I lost 30 pounds recently, after years and years (trust me) of dieting…
I basically just starting walking and exercising a lot more, and watching what I ate.
It was hard; I’m naturally a lazy person and I had to force myself to get out and walk; I’m also a huge chocoholic and I had to tell myself not to go and buy that chocolate bar.
Paid off in the end, though 
Congradulate me–yesterday was the first day in a looooonnnngggg time that I didn’t have one sweet (sugary) thing! No candy, no cookies, no piece of whateverisinthebowlatwork. Whoohoo!
Of course, I think I’m getting a cold… 
Over the past year and a half I went from a peak of 235 down to 195 (quite slim for 6’2").
I still eat the same crap I always ate, so I am firmly of the belief that I am forcefully holding back the fat by running 30-35 miles per week.
If I were to stop running for a few months, I am certain that it would all come back.
One secret about tall folks: we can hide lots of weight on our bodies before you will ever notice. About the only visible difference (when clothed) that losing 40 pounds made is that my face is thinner. The fat had been fairly evenly distributed throughout, so nobody really was the wiser except for my wife.
A few years ago, I used Weight Watchers to go from 245 to 170. So that’s 75 pounds over about 6-8 months. No additional exercise at all, though I did take up jogging since I lost the weight. I followed their plan religiously.
I haven’t really been maintaining the diet, and I’ve been inching back up ever since. So now I’m around 190 and dieting again.
I haven’t lost a bunch yet, but I’ve been on Atkins for a little over 5 weeks and I’ve lost 14 pounds. The diet is so easy that I pretty much forget that I’m even on a diet, I really like it, and I don’t really see any reason why I won’t keep losing.
Over the last 2 years I’ve lost about 65 pounds. I went from 315 to 250. Most of that happened in the first year. Then I started slacking, but I’m back to it now. Hopefully I can get down under 200 in another year or so.
I lost 40 lbs. in 11 weeks on the atkins diet. It would have been 45 or 46 lbs., but for a couple of weeks I was eating things that I mistakenly thought were legal. I lost nothing during that period. Didn’t go up or down, just stuck at my previous weight.
I was finally shamed into giving up the foods I thought were fine to eat. (I happened to like those foods, you see, so I balked.) Being nagged isn’t always a bad thing.
I also found out I can splurge about once a month and still lose about 3 lbs. a week. I did it for the BADopefest.and recently when my sister and BIL came from Fla. to see me. So that’s something I carry around like a carrot on a stick in front of me.
And wow, do I feel better!
I haven’t lost a whole lot, but I’ve been steadily losing 3 pounds per week for the last four to five weeks. I attribute this to two things:
I’ve had to stop running, and two weeks ago I had to go into physical therapy. Because of knee pain, then being told I’m not allowed to run, I’ve had to find alternative ways to exercise other than running (which put me in PT in the first place) for the past month or so. I think that working out different muscles and cross-training far more than I ever have has given my body a much-needed kick, and when I can run again, I’m going to try to make a concerted effort to continue cross-training.
About six months ago, I went off DepoProvera. It’s a birth control injection that mimics menopause (if I recal correctly), and makes many women gain a significant amount of weight while on it. My doctor told me it’d take about six months to get it out of my system once I stopped taking it, possibly longer, and almost right on the dot, six months after I went off, I started losing weight. In fact, my thyroid is now slightly over-active when before it was under-active. (That’s not necessarily a good thing, and I’ll be having it checked out in another six months, but my doctor has said it’s probably because I went off Depo, which can also make your thyroid slow down, then over-compensate once it speeds up again after you go off. Guess I’ll find out.)
Anyway, everyone’s body is different. What works for someone else might not work for you. Atkins doesn’t work for everybody, but neither does low-fat. I’ve found that exercise works best for me, and I firmly believe that everyone should exercise if only to get their heart in shape, unless they’ve been advised not to exercise by a doctor. Congratulations on your weight loss, phall0106, and keep up the good work!
I’ve lost 29 lbs since July. I eat less junk, I work out 3 times a week (or, I try to work out 3 times a week) and I am concentrating on eating foods which are good for me. I plan my meals around this book: Super Foods: 14 Foods That Will Change Your Life
It’s much easier for me to concentrate on what to eat, as opposed to concentrating on what not to eat.
192/163/140
About 3 years ago I began my quest to lose weight and get into shape. . .something about that voice in my head telling me to get off my a** and get moving!! And that’s exactly what I did. Over the course of the next year, I lost 70 lbs and feel and look better than I think I ever have in my life! I’m 44 years old.
I followed the Weight Watcher’s plan. . .didn’t go to meetings, but followed their plan. . .religiously!!! I’ve learned in the past that meetings don’t work for me. . .I mentally shift responsibility to other people for some reason. No, this was my own personal quest.
I cleared out my house of all danger foods and made sure it was always stocked with good proteins, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and very few breads and carbs of that nature.
And, I got moving! I started by taking a good 30-45 minute BRISK walk 3-4 times/week. In about a month, I increased the number of times I walked. As I lost weight and start feeling more in shape I added other activities. . .pilates, yoga, and the gym for the cardio machines and free weights. It was only in the last year though that I started the gym.
I try to take at least one brisk walk everyday. . .without fail. It is one of the best things you can do for yourself physically and mentally!! I also do the gym 2-3 times/week and yoga or pilates 2-3 times/week. When doing the yoga or pilates at home, I turn out the lights, light some candles and make it my meditative time. It is a wonderful gift to yourself. . .and your muscles will feel terrific with the work and stretching you will offer them.
I continue to watch my food intake. I don’t deny myself anything. . .EVER!!! BUT, I may only have a bite of something rather than a whole serving. Two questions I ask myself on a regular basis:
Are you REALLY hungry? Maybe you’re just thirsty. The body is not sophisticated enough to know the difference. Maybe you just need to drink 8-16 ounces of water to get rehydrated. Make sure you drink your water! I drink 3-4 quarts/day.
Do you really feel better having 20 bites of something rather than 2-3? This is an especially important concept when it comes to your “danger” foods. For me that is cookies and chips. To think I could NEVER have these things again would mean I would ultimately fail, but I know to keep a tight reign on these things. For what it’s worth, I did NOT start incorporating these back into my food plan for the first year.
So, here it is a little over three years since I began and I have kept the weight off for a full two years! 
I think my mindset has a lot to do with it. I did not go on a DIET!!! I changed my food plan and my life style to better fit my personality. I did not give myself a deadline either. I figured I have the rest of my life to continue my new lifestyle. I enjoy feeling healthy and able-bodied and have the stamina and endurance to do almost anything I want to do.
Good luck in your quest. 
Yeah I have that too. I started as a 50.5" waist, now i’m about a 40-41" waist and I look almost exactly the same. My face is thinner and my torso is more tapered (which isn’t apparent as I wear loose clothing) but that is about it. So I figure why bother losing another 30 lbs.
I guess you want(ed) tips too.
All I did was start counting calories and exercising. Before I lost weight I exercised and did 30 minutes of aerobics 3x a week. Somehow I gained weight doing this. When I started dieting I cut calories about 1500 below maintenance and started exercising 4-5x a week. 1500 calories may be too many to cut so I would recommend closer to a 1000 cut below maintenance. I have no idea what my maintenance is anymore. I think it actually went up since I started dieting because by my calculations I should be gaining weight and I am not.
For food I already said what I tried to eat. High protein, high dairy, low fat, low glycemic index (GI) foods.
Overall, start exercising regularly (you are doing that), try to cut calories about 500-1000 below ‘maintenance’ and eat healthier and you should lose weight. At least at first.
I have lost about 45 pounds in the last 6 months. I started running about 10 miles a week and cut down on calories. Actually I started by walking about five miles a week and worked my way up from there.
I was pushing 200 lbs. about 13 years ago. I’ve been at 160 lbs. for the past 10 years.
Here’s how I did it:
I took up running. I run every day.
Unless it’s a special occasion, I do not eat fatty food. This means I don’t eat fried food, fast food, ice cream, butter, etc. I also don’t eat much red meat.
I eat less.
I followed the same plan and lost 65 pounds in 9 months. I never went to a meeting and never exercised.
Well, I lost the first 40 from Jan - March or so without any exercise whatsoever. The next 45 was with the walking. In August I went on vacation (for about 3 weeks) and went off. Put on ~15 pounds, because I was eating absolutely horribly and not doing my walks. I casually returned to the Atkins over the next couple of weeks and lost that 15 back out. I’ve gone back to walking every day and eating strictly on Atkins and I’m dropping 2 - 3 pounds weekly (this week, anyway. It varies). I’m currently down 88 overall.
A little over four years ago I was at 165 pounds. I dropped to 145 in about three months, and I’m currently at 139.
First, exercise. As I had no car when I left my parents and went to college, I had to ride my bike to classes, and to anyhwere else I wanted to go. That helps a lot. I would estimate that I rode one hour per day on weekdays, and two hours on weekends. During summers I do serious hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking. At 20-25 hours per week of strenuous exercise, I find that I can eat just about any amount of anything and not gain weight.
During the rest of the year my diet is as follows.
Breakfast: Whole grain cereal with low fat milk, orange juice, fresh fruit.
Lunch: Sandwich with whole grain bread, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Peanut butter and jelly also works. Fresh veggies on the side, and also sometimes yogurt. And V8 juice. V8 juice is your friend.
Dinner: Different every night. Pasta is good, stir fry with tofu is good, fish is good, lasagna or something else with tons of cheese is not so good but sometimes I can’t resist. I never eat red meat during the school year, but sometimes I do during summer.
Snacks: None. Ever. I believe this is the most important key to losing weight and keeping it off.
I’ve lost heaps of weight over the years but I’ve always managed to regain it all. (Think of Elizabeth Taylor and/or Oprah Winfrey but less money.) I never have dificult losing the weight, I just can’t keep it off.
I’ve lost >40kg in the last year but it’s sneaking back on again.
For some people, especially those who are trying to eat smaller meals, *especially * when they are trying to become more physically active, this is unrealistic. When you are excercising more, your metabolism increases and your body uses up its fuel more quickly. As a result you may be even hungrier between meals than you were before you started exercising.
A better strategy for these people (I am one) is to eat snacks that are good for you. You can’t make it from breakfast to lunch? Eat a rice cake (they come in all kinds of flavors these days). Eat a banana or an apple. Eat any kind of whole grain/low fat snack that you can’t metabolize quickly. Better to do this than fight it, lose, and end up with one of the donuts some fool brought to work in your hand.
I think this is very good advice. When I ran my first marathon, I was absolutely starving all the time. It’s an extreme comparison, but if you up your physical activity, you’ll burn more calories regardless, and your body will note the deficiency and you’ll be hungry. Anyway, I made sure I had healthy snacks available for between meals because if I didn’t, by the time dinner rolled around I ate way too much, and I ate whatever was immediately available, like chips and cakes and heaping servings of other convenience foods (my roommate at junk food constantly and was always pushing it on me). By taking the time to prepare healthy snacks ahead of time, I not only lost weight, but I also felt better because I was putting higher-quality food in my body rather than junk. It improved my running because I felt better and more energetic (eating too much at one time makes me tired later, and hurts my stomach), and I dropped weight consistently but slowly and managed to keep it off, at least until I went on DepoProvera. Since I went off Depo, I started losing weight again. Hopefully I’ll be back to my first marathon weight in about six or seven months.
So, yeah, I think snacks are actually a good idea, as long as you eat healthfully. If you’re starving all the time, sooner or later you’re going to overcompensate for the lack of food. In my humble opinion of course.