what helped you loose weight??
what motivated you?
what was your routine?
what exercises did you find helpful?

I used the exchange program, specifically the Richard Simmons program of healthy eating and exercise. I bought and used some of his exercise videos and his Foodmover.

I also walked a lot, and I joined Curves for Women.

I wanted to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. It worked for me.

For me I definitely pay attention to calorie intake and expenditure. I don't sweat too much where they come from, just what they are. However that does encourage you to weigh food choices for sure! If you are trying to reduce overall calories you are more mindful about how you use them.

My motivation is in part living alone and trying to be sure I am aging as healthy as possible and in part the death of a phenomenal woman about 2 months ago. She died in a climbing accident. She used that body of hers to its best potential and it reminded me to keep mine in top form because you really never know how long you have to enjoy it.

I can't say I have a specific routine. I tend to be a little unscheduled by nature.

Calorie counting and regular exercise. The regular exercise came first and when I started counting calories I started losing weight.

what helped you lose weight?? Eating less and working out.
what motivated you? My husband and I really want another baby. But my last pregnancy was so difficult (I'm blaming being obese) and I'm really hoping that if I can get into better shape that the next pregnancy will be easier. Now that I've lost a bit of weight I want to start training for the Wichita Marathon which is in October.
what was your routine? I started walking an hour 5 days a week. I have worked my way up to a 15% incline on the treadmill and am now up to 3mph for almost the whole hour. I just added 3.5mph for 10min today. It's killer! I also do weights, mostly arms as my legs get a pretty good workout with the incline walking, 3 days a week.
what exercises did you find helpful? Walking and weight training.

im debating on buying the workout dvd called insanity workout has anyone done it and saw or got results?

Initially calorie counting and incorporating interval exercise. I bought a food scale and weighed and measured everything!
I lost regularly, but slowly.
I'm now doing South Beach Diet with fantastic results.

What helped?

Running
WeightWatchers
Calorie counting
Clean eating (very little processed/take out food)
Protein and low white carbs

What motivated me?

Me
Old pics of me not obese (very old pics lol)
Revenge

Routine?

Prepare breakfasts/lunches ahead of time
Varies, but daily exercise, mostly running, some bootcamps and plyo workouts

what helped you lose weight?? : Calorie counting mostly, exercise
what motivated you? : I was tired of being dissatisfied with myself, I was bored of feeling sorry for myself, My life was in flux at the time and my health and appearance was something I felt like I could take control of.
what was your routine?: Calorie-counting 7 days a week- 6 days in weight loss mode, 1 day (my cheat day) eating at maintenance level. I worked out a lot too. Anywhere from 4-7 days a week. But to be honest, in terms of the scale, diet was more effective than exercise. In terms of toning up, exercise was important.
what exercises did you find helpful?: Cardio mostly. I don't really like weights at all. I do some body resistance strength training and light weight work. But mostly cardio. I started with C25K, a running programme, I still run, and do the elliptical but mostly I do workout videos (all of Jillian Michaels and I'm just getting into Kickboxing and loving it!)


im debating on buying the workout dvd called insanity workout has anyone done it and saw or got results?
I haven't yet got Insanity (although the programme is definitely on my wishlist- expensive though ) but I am quite familiar with the programme and have who has used it and have done a couple of the workouts a couple of times. It's really really intense cardio so I would ask you first how fit you are. It is NOT really a programme for beginners. You really should be in pretty decent shape (minimum: intermediate-advanced exerciser) to even attempt it in order not to hurt yourself or get too discouraged. However, I suppose a beginner could do it and pace themselves and take lots of breaks even though it would lose a little of the insane intensity of the workout. Results-wise people who've done it said they didn't lose much the first month but they did lose quite a bit the 2nd month. There are many other effective yet less "insane" workouts you could do if you are not sure about your fitness level. Ultimately though, for weight loss-type results, it's mostly diet, exercise will however tighten your body up if you're eating right. I saw in another thread, you mentioned you'd begun working out more. What kinds of workouts are you doing now? What's your fitness level?

on my fitness level not too sure on the treadmill i can run at 3.6 mph for a whole mile and ive done the advanced zumba but i feel like its the same routine over and over that its doing no change in me

what helped you lose weight?? I stopped eating so late, started restricting my carbs, wrote down what I ate so I can see where my calories come from, made better choices and got my active.

what motivated you? The fact that I am going to be 30. I don't want to spend my 30's fat, miserable, and unhealthy. My children, especially my daughter, is my daily motivation. Plus, feeling sexy again would be GREAT!

what was your routine? I started by doing Wii Just Dance 1 and 2 just to MOVE. Then, I started doing biggest loser dvds and now am doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I am active every single day unless I am extremely sick.

what exercises did you find helpful? Push ups for my chest and back, squats for the thighs, boxer punches for arms, crunches for stomach. Plus combos and honestly, everything Jillian Michael has to throw at me.

Well the best kinds of workouts are the ones you'll do. What do you prefer? Do you like to run, do you want to build your speed on the treadmill? Do you enjoy dancing, do you love the zumba? If you want to go down the BeachBody route, you may want to try Turbo Jam. It's cardio, kickboxing, but contains a healthy amount of hip-shaking and is incredibly fun to get into. From there maybe you could do Turbo Fire. And after that maybe Insanity or p90x. I do like the BeachBody programmes.

However, if you're trying to build a workout library you have many cheap options available (on Amazon and ebay) that will give you a lot of variety. Definitely check out Jillian Michaels' stuff if you don't already have it. She is challenging but really effective. Not as fun maybe as the Turbo series but she'll work you hard. I particularly like Banish Fat Boost Metabolism but 30 Day Shred and No More Trouble Zones are pretty excellent. You can mix and match the three and come up with your own workouts. For the longest time all I did was running and Jillian Michaels dvds and a some yoga.

If you really want to try Insanity AND can get it at a good price, then do. But if you're just starting out, there's so many options out there available that are super effective without getting insane about it just yet.

By the way, congrats on your successes so far!!!

What helped you lose weight?? I started on Phentermine almost two tears ago for four months so I would see some action. When I went off, the weightloss stopped until I started calorie counting. I work out in a small group training class where we do interval training with weights and cardio and I run now.

What motivated you? I couldn't keep up with my new coworkers walking and I didn't like what the camera was showing.

What was your routine? I go to the gym 3x a week and work out for an hour, lifting weights and timed sprints and running on the treadmill. I do some street running as well.

What exercises did you find helpful? Weightlifting in combination with short bursts of intense cardio and running.

what helped you lose weight??

Logging foods (counting calories), low carb eating, a treadmill desk.

what motivated you?

I wasn't happy with how I looked, I had entered the obese category, my father passed away from complications due to diabetes, I wanted to be a good role model for my daughter and I wanted to enjoy a healthy retirement.

what was your routine?

Meal routine: A set of low carb go-to meals, with a target of 1200 - 1500 calories/day. Eating out limited to about once a month. Exercise routine follows.

what exercises did you find helpful?

Walking the dog and spending hours on my treadmill desk every day (like right now).