Tuesday, August 6, 2019

25 things I learned from losing 100 pounds

Hi everyone! I’ve recently hit my 100 pound milestone. It took me roughly a year. I’ve spent a lot of this time looking back and reflecting on my journey and I though I’d share some of my observations. Some background: F/24/5’8” I started my weight loss journey at 255lbs in early August 2018. I lost about 25-30 pounds in a month and a half before sustaining an injury that left me bed ridden for 3 months. I didn’t gain any of the weight back but I didn’t lose any in that time. I started CICO and running in early December and that’s what I’ve been doing since. (I am on mobile so my apologies for any formatting issues!)

You will lose every item of clothing you owned- Your favorite jeans? Those cool band tees? Your UNDERWEAR? Say buh-bye and start budgeting for a new wardrobe. I bought stuff to get me through spring and summer but I’ve mostly outgrown all of it now so I am currently getting ready to buy my next big wardrobe for a while 🤞🏻
Plateaus are the hardest, most discouraging things- I had to change some things on some of my plateaus such as re-evaluate my caloric intake. But just keep persisting and remember just how good it feels once you break out of it.
People won’t even recognize you anymore- I’ve found this to be a blessing, it’s nice to slip past people you don’t particularly want to talk to, and a curse, I see a lot of people who I wouldn’t mind talking to but they don’t know who I am anymore haha.
If it’s feasible for you, it’s worth saving money for a boob job/tummy tuck- I unfortunately didn’t realize this until a month or two ago but hopefully it’s achievable in my future.
Looking back and seeing what/how much you ate is SHOCKING- I worked in the retail front end of a CVS pharmacy for 2 1/2 years, I’ve gone in there a few times to shop and just looking around the store and seeing all the tempting snacks and candy made me realize how much GARBAGE I’d eat all day. I’d also bring it home because it’d get “a great deal” from sales and coupons 🙄
Listen to your body!- Sometimes 1200 calories a day ain’t enough. Sometimes you gotta take a day off to recover from tough a tough run. If you over or under do something, it may put you off to it and you don’t want to let yourself get off track.
Find a community- Be it online, in support groups, etc. Community is a must! Reddit is how I started counting calories. I was losing weight by just changing eating habits and hitting the gym but then that seemed to stop so I consulted Reddit and it turned out I was still overeating. We all have the same goal in mind so it’s really nice to not feel alone!
It’s not a race- We all lose at our own pace and we all have VERY different DNA so never let anyone else’s weight loss time frame get into your head.
Cheat days don’t have to be binge eating!- Lets be honest, “cheat days” are necessary. If you tried to diet everyday, you’d exhaust yourself. My cheat days TYPICALLY still come in at 1,200 calories. I just eat stuff I definitely wouldn’t consider eating on weekdays, such as eating out somewhere or non dairy ice cream 🤤
I am chronically cold- It was supposedly the hottest July on record but I wear a fleece all day at work lol.
I don’t even have to consider my weight anymore- There was a few instances of activities I couldn’t do because they were weight restricted activities. It was always very embarrassing to get told no, that I couldn’t do something or sit one out while my friends did it but now it’s not even a passing thought.
You will see who really loves you- My friends and family became the biggest supporters which I never knew I needed. Even people I never even really talked came out of the woodwork to congratulate me or ask questions.
Find what works for YOU- I started off just cutting crap foods from my diet, basing what I ate around keto (low carb, low sugar) then I started CICO and intermittent fasting. IF became something I no longer wanted to do so I changed it up and found something that worked better for my schedule (snacking every 2 hours and eating paleo). Just because it works for Susie and Jim doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you.
TAKE PROGRESS PICTURES- And frequently! I didn’t start taking nude body shots until January when I was about 50 pounds down and I regret it so badly some days.
Remember who you were when you were big- I find myself sometimes getting judgy of big people and their lifestyle choices and I have to remember how long it took me to stick with losing weight. I sympathize with big girls, especially when I see someone with the same insecurities that I had (wearing oversized clothing, darker colors).
I have so much more confidence- AND I’m so much genuinely happier. I was truly so miserable and cynical when I was big. My depression got harder to cope with the bigger I got, too. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always struggle with my depression but not being so unhealthy really helps.
Take back handed complaints with a grain of salt- I don’t get them very often but I’ve had people say things like “what, don’t you eat?”. I’ve noticed these comments usually come with people who are unhappy with their own bodies so I just try to brush them off.
I will never be able to go back to eating like a “normal” person- Logging my food is my new normal. It’s not fun but it’s necessary.
Your weight is not your worth- Although yes, I am happier and more confident, I’m also HEALTHIER and THAT’S what matters to me, not the number on the scale. I’m at a normal BMI for the first time since I was probably in early middle school.
Don’t let big events (parties, vacations, etc) derail you- I had a hard time getting back on track after a week spent eating what I wanted. It’s very, very easy to slip off the wagon when you have food and self control issues. Everything in moderation!
There is NO “secret”- This is the most IRRITATING thing people say to me. The secret is stop eating so much food. It really is THAT simple and a lot of people can’t or won’t understand that.
Embrace your new body, flaws and all- I have pancake boobs and I’m starting to get hangy belly skin but that hasn’t stopped me from wearing a bikini this summer for the first time in 4 years. You have worked your EFFIN ASS OFF (maybe even literally 😂), show off that bod!
Learn the things that make you happy- For me, it’s staying on track all week and getting my runs in. Also learn FROM things that make you feel shitty, such as binge eating or skipping exercise. Let those be teaching tools going forward.
I am such a DORK about dieting and nutrition now!- I talk about it with my poor friends and family. They’re pretty good sports about it tho. Grocery shopping for a while was just me, comparing nutrition labels, finding the best products for me. Now I’ve fallen into knowing exactly what I need because I shop at the same 3 stores but I still pick up stuff and read the labels, just for fun haha.
I will never stop trying to spark inspiration for someone else to make a change for themselves- I know just how hard it is to find your motivation. I spent years finding excuses and just letting my health get worse. No one ever asks for help when you’re feeling it spiral out so I’ve taken it upon myself to help without anyone asking. I will always lend an ear, offer advice, and hype someone up if they need it.

I hope my list resonated with some of you! Feel free to share your stories and observations as well. As I’m sure you could probably tell, I really love talking about losing weight 😂 I have plenty of progress shots in my post history, as well. I was going to link one to this post but too lazy 🤷🏻‍♀️ (some things never change lol)

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When does cutting your legs off class as a justifiable weight loss measure?

Hi. I really don’t advocate the above as a weight loss strategy but...I’m totally new to Reddit and only started blogging - wheeliebigadventures.com - and social media in January this year. I know, that makes me a dinosaur. I have MS and I’m a full time manual wheelchair user. Now I comeback full circle to my original proposition. My legs don’t work and their loss, through elective surgery, would achieve my weight loss goals and at the same time help me with self-propelling my wheelchair ;-)

All my life I’ve always been on the larger side. I enjoyed, (and was indulged in), too much sugar as a kid. But now at 51, I’ve finally realised that enough is enough. I really must be a slow learner. But the wheelchair part mentioned above is my blinding reality. So after putting it off too many times, I’ve decided that ‘going public’ is the only way I’m going to stick to a weight loss journey.

I’m a 51 y/o male. I’m 5’10” and am tipping the scales at a whopping 226lbs. That’s a BMI of 32.3 - obese on any measure. A 72lb weight loss would drop me to 154lbs. To save you the math, that’s 11 stone and a healthy BMI of 22.

I know the equation, eat less & do more exercise = weight loss. But my sedentary, wheelchair bound life is an issue. But I really need to do it this time. There are too many potential health problems lurking in my immediate future if I don’t take it seriously.

The above targets are loose targets. But I’m setting myself the challenge of achieving it by 31 May 2020. Please wish me well on my journey.

I’ll update this subreddit as I progress, and I’ll keenly look at the success stories of others. I’ll need the inspiration. But if all else fails there’s always the elective surgery on my legs ;-)

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Realizing my family is overweight is motivating me to do better

For context, I've (25F) been overweight since middle school. I was about 5'0" and 145. In high school I grew to 5'4" and some change, but I also got up to about 150-160 pounds. I knew nothing about proper nutrition and counting calories, and my mom was (and still is) an amazing cook who loved to make things like stroganoff, pasta, steak, and all sorts of rich food.

I learned about nutrition and walked about a mile and change to school every day. I decided to join the Navy and my parents signed us all up for some fitness classes that we were okay about attending. I got back down to 145 at 5'4" which isn't awful but it could be better.

I've been in the military for 7 years now and initially I managed to keep to 145-155, but in more recent years I've been stressed out, significantly less active, and drinking a fair amount of alcohol. I'll manage to lose 5-10lbs here and there but I've steadily climbed my way up to 180, when my previous "never again" weight was 175.

My boyfriend is incredibly supportive and loves me how I am but I'm very hard on myself. My self esteem isn't great and my fitness is pretty awful - I always struggle a little bit when it comes time to do our biannual fitness tests. I try to stick with counting calories and intermittent fasting but to be honest I've just got piss poor discipline.

Getting back around to the point of the post, though, I recently saw a couple of photos of my older brother and my cousin who's a few months younger than me. They don't look terrible, but it's pretty clear that they've gained a lot of weight too. I've always been the "put together" kid of my generation of the family - better grades in school, more stable career, moved out of my parents' place and stayed moved out, so on. And it just hit me like a truck that I don't want to be that "fat family," and I want to keep being the put together kid. I want to change and I want to do better.

Maybe it's not the right attitude to view it in a competitive sense, but it's given me fresh motivation to do better and to stick with my weight loss, rather than managing a good day or two and then promptly treating myself to way more calories than I abstained from.

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Athletes and Weight Loss: When is it detrimental to lose any more weight?

Hi folks! Male, 6’2”, 35, SW: 210, CW: 165, GW: ??? I’ve had a lousy relationship with food for most of my adult life. I have a pretty obsessive personality, so I’d typically work out like crazy during the spring and summer months, then get depressed during the long winters and eat myself into a rut. Pretty much every year for the last decade or so I’d swing from around 175 up to 220 every six months.

A few years back I decided to give running a try, and I fell in love. I made it a goal to run a marathon, and eventually I did. I’ve run a few races since then, and really think I owe any semblance of mental health to the goal-focused process of training for these marathons.

So this year, I decided to really focus on the CICO model to get in the best shape I could for an upcoming marathon, and I’ve dropped a little over 40 pounds since March. My run times are faster, my legs feel better, it’s been great. The ultimate question is- how much weight loss is too much for athletes? Is there some kind of formula to determine when it is no longer beneficial to be any lighter and you start to diminish your returns?

I feel like I could keep shedding pounds if I wanted to; my calorie budget is still totally achievable, and I could still cut back a bit without being too uncomfortable. At what point am I hurting my performance more than helping? How do you figure such a thing out other than trial and error?

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Thank you for teaching me how to succeed.

Hey! This is my second post on this sub, and in my previous post 2 days ago I described my unhealthy relationship with food and my struggles with exercise. I have a deep love for rowing, but accidents have stopped me from training several times and I keep falling of the bandwagon. I was ready to re-start a strict 5 workouts a week regime from nothing again and was looking for support. However, the comments were tough love and told me I was setting unrealistic expectations for myself. A bit sulky I logged off and didn't read any more comments.

The next day I started reading more posts on this sub, and it drastically changed my viewpoint. I already knew weight loss was mostly food, but I realized that being a perfectionist over and over again, expecting myself to go from nothing to heavy workouts again and wanting myself to just quit all junk food the same day, is setting myself up for failure. I read how many people lost 100s of pounds by "just" doing cico and allowing cheat days and meals, as long as they fit in the calorie amount of that day/week. I read about people who started with light cardio and did not yet move to strength training, and still reached their goal weight. I read how being so hard on yourself is just setting yourself up for failure, and allowing yourself to have bad days and just eat better the next days works way better. I learned a lot.

The things I'm taking from this sub are:

It's better to do cardio instead of nothing if weights are too intimidating. I was dreading going to the gym because I had high expectations for myself in terms of a lifting routine, which meant I wouldn't go at all. Reading a book on the stationary bike is better than not going at all, even if it doesn't meet my perfectionist expectations.
Starting with little works better in the long run. If I were to go through with the heavy workouts my rowing club provides, I'd most likely burn out within a month and then quit working out alltogether. If I start small, I can build at my own pace and stick with it.
Calorie counting is key. I knew it was important, but didn't think it'd be possible to lose weight without exercising. I now know this is possible, and won't beat myself up as hard if I miss a workout, as long as my calorie intake is still in check for the day.
You don't have to eat clean 100% of the time. It's not sustainable, and if a snack every once in a while can keep me from binging, it's better in the long run.
This community rocks! I'm super happy to have found this sub, and I'll keep lurking here for a long time. Seeing other people's accomplishments and reading how they did it greatly helped me set up my own list of things I think will work for me, and I'm convinced I finally have a good shot to reach my goals.

Thanks to everyone who posted or commented here, the stories I read convinced me I, too, can turn my life around and get where I want to be.

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Tuesday, 06 August 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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Not eating enough?

I'm a male, 18 years old,174 cm, current weight is 82 and my goal is 70kg.

I started my weight loss journey 2 weeks ago aproximately and I've been using the CICO method, I use fatsecreet to track my calories and I'm not sure if the website is not accurate or I'm not eating enough, sometimes I log everything I eat in a day and it says I consumed less than 1000 calories but I don't feel hungry.

A normal day consists of:

Breakfast: 2 or 3 scrambled eggs with 2 slices of ham and 2 slices of whole wheat bread.

Lunch: Some tuna or chicken with vegetables.

Dinner: Oatmeal (with water) and a banana or an apple.

If I want to eat something more I eat dry anchovies with lemon as a snack and I drink at least 2 liters of water a day.

I feel like that's enough, I don't feel hungry, I don't feel tired, I feel normal, I don't have a scale in my house so it's not easy for me to see my weight and I'm not sure if there's been any change.

I read something about the minimum being 1500 calories for males and I feel like that's a lot, I would have to force myself to eat more even if I'm not hungry, I need help about this, I don't want to have more problems.

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