NSV: My blood donation record shows that losing only 15 lbs resolved my pre-hypertension!

https://imgur.com/a/25760K8

I'm only 26, but my blood pressure has always been on the higher side. There is cardiovascular disease in my family.

The blood donation service in my country logs blood pressure every time you donate plasma/platelets/whole blood. You can plot an almost perfect drop in both systolic and diastolic BP over the year that I lost 15 lbs, or about 7 kg. Of course, the weight loss is just a surrogate measure of improved diet and exercise. A similar decline happened the year before, as well. My reading a few days ago is the lowest it has ever been. From 131/85 to 105/73! I took the BP myself a few times afterward, since BP can vary for lots of reasons. It's consistently around 105/70.

RE: moderator guidelines

What was the biggest change you made that helped you meet this goal?

I used to be 135 kg, or about 300 lbs, almost ten years ago. Weight loss and maintenance at this lower end of around 150 lbs is difficult, and highly individual. I'm mainly motivated because I know my previous high weight has the ability to still impact my health today, even if it's just limited arterial damage. I was morbidly obese throughout primary and high school, so my lifestyle choices in my 20s and 30s will make a significant impact on my health in my 40s and 50s. I want to reverse as much as I can. I personally use CICO and food substitutes with only minimal exercise, but everyone is different.

What is the biggest take away or lesson you learned?

15 lbs hasn't made much of a difference to my appearance, but my health is definitely better for it.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2UBqjx3

I need some inspiration!

Hi, so, this may seem like the wrong sub for this question but as I am trying to turn my life around with weight loss I also want to aim for better things in work too. Problem is, I have NO IDEA what I want to do. At the moment I just work a dead end job in customer service.

I figure I have more time on my hands now that I am not eating so much and concentrating so much on food that I could learn some new skills. I want to distract myself sometimes from just eating and have some other positive goals in my life to work towards too.

Does anyone have any recommendations for skills I could start to learn for minimum cost that could lead to a new career path later on? I am posting this for the benefit of others too as I know diet and food can be all consuming and I hope this helps inspire others to thinks outside of the fridge and see a bigger, brighter future. :)

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I know it's a cliche but my weight loss has changed my life.

So today I stepped on the scale after a month and realised that I have reached past my goal weight, weighting 114 pounds! My original weight was 144 and highest was 155. Goal weight was 115. I have lost that since June of 2018. Honestly losing weight had been the best decision I have ever made. Oh I'm 5'0 btw

1. Weight loss has made me love my body and myself Before I decide to lose weight I was heavily insecure. I hated people looking at me and I couldn't even stand looking in the mirror. I hated myself and thought I was horrid. Come to today I love everything about my body and accepted all my flaws, loving myself for what I am. I know it's weird but I am more way more confident naked and have become a bit narcissistic. I feel waay more confident and love to wear more flattering clothes.

2. My love life has gotten better Improving my body has increased my confidence and with that dating has not been as horrid as it once was. Before I did not want to approach guys and my weight brought a horrible moodly personality which put guys off. Now I am more confident I approach guys and not afraid to flirt. I am more confident with being with someone and express myself.

3. I feel like I can endure anything Loosing weight and managing to get through the difficult times has encouraged me to take on and try new things. I am not longer afraid to try new things and I feel like once I start anything I can carry on and endure it.

4. Losing weight introduced me to my new love- lifting weights Since loosing weight I decided to lift weights to try and gain muscle. I found here my new love. Weightlifting is extremely therapeutic and I love every minute that I'm in the gym. Never thought I would ever say that.

So much has changed in my life since I have decided to lose weight. Although I still have much to improve on I feel like in the last 7 months I have made the most change and have become a better person. I have made so many other improvements and I just wanted to share it with everyone.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2UCF2b1

21 Quick and Easy Appetizers for Parties That Score Big

NSV: my hairdresser suggested I change my style to fit my face shape

Motivation has been low this week. I'm still losing at a steady weight 1lb a week, fairl effortlessly. 7 weeks until my big holiday and 7 weeks until my target. But I'm just so bored of watching what to eat and putting everything in MFP, but at the same time can't bring myself to stop.

Anyway go to my hairdresser today for my usual 6 week trim and she pointed out straight away "wow you've lost weight" "you can see the clothes you wear are smaller and fit better, and your collarbones" (its freezing andim wearing a jumper, how did she see my new collarbones?!). Then I sat in the chair looked in the mirror for the usual "what are we doing today?" chat. I requested the usual tame down of my wild thick hair.

I've always had a bob hair cut since I was 9. Not one to be bothered with faffing with it in the morning and just want it dried after the shower and to get out the door to work. My boyfriend always calls me Karen when I walk through the door with a fresh cut. I've yet to see any managers.

Then my hairdresser says it.. "I don't think I can allow you to cut your hair shorter than this. You have a jaw line now you've never had and the lengths at the front frame it really nicely". Well noones ever discussed what I should or shouldn't have based on my looks before, usually they just cut it. To how I ask. I've been with the lovely Gemma for 4 years now and this is the first time evrn she's suggested it.

Just a random NSV.

I'm still fed up with the weight loss game though. So close to my target and holiday but seems so far away.

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

Body recomp but no weight loss. What should I do going forward?

First post! I'm a lurker but find a lot of good information here.

I'm a bit embarrassed to even post this because I have lost weight in the past just through calorie counting and I have read so much about weight loss but I'm stumped. I would really appreciate any insight.

I am 5'5" and weigh about 190lbs. BMI is over 31. I'm obese! Ideally I'd be 150. Last May I took my first "progress photo" at 190. Two nights ago I took another progress photo.... at 190. I definitely do look better and I have lost inches but I haven't lost a stinkin' pound! I'm super proud of the progress BUT for right now I really do want to drop some pounds as I'm hoping to get pregnant again soon and I don't want to start this high on the scale.

I tried weight training last summer. Took most of the fall off. Didn't count calories until January 1 when I decided to count with the goal of 1 lb/week loss, and going to the gym for primarily cardio 3-4x a week and have done great with that. It's now Feb 2, and the scale hasn't budged.

I typically net about 1400-1750 calories a day, with one day a week closer to 1900. My TDEE is 2100 if I'm being conservative, but 2400 according to my exercise frequency. My fitbit supports the 2400 TDEE number but I try to not put a ton of stock in that.

I had my annual checkup and thyroid is fine, all my numbers are fantastic except for my BMI.

I made sure it wasn't my scale.

Is it possible to plateau from the very beginning? Like not even a water weight drop? Has my body just optimized itself at this weight? I remember when I lost weight a few years ago, I'd see these great whooshes in either direction sometimes. Someone suggested that if I lost weight before solely calorie counting, I should just do that again, but I really do like the benefits of exercise.

So, I'm wondering if I should just keep doing what I'm doing or what exactly I should change up here to see some scale movement. Thank you!

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Downloading MFP data for free

Its a little crazy that MFP keeps your own data behind a paywall. Recently I found a way to get my MFP data (or at least most of it) for free.

All you need to do is to connect MFP to the FitBit app and sync the two. FitBit allows you download your data for free, and by connecting the two apps you transfer most of your MFP data into the FitBit app. Once the data is in FitBit you can go to their website and request to download your data in a .JSON format. You can go here (https://json-csv.com/) to convert those files to .csv or excel files.

Hope this helps other nerds who want to do analysis on their weight loss journey. Its a little convoluted, but it works.

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