Julia, I weighed in yesterday with our clinic's Nutritionist and was really happy to learn that I had lost 11 pounds since my last weigh in on January 2nd. The numbers continue to work for me. I am loving the strength routine our Trainer has me on, working one major muscle group every other day so it is much more intense and physically draining The journey continues. Have a great day everyone and may 2019 be your best year yet.

It's now February 14 and yesterday met with our Nutritionist and our LPN. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself down 11 pounds from my January 2 weigh in. I say pleasantly because I wasn't sure what to expect. I have been doing my fitness routine religiously and stuck to the process but I wasn't seeing the results on the scale. I'm sure that just about all of us have experienced those plateau's, you work and work and work, but nothing seems to be happening. Our Trainer kept reminding me that it was all about the process and to keep focusing on that so I have continued to trust the process. I also made some changes to my eating regarding my snacks and went back to what had worked for me the last half of '18, more fruits and veggies, good Protein bars ( I like the Quest bars) and I ramped up the intensity of my workouts. I cut my arc trainer workouts by 10 minutes per session but increased the resistance and incline settings and I still burn around 450 calories per workout. I also added a second 30 minute Circuit Training session at Planet Fitness every week to help keep my weekly calorie burn up.

SnuzyQ, Thanks for the kind words. I should note that I'm a 57 year young man (I always told my kids that growing up was overrated) and 5'7".

This journey we're on is a long grind and full of up's and downs. I've set some pretty ambitious goals for myself this year and when talking it over with our trainer I asked her if she thought it was possible. She said she thought so but that the important thing was going to be to "trust the process" and ignore the number on the scale. I know people who obsessively watch the stock market every hour to see how they are doing, and I used to weigh myself every day I was in the gym, but it's not about the daily number it's about the trend. I now weigh myself once per week as well as meet with our dietician once per month, our LPN every other month, and our trainer about every 5 weeks or so, depending on how long it takes me to complete a "card". This week she put me on a really aggressive and much more demanding strength program so I'm really anxious to get that going full bore. I also set some aggressive fitness goals for myself, doing a 5k in less that 65 minutes, and riding a bike on one of our County Trails to a neighboring town (40 miles round trip). The last one will be fun because I haven't been on a bike in nearly 30 years, but I do plan on buying one this spring.

I was up 5 pounds over the Holidays, back spasms prevented me from exercising and I thought I'd reward myself for my hard work for the year by taking a week off. I didn't do anything dumb or consume 3000 calories in a day, but I did want to enjoy myself for just a bit. I've lost all but 1 of those pounds since then and am back in the gym 6 days per week. It's hard work but I really am enjoying the process and I truly do love going to the gym.

I wish you nothing but success in 2019 and let's make it a year to remember for all of us.

Wow...and congratulations on losing 80 pounds in a little over a year! That's great work. I'm also losing weight using your technique, have looked at the general BMR calculations offered off the internet and find this is good enough for me...I don't want to spend the extra money to get precisely tested and measured. It seems unnecessary. My tape measure is quite precise and it's fun to watch the inches fall away.

I wish so much that the 500 calories below BMR would give me a pound lost, but the actual number is 3,500 calories, which equals 1 pound. However, if you chose to eat 500 calories per day less than your BMR, this really adds up fast, especially at first when your weight is at your highest value.

Most women, at any age, find that they will lose weight if they keep their calories under 1500 daily. However, some who are older (over 65) and shorter (5'5" or less) may have to go a little lighter on the calories to be effective at weight loss.

At age 66, 5'7", 255 lbs. at my heaviest, and only moderately active, I chose 1,450 calories as my daily cap. Sometimes I chart in a little under that each day, but it's always close...not very precise because, well, you just don't have to be. I do find that by recording everything that goes into my mouth, I stay under the daily calorie cap. By going at weight steady and slow, I'm tricking my body into non-fasting status. A fasting or severely calorie-reduced diet causes the BMR to slow. This is the body's way of surviving famine. A reduced BMR is not what I want.

So...come back...I need your support. I'm unable to get weight-loss surgery, which is what I originally wanted and aimed for. This is my last hope to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Keep up your good work. Life will be so much better on the other side when we achieve our weight loss goals.

Every 3500 calories burned per week over and above will result in one pound of FAT being burned, health issues aside. Have a great day.