Struggling to figure out how many calories I should aim to burn during cardio workouts

Hello! I am a 22 year old female who recently began my weight loss journey. My height is 5’6 and I weigh 241 lbs currently. I started CICO on January 1st and have lost around 10 lbs. I do a 1000 cal deficit most of the time, but some days I eat a little extra because I know I need to have at least a 500 cal deficit to lose. I’m starting to incorporate cardio into my routine and tomorrow is my first day at the gym. I’m aiming to lose at least 100 lbs, so I wanted to know if anyone could give me a good idea of how many calories I should burn at the gym.

Sorry this is kinda long, thanks so much for reading!

submitted by /u/gothcutie
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2ALqfmT

Pretty sure I'm losing weight, but I don't weigh myself. Anyone with an ED in this sub is encouraged to reply! I'd like to know I'm not alone.

Weighing myself is especially triggering for negative mindsets for me.

I'm doing what I need to do for weight loss, and I see it a bit already, but I'm just relying on how my clothes fit and what I see to know if I've lost weight. I am not losing weight primarily for looks. I'm happier with how I look than I ever have been, but I am big. And being big has negative consequences for me. Y'all know what many of those are. Small dating pool, social problems, not able to walk far distances, limited clothing options, possibly diabetes or high blood pressure.

There are negative consequences for being large. Many people in ED recovery have made peace with these consequences and don't mind staying that way. I am not one of those people.

In the past, I have spiraled down into deep, dark places when I weighed myself or measured my body. I have starved myself and overexercised to the point of collapsing and always feeling lightheaded. So I'm trying to do it right this time... for my health. No lower than 1200 calories, and I eat a treat if I want a treat. Just no binging or starving/purging behaviors.

I'll give a little information about myself.

Basically I have been overweight my entire life. I was completely addicted to food with no compensating behaviors. I just kept eating and gaining weight.

In 2014, I decided I was tired of being fat, and lost about 3 pounds a week by starving myself and overexercising. I was in denial at how sick I actually was and how obsessed I was with my body and weight. All I thought about was food, losing weight, and how to burn off calories. I obsessively checked the mirror and was suffering horrifically from body dysmorphia. I also was extremely uncomfortable with the fact that I was seen and noticed by many people, to the point of harassment and catcalling. I felt like my skin was inside out, and I just wanted to hide.

​

I associated my worth with my weight in a huge way. I lost about 70 pounds and gained it all back.

​

So... here I am again. I have not tried to diet in about a year because I was scared of becoming anorexic again. For about a year, I have been convinced I can't lose weight in a healthy way and that I am doomed to fatness forever.

Well, in this new year, I'm trying different. I'm going against the notion that I can't lose weight because I have an eating disorder.

I am not doing this to punish myself, I'm not doing it because I hate myself, I'm doing it because I deserve to be a healthy weight. I deserve to fit into my nice clothes. I deserve to be free from excessive fatness.

Sooo... no scales. I have pictures though. I will take more pictures in about six months.

​

I have been doing well so far, and I'm very pleased about it.

​

Disclaimer: I have a therapist. :)

​

Just wanted to share what I am doing!

submitted by /u/Sushisavage
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2W0nqHY

First timer! Got my first DEXA today, put me at 15.3% BF, 205lbs, down from 337lbs/AMA (April 24th 2017-Today)

Hey all, I've found this sub a little bit ago and I've loved reading your struggles, victories, and successes. I am in a great mood today and wanted to share a bit of my journey today and answer any questions people might have! My story doesn't have anything special, but sometimes hearing different journeys helps different people.

So I started March 2017 to lose weight. I decided to start losing weight after I went shopping to a +size shop and for the first time of my life I was actually happy to find clothes that fit me and made me feel good. I had a friend pushing me to lose weight as well. So I got a fitbit, got the matching scale, and downloaded MFP. Started counting calories and off I went. I didn't really know what I was doing but I new fruits, veggies, and chicken were good for you and that sugar, junk, and fast food were suboptimal. What actually helped me a lot was cutting sugar off 100% for a week early on and helped me beat cravings. I lost weight pretty quickly by just counting calories and avoid all junk food. Hit 300lbs June 11th. I was eating probably between 1600 and 1800 calories most days, just aiming to keep it low. Sadly, it became a bit obsessive and started aiming to eat the less calories possible, often hitting 1200 calories in a day with sports at night and full time job. I was active 6x a week and felt very tired most of the time, not sleep enough either. I hit my first lowest of 237 mid-november 2017. By then, I had started my master's and I crashed with the stress and apartment life. Pizza came back in my life, and so did alcohol (big time). Became very careless especially with the Holidays around the corner and made it back to 260ish by May. At that point, a friend insisted on me trying keto and so I did. That lasted about 2 weeks until I was like yeh no high fat keto isnt working for me. So I raised my protein and found the reddit keto community, and then the ketogains subreddit. I moved to their version of keto which is a paleo/keto/whole foods/CICO approach. Started working out in the summer and have been hooked to the gym ever since. I've dealt with BED on and off, anxiety, stress eating, etc etc. I got worse before/around the Holidays this year as my calories were getting really low at that point again (sub1600, working out 5x a week). Since then, I've raised my carbs to include more veggies and some fruits, more calories, and have restarted getting results while not having the BED/depression issues. So yeh! 205lbs at my DEXA today, and clocked in at 15.3%BF, with puts me at a LBM of 174lb.

Here's a TLDR: More is not always better. Trust good resources like this sub. Love yourself. Be active to be healthy, not to lose weight. Most people on a long weight loss journey face these issues at some point, don't beat yourself if you are too. Listen to your body and its signals. Take this occasion to learn about, fitness, nutrition, and general wellness/wellbeing.

​

Feel free to ask me anything!

submitted by /u/chchgg
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2ANPPIc

Weight loss has clicked for me! Now I can loose weight!

Ive been trying to loose weight for a while now. The problem with this was that I was hungry all the time. I realized something that I never thought of before.

Not being full doesn't mean that I am hungry.

Even if I ate a meal, I wouldn't be stuffed, so I ate more. After eating, my family would offer me food, and I would accept because I wasn't full. I wasn't hungry, but I also wasn't full.

Yesterday I realized that I dont need to be full all the time. I know that this isnt the most groundbreaking thing for most, but I think It was the realization that I needed to help me keep loosing weight.

submitted by /u/nw342
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2FDa3rh

A Thank-You Letter to /r/loseit

Progress pic (210 -> 175 -> 131): https://imgur.com/a/1knQEKp

I wanted to formally thank this subreddit for showing me that it was possible. Four years ago, I was at my heaviest weight, weighing in just over 210lbs. I was always a bit chubby from middle school onwards, but began to really pack on the pounds while in a toxic relationship and transitional period between households (divorced family, abusive stepmom, long story). It’s appalling to think about all the insanely unhealthy food I would eat every single day. I would have multiple bowls of cereal for breakfast, consistently go out for lunch and dinner, and consume a ton of soda and sweets.

There was a day where I stepped on the scale and saw “210” on the screen. I hadn’t weighed myself since I was about 175 earlier in high school, and was completely shocked. I had no idea I weighed that much, truly. It was hard for me to notice the gradual change, but once I looked in the mirror I finally saw how bad it had gotten. From that point on, I tried to make an effort to eat better, and often went on 8-10 mile bikes rides. I wasn’t counting calories yet (and was still probably eating fairly poorly), but I managed to lose 35 pounds over the course of 6 months.

Then I hit the plateau. I ate like complete shit. I got out of the toxic relationship and began dating someone new (who I am still with). He’s the type of person that stays skinny no matter what the hell he eats. We would split an entire pizza and other large meals, and he would bring home a bunch of snacks and goodies that I would also munch on. My weight slowly crawled upwards, and I realized that I needed to make a change. Keep in mind, this plateau lasted probably about two years.

By the point I realized something had to change, it was June of 2017. I finally found this subreddit while looking up how to lose weight, and discovered the magic that is counting calories. I started eating 1,200 calories a day, and became incredibly determined. I didn’t exercise, but counted every single thing I ate, and had no cheat days. Over the course of 6 months, I lost another 40 pounds, bringing me down to 135lbs. People began to comment on my weight loss, and I got the typical “oh, you’re so thin now, you don’t need to count calories!”

Well here I am now, at just over 131lbs. I started exercising daily a few months ago (and finally balancing macros), and began to convert some of my fat into muscle. I’ve successfully maintained for over a year (gained some weight over summer vacation, but immediately lost it all again after getting back). I plan on continuing to become more fit and continue to work on my health, and am so grateful that I found this community. I still struggle with my perception of myself, though, and I still feel that my mental relationship with food is somewhat unhealthy (although I’m really good at keeping it in control at all times). I keep moving forward though, and am so happy with the progress I’ve made. Losing weight has completely changed my life for the better, and I am so damn happy I decided to make the lifestyle change. I've had a handful of people I know personally tell me that my weight loss has inspired them to do the same, and love to share what I've learned.

But yeah. Thanks, everyone! I read through this subreddit every day and feel so proud of each and every one of you when I read your inspiring journeys. Good luck to you all, I know you can achieve your goals. It seemed impossible way back in the day, but you can do it!

submitted by /u/mymidnightmelody
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2TSaqC7

NSV: Great dinners don't need to be high in calories!

So I'm making this as a NSV because it helped a friend realize that he doesn't need to sacrifice quality or a feeling of fullness for weight loss.

My friend (call him F) is very overweight. He's been trying many different diets, but doesn't stick to them. I think he gets discouraged because the results aren't very fast, he's miserable eating, and there's just a ton of work without a lot of result. I keep telling him to stick with it for longer than he is (he usually gives up after a month), but he has gone through CICO, Keto, Atkins, Paleo, South Beach, and probably others.

Every week, we have game night. I make dinners that are big and filling and he usually isn't a fan because they're laden with veggies... But last night i made a slow cooker Tuscan chicken with a cream sauce and a bunch of veggies. It's a huge hit with him. He's full after one bowl. I portioned the servings equally, resulting in no leftovers, and each portion was ~500 calories. He was floored when he found out.

Easy to make dinner, crock pot meal so no worries about being at work all day, and still it can be filling without breaking 500/bowl. I'm hoping this can be an inspiration for him.

I can DM the recipe for those who want it.

submitted by /u/TinHawk
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2RzpFTZ

Keeping track of the good, the bad, and the ugly!

For background I am a 27F-5’9”-starting weight= 215.9 current weight= 204.6 goal weight= 168. I use MyFitnessPal to track calories and weight. I weigh every morning after peeing and before eating so I’m at my lowest weight. Well, after continually dropping since January 2nd, when I got on the scale yesterday I was up 1.2 pounds. My heart sank. I thought “maybe I should just not log this weight and only put in the good weights on MFP.” But I didn’t! I thought, you know, I need to see every fluctuation on the scale. I need to see the numbers I want to see and the numbers I don’t. This is a lifestyle change that will fluctuate with time. Success is not linear!! There will be peaks and dips all along the way. So, I swallowed my pride and entered the higher weight into MFP. I know that in the long run when I log into MyFitnessPal a year from now I will see the true changes that occurred. The struggles and the successes. The highs and lows. The ones that give me confidence and the ones that push me to be better! Watch your process! Weight loss is a marathon- not a sprint!

submitted by /u/SwampAss3
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2QTzYNk