Spinoff: Share Your Weight Loss Success Stories

[Anonymous]

Working on losing the baby weight from my final pregnancy and feeling discouraged. I'm losing, just not as quickly as I would like.

Would love to hear what worked for you, how long it took, and how you got through the plateaus.

[Anonymous]

I'm finishing up losing the baby weight plus some from my first. I'm 5'11" and my goal weight is 165. I was at 190 for a year after my pregnancy and I'm currently about 176.

Afterdoing nothing except stress eating for the first year post partum, the first week of September 2013 I started the couch to 5K program and I'm currently training for a 10k. Over the winter I ran 7-10 miles almost every week. I've been much more conscious of what kind of food I put into my mouth and significantly increased the number of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins that I eat.

A month of using My Fitness Pal convinced me both that 1) I was eating way too much sugar and 2) I had no desire to count calories ever again. I've significantly decrease my sugar intake but refuse to diet. I'm motivated by selecting and training for races, and hoping to do a half marathon after my 10k in April. Weight still matters to me but I'm trying to change my mindset and focus more on what my body can do/accomplish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Working on losing the baby weight from my final pregnancy and feeling discouraged. I'm losing, just not as quickly as I would like.

Would love to hear what worked for you, how long it took, and how you got through the plateaus.

I weighed 218 after my second child was born and stayed at 218 until he was 2. I started a sprint tri training program in April. It required 6-8 hours of cardio training per week. By August, I weighed 188. I'm 6'1 so that is within the healthy BMI range for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm finishing up losing the baby weight plus some from my first. I'm 5'11" and my goal weight is 165. I was at 190 for a year after my pregnancy and I'm currently about 176.

Afterdoing nothing except stress eating for the first year post partum, the first week of September 2013 I started the couch to 5K program and I'm currently training for a 10k. Over the winter I ran 7-10 miles almost every week. I've been much more conscious of what kind of food I put into my mouth and significantly increased the number of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins that I eat.

A month of using My Fitness Pal convinced me both that 1) I was eating way too much sugar and 2) I had no desire to count calories ever again. I've significantly decrease my sugar intake but refuse to diet. I'm motivated by selecting and training for races, and hoping to do a half marathon after my 10k in April. Weight still matters to me but I'm trying to change my mindset and focus more on what my body can do/accomplish.

Was it fruit that you cut out, or was your sugar mostly coming from other foods (candy, sweets, soda, etc.)? I'm having a hard time letting go of my fruit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm finishing up losing the baby weight plus some from my first. I'm 5'11" and my goal weight is 165. I was at 190 for a year after my pregnancy and I'm currently about 176.

Afterdoing nothing except stress eating for the first year post partum, the first week of September 2013 I started the couch to 5K program and I'm currently training for a 10k. Over the winter I ran 7-10 miles almost every week. I've been much more conscious of what kind of food I put into my mouth and significantly increased the number of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins that I eat.

A month of using My Fitness Pal convinced me both that 1) I was eating way too much sugar and 2) I had no desire to count calories ever again. I've significantly decrease my sugar intake but refuse to diet. I'm motivated by selecting and training for races, and hoping to do a half marathon after my 10k in April. Weight still matters to me but I'm trying to change my mindset and focus more on what my body can do/accomplish.

Was it fruit that you cut out, or was your sugar mostly coming from other foods (candy, sweets, soda, etc.)? I'm having a hard time letting go of my fruit.

I actually added fresh fruit bc I was barely eating any of that. I cut out flavored yogurts, candy/sweets, juice/tea/soda, bottled salad dressings and a bunch of junk foods like my 2-3x/week pop tart habit. I still eat the occasional cookie or granola bar or whatever but not every day.

[Anonymous]

BMI is a poor indication of fitness. You should really measure body fat %. Many elite athletes would be considered obese using BMI.

[Anonymous]

What's wrong with grapes? My skinny 13 yo dd eats a ton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with grapes? My skinny 13 yo dd eats a ton.

High in sugar.

[Anonymous]

Grapes are high in sugar and lacking in the fiber necessary to handle the processing of the sugar by your body. Essentially the same problem as juices--sugar without the fiber.

More here:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/learning-to-cut-the-sugar/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with grapes? My skinny 13 yo dd eats a ton.

High in sugar.

Sure. And I am reminded of what a great Weight Watchers leader once said when folks were going back and forth about how many points grapes were: "Look, no one is here because they ate too many grapes."

[Anonymous]

penguinsix wrote:208 down to 150 in about a year. Now stay in a range between 150 and 155.

Given my height I just skimmed the BMI border of 'obese' and decided that was enough. I set a goal of getting my BMI back down to normal (165lbs) and getting a bit of room to spare.

Primarily dietary changes, and then mainly portion control. Eliminated most liquid calories by switching to water from juices, and then a reduction in the size of meals, from a big sandwich to one half the size, etc. No longer sat with a big bag of anything on the couch or at my desk but tracked calorie intake as a check against impulse or mindless 'noshing' on food.

As it progressed, made switches from things like potato chips to then pretzels to snacking vegetables like baby carrots. Swapped out hamburgers for chicken burger to eventually fish filets. Reduced the overall calorie count each step of the way.

Used calorie counter Loseit app, along with a Withings WS-50 Internet-connected scale, and a Fitbit one activity tracker. Made things far more quantifiable and easier to track.

Did not have the 'I hate logging food' experience as about 75% of what I ate was "the same thing" and adding it from one day to the next wasn't that difficult, once I had entries made for my foods. Now logging food is second nature and I don't spend more than a minute or two on it a day.

Current goal is micronutrient balance. I eat too much sodium and sugar. Trying to get those under control and even meet the W.H.O. new guidelines on sugar of 25g a day (which is really hard). FWIW the sugar in fruit is not usually counted in the 'added sugar' warnings as most fruit (except grapes) has fiber that helps slow the processing of the sugars such that it doesn't cause the same problems as say a can of Coke.

At age 47 I now weigh what I did in college and wear the same size clothes that fit me 30 years ago. I walk as my exercise averaging about 25,000 steps a day which gives me a calorie bonus most days such that I can basically eat as much as I want, though I still try to eat healthy for other reasons.

Congrats on your success. It looks like you've done everything to have a healthy food lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Congrats on your success. It looks like you've done everything to have a healthy food lifestyle.

Thanks, but I actually still have a long way to go.

I'm done losing weight. This is where I want to stay and will stay. However, I absolutely need to swap out a number of 'bad' items in my diet that are contributing to the high sodium and sugar levels. Sugar has been a bit easier to reduce, but sodium is hidden in so many things that I end up reaching the R.D.A. after lunch some days.

Interesting side note was that I was never really hungry during the whole dieting process. In fact, I never had a day where I was like "I'm starving but I've hit my budget for the day". I think I was just overeating before, not so much pigging out but just sort of a slow gradual "eat because it was there" kind of attitude that had me downing junk food in front of the computer and TV and whatnot. Slowly over the years it just added up until I finally had enough.

[Anonymous]

Here's a success story about losing the last 15 lbs after having 2 DD (youngest DD is 5 so I had no excuse!): I went from 150 down to 135 in 6 months. I started doing Focus T25 5X a week (25 minute workout), and drank Shakeology (protein shake) every morning. I lost my evening cravings for junk food, and instead I crave salads and grilled chicken! It's "only" 15 lbs but it was a real accomplishment for me to go from size 10/12 down to a size 6/8. I feel so much better about myself. It is hard to get started but once you get into the routine, it's wonderful and kind of addictive once you see results.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone need psychological counselling to successfully lose weight? I know what I need to do to lose weight, but I am unable to change my lifestyle without support. I eat too much and the wrong things because 1) food brings me comfort and joy in what's otherwise a daily grind of a life and 2) I also eat a lot due to stress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone need psychological counselling to successfully lose weight? I know what I need to do to lose weight, but I am unable to change my lifestyle without support. I eat too much and the wrong things because 1) food brings me comfort and joy in what's otherwise a daily grind of a life and 2) I also eat a lot due to stress.

It took me a year to lose fifteen pounds. I didn't have counseling specifically for weight loss, but for several of those months I was seeing a counselor for depression. The counseling helped me make a number of changes in my life due to stress/work. As part of the changes I was making to my life, I started focusing more on improving my diet and exercise, but that wasn't a major topic of discussion in our sessions.

I am a huge advocate of getting help when you think you need it. If you think counseling would help support your weight loss goals (and maybe reduce your daily grind/stress), I say go for it.