If you have lost a significant amount of weight

[mamaraby]

I don't think that you have to feel conflicted about the information out there. You've gotten several responses and they're fairly wildly varied. I think that if you ask 100 people who have lost a significant amount of weight you'll likely get 80-90% different answers. There is *no* one right way for everyone.

 

There is, however, one right way for you. Only you can figure out what that is. I can guarantee that in the end, though, it's going to be something you can sustain for the rest of your life. It's not going to be whatever crazy new fad diet is out there now. It's going to be easy enough for you to follow so that you're not constantly exerting your willpower to keep you on track. Ditto for whatever physical activity you choose. It just has to be if we're talking long term. It's also not going to be weight loss like you see on the Biggest Loser or other similar nonsense. They gained all the weight back because who could live that way for the rest of their life?

 

And a lot of trial and error.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't think that you have to feel conflicted about the information out there. You've gotten several responses and they're fairly wildly varied. I think that if you ask 100 people who have lost a significant amount of weight you'll likely get 80-90% different answers. There is *no* one right way for everyone.

 

There is, however, one right way for you. Only you can figure out what that is. I can guarantee that in the end, though, it's going to be something you can sustain for the rest of your life. It's not going to be whatever crazy new fad diet is out there now. It's going to be easy enough for you to follow so that you're not constantly exerting your willpower to keep you on track. Ditto for whatever physical activity you choose. It just has to be if we're talking long term. It's also not going to be weight loss like you see on the Biggest Loser or other similar nonsense. They gained all the weight back because who could live that way for the rest of their life?

 

And a lot of trial and error.

 

I think the more difficult thing to do is to keep it off for the long haul.  Most people know how to lose weight or can follow some diet and lose weight.  They can restrict stuff, even heavily, for a time, but then if it's too restrictive and they couldn't live "like that" (whatever method they are following) then it isn't going to last. 

 

And I certainly have not figured this out.  My approach now is to not even think too hard about it.  Take it one day at a time.  Do positive things leading into the direction I want to go, but I don't have to be perfect at it.  I've been on diet forums and the craziness...oh lordy.  You know the people who are exercising 2 hours a day 7 days a week, running marathons, etc.  Well great, but I know damn well I can't do that for the long haul.  I can go to the gym three times a week for the long haul.  That feels doable to me.  I hate running so I don't run.  In the food department I have certain food preferences so I don't force myself to eat the crap I don't like.  I do tell people low carb works when they ask, but certainly it isn't going to work if you hate eating that way.  Just like I do not want to eat bowls of quinoa with grass topped with olives and feta cheese.  Not my thing. 

[regentrude]

My issue right now is that I haven't worked in 10 years.  I just went back full time on Aug. 15th.  I am STARTING to get back in the swing of it and can at least start walking more again.  

 

I have kids and other activities too, so between working and the kids needing to get places, I don't have a lot of time or energy.  

 

That is a difficult transition. Give yourself some time to adjust.

[Sarah CB]

I've lost over 50 pounds since April. 

 

I was at a point where I truthfully thought that I would never be able to lose that much weight. I even got rid of all of my clothes that were too small and resigned myself to extra large sizes.

 

I was eating pretty healthy. Lots of fruits and vegetables. We didn't eat a lot of processed foods. I was working out at the gym three times a week and getting out for a walk a couple of times a week. I was still slowly gaining.

 

Then I stepped on the scale and decided enough was enough. 

 

I downloaded the LoseIt app and committed to tracking everything I ate. I decided to keep to a calorie range a couple of hundred calories above my BMR. I didn't make any rules about what I could or couldn't eat - in the beginning I just committed to staying within those calories. I started losing.

 

I bought a Fitbit and decided that I would not eat in the morning until I hit 5000 steps. I kept doing my strength training classes at the gym three times a week and I made sure to get at least 10,000 steps by the end of every day. I kept losing

 

I tracked my weight every day and realized that I only lose weight during two weeks out of the month. The other two weeks I put on the same three pounds and take them off again over and over. It's frustrating and still saps my motivation every month, but at least I'm aware of what my body is doing. 

 

I decided to cut back on carbs and noticed that worked well for me. I added in extra fat and lowered carbs some more and realized that worked even better. Now I track my carbs. I still have days when I eat more carbs, but I'm aware of the consequences. 

 

I decided to start the Couch to 10K program. I am not what you would consider athletic. I have hated running all my life. I completed the Couch to 10k program. Somewhere in there I started to love running. Now I run three times every week. 

 

I used to love sugar. And chocolate. I ate a "treat" or a few treats, pretty much every day. I always thought I'd want that and that I'd have to fight against my willpower but now I don't even crave sugar. I still think that's crazy. I still can't quite believe it. 

 

I really enjoy the food that I eat. I'm having bacon and scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast. Tonight we're having steak and mushrooms, steamed veggies with cheese sauce, and baked potatoes (I'm not eating the potato). I'm going to have a glass of wine after dinner. I feel like the way I'm eating is manageable because I'm eating good food that I enjoy and that satiates my appetite. I'm in this for the long haul.

 

The other thing I started experimenting with was intermittent fasting. I don't eat before 11:30am anymore. Ever. My eating window is 11:30 am to 7:30pm. It has simplified things for me and I actually enjoy fasting. I usually do a 24 hour fast a couple of times a month as well.  

 

I have looked at everything I've tried as an experiment. I figured it would take some time to lose the weight and that I might as well experiment with different approaches to see what would work. I've had times where I've eaten three pieces of pizza or had a big icecream or whatever but I haven't looked at it as breaking my "diet", I've tried to factor it in and say it's ok to have treats once in a  while as long as I know what the consequences are and I agree to it. I can still look back at my weight loss graph and see the huge five pound spike from when I went out for Japanese food for lunch and then the next day had a cheeseburger and a Blizzard at Dairy Queen. Fun. Tasty. But, it really was a huge spike. Probably mostly water retention from all the sodium - and it did come off over the following week - but I haven't done that again. Not that much in that short a time.

 

Anyway - I think tracking my food every day and weighing every day has been hugely important. It keeps me honest with myself. 

 

I started at 183.9 and I'm down to 133.6. I can't even believe I'm down this low. I am stronger, fitter, faster, and more flexible than I've ever been. I have way more energy. I sleep better. I don't feel guilty. I love getting dressed in the morning and I love going to the mall and trying on clothes (something I've hated for years). 

 

Losing this weight has been hard. It takes a lot of time and mental energy. But it has been absolutely worth it every minute. 

[Peaceful Isle]

What do you mean by low carb? Did you eat a lot of meat?

Not a ton. I actually found great low carb bread and tortillas.

[DawnM]

I don't think that you have to feel conflicted about the information out there. You've gotten several responses and they're fairly wildly varied. I think that if you ask 100 people who have lost a significant amount of weight you'll likely get 80-90% different answers. There is *no* one right way for everyone.

 

There is, however, one right way for you. Only you can figure out what that is. I can guarantee that in the end, though, it's going to be something you can sustain for the rest of your life. It's not going to be whatever crazy new fad diet is out there now. It's going to be easy enough for you to follow so that you're not constantly exerting your willpower to keep you on track. Ditto for whatever physical activity you choose. It just has to be if we're talking long term. It's also not going to be weight loss like you see on the Biggest Loser or other similar nonsense. They gained all the weight back because who could live that way for the rest of their life?

 

And a lot of trial and error.

 

 

Yes, I am aware of that.  I just want to hear success stories as they are inspiring to me.

 

But you DO have to research and you DO have to know there is a lot of conflicting info out there.  And sometimes, one thing works and when you do it 10 years later, it doesn't work as well.

 

I am not trying to do some fad diet.  

Edited September 25, 2016 by DawnM

[LucyStoner]

Can I butt in for a minute to ask how you ladies fit in 10K steps a day while homeschooling? I can find time on my day for half an hour for a walk, barely (can't run while pregnant), but while that adds some, it doesn't get me near 10k a day. I feel like my day is moving from one place to another to sit. Read to this child, switch the laundry, sit in my chair and do math with another child, grab the preschooler and redirect him, back to my chair for working with a third child, make lunch, go upstairs to sit on the floor to work with the high schooler. There's only so much I can do while walking in place; if I'm not still, it's hard to read the math boon or whatever. I feel like I'm running all over all day and on my feet a lot, but unless I go grocery shopping, I'm not hitting close to 10K steps a day, and I do spend a lot of the day sitting (or standing in place). How are y'all doing it?

We go out a fair bit. Even if it's a home based day, we will go for a walk to the library or park on all but the crudiest of days. When a son is in his counseling session, I hit the trail adjacent to that office, sometimes with the other son. My older son and I walk while I help him practice his spelling (spelling bee kid). My younger and I walk while my older son is in Robotics club. This is walking we just do, not with the Fitbit in mind.

 

I get more than 10K on the days that I get my rear in gear and hit the trails before the boys wake up.

[mamaraby]

But you DO have to research and you DO have to know there is a lot of conflicting info out there. And sometimes, one thing works and when you do it 10 years later, it doesn't work as well.

I gave up on research because the conflicting bits left me discouraged. There were too many "only way" type of people out there. I really believed it when people said that LCHF was *the* way and it didn't work for me. I gave up because of *the* only way to lose weight didn't work, what hope would there be?

 

Then I found GoKaleo and started counting calories. And it's a bunch of small changes. Went vegan. Started running. Two pounds a month here. Four there. I've gone a few months without losing anything. I don't regain, though, and that's when I knew I had my "it."

 

Sounds like you've had a lot of things to adjust to so start small. Maybe even really small. Pick one thing and master the heck out of that. Then add something else. Hang in there. You'll get it. :D

[pinkmint]

Fascinating to read what works for different people. It goes to show one thing can work wonderfully for some and terribly for others. 

 

Low fat vegan would make me fat and cranky. Calorie counting might work but makes me insane and miserable. 

 

Low carb high fat works for me. Like Tibbie says, it's basically the same with me. It's kind of expensive and inconvenient. Plus the amount of meat I eat would make most people give me side-eye about being "healthy". But it's working very well for me. You get to a point where you're either overweight, in pain, depressed... or you force more room in the grocery budget to eat in a way that allows you to function much better. 

[ktgrok]

Yup, it's very personal. I've done McDougall style low fat vegan, vegetarian that was moderate carb to high carb but lower fat, lot fat with processed foods (actually my lowest weight ever..but I was also 18 yrs old), low carb high fat, low carb lower fat, weight watchers, Jenny craig, tracking on myfitnesspal, etc. 

 

I seem to be happiest in lower carb but not low carb...and eating whole grains more often than white bread, tracking now and then to keep an idea of where I'm at, exercising when I can and trying to at least do a long shopping trip around walmart or target (you can get a lot of steps there!) when I can't, etc. 

 

As someone else says, I do eat stuff not on my ideal plan. Often,but I'm aware, I try to do it only so often, I expect my weight to reflect it, etc. I weigh daily. I have to. I need that constant input to adjust my diet in line with my weight. Too easy to gain 10lbs quickly otherwise. 

 

I also learned I can't have it in the house if I shouldn't eat it. If I want chips, fine, but I buy a single serve bag. Same with chocolate, etc. I did buy some pumpkin spice truffles and cookies this week to try, because I LOVE pumpkin spice, but will throw away what is left tonight. I stopped being afraid to trash the stuff I shouldn't eat. Better wasted than on my waist. 

 

I try to make decision in the moment, not look too far ahead. That helps more than anything. I CANNOT handle thinking long term. (ask my husband..sigh...he is always frustrated by my lack of long term planning in life). So for me to try to find a way of eating or exercise that will work forever, that paralyzes me. I find a zillion reasons it won't work, and do nothing. So I think...I can't cut out sugar now, in August, because what about Christmas cookies??? Or, I can't jog outside now, in Feb, because it will be too hot to do so in August. It's crazy making for me. Even stuff like, "well, if I do weights this many days, when do I fit in Zumba" can paralyze me. So I try to think just this meal, just this day. At this lunch, I'll order the grilled fish instead of pasta. I can always have pasta some other time. Today I'm in the mood for yoga. Who cares if it's the wrong day for upper body or whatever, it's what I want right now. 

 

That works for me. (and of course, the bariatric surgery...I truly believe I'd reached a point where without that tool I was destined to gain forever. I don't say that lightly. I'd been dieting for 25 years at that point.)

[tiddles]

I lost 90 pounds after a sleeve gastrectomy (was going to do the gastric band until I saw the huge failure rates associated with it - including a cousin who had it done twice and is bigger than ever).

I'm not one to stick with diets or hard exercise - I walk 40 min to an hour daily - so I would never have lost weight that way.

It's been over 3 years and I've kept it off easily. I still have to mind what I eat though, and not fall into the trap of grazing on junk food. I now have a tiny stomach so what goes in has to be quality nutrition.

[LNC]

105 lbs. low carb, intermittent fasting six years ago. Gained 15lbs over last year after loosening up low carb restriction and eating 3 meals. Back to lower carbs and skipping breakfast.

[DawnM]

I gave up on research because the conflicting bits left me discouraged. There were too many "only way" type of people out there. I really believed it when people said that LCHF was *the* way and it didn't work for me. I gave up because of *the* only way to lose weight didn't work, what hope would there be?

 

Then I found GoKaleo and started counting calories. And it's a bunch of small changes. Went vegan. Started running. Two pounds a month here. Four there. I've gone a few months without losing anything. I don't regain, though, and that's when I knew I had my "it."

 

Sounds like you've had a lot of things to adjust to so start small. Maybe even really small. Pick one thing and master the heck out of that. Then add something else. Hang in there. You'll get it. :D

 

 

Right, but you have to find what makes sense to you.

 

No, doing one little thing brings 0 results.  

 

I am really not looking for anyone else's solution necessarily, but I do like hearing what has worked for various people.  

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Right, but you have to find what makes sense to you.

 

No, doing one little thing brings 0 results.  

 

I am really not looking for anyone else's solution necessarily, but I do like hearing what has worked for various people.  

 

I always think that what the stories have in common are three things:

 

1. We are highly motivated to change. (To do the WORK to change, not to just wish we could change!)

 

2. We get up and do it every single day. As I get on that treadmill, if I'm exhausted, or worried about the pile of work I "should" be doing, or afflicted with lupus joint pain, I say to myself, "You are walking tomorrow's mile. Walk today so you CAN walk tomorrow." Same with the diet. "Eat your greens today or take your insulin shot tomorrow! Your call, Tibbie."

 

3. We work out how to manage real life and get back to the plan, so that we're following our plan about 95% of the time -- we learn to manage illness, company, life stress, cravings, celebrations, ALL of it, as part of the journey. We are humans not robots. We will be eating birthday cake and suffering from the flu in this life. Any lifestyle plan that doesn't allow for humanity is doomed to fail.

[DawnM]

I always think that what the stories have in common are three things:

 

1. We are highly motivated to change. (To do the WORK to change, not to just wish we could change!)

 

2. We get up and do it every single day. As I get on that treadmill, if I'm exhausted, or worried about the pile of work I "should" be doing, or afflicted with lupus joint pain, I say to myself, "You are walking tomorrow's mile. Walk today so you CAN walk tomorrow." Same with the diet. "Eat your greens today or take your insulin shot tomorrow! Your call, Tibbie."

 

3. We work out how to manage real life and get back to the plan, so that we're following our plan about 95% of the time -- we learn to manage illness, company, life stress, cravings, celebrations, ALL of it, as part of the journey. We are humans not robots. We will be eating birthday cake and suffering from the flu in this life. Any lifestyle plan that doesn't allow for humanity is doomed to fail.

 

True.

 

And I don't mean not following 95% of the time, I know events come up, etc....but I think the "just pick one small thing" to me says "Do 10% and then add another 10%, and within half a year, you might have a plan together."

[Lang Syne Boardie]

True.

 

And I don't mean not following 95% of the time, I know events come up, etc....but I think the "just pick one small thing" to me says "Do 10% and then add another 10%, and within half a year, you might have a plan together."

 

That makes a lot of sense. It's a direction change, adding a new step as you can (without stopping the first good thing you chose to work on) instead of the cold turkey concept.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Speaking of research, I read a study recently that claimed people who used the tracking devices lost less weight than those who did not.  Not a perfect study, and they used devices that were different than stuff like fitbits.

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/20/494631423/weight-loss-on-your-wrist-fitness-trackers-may-not-help

[ktgrok]

Oh, and there are no failures, just learning experiences. Failure leads to giving up, a learning experience you grow from. (says the woman who just blasted through over 300 calories of oatmeal cookies...sigh. At least they were whole grain, no sugar added, etc. Lots of nutrients.)

Edited September 25, 2016 by ktgrok

[LucyStoner]

True.

 

And I don't mean not following 95% of the time, I know events come up, etc....but I think the "just pick one small thing" to me says "Do 10% and then add another 10%, and within half a year, you might have a plan together."

 

It takes time to master new skills and new habits.  Habit change experts advise doing one at a time, adding in a new one every 4-8 weeks.  

 

People who are successful with significant body changes in the long term aren't just dieting- we are sticking to new habits for a the long haul/life time/long after we actually "reach our goal".  

 

If someone, for instance is used to eating the standard American diet and a lot of fast food and soda, they are very unlikely to have success on a whole bunch of radical changes at once.  It's common for someone in that situation to pick a restrictive diet and make an unrealistic exercise goal and set a start date (MONDAY MORNING!). They then eat a lot of crap right before they start and then wake up Monday to their grapefruit or egg whites and feel tortured.  Most will be back to their old habits in less than a week and almost all back to their old habits in less than a few months. A handful will stick to their diet and/or exercise for a long enough time to lose a lot of weight.  But if they have just been forcing themselves to diet and hating the exercise rather than forming new habits about how to eat healthfully, most of that small number will gain most or all of their lost weight back.  

 

On the other hand, if they get rid of the soda, then once they aren't craving soda anymore, they can stop with the fast food at lunch, then once that's second nature, they look at increasing their daily activity level and then evaluate what they are cooking at home and set a goal to eat more veggies and less white flour and so on and so forth.  

 

You don't have to do one goal at a time.  Many people can, for example, pair quitting caloric drinks with a commitment to eat at least 5 servings of green veggies a day or a pledge to get 8,000 steps a day.  But if you pace it incrementally your success rate is higher.  If you make it a permanent change/new normal, you are less likely to regain weight.  MOST dieters do regain a lot of weight.  Pacing the number of habits on changes has demonstrably positive impacts on long term success.  

 

There's a synergy to it that there is not in trying to go directly from double bacon cheeseburgers to roasted chickpea and veggie wraps or straight from coffee, sugar and donuts to unsweetened herbal tea and egg and vegetable scramble.  

Edited September 25, 2016 by LucyStoner

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh, and there are no failures, just learning experiences. Failure leads to giving up, a learning experience you grow from. (says the woman who just blasted through over 300 calories of oatmeal cookies...sigh. At least they were whole grain, no sugar added, etc. Lots of nutrients.)

 

Yep

 

When I was trying to lose weight I had what I called planned cheat days.  I was allowed to eat any carby laden meal I wanted.  This wasn't meant to be an all day carb fest, but ya know I could have some pizza or whatever.  Interestingly I often decided not to do it on the planned day.  It was like the thought of knowing I could do that made it easier for me to resist doing it.  And sometimes I did do it.  Which was also good because then it made me feel like I didn't have to give up stuff FOREVER.

[LucyStoner]

For example, I used to do a 5:30AM bootcamp class.  When I was first starting to go, I made myself a deal that if I got there I didn't want to do it, I could go for a walk or just sit in my car instead.  I forced myself to stick to the habit of getting up, going out in the cold darkness and being there even if I was too sore or tired to do the class.  Most of the time, I got there and did the class.  But knowing that even if I didn't do the class I was still sticking to my habit was very effective in keeping me at it.  Now, it is not financially feasible for me to keep up with that class.  But it is feasible for me to wake up most mornings and get in some outside activity and maintain my pushup and other body weight work counts.  I reached a point where, if I miss exercising, I am actually missing it and make it a priority to catch up.  That's a successful habit change.  That doesn't mean I don't sleep in when I had a late night or that I force myself to go out when I am sick, but it does mean that it's my habit to get up and do something active before the day starts. 

 

Edited September 25, 2016 by LucyStoner

[Veritaserum]

I started exercising before I changed my diet. My goal is three-five days per week. So far I've been doing some every day. I'm in physical therapy for a car accident, so some of what I work on is related to PT. Once I do that, I figure why not hop on the treadmill for one episode of a Netflix show I enjoy. I prefer walking/jogging outside when I can, but that's trickier to fit in with kid schedules.

 

With my dietary changes, I did some reading for about a week and then went shopping for certain foods that fit the parameters. I've been eating mostly unprocessed/minimally processed things (vegetables, nuts, seeds, oils, meat, cheese, Greek yogurt). I stay away from the special diet foods. I prioritize total calories over total carbs even though I aim for 50g carbs or less. I had some treats at my daughter's birthday party a week ago. I just chose my favorites instead having some of everything. Later today I'm going to enjoy a patty melt on sour dough bread. I haven't had bread in over a week.

 

I don't plan out menus. I have an app (Carb Manager). When I wake up I think of what I want for breakfast and enter it in. Then I see how many calories and carbs I have to work with for lunch and dinner and figure out a good total day as I go. If I overshoot a bit on carbs, I don't sweat it. I am stricter about calories.

 

I made a spreadsheet to track measurements and weight changes. I like graphs and charts and they motivate me. I'm pretty close to be able to move down a size. I have a whole wardrobe of nice clothes that I've packed away after I gained weight. It will be exciting to get those things out again.

[JudoMom]

In 2006, I lost over 85 pounds.  To begin, I ate nothing but raw veggies for a couple of months.  After that I added in tiny portions of other healthy foods.  I started with Leslie Sansone DVDs, and after about 10 months I began Judo.  It took about 11 months.  I easily kept the weight off for 4 years.

Then I got really, really sick with what turned out to be autoimmune hepatitis and a nonspecific arthritis/possible lupus.  At one point I was sleeping all night and taking 4-6 hours worth of naps a day and was in pretty severe chronic pain.  At some point I bought a treadmill off of Craigslist and started walking/jogging 1-3 miles a day in addition to several hours of Judo weekly.  I rarely missed a day, even when sick and everything hurt.   I had to go on a few medications for my liver and slowly started feeling somewhat better, though I still fight chronic pain and fatigue.  Over about 4 years I put 40 pounds back on.  Looking back, I think I was absentmindedly eating in order to try and get energy (you know, grab a cookie here, extra coffee with cream and sugar there, eat something else to try and wake up, etc.).

Last summer, I decided I was done gaining.  I've relost about 30 of the 40 I gained.  I began by severely restricting calories and lost about 15.  I stalled, and tried Medifast for 2 months.  I lost another 10.  Then I decided to try Trim Healthy Mama.  I avoided it for months because of the name.  I'm still really put off by the name.  I detest the name.  I've lost another 5 or so on it, but I'm satisfied and I have no desire to eat any other way.  The food is good, I can enjoy meals with my family, including desserts.  

I still have about 10 to lose.  It's coming off slowly, but I feel better than I have in years.  The only thing I really miss are french fries, but I'm pretty sure they don't actually taste as good as I remember :p.  

Edited September 25, 2016 by JudoMom

[DawnM]

It takes time to master new skills and new habits.  Habit change experts advise doing one at a time, adding in a new one every 4-8 weeks.  

 

People who are successful with significant body changes in the long term aren't just dieting- we are sticking to new habits for a the long haul/life time/long after we actually "reach our goal".  

 

If someone, for instance is used to eating the standard American diet and a lot of fast food and soda, they are very unlikely to have success on a whole bunch of radical changes at once.  It's common for someone in that situation to pick a restrictive diet and make an unrealistic exercise goal and set a start date (MONDAY MORNING!). They then eat a lot of crap right before they start and then wake up Monday to their grapefruit or egg whites and feel tortured.  Most will be back to their old habits in less than a week and almost all back to their old habits in less than a few months. A handful will stick to their diet and/or exercise for a long enough time to lose a lot of weight.  But if they have just been forcing themselves to diet and hating the exercise rather than forming new habits about how to eat healthfully, most of that small number will gain most or all of their lost weight back.  

 

On the other hand, if they get rid of the soda, then once they aren't craving soda anymore, they can stop with the fast food at lunch, then once that's second nature, they look at increasing their daily activity level and then evaluate what they are cooking at home and set a goal to eat more veggies and less white flour and so on and so forth.  

 

You don't have to do one goal at a time.  Many people can, for example, pair quitting caloric drinks with a commitment to eat at least 5 servings of green veggies a day or a pledge to get 8,000 steps a day.  But if you pace it incrementally your success rate is higher.  If you make it a permanent change/new normal, you are less likely to regain weight.  MOST dieters do regain a lot of weight.  Pacing the number of habits on changes has demonstrably positive impacts on long term success.  

 

There's a synergy to it that there is not in trying to go directly from double bacon cheeseburgers to roasted chickpea and veggie wraps or straight from coffee, sugar and donuts to unsweetened herbal tea and egg and vegetable scramble.  

 

 

I used to eat 1000 calories per day to lose, and 1200 or so to maintain.  I would not TOUCH chips, fried foods, etc.....I was very careful about every little bite.  

 

That was when I was at my thinnest.  But I also know I can't eat what others eat, even when it helps them to lose weight.  

 

It is pretty discouraging.

 

But I am getting motivated to try yet again, and success stories help me get motivated.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I used to eat 1000 calories per day to lose, and 1200 or so to maintain.  I would not TOUCH chips, fried foods, etc.....I was very careful about every little bite.  

 

That was when I was at my thinnest.  But I also know I can't eat what others eat, even when it helps them to lose weight.  

 

It is pretty discouraging.

 

But I am getting motivated to try yet again, and success stories help me get motivated.

 

Oh that would make me SO HUNGRY.

[busymama7]

I used to eat 1000 calories per day to lose, and 1200 or so to maintain. I would not TOUCH chips, fried foods, etc.....I was very careful about every little bite.

 

That was when I was at my thinnest. But I also know I can't eat what others eat, even when it helps them to lose weight.

 

It is pretty discouraging.

 

But I am getting motivated to try yet again, and success stories help me get motivated.

This damage to your metabolism that you caused by such severe calorie restriction has to be repaired before you can lose and maintain at a healthy weight. I am doing this with trim Healthy mama (and don't hate the name 😂) and it's the only thing that has ever allowed me to actually lose plus I'm not hungry or deprived. But there are other out there who talked about purposeful re-feeding to repair damaged metabolism and the problems with calorie restricted diets.

 

Good luck! I do feel like it's 95% mental. I had to be willing to give it another go. Thankfully it's working. Slowly but that's ok as I can stick it out ove the long haul. And slow loss is better than gaining which is what I was doing (and quickly!) before. I'm down 25ish lbs in about a year.

 

Also, I should mention that I am being treated with natural thyroid medicine and bioidentical hormones as well as metformin. I certain those are helping as well.

[ktgrok]

For those of us that are very short, with a very low BMR, 1,000 to lose is actually very normal. Sadly. Sigh. Actually, if you do the math, for me to lose 2 lbs a week based on my height I'd supposedly eat 800 calories a day. I don't, but that's the math. Of course, that's with zero exercise. 

[ktgrok]

Also, not letting perfect be the enemy of the good. Tonight, we had "nothing" in the house for dinner. I could have ordered pizza or had hubby pick up subs. Instead, I found some precooked perdue chicken strips (short cuts they are called I think) in a bag and heated up that with a slice of cheese melted over it, and ate that with apple slices. I gave the kids apple slices, half a tortilla, and yogurt. Hubby will fend for himself, we have left over soup that he likes that the kids and I don't like. 

[DawnM]

For those of us that are very short, with a very low BMR, 1,000 to lose is actually very normal. Sadly. Sigh. Actually, if you do the math, for me to lose 2 lbs a week based on my height I'd supposedly eat 800 calories a day. I don't, but that's the math. Of course, that's with zero exercise. 

 

 

Yup!  I am very short.  

 

Prior to the year 2000, the Min. daily requirement was 1000.  It switched to 1200 sometime within the last 20 years.

[busymama7]

For those of us that are very short, with a very low BMR, 1,000 to lose is actually very normal. Sadly. Sigh. Actually, if you do the math, for me to lose 2 lbs a week based on my height I'd supposedly eat 800 calories a day. I don't, but that's the math. Of course, that's with zero exercise.

I'm 5'2". And hypothyroid although I don't know what my BMR is. I'm sure it's low as I was gaining weight on a normal diet before. Quickly.

 

I'm losing without counting at all and I eat lots of high calorie foods. I do not personally believe( and I did not make this up but rather have learned from those much wiser than myself) that the low calorie method is helpful in the long run. The THM way fixes low metabolism and makes your body wake up and burn more. If you eat low calorie your body adjusts and you have to keep chasing a lower and lower number and then your body is literally starving from lack of nutrition.

 

But I know everyone has to figure out what works for them. I'm just offering up that there might be reason to fix the metabolism first.

[Pawz4me]

I'm only 4'10" (with shoes on!), am 53 years old and have Hashimoto's. I have a history of extreme dieting and exercising and was diagnosed with an eating disorder in my mid-20's that took me several years to recover from and almost cost me my chance to have kids. If anyone's metabolism should be shot it should be mine. But I can lose at a nice rate (1 to 1.5 pounds a week) on 1200 calories a day and a brisk 30-40 minute walk plus just working in lots of movement throughout the day. As long as my thyroid is behaving I maintain a weight of 109-110 on 1600-1650 calories a day (also with a walk and lots of movement). I think a two pound per week weight loss is totally unrealistic for most short women unless they have quite a lot to lose,. Even back in the day when I was young and working my way to becoming anorexic while trying to lose 50+ pounds I rarely managed to lose two pounds a week.

[ktgrok]

I agree that a 2 lb loss is unrealistic for short women. I can lose 1 lb a week at the most. I will also say that 1,00 calories for me is NOT including exercise. If I exercise I give myself more calories. So it ends up more like 1200 calories or more. 

[Murphy101]

Pre this pregnancy, I lost nearly 60lbs and went from a size 18/20 jeans to 10.

 

Whole30 (modified at times)

Walk Away the pounds DVDs

[kiana]

Lost a bit over 80 lbs. Dropped from size 18-20 to size 6-8. 

 

Started out just calorie counting and exploring what made me feel good and what made me feel crap. Lost plenty drinking soda every day, but eventually cut it out so that I could add more food.

 

Intermittent fasting (skip breakfast, moderate lunch, heavy supper) worked very well for me when I was overweight but not so well when I got into a normal weight range.

 

Eventually I realized that I was developing some bad attitudes towards calories (keeping them too low, focusing on them too much) so I started using a different tracking system (cronometer, great free system if you cook most of your own food) that allowed me to focus on nutrients instead. Still using that one. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

For those of us that are very short, with a very low BMR, 1,000 to lose is actually very normal. Sadly. Sigh. Actually, if you do the math, for me to lose 2 lbs a week based on my height I'd supposedly eat 800 calories a day. I don't, but that's the math. Of course, that's with zero exercise. 

 

Oh well screw that.  Then I'd rather exercise more.  LOL  Or just not care about being thin!

[DawnM]

Lost a bit over 80 lbs. Dropped from size 18-20 to size 6-8. 

 

Started out just calorie counting and exploring what made me feel good and what made me feel crap. Lost plenty drinking soda every day, but eventually cut it out so that I could add more food.

 

Intermittent fasting (skip breakfast, moderate lunch, heavy supper) worked very well for me when I was overweight but not so well when I got into a normal weight range.

 

Eventually I realized that I was developing some bad attitudes towards calories (keeping them too low, focusing on them too much) so I started using a different tracking system (cronometer, great free system if you cook most of your own food) that allowed me to focus on nutrients instead. Still using that one. 

 

 

I haven't heard of a cronometer.  Is it a website?

[Seasider]

Re 10K steps - hula hooping and rebounding and jogging in place all trip my pedometer into counting steps. FWIW, my doc told me that I could rack up 100K steps a day and wouldn't be benefitting my heart unless a minimum of 20 minutes of those were gained at a higher intensity level than just walking.

[kiana]

I haven't heard of a cronometer.  Is it a website?

 

Yes, cronometer.com. There is a paid version but I have only used the free version. There are fewer obnoxious ads than myfitnesspal and because you don't see other people's entries there are fewer completely inaccurate entries. The micronutrient data is a lot easier to track. One downside is that if you eat a lot of packaged food it may not be in there and so you need to enter those yourself. 

[ktgrok]

Oh well screw that.  Then I'd rather exercise more.  LOL  Or just not care about being thin!

 

I don't care about being thin, but I did care about not being morbidly obese. At my lowest since surgery, a year out, I was still overweight, but no longer obese Health was much better. But yeah, explains why I had such a hard time losing weight on diets that put me on 1500 calories a day!

[Murphy101]

So much depends on why one needs to lose weight.

 

For me, I'd had a couple physical limitations that over time had made me less mobile than for most of my year prior, combined with middle age, combined with finances changing how I bought food. And my husband is very supportive. My motivation wasn't to be thin. It was to no longer feel like crap and physically limited. I wanted to make getting older less hard if possible by improving my over all health.

 

For someone in a different situation, what works and why it works is going to be different than for me.

[marbel]

I haven't lost a significant amount of weight but I'm commenting anyway to say I appreciate this thread.   

 

A few years ago I had lost 18 pounds over a 10-week period but gained it all back.  I am between 20 and 25 pounds overweight.  Earlier this month I received a wakeup call - lab results mostly great, EXCEPT an A1C of 5.9, pre-diabetic. 

 

So, trying again.  

 

I would like to be thinner - always have - but at this point the more important thing is getting that blood sugar level down.   Maybe that will motivate me more?  I am counting carbs, trying to stay around 50, which some say is low carb and some say is not. I'm quite sure it is way lower than I had been eating!   (My daughter works in a cafe that specializes in bagels, and when she works the closing shift, guess what she brings home?)  Also walking minimum 30 minutes at least 5 days a week, at ~3 mph which breaks a sweat for me at this point.     I have lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks, so I am hopeful.  (I have been taking a diuretic for kidney issues for a couple of years now, so don't think that is water weight, but maybe I am wrong.)

 

So, thanks, Dawn for starting this.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2016 by marbel

[stephanier.1765]

I'm 5'6 and even for me losing 2 lbs in one week is cause for jumping up and down in celebration. Normal weight loss is a half to a whole pound. Frankly, as long as the scale moved in the downwards direction, I was happy. Now I just don't want it to move at all.

[ktgrok]

I'm 5'6 and even for me losing 2 lbs in one week is cause for jumping up and down in celebration. Normal weight loss is a half to a whole pound. Frankly, as long as the scale moved in the downwards direction, I was happy. Now I just don't want it to move at all.

 

Perhaps, but remember, I was post bariatric surgery and had had 80 percent of my stomach removed. And was morbidly obese. 2 lbs a week wasn't an abnormal goal in that circumstance. 

[Pawz4me]

Re 10K steps - hula hooping and rebounding and jogging in place all trip my pedometer into counting steps. FWIW, my doc told me that I could rack up 100K steps a day and wouldn't be benefitting my heart unless a minimum of 20 minutes of those were gained at a higher intensity level than just walking.

 

That's very true.

 

But wanting to get in more steps (or movement in general) in order to burn more calories is really a different thing entirely than exercising for cardiovascular health.

[ktgrok]

You know I have had doctors say to me as well that it has to be higher intensity, not just walking or whatever. But when we look at populations that live a very long life, with little to no heart disease, they aren't generally jogging or doing intense exercise. They are walking, hiking, gardening, etc. So I'm not sure I buy it. 

[kiana]

I'd find it very dubious to believe that it wouldn't benefit your heart at all. Now, if it were phrased as "it would benefit your heart MORE if some of those were a little more intense" I'd buy it. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'd find it very dubious to believe that it wouldn't benefit your heart at all. Now, if it were phrased as "it would benefit your heart MORE if some of those were a little more intense" I'd buy it. 

 

Yeah it can be as bad as just sitting on the couch all day.  I find that hard to believe.

[DawnM]

You know I have had doctors say to me as well that it has to be higher intensity, not just walking or whatever. But when we look at populations that live a very long life, with little to no heart disease, they aren't generally jogging or doing intense exercise. They are walking, hiking, gardening, etc. So I'm not sure I buy it.

I don't buy it.

[Laura Corin]

Re 10K steps - hula hooping and rebounding and jogging in place all trip my pedometer into counting steps. FWIW, my doc told me that I could rack up 100K steps a day and wouldn't be benefitting my heart unless a minimum of 20 minutes of those were gained at a higher intensity level than just walking.

 

It depends how you walk.  I'm in the cardio zone for much of the time I walk on my own: hills plus pace.  The vet is very pleased with the dog's fitness too.

[VaKim]

You know I have had doctors say to me as well that it has to be higher intensity, not just walking or whatever. But when we look at populations that live a very long life, with little to no heart disease, they aren't generally jogging or doing intense exercise. They are walking, hiking, gardening, etc. So I'm not sure I buy it. 

Yep. I read that book, I think was called "The Blue Zones," and that is what it said.