Before I started my weight loss journey 3 months ago, I never really knew what people meant by "plateau."

I've been doing a combination of One-Meal-A-Day, CICO, and what I call cheato-keto. After a scary bout with high blood pressure I finally succumbed and decided it was time.

As with most low-carb diets, I lost water weight pretty fast. I was really encouraged by this when I lost 10 pounds in one week. The though that I, the guy who once ate a glass of ranch chip dip that with his hands in a bout of depression fueled binging, could actually lose weight blew my freakin' mind.

This continued for a couple of weeks more where every wednesday I would log my weight. I had been losing pretty steadily about 4-5 pounds a week. Until one week the scale only moved by about a pound. I was pretty annoyed and entertained ideas of quitting. Putting all that effort into this just to lose one lousy pound!?! But I kept with it, ate a little lighter that day, and went back to my usual weight loss routine. The next week I lost 7 pounds.

Anyway, in reference to the title, I've been logging my weight into MFP anyway amazed to actually see this sort of step line graph appear. There would be times when my weight loss wouldn't go down nearly all that much, but it would always pick up again. And that's pretty encouraging. I know now that if I have a bad day, it's not the end of the world. That it doesn't suddenly undo months of hard work. I'm a lot happier now for it.

Here is the line graph if anyone wants to see what my weight loss looks like. I'm finally over 50lbs lost and no longer diabetic!

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Need help becoming an Athlete (and losing weight)?

Hi guys!

​

I looked for an answer to this and I couldn't really find one.

I'm 26/F, and my whole life I've been focused on losing weight....mostly unsuccessfully. In the past two years, I started weight lifting and running, so I have a fair bit of muscle and endurance now, but had trouble getting my eating under control so I haven't really lost weight (I'm working on it).

Then a couple of months ago, I joined a sports team (roller derby). Now it's IMPORTANT that I lose weight so I can skate harder, faster, and be more agile. I'm doing weight lifting, running, swimming, and endurance and agility exercises when I'm not training.

How do I switch from a weight loss perspective to an athlete's perspective? How do I focus on developing an athlete's mindset?

How do I lose weight while still having enough energy to work out? CICO, yes, but I'm so worried about bonking during the day and not being able to focus on work/school.

What is the fastest way to slim down and tone up so I can be a better skater (if there is one)?

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Wednesday, 03 July 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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Weight loss goals

Decided to set myself some smaller goals on the lead up to my goal weight to keep me motivated and help me stay positive on this long journey ahead;

SW: 250 lbs CW: 238 lbs GW: 120-155 lbs

1. 16 stone 12 (236lbs/107kg) Loss = 14 lbs 2. 16 stone 7 (231lb/105kg) Loss = 19 lbs 3. 15 stone 10 (220lbs/100kg) Loss = 30 lbs 4. 15 stone (210lbs/95kg) Loss = 40 lbs 5. 14 stone 3 (199lbs/90kg) Loss =51 lbs 6. 13 stone 8 (190lbs/86kg) Loss = 60 lbs 7. 13 stone (182lbs/82kg) Loss = 68 lbs 8. 12 stone 7 (175lbs/79kg) Loss = 75 lbs 9. 12 stone 2 (170lbs/77kg) Loss = 80 lbs 10. 11 stone 9 (163lbs/74kg) Loss = 87 lbs 11. 11 stone 2 (156lbs/71kg) Loss = 94 lbs 12. 10 stone 10 (150lbs/68kg) Loss =100 lbs 

Will come back to this post and edit each time I've made it to a checkpoint :)

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Started a weight loss contest in my obese call center :D

I had a personal goal to lose weight in the month of July so I could weigh less then i did last year on my birthday (August 10th) I weighted 297. Now i weigh 316.2. So i have all month to power thru it to lose it all. In doing so i was talking around with my co workers and randomly said " we should do a weight loss contest" and everyone loved that idea. So i told them for the whole month of July we will all try to lose as much weight as possible and who ever wins wins the pot. So I got 6 other people to put in $50 each. We did the weigh in today. This is honestly the first healthy thing we have done as a call center ever. All i get daily are emails of pastrys that are being sold for some fundraiser. We have holiday pot lucks in where all we bring is horrible food. This is terrible for a job that is literally completely sedentary. Im glad i could be the catalyst to something actually healthy and good for us.

​

Wish us luck :D

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Two years ago I started my weight loss journey, today I've maintained the loss of 70lbs for over a year. Here's 10 things I've learned!

First, some progress pictures from M16 5'10 206lbs to M18 5'11 136lbs

Face gains: https://i.imgur.com/0DIOp6C.jpg

Body transformation (NSFW for being semi-shirtless?), wearing the same pants in both pics: https://i.imgur.com/4j4iQjv.jpg

Today is a special day for me for two reasons: it's my second Reddit cake day and the second anniversary of first starting my weight loss journey! Having also maintained my weight loss for over a year now officially qualifies me as a "weight maintainer" who could be part of a study about the effects of sustained weight loss.

My weight loss journey was very cookie-cutter and basic. I tracked my calories to hit 1500 a day, made smarter choices in my diet and walked instead of taking the bus if the weather was nice. My decision to lose weight wasn't triggered by some monumental life event or health scare, I was simply tired of not liking my body and figured I could do something productive over the summer break instead of just laying around watching YouTube. Back then I had no idea that it was even possible to lose weight without exercising for hours every day, so learning about calories and the importance of diet was something completely new and exciting. Realizing that I could actually make a change without putting in superhuman effort, I started researching and making changes to my lifestyle.

Instead of reciting my basic and pretty boring story in over-dramatic detail, here are 10 things I wish I knew when I first started losing weight two years ago:

• Find what works for you! Weight loss is never a one-size-fits-all, different things work for different people depending on their habits and preferences. I tried keto for a month in the beginning stages of my weight loss, but to me the increased satiety wasn't worth the effort avoiding carbs took. This obviously doesn't mean that some people haven't lost over 200 pounds on keto. Those who have found success on it clearly enjoy it more than plain calorie counting. Don't let anyone tell you the weight loss method you find easiest is wrong as long as it's healthy and sustainable, the people trying to convince you out of it don't live in the same environment with the same personal preferences as you.
• Time will pass anyway. You aren't saving any time by procrastinating, tomorrow and next week will come at the same pace whether you're actively making a change in your life right now or not. So why not use this time to make changes that will benefit you for the rest of your life?
• The process of losing weight will get much easier and fade into the background once you get into a routine. In my experience the first 10 pounds were the hardest to lose, because they required me to learn new things and change how I do things on a daily basis. Once I got over the initial hurdle and settled into the habit of keeping track of how much I ate, I simply kept doing what I had done the day before and the pounds slowly melted off over the coming months.
• Motivation is very short-lived and won't get you to your goal. There are many things we do all the time without being motivated, nobody wakes up being ecstatic about getting to brush their teeth or drive to work for example. We still do these things every day, not for instant gratification from how good the toothbrush feels, but to not get cavities in the coming years. Consistently logging your food is the same thing. It's great to have motivation in the beginning to get the ball rolling, but keeping the weight loss going depends on consistency and discipline rather than being motivated 24/7.
• Slow and steady wins the race in weight loss. Often we want to lose the weight quickly to get the rewards of a smaller body as quickly as possible. The problem with this comes when it's time to maintain: if you never addressed the constant need for short-term gratification, how are you going to avoid going back to the short-term gratification lifestyle that made you gain the weight in the first place? Slow weight loss is much more sustainable than crash dieting because it promotes a shift in what you value and how you perceive rewards. Your body is also going to want you to gain the weight back by making you crave high-calorie food if it's lost extremely rapidly. You'll get less hunger and cravings when maintaining if the weight loss wasn't too rapid.
• Trust the process and don't panic over scale fluctuations. Weight loss is never linear, it's a rollercoaster with a slight downwards trend over weeks and months. Our bodies are incredibly complex machines that are made up of so much more than just muscle and fat, most of our mass is actually water which means even slight changes in fluid balance can have huge impacts on what the scale says. Just a few of the things that can cause your weight to plateau/rise despite a caloric deficit are increased exercise, increased food volume from lower caloric density, stress, temporary water retention following dehydration, hormonal changes, having a cold/fever, constipation, excess sodium, lack of potassium, increased glycogen stores from eating more carbs than normally and inconsistent timing of weigh-ins. If you find scale fluctuations especially stressing or annoying, you can download an app like Happy Scale (iOS) or Libra (Android) to get a smoothed out graph showing your weight gradually decreasing over time.
• Take progress pictures/videos to document the process. I made the mistake of only taking one single before-picture, and because of that I can never be sure how much change has actually happened in areas the picture doesn't show. If you don't feel comfortable taking pictures/videos in the beginning like me, you can save them to a hidden folder in your phone where they will stay out of your mind waiting for a time when they'll be super helpful to measure your progress.
• Weight loss is all about how much you eat, exercise isn't a must. Realizing this was a huge relief for me when I first started, because my mom going for daily runs every time she lost weight made me think you had to constantly work out to drop the pounds. Obviously this isn't to discredit exercise and all its health benefits, it's a great way to eat more and I know I feel better if haven't just sat indoors all day. But if you feel like not wanting to work out is holding you back from losing the weight, nothing but a caloric deficit from dietary choices is actually needed.
• Be realistic with your expectations about losing weight and hitting goal weights. The world isn't going to suddenly be all sunshine and rainbows when the scale shows the number you want it to. Sure, you'll feel happy for a little while for reaching a goal you've worked hard on, but things will be more or less the exact same as they've been for a while. Weight loss can fix many health problems and shrink your waist, but no matter how much weight you lose, inside you're still going to be the same person you were at your highest weight. Problems with self-esteem and body image are often rooted so deep that a person suffering from them could look like the epitome of physical perfection but still hate their body. It's important to recognize when the need to change your body comes from a wrong place and get help before things get any worse. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with losing weight purely to look better, it just doesn't help if the person expects it to solve all their problems.
• Every single person who's ever lost weight in the history of weight loss has messed up multiple times, don't beat yourself up over it. If losing 0.4 pounds is insignificant, you can't be mad at yourself for gaining 0.4 pounds either. If you're mad at yourself for overeating, you can't also be willing to starve yourself as punishment because that's just as bad for you. Weight loss doesn't ask for perfection, all that's required is doing slightly more things to promote weight loss than weight gain. Sometimes it might feel like being "on the wagon" for less than 90% of the time is a catastrophe and a valid reason to just give up, when in reality you could be off the wagon gaining weight for 45% of the time and still make progress over time. You're doing way better than your brain sometimes convinces you.

Repairing your relationship with food, improving the overall quality of your diet and tracking how much you eat are the ultimate cornerstones of lasting weight loss. You will very likely achieve permanent weight loss by mastering all three. Lasting success may also come with only two of them, but if you miss out on either healing your relationship with food, lowering the caloric density of your diet or keeping track of what you eat, maintaining the weight loss will be more difficult. Doing only one (f.e continuing to emotionally eat with a diet of mostly junk food, but counting calories) is a start, but it will be unnecessarily hard and the progress you make won't last for very long. Temporary solutions bring temporary results.

I still keep track of my intake by estimating calories of meals to the nearest 100 and mentally "logging" how many I have left for the day after each thing I eat. Even though I'm terrible at remembering people's names, for some reason I have a really good memory for numbers like prices or calories. I can basically look at any food and come up with how many calories it has on the spot. I guess it's an intuition like guessing someone's weight. Eyeballing portions and not keeping a physical food log is notoriously difficult and often the reason people don't lose weight though, so beware if you want to try something similar instead of using an app for logging your calories!

I've always liked eating big meals instead of grazing throughout the day, so I still kind of do intermittent fasting by saving all my calories for meals and not eating anything after dinner. I eat 2000 calories a day with a breakfast of around 300-400 calories, lunch of 600-800 calories and dinner of 800-1000 calories. In the very beginning of maintenance I had more hunger and cravings than normally, but now after a year my body has fully gotten used to being this weight and I almost never get any hunger or cravings when it isn't time to eat.

I hope this post was inspirational or helpful to at least some of you guys! Drop a comment below if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer. Remember that you've got this and the only one who can make a change is you. :)

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Those who have lost the weight, did your personality stay the same or did you change?

A lot of times on this board we see how friends and loved ones react to the larger amounts of weight loss. How they suddenly treat you better or sometimes worse because of the change. I had a meltdown today. I started my journey a little over a month ago and I'm currently down 15lbs ~ I had a major meltdown today about my weight loss. I'm more than proud of what I've accomplished. I've tried several times before and this is the longest I've stuck it out. I looked at myself in the mirror and I just couldn't believe how fat I was. How the hell did I let it get this far? Then the panic set in and then eventual meltdown. I started crying, telling myself that I wouldn't be able to see it if I lost 30lbs or 50lbs and etc. Then I heard this quote from the TV show house. It's an episode that revolves around a teenager that has a facial deformity and he has another illness that is preventing the surgery for facial reconstruction. Near the latter half, House tells the patient after he argues that the surgery will change everything he let's him know that the only thing it will change is his face, it won't change who the face made him. And I guess that's my biggest fear. I don't know why I had such a set off, I guess a trigger was that I got a new bathing suit in my size that had a cute design and it just did not look flattering and I guess my confidence plummeted after that. I'm glad that I didnt immediately turn to emotionally eating. So baby steps. Normally I'd be so sad, I'd just want to stuff my face till I could eat no more. How long did it take for your head to catch up with your body? Any advice or suggestions welcome.

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