Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Is Pre-workout helpful or safe for weight loss?

Hey guys, I'll keep it short and sweet. I've lost 35lbs since January with the hopes of losing another 30-35 before I'm satisfied. I'm keeping on top of my diet, and I'm doing 25 minutes a night on an elliptical trainer to try to get in shape.

Here's where my question is relevant. Some days I get on the elliptical and I can smash through it no worries, and other days by the 10 minute mark my legs are stuffed and I'm struggling a bit. I'm assuming it's got to do with what I've eaten that day even though every day during the week I eat the exact same for lunch (salad with some meat)

So, keeping in mind my primary goal is to lose weight, gaining some muscle is a definite bonus but not number 1 on the list, would a pre-workout powder be beneficial for when I'm on my elliptical?

Thankyou 😁

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2IPNn9H

A different type of hair loss question

I know this topic comes up like every few weeks in here. I already know about telogen effluvium, and I have just started taking the necessary vitamins - and making sure my calories aren't TOO low. I actually set MFP to losing just 1 lb a week (1600-1700 calories a day, plus exercise calories) just to be sure. My protein is 80-100 grams a day, so that's good too.

But I have a couple other questions concerning hair loss, for those who have experienced it too.

  1. If you get it easily just from dieting/losing fat, will you pretty much deal with it until you reach maintenance? I am really hoping not, because I have another 85 lbs to go. That could take over a year at the rate I'm going. I will be bald by then!
  2. Has anyone seen it kind of start and stop, then start again? I first got TE in early 2018 when doing Keto. I lost FAST. Like 20-30 lbs in 2 months, completely just by doing Keto and my calories were way too low.. between 1,000 and 1,200 and I was over 250 lbs. SO that part makes sense. Over the last year or so, the hair loss kind of slows down, seems to get better, then comes back bad. Then goes away again after several months, then comes back bad. Has anyone else noticed this?
  3. When you started losing hair, did you notice your hair texture also change? It seemed like when this started happening, my hair completely changed. It is limp, dull, dry, and no longer curly. I used to have spiral curly hair, now it's barely waves. It just seems connected somehow?

I should mention I was NOT taking my vitamins properly until like the last week, so I wasn't really doing much to help it. I was just yo-yo dieting a lot and stressing over losing my hair basically.

I am totally fine with a lot of the side effects of weight loss, including the loose skin. But the hair loss is seriously stressing me out - even if it turns out to be temporary.

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Renewing Motivation During Finals Week

*this is so long I’m so sorry lol*

I've literally lurked on this sub for so long and it's been incredibly helpful so far, and I love reading about everyone's journey, so I thought I'd share mine in an attempt to stop being such a fuckup and keep up with my goals, so here it is.

On January 27th 2019, I was 179 pounds, and I’m 5’3, so it freaked me the fuck out. I was never like a ~skinny legend~ but I’ve always wanted to be. Thinking about dieting always made me exhausted (because I didn’t know about CICO and thought I had to eat leaves, bland chicken, and then, maybe if I’m lucky, a single strawberry as a treat, so basically I was dumb lol) and I never had to worry about exercise because I played sports in high school, and my coaches always kicked my ass, so I never had to do it myself. Then college started and 4 nights a week of vodka, chasers, pizza, and ice cream (love you 24/7 dining hall) had me gaining the freshman 15, and the sophomore 15, which put me at a cool 30ish. Yikes.

This is so vain but I was like really really over the way I looked. All my friends are so tiny and they’d always assure me like “oh you look fine, you look great” and it kinda placated me into not really doing anything about my weight because apparently I looked fine, carried the weight well, and fit into mediums (which by the way, after looking at pictures, I absolutely didn’t, like sis get a larger size plz) But I knew something was off, I’m 20 and I want to be in the best health as I can for as long as I can, and I also wanna flex, ya know.

So after realizing how much I weighed and deciding enough was enough, I went cold-turkey, balls to the wall, hard af on weight loss, started running for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week, sticking to 1200 calories a day (mostly healthy foods, some def not, but all good) and now I’m down 30 pounds at 149. Which would be great, as I’m 9 pounds away from my first goal of being a healthy weight (my final goal is 115 which I haven't been since junior high but i'm dyin to get there).

But. It’s finals week. I have 3 papers due (and yet here I am lmao) and I ate 500 calories worth of Hot Cheetos today because I really don’t wanna write these papers and I’m so stressed. After I stress-ate the Cheetos, I got off my ass and did my usual run (that I’ve skipped for the last 4 days because of work which is also stressing me out) and I need to stay motivated to not use finals week stress as a reason to slide back down into my old habits because those sucked and they’re a trap. I’m scared once I stop being conscious of what I’m eating and start indulging too much, I’m gonna lose all my motivation. So if anyone has any advice on dealing w this please lmk because god do I want to just lay on a coach and hibernate for a year. Thanks and ily all so much :)

TLDR because this is a literal novel oh my god: I'm down 30 pounds at 149 from 179, but finals week is killing me and i need tips to stay motivated!

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

Its my one year CICO-versary :D

(insert obligatory mobile formatting apology here)

On May 1st, 2018, I decided to officially take control of my life after being overweight-obese, most of my life, and after reading this and other weightloss/ health subs, I made my first food diary entry (MFP, but have since moved to other apps that suit me better)

I was a hefty 67kg/147lbs, 4”11’, very sick and tired and sedentary 18-year-old, with a few sensory/digestive and mental health issues, with obesity related problems not far from my future. My relationship with food seemed to be all or nothing- if left to my own devices I would cycle through times of binge & restrict.

I decided to track my food intake, started to eat cleaner, eliminating foods that caused me issues and finding a plethora of ones that didn’t. I stopped forcing myself to eat in the morning, stopped snacking later in the day, so I was fasting 16, then 18, then 20+ hours. I started walking in the morning first for about 30min a day, but slowly increased that to almost 2 hours.

It honestly didnt completely start out soley as a weight loss thing for me, but rather a complete health upheaval, which I think was paramount in my success.

Today, May 1st 2019, I have since lost 24kg/52lbs, and have been maintaining for a couple of months!!! I walk over 10k steps every day, have probably seen more sun in the past 6 months than I have for the past 6 years, and I sleep so much better now. I have also gone vegetarian and 75% plant based, cooking and prepping proper meals every day- eating the food I have come to truly love and also doesn’t make me feel sick! I still treat myself often of course (kind of have to now in order to hit my maintainance calories), but now I know how to not go overboard, how to keep my body and mind happy, how to not think of food as punishment or reward, but rather as fuel.

I’ve learned so much about myself. I’ve discovered that while I despise maths, I love data and calculations (as long as I don’t have to do it myself- I adore spreadsheets), which I think will be very helpful in the coming years of maintenance. I used to think I was nocturnal, but now I love the early morning!! I guess waking up and getting out of bed and being productive isnt a chore when you dont feel so heavy and bloated and sluggish constantly?

Tracking food isn’t a hinderance like I thought it would be, it's almost a hobby now, one that improved my mental health and wellbeing!!

I still have a lot of things to work on, mentally I know I still struggle with anxiety and depression- no amount of weight loss or vegetables will fix that completely- but I am ready to try and get better. I do mourn the youth I feel I missed out on sometimes, being so shut in and insecure and unhealthy, but I’m trying to focus on the future now instead.

I’m rambling- anyway, Thank you r/loseit, I’ve learned so much from all of you!! I honestly couldn’t have done it without all your guidance :D

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2IX1iLl

Sustainable Weight Loss

SW: 262 CW: 252 GW: 175 Age: 29 Sex: Male

Hello all, I am looking for some guidance or advice. Having failed or relapsed at my other weight loss attempts, I want to try and be smart about this process. I started 10 days ago. I am doing a 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule, as well as tracking calories in MFP. My BMR/TDEE are around 2,400 calories, and I have been attempting to be active everyday (weight training, gym cardio, or at least a walk after dinner). I have been consuming ~1,400-1,800 calories a day, while buring ~800 active calories as per my Apple Watch.

I believe I have a good plan in place, and am highly focused and motivated to get fit and healthy. I have two key questions:

  1. Is my caloric deficit too low? I've read conflicting information online, but as of now, my stance is that I have so much fat reserves on my body that this will not be an issue. Also, I am weight training a bit and attempting to get close to 100-130 G protein a day to help at least maintain muscle mass to help keep my metabolism up.
  2. Whenever I do get to my goal (assuming this current regimen gets me there), what can I do to minimize/eliminate any Yo-Yo effect? Is there anything I can implement now to help with that? I realize with my reduce caloric intake, that if I revert back to what I was doing before, I will surely gain weight. But if I consume whatever my BMR is at that juncture, even if it is higher than what I am consuming now, will that result in maintenance or weight gain?

TL:DR In the process of lossing weight using a combination of intermittent fasting + CICO + Basic gym activity, want to know if my caloric deficit is too low and could have adverse affects, either during my weight loss, or once I reach my goal.

Thanks to everyone who posts on this sub and some of the other subs revolving around health and fitness. You guys rock and are a huge part of my current motivation to get healthy and fit!

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Vuafl9

Lost 5LBS in a week... after 6+ years! (kinda long.)

New to this subreddit, not so new to weight loss. Also sorry for the formatting, I’m on mobile and I’m still trying to get the hang of things here on this subreddit.

I just want to start off and say that all the posts on this page are so uplifting and motivating! I like checking in every morning to read what people have posted and it makes me so happy to see people post their Victories and their Struggles. This post might be lengthy and it's a preface to my weightloss struggles.... and I never really had a place to share it with people until finding this subreddit. So bare with me..

I’ve been overweight my whole life. I’m a 23 y/o female, currently weighing 260lbs, at a height of 5’1. I’m like a little ball of jiggly dough. Ever since I could remember, from back in first grade, my moms put me on so many diets and tried to maintain my weight. I would fluctuate and it just drove me NUTS! Even during middle school, as I would go about my day, I was really self-conscious with how I looked and how I ate.

While in high school, my senior year, I weight weight at 220 pounds. After the first semester, I realized that prom season was around the corner and I didn't want to look like those "other" girls (The theater kids, as they would call them back when I was in high school) in unflattering dresses. I was in denial but at the same time I was freaking out because I didn't want to look ugly for my prom. So I went gluten free, no-white all-browns, and cut out any and all fast food options, and snacked on a ton of trader joe's snacks and tried keeping a food journal. I hired a personal trainer and we did cross-fit and mild weight training coupled with hikes and jogs. I had picked out a dress back in March and when it was mid-April I was down x many dress sizes. By the time prom rolled around, I had reached a weight of 170lbs and I was at my thinnest at the time. For me, it was such a huge accomplishment! I had lost 50lbs through diet and exercise, 6 dress sizes and I had to get my entire outfit tailored down! I was so happy and so proud of myself! When the year ended and I graduated, only then did my parents break the news, over a month after it had happened, that my grandmother had passed away. She and I were so close and honestly, it left me in ruins. I went back to the motherland that summer and it went all downhill from there. I enrolled in community college and that's when I was hit with freshmen 30... or so I thought.

To add to all of this, I developed a ravenous palate. I became a total foodie-- a food junkie. I craved rich, flavorful foods. I loved exploring different cuisines, which led me to eat out even more. I was in college! I had freedom! I had a credit card so that meant spending, spending, spending.. on what? On food! My dad joked that I would quit and take up professional cooking because of how much I loved food. And as my love for food grew, so did my stomach. Slowly but surely, I gained half my weight back. After transferring to a 4-year, I gained the rest of my weight back plus another 10lbs, pushing me over how much I weighed in high school. It's my last semester in college, and lately, I've started to hate taking pictures with friends, I refuse to take pictures, and I hate going shopping.

It's been like this since last summer. I went abroad last summer and it forced me to walk for miles, which helped me lose some water weight. But I was still the round, jiggly ball of dough. When I came back, I had learned to eat smaller portions, but that all went away when I was eating my favorite foods back in the states. Finally, last week, on April 22nd, after weeks of deliberation, I decided to join Jenny Craig, and that's where I learned about calorie count and smaller portion sizes. Back in high school, I would eat up to 2000 calories because I was working out intensely. I stopped working out but kept eating and it pushed me over the edge. When I joined Jenny Craig, I weighed my heaviest ever. 265.5 pounds.

I was so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I cried for days on end, seeing how much I let myself go. I vowed that I would never join a diet program but my biggest fear came true and I was so disappointed with myself. Not only that, being a bored-eater and a foodie, I mourned the fact that I couldn't eat the rich foods that I loved eating. Pad Thai? AYCE KBBQ? Burgers? Pasta? Traditional food? I actually cried over food. And I felt so much shame and embarrassment... I was scaring myself. The fact I was so attached to food scared me. So I went and I joined JC, with much reluctance. After being on Jenny Craig for over a week, I've lost 5 pounds, and honestly, when the consultant weighed me, I was so scared to look at the scale. Then she said I lost 5lbs, and honestly, I started crying. Being on JC and the foods, it was like torture for me. I cried the first day and the second day. But I could feel my body was adapting to the different eating times and the different intake of calories. They put me on a 1500 calorie diet and at first I was miserable. To top it all off, I'm only supposed to eat with they provide for me. Which I totally understand... after awhile I started getting used to it and I'm so happy to have stuck to it because it's my second week, and after hearing that I've lost 5lbs, it's become my little motivation. I've noticed that I have a little pep in my step.

I just wanted to share this with people and make it a little victory post. After 6+ years, I'm finally working towards shedding the weight. And honestly, despite still feeling the shame, I'm hoping that by the time I graduate, I will feel a bit more confident and comfortable with myself so that when I walk the stage to receive my diploma, I'll be happier and healthier than where I started off mid April.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2J64hQw

I feel like I can't tell anyone about my weight loss aims because of my cousin's anorexia plus other ramblings

TLDR: cousin has anorexia so I can't tell my family I want to lose weight and the primary reason I'm losing weight is to look good in some photos, the secondary reason right now is so that I can participate in a triathlon.

My cousin had and still suffers from extreme anorexia, which means that my entire family is very aware of food and dieting and over exercising which is what they did. Because of their struggles with their anorexia I feel like I can't talk about my aims to lose weight and get to a point where I look and feel fit and healthy.

My cousin isn't my biological cousin (our families adopted each other because our actual families live very far away) so we have very different body types and genetics, which means that my cousin and their family are all very skinny which made their anorexia so much worse. My family on the other hand is not naturally skinny and we have to work hard on our food consumption and exercise. Which makes my progress towards weight loss just that bit harder.

A few weeks ago I found out that I am being presented with a major award on the 13th of May where I am required to wear Scout uniform. So I decided that I had to really try and lose some of my extra weight so I could look good in the uniform and all of the pictures that go with this process. So I ramped up my cardio and asked a friend who is a gym buff to show me how all the equipment works, but every time I try and talk about it with anyone, including my gym buff brother, I get turned away or treated badly because of my reasons for losing this weight, and the assumption that I will just gain it all back once it's over.

I have no intention of gaining the weight back because I have discovered a new enjoyment of running, and am seriously considering doing triathlons which is something my stepfather did. I just can't tell anyone that I want to and am training for a triathlon because I haven't picked a specific one to do, and at the moment all I'm training for is "a triathlon"

I've gone from 75kg down to about 71 kg in about 3 weeks mostly by seriously increasing the exercise I do and not allowing myself to quit once I'm bored or tired and also realising that I'm not hungry I'm just bored! (Also I got stomach flu and so I'm completely empty of food!)

Thank you for reading my ramblings. I would love for y'all to be my MFP friends you can add me at mhzking (same as this username)

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