How long and how much? People on cc for greater than 60 days, please.

Hey all,

I'd love to get some long term results from folks on their success using cc to lose weight. If you've been using this site for 2 months or longer I'd love to know what your starting weight was, where you are today and if you're satisified or disappointed with you weight loss to date.

Any thoughts and data would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to get an honest gauge on how this site works for people who've committed to it long term.

Plus, it's fun to give people a chance to brag!

Thanks, Soobie

Been here about 4 months, lost 31 pounds.  I have about 10 more pounds to go.  The month and a half prior to joining I had started to exercise and eat better and lost a net of 3 pounds in a month (I gained 2 and lost 5).  The weight came off faster once I joined and I learned about  more effective exercises. 

My issue was emotional eating and I conquered that problem right off the bat.  Though, now my current problem is emotional non-eating. 

The main benefit to being here is learning about life long eating habits that sustain healthy weights and fitness.  Not about quick loss or spot reducing. 

I have been keeping data for a year and a half. I have lost over 60 lbs and 12" (yes a foot!) off my waist (from a 42" waist to a 30" waist). CC teaches you how to be aware of how much you eat and how active you are. With awareness comes control and control is the key to weight managment IMHO

I've been here a year and I've lost 2 pounds overall. At one point I had lost closer to 10, but then I put on 15 pounds over the winter when I tried to go vegetarian, and then lost weight again this summer down to under 2 pounds of my initial starting weight. I still want to lose another 10 pounds at least.

Started cc in late March and have lost 33 lb in roughly 4.5 months.  It does work as you are accountable for what you eat.  I never measured anything and was very surprised how my idea of a portion was and what a portion size really is. I even have my kids weighing out their snacks so they can get the right idea early and not make the same mistake I did.

I would and have recommended cc to friends because as simple as it is, it works.

I came across this site in Dec 07 trying to recuperate from a knee injury and weighing in at close to 250 at 6'2.  I needed to do something because I was in the worst shape of my life.  I would try everything but wouldn't stick to it long enough to get results.  I thought this was just another gimmick.  After dropping a few on my own, I started counting calories in Feb 08.  My knee was doing better by the end of April 08, so I started incorporating some exercise which also helped in expediting the loss.  As of weighing myself this morning, I weighed in at 199.6 lbs, cracking 200 for the first time in 15 years, and feeling confident I can get to my desired 180, while only needing to lose 5 to be considered in the normal weight range (woo hoo, no longer the "husky" kid - what an awful name for clothes for overweight boys).  I also learned why those other attempts didn't work for me:  You only get out of it what you put into it!  I never devoted myself to any diet until I came across CC.  Being a numbers guy, it's been easier for me to understand and follow.

I have to agree with the earlier posts, this site has made me really get HONEST about what and how much I'm eating. While I began with a pretty solid understanding of healthy food (thanks, Mom), I also have many poor habits I am seeking to change. "Emotional eating" encompasses a whole host of behaviors that I find I have picked up and want to get rid of.

Calorie counting, measuring, portion control, planning my week's food, have become new habits. I have been journaling my food/exercise for years, but never with  these tools to quantify what I was doing. I understand now why I have trouble losing.

Before this, I used a website sponsored by United Health Care. I tried to follow their draconian instructions: you MUST eat this, you CANNOT eat that, cleaning out my pantry of condiments that I can't live without...Their "calorie counting" is a total joke, completely wrong and the engine doesn't work. I found this site searching for the "real" calories in some food they had totally wrong.

I don't want a "canned coach" that gives me pre-recorded blather about what I'm doing right or wrong...as a very prickly individual, I need to find the answers I am comfortable with. CC+ gives me the ability to research single topics and general questions as deeply as I care to, plus all the varying opinions I could hope to scan.

I am a real believer in recovery as a total process, and losing weight is part of my recovery. I find enthusiasm, comfort, companionship and very clear instructions on this site. The members of our community make this site as strong and vibrant as it is. And free!

Yes, it is entertaining, and one of the few such websites that "barracuda web filter" has not cut me off. I think I'd want to curl up and die if I couldn't come to CC+ every day.

I love CC and really agree with others about what it's done for me!

I've been really committed now for about nearly 18 weeks...and lost nearly 17lbs! I haven't really upped my exercise (I live in the city and bike/walk a lot) but I've really been working on my portion control and alcohol consumption. It's made all the difference. The best part is the boost to my self-esteem and the great encouragement from all of the folks on the forums!

Hello Hello! 

I've been on here for 2 months, and lost 14lbs as of this morning!  :)

Stats: 5'3" SW:170 CW:156!! GW:135

I love the fact that there is a place online the promotes ONLY healthy responsible weight loss, and is practical enough to use everyday.  I've learned so much about fitness and dieting techniques that I feel like any situation I'm put in I have the tools to get through it by making responsible food decisions! :)

I'm 5'3 and I started Sept 2007 at 280. I am now 245. Not exactly where I was hoping to be at this point, but 35 lbs is nothing to sneeze at.

I somehow got sidetracked with life and I also realize that, for me personally, I NEED to log what I eat just as I NEED to weigh daily. It's a check point for me and helps me to focus on what I need to be doing. CC does work, if you use it the way it's meant to be used.

I've got a treadmill, I've got determination. I'm going to use it while they are both still in good working order!

I've been on calorie count since Jan 27, 2008. I started at 277 pounds and i'm currently at 217 pounds so i've lost 60 pounds in 6 months. I still have a long way to go but i'm pleased with my progress.

I'm thrilled with calorie count and i'm greatful to calorie count for helping me to learn what being healthy is all about. This isn't a diet. It's a new healthy lifestyle for myself and my kids.

Eight months and 63 pounds (from 265 to 202)... it works just fine! I've got 20 more pounds to lose to get to my goal, and it's slow going, but I'm sure that if I'm patient and keep plugging away I'll get there eventually.

I started counting and logging calories religiously two years ago.  I joined CC at the beginning of the year after learning that it was a much easier way to log calories then my previous method.

Not only does counting calories work, but it teaches you to recognize 'bad' foods that are high in empty calories.

As for my success, I think my before and after pic says it all.  I've lost more then 200 pounds, and no, I did NOT have weight loss surgery -- just good old-fashioned healthy eating, portion control, and exercise. 

The best part about CC is the network of friends I've made.

Yes it takes time to record your calories, but for me, I don't ever want to go back to where I was.  CC helps me keep it real.

Started with CC on January 4 of this year at 276. Now, 31 weeks later, I'm at 198 for a total weight loss of 78 pounds. I don't think I'd have done as well as I have without CC. I've learned it's not about dieting...it's about a lifestyle change. I've learned I can manage to squeeze in 3 or 4 days of exercise, even with 4 kids and a full-time teaching job. I've learned that I can substitute for a snack cake with strawberries and feel good about it. I've learned about starvation mode, and that you don't always have to be hungry to lose weight. I've learned that my body needs food and that withholding it isn't beneficial. I've learned that I need to take longer looks at what I eat.

For anyone like me, losing weight and being healthy probably won't ever be a walk in the park, but it can be done. I'm proof.

Started CC Nov 2007 at 170 lbs, I am 5'6".

This morning I weighed in at 135 lbs. Still about 5-10 lbs to go.

I started actively using CalorieCount in May of 2007 at 5'3 and 200-something pounds.  I am now 130-something.  I have more detailed information in my profile as well as progress pictures.

Thanks so much for the responses so far ~ how inspiring!  I'm so glad I asked.  I've been on the site for 6 weeks and just keep gaining and losing the same 3 pounds.  Im working on trying to figure out why for myself and just needed reassurances that folks are happy with their results.

Congrats to you all!

I've been using this site late Sept. 2007.  I'm a forty-something woman who was 152 lbs. and am now 120 lbs.  I credit the weight loss to this website (and prayer!) since I didn't change exercise habits too much.  It took me 5 months to lose the weight and I have been on maintenance mode ever since.  I still track calories almost daily, and I have a good enough idea of what calorie count things have so that even when I'm away, I can guess-timate.

I've lost and gained the same 20 lbs. about 3 times in the past 8 years.  This time I'm trying really hard to maintain.  It seems that more protein and fewer carbs (even if "good" carbs) has been a key for me.

Good luck with your weight loss journey!  If you're brutally honest about what you're eating, I believe that the CC method of weight loss will work for anyone.

I've been using CC since January 2008, about 30 weeks now, and I have gone from 317.5 lbs to 259 lbs. Nothing can stop me now!!

I came here looking for some nutritional values of foods for my spreadsheet that I use to track all intake and progress, and found this amazing community. I still use my own system as it is more detailed than CC's and plus it's my own so I have an attachment to it :) It's been a really important aspect of my weight loss journey. Another is learning to separate emotions from eating. I eat what will fit my daily targets of macronutrients and calories, and eating well does not mean it has to be untasty, I just created healthier versions of yummy foods to make them fit the plan!

Re: emotional eating...I no longer think, I am sad, hmm a big plate of perogies and bacon would taste so good right now. I just think, it's dinnertime, what do I feel like eating? How much can I have that fits into my daily target? Have I had enough protein today? My carbs are a little high due to that english muffin at breakfast and pasta at lunch, so maybe I will skip the carb and just have chicken and a big pile of veggies. My entire thought processes have changed about food, and this site helps keep me on track. Butthe real change had to come from within. I was ready to do it right.

Been on CC since April, counting calories (for the second time in 4 years) since March. I've lost 12.2lbs since then. I found the site randomly while looking for fun new add-ons for Firefox. Found the toolbar, got hooked on the forums and haven't looked back!

I started on April 19th at 286 pounds.  At my weigh in this morning, I was at 255.  And I've been pretty bad the last two weeks, too.  Went over my calories a few days, went 4-5 without riding the bike because of weather, all that.  I've been back on the track this week, so I should start losing pretty rapidly again. 

With all that that's still about 2-3 pounds a week.