Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Saturday, 27 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!

submitted by /u/AutoModerator
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Vx7WgZ

After 12 years of obesity (4-16) I finally took control. My story with a few tips. (Long one so bare with me)

After 12 years of being overweight/obese, at 16 I decided I was old enough to take control of my own life and body.

I was roughly 85-90 kilograms at 16 and 5’3 as a male for some context. I was lucky enough to have a basic home gym just sitting in my garage from my mum so I walked into there one day and started exercising, it really can be that simple to start.

Starting during January of 2017 the first few months I experienced ‘newbie gains’. Which is when someone goes from being sedentary to exercising they both lose fat and gain muscle pretty easily. After the newbie gains wore off I reached a bit of a stalemate due to the fact I was exercising 5 days a week but I also wasn’t eating very well.

So food was a problem for me due to my home situation there is rarely any healthy food in the house. The fix there was to get a part time job working weekends.

This made for a very very very stressful year. 2017 such a stressful year for me with Year 11 for 5 days a week (8-2:30), working the other 2 days a week as a general cook at a Cafe (8-3), prepping and buying my own meals, working out 5 days a week as well as doing assignments and homework I found I had very little time for leisure and even less for a social life.

My typical schedule was 6am start for shower, breakfast, meal prep etc before leaving the house 7am for work or school, return at 4pm to do whatever chores I had for the day. Next was working out 5pm-6pm, after that the rest of my night was usually taken up by dinner at 7pm, homework and assignments before a 10pm bedtime.

This might not sound like a lot to some people and that’s fine but I was 16 at the time and this was a very rough change from just school 5 days a week and being sedentary otherwise. I did have those little breaks of Wednesday’s and Sundays when I didn’t workout but it never felt like much.

So while those last few paragraphs might have been terrifying to some people looking into diet and exercise these next few should be a bit more encouraging.

So while I did have a few days where I just wanted to stay in bed and cry it did get better. After a few months (roughly 2.5) my body got used to the constant activity and strain. I was feeling a lot less tired each day and was enjoying seeing myself losing fat and gaining muscle. Fast forward 6 months later to the end of 2017 and my life changes again as I had decided to spend 2018 in France as an exchange student.

I fell victim to my Host mother’s French cooking and put on 5 kilos in 1 month. With so many roast dinners, barbecues, desserts and pastries I kinda dropped the ball.

Now this time I wasn’t lucky enough to have a home gym readily available nor even a lot of space. I had to start from scratch again. So not to drone on about this but I ended up having to workout in my room with very little space. Pushups in a 3ft by 7 ft space for example. That and exercising a little more control at the dinner table.

So that was pretty much all of 2018 and now 2019 I’m back in my home country of Australia with a much less hectic life than the past two years I now enjoy a comfortable routine on a much better path in life than 16 year old me. After all that I’m still 85kgs however I have lost roughly 25 kilograms of fat, and gaining that back in muscle and height (about 6-7 inches)

This has been a really long post so I’m grateful to all those who put in the effort to make it to the end. I’d love feedback and welcome all questions. To finish it off here are a handful of tips for any aspiring young people looking to make some changes in their life.

1. The first few weeks and months of any new regime is the most critical part as this is the period where many people quit due to fatigue and hunger that comes with it. Self control and willpower are the keys to any successful regime. For those who might need extra help I defiantly recommend starting this with a friend so you can each keep

2. Don’t starve yourself, contrary to popular belief, caloric intake is not the only factor you need to consider when looking at food. If you were to suddenly go from 2k calories to as little at 1k or 500 your body will go into survival mode due to the apparent restriction of food available, this will make it very hard to lose weight and make you more susceptible to weight gain later on as 1000 calories is not sustainable. So my recommendation is to defiantly reduce calories but make sure you are getting the right calories like protein and healthy fats over sugars and carbs.

3. For young people you may not feel like you have much of an option due to your home situation and that’s understandable but as long as you have a 7ft by 7ft open space, and a bit of self control over your eating, you have all you need to start a tough but doable regime for weight loss.

4. My last tip is don’t compare your progress to other people, either by physique or strength. You do you essentially. Your workout buddy might be losing more weight, gaining more muscle or strength faster than you for example and while this can be a wake up call in case you need to shakeup your routine this is typically detrimental or discouraging to see your friend benching more than you when you both started at the same place. Haste makes waste here so just keep doing what works for you.

submitted by /u/QuanWick
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2XR848O

[Daily Directory] Find your quests for the day here! - Saturday, 27 April 2019

Welcome adventurer! Whether you're new on this quest or are towards the end of your journey there should be something below for you.

Daily journal.

• [Q&A] "I have a question."
• [Day 1] "I am starting my weight loss journey."
• [SV/NSV] "I have an accomplishment to share."
• [24hr Pledge] "Today I am going to..."

Interested in some side quests?

• [Motivation Monday] Share some motivation, get some motivation.
• [Tantrum Tuesday] Need to vent? People getting on your nerves?
• [Weigh-In Wednesday]
• [Track with Me Thursday] Did we just become best friends?!
• [Free Talk Friday] What's on your mind?

Community bulletin board!

• [Running with Loseit] Run with losers. Avoid arrows.
• [Maintenance Monday] Lost it? Work on keeping it.
• [Wecipe Wednesday] Swap and discuss recipies!

If you are new to the sub, click here for our posting guidelines

---

submitted by /u/AutoModerator
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2W6MhJr

I use to weigh over 600lbs. Here is some help to get started

https://imgur.com/gallery/zCRLCse

I'm posting a collage to go along with this so you get a real understanding of what I'm trying to say and how much I changed myself.

Im "celebrating" my 11 year anniversary this month and I thought maybe it would be a good idea to share some things I've learned and experienced along the way.

I use to be BIG. Really big. Heck, by most standards I still am big but 11 years ago I was giant.

Few stats: Height: 6'3" Age when I started: 20 Current age: 31 Biggest weight: well over 600lbs...not 100% sure, the highest weight I ever saw with my own eyes was 620lbs when I stepped on the scale at a recycling yard (place you bring cans to recycle). I got bigger after that. Seeing the weight kind of depressed me and I avoided scales and mirrors and pictures for a long time. Biggest sized shirt I owned and wore regularly? 8XL. Largest shorts? 72 and very elastic so they grew waaaay bigger. Lowest weight: 210lbs Current weight: 250lbs

Glad that's out of the way because this is where I wanted to get into the nuts and bolts of what I've learned over the last 11 years and although everyone can gain something from what I have to say I really want to try and reach other BIG people and hopefully give them a nudge they may need.

The first step is always the hardest. Boring, I know, but I'll be damned if it isn't true. Procrastinating on losing weight isn't just dumb it can be dangerous. I like to think of it like this: every step you take, every minute you go out and walk is a deposit you are making into your Bank of Life. Look at it like a retirement account but for your own happiness and life experience. I went at it HARD when I started out. I walked every day of my life, rain or shine, through rashes and sores, through happy and sad. 2 to 3 hours a day of just walking (I didn't have the physical ability to do much else). That year I deposited so much into my Bank of Life that I will be living off the interest for years to come. I pushed myself, deposited more and more until it hurt.

But this isn't what you want to hear. Reading about me walking everyday isnt going to push you over the edge. I know it isn't. I've read enough weight loss stories to know your eyes are glossing over at the sight of this verbal montage. You dont want to hear how I gave up going to eat with my friends every chance I could to break my social eating habits. How I broke my own cycle of looking for food when I was bored. That shit is hard, which makes it unappetizing and scary. Change is scary.

Maybe a different tactics then? Perhaps I can tell you how amazing it is to be thin--and yes, it is fucking amazing. You know those day dreams you find yourself slipping into almost weekly? Where you dream about being the athletic version of yourself, enjoying life and conquering everything life has to throw at you? I do too. I use to waste my days away with video games and day dreams of exactly that....and then I would see myself in the mirror and think "who am I kidding...." and proceed to eat until I forgot about my dreams.

If you really, and I mean truly have the fire in your belly to lose weight, then it's time to be brutally honest with yourself. When you see yourself and you dont like the person looking back it's time to break the old you down and build from the ground up.

Want some good news? It is NOT that hard. You've been alive for some time now, yes? You have lived many simple days where you wake up and then at the end of the day you went to bed, right? Guess what, none of that changes. If you have a hundred pounds or more to lose it can seem like a mountain that dwarfs Everest. How in the literal fuck do I even start this kind of a climb? Like everything else: take it one day at a time. One small decision at a time. Next time you find yourself opening the fridge because you are bored I challenge you to use critical thinking in that moment. If you have enough time to look in the fridge because you are bored then you have enough time to do a walk around the block. Seriously, every small walk is another deposit into your bank and when you start realizing food isnt your best friend and getting out and being active feels as good as everyone says, you will become hooked.

I've read that it takes between 20 and 30 days to build a habit. If getting to your "goal weight" feels like it's simply impossible, no way, can't do it. Then challenge yourself to try one healthy thing for 25 days. I'm not kidding, you wont feel normal without that healthy thing in your life after that point. You will crave it and seek it out like it is a drug.

If you are still in your infantsie of your weight loss then I personally think its premature for me to tell you to push yourself hard. Obviously I WANT to tell you that but it can again be very off putting and have the reverse of my desired affect which is to get you started. Dont worry about pushing yourself very hard in the beginning. If you do something small everyday like walking and keep at it then just like a drug soon it wont be enough. You will want to go for longer walks and you will want to push yourself harder, it will happen naturally. To me, what's more important than pushing yourself hard at the beginning is becoming curious about what your are doing and educate yourself.

When was the last time you checked out the nutrition facts on the back of that box of crunchy berries you love so much? Not recently I imagine. Open your eyes to the world around you. Read and educate yourself on what exactly you are putting in your body. Do you think those cereal brands or soda companies give a crap about you as an individual? Why would they? That's your job! Start having your own back and treat yourself like you deserve to be treated. You are your best ally in this whole thing so be trustworthy and reliable. No one on earth will care about you as much as you need to start caring about yourself. Your mother and father love you, your brothers and sisters love you, your husband or wife love you but none of them can physically be there and be the solid foundation that you need. That foundation has to come from inside. At the end of everyday every person you know has shit they are dealing with and they go to bed thinking about their lives. You will go to bed and will only have yourself to answer to if you decide to sell yourself short.

This all sounds large in scale and hard to do but it's not. Take it one day at a time.

After you read this massive wall of text take a look around you and think of one thing you want to improve and do it. Self improvement leads to more self improvement so if going out for exercise scares you start small. Clean that dumb you call a room. Wash that rolling turd you call a car. Shave, comb your hair, fly a kite, do SOMETHING that isn't just being lazy.

Great things happen when you open yourself up to the world and put yourself out there and I am proof. I deposited so much into my Bank of Life that when I finally started cashing out magical things happened. Every day began to feel like I was living in the happiest dream my mind could make up. I learned how to work with my hands. I learned what a really honest hard earned dollar feels like and I learned what it means to grow up and become a man.

I put myself out there and pushed myself out of my comfort zone every chance I could and the world replayed me with the love of my life. I found my soul mate (the unforgivably beautiful woman in the pictures with me) and we got married. Guess where we met? The gym. The exact place I wouldn't have been caught dead if I hadn't started my weight loss journey.

Start making the small changes today. You really have no idea what is in store for you but trust me, you will be happy you made the change.

I'll make another post soon yo go over what to expect when you finally do lose the weight (I'm looking at you, extra skin) and I'll give you helpful insights on all of it.

Also, I know some of you will have questions about how I lost the weight so here is a link to the AMA I did 7 years ago, chances are I answered your question there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/p0t27/ive_lost_360lbs_on_my_own_and_i_would_love_to/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

TLDR; there is no tldr for this. If that wall of text is too much for you then you aren't ready to change.

submitted by /u/weakjuice
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2UYZM1n

Today was rough. Fat shaming myself. When you feel you made it then you look in the mirror.

Today I had Some hard feelings I want to talk about. I started my weight loss journey January 2, 2017. I weighed 315 pounds, I was mortified I had weighed myself in years and let my work in college stress build up on my body. I got started on keto last year and it straight for five months losing a total of 55 pounds or so. I ended out my keto session for that year at 253lbs. I was very proud of myself and happy with my body at that time feeling much thinner and much more confident. Since then I have fluctuated in with going up and down and going in and out of the keto diet and exercise. I started this year at 273 LB’s and have now dropped down to 260/258.I didn’t mind the extra weight above the 253 because I felt as though I’ve been working out heavily and was feeling stronger like I put on more muscle. I was feeling good my shirts feel like they were feeling better and I was about ready for summer. (I know 253 is by no means thin but I am a 6 foot tall male with broad shoulders and I am told I carry weight just fine for my body type). I’m getting married in late June and have been doing low-carb/insanity workouts now for two weeks.

WHERE IT HIT ME TODAY. Today I took my shirt off to look at my form in an exercise mirror while I did insanity. I was mortified by my own appearance. The feeling of confidence enough to take my shirt off and exercise set me up for a big danger of shame. And I let myself fall right into the trap. I struggle with my weight and feeling fat and ugly all my life. I really started thinking about how I feel undesirable sexually. I’ve never had a hard time getting a girlfriend but I have had girlfriends leave me because of my weight. It’s starting to really get to me because I’ve been working so hard. I know nothing comes quickly but I want to at least feel confident in my wedding.I finished my work out and I feel a little better. But that feelingOf confidence to take my shirt off swiftly followed by the shame of seeing my belly hanging over the top of my shorts killed me a little bit today. I’m not much of a regular but today had me feeling the way that I feel like I need to tell somebody and I don’t think that my very thin fiancé would understand. My weight is the one thing I would really love to change about myself. I feel like I’m a catch all the other ways I have a good education I have a good job, I’m funny and friendly and everyone says I’m a nice guy. I just want to be sexy. It hit me hard today feeling like I haven’t made it anywhere. Sometimes I worry that because others in the past have left me due to my weight that my future wife will leave me because of my weight

submitted by /u/chumlee45
[link] [comments]

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

Beginning weight loss: confused and discouraged by diets.

Hi everyone!

​

I just recently began my weight loss journey. I had physically active jobs for the majority of the past five years, so while I wasn't at an ideal weight, I was still somewhat happy with my appearance. I changed to a desk job a year ago and gained almost 15 lbs. I'm extremely unhappy with my appearance, so I began going to the gym 3-5 days per week. I haven't seen any results in the month I've been going, but I know that it's because of my eating habits. About a week ago I started drastically cutting desserts, and the past couple of days I tried out a pseudo 16:8 fast (I still drink my coffee in the morning) which I found to be manageable, but now I'm stressing hard about the food I eat during those eight hours.

I wanted to try the Keto diet because of all of the success I've heard people having on it, but I don't honestly want to change my eating that drastically. It can also get pretty expensive! However, I've found myself obsessing over the amount of carbs I eat and feeling extreme guilt for eating a small serving of something with sugar in it. I feel like all of my work will be for nothing if I don't follow a strict diet. I've tried to make better eating decisions and keep my caloric intake around 1400-1600. Does anyone have any advice or experience to calm my fears a little bit?

submitted by /u/Orange_Penguin
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2WcbC4U

A science-backed guide for working out while sick

What do you do with your workout routine when you’re under the weather? Are you someone who ignores the symptoms to crank out your daily workout at all costs? Maybe you’re they type who ghosts your workout partner at the slightest hint of a stuffy nose? 

What if neither approach is optimal? 

from Life Time Weight Loss Blog http://bit.ly/2J0b1zl