While you can’t outrun your fork, exercise builds/maintains muscle.
For me, the number of pounds that I weigh isn’t nearly as important as my body fat percentage. I get my fat % measured at least every year now, since that’s the number that will tell me how much muscle I’ve lost/maintained/gained (as a % of my weight). The test also tells you the calories you burn each day without exercising.
@sushiritto - does your doc do this? I have heard of this, but where does one get this accurately measured?
Also, yes, kudos to the OP! Well done!
Congratulations @maya54! That’s very impressive and it’s no easy task. I appreciate your insights and your experience. You are right. Weight loss is very individual. It takes some tweaking to find out what works for you and then it requires a lifelong commitment.
I lost half as much weight as you did, about a year and a half ago, and the comments that got me were the ones (also exclaimed loudly and often quite publicly), “WOW, you must have lost 50 pounds! You’ve lost so much weight!” LOL!
I also enjoy buying new clothes. 
I give you a lot of credit for doing this. It’s very difficult, I know.
I love to eat. I also cannot eat as much as most people without gaining weight to a point that makes me unhappy. So it’s an uneasy balance Ive had to maintain most of my life. It’s still not easy.
@Hoggirl The three that I’m aware of that are accessible, are calipers, hydrostatic and Dexa (DXA). I typically use hydrostatic, but what’s available will depend on your location. Calipers and other hand held equipment can be done at home or by a trained professional at a gym.
Great job @maya54! I agree with what you and others have said; it varies what weight loss strategies will work for different people. I started last summer and I’ve lost 37 pounds. I have periodically hit a plateau but was able to get past it by increasing my activity level. I would say it’s been well over 90% diet that has helped me. I don’t count calories but I do pay special attention to portion sizes and the types of food I eat.
I stop eating around 7pm and fast until around 10 am the next day. I also cut out rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, etc. My carbs come from fruit, an occasional sweet potato, beans and veggies. I eat high protein, low cholesterol and low saturated fat meats and fish. I also eat about a quarter cup or less of almonds every day. I used to enjoy a couple cocktails over the weekend, now I rarely drink bc I’d rather treat myself to some Edy’s Spumoni ice cream or another type of treat in place of the alcohol calories. ? If we’re at a wedding or other special event, I do imbibe but only one or two drinks.
I have about 8-10 pounds more to lose and I’ve hit another plateau. Unfortunately, my left knee and hip have been acting up so I have to be more creative with how to increase my activity level to power through this plateau. Being in my mid-fifties, I don’t bounce back as quickly from injuries as when I was younger. I’ll just have to be more mindful of how much I eat until I can exercise more. Ahhh, the joys of getting older.
Agree 100 %. Lost my 50 lbs 7-8 years ago? All in the first 6-12 months. You’re right. It’s all about calories. I need my carbs for my 2 hour plus workout regimen.
I lost 56 pounds over 8 months and I’ve kept it off for a couple of months so far. I know I’ll have to be careful for the rest of my life but since I was honestly never miserable while I was restricting calories I’m not overly worried. I agree with @Maya54 that each person needs to figure out what works for them. The keto diet gets great results but I could never keep it up. People swear by strict calorie counting but it would make me crazy. My doctor recommended Weight Watchers as the only organized program that works but I’m just too lazy for a program like that.
What worked for me:
4.** Making calorie restriction easy.** I bought a lot of frozen prepared low-calorie meal. Frontera has good ones. Healthy Choice has some as well. Some Evols meal were nice for variety. Having a freezer full of meals allowed me to make very simple choices, e.g., a Healthy Choice Korean beef power bowl for lunch or Frontera chicken fajita? As soon as I got hungry I could pop it in the microwave and be eating real food 5 minutes later. Not having to spend a lot of time prepping food and making decisions about ingredients and portion sizes made it a lot easier for me not to overeat.
An interesting note for me was that my friends know that I dealt with breast cancer twice, so when I encounter people I haven’t seen in a while often they mention the weight loss sheepishly, as if they want to tell me I look good (and honestly I do look a lot healthier) but they’re worried the loss is the result of a recurrence. I now cut right to that chase and when they ask if I’ve lost weight I say, “Yes, quite intentionally.” It’s touching to see the looks of relief.
Congrats, @maya54!! I like how you outlined what works for you.
I am down 40 lbs since one year ago, and am hoping to maintain as well as eventually lose more. I still have a long way to go.
The first six months, I didn’t change any eating, just added walking 10k steps virtually every day.
After that, I found it hard to keep it up every day, so walked 3-4 days a week, and started to incorporate better eating habits.
My current interest is in cutting out all meat and most dairy, something I’ve thought about for a long time. I also do IF and am glad I stopped forcing myself to eat breakfast. It just isn’t for me.
Exercise may not be a major key to losing weight for you (anyone) BUT it is important to HEALTH. Please make your desire (anyone) to lose weight to be for health - not just so you look great in a dress.
@maya54 I really support your #7. If you can’t overall support your new way of eating for the long term - way beyond weight loss - then it’s not the right plan. Your way of eating should not be thought of as temporary - it should be a new eating life style. Anything else will bring weight back once you drop the way you ate to lose weight.
Thanks for sharing your story and tips. 
@maya54 my husband also lost 60+ lbs this year. He was motivated and determined. Did you ever get people wondering if you lost weight because you were ill? People definitely noticed the weight loss but some more with concern that he had some kind of health problem causing it. He actually had to start adding snacks back in for fear of losing too much weight and his wedding ring is so loose he has put a sizer in it so it doesn’t fly off his hand.
@1Lotus No one seemed to assume that I was ill. Maybe because the weight loss motivated me to take more time with my appearance generally. Makeup, hair clothes etc… I feel like because men aren’t likely to have those sorts of changes it may lead people to question whether they are ill more often than a woman who has gone from frumpy clothes to fashionable ones and newly highlighted hair like me.
I do have to mention that despite all the weight loss ( it’s actualky 67 lbs as of today) I don’t seem to have lost even one pound from my fat fingers. That’s ok. Fat fingers make your hands look younger!
That’s quite an accomplishment.
I personally think losing weight is easy, this evangelical period is risky, Use the euphoria to build a solid sweaty exercise routine into your life. I think it is the magic bullet for actual long term life change.
I’ll add a #5 to my post (#27) to echo @abasket’s post #29.
A focus on health instead of weight loss. There were weeks when I didn’t lose a single ounce but I could feel myself getting stronger and fitter. Even though I’m no longer trying to lose weight I’m keeping up the exercise and focusing on eating real whole foods. I feel so much better that way.
another…
** Get enough sleep.** I don’t know about any of you but when I’m tired my body seems to demand food as extra energy to compensate for the lack of sleep. It also makes it easier to exercise. I’m not even talking about serious aerobic workouts, just walking a little more around the office or doing a little more housework.
I think it’s also really important not to beat yourself up over “failures” if you’re going to make it long term. Recently I carried a 40 pound bag up my stairs and found myself thinking, “No wonder I wasn’t exercising as much as I thought I should have when I was heavy. Carrying this much weight around is danged hard work!”
I am so impressed with you who have lost weight. I wish you continued success improving your health.
While I do feel healthier not lugging around all that extra weight, it’s not about what I’m eating. I was never the type who ate heavily processed foods. I simply ate too much of what I was eating and didn’t listen to my body about when I was hungry ( eating earlier in the day makes me hungry all day). I’m eating now the exact same things I have always eaten, salmon, chicken, lean steak, veggies in olive oil, salads w/full fat small batch salad dressings ( from Whole Foods), fruit and chocolate as well as high quality breads and pitas. But I’m eating half to 1/8 of the amounts I used to eat except for the veggies. Instead of pouring liberal amounts of dressing and oil I measure it out. I weigh my proteins. I eat one bannana a day, not 3. When I’m out I just eat half of whatever I order and one piece of bread often indulging in potatoes both mashed and fried ( tho we seldom eat out). I used to clean my plate and empty the bread basket.
As for excercise, 10k steps on the treadmill or outside if it’s nice is all I can manage. Gotta do what works for me.
I lost about thirty pounds and then broke my toe which put a wrench in my exercise routine. We really have to go back to only having wine on the weekends. I already had a healthy diet, so the issue for me is usually getting enough exercise and tweaking portion sizes and making sure not to eat too much high calorie stuff like cheese. We didn’t have cooking facilities in Hong Kong (where we were for two months), but did go to the gym more regularly and hiked most weekends. Still gained five pounds!
I’ve maintained my weight for 9 months, and never did a sweaty exercise. Different strokes for different folks.
@maya54, it’s interesting that you say if you eat a lot at the beginning of the day, it makes you hungry all day. I’m the opposite. I start getting hungry around 10 am, and used to torture myself to wait until noon to eat lunch. Now I just eat more from mid morning until mid afternoon, and then I am good to go. I eat a light evening meal and no evening snacks. Again, different strokes for different folks.
It took me a long time to learn/accept this about myself, especially since it’s the opposite of how the greater population eats.