Post what you did to make goal, benefits- lets make a guide for Newbies- all approaches...

Going to try and keep this brief--

GOAL:  was to get a life.  (What I had been doing for years was just marking time)

HOW I MADE IT TO GOAL:

There was nothing I did out of the ordinary- 90+ g. protein, 90-100 oz. liquids, low carb (under 40 g.) ,60 min exercise 5/week, ate plenty of green/yellow veggies as I could. , I did full fat., wrote down everything that went in my mouth, see- pretty plain jane.  What I did do that was unusual for me, anyways, was COMMIT to this; give myself to it fully.  I believe I had a conversion experience, and it was no longer OK to treat my body the way I had been.  When I got down to the last 10-15#s, I just went mad-dog-focused.

BENEFITS:  see ticker below for the physical - I have some pictures in my profile- and, making my original goal?  Yah, now I'm alive instead of just sucking air and taking up ever increasing space.  

Ya'all can do this thing...I like the idea of what P.R.I.D.E. can stand for:  Progress Realized Through Daily Effort

It's the daily effort that will take you to goal, and I need to remember that the same daily effort is needed to keep me at goal.  Bonnie

Great topic!!  I look forward to reading though the posts by other OH users.

Having never made it to goal ( YET) - I would NOT do the following

Increase your calories early out (like 6-9 mo) bc once you hit a year, you'll regret it when you want to cut back

Convince yourself you can eat more and work out early on and reach your goal - ooops that's what I did and when I suffered a very debilitating back injury and couldnt, the depression and lack of activity added 50 to my broken back. 

Wait to get therapy bc you don't think you have issues - all of us do. Im a recent convert to the "everyone should get therapy" camp. 

1-6 months I was at 600-700 calories: carbs under 40 and protein 60 or greater (I didn't worry about the other items such as fat or sodium)

Exercises 5 days a week with 2 forgiveness days

Measured my food with no more than 1/2 cup at a meal or snack

Ate 3 meals and 3 snacks daily

7-12 months I was at about 900-1000 calories

Exercises 4-3 days a week

12+ months about 1200-1400

Exercise 3 times a week at the minimum

Throughout I drink at least 85 ounces of water daily

I don't drink soda

I don't drink caffeine

I don't drink alcohol on a regular bases but I have on 2 occasions

I don't buy food that is not a good food choice

If I really want something "bad" I have a bit at some point, I don't have the opinion that I should go through the rest of my life saying, "I will never eat ____," nope I will eat it but I eat a spoonful not a plate full (my doctor loves this phrase)

I'm very active now and I can do what I want when I want, I can fit into any chair without thinking about it! I look good in my clothes, and wear a size 6/8 pant and small shirts. I speak at my doctor's seminars which is very good for me and motivating.

I followed my doctor's plan to the letter with a couple goofs or days off (not really bad) I only once gained and that was while I was on an East Coast trip and I ate anything I wanted!

My roommate eats better now and lost 65 pounds after I had surgery! She couldn't lose the rest on her own and had the surgery in February with Dr. Alvarez in Mexico, she has lost 67 pounds!

I feel FANTASTIC!!!

I'm learning to maintain but have fluctuated twice to 152 and once to 153 but I just go back to basics. My goal is to stay between 150-155.

I hope this is helpful.

Best of luck!

Good list happyteach! I would like to stress the importance of

1) tracking and WEIGHING everything you eat. (if you can pre-plan your day of eating, all the better!)  the majority of people who are having trouble losing weight are not doing this.  measuring cups are not accurate.  scoops of protein are not accurate. eating 20% more than you think you are is easy if you are not measuring properly.

2) exercise.  every day, 30-60 mins.  the first 6 months, cardio is most important but do not neglect doing weight exercises.  either with barbells, weight machines at gym, or body weight exercises like squats, lunges, etc.  The more muscle you maintain, the more weight you will lose and the longer your honeymoon phase will be.  dont over cardio - that will just burn away all your muscle and make you plateau early.   low intensity cardio and weights is the way to go.  after 6 months, increase your calories, drop the cardio significantly and hit the weights more - its time to rebuild your ravaged body.  you will still lose weight if you have been working your muscles the first 6 months and are eating around your workouts to build more muscle.

3) weighing.  do not weigh more than once a week, esp if you are a woman or have water retention issues.  you will just torture and discourage yourself ... which will lead you to becoming derailed, offtrack, over eat, or just give up.  plus it lends itself to unhealthy obsession with weight which isn't what you want.  you want to be healthy and look good.  having a low weight is not the primary goal. being fit and having muscle tone will do those things, looking like an emaciated wraith is not the goal.

4) dont obsess over low carbs. DO obsess over fiber.  You want a minimum of 25g of fiber a day, a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber to have good arterial (i.e. cholesterol and plaque) and intestinal health (healthy intestinal bacteria and the ability to poop).  The best you can do for total carb to fiber ratio is 3:1 ... so that means eating 75 to 100g TOTAL carbs a day.  if you want to be ketogenic, keep your meals small and frequent and keep the carbs to 15g per meal or snack, that will do it.  Do not eat carbs if there is no fiber (or a lot of protein) with them - it's not going to do you any good.  easy fiber fixes are adding Fiber1 or All bran cereal to your yogurt and having a Quest/chocolite/Oh yeah victory protein bar a day (better yet, half of one twice a day).

5) do not let junk food in your house and do not ever go to any fast food restaurant again.  you dont need it and you need to completely break from those bad habits.  there is no nutritional value there, just temptation and opportunity to relapse or fail in your weight loss.  If you think you need the convenience you are fooling yourself ... 1-2 hours a week preparing and proportioning meals and snacks ahead of time is all the convenience you need to be successful.

I was never able to precook/preprep very well, but that is an excellent habit. I did, however, keep prepackaged ready to go type snacks available for this.  I compltely agree with you about the importance of fiber too.  Pete, you have done an outstanding job!!