Bad habits. One at a time or all at once?

I have been working on weight loss and regaining my health, both mentally and physically. I have worked really hard at the nutrition piece and the exercise piece by slowly integrating good habits into my life and I have been doing well with this. Weight loss isn't huge but I'm okay with that because I know that I am doing this by introducing the lifestyle change and not a diet. Drinking has been a huge hiccup in my progress and I have cut that down significantly. I want to cut it back down more. Like perhaps not drinking at all. I have some concerns with this as my husband is a big drinker and my friends are drinkers and I feel like it would change the relationship between us. I'm also a very heavy smoker. I have been wanting to quit for a long time but I don't for the same reasons. All my friends and my husband are smokers and it's a social thing. I am also terrified that I'm going to gain weight if I quit. I am getting to the point though that these bad habits need to go. I feel better because I'm eating better and exercising but I want to live the whole healthy lifestyle. How can I tell people I believe in healthy living with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other?

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Basically, my question is - is it easier to jump into a healthy lifestyle with both feet or tackle one thing at a time? I don't want to set myself up to fail by giving up too much at once but these two bad habits also go hand in hand with each other.

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Please be careful with calorie restriction!

Hi everyone. This is my first post here, and I just wanted to say please prioritize your health over fast weight loss. Having fast results isn’t worth it when you jeopardize your health by consuming inadequate amounts of nutrients and calories that your body NEEDS.

I learned it the hard way today. For context, I’m 5’2 and weigh 110 lbs. Prom is coming up next month and I believe I got a little desperate. Yesterday, I restricted my calorie intake to about 750, with a net of 600 after some exercise. Early this morning before I left the house, I had a couple of stomach cramps and slight nausea, but I just shrugged it off since it’s normal for me every now and then. However, while waiting at my bus stop, I suddenly became dizzy and extremely nauseous, and my vision blurred (lasted close to 20 mins). I was close to fainting. I ended up at the doctor’s office for low blood pressure and am seeing a cardiologist soon.

It’s not worth it. Take it slowly and be kind to yourself.

tl/dr: Please lose weight gradually and don’t go too low with calories because you’re putting your health at risk.

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I guess I'm... confused on how losing works?

Hello, I am a 6'3 311lb guy with a body type that is just naturally heavy, large, and muscular. However, I do have quite a bit of fat that I am looking to get rid of. I am healthy otherwise, I can function normally and have no weight-related diseases. I have a long history of swimming for sport, and weight lifting as well. I recently signed up for a gym, and have already gotten into the habit of going consistently. I practice competitive swimming for an hour, 4 days a week, and do strength training 2 days a week. That sounds good for me, but I am concerned about my food intake.

I have a very high protein diet, decently high carb intake, and I drink a ton of water. I use MyFitnessPal and only eat roughly 1500-1700 calories a day through 3 meals. And I never feel like I under eat. Most of the stuff I eat composes of fruits, meats, cheeses, eggs, and bread. Almost everything is homemade. I get 8hrs of sleep every night and go to the gym at the same time every day.

With all this, I feel like I am lacking somewhere that is preventing me from losing weight. I understand that in order to lose weight I need to meet a caloric deficit, but I didn't quite understand how those work. That can't mean I need to work out enough to lose more calories than I intake, right? That sounds vastly more difficult and unhealthy than it probably should be. I have been attending the gym for 2 months and have not seen any change in my body or weight. I understand that muscle weighs more than fat, so the lack of weight loss makes sense at the moment. However, I still don't see a change in my body.

So, I need to ask:

Do I need to overhaul my diet? Am I not eating enough? Eating too much? Is my workout plan a sham? Do I need to burn more calories? Do I just need to give it more time? I do not know what is missing from my life atm that should prevent me from losing weight properly. Any insight would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

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Instant regret in telling my mom about my weight loss goals

I've so far lost like 8 pounds and considering I've only been at this for a few weeks, I'm feeling pretty great about myself! But, that being said, I've really only been talking to two of my friends about how ultimately I'm making a focused effort to lose weight.

Last week, however, I was forced to tell my mom (who I tend to keep on an info diet anyway after some less than supportive reactions shes had). I had to tell her because my goal reward for losing 50 pounds is a breast reduction, and I had to check if that was still something she was willing to help me with, or else it cannot be my goal.

Immediately after telling her, she starts asking if I've looked into "tapping" (I havent, but from what she said it sounds like a pressure point/meditation thing to motivate you to lose weight, reduce hunger, etc. Sounds like pseudoscience and a lose weight quick scheme and I'd rather just stick with my lifestyle changes). I listened without giving much input and said I'd look into it, not at all intending to do that.

This week I pick her up and she starts commenting on my weight loss. "You can really tell in your face!" And "have you been keeping your step count up?" I'm not working on my step count yet, I'm doing baby steps and altering my diet first. I told her as much. "Well you can really tell you've lost weight!"

And on one hand, it was really nice of her to compliment me on my hard work. On the other hand, though, this is why I didnt want to tell her. Obviously people will start to notice (it is already a noticeable difference) but I dont want people to think that commenting on my weight at any size is appropriate. I've been obsessing over the face comment and now need to make a concentrated effort to keep my calories low, but not starvation low. I also dont want unsolicited advice. I'm figuring out what works for me, and having to deal with other peoples suggestions is not helpful, especially when they want to sell me something.

I did send her a text asking her not to tell people I'm dieting (especially because technically I'm NOT dieting, just eating until I'm satisfied rather than gorged) and she was very receptive to it, but this makes me nervous for the future. Why cant people get that this is a personal thing and none of their business? Tell me I look great and leave it at that.

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Reminder: There is no shame in starting over after regressing.

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

Over the past two and a half years I've (36M) been on a weight loss journey. My starting weight was 306 lbs and my lowest was 248 lbs. Notice I said was, because my current weight is around 260. I'll talk about that in a second.

My journey began with me just being sick and tired of feeling terrible about myself and being out of breath all the time. And my profession is such that I'm in front of people speaking all the time. So I was always self-conscious about my weight and wondering what people were thinking about the fat guy on stage.

So one day I said enough is enough. I started counting my calories, making healthier food choices, and most importantly for me, I started the Couch to 5k program C25K INFO Week 1 Day 1, I could barely jog 60 seconds. It sucked, but it also felt great. Over the following months I ended up finishing the program and moving on from 5k to 10k. I was a running fool. And I dropped a ton of weight pretty quick - not quite 60 lbs. I found that my running made me want to eat healthier. And I found that the food I ate dramatically affected my runs.

And my peak I was jogging about an hour without stopping. An hour, WTF. I was a bit obsessed - so I cut back and just started jogging a few 5k's a week around my neighborhood or on a treadmill.

But over the past few months I've regressed significantly and have gained a bit of weight, 12 lbs. I've stopped counting calories and running has become less frequent.

One of the most difficult things I've had to do has been to admit to myself that I am not where I was a few months back, and that's OK.

Because if you're anything like me, those type of thoughts become the reason why I wouldn't exercise. It's depressing to realize that I've lost ground. That I've gained weight. That I can't run as far. And to start back up would be to remind myself of that fact every time I step on the scale or am out of breath after a few minutes of jogging.

But last week I said screw it. I started C25K back up. Yes, I'm had start back on Week 3. No, I can't run a 5k right now. Yes, I'm fatter and running is more difficult. But if I let that because the excuse as to why I won't run now, that would be the ultimate failure.

Anyway, I'm writing to remind myself and perhaps encourage you if you've regressed. Don't let that be the reason that you don't start from where you're at and continue on the journey.

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Maintenance Monday: The Weight Trap

The main challenge of obesity treatment is not weight loss, but long-term weight loss maintenance. ¹

Oh, that sounds daunting to begin today's thread with. I don't mean to be so glass-half-empty, I'm sorry. But in the past I've been reading up on the particular challenges of maintenance, so I can recognize them when I eventually come across them.

So, what are your biggest traps? I'm a Slight Slacker myself - I'll forget to log just this one cookie, or won't be in the mood to weight that mayonnaise - this is what 15g looks like right?, and damnit I've earned the non-diet gouda just this once. I'm not prone to go on a big binge, but I'm definitely able to graze my way to obesity. So that's a trap I have to look out for.

Anyway, enough about me, how about yous? What's your Maintenance Trap?

But first, let's fill our glass up again:

long-term weight loss is possible¹

There. That's that over and done with.

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Anything else on your mind pertaining maintenance? Is your diet going effortlessly, or have the last few weeks been more of a struggle? All questions, remarks and worries are welcome topics of conversation!

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1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4777230/

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What interesting things have you learned about yourself (psychologically, physically, addiction-wise) since starting this weight loss experiment?

Personally I've learned quite a bit. One great insight was that my alcohol consumption was easy to control by way of abstinence. Nicotine was the same way. I learned that I overindulge in those things but it is not difficult to stop if done cold turkey (that was a welcome surprise because I really had worried about my relationship with alcohol). For some reason I thought I was far more reliant on alcohol than I actually was (after a 13 year relationship with beer, ugh, would have helped to have a little bravery a decade ago but I digress). I realized my relationship with food simply needed structure. I never developed any truly unhealthy habits with food I just did not structure things properly and would eat willy nilly. I'm sure there is a ton that is not coming to me at the moment but it has been a great learning experience.

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