I'm hoping to start doing more biking, hiking, and maybe…

Well, not totally judgmental, but I know that I am probably the laziest, undisciplined person alive, and I managed to lose 25 pounds relatively easily, so I don't buy many excuses from those who say they "can't" do it. ;-)

I definitely blamed my antidepressant for my weight gain...until I saw how easy it was to lose the weight with better diet and exercise. I'm still on the medication, and am maintaining just fine, so now I know it wasn't that. In many ways, it's good to stop the blame game, because then you know you have control over your…

I definitely think my metabolism has changed. It took me two months to drop just a few pounds, and now that I'm on maintenance, I'm STILL losing weight even though I'm eating more!

I use the Tuneband and have been really happy with it. I have skinny arms, and this fits!

I'm just under 5'7", and I clocked in this morning at 129 pounds. I think I'm done. :-) I've weighed as little as 115 pounds (when I got married), and that is just too thin. I have a small frame, so smaller is better for me.

I just got to below my goal today (23 pounds lost; yay!), so I feel slightly qualified to answer in the past tense. ;-) --Water. Lots of it. I drink 2 to 3 liters a day. --Protein over carbs. I started eliminating things that had high calorie and carb counts that just weren't worth it to me. For me, that was pasta, peanut…

I treat myself all the time. It isn't a diet, it's a way of eating and living. If I didn't go to Chipotle or have pizza, I'd feel deprived, and that's no way to live. I got down to my goal weight in less than 5 months eating pizza, chocolate, and tacos. IN MODERATION. And not exclusively by a long shot. If you don't let…

I'm on the same med, same dose, and lost weight just fine. I think I told myself that the medication caused my weight gain to avoid the real reasons: sheer gluttony and laziness. ;-)

I am *almost* 5'7", and my end goal was to fit back into all of my size 6 stuff (which I finally accomplished!). For many years I was a size 4, but that was in my twenties, and those are long gone days now. :-)

Sometimes people lose weight more slowly at the beginning until your metabolism catches up to the new plan. When I started, I think I lost half a pound a week for the first month or so even though I was set to lose 1 pound a week by MFP. After that, my body got the memo, and I started losing more reliably. It's been nearly…

Sure, this is me at 5'6" and 135 about a month ago. I'm on the far right. Audrey Gang at Cahokia. by Michalita, on Flickr I hope that works! I've never posted any pics here before. I now weigh about 131, but look about the same. Goal is 130.

I think the confusion would be removed if MFP showed your goals in terms of maintaining the deficit number rather than staying under a specific number of calories; if you want to lose X pounds a week, keep XX calories in deficit. However much you eat a day would vary based on your activity level, but so long as you…

I bought a 1-liter water bottle and fill it up and empty it repeatedly during the day. Having the measurements marked somehow makes it more of a contest for me to see if I can drink it all by a certain time, etc. Works for me!

I am right with you and the others, right down to starting to splurge a little because I can. I am now focusing mainly on body conditioning too, and less about weight loss. I changed my goals to a half-pound a week just to keep me on track with eating; that way, if I go over those goals a bit, I'm still maintaining. I'm…

I don't want to alarm you, but when I had gallstones, that's where the pain presented itself. Do you have it at any other times, say after eating a really fatty meal? Any other symptoms? I hope it's nothing!

Depends on your frame and body type, honestly. I'm 5'6", and 150 was where I started when I joined MFP. I have a thin frame, however, and 150 was definitely too fluffy. The weight came off pretty easily, further confirming that 150 was too high for me. I agree with others that if your body fat percentage is good, you don't…

The only wrong way is one that's unsustainable. However you need to ease into it to make it a lasting lifestyle change is the "right" way for you. Good luck!

Ditto this exactly except for the maintenance. My original goal weight was 135 from 150, but I'm 136 now, and still pretty fluffy, so I reset my goal for 130 and will re-evaluate then. I'm almost 37, so I am fine with discovering that I will never be as skinny as I was in college so long as I am fit and happy. :-)

Everyone's different. I'm 5'6", and 130 is just about right if not a bit too much for me. I have a small frame, and for most of my adult life I was under 130. That's my present goal, and I'll re-evaluate if I think I need to be smaller.

Recently I've been doing 1/2 cup of plain Cheerios and a 1/2 cup of Fiber One Original bran cereal mixed together. Knocks out my fiber requirement for the day and really fills me up. That plus 1/2 cup of 1% milk is only about 160 calories. Add some fruit, and you've got a pretty decent breakfast!

I'm no scientist or nutrition expert, but once I upped my water intake to 8-12 cups of water a day, I found that exercising was easier, digestion was smoother (ahem), and my skin immediately improved. I've also been losing weight easily and steadily. So, regardless of whether I "need" that much water, I'm going to continue…

Yep, me. I only want to lose 20 pounds or so total, and have already lost 15, so I'm nearly done. I wasn't overweight to begin with, but was coming close, so I wanted to change my lifestyle, and this site has helped me track that. I started here at probably around 150 or so (I'm nearly 5'7"), and it's hard to say how much…

MFP's fiber goals are way too low; women should shoot for 21-25 grams a day, and men should be getting at least 30-38 grams of fiber a day. I often make a snack of Fiber One bran cereal on yogurt or a Fiber One granola bar just to keep my numbers up. And be sure to keep your water intake high!

I've been on many different forms of the pill and even the patch and NuvaRing, and I've never been able to attribute weight gain to any of them. In fact, all of my weight gain occurred when I was off all birth control!

I just did it for the first time today. I am no example of fitness, but it will definitely give you a workout! It's not just floor work; you use weights, do cardio, the whole bit. It's like 30 Day Shred only with much more focus on abs, and nearly twice as long. There were a few moves I just could not do (side plank with…

I'm not sure yet! I'm about 5'6" (nearly 5'7") and up until 2 years ago, was always in the 120s or below. I'm 139 now (down from 150!), and my original goal was 135, but even at 139 I have a lot of belly and thigh jiggle that still needs to go, so maybe 120s is where I need to be. I'm 36 if that makes any difference.