Have you ever lost a significant amount of weight?

[Nayan]

I have lost, and kept off, just shy of 150 lbs. It wasn't easy, it was a lot of work (and still is!) but it is doable. Diets do not work, period, trust me I tried many of them. Lifestyle changes that are permanent do.

 

[Cirlonde]

Not me, but my husband lost about 180 lbs over 3 years and has kept it off since 2011. He weighed about 330 lbs (5'5" tall) in 2006 and had been overweight since middle school. Beginning in about 2008, he just woke up one morning and decided he was tired of being fat. This is after years of his grandparents offering him money if he could lose weight, his parents and myself all encouraging/bribing him...nothing was motivation enough.

During grad school, he wasn't working in order to focus on getting through school as fast as possible. So he had enough free time to really dedicate to an exercise program. He started counting calories and walking several miles around a lake with a paved trail. This was good for him because once you got halfway around the lake...you had to finish to get back to the car! Eventually he was able to move up to jogging/running. He figured out the number of calories in a few different meals and ate those every day, so that food became just something to fuel his body and he didn't have to really think about "choosing" what to eat. It was also something that we did as a team...I ate what he ate, if we ate out then we would split the meal. I tried very hard not to ever "sabotage" his efforts.

By 2011, he was at 136 lbs and has fluctuated between 140-150 lbs off and on since then. He averages around 145. He put his heart and soul into changing his habits in order to get healthier. He's my hero! For him, it definitely took a lifestyle change. Food is his "addiction" and it is a battle he fights multiple times a day. Sometimes he loses, but most of the time he wins and is able to eat in moderation. His focus is on monitoring his calorie intake more than exercise. It's hard, and it still sucks for him not to be able to just eat whatever he wants. But it was worth it! As he always tells people, losing weight fixed everything but his vision!

tldr: eat less, move more! Don't ever give up!

 

[Feralpeg]

I lost 30 pounds during chemo treatments. I don't recommend it for a weight loss strategy.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I lost 65 pounds in 2009, and gained it all back with some to spare. But I was doing Weight Watchers, and was doing a lot of games with points and fiber (how much can I eat of THIS) -- there was no connection with hunger, and I went on a lot of binges.

This past summer I wanted to lose weight, and kept waiting for the motivation, which never came. September 15, I decided, in spite of not wanting to do it, to get started. I joined Noom, which gives you a personal coach and a group coach (all electronically) and has you count pure calories. It does classify foods into Red, Yellow and Green, and limits the number of calories you should have in Red and Yellow.

I bought a FitBit and was sad to realize I couldn't even do 3,000 steps a day. But I've worked it up to about 12,000 steps -- I walk to and from the train station in the morning, and have been walking at lunch. I still don't "feel" like it, but I like how I feel. Less knee pain (turning 50 this month), less huffing and puffing, and I can tie my shoes without getting winded.

I started with 140+ pounds to lose (at 305 pounds). Since September 15, I've lost 30 so far. And I still don't feel like it.

I also listen to two podcasts: "Losing 100 pounds with Phit and Phat" and "Thinner Peace." The first uses a lot of sailor-like language, but I like what's covered. Both talk about "eating between the twos" - Picturing a hunger scale between -10 (so hungry I'm going to eat my arm) and +10 (so full I want to pull off all of my clothes). The point is only to eat when you feel the slightest whisper of hunger (-2) and stop eating when you're only slightly satisfied (+2).

Updated picture attached.

 

[disneychrista]

I am now down 50 pounds since March. There is no magic pill. It is all about watching what you eat and getting more exercise.

 

[loves to dive]

First you have to honestly ask yourself why you want to lose the weight and if you really are willing to do what it takes. There are a million diets out there and they all work to some degree but the best bet is to just watch your portion control, make sure you eat lean protein, veggies, fruits and ,yes dare I say it, healthy fat every day. Move your body. It doesn't have to be any hard core going to the gym for 3 hours a day and lifting 100 pounds of weight. Just move it. Take a 30 minute brisk walk during the day, do some light weight training at least twice a week. It could be as light as 3 lbs, doesn't matter but weight training is important for your bones and metabolism. Cardio is important too. I'm closer to 61 than 60 and I work out at least 3 days a week usually 5. It can be 20 minutes some days, a hour others. I have a gym in my basement and work out with DVDs, it's just what I prefer. I used to jog but blew out my knees on the hard pavement so now, it's the basement for me. I do a lot of walking workouts - Leslie Sansone and Jessica Smith are my favorites but I also have tons of others. I make sure I do yoga or some sort of stretching at least once a week and some sort of core work. I don't snack between meals but do eat 3 meals a day and I eat whatever I want, just not huge portions. I do tend to stick to more healthy things, I don't eat fried foods and do try to go with lower fat foods but if I want pizza I eat pizza.

 

[Christine]

Fellow MFPer! Are you following the guy who is trying to lose 200lbs in the General Weight Loss and Help section? His willingness to take it day by day is awesome. I think he’s going to make it.

No, I'm not. I'll have to go look for him. I've just been very impressed by some of the photo threads in the Success Stories sub-board. Incredible. These are real people, using simple skills for weight loss. It's a long, hard road but to see some of those weight loss successes is amazing. It is just so much more realistic than some of these shows on TV that most of us could never do.

 

[nkereina]

How did you do it?

What was your motivation?

Were you able to keep the weight off?

I lost 70 lbs following a ketogenic diet prior to my wedding in 2016. I put about 20 lbs back on since then. Looking to lose that 20, plus probably another 30 lbs to be at my ideal weight.

I followed the Ideal Protein protocol through a diet clinic that uses their method exclusively. I loved it and it worked really well for me. But the only negative was that it was very expensive. You have to buy their food for most meals, and their food is good, but its pricey! I did it for the months leading up to my wedding and it worked, but went off the plan after my wedding when I could no longer justify spending that kind of money on it. I briefly followed a standard ketogenic diet after that, which is the same concept, and had success with that as well and will likely do that again when I'm ready to lose the rest of this weight. There's a lot of elements to a ketogenic diet, but high level, it's basically low carb/high protein/high fat.

 

[willowsnn3]

I have lost 60 pounds. My mother had a stroke and was diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol at the age of 47. I recently turned 45 and realized I was potentially on that same path. Granted I don’t smoke like she did but I was obese and had recently been told my A1c result from a physical put me in the pre diabetes category.

I decided I wanted a much better quality of life then my mother. I stopped eating as much, gave up Coke, and started walking/jogging everyday.

Over the course of several months I went from 245 to 185. According to the BMI chart I am just barely fat and no longer obese.

I have been able to maintain 185 and feel it is a much healthier weight even if I still qualify as fat. My A1c dropped from 6.1 to 4.8 and I was taken off my blood pressure medicine.

I want to be healthy to be there for my kids later in life. My moms health problems really prevented her from experiencing much the last 10 years of her life and she missed out on a lot.

Congrats on your weight loss.
I was diagnosed with pre diabetes 4 months ago and it was what I needed to get motivated.
I started eating healthier, loosely following a ketogenic diet and drinking lots of water. Giving up Coke is the hardest and I haven't started exersizing a lot yet as I have had 2 hip surgeries this past year but have lost 36 pounds in the last 4 months just by making some diet changes.

 

[Domo]

Went down to a shade under 6 1/2 stone. But then again, I wasn't a well bunny.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I've lost just over 50 pounds.

I did a modified Weight Watchers that basically came down to, "eat less, do more." I am really not a fan of fad diets. In fact, I really hate even reading that someone is doing one. I am also not a fan of cutting entire food groups or major ingredients out of your diet, unless there is an allergy. ( I have Celiac, no gluten for me.)

Why did I do it? I finally got tired of looking at myself in the mirror.

 

[ronandannette]

It could be that the reason you aren't seeing weight loss is because your blood fat is high. In my case, I lost no weight until my triglycerides were below 300. My husband kept telling me that I needed to go to a major medical center because there was no way I was eating what I was eating and not losing weight. Once my triglycerides were below 300, I dropped 3 pounds a week until I had lost 36 pounds. Then a pound a week until I hit 50 + lost. All of these different weight loss rates happened while eating the same amount of food and not exercising. The difference was that for the first month or so I was burning the fat in my blood. After that - the fat in my fat (as I liked to call it) could go.

Before I started eating low fat I was probably eating between 60-80 grams of fat a day. For the first month I cut that down to 10 per day. I think that number would be tough to sustain long term - but I was trying to knock down my triglycerides fast without taking drugs. My doctor really wanted me on drugs, so I made a deal with him to come back in one month and that if I didn't have a substantial reduction, then I would take the drugs. One month later - they were 300, but I had lost no weight. Still - good enough to skip the drugs. After that, the weight started to come off even though I jumped to 20 grams of fat per day. I still eat around that - more like 20-25 grams per day. I have kept off 50 of the pounds for almost 15 years. The other 5 come and go depending on time of year and stress level. For example - Hurricane Harvey - he gave me a few of them back. Since then - I have leveled off and will probably get them off before the end of the year.

The thing about it being harder in middle age - well - it will never be easier with regards to your age than it is now - because you aren't going to get any younger. I lost mine when I was 40. I have many friends in their 60s who have lost weight after heart attacks. You can do it. But it takes commitment.

Excellent input and food for thought - thank you very much. I'm also desperately trying to avoid statins because the side effects of previous attempts have been totally unacceptable (the brain-fog particularly). I've just recently started Omega 3 and a niacin supplement and hoping for the best. I've had a really difficult time getting motivated about the cholesteral numbers (apparently over 900) because I have absolutely no other indicators of cardiac issues. My blood pressure is excellent as is my cardiac and pulmonary function. I've been tested 40-ways-to-Sunday and my doctor is always perplexed by the findings.

 

[penn19]

Not me, but my husband lost about 180 lbs over 3 years and has kept it off since 2011. He weighed about 330 lbs (5'5" tall) in 2006 and had been overweight since middle school. Beginning in about 2008, he just woke up one morning and decided he was tired of being fat. This is after years of his grandparents offering him money if he could lose weight, his parents and myself all encouraging/bribing him...nothing was motivation enough.

During grad school, he wasn't working in order to focus on getting through school as fast as possible. So he had enough free time to really dedicate to an exercise program. He started counting calories and walking several miles around a lake with a paved trail. This was good for him because once you got halfway around the lake...you had to finish to get back to the car! Eventually he was able to move up to jogging/running. He figured out the number of calories in a few different meals and ate those every day, so that food became just something to fuel his body and he didn't have to really think about "choosing" what to eat. It was also something that we did as a team...I ate what he ate, if we ate out then we would split the meal. I tried very hard not to ever "sabotage" his efforts.

By 2011, he was at 136 lbs and has fluctuated between 140-150 lbs off and on since then. He averages around 145. He put his heart and soul into changing his habits in order to get healthier. He's my hero! For him, it definitely took a lifestyle change. Food is his "addiction" and it is a battle he fights multiple times a day. Sometimes he loses, but most of the time he wins and is able to eat in moderation. His focus is on monitoring his calorie intake more than exercise. It's hard, and it still sucks for him not to be able to just eat whatever he wants. But it was worth it! As he always tells people, losing weight fixed everything but his vision!

tldr: eat less, move more! Don't ever give up!

That’s great that your husband did this. My husband won’t and it’s causing serious friction in our marriage. We are getting older and I get it’s hard to take the weight off but I feel like he’s just given up. And drinks a lot every day.
And I know people will give me grief for this but it’s just not attractive. Not even the physical/appearance part of it. It’s that I feel he’s being selfish and doesn’t care (or cares but not enough to do anything about it) about our future together and even our kids future. Very frustrating

 

[NYCgrrl]

The term "significant weight loss amount" is subjective.
For me getting rid of 25 lbs was my bailiwick and when I found that many of the crash diets worked for a bit and the pounds then returned I realised I had to dig deep and evaluate my daily diet and activity level.

Purging carbs, commercially processed foods and upping my activity level did the job but doesn't mean it'll necessarily work for others.

You have to find what you eat to excess, you have to consider if the amount of food you eat daily is more than you can or will work out and act accordingly.
You should also keep in mind how much time it took to gain the weight you feel is excessive and come up with a realistic time frame to lose it. Don't despair if cousin Betty's wedding comes and you are still not at your goal weight. Remember, you didn't wake up one morning at a new weight/body image; it took time so give it time to be gone.

 

[ols386]

The most I’ve lost is 60 pounds, and I did it with Jenny Craig, and daily walking. Later on, I gained it all back. Over the past year, I’ve lost 40 pounds. I still need to lose around 17 pounds to reach my goal weight. The weight loss over the past year has been by calorie counting.

 

[antmaril]

I am 66 years old and have lost 32 pounds since January, 2016. It has been slow and steady. It is significant for me, because I have struggled to lose weight for 25 years. I use My Fitness Pal. I have logged every single day over the last almost two years. I weigh and measure everything when I am eating at home. There are days when I am way over my calories for the day, but I still log it. I plan ahead when I am eating out and I look at the nutritional info for a restaurant online, if possible.

I believe that if you eat at a calorie deficit, you will lose. You need to burn more calories than you eat.

MFP has been the answer for me because it works. I have finally found something that I can live with. Such a simple concept -- count calories.

 

[Cirlonde]

That’s great that your husband did this. My husband won’t and it’s causing serious friction in our marriage. We are getting older and I get it’s hard to take the weight off but I feel like he’s just given up. And drinks a lot every day.
And I know people will give me grief for this but it’s just not attractive. Not even the physical/appearance part of it. It’s that I feel he’s being selfish and doesn’t care (or cares but not enough to do anything about it) about our future together and even our kids future. Very frustrating

I sympathize with you so much! We were in high school when we started dating and he was already heavy, around 280. During college, he got up to his max of 330 and that's what he weighed when we got married. I only ever knew him as overweight and I loved him anyway, but I would beg him (in tears!) to lose the weight because I was so terrified of losing him at 40 due to health issues. Plus it felt like his weight overshadowed everything...there was so much we couldn't do, places we couldn't sit, activities he couldn't participate in comfortably.

For example, I can remember once as a young couple, we planned a picnic at a nearby park and we were going to fly kites (we were 17...what can I say, haha!) Well...by the time we'd climbed a not-at-all-steep slope up to the top of a small hill to launch the kites, his asthma was triggered and we had to go home. (Obviously, the asthma was not caused by his weight, but it was definitely exacerbated by it. Now that he's lost weight, he rarely has an attack and then it's always tied to allergy season and not activity.) But it's just a specific instance where I can remember something fun being curtailed due to his health.

I wish I could offer advice on how to encourage your husband, but nothing I said or did was enough to motivate my husband. It really did have to be his decision and I think the trigger for that decision is probably different for everyone, but once he made that decision I jumped on board and supported him in every way I could. Sometimes I think that's a piece that gets left out...particularly for couples. It's so easy to undermine what your partner is trying to accomplish without even meaning to...things like celebrating special occasions with food, or trying to comfort them with food/drink, etc. I still struggle with that! If he's had a hard day, I want to bring him a pizza or ice cream.

 

[RangerPooh]

After years of yo-yo dieting and being obese I had weight loss surgery and lost over 100 pounds. It's not for everyone and you have to be in the right mindset to be successful. I have to be careful about what I eat and the quantity of it. I also balance it with physical activity. It's easy to let the slider foods back in and regain the weight. So the awareness of why I had the surgery and my desired goals remain forefront. It also takes a LOT of will power to avoid things and not listen to my head hunger.

I had some (temporary) success with WW but ultimately gained it back because I stopped following the plan. For me it was the lack of support in my family (at the time) as well as lack of dedication. I did find that attending meetings made me more accountable than doing the online program.

 

[loves to dive]

Excellent input and food for thought - thank you very much. I'm also desperately trying to avoid statins because the side effects of previous attempts have been totally unacceptable (the brain-fog particularly). I've just recently started Omega 3 and a niacin supplement and hoping for the best. I've had a really difficult time getting motivated about the cholesteral numbers (apparently over 900) because I have absolutely no other indicators of cardiac issues. My blood pressure is excellent as is my cardiac and pulmonary function. I've been tested 40-ways-to-Sunday and my doctor is always perplexed by the findings.

I have silly high trigliceride numbers that can't be controlled by diet so I had to go on statins. My doctor told me it was just heridatery and not a thing I could do about it. I already eat a fairly low fat and low sugar diet, so there was nothing I could cut out there, I already exercise on a regular basis so nothing I could do there and I'm well within the healthy weight limits for my age/height/body so nothing I could do there. They haven't effected me at all, I have no issues with them but did look very carefully at the side effects before starting them, I do miss grapefruit though I did eat me some grapefruit cake at HBD while at WDW. I was with my son, who was a Navy Corpsman and he was like mom, there isn't enough of the concentrated grapefruit in that to hurt you and if it does, I know how to treat you if you have a heart attack. My cholesterol numbers are fine, even a little low it is just the trigliceride numbers that are high for me.

 

[Nickunited]

How did you do it?

What was your motivation?

Were you able to keep the weight off?

I need to lose weight. I’ve been around 215 pounds for as long as I can remember, and I’m just tired of it. I just can’t seem to find the motivation to make the change. I would love to read your success stories!

1 - I did a lot of walking. If it was cold i did it on the treadmill. At least 30 minute a day up an include at about 3-3.5 - whatever you are comfortable with. I was around 205-210 and i went down to 175 - i was in my early 20s so it was easier then.

PS - Diet too - after exercising you can not over eat. You need to be healthier in your diet. Not saying you need to eat salad for breakfast lunch and dinner but be sensible and smart about what you eat and how much.


2 - Health - i was at a point where walking up stairs winded me - it was awful. Also - i was not feeling comfortable with myself. Once it started coming off, I got in the zone.

3 - To a point - I am now 10-15 years older and I am no longer 175 but hover in the 180s and sometimes up into the early 190s but i still lift weights so i put on some muscle so its not all..FAT


Every body is different - what works for me might not work for you. Find what does - maybe the above does. The key is sticking with it and getting the mentality of exercise - once you are mentally in the place where the gym is part of your routine...you win.

Good luck!