Hi there Sherri,
Yep, "got lost" for a bit but am back. Since I've been back I'm down 7 lbs in 2 1/2 weeks. This site DOES WORK!!! I have learned, nothing else will for me. I've tried WW's too. Calories in, calories out. It's that simple folks. No green coffee pills, or Sensa sprinkle or other gimmicks are going to work. This site is so easy and I have all my regular foods in, it takes me seconds to log. I have ramped up my exercise now that it's nice out where I live. I'm biking all the time and walking, so that has certainly helped and that also makes me not want to ruin my intake with a sweet. I have a terrible sweet tooth!! Thanks for all the support out there and good luck to all. I'll repeat Sherri's cheer "yay for all of us!" :)

Haven't seen any posts from you in a while - but I didn't post anything new for a month or so either. ANYWHO - I lost about 30 pounds six years ago on Weight Watchers and I DID gain all that back. For me, Weight Watchers had a couple of drawbacks, 1) Paying $12 dues each week to attend the meetings; and 2) TOO MUCH MATH figuring out points. I just want to know how many calories in a food and then eat it or not. That's just me though and whatever works for a person is what they should do, whether it's WW or Jenny Craig or something else. For me, though, I get SO MUCH MORE ENCOURAGMENT here than anywhere else and that is what keeps ME going. YAY FOR ALL OF US!!!

To all the posters - your posts are really helpful. Keep posting! Sherri - congrats on your success. I would love to be 130. I am still working at it. Once I lost a chunk I sabotage myself and gain back. It's a pattern with me and I don't understand it. But I am going strong again. I have a vacation in August to keep me motivated.

ABSOLUTELY!! I'm there now! I lost 54 pounds last year in about 7 months and now I haven't lost (or gained) anything since November. But, I"m still doing what I was doing - eating healthy and exercising. Maybe this is where I'm supposed to be. I'll take 130 over 184 ANY DAY!! Hang in, Gang!!

Too many buffets.... to much food and drinks consumed.... but I think my body didn't realize all the stuff I ate cause I only gained 2 lbs! Perhaps I just thought it was alot of food cause I was eating like a bird before. Anyway... back to eating like a bird. It was nice to over indulge and get it all out of my system!

I know exactly what you mean. The problem is that your body has learned how you were fooling it before and it has adapted. You need a new routine and an altered diet from the first time around. Look up "burst training" as a way to kick start your body's weight loss again. And good luck!

Has anyone else had the difficulty with the second time go 'round trying to lose weight? The weight I initially lost seemed to come off easy, then I gained some back, and now it seems like no matter what I do its 3x slower. Not seeing any results is making it hard to stay focused, ya know?

I feel the same way, Brook. I jumped in here a couple of years ago and dropped 115 pounds in total. Then I got cocky and was only tracking periodically, and like a lot of the stories here, I started gaining. When I had put 30 back on, I finally came back to the simplicity of this site and I am moving back down again. I hope I have finally learned my lesson!

I started using the site 2 years ago when I began turning my life around. This site (diet & exercise) helped me lose 40lbs in about 8 months. I kept most of it off for the past year but the holidays threw me way off the past six months and I gained about 10-12 pounds back. So I'm back, and hoping to drop these 10 pounds by July when I get to be a bridesmaid in my friends wedding. I'm not only trying to reduce calorie intake but reduce carbs as well. Sounds like you are all doing great! Keep up the hard work (made easier by using calorielookup.com!!

I'm so thankful for this site. Had a great 50 pound weight loss but then got sick and couldn't exercise and got lazy about my cooking/eating habits....before I knew it, 10 pounds I'd lost were finding me again :-( I hadn't been using this site for about 6 months and know that by coming back I can get this back on track to where I was and had stayed for almost 2 years!

Hi sherrikeri, thank you for the great tips :) I lost 10 lbs in Jan! woohoo Now on to Feb. Hope all my fellow calorielookup friends are having success too.

Thanks for the post Sherri. That was encouraging! I tried to email the webmaster and it came back undeliverable. So who knows? Just glad it is back and that you've been using it for so long gives me hope it will remain up and running. It is so easy to use compared to other sites I checked out while this was down. I am very reliant on this to keep me on track. Sticking to 1200 and have lost 5 so far this month - and the month is only half over! I will exceed my goal this month. It works!! Congrats on the 54!

Have been tracking every morsel and measuring, weighing, following labels and day 9 I finally see the scale drop 2 lbs. Just the motivation I needed. Have only been able to get in 2 workouts on my weight machine, but starting slow with the exercising. Once I kick that in more, weight should really start to come off. It's one day at a time for me. I don't look past that. Each day I just try to hit my 1200 and is it ever hard to fight the urges of my past habits - late night cracker snacking in bed, stopping off to get a sandwich on the way home cause I'm starving... I am not going to fail. 2013 is my good luck year, and good luck to all.

Starting back up! The holidays were not good to me! Ate and drank WAY too much.....

After 2 years away I am back. This has always been a great site and I look forward to using it to get back to where I need to be.

Today is the first day of my husband and I`s healthy lifestyle. I`m so excited to find this website.

Just haven't done it in a couple of weeks but still sticking to me eating habits. It must throw out the calculations...

Thanks for your response. Happy for you and diverbob too! :)

Hoping for size 36 before Christmas. And I intend on continuing to even lower weight going just on the look of the fat on me.

I have not stepped on a scale in almost 4 months and really have no idea what I weigh.

Thanks for everyone's inspiration.

I was eating 1200 calories or less per day. Some days more like 1000. I'm also a runner and was training for a half marathon that was at the end of Oct so I was doing a lot of running. After the race I really slacked off the last 4 weeks or so. My friends and I are planning on doing another 12 week competition starting in Jan. Everyone that entered paid $10 so I atually won the $100 prize at the end! At least that was a bit of an incentive...

Congrats! How many calories a day did you stick to and how much exercising did you have to do. Just curious. Again, great job! Thanks for sharing your success.

Finished off my BL contest with friends this past Wednesday. I lost a total of 15 lbs in the 12 weeks and actually won the contest for the biggest percentage lost! Now....to keep it going through the rest of the holidays! :)

Herbal tea is cheap, comes in many flavors and calorie free. I eat twice a day (healthily) and drink herbal tea when I get hungry after eating. I'm feeling a lot better. I usually have a glass or 2 of wine at night after 8pm.

feel great. I've got more energy coming back too!

ones when you burn fat and fit them jeans it feels great and alot better bieng in shape then a lazy person i pull myself everyday to walk 2 mile in the morninq and after noon

once your in the zone its great. Feel a lot better as the clothes are loosening up and I can start to think of digging back into the closet for stuff that I used to fit into.

Most important part is I feel better. Good luck to all!

I've started a Biggest Loser contest on FB with some friends. We are each trying to encourage each other and not get discouraged. I did really well with my weight loss several months ago and then fell off the wagon. I have a couple of 1/2 marathons scheduled so I'm really doing a lot of running and trying to drop a few pounds. This site has helped in the past so I'm back........

And still on plan. Hooooraaay

I don't think it should cause anything to break, but let me know if there are problems.

Cheers, Rick

Hello everyone, I mistyped my original weigh-in weight and it appears to be the only weigh-in that I cannot change or remove. Is there a trick to this?

Thanks, Hershel

been off the wagon and paid brutally for it. Been good since Tuesday morning. Not one morsel of food not allowed since then.

You have encouraged me that slow and stead will achieve my goal of 70 lb. Thanks for that. I have completed 15 weeks of tracking. Lost 26 lb. At week 12 I was sick, and a few days after that I helped move my kids.

I was really glad for my hours on the elliptical, as the soreness from the move was really a lot less, even though we had steps to to the second story apartment.

Then for the last week I have had overall muscle pain that my Dr. suspects is arthritis.

I decided that the best thing I can do is to slow down my exercise and weight loss. One pound a week will get me to my goal. It doesn't take as much focus either, so I can do other things.

I will take your advice and loose slowly! I call it being gentle with myself.

KE1BY - Enjoyed your biking post. Makes me want to get out there too - gave my bike to my son and need to buy a new one. You started your day off right and that will help you stay on track. For that reason, wish I could get myself out of bed in the morning and do a walk, but I keep opting for sleep. Keep doing the same thing, keep getting the same result..(or nonresult)! Change is hard. I keep telling myself I'll do it after work, but kids, dinner, homework, baths, etc. Then need sleep! Today is another day, so far so good on the diet part. To everyone out there trying to change for the better, you are not alone and good luck.

Went out early this morning. It was a little chilly this morning needed to wear a sweat shirt. I stated on the bike path in Warwick, RI. and ended in Coventry, RI about 7 miles in all. The bike path from Warwick to Coventry is mostly up hill (a slight up hill climb). My average speed up hill was between 5 an 7 MPH. Not bad for my physical condition. It was beautiful, cool and a little wind in my face. Not many people out this morn, some friendly some not so friendly. You know the kind you say good morning to and they don't hear or even see you, LOL. Oh well, the ride back was easier going down hill basicly, my average speed was between 12 and 16 mph. Total mileage about 15 miles. Will try to eat well the rest of the day so I don't undo what I did. Have a nice day.

Herbk

Just back after experimenting with an Atkins-like diet, all protein and fat and not much in the way of carbos. It's a little more difficult for me as I am a vegetarian, but I think it has promise, except I got only perfunctory support from my family. Some routines and habits are painfully difficult to change I'm afraid. I exercise a lot, have all my life, but even so, if I don't watch my diet that belly creeps back. Keeping track of calories through this very helpful website has proved to be the only effective, long-term solution for my weight control goals as I enter my sixth decade in this world. It's worth the effort I think! Best of luck to everyone!

HI, it's been a while, but I have got back into my routine I hope and will be tracking my progress once again. Last time I found that by entering my food intake and exercise I was able to loose weight without to much effort. Of course the amount of biking I did had an effect on my progress and also just watching what I ate. So here goes. I'm almost 66 yrs old, retired a heart patient and don't do much physical exercise other than starting to ride my bike again. My exercise is moderate and I don't ride like I'M TRAINING FOR THE OLYMPICS. When I get tired I stop and take a rest and shift gears often. I'll keep all informed of my progress or other. If there re any others in my bracket drop a line.

Dan, you're right, when I started, it was not routine, especially with a birth year of 1958, which it looks like we share. Try to get your biggest workout over first thing in the morning, which gives you the biggest bang for your buck so to speak. At that time you are working against your stored fat, whereas middle of the day workouts are working against what you have eaten today. Keep me posted on your progress!

Thanks, Crash. I have rest days and a day a week or two where I eat more. I am encouraged by how you make more or less 1000 C. a day of exercise sound routine. I guess in a few months it can become normal for me too.

Hey Dan. I don't get real technical about it, but I try to average around 1000 cal per day in just exercise, and then eat accordingly to maintain the differential. As to the 500 less than basic, I never really looked at that, but that seems to be about what I do on a daily basis, more or less. I usually have a reward day during the weekend, where I eat some things I really like, (within reason), and that keeps me sane. The only times I get into trouble are when I "reward" myself a couple of days in a row. Then it gets challenging!

115 pounds, wow!
How many calories are from exercise compared to calories from eating?

I have pushed myself up to some weeks averaging 1000 C. a day in exercise. This is an estimate, but I use more than one method to verify it. I thought I could get one more pound for the week from eating 500 C. less than basic metabolism. That is really proving to be a big challenge. What did you do?

My foot is not 100% yet, but I've been out walking every day this week. I find it's easier to get up in the morning when I'm exercising, not as sluggish. It took me a couple of weeks to get back in the groove and I am now comfortable at 1200/day without feeling starved. Evening snacking is a mental challenge! Crackers are my weakness. I made a house rule that no food can be eaten unless at the kitchen table and this has stopped a lot of binging in front of the TV at night. I'm down 3 lbs this week and that was just the motivation I needed. Hope you are all having a good week!

I have continued to use this site on a daily basis for over 1 1/2 years. It is simple but direct, and I was able to drop 115 pounds in about 9 months. Since then I moved into "the plateau", and experimented with many food and calorie differentials. I find that as long as I keep around an 800 calorie differential along with a strong exercise program, I can eat (almost) anything, within reason. I am gearing up to drop another 30 to hit my final goal, and think I can do it with about a 1200 daily differential. Thanks to Rick for keeping this site up!

dan58--I think you have discovered the formula for success. It HAS worked for me and I've kept it off by continuing to log food/exercise. Good Luck to you!

I enjoy reading your posts. It is motivating. Keep up the great work!

I love it when a plan comes together. I'm not sure I could stay the course of 40 weeks to loose this weight. However, by logging what I eat and how much I exercise I can keep the daily calorie burn 1000 C. higher than C. eat. I have lost 14 pounds so far.

Previously I asked about the daily activity level. What I discovered was that a high fat percentage lowers the daily calorie burn when compared to someone with less fat. I started at about 42% fat so the weight wasn't going as fast as predicted by the log. I adjusted my daily activity level to "no activity" and put all of the calories in a spread sheet. With 14 pounds lost the predicted loss is less than one pound from what the scales report. That's better than 90% accuracy. I think that as body composition improves the "no activity" will make the loss calculated from calories less than what is on the scales and at about 28% fat I should be able to use "normal activity". To reach my goal I need to average 1000 C. less eaten than burned. It is a great encouragement be sure that by eating and exercising in the right amount that next week I'll weigh 2 lb less. I choose lighter foods now than I did because they satisfy me more than the same calories would if I ate foods high in calories. The biggest change in my eating is that I often eat a whole cup of scrambled egg whites in the morning. The high protein is a great hunger blocker and without the yoke the calories are really low.


I hope that for today, and this week others will be able to reach their goal too.

No bad, just human. Good luck.

been a bad boy. But will try hard.

Thank you so much for your encouragement! :)

Hi skycat - hang in there! I don't think any of us can say we haven't slipped from time to time towards meeting our goals. The good thing is that tomorrow is a new day and you can get back on track then. The hunger will subside once your body adjusts to your new routine - things will get better! Hang in there - you can do it! Good luck!