Will power and discipline leaking into other facets of my life.

So I have been on my current journey for 10 months now, down 33 lbs. I was thinking today about how much more productive I have been at work and at home lately, and suddenly, it hit me. There is not some magic "motivation fairy" that drops by to bless you with the will to get more done. The same basic skills I've been honing for weight loss are now delightfully spilling into the other facets of my life. The ones that I think are most translational are:

1) Delayed gratification. The same mind muscle is used when I think "save you calories for a snack later" that says, "you can surf the internet on your lunch break, no need to waste time now.

2) Discipline. This one is harder for me to express but I now have the ability to convince what I call my "lizard brain" to stop some behavior that feels good in the moment but is counterproductive to my goals.

3) Grit. Mentally working through times when things aren't working. Water weight hiding progress or experiments not working (I'm in graduate school) no longer put me in a downward spiral because I have to accept that both grad school and weight loss are marathons, not sprints.

So all of this to say that practicing good habits has not only made my weight loss steady (if slow) but also has added positive side effects!

What are some habits/skills you've been honing for weight loss that you've noticed affecting your "real life?"

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Ht8I5y

On ‘Walking Isn’t Exercise’, ‘Never Eat Back Calories’, and ‘Keto is King’

Hi r/loseit, back again with my story that may be of interest as it goes against some narratives I see here.

I am a 169cm female currently at 64kg. This story starts in summer 2018 when I was 74kg. After maintaining a 20kg weight loss for two years, I decided to push myself to get from the top of a healthy BMI into the middle while reducing body fat.

I went religiously keto for the entirety of June and July. I’ve always liked fat more than sugar so this was pretty easy for me, although I did miss milk, carrots/corn/beans, and whole wheat bread a lot. I read everything I could get my hands on about the ketogenic diet to make sure I understood. While I know they aren’t perfect, ketostix showed me in ketosis every day. 20g carbs was my hard limit but most days I didn’t go over 15g. I did everything right and gave myself plenty of time to adjust, but I was never happy. I was still hungry throughout the day, didn’t lose an ounce, and most critically my endurance dropped dramatically.

I decided to give it up when, halfway through an easy two-hour hike, I felt like death. I was literally reduced to crawling. I know there are ways to do keto with very controlled carb intake for athletes, but I went on keto because it was supposed to be easy! So I added back whole grains and carby veg.

I respect that a lot of people find success on keto and it’s not easy to start ketosis, but it’s not for EVERYONE. Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work for you.

The main reason I wanted to write today though is to give my anecdote about walking off weight and eating back exercise calories. The consensus seems to be, ‘walking doesn’t count’ and to never eat more calories just because you exercised that day.

Gods bless those of you who can eat the same amount of food every day no matter what you do, because if I put that restriction on myself I would sit on the couch from dawn to dusk.

For me it is far more compelling to stay in motion as I account for it. If I spend this thirty-minute break walking, I can eat a 150 calorie snack? LET’S GO!!!

I live in a medium-sized city and have access to my university gym but it’s a 20-minute walk away. So if I want to use it, that’s going home-changing my clothes-walking to the gym-using the gym for 40-60 minutes-walking back home-showering and hair and makeup-and then back to my life. That’s like a three hour commitment. Whereas if I spend my lunch break walking along the river for an hour, it takes an hour.

The best exercise plan is the one you actually do.

So from September on, I’ve been walking every chance I get. I use this chart to add back calories past 10,000 steps: https://www.verywellfit.com/pedometer-steps-to-calories-converter-3882595 Everything from walking instead of taking the bus to things within 2-3km, to crossing campus inefficiently instead of lining up my errands, results in most days with 15-20K step totals.

My weight plummeted. I was 74kg on 1 September and 64kg by mid-March. You bet my shrinking heinie that I eat back my extra calories! Otherwise I’d be crawling (again). I actually had to start drinking protein shakes because I need more calories but don’t have the time or mental energy to shop, cook, and clean more. It also means I can spend my lunch break walking, and drink my lunch at my desk.

This summer I have a bit more time in the day so I’m embarking on a muscle-building programme at the gym. But I’m keeping up those steps!

Sure, Fitbit and other programmes overestimate calories burned, and it’s very easy to justify overeating by a trip to the gym. It’s also tempting to call the casual number of steps you accumulate in a day hard work. But you can still achieve your goals if you are sensible about eating back your calories, even from walking!

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2w13KaM

Lose skin, will I have it?

For some reason lose skin has been the only thing really bugging me lately about weight loss. Obviously there is no way its going to stop me pushing forward, but i was just wondering if there is any hope that I will recover naturally from it?

I am 6'1, 23 years old male and the main places my weight is showing is my chest, stomach and upper arms. I definitely have some stretch marks in those places. I am also working out 4 times a week, so I know i will fill in a bit with muscle, but I dont want to have to depend completely on muscle to not have lose skin.

​

Also one more question, when have you guys started to really notice weight loss visually? I definitely already feel much healthier and energized at 10 pounds down in about 3 weeks, but I feel like I look exactly the same. I do have before pictures, but when I compare them to now, i still see no difference. Is this because that weight was mostly water weight?

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2E94U8C

Don't let anyone tell you losing weight is easy.

I just wanted to make this post to say that losing weight is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The willpower and strength I need to chug through every day has been more than I ever anticipated. But one month ago, today, I began this weight loss journey and have been pouring myself into it every day since. And today, I am 20 pounds lighter than when I started. I know I still have a long way to go from here, but I just wanted to share with someone what I've been doing.

Weight graph!

Since my body type at the time of weight loss was heavy, but still muscled, I decided the best route for me to lose weight for the first half of my journey was to focus purely on diet and self control there, and pass on the gym. I was 234 with a body fat % of about 26. This meant my lean weight was about 173, which is above my goal weight. To work on my diet, I began meal prepping for every day ahead of time, planning for 1:23 intermittent fasting. I made hearty salads that had all the proteins and fats I needed for the day, while keeping them relatively low calorie (~1000). I had one a day during the week, and on weekends would usually cook myself a more substantial meal as I had more time. This, along with a morning jog every other day has allowed me to very quickly lose weight. I've gone from 234/26%bf to 212/23%bf in the matter of just one month, which is crazy progress to me. It's good work, but I have to constantly remind myself that there are still 50 pounds of me to shed, not to mention heading back to the gym and doing weight training towards the tail end of my weight loss. The hardest is yet to come.

I just want to remind y'all that weight loss is no joke. It takes time, effort, and dedication. Along the way, I've found new things about myself and become a better person, even in the mere month I've been doing this. I find myself less hungry and food cravings have mostly gone away. I more carefully look at nutrition in things I eat. I also find that losing weight with friends or pals makes things so much better! Suffer together right? :)

I've been a lurker for a long time, but I want to be a more active part of this community going forward. You've given me all so much hope and determination, and I hope that someday I can do the same. Have a wonderful day friends :)

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/30j6WwB

Today I'm falling off the wagon. Hard.

Two and a half weeks ago I weighed 202 pounds. A week later I was down to 196. Old habits die hard, and I panicked and self sabotaged. I'm up to 199. This morning instead of a banana I'm sitting here sipping chocolate milk. (1 cup sugar + 1 cup cocoa + 1 cup water. I used two table spoons in my milk). In a feeble attempt to at least make it sort of healthy I put powdered greens in it. At least it tastes horrible now. I ordered a powdered meal replacement in hopes that I can get some control back. (At least get SOME healthy things in me)

Sigh. It's going to be a long week. Back to square one. Take two on my weight loss journey begins today!

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2Ht91x9

New doctor. Half way to goal. 24 pounds down (progress pic)

First off, pics! These were taken a few months a part, not the best comparison but it'll do. For a long while I couldn't see any changes but I feel like I'm finally starting to see a smaller me. https://i.imgur.com/yug8HrB.jpg

At the beginning of 2019 I was scheduled for my annual physical at the doctor. I have been seeing the same primary care doctor for almost 8 years now. I love her, she's wonderful. When I showed up for my appointment I was informed that she was no longer at the practice and I had been shifted to a new primary care physician. At first I was pretty pissed, like I never got a letter or anything and I LOVED my doctor!

So I go in and visit with my new doctor. She has none of the warm & tender beside manner that my previous doctor had. She was a straight-facts kind of woman. My new doctor cut right to the chase, she pulled out my blood work and had a pretty frank chat with me about how my blood pressure levels were borderline, and while my good cholesterol was good my bad cholesterol was bad! Oh, and she showed me a BMI chart to explain that based on my current height and weight I was in obese class 1. I was a bit shocked. I mean, I knew I was a little overweight but felt like I had good habits - I did regular activity and so-so exercise each week, cooked a lot of good meals at home, etc...

Anyway, as it turns out my new doctor also specializes in nutrition. She saw that over the course of the past several years I had steadily put on pounds and more pounds and more pounds. My previous lovely doctor never seemed concerned about my weight. While I was kind of annoyed about having this new doctor, it's actually really been the best thing that could have happened. I was about 45 pounds overweight with a BMI of 33+.

She gave me a bunch of recommendations and scheduled a follow up appointment for the following month to check on my progress. I've since gone back to see her each month with continued weight loss progress. She is so proud of me! And I am also proud of me! I'm no longer in the obese class 1 category, I am overweight. I've lost 24 pounds and need to lose approximately 23 more before I'm on the upper range of a "normal" weight (for my height).

Thought I'd share some of the things I've been doing and hopefully get some tips from you all.

1. My doctor explained that weight loss is all about math. Consume less calories than your body uses each day and you will lose weight. To do this I would have to keep a food diary to track my calorie intake. She gave a few apps to try (MyFitnessPal, CalorieKing, and MyPlate). I looked at all three and decided that MyFitnessPal was the best option. Since using this sub, I've found that people really like "LoseIt" food diary though I haven't checked that one out.
2. I'm not limiting any food groups, only the amounts that I consume. Some folks find that things like keto or Atkins work for them, but those aren't sustainable for me (and again, it doesn't matter WHAT you eat, it matters HOW MUCH you eat). I eat a balanced diet of proteins, fats, and carbs. I have snacks throughout my day and work to meet my calorie goals.
3. It is not sustainable for me personally to do intermittent fasting or one meal a day diets, it is about the amount of calories consumed regardless of when. For breakfast I try to eat protein rather than carbs. I used to always eat cheerios and milk, I've switched to eating eggs. Or eggs with veggies. I feel fuller longer in the AM. I have a small snack mid-morning to help me from over-eating a lunch time. I pack a lunch each day. I have an afternoon snack to help me from over-eating at dinner. I have dinner. I try not to eat too much after dinner (mostly because I'm out of calories for the day) but also because I'm no longer doing any activities, only relaxing and winding down for bed.
4. I try to drink a good bit of water. I have a glass each morning after I get up out of bed and feed the pup. I like to have another glass of water with my breakfast (as well as a cup of coffee). Throughout the day I find it easiest to get water by drinking seltzers. They're pretty satisfying. In the evenings if I'm feeling peckish after dinner I'll usually grab a seltzer to keep my mouth and hands entertained.
5. I weigh myself every morning and record it into MyFitnessPal. I don't focus much on the day to day fluctuations but look from week to week or even month to month at this point since I've been doing it for a while.

That's all I can think of right now. I love this subreddit. The accountability of my doctor has helped keep me on track over the long term, but reading everyone's posts here regularly helps me from day to day. So thank you all. I check this sub pretty much every day. I've been getting a few comments from coworkers about noticing my weight loss but it's been hard for me to see the changes myself (since I see my own self in the mirror each day I guess? not sure...).
Please let me know how things are going for you all.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2YreM5t

I lost 20 pounds in the first month and now I'm a bit worried...

Stats: 34m / 5'8 / SW: 212 / CW: 192 / GW: ??? / Day 30-ish

Diet: 1600cal a day / 18:6 IF / Lots of lean protein and veggies w/ minimal carbs (not opposed to them!) and dairy at the moment. I cut out alcohol as well but good lord do I want a beer right about now.

Activity: Averaging 10-12k steps a day + random exercises here and there until I build out a proper gym plan.

One month ago I started my journey here thanks to the kind words and motivation of all you wonderful people. My goal is to lose weight (and feel great!), not necessarily sure how much, but a decent amount for sure. I'm starting to think 155 might be my sweet spot but I'm not committing to anything right now.

I weigh myself 3x a week (same scale and butt naked) and have noticed a steady decline in weight loss since the start. With that said, I just hit 20 pounds down in 30 days today and now I'm wondering if I'm dropping weight too fast.

I set MFP to 2 pounds a week and that has me eating 1,550 calories a day which I'm definitely meeting and not coming in dramatically under. I don't have an exercise plan yet, but I average 10-12k steps a day due to the fact that I walk 1.5 miles to the train (and then back) every morning for work. I should note that my FitBit report from last week said that my average daily calorie burn is 3,134, but I'm not sure how much I trust this thing as I feel like the steps are a bit exaggerated.

What's happening here? Is this normal? Do some people naturally have higher metabolisms? Do men lose at a quicker rate than women? Will I plateau soon? Or is this just a testament to how crappy my eating/drinking habits were before CICO?

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2W0JB3y