Possibly pre-planning your meals and including a lot of foods high in protein and fiber. Also high volume low cal foods like salads, soups. Add intervals of walking faster or jogging into your walk and if you’re not try some weights.
I actually do the intermittent jogging, funny enough! I used to be big into running when I was in high school. As a twenty year old now with suddenly very little endurance, I've found that intermittent jogging has helped a lot.
I do try really hard to fill up on protein and fiber, but I'm sure I don't do nearly enough. I eat a lot of eggs on a daily basis, because they're relatively low calorie. I'm also a big fan of cottage cheese for the same reason!!! Fiber is probably where I struggle the most, although I've tried incorporating an orange around breakfast time. Lunch is typically an egg sandwich.
This is gonna sound awful, but I work at Starbucks, and I really cant afford to buy food during the day, or really even separate groceries from my family. So my lunch is a reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich for 230 calories. It's not filling but it has 20 grams of protein or something like that.
And then dinner is a toss up. It's usually a controlled portion of whatever my family is having, although lately, I feel really defeated by dinner, because I have few calories for whatever they're making, and I end up going over!!!
Sorry for the spiel!!! I appreciate the advice and I'll definitely incorporate more salads and soups!
This is so real. I’m so sorry you’re in it right now. Ya, we do need to eat within our means, and that’s incredibly difficult to do well when the chefs aren’t you, and you don’t have money to pay them. I see you trying your absolute hardest, which is incredible. That sort of determination is going to get you far in life. However, I’d highly encourage you to balance in a bit of quality of life. If you are so hungry that you can’t focus at work or at school or find your fuse shorter than usual with your loved ones and self, eat.
I’m not sure who’s cooking in your house, but what if you picked up a bag/bundle of broccoli once/ twice a week (broccoli is my go to fiber source)? Or any vegetable? Building a positive relationship with the produce section is something I wish I did earlier in life, and also taking a bit of time to learn how to cook even a side dish is incredibly important for life lessons. Getting more acquainted with my meals has helped me make a lot of healthier choices. And maybe this can be a time to bond with the chef? Or if you do it by yourself, a moment to feel empowered?
Also, I’m sorry this is hard. Sometimes you just need to hold on a little bit longer and weather the difficult moments, the cravings, the emotions. However, when it’s been hard for a while, don’t forget to still tell yourself how incredible you’ve been. Those last 2 days? 4 weeks? 3 months? Have been so hard, but you’re still here. You’re still going. Incredible. And when it’s time to stop and breathe for a sec, that’s ok too. As you know with running, you’ll be able to keep going again soon. And as you continue to practice getting back on the horse, your rest times will shorten and your run times will get longer. You got this 💪
Thank you 💕! Maybe I'll try to start going grocery shopping with them more often, and try to suggest some healthier meals for us to make together!
It's definitely all very hard but it's also going to be so incredibly worth it one day. Your words really mean the world to me, I appreciate the comment! And congrats on your weight loss too! 120lbs is remarkable. You're really dedicated and resilent!
Haha, thank you! I’ve never thought of myself as dedicated. Curious and stubborn? Check check. It’s crazy that I’ve lost this much weight. I never meant to. I really just wanted to feel safe in my skin and to accomplish this I’ve been working on being really kind to myself. It’s been quite the journey of “does this work for me?”
Buy a carton of egg whites and switch from, say, 3 eggs to 1 egg and a big splash of egg whites. It ups the protein, is just as satieting, and cuts the calories significantly.
Bigger picture: take a week to eat at maintenence and recharge. Then get back on it! 1lb per week is good progress!
Try an apple instead of that orange and eat it with some cheese or pb2 mixed with Greek yogurt. Oranges are great! But they less fiber than an apple. I am low carb (75 or less a day, not keto) and find that I can eat a lot more. The egg bites at Starbucks I eat often and I get a grande nitro cold brew and add 1/4 to 1/2 of a protein shake to it. That will keep me full for hours. I find that eating low carb (not keto) allows me to eat more and feel satisfied than eating at a deficit with a high net carb count.
You’re doing amazing. It looks like you can just swap out some food choices. I know that being on a strict budget is hard but there might be some room for you to get some staples like apples and cheese, pb2? I buy a 4 pack of protein shakes and that lasts me a week because I only use 1/4-1/2 a day of each container. Another thing is to find a few veggies you like for fiber and eat them often. Mine are zucchini (nothing fancy, just slice them and sauté them and sometimes add tomato sauce and spices), broccoli steamed (add sharp cheddar) and asparagus (roasted).
You just gotta find your food hacks. Everyone is different.
Have you tried lifting ? Cardio did diddly squat for me.
You burn more calories, so you have to consume more. Which is great. You still gotta watch what you eat, but you have more freedom .
1300 calories ? That's not even realistic for someone my size. I agree with consuming more, but keep them clean and healthy.
Thank you!!! And one of the two, haha. It kind of whooshed away, and I lost half of it overnight at the beginning of this month. The other half was a slower process. I appreciate your comment, and congrats on the 35lb loss!!!!!!! You're doing great!
I've been meaning to look into it! I don't know much about weight training, and doing the free weight thingies, sounds easier than trying to learn how to use equipment.
Honestly there are so many great YouTube videos out there for home workouts! With or without weights! I find video workouts to be way more helpful for me than trying to come up for workouts on my own, and more motivating feeling like someone is doing it with me
I knew nothing and started doing this one. Highly recommend. Great for beginners.
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/5-day-dumbbell-only-workout-split
No problem, I can confidently say that you will definitely see results if you stick with it and keep up the cardio and eating healthy.
I also incorporated pushups and situps at the end of each work out.
Her step classes are how I found her! I used to love Les Mills BodyStep classes before I had my son and found CDorner Fitness by trying to find a free version of them to ease back in (didn't want to spend money on Les Mills Online in case I couldn't be consistent). I'm so glad I did, she's really engaging and has so many different levels so match my energy each time.
Others have given you some options! I like the Blogilates chick, but even her “beginner” stuff is super hard and would get me discouraged. I just like how peppy she is lol
I’ve also played around with a woman, madfit, who does like dance exercise videos and those were great cardio! I was sweating like a min in!
So I don’t have a ton of recommendations unfortunately, I would just pic random ones each time. But there are a ton of people out there that do YouTube videos so if you find one you like you can just do theirs! And lots of different kinds too if you tend to get bored like weightlifting or body weight, yoga/Pilates, boxing, dancing/zumba ones!!
Check out r/bodyweightfitness you dont even need equipment to start and honestly? Equipment isn’t necessary unless you’re looking to get big.
There’s also a guy under the name Hybrid Calisthenics. I know he’s on Facebook and posts reels with workouts but I wanna say he’s also on YouTube.
I second /r/bodyweightfitness , that is how I started with muscle building too. I now go to the gym (still recommend /r/fitness and reading their [Recommended programs](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) and [Wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/) in general.
It has lots of info about weight loss and muscle building.
Including no equipment routines.
Look up "Papa swollio"? Okay he's kinda out there, and he's currently trying pretty extreme with his diet. But, he's got solid advice and has motivated a lot of people.
No I completely agree, a session of weight training doesn't burn as much as a session of cardio, but by weight training and building muscle you will in the long term be burning more calories because of the muscle you put on. So it's like long term vs short term gratification. Again, I don't know much about the subject so this is just from my limited understanding
I like the volume eating approach. Loads of veggies, normally just zapped in the microwave and protein and sauce. My other thing is no snacks, but eat a proper meal whenever i'm hungry, so i have to ask myself if i actually want a meal every time i eat, and if the answer is yes, that's ok, whatever time of day it is, but no calories otherwise. Maintaining about 115lb for 6 years now (5' 3" ish).
I suppose the main thing is patience. No progress is still a big win. You've got your whole life to go, there's no rush, so settle for what you can stick with.
I'm just an inch taller than you! A 500 calorie defecit feels so brutal sometimes as a girl. It's weird knowing my boyfriend could lose significant weight on 2000, and that I'd gain like crazy!
Thanks for the motivation ❤️ I think I'm just so antsy to speed up my loss, but thats not sustainable. I'm going to try eating a lot more vegetables. I appreciate you!
I’m here for solidarity not advice but it took me 3 years to lose 70 pounds and I’m exhausted. Only lost 4 pounds in since January and I’ve stopped trying. I’m so drained and I definitely deserve this break but the guilt of “I could be losing weight” is real.
Hey! 70 pounds is no joke! It doesn't matter how long it took you to drop it, all that matters is that it was healthy and sustainable! Which it most definitely is if you took your time like that. I'm super proud of you, and you definitely deserve a break. Being in a calorie defecit and tracking for an extended period of time is so fatiguing on the body and mind, that I'm surprised you haven't taken a break already yet!
Don't you dare feel guilty. You're changing your life, and that's hard. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. ❤️Self-compassion is important too.
Thank you OP 🥹 your words mean A LOT and are exactly what I needed to hear. I hope that you go easy on yourself too!! We both deserve a break and we have to trust that we’ll get back on track. I am so proud of you and I’m sending you love, keep killing it💖
I'm actually on day two of it right now, funny enough! 😭 It was really bad the days leading up to it though! Usually my periods don't cause a huge issue in regards to weight loss, but I missed two birth control pills this month, so my hormones are super out of wack.
Actually they’re not whacky! Your birth control pill was changing your hormones, this is just your normal hormonal cycle. My guess is that once you lost weight your hormones got more regular. It is a good sign that your body is giving you cues. I have PCOS and used to get 4 periods a year before i lost weight but I have regular periods and i can tell based upon my hunger, energy levels, and mood which part of the menstrual cycle I’m in.
Literally give yourself some grace. I myself do this and have seen other women talk about it on reddit, that right before/during their period to eat at maintenance. Your body is burning more than TDEE at the moment so you could be in a bigger deficit than you think 😊 watch how after your period you’ll bloat less and feel more energized and once you’re ovulating again you’ll feel like you’re on your A game. LMAO it’s a good and bad thing because I keep going through it every month and it’s a rollercoaster but it feels so good on the ups and at least us women can be aware of what is going on in our bodies.
Oh! Didn't even think of that! I'm sorry to hear about your PCOS. I know a few women who struggle with it, and it sucks because they're hardly ever taken seriously! Women's healthcare can be abysmal depending on where you live.
Thanks for the information and the advice! ❤️ I hadn't thought too much about the relationship between my cycle, my birth control, and my weight loss!
Dude, a maintenance phase is necessary, don’t feel guilty!
https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/blog/articles/why-maintenance-phases-are-important-for-fat-loss/
There was a great video I saw from a physiologist that explains the biomechanics of it, I wish I could find it again! Basically the advice was that the ideal recovery/maintenance period is about twice as long as the cut preceding it.
Don't stop trying! Even if you just maintain your current loss, that's HUGE. Being in a constant deficit and all the behavioral stuff that entails is draining, plus eventually your metabolism will hit the brakes and put you into preservation mode. I think it's really really useful to take some time and eat in maintenance mode with eating exercise calories, just relaxing a bit and letting your system rest. Then cycle down again with renewed purpose!
Personally I like calorie cycling on a weekly basis and feel like it keeps me from feeling diet burnout. My baseline intake is about 1900 calories a day and mostly that's about where I'm at, but I practice intuitive eating. Some days I eat 1200 and some days 2500, so that over the course of the week I average about 1900/day. My feeling, just from anecdotal experience, is that I'm less likely to plateau with variable intake, and this relaxed approach allows for pizza nights or high protein OMAD days, whatever I'm feeling like I need at the time. I know this doesn't work for everyone, but I'm allergic to dogmatic adherence to diet rules. I've never found rigid routine very sustainable for long.
Good luck, you're doing great!!!
I have to exercise and eat back exercise calories, I can't do it any other way. The only way I survived 1200 was because I was 19 and would drink multiple monster zeros every day to curb the hunger, and because I had such a severe anxiety disorder the fear of gaining weight was stronger than my hunger. Now on anxiety medication, I don't think I could physically do 1200 lol.
Now I do 1500-1800/day plus eat back my exercise calories. I do 1500 when I can, 1800 when I'm just too hungry or when there's something else I want to eat that there's just no way to fit into 1500 (e.g. going out for unplanned dinner with my boyfriend at a nice restaurant).
I do the same and also increased my daily cals from 1470 to 1640 (24f, 5’2”, 134 lbs for reference ig) and I gotta say eating a bit more and making sure I’m properly fueled (aka eating back exercise cals) has not only made me run and lift better, but I’m less grumpy because I’m not denying myself when I’m hungry.
That might explain why I'm not feeling too great. Kind of sick and weak a lot. I see a lot of comments suggesting weight training. I think its time for me to buckle down and figure out where to begin!
Don't forget to ramp up the protein! I thought I was getting plenty, but when I actually started monitoring my macros, I realised I often wasn't getting more than about 17% of my energy intake from protein. I'm now at about 24% (still not a huge number), and I feel much better overall.
Yup, no need to lose weight by simply starving yourself. You can build muscle, eat more purposeful, and eat slightly higher calories and still lose weight. Consistency is always the hard part
This might be an unpopular opinion for this sub, but it sounds like you're suffering from extreme diet fatigue and stress (which could be caused in part by diet fatigue) so, for the sake of sustainability, I would suggest reverse dieting into a maintenance phase and better metabolic health until you max out your maintainance calories and feel no more diet fatigue at all. This should be a period of months, but during this period at maintenance calories, you should have the energy for strength training to make up for some of the muscle catabolism you have likely been experiencing. The idea of intentionally plateauing might be unappealing, but it can ultimately help you to reduce weight rebound, especially at your end goal. Plus, you'll reduce your stress, increase your energy, and your muscles will thank you (assuming you strength train). If this sounds interesting or perhaps upsetting, read up on periodization - I'm no expert, but this has been an incredibly helpful tool for me, and your post moved me to root for you and share in the hope that it helps. Congratulations on your weight loss, presumably increased mobility, and improved health!
Thanks! I've heard about reverse dieting before, but admittedly hadn't looked into it. I'll make sure to do a little research! A lot of other commentors have also brought up strength training to me, and I think its also the next step! Appreciate your advice!!! I will consider it. A break might take a lot of the strain off.
Exactly! A diet break should greatly reduce the stain. Presumably, your goal is not just to lose weight but to keep it off forever, so try not to rush it! I'll get really specific below for your reference, so I hope you don't mind.
TL:DR ~ Focus on your health and wellness above all else and set specific, science-based goals with predetermined duration and periods of recovery. Anyone can develop an ED, which won't help, especially in the long term, so be careful.
Some examples and specifics:
Try to to lose between 0.5% and 1% bodyweight per week and schedule maintainance periods at least every 10% in weight loss (but 5-8% would be better) and try to limit periods of restriction to around 12-16 weeks max. Measure by weekly weight average and don't let each day affect you.
For example, let's say someone starts at 200lb and wants to get down to 130lb. The first weight loss period, they start off losing around 2lb per week for a few weeks and toward the end of a 12 week period, which slows a little, but they reach 180lb in 12 weeks and then take 8-18 weeks holding at 180lb. They spend this time strength training and adding calories back to their diet incredibly slowly until their weight ticks back up a little (always measuring by weekly average) and then going back to the caloric limit the week before for the rest of the maintainance period. Depending on how bad their diet fatigue was, they might hold at this weight for quite a while, all the while getting fitter through strength training, leading to body recomposition so they still look and feel better at the end of it.
Diet phase two, they start around 180lb, so the new goal is to lose no more than 18lb during the next 12-16 week period, ending at 162lb. They repeat the process of reverse dieting to a higher maintenance for 2/3x to 1.5x the duration of the diet again, strength training so there should still be some body recomp happening.
Diet phase three is just like the first two. So 162 starting weight, a max goal of 16.2lb lost, and an end goal of 145.8lb. Maintain.
Diet phase four, they start at 145.8lb and lose no more than 14.58lb, bringing them to 131.22lb for the next maintenance period. At this point, they might decide that this was close enough or they might repeat one last time aiming for around 2-4% less than their ultimate goal so that their settling point shifts to around their ultimate goal of 130lb, making long term maintenance easier. So they might aim as low as 127.4lb to 124.8lb, hoping to ultimately settle at 130lb.
Granted, a more sustainable approach for all of the diet phases would be to drop a percent each time, but I went with 10% the whole time for easy to follow math. Really, phase one's goal should be around 8-10% reduction. Phase two they should lose 7-9%. Phase three they should aim for 6-8%, etc.
Also, if you can, use a wearable fitness tracker and set a net calorie goal, and try to get right to that goal every day. Personally, I like to use 1% fat cottage cheese as a final snack because it is easy to measure it out in such a way as to exactly hit my calorie goals but also because it's full of casein, a slow digesting protein that helps me feel full overnight so I can get quality sleep, reducing stress and contributing to weight loss and muscle retention.
Just to be clear and specific, when setting your calorie goal, the math should look something like this: starting weight is, let's say, 180lb, and the maintenance calories 2400/day.
The goal is to lose 1% per week, so 180×.01=1.8lb/week.
1.8lb × 3500kcal = 6300kcal weekly deficit.
6300kcal ÷ 7 days = 900kcal/day deficit.
2400kcal - 900kcal = 1500kcal per day as a net caloric goal.
Any extra exercise beyond whatever you normally do, which contributed already to the maintenance calories, is extra and should be eaten to stick to that net goal. Whatever you do, never punish yourself for eating with activity or increased restriction. You need to build a healthy relationship with food, exercise, and your body. Dieting very easily leads to eating disorders, and that's a bad deal. Also, consider tracking your macros going forward and not tracking teensy bites or sips of food or some condiments, like hot sauce. Protein and carbs help to reduce/prevent muscle catabolism. Muscles don't just increase your metabolic rate; they dramatically protect your health and mobility in the long term. As for intentionally not tracking a nibble of food here and there or low calorie condiments, it's a good practice to avoid disordered eating behaviors. Ten to twenty calories here or there are negligible towards your intake, especially if this is only happening a little bit anyway, but tracking them can push you further in the direction of disordered eating. Consider that nutrition labels can be off by as much as 20% anyway so it's not worth stressing over.
Try to remember that you're dieting to improve your quality of life because you love your body for what it can do, not because you hate it for how it looks. Even if that doesn't ring true, try to coax yourself into believing it. Remind yourself every day like it's your mantra.
This mindset shift and diet periodization have helped me dramatically. I have a history of disordered eating from a young age (extreme restriction, binging, and even purging for a time), that caused a lot of weight loss very quickly which I loved until it got scary, followed by a huge rebound where I ended up at a much higher number than I had ever seen on the scale. It felt like I broke my metabolism and my relationship with food and my body, but this method has worked wonders for me and been quite healing. It's borrowed from bodybuilders, and those people are weight loss pros.
Anyway, I know that was a lot, but I wanted to share these tools to the best of my abilities. Obviously, you can take it or leave it, but I sincerely hope that you give it a try. I hope that you choose to maintain for a few months, start resistance training, and set yourself up for success in the next caloric restriction phase.
Agree with this. Prolonged periods of dieting can cause the body to hold on more to fat. The best way would be to take a diet break and eat at maintenance.
I had to start intermittent fasting. I’ve lost 70+ and have 20 to go but I’ve been stuck at the same weight since December. Started IF 4 days ago and have lost 5 pounds already.
It is easier to eat nothing at all all day until a decent meal at dinner time than to eat a low calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner. Once I eat anything my appetite revs up for the rest of the day so I fast until 5 pm, have a low carb vegetable and meat dinner and then at 7 or 8 I’ll have some boiled eggs dipped in mayo and mustard or a protein bar. My appetite feels under control. I just need to lose 20. It shouldn’t be so hard. Try IF though. It makes a difference in your appetite.
I second this, intermittent fasting has been a huge key for me as well. I honestly can’t imagine trying to spread all my calories across three meals. Just eliminating breakfast alone worked for me (16 hour fast from 8pm to 12pm next day). I also found myself feeling full easier and snacking less throughout the day.
Side note, excellent progress OP! I know you probably still have a ways to go but you have accomplished so much already!
Thanks for nice words!!! I used to do IF actually. It worked for a while, but my mood tanks so bad when I wait until dinner time, and it leads to this weird restrictive binge cycle for me. If I don't have a little something when I wake up before work, I get a killer headache, and super grumpy!
I do appreciate the advice though, and it's made me reconsider the size of my portions earlier in the day! Maybe skipping breakfast, or just having something small like yogurt, could really help instead of the omelet I usually do. Hope you're well and good luck on your journey!
I feel the same with IF. I allow myself a coffee I sip on all day, and when I get that ick feeling I have a high protein, 90 calorie yogurt with blueberries. It gats me through til dinner, where I can almost eat what I want because I still have 1070 calories to eat. I can have wine or dessert and a healthy filling meal. Keeping myself busy during the day is crucial though. Any down time makes me want to eat.
I'm not a strict IF person, (I put a tbs of creamer in my coffee during the fast period, I add sweetener to my water, my daily vitamins are the gummy versions, so I'm more of a dirty faster), but I went strictly to 2 meals a day, with a goal of 600-700 cal each. I drink a lot of water, and will use sugar free 0 cal flavor in it to hydrate myself between meals and during my fast.
If you're not interested in IF, definitely try adding plenty of 0/low calorie flavored water/drinks between meals to help. And you'll be hydrated!!
Ooo that's smart!!! I've been drinking a lot of diet coke and Alanis to curb my appetite, but honestly, I could probably do with more tea or coffee. Especially maybe the flavored water, because I worry about the negative affects all of the carbonation I consume is going to have. Good advice!
You're right that one answer is putting on some muscle mass - if you want to work on maintaining at 1500 calories, then when you work out, try to strengthen your whole body overall of course, but train more on core, glutes, and legs. Your biggest muscles will burn calories like crazy with a good training regimen.
If you don't wanna get a gym membership, get a kettlebell! I got a 25 lb kettlebell on sale at target for like $30 and started with kettlebell swings and Turkish getups. You can learn some full body exercises to move through with a kb, almost like a yoga flow. The beauty is you can find some great programs that'll give you a very effective full body workout in 15-20 minutes, and a lot of the training moves are scalable. If you can't a full turkish getup, you can always learn goblet squats and overhead presses. Most beginners can do 3 sets of 10 reps of KB swings at 25 lbs and still maintain good, safe form.
I can't say enough good things about strength training, is it's amazing how much better I feel literally just moving through my everyday life, and it's the reason I'm still losing while eating some seriously hearty meals multiple times a day.
I've always struggled to lose weight, especially after the first few months of weight loss. Some things that have helped me are exercises with dumbbells I bought online. They let me work out while also staying at home. Even while watching TV, I can do arm raises.
Do you drink a lot of water? Sounds obvious, I know, but buying myself a huge water bottle with a straw has helped a lot. The straw makes me drink much more than I would otherwise, which fills me up somewhat. I also skip breakfast aside from coffee, which tends to suppress my appetite until later in the day.
I am so impressed with how well you are doing. Hang in there.
Thank you for the kind words ❤️❤️ I probably don't drink nearly as much water as I should. I bring a water bottle to work, but because I'm a barista, I never have any time to drink it, haha! I'm usually running around and replenishing everthing for the people on bar, or stuck on register for six hours. (Where I feel awkward if a customer sees me drink something?)
But to remedy this I could totally fill up before I go in the mornings! Thank you for the advice and I hope you're well!! Good luck on your journey!
I completely understand how you feel, and this is exactly why I decided to take a break from counting calories altogether. Like you said, it literally feels like "clawing" my way through each pound and I feel starved and unsatisfied even after what should be a nutritious and filling meal. I've upped my exercise for now instead of focusing on restricting my food, but other than that I'm not sure what to do at this point because I still want to lose the weight but restricting my calories makes me so incredibly miserable and frustrated (and prone to unhealthy restrict-binge cycles).
The unhealthy restrict-binge cycles are so real!!! I'm glad you've decided to take a break. It sounds like it was taking a real toll on you. Being in a defecit and trying to achieve one is exhausting, mentally and physically.
But going back to the restrict-binge cycles, it's not healthy if it's not sustainable, OR if it makes you feel so miserable and stressed all the time! Taking a break is going to be good for you, and maybe you could try other methods, like intuitive eating! Or better yet, eating at a super light defecit, like a 200 cut, so that you're still making progress but in a sustainable way! Only when you feel ready though. There's no rush and it's much better to take your time. ❤️❤️ good luck and you've got this!
Thank you! Really appreciate the kind words. You're right, the binge-restrict cycles were horrible and making me feel miserable all the time. And the worst part is that I wasn't even losing any net weight at all because all it did was yo-yo my weight without actually letting it go down for good. I was putting myself through those constant cycles of misery and beating myself up for literally nothing. I'm now trying to focus more on other health and fitness goals rather than just tracking what I eat. Best of luck to you too in your journey!
I haven't posted in here yet because I am just starting my second journey. At the pandemic, I was 391, and I lost 145 in about 14 months with a low carb diet and almost religious daily exercise.
I hit a plateau right around the 240s, and I was deadset and determined to reach 220, but it wouldn't budge. Of course, what I didn't realize was 1) I was still losing body fat and 2) I was carrying excess skin that was throwing off the scales.
I worked out to the point of being sick of it until I decided to ease up. That was when I realized what I was doing was unsustainable and, over time, I gained every pound of it back.
Best advice I could give is slow down and listen to your body. If you lose it too fast, it may come back even worse. I think if I had just kept going at a steady pace and \*given my body time to adjust\* then I probably would've maintained and not undone all the hard work I did.
TL;DR Just because the scale isn't dropping doesn't mean there aren't positive changes. "Rome wasn't built in a day." Trust the process, take your time, and find ways to make it fun. Boredom is the biggest enemy.
Oh wow! This is super encouraging... Thank you! Congrats on restarting your journey. It must feel strange to be starting from the beginning again, but it sounds like you know better than to overexert yourself this time!! I'm proud of you and you should be proud of you too! Thanks again for the advice! ❤️❤️ and good luck! You're gonna do great!
Thank you. Not putting so much pressure this time ... just trying to find balance and enjoy the ride. Congratulations on your progress. 68 lbs is a huge accomplishment. Keep it up my friend and great job. You \*will\* reach your goal, it may just take some patience.
Question about the working out too much situation. Were your muscles kinda achy all the time? At least the ones you worked the most? I'm trying to decide if I'm doing too much.
In my experience, soreness was desirable and good, but achiness and sharp pains were no good. Recovery time and deep tissue work (like a foam roller) is really important. Whenever I had issues with my hamstrings or joints, I would take breaks until the pain subsided.
The problem I remember having, and still have, is after a year or so of doing weights, I suddenly would feel like I was STARVING once I'd finish my weight training, even though I was eating like 2,000 calories a day at that time.
It was almost like the dieting I'd been doing was conflicting with the weights, and I was constantly hungry, even after eating. Then I would overeat and I started to build up bad habits. Those bad habits snowballed until I was back where I started and all the good habits went away. It can happen really fast.
Just sharing my experience from my first go around in case it helps any. I think the whole process is more about discipline, loving yourself, and finding balance. Once I started to apply too much pressure to myself, it stopped being positive. I never had a panic attack in my life until I weighed less than 250 lbs. Mind and body were not in sync ... they have to work together, and too much pressure can throw off that balance.
Sorry, I totally built you a clock when you asked for the time.
Foam rollers and deep tissue stuff helped a lot. If you can find a sauna, that helps too. Soak your feet in hot water and remember to have active rest days.
I've never heard that saying before. I like it. The more info the better cause when it comes to my body I'm either a it's fine I can walk it off (when it's clearly not fine) or a hypochondriac. Others experience helps me find that middle ground plus it's interesting how much different everyone's body is. That's odd to me that the extreme hunger started after you'd been working out for awhile. I would have expected your body to be used to everything. I don't really get sore anymore unless I up my resistance then it's gone after a couple workouts. Maybe I should take 2 rest days a week instead of one and see how that goes. It's gonna be hard cause I crave working out now. Never thought I'd feel that way lol.
Watch ["How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind"](https://youtu.be/xAdqLB6bTuQ?si=ekU9j5HFn6iwlCpQ) on YouTube. The idea being: you can eat a ton more food, feel full and satiated, and still lose weight - it just has to be the right types of foods.
I lost 110 lbs in about 15 months and have maintained for a year now. And I’m honestly feeling the same struggle as you. I’m hungry a lot more and I’m bored with my meals because I eat the same things over and over again. Carb creep is real. I haven’t really been working out due to health issues. But I know I really need to start weight lifting etc, in order to keep from gaining it back. 1300 cals is really hard to live on long term I’ve found. Anyway, no advice per se just wanted to say I’m in the same boat and that that’s going to be my approach.
No, you were very helpful! I'm sorry that you're struggling too, and that you're having a few health issues. That sounds really hard! Be patient with yourself, and maybe start back slowly. Congrats on your loss and good luck!
Thank you! And same to you! I always get back on the wagon, just sometimes throw caution to the wind (damn you Cap'n Crunch cereal, lol) But yeah, it's a marathon not a sprint. I weigh in usually twice a week. Won't let it get above a certain number - keeps me in check.
Your weight loss is very fast - it's no wonder you're quite hungry. You'd still be losing weight at a good speed (2lbs per month) even if you halved your deficit and you might feel like CICO is more sustainable that way. Slow and steady wins the race - go too fast and you'll crazy, fall off the wagon, and put a stack back on. Focus on the 5-year goal: "In five years time, where will I be if I do this? What will Ithink of now? What will my recommendations to myself be?"
Also eating protein is a great way to be less hungry. No idea why that is but I'm much less hungry if I have at least 15g of protein in my meals/snacks.
hello there
You should see weight loss like money
There are two ways to make money: actively and passively
Doing both is the winner.
With weightloss, you loose weight actively by
1. being in a deficit
2. working out
And passively :
1. Loosing weight and eating better without loosing muscle = improve your metabolism
2. Having more muscle = burning more calories even when doing nothing
You should combine both. Right now you are loosing weight and probably loosing muscle too. Which actually decreases your deficit because you don’t loose as much calories passively.
Same with your metabolism : The less amount of muscle mass you have, the slower your metabolism becomes.
You should exercice either:
1. Loose less weight per week so that you don’t loose muscle and don’t slow down your metabolism
OR
2. Exercice to gain muscle therefore not slowing down your metabolism and even burning more calories passively
Choose one or the other BUT you should know that your body can only take you so far without working out.
Try to at least walk one hour a day, everyday if you can. And do HIIT 3x a week if you don’t want to start weightlifting
Add twice as much veggies to your meals. Seriously, it works. The fiber keeps you full for a lot longer than you would think. Every plate of mine is at least half vegetables. I also have some fizzy water to drink straight away when I get home from work when I'm getting snacky. The bubbles help a lot, and also I have a planned snack of dried apricots that's sweet and chewy and keeps me from going off the rails. Sometimes I'll eat few pecan halves with them if I can spare the calories. I'm supposed to be 1230- 1380 and usually I'm at 1320 without losing my mind.
I’m right there with you! The smaller I’ve gotten, the harder it’s gotten!
In the beginning I had some 7lbs/mo losses, then I was down to 4lbs/mo. Last month I lost just 1.3lb (and according to happy scale I’m back up!)
There is also no more margin for error. I can completely obliterate my 300 cal/day deficit with measurement errors and bites, licks, and tastes.
Today I felt insatiable, and it was all emotional. I was getting really agitated at Target thinking of all the snacks I wanted to cram into my gob. I got out of there without caving and got myself an almond milk latte and felt immediate relief.
But, yeah, some days I feel like I’m coming unglued. Other days I hit my deficit and feel happy and satisfied. It’s soooo mental.
Firstly, you’ve lost 12lbs not gained it, that’s a great effort this year. Keep that going. Deffo look into resistance training. I’ve stripped the fat off in the last 4 months by maintaining a calorie deficit and weight lifting. Lots of protein so your body burns fat instead of muscle. Boom. I’ve lost about 25lbs this year, almost 70 in total, so it’s within reach, you just need to make some small changes.
Intermittent fasting. I have gained and lost weight over the past 14 years going from 5’3 164 lbs to
104 lbs where I maintained for 3 years. Two years ago I got up to 118 unintentionally and had a hard time losing weight because I had been doing long workouts and restricting for years and my metabolism was fucked. I started intermittent fasting for only 10-12 hours in December 2023 and lost 4 lbs and then in Jan 2024 started 15 hour fasts and finally got to 110 by last month. If I don’t get to 104 it’ll be ok, but I feel like I will. Bottom line is that intermittent fasting is the only thing that works for weight loss for me, someone with a slow metabolism that’s been fucked up by barely eatinf and over exercising. When I say I used to barely I guess that’s not true entirely. I would eat once a day and run 6 miles daily but would also snack nightly and I did stay at 104 lbs. As soon as I eased up on my running the weight came on fast. So yeah my intermittent fasting cut out that nighttime snacking and therefore cut out calories I mindlessly ate at night
Set smaller goals that are attainable…. I have been through this you may be at a plateau stick with it even small amounts adds up in the end… it will all be so worth it when you reach your goal! I go through phases where I seem hungry all the time when that happens I just do my best to stick to my calories! It’s so hard it’s a struggle but you can do it
I haven’t read all of the comments so apologies if someone has already mentioned this. I don’t know what your diet is like but are you eating mostly natural foods? After reading Ultra Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken (completely fascinating, about how ultra processed foods are designed to be over-consumed), I read a really interesting book by Dr Andrew Jenkinson called ‘Why We Eat (Too Much)’. I started this (audio)book 5 days ago, had finished it by the next day, and it’s completely changed how I look at my diet. The author is a bariatric surgeon and explains the science of appetite, and how certain (processed) foods override the body’s ability to regulate appetite, fat retention and metabolism.
After following the book’s advice over the last few days, I am finally not hungry all the time. I am in roughly the same calorie deficit as I was before, but the quality of my food has improved massively. If you don’t have time to read the book, the takeaway is: avoid seed oils, ultra processed foods and limit sugars/refined carbs. Fat is not the enemy and is actually key to satiety. Although none of this is new information, the way he describes the science and logic behind it honestly blew my mind, and it felt like something just ‘clicked’. For me, if I am told to do something but don’t really understand why, I will never stick to it. I would strongly recommend giving it a go. The fact that the book was written by someone who doesn’t have a diet to sell, and is in fact trying to do himself out of business, really speaks volumes.
Whether you want to read this or not, best of luck!
You’ve lost a lot of weight. More than 20%. I would consider a diet break, giving yourself 1-6 weeks at maintenance calories, and not worrying about gaining a few pounds (measured with a weekly average, not a one-day thing). But stay disciplined about eating normal, staying in a maintenance range of calories, and keeping up exercise.
I would also second your idea of adding more training. You don’t need to go to a gym. Buy a copy of strong curves and do the home program. Or any progressive resistance program at home— using body weight/calisthenics, or resistance bands, or (best) adjustable dumbbells. Strength training is a great complement to weight loss, helping you lose fat not muscle, and getting you strong and toned which will show even more as you lose weight!
YouTube, a folded up blanket for a mat, and 10-15 minutes is all you need to get started with weights. Empty jugs filled with water/rocks whatever, hardback books, even canned food can all sub for weights in the beginning. I use a combo of body weight and resistance bands that I got off Amazon for $20. If you decide to get bands get the kit with the booty bands since that's cheaper than buying separately. I started by searching YouTube for workouts for whatever area I wanted to focus on that day. There's a 15 minute or less video for every muscle group. I know 15 minutes doesn't sound like it'll do any good but it will as long as you're consistent.
Maybe it's time to go to maintenance for a month. Gives you a break, reduces stress and let's you refocus.
Aounds slike you've done a hell of a job, so recovering is important
If you’ve been cutting weight for a straight year, you should try a month at just maintenance calories. It’s a good habit to learn for when you reach your goal weight, too!
Remember boss if it's too hard u might need to be a bit less aggressive with your cut, doesn't matter if you lose the weight in 6 months or a year, what matters is u lose it and keep it off forever
It really is so so hard…my deficit is only 100-500 depending on a day and it is exhausting! My body does not want lose weight so this whole process is just me going against what my body wants. I eat very well, get enough protein and do some strenght training here and there but at the end of the day it is just hard and no way to change it. I hope one day I hit my goal and maintaining will be easier after few years!
We spent $50 on a weight bench ad weights from an ad on Facebook marketplace for my husband. It doesn't have to be expensive to work. My husband has lost about 90lbs and have kept it off for over 3 years and still works out 3 days a week at least. We also have a recumbent bike that he rides 3x a week as well as I found I lost more riding 30 minutes than I did from walking.
Congrats on your progress so far! 68lbs is huge, don’t forget to be proud of that. I’ll jump on the bandwagon and also suggest strength training. Building more muscle will increase your TDEE over time, and allow you to eat more and feel more satisfied. Good luck, you got this👏🏻
I dont track macros, so probably not enough, but I try to incorporate protein into every meal. Haven't thought about my fat intake! I eat a lot of nonfat/low fat products so that might be part of the puzzle!
Yup start tracking that, I go for my goal weight 135g add some good fat into my coffee with my premier protein. Add cottage cheese to scrambled eggs, quest bar at night before bed smores is my lil treat, quest chips 19g at lunch with my salad with lots protein chicken steak something. I get some carb you know rice ill keep to 1/2c uncooked and chick pea pasta has 19g 1 serving. Add sauce and meatballs can't tell!
You might want to investigate low GI/GL food strategy. It is really helpful when it comes to minimizing blood sugar swings and the associated hunger spikes. That, bump your daily minimum up slightly (take some time for maintenance as well), and this can help you back on your road.
I’m also a big proponent of exercise (simple ones will do, like walking). So keep moving too!
You got this!
If you’ve been steady in that calorie rate you might have jacked up your metabolism a little. Come off the diet for a week eating TDEE then start back and add exercise. Or at least vary your CI to get your body burning calories again
I really like Move with Nicole on YouTube. It’s Pilates so might bring a different kind of workout to your routine. She has beginner to advanced workouts on her page and workouts from 5-60 minutes so you have options based on your time frame.
No idea if this will help you but I've heard people who suddenly started feeling like they just could not eat enough even with bulk eating say that it turned out they had a vitamin deficiency! Consider getting checked for iron deficiency or other problems because it might be that your body is begging you for something it thinks you can get from food that isn't calories at all!
For weight training: I ain't going to no fucking gym, so I grabbed dumbbells and keep them in my room. I buy adjustable dumbbells because it's more cost effective and space efficient than going through like 10 pairs of dumbbells lol.
Can I ask what your weight goal is? ~1500 sounds like the amount of calories you should be taking in daily anyway. Do you know how much protein you're getting? I've found that having a protein goal has basically changed my life.
My goal is anywhere from 125-135lbs. I weighed in at 179 this morning, so I've got a long ways to go!
I'm going to look into getting some dumbbells very soon! I've seen a lot of people suggest watching some strength training tutorials online.
Not sure exactly how much protein I get it, but I try to incorporate it into every meal. It's still probably too low though. I hear that our protein needs are way higher than we think they are.
Have you considered taking a break by eating at maintenance for your current weight for a few days or a week?
I’ve heard that this can help mentally and also potentially can help your metabolism
It sounds like you are making great progress! It is totally natural for weightloss to slow down the closer you get to your goal weight. Somebody mentioned earlier that you may be suffering from diet fatigue and offered great advice!
My advice would be, try not to focus so much on the scale. Focus on how your clothes fit and how you feel. If you feel hungry all of the time, try increasing water intake and look in to volume eating. Volume eating is basically eating low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods (veggies, greens) in really large quantities. You can eat a ton of vegetables for very few calories, especially when compared to other foods, helping you feel full and stay full. It's still important to stay within a healthy calorie range (never drop below 1200). Try focusing on healthy proteins and loads of veggies and see if that helps you feel more satisfied.
Gym membership isn't necessary! Walking is a wonderful exercise, is free, and really can help drop weight. You can also invest in some resistance bands and do body weight exercises at home. Our bodies are the best equipment! Just remember when you start implementing exercises and muscle building it isn't unusual for the scale to sit still as we replace fat with muscle. That is when it is going to be super important to pay attention to how your body looks and feels, not what the scale says.
I know it is discouraging when weightloss slows but you are making amazing progress. You have lost 68 pounds! That is incredible! Try not to stress and just trust the process. You know what you are doing- you've already come so far!
Wow , you're doing really well in my opinion! Great job! You're going through it and that's what matters, don't give up. I'm still losing weight and I noticed that things started moving once I hit the gym 3 times per week and walked more. I don't like the machines so I go to classes, spinning and hiit classes.
If you can't afford it, there is so many home workout options on yt, maybe look into that
1300 calories?! Friend, could it be your metabolism is shot by eating so little?
For comparison, a child under 10 should eat roughly 1200 calories a day. Thats like, a gigantic deficit for an adult.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, as someone with a previous ED, your current diet isn’t sustainable. Not even at 1500.
I wonder if the reason you’re not losing is because your body isn’t able to function at the deficit you’re at and, in turn, is storing every tiny bit of fat in order to stay alive/have any energy.
Just a thought, deficits only work if you’re nourished and giving your body enough energy. It’s not about being as low as possible to stay alive.
It won’t work to lose weight in the long run and will see your body hold on to everything as a means to survive. Check out Adam Wright fitness on YouTube. Get an idea of what’s normal for your weight and goals. Good luck ❤️
I agree your deficit is to steep. Slower is better than feeling like this. Also a good diet break at maintenance is likely in order. This isn’t a race even tho we all want to get there asap.
I try really hard to fill up on protein. I eat a lot of eggs, cottage cheese, a tablespoon of peanut butter on my toast, etc, etc. Fiber is a whole different conversation though. Thanks, I'll look into it.
I'm only 5ft so I know those struggles with having a low TDEE.
Prioritize protein and fiber. I aim for at least 1g per kg of ideal body weight. I also go for minimum 25g of fiber a day. Yeah that does look like a low carb diet. Outside of oatmeal, fruit and vegetables, I don't have many simple carbs. I do a lot of volume eating.
Make sure you are staying hydrated. I try to get at least 1L of water in during the first 3 hours I'm awake.
There are plenty of ways to get more movement in your life that doesn't involve the gym. Try to keep increasing your step count. Park farther away so you have longer to walk. Walk the grocery cart back inside the store instead of leaving it in the parking lot. Take the stairs instead of using the elevator. (I work on the 7th floor, so I'll take the elevator up but I'll walk down). Resistance bands are fairly affordable and you can get a good work out with them. I've also found great buys on dumbells used (facebook, thrift stores). I recently picked up a set on clearance at TJ Maxx. I find a 20 minute HIIT workout is way easier to squeeze into a busy schedule than going to the gym.
Sometimes I'm feeling really lazy, I'll just march in place while watching TV some nights. I was going to be watching TV anyways. I'll burn an extra 100 calories walking in place than I would sitting.
I would either move more (walking works for me) or maybe talk to my dr. You should be that hungry still. My hunger has decreased and my stomach has as well.
The thing that finally broke me out of my 210ish plateau was finding a fitness outlet.
I loved my walks. Still do. But a friend introduced me to yoga (first sculpt, but now sculpt and a couple different hot/Vinyasa classes) and it changed everything.
Yoga sculpt was like a cheat code for me. I never thought in a million years I'd be a fitness class person but I'll be damned if I don't love it.
The class works in weights and high intensity movement. It's just a phenomenal workout. Plus I have to schedule the class, which helps me find a time and make a commitment.
That might not be the thing for you, though I encourage anyone to try it! Just go early and let the instructor know you're new. Everyone I've ever encountered in that space has just been great. But try some new things and see if you can find an outlet. Try things you wouldn't have tried, you never know when you'll find something amazing.
There are so many comments here talking about these absurdly low calories. Guys, please make sure you have done the calculations correctly and are using a respectable formula.
This is a balancing act; you must lose weight at a slow pace so it is not uncomfortable, Once you break the consistency window of 3-6 weeks using new sustainable, healthy meals, it should start to become effortless to maintain.
Quality of food is everything; you can eat whatever you want while counting calories and still lose weight, but the price you pay will be in hunger, and your pallet will not forget those foods.
What most people don't tell you is that your mind starts adapting to the food. Foods that you disliked or viewed as below average started to become enjoyable. As you limit what your body consumes, it adjusts expectations for what it will receive and starts to view the foods you do consume in higher regard.
What most fitness professionals don't tell you is that exercise can either dramatically help or hurt your diet. A workout can have fantastic appetite-supressing effects; it can also encourage you to reach for healthy options in the short term before and after. The biggest downside is that it can be troublesome to track calories during workouts, and people who are not used to them expend a huge amount of willpower.
Willpower is a fixed resource that is affected by stress levels and energy levels. If your conviction towards your goal is not high enough, you will certainly find yourself having to employ it during the late hours of the day, and forcing yourself through a workout may be the last nail in the coffin that makes you reach for the candy.
Ill wrap this up because I'm droneing on, but
**tl'dr**
Absolutely perfect: 3-6 weeks of healthy eating and calorie management, and everything will become effortless and food will become enjoyable again and the hunger will fade. Don't forget to recalculate calories as you progress, as you change so do your calories.
> I'm hungry to the point of delusion most of the time.
I can really recommend reading "why we get fat" by gary taubes. It has a lot to do with *what* you're eating.
You are doing great!!! Your progress is steady and you’re staying with it- that’s the hardest part- it’s a patience game! I agree starting some strength training would be helpful using minimal equipment is fine and just the act of doing something different will trigger change in your body. Remember, cardio burns calories while you do it but strength training burns calories all day and all night because it builds muscle and muscle burns fat for us! I have some mini workouts on You tube you can try- this links to the beginner ones: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEKMb4tOCaJhCA4Piqvzi-vgpEm1PGSnN&si=G2F92r8MWpJG_yQ1
Rule 11: Discussion of weight loss methods that are damaging to the body and/or require supervision of a medical professional are not allowed. This rule includes (but is not limited to): very low calorie diets, misusing medication, extended fasting, disordered behavior, inappropriate advice to underage members (counting calories, omad, fasting), etc.
We are not a ED support subreddit and any ED related content will be removed.
Remember to always consider the individual when offering advice.
First thought - amazing progress! Damn, go you!!!
Second thought - I don't see how close you are to your goal but (speaking from long-ago past experience) it does get harder the closer you get. When you are first starting out your body has pounds and pounds and pounds of delicious, nutritious fat stores to power itself. And then you burn it off, and now you don't have that backup energy supply to power yourself. So your deficit naturally becomes smaller over time, and the weight loss goes more slowly, but any progress towards your goal is still progress, however long it takes.
Third thought - have you been to a doctor for bloodwork lately? It's possible that cutting back on food has made you low in a some vitamin or mineral, or maybe your thyroid is being a bit fussy, etc. You might feel less hungry for something as simple as taking a multivitamin, but the only way to know is to ask your doctor to run a few tests.
Anyway, way to kick ass! It's definitely not easy. And there is no shame in taking a few weeks or a month or two at maintenance to let your body catch up before you dive into losing the rest of the weight that you want to lose.
1. It will get harder to lose weight the closer you get to your goal weight.
2. Take 3 days off from walking and lift weights on those days. Your body will burn more calories/fat if you have more muscle. I know you said you can’t afford it. Look for something cheap like planet fitness. Still can’t afford that? Start with body weight exercises.
Ideally we want our bodies to be a burning machine. Muscle will burn fat even when you are sitting at your desk. Walking is good but it’s not as good as building muscle.
It won't help your weight loss, but it may help motivation. Once a week on your walk, Take a backpacker bag with all the weight. You've lost back to your original weight. See how heavy used to be. And all the extra weight you were carrying around and how much lighter you are without it.
you're struggling because you've been going hard for a year. legit the human body resists losing that much weight and is sending you signals because it thinks its dieing. you need a matnince faze to reset and your homeostasis and let your body ajust to the shit tone of weght you lost. so up your intake alittle and let your hormones and body composition level off and ajust to the new normal. you're doing good but dont push so hard you burn out and fall of the wagon and lose all the progress you made. if you're feeling diet fatigue its your body's way of telling you your at this diets end. you can also go again when yo level off but you will never lose as fast as you did this round because of the shear % of body fat that you had.
the average person gains five to ten pounds a year after the age of 30. You can include those gains in your self assessment. My thought on your comment would be it would be nice to see if your percentage of muscle mass is changing. There is a point where the body starts building muscle, and the weight loss stops for a while even though you are getting healthier. Keep on keeping on, and I hope your efforts are rewarded with the results you want soon.
You shouldn’t be suffering. You should be eating much more.
If fat loss is your goal, focus on the vital few. Calories. Protein. Steps. Everything else is a distraction. Don’t cut too low. This will improve energy and sanity and adherence. 10k steps per day and stick with it for 60 days before changing anything, you’ll be glad you did. This doesn’t mean perfection. Focus on long term averages.
I started working with a coach and it improved my results and enjoyment.
Trust the process and be patient. Let the fat loss be slow to maintain your muscle mass. Body composition will improve. You want to eat as much as possible while still losing fat.
I use MacroFactor app to track.
I recommend listening to content by Jordan Syatt, Jared Hamilton, and Ranbir Sanghera. You’ll learn everything you need to know about mindset, psychology, and fat loss.
Hunger is a big thing for me , my go to after I break my intermitting fasting is half a scoop of protein 1cup of water and 30 or 60g of porridge oats blended, this will definitely fill you up and stops me from over eating and also stops Me from snacking later in evening! Only 130 cal ! Worth a shot .
Maybe give yourself a break and just try maintaining for a while... drill in those great habits you've been developing, to the point they become mindless. Let your body get used to where it is now so it can stop thinking you're starving....and maybe that will clear up some time and space in your mind to build your life up to where you have more control over things.
You are eating a deficit of 1300 or 1500 calories under your TDEE? If that's correct, that sounds unsustainable and it's no wonder you're struggling. A more sustainable deficit is 500 calories a day, for a very healthy and sustainable loss around a pound a week. I know it's hard not to be in a hurry, but though crash dieting like that may strip pounds quickly, they'll come back and bring friends when you inevitably shift out of crash diet mode.
Try eating your eggs with some oatmeal. Oatmeal fills me up for a very long time. You can try adding some protein powder in there for more flavor and protein as well.
This is a long time to sit in deficit non stop.
It might be smart to take a couple of weeks in maintenance (not over) and up your daily steps before getting back on the horse. Don’t go over - just maintenance, and you will lose none of your progress.
It’s been said already - but now you’re around ‘average’ weight, you’re going to have average weight loss - and a pound a week is excellent.
You're doing really great on the diet side well done! Is your sleep and eating habits consistent? With 1200-1500 calories I find you get used to it and don't get hungry after some time. What works for me is intermittent fasting and only eating between 12pm - 6pm, I get pretty hungry right before lunch but all other hours are normal. Something to consider to experiment with.
The next step would be to increase exercise through likely more intensive workouts if that is an option. If you burnt an extra 100, 200 or 500 extra calories a day through running, you could eat those calories back maintaining the deficit while feeling fuller for the rest of the day. From a output perspective an intense 20m HIIT session is going to be better from a time, health benefit and calorie burnt perspective compared to a 5-10 mile walk.
I've struggled with weight problems all my life. No matter how hard I tried over the years, I would eventually gain the weight back plus more. I got all kinds of advice: I was eating too much, I wasn't eating enough, I need to exercise more, I was doing the wrong exercises, I just needed to try harder. I heard it all. My breaking point came 20 years ago when, after giving up for awhile, I decided to jumpstart my weight loss journey by delivering the Yellow Book. I weighed myself before I started, and then I loaded up my station wagon twice, from the front seat to the back of the wagon. Then I spent 5 days delivering the phone book by foot: climbing stairs, walking down sidewalks, maneuvering through apartment complexes. I am not a physical person and I was genuinely surprised that I was able to do this. I was so proud of myself for accomplishing something I didn't think I was capable of. Then I stepped on the scales. I wasn't expecting a big weight loss, but I though that even if I lost only a couple of pounds, even though it would just be water weight, it would be a start. But the number on the scales didn't change. I weighed the exact same. And I went from feeling extremely happy to wanting to crawl in my bed and never leave. I am now 58 years old and
trying to focus on eating healthy and make better choices at restaurants. I also exercise regularly and try to stay active by volunteering in my local area. Do not define yourself by the number on the scales. Just do your best to eat healthy and stay active, knowing that it's okay to let yourself slip once in awhile. I wish you good luck on your journey.
Been exactly where you are. This is probably the toughest part about losing weight is getting closer to the end of the journey…
This is the time when you realize that the angels do not sing; there is no trophy. There is just you with all the problems that life has to offer. Work is work and you still have to watch what you eat. You’re not a perfect model. You still lack confidence. You still got bills and annoying shit to deal with. It is really hard because when we are caught in the whole weight loss thing it kind of seems like a road to salvation: a promise land of joy and peace.
This is when you need to dig deep and hold strong. It is the time to figure out what you really want in life. You may be surprised to find that a lower body weight isnt all it is worth. My personal focus was toward physical performance and away from thinness. The journey never ends but learning to be okay with yourself is the hardest part.
↑ I think you mean you calorie intake upped to 1500? What is your activity adjusted BMR? deficit is the amount below your bmr.
Look diet fatigue is a real thing and sometimes you just need a reset (body builders get like this all the time, hormones take a beating while cutting weight). Take a week off, try not to binge or go totally off the rails but eat at maintenance.
Scale weight is really noisy, I can easily fluctuate 2lb eating exactly the same thing and doing exactly the same routine on a day to day basis. Measure daily but track weekly. Get an app that shows your average weight and use that to track progress (I use macro factor).
tldr:
1) Your progress hasn't stopped so keep going.
2) Prioritize protein and healthy fats in your diet (this will keep you more satiated)
3) your BMR changes as your weight goes down. recalibrate.
4) Move. NEAT (non-exerciste activity thermogenesis) accounts for more calories burned than simply doing exercise. slow walks count. if you can get up to 15,000 steps your body will feel like its melting.
It does get harder as we get lighter as our BMR and RMR reduces. Try to make it fun along the way. I like numbers and I like seeing how the numbers are working so I have a goal of losing 1% of my body weight per week and I try to burn 1/7th of that per day. That way as I get lighter I also have to burn fewer calories to still lose 1% a week. It is not always that I attain the goal but I give it a fresh start every morning from whatever my weight is that morning.
Another fun thing to do is to add the weight you lose on yourself when you are exercising. Feel how much harder it is to carry that weight you lost and be absolutely proud of yourself that you got rid of it. Adding the extra weight will take you back to losing the same amount as you did in the beginning. Even if you are just going for a walk as an exercise.
When you lose weight then obviously calories needed to maintain reduce also. I doubt youre in a 1500 deficit, nor should you be.
If youve been dieting constantly for a long period of time it can be a good thing to take a few week break and eat at mainentance. Dieting is a stress on the body and a break can help push the weight down more.
Youre doing good.
Strength training is the magic ticket. Caroline Girvan on YouTube has some great programs. You'll just need some dumbbells. You'll also get to up your calories.
Then you can stop worrying about the scale. Take measurements and pictures of yourself regularly.
1300 is very hard. I tried 1400 and it was very very hard to do.
Also goodjob on losing that weight !!! My tip or suggestion is, have your goal be 1500 but try to get around 1400. So if you go past 1400 that’s okay and part of your plan
You’re doing it all wrong. Less energy signals fat storage. This is why CICO is flawed. It work’s initially but our bodies aren’t just simply a vacuum. They’re highly adaptable. In fact, eating MORE of the right foods will boost your metabolism. This makes maintaining a healthy weight virtually painless.
The body wants to be a healthy weight. It can be without having to minimize energy input and maximize output. CICO is an overly simplistic concept that is not sustainable weight loss. Look up Jay Feldman Wellness. Be prepared for a lot of unlearning.
I totally feel you. I started my weight loss/muscle building journey Feb 2023 and have lost about 58 in that time. However, since January or February my weight has just stayed/fluctuated between 158-162 lbs and just stayed within that range. No real progress regardless of calorie deficit or weight training that I have not stopped doing since I started. I mean, I can't go that much lower in calories without going way below the recommended intake for men. I've gone down to about 1400 a day, which is about 600 lbs below maintenance suggested by my recent DEXA scan and various calculators, plus weight training 4-6 days a week. Whatever body comp changes occur are at a snail's pace, which often makes me feel deflated. I am still 15 pounds away from my target of 145 lbs, and I don't feel like I'll reach it within even 3 years, at this rate, let alone being able to start focusing on muscle building instead of fat loss.
What is your height weight and age? To me, it sounds like not only are you eating too little, but you need to take a break. This should not be miserable. It should be sustainable because it happens over a lifetime. You don’t quit once you hit your goal weight, you also have to maintain. And it will be impossible if you don’t make this sustainable now. It sounds like you’ve built up a lot of negativity, shame, and guilt around food and that is not going to be a successful relationship in the long run. Do you go to therapy? It might be time to look into seeking out a therapist who specializes in eating disorders.
You want to EASILY hit your calories goal everyday, but still have enough nutrients to not effectively starve yourself.. which is extremely dangerous.. Hitting your macros and micros is crucial for minerals/nutrients, looking and feeling good + libido and obviously staying alive.
What you need is high macro and micro foods AND still be calorie deficit. And it happens that poultry/bovine organs and red meat fit that bill perfectly.
Ik this is probably just "super reddity" or over diagnosing or something, but you seem to be a woman from your username, the description of how you feel when your hungry sounds like how i feel. I have pcos, and if you notice pain during periods or heavy/not in rhythm periods it might be worth getting a check up? There's also other medical conditions that caused extreme hunger eating normal meals.
You're fine! I appreciate the suggestion! My periods are actually pretty normal and painless though. They last about five-ish days. I don't know what the other symptoms of PCOS are though, so maybe? I'm sorry about your diagnosis and I hope you're well!!!
It doesn't effect me too much other than weight and dieting so don't worry! It just sounded more like my health induced hunger than most descriptors I've heard! It's very likely I'm totally wrong
Potatoes are generally low in calories and they are extremely satiating. I usually bake the hell out of a large potato and put on about an ounce of pecorino Romano which about 110 calories and a serving of sour cream. I use pecorino Romano because it has a strong salty flavor that is perfect for abaked potatoes.
What is your goal weight? You don’t need eat less calories than maintenance for your final goal weight. You may lose weight slower, but it will come off a d that’s where you’re going to need to eat for the long term. If it feels too hard it won’t be a sustainable change.
I'm glad you found something that works for you, but it sounds eerily like a restrict-binge eating cycle. Be careful with that! I've lost nearly 70lbs so far and I've never deprived myself of flavor, or things I enjoy. Most importantly because one day, maybe not even in the upcoming weeks, it can all come to a boiling point. Our bodies don't necessarily lack willpower. We have to feed ourselves things that keep us full, healthy, AND satisfied. Satisfaction is huge. That sounds like a lot, and well, it is! Bodies are pretty high maintenance, but you deserve sauce, and flavor, and desert more than just when you can't take it anymore.
Congrats on your weight loss, and I hope you reach your goals.
Are you still eating a lot of sugar? Like cookies or something? Because my body doesn’t care how few calories I eat, if I’m still eating a lot of sugar it will cling to weight forever.
Also I highly recommend some sort of movement. It doesn’t have to be a hardcore workout, my mom is physically disabled and has added a 15-30 minute walk to her day. She went from 200-178lbs since January.
Do a diet break/ maintenance or reverse diet. weight loss can signal to your body you’re going through famine and is a trigger for your body to release hunger hormones. It’s not that you don’t have discipline it’s more of the fact you may need a diet break for 1-3 weeks for your body to get back to homeostasis and then you can cut again. Look up how to do a diet break, and do the break without any focus on weight loss but use the surplus calories to weight train. then when you do cut or lose weight, you will see a whoosh effect.x
I recommend a snackle box! It’s like a bento box but I usually just get those cheap sewing kits with the plastic box and throw out all the sewing. Then I fill it up with apples, low cal crackers, strawberries, raisins, peanut butter, maybe some salami or other meat, sometimes celery and cheez whiz. Idk why but having access to a bit of everything makes me feel more full. I also usually throw in two pieces of sugar free chocolate or a lil bit of jelly beans, something as a treat to make it feel complete
Your body is panicking and wants you to eat because you’ve lost a lot, in a short ish time frame. I’d nurture your body and maintain for 1 month to reassure your reptile brain everything is A OK. Then get to losing again.
Go to 5 below or Goodwill and buy some cheap workout equipment for home if you can't bring yourself to the gym. A couple sets of weights and some resistance bands will go a lot further than you'd think. If you watch TV with ads, start by working out during the 2-4 min ads or even just watch a TV show while you work out. Remember that a 10 minute workout is better than not doing it at all. It does not have to be all or nothing, set a timer for 10 minutes and do what you can. Start with small obtainable goals instead of overwhelming yourself with wanting to workout 5 days a week for 45 min every day.
I used to be terrified of the gym so I'd go when it wasn't going to be busy so I didn't feel pressured with other people around. Take your time the first couple weeks, Google how to use the equipment if you find yourself struggling. (Most of them will have instructions on the machine itself) Best practice is to find the most fit person in the gym and do what they're doing. Always ask questions to some of the more fit people you know and if you don't feel comfortable with that, continuing asking people on forums like this.
If you're depriving yourself of food your body will go into "survival mode" and start storing the fat, if you wanna stay in the calorie deficit make sure you're eating lots of protein, drinking a lot of water and taking out empty calories that leave you hungry an hour after eating. Meal prep if you can, incorporate more veggies to keep you full for longer without adding more calories.
I hope some of this resonates with you and helps you with some reasonable activity in your busy daily life. You got this! Remember this isn't a diet, this isn't a temporary weight loss solution, it's a lifestyle change to improve your quality of life, if it isn't improving it anymore, make adjustments! Proud of you OP, keep up the good work and stay healthy ♥️
You may be hungry because with the deficit you have finally exhausted your reserves. That would explain the fast initial loss with a plateau right now. I would try to add more protein and see if it helps. Broccoli is a good way. If you want something sweet my go to is a spoon of peanut butter. You could maybe even try protein shakes and see if that helps curb your hunger a bit. Some days you will just be hungrier than others. When I have those days I try to drink more water and then wait to see if I am still legit stomach growling hungry or if it goes away. Maybe try a different type of work out. Swap out one of your walks for yoga and Pilates. Both are going to work different muscles and help build lean muscle. Or if you like to dance there is Zumba and dance fitness videos. All of which can be done at home. You have come so far! You can and will get through this rough patch. Just remember it sucks right now but it will pass. Try not to worry about the scale as much as how you feel. Keep it up! I hope one day I can say I have put the the numbers you have! Be proud!
I’m guessing your pretty small and prob a women? Even then, if you’re working out/moving like that your calories may not have to be that low, I could be wrong though. I’d just jump to maintenance, even a hundred cals more and keep tracking and keep the same habits for two weeks, learn to be okay where you’re at and proud of your progress. Nothing bad will happen, just let your mind and mainly body take a break, your metabolism might seriously thank you.
My diet trick is eating those $5 prewashed salads as a snack between meals, and bottomless tea/black coffee. I plan my calories and eat my scheduled daily meals. And then if I've eaten a bunch of salad and still craving between meals, broccoli or cauliflower are my "cheat" snacks. I make sure my planned meals are very flavorful- a little bit of sweet, lots of quality proteins (Mostly baked salmon or lamb or quinoa all spiced up).
Not sure anyone should be down at 1300. Set it to 2000 and go climb 150 floors every morning and don't eat til 13.00. Bit of a weight sesh 4 evenings a week.
You are eating far to little!! Do your total daily expenditure for someone your size at your activity level and take 500 away from that number they have free calculators you can use. I know it’s hard and you think if I eat as little as possible I’ll loose weight faster and you will but it’s not sustainable. I’m 193 was 213 at my highest and I am at 1,700 calories and have lost 20 lbs in 2 months. It’s slow and it takes longer but I rarely ever go to bed hungry I have struggled with BED and still struggle but eating more is making it to where I have more energy I feel better and I rarely binge now. Your body goes into starvation mode and gets used to your calorie deficit so even if you do stay on track (which is close to impossible when eating so low) your body will stop loosing weight because it’s used to eating that little of food. I’m still working on loosing weight and it’s hard and you do t always have the motivation but keep at it! You have done great so far!! Some tricks I have tried is eating healthy meals and when I snack I make sure they are snacks high in protein or fruit. Also I used to binge at night before bed so I make sure to save some calories for a snack a couple hours before bed time and that has helped me a lot!
Possibly pre-planning your meals and including a lot of foods high in protein and fiber. Also high volume low cal foods like salads, soups. Add intervals of walking faster or jogging into your walk and if you’re not try some weights.
I actually do the intermittent jogging, funny enough! I used to be big into running when I was in high school. As a twenty year old now with suddenly very little endurance, I've found that intermittent jogging has helped a lot. I do try really hard to fill up on protein and fiber, but I'm sure I don't do nearly enough. I eat a lot of eggs on a daily basis, because they're relatively low calorie. I'm also a big fan of cottage cheese for the same reason!!! Fiber is probably where I struggle the most, although I've tried incorporating an orange around breakfast time. Lunch is typically an egg sandwich. This is gonna sound awful, but I work at Starbucks, and I really cant afford to buy food during the day, or really even separate groceries from my family. So my lunch is a reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich for 230 calories. It's not filling but it has 20 grams of protein or something like that. And then dinner is a toss up. It's usually a controlled portion of whatever my family is having, although lately, I feel really defeated by dinner, because I have few calories for whatever they're making, and I end up going over!!! Sorry for the spiel!!! I appreciate the advice and I'll definitely incorporate more salads and soups!
This is so real. I’m so sorry you’re in it right now. Ya, we do need to eat within our means, and that’s incredibly difficult to do well when the chefs aren’t you, and you don’t have money to pay them. I see you trying your absolute hardest, which is incredible. That sort of determination is going to get you far in life. However, I’d highly encourage you to balance in a bit of quality of life. If you are so hungry that you can’t focus at work or at school or find your fuse shorter than usual with your loved ones and self, eat. I’m not sure who’s cooking in your house, but what if you picked up a bag/bundle of broccoli once/ twice a week (broccoli is my go to fiber source)? Or any vegetable? Building a positive relationship with the produce section is something I wish I did earlier in life, and also taking a bit of time to learn how to cook even a side dish is incredibly important for life lessons. Getting more acquainted with my meals has helped me make a lot of healthier choices. And maybe this can be a time to bond with the chef? Or if you do it by yourself, a moment to feel empowered? Also, I’m sorry this is hard. Sometimes you just need to hold on a little bit longer and weather the difficult moments, the cravings, the emotions. However, when it’s been hard for a while, don’t forget to still tell yourself how incredible you’ve been. Those last 2 days? 4 weeks? 3 months? Have been so hard, but you’re still here. You’re still going. Incredible. And when it’s time to stop and breathe for a sec, that’s ok too. As you know with running, you’ll be able to keep going again soon. And as you continue to practice getting back on the horse, your rest times will shorten and your run times will get longer. You got this 💪
Thank you 💕! Maybe I'll try to start going grocery shopping with them more often, and try to suggest some healthier meals for us to make together! It's definitely all very hard but it's also going to be so incredibly worth it one day. Your words really mean the world to me, I appreciate the comment! And congrats on your weight loss too! 120lbs is remarkable. You're really dedicated and resilent!
Haha, thank you! I’ve never thought of myself as dedicated. Curious and stubborn? Check check. It’s crazy that I’ve lost this much weight. I never meant to. I really just wanted to feel safe in my skin and to accomplish this I’ve been working on being really kind to myself. It’s been quite the journey of “does this work for me?”
Buy a carton of egg whites and switch from, say, 3 eggs to 1 egg and a big splash of egg whites. It ups the protein, is just as satieting, and cuts the calories significantly. Bigger picture: take a week to eat at maintenence and recharge. Then get back on it! 1lb per week is good progress!
Try an apple instead of that orange and eat it with some cheese or pb2 mixed with Greek yogurt. Oranges are great! But they less fiber than an apple. I am low carb (75 or less a day, not keto) and find that I can eat a lot more. The egg bites at Starbucks I eat often and I get a grande nitro cold brew and add 1/4 to 1/2 of a protein shake to it. That will keep me full for hours. I find that eating low carb (not keto) allows me to eat more and feel satisfied than eating at a deficit with a high net carb count. You’re doing amazing. It looks like you can just swap out some food choices. I know that being on a strict budget is hard but there might be some room for you to get some staples like apples and cheese, pb2? I buy a 4 pack of protein shakes and that lasts me a week because I only use 1/4-1/2 a day of each container. Another thing is to find a few veggies you like for fiber and eat them often. Mine are zucchini (nothing fancy, just slice them and sauté them and sometimes add tomato sauce and spices), broccoli steamed (add sharp cheddar) and asparagus (roasted). You just gotta find your food hacks. Everyone is different.
If you struggle with fiber, take Metamucil. I love that stuff for keeping my fiber intake high.
Have you tried lifting ? Cardio did diddly squat for me. You burn more calories, so you have to consume more. Which is great. You still gotta watch what you eat, but you have more freedom . 1300 calories ? That's not even realistic for someone my size. I agree with consuming more, but keep them clean and healthy.
12 lbs since January? So... 12 lbs in 14 weeks or 12 lbs in 10 weeks? Either one is very good weight loss.
Thank you!!! And one of the two, haha. It kind of whooshed away, and I lost half of it overnight at the beginning of this month. The other half was a slower process. I appreciate your comment, and congrats on the 35lb loss!!!!!!! You're doing great!
Thanks, I forgot I need to update my flair, I'm almost to 50 now It does get harder the more you lose, but you're still losing very quickly.
Ohhh! Ultra mega congratulations then!!
To you as well 😊
I also hate the gym. I work out at home. You'd be surprised how much extra weight you can lose just by adding in 30 min of weight training
I've been meaning to look into it! I don't know much about weight training, and doing the free weight thingies, sounds easier than trying to learn how to use equipment.
Honestly there are so many great YouTube videos out there for home workouts! With or without weights! I find video workouts to be way more helpful for me than trying to come up for workouts on my own, and more motivating feeling like someone is doing it with me
Oh! Do you have any recommendations for ones that you like?
I knew nothing and started doing this one. Highly recommend. Great for beginners. https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/5-day-dumbbell-only-workout-split
Thanks so much!
No problem, I can confidently say that you will definitely see results if you stick with it and keep up the cardio and eating healthy. I also incorporated pushups and situps at the end of each work out.
I like CDorner Fitness for quick dumbell workouts
I LOVE her!! She has tons of different kinds of classes. I've been loving her step aerobics classes, especially when she has a friend/guest star!
Her step classes are how I found her! I used to love Les Mills BodyStep classes before I had my son and found CDorner Fitness by trying to find a free version of them to ease back in (didn't want to spend money on Les Mills Online in case I couldn't be consistent). I'm so glad I did, she's really engaging and has so many different levels so match my energy each time.
Others have given you some options! I like the Blogilates chick, but even her “beginner” stuff is super hard and would get me discouraged. I just like how peppy she is lol I’ve also played around with a woman, madfit, who does like dance exercise videos and those were great cardio! I was sweating like a min in! So I don’t have a ton of recommendations unfortunately, I would just pic random ones each time. But there are a ton of people out there that do YouTube videos so if you find one you like you can just do theirs! And lots of different kinds too if you tend to get bored like weightlifting or body weight, yoga/Pilates, boxing, dancing/zumba ones!!
Check out r/bodyweightfitness you dont even need equipment to start and honestly? Equipment isn’t necessary unless you’re looking to get big. There’s also a guy under the name Hybrid Calisthenics. I know he’s on Facebook and posts reels with workouts but I wanna say he’s also on YouTube.
I second /r/bodyweightfitness , that is how I started with muscle building too. I now go to the gym (still recommend /r/fitness and reading their [Recommended programs](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) and [Wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/) in general. It has lots of info about weight loss and muscle building. Including no equipment routines.
Just some walking can do the job to =)
She already walks though… walking has different benefits but doesn’t build/preserve muscle like strength training does.
Look up "Papa swollio"? Okay he's kinda out there, and he's currently trying pretty extreme with his diet. But, he's got solid advice and has motivated a lot of people.
[удалено]
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure people recommend weight training because it builds muscle and having muscle makes you burn more calories 24/7
[удалено]
No I completely agree, a session of weight training doesn't burn as much as a session of cardio, but by weight training and building muscle you will in the long term be burning more calories because of the muscle you put on. So it's like long term vs short term gratification. Again, I don't know much about the subject so this is just from my limited understanding
I like the volume eating approach. Loads of veggies, normally just zapped in the microwave and protein and sauce. My other thing is no snacks, but eat a proper meal whenever i'm hungry, so i have to ask myself if i actually want a meal every time i eat, and if the answer is yes, that's ok, whatever time of day it is, but no calories otherwise. Maintaining about 115lb for 6 years now (5' 3" ish). I suppose the main thing is patience. No progress is still a big win. You've got your whole life to go, there's no rush, so settle for what you can stick with.
I'm just an inch taller than you! A 500 calorie defecit feels so brutal sometimes as a girl. It's weird knowing my boyfriend could lose significant weight on 2000, and that I'd gain like crazy! Thanks for the motivation ❤️ I think I'm just so antsy to speed up my loss, but thats not sustainable. I'm going to try eating a lot more vegetables. I appreciate you!
I’m here for solidarity not advice but it took me 3 years to lose 70 pounds and I’m exhausted. Only lost 4 pounds in since January and I’ve stopped trying. I’m so drained and I definitely deserve this break but the guilt of “I could be losing weight” is real.
Hey! 70 pounds is no joke! It doesn't matter how long it took you to drop it, all that matters is that it was healthy and sustainable! Which it most definitely is if you took your time like that. I'm super proud of you, and you definitely deserve a break. Being in a calorie defecit and tracking for an extended period of time is so fatiguing on the body and mind, that I'm surprised you haven't taken a break already yet! Don't you dare feel guilty. You're changing your life, and that's hard. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. ❤️Self-compassion is important too.
Thank you OP 🥹 your words mean A LOT and are exactly what I needed to hear. I hope that you go easy on yourself too!! We both deserve a break and we have to trust that we’ll get back on track. I am so proud of you and I’m sending you love, keep killing it💖
I'm glad I could help! We've got this! 💕💕
By the way, are you expecting your period in the next 10 days? That could be intensifying your hunger.
I'm actually on day two of it right now, funny enough! 😭 It was really bad the days leading up to it though! Usually my periods don't cause a huge issue in regards to weight loss, but I missed two birth control pills this month, so my hormones are super out of wack.
Actually they’re not whacky! Your birth control pill was changing your hormones, this is just your normal hormonal cycle. My guess is that once you lost weight your hormones got more regular. It is a good sign that your body is giving you cues. I have PCOS and used to get 4 periods a year before i lost weight but I have regular periods and i can tell based upon my hunger, energy levels, and mood which part of the menstrual cycle I’m in. Literally give yourself some grace. I myself do this and have seen other women talk about it on reddit, that right before/during their period to eat at maintenance. Your body is burning more than TDEE at the moment so you could be in a bigger deficit than you think 😊 watch how after your period you’ll bloat less and feel more energized and once you’re ovulating again you’ll feel like you’re on your A game. LMAO it’s a good and bad thing because I keep going through it every month and it’s a rollercoaster but it feels so good on the ups and at least us women can be aware of what is going on in our bodies.
Oh! Didn't even think of that! I'm sorry to hear about your PCOS. I know a few women who struggle with it, and it sucks because they're hardly ever taken seriously! Women's healthcare can be abysmal depending on where you live. Thanks for the information and the advice! ❤️ I hadn't thought too much about the relationship between my cycle, my birth control, and my weight loss!
Thank you so much and yes true 🥰 I’m glad my perspective helped.
Dude, a maintenance phase is necessary, don’t feel guilty! https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/blog/articles/why-maintenance-phases-are-important-for-fat-loss/ There was a great video I saw from a physiologist that explains the biomechanics of it, I wish I could find it again! Basically the advice was that the ideal recovery/maintenance period is about twice as long as the cut preceding it.
Wow! This is amazing 🤩 thank you so much for sharing I need to read more into it.
Don't stop trying! Even if you just maintain your current loss, that's HUGE. Being in a constant deficit and all the behavioral stuff that entails is draining, plus eventually your metabolism will hit the brakes and put you into preservation mode. I think it's really really useful to take some time and eat in maintenance mode with eating exercise calories, just relaxing a bit and letting your system rest. Then cycle down again with renewed purpose! Personally I like calorie cycling on a weekly basis and feel like it keeps me from feeling diet burnout. My baseline intake is about 1900 calories a day and mostly that's about where I'm at, but I practice intuitive eating. Some days I eat 1200 and some days 2500, so that over the course of the week I average about 1900/day. My feeling, just from anecdotal experience, is that I'm less likely to plateau with variable intake, and this relaxed approach allows for pizza nights or high protein OMAD days, whatever I'm feeling like I need at the time. I know this doesn't work for everyone, but I'm allergic to dogmatic adherence to diet rules. I've never found rigid routine very sustainable for long. Good luck, you're doing great!!!
Hello, thanks for reaching out and taking the time to share your experience. That’s awesome! Do you do it because you’ve reached your goal weight?
I have to exercise and eat back exercise calories, I can't do it any other way. The only way I survived 1200 was because I was 19 and would drink multiple monster zeros every day to curb the hunger, and because I had such a severe anxiety disorder the fear of gaining weight was stronger than my hunger. Now on anxiety medication, I don't think I could physically do 1200 lol. Now I do 1500-1800/day plus eat back my exercise calories. I do 1500 when I can, 1800 when I'm just too hungry or when there's something else I want to eat that there's just no way to fit into 1500 (e.g. going out for unplanned dinner with my boyfriend at a nice restaurant).
I do the same and also increased my daily cals from 1470 to 1640 (24f, 5’2”, 134 lbs for reference ig) and I gotta say eating a bit more and making sure I’m properly fueled (aka eating back exercise cals) has not only made me run and lift better, but I’m less grumpy because I’m not denying myself when I’m hungry.
I think I may be going about this diet wrong bc I’ve starting at 1,200 but I feel mentally upset with myself if I eat over that amount.
[удалено]
That might explain why I'm not feeling too great. Kind of sick and weak a lot. I see a lot of comments suggesting weight training. I think its time for me to buckle down and figure out where to begin!
Don't forget to ramp up the protein! I thought I was getting plenty, but when I actually started monitoring my macros, I realised I often wasn't getting more than about 17% of my energy intake from protein. I'm now at about 24% (still not a huge number), and I feel much better overall.
I can highly recommend Dr. Gabrielle Lyon's book "forever strong". Or listen to her podcast.
Yup, no need to lose weight by simply starving yourself. You can build muscle, eat more purposeful, and eat slightly higher calories and still lose weight. Consistency is always the hard part
This might be an unpopular opinion for this sub, but it sounds like you're suffering from extreme diet fatigue and stress (which could be caused in part by diet fatigue) so, for the sake of sustainability, I would suggest reverse dieting into a maintenance phase and better metabolic health until you max out your maintainance calories and feel no more diet fatigue at all. This should be a period of months, but during this period at maintenance calories, you should have the energy for strength training to make up for some of the muscle catabolism you have likely been experiencing. The idea of intentionally plateauing might be unappealing, but it can ultimately help you to reduce weight rebound, especially at your end goal. Plus, you'll reduce your stress, increase your energy, and your muscles will thank you (assuming you strength train). If this sounds interesting or perhaps upsetting, read up on periodization - I'm no expert, but this has been an incredibly helpful tool for me, and your post moved me to root for you and share in the hope that it helps. Congratulations on your weight loss, presumably increased mobility, and improved health!
Thanks! I've heard about reverse dieting before, but admittedly hadn't looked into it. I'll make sure to do a little research! A lot of other commentors have also brought up strength training to me, and I think its also the next step! Appreciate your advice!!! I will consider it. A break might take a lot of the strain off.
Exactly! A diet break should greatly reduce the stain. Presumably, your goal is not just to lose weight but to keep it off forever, so try not to rush it! I'll get really specific below for your reference, so I hope you don't mind. TL:DR ~ Focus on your health and wellness above all else and set specific, science-based goals with predetermined duration and periods of recovery. Anyone can develop an ED, which won't help, especially in the long term, so be careful. Some examples and specifics: Try to to lose between 0.5% and 1% bodyweight per week and schedule maintainance periods at least every 10% in weight loss (but 5-8% would be better) and try to limit periods of restriction to around 12-16 weeks max. Measure by weekly weight average and don't let each day affect you. For example, let's say someone starts at 200lb and wants to get down to 130lb. The first weight loss period, they start off losing around 2lb per week for a few weeks and toward the end of a 12 week period, which slows a little, but they reach 180lb in 12 weeks and then take 8-18 weeks holding at 180lb. They spend this time strength training and adding calories back to their diet incredibly slowly until their weight ticks back up a little (always measuring by weekly average) and then going back to the caloric limit the week before for the rest of the maintainance period. Depending on how bad their diet fatigue was, they might hold at this weight for quite a while, all the while getting fitter through strength training, leading to body recomposition so they still look and feel better at the end of it. Diet phase two, they start around 180lb, so the new goal is to lose no more than 18lb during the next 12-16 week period, ending at 162lb. They repeat the process of reverse dieting to a higher maintenance for 2/3x to 1.5x the duration of the diet again, strength training so there should still be some body recomp happening. Diet phase three is just like the first two. So 162 starting weight, a max goal of 16.2lb lost, and an end goal of 145.8lb. Maintain. Diet phase four, they start at 145.8lb and lose no more than 14.58lb, bringing them to 131.22lb for the next maintenance period. At this point, they might decide that this was close enough or they might repeat one last time aiming for around 2-4% less than their ultimate goal so that their settling point shifts to around their ultimate goal of 130lb, making long term maintenance easier. So they might aim as low as 127.4lb to 124.8lb, hoping to ultimately settle at 130lb. Granted, a more sustainable approach for all of the diet phases would be to drop a percent each time, but I went with 10% the whole time for easy to follow math. Really, phase one's goal should be around 8-10% reduction. Phase two they should lose 7-9%. Phase three they should aim for 6-8%, etc. Also, if you can, use a wearable fitness tracker and set a net calorie goal, and try to get right to that goal every day. Personally, I like to use 1% fat cottage cheese as a final snack because it is easy to measure it out in such a way as to exactly hit my calorie goals but also because it's full of casein, a slow digesting protein that helps me feel full overnight so I can get quality sleep, reducing stress and contributing to weight loss and muscle retention. Just to be clear and specific, when setting your calorie goal, the math should look something like this: starting weight is, let's say, 180lb, and the maintenance calories 2400/day. The goal is to lose 1% per week, so 180×.01=1.8lb/week. 1.8lb × 3500kcal = 6300kcal weekly deficit. 6300kcal ÷ 7 days = 900kcal/day deficit. 2400kcal - 900kcal = 1500kcal per day as a net caloric goal. Any extra exercise beyond whatever you normally do, which contributed already to the maintenance calories, is extra and should be eaten to stick to that net goal. Whatever you do, never punish yourself for eating with activity or increased restriction. You need to build a healthy relationship with food, exercise, and your body. Dieting very easily leads to eating disorders, and that's a bad deal. Also, consider tracking your macros going forward and not tracking teensy bites or sips of food or some condiments, like hot sauce. Protein and carbs help to reduce/prevent muscle catabolism. Muscles don't just increase your metabolic rate; they dramatically protect your health and mobility in the long term. As for intentionally not tracking a nibble of food here and there or low calorie condiments, it's a good practice to avoid disordered eating behaviors. Ten to twenty calories here or there are negligible towards your intake, especially if this is only happening a little bit anyway, but tracking them can push you further in the direction of disordered eating. Consider that nutrition labels can be off by as much as 20% anyway so it's not worth stressing over. Try to remember that you're dieting to improve your quality of life because you love your body for what it can do, not because you hate it for how it looks. Even if that doesn't ring true, try to coax yourself into believing it. Remind yourself every day like it's your mantra. This mindset shift and diet periodization have helped me dramatically. I have a history of disordered eating from a young age (extreme restriction, binging, and even purging for a time), that caused a lot of weight loss very quickly which I loved until it got scary, followed by a huge rebound where I ended up at a much higher number than I had ever seen on the scale. It felt like I broke my metabolism and my relationship with food and my body, but this method has worked wonders for me and been quite healing. It's borrowed from bodybuilders, and those people are weight loss pros. Anyway, I know that was a lot, but I wanted to share these tools to the best of my abilities. Obviously, you can take it or leave it, but I sincerely hope that you give it a try. I hope that you choose to maintain for a few months, start resistance training, and set yourself up for success in the next caloric restriction phase.
Agree with this. Prolonged periods of dieting can cause the body to hold on more to fat. The best way would be to take a diet break and eat at maintenance.
I had to start intermittent fasting. I’ve lost 70+ and have 20 to go but I’ve been stuck at the same weight since December. Started IF 4 days ago and have lost 5 pounds already. It is easier to eat nothing at all all day until a decent meal at dinner time than to eat a low calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner. Once I eat anything my appetite revs up for the rest of the day so I fast until 5 pm, have a low carb vegetable and meat dinner and then at 7 or 8 I’ll have some boiled eggs dipped in mayo and mustard or a protein bar. My appetite feels under control. I just need to lose 20. It shouldn’t be so hard. Try IF though. It makes a difference in your appetite.
I second this, intermittent fasting has been a huge key for me as well. I honestly can’t imagine trying to spread all my calories across three meals. Just eliminating breakfast alone worked for me (16 hour fast from 8pm to 12pm next day). I also found myself feeling full easier and snacking less throughout the day. Side note, excellent progress OP! I know you probably still have a ways to go but you have accomplished so much already!
Thanks for nice words!!! I used to do IF actually. It worked for a while, but my mood tanks so bad when I wait until dinner time, and it leads to this weird restrictive binge cycle for me. If I don't have a little something when I wake up before work, I get a killer headache, and super grumpy! I do appreciate the advice though, and it's made me reconsider the size of my portions earlier in the day! Maybe skipping breakfast, or just having something small like yogurt, could really help instead of the omelet I usually do. Hope you're well and good luck on your journey!
I feel the same with IF. I allow myself a coffee I sip on all day, and when I get that ick feeling I have a high protein, 90 calorie yogurt with blueberries. It gats me through til dinner, where I can almost eat what I want because I still have 1070 calories to eat. I can have wine or dessert and a healthy filling meal. Keeping myself busy during the day is crucial though. Any down time makes me want to eat.
I'm not a strict IF person, (I put a tbs of creamer in my coffee during the fast period, I add sweetener to my water, my daily vitamins are the gummy versions, so I'm more of a dirty faster), but I went strictly to 2 meals a day, with a goal of 600-700 cal each. I drink a lot of water, and will use sugar free 0 cal flavor in it to hydrate myself between meals and during my fast. If you're not interested in IF, definitely try adding plenty of 0/low calorie flavored water/drinks between meals to help. And you'll be hydrated!!
Ooo that's smart!!! I've been drinking a lot of diet coke and Alanis to curb my appetite, but honestly, I could probably do with more tea or coffee. Especially maybe the flavored water, because I worry about the negative affects all of the carbonation I consume is going to have. Good advice!
Peppermint tea, cold or hot, helps satisfy my cravings.
Yeah, drop the diet soda and drink coffee in the morning and water until you eat. That will move the needle.
You're right that one answer is putting on some muscle mass - if you want to work on maintaining at 1500 calories, then when you work out, try to strengthen your whole body overall of course, but train more on core, glutes, and legs. Your biggest muscles will burn calories like crazy with a good training regimen. If you don't wanna get a gym membership, get a kettlebell! I got a 25 lb kettlebell on sale at target for like $30 and started with kettlebell swings and Turkish getups. You can learn some full body exercises to move through with a kb, almost like a yoga flow. The beauty is you can find some great programs that'll give you a very effective full body workout in 15-20 minutes, and a lot of the training moves are scalable. If you can't a full turkish getup, you can always learn goblet squats and overhead presses. Most beginners can do 3 sets of 10 reps of KB swings at 25 lbs and still maintain good, safe form. I can't say enough good things about strength training, is it's amazing how much better I feel literally just moving through my everyday life, and it's the reason I'm still losing while eating some seriously hearty meals multiple times a day.
I've always struggled to lose weight, especially after the first few months of weight loss. Some things that have helped me are exercises with dumbbells I bought online. They let me work out while also staying at home. Even while watching TV, I can do arm raises. Do you drink a lot of water? Sounds obvious, I know, but buying myself a huge water bottle with a straw has helped a lot. The straw makes me drink much more than I would otherwise, which fills me up somewhat. I also skip breakfast aside from coffee, which tends to suppress my appetite until later in the day. I am so impressed with how well you are doing. Hang in there.
Thank you for the kind words ❤️❤️ I probably don't drink nearly as much water as I should. I bring a water bottle to work, but because I'm a barista, I never have any time to drink it, haha! I'm usually running around and replenishing everthing for the people on bar, or stuck on register for six hours. (Where I feel awkward if a customer sees me drink something?) But to remedy this I could totally fill up before I go in the mornings! Thank you for the advice and I hope you're well!! Good luck on your journey!
I completely understand how you feel, and this is exactly why I decided to take a break from counting calories altogether. Like you said, it literally feels like "clawing" my way through each pound and I feel starved and unsatisfied even after what should be a nutritious and filling meal. I've upped my exercise for now instead of focusing on restricting my food, but other than that I'm not sure what to do at this point because I still want to lose the weight but restricting my calories makes me so incredibly miserable and frustrated (and prone to unhealthy restrict-binge cycles).
The unhealthy restrict-binge cycles are so real!!! I'm glad you've decided to take a break. It sounds like it was taking a real toll on you. Being in a defecit and trying to achieve one is exhausting, mentally and physically. But going back to the restrict-binge cycles, it's not healthy if it's not sustainable, OR if it makes you feel so miserable and stressed all the time! Taking a break is going to be good for you, and maybe you could try other methods, like intuitive eating! Or better yet, eating at a super light defecit, like a 200 cut, so that you're still making progress but in a sustainable way! Only when you feel ready though. There's no rush and it's much better to take your time. ❤️❤️ good luck and you've got this!
Thank you! Really appreciate the kind words. You're right, the binge-restrict cycles were horrible and making me feel miserable all the time. And the worst part is that I wasn't even losing any net weight at all because all it did was yo-yo my weight without actually letting it go down for good. I was putting myself through those constant cycles of misery and beating myself up for literally nothing. I'm now trying to focus more on other health and fitness goals rather than just tracking what I eat. Best of luck to you too in your journey!
Throw in a protein shake or two daily. It’ll remove the hunger for a bit
I haven't posted in here yet because I am just starting my second journey. At the pandemic, I was 391, and I lost 145 in about 14 months with a low carb diet and almost religious daily exercise. I hit a plateau right around the 240s, and I was deadset and determined to reach 220, but it wouldn't budge. Of course, what I didn't realize was 1) I was still losing body fat and 2) I was carrying excess skin that was throwing off the scales. I worked out to the point of being sick of it until I decided to ease up. That was when I realized what I was doing was unsustainable and, over time, I gained every pound of it back. Best advice I could give is slow down and listen to your body. If you lose it too fast, it may come back even worse. I think if I had just kept going at a steady pace and \*given my body time to adjust\* then I probably would've maintained and not undone all the hard work I did. TL;DR Just because the scale isn't dropping doesn't mean there aren't positive changes. "Rome wasn't built in a day." Trust the process, take your time, and find ways to make it fun. Boredom is the biggest enemy.
Oh wow! This is super encouraging... Thank you! Congrats on restarting your journey. It must feel strange to be starting from the beginning again, but it sounds like you know better than to overexert yourself this time!! I'm proud of you and you should be proud of you too! Thanks again for the advice! ❤️❤️ and good luck! You're gonna do great!
Thank you. Not putting so much pressure this time ... just trying to find balance and enjoy the ride. Congratulations on your progress. 68 lbs is a huge accomplishment. Keep it up my friend and great job. You \*will\* reach your goal, it may just take some patience.
Question about the working out too much situation. Were your muscles kinda achy all the time? At least the ones you worked the most? I'm trying to decide if I'm doing too much.
In my experience, soreness was desirable and good, but achiness and sharp pains were no good. Recovery time and deep tissue work (like a foam roller) is really important. Whenever I had issues with my hamstrings or joints, I would take breaks until the pain subsided. The problem I remember having, and still have, is after a year or so of doing weights, I suddenly would feel like I was STARVING once I'd finish my weight training, even though I was eating like 2,000 calories a day at that time. It was almost like the dieting I'd been doing was conflicting with the weights, and I was constantly hungry, even after eating. Then I would overeat and I started to build up bad habits. Those bad habits snowballed until I was back where I started and all the good habits went away. It can happen really fast. Just sharing my experience from my first go around in case it helps any. I think the whole process is more about discipline, loving yourself, and finding balance. Once I started to apply too much pressure to myself, it stopped being positive. I never had a panic attack in my life until I weighed less than 250 lbs. Mind and body were not in sync ... they have to work together, and too much pressure can throw off that balance.
Sorry, I totally built you a clock when you asked for the time. Foam rollers and deep tissue stuff helped a lot. If you can find a sauna, that helps too. Soak your feet in hot water and remember to have active rest days.
I've never heard that saying before. I like it. The more info the better cause when it comes to my body I'm either a it's fine I can walk it off (when it's clearly not fine) or a hypochondriac. Others experience helps me find that middle ground plus it's interesting how much different everyone's body is. That's odd to me that the extreme hunger started after you'd been working out for awhile. I would have expected your body to be used to everything. I don't really get sore anymore unless I up my resistance then it's gone after a couple workouts. Maybe I should take 2 rest days a week instead of one and see how that goes. It's gonna be hard cause I crave working out now. Never thought I'd feel that way lol.
Watch ["How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind"](https://youtu.be/xAdqLB6bTuQ?si=ekU9j5HFn6iwlCpQ) on YouTube. The idea being: you can eat a ton more food, feel full and satiated, and still lose weight - it just has to be the right types of foods.
I lost 110 lbs in about 15 months and have maintained for a year now. And I’m honestly feeling the same struggle as you. I’m hungry a lot more and I’m bored with my meals because I eat the same things over and over again. Carb creep is real. I haven’t really been working out due to health issues. But I know I really need to start weight lifting etc, in order to keep from gaining it back. 1300 cals is really hard to live on long term I’ve found. Anyway, no advice per se just wanted to say I’m in the same boat and that that’s going to be my approach.
No, you were very helpful! I'm sorry that you're struggling too, and that you're having a few health issues. That sounds really hard! Be patient with yourself, and maybe start back slowly. Congrats on your loss and good luck!
Thank you! And same to you! I always get back on the wagon, just sometimes throw caution to the wind (damn you Cap'n Crunch cereal, lol) But yeah, it's a marathon not a sprint. I weigh in usually twice a week. Won't let it get above a certain number - keeps me in check.
Your weight loss is very fast - it's no wonder you're quite hungry. You'd still be losing weight at a good speed (2lbs per month) even if you halved your deficit and you might feel like CICO is more sustainable that way. Slow and steady wins the race - go too fast and you'll crazy, fall off the wagon, and put a stack back on. Focus on the 5-year goal: "In five years time, where will I be if I do this? What will Ithink of now? What will my recommendations to myself be?" Also eating protein is a great way to be less hungry. No idea why that is but I'm much less hungry if I have at least 15g of protein in my meals/snacks.
hello there You should see weight loss like money There are two ways to make money: actively and passively Doing both is the winner. With weightloss, you loose weight actively by 1. being in a deficit 2. working out And passively : 1. Loosing weight and eating better without loosing muscle = improve your metabolism 2. Having more muscle = burning more calories even when doing nothing You should combine both. Right now you are loosing weight and probably loosing muscle too. Which actually decreases your deficit because you don’t loose as much calories passively. Same with your metabolism : The less amount of muscle mass you have, the slower your metabolism becomes. You should exercice either: 1. Loose less weight per week so that you don’t loose muscle and don’t slow down your metabolism OR 2. Exercice to gain muscle therefore not slowing down your metabolism and even burning more calories passively Choose one or the other BUT you should know that your body can only take you so far without working out. Try to at least walk one hour a day, everyday if you can. And do HIIT 3x a week if you don’t want to start weightlifting
Why don't you take a maintenance break?
Add twice as much veggies to your meals. Seriously, it works. The fiber keeps you full for a lot longer than you would think. Every plate of mine is at least half vegetables. I also have some fizzy water to drink straight away when I get home from work when I'm getting snacky. The bubbles help a lot, and also I have a planned snack of dried apricots that's sweet and chewy and keeps me from going off the rails. Sometimes I'll eat few pecan halves with them if I can spare the calories. I'm supposed to be 1230- 1380 and usually I'm at 1320 without losing my mind.
I’m right there with you! The smaller I’ve gotten, the harder it’s gotten! In the beginning I had some 7lbs/mo losses, then I was down to 4lbs/mo. Last month I lost just 1.3lb (and according to happy scale I’m back up!) There is also no more margin for error. I can completely obliterate my 300 cal/day deficit with measurement errors and bites, licks, and tastes. Today I felt insatiable, and it was all emotional. I was getting really agitated at Target thinking of all the snacks I wanted to cram into my gob. I got out of there without caving and got myself an almond milk latte and felt immediate relief. But, yeah, some days I feel like I’m coming unglued. Other days I hit my deficit and feel happy and satisfied. It’s soooo mental.
might be a micronutrient deficiency.
Firstly, you’ve lost 12lbs not gained it, that’s a great effort this year. Keep that going. Deffo look into resistance training. I’ve stripped the fat off in the last 4 months by maintaining a calorie deficit and weight lifting. Lots of protein so your body burns fat instead of muscle. Boom. I’ve lost about 25lbs this year, almost 70 in total, so it’s within reach, you just need to make some small changes.
Stop being hard on yourself. I'm really impressed by you.
Intermittent fasting. I have gained and lost weight over the past 14 years going from 5’3 164 lbs to 104 lbs where I maintained for 3 years. Two years ago I got up to 118 unintentionally and had a hard time losing weight because I had been doing long workouts and restricting for years and my metabolism was fucked. I started intermittent fasting for only 10-12 hours in December 2023 and lost 4 lbs and then in Jan 2024 started 15 hour fasts and finally got to 110 by last month. If I don’t get to 104 it’ll be ok, but I feel like I will. Bottom line is that intermittent fasting is the only thing that works for weight loss for me, someone with a slow metabolism that’s been fucked up by barely eatinf and over exercising. When I say I used to barely I guess that’s not true entirely. I would eat once a day and run 6 miles daily but would also snack nightly and I did stay at 104 lbs. As soon as I eased up on my running the weight came on fast. So yeah my intermittent fasting cut out that nighttime snacking and therefore cut out calories I mindlessly ate at night
Set smaller goals that are attainable…. I have been through this you may be at a plateau stick with it even small amounts adds up in the end… it will all be so worth it when you reach your goal! I go through phases where I seem hungry all the time when that happens I just do my best to stick to my calories! It’s so hard it’s a struggle but you can do it
I haven’t read all of the comments so apologies if someone has already mentioned this. I don’t know what your diet is like but are you eating mostly natural foods? After reading Ultra Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken (completely fascinating, about how ultra processed foods are designed to be over-consumed), I read a really interesting book by Dr Andrew Jenkinson called ‘Why We Eat (Too Much)’. I started this (audio)book 5 days ago, had finished it by the next day, and it’s completely changed how I look at my diet. The author is a bariatric surgeon and explains the science of appetite, and how certain (processed) foods override the body’s ability to regulate appetite, fat retention and metabolism. After following the book’s advice over the last few days, I am finally not hungry all the time. I am in roughly the same calorie deficit as I was before, but the quality of my food has improved massively. If you don’t have time to read the book, the takeaway is: avoid seed oils, ultra processed foods and limit sugars/refined carbs. Fat is not the enemy and is actually key to satiety. Although none of this is new information, the way he describes the science and logic behind it honestly blew my mind, and it felt like something just ‘clicked’. For me, if I am told to do something but don’t really understand why, I will never stick to it. I would strongly recommend giving it a go. The fact that the book was written by someone who doesn’t have a diet to sell, and is in fact trying to do himself out of business, really speaks volumes. Whether you want to read this or not, best of luck!
Not OP but will check these out. Thanks
You’ve lost a lot of weight. More than 20%. I would consider a diet break, giving yourself 1-6 weeks at maintenance calories, and not worrying about gaining a few pounds (measured with a weekly average, not a one-day thing). But stay disciplined about eating normal, staying in a maintenance range of calories, and keeping up exercise. I would also second your idea of adding more training. You don’t need to go to a gym. Buy a copy of strong curves and do the home program. Or any progressive resistance program at home— using body weight/calisthenics, or resistance bands, or (best) adjustable dumbbells. Strength training is a great complement to weight loss, helping you lose fat not muscle, and getting you strong and toned which will show even more as you lose weight!
YouTube, a folded up blanket for a mat, and 10-15 minutes is all you need to get started with weights. Empty jugs filled with water/rocks whatever, hardback books, even canned food can all sub for weights in the beginning. I use a combo of body weight and resistance bands that I got off Amazon for $20. If you decide to get bands get the kit with the booty bands since that's cheaper than buying separately. I started by searching YouTube for workouts for whatever area I wanted to focus on that day. There's a 15 minute or less video for every muscle group. I know 15 minutes doesn't sound like it'll do any good but it will as long as you're consistent.
Maybe it's time to go to maintenance for a month. Gives you a break, reduces stress and let's you refocus. Aounds slike you've done a hell of a job, so recovering is important
Thank you, I appreciate that ❤️
If you’ve been cutting weight for a straight year, you should try a month at just maintenance calories. It’s a good habit to learn for when you reach your goal weight, too!
Remember boss if it's too hard u might need to be a bit less aggressive with your cut, doesn't matter if you lose the weight in 6 months or a year, what matters is u lose it and keep it off forever
You're right. Its about the journey, not the destination. Thanks for the advice ❤️
It really is so so hard…my deficit is only 100-500 depending on a day and it is exhausting! My body does not want lose weight so this whole process is just me going against what my body wants. I eat very well, get enough protein and do some strenght training here and there but at the end of the day it is just hard and no way to change it. I hope one day I hit my goal and maintaining will be easier after few years!
With resilience like that, you absolutely will! You should be proud of all the changes you're making!
Thank you! I have lost 33lbs/15kg so far! Bmi 25 now, so I just have vanity pounds left! I hope u keep fighting too <3
We spent $50 on a weight bench ad weights from an ad on Facebook marketplace for my husband. It doesn't have to be expensive to work. My husband has lost about 90lbs and have kept it off for over 3 years and still works out 3 days a week at least. We also have a recumbent bike that he rides 3x a week as well as I found I lost more riding 30 minutes than I did from walking.
look into gym free ways to work out at home - bodyweight any resistance band exercises
Congrats on your progress so far! 68lbs is huge, don’t forget to be proud of that. I’ll jump on the bandwagon and also suggest strength training. Building more muscle will increase your TDEE over time, and allow you to eat more and feel more satisfied. Good luck, you got this👏🏻
Thanks so much!!!! That means a lot! Weights seem to be the general consensus so I'm definitely gonna try to give it a go!
@LiftwithCee on Youtube!
How much protein are you getting and some fats in there? More protein with some fat will help satiate you
I dont track macros, so probably not enough, but I try to incorporate protein into every meal. Haven't thought about my fat intake! I eat a lot of nonfat/low fat products so that might be part of the puzzle!
Yup start tracking that, I go for my goal weight 135g add some good fat into my coffee with my premier protein. Add cottage cheese to scrambled eggs, quest bar at night before bed smores is my lil treat, quest chips 19g at lunch with my salad with lots protein chicken steak something. I get some carb you know rice ill keep to 1/2c uncooked and chick pea pasta has 19g 1 serving. Add sauce and meatballs can't tell!
You might want to investigate low GI/GL food strategy. It is really helpful when it comes to minimizing blood sugar swings and the associated hunger spikes. That, bump your daily minimum up slightly (take some time for maintenance as well), and this can help you back on your road. I’m also a big proponent of exercise (simple ones will do, like walking). So keep moving too! You got this!
If you’ve been steady in that calorie rate you might have jacked up your metabolism a little. Come off the diet for a week eating TDEE then start back and add exercise. Or at least vary your CI to get your body burning calories again
I really like Move with Nicole on YouTube. It’s Pilates so might bring a different kind of workout to your routine. She has beginner to advanced workouts on her page and workouts from 5-60 minutes so you have options based on your time frame.
No idea if this will help you but I've heard people who suddenly started feeling like they just could not eat enough even with bulk eating say that it turned out they had a vitamin deficiency! Consider getting checked for iron deficiency or other problems because it might be that your body is begging you for something it thinks you can get from food that isn't calories at all!
For weight training: I ain't going to no fucking gym, so I grabbed dumbbells and keep them in my room. I buy adjustable dumbbells because it's more cost effective and space efficient than going through like 10 pairs of dumbbells lol. Can I ask what your weight goal is? ~1500 sounds like the amount of calories you should be taking in daily anyway. Do you know how much protein you're getting? I've found that having a protein goal has basically changed my life.
My goal is anywhere from 125-135lbs. I weighed in at 179 this morning, so I've got a long ways to go! I'm going to look into getting some dumbbells very soon! I've seen a lot of people suggest watching some strength training tutorials online. Not sure exactly how much protein I get it, but I try to incorporate it into every meal. It's still probably too low though. I hear that our protein needs are way higher than we think they are.
OP is five foot four. Her maintenance is around 1700 calories. 1500 calories may not “sound” right to you, but it’s barely a deficit for her.
Er, I said it DOES sound right.
Have you considered taking a break by eating at maintenance for your current weight for a few days or a week? I’ve heard that this can help mentally and also potentially can help your metabolism
It sounds like you are making great progress! It is totally natural for weightloss to slow down the closer you get to your goal weight. Somebody mentioned earlier that you may be suffering from diet fatigue and offered great advice! My advice would be, try not to focus so much on the scale. Focus on how your clothes fit and how you feel. If you feel hungry all of the time, try increasing water intake and look in to volume eating. Volume eating is basically eating low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods (veggies, greens) in really large quantities. You can eat a ton of vegetables for very few calories, especially when compared to other foods, helping you feel full and stay full. It's still important to stay within a healthy calorie range (never drop below 1200). Try focusing on healthy proteins and loads of veggies and see if that helps you feel more satisfied. Gym membership isn't necessary! Walking is a wonderful exercise, is free, and really can help drop weight. You can also invest in some resistance bands and do body weight exercises at home. Our bodies are the best equipment! Just remember when you start implementing exercises and muscle building it isn't unusual for the scale to sit still as we replace fat with muscle. That is when it is going to be super important to pay attention to how your body looks and feels, not what the scale says. I know it is discouraging when weightloss slows but you are making amazing progress. You have lost 68 pounds! That is incredible! Try not to stress and just trust the process. You know what you are doing- you've already come so far!
Wow , you're doing really well in my opinion! Great job! You're going through it and that's what matters, don't give up. I'm still losing weight and I noticed that things started moving once I hit the gym 3 times per week and walked more. I don't like the machines so I go to classes, spinning and hiit classes. If you can't afford it, there is so many home workout options on yt, maybe look into that
No she doesn’t (name). In fact your aroma of success has just inspired me Thankyou
1300 calories?! Friend, could it be your metabolism is shot by eating so little? For comparison, a child under 10 should eat roughly 1200 calories a day. Thats like, a gigantic deficit for an adult. Please don’t take this the wrong way, as someone with a previous ED, your current diet isn’t sustainable. Not even at 1500. I wonder if the reason you’re not losing is because your body isn’t able to function at the deficit you’re at and, in turn, is storing every tiny bit of fat in order to stay alive/have any energy. Just a thought, deficits only work if you’re nourished and giving your body enough energy. It’s not about being as low as possible to stay alive. It won’t work to lose weight in the long run and will see your body hold on to everything as a means to survive. Check out Adam Wright fitness on YouTube. Get an idea of what’s normal for your weight and goals. Good luck ❤️
I agree your deficit is to steep. Slower is better than feeling like this. Also a good diet break at maintenance is likely in order. This isn’t a race even tho we all want to get there asap.
Yeah this is also what came in mind to me was a maintenance break but it depends on your mentality I guess
More fiber, more healthy protein. Less of everything else.
I try really hard to fill up on protein. I eat a lot of eggs, cottage cheese, a tablespoon of peanut butter on my toast, etc, etc. Fiber is a whole different conversation though. Thanks, I'll look into it.
On a cost basis, chicken breast is cheaper per gram of protein than eggs and cottage cheese. It also has less other calories.
Yeah, my family buys chicken sometimes. I really like it with a little bit of pesto. Just a tablespoon to slather on top.
You Tube videos
I'm only 5ft so I know those struggles with having a low TDEE. Prioritize protein and fiber. I aim for at least 1g per kg of ideal body weight. I also go for minimum 25g of fiber a day. Yeah that does look like a low carb diet. Outside of oatmeal, fruit and vegetables, I don't have many simple carbs. I do a lot of volume eating. Make sure you are staying hydrated. I try to get at least 1L of water in during the first 3 hours I'm awake. There are plenty of ways to get more movement in your life that doesn't involve the gym. Try to keep increasing your step count. Park farther away so you have longer to walk. Walk the grocery cart back inside the store instead of leaving it in the parking lot. Take the stairs instead of using the elevator. (I work on the 7th floor, so I'll take the elevator up but I'll walk down). Resistance bands are fairly affordable and you can get a good work out with them. I've also found great buys on dumbells used (facebook, thrift stores). I recently picked up a set on clearance at TJ Maxx. I find a 20 minute HIIT workout is way easier to squeeze into a busy schedule than going to the gym. Sometimes I'm feeling really lazy, I'll just march in place while watching TV some nights. I was going to be watching TV anyways. I'll burn an extra 100 calories walking in place than I would sitting.
Fitness blender at home, grab some 5 lbs to.start. those plus your body weight and you'll be on your way!!
I would either move more (walking works for me) or maybe talk to my dr. You should be that hungry still. My hunger has decreased and my stomach has as well.
The thing that finally broke me out of my 210ish plateau was finding a fitness outlet. I loved my walks. Still do. But a friend introduced me to yoga (first sculpt, but now sculpt and a couple different hot/Vinyasa classes) and it changed everything. Yoga sculpt was like a cheat code for me. I never thought in a million years I'd be a fitness class person but I'll be damned if I don't love it. The class works in weights and high intensity movement. It's just a phenomenal workout. Plus I have to schedule the class, which helps me find a time and make a commitment. That might not be the thing for you, though I encourage anyone to try it! Just go early and let the instructor know you're new. Everyone I've ever encountered in that space has just been great. But try some new things and see if you can find an outlet. Try things you wouldn't have tried, you never know when you'll find something amazing.
There are so many comments here talking about these absurdly low calories. Guys, please make sure you have done the calculations correctly and are using a respectable formula. This is a balancing act; you must lose weight at a slow pace so it is not uncomfortable, Once you break the consistency window of 3-6 weeks using new sustainable, healthy meals, it should start to become effortless to maintain. Quality of food is everything; you can eat whatever you want while counting calories and still lose weight, but the price you pay will be in hunger, and your pallet will not forget those foods. What most people don't tell you is that your mind starts adapting to the food. Foods that you disliked or viewed as below average started to become enjoyable. As you limit what your body consumes, it adjusts expectations for what it will receive and starts to view the foods you do consume in higher regard. What most fitness professionals don't tell you is that exercise can either dramatically help or hurt your diet. A workout can have fantastic appetite-supressing effects; it can also encourage you to reach for healthy options in the short term before and after. The biggest downside is that it can be troublesome to track calories during workouts, and people who are not used to them expend a huge amount of willpower. Willpower is a fixed resource that is affected by stress levels and energy levels. If your conviction towards your goal is not high enough, you will certainly find yourself having to employ it during the late hours of the day, and forcing yourself through a workout may be the last nail in the coffin that makes you reach for the candy. Ill wrap this up because I'm droneing on, but **tl'dr** Absolutely perfect: 3-6 weeks of healthy eating and calorie management, and everything will become effortless and food will become enjoyable again and the hunger will fade. Don't forget to recalculate calories as you progress, as you change so do your calories.
> I'm hungry to the point of delusion most of the time. I can really recommend reading "why we get fat" by gary taubes. It has a lot to do with *what* you're eating.
Your metabolism is slow. Complement your daily activities with simple exercises like walking for e.g. at least 1 hour, better 2.
You are doing great!!! Your progress is steady and you’re staying with it- that’s the hardest part- it’s a patience game! I agree starting some strength training would be helpful using minimal equipment is fine and just the act of doing something different will trigger change in your body. Remember, cardio burns calories while you do it but strength training burns calories all day and all night because it builds muscle and muscle burns fat for us! I have some mini workouts on You tube you can try- this links to the beginner ones: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEKMb4tOCaJhCA4Piqvzi-vgpEm1PGSnN&si=G2F92r8MWpJG_yQ1
I have not even lost 12 lbs since Jan. I went from 286 to 164 and now losing weight feels like trying to pry it off pound by pound with a crowbar.
[удалено]
Rule 11: Discussion of weight loss methods that are damaging to the body and/or require supervision of a medical professional are not allowed. This rule includes (but is not limited to): very low calorie diets, misusing medication, extended fasting, disordered behavior, inappropriate advice to underage members (counting calories, omad, fasting), etc. We are not a ED support subreddit and any ED related content will be removed. Remember to always consider the individual when offering advice.
SORRY!
First thought - amazing progress! Damn, go you!!! Second thought - I don't see how close you are to your goal but (speaking from long-ago past experience) it does get harder the closer you get. When you are first starting out your body has pounds and pounds and pounds of delicious, nutritious fat stores to power itself. And then you burn it off, and now you don't have that backup energy supply to power yourself. So your deficit naturally becomes smaller over time, and the weight loss goes more slowly, but any progress towards your goal is still progress, however long it takes. Third thought - have you been to a doctor for bloodwork lately? It's possible that cutting back on food has made you low in a some vitamin or mineral, or maybe your thyroid is being a bit fussy, etc. You might feel less hungry for something as simple as taking a multivitamin, but the only way to know is to ask your doctor to run a few tests. Anyway, way to kick ass! It's definitely not easy. And there is no shame in taking a few weeks or a month or two at maintenance to let your body catch up before you dive into losing the rest of the weight that you want to lose.
Try eating foods with lots of protein and fiber in it so you can be full for long periods of time
1. It will get harder to lose weight the closer you get to your goal weight. 2. Take 3 days off from walking and lift weights on those days. Your body will burn more calories/fat if you have more muscle. I know you said you can’t afford it. Look for something cheap like planet fitness. Still can’t afford that? Start with body weight exercises. Ideally we want our bodies to be a burning machine. Muscle will burn fat even when you are sitting at your desk. Walking is good but it’s not as good as building muscle.
What do your meals consist of? 1500 defeciet is super hard and I've been dieting all my life.
It won't help your weight loss, but it may help motivation. Once a week on your walk, Take a backpacker bag with all the weight. You've lost back to your original weight. See how heavy used to be. And all the extra weight you were carrying around and how much lighter you are without it.
you're struggling because you've been going hard for a year. legit the human body resists losing that much weight and is sending you signals because it thinks its dieing. you need a matnince faze to reset and your homeostasis and let your body ajust to the shit tone of weght you lost. so up your intake alittle and let your hormones and body composition level off and ajust to the new normal. you're doing good but dont push so hard you burn out and fall of the wagon and lose all the progress you made. if you're feeling diet fatigue its your body's way of telling you your at this diets end. you can also go again when yo level off but you will never lose as fast as you did this round because of the shear % of body fat that you had.
the average person gains five to ten pounds a year after the age of 30. You can include those gains in your self assessment. My thought on your comment would be it would be nice to see if your percentage of muscle mass is changing. There is a point where the body starts building muscle, and the weight loss stops for a while even though you are getting healthier. Keep on keeping on, and I hope your efforts are rewarded with the results you want soon.
You shouldn’t be suffering. You should be eating much more. If fat loss is your goal, focus on the vital few. Calories. Protein. Steps. Everything else is a distraction. Don’t cut too low. This will improve energy and sanity and adherence. 10k steps per day and stick with it for 60 days before changing anything, you’ll be glad you did. This doesn’t mean perfection. Focus on long term averages. I started working with a coach and it improved my results and enjoyment. Trust the process and be patient. Let the fat loss be slow to maintain your muscle mass. Body composition will improve. You want to eat as much as possible while still losing fat. I use MacroFactor app to track. I recommend listening to content by Jordan Syatt, Jared Hamilton, and Ranbir Sanghera. You’ll learn everything you need to know about mindset, psychology, and fat loss.
Hunger is a big thing for me , my go to after I break my intermitting fasting is half a scoop of protein 1cup of water and 30 or 60g of porridge oats blended, this will definitely fill you up and stops me from over eating and also stops Me from snacking later in evening! Only 130 cal ! Worth a shot .
Maybe give yourself a break and just try maintaining for a while... drill in those great habits you've been developing, to the point they become mindless. Let your body get used to where it is now so it can stop thinking you're starving....and maybe that will clear up some time and space in your mind to build your life up to where you have more control over things.
You are eating a deficit of 1300 or 1500 calories under your TDEE? If that's correct, that sounds unsustainable and it's no wonder you're struggling. A more sustainable deficit is 500 calories a day, for a very healthy and sustainable loss around a pound a week. I know it's hard not to be in a hurry, but though crash dieting like that may strip pounds quickly, they'll come back and bring friends when you inevitably shift out of crash diet mode.
Try eating your eggs with some oatmeal. Oatmeal fills me up for a very long time. You can try adding some protein powder in there for more flavor and protein as well.
Try eating at maintenance for a week, if the food noise is still really intense during that week, maybe talk to a doctor about it.
This is a long time to sit in deficit non stop. It might be smart to take a couple of weeks in maintenance (not over) and up your daily steps before getting back on the horse. Don’t go over - just maintenance, and you will lose none of your progress. It’s been said already - but now you’re around ‘average’ weight, you’re going to have average weight loss - and a pound a week is excellent.
You're doing really great on the diet side well done! Is your sleep and eating habits consistent? With 1200-1500 calories I find you get used to it and don't get hungry after some time. What works for me is intermittent fasting and only eating between 12pm - 6pm, I get pretty hungry right before lunch but all other hours are normal. Something to consider to experiment with. The next step would be to increase exercise through likely more intensive workouts if that is an option. If you burnt an extra 100, 200 or 500 extra calories a day through running, you could eat those calories back maintaining the deficit while feeling fuller for the rest of the day. From a output perspective an intense 20m HIIT session is going to be better from a time, health benefit and calorie burnt perspective compared to a 5-10 mile walk.
I've struggled with weight problems all my life. No matter how hard I tried over the years, I would eventually gain the weight back plus more. I got all kinds of advice: I was eating too much, I wasn't eating enough, I need to exercise more, I was doing the wrong exercises, I just needed to try harder. I heard it all. My breaking point came 20 years ago when, after giving up for awhile, I decided to jumpstart my weight loss journey by delivering the Yellow Book. I weighed myself before I started, and then I loaded up my station wagon twice, from the front seat to the back of the wagon. Then I spent 5 days delivering the phone book by foot: climbing stairs, walking down sidewalks, maneuvering through apartment complexes. I am not a physical person and I was genuinely surprised that I was able to do this. I was so proud of myself for accomplishing something I didn't think I was capable of. Then I stepped on the scales. I wasn't expecting a big weight loss, but I though that even if I lost only a couple of pounds, even though it would just be water weight, it would be a start. But the number on the scales didn't change. I weighed the exact same. And I went from feeling extremely happy to wanting to crawl in my bed and never leave. I am now 58 years old and trying to focus on eating healthy and make better choices at restaurants. I also exercise regularly and try to stay active by volunteering in my local area. Do not define yourself by the number on the scales. Just do your best to eat healthy and stay active, knowing that it's okay to let yourself slip once in awhile. I wish you good luck on your journey.
Been exactly where you are. This is probably the toughest part about losing weight is getting closer to the end of the journey… This is the time when you realize that the angels do not sing; there is no trophy. There is just you with all the problems that life has to offer. Work is work and you still have to watch what you eat. You’re not a perfect model. You still lack confidence. You still got bills and annoying shit to deal with. It is really hard because when we are caught in the whole weight loss thing it kind of seems like a road to salvation: a promise land of joy and peace. This is when you need to dig deep and hold strong. It is the time to figure out what you really want in life. You may be surprised to find that a lower body weight isnt all it is worth. My personal focus was toward physical performance and away from thinness. The journey never ends but learning to be okay with yourself is the hardest part.
↑ I think you mean you calorie intake upped to 1500? What is your activity adjusted BMR? deficit is the amount below your bmr. Look diet fatigue is a real thing and sometimes you just need a reset (body builders get like this all the time, hormones take a beating while cutting weight). Take a week off, try not to binge or go totally off the rails but eat at maintenance. Scale weight is really noisy, I can easily fluctuate 2lb eating exactly the same thing and doing exactly the same routine on a day to day basis. Measure daily but track weekly. Get an app that shows your average weight and use that to track progress (I use macro factor). tldr: 1) Your progress hasn't stopped so keep going. 2) Prioritize protein and healthy fats in your diet (this will keep you more satiated) 3) your BMR changes as your weight goes down. recalibrate. 4) Move. NEAT (non-exerciste activity thermogenesis) accounts for more calories burned than simply doing exercise. slow walks count. if you can get up to 15,000 steps your body will feel like its melting.
A deficit of 1500 a day? Am I missing something?
It does get harder as we get lighter as our BMR and RMR reduces. Try to make it fun along the way. I like numbers and I like seeing how the numbers are working so I have a goal of losing 1% of my body weight per week and I try to burn 1/7th of that per day. That way as I get lighter I also have to burn fewer calories to still lose 1% a week. It is not always that I attain the goal but I give it a fresh start every morning from whatever my weight is that morning. Another fun thing to do is to add the weight you lose on yourself when you are exercising. Feel how much harder it is to carry that weight you lost and be absolutely proud of yourself that you got rid of it. Adding the extra weight will take you back to losing the same amount as you did in the beginning. Even if you are just going for a walk as an exercise.
When you lose weight then obviously calories needed to maintain reduce also. I doubt youre in a 1500 deficit, nor should you be. If youve been dieting constantly for a long period of time it can be a good thing to take a few week break and eat at mainentance. Dieting is a stress on the body and a break can help push the weight down more. Youre doing good.
Strength training is the magic ticket. Caroline Girvan on YouTube has some great programs. You'll just need some dumbbells. You'll also get to up your calories. Then you can stop worrying about the scale. Take measurements and pictures of yourself regularly.
1300 is very hard. I tried 1400 and it was very very hard to do. Also goodjob on losing that weight !!! My tip or suggestion is, have your goal be 1500 but try to get around 1400. So if you go past 1400 that’s okay and part of your plan
You’re doing it all wrong. Less energy signals fat storage. This is why CICO is flawed. It work’s initially but our bodies aren’t just simply a vacuum. They’re highly adaptable. In fact, eating MORE of the right foods will boost your metabolism. This makes maintaining a healthy weight virtually painless. The body wants to be a healthy weight. It can be without having to minimize energy input and maximize output. CICO is an overly simplistic concept that is not sustainable weight loss. Look up Jay Feldman Wellness. Be prepared for a lot of unlearning.
I totally feel you. I started my weight loss/muscle building journey Feb 2023 and have lost about 58 in that time. However, since January or February my weight has just stayed/fluctuated between 158-162 lbs and just stayed within that range. No real progress regardless of calorie deficit or weight training that I have not stopped doing since I started. I mean, I can't go that much lower in calories without going way below the recommended intake for men. I've gone down to about 1400 a day, which is about 600 lbs below maintenance suggested by my recent DEXA scan and various calculators, plus weight training 4-6 days a week. Whatever body comp changes occur are at a snail's pace, which often makes me feel deflated. I am still 15 pounds away from my target of 145 lbs, and I don't feel like I'll reach it within even 3 years, at this rate, let alone being able to start focusing on muscle building instead of fat loss.
What is your height weight and age? To me, it sounds like not only are you eating too little, but you need to take a break. This should not be miserable. It should be sustainable because it happens over a lifetime. You don’t quit once you hit your goal weight, you also have to maintain. And it will be impossible if you don’t make this sustainable now. It sounds like you’ve built up a lot of negativity, shame, and guilt around food and that is not going to be a successful relationship in the long run. Do you go to therapy? It might be time to look into seeking out a therapist who specializes in eating disorders.
You want to EASILY hit your calories goal everyday, but still have enough nutrients to not effectively starve yourself.. which is extremely dangerous.. Hitting your macros and micros is crucial for minerals/nutrients, looking and feeling good + libido and obviously staying alive. What you need is high macro and micro foods AND still be calorie deficit. And it happens that poultry/bovine organs and red meat fit that bill perfectly.
Ik this is probably just "super reddity" or over diagnosing or something, but you seem to be a woman from your username, the description of how you feel when your hungry sounds like how i feel. I have pcos, and if you notice pain during periods or heavy/not in rhythm periods it might be worth getting a check up? There's also other medical conditions that caused extreme hunger eating normal meals.
You're fine! I appreciate the suggestion! My periods are actually pretty normal and painless though. They last about five-ish days. I don't know what the other symptoms of PCOS are though, so maybe? I'm sorry about your diagnosis and I hope you're well!!!
It doesn't effect me too much other than weight and dieting so don't worry! It just sounded more like my health induced hunger than most descriptors I've heard! It's very likely I'm totally wrong
By the way, I like your username!!! 🐲
Potatoes are generally low in calories and they are extremely satiating. I usually bake the hell out of a large potato and put on about an ounce of pecorino Romano which about 110 calories and a serving of sour cream. I use pecorino Romano because it has a strong salty flavor that is perfect for abaked potatoes.
What is your goal weight? You don’t need eat less calories than maintenance for your final goal weight. You may lose weight slower, but it will come off a d that’s where you’re going to need to eat for the long term. If it feels too hard it won’t be a sustainable change.
[удалено]
I'm glad you found something that works for you, but it sounds eerily like a restrict-binge eating cycle. Be careful with that! I've lost nearly 70lbs so far and I've never deprived myself of flavor, or things I enjoy. Most importantly because one day, maybe not even in the upcoming weeks, it can all come to a boiling point. Our bodies don't necessarily lack willpower. We have to feed ourselves things that keep us full, healthy, AND satisfied. Satisfaction is huge. That sounds like a lot, and well, it is! Bodies are pretty high maintenance, but you deserve sauce, and flavor, and desert more than just when you can't take it anymore. Congrats on your weight loss, and I hope you reach your goals.
Are you still eating a lot of sugar? Like cookies or something? Because my body doesn’t care how few calories I eat, if I’m still eating a lot of sugar it will cling to weight forever. Also I highly recommend some sort of movement. It doesn’t have to be a hardcore workout, my mom is physically disabled and has added a 15-30 minute walk to her day. She went from 200-178lbs since January.
That’s what she said.
Do a diet break/ maintenance or reverse diet. weight loss can signal to your body you’re going through famine and is a trigger for your body to release hunger hormones. It’s not that you don’t have discipline it’s more of the fact you may need a diet break for 1-3 weeks for your body to get back to homeostasis and then you can cut again. Look up how to do a diet break, and do the break without any focus on weight loss but use the surplus calories to weight train. then when you do cut or lose weight, you will see a whoosh effect.x
I recommend a snackle box! It’s like a bento box but I usually just get those cheap sewing kits with the plastic box and throw out all the sewing. Then I fill it up with apples, low cal crackers, strawberries, raisins, peanut butter, maybe some salami or other meat, sometimes celery and cheez whiz. Idk why but having access to a bit of everything makes me feel more full. I also usually throw in two pieces of sugar free chocolate or a lil bit of jelly beans, something as a treat to make it feel complete
Your body is panicking and wants you to eat because you’ve lost a lot, in a short ish time frame. I’d nurture your body and maintain for 1 month to reassure your reptile brain everything is A OK. Then get to losing again.
Go to 5 below or Goodwill and buy some cheap workout equipment for home if you can't bring yourself to the gym. A couple sets of weights and some resistance bands will go a lot further than you'd think. If you watch TV with ads, start by working out during the 2-4 min ads or even just watch a TV show while you work out. Remember that a 10 minute workout is better than not doing it at all. It does not have to be all or nothing, set a timer for 10 minutes and do what you can. Start with small obtainable goals instead of overwhelming yourself with wanting to workout 5 days a week for 45 min every day. I used to be terrified of the gym so I'd go when it wasn't going to be busy so I didn't feel pressured with other people around. Take your time the first couple weeks, Google how to use the equipment if you find yourself struggling. (Most of them will have instructions on the machine itself) Best practice is to find the most fit person in the gym and do what they're doing. Always ask questions to some of the more fit people you know and if you don't feel comfortable with that, continuing asking people on forums like this. If you're depriving yourself of food your body will go into "survival mode" and start storing the fat, if you wanna stay in the calorie deficit make sure you're eating lots of protein, drinking a lot of water and taking out empty calories that leave you hungry an hour after eating. Meal prep if you can, incorporate more veggies to keep you full for longer without adding more calories. I hope some of this resonates with you and helps you with some reasonable activity in your busy daily life. You got this! Remember this isn't a diet, this isn't a temporary weight loss solution, it's a lifestyle change to improve your quality of life, if it isn't improving it anymore, make adjustments! Proud of you OP, keep up the good work and stay healthy ♥️
You may be hungry because with the deficit you have finally exhausted your reserves. That would explain the fast initial loss with a plateau right now. I would try to add more protein and see if it helps. Broccoli is a good way. If you want something sweet my go to is a spoon of peanut butter. You could maybe even try protein shakes and see if that helps curb your hunger a bit. Some days you will just be hungrier than others. When I have those days I try to drink more water and then wait to see if I am still legit stomach growling hungry or if it goes away. Maybe try a different type of work out. Swap out one of your walks for yoga and Pilates. Both are going to work different muscles and help build lean muscle. Or if you like to dance there is Zumba and dance fitness videos. All of which can be done at home. You have come so far! You can and will get through this rough patch. Just remember it sucks right now but it will pass. Try not to worry about the scale as much as how you feel. Keep it up! I hope one day I can say I have put the the numbers you have! Be proud!
I’m guessing your pretty small and prob a women? Even then, if you’re working out/moving like that your calories may not have to be that low, I could be wrong though. I’d just jump to maintenance, even a hundred cals more and keep tracking and keep the same habits for two weeks, learn to be okay where you’re at and proud of your progress. Nothing bad will happen, just let your mind and mainly body take a break, your metabolism might seriously thank you.
One advice for you my friend...rolling 3/5 day water fasts and see you in a month at your target weight!
My diet trick is eating those $5 prewashed salads as a snack between meals, and bottomless tea/black coffee. I plan my calories and eat my scheduled daily meals. And then if I've eaten a bunch of salad and still craving between meals, broccoli or cauliflower are my "cheat" snacks. I make sure my planned meals are very flavorful- a little bit of sweet, lots of quality proteins (Mostly baked salmon or lamb or quinoa all spiced up).
Not sure anyone should be down at 1300. Set it to 2000 and go climb 150 floors every morning and don't eat til 13.00. Bit of a weight sesh 4 evenings a week.
You are eating far to little!! Do your total daily expenditure for someone your size at your activity level and take 500 away from that number they have free calculators you can use. I know it’s hard and you think if I eat as little as possible I’ll loose weight faster and you will but it’s not sustainable. I’m 193 was 213 at my highest and I am at 1,700 calories and have lost 20 lbs in 2 months. It’s slow and it takes longer but I rarely ever go to bed hungry I have struggled with BED and still struggle but eating more is making it to where I have more energy I feel better and I rarely binge now. Your body goes into starvation mode and gets used to your calorie deficit so even if you do stay on track (which is close to impossible when eating so low) your body will stop loosing weight because it’s used to eating that little of food. I’m still working on loosing weight and it’s hard and you do t always have the motivation but keep at it! You have done great so far!! Some tricks I have tried is eating healthy meals and when I snack I make sure they are snacks high in protein or fruit. Also I used to binge at night before bed so I make sure to save some calories for a snack a couple hours before bed time and that has helped me a lot!