1 year of sustained weight loss efforts! What I learned, lost, and gained! (With pictures!)

First. Pictures

In May 2018, I began this journey again at 182 pounds. At 5’2, this made me obese. I went shopping to buy new jeans as none of my old ones fit. And I couldn't fit into the size 14s from my favorite brand. I was officially plus size. And I knew, sitting in that changing room, that if I went into a store that carried my new size, I was not going to walk that back for a long time, if ever.

This is not the first time I have tried calorie counting to lose weight. But this is the longest I have ever sustained the effort. So, I wanted share with r/loseit what changed for me. It might be long, corny, and full of clichés, but it helps me and if it helps just one other person, that's cool with me.

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good

This is one of my mantras. I say it to myself almost daily. What does it mean in a weight loss scenario?

• Don't let going over your daily calories by a little be an excuse to go over by a lot.

• Don't let going over your daily calories by a lot be an excuse to quit trying.

• Don't let your lack of physical fitness keep you from improving.

• Don't let the scale tell you that you're not doing enough.

• Don't let fear of failure keep you from even trying.

Having small weekly losses is not a small achievement. Committing to maintaining your weight because you don't have the mental energy to lose right now is not the same as giving up. Don't let your ideals of what weight loss is supposed to be keep you from trying.

Time passes all the same

Another mantra. This is one I use when I am questioning my efforts.

• Why bother eating less when the scale isn't moving?

• Why bother running or swimming when both my times and distances are laughable?

• What's the point of all of this if I'm still unhappy with my body?

And the point is, time doesn't stop just because I'm not losing. Time doesn't stop just because I'm not ready to try a half marathon. It doesn't stop because I still don't feel comfortable in crop tops. And as time passes, wouldn't I rather at least be closer to those goals? Even if I don't run a marathon before I'm 30, even if I never have abs, isn't it better to be closer to those goals? If it takes me two years to get to my goal weight, isn't that better than two years spent doing nothing? Or worse, two years spent gaining/losing my training efforts? And the answer is an obvious, loud, absolute YES. So I keep going.

NO ZERO DAYS

Here is the link to the post that gave me this mantra. This ties in pretty closely to my first point. But here are some examples of my non zero days.

• Logging all my food even when I go over.

• Doing, literally, any activity. Dancing alone in my room. Cleaning my entire house. Taking a walk long enough to listen to a podcast.

• Journaling about my days. I can't always escape the spirals, but I can at least write about what triggered them and possibly escape them in the future.

• Having self care days. Doing my nails, hair, putting on lipstick, taking a bath. The point of this journey is not only to be a better version of myself, but to be better to myself.

• Forgiving myself when I mess up. Don't let the small mistakes grow in your mind until you give up. If I do nothing else to put me closer to my goal, I forgive myself. That makes it easier to go on.

And you might think those are all small things. And that's the point. To find small things you can do when the big things feel like too much. I've lost 40 pounds which sounds like a lot. But I lost them one pound at a time.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

This one. Gosh, this one is so hard. Every day, in this subreddit especially, we see people who turned all their habits around and in 6 months, a year, maybe two, they have achieved astounding 100+ pound losses and smashed incredible fitness goals. One of my closest friends, in a year, went from 264 pounds, to running a 50k ultramarathons 90 pounds lighter. He is truly amazing and inspirational.

5 years ago, I first learned to calorie count and began losing weight with a starting weight of 165 and a goal of 120. It should have been easy for me, to lose 45 pounds, right? Well, you remember at the beginning of this story, I was 182 pounds, so no. And sometimes, it's really hard to hear those stories and not let the little voice in the back of your head ask, “why can't you be like that? What's wrong with you for not being able to lose half as much weight in five times the amount of time?”

And this is where my mantra comes in. Comparing yourself to others is just going to suck all the joy out of you. Don't let what someone else accomplished diminish your victories. Go at your own pace and celebrate what you have done. Maybe you could have lost faster, maybe you could have started sooner, maybe you could be trying harder. But you are where you are. And you're closer to your goal today than you were yesterday and tomorrow you'll be closer yet. That's what matters. Take pride in it.

Have a support system you can lean on

This one isn't a mantra. Just a key piece to my puzzle. This is probably the most substantial difference in my journey this time opposed to all the others.

In June of 2018, I discovered the link to the unofficial r/loseit discord. I joined, and in the last 11 months, I have formed real, deep, and meaningful friendships, and helped to curate a community that strives to support each of its members in their weight loss efforts.

I have grown so close to some of these members and had the opportunity to meet several of them this past weekend. I would like to specifically mention u/capitulum, u/MyDogIsGold, and u/spinning_jenny13 for sharing in a wonderful weekend with me.

I would also like to specifically thank u/nukaprincess and u/helicoptercorgimom, who, along with u/capitulum make up the mod team of the aforementioned discord server.

Tl;dr- cheesy platitudes totally work if you work them and having a support system you can rely on is super beneficial to long term success.

ETA- formatting.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Yipk76

Struggling to choose between Keto and a "traditional" diet

I'm 19-years-old, 6 feet(183 cm) , fairly slim(170 lbs/77 kg), and semi-active. Lately, I've started keto because I wanted to get rid of my annoying love handles. And I've noticed the change too as my waistline is getting slimmer as in just a few days I'm able to comfortably fit into old pairs of size 30 pants (was previously a size 32). But, I've also started biking for 2-3 hours a day 4-5 days a week and confused whether or not my weight loss can be attributed to my diet or exercise or both. And also if it's even necessary for me to be in keto if I'm as active as I am right now.

​

Furthermore, A little over a week into this diet and I still feel drained and sluggish. And this sluggish feeling is felt when I go out on bike rides as sometimes I end up not having the energy to complete a ride or making a ride feel long and mentally torturous when it would have otherwise been long and, yet, mildly demanding on my body.

Sometimes, I find even going out or getting out of bed to be even more difficult than it already is. My body feels fatigued when I get up and even after I've eaten my "keto" breakfast which has been consisting of eggs bacon and a whole avocado I still have this feeling of mental and physical fatigue as if my "life force" was drained.

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My main concern:

It's quite a common thing to say that a combination of both diet and exercise can be attributed to overall weight loss. With this, I was wondering if I can still achieve this same effect of weight loss if I stuck to a "Traditional" diet. consisting of all foods, carbs, fats, protein, etc. As opposed to the strictly fat-based diet that is keto.

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And apologies if I'm a bit too vague on my definition of a "traditional" diet. Being specific in my demands isn't a speciality of mine, so if there's something you need me to clear up or specify please ask and I'll respond as quickly as I can.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2JtK1Zt

Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Thursday, 09 May 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/2WyqAlO

8 kilos have been lost so far...

Began my journey on 10th feb. I've been a fat kid since my teenage years, ever since i lost my friends when me & my family moved out. Never really had much support from my family nor do they know much about weight loss. Although it is my fault for letting myself go.

I've lost so much time, potential friends & memories. Never been in a relationship. I still remember not celebrating my 18th birthday.

My mind is not in a good shape but i'm trying to fix it along with my life. One piece at a time.

I've been using CICO along with strength training to lose weight. Its working good so far. Although i haven't worked out for 2 weeks due to exams but i'll start again today.

I've always been self conscious about my body but its getting better.

Edit : i hope you guys are doing well ☺

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

I(23F) am starting my weight loss journey and would love your advice!

I(23F) am starting my journey to lose 80lbs today. I had a baby last July via emergency C section which left me needing a little more recovery time. From my pregnancy itself, I only gained 12 lbs! I was stoked on that! And then after I gave birth- I was still pretty bedridden after such a major surgery. Plus trying to mother a newborn, left me making some pretty careless food choices. The first and most significant to how my weight got so out of control is that I was eating whatever was available whenever I had time. Which turned out to be Taquitos. They were almost effortless. Cheap, easy to throw in the oven, involved very little clean up, and kept me full. After like 3 months of recovery from surgery, I was able to move around without serious pain. My incision was healed, my cervix was closed, my pain was gone and I could finally try and return to some sort of normal after 10 months of pregnancy, a traumatic birth experience and 3 months of awful recovery time.

So then I stepped on the scale. 230 effing pounds. I have never been this heavy in my entire life. I remember being in high school and being 150 pounds and always complaining to my friends that I was fat. Looking back at pictures of myself and the clothes I still have that I can’t even get 1 toe into now, I realize that I wasn’t at all. I was healthy. And happy, even though I complained about my weight a lot. There were more times I would surprise myself with how good I looked than how bad I looked. It’s the opposite now. I can’t remember the last time I looked in a mirror and liked the reflection staring back at me.

So it’s time. For my health. For my son. For my confidence. So I can feel comfortable again. I really miss being comfortable. I really miss the days when I didn’t have back rolls. Having back rolls is uncomfortable, and I want to be comfortable.

So here I am. It’s time. I’m ready. I just have to do it. I refuse to succumb to the feeling of not knowing where to start so therefor not starting anything at all. I’ve downloaded the Noom app and signed up with them for a whopping $58.99 a month(😱). I’m going to also be incorporating CICO and IF. So we’ll see how it goes. I just know that whatever it is I find that works for me, I have to enjoy it. I’ve failed in the past because I do things that I fucking hate doing. Like going to the gym. And eating nothing but broccoli. Nobody should put themselves through only eating broccoli and going to the gym 7 days a week. My mental health really suffered when I tried to force myself through that, so I’m just not even going to go there this time.

Does anyone have any WL advice, tips, or feedback/personal experience using the Noom app? Was it worth the money? Any advice or personal experiences doing CICO + IF?

If you’ve read this far, thank you. I know I’m a scattered mess, but I just want to be a happy and healthy scattered mess!

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2PTTs5A

What should my calorie threshold be?

I am a binge / bordom eater that wants to make a change in my life and start losing weight. I am a 31 year old male that weighs around 450 lbs (last weight in January) and am 6ft 0in. I have downloaded the Lose It! app to count calories as I feel that a CICO diet will work best for me and due to a past injury, exercise will be hard until I am at a more manageable weight (although I do walk when I can to get my steps in as much as possible). My main concern is what the bottom limit for daily calories should be. Lose It! recommends a daily intake of 3,650, but that feels on the high side for weight loss. I feel that if I am going to be hungry, I should have a lower daily calorie threshold, but I don't want to go too low. Does my weight factor into what the bottom is? I see a lot of comments on here saying not to go below 1,500, but I don't know if that is applicable to all body types. Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome. A multivitamin is one of the recommendations I have received, but don't know where to look into what kind to get so any advice on that would also be welcome. Thank you all in advance!

Edit: Forgot to include my age.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2YcRRL6

How do you break away from just plain wanting to eat? (especially when you know you aren't hungry and you're just bored)

My biggest struggle with weight loss always comes down to the fact that even when I know I'm not hungry, I still want to eat.

It's not even emotional or stress driven. I'm just bored and every time I get bored my brain goes straight to food.

I eat plenty of protein (minimum 40% most days). I drink so much water my urine is practically clear. I keep carbs and processed sugars low. I keep crisp veggies around to crunch on. But even eating carrots I could sometimes literally keep going until I feel sick and bloated and gross just because I want something to keep my hands and mouth busy and if I'm not eating I sit there thinking about eating and getting increasingly agitated. It's like addictive thoughts.

Quitting smoking wasn't half this hard.

I really thought with enough time the food obsession would go away but it's been months and months and it hasn't.

I've tried meal prep (so I wouldn't have to "think" about what to eat next), gum, lozenges, mints (so I can keep my mouth busy with lowish calories and not overeating), brushing my teeth between meals (to signal that eating is finished), Sudoku and other kind of brain distraction things, meditation, deep breathing. I just can't break it.

What am I missing?

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