What have you done to lose your weight? How many calories are you eating a day? What kinds of exercise are you doing? How long do you exercise? Do you still eat "forbidden" foods occasionally?

I started out at 255.5 on January 3rd of this year. I'm now down to 241.5 - I know that's good but in the past I would lose weight so much faster than I am now. However, I'm not depriving myself this time and I'm doing it the right way by eating healthier and exercising. On other diets, I would starve msyelf and eat alot of rabbit food.

I've slacked off this past month and need some motivation. I'm hoping that by reading some posts from others that started out near my weight and have done well - it will give me the kick in the butt that I need.

Thanks for listening!

I started off at 268 lbs. I lost 13 lbs. in three weeks by going to TOPS meetings once a week and watching my fat intake. I don't count calories, it's such a bore and would make me feel deprived. I'm never hungry. I eat a veggie sub from Subway once a day and I occassionally have Chinese food. I eat Snackwell Devil's Food cookies for my sweet tooth, and have a popsicle or fat free fudge bar now and then.
Good luck to you.

Have you noticed that a lot of threads haven't had any new posts for a year or two?
What's up with that??????

I started out at 295 post-pregnancy and am now down to just over 250. I do count my calories and stay around 1600. My weight is coming off a lot slower this time too as it has in the past but I think it has more to do with age, the fact my body went through 2 pregnancies in 2 years, and that I am trying to eat heathier and get in exercise. I have zero forbidden foods. It only makes me crave stuff when I tell myself I can't have this or that. If I eat an 900 calorie junk food something or other, I just account for it and move on. If I go over my calories, I just try to adjust the rest of the week to compensate for it. I do not look at it as a "diet" but a change of my lifestyle. Sure I mess up here and there but I try to learn from it and move on.
HTH

I started at 249 and I've lost 10 pounds in about 10 weeks. Much slower than I had hoped, I'll admit it is extremely frustrating for that scale to move so slowly.

To answer your questions, I am eating about 1500-2000 calories a day, depending on what the day involves (going out, weekends, etc). I workout 4-6 times a week for 45 minutes. I'm doing the elliptical machine for 25-30 mins and weight machines for the rest of the time. I'm thinking I may reduce the weights to 2 times a week in order to do more cardio-- I know I'm actually slimmer than 10lbs lost and I'm building muscle instead.

Keep with it... I fall off the wagon occasionally but know the next day is a new opportunity to get in line. Most importantly, don't deprive yourself. Give yourself a few indulgent meals a week where you eat a portion of something you really like. I treat myself to Chick-fil-A grilled chicken or a burrito bowl from Chipotle as a reward occasionally.

Yabbut, in the past, did you gain it all back? That's the key. You didn't gain it overnight, don't try to lose it overnight. Slowly and by eating right and exercising...that's the best way to insure you will not only lose the weight, but keep it off.

I started at 231, I stick to around 1300 calories a day (sometimes more, usually no higher than 1500) but it is all estimation at this point. When I started I wrote EVERYTHING in a journal. I was SHOCKED the first day that I wrote it all down. For me it is all about portion control. I eat everything I want and only what I want, never forcing myself to eat something (why waste calories on food I don't even like?!?!). When I first began losing weight I followed the ChangeOne program which is all about baby steps, and slowly building toward your goal.

I still feel like the weight isn't coming off very fast and it is still hard to get on the scale and see such small losses - but I just take it moment by moment. I have gotten to the point now where I really don't have to think about what I eat too much, it is mostly just coming naturally, so now what I am working on the exercise. I am taking it step by step to increase the duration and difficulty, just as I did the eating habits, if I take it slow it is more likely to stick.

Thanks to all of you for replying.

I just feel like I'm losing my motivation. I can feel myself slipping back into the snacking at night and not even hungry cycle that I've had all my life.

I don't want to stop losing!! I love the way my clothes are getting looser - I love the way I feel when I finish my exercise.

I need to get excited about this again! The first 2 months were great but this past month has been not so great.

Oh how I would love to get to 200 lbs by the end of this summer. I can do this dangit!

Try having a cup of tea or 2 at night. I like to have some tea, and I crochet to keep my hands busy. If I'm really hungry I get a small snack, and some more tea - it really helps.

lovtolaff,
We've all been there. Which is why we are all here. Losing weight is a slow process and sometimes boring. It would be easier to slide back and decide not to do it. But DON'T!

I think the key for everyone is different. For me, I am seeing someone special in June who I haven't seen in ages and it keeps me going strong. Think of somethign you really, really want and keep that in mind as motivation. For me, I keep a picture of my bf with me all the time. Whenever I feel like back sliding, I look at his picture and I think about how pleased he will be when he picks me up at the airport.

As for my method, I write down EVERYTHING I eat and keep it to roughly 1200 calories a day. (I'm 5'2" and [almost] 30 years old). I have never felt deprived or hungry. So it's worked for me. When I am craving my weakness food (chocolate) I have a fat free Jell-o pudding or a Healthy Choice fudgecicle. This works for me but everyone is different.

Exercise, I walk between 1 and 2 miles a day and ride my exercise bike for 2 miles 5 times a week. I lift weights 4 times a week (trying to tone my arms).

Stick to it even though it's hard. Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.

Heya lovtolaff

Well... My highest weight was approx. 240. I've now be 150ish for about 3 years. While I still haven't managed to reach my goal weight (130), I'm still VERY happy with my current weight and proud of myself for being able to maintain through the past years (which included a divorce and job changes).

Anyway, this is how I lost the majority of my weight: I focused on being healthy. Everytime I was hungry, I ate; however, each time I made the healthiest choice possible. That meant switching from roast beef or meatball subs to turkey, eating more vegetables, salads, fruits... If I was standing in front of the vending machine and hungry, instead of choosing a candy bar, I'd get a granola bar. They're about the same calories, but one is much healthier for you. I personally like to binge, NEED to binge even now, so I would do things like buy a head of raw broccoli, cut it up and dip it in salad dressing... even if I ate the whole thing and felt like my guts were busting out at least I knew I'd eaten something full of vitamins, something good for me! I absolutely refused to eat anything that had no nutritional value for me (think candy, chips... junk food) and tried to make the healthiest (lowest fat/highest nutrient content) choice between my remaining options.

And I made small changes to the way I behaved, things you've surely heard before: I took the steps whenever I could. I acted as the office "gopher" and always volunteered to run out to make copies, get coffee, anything that was extra excercise. I parked in the farthest parking space from work. I went window shopping (walking) at the mall for hours...

For the first 70 lbs or so that I lost I NEVER counted calories and did not technically "exercise". I was, however, extremely honest with myself regarding what was healthy (just because ice cream is a source of calcium does not mean it qualifies as healthy ) and what was not.

All the small changes really do add up but it can take a lot of time! It took me about 2 years to drop 90lbs... but at no point did I feel deprived. My whole theory was that if I eat/live healthy and am overweight, well then maybe that's just the way I'm meant to be. But at least I'd know I'm HEALTHY. You've probably read a lot of stuff about dieting vs. lifestyle changes. I am in absolute agreement with the opinion that sucessful weightloss revolves around the latter.

What kept me motivated? Whenever I would feel like bucking my system I would just remind myself that if I had stayed on ANY of the diets that I'd tried in the past (and having been heavy my whole life, there were a ton of them ) that I would not have to still be dieting--I'd already have lost the damn weight. I also strongly believe that for people who are considerably overweight, the most important thing in your step to losing weight is NOT losing weight--the most important step to losing weight is NOT re-gaining the weight you've already lost. The scale will stick! But as long as you don't lose control and backslide, the scale will stay stuck at 15, 20, 25 lbs less than it was before... and that's progress! Just hold on to your progress, continue to eat healthy and follow whatever diet routine works for you, and the scale will move again. I promise!

Give it time, be healthy and happy, if you have a "bad day" (like, ummm, a pint of ice cream and cheese steak--yeah it does happen) shrug it off and get back on track. Remember you have the rest of your life to get to your goal weight, what's most important is that you're living a happy and healthy life in the here and now. The rest WILL follow

Best of luck to you... you've got a great start!!!

((Hugs)). I'm sorry you're struggling--you can do this!!!! I started at 260 in December and have lost 30 pounds so far. I've dieted so many times in the past, that I felt if I looked honestly at what worked and what didn't, what I could give up and what I couldn't, I could formulate my own plan, and that's what I did. I looked at what I ate and found I ate WAY too many sweets. I suspected that's why I was fat, so I decided to eliminate them, except for very rare special occasions (4-6 times a year). I haven't had any sweets (except a couple sugar-free treats) since Dec. 31. I also started exercising. I do step aerobics 4-5 times a week and occasionally I walk, do yoga, or do pilates.

I hate counting calories and eating lowfat foods--both make me feel deprived, so I don't do either. I try to make healthy choices. During my first month without sweets, I didn't eat starchy carbs at night or snacks to minimize cravings, but once the cravings stopped, I didn't feel I needed to be so restrictive.

For me, exercise and cutting out sweets are key, but everyone is different. I think the important thing is to look at why you gained weight--some people eat too much fast food, some people (me!) gorged on Ben & Jerry's, candy and brownies several times a day. Be honest with yourself.

I'm writing all of this to answer your question, but I think you're doing great! When I'm feeling a lack of motivation, I try a new workout video, or try to improve the healthy choices in my diet (more fruits and veggies). And posting lots here helps enormously! Keep up the good work!

Like oprah said, if it was in a bottle I'd buy it! Losing is common sense and eating healthy! Thanks for the insight

Thanks to yall for your replies.

The main reason that I read weight loss forums is for ENCOURAGEMENT. I have to say all your posts and your stats are very encouraging!

I had a bad couple of days and ate more than I should but I got back on track today and I even exercised longer. Something that I've been telling myself that I was going to do for the past couple of weeks - ya know - "I need to add a lap to my walk" - I've been putting it off but I did it this evening.

I weighed tonight expecting the worst but instead lost 2 more lbs. That isn't the greatest loss for a whole month but I'll take it!!

Thanks again everyone!

I just got back on track myself this weekend. When I discovered I was pregnant, I threw out the calorie counting. Then, we had a lot of visitors and a wild moment with court regarding in-laws' guardianship case and we were all on the go so much that we were eating out all the time. And because of the heaped on stress, desert was the main thing on the menu for everyone to try and lift all our spirits. So during my OBGYN appointment today. I said to the doc, "Doc...you said gain 2 pounds a week, right?" Needless to say that his eyes bulged and he corrected me that it was 2 pounds a month. ::sigh:: Nice try though. LOL