If you lost a significant amount of weight fairly easily, what did you do?

[Anonymous]

Stopped eating out, switched to full fat dairy, stopped buying junk snacks (chips, crackers, etc), switched to eating mainly vegetarian with lots of beans etc (no fake meats).

I think the full fat dairy and all the fiber I get from my veggie diet keeps me full. That plus regular sleep helped me to lose 20+ pounds without feeling like I was dieting.

[Anonymous]

No flour no grain

Lost 35 lbs in 3 months

[Anonymous]

I've lost 30+ pounds since Labor Day.

Typical meals: breakfast - oatmeal with blueberries; lunch - eggs, turkey bacon, cheese, raw veggies; dinner: whatever DH makes (sometimes healthy, sometimes lasagna). I try to fit in extra fruit and veggies.

I cut added sugar back to <10 grams, watch but did not eliminate simple carbs (or anything else besides sweets). I'm only drinking water, black coffee and hot tea.

I'm mostly eating between 11 and 7 but I'm not that strict about it.

I'm walking on the treadmill 5 or 6x per week (1 hour, 4.5 miles, 1250 vertical feet). Maybe running would be better but I hate it.

[Anonymous]

Lost 50lb over 6 months and kept it off.

I went low carb (not keto but cut out rice/pasta/bread/corn/dessert/sugar and sugar-added foods.) I didn't count how many carbs were in fruits/vegetables etc. I always preferred salty and spicy so it wasn't too hard for me.

I also counted my calories and made sure they didn't go over a certain number (I am a small woman so it was 1400 for me, maybe be different depending on your height/build etc.) It's a lot easier to do this if you cook all your meals.

Added two hours a day of walking. I don't like gyms and exercise routines but enjoy walking so it was pretty pleasant. It also has the advantage of not needing to be done in one chunk but can be broken into two, three or four to accommodate your schedule.

The thing that worked for me is that it was a very steady and consistent weight loss, about 1-2lb a week so I'd see a steady progress and not get discouraged. I also didn't feel particularly hungry.

When I lost what I wanted, here is what I've kept from that which seems to keep the weight I lost off: (1) two hour walks - it's good to get out of the house during the pandemic anyway (2) watching my calories and low carb. I don't limit myself to 1400 a day any more but I do count to make sure I don't eat 2000 or anything like that; I also eat very few carbs - I may have a small dessert on Sunday or similar, but it's very limited and I track it (it helps if like me, you are not big on sweets anyway.)

[Anonymous]

I’m down 25 pounds and for me it took going slowly. I am hard core about measuring and logging what I eat for 2-3 months at a time and lose 8-10lb. Then I work on maintaining that weight for 6 months before trying to lose another 8-10lb.

I use Noom, but mostly for the food logging although some of the articles have helped me. From Noom I learned that diet will take the weight off, but exercise keeps the weight off.

[Anonymous]

Cutting snacks is sooo right.

[Anonymous]

Doing IF, lost 20 lbs in 4-5 months last year, now just maintaining.

I gave up alcohol save for the special occasion here or there. Outside of that I don’t count calories or restrict any food groups.

I also run & exercise daily but that’s more for enjoyment than weight loss.

[Anonymous]

Cut out alcohol. Track calorie intake religiously on My Fitness Pal. IF. Vary your diet so it's interesting, and, if possible, add exercise. I tried exercising alone and lost nothing (even though I was running 4 miles a day 5 days a week).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if you lost 20+ pounds without it being too painful, how did you go about it?

I tracked what I ate. I decreased the volume of junk food, 2 oreos for dessert was ok and then don't eat the other 4-6 that I used to eat because Oreos are yummy. I increased my exercise, ie I stopped playing video games and watching TV and got up and moved. For me that meant spin classes, strength classes, yoga, and lots of walking.

The tracking helps me, not because I pay attention to macros but because it gave me a way to be accountable to myself. If I didn't want to log it, then I probably shouldn't be eating it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IF. Painless but took a year. Down 30 pounds and going, doubt I’ll ever go back to eating “normally” but I don’t miss it really.

What’s your method of IF?

[Anonymous]

Lost 40 on WW 4 years ago and have kept 30 off by still loosely following.

[Anonymous]

Wow, all these results so incredible. I’m at a normal weight and it’s a lot of work just to maintain. Extremely impressed with you all.

I’m going to start walking more. I without hard 30-60 mins a day, but too sedentary the rest of the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I counted calories, but did not restrict times to eat or categories of food. The key for me was finding high protein meals that I enjoy and basing my meals around those foods.

Would be curious to hear some examples of your high-protein meals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, all these results so incredible. I’m at a normal weight and it’s a lot of work just to maintain. Extremely impressed with you all.

I’m going to start walking more. I without hard 30-60 mins a day, but too sedentary the rest of the time.

Should be “workout hard”

[Anonymous]

The main thing is to pick a strategy you can live with and actually do, and then not try to do everything all at once.

Start with calorie counting on an app like MyFitnessPal, and figure out what your calorie deficit should be. Then increase steps taken each day. Then maybe add in 2 walks/runs a week. Then maybe add in weights class (can do online) to have 3 workouts a week. Then add in something new the following week or two. If you hit a plateau where you don't lose, reduce calories by 75-100, nothing extreme, so you don't feel deprived.

Look at it like a longterm lifestyle change, and don't try to rush it - you didn't gain all the weight in 3 months, so it will take longer than that to lose it. Shoot for 1 - 1.5 lbs a week. The important part is to un-diet at the end. Once you hit your weight goal, increase your calories 75-100 slowly to see what you can do while maintaining that weight. That way, you don't put back on the weight you have lost, instead you learn what your body needs for that weight. Also, be kind to yourself. You don't have to make every day 'perfect' for this to work.