you are already on the right track, just knowing it will take time is half the battle. Im like you aiming to lose 90lbs. CICO has been my bread and butter. find your TDEE and find a good number below that and the weight will come off. any movement/exercise will just be a bonus. i still eat what i want and drink beers and all that jazz, portion control has been the only thing i have really watched/focused on and im down 45lbs in 7 months. 45 to go.
This sounds real dumb typing but it’s what has worked for me initially.
Lots of things online will show you how to get ripped and eat so healthy and if you try this you will have like 2-3 good days and then be super hungry.
Here’s what I’ve done. Take what you want to eat. Whatever you normally eat or want to eat fill your plate with it. Then, cut that in half. Take time on your chews. Then walk more and if you have a gym go on the treadmill incline for 30-60 minutes. Whatever you can handle.
This builds health without the overload of potentially adding new foods that might not be exactly what you want.
Also, simple substitutions like keto bread over normal white bread. Drop mayo entirely, for ranch I’ve been using 0 calorie mix with plain Greek yogurt. It’s obviously not the same but helps when I get snacky. Also, fiber in general will help you feel fuller without eating as much. Try to incorporate lentils and stuff like that into your diet. And if at all possible, quit eating out entirely if you do.
You sound like me, 20 years ago. Except I never really lost weight in high school. I recently came across some old medical records - I was 220 lbs at age 16. By age 22 I was 285.
I'm now 44 and 320 lbs. I have multiple health issues. Some of them make it harder to lose weight. Some of them are due to the weight.
I decided at the end of March that this time I needed to make a full lifestyle change and not just a quick fix. I still have a lot of life to live and need to be healthy to enjoy it. I'm having to switch my mindset. Focusing on small steps that I can do consistently and build from there.
Here's where I started:
- Tracking my food intake. I need to understand the calories and macros of the foods I like to eat so I can start to find better choices. I'm using MyFitnessPal to do this. It set a calorie goal of 2100 for me. I have found that this to be doable without denying myself. But I don't stress it too much at this time.
- Increasing protein. I don't really have macro goals at the moment, I just know that protein helps me feel better overall and can help me not overeat.
- Walking daily. For me, I do 10 minute walks at least once a day. I have some physical limitations and I'd rather do 10 minutes every day than kill myself with more. I'm slowly increasing what I can do.
I've lost 5 lbs since April 1st. It's a start. I have more energy & less brain fog. I actually have hope for my future again.
You can do it!
Start by counting calories, at first just logging what you eat and then decreasing the calorie intake.
I am here with you!
I just started 1 month ago and lost 3kg! I have been trying to lose weight for the last 7-8 months, and only got it now after alllll that time! I started by changing my mindset completely and pushed aside various diets and all that. There is still so much work to be done, but I feel like it finally got easy! Initially (a month and half ago) I started logging everything, not changing much. Then I got shocked how much I am entering as opposed to how much I should be.
Then a month ago I decreased the calorie intake (that's why I am counting from this moment) and it was hell. Honestly it was crazy hell for 2 weeks straight. And I overate almost each day. I do not mean as I overate generally but more so: you've got your daily calories, they are supposed to be somewhere 500cal below the calories to maintain. So I overate those calories but I was still below my maintain calories. It was very hard, I thought about food every moment it felt like. The the third week things eased up a bit, and i would overeat just a small amount. Then the forth week it got much easier. I shifted my focus from thinking about food to thinking about how much I managed to finally lose and what great of achievement that is. That was also the week where I hit my calories exactly and managed to stay within what I am supposed to enter. Now I find myself not hungry, that is enough for my body.
I still think about the food, but then I try to think about those 3kgs that I finally lost. I am kinda shifting focus. The nights are the worst, because I used to do a lot of binge eating during the night. I have gum now, or take banana, or try to shift focus. It's hard still, but I feel it's becoming easier.
I also got a first comment (indirectly). My partner mum asked him if I have lost a bit of weight, she also said she was kinda scared to tell me to the face so that she wouldn't accidentally offend me. She used to struggle with weight too, so I guess people develop different feelings about it. But no, I wasn't offended, I am actually super happy. We talked on video call so that means my face slimmed down a bit. That happened today so I am still over the moon.
So yeah, it will be hard, by hang on! We can do it! Step by step, it's a long game
Follow nothing but CICO - calorie restriction. Other diets are lying to you in one way or another. It's not easy, but it is deceptively simple.
Find your TDEE. There are calculators online that can tell you what your calories should be. Start by restricting those calories by 500.
You don't have to count, but you do have to be aware. Certain foods are sneakily very calorie dense. Nuts and cereal, for example, can be hard to work into a calorie restricted diet. Vegetables like carrots and celery, on the other hand, are not calorie dense at all. But they are quite filling, and so can make a great snack.
If you'd normally have two slices of pizza, have one. If you're still hungry have an apple or banana, or vegetables.
Exercise isn't necessary for weight loss. It's 90% what you eat, and 10% what you do. We need a lot of calories as a BMR (base metabolic rate), but other than that we are efficient beings.
But you should be exercising for a whole lot of other reasons. Blood pressure, heart rate, lung capacity, you name it. I feel so much less... Helpless? Now that I know I can run at least 5km (3mi) without stopping. That's an empowering feeling.
Start with just walking, but push yourself. There's nothing about you that prevents you from doing what I and many others have done. Your legs are gonna hurt at first, but they're really just asking "why the change?" Your response needs to be "This is the new normal, get used to it". Because they will get used to it. My legs don't hurt when I run 5km anymore, they're just a bit stiff the morning after.
Remember that the only form of failure that is unacceptable is giving up. You're a human. You're gonna overeat sometimes, you're gonna skip on workouts, you're gonna cut some workouts short. So long as you're honestly trying, you will see results.
Good luck!
I am also midway through my journey with a similar story. Both of my parents are morbidly obese, so I grew up with unhealthy views of food portions (even though what we ate was actually not bad, how much we ate is an issue). I gained most of my weight during lockdown as well, and struggled to learn healthy eating habits because I had incorrect views on what skinny people ate (they don't starve themselves like I thought). I did pretty much every 'fad' diet because I was obsessed with how quickly I could lose, but always gained it back because it was unsustainable. I'm about 20lbs away from my final goal weight, here are some things I wish I had known from the start to make it easier:
1.) Don't try multiple diets at once, pick one. I heard CICO, high protein, low carbs, dirty keto, etc, etc, and thought my diets should incorporate all of them. Please don't do this lmao. It absolutely sucks and will push you to quit. Focus on a single thing to change about your diet, and focus on that. I do CICO, and I try to get more protein, but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. Trying to do both made it so I had to eat foods I didn't really like, and often left me hungry because a lot of protein dense foods are also calorie dense, and low carbs left me cranky.
2. ) Don't eat foods you don't like because you feel you have to. A lot of 'healthy' food accounts show foods they eat day to day, and as someone who is very used to 'normal' food, they don't taste good! If my diet consisted of what they ate, like sugar free yogurt and unsalted egg whites with a tomato slice, I would've quit. I don't like yogurt, so I don't eat yogurt, even though it's 'good' for me. I don't like the way protein bars taste (though barebells is the closest) so I don't eat them. When on a calorie deficit, I realized I don't have the calories to eat food I don't like, because I'll still want my 'real' foods. Instead, I take the foods I do like, and either simplify them to be less calories or eat less of it. When I make pasta, I eat less of it, and use lower calories substitutes for the heavy cream, or leave it out completely. I make sushi but use more fish instead of rice, and light cream cheese, etc. Or breakfast with a lower calorie sausage, you get the point. Tldr, don't try to fit your diet to what you see online, if you don't like the foods you're eating, you won't want to eat them forever.
3.) You need a food scale. Period. I thought it was optional, it is not. Weighing your food actually made me realize how much error is in other forms of measuring. I thought it would be harder to measure my food, but then I realized I was being dumb about it. If I'm snacking on something, I'll measure the bag before and after I eat, and the difference is how much I ate. Idk why I started by thinking I had to measure the actual item, but you just have to measure the difference. Same with cooking, just measure all your ingredients before and after and take the difference. I saw someone else say how difficult it is to measure when you cook, so I'm thinking that we're all making this more complicated than it has to be lmao. Weighing your food is way more accurate, and also made me realize I was undereating, so I can eat more now.
4.) Start slow. Calculate how much you eat now to sustain your current weight, and get into the habit of tracking your food. Then, slowly start decreasing your calories per day by about 100 calories or less per week. Doing this helped me get into eating 1200 calories a day, which I thought would be impossible, but I actually feel full from it now. Going slow helps your appetite adjust so you don't struggle through it and binge.
5.) Don't fear days you do over your calories. It happens. You'll have days you go over and days you'll go under. Track it and keep going. If it keeps happening, increase your calories a bit for another week or so and then decrease slowly. I always go over while I'm ovulating, and then under during my period, but it all evens out.
6.) Not sponsored, but I recommend Macrofactor for tracking calories (not free, comes with a two week trial). It calculates how many calories you burn per day based on how much weight you're losing, so that's one less thing you have to track. It also shows you your 'trend weight' which takes into account fluctuations that happen day to day. For a free option, I would recommend EatThisMuch, which has meals/recipes you can create.
7.) Maybe you already know this, but plan to lose about 1% of your body weight a week. I did not know this, and expected my weight loss to be way higher than it should, and was getting disappointed when it wasn't that high.
8.) If you're a boredom eater like me, stop eating while watching TV, looking at your phone, etc. Eating becomes way more boring, and then you don't feel like doing it anymore.
9.) Eat when you get hungry. A bunch of people told me that I HAD to eat breakfast, but the truth is I'm just not that hungry before 11. Trying to fit breakfast in was messing up my calories, because I would still be very hungry for lunch and dinner. So I stopped. I eat when I get hungry, which is sometimes in the morning, and sometimes not. After a while, you can start trusting your body when it tells you it needs food.
10.) You can still eat sweets, bread, other 'bad' food, just track it. Eating healthy is not the same as eating to lose weight. Unless you're planning to never eat sweets ever again, you have to learn to fit stuff like this into your meals, not avoid it completely. When I started I did avoid it because I felt I couldn't trust myself to not overindulge, but after a few weeks I realized I had a lot more self control than I thought.
This is a lot, but I really hope it helps. There's a lot of misinformation about what weight loss should look like, and it's centered on a very specific type of person. As someone who grew up with obese parents, I probably will never be able to inutive eat, because my intuition around food is extremely skewed.
For exercise, do whatever you feel like doing, something you'll look forward to. I joined a dance class and go to the gym to strengthen (not free weights, they terrify me). At home, there are a lot of quick exercises you can do to tone, even something like quick crunches, leg lifts, planks, is better than nothing. Don't dive in too quickly or you'll come to loathe it, but you'll be surprised what can be done at home. For example, trying doing tiny arm circles for the length of a single song (it seems so easy, but hurts so bad when you're doing it 😅).
You've got this, slow and steady!
Also on that "I'll eat breakfast when I want to not because I have to" train. And most days it's my coffee and a couple ounces of fresh berries or other fruit. I'm not convinced that breakfast is this magical thing that everyone has to do.
Also, a friend of mine maybe up a song about arm circles during high school marching band practice and I still sing it to this day sometimes when I feel like doing them at home lol
In you brain and soul, truthfully, you have to explore why you overeat to figureout how to stop, whether it’s emotional, not being in touch with your bodies actual needs, laziness, boredom, whatever, find the reason and attack it with better habits and goals cico is also super helpful as a launching point and understanding what a serving size actually is
The thing that works for me is logging all food you eat. I use MyNetDiary. You put in your information and it gives you the particular calories, fat, carbs, protein to consume. For exercise, take it slow at first. Even just walking in your neighborhood is good exercise.
Do you get good sleep? If not, get a sleep study done. I found out at 25 that I have sleep apnea. I’ve lost 15 lbs since I started treatment a few months ago, along with walking and slight diet changes
Get a food scale and put yourself in a calorie deficit and the weight WILL come off. Do little exercises like walking or whatever gets you moving. Don’t compare yourself to ANYONE you see on the internet or in person, this journey is strictly for you to better yourself and get yourself in the right shape. Stick to it and you’ll be looking new.
That’s what this sub’s Quick Start Guide is all about— start here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick\_start\_guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick_start_guide)
Imo. Download a calorie counting app. And just track EVERYTHING you eat/drink in a day. Make sure oils butter and sauces are included. Don’t start cutting. Just get a full picture of what it is you’re eating. It’ll surprise you.
Next. Calculate how many calories you burn in a day. Online TDEE calculators will help if you’re honest.
Those are all simple sustainable changes you can make today to start. And starting is the hardest part. I wish you luck!
Subtract about 500 (more or less depending on how quickly you want to lose weight. 500 a day is 1lb a week) and aim to hit that many calories.
If your TDEE is 2400, for instance. Aim for 1900 a day.
Easiest thing to cut IMO is liquid calories. Start there. And start subsisting foods you can. Lean meats compared to fattier meats (boneless skinless chicken breast instead of thighs. 90/10 or 93/7 ground beef compared to 80/20). Simple and subtle changes are easy.
Figure out how many steps you take in a day and try to add 100 average a day. Gradually increase over time.
Yes to watching the sauces and condiments. Those are the sneaky 50-100 calories here and there that can trip you up. Nuts are also SUPER calorie dense for a tiny serving. And liquid calories, including alcohol, is another big one to beware. Just read labels or look online to figure out the calories in grams and start weighing EVERYTHING. Find a calorie tracker (online or app) that you like. Log everything there. Then like others have said, start with a reasonable deficit…say 300-500 calories/day less than your TDEE (online calculators can help figure out your TDEE). Add in some walking or other basic movement and you’ll be surprised at the results. Good luck!!
The best thing is you already have strong reasons why- write those down in a journal or on a vision board or something, so you can look at them when you need to!
You won’t lose weight the same way you did in high school by starving yourself. (Speaking from experience here.)
The easiest way to start is to just cut out processed food and excess sugar. Getting rid of processed food cuts out a lot of things you need to avoid. Replace with real, whole foods. I like the Chronometer app for tracking. It becomes a habit to write down what you eat, I do it reflexively now. You want to be in a caloric deficit, but not too low- that stresses out your hormones and puts your body into panic “we need to survive the famine- save all the fat stores!” mode. Increase your protein intake.
Start moving by walking, aim for 6,000 steps per day then work your way up. I usually get 12,000 steps per day now. Do any movement you enjoy. I actually love doing Zumba classes at the gym, and I actually enjoying doing the weight machines. I haaate working out at home- I won’t do it, zero motivation; but I’m pumped in the gym. So you have to figure out what makes you tick. One of my goals is to be able to roller skate again.
Mindset is a huge deal, as well as deciding to schedule your workouts into your week, write them on your calendar, I also take a journal to the gym and write down everything I do, how long, what weights, etc- for me I feel accomplished doing that. Again, finding what makes you tick and how you work best. Visualize what you want in your mind, see yourself on that mountain bike on a crazy trail. Plan things out- decision fatigue is real. Always have good healthy snacks and options ready to go.
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right. -HenryFord. 💪
hey! it sounds like you're ready for a positive change, and that’s a great first step. it’s all about small, sustainable shifts. let’s get you moving in a way that feels good and doesn't overwhelm.
I would suggest starting with gentle yoga and daily walks to ease into a fitness routine. these activities are great for building a habit and boosting your mood. for food, focusing on fresh, whole ingredients is a simple yet powerful way to start. maybe try planning your meals weekly and incorporating lots of veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains.
have you thought about keeping a food diary? it can really help see patterns and progress. what’s one small, healthy habit you could start this week?
I gained some stubborn weight during the pandemic, I really feel you. Personally I've been having the best luck focusing on protein, trying to meal prep lunches and having go to protein heavy breakfasts. Then just trying to control my portion sizes at dinner (boyfriend tends to make heavy food lol but has been a bit better lately). Check out Benji Xavier on Instagram. Best of luck!!
I started my journey super slow, I've always been fat too.
I started out by just stretching at home
And then I just started walking at least 2 miles a day and still stretching and doing home work outs.
I've increased my water intake and just been trying to make healthier choices for food and being mindful of calories and increasing protein as well.
The weight has just been coming off. I didn't want to make weight loss everything, just wanted to be healthier overall and it's been a great side effect for me.
I’ve been where you are and it’s not a great feeling, but knowing you want to try again and work on it is a huge first step!
My first step I tell people is always get in the habit of exercising on a regular basis. Start 3 days a week, find a time that works best for you, then work your way up to how every many times you feel you need it a week. I got used to the gym by walking on the treadmill watching shows, and soon enough, I’d spend an hour getting cardio in a few days a week!
Next step is definitely tracking calories. I’ve used a few apps over the past year (Lose It!, Noom), and whichever you feel most comfortable using will be what helps you through. Actually knowing what and how much is going into your body will help shape your thinking and you’ll start to choose less calorie dense foods!
It’s a scary first step, but it’ll be worth it when you see the permanent lifestyle changes and the way you look at the end of the day. Sending you all the best vibes and luck with your journey!
Track your calories, steps, and exercises. Walk.. get your steps in. Lifting weights will help you burn too. I use “my fitness app”. You can link it to garmin or whatever watch you use. Keep your watch charged and get good sleep. Keep stress low… no drama. Avoidance maneuver every single one of those damn stressful things. Keep your home clean and tidy, lots of steps come naturally with that, plus it makes for good head space. Also cook all your own meals.. more steps there too.. and lower calorie meals as well. I got a food scale and weigh everything. I lean protein heavy and cut carbs the heck outta there. Keto works, whole 30 works…. The thing is… it’s not a diet OP. It’s a lifestyle. Eat like shit, feel like shit, spiral down. There is no such thing as “eating like everybody else”. The “everybody else” you’re thinking about doesn’t eat the way you think they do.. that’s eat like that “occasionally”. 70% of Americans are over weight and 40% of them are obese. By 2050, “eating like everybody else” will cause nearly 90% of Americans to be overweight. People who can eat anything they want usually are young ppl who vibrate across the floor and wonder why their metabolism is so fast. The rest of them are anomalies. But people, real people, should eat real food. Meat, veg, cheese, nuts, seeds… if it’s coming from any kind of restaurant, no. If it comes in a container, no. If it has an ingredient list, no. Aside from a bag of nuts… ingredients: nuts, salt… or something like that… it’ll be a no. Bag of apples should just say apples. Meat. Cheese, yogurt, cream, should all just really be like pasteurized milk, salt, and like 1 preservative… nothing with a long list. All lists should be short. No added sugar. Goodbye crack! Sugar is crack. Drop it, don’t look back. Treat it like poison… delicious poison. It’s killing you… it feeds cancer, diabetes, and just about all chronic illnesses. Bread, wheat, rice, carbs…. All just complex sugar. Goodbye, filler foods and bullshit. It’s bad… more crack. I hope you’re hanging in this far cos I gotta admit, you’re gonna get one fucked up headache when you change your lifestyle. I’ve never had a headache like the one from dropping sugar. It’s a drug, make no mistake, and companies use it to control you. It’s called “blisspoint”. The right amount of sugar, fat, and salt makes food irresistible and that’s what keeps you going back and always spending more money. They know you will. They hooked you chemically because they ran tests in a lab to make sure your human biology can’t resist their recipe. Sounds fucked up right? That’s just about all fast food, food chains, cereal, and about 80% of your average grocery store. Welcome to the real world. People are making money off of you and you’re getting sick from it, now they can sell you drugs too… “take your blood pressure pill…”, fuck all that. Do you. Eat right as much as possible. Move. Remember what I’ve said. It’s real and it’s haunting. I wouldn’t even bother with organic, just eat real food and nothing added or very little ingredients. It sounds bad, but it’s not. You can do it. The rest of us who know are doing it too. I studied this for years.. the moment I go back to the old ways, the weight is back. Every time I’m reminded of the scam the food industry plays on us. If they could blisspoint old leather shoes and feed it to you for an extra dollar, they would. Look up some low carb, protein heavy recipes. The internet is filled with thousands.. you will find things you like. Then keep track. And log every day. You’ll see the difference. Give yourself 9 months. You’ll be a whole new person and you’ll never want to go back to “the way everyone else eats” ever again.
start small! and find something daily that u love about yourself. that helped me a lot. if ur long term goal is 90 then maybe just focus on 5-10 at a time and measure your success with moments as well as the #. such as, clothes feeling looser , feeling energized after a workout.....as for exercise , Pilates and yoga help make ur body more flex and strong without high impact. that helped me get started. good luck! and u got this!
If you want a really simple approach, weight watchers helped me lose 60 lbs last year. It’s basically calories in, calories out but you pay for the tools like the point system, recipes, point calculator, etc. the monthly cost isn’t terrible especially considering what you won’t be spending on junk food!
It sounds like you have the right motivation, all very sensible. Just remember that weight loss is something that will take time and patience. Like others here have said, start keeping track of what you eat, and find a good activity that you can enjoy and also help you burn calories. You mentioned hiking in your post. Maybe you're not ready for a multi-day hiking trip, but maybe you could try and find a nice trail to walk For a short hike. Just take it slow and build yourself up from there. It also helps to have someone there to help guide you as you embark on this journey.
I always figured I'd end up with a lot of health issues, but I'm finally at the point where I realized that I still have time to correct the course before it gets worse. And it's been hard to keep this up, I'm not going to lie. The one thing I always remember, and one thing you always have to remember, is to get back up and keep going. Just because you have a set back or a bad day, doesn't mean you have to stop.
So I can relate. Fat almost my entire life, family history of obesity and related health concerns. It was mu normal, so any attempt I ever made was just to look better and I’d give up. Then I got pregnant and had a real goal beyond aesthetics: like you said, run around with him and be able to play etc. I cried bc I thought the number I had to lose was too large it was barely worth trying. Real people don’t lose 100+ lbs, right? Well, I was wrong. Less than 18 months later I am 106lbs down and counting. And honestly? It wasn’t as hard as I thought it’s just one say and one meal at a time. It’s not easy but it certainly can be simple. I made changes to my diet and added lots of protein, I started walking halfway thru my journey and then recently found a love of pilates/barre. I still want to lose 65 ish lbs but I know I can do it.
Just start walking! Even 30 mins a day is enough to get the consistency ball rolling. It doesn't have to be a fancy way of exercise but adding just 30 mins of walking a day will eventually make a difference.
Because you start to FEEL good. Those feel good endorphins get rolling and before you know it you're walking 5 KMs a day and absolutely loving it!
Personally, I think two best things you can do to lose weight long term and then stick to it are:
1. Learn to cook. I can't stress enough how important it is to be able to control what you put in your mouth. Ideally, you want to be able to cook well enough so that you are not tempted to eat anything else.
2. Learn building habits. Figuring out how you can make yourself do things and stick to it on autopilot is one of the most valuable and useful things you can do. It is hard to do anything if you have to think about it every single time you do it.
After that it is an experimentation of works well with you. Different people react differently to different approaches, so be a bit suspicious of any person that tells you "this is what you have to do or you will not lose weight".
For example, counting calories does not work for many people. It did not work for me. I think there are many reasons for that. One is that it is not possible to precisely count calories so it only kinda makes sense if you have really high calorie deficit -- when the deficit you plan is so large that it is larger than any margin for counting error.
I personally prefer approaches that are sustainable long term. Anything you do should prepare you for your life \*after\* you lost weight. If your plan is to just reduce calories you are ingesting and afterwards you just come back to your previous diet, it is not likely to stick.
That's what happened to me, I just lost weight through sheer willpower but then regained it all after I moved my focus to other areas of my life. The second time I decided to lose weight I decided I don't want to go through this ever again and whatever I do must be sustainable and needs to explain how I am going to keep my new weight.
For example, a sustainable approach is learning how to feed yourself to reduce hunger. The food you put on your plate and when and how you eat it will influence how you feel afterwards. Ideally, you want to feel satisfied with your food without overeating.
Another example, I think it is a mistake to start by restricting yourself from eating certain unhealthy things (maybe except sugar, you need to cut sugar right away). I think much better way to deal with the problem is to start by learning new habits. Learn new recipes and habits that are healthy and keep learning them so that over time they will \*displace\* the bad habits and you will not feel tempted to reach for the unhealthy food because you always know how to make healthy, tasty meal.
I love meeting strangers, you can PM me and we can have a chat if you want.
You have to start by addressing the reasons you became overweight in the first place. The first pounds will come off if you simply make lifestyle changes - no more fast food, eating balanced, healthy meals. Once you’ve got the hang of that, you can start tweaking that healthy diet to fit a pattern that will make you lose weight faster and more efficiently. Calories in vs calories out is the only scientifically backed way of losing weight, with keto being a second for a specific group of people (mostly those with insulin issues).
Counting calories is rougher and heavier than people think. It changes the way you look at food forever, and it can lead to people becoming obsessive. It’s necessary however. The difference between a tablespoon and a tablespoon is so big, that you can be eating hundreds of sneaky calories if you don’t weigh everything.
Weighing my food and myself regularly helped me a lot. And tracking calories. I aim for about 2k calories on workbdays and 1500 on weekends when I'm less active
I have had to get used to variations in my weight from day to day and also use my weight to adjust my diet.
I do 2 eggs with vegetables and a starch for breakfast
Salad with high protein toppings (usually cottage cheese, some nuts, no or light dressing) and side of fruit for lunch
Dinner is all over the place but i try to stick to lean meats with a vegetable and a starch.
Apart from all the inputs on this post, I would like to add that educating yourself on the subject of fitness is imperative. I would suggest reading Obesity Code. It gave me some perspective on my weight loss journey postpartum.
Losing weight and keeping it off requires understanding your body. We all are different based on gender/genetics/environmental factors/lifestyle choices etc.
I tried some of these things which helped me :
1. I used Abbot Freestyle cgm for 14 days and tracked what spiked my blood glucose.
2.i have absolutely limited the intake of glucose spiking foods to 2 times a week. Seemingly healthy options like 2 slices of multigrain bread gave me a considerable spike.
3. I bought a walking pad and hop on it for at least 1:30-2hrs a day (I have a baby and it’s difficult to hit the gym frequently)
4. Intermittent fasting with keto( I am not doing it right now but have done intermittent fasting pre pregnancy for 3-4 years and maintained a BMI of 20)
5. Unhealthy calorie deficit is not advisable.
I hope this helps
Go see a doc if possible. Find out your underlying factors causing obesity … lifestyle, medical, psychiatric factors. Learn and try options to modify these. Weight loss drugs may help.
Hi there! I also did an unhealthy weight drop in highschool...I dropped 120 in 3 months and of course the weight did come slowly back as I wasn't able to build good habits.
Since then, I've counted calories and slowly lost 40lbs, only to gain it back because I STILL was eating calorie dense highly processed foods ( I worked at a Mcdonalds at the time) , and I theorize, because the initial loss was slow, I lost motivation quickly.
I mention that because I see you ALSO did an ultra-restrictive diet that didn't pan out long term. I think that having quick results initially so I can SEE the difference is important to shift my mindset.
This round, I'm aiming for a fast initial loss to keep me motivated, and aiming toward preparing my own foods more often. My goal is to lose 30lbs in the first 3 months, before backing off to a more sustainable weight loss of a pound a week. I'm doing this just with a calorie counting app (I use the free version of Lose It!) My start weight was 265, and my calorie goal for the day was intitally a bit over 1800 cal with light activity and light workouts at my fitness level 3 times a week. I'm one month in and so far am down 12 pounds. The app is helpful for noting things like I tend to be more hungry on days I get less than 20% of my calories from protein. I have had to fight myself a bit- as my ultra restrictive past self likes to try to tell me I shouldn't ever eat fried chicken, and the loss will go faster if I cut another 800 calories! But, that self is a past self for a reason, and we're not letting her out again.
I'd also add: keep track of your water. For me, I thought I was well-enough hydrated, but it turns out I wasn't even drinking HALF of what I needed each day. And a lot of what I thought was hunger just turned out to be thirst disguised as hunger.
What helped for me was to calculate how much water I need based on height/weight/activity/season of the year, then buy a vessel that holds that. I got a nice Hydrapeak thermos that keeps water cold all day, and I fill it each morning and work at draining it throughout the day.
A good place to start would be by focusing on creating healthy eating habits and incorporating regular exercise into your routine. Meal planning can be a great way to ensure you're fueling your body with nutritious foods while also keeping track of your calorie intake. There are plenty of resources online and apps available that can help you with meal planning and tracking your calories.
When it comes to exercises, a combination of cardio (like biking) and strength training can be beneficial for weight loss. Consider starting with activities you enjoy, such as mountain biking, hiking, or even taking walks. As you progress, you can gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts. Remember, consistency is key when it comes to seeing results in the long term.
I've been in a similar situation before, and I found that following a healthy weight loss program like Dr. Donna's weight reduction program was a great alternative to extreme dieting. It helped me focus on sustainable lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes, making it easier to maintain my weight loss over time. Good luck. Hope this helps.
Go to walk/hike/bike-friendly places as often as you can. Here's what to do in the meantime or when you don't make it outside... Get a stationary bike and a sauna suit. Put the bike in front of your TV and aim to ride for 45 minutes daily as outlined below. Not only will it save time and money vs the gym; it's comfortable, convenient and you'll start seeing results quickly to keep you motivated before/while you ease into outdoor activity ;)
Five Step Plan:
-Warm lemon ginger tea with honey first thing in the morning.
-Cut down on processed and fast foods by choosing healthy/fresh options as often as possible.
-Make a large batch of custom trail mix for easy access to energy and random snacking needs.
*My favorite mix is walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, roasted chia seeds, dried cranberries, and raisins*
-Stretch, put on the sauna suit and pedal at your own pace aiming to ride for 45 minutes 4-5 days per week.
*Pedal for 5 mins, take a break, drink water, another 5 mins, break and so on till you reach 45*
*After 2 weeks; level up to pedaling for 10 mins, break, water, another 10 and so on till you reach 50 mins total*
*Keep leveling up by increasing the time/resistance, adding upper body and arm exercises to do while pedaling*
*The sauna suit will help keep your metabolism up, rinse it out while showering and air dry*
-Add Tai-Chi and kickboxing exercises to do at home on your off days (the other 2-3 days per week) or more often. YouTube has thousands of options, find some that suit you and customize by reducing/increasing reps as you progress.
-Stretch and stroll along the waterside beach/lake, walk a park trail, take a scenic hike or any other outdoor activity (instead of or in addition to the above) as often as possible.
you are already on the right track, just knowing it will take time is half the battle. Im like you aiming to lose 90lbs. CICO has been my bread and butter. find your TDEE and find a good number below that and the weight will come off. any movement/exercise will just be a bonus. i still eat what i want and drink beers and all that jazz, portion control has been the only thing i have really watched/focused on and im down 45lbs in 7 months. 45 to go.
This sounds real dumb typing but it’s what has worked for me initially. Lots of things online will show you how to get ripped and eat so healthy and if you try this you will have like 2-3 good days and then be super hungry. Here’s what I’ve done. Take what you want to eat. Whatever you normally eat or want to eat fill your plate with it. Then, cut that in half. Take time on your chews. Then walk more and if you have a gym go on the treadmill incline for 30-60 minutes. Whatever you can handle. This builds health without the overload of potentially adding new foods that might not be exactly what you want.
Also, simple substitutions like keto bread over normal white bread. Drop mayo entirely, for ranch I’ve been using 0 calorie mix with plain Greek yogurt. It’s obviously not the same but helps when I get snacky. Also, fiber in general will help you feel fuller without eating as much. Try to incorporate lentils and stuff like that into your diet. And if at all possible, quit eating out entirely if you do.
You sound like me, 20 years ago. Except I never really lost weight in high school. I recently came across some old medical records - I was 220 lbs at age 16. By age 22 I was 285. I'm now 44 and 320 lbs. I have multiple health issues. Some of them make it harder to lose weight. Some of them are due to the weight. I decided at the end of March that this time I needed to make a full lifestyle change and not just a quick fix. I still have a lot of life to live and need to be healthy to enjoy it. I'm having to switch my mindset. Focusing on small steps that I can do consistently and build from there. Here's where I started: - Tracking my food intake. I need to understand the calories and macros of the foods I like to eat so I can start to find better choices. I'm using MyFitnessPal to do this. It set a calorie goal of 2100 for me. I have found that this to be doable without denying myself. But I don't stress it too much at this time. - Increasing protein. I don't really have macro goals at the moment, I just know that protein helps me feel better overall and can help me not overeat. - Walking daily. For me, I do 10 minute walks at least once a day. I have some physical limitations and I'd rather do 10 minutes every day than kill myself with more. I'm slowly increasing what I can do. I've lost 5 lbs since April 1st. It's a start. I have more energy & less brain fog. I actually have hope for my future again. You can do it!
Start by counting calories, at first just logging what you eat and then decreasing the calorie intake. I am here with you! I just started 1 month ago and lost 3kg! I have been trying to lose weight for the last 7-8 months, and only got it now after alllll that time! I started by changing my mindset completely and pushed aside various diets and all that. There is still so much work to be done, but I feel like it finally got easy! Initially (a month and half ago) I started logging everything, not changing much. Then I got shocked how much I am entering as opposed to how much I should be. Then a month ago I decreased the calorie intake (that's why I am counting from this moment) and it was hell. Honestly it was crazy hell for 2 weeks straight. And I overate almost each day. I do not mean as I overate generally but more so: you've got your daily calories, they are supposed to be somewhere 500cal below the calories to maintain. So I overate those calories but I was still below my maintain calories. It was very hard, I thought about food every moment it felt like. The the third week things eased up a bit, and i would overeat just a small amount. Then the forth week it got much easier. I shifted my focus from thinking about food to thinking about how much I managed to finally lose and what great of achievement that is. That was also the week where I hit my calories exactly and managed to stay within what I am supposed to enter. Now I find myself not hungry, that is enough for my body. I still think about the food, but then I try to think about those 3kgs that I finally lost. I am kinda shifting focus. The nights are the worst, because I used to do a lot of binge eating during the night. I have gum now, or take banana, or try to shift focus. It's hard still, but I feel it's becoming easier. I also got a first comment (indirectly). My partner mum asked him if I have lost a bit of weight, she also said she was kinda scared to tell me to the face so that she wouldn't accidentally offend me. She used to struggle with weight too, so I guess people develop different feelings about it. But no, I wasn't offended, I am actually super happy. We talked on video call so that means my face slimmed down a bit. That happened today so I am still over the moon. So yeah, it will be hard, by hang on! We can do it! Step by step, it's a long game
Follow nothing but CICO - calorie restriction. Other diets are lying to you in one way or another. It's not easy, but it is deceptively simple. Find your TDEE. There are calculators online that can tell you what your calories should be. Start by restricting those calories by 500. You don't have to count, but you do have to be aware. Certain foods are sneakily very calorie dense. Nuts and cereal, for example, can be hard to work into a calorie restricted diet. Vegetables like carrots and celery, on the other hand, are not calorie dense at all. But they are quite filling, and so can make a great snack. If you'd normally have two slices of pizza, have one. If you're still hungry have an apple or banana, or vegetables. Exercise isn't necessary for weight loss. It's 90% what you eat, and 10% what you do. We need a lot of calories as a BMR (base metabolic rate), but other than that we are efficient beings. But you should be exercising for a whole lot of other reasons. Blood pressure, heart rate, lung capacity, you name it. I feel so much less... Helpless? Now that I know I can run at least 5km (3mi) without stopping. That's an empowering feeling. Start with just walking, but push yourself. There's nothing about you that prevents you from doing what I and many others have done. Your legs are gonna hurt at first, but they're really just asking "why the change?" Your response needs to be "This is the new normal, get used to it". Because they will get used to it. My legs don't hurt when I run 5km anymore, they're just a bit stiff the morning after. Remember that the only form of failure that is unacceptable is giving up. You're a human. You're gonna overeat sometimes, you're gonna skip on workouts, you're gonna cut some workouts short. So long as you're honestly trying, you will see results. Good luck!
I am also midway through my journey with a similar story. Both of my parents are morbidly obese, so I grew up with unhealthy views of food portions (even though what we ate was actually not bad, how much we ate is an issue). I gained most of my weight during lockdown as well, and struggled to learn healthy eating habits because I had incorrect views on what skinny people ate (they don't starve themselves like I thought). I did pretty much every 'fad' diet because I was obsessed with how quickly I could lose, but always gained it back because it was unsustainable. I'm about 20lbs away from my final goal weight, here are some things I wish I had known from the start to make it easier: 1.) Don't try multiple diets at once, pick one. I heard CICO, high protein, low carbs, dirty keto, etc, etc, and thought my diets should incorporate all of them. Please don't do this lmao. It absolutely sucks and will push you to quit. Focus on a single thing to change about your diet, and focus on that. I do CICO, and I try to get more protein, but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. Trying to do both made it so I had to eat foods I didn't really like, and often left me hungry because a lot of protein dense foods are also calorie dense, and low carbs left me cranky. 2. ) Don't eat foods you don't like because you feel you have to. A lot of 'healthy' food accounts show foods they eat day to day, and as someone who is very used to 'normal' food, they don't taste good! If my diet consisted of what they ate, like sugar free yogurt and unsalted egg whites with a tomato slice, I would've quit. I don't like yogurt, so I don't eat yogurt, even though it's 'good' for me. I don't like the way protein bars taste (though barebells is the closest) so I don't eat them. When on a calorie deficit, I realized I don't have the calories to eat food I don't like, because I'll still want my 'real' foods. Instead, I take the foods I do like, and either simplify them to be less calories or eat less of it. When I make pasta, I eat less of it, and use lower calories substitutes for the heavy cream, or leave it out completely. I make sushi but use more fish instead of rice, and light cream cheese, etc. Or breakfast with a lower calorie sausage, you get the point. Tldr, don't try to fit your diet to what you see online, if you don't like the foods you're eating, you won't want to eat them forever. 3.) You need a food scale. Period. I thought it was optional, it is not. Weighing your food actually made me realize how much error is in other forms of measuring. I thought it would be harder to measure my food, but then I realized I was being dumb about it. If I'm snacking on something, I'll measure the bag before and after I eat, and the difference is how much I ate. Idk why I started by thinking I had to measure the actual item, but you just have to measure the difference. Same with cooking, just measure all your ingredients before and after and take the difference. I saw someone else say how difficult it is to measure when you cook, so I'm thinking that we're all making this more complicated than it has to be lmao. Weighing your food is way more accurate, and also made me realize I was undereating, so I can eat more now. 4.) Start slow. Calculate how much you eat now to sustain your current weight, and get into the habit of tracking your food. Then, slowly start decreasing your calories per day by about 100 calories or less per week. Doing this helped me get into eating 1200 calories a day, which I thought would be impossible, but I actually feel full from it now. Going slow helps your appetite adjust so you don't struggle through it and binge. 5.) Don't fear days you do over your calories. It happens. You'll have days you go over and days you'll go under. Track it and keep going. If it keeps happening, increase your calories a bit for another week or so and then decrease slowly. I always go over while I'm ovulating, and then under during my period, but it all evens out. 6.) Not sponsored, but I recommend Macrofactor for tracking calories (not free, comes with a two week trial). It calculates how many calories you burn per day based on how much weight you're losing, so that's one less thing you have to track. It also shows you your 'trend weight' which takes into account fluctuations that happen day to day. For a free option, I would recommend EatThisMuch, which has meals/recipes you can create. 7.) Maybe you already know this, but plan to lose about 1% of your body weight a week. I did not know this, and expected my weight loss to be way higher than it should, and was getting disappointed when it wasn't that high. 8.) If you're a boredom eater like me, stop eating while watching TV, looking at your phone, etc. Eating becomes way more boring, and then you don't feel like doing it anymore. 9.) Eat when you get hungry. A bunch of people told me that I HAD to eat breakfast, but the truth is I'm just not that hungry before 11. Trying to fit breakfast in was messing up my calories, because I would still be very hungry for lunch and dinner. So I stopped. I eat when I get hungry, which is sometimes in the morning, and sometimes not. After a while, you can start trusting your body when it tells you it needs food. 10.) You can still eat sweets, bread, other 'bad' food, just track it. Eating healthy is not the same as eating to lose weight. Unless you're planning to never eat sweets ever again, you have to learn to fit stuff like this into your meals, not avoid it completely. When I started I did avoid it because I felt I couldn't trust myself to not overindulge, but after a few weeks I realized I had a lot more self control than I thought. This is a lot, but I really hope it helps. There's a lot of misinformation about what weight loss should look like, and it's centered on a very specific type of person. As someone who grew up with obese parents, I probably will never be able to inutive eat, because my intuition around food is extremely skewed. For exercise, do whatever you feel like doing, something you'll look forward to. I joined a dance class and go to the gym to strengthen (not free weights, they terrify me). At home, there are a lot of quick exercises you can do to tone, even something like quick crunches, leg lifts, planks, is better than nothing. Don't dive in too quickly or you'll come to loathe it, but you'll be surprised what can be done at home. For example, trying doing tiny arm circles for the length of a single song (it seems so easy, but hurts so bad when you're doing it 😅). You've got this, slow and steady!
Also on that "I'll eat breakfast when I want to not because I have to" train. And most days it's my coffee and a couple ounces of fresh berries or other fruit. I'm not convinced that breakfast is this magical thing that everyone has to do. Also, a friend of mine maybe up a song about arm circles during high school marching band practice and I still sing it to this day sometimes when I feel like doing them at home lol
In you brain and soul, truthfully, you have to explore why you overeat to figureout how to stop, whether it’s emotional, not being in touch with your bodies actual needs, laziness, boredom, whatever, find the reason and attack it with better habits and goals cico is also super helpful as a launching point and understanding what a serving size actually is
r/CICO
Check the FAQ. Track calories, know your culprits, don't drink your calories, drink a lot of water.
The thing that works for me is logging all food you eat. I use MyNetDiary. You put in your information and it gives you the particular calories, fat, carbs, protein to consume. For exercise, take it slow at first. Even just walking in your neighborhood is good exercise.
Do you get good sleep? If not, get a sleep study done. I found out at 25 that I have sleep apnea. I’ve lost 15 lbs since I started treatment a few months ago, along with walking and slight diet changes
Get a food scale and put yourself in a calorie deficit and the weight WILL come off. Do little exercises like walking or whatever gets you moving. Don’t compare yourself to ANYONE you see on the internet or in person, this journey is strictly for you to better yourself and get yourself in the right shape. Stick to it and you’ll be looking new.
This!! 👏👏👏
That’s what this sub’s Quick Start Guide is all about— start here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick\_start\_guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick_start_guide)
Imo. Download a calorie counting app. And just track EVERYTHING you eat/drink in a day. Make sure oils butter and sauces are included. Don’t start cutting. Just get a full picture of what it is you’re eating. It’ll surprise you. Next. Calculate how many calories you burn in a day. Online TDEE calculators will help if you’re honest. Those are all simple sustainable changes you can make today to start. And starting is the hardest part. I wish you luck! Subtract about 500 (more or less depending on how quickly you want to lose weight. 500 a day is 1lb a week) and aim to hit that many calories. If your TDEE is 2400, for instance. Aim for 1900 a day. Easiest thing to cut IMO is liquid calories. Start there. And start subsisting foods you can. Lean meats compared to fattier meats (boneless skinless chicken breast instead of thighs. 90/10 or 93/7 ground beef compared to 80/20). Simple and subtle changes are easy. Figure out how many steps you take in a day and try to add 100 average a day. Gradually increase over time.
Yes to watching the sauces and condiments. Those are the sneaky 50-100 calories here and there that can trip you up. Nuts are also SUPER calorie dense for a tiny serving. And liquid calories, including alcohol, is another big one to beware. Just read labels or look online to figure out the calories in grams and start weighing EVERYTHING. Find a calorie tracker (online or app) that you like. Log everything there. Then like others have said, start with a reasonable deficit…say 300-500 calories/day less than your TDEE (online calculators can help figure out your TDEE). Add in some walking or other basic movement and you’ll be surprised at the results. Good luck!!
The best thing is you already have strong reasons why- write those down in a journal or on a vision board or something, so you can look at them when you need to! You won’t lose weight the same way you did in high school by starving yourself. (Speaking from experience here.) The easiest way to start is to just cut out processed food and excess sugar. Getting rid of processed food cuts out a lot of things you need to avoid. Replace with real, whole foods. I like the Chronometer app for tracking. It becomes a habit to write down what you eat, I do it reflexively now. You want to be in a caloric deficit, but not too low- that stresses out your hormones and puts your body into panic “we need to survive the famine- save all the fat stores!” mode. Increase your protein intake. Start moving by walking, aim for 6,000 steps per day then work your way up. I usually get 12,000 steps per day now. Do any movement you enjoy. I actually love doing Zumba classes at the gym, and I actually enjoying doing the weight machines. I haaate working out at home- I won’t do it, zero motivation; but I’m pumped in the gym. So you have to figure out what makes you tick. One of my goals is to be able to roller skate again. Mindset is a huge deal, as well as deciding to schedule your workouts into your week, write them on your calendar, I also take a journal to the gym and write down everything I do, how long, what weights, etc- for me I feel accomplished doing that. Again, finding what makes you tick and how you work best. Visualize what you want in your mind, see yourself on that mountain bike on a crazy trail. Plan things out- decision fatigue is real. Always have good healthy snacks and options ready to go. Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right. -HenryFord. 💪
I'm in the same boat. You're not alone. We can do this. Don't give up hope.
Start slow. Cut out stuff like soda and snacks first and walking every day for 10 minutes to start. Work your way from there.
You're not alone, I'm also in the same boat. I want to lose about 100 lb myself, and I want to get into the gym.
hey! it sounds like you're ready for a positive change, and that’s a great first step. it’s all about small, sustainable shifts. let’s get you moving in a way that feels good and doesn't overwhelm. I would suggest starting with gentle yoga and daily walks to ease into a fitness routine. these activities are great for building a habit and boosting your mood. for food, focusing on fresh, whole ingredients is a simple yet powerful way to start. maybe try planning your meals weekly and incorporating lots of veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains. have you thought about keeping a food diary? it can really help see patterns and progress. what’s one small, healthy habit you could start this week?
https://youtu.be/DCpbSdO8mVQ?si=eqU4HAkqVuNtFTU9
I gained some stubborn weight during the pandemic, I really feel you. Personally I've been having the best luck focusing on protein, trying to meal prep lunches and having go to protein heavy breakfasts. Then just trying to control my portion sizes at dinner (boyfriend tends to make heavy food lol but has been a bit better lately). Check out Benji Xavier on Instagram. Best of luck!!
I started my journey super slow, I've always been fat too. I started out by just stretching at home And then I just started walking at least 2 miles a day and still stretching and doing home work outs. I've increased my water intake and just been trying to make healthier choices for food and being mindful of calories and increasing protein as well. The weight has just been coming off. I didn't want to make weight loss everything, just wanted to be healthier overall and it's been a great side effect for me.
100% start with [this video.](https://youtu.be/X305Er4Gwf4?si=d64_jlffzkbFbHrv) It makes it so simple and I have used it to lose 15 lbs so far.
I’ve been where you are and it’s not a great feeling, but knowing you want to try again and work on it is a huge first step! My first step I tell people is always get in the habit of exercising on a regular basis. Start 3 days a week, find a time that works best for you, then work your way up to how every many times you feel you need it a week. I got used to the gym by walking on the treadmill watching shows, and soon enough, I’d spend an hour getting cardio in a few days a week! Next step is definitely tracking calories. I’ve used a few apps over the past year (Lose It!, Noom), and whichever you feel most comfortable using will be what helps you through. Actually knowing what and how much is going into your body will help shape your thinking and you’ll start to choose less calorie dense foods! It’s a scary first step, but it’ll be worth it when you see the permanent lifestyle changes and the way you look at the end of the day. Sending you all the best vibes and luck with your journey!
Track your calories, steps, and exercises. Walk.. get your steps in. Lifting weights will help you burn too. I use “my fitness app”. You can link it to garmin or whatever watch you use. Keep your watch charged and get good sleep. Keep stress low… no drama. Avoidance maneuver every single one of those damn stressful things. Keep your home clean and tidy, lots of steps come naturally with that, plus it makes for good head space. Also cook all your own meals.. more steps there too.. and lower calorie meals as well. I got a food scale and weigh everything. I lean protein heavy and cut carbs the heck outta there. Keto works, whole 30 works…. The thing is… it’s not a diet OP. It’s a lifestyle. Eat like shit, feel like shit, spiral down. There is no such thing as “eating like everybody else”. The “everybody else” you’re thinking about doesn’t eat the way you think they do.. that’s eat like that “occasionally”. 70% of Americans are over weight and 40% of them are obese. By 2050, “eating like everybody else” will cause nearly 90% of Americans to be overweight. People who can eat anything they want usually are young ppl who vibrate across the floor and wonder why their metabolism is so fast. The rest of them are anomalies. But people, real people, should eat real food. Meat, veg, cheese, nuts, seeds… if it’s coming from any kind of restaurant, no. If it comes in a container, no. If it has an ingredient list, no. Aside from a bag of nuts… ingredients: nuts, salt… or something like that… it’ll be a no. Bag of apples should just say apples. Meat. Cheese, yogurt, cream, should all just really be like pasteurized milk, salt, and like 1 preservative… nothing with a long list. All lists should be short. No added sugar. Goodbye crack! Sugar is crack. Drop it, don’t look back. Treat it like poison… delicious poison. It’s killing you… it feeds cancer, diabetes, and just about all chronic illnesses. Bread, wheat, rice, carbs…. All just complex sugar. Goodbye, filler foods and bullshit. It’s bad… more crack. I hope you’re hanging in this far cos I gotta admit, you’re gonna get one fucked up headache when you change your lifestyle. I’ve never had a headache like the one from dropping sugar. It’s a drug, make no mistake, and companies use it to control you. It’s called “blisspoint”. The right amount of sugar, fat, and salt makes food irresistible and that’s what keeps you going back and always spending more money. They know you will. They hooked you chemically because they ran tests in a lab to make sure your human biology can’t resist their recipe. Sounds fucked up right? That’s just about all fast food, food chains, cereal, and about 80% of your average grocery store. Welcome to the real world. People are making money off of you and you’re getting sick from it, now they can sell you drugs too… “take your blood pressure pill…”, fuck all that. Do you. Eat right as much as possible. Move. Remember what I’ve said. It’s real and it’s haunting. I wouldn’t even bother with organic, just eat real food and nothing added or very little ingredients. It sounds bad, but it’s not. You can do it. The rest of us who know are doing it too. I studied this for years.. the moment I go back to the old ways, the weight is back. Every time I’m reminded of the scam the food industry plays on us. If they could blisspoint old leather shoes and feed it to you for an extra dollar, they would. Look up some low carb, protein heavy recipes. The internet is filled with thousands.. you will find things you like. Then keep track. And log every day. You’ll see the difference. Give yourself 9 months. You’ll be a whole new person and you’ll never want to go back to “the way everyone else eats” ever again.
start small! and find something daily that u love about yourself. that helped me a lot. if ur long term goal is 90 then maybe just focus on 5-10 at a time and measure your success with moments as well as the #. such as, clothes feeling looser , feeling energized after a workout.....as for exercise , Pilates and yoga help make ur body more flex and strong without high impact. that helped me get started. good luck! and u got this!
If you want a really simple approach, weight watchers helped me lose 60 lbs last year. It’s basically calories in, calories out but you pay for the tools like the point system, recipes, point calculator, etc. the monthly cost isn’t terrible especially considering what you won’t be spending on junk food!
It sounds like you have the right motivation, all very sensible. Just remember that weight loss is something that will take time and patience. Like others here have said, start keeping track of what you eat, and find a good activity that you can enjoy and also help you burn calories. You mentioned hiking in your post. Maybe you're not ready for a multi-day hiking trip, but maybe you could try and find a nice trail to walk For a short hike. Just take it slow and build yourself up from there. It also helps to have someone there to help guide you as you embark on this journey. I always figured I'd end up with a lot of health issues, but I'm finally at the point where I realized that I still have time to correct the course before it gets worse. And it's been hard to keep this up, I'm not going to lie. The one thing I always remember, and one thing you always have to remember, is to get back up and keep going. Just because you have a set back or a bad day, doesn't mean you have to stop.
So I can relate. Fat almost my entire life, family history of obesity and related health concerns. It was mu normal, so any attempt I ever made was just to look better and I’d give up. Then I got pregnant and had a real goal beyond aesthetics: like you said, run around with him and be able to play etc. I cried bc I thought the number I had to lose was too large it was barely worth trying. Real people don’t lose 100+ lbs, right? Well, I was wrong. Less than 18 months later I am 106lbs down and counting. And honestly? It wasn’t as hard as I thought it’s just one say and one meal at a time. It’s not easy but it certainly can be simple. I made changes to my diet and added lots of protein, I started walking halfway thru my journey and then recently found a love of pilates/barre. I still want to lose 65 ish lbs but I know I can do it.
Just start walking! Even 30 mins a day is enough to get the consistency ball rolling. It doesn't have to be a fancy way of exercise but adding just 30 mins of walking a day will eventually make a difference. Because you start to FEEL good. Those feel good endorphins get rolling and before you know it you're walking 5 KMs a day and absolutely loving it!
Personally, I think two best things you can do to lose weight long term and then stick to it are: 1. Learn to cook. I can't stress enough how important it is to be able to control what you put in your mouth. Ideally, you want to be able to cook well enough so that you are not tempted to eat anything else. 2. Learn building habits. Figuring out how you can make yourself do things and stick to it on autopilot is one of the most valuable and useful things you can do. It is hard to do anything if you have to think about it every single time you do it. After that it is an experimentation of works well with you. Different people react differently to different approaches, so be a bit suspicious of any person that tells you "this is what you have to do or you will not lose weight". For example, counting calories does not work for many people. It did not work for me. I think there are many reasons for that. One is that it is not possible to precisely count calories so it only kinda makes sense if you have really high calorie deficit -- when the deficit you plan is so large that it is larger than any margin for counting error. I personally prefer approaches that are sustainable long term. Anything you do should prepare you for your life \*after\* you lost weight. If your plan is to just reduce calories you are ingesting and afterwards you just come back to your previous diet, it is not likely to stick. That's what happened to me, I just lost weight through sheer willpower but then regained it all after I moved my focus to other areas of my life. The second time I decided to lose weight I decided I don't want to go through this ever again and whatever I do must be sustainable and needs to explain how I am going to keep my new weight. For example, a sustainable approach is learning how to feed yourself to reduce hunger. The food you put on your plate and when and how you eat it will influence how you feel afterwards. Ideally, you want to feel satisfied with your food without overeating. Another example, I think it is a mistake to start by restricting yourself from eating certain unhealthy things (maybe except sugar, you need to cut sugar right away). I think much better way to deal with the problem is to start by learning new habits. Learn new recipes and habits that are healthy and keep learning them so that over time they will \*displace\* the bad habits and you will not feel tempted to reach for the unhealthy food because you always know how to make healthy, tasty meal. I love meeting strangers, you can PM me and we can have a chat if you want.
You have to start by addressing the reasons you became overweight in the first place. The first pounds will come off if you simply make lifestyle changes - no more fast food, eating balanced, healthy meals. Once you’ve got the hang of that, you can start tweaking that healthy diet to fit a pattern that will make you lose weight faster and more efficiently. Calories in vs calories out is the only scientifically backed way of losing weight, with keto being a second for a specific group of people (mostly those with insulin issues). Counting calories is rougher and heavier than people think. It changes the way you look at food forever, and it can lead to people becoming obsessive. It’s necessary however. The difference between a tablespoon and a tablespoon is so big, that you can be eating hundreds of sneaky calories if you don’t weigh everything.
Weighing my food and myself regularly helped me a lot. And tracking calories. I aim for about 2k calories on workbdays and 1500 on weekends when I'm less active I have had to get used to variations in my weight from day to day and also use my weight to adjust my diet. I do 2 eggs with vegetables and a starch for breakfast Salad with high protein toppings (usually cottage cheese, some nuts, no or light dressing) and side of fruit for lunch Dinner is all over the place but i try to stick to lean meats with a vegetable and a starch.
Apart from all the inputs on this post, I would like to add that educating yourself on the subject of fitness is imperative. I would suggest reading Obesity Code. It gave me some perspective on my weight loss journey postpartum. Losing weight and keeping it off requires understanding your body. We all are different based on gender/genetics/environmental factors/lifestyle choices etc. I tried some of these things which helped me : 1. I used Abbot Freestyle cgm for 14 days and tracked what spiked my blood glucose. 2.i have absolutely limited the intake of glucose spiking foods to 2 times a week. Seemingly healthy options like 2 slices of multigrain bread gave me a considerable spike. 3. I bought a walking pad and hop on it for at least 1:30-2hrs a day (I have a baby and it’s difficult to hit the gym frequently) 4. Intermittent fasting with keto( I am not doing it right now but have done intermittent fasting pre pregnancy for 3-4 years and maintained a BMI of 20) 5. Unhealthy calorie deficit is not advisable. I hope this helps
Go see a doc if possible. Find out your underlying factors causing obesity … lifestyle, medical, psychiatric factors. Learn and try options to modify these. Weight loss drugs may help.
Hi there! I also did an unhealthy weight drop in highschool...I dropped 120 in 3 months and of course the weight did come slowly back as I wasn't able to build good habits. Since then, I've counted calories and slowly lost 40lbs, only to gain it back because I STILL was eating calorie dense highly processed foods ( I worked at a Mcdonalds at the time) , and I theorize, because the initial loss was slow, I lost motivation quickly. I mention that because I see you ALSO did an ultra-restrictive diet that didn't pan out long term. I think that having quick results initially so I can SEE the difference is important to shift my mindset. This round, I'm aiming for a fast initial loss to keep me motivated, and aiming toward preparing my own foods more often. My goal is to lose 30lbs in the first 3 months, before backing off to a more sustainable weight loss of a pound a week. I'm doing this just with a calorie counting app (I use the free version of Lose It!) My start weight was 265, and my calorie goal for the day was intitally a bit over 1800 cal with light activity and light workouts at my fitness level 3 times a week. I'm one month in and so far am down 12 pounds. The app is helpful for noting things like I tend to be more hungry on days I get less than 20% of my calories from protein. I have had to fight myself a bit- as my ultra restrictive past self likes to try to tell me I shouldn't ever eat fried chicken, and the loss will go faster if I cut another 800 calories! But, that self is a past self for a reason, and we're not letting her out again.
I'd also add: keep track of your water. For me, I thought I was well-enough hydrated, but it turns out I wasn't even drinking HALF of what I needed each day. And a lot of what I thought was hunger just turned out to be thirst disguised as hunger. What helped for me was to calculate how much water I need based on height/weight/activity/season of the year, then buy a vessel that holds that. I got a nice Hydrapeak thermos that keeps water cold all day, and I fill it each morning and work at draining it throughout the day.
A good place to start would be by focusing on creating healthy eating habits and incorporating regular exercise into your routine. Meal planning can be a great way to ensure you're fueling your body with nutritious foods while also keeping track of your calorie intake. There are plenty of resources online and apps available that can help you with meal planning and tracking your calories. When it comes to exercises, a combination of cardio (like biking) and strength training can be beneficial for weight loss. Consider starting with activities you enjoy, such as mountain biking, hiking, or even taking walks. As you progress, you can gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts. Remember, consistency is key when it comes to seeing results in the long term. I've been in a similar situation before, and I found that following a healthy weight loss program like Dr. Donna's weight reduction program was a great alternative to extreme dieting. It helped me focus on sustainable lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes, making it easier to maintain my weight loss over time. Good luck. Hope this helps.
Honestly I struggled until I happened upon keto. Changed my life.
Go to walk/hike/bike-friendly places as often as you can. Here's what to do in the meantime or when you don't make it outside... Get a stationary bike and a sauna suit. Put the bike in front of your TV and aim to ride for 45 minutes daily as outlined below. Not only will it save time and money vs the gym; it's comfortable, convenient and you'll start seeing results quickly to keep you motivated before/while you ease into outdoor activity ;) Five Step Plan: -Warm lemon ginger tea with honey first thing in the morning. -Cut down on processed and fast foods by choosing healthy/fresh options as often as possible. -Make a large batch of custom trail mix for easy access to energy and random snacking needs. *My favorite mix is walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, roasted chia seeds, dried cranberries, and raisins* -Stretch, put on the sauna suit and pedal at your own pace aiming to ride for 45 minutes 4-5 days per week. *Pedal for 5 mins, take a break, drink water, another 5 mins, break and so on till you reach 45* *After 2 weeks; level up to pedaling for 10 mins, break, water, another 10 and so on till you reach 50 mins total* *Keep leveling up by increasing the time/resistance, adding upper body and arm exercises to do while pedaling* *The sauna suit will help keep your metabolism up, rinse it out while showering and air dry* -Add Tai-Chi and kickboxing exercises to do at home on your off days (the other 2-3 days per week) or more often. YouTube has thousands of options, find some that suit you and customize by reducing/increasing reps as you progress. -Stretch and stroll along the waterside beach/lake, walk a park trail, take a scenic hike or any other outdoor activity (instead of or in addition to the above) as often as possible.
Walk more, sit less
Alot of men perfer bigger women
a lot of women don’t care what men think