If you've successfully lost weight, how did you do it?

[sidmand]

Writing it down.

It's probably the single most important thing I've done and I've read that many are successful with. I have an app on my phone that keeps track for me but I found that I was (in all honesty!) eating about 1,000 calories per day more than I thought I was. I knew it was going to be more than I expected but I never expected it to be that much!

I've tried many times and I'm only on the beginning of my journey but I've lost about 15 lbs and I feel like this is totally doable. I'm on the Curves Weight Management program and I really like it. It's one week of 1200 calories (which was hard!) and then 23 days of 1500 calories and then two to four weeks of 2,000 to 2,500 calories to get your metabolism back in shape. I find most days I'm actually closer to 1500 to 1800 calories but that works for me. I'm steadily losing about 1+ lbs per week. I've been exercising nearly every day though (which is also new for me!).

[emily]

Just curious, when do you all have time to exercise? Do you do it before the day starts (which for me would be about 5am) or after everyone is asleep (which would be about 11:00pm)?

I know you have to make the time, but just so dang hard.
To all you moms, that make the time

[SnuggleBuggles]

Just curious, when do you all have time to exercise? Do you do it before the day starts (which for me would be about 5am) or after everyone is asleep (which would be about 11:00pm)?

I know you have to make the time, but just so dang hard.
To all you moms, that make the time

If I weren't a SAHM I would do it before the kids woke up or drag them to the gym babysitting afterwards (I used to do that all the time b/c there was a class I liked at 6pm). But, as a SAHM I just drag the kids to the gym in the morning or do it while they are in school. I know I'm lucky.

Beth

[egoldber]

When I was a SAHM, I went when the kids were in preschool/school or I used the gym child care.

Now I am WOTH full time and I have a free gym in my building at work, or else I have no idea when I would exercise. So I exercise on my lunch 4-5 days a week. If I lived closer to work, I would try to wake up early and do it before I left for work. But right now doing it at lunch works best for me. It also makes me pack my lunch vs eating out for lunch which also helps.

Exercise videos are good too and inexpensive vs the cost of a gym. And there are so many resources on the web now for training ideas, routines, etc.

[brittone2]

I think it is very individual. I eat low carb in general because I have PCOS (but am not overweight, other than wanting to lose another 10 pounds or so at 3 months post partum).

Some people are genetically carb sensitive and lose best by restricting carbs (IMO particularly anyone w/ type 2 diabetes/metabolic syndrome stuff that runs in their family). THere is actually some genetic test coming out that supposedly tells people whether they'd do better on low fat vs. low carb. I don't think most people need to use the genetic test, but I think it just illustrates that some people really do need to pay attention to more than calories.

I think calories matter, but I don't think human beings run like a furnace. There are complex biochemical processes that go on in our bodies. People who are carb sensitive get a big insulin rise when they eat carbs, which just goes on to make them increasingly hungry. I honestly think for me keeping insulin levels low and even (via low carb) totally controls my hunger without watching calories all that much.

Like egoldberg, I know I can't consume a lot of whole grains and still be healthy even though that's the party line. I'm simply too sensitive to carbs. I was a veg for almost a decade and when I ate grains always ate whole grains (and when I wasn't a veg I also ate pretty much only whole grains, not refined products). I don't ovulate, etc. when eating much in the way of grains of any type. When I cut those out, I ovulate, I feel better, etc. For me it is clear that I must control insulin levels for my body to function optimally.

I think calories in/calories out is a total oversimplification. Not that calories should be discounted entirely, but I can guarantee that if I ate higher carb, even on 1400 calories a day of grains I could gain. A LOT.

Our individual biochemistry does vary a bit IMO and there are some people that do great on something like WW/calorie counting, some people do great on low fat, and some people really thrive by controlling their carb consumption. But I don't think calories in/calories out accounts for all of the biochemistry that goes on inside of us in terms of insulin, hormone levels, etc. driving hunger and weight loss/gain.

[lizzywednesday]

It was easier then, but in college, I lost the freshman 15 plus a lot of extra padding by eating a (mostly) vegetarian diet, walking everywhere on campus and getting a bike, which I rode everywhere off campus.

I went from 200lbs to 140lbs in mmy Sophomore year and kept most of the weight off until after I got my first post-college car in 2003.

These days, I'd kill for a bike!!!!

[AbbysMom]

For those who count calories, is there an easy way to do this? Do you write down what you eat all day, then do all the calories at once to see how your day was? Or count as you go? Is there an online refence that you use that can tell you how many calories certain things are? I try to eat well but this is where I get overwhelmed.

[lizzywednesday]

For those who count calories, is there an easy way to do this? Do you write down what you eat all day, then do all the calories at once to see how your day was? Or count as you go? Is there an online refence that you use that can tell you how many calories certain things are? I try to eat well but this is where I get overwhelmed.

There are apps for smartphones, weighing systems (get a kitchen scale) and resources online to help, but you may find they're not user-friendly.

I tried to use one from Yahoo! and it didn't have the things I was eating in its database, which was REALLY frustrating!!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I count as I go. I have the same thing for b'fast every day so that simplifies. There are lots of food logs online but I do mine mentally. It's annoying to calculate calories on home cooked foods (for me, at least) so lunch is almost always something packaged that I can see the #s on. If I eat out I look at the menu online 1st so I know what I can eat.

Beth

[egoldber]

There are many on-line food diary and calorie/nutrition counter tools. I have used both fitday.com and the LoseIt! app with success.

It's hard for about a week, but after that you will find that most of your foods tend to repeat. Most of us are creatures of habit and eat mostly the same things all the time.

A lot of the diaries/apps have many foods already built in. I am lazy and rather than entering in all the details, I would generally find a food that was "close enough" or worse than what I was actually eating and enter that.

But you can certainly just write it down for a few days and see what you are eating. Like the PP said, just the act of recording EVERY bite of food that goes into your mouth helps to prevent mindless impulse eating, which can really add up to a lot.

And as others have mentioned, beverages are often a prime area for people to cut calories. Switching to mainly water vs sugar soda, juice drinks and other high calorie beverages can make a huge difference. Or drinking brewed coffee or tea vs a latte or a chai type drink makes a HUGE difference.