No more fooling around. Id like to lose 80 lbs by dec 15th. Thats a healthy range of 8 per mth. Im going to try calorie cycling but eat less during the week and a lil more on the weekends. I really need this. Im unhappy and unhealthy. Im going to incorporate some kind of exercise 5days a week but start slow. Im going to be posting alot here because you guys always get me through my weight loss.

Welcome Breannaj, I remember that feeling! You can do this. Having an online community is very helpful. Keep posting! Your goal is very realistic and doable!

Right there with you all. I will also be calorie cycling, and counting. I know I can do it, I am just going to push with my all. I am going for 36# in 6 months. I know this is very doable, and anything more is just splenda on the grapefruit. LOL.

Wilma

Ok so I went up a little bit higher than usual this weekend but didnt gain!!! wooo whoo. So today im going back to my reg. Does anyone use a certain website to figure out the cals needed to lose?? Ive found a few and they all say different things

Me too! This year is ours We can do it!! I have about 90 lbs. to lose. Eek! But, one day at a timr

It depends on so many things, mostly how active you are. To lose a lb, I have heard you need to burn 3500 more calories than you take in.

With me, my activity can vary like crazy day to day. One day I might be completely sedentary, and then next day run a half marathon.

For me, the answer is to use a gadget to monitor my activity, and keep an eagle eye on the calories I consume, and make sure I burn more than I consume.

A lot of people use BodyBugg, but that would be overkill for me. I really like my Fitbit. It has taken all the guesswork out of knowing how much I need to eat to lose or maintain.

Recently I have been using MyFitnessPal to set my targets and track my calories.

The reason all the calorie counters give you different answers is that each person is different, and each counter uses different methods to decide what the "average" or "typical" person is.

Ultimately, the only way to know what calorie level best balances how you feel and how fast you lose for you is to pick one and try it for a month or two. Observe how you feel, observe the results on the scale (after a month or two - daily fluctuations aren't meaningful for deciding your calorie level), and adjust as necessary. It is a long slow process of trial and error.

This might mean letting go of your time-based goals of losing X amount of pounds in Y time. I strongly recommend setting behavior-based goals, because only your behavior is within your control - how your body responds to those behaviors is out of your control.

So make your goal something you can actually do - "Stick to my plan 29 days out of 30 this month" or "exercise 4 times a week" or whatever other kinds of goals you want to set for yourself - and let the results follow from that.

You go girl! I feel the same way, lets do this!