1) How did you lose your weight? Were there any foods you added/deleted to your diet that made a big difference?
I have started to monitor everything I put into my body. I usually try to stick around 1400 cals a day and I drink 2 liters of water. I had to delete all sodium rich products because of swelling and water retention and I stopped with sodas and sugary foods like cookies, candy, etc (my problem there was knowing when to stop) and I eat a lot of protein rich foods (protein bars, chicken, turkey, salmon **not sure about protein in salmon, but omega 3s and it tastes great lol**) and I eat dense veggies (carrots, etc) that keep me fuller longer. also eat a lot of bananas and apples. I dont really mind eating the same things all the time, so my diet consists of about 15 different foods, but it works for me. I also workout 5 days a week for at least 30 mins, but I aim for 45 mins and i'm always moving...i work in a bank, so I opt to stand instead of sit and i two step at my desk or I offer to lift the boxes of coins or I volunteer to do food runs for other associates or to help a customer at the atm.

2) What was your weight loss definition of a successful week?
One of two scenarios:
the number on the scale went down
the number on the scale did not go up

3) What happened when you "cheated" or fell off of the wagon?
I gave myself a mental kick in the arse and I moved on. I got trapped in the mindset of "oh, i messed up, so i might as well quit and start again Monday" and monday never came...if I find out wednesday that im up a pound, i try not to get discouraged, but I just think: stay on track and the scale should stay the same this week. and I try to always remember: "I am in control of this: if I gain its my fault if I lose its my fault, which one will i choose?"

4) How did you stay motivated? What was your inspiration?
My clothes. I am now wearing size 20 pants that are obviously too big for me around my legs but are still hanging on around my belly. (my belly has always been the fat hoarder) but whenever I get discouraged I look down where my pants are so big, my legs look lost in them and I think: "my legs used to fill out these pants, this is what I've done so far: I've caused my thighs to retreat, now its time to get ALL my fat to surrender" (if you havent noticed by now, I talk to myself QUITE a lot)

Its about making the decision and not allowing yourself to back down from it. Keep your word to yourself. Good Luck and I hope I helped!

Know yourself and know what suits your personality. Doing what I can do brings me success, not what I should do.

1. For me calorie counting works for my personality. I like to cook and try new recipes so any diet book with only a set number of recipes annoyed and frustrated me after a while. So I broke the diet out of boredom and curiosity about new recipes and foods.

I like to eat dinner with friends and to eat out so any diet with no carbs/severe limit on a food type was one that I know I will break. Also cutting out any food that I love for good makes me feel like I'm punishing myself so I found a low cal suits me.

I spent a long time experimenting to find some low calorie foods that were delicious (I won't keep eating food that I don't enjoy, it's a sure way for me to grab something else and break a diet) and that's fast to cook. I also like maths so calculating and measuring suits me. Therefore I do low calorie dieting. I replaced meals that I loved with meals that I sometimes loved even more that were lower in calories.

Once I had enough recipes that I loved I used them daily. But I started with one at a time. So low cal breakfasts and lunches and then dinners and then snacks too.

I worked out an average for the amount of calories that I use daily and aimed below that but above the basic metabolic rate.

I also recorded what I ate and did the math to keep on track. When I try a new recipe I weigh and measure so I know exactly how many calories I'm eating.

I prepare food in advance to bring to work. I always cook more that enough for one day so I have something in the fridge if I don't have time to cook one day.

Soups are brilliant. You can buy readymade of course and they keep me going and are low calorie. Starting dinners with a soup helps to eat less calories over all as well.

I don't ban anything I just record it as calories.

But I don't buy food to eat at home that I know I find hard to resist. So I will never buy biscuits or cake. Ever. But I will eat sometimes both if I'm eating out.

2. I don't weigh I measure. Weighing is not reliable enough for me. When I started cycling seriously I gained weight but lost inches. Muscle weighs more than fat and I care more about what dress size I fit than what the scales say. If I lost a quarter of an inch in a week this was a good week.

3. When I fall off the wagon I remember that everyone does this sometimes. Absolutely everyone. Lance Armstrong, Madonna, Oprah, everyone. I know that falling off the wagon is completely different to failing. The only difference between me when I'm slim and me when I'm fat is that when I'm slim I tried again after a slip up. And again. And again. Success is when you keep trying. So it's okay to slip up. Just don't give up. This is my philosophy.

If I figure out why I slip up then I try to plan around that instead of beating myself up. So I guess I plan for slip ups, they're normal, then I solve them or just go back to my diet.

Eg I had a break for emotional reasons before and I knew it was temporary so I didn't freak out. I let myself eat a bar of chocolate every day when I had a break up and a deliberate break from the diet, but only one bar, paced throughout the day. For about two months. Damage limitation. When I felt better I cut that down to a half and then a few squares. Then started the diet again. I guess this is managing rather than curing an addiction but cutting it out then would not have worked. So I preempted and managed one slip up.

I also slipped up because I was busy so then I sat down and planned ways around this, so every Friday I get a low cal ready meal because I'm too wrecked to cook and I know that if I don't have one of these then I'll get some dodgy take away instead.

4. I stay motivated probably because I really really hate how I look when I'm very fat. I don't carry it well. I look awful really quickly. Also I enjoy feeling lighter and fitter. There are a lot of delicious low calorie foods out there. I'm also motivated because I know it's possible for me to follow this diet and eating so why not do it?

Hope this helps.

My biggest weight loss was a size 20 to a size 10. That was about ten years ago. I've never again been that fat. Once I knew how to lose weight I would diet regularly until i got thinner again. I know I can do it. This is motivation too. If I did it before I can do it again.