Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Tuesday, 06 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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Struggling with scale number (vent)
I started my new stretch of weight loss exactly 4 weeks ago (181) and just began going to the gym as often as I can. It usually turns out to be 4 days a week. I've eating 1,200 calories daily except each Saturday was at maintenance. 3 days ago I was at 176.6 and today I'm back up at 180. I took steroids and antibiotics for a week last week and just stopped the medication Sunday morning. I actually struggled to eat on these meds so I assume I'm just retaining water? I take pictures each week to compare and old jeans are starting to fit looser but I'm annoyed I want that number to drop! I assume the meds and being sore from the gym aren't helping.
The scale going down is my biggest motivator so I really wish it would just go down!
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Monday, November 5, 2018
F/25, 5'6", SW: 230.8 lb, anyone with similar stats?
Hey everyone! My co-workers started a 3-month weight loss challenge this past Tuesday and I joined the bandwagon. My goal is to lose weight steadily and eat healthier. So far I've done just a few things:
- Cut soda and juice out (I was up to 1-2 sodas/day)
- No more fast food (Subway, Panera ok)
- Be more aware of what I eat (starting to use MFP)
- Try to get to the gym 2-3 times/week with my friend
I live a very stressful life working full-time at an emergency animal hospital and going to school full-time for my Biology degree. As a non-traditional student, I basically run from school to work and don't give myself time to eat healthy. My biggest hurdle is HUNGER. It knaws at me constantly and it's very distracting. I also have little to no idea what I'm doing at the gym and I'm very anxious about asking for help in person... any tips would be much appreciated!! Thank you :)
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Tantrum Tuesday - The Day to Rant!
I Rant, Therefore I Am
Well bla-de-da-da! What's making your blood boil? What's under your skin? What's making you see red? What's up in your craw? Let's hear your weight loss related rants!
The rant post is a /u/bladedada production.
Please consider saving your next rant for this weekly thread every Tuesday.
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[Daily Directory] Find your quests for the day here! - Tuesday, 06 November 2018
Welcome adventurer! Whether you're new on this quest or are towards the end of your journey there should be something below for you.
Daily journal.
- [Q&A] "I have a question."
- [Day 1] "I am starting my weight loss journey."
- [SV/NSV] "I have an accomplishment to share."
- [24hr Pledge] "Today I am going to..."
Interested in some side quests?
- [Motivation Monday] Share some motivation, get some motivation.
- [Tantrum Tuesday] Need to vent? People getting on your nerves?
- [Weigh-In Wednesday]
- [Track with Me Thursday] Did we just become best friends?!
- [Free Talk Friday] What's on your mind?
Community bulletin board!
- [Running with Loseit] Run with losers. Avoid arrows.
- [Wecipe Wednesday] Swap and discuss recipies!
If you are new to the sub, click here for our posting guidelines
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2qv5d6N
Some hard truths a lot of you need to hear to be successful at this
The struggle is real. If you want commiseration, don't read any further. If you want the real deal, keep reading:
- Don't expect people to accommodate you. You can blame your family members cooking, or keeping goodies in the house, or friends inviting you to drink. But that won't make you lose any weight. The McDonald's will still be on your way to work, the donuts will still be brought to the office, the vending machine will still sell candy. You will have to learn how to eat differently than those around you, even those in your own home. It's good practice for the real world and life after your "diet."
- Don't expect people to applaud you. The people who make fun of your fat the most, will probably be the ones ignoring or resenting your progress. You think you finally got the thing done, they'd be proud. They might not be. Prepare yourself. People get weird when those around them level up.
- It's harder than you think it is and takes longer than you think it will. I've lost 54 pounds and it took a long time. Prepare yourself for the long haul. Speaking of the long haul:
- Because it's harder than you think it will be, don't make it even harder. If your diet/lifestyle change of choice is too hard to maintain, you need to find an easier way. I'm not weighing bananas so I can obsess over the 40 calorie difference. I'm still eating out, and enjoy my food. Which, for me, means that my success story took some time. But because it took a while, it's an actual lifestyle, which I do without much effort because it's the "new normal" for me. So make whatever you are doing something you can do. If you "keep getting kicked out of keto," then keto isn't for you. If you're feeling faint doing vegan, vegan is not for you. Do something you can do. That's going to be different for everyone. You have to find something that works for you.
- It gets easier over time. Like WAAAAAAAY easier. The first few months are the hardest and least rewarding. As you keep going, you see progress and your "choices" are becoming "habits." Choices require effort and motivation and discipline. Habits are mostly automatic.
- People who have succeeded will tell you they are not motivated they are disciplined. They are not. They are habituated. That's why they make it look easy. Because at some point, it is.
- The hardest part is the emotions, not the diet. It's dealing with people, their comments, their silence, their comparisons, their suggestions. The easiest strategy is to keep it to yourself as best you can. That way, they don't discourage you by telling you why your strategy of choice sucks. Because people can get really passionate about their eating styles and what they think YOU should be doing instead of whatever it is you're doing.
- Obsessing over calories will help you lose weight quicker than someone who doesn't count calories, or who are less accurate about counting. But that can also pull the joy out of the journey. If counting calories is easy for you, do it. If it's makes it harder to eat well, just eat well. If 1200 calories a day is easy for you and you don't mind losing weight that fast, go for it. If you want to lose the weight slower, or if you feel really hungry and miserable at 1200, then up your calories or food volume. I didn't count calories, because I just wasn't into it. It made it harder for me. I was calorie "aware" which means I know that sub has more calories than McDonald's burgers, even though it looks healthier. And one McDonald's meal is about 1200 calories, so you'd do well to limit fast food.
- You can choose to socialize around food or not. Some people turn down invites to keep to their calorie allotment. I just eat the better options on the menu. The grilled shrimp or steak tacos instead of the chicken stroganoff. The vodka and soda instead of the long island iced tea. The choice is yours and you can do different things at different stages of your weight loss.
- Enjoy exercise. A lot of CICO fanatics will encourage you to focus on diet for weight loss, and it is a big deal. However, so many people lose weight and complain they wish they tightened up during their weight loss process, not after. So I encourage you to exercise. And enjoy it. When that scale isn't moving, but the weight your able to lift is going up, you will be feeling successful and be able to stay in the game.
- Stay in the game. If it's too hard, make it easier. If it's too fast, slow down. But don't quit. If you have a bad meal, don't stress. Just get right back into it the next meal. If you spent the last few days binging Halloween candy, spend the next meal eating something healthy.
- This advice is counter to what some of you hear. I give it because I struggled with CICO, and all the diet advice I got. I once had a borderline eating disorder. It was only after I decided to change my habits one habit at a time, and didn't quit when the weight loss was slow or non-existent, that the weight came off, and my body changed. And I didn't quit because God gave me the strength not to quit. To keep going, despite what looked like it wasn't working. Eventually, those little changes added up to huge improvements.
- Prayer is a great resource to persevere.
- You may start your weight loss journey like a newborn colt, stumbling, and struggling to get a few steps forward. But eventually, if you keep trying, you can gallop with sinewy muscles.
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