Those of you who have lost 50lbs+ -- What's your secret?
I think we'd all love to hear about your struggle and what you've found works for you! How did you start? Was there ever a point where you wanted to throw in the towel? What's your diet and exercise plan and did it change from how you began? How strict are you? What's gotten easier, and what continues to remain difficult?
Please share with us! You're such big inspirations and wonderful role models!
What's your diet and exercise plan and did it change from how you began?
The simple answer is that I ate less and moved more but I think that the devil (or my success) is in the detail; I drastically reduced my carb intake and forced myself to eat lots of protein. If I were eating what I fancied, I have three types of carb and no protein at all, so it's been an effort.
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How did you start?
I realised that I was depressed because I'd lost myself under a layer of fat and that I just had to get on with doing something about it.
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Was there ever a point where you wanted to throw in the towel?
Most days I think about ordering pizza.
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How strict are you?
Very, for the simple reason that I can't just have one of anything carby, I not only have to finish the packet, I have to finish a second and third packet.
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What's gotten easier, and what continues to remain difficult?
I now have the skills needed to make healthy, low carb, low cal meals every day that I and my partner enjoy; it's much easier than having to consult books all of the time and now that I'm smaller, it's easier to exercise.
Saying 'no' remains difficult.
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You're such big inspirations and wonderful role models!
I think that everyone here is still struggling with their weight and eating habits; having those struggles in a pair of Sz 4 jeans, doesn't make anyone else inspirational, it might just mean that they got lucky...for now.
How did you start?
I just went for it. Started eating right and lifting weights (I could barely walk at the time due to an injury so cardio was out). When I initially started, I was very strict with my eating and didn't allow myself to eat out for months.
Was there ever a point where you wanted to throw in the towel?
No. There have been times where I've relaxed in my eating and exercise and it has caused me to not to lose weight so I maintained my weight during those periods of time.
What's your diet and exercise plan and did it change from how you began?
It has been about 5 years since I first started and my diet and exercise plan definitely has changed. I was lifting weights 5 days/week in the gym and I was following my own version of the South Beach diet. Now I do a variety of exercises and try to keep active. I really enjoy outdoor activities when the weather is right. I also currently follow a vegan, whole foods style diet.
How strict are you?
Not sure what you mean by this. Do I eat right every single day, do I exercise every single day? No. I have good days and bad days but I try to make sure that the good days outnumber the bad days. If the scale starts to slip up or remain the same when I'm trying to lose, then I get stricter.
What's gotten easier, and what continues to remain difficult?
Easier - eating right, avoiding junk food. Difficult - Even though I love exercise and love how it makes me feel, sometimes I still have to talk myself into it.
For me there is no secret other than consistency, staying 95-100% on plan every day, whether I feel like it or not. I love myself too much to ever go back to how I behaved before. I'm too valuable not to treat myself as well as I would treat anyone else, including a complete stranger. And I will never go back...it's just so fun to be happy and healthy, look good and feel good. I've lost 161 lbs in 16 months. I started out on Atkins induction for a year then switched to low carb/low fat after I quit losing.
Did I ever feel like throwing in the towel.?...Not exactly , but I almost settled for a higher goal weight when I was getting closer to goal and when weight loss really had slowed down. Someone issued a five pound challenge and I accepted that and lost that stubborn five pounds and continued on to goal.
Great questions! I also recommend that anyone who is interested in knowing more should go to the Goal section. There are hours (perhaps days!) of good reading there, countless stories and pictures of success!
How did I start?
Gradually over a period of a few weeks. I first started by cutting out candy and chips, and by bringing my lunch to work instead of going out. I also bought a bag of oranges and started eating one every day. Then I started counting calories and exercising on an elliptical. When good weather came, I started walking and then eventually jogging.
Did I ever want to throw in the towel?
Nope. Not this time around. I had a few periods of discouragement but by then I had found 3FC and when I came here talking about being discouraged and envious of others who were losing successfully, I got some tough questions and tough love. I realized that if I wanted the results, then I needed to quit being a baby and be willing to make the committment. Right now I'm in maintenance, but I'm not at goal.
How strict am I?
Not very strict at all. Compared to people who are really disciplined and losing quickly, I'm a slacker. I allow myself a Skinny Cow ice cream nearly every day and the beer has been slipping back into the diet recently. That's going to stop, though, because I do NOT want my beer belly back. I still do not allow potato chips of any kind (except baked Lays), cookies, donuts or cake into the house or into my lips because I cannot control what happens after that. So I'm strict with those items. But I do eat a slice of regular pepperjack cheese on my turkey burgers. I do go out to lunch twice weekly with friends from work.
What has gotten easier, and what has remained difficult?
Telling myself "no" has gotten easier. I no longer have an internal struggle at the potato chip aisle each time I go to the store. I am now only mildly tempted when I pass by the carrot cake in the grocery store. Exercise remains difficult for me,which is confusing because I always acknowledge how great I feel afterwards. But for some reason, motivation to exercise remains hard for me.
I decided I was addicted to sugar, so I gave it up cold turkey. Nothing with sugar it it at all for a month. The first week was awful, but after the month was over I did not crave sweets like I used to. Now I do eat a little sugar, for instance I eat Yopliat light yogurt which has some sugar in it, or I'll have sauces or something like that that may have a bit of sugar in them, part for the most part I avoid sugar now. In addition I totally changed what I was eating, I used to eat almost entire frozen pizza for dinner, or huge plates of pasta, or way too much Chinese food. Now I eat a chicken breast, and 2-3 cups of veggies for dinner( and I enjoy it!)
I also started walking, about 3 miles a day, slowly it took forever. I walked with a partner 4-6 days a week, then summer hot and I spent most of my time being active outside....hiking, biking, swimming...that sorta thing.
Did I ever want to throw in the towel?
Did I ever want to stop losing weight? no. Did I ever want to stop worry about tracking and planning. YES!
Sometimes i wish I didn't have to plan and track and care so much about what I eat. I wish I could just go out to dinner order whatever looks good and be content, but I can't, not if I want a slim healthy body. A healthy body IS what I want so I have to plan, and I'm OK with that.
How strict am I?
I don't think I am as strict as some. I make a plan and I follow it. I exercise when I say I'm going to and I stay within my calories range I would say about 95% of the time. I also plan for what most would consider major splurges. I've been dieting for 11 months and I've eating at the Chinese buffet 4 times, I've had cake 4 or 5 times, I went out for ice cream 3 times. I make better choices now, I plan ahead for the splurges and I don't think they have really adversely affected my weight loss.
What has gotten easier, and what has remained difficult?
The planning and tracking is 2nd nature to me now. Turning down food is a cinch, sticking my exercise plan is pretty easy too. What remains difficult for me is social occasions, I'm still not sure how and what to eat at a party someone else is hosting(not eating doesn't work for me and a lot of times there aren't many healthy option) or when the boss buys the staff lunch and I don't eat it( I feel awkward). Also sometimes I really want to go out for drinks with my friends and I just can't figure out how to reasonable work booze into my plan.
For me, I created a plan of balanced diet (I use mypyramid.gov) and exercise plan I knew I could follow (increasing my 30 mins per day/5 days per week to 6 hours total per week) and then followed it to the letter without weighing myself for the first 72 days. For me, that hardest part is the start so I did not want to be discouraged by not seeing the results I thought my "pain" should warrant. Once I've started seeing results, it's been fairly easy to stick to it. I only lose @6 lbs per month, but now that I'm adding that amount on to previous months, it's good.
wow. I like reading threads like this, because when it seems like i just will never lose the weight and I'll be fat forever i came to threads like this and it motivates me.
I'm at 60 pounds lost, and it's still an everyday struggle. And yes I've been THISCLOSE to throwing in the towel. But the difference is, I'm vocal with my struggle. I lean on friends. I lean on my Weight Watchers leader when I come into a meeting and say "This week has been hard as ****. And I wanted to quit." My support system holds me accountable. They validates my feelings, listen to my struggles, and then motivate me to get back on track. My sister told me one time "Don't you quit. You've come too far." Sometimes you need to hear that. So I encourage being vocal about your journey.
I just decided that I wasn't going to live like that anymore. I knew that because of my binging habit, my concept of portions was way out of whack and I felt like I needed something very structured to give me a good start. So I signed up with a local healthy meal delivery company for 3 meals a day totaling 1500 calories. I added about 200 extra calories on top of that. I did that for a couple of months until I felt like A) I had a handle on what kinds of foods I should be eating, B) I understood what my portions were supposed to look like and C) I felt like I was in control of my eating again, and D) I was ready to start deciding what to eat each day on my own.
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Originally Posted by Wild Vulpix
Was there ever a point where you wanted to throw in the towel?
No. I can't go back to that life. Sure, I have my frustrated days like everyone else, but giving up is not an option.
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Originally Posted by Wild Vulpix
What's your diet and exercise plan and did it change from how you began?
I mentioned the healthy meal delivery thing I used for the first 2 months above. From that point on, I've been calorie counting and trying to stay away from empty carbs. I'm now eating about 1500 calories a day. I didn't exercise when I started because I felt like getting a handle on my food was all I could deal with. Once I started feeling better, I added in walking, which is what I do now.
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Originally Posted by Wild Vulpix
How strict are you?
Depends on what you mean by strict! I don't go over my calories day to day. The exceptions to that were Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and one party. In all cases, I was on plan the rest of the day and back on plan the next morning. Even with those big meals, I lost each of those weeks. I try to keep some "fun" things in my plan. About once a week I get a McDonalds ice cream cone, because I love them!
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Originally Posted by Wild Vulpix
What's gotten easier, and what continues to remain difficult?
EVERYTHING has gotten easier after the first week. It's not a struggle for me to stay on plan because I like what I eat and I know that eating what I used to eat is only going to bring me heartache in the end. My life is easier. Getting around is easier. Being happy is easier. Finding clothes is easier. Smiling is easier. With that as a result, nothing I do as far as my plan goes is a hardship.
How did you start?
LOL um..... I started and stopped over the course of 2 years. I would lose 5 lbs, stop, gain it all back. Finally in 2009, I decided I was going to pick a goal *other* than weight loss... I decided that I wanted to hike a 14'er and run in a 5k race. Obviously to do that, I was going to have to get my butt moving! So I started running very gradually, and tried to cut my calories down to 1200-1300 a day. But I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted, as long as it was within calorie range. Then I started working on a diet more conducive to a runner's diet, because apparently, there was an inner athlete just dying to be exposed!
Was there ever a point where you wanted to throw in the towel?
Oh gosh, yes. Not really in the beginning, because I was having so much fun with the running and the weight was just melting off. Once I hit 50 lbs lost, my weight loss slowed significantly, and that's when it really became difficult. Because at a lower weight, food indescretions mattered more in terms of the sacle fluctuations. I couldn't get away with a cheat here or there because it took days to work off. I had to work longer and harder because I wasn't burning as nearly as many calories as I did in the beginning. But now I'm kind of used to it, and it's been good for my patience to have to really worrk at it now. I've never gotten to the point where I've seriously considered quitting, though. Buying cute clothes in a size 6 NEVER gets old. Hearing compliments from your friends and family NEVER gets old. Loving my body instead of hating it NEVER gets old. Finishing a race with a cheering crowd NEVER gets old. Thinking back on how much I used to weigh, and all the things I missed out on like hiking with my husband, going out with my friends, etc...having the major confidence to do those things now? That never gets old!
What's your diet and exercise plan and did it change from how you began?
My eating has not changed a whole lot with the exception that I try to focus on whole foods instead of processed junk. I eat less than 100g carbs a day, but try to eat more protein. To me, it's all about making chouces. If I choose to eat a few cookies at lunch, then I must choose to not have dessert after dinner. My exercise pan has changed dramatically, however. I used to just run 4-5x a week about 35-40 minutes each time. Now I run 3x a week, strength train 2-3x a week and mix it up with classes 1-2x a week. I go for longer distances with my runs since I am now training for a half marathon. I added in the strength training because (before I moved my goal weight down slightly) I was 15 lbs within my goal and still had a lot of fat...very chubby and it was apparent I wouldn't be happy where I was unless I started getting rid of some of the body fat.
How strict are you?
not very! lol. I guess am strict about my exercise. It was never so much the food I ate that made me fat, it was HOW MUCH of it that I ate. I try really hard to concetrate on regular portion sizes. I still have pizza on occassion, but I only eat two pieces instead of four or five. I'm that type of person that if you tell me I can't have something, I'm going to instantly crave it until the cows come home. The only thing I am strict about is staying within my calorie range.
What's gotten easier, and what continues to remain difficult?
Easier, hmm...incorprating exercise is a lot easier. Planning is a lot easier... I just don't think twice about logging my food each day, packing a bfast and lunch before bed, looking up calorie counts online before we go out to eat. Honestly, it's so second nature that I just don't think about it. Yes sometimes it's hard to go running when I'd rather nap, or sometimes I have to exercise some restraint when I'd rather devour the entire thing, but those times are few and far between.
I'm co-signing on consistnecy... it's the most important thing. It's also the hardest thing to do sometimes. I know a lot of people say that they never wanted to throw in the towel. Well, I've thought about it. I've been overweight my WHOLE life, and sometimes I think that maybe that's just how I'll be. Getting oer the negative self-talk gets easier. Knowing how to lose the weight gets easier- like making healthy food choices and getting up to do your exercise. But the main thing is sticking with whateer your plan is. I think any reasonable diet plan works. You just have to stick with it, and know that the weight WILL come off.
Those of you who have lost 50lbs+ -- What's your secret?
I think we'd all love to hear about your struggle and what you've found works for you! How did you start? Was there ever a point where you wanted to throw in the towel? What's your diet and exercise plan and did it change from how you began? How strict are you? What's gotten easier, and what continues to remain difficult?
I allow myself a Skinny Cow ice cream nearly every day and the beer has been slipping back into the diet recently. That's going to stop, though, because I do NOT want my beer belly back. I still do not allow potato chips of any kind (except baked Lays), cookies, donuts or cake into the house or into my lips because I cannot control what happens after that. So I'm strict with those items. But I do eat a slice of regular pepperjack cheese on my turkey burgers. I do go out to lunch twice weekly with friends from work.
I'll be back!
