alot of weight to lose... how did you do it?

I have just started trying to finally lose alot of weight at the beginning of this week. I would like forsomeone who has lost 50+ pounds to tell me how they did it and how long it took them. please and thank you

lhs,

That leaves me out.  I've only lost 30 since the last part of July.

Oh no thats fine. mainly i wanted to know  how everyone stayed motivated to do it and how long it took. Thats alot of weight to lose in just two months! how did ya do it?

Hi lhs,

I have lost about 80 pounds in the last 18 months, through a total change in eating habits and regular exercise. I started out by eating more vegetables and cutting out the junk food, and progressed into counting calories, with calorie reduction every few months. I joined a gym and saw a personal trainer for a month to get my exercise habits on track, then I kept going to the gym, 3-5x / week for an hour or more at a time. I try to eat healthfully and keep under my CC-given calorie limit almost every day. Staying motivated hasn't been a problem; I love doing this and once I started seeing results that was all the motivation I needed. I hope this helps. Good luck!

I've lost 41lbs in 9 weeks.  I eat between 1500-1700 calories a day (my "goal" is 1600) and I make sure I get at least 30 minutes of activity a day.

Activities have included everything from mowing the lawn (push mower), going on walks, resistance training, playing basketball, and so on - the goal is to get moving and work up a sweat.

Yesterday, I went on a hike of 3.75 miles over pretty rough terrain.  It took 93 minutes.  Two months ago, I couldn't have made it halfway.

Wow...you have lost quite a bit of weight in 9 weeks...where are you now weight wise! And BTW...GOOD JOB!!

I weigh every 2 weeks - last Tuesday, I was at 60lbs lost.

I started in April '09 have lost 63lbs so far. I log everything I eat religiously. Even condiments like mustard and ketchup. I try to achieve the best score on the  Analysis pg.  I'm trying to keep the fat intake to less than 15% I try to eat 100g of protein a day. The rest is carbs. I didn't exercise that much the first 2 months as I was too heavy, and with my medical history (open heart surgery times 2) It was too difficult. I then started exercising on a regular basis, after I lost the first 30lbs or so.. At first it was very painful, but I worked thru it and now I look forward to it.

I bicycle 90 minutes a day 6 days a week.

Just remember: What works for 1 person won't necessarily work for the next person. You need to experiment to find out what's best for you. I hope that helps.

wow whats with April D day lol, I started on April 21st my hubby and my 29 yr old whos is a special needs child also.  We just started counting Cals and I started my work out , I have lost 75 lbs hubby has lost lil over a 100 and my daughter has lost 39. It hasnt been as hard as I thought, mabe because we are all in it together.  I started off at 700 to 900 cals a day but 5 mos into it I had to up it to 1200 on my work out days and a 1000 on others so I could loose. hope this helps GL

I have been eating smarter since March, have lost 52 # since then. I found CC about 5 weeks ago. I have cut most processed food out, added more veggies- lean meats- more grains,  and  I talked to my doctor. Told him he needed to encourage me with out scolding me, but to keep me in line. :)  So far so good.  (I have a chronic health condition, so i see him a lot. ).

Every day remind myself I want healthy more than I want junk food or a second helping or what ever might be tempting me.  I used to walk 20 minutes a day and talked myself into believing that was good enough. Now I walk 45 minutes in the morning and an hour in the evening.

 I didn't do well at WW, the meetings were always about ways to cheat or what low fat junk food tasted best...I do better on my own.

I started back in January, 09, and consider myself about halfway to goal (the upper end of the healthy BMI), and have lost about 65 pounds.

I started with more movement and smaller portions and lost about 15 pounds, then discovered CC at the end of March, when I started counting calories and increased my exercise.

I think the biggest help for me was to break it down to manageable, small goals.  My first goal was to lose 10% of my body weight (studies suggest that there are big benefits to losing 10%, not matter how heavy you start).  My second goal was to get "half-way" to a healthy BMI.  My next major goal is to get below 200 pounds and out of the "obese" category.  But I also celebrate every time I "drop a decade" (go from say, the 220's to the 210's).

The other key for me was to make small changes habits before I tackled the next change.  I used to think that I had to make big changes to solve a big problem.  This created an all-or-nothing mentality that is easily derailed by slip-ups.  Now I believe that it is much better to make small changes, and learn to really live in a new way gradually.

When I started, I was trying to reach goal weight in 2 years, now I don't really set time goals.  As long as it takes is my mantra -- I have the rest of my life to live this way, it doesn't really matter when I get to any certain weight.

Dkenworthy,

You sound like a person who has found some wisdom to live by.  You have lost 65 pounds that will never come back because you are changing your lifestyle, changing your habits.

Congrats!!!

Dkenworthy,

I was really inspired by the things that you said. 

I am  an 'all or nothing' type of person.  I have trouble breaking things down into smaller steps, making those small changes, and then moving beyond.  I always knew I was that way, but I never linked it to why I have issues with my weight loss until I read your post.  It had never clicked before then.

It was always that I knew I was overweight and I had to go though this big, huge change, and really make it count in order to succeed. 

My whole life, I've had my weight loss measured in time.  I had to lose X amount of weight in X amount of time, because that was just the way it was.  I was always measuring my weight loss in those terms.

Like you said, I have the rest of my  life to live this way, what does it matter when I get to any certain weight.  That is one of the best, most enlightening things I have ever heard in regards to weight loss.

thanks, texmom and cidsational for the kind words.

You might want to go through the blogs for the success stories that are posted every Monday.  I find them really inspirational, and often get a nugget of wisdom from those who have gone before, so to speak.

One of my favorites when I first started here and was feeling a little overwhelmed by the magnitude of my goal was someone who said that her epiphany moment when she realized how long it would take here to get to goal was "the time will pass anyway, if I don't start, I will still be fat 3 years from now" (I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it).

Regarding all-or-nothing thinking and perfectionism, it is just so wrong to fall into that trap in any aspect of our lives, whether it is weight management or relationships.  I always remind myself that it is better to have something good (in the middle ground) than strive for something perfect and end up with nothing.  No human being can be "perfect", but we can all strive to be "good" or "better".  Think about it.  Best wishes and good luck in your journeys.

Thank you!  I will for sure check out the blogs for success, it sounds like something that would be very inspiring! 

Original Post by dkenworthy:

I started back in January, 09, and consider myself about halfway to goal (the upper end of the healthy BMI), and have lost about 65 pounds.

I started with more movement and smaller portions and lost about 15 pounds, then discovered CC at the end of March, when I started counting calories and increased my exercise.

I think the biggest help for me was to break it down to manageable, small goals.  My first goal was to lose 10% of my body weight (studies suggest that there are big benefits to losing 10%, not matter how heavy you start).  My second goal was to get "half-way" to a healthy BMI.  My next major goal is to get below 200 pounds and out of the "obese" category.  But I also celebrate every time I "drop a decade" (go from say, the 220's to the 210's).

The other key for me was to make small changes habits before I tackled the next change.  I used to think that I had to make big changes to solve a big problem.  This created an all-or-nothing mentality that is easily derailed by slip-ups.  Now I believe that it is much better to make small changes, and learn to really live in a new way gradually.

When I started, I was trying to reach goal weight in 2 years, now I don't really set time goals.  As long as it takes is my mantra -- I have the rest of my life to live this way, it doesn't really matter when I get to any certain weight.

Dkenworthy -

Thank you for your post. I found that it helped a lot. I am trying to lose roughly 50 pounds before August 2010 and I am starting as soon as I am over the flu bug. The reason being is because I will be graduating and it will be the first time in my life I will have gotten to walk the stage to obtain a degree (missed it in high school) and when my family's cameras are flashing - I don't want to be disgruntled when I review the pictures they have taken.  I want to like what I see.  Small steps are key but it is so easy to go for the gusto in a win or lose attitude.  As a reminder, I have taken a pair of jeans I want to fit into for my grad walk on the back of my bedroom door as a constant reminder that I will get into them so that I cannot forget my goal.  Thanks for your words.

-uneeq-

I admire dkenworthy a whole bunch. I can't wait until I can say, "here is 25 lbs worth of food, I don't need it anymore". I have a home all planned out for it already too :)

I really like that idea and I think come Christmas, if I can afford it (things are soooo tight), I will do the same!

I started in April of this year (going with the trend Lol) and so far I've lost about 91 pounds. So it's taken about 8 months, and really, you just have to do it. Just make the time to work out, take the time to look at what your eating, and really just get the mind set.

It was easy at first, because I dropped a lot of weight fast, and it was fun and great to see results every week. However, now that it's getting to the nuts and bolts, the plateaus and the stalls, even the 1 or 2 pound gain, it's when you have to just push through. You have to take yourself to a place where you forget about vanity, or the numbers on the scale, but just making yourself feel better. You just have to get going and keep going.

People in this group have a unique journey, at least, I think so, because it's so much to lose, and it takes some time. Not just a year, but a few, and it's a long time and a lot of chances to give up and call it quits.

If you're ready, truly ready, I think you'll be just fine. :)

Jaefuma,

Awesome weight loss and story.  Can you tell me how many calories your eating per day?

Thanks

Larry