How I Lost 120lbs & Kept It Off For 6 Years While Being Lazy & Unmotivated (297 -> 180)

Starting Weight/Goal Weight/Today

Hey all,

About 5 years ago I started my weight loss journey. I was 297lbs, had been obese my entire life, and completely fed up with being overweight.

Like anyone who is overweight, I knew I had to make a change but never had the strength or will to take any meaningful action. But something kind of clicked with me in September of 2015. I was suddenly overcome with an intense fear of poor health.

My brain decided to go down the rabbit hole of googling things like "diabetes symptoms" or "sleep apnea" and I quickly realized that I needed to make a change, but I still didn't know how.

I researched many diets and eventually settled on the Keto diet. I somehow had the willpower to cut carbs almost completely out of my life, going cold turkey and losing 35lbs in 2 months.

But this wasn't sustainable at all, and I'm incredibly lucky that this didn't burn me out of weight loss. So after doing Keto, I knew I needed to make a slow, gradual change in my lifestyle and habits to achieve long-term weight loss.

So I decided to cut things out one at a time, which started with the biggest offenders. First, I cut out soda completely, I was at a point in my life where I was drinking 6-7 cans a day (before keto), and I knew if I kept drinking sodas it would just be calories down the drain.

Doing that alone cut 7-800 calories, which drastically improved my caloric intake. Then, I eliminated snacking and made a conscious decision to not buy snacks, which left me only with meals.

I also started calorie counting, and it helped tremendously with being able to accurately guess how many calories are in a given dish. If you're trying to lose weight, I highly recommend calorie counting, not just so you know how many calories you're eating, but also you so you can learn about food and just be more knowledgeable and well-prepared.

Making small environmental changes like this added up, and after about 2 years, I was down to 176lbs.

It's been a few years going up in down and weight, but for the most part I've kept the weight off. I'm currently ~200lbs (6ft) and I'm happy with my weight, although I do strive to just be healthier in general. I practice intermittent fasting, eating from 2PM-10PM every day.

Tips For Weight Loss

1. Change your environment, cut out the biggest offenders first (snacking, soda, etc), then move on to smaller things.
2. Start calorie counting (I use MyFitnessPal, now after a few years of using it I rarely have to actually use it, I can semi-accurately estimate the calories in almost any dish)
3. Consume content about weight loss, unlike other ventures in life, most paths eventually lead to the same result. If you try a diet that doesn't work for you, at least you tried it and can move on to the next one (you've still made progress).
4. Don't feel like you NEED to exercise if you're trying to lose weight. I did not exercise for most of my weight loss. It's HARD to exercise when you're overweight, I always thought I was just lazy or weak, nobody tells you that it's actually just a lot easier to exercise if you have much less weight to move around.

I am by no means a highly motivated, disciplined, or willful person. That's something I'm finally starting to work on now, but I was able to achieve my weight loss goals without any of that. If you just eliminate the hard decisions altogether, then you don't have to rely on motivation or will. If I can do it, you can do it too. Remember, work smart not hard.

That's my story, I hope you guys can learn something from it and I hope to see y'all around.

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84lbs down and I’m so, so proud of myself!

Hi guys! 21F 5’6” SW:263 CW:179 I started actively trying to lose weight July 2018 after realising just how unhealthy I had become; I couldn’t play with my younger brother, I couldn’t walk up or down the stairs without hyperventilating, my heart rate was constantly high and as someone who works in healthcare, I just didn’t feel right being so unhealthy myself.

I started slowly reducing calories and cutting down on portions. I had a few stunts with meal replacement products but realised soon that even though it was helping me lose weight (about 14lbs lost in first month) I knew that it wasn’t sustainable for me. For the last 6 months I have been doing Keto, and whilst there is mixed opinions from people on this, I honestly think it has changed my life. Over half of my weight loss has been since starting it in August 2020, I can walk places, I can run and jump, my heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugars are all in healthy ranges. I feel alive again!

I still have a way to go, but god, being told by the Dr that I’m no longer ‘morbidly obese’ but ‘overweight’ is amazing, and I’m so ready for when that turns to ‘healthy weight’. I’ve got this

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My 10-week Fitness Challenge: Day 1 Accountability

I'm sure you've seen a zillion "day 1" posts, but this one is like no other. It's really make or break for me for personal reasons and I am keeping myself completely accountable.

I am setting myself a 10-week challenge to test my fitness to the max. Today is day 1.

My goal is to burn at least at a physical activity level (PAL) of 1.725 which a moderately active level multiplier. For me at my basal metabolic rate (BMR), this equates to buring roughly 1,052 calories each day. Sorry for all the jargon.

I wear a smart watch daily, which is a handy gadget for tracking.

I plan to go to the gym or get an intensive workout at least 5 days a week. This is on top of daily exercise (at the very least walking 10K steps a day), with workouts focusing on cardio HIIT, dotted with steady pace distance runs and some light resistance training.

I will also do three DEXA scans so I can compare my progress and composition.

Needless to say, I will to ensure diet (sticking to my daily calorie limit), hydration and sleep (aiming for 8 hours) are also the priority, as these all go hand in hand with any fitness and weight loss plan.

My goals are to reduce body fat percentage and cardio fitness.

Here are my starting stats and weigh-in. Keeping myself accountable. Here we go! Appreciate any support. Stay tuned folks!

F/30/173cm (5’8”)

Weigh-in [DEXA #1]: 9 January 2020 | CW: 76.0kg (168lbs) | BF: 23.4%

Check-in (4 weeks) [DEXA #2]: 6 February 2020

8 week results [DEXA #3]: 6 March 2020

Final weigh out (10 weeks): 20 March 2020

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I want to lose weight, but I’ve struggled with it for so long I don’t even know if it’s possible.

For starters, 22F, low/moderate movement, 280lbs, 5’7.

I’ve been big literally my entire life. Since I was a kid. I’ve always struggled with self esteem issues. I’ve been diagnosed with PCOS (which among many other things makes it harder for me to lose weight), and I have a few mental health disorders. My mom put me on diets as a kid, restricted food from me (as in for extended periods of time), had me do fad workouts, etc.

I’ve been on a weight loss medication called Phentermine/adipex which helped in the beginning then I plateaued. I only lost like 10lbs on it.

I have a horrible issue with eating, then punishing myself and not eating properly for days to weeks. By properly I mean I’ll range from not eating at all, to eating a very small snack, or one meal a day on those days. I obsess over calories when I go through this.

But, surprisingly I don’t know the first thing about weight loss. I’m confused and at a standstill. I’ve changed SO MUCH in my life last year. I moved out of my very abusive moms, cut out toxic people, got my own apartment and became somewhat financially stable and even started therapy but this is the one thing I’m TERRIFIED to tackle.

I’m scared to go to a doctor for help. I’m scared to ask my friend who was in the military & big into fitness. I don’t know what to do. I’m just kinda here. I WANT to lose weight. I loved when I would go to the gym or even run for a while. It felt good for my body and my mind. But I want to LOSE IT. Can anyone help me find a starting point?!

Also- I do have a kid, so that does restrict me from going to a gym, incase anyone was going to suggest that.

ETA: I’m a CNA, when I work my movement is high, I also have a dog who I walk about 30-40 minutes a day.

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How do you account for fitness activity into your tracking app? Aka, is my Apple Watch activity accurate?

Hi everyone!

TLDR - played some basketball, saw that my Apple Watch recorded it as over 1000 active calories burned and am wondering if this is accurate. MyFitnessPal also estimated the time I played as 1000 calories.

I began caring for my weight 2021.

M28, 6’2, 280 pounds.

My weight loss plan is a combination of all the current buzzwords in fitness. Calorie Counting (1700) around 16:8 fasting schedule and trying to stick to a mostly keto diet.

So far the biggest surprises have been how filling 1700 calories can be and looking back at how much unnecessary consumption I was taking in.

The next big shocker is how much increasing activity levels can help achieve your goals. This morning I played a little basketball with my family for a couple hours and my Apple Watch counted 1000 active calories burned.

Thats 15 Buffalo wings!!! (I’ve been known to tackle 30 over an hour and some beers at Buffalo Wild Wings on a Sunday)

I added into MyFitnessPal and am just stunned that after a couple hours of fun I now have “banked” a full meals worth of gains. I washed down a protein drink and had steak, eggs and an avocado and still have a ton of wiggle room for the day.

Feels like a huge win and I might go play again tomorrow to chase this feeling.

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changing environment and self-sabotage

I am currently doing really well with my weight loss and have almost no temptation to abandon my current routines. My only worry is that, soon, I am moving back to uni and with my friends where we will end up drinking sometimes and ordering food for films.

This is generally a good time that I am looking forward to but I am very worried the new environment will stop my good habits in their tracks, or maybe that worrying too hard about this very thing will cause it to happen, as a sort of self-sabotage.

Are there any tips for maintaining habits when you are expecting a change of environment? Mine often change drastically between living with my family and with my uni friends.

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Losing weight again after three months of binging and gaining back 16 pounds, also a little reflection on my weight loss journey for the new year.

[F/18/5'1"/SW-275/CW-165]

Trigger Warning mentions Binge Eating Disorder and bullying

Backstory: So I have Binge Eating Disorder, which caused me to gain a ton of weight (roughly 70 pounds) when I was 15/16 and I reached 275 pounds back in July, 2019. I have to admit, I've never been a healthy weight, neither has my family, so ever since I was a toddler I've been clinically obese. My weight has always bothered me since I was bullied as a kid and targeted by adults due to my weight, as a teen I couldn't fit clothes I liked, etc. When I stepped on the scale and seen 275, I realized that now it's not only how I personally feel about it, it's also the fact that if I didn't stop myself as soon as possible, I'd be 300 pounds in no time. So I took it upon myself to do as much research as I could to learn about losing weight, fitness, etc. and I ended up loosing nearly 45 pounds from July 20th, 2019 to January 8th, 2020. I hit a plateau in February, 2020 (my Mom loves to buy Valentine's candy) but quickly got back on track without any weight gain. My calorie intake was around 1100-1200 from the time I started to May of 2020. In May, I had kept up a fitness routine (I would cycle for 12 miles a day, walk for 3, and do arm/upper body exercises since I had weak arms. I found that I actually really enjoy and look forward to exercising) and I had dieted for 10 months at this point (quite a few non diet days were within that time period too). A close, life-long friend stayed with us over Memorial day weekend in May and she loves food, doesn't care about what she eats, etc., which I enjoyed because I wanted to take a break and treat myself after loosing almost 80 pounds (I was 200 pounds at this point). We ordered take out a few times too, since she lives in a small community that doesn't have many restaurants, unlike me who still lives in the city we grew up in. We also made food on the grill and a few favorite desserts we've loved since we were kids. After she left, I quickly got back on track and was only out of the loop for two weeks, but I still exercised within that time. By July, I was walking and swimming for my exercise since my stationary bike broke and my new one made the loudest clanging and sqeaking noises. I also went to the doctor that month and she never mentioned my weight, which was fantastic and a first for me. I was still obese though. I stopped exercising in September (most days were too chilly to swim) and I only walked a couple times that month, because I found out that my neighbors were watching me the whole time (I had thought they were, but it never bothered me until it was confirmed). I just didn't like the thought that strangers could watch me when I'm out on my walks — since a few of the people who live nearby are registered predators. I made sure to never walk unless I had my phone's gps tracker on and my family was home, so they could make sure I was alright or look at my tracker to see where I was. It still bothered me too much though. But by the first week of October I was still going strong and got down to 152 pounds, I was now considered overweight.

A few events triggered my Binge Eating Disorder during the second week of October. Ever since then I haven't been able to control my eating, some days were better than others though and I'm now to the point where I don't overeat and can restrict a bit. I know it'll be awhile before I'm back to the place I was before the binging started. I thought this binge would only last a couple weeks since I started exercising (1 hour on my stationary bike) and watching what I ate again around the last week of October through November. I still had small slip ups, but the real slip up happened at Thanksgiving where I cooked a ton of food and ate three full dinner plates and pie, etc. I felt sick for a few days after that. I got a grip again in the first week of December, but my close friend came over and we made gingerbread houses, ate a lot, etc. Then in mid-December me and my Mom made over 500 cookies to give out to my Dad's employees, all of which had icing, chocolate, candy, etc. on them. I ate quite a bit of that too, then I would binge on normal foods until Xmas dinner came, then I had my birthday where I ate from two cakes (my Mom bought one and I made one), ice cream, and pizza. Then New Years was spent at my friend's house (she stayed at my house from the 28th, we celebrated my birthday, and then we waited until New Years Eve to go to her house) and we snacked on the buckets of holiday candy she got from her family. I literally binged on nearly everything I could without realizing it, haha.

I was actually feeling sick from all the food I was eating. I now have a treadmill, bought myself a new scale, and some control over myself again. I'm now back to eating 1200 calories a day and I've been walking on my treadmill, I took a break on the 7th, but every other day I've spent two hours walking. I'm hopeful because I stepped on the scale this morning, and seen that I've lost 1.5 pounds since New Year! That's really exciting since I actually got back up to 168 pounds over the past three months. I still had quite a few candies and a couple Little Debbie oatmeal pies my Mom bought over this past week, but it's a work in progress.

I hope a few people read my story and know that they can do it, really it's all will power and forgiveness, please don't be too hard on yourself if you're going through a rough patch! Feel free to ask any questions :)

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