12 People Who Lost 50+ Pounds Share Their Best Advice

We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us their stories of lifestyle transformation and how they did it. We got tons of stories, about getting sober, about taking up exercise, about giving up soda and fast food, about getting into therapy. Many of the stories we got were about people who set out to lose weight for a variety of reasons — some for health reasons, others who wanted to keep up with their kids, and others who wanted to fit into their favorite clothes or change their appearance. Here are the best tips from 12 people who made a sustainable lifestyle change that resulted in a 50-pound (or greater) weight loss.

1. Make healthy changes one at a time and build on each one.

Courtesy Signe Heffernan

Take it slow in the beginning: Build a routine into your schedule that you can commit to. I stopped buying my bus pass home so I had to walk home. Once you have a routine you can try building upon it — add in healthy food or start lifting weights. Keep changing it up and adding in new challenges to push yourself.”

–Signe Heffernan (lost 126 pounds in about two years)

2. Take advice but follow your gut.

Courtesy Hunter Montgomery

Find your niche, and own it.”

–Hunter Montgomery, 28 (lost 105 pounds in a year)

3. If cardio sucks, find something else that you love.

Barb Sullivan Photography / Via bsiznks.500px.com

BE Photography / Via bephotos.smugmug.com

I box three days a week and strength train the other three … Cardio is much easier now at 175 pounds and I’m hoping to do my first 5K this summer!”

–Olivia Sullivan, 28 (lost 100 pounds in one year)

4. If you’re self-conscious about working out in a gym, try some gym-free activities until you build up your confidence.

–Diana Noesgaard (lost 90 pounds in 15 months)

5. You might cry your way through a workout. Just know that your next workout will be easier.

Courtesy Jackie Kankam

My favourite quote [is] ‘the difference between falling and failing is whether or not you decide to get back up.’ I realized that no matter how hard everything was if I just continued to get back up it would be easier every day.”

–Jackie Kankam (lost 70 pounds over two years)

6. Don’t go on a diet. Go on a journey to change your lifestyle.

Courtesy Gurinder Pabla

–Gurinder Pabla (lost 70 pounds in three years)

7. Find a community that will support you and cheer you on.

Courtesy Zachary Rieger

Courtesy Lawrence Rieger

The support of the running community … provides such a great running environment you don’t have to be a marathoner to run with them. They are accepting of every level. I’ve created great friendship with guys I ran with at the store.”

–Zachary Rieger (lost 52 pounds in a year)

8. Identify your unhealthy habits and educate yourself on how to change them.

I started to educate myself on nutrition. Mostly calories. I looked at macro and micro nutrition later on, as I started to really build muscle.

The temptation of food, especially sugar, has always been the toughest part of my journey. You overcome it by not keeping it around the house and by not going out to eat much. I prepare all my meals ahead of time and only buy nutritious food.”

–Timothy Reed (lost 100 pounds in 18 months)

9. Figure out what psychological blocks stand between you and changing your life.

Courtesy Vanessa Nelson

–Vanessa Nelson (lost 70 pounds in five months)

10. Sign up for a race with a friend.

That first couple weeks I couldn’t run more than one min at a time. Little by little I started being able to run whole stretches between lifeguard towers. She motivated me not only to push myself but to relax a little. That Color Run was the turning point. I think I saw a glimpse of what could be.”

–Jenn Flores (lost 60 pounds in about 16 months)

11. Celebrate every single victory — no matter how small — and reward yourself.

Courtesy Athina Garza

From the very beginning I thought about how I would reward myself when I reached certain milestones. Every time I met a goal I would buy a new outfit or shoes.”

–Athina Garza (lost 185 pounds over two and a half years)

12. Know that life might interfere with your weight loss; take setbacks in stride.

It took about six months to beat the virus but I got off the steroids and started working on my weight again … I lost the 70 pounds, plus 50-plus more, and have now lost 123 pounds total.”

–Kelly Geistler (lost more than 123 pounds in about a year)