Current weight and/or how much weight would you like to lose?

[AdamH1978]

Eat less food right?  I'm 5'10 220 and am tired of not being in shape.  I'm a size 36 waist and would love to be a size 34 or less.  I'm stocky so I'm not as rotund as 220 pounds might seem, but I'm chubby nonetheless. When I was 200 pounds 5 years ago for my wedding I didn't have a gut and had a size 34 waist.  What works/worked for you to lose weight?  What is your current weight and how much would you like to lose by years end?  This is usually the time of year where I start adding weight, but not this year.  I don't expect women to list their weight, but you can say how much weight you want to lose or have lost due to recent efforts.    

[acurtsinger2]

ive tried everything, but since i turned 35 a few years ago, i can smell food and gain, i just go ahead and eat what i want, not everyone is supposed to be skinny, some are just supposed to be in between

[ancmetro]

         
           I have lost 15 pounds already. You just have to concentrate and work hard at it. I need to shed 45 or 50 more pounds to be my ideal weight. I have lost these pounds using water pills, ALLI weight loss program (visit your local pharmacy and see if that plan is for you), natural exercise, plain walking, drinking lots of water and watching my diet. No breads, no pasta, no rice, no fried foods (only steamed or baked), no sodas, no sugar, low salt in whatever you eat...and many other hints you can find in magazines.

[PMZ908]

im 193 and think i should gain some weight

[tammypete]

I would love to lose about 10 pounds!  My problem is exercising!  Its hard for me to get motivated and stay motivated!  I might do pretty good for a couple of weeks...then I slack off!  Its sad because I feel much better when I do exercise on a regular basis!

[xSniperWolfx]

I used to weigh 225, but i'm actually down to like 180. Lots of water, some salt with every meal, a little bit of exercise, and smaller portions. Always drink water during your meals, not soda.

[sommap]

I would love to lose 50 lbs.  It is not easy, though. 

[cbrownell1]

Im am 6'ft tall and I weigh 185 but I would like to lose about 10-15 lbs then I would be my perfect weight. My biggest problem is that I have serious back problems and I can only do low impact exercises like walking, swimming, etc, but, if i could I would do something like P90X, Turbofire or Insanity.

[Abrupt]

I am 6'2" 212 and would like to add another 20 pounds or so.  It is difficult for me to gain though as I don't seem to have any predisposition to pack on fat (am getting older though and I know that will change) and have to train harshly and eat tremendous amounts to gain weight (and to some extent to maintain it).

[kapeh12]

I'm 5' 2" and weigh between 158-163 (fluctuates over time).  I'd like to try to pull down to hover more around 150, but mostly due to my current sport of choice (figure skating) - less weight means less I have to jump into the air   

I can't go by the charts which all tell me I'm overweight based on my height/weight ratios because those formulas don't take into account actual lean muscle mass, which I have more than the average person due to my training.  One thing I learned for weight loss is the following:

1.  Less calorie intake (the obvious), but not only concentrate on the quantity of food, but the quality of it.  (Why is it that you only feel like eating one banana, but a whole box of chips...?  The better the food, in general, you naturally will eat less because it provides your body what it needs with less intake.

2.  Increase cardio - evaluate what cardio exercise you are doing, and find a way to increase it (add an extra day, extend current sessions an extra 10-15 minutes).  By upping activity slowly, it increases your chance of successfully incorporating it as a habit rather than trying for a max routine and slowly giving it up.

3.  Weight/Strength training - this is needed to increase muscle mass which allows your body to burn calories more efficiently - plus it just makes you healthier and more energetic.  This can be traditional weights, or could be programs like pilates or yoga.

What I found when incorporating #3 into my routine, depending on how much strength training you do, you may go through a phase where your weight appears to go up vs down - and that will mainly be due to the fact that muscle weighs more than fat - so don't panic.  If that happens, judge by how you feel and how your clothes fit.  It the scale goes up, but your waistline seems to be going down - you're going in the right direction.

For cardio - I found using an activity I found fun to do as the best way to make it a habit.  First was ballroom dancing (in fact most any dancing will get your heart rate going), then rock climbing, now it's figure skating.  If you find some activity (like martial arts, team sport, dancing, anything that gets you moving), and it's something you've always wanted to do or learn, you'll be more apt to put in the effort to keep with it.  Then as you are learning and improving in the sport, the side effect is usually your weight going down.  To what degree depends on the sport and how often you participate (as well as how well items #1 and #3 are doing in combination  )

Pretty much the same old/same old everyone says - making the decision to commit to this is the first step, then consistency with sticking to it is the second.  Don't weigh yourself every week or so, make it more of a monthly or quarterly check in - that way you won't get as discouraged by the week to week fluctuations that often will occur.

[Heather721]

I want to lose what I gained during my pregnancy. I gained about 37 lbs. I need to lose about 5 more. Then that will motivate me to lose even more weight like the 10 I gained when I started dating/living with/then marrying my husband!

[yaayme]

I'm 5 foot and weigh 110 pounds...but for my body frame, I need to loose about 5 pounds.

[Linda67]

I need to lose a bunch....again...I do the best on Weight Watchers.  I've tried their new Points Plus and lost about 20 lbs and couldn't go any further so a couple of weeks ago I went back to my old standby of their Flex Points program.  The secret to my success has always been..."if you bite it...write it".  I keep a written log of every morsel I eat.  I lost about 100 lbs on that program a few years ago but then some of it crept back on.....again. 

[sapphiratigress]

I'm 5'8" and around 140 pounds. But I can tell its all beginning to go to my stomach. Between ages I always increase my personal weight range by 10 pounds, but since I'm just now beginning my adult life I shouldn't be adding too much more weight onto what I have. Most of my body is surprisingly evened out because I'm so thin. Sometimes I'm afraid that being this thin and then getting sick will really hit me hard soon. I've had that happen once before and all it was, was a rough cold that kept me in bed for a day. I felt so weak and hazy the next day I didn't even know if I could stand walking up and down 6 flights of stairs all day for school!

I have a serious problem with getting a routine, so I have terrible stamina and strength. I'm basically an average weakling. But I've been trying out the Wii Fit and trying to stretch every morning. A few days ago I walked about 3 miles around my town picking up job applications with a friend, and when I came home I felt fine, excluding my feet hurting a little. I woke up the next morning and it felt like my whole body got beat with a pole! My legs honestly still hurt, but I'm trying to stretch out the muscle so I can at least sit on my knees without my muscles screaming at me. 

[Abrupt]

I woke up the next morning and it felt like my whole body got beat with a pole! My legs honestly still hurt, but I'm trying to stretch out the muscle so I can at least sit on my knees without my muscles screaming at me. 

When I was real serious into body building/strength training I developed this problem where I didn't feel right if I couldn't induce the delayed onset muscle syndrome like you describe.  It is amazing how addictive that pain can become or possibly how addictive the use of that as a scale for training perhaps is a better choice of words.  Even though I knew that DOMS wasn't necessary for progression I still craved it and couldn't feel quite satisfied without it.  I am not that way anymore and have reduced my training quite a bit as I knew I was becoming obsessed and too much of a fan of mirrors.