[NSV] I haven't tracked calories or weighed my food for a month! (Let me explain)

So this is a bit different that maybe your typical post in this sub but I really wanted to share this because I am very proud of it.

From February 2017 to September 2018 I lost and was maintaining the loss of over 100 lbs (240 > 125(ish) @ 5'6.) During that weight loss time frame I became religious about tracking everything I ate - and religiously following macros all the way down to minerals and vitamins. In addition to this I was weighing every single thing I ate to the point of not eating out EVER because it was difficult to take my food scale with me in public (although I did once or twice).

I did it so much that even after being in a maintenance mode for several months to a year and longer I was still unable to stop weighing and tracking everything I ate, it was almost a compulsive disorder. Well when I went home for the holidays for a bit I promised myself I would ease up and lay off on being so strict on myself bit. I managed to stop weighing and tracking every meal and even had quite a bit of cheat food. I also noticed that the scale was not changing too much and in fact I bounced right back down to normal weight easily after the holidays and decided to continue to try to not weigh, track or "freak out/panic" over food and meals, for fear or somehow gaining all 110 pounds back overnight. It honestly feels amazing to be almost "free" and feel less like I have an obsessive disorder.

I do still follow IF and track that with an app but that's just due to it being easier to keep hours with an app. and because I just love the comfort of eating in an IF fashion.

Long story short if anyone else is dealing with similar issues, hang in there and just keep trying. I'd imagine there are worse habits to struggle to shake but it is possible to be "normal" again.

As of this morning I am actually a few lbs lighter than my "goal weight" so it looks like I get to have a few extra cheats this weekend :)

Sorry for the long post and thank you for letting me share.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2W3kmuw

1 year progress, down 62 pounds! NSFW

Thanks r/loseit community for all the support! Today marks my 1 year anniversary of weight loss, and I'm down 62 pounds!

http://imgur.com/gallery/msPSzjx

You can find my previous post detailing my journey here: https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/923flx/50_pounds_lost_i_havent_been_this_weight_since/

but basically I've been doing 5:2 IF, carb limiting, and CICO.

I've slowed down some, I actually dropped down to 208 right before Thanksgiving, but that, plus a trip to an all inclusive resort in Cancun, Christmas, and New Years all contributed to some December gain, but I've recently recommitted and am starting my downward progress again.

I'm on track to hit my goal weight sometime in June, just in time for my eldest daughter's wedding!

Thanks again everybody, you all have been very inspiring!

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

23 (M) Started at 280lbs, currently 230lbs.

Hello everyone!

So, as the title states about six-eight months ago, I hit 280 on the scale and just thought "This is not the weight I am happy with." And so, I began my journey not just for weight loss, but for self discipline and self respect.

I began waking up everday at 5am, it sucked of course but I learned to embrace the suck and almost looked forward to it with the mindset of "pain is just weakness leaving the body." And somehow, it really got and kept me motivated - anyway. I'd get up, spend an hour waking up and thinking about the day and my task, drink a glass of coffee and water.

At six, I'd work out using some bar weights I purchased. I'd alternate between high weight low rep, and high rep low weight to try to build muscle and also do cardio/lean muscle growth. That went on for about 15-30 minutes depending on the day, then I'd do some running, or jump rope for cardio and would just go until I felt like I was dying essentially. Gradually my running time would increase. Currently, I can go about 10-20 minutes at a pretty well paced run which still isn't great but it's way better than my original like 30-60 seconds.

Anyway, to the stuff that I felt really made the weightloss work. My dietary changes. I avoided carbs and sugar like the plague - some carbs are fine, but just avoid obvious heavy carb foods like pasta and bread.

I focused on protien and greens, particularly I got addicted to these vegan chicken patties that'd I'd fry up in a castiron, with some redpepper and had a spicey chicken sandwich with wheat buns for like a week.

When I got bored of that, I'd chop up the cooked chicken patties and add to a spianch salad, with almond slivers and poppyseed dressing, with feta.

Everyday for lunch, I had a heavy protien snack like nuts/meat and or some cheese and grapes. Or a premade salad.

Alternatively, when I originally started I actually did intermediate fasting and only had one meal a day, I chose dinner. That worked really well initially but my body eventually adapted and the weight stopped coming off but that's how I lost the first 15-20lbs.

One thing I've found personally is you don't seem to need a long term exercise if you're eating properly. I'm not killing myself on my workouts, I'm not in the gym for two hours or anything... But I'm getting solid results. I keep having to get smaller belts and pants, and I can see muscle development along my arms and legs.

So, yeah personally this worked for me because I'm better at eating healthier than I am exercising. Personally I hate working out - That's why I kinda force myself out od bed, and since I don't have anything to do for hours, I can just defacto put it into my schedule out of boredom.

Edit: Just a sidenote, my next goal is an even 200lbs. (Don't think I've been that light since JR high.) And my final goal is around 170-190 for my height.

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

A Reminder To Say Suck It To Haters

I’ve been doing pretty freaking amazing these last few months and I’ve never felt healthier in my life. I eat a huge amount and variety of fresh fruits and veggies every single day.

The other day I was talking to a relative and she told me what she ate that day, so I shared as well that I had eaten “the most delicious red bell pepper” at lunch time and described that it was the sweetest bell pepper I’d ever had before. The relative decided to comment “you must be deficient in nutrients and that’s why it tasted good”.

Wtf? Would anyone say the same if I said I had a delicious piece of pizza? I must be deficient in pizza vitamins? No! That’s so stupid! Just because I’m fat doesn’t mean I hate vegetables. Also, just because I’m fat doesn’t mean I’m super unhealthy, my blood pressure is perfect and my cholesterol and iron levels and literally every single thing in my recent blood test came back at exactly the levels they should be.

So, dear reader, this is just your reminder that people are always going to have something stupid/rude to say about your weight and/or weight loss. Screw them.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2U02Jd0

Dietitian Q&A on the best bedtime snacks

When it comes to bedtime snacking, there are several misconceptions that can cloud someone’s judgement on whether or not it’s determinantal, acceptable or beneficial. To help bring some clarity to the age-old debate, our team of registered dietitians break down the art of snacking at bedtime and what have addressed some of the most common questions when it comes to bedtime snacking

from Life Time Weight Loss Blog http://bit.ly/2AVneAy

SV: No longer "overweight!" (25M 240->188)

25M 6'1" 240ish->188.

Long time lurker here in loseit, and I can't really share with anyone else, so I wanted to post that I've finally hit my GW of "normal" BMI after trying to lose weight for over 4 years!!

My first MFP entry was Nov. 2015 at 229lb and I know I actually weighed close to 240 before that. I'd been overweight since probably 15 years old, then I gained freshman 15 and more in college, entered law school unhappy with my appearance and the weight continued to fluctuate.

I finally started afresh, and it worked: MFP Log. I usually aimed for 1300cal/day.

Sorry I don't have progress pics to share but went from 38 in jeans to 33, XL t-shirts to M (usually). I still definitely have progress to make, probably 20-30lb to lose of fat but muscle to gain as replacement. Ideally hoping to end up around 175 after starting weight lifting?

In case anyone is curious or in a similar situation, here's a few uninspired non-unique tips that I picked up here and in /r/1200IsPlenty. Nothing new here, but the tried and true work!

• Log your food. Always. All my weight loss was during periods where I forced logging and i gained it back when I told myself I had enough self control. I didn't. Don't get upset with yourself when you gain weight back. It will happen; look at my chart above, I undid a lot of progress at times. But steady work will succeed!
• Eating less > exercising more. Both are great, and a cardio routine helped my feel energized and active, but eating less is what actually cut most of the weight.
• You don't need a specific diet; aim for X calories and stick to it. /r/1200IsPlenty and /r/1500isplenty are great for this! I did find it easier to stop buying bread and pasta, but I definitely did not go keto... Diets may work better for others too; this is just what worked for me.
• Budget alcohol like meals. I went to law school and most socializing is at bars and house parties. And I like drinking. But if you treat drinking like a meal, budget calories, and ideally exercise that day to give yourself an extra 250-300cal, you can easily drink and stay in or near your calorie budget. Just make sure your other food that day is nutritional.
• Everyone may not like it, but I personally highly recommend /r/Soylent. I use Soylent (400cal) for one meal a day, almost every day (usually lunch at work). It's extremely nutritional, the ready to drink bottles taste great, and sell for ~$2 each on Amazon sales. I don't have it more than once per day because I enjoy food too much, but I think it's a great convenience food replacement. Also the powder is great for travel since it's compact and can be carried on.
• Breakfast routines: I think this differs for everyone, but I love breakfast, and if you stick to ~3 eggs and bacon/sausage or avocado* you can easily eat well for ~350cal. Cereal is deceptively high in calories... Making this a routine helped me avoid snacking during the work day.
• Log your weight consistently (every day or every other?) and at the same time. For me, it's immediately after waking up and using the restroom (your lightest time of day too). And don't sorry about daily pounds gained and loss; it's normal fluctuations and after a month or two of tracking the overall trends are easy to see.

Thanks to you all for helping me get here!!! Now to the next goal...

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2RY6XVi

Read something that scared me out of using stevia... what are your opinions?

Hey guys! Sorry for the long post, but it would mean so much to me if you read it and helped me out!

So I had spent the last year on a weight loss/muscle gain journey, but I've been plagued by this one issue: lots of bloating, and really really stubborn stomach fat. I'm now at the low end of a healthy weight (but now working on gaining muscle weight!) but I have a terrible-looking stomach, despite my weight. I know that at least part of the problem has to be weak abdominal muscles, which is why I recently started implementing a bodyweight ab routine. However, I came across an article that really worried me:

http://slimbirdy.com/2016/01/22/stevia-and-belly-fat/

I use stevia EVERY day, and honestly quite a lot of it. I do a lot of baking, so I use a lot in my desserts. I also put quite a bit in my daily Greek yogurt breakfast.

Now, I'm wondering if my constant bloating issue/persistent stomach fat is due to how much stevia I eat. I do understand CICO, however, as thats how I've lost weight during my journey, and according to CICO, Stevia shouldn't let me gain fat, right? But theres an italicized paragraph in the journal that talks about how it will still make your body produce fat, by creating glucose from other body tissues. However, even if Stevia isn't making me put on literal fat, I still wonder if its responsible for my bloated, pregnant appearance despite being a relatively low weight.

I think what I might do is starting tomorrow, I'll completely cut out stevia for a week, and see if I have a reduction in bloating/inches off of my waist. After that, I'll update you guys on what happens! I won't change anything else. Also a heads up; I don't restrict carbs or anything like that; I eat literally whatever I want as long as it fits in my calories (1360)

Meanwhile, I would really love to hear if anyone has stories, or has the same body type/stomach shape issues that I'm dealing with right now, or if anyone has noticed changes in their body since adding/taking away stevia from their diets. Theres a lot of comments at the bottom of the article from people who tell stories of how much better their appearance is after quitting stevia, which is what makes me feel more convinced than I normally would be by a journal like this.

Also, if anyone has their own input on the article that they want to share, that would be so helpful! The internet is a place with lots of opinions and misleading info, and I wanted to ask you all about it before I let the journal convince me that I can no longer have stevia if I want the body shape I've been coveting.

(Also, please don't be mean to me :-( I'm not posting this journal to say that stevia is bad and that you all should stop using it at all; I'm posting this here to ask questions and try to clarify all of my confusion and distress about what I've read, and to figure out whats true and what isn't. Best case scenario, I've been worked up over nothing and I do get to continue using stevia in my day-to-day life.)

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Fz3IOv