Two big milestones this week: -50lbs and Onederland!

Progress so far!

I have struggled with binge eating since I was 10, maybe younger. I'm 33 now, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it has been a daily struggle all these years. I gained a ton of weight in high school, then lost 90lbs when I was around 19. I was right at the top of my health BMI and really wanted to get lower, but I was still binging every 1-3 days so I just couldn't get my deficit high enough to lose more. I exercised a LOT and counted calories, and it was a big struggle not to gain weight. I maintained that weight loss for around 8 years.

Then I got pregnant, and I had a really difficult child (colic and sensory issues, among other things) and over the course of 4 years I gained 100lbs. I could no longer devote the energy I had been using to hold back my BED. Occasionally I'd start counting calories and lose 15lbs, but inevitably I'd gain those back plus some. I ended up 10lbs heavier than I had been at my previous highest weight, 250 at 5'6.

At the beginning of this year I started counting calories yet again, and managed to lose 25lbs between January and the end of August. I did not stop binging several times per week so it was really difficult, every pound was a battle. And I felt like I could fall back off the wagon any second and gain it all back. My friend had been gently suggesting I try Bright Line Eating, which is based on OA/FAA (in a nutshell: no sugar or flour, no snacking, and you weigh out all your food, eating certain quantities of each food group) for months, and in August I finally decided to give it a shot for 4 weeks. I didn't think it would stop my binge eating; it had been a part of me for as long as I could remember so it didn't even occur to me that I could stop doing it.

Much to my surprise, it was not hard for me to follow this way of eating. I expected to struggle but I really haven't. And even more surprising, I haven't binged once since I started on August 23! This isn't even something I had considered possible. As time has passed I have really grown to understand my BED more than I could when I was in the middle of it. I was not aware of how bad it was, even though it seems obvious from the outside. For me this way of eating has been the structure I need to stop binging. Needless to say I kept going once the 4 weeks were up!

In the 10.5 weeks since I started BLE I'm down 25.5 more pounds, putting me at 50.5lbs down this year! And this morning when I stepped on the scale it was the day I've been waiting for, the scale said 196.6! I have a ways to go still but I'm so proud that I've lost 20% of my body weight this year and I no longer doubt that I'll hit a healthy BMI and will even be able to get into the middle of my healthy BMI range. This way of eating makes me feel great, it's high volume low calorie (I eat 20oz of vegetables each day!), so even though I have a bigger calorie deficit than I used to have I do not get hungry outside of meal times, and I have tons of energy.

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The number on the scale should not be your only metric...

...just because the scale isn't giving you a number you like doesn't mean you efforts are a waste. i called my mom crying today and she reminded me of this. I have a feeling there are plenty of people who can use this reminder too.

Warning, long post ahead.

I'm 22 and for the last 2 years I've been slowly working to loose the weight I put on during freshman and sophomore year of college. It's been an uphill battle, to be honest, and as a high achiever, it's incredibly painful to not be hitting all my goals, all the time.

I started this journey in May 2016 at the weight of 168lbs. At 5'1", that's an unhealthy, obese weight. Today, I'm at 152lbs. "Overweight" according to BMI calculators. It's been a struggle to get this far.

I just started my first full time "adult" job in late July. It's a rotational program, so I've only had a few months in the headquarters area before I get shipped off later this month to a different location. Which meant a lot of networking in a very short period of time. Happy hours, lunches, birthday cakes, you name it. And then of course, going out with my peers on program, so drinking and late night drunk food.

Happy hours, going out, and bar food, don't play very well with a 1200 daily calorie target. So, I've been hitting the gym 4-5 times a week too. Not as punishment. But because I love lifting. Working out with the intent to lift heavier and get stronger has made going to the gym pure enjoyment. Putting more weight on the bar is a fulfilling challenge. I've kept my calorie goal at 1400 a day, enough to still be in a deficit on the days I don't lift, but also enough to have enough fuel/energy to make progress in the gym.

And I'll be honest, I haven't been watching my calories as closely as I should have. I'll say yes to going and getting a beer with a friend even though I only know I have 600 calories left for dinner that day. I'll pick at the chips/fries/etc. at happy hour even though I know I shouldn't because it's there and everyone else is picking at it. So, of course, I've plateaued and stayed at the same weight for the last month or so.

And today was my breaking point. I have been so tired of choosing between staying in and being meticulous with my food or going and running elbows with the senior management of my company while I'm in the same geographic area as they are. I have been so tired of the constant battle between my priority to build a good future for myself and my priority to get healthier.

I called my mom sobbing. And she reminded me that there are so many other metrics that point to me getting healthier. That weight loss is not a race, it's a marathon. She made me list all the amazing fitness/weightloss related accomplishments I've had these past few months (list below).

For those of you who are like me and feel like they are hitting a wall, I want to remind us all that it's okay I'd the scale doesn't drop every week. It's okay to take a maintenance break for a couple weeks to help get your mental health under control or deal with a particularly busy or stressful time (moving, new job, holidays, family emergency, etc.). The scale is not the only measure of your health and your progress. And just because the scale isn't doing what you'd like, doesn't mean you aren't on the right path. Keep working, keep trying, and always do it out of a place of self-care and self-love. I may have to keep walking the weightloss marathon for the next year or so to get to my goal. But trust me, I will keep walking and I hope you keep walking with me.

Since graduating: *I've slimmed down significantly even though the weight difference is only about 5lbs. [Progress pics: May 25th to October 27] https://imgur.com/a/eFmTAzI *I've built healthy habits around food, such as eating more vegetables for lunch and dinner instead of carbs if I know I'll be going out and drinking later that day. *I can run faster and further than ever before (I ran a 12 minute mile for the first time in my life last week). *I can deadlift more than my bodyweight (!!) and do 30 burpees without wanting to die. *My mental health is improving

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Today's the day. No more excuses. No more putting it off.

Hi! My name's Katia. I've been lurking here for a while, wishing I had the motivation to do it, and today, I do (thanks to y'all). I just wanted to share with everyone the first step in my new journey to weight loss.

Some background: I'm a 19 year old trans woman, 5'10" and currently 230 pounds, with a mostly sedentary lifestyle. My first weight loss was mid-late 2017 when I started my transition and actually found myself caring what my body looked like. I went from 288 to 222 thanks to rigorous keto. But, as we all probably know, keto is unsustainable long-term without massive discipline. Discipline is not one of my strong suits. I wasn't able to maintain keto but have tried to keep my carb intake relatively low. This has let me not gain back all the weight I lost, and I've been floating around 230 for a while. However, last month, I went for a consultation for a very important surgery and I was told that I'm just under the BMI requirement. I need to lose weight for my surgery.

Flash forward to this week. I've been binging on carbs and can't control myself anymore. I had to give out candy for Halloween, and I must have ate 20 mini Butterfingers. The "self-control" option is just off the table, I think. I've been meaning to start counting calories with a calorie tracker, but it's just been one excuse after the other, putting it off. I don't even have a scale in my house to weigh myself. My self-care outside of weight has been failing as well; haven't been taking care of my skin as much, forgetting to shower, going out in sweatpants instead of putting on nice clothes. I just feel like a gross, bloated mess again, and I hate it.

Now, for today. I stopped making excuses. As soon as I woke up, I downloaded MyPlate to track what I eat. I entered my information, and ~1800 calories a day will let me lose one pound a week. I don't need to lose weight fast, I just need to lose a little slowly, sustainably. I don't want a repeat of my exercise in keto where I'm going to deprive myself of what I like and then binge on it. I'll have to try to work my occasional "treats" into it.

It will be a bit easier this time around I think, even if the weight doesn't just fall off like it did before. I'm hoping that it's only hard for a little while. I shouldn't feel like I'm starving with a small calorie deficit like this, and it's wayyy worth it for this surgery and to have a body I can look at in the mirror without thinking how much better I'd look if I wasn't chunky. My self-love is counting on this weight loss.

I don't really have much else to say other than see you around when I post progress updates. I don't expect anyone to read this whole thing, but if you do, thank you!

TL;DR: 19 y/o girl lost 66 lbs on keto then binged carbs; now trying a sustainable calorie deficit and today's Day 1

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I am afraid of what my weight is doing to my health

I was an athlete throughout college in a sport that required that we keep our weight and BF% down (swimming), and since then I have completely fallen off the wagon. I weight over 1.5 times my competition weight and I have been unable to stop that progression for the last few months and I worry that my overall health is taking a hit. While heart disease does not run in my family, I can only imagine that a 24 year old man that weighs 260 lbs isn't exactly the picture of health. I have been avoiding a regular checkup for fear of what I might hear.

My goal is to get back down to competition weight, which given my build and my height would put me right around 170 lbs (a 90 lbs weight loss). Is this reasonable to achieve in a single year or should I expect my weight loss journey to extend into my mid/late 20's? Other former athletes, what are your recommendations for getting back to the shape that you were in during your peak performance? My job and living situation doesn't allow me to workout anywhere near as much as I did, but I would love to fit into my old clothes again.

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Saturday, 03 November 2018? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

Welcome to r/Loseit!

So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

Why you’re overweight

Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

Before You Start

The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

Tracking

Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

Creating Your Deficit

How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

Exercise

Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel awesome and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

Crawl, Walk, Run

It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

Acceptance

You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

Additional resources

Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

• Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!
• Loseit Compendium - Frame it out!
• FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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"You are already at your optimal weight range. Losing weight would add no benefit to your health"

I can't believe that I did it. I can't. I've dreamt of writing this post, I've dreamt of what I would say and how happy I would be. It's the first time since I was 19 that I'm not obese or overweight.

The reason why I am writing this, is first and foremost to congratulate myself. I haven't fully grasped this yet, but I am very proud of myself, not just for the weight loss. Most importantly, because I managed to break this overly restricting/bingeing patter that has been haunting me since I was 16.

The second reason why I am writing this is to tell you that, if I can do it, you can definitely do it too. I am addicted to food, emotionally attached to it, have had bingeing episodes since I was a little kid, battled with depression, but I did it.

The reason why this time was successful is that I did it out of a place of love and not hate for myself. So, I took my time and didn't rush things, which is definitely something I would recommend. I also just let go of the all of nothing mentality, and of my ridiculous standards of beauty. I didn't care to be perfectly proportioned, toned and super fit. I just wanted not to be fat.

Reading the post here can help. Reading the sidebar can be very important for people like me, who didn't know even the basics about nutrition. Also, taking it slow, having some maintenance periods, taking progress pictures, holding yourself accountable, but most importantly, figuring out what works for YOU is important.

For those of you wondering what I did, I just did the laziest CICO there is:

I never went to the gym (although I started walking 20 minutes to work instead of driving).

I didn't eliminate diet soda from my diet (I still drink them about twice a week) and I don't drink more water.

I didn't cut out sugar or alcohol and I don't eat less processed foods

I don't really count my macros (even though I sometimes try to go for the protein option when available) and I don't do intermittent fasting

I do have a goal of roughly 1,300- 1,500 calories each day, but never log the food on MFP, it just doesn't work for me. So I just calculate them in my head and combining that with paying attention to my cravings and hunger, I can decide what and how much I eat. Sometimes my estimations are a bit inaccurate so that makes my progress stall for a bit, but that's okay, that's not a race, but a lifelong journey.

Cheers!

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I started my weight loss journey recently.

I really just needed somewhere to talk about it. I have sacroiliitis in both my SI joints, I have degenerative disc disease in my L1 and L2. I also have osteitis pubis that has mostly gone away with physical therapy but occasionally comes back if I push myself too hard. I am 25 years old and I got all of these injuries from pushing myself too hard while in the military. There were a couple of weeks straight where I was running 32 miles a week. My body just wasn't putting up with it and even though I knew I was injured I still kept going. I was stupid and I'm going to be paying for it probably for the rest of my life. I've been to physical therapy three times and I've gone to pool therapy. I get steroid injections in my SI joints. I had my second daughter on September 7th and I am past my 6 week post partum period and I'm able to exercise and do normal things again. I am 5'1-1/2" and I currently weigh 150 lbs. I weighed 127 at my best weight in the army. I am trying to get down to 125 through diet and exercise and I'm also breastfeeding. It has been difficult. I have anxiety and depression as well so even though I am taking medication, it is a lowered dose and a different type than I would normally take because I am breastfeeding. The biggest exercise that I can do with the least amount of pain is biking. I have an indoor exercise bike and I've been doing that every single day. Some days I get up to 18 miles and some days I only get in about 5.
I also recently did a workout video(with modifications) and I told myself I was going to start doing squats so long as it didn't cause me pain, and I was going to do 100 every day.

I haven't done squats since the army and I've been out since 2016. I did 100 squats the other day and yeah. I went directly back to biking as my only exercise. My knees and calves are killing me right now. I keep trying to tell myself so long as I do something every day even if it's a little bit, it's more than I was doing before. My diet has been the most difficult thing for me believe it or not. When I breastfeed I crave and am hungry more often than when I was pregnant. It happened with my first daughter and it's happening again. While I try to choose things that are low carb and low calorie, sometimes I just give up and indulge in chocolate chip pancakes. Sometimes my anxiety and depression gets the best of me and I don't get up to cook anything and I don't eat for over half the day so that when I do eat I feel like I'm starving. Other times my anxiety and depression ends up helping because I have eaten throughout the day, but all of a sudden I'll get a craving for chocolate chip pancakes, but I just don't want to get up to make them.

I'm not really looking for advice, I'm pretty educated on dieting and exercise by now as I've talked to several doctors and I've been to physical therapists galore. I guess I just wanted somewhere to talk about the journey I'm on and the progress I'm making since I can't "talk" about it in the progress pics sub. I'm waiting to post my picture once I lose at least 10 pounds.

Thanks for reading. :)

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