Hello..I have been trying to lose weight for a while now. Lost 35 pounds when I got divorced but still wanting to lose another 50.

I was wondering are majority of you doing this by counting your calories or WW or another program?

What about working out, more than an hour a day or approx 30 mins a day of cardio and weight lifting after?

Thank you for you help in advance.

I started out counting calories. It was really working for me and then I just got stuck. I started WW online this week. so far I really like it!

I'm working out between 30 minutes to an hour typically every day if I can get to the gym (I'm working on being more consistent!) I stopped lifting weights but I plan to start again this week

Great Question!!!

Through years an years of experience, I have decided that as you change (age, cognitively, physically, lifestyle, etc.) you must also change how your diet/exercise.

When I first started dieting I was in high school and did Weight Watchers. Which in my opinion gave me a great foundation for the basics of eating healthy; this program helped me understand portion control, reading nutritional labels, the importance of fiber, exercising, and so forth. I lost 25pounds.

Later in life I wanted to become even more health conscious, especially when it came to food. Weight Watchers concentrated mostly on calories, fat, and fiber. I took this to another level for myself and started to look at other nutritional values such as carbs, sodium, etc. When I was doing WW religiously with all of their food products (like Lean Cuisine) I was always so shocked that most of those meals had tons of Sodium. Since then, I have really eliminated most frozen foods from my diet.

This then progressed into an unprocessed food plan for myself, which was sparked by the local farmers market near my house : ) Yummy. Now I am continuing to eat an unprocessed food lifestyle which has led me to be very creative in the kitchen when I am preparing food.

As far as exercise I try to go 3times a week for an hour. I have always gotten the best results in terms of losing weight when i hit the 500cal mark at the gym. I also think that being involved in group classes at the gym help me be more accountable (i hate the idea of leaving earlier and everyone watching...haha).

Hope this helps!

PS I was always under the impression that when you are at the gym you should do weights first then cardio. I am assuming the idea is that when your muscles are nice and warm after a few reps they will burn more fat during the cardio workout : ) Also, if you use small weights and high reps you will get tone, if you do the opposite you will get more buff. Just a tip that I have noticed with myself.

I'm eating between 1200-1500 calories a day, using an iphone calorie counting app on my phone.

I don't typically cook for myself (I've never been big on cooking), so I usually eat a combination of premade meals and out at restaurants - I'm just careful to keep track of the calories using their online nutrition information. For snacks I eat quick-grab things like small packages of Greek yogurt, protein shakes, and "100-calorie" packs.

I don't currently have an exercise regime - I bought some weights to lift at home but haven't started yet. In the past I would fail at my exercise first, then get discouraged, say 'what's the point' and give up on the diet/exercise entirely. I just find the diet a LOT easier personally than adding in daily exercise. So, this time I decided I would start with the diet till I saw significant success and then slowly try to work in some exercise that I find manageable.

So far this is working out well for me - it's only been a little over 3 months but this is the longest I've consistently stuck to a plan, and I'm still feeling good about it. I don't feel deprived of foods - I still go out and drink too much with friends every now and then, or share a dessert - but overall I keep track so I know it can slow my loss but I'm not going to be derailed long-term.

I know everyone says you "have" to exercise to make it work, but I say do what works for you. It's obviously better if you include exercise (for both vanity and health), but don't think it's impossible to do it without.

The Sonoma Diet, and I try to walk everyday for at least 30 minutes. I also do about 15 minutes with free weights for my upper body.

Calorie counting (1200-1500/day.) The rest for me is just being mindful of mealtimes and hunger. I always used to graze, and now I'm actually planning when I eat a little better. For hunger, I just limit carbs and sugars, and often snack on protein bars, fruit & veg. I'm still trying to eat healthier, but I've made a lot of progress.

I'm relatively active, but I don't really count it toward any weight loss effort. I just mind what I eat, and I only exercise to feel better. I'm vegan, but that hasn't had anything to do with my weight loss (or else why would I have gained? lol)

I eat a clean whole food vegetarian diet, I do intermittent fasting almost every day and I exercise (not too much lately )
No counting, planning, preparing..

I count calories (1200-1400 a day) and work out 60-90 minutes (mostly cardio... running, elliptical, zumba and also pilates) 5-6 days a week.

I'm starting WW this week, actually today was my first day!! I was already eating healthy, but I needed a plan that would allow me to eat what I wanted while still monitoring my intake...I was counting my calories, but I need that support since I'm not getting at home...I've seen people around me get great results from the program, my grandma lost about 100 lbs. I don't need to loose that much, but 20-35 lbs. would be nice.... I was wondering if anyone else has has done weight watchers and how long it took them to see results?? Thanks

I use a high protein diet. and it's been working for me. I've lost 10 pounds in a month and I had to give away some pants because I lost a bit of my gelly-belly . I don't have an exercise plan , can't seem to prioritise that with my schedule, but I try to include more exercise in my day to day life: I do park further at the grocery store and at school and I use the stairs.

Last time, I went from 288 to 160 in a little over a year with no exercise before 180. I counted calories, eating around 1400. Now I eat 1200 and use a bodybugg to estimate the value of my exercise, averaging 1250 calorie deficit/day. I've lost almost 30lbs in my first month and a half.

I calorie count and try to stay <1600 a day, but sometimes its <1800 a day if I worked out a lot. I just started juicing today!

I go to the gym everyday, doing a large amount of cardio and weight lifting and I do the Insanity workout DVDs. I usually work out about 90 minutes a day.

I take vitamin supplements and fiber supplements.

I also make a point to stay very well hydrated.

I count calories (1200 to 1500), drink water and have just started C25K (which I am loving!).
I've found that the more water I drink, the better. So I literally carry around a 1L bottle of water and aim to fill it up 3 times a day. Besides water, I squeeze half a lemon into warm water before breakfast (to help with digestion) and drink green tea! That and keeping a diary of my weight and what I've eaten really helps me with sticking to this diet.

Calorie counting It's the most intuitive, simple, and flexible method for me. Plus it's a lifestyle change, not something I can only participate in if I subscribe to it.

Also doing IF (intermittent fasting), eating lower carb (150 g a day), and lifting 2x a week, cardio 1-2x a week. These are for fitness and health reasons purposes, not weight loss purposes, though.

I eat whole foods, meal plan, calorie count and/or weight watchers (I go back and forth with how I feel like counting, but they end up the same), and exercise when I can - I'm single mom to a four year old, so we go for walks together, my friends and I like to hike, and I go to the gym for running/lifting - but I'm not really religious about the gym due to time constraints.