Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Thursday, 11 April 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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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2IqEcLV

Has anyone here ever been told by a therapist (or equivalent, someone educated in that kind of field) that your attempts at weight loss is actually parasuicidal behaviour?

I.E. I'm (supposedly) not intentionally trying to commit suicide but deep down I'm subconsciously thinking about it and that's manifesting in my new motivation to exercise and lose weight - because exercising as much as I'm starting to isn't healthy for a fat person like me.

I got told that yesterday.

Err, no, love. No. There's no suicidal notions anywhere in me. I'm getting my shit together and losing weight precisely so I DON'T die sooner than I should, thanks all the same, whereas if I don't I'll end up getting a bloody heart attack by the time I'm 50. (I'm nearly 40.) NOT exercising is far more suicidal than exercising could ever be for me.

Seriously wtf?

Thankfully this is a friend and not my therapist, else I'd be finding a new one at this point.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Ks8C31

Excited to join work after losing 12kgs postpartum 31F 5'2"

I had a baby girl 6 Months back by C section. I have has weight loss as my resolution every year . The language used to change each year...i want to run a 10k, I want to fit into that jeans, I want to look good during this vacation/ wedding but the goal was always weight loss. I turned 30 and it never happened. Around my 30th birthday, we were trying to have a baby and it had been 6 Months of trying so I told myself that it's the weight that's hindering this (just in my head, had nothing to do with the weight). This was also when I was at my heaviest ever weight of 70kgs. I started keto in December 2018, lost 4 kgs and in January 2018, i found out that I am pregnant. During my pregnancy, I gained 12 kgs and was 78kgs the day i had my baby. Since it was a C section, my doctor advised me to avoid exercise for the first 6 weeks. Post that i started walking a bit and eating healthy and the weight was coming off easily somehow and i got 72kgs in first month. Then my husband got an overseas assignment and postpartum anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks. I started eating a lot and told myself I deserved it because I was breastfeeding. Sweets and pizzas became my go-to and within the next month I was back at 74kgs. Being at home alone with the baby made the anxiety worse. I decided that I needed a distraction and a reason to get out of home. I joined a fitness class and starting going there for an hour everyday. The first month was mainly trying out different workouts and finding what worked for me. They have an app and everything is gamified so you get badges for everything like number of classes, calories, steps etc. All that just got so much fun and first time in life, I went for workouts 5days/week. Second month onwards I started regulating my diet...nothing crazy but just avoiding takeouts and cutting down on sugar. Within 3 months of joining, I am back at 66kgs, which is lower than the weight I started my pregnancy at! I am starting office next week...All my old clothes fit and I feel great. I get surprised at how much energy I have throughout the fitness class. Recently met some co-workers at a friend's house and got so many compliments on how fit I look! All this has helped me so much with my anxiety as well since I diverted all my energy towards the class, making me a much better and happier mom. I hope I will be able to keep the momentum going and reach my goal weight of 57kgs soon!

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

I am failing...please help me regroup

Hi everyone.

I am at my wits ends.

I have been on this weight loss journey for over a year and a half. I started off at 81 kgs and last month hit my lowest weight at 71.7 kgs. I started off eating 1700 calories a day to eating 1500 calories a day, as well as exercising daily (walking 10k daily and lifting weights).

I decided this month to try to cut further to 1350 calories. It was a bad month overall but today weighing myself really punched me in the gut and it sucked to see the scale real 74.2 kgs, nearly 4 pounds gained. I am nowhere near my period and I have noticed my body looks a bit heavier too.

I am gutted. I was hoping to have broken through the 60s FINALLY. Not go backwards. What should I do now? I am thinking of going back to 1500 calories but I feel like I am already set for failure. Maybe it was never meant to be. No matter how hard I tried in any diet in my life, I have never left the 70s and it kills me. Really would appreciate any help.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2KAf0p4

Not sure who to tell this to in my life, so I figure I'd just leave this here.

Everyone in my life is either obese or thin, I'd say only one person is really in the middle ground between that. Of those that are significantly overweight, only one has lost weight, but that only came after surgery and she's actually started to put some back on again. So, while I know people in my life who would be willing to listen, I'm not so sure how much they would understand this. Since I've lurked here for over a year, I figure I would share with anyone willing to read this.

I should probably give some history. I'm a 32 year old, 6 ft tall Male. I've been overweight pretty much my whole life. My highest all time weight was 415 lbs. A few years ago, some friends turned me onto CICO and I had some success dropping down to 360 lbs over the course of a few months, but then I stopped for no particular reason other than the stress of my job at the time made me not care. I put on 20 lbs but maintained my weight of 380 for quite some time. In 2017 I joined my local gym and dropped back down to 360 lbs in just a few weeks, told my cousin and he arranged a weight loss contest. Before the contest I figured I would give myself a last hurrah of eating and climbed back up to 380. Contest lasted 3 months and I dropped down to 320 lbs. I won the contest felt pretty good, but fell off the wagon really hard. The contest ended just before Thanksgiving and I stopped dieting and going to the gym all through the holidays and into the following year. I climbed back up to 360 lbs (this number is a curse on my life). I went back to the gym and got back on my diet 1 year ago today. I went from the scale reading 360.6 lbs to 276.2 lbs this morning. My goal was to lose 100 lbs and I obviously didn't reach that goal because there were days or weeks where I took breaks and the occasional binge eating session (which for me can also have the possibility of lasting a few days). But, 84 lbs lost in a year is nothing to scoff at and I should be proud.

Thing is, I don't really feel all that proud. Is that weird? Has anyone else had a similar experience? I see myself every single day, so when I look at me, I just see the same person I've always seen with the exact same weight problem I've always had. I look the same and feel that nothing has changed. I know things have changed, I record my weight every week, I have the numbers and graphs, I see the scale, I've even gone through my closet and found some new old clothes I can wear and had to replace belts along the way. My favorite coat which hadn't fit me when I bought it to the point I couldn't button it completely is starting to feel a little baggy.

I think not having anyone to talk to or share my experiences with might contribute to this feeling. I internalize all my accomplishments, failures, and hardships whether they be with food, cravings, discipline, bingeing or with working out, frequency/motivation. I have a policy where if no one asks me about my weight loss, I dont talk about it. I feel like it ends up sounding braggy when I talk about my successes and whiney when I talk about my failures. There are people that would ask me about it but then stopped and I don't just offer it up because I think they probably stopped asking for a reason. Others have asked me not to talk about my workouts or diet with them and so I try not to.

I end up telling myself that when I hit certain weights, I'll reward myself with certain foods, but I know that's a bad idea and I end up not rewarding myself because I just put in all that effort, I dont want to screw it up now. That being said though, I do allow myself a cheat day every week or two because I learned from previous dieting failures that depriving myself entirely of the things I want to eat will result in my giving up altogether all over again.

I've been trying to lose weight for more than half my life at this point and maybe I had minor successes, but always ended up failing. Now i ended up taking everything that worked from each attempt, grouped those things together and adjusted the things i failed at to make those things easier to deal with and i think i got to a point where I've been able to make lifestyle changes that i can stick with so that I can maintain my momentum now, and when I'm at a weight I'm comfortable with, maintain that as well.

I know this is a long meandering post, but I felt like I needed to get this off my chest. If you've read this far, just, thank you.

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

I finally beat my husband in the “go to the gym” fight!!!

Im so proud of my self! (28F) 5’6 190lbs. Still clinically obese, but I’m so close to being “over weight”.

For years my 6 pack, muscular , veggie loving, husband has said “you should go to the gym with me”. Which would always start a fight. This argument has been a thorn in our relationship for a long time.

A little while ago I started to casually watching what I ate, and pushing my self to do a physical activity every day , usually swimming, kayaking, or bicycling.

Well today I asked him, if he wanted to go to the gym with me. And he grudgingly said “ok, but i don’t want to be there too long... sometimes you get carried away”.

I cant believe it! Its so funny to me, that he would say that ! I laughed and asked if he ever thought he would say those words... it made us both smile.

Today was a small victory on my weight loss journey

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

Thought I was under 300lbs but my scale was off

So I've posted here before. My last post was about how happy I was to finally be under 300lbs. Turns out my scale had actually been slightly tilted the whole time and I was about 10 lbs heavier than what I thought I was.

I broke down and cried. It was such a hard blow to the progress I had been making for the past couple of months. My fiance talked me down and told me that at least I still lost weight. I had probably just started off at a higher weight than what I had thought.

It turns out that I started at about 328.7 lbs. (Its a good thing I had been taking data this whole time.)

Today I stepped on the scale and I'm at 298.9 lbs. I know that this time my scale isn't lying to me. I'm finally under 300lbs after all of the struggling of the past 3 months.

It was hard going 10lbs back. It was one of the hardest blows I've taken in my many weight loss attempts. So far I've lost about 30lbs. I'm ready for the next 30lbs.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2I9jVLm