Weight Loss Support - How did you lose/are you losing your weight?

I am just curious who has had success on which dieting plan / lifestyle change.

How did you lose (or how are you losing) your weight?

If you choose "other" please let us know what it is!! :)

Please feel free to add comments/information.

IMO the only way to go! (for me anyway!) Healthy eating with exercise. :carrot::carrot:

Well I am probably slightly then some here. I have lost weight by upping my calories. Before I was 160lbs and eating 600-800 cals a day with no exercise other than cleaning house and chasing kids. I stayed at 160 for a long time. But now I am eating more 1400-1500 give or take and exercising at least 20 mins a day or more if I can. Also I cut out sugary drinks and caffeine. I drink nothing but water with some milk a day and herbal tea as a treat. I am currently down to 148. So far this has worked for me.

I should have said on the upping cals part. I eat better foods. Whole grains, veggies, fruits, lean meats, low fat yogurt and what not. Also I have a Fitday account to track my calories and what I eat.

X

I agree with you ladies ~ my menu plan is portion-based; and consists of Lean Meats, Whole Grain everything (with some added Fiber), lots of Salads and Veggies, Fruits, no-fat/sugar Yogurt, lots of soup, and water; plus daily walking and mixed exercises (including hand-weights).

Recently, I have ^upped^ my time and distance in the exercise (as I hit a set-back and plateau after losing over 70+ lbs). But last weigh-in lost 2 lbs; so I'm on the move again ~ YEAH!

I am also keeping track more carefully what I eat each day. I'm slowly lowering my total daily calorie allotment by about 100 cals to keep losing. I think exercise is sooo key to success and a continued loss; ie today, I extended my walk by increasing the distance a ways. I think consistancy is important. ROSEBUD :hug:

I voted on the healthy eating option. I go into GREAT detail how I have lost 240lbs so far in my MySpace blog

I had to finally face facts and figure out that I needed a plan that I could do forever. There was no more going back and forth. I needed something that had a beginning of course - but no end - just a continuance. So for me that meant doing the whole lifestyle change. Totally and completely in fact. I elminated the junk, but got to ADD in healthy, nutritious and DELICIOUS foods (that being key, if the food's not tasty, then just how does one stay on it forever?). I also count calories, cause even though the food is healthy, it still adds up. Calorie counting is my way of portion control. The ONLY way in fact for ME. It's what keeps me accountable and forces me to set limits.

Exercise is another valuable component to my "plan".

i'm using ww just as a rough guideline, because honestly i'm pretty clueless about nutrition and would otherwise probably try living on lettuce until i gave up and pigged out on junk again. i'm not paying for it though, i think it's kind of unfortunate that so many companies try to make money on people's misery. i just happened to have a relative that did it awhile back and gave me a slider and a bunch of booklets and stuff.
so i've come up with a few 'staples' that i can live with having frequently, (turkey breast wraps loaded with veggies, etc)... and i'm getting good at guesstimating points in most things, or checking when i'm not sure. and i've found a few surprises (wow, i can have that?!?!). i'm not totally sticking to how many points they suggest either (i think they were overly generous based on poundage). i eat when i'm hungry, but if i'm not then what's the point?

i do my best as far as nutrition - lots of veggies/water/fiber, adequate protein/calcium... low fat/sugar - but i'm still just wingin' it. i don't genuinely know what 'lots' is, or adequate is, or what low is for that matter... and trying to educate myself extensively on the subject would likely bore me to tears. but, so far so good and i'm making choices that i can live with long-term i think also.

I had to choose other because I'm not a consistent exerciser. I did (am doing) it the healthy eating way otherwise.

I've lost 120 pounds eating healthy and exercising!!

I had to finally face facts and figure out that I needed a plan that I could do forever. There was no more going back and forth. I needed something that had a beginning of course - but no end - just a continuance. So for me that meant doing the whole lifestyle change. Totally and completely in fact. I eliminated the junk, but got to ADD in healthy, nutritious and DELICIOUS foods (that being key, if the food's not tasty, then just how does one stay on it forever?).

I went through exactly the same process. Permanent change of lifestyle is the only way to go for me. And I hear you about the quality of the food. We had to completely revamp our menu and in many cases invent new things we were happy with eating. And of course, a near unwavering commitment to exercise is a big part of our plan too.

Calorie counting (mega healthy foods) + daily cardio + weightlifting = 122 pounds off for 5+ years. :D

I usually just try to eat right and exercise at least 1 hour a day, 5 days a week. Although I do know how WW works so I also count points.

Calorie counting and exercise. I consider calorie counting to be more than just healthy eating, so I chose "other." My eating wasn't horribly unhealthy before, but I ate way to much of even the healthy foods that I ate. Now I measure and weigh every piece of food that goes in my mouth and I plan out all my meals and snacks in advance to make sure that my calories will be under my limit for the day. I also write down everything I eat. Ask me what I ate on this day a year ago and I could tell you.

I am doing a program called Healthy Inspirations, which is basically a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. The difference is after I am done losing all of my weight they take another full year to teach me how to maintain the weight loss and eat healthy for life. I am 8lbs from my goal!

I answered the healthy eating/regular exercise option. I exercise 5-6 days each week. "Diet" is a mish-mash of various ideas I "try on" for size, some parts kept, some parts tossed out. It's all about building up a healthy lifestyle --that's my main goal.

I voted healthy eating and consistent exercise, BUT I think that counting calories should be a separate option. Because I could easily eat too much healthy food and not lose this weight.

I voted healthy eating and consistent exercise, BUT I think that counting calories should be a separate option. Because I could easily eat too much healthy food and not lose this weight. Totally great point!! I wish I could alter the list and put Calorie Counting Seperate!

I was working with a personal trainer for 16 weeks. Eating Healthy. Whole Grains, very low sugar, etc. But I lost nothing because I was eating too much of those healthy foods. Now that I am calorie counting it makes a world of difference! You are so right!

I'm calorie counting, but not doing too much exercise apart from the odd 20mins here and there on the trampoline.
When I go back to Uni next week I am going to buy a hula hoop, a mini trampoline and I have a park right outside my house so one of my housemates is going to come jogging with me :)

I lost 40 pounds just watching what i ate and going to the gym everyday for at least 1 hour a day. I was initially 172lbs and dropped to about 135lbs just eating right and excersing....then i got hurt and couldn't maintain the level of exercise and inevitably i gained some of the weight back. I am now on LAWL and hope to learn how to be able to get the weight off and keep it off without relying solely on exercise. I guess my body got so dependent on the exercise that when i was forced to stop it just kept the calories that would normally have been burned during exercise.

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/heartbar/sliderbug/lb/151/120/147/.png (http://www.3fatchicks.com/)

I lost all of my wt. on Atkins and stayed on Atkins for 6 months of maintenance. Then switched to calorie counting for my lifetime way of maintaining a healthy weight. My main form of exercise is walking and lots of it.

Healthy eating (I count calories as well) and exercising, even though my main form of cardio these days comes from natural exercise--I bike to and from work, that's about 70 minutes per day. I know myself enough now to know that if I feel like I'm on a diet, I'll never do it for the rest of my life, and saying "I'm on Atkins/SB/whatever" does sound too much like "I'm on a diet" to my liking, so... I had to find something that would suit me. :)

calorie counting, eating less - small portions and more veggies!!!!

I am eating healthy (Lean Cuisine and fresh veggies and fruits) and exercising which I never did before. I've lost 22 lbs in 1 month so it's working for me. My theory is, Losing weight isn't suppose to be easy but the more you work at it the better you feel.

Also, I totally agree with Kery. Thats exactly how I felt. Counting Calories is the best method for me. Life style change not diet.

I have been eating healty food, and controlling my portions. I think I have come to terms with the idea that I will need to eat this way forever and I am feeling ok with it. Somehow, I never "got it" before that I was going to have to permanently change my eating style.

I am not doing any exercise. :(

I should have read the poll a little more closely. Over the last year and a half, I've lost 80+ pounds mostly by calorie counting, journaling, eating foods that are much better for me, and lots of walking. An injury kept me from walking for a few months right near the beginning, but I've been walking consistently since then. Haven't done any weights, although I should. I'm continuing to adjust and improve my eating, although I'm probably close to where my weight will stay.


Rainy

Calorie counting, walking, weights.

Me too, SusanB! I did calorie counting and consistent exercise. I would have chosen "healthy eating," but it's kind of vague... it means different things to different people.

Jay

I'm doing calorie counting & exercising. Eating A LOT of fruits and veggies and limiting breads and sweets, which are my weaknesses. I'm also drinking 128oz water daily.

Eating healthy (that includes counting every calorie I consume) and consistent exercise.

I'm in the calorie-counting, healthy, balanced diet plus regular cardio and weight training camp. It's VERY effective :)

I lost my weight through healthy eating and exercise. I definitely agree that calorie counting should be a separate category, because it is something that some people can live with for the rest of their lives and some can't. I don't think I could, so I have had to learn what I can and can't eat and how much of it is 'enough'.
Also, with calorie counting, you can eat what you like really (if you are willing to 'spend' the calories on some foods that aren't healthy) so some people may be calorie counting, but not eating healthy food. I know people who have almost NO fruit and vegetables, but stick within their calories. It is definitely a separate category. Mind you, while saying that, I have seen SO many people on here who understand that you can get a lot more food and energy from healthier food than unhealthy food for the set number of calories you allow yourself, so I am certainly not saying that healthy eating and calorie counting can't go hand-in-hand, just that it doesn't HAVE to go hand-in-hand.

I hope that what I have just said makes sense and doesn't come out as though I am slamming calorie counting, because that definitely isn't what I meant to do, but I'm not sure how to word it so that it comes out right. Perhaps someone else can word it better for me.

I just love the fact that so many people can lose weight in so many different ways. It certainly shows that you have to find what works for YOU, and can't always follow what someone else is doing.

Take care,

Zelma

The first seventy five pounds were from a lower carb no white flour or sugar or HFCS diet. Since then I've tweaked it more to add more carbs back in and have counted calories. My main source of exercise has been walking and using the WATP tapes.