Hey gals/gents!!! I'm going to explain how I went from a size 12L to a size 8L in a matter of weeks. I am NOT a licensed dietitian nor am I a weightloss expert but I'm simply explaining how I lost weight in a healthy way that didn't require a gym membership! First off I must say that my weight fluxuates around 150-158 and I am 5'11" tall. I used to eat mainly junk food and stuff loaded with sugar! My goal was to get into a size 6L and I'm almost there but most of my friends think I am too skinny as is. My job requires me to walk and stay on my feet all day. Shifts vary for me at work as I am employed in a bar/restaurant. I walk an average 20+miles per week at work which helps and I also switched my diet and cut out completely no FAST FOOD!!!! I started going to the farmers market for fruits and vegetables and depending on what is in season ends up being much much cheaper than regular grocery store chains, plus you are literally helping the local economy direct and cutting out big box chains. Not only that you are generally outside in the fresh air and it's an overall positve experience. I have ONE cheat day which includes a meat of my choice from either chicken, beef or pork and whatever else sounds good for a desert. I absolutely under no circumstances drink anything that says DIET on it which includes any type of soda. Lots of people will drink "Naked" drinks thinking they are healthier for you which in fact they are NOT healthy alternatives. If you want a good drink like that buy the ingredients and make one at home with a blender or ninja blender!!! I also switched from Vitamin D Whole milk to Soy/Almond milk. Vanilla soymilk is an excellent substitute and can also be used with fresh oats for a power packed breakfast and with the vanilla you don't need to add sugar!!! When I'm craving something sweet I run to a fresh fruit instead of candy or stuff with artificial flavors. So bottom line, I changed my diet, and started excersizing before work and days off. Bicycling is an excellent way to excersize!!! I also have been using my S HEALTH from Samsung which tracks your daily steps and shows progress over other S HEALTH users. I'm not sure if Apple has something similar as I'm strictly an android user for life. I hope this helps! Feel free to add to this as I would love to see everyone make the choice to eat healthier and get in great shape! You will feel much better I promise!!

Very cool! Not far off my plan on which i lost a lot of weight on.

1. Fruits and veggies increased dramatically (love our farmers market)
2. Bullet blender drink concoctions
3. Carbs and processed carbs particularly were reduced a lot (i maybe eat pasta once per month)
4. One cheat day per week, but i don't binge
5. Lean proteins every day but in small/modest quantities except for the cheat day- lots of eggs instead of meat
6. Eat something around every two hours

Haven't entirely cut out the diet drinks and i eat a ton of salt but i'm spiro.

Yay!!! I'm happy your eating healthier!!! Don't you feel so much better inside!! I have to be careful with sodium and some greens as I'm prone to kidney stones but lemon water helps break them up and I've noticed I don't get flank pains as much anymore. I'm hoping after I start HRT again shortly I won't be hungry all the time. I'm almost into a size 6L and my coworkers think I'm too skinny as is but I just think 6L is my goal! My cheat day was Jack in the Box last week and I regret it. Literally NEVER eating fast food ever again. I don't care if I am with a group of people and have to go out of the way to eat somewhere else that's healthy. I'm also going to try and keep something healthy on me to snack on always. I am trying to curb eating so much at once even with healthy foods I think there is supposed to be a limit. I am going to purchase "Skinny Bitch In the Kitch" again since the last set was lost. It has some great ways to slim down but exercise is still important I hope more people read this and contribute or at least get inspired to make that first step to eating healthy. I can goto the farmers market with $10 usd and get veggies and fruit that will last me a week. I may have to eat the same things multiple times but at the end of the day I'm not starving and I've eaten something completely healthy! Thanks for your reply!!!

Thanks!

My appetite on HRT is significantly higher than pre-HRT so it really takes work and management, but the results are so worth it. Eating small amounts often has been a key for me.

I totally hear you on fast food. My family always wants to hit one of those places at least one weekend day. The "side salads" and other healthy items at those places are so bland...yuck

I'm trying to watch my salt a little, there has to be a limit to it regardless of how fast my body passes it through. I literally drink pickle juice some days. So far my kidneys remain quite healthy. My other love is celery ( go figure it is one of the saltiest veggies) 

I exercise every day too - only hard exercise 2-3 times a week but exercise none the less.

Congrats on getting closer to your ideal weight and feeling healthier, Jenn. I used to be a very small framed guy but after high school I started gaining weight like crazy. I'm only 5'1, my weight back in high school was 110 lbs. The biggest I got was in 2013 during my first pregnancy at a whopping 180 lbs. After having two kids I'm back down to 130-150 (I keep fluctuating between those sizes). Chasing after and constantly picking up super active toddlers helped a lot (I guess it all counts as cardio and weight lifting lol) and cutting out fast food helped too. It gets tempting when the rest of the family wants fast food but I can't eat too much of it because of a bladder condition anyway so avoiding it all together is working out for the best. I have a bullet blender as well but haven't been using it as much as I should. Oh, and I just remembered this tip about losing weight I read about a long time ago. During meals if you take one sip of water after every bite, you get full faster and don't take in as much food. I've had a bad habit of going from eating huge meals to just starving myself and eating one small thing at the end of the day. That's been very counterproductive and has only caused me to binge and gain it all back. I've been struggling with cutting out sugar too cause it's so addictive.

Well I am by no means perfect in any way shape or form. I just got a size 6 jeans in the mail today and they fit but they are snuuuuug!! An issue I'm trying to fix is that I make too much portions for myself. I need to learn to make my meals for the week and freeze them. Or make smaller portions so nothing goes to waste.

Quote from: JeNn_DeViLz on August 11, 2016, 12:17:14 PM
Well I am by no means perfect in any way shape or form. I just got a size 6 jeans in the mail today and they fit but they are snuuuuug!! An issue I'm trying to fix is that I make too much portions for myself. I need to learn to make my meals for the week and freeze them. Or make smaller portions so nothing goes to waste.

Now you making me feel bad  I wear a 16 and am considering trying a 14. I am in the middle of my weight range and I don't think I could squeeze a size 12 over my hip bone. When your 6'2 and 170 pounds, there is no point in looking at the smaller sizes.

My parents think I'm too thin already but my younger sister is much smaller than me. I know things will change after being on HRT for so long. That starts next month on the 15th. You probably wear tall i'm assuming, I have to get tall also when getting jeans. I am comfortable with a 33" inseam which is kind of hard to find sometimes. I don't have an obsessive control on my weight and I know it will probably fluctuate over time which is fine I would like a bigger butt honestly but still have a nice stomach. I walk on average 30 miles at work in 4 days per week. That comes out to 1560 miles and thats just an average. If the night is busier I'll walk more it just depends. But alas the season will be slowing down soon for winter and all I will have to enjoy is the regular company and parties that may become. If I had a larger space I could buy a muay thai bag and go back to training again. I have considered writing a post/topic on muay thai to see how many people were interested.

I've lost (and kept off) 60 lbs over the course of the last two years simply by cutting out soda and riding a bicycle a minimum of 16 miles a day.

I've managed to get my weight down to 135 pounds, my goal is 130. I'm 5' 7" tall
I was 170 pounds 2 years ago.
I go for a brisk 3 mile walk every day, alas my job involves sitting at a desk, so no real exercise there.
I've cut down a lot on what I eat, and I count the calories, not obsessively, just try to keep below 1500 per day. If I can stay below 1000 per day, then that's when I see the best results. The occasional fasting day helps too.
No junk food, limited sweets and snacks, and I've cut down on bread intake, this has helped a lot.
Try to eat at least one meal that's just salad per week. Changed from normal milk to almond milk.
Don't add sugar to anything. Avoid "diet" drinks or foods.
Actually all I drink nowadays is water, maybe flavoured a bit with a little cordial, with the exception of my smoothie for breakfast. No hot drinks, no alcohol.
I still have a biscuit and sometimes a choccy bar or packet of crisps now and then.
If my boyfriend insists on a massive take-away meal, I'll order something with just boiled rice and chicken if possible, and then I only eat a small amount of it and throw the rest away.
I have recently started doing a workout exercise routine on weekdays, not weekends, which seems to be helping a lot.
Some days I have cravings, and it's hard to stay strong, but just as often, I have days where I don't actually want to eat anything at all.
Depression also kills my appetite completely, although that's not great dieting advice.