I used to be about 60 pounds underweight. B-12 deficiency equals no appetite, and I had it throughout childhood and early adulthood...

I can recommend everything not to do to gain weight because I know all the tricks now. If that helps any...

Don't eat Chinese food.

Congratulations on getting it under control.

From the inactivity I had to go through from getting hit by that damn blue mini van. A new quest of body image for me, woo.

It happened on March 25th of this year. I was walking on the crosswalk, then *wam* (that's a very condensed version of events.) She pled guilty. I had two hairline fractures on my right hip. There's an issue that just cropped up, but it'll probably work itself out.

just try to limit how often or the portion size of the bad stuff.

A few years ago, I dropped about 25 lbs over 6 months or so by using Caloriecount.com and doing about 30 minutes of cardio 3-4 times a week. I've kept some of it off, but stopped the exercising a couple years ago and gained about 15 back. To me, it's all about the exercise because I have trouble cutting calories and giving up my beer and/or wine. When I exercise, I can't pretty much eat/drink what I want, but when I don't, I'll slowly gain.

when it comes to weight .

that is what is missing in my latest efforts, so I guess I should work on that too to get my metabolism moving a little faster.

I took a long time (years) to do it. I was very deliberately slow, since I wanted to do what I could live with. NO crash or fad diets!

I've gotten a bit sloppy recently, and about 5 or 6 pounds have crept back. I am unhappy about it...

I felt well while I was doing it, mostly because I was being slow. I also worked out some. This really helps.

You will extend your life by getting the weight off!

Good luck!

And I agree. I don't think I have the motivation for any crash diet anyhow.

I tried and mainly succeeded in eating smaller portions, esp. with desserts.

I really wanted to eat what I always eat. I am mainly a sensible eater, with healthy snacks and lots of water. NO fast food and no soft drinks, but I never had those habits anyway.

Crash diets work.........but when you stop, the weight goes back on. If you eat sensibly all the time and exercise, you will lose the weight.

That says it all right there, I guess. My senior year of high school, I quit all my clubs, quit the swim team, which I had been on since sophomore year, and just ballooned in weight.

The Army took it all right back off again.

20-odd years later, I was in PA School, sitting in class all day, eating and not exercising. I saw a picture of myself taken right before I started clinical rotations. I couldn't believe how much weight I gained. I vowed that no matter how tired I was after a day of clinic, I was going to come home and put in an hour on my elliptical walker.

And that's what I did. I parked my elliptical walker in front of my TV, put on a DVD of one of my favorite shows, and started cranking.

Less than a year later, I had lost 40lbs.

I'm thinking something like this will be part of my plan.

At one time, I used to walk 6 miles a day 5 days a week because work was 3 miles away in a walking city. I could eat anything, and I was a little underweight, but healthy as a horse.

Today, 1 hour. Some days it'll be 1/2 an hour, plus 30-45 minutes of free weights. 2 days out of the week, I take a rest.

Let us know how it goes...

It's not easy, but it's worth it. Best wishes to you.

Quite a few years ago. Richard's program is a very simple diet and exercise program, much like Weight Watchers but with an exercise component. In a year and a half I lost more than a hundred pounds. It was healthy, simple, and can be done by anyone. Some days I did his videos, some days I walked for about 45 minutes, and I gave myself one day a week off.

And I stopped and slowly regained quite a bit, though far from all. But I'd recommend it. I'd also recommend Weight Watchers plus a simple daily exercise routine, and hope for no more than a couple of pounds a week, which is what I lost.

Btw I knew him at the time, and that was fun too.

but I've used his Sweatin' to the Oldies---1 through 4---and I loved working out with them. I liked the music and I thought they were fun. I liked how each got a little more difficult. I lost a good amount of weight doing them too.

They got me to the point I'm running 3 miles a day now. A friend of mine started using doing them and she loves them. She's losing a good amount of weight.

If it wasn't for his dvds to get me started, I don't if I would have gotten started.

I did them years ago and liked them, that's why I went back to them. Now, I'm a workout machine.

I still do them, I love Richard, I wish he got more credit. I have a feeling he helped a lot of people.

Congrats on your weight loss.

I liked the fact that I didn't get bored with the videos. Similar enough to learning a dance routine to keep me thinking. Zumba is much the same, at a higher level. I wasn't that old when I did that but these days, in my 50s, I feel left out of most commercial efforts to promote weight loss. If I was smart, I'd take it up myself.

For me it was calorie counting plus exercise. And for me, calorie counting is a lot easier with one rule of thumb: don't drink your calories. Water is good! (I'd given up fizzy sugar (and fake sugar) water long before...)

My goal was ~45 minutes exercise 3 days a week, but I was following guidelines on the free MyFitnessPal web site whereby you can "eat back" exercise calories. That is, if you estimate you burned 300 calories exercising, you can eat an additional 300 calories that day. My calorie level was set for a theoretical weight loss of 1 pound/week. I would have been happy with half that, but as it turned out I lost weight faster, I think because I set it assuming I was sedentary (so I counted things like walking to work as exercise), which probably underestimated my activity level.

So anyway, I wound up exercising a lot more than that (mainly walking and biking, both on a stationary bike and on a real bike). By summer I was taking 15-20 mile rides about 4-5 days a week.

The rest is becoming fanatical about recording what you eat. The web site (and app) takes care of the details; you can look foods up (though beware, some entries are inaccurate). Oh, and buy a digital kitchen scale (I like to log everything in grams).

What also helped me was not sacrificing variety (I'd eat less of any one thing, but still felt I wasn't deprived if I noticed I was still eating lots of different things). And I worked hard to be sure I had enough calories at the end of the day for some ice cream.

Southern Comfort Manhattan, but since I only have one, and only one or two days a week, I am thinking I can work it in.

I need to get back in the MFP routine, but that has to wait until I finish this experiment I'm doing...

It took me 2 years because I cheated (by design) every weekend. Basically low-fat and lots of exercise. I exercised (using videos and a stationary bike) for an hour m-f and 2 hours on Saturday. Only took off Sunday.

Also, the exercise.

Thank you!

I read the 4 Hour Body, phased in his rules bit by bit, and the weight loss was pretty easy. I had a hard time going from the plan (which is strict 6 days a week, anything goes on day 7) to maintenance, after I got to my ideal weight. Maintenance slipped into old eating patterns and over the last year I gained back 20 of the 40, I'm just now getting back into the swing of seriously following it again. This morning was actually the first time I faced the scale in months, actually.

The four hour plan is nothing sugar based for the 6 days, but no rules on the 7th. Sugar based includes grains, starches like potatoes, fruit, and milk. I had a lot of steak, chicken, beans and lentils, salad, and veggie omelets. The exercise was limited, 15 minutes a day, but high intensity, like kettle bell swings. Lots of water.

I eventually phased in some running even though that's not on his plan because I wanted to know if I could still run 30 years after getting out of the army. I used the couch to 5K training program for that. Despite gaining back the 20 pounds, I can still run a half hour with no breaks now. (2 years ago, I was winded running for 2 minutes.)

Some of the stuff from 4 hour body was unexpectedly helpful in other areas of my life. I expected it to help me lose weight. I had no idea it would help solve a lifetime issue with insomnia.

Congratulations on the weight loss and the better lung capacity (which is another one of my goals.) And thank you.

.
.
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and maintaining it.

At one point, I was down to 124 pounds - the result of rotting teeth.

At 5' 10" - that's just a wee bit on the scrawny side.

Now up to about 150 - feel better when I'm 160.

Teeth, at least the ones my body was growing are all gone now - so health is improving.

All my siblings have no weight problem - so I'm fortunate.

I require a heck of a lot of nutrients to maintain my weight - I can drink all the beer I can handle, eat junk food, pasta, whatever, and never get over 160.

It ain't fair, is it?

CC

My sister has to fight underweight, and I know it's difficult.

Glad you are winning the battle.

on Weight Watchers in 1997 and have maintained ever since. Not that I don't fluctuate a few pounds here and there but there have been relatively few times over the past 16 years that I've been more than 2 pounds over my goal weight.

hardest to me. I really want to make changes in my habits so I can do it. Congratulations.

Hi,
I quit drinking beer because of some medication I started taking and I started bicycling a lot more. I lost probably 15 or so within a couple months and the rest over a year or so. I felt great, but now I am cycling even more and am having a hard time keeping weight on, I can't really lose any more weight. My cholesterol still is too high though, it sucks. Good luck to you.

Peace

I actually bought a bike last year, which I love and haven't made the time to use as much as I would like. Cycling seems to have worked for a lot of people here.

Sorry about the cholesterol. I am trying to stay off medication. My plan is to do everything I can without it, and take it if it's still high after I've changed my diet and lost some weight, and incorporated exercise more regularly.

Sounds like you have done all that. It does suck, but we are lucky that the meds are there for us when we really need them.

Thanks for the information and good luck back at you!

over about a 2 1/2 year period. I ate smaller portions at lunch & dinner, breakfast was usually coffee, juice and toast or a bagel. I always had a snack in the evening, usually crackers and cheese, or herring. Water and diet soda were my picks for liquids.

I kept the weight off until a few years back. I broke my hip, it was a bad repair by a bad surgeon. I had rehab and more surgeries. I gained about 30 of it back.

But in the last year I lost the 30 and am back to my 90 lb. loss. I am so glad I never gave any of my clothes away.

No exercise was in my weight loss program, but if I had added it, I might have lost the 90 lbs. quicker.

I am sorry about your hip, but very impressed with your willpower at being able to lose major weight twice like that. Hope the hip is back to working for you. That is a really difficult thing. I know a lot of people who got those bad titanium hips that failed. It's a heartbreaker when you go through the pain of fixing a joint, and then have to go back to square one because it was done wrong.

Went from obese 260 down to about 135, dangerously thin. Wanted to lose weight but it became an obsession and part of my emotional problems. I'm back up past 260 again and need to lose weight again. Dam I hate myself

I am so sorry that happened to you! But don't hate yourself!

I can see how it could become an obsession, and it does for many many people. It took so much will power for you to lose all that weight. It seems logical that you have the will power to plug away at the emotional problems and come to a place of peace. Good luck. Give yourself a break!

I'm coming to learn that one of the corner stones of my emotional struggles is obsession. I don't have OCD but I'm very much a perfectionist and when I get into something it does become a very conscious obsession. This has some very positive aspects to it, I've always done very well in school, I have the will power to power through things that others might not be able too. I can harness this obsession to accomplish things. The flip side is that it can very much destroy you whole life as well.

between the end of my junior year til the day I graduated hs. I worked my ass off, and ate next to nothing. I didn't feel healthy while doing it, and no I didn't keep it off as a matter of fact I gained it all back and then some.

In HS I walked 6 miles a day, stair stepped for 40 minutes, did fast repetition on weight machines, joined track and field and ran for two hours every day, and worked on my parents house for 4hrs a day(about a month into my weight loss we had a house fire and we got the house back to normal the day before I graduated hs).

Such a lot of work and pain. So I imagine we are on the same journey of trying to find a healthy and maintainable way to get healthy. Good luck to you!

took me about 6-8 years, actually. My "plan" was a lot like California Peggy's above. Mostly just watching portion sizes and watching when I eat. It's a good idea to not eat anything for the last 2 hours (if you can manage it) before bedtime.

I did switch to a healthier diet---more veggies, anyway. I also drank a lot of water, not much else other than coffee. I tried to cut out as many sweets and other wasted calories as possible, but not completely. One needs a treat now and then. But my heaping bowl of ice cream just before bed had to stop.

I tried to avoid HFCS in foods as much as possible.

I've never been able to work an exercise program, so that wasn't in there, but I did do simple things like take the stairs for anything 3 floors or less and don't drive to places that are only a few blocks away.

For me, it was as much about lifestyle changes as much as anything. Can't do crash diets and I hate pills, so I had to do it the old fashioned way.

I started at about 265#. Currently, I'm sitting right around 225. I fluctuate a little bit, but if I see myself over 230# I start to kick myself to get back under that. I'm still technically a bit overweight, I guess, but I'm much more comfortable than I was at 260.

in the evening. So thanks for the suggestion.

I do need to think of this as a lifestyle change, because the issues I am seeing are issues of age, and I'm not going to get any younger. So your plan is helpful to me. Thank you.

Most of us hear the word "diet" and cringe, because it is associated with all kinds of hardships and sacrifice. But diet is a simple word. All it actually means is: what we eat. Anything we eat is part of our diet. And one of my problems was that my lifestyle in general-not just my eating habits-was pretty undisciplined.

Some of my weight problem is age related. I did all that in my 50's. It can be done.

Most of all, remember: It is worth it. You are worth it.

The longer I go, the easier it is to tune out all of the fad diets and ads for various pills and magic elixers. None of that shit will work if it isn't coupled with the lifestyle change. And none of it is generally necessary if you do the change. Some people may need that kind of help, but most don't. Not really.

Late add: One other thing I did was run a weight log. I weighed in, daily or several times a week. Weigh in at the same time every day, best is first thing in the morning, before you eat or drink anything significant. That's when your weight is probably at it's lowest all day. Very important caveat, though. Never make any change to your diet or routine based on a single day's weight number. It's best to get 7-10 days, at least, of trend numbers before you start thinking, "I'll have to switch to all salads for a week" or something equally as absurd.

Many people maintain a food log. I was never able to do that, but it's not a bad idea. As above, focus on the long term affects, not just single day data points.

I call it losing my 'winter weight'

In February I was up to 197. I'm down to 167.

Landscaping will do that...

You must have some garden! Or is that your profession? In which case, I am a little jealous. Always seemed to me like it would be such a rewarding job. Though I do imagine it is backbreaking.

It is a rewarding job. Not without its challanges, good days and bad...however, I love my job. Unfortunateltly it is rough on the body...

How did I do it? With the support of my wife...we did Weight Watchers together. Then changed it up by trying the Engine 2 Vegan program for a month through Whole Foods.
By realizing it was a lifestyle change, not a diet, so no going back
By making it a priority for the right reasons - my health and hoped for longevity
By being active and enjoying it
To allow me to live with my damaged knees as long as possible before replacements

Biggest thing I do now - write down everything I eat every day - food diary - total honesty - for 2.5 years now.
And we live by the "if it isn't in the house we won't eat it" edict -
And falling in love with veggies, fruit, grains, legumes
And using genuine portion control (and will power!)

57 years old, 6 feet tall. went from 258 to 196. I waver between 196 and 208 - depending upon the season and my activity level. Currently at 201 and dropping.

I've never felt better in my life.

Good luck!

Portion control is something I always have good intentions for, but I'm a good cook, so I always seem to find myself going back to the pan for another taste. Or 30. Does your portion control just depend on will power, or do you have things you do to keep you from going over the portion?

About your knees: I know nothing about your condition, but just in case this is helpful, there are some surgeries out there now where they resurface the knee rather than replacing it. It is kind of amazing and a whole lot less invasive than replacement. Of course not for everyone, but if it is for you it might save a lot of pain and rehab. The one my relative had was called a Repicci 2, and I think it was originated by a guy in the Mayo Clinic. She was home the next day, and walking immediately with little pain. It has lasted a long time, too.

to make the lifestyle change and do it, which is why I hate the diet term; to me, diet means doing something different for a time to be able to go back to prior behavior. I've just made the decision to eat less, eat healthier, and avoid the trigger foods - chips, sweets, etc - things with lots of fat, salt, and sugar - that make you want more even if you don't need more.

I find myself starting to take pride in the discipline - it makes me feel good about myself, about taking control of my life, health, and what and how much I eat.

The knees - I've got torn ACLs in each, and torn menisci in each - one knee is bone on bone. At near 260, walking was painful. At 196, no more pain....although I find taking a series of herbs for the last 10 years (boswellia, turmeric along with glucosamine, daily) has really helped - even for this very skeptical PhD chemist who worked in Pharma! If it is the placebo effect, who cares...it works for me!

No soft drinks or fruit juice. Just drink water, coffee, or tea.
Walk 2 miles every day. If some of it is uphill, that's even better.
No desserts.

Those three things alone will take the pounds off most people. I lost 15 pounds on that.

I am already on coffee and water (and a couple of Manhattans each week), but the two miles seems like I could put it in each day as a real lifestyle change.

I know I'll try weights and other cardio stuff too, but I bet the two miles could be something I could easily put in as a lifestyle change.

Good suggestion. Thanks.

It took around four months. Juice for breakfast, salad for lunch, a light dinner and plenty of exercise. I have slipped in my ways and gained back 5 pounds. I still watch what I eat; however, I am too busy these days to squeeze in enough exercise.

Through Weight Watchers. Say what you will about WW, but the program worked for me with its food tracking method. I went through the program back in the 1980s, where it was basically the diabetic diet where you kept track of "exchanges." I went through the program again last year when I finally admitted to myself that my weight was creeping back up. The new program is based on points, and is much, much more flexible and easier to live with. You get a set number of points for the day, plus extra weekly points for treats and such. Foods are given a certain number of points that you deduct from your daily total.

My accompanying exercise the first time was walking; this time it's running. Although I've now gotten away from strict tracking, I am still very mindful of what I eat and how much. Basically, it's just being aware of and accountable for what goes into my mouth.

My advice is find a program that you're comfortable with, and think you can follow without resenting it and feeling deprived. Also, increase your exercise, even if it's just walking. I lost more than 60 pounds the first time just through following the plan and walking.

Once you lose the weight though, don't fall into the trap of thinking you don't have to stay on top of your weight. That's what happened to me; luckily I caught things just in time.

Good luck -- you can do it! Keep us posted on your progress.

EDIT: Oh, and my time frame: First time, about a year. (Much heavier then.) This last time, four months.

When I was younger I would go on it every spring to lose the 7 or 8 pounds I always gained over the winter. It used to work for me like a charm. For years. For about the last 15, though, it doesn't seem to.

I will probably come up with something like you describe. There are a lot of sensible suggestions here, which I will use, probably using what I know from weight watchers as a framework. I do want it to be a lifestyle change, though.

I will keep you posted. Thank you for suggesting it!

I obviously don't know when you were last on the plan, but when I came back I was surprised at how flexible it is. You can eat just about anything, because you have the tools to figure out the points value. You're also taught how to recognize your triggers, and what foods you have to just avoid at all costs.

But I think simple portion control and regularly scheduled activity can work just as well, if you don't want to do an organized program.

I'm a stress eater. I felt much better though with the weight off. How I did it was after watching the below video and cutting all fructose except some whole fruits, walking for 30 min a day and limiting refined carbs in general.

It was my new year's resolution in 1999. I weighted 230 and wanted to get down to 170 which I reached by the end of June. I've kept it off (with minor fluctuations, especially during the tricky period from Thanksgiving to New Year's).

What worked for me was ruthless calorie counting. Once I hit 1200 I was done eating for the day, but I didn't restrict or emphasize any particular food items. I also exercised a lot; at least an hour a day six days a week.

It was tough for the first couple of weeks but after that I noticed that I felt a lot better. My overall mood was much improved and I slept a lot better at night.

Took me 8 months but probably could have done it more quickly if I hadn't occasionally gone off the program
for wine and dinners beyond the parameters.

I like the program. Lost the weight 3 years ago and have been maintaining. It's really about learning
WHAT to eat--lots of veggies, smaller portions, lean meats, less fat, good carbs. The program
encourages eating smaller meals/snacks about every 3-4 hours so you aren't hungry. Also, drink
lots of water.

If you go to the website, they've just posted winners of an annual contest. The woman, Kimberly H.,
http://members.nutrisystem.com/Tips-and-Recipes/News-Home-Page/Articles/Success-Stories/06212013_story1.aspx

is a friend who lost 61 lbs. I've met her twice. NS sponsors discussion groups/forums where you can interact
with others using the program.

I don't really like to cook, so I found the 'ready-made' meal portions great. You add in veggies, smart carbs, and protein choices. You will, though, eventually learn to cook new things (lots of recipes offered in the forums) so you can maintain your weight loss.

If you decide you want to try NS, send me a PM and I can help you get a 'new customer' discount. Also, Costco sells
NS gift cards at a reduced price so you can get $100. of product for usually, $79. Occasionally they have a 'sale' on the gift
cards and they become available for $49. GREAT deal to get $100. of NS product for $49.

On edit: I was 59 when I lost the weight. As I've gotten older it's become much more difficult to lose weight, and thus much more important to keep it off. Metabolism slows down as we age...just a fact of life. The NS plan is set up for the expectation of losing
1-2 lbs/week. Losing more slowly will definitely help you learn healthier new habits of eating which is so important in keeping the weight you lose off.

Also, if you can get yourself into a routine of exercising--even just walking several times a week--it will help a lot with the weight loss. I walk my dog every morning--fast walk for 45 minutes--and then we have a couple of slower walks--stop and sniff--for 15 or 20 minutes during the day, too.

I think I am going to do one more attempt to lose the weight with my own food. The problem is, as I have gotten older the weight has become very stubborn. This was OK, because there were a lot of years where I could eat a ton, or eat next to nothing, and my weight wouldn't budge. It was somewhat high, but no one seemed to notice. Now it is 15 pounds more than that, and it has to stop.

So I'm going to give myself the summer. If I can't get some weight loss going with a "lots of veggies and water, portion control and exercise" program, I may very well take you up on your offer for help with the discount.

Thank you so much.

including the use of myfitnesspal.com

I lost my job in banking in 2008 and at the time I weighed 214 lbs. (I'm 5'6). I now weigh 169 (I'd like to get to about 140-150).

I cut out anything that had HFCS in it (easier said than done as it is in EVERYTHING), stopped drinking anything but water, and watched my portions. I later joined a gym.

I've kept it off since.

Now I rarely eat more than 1000 calories a day. My biggest problem is that I don't really like most protein sources (I'm too cheap to eat meat often, not crazy about eggs, and don't like the texture of nuts). 90% of my protein comes from cheese sticks.

I have dropped from 240 to 180 and from 130 to 195 twice in the the last 20 years. My wife tells me that I am best between 195 and 215.