What Weight Loss tactic worked for *You* ?

[tractorlegs]

There are a lot of successful weight loss stories in these forums. Weight loss plans are so varied and are as individual as the people who post here. It seems to me that there is no "one size fits all" plan. So, those people that have experience successful weight loss recently, what plan did you use? Something structured like WW or Jenny Craig? Or just simply counting calories, or a special diet? It would be interesting to see success stories, not only so we can compare notes, but also as an encouragement to those with weight still to lose.

I'll start: My weight loss plan was simply to move more and eat less. I exercised aerobically about 4 times a week, using both walking and bicycling, then religiously counted calories, eating only what my Fitbit Blaze told me I could eat. Most of my weight was lost during an 8 month period in 2016, and has been successfully maintained since then. Summary: Exercise, and eat the amount of calories recommended by the Fitbit app. Note that I had no content restrictions on my food, just calorie amounts. 

What worked for you all?

[Baltoscott]

There certainly are a lot of different approaches @tractorlegs.  I've considered this kind of question a couple of times in the forums and I seem to emphasize different things everytime write something down. I have a fairly lengthy post in the "how the heck are you keeping it off" topic, but just thinking about how and what I did probably helps reinforce the good habits I developed.

I lost 40+ pounds from Jan - Aug in 2017, and have maintained the loss so far.   When it started to come off at the beginning of the year I think it was mostly because I found some "low hanging fruit" to eliminate for a while, and cut back on long term.  I was having a couple of beers or glasses of wine most evenings, and I just stopped drinking for most of January 2017. When I started back up in February, I decided I would drink only on odd numbered days, and I've mostly held true to that all year.  This one thing probably eliminated about 300-500 calories/day in January, and every other day since.  

I also counted calories, entering them into MyFitnessPal meal by meal throughout the day.  I planned to do it just for the weight loss phase, but I've continued to count through maintenance as I work on adding a bit of muscle to my frame.  It is not that hard as I've saved about a dozen "meals" or partial meals with 5 to 20 items each, and mostly start the process of entering what I just ate by entering a similar saved meal and then deleting or adding items and editing item amounts.

I exercised quite a bit before the weight loss (fitbit usually has me around 20K steps/day) -- mostly bike commuting and walks and hikes, but that wasn't enough for me to lose weight without paying a lot of attention to what I was eating.  Still, exercise makes losing weight a lot easier.  In addition to what I was already doing, I added some weight lifting (3x/week) to the mix.  When it came time to lose weight, I didn't have to starve myself.  I dropped to about 1500 cal/day during January (when fitbit said I was buri, and gradually moved up to about 2500 calories/day while losing weight.  I've maintained my weight at 160 lbs for about 4 months now while eating 2800 - 3000 cal/day.   To limit muscle loss during the  weight-loss phase (and for building it now), I usually eat around 26 grams of whey protein, and 13 grams of casein protein each day mixed in a cup plain yogurt and frozen berries.  In addition to muscle building, it seems to help curve hunger when I'm in a caloric deficit.  

[SunsetRunner]

@tractorlegs I did the very similar thing. I wasn't familiar with any weight-loss strategies except eat less and move more. So this is what I did. I got Fitbit being about a month in the whole process. Added light exercising, increased intensity, took better care of my food, did all the logging and the weight went down. In the retrospect, it wasn't really that hard. The recipe is that simple. I never tried any weight-loss plan. Eating less ( and changing habits like removing sugar from my diet ) did the work. Exercising played the supporting role and helped me to get fit and fight my asthma. 

[tractorlegs]

@SunsetRunner @Baltoscott -- Both of you, thank you for your narratives and congratulations on your success!!

[SunsetRunner]

The first three months (last Jan-Mar, 2017) I stopped with fast food and drinking my calories. I also stopped with the high starchy carb meals like pasta dishes where is mostly carbs. I do eat pasta, rice, and potato, but ONLY as a side. It's no longer the main course.

In April 2017, I joined the gym because I think in the end (for me anyway), only changing my diet would not work for me. However, 80% of working out is diet, so I knew going in that exercising might put on weight, etc. I started a 3 day a week routine, and worked up to to 5 days a week.

In September 2017, I started to do "traditional cardio" where as before I ONLY did weight lifting (Heavy as I can) and walking. I started using the concept2 rower for 30 minutes, with LISS and HIIT workouts. I will say this, starting this cardio routine really slowed my weight loss, BUT it gave me a huge boost in conditioning that really benefited my lifting. And while the weight loss slowed, my "recomping" didn't. I still loose weight, however, I "shift" more now.

For me, sticking to a 1800-2200 daily calorie intake seems to be my sweet spot.

In the course of 12 months, I have lost 132 lbs. I just recently lost 2, after fluctuating up and down (290-294) for like three weeks. My goal is 250. Once there I will reassess my next stage.

I started at 420. I am now 288.

I am very happy with how this year tuned out, and while I had ups and downs, I have nothing to complain about with a 132 lb loss. I'm pretty proud of myself.

And, I eat like a pig too, I just eat sensible 

[tractorlegs]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

The first three months (last Jan-Mar, 2017) I stopped with fast food and drinking my calories. I also stopped with the high starchy carb meals like pasta dishes where is mostly carbs. I do eat pasta, rice, and potato, but ONLY as a side. It's no longer the main course.

In April 2017, I joined the gym because I think in the end (for me anyway), only changing my diet would not work for me. However, 80% of working out is diet, so I knew going in that exercising might put on weight, etc. I started a 3 day a week routine, and worked up to to 5 days a week.

In September 2017, I started to do "traditional cardio" where as before I ONLY did weight lifting (Heavy as I can) and walking. I started using the concept2 rower for 30 minutes, with LISS and HIIT workouts. I will say this, starting this cardio routine really slowed my weight loss, BUT it gave me a huge boost in conditioning that really benefited my lifting. And while the weight loss slowed, my "recomping" didn't. I still loose weight, however, I "shift" more now.

For me, sticking to a 1800-2200 daily calorie intake seems to be my sweet spot.

In the course of 12 months, I have lost 132 lbs. I just recently lost 2, after fluctuating up and down (290-294) for like three weeks. My goal is 250. Once there I will reassess my next stage.

I started at 420. I am now 288.

I am very happy with how this year tuned out, and while I had ups and downs, I have nothing to complain about with a 132 lb loss. I'm pretty proud of myself.

And, I eat like a pig too, I just eat sensible 

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Wow.........just Wow. What an amazing narrative, you must feel so much better!

[SunsetRunner]

@tractorlegs

Yes I do, and boy, the kind of issues I had at being 420, well, they weren't great!

One thing I noticed now that I am 288. I do not feel my weight, because of the lifting, I am much stronger, etc. That's a huge deception, and I need to remind myself that being 288 is a still big.

I just need to stay focused and this isn't a race. 

[_Libella_]

I've found the best success in simply counting calories, in and out.  I increased my exercise and decreased my intake. Both were not hard to do since I had become fairly sedentary due to job and kid responsibilities and started snacking to much.  I'm using a slow and steady method since keeping it off will be nearly as hard as getting it off.  I've lost over 40 pounds since August, my first goal is 75 lost, with a final-ish goal of 110 lost.  My hope is that when I reach my final goal I can easily balance the in/out calorie ratio.  My choice of weight loss was to make it a lifestyle thing that I know I could keep up long term without drastically changing my diet (which other than snacking is fairly healthy) and still leaving time for my mom responsibilities. 

Hopefully this works out long term and I maintain the loss--or continue to loose since my final-ish goal is a very realistic one and I could go lower.

I do have 2 "secrets" that have helped me though.  First is having oatmeal for breakfast, it really extends the time before I get hungry again and I have a lot less need for snacks.  The second is the tubes of powdered drink mix (esp the tru lemon/tru lime ones).  I like drinking water and don't need them for it, but I've found they are a huge help in curbing my need for snacks, especially suger cravings.

[Evemariesaint]

A high protein diet with no carbs plus half an hour's interval training on an exercise bike worked for me.
2 boiled eggs for breakfast, tuna on dark rye crispbread or a smoothie for lunch, then a normal dinner such as salmon with extra veg instead of potatoes, pasta or rice . . . . also lots of green tea.

I lost 3 kg (about 6lbs) in 2 weeks doing this intensively and long term I have shed 20lbs between September and the end of the year.

[missnotsofit]

So far, just the stomach flu. I lost 5lbsin 2 days! LOL But, I have only had the fitbit since Christmas (5 days) so time will tell.

[tractorlegs]

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@missnotsofit wrote:

So far, just the stomach flu. I lost 5lbsin 2 days! LOL But, I have only had the fitbit since Christmas (5 days) so time will tell.

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Stomach flu is officially cheating. Just kidding!!! @missnotsofit good luck in 2018 with your new tracker - hoping you find happiness and health!

[missnotsofit]

Thank you. You, too! WIshing everyone a very fitbit New Year! 

[Scotchandrhines]

Staying at a daily deficit between 800-1000 cal and cutting out the foods that make me overeat mindlessly. For me,  that's chips, sweets, bread, pastry, pasta, rice... basically, all the carbohydrates that aren't fruits and vegetables. So I stick to a nice, boring, healthy diet of vegetables, fruit, eggs, protein, coffee, tea and the occasional water crackers or chocolate.  

[Evemariesaint]

That's pretty much what I'm doing. Loads of protein, fish and veg, no carbs. Lots of green tea, 45 minutes interval training on a stationary bike every morning. I'll add two rounds of golf (carrying my bag!) to that when the weather gets better, I'm looking forward to seeing what the fitbit makes of a 4-hour round of golf. Gone from 87kg in September to 79.5kg now.