I LOVE reading the posts and seeing the posters who have been successful. I am interested to know HOW you all reached your goal weight - was through a program? Calorie counting? Was exercise an integral part? Has maintenance been hard? What are your TOP THREE TIPS to help all of us still struggling out here??
I'd love to hear from you...

Look at you, almost 70 pounds! I think you should be giving us tips!

I count calories and have learned how to MOVE.
Three tips ....?
1. Find the most nutrition in the least calories and eat whatever that is alot.
2. Find what has the most calories with the least nutrition and stay away from it.
3. Move! Just move more than you used to. Just move!

I agree with sotypical. Way to go on your 70 lbs.

I count calories and I exercise regularly.

Top tips

- Energy in = energy out so make every last calorie count!
- Exercise regularly and find something you enjoy doing.
- Never beat yourself up for the occasional indulgence - this is life and it was never meant to be one of deprivation.

It took me about 9 months to reach my comfortable weight (about 58-60kgs) but I kept dropping down until I hit 51kgs (or 112 pounds) - I took it too far and had to learn how to appreciate and accept myself for what I am. I was never going to lose my hips no matter how much weight I lost lol. So now I am maintaining around 59-60kgs or 130-132 pounds and have been for about Ooo...18 months?

I still have "fat" days and I still have days where I feel guilty if I don't exercise and I definitely still have days where I eat way to much...but all in all maintainence has been relatively easy and it gets easier the longer I stick with it. I will ALWAYS be conscious of what I put in my mouth and I will ALWAYS know I need to move to say this way. But thats okay - I like eating healthy and I am an exercise addict. It's given me a whole new appreciation of life

Liv

Just one for me really.

Coming to terms with the fact I couldn't diet for a short time and then go back to eating whatever I wanted. I had to embrace the idea of permament change since losing weight is truely only the beginning, keeping weight off is a lifetime endeavor. I had to stop thinking, I can't wait until this diet is OVER so I can eat X as much as I want! Fully committing to a lifetime of healthy eating was the impetus for my success.

Thanks so much for your support - I lost most of mine quite quickly and unhealthily, but found that I couldn't maintain the plan. So now I'm struggling with maintaining what I have lost, let alone losing the last 40 lbs or so. It is really quite depressing, so I thought I would ask you all what your tips were.
Thanks again!
p.s. sotypical, Beanzilla is TOTALLY cute!
p.p.s Glory, your WL record is totally inspiring!!!

Hey Freiamaya, if you lost weight quickly and unhealthily, it might be a good idea to eat at maintenance level for a couple of months to "reset" your metabolism and get your body over the feeling of "ohmygod, there's not enough food, KEEP THE HIPS!!!!" It could be risky, there might be a possibility you could regain a few lbs, but I would look at those as an investment in your long term health/weight loss. Really focus on nutrient-rich foods (nuts, whole grains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables, healthy fat) and eat what someone of your height/weight/age/gender/activity level should eat to maintain.

I really think that when I plateaued after my initial weight loss in Feb 2005 that it was eating MORE than broke the plateau. I started eating just under maintenance and very slowly I lost another 15 lbs. It's like...my body had to feel safe to let the last extra go.

I really felt like I was working WITH my body and not against it. The body's survival ability is a miracle, understanding that it can practically do magic to keep me alive in the face of adversity gave me more respect for its capabilities. I had to stop thinking of myself as a modern woman, with a desk job and a full refrigerator and start thinking of myself as a prehistoric woman, struggling to get calories for the day. I mean, if worst case scenario, I was in a plane crash in the Andes and had to hike my way to freedom (no food + exercise) what would I *WANT* my body to do? I'd want it to hold onto fat stores and wring every bit of energy out of every calorie I put in my mouth. I have to respect that and not get angry when it does what I would ultimately want it to do.

Good luck!!!

Calorie counter here. And I eat healthy and very low fat.

1. I try to stay in the 'zone' of 40% 'good' carbs, 30% lean protein and 30% healthy fats and I only eat foods that taste good but are also good for me.

2. Log everything I eat in my food diary (max. 1650 calories per day).

3. Work out at Curves three times a week and walk on alternate days.

It's been slow going, but in the 2-1/2 years it's taken me to get this far I haven't regained more than 2 lbs. (which has come off again fairly quickly). I sometimes plateau for several weeks, but then the trend starts downwards again. I try not to get too fixated on the scale, but like to weigh once a day so I know what's going on. If I go a bit off plan for a special occasion, I don't beat myself up but get right back on track as soon as possible. Most of all, I see this as a life-long way of eating, not a quick fix "diet". If it takes another 2 or 3 years to reach my goal, that's fine with me.

I just realized that I needed to change the way I live rather than try another "diet". So I started by eating healthier foods and added onto that. I first tried cutting out sat. fats then learned some sat. fats were good...so added them back in. I went from fat free foods, to light foods, and now I'm heading into more normal fare...cutting out artificial sweetners. I had to learn portion control and to drink my water.

After I was working on that for awhile, I started on exercise. Been exercising daily now for over 3 years. It's slowly gotten easier for me to fit in exercise and find ways of keeping fit. But I had to constantly change my exercise regime and look for ways to motivate myself over and over again to keep at it. It's starting to turn into a habit though.

I have lost my weight by using the basic Atkins plan and adding extra fruits and whole grain LC bread and Oats. I also did not eat a lot of fats (Old habit from low-fat dieting) and this works for me. I also exercise at least 4 nights a week if not more. Someone on another thread said they lost their weight by using a cross between Atkins and South Beach, I think this may be more what I did. (Not sure, I never read the SBD book).

Okay, I'm not at goal weight, but I definitely will be.

My top 3 tips:

1. "Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." (F. Scott Fitzgerald)Never, ever give up. Be committed and dedicated. The one universal similarity in everyone who has successfully lost weight (ahem and kept it off) is that they didn't give up. They struggled, they fought, cried, whined, threw tantrums, had bad days, but they refused to let it beat them.
2. Don't take out both teams. Meaning, if you decide to go off plan for the day, EXERCISE anyway. And if you skip your exercise, make darn sure you are on plan.
3. Watch for these ingredients and limit them as much as possible: high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogonated oil (trans fat), sugar, white flour (bleached enriched flour). Eat foods whose ingredient lists are short (and not too sweet ) Eat lean protein and TONS of fruits and vegetables. If you want some nice carbs, reach for the whole grain types.

And Courtnie is right!!! You've lost 70 pounds!!!! AWESOME!!!

Ok, so I completely LOVE your quote, Harpo (or is it Ms. Marx, to cover them all, although you DID forget Zeppo, not that that is a huge loss or anything, but I digress...), and will make SURE I use it in the future, with, of course, the appropriate credit...

Zeppo left the troupe too early, and I couldn't have fit his name if I had tried I did like him, but Harpo, Chico, and Groucho had unbeatable chemistry.

I'm happy you liked that quote. I know "defeat" isn't the most positive of words, but I find it fitting. It keeps me from beating myself up too much when I slip up.