(NSV/SV) One stone (14lb) down in a month, longest I've stuck with weight loss for years. Had to go down a notch on my watch strap!

Hi everyone, my stats are 29/F/5'8". I started around 211lbs, and would like to reach around 140lbs eventually but my first goal is to hit 180lb.

I like to weigh in every few days to keep an eye on things, I've found in the past if I avoid the scale because I am worried I've gained, I actually gain weight. I weighed in a few says ago and saw a 0.8lb gain. Rather than freak, I recall i went to the gym a day before and this can cause inflammation, so I kept my cool and waited until today to see if I had lost for the week. I weighed myself this morning and I'm now 196.6lbs! I actually did a booty shake with excitement haha.

Here's some small non-scale victories I've had so far:

I had to go down a notch on my Fitbit watch because it feels loose and was slipping about a bit.

My trousers for work aren't cutting into me anymore and I can wear then with the inside button fastened.

I'm not as sick with IBS. Less bloating, tiredness, cramps and toilet problems. Also finding I have less muscle soreness and less joint pain which I'd be experiencing a lot last year. I'm using less painkillers as a result.

I've don't have as many binge urges and on several occasions I have found I am making too much food for my tea and having to portion half and put it in the fridge for the next day, it's so satisfying to reduce my calories intake on MFP.

The way I have gone about it, and my tips are:

I am now vegetarian. I eat very little dairy too so I sub my normal yogs and cheese for alpro yogs and violife smoked cheese which both have less calories. My go to ice cream is halo Top or breyers, which are far lower in calories. My protein intake has switched to some Quorn, black beans, chickpeas, lentils and any other beans. They are so low in fat and calories compared to many meat sources.

My routine treats are a portion of veggie sweets, frozen fruit with either yog or ice cream, reduced calorie hot choc with squirty cream, popchips or tofu jerky. I weigh it all out, sometimes I prepare my planned snacks out whilst making my tea so they're there for my evening cravings.

Nothing is off-limits, obviously not eating meat because of ethical reasons, but if I want something, I portion it or plan for it. I eat pierogi, pizza, cheese, crisps, potatoes etc. But I plan to have a tonne of veg with them. I often add the veg to my fitness pal first then work around it. Lots of seasoning really helps make veg exciting. I had a chocolate today in work from a gift box we were given, but I picked my favourite flavour then left the staffroom with it in my hand.

I don't eat breakfast. I've never been mad on it, lots of hot coffee helps. Fasting helps me reduce intake. I have a busy and demanding job so I don't notice hunger until lunch. I take spare pears into work for hunger if it strikes. I get my lunch for free, so I have a set meal agreed with the catering staff that I collect at break time before lunch so I don't even have the option to choose the fried stuff. Routine helps.

I learnt to just say no thanks, or even nothing at all if someone is pushy or offering me a temptation. Don't need to explain myself or show I'm tempted. Just a straight no thank you works. I find being veggie limits my choices, but in a good way. As someone with poor control restricting the world of food and viewing it as sustenance rather than an indulgence really helps me evaluate.

I've had treat meals and gone over calories but these are getting more infrequent and less severe because they don't seem so important. I do drink still, but only one or two gins, or a nice beer. Something I get enjoyment from.

I've not been in the gym much, so weightloss is obviously doable without exercise, but once I lose more I'll get back into it. I wanted to prioritise my diet first rather than overwhelming me.

I really hope next month I will be telling you I lost another ten pounds, I'm excited!

Thanks for reading.

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Here I go again...again.

After a couple of tough months, some false starts and some unfortunate weight gain today finally kicks off the next phase of my weight loss. Last year I lost 143 pounds from January to August. Since August 30th I have gained 31 pounds back. Well once again it’s time to get back at it. I’ve had a few false starts since November so fingers crossed this isn’t one of them. 75 to 95 pounds to lose. I really hope this is the year I finally reach my ultimate goal. The road back has been long, my heaviest in 2014 was 464 and my lowest in 2018 was 264. While I am in better shape now, I do want better. I have some adventures I’d like to do once I get more of the weight off. Here we go again, hopefully for the last time!

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My January in Numbers: How Did you Make Out?

Like many around here, I set out on January 1 to reverse the damage from the holiday season. My goal was to lose an average one pound per week, and I feel I accomplished that. When I look at my data day to day, it sometimes seems as though nothing is working. I started off the month at 130.4 pounds and halfway through January I had a weigh-in at 129. Normally this would be discouraging, but that's where data trends come into play.

This is a chart of my calorie intake, weight and expected weight over the month: https://imgur.com/cwuNb87

The blue bars are my calorie intake, the yellow line is my actual daily weight and the green line is my expected weight based on that previous day's calorie intake (my TDEE is about 2,250). Given my calorie intake over the course of the month (1,780 on average), my expected weight at the end was 126.3. My final weigh-in was just under that at 125.4. There are lots of ups and downs, but when the month is viewed in the entirety, my yellow line matches up perfectly with my green line. Aka: the math works!

This is why I love calorie tracking as a method of weight loss/maintenance/gain. Be consistent and accurate and the math will follow through.

How did everyone else make out with their January goals?

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How to Meet Your Steps Goals Despite Winter Weather

If you got a step-counting watch or a fancy new pedometer for the holidays, the frigid weather of January and February can be an extra bummer: Every hour, your new gadget buzzes to remind you to get up and meet your hourly steps goals. But it’s so cold outside!

You don’t have to pile on 10,000 layers to go out and reach your steps goals. With a little creativity, you  can get moving all winter without turning into an icicle.

Here are seven ways to meet your steps goals while you wait for spring:

1. Head to the mall.

Mall walking sounds like a throwback exercise, but it’s actually increased in popularity since the ‘90s: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, malls are the second-most popular place to take a walk, after your own neighborhood. If you’re worried you’ll spend too much, borrow a trick from America’s most experienced mall walkers: Go early, before most of the stores have opened. You’ll also gain another benefit—in studies of mall walking, participants said that unlike at the gym, they didn’t feel pressure about their speed, attire or physique. If you’re there before the stores open, there’s no one to compete with but yourself!

2. Use a jump rope.

Most step counters will register jump roping as steps, and it’s an incredible way to get fit in just a few minutes per day. In fact, scientists say that 10 minutes of jumping rope is the equivalent of running an eight-minute mile.

You don’t have to jump for 10 minutes in a row, and if you’re worried about tripping, you can start without actually jumping over the rope: Instead, put both handles of the rope in one hand, and swing the rope to the side of your body as you jump. This will help you get the rhythm of jumping down before progressing to actually jumping over the rope. Try going for 20 seconds at a time, rest for 10-20 seconds, and repeat.

5 Surprising Reasons Winter is the Best Time to Lose Weight

Read More

3. Click on an old-school workout video.

Go retro with your activity: Fire up YouTube for a classic workout video that won’t just make you sweat, but will make you smile. Most of the infomercial and as-seen-on-TV workout tapes of the 1980s have been uploaded to the site, and they’re free to watch and play along. Whether it’s dance karate, something that goes for just eight minutes, or your favorite old-school celebrity’s tape, you can find one that lets you laugh along with the dated fashions while you do a workout that fits your fitness level—and will be counted on your watch.

4. Instead of emailing, walk to talk to your coworker.

If you sit at your desk and stay there all day, your health may be at risk: A study from the American Cancer Society found that women who sat for six hours per day were 37 percent more likely to die during the study than those who sat for three hours or fewer. So instead of emailing to set up a lunch meeting or to ask a quick question, get up! Walk to your coworker’s desk to discuss that new idea or to hash out details of tomorrow’s meeting. While you’re up, take a walk to a water cooler that’s further than your normal one before returning to your desk. You won’t just get steps, you may find you’re more creative: Scientists who studied walking and problem solving found that those who walked gave more creative answers than those who were seated.

Soup’s on: 16 Tasty Soup Recipes the Whole Family Will Love

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5. Mix it up on the treadmill.

Your gym or community center might have a treadmill, but you might think it’s torture: And actually, you might be right! Treadmills were invented in the 19th century for prisons to punish defiant inmates, according to one online source. But you’re not in chains, so the mill doesn’t have to mean suffering, and it doesn’t have to be boring: Treadmill gamers combine treadmill walking with mobile video games to break up the monotony. One member of an online forum about the activity lost 70 pounds doing the activity.

Start with a game that’s not too packed with action—if the game moves too much, you might “drift” off the mill. (Puzzles are usually a good bet.) And if you’re not into games, turn watching TV into a game of its own: When the show is on, walk a little faster than normal. During the commercials, slow it down. Mixing up your speeds like this can help you burn more calories while you reach your steps goals: In a study conducted by Ohio State University, research found that by walking in sped-up bursts of just five inches more per second, exercisers burned 20 percent more calories than those going at a steady pace.

6. Catch your local museum’s discounted or “free” day.

Act like a tourist in your own town! Lots of us don’t take the time to check out museums that are right under our noses, and they’re a great (and warm) excuse to get more steps. If you don’t want to shell out full admissions fees, many local museums offer free or discounted days on entrance. And your bank may offer perks as well: Several national banks partner with museums for discounted admission when using your debit card. Get cultured, educated and fit—all without freezing!

7 Winter Weight Loss Mistakes to Avoid

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7. Plan an active date or day out.

Whether it’s date night, hanging with friends or filling the car with kids and going, getting out of the house will help keep you from going stir-crazy in these frigid days (and get in those steps goals). So instead of just lunch, dinner or a movie, pick something indoors and active! Go bowling with your best friend, take your husband to an ice-skating rink or take the kids to the most fun they—or you—will ever have breaking a sweat: An indoor trampoline park. These places are popping up all over the country, and with good reason—they are ridiculously fun. Coupons often pop up online, so you can go bounce your way to 10,000 steps at a discount.

The post How to Meet Your Steps Goals Despite Winter Weather appeared first on The Leaf.

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A handsome man at the gym said hi and smiled at me this morning.

I’m a female in my 20s, down 50 pounds since September from diet and exercise. My SW was 301 pounds. I haven’t officially dated/had sex/been anyone’s object of affection in 8 years - mostly due to obesity/depression. (The chicken and the egg. Which caused which?) Anyway. It felt good when an extremely handsome man with the body of a god said “hi” and smiled at me when he was walking past me this morning at the gym. I know “the gym isn’t the club.” It’s nice to be noticed! My weight loss isn’t for dating specifically, but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find someone in the future and the man at the gym this morning really gave me hope.

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I'm down a full 25kg (55lbs) from my heaviest of ~100kg (~220lbs) in April 2016 and I've never felt better. I couldn't go back even if I wanted to. (nsfw, shirtless dude)

My first post here; I just happened across this place and thought I'd contribute. This journey's been a long one. Two and a half years. That's when I decided, hey, I can't be this heavy anymore. I'm sick of being fat. So I talked to my doctor about changing up my medication regimen and he prescribed me a different antipsychotic (please read my disclaimer about this at the bottom); WELL! Overnight I lost my sweet tooth (but damnably picked up a not-as-bad savoury one!) and the pounds started melting off. Despite that, I still had to make more conscious choices about what I was putting in my body and in particular I cut out energy drinks and chocolate almost completely. I was having 1-2 a day and eating another chocolate bar or two on top of that. I stopped missing them after about 3 months and then it was very easy.

Then, something kinda unexpected happened about 6 months into my weight loss journey; I developed neuropathy (nerve pain) in my pelvic floor. Once that happened I knew I had to accelerate my weight loss. I gained about 5kg (10lbs) back at one point and my pain was so severe I needed to up the dose on one of my medications. That wasn't okay with me. I tolerate them well but that's just it, it's tolerance. I don't like being on them.

Since I lost that 5kg and more, my pain's decreased to a much more manageable level. That, with the weight loss, with the new medication, and despite my pain I feel amazing compared to just two and a half years ago. I don't have to catch my breath after climbing a flight of stairs, I have better self-esteem, I can move faster, my reflexes are better, healthy food tastes so much better; losing weight is like a superpower!

And now, the progress picture! The first one was taken in April 2016, the second was taken a couple days ago when I felt really good. :)

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Friday, 01 February 2019? 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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