What's the best way to start a weight loss journey?

Hi everyone! My current weight is 275 lbs but my ideal weight would be 180-190 lbs so yeah... I'm obese. And I'm tired of it. I know it's a cliché to start doing at this time of the year, but I really wanna start losing weight. I already changed some eating habits (very recently) but I want to know how was it for you guys when you started: did you decide to start by focusing only on eating habits or did you also start doing regular exercise? Did you use any app to help you with stuff like counting calories? Did you start cooking a lot more to prepare your meals? I want to lose weight but I also want to follow a plan and really change my routine... my goal is to be under 220 lbs at the end of 2019 (do you think it's too much?). Thank you so much and I wish you all a happy new year!

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Weight loss is slowing down and I'm panicking...

After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and several years of Fat Acceptance and HAES (yeah I know... but I was at rock bottom mentally, and building some sense of self-worth and a concept of self-care completely independent of my weight was exactly what I needed before I could go on the journey that led me here), I've started making changes in my eating habits two years ago, but lost most of the weight within the last year or so. This December has so far been a great month for me, I reached clothing size M (down from 3XL), and as the absolute highlight of my weight loss journey so far, I dared to join a gym for the first time in my life and it's been absolutely amazing.

I weigh myself approximately once a month (I don't own a scale at home because I get unhealthily obsessed with numbers), and today I found that I've reached my lowest ever adult weight. This is EXACTLY the point where I would hit a wall with every single one of my diets, no matter how much I starved and tortured and hated myself, until I gave up and gained it all back.

Of course the weight loss has slowed over time, and has become less noticable in the short term. I've reduced my calorie intake according to my weight, and especially in December I've cut more calories than ever. Still I only lost 2 lbs this month, compared to almost 10 lbs the month before.

Maybe it's still the Fat Acceptance at the back of my mind, or maybe it's the voices of all the women in my life who are, one by one, going from supportive to "oh my god you need to eat a Cheeseburger you look terrible what are yo doing to yourself your body can't take it anymore"... but can it be true that this is what I'm always destined to be like? A normal BMI, a normal, healthy, conventionally attractive body size, JUST out of reach? This thought has always frustrated me to the point that I would return to my old eating habits, because "fuck it, if I'll always be the fat girl anyway".

Those of you who've made it further than me, can you tell me something that helps with the frustration?

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Rude comments from acquaintances on my weight loss

Male, 28, 5'10". Started at ~250lbs, went down to around 140 through calorie counting + keto over a year and a half. I'm now in a regular 5 day per week gym routine, through weight training I'm up to 150 currently. Honestly, gaining muscle weight has been FAR harder than losing weight.

At my job, I occasionally have regular customers who haven't seen me in over a year and their positive comments truly make me feel like I accomplished something. However, I get frequent comments that "you need to eat more" or "you are too thin." It's one thing to comment on someone's weight without hesitation, but it cuts extra deep since I'm putting in so much effort to gain muscle weight. The reality is I'm the fittest I've ever been. I'm by no means "buff", but I have actual muscle definition for the first time in my life lol.

Has anyone else with a large weight loss journey encountered comments like this? I don't even know how to respond other than tell them my BMI is very healthy. I feel like no one would ever tell a stranger that they are fat, why do people think it's okay to casually tell me I'm too thin when I'm obviously decently fit?

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Struggling With Patience

I started tracking my calories in late September of this year. I’ve got over 100lbs to lose (38y female, 5’5”). I’m purposefully going slow, as I’ve lost weight before with various diets and I’ve always ended up going back to my old eating habits. I’ve been bullied about my weight since I was a little girl, and well before I was actually fat, so I had some emotional stuff I had to work through before I could do healthy weight loss. Anyway, I’m doing CICO and IF now, and it works. Because of course it does. But when it works I find myself getting frustrated because I have so far to go. It’s driving me nuts because I’ll lose 5 lbs and then instantly calculate how many times I have to lose 5 lbs again, and then I have to fight with myself not to give up. I’m moving forward, but it’s definitely 2 steps forward, 1 step back. I’m working on making eating like this just a habit, a part of my healthy lifestyle, but I’m not there yet, as it still takes mental effort to make sure I’m eating balanced meals and not comfort eating (IF is great for that but it’s still an effort) Does anyone have any tips or suggestions to help with the mental struggle of consistency when I know it’s going to be a long road?

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How to Enjoy New Year’s Without Falling Off Track

For many, New Year’s Eve is code for slim-down sabotage. Between the celebratory spread, the bounty of adult beverages and the late night curfew, it’s no wonder so many people vow to jumpstart their diets the very next day. But you can still ring in the New Year without packing on the pounds. Here’s how:

Eat!
Stick to your normally scheduled mealtimes, and don’t “save room.” Showing up for a party ravenous is a fast-pass to diet failure. Eat your meals as you would on any other day and don’t forget to drink your water—it can help you feel fuller and slow down your noshing. If you feel like you have to eat once the festivities begin, pile your plate with raw veggies and fresh fruit. Remember, if you’re on Nutrisystem, we don’t recommend drinking alcohol—especially since it can cause your willpower to wane. If you decide to break the rules tonight, opt for one light beer or small glass of wine, then switch to seltzer with lime or mix it up with a festive mocktail.

Bring a Healthy Appetizer
Ever head to a party with the best of intentions, only to find there isn’t a single healthy option available? Take the guesswork out of the equation by arriving with your own guilt-free dish. Offer to bring a big salad, fruit tray or some healthy appetizers. Or be the healthy hit of your party with these fun and simple skewer recipes. The hostess will thank you—and so will your waistline.

Exercise Before You Go
You know it burns calories. But did you know it may also keep you from overeating? A study published in 2009 in the American Journal of Physiology revealed that vigorous exercise may suppress a key hunger hormone for up to 30 minutes after workouts and can increase the levels of a key appetite-suppressing hormone for as long as three hours after exercise. Plus, exercising may play a role in what you put on your plate. A 2013 study published in the journal Neuroreport revealed that participants who exercised craved healthier foods, like fiber-rich beans and veggies rather than those packed with refined sugar, like cookies, cakes and other sweet treats. The natural mood-boosting effects of exercise may also keep you feeling so content, you won’t feel the need to dive into all the diet destruction at your disposal.

Pay Attention
Practice mindfulness: hone in on why you’re eating and always give your body time to tell you it’s full. In a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that people who ate more mindfully weighed less than those who reported eating when not hungry or in response to anxiety or depression.

Go Ahead, Wear THAT Dress
You know the one—it fits like a glove and doesn’t leave much room for overindulging. Although there isn’t much science to back this one up, we all know what happens when the elastic waistbands come out. Wearing something snug may just be the thing to help you skip seconds.

The post How to Enjoy New Year’s Without Falling Off Track appeared first on The Leaf.

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Saturday, 29 December 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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Reflecting on the past year - achieved so much more than I ever thought possible. (pics)

My heaviest weight was 320lbs when I was in high school. Yikes. I lost about 30lbs over one summer junior year, but I didn't understand weight loss and couldn't sustain the loss.

Last year I decided I needed to do this now, or I wasn't going to do it. I had never dated or had sex, I was missing out on so many opportunities. I felt like I couldn't enjoy the summer - my absolute favorite season - because I couldn't handle how I looked. Clothes didn't look good on me, yada yada yada.

I decided to use my student loan disbursement to get myself some vitamins and a protein shake. I got a fitbit. I started using the treadmill in my basement, and off I went. I officially started on January 20, 2018. I was just over 270lbs. In the last year I've lost so much weight - my lowest ever has been 197lbs. I've been lifting weights pretty seriously for the past few months and I've gained muscle. It's been a lot of fun. Seeing my body change has been indescribably fun. I've been obese since I was 11, so it feels like I'm going through some kind of 20-something puberty.

Keys to my success have been my Fitbit, and tracking calories on MyFitnessPal. CICO works, you just have to give it time and trust the process.

This is how I looked on Jan. 15, 2018 - my official "start pic", though I have a full body photo from a bit earlier (but the same weight) that I use for that comparison. https://imgur.com/a/d4HTyBQ

Here is me today. This is from a couple weeks ago. I'm going to take an official "yay me" photo on 1/15 to be a stickler about the date, and share that on social media. https://imgur.com/a/jzzGWQq

My fitbit tells me my heart health started at "fair" and is now at "good" - that's really why I did this. My fitbit told me my ticker wasn't in the best shape, which showed me that this is for far more important things than looks.

I still haven't been able to get myself out there to date. Sex is way weirder than they tell you on TV. I don't know when I'll feel ready for that, but gosh do I want it.

My current resolution for the next year, since last year's was successful, is to really put on muscle. I'm looking at a Garmin watch to help me track things in a more detailed way, and I want to get into some sort of sport in addition to my workout routine - and if you told me I'd be writing that a year ago, I'd laugh at you.

If you're sitting here wondering if this is the year - it is, go get 'em! It's so possible, you just have to keep going and trust the process.

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