Friday, August 23, 2019

Why are you holding onto your bigger clothes?

I see this fairly often, people will lose weight but keep their larger size clothes so that they won't have to buy a new wardrobe if they gain the weight back. What I'm asking you is why are you giving yourself allowances to gain back the weight? I believe that weight loss works best and is most successfully when it's a commitment you make to yourself for the rest of your life. You can't expect to keep the same habits and have the weight magically disappear! (Trust me, I tried this for most of my 33 years and it definitely does not work).

In the past year I've lost a little over 65lbs/~30kg through CICO (I then added exercise for my mood after I had already lost most of the weight). I do still plan to lose about 20 more pounds right now (5'4F, 230 to 163 current ) to no longer be in the overweight category and lose a bit more fat (to be fair to myself, I have quite a bit of muscle), but I'm happy where I'm at today. I had every excuse in the book why I couldn't do it or it's not my fault I was fat (hypothyroidism, autoimmune conditions, depression, bad eating habits learned from my parents, BMI does not reflect muscle, etc.), but eventually I realized that despite the excuses the only way I was going to succeed was if I changed myself, and I knew that I never wanted to go back. Sure, I slip up sometimes, but I keep moving forward and don't get hung up on one "bad" day or week. Because ultimately that bad day/week will have no impact over a lifetime (just don't let those bad days or weeks get out of hand and turn into bad months or years). This isn't something I'm trying out, I just live with moderation now . I'm never "on" or "off" a diet, this is my life now and there's no looking back.

So really ask yourself, why are you keeping those old clothes? Why would you allow yourself to go back? Because while it can be hard to maintain discipline, it's ultimately a choice that you make. Just make that choice every day and you'll be successful. Don't give up on yourself! If you're just beginning your journey, all you need is a shift in mindset, then you can make a plan. It can be scary to commit to change for the rest of your life, but it is completely worth it (YOU'RE worth it!) and you CAN absolutely do it!

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15 Non-Chocolate Desserts You’re Going to Love

Whether you’re not a big fan of chocolate or you’re just looking for something different, we’ve got you covered! We know a lot of the desserts out there are chocolate-based, but we’ve devised a list of 15 non-chocolate desserts that will absolutely satisfy your sweet tooth without derailing your diet. The list we’ve rounded up has a little something for everyone but any of these choices would make a healthful alternative to traditional desserts like pie, ice cream or cake.

Check out our list and find your new favorite non-chocolate dessert recipe in the mix:

1. Cinnamon Spice Baked Apples >
baked apple

These sliced and baked apples taste and smell a lot like apple pie—but without the work or the guilt. With just five simple ingredients (sliced apples, lemon juice, sugar-free syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg), and three easy steps, this recipe can be assembled in a pinch. That means if you’re craving something sweet and tempted to reach for an unhealthy option, you can whip this up in no time. Plus, without all the added sugar of most apple-based desserts (we’re looking at you, apple pie!), the nutritional perks of apples, including fiber, vitamins A and C, and flavonoids, don’t get overridden.

Seriously, who needs chocolate when this non-chocolate dessert recipe is on the menu?!

2. Mini No-Bake Lemon Coconut Cheesecake Bites >

cheesecake bites

Bet you never thought you’d be able to eat cheesecake as part of your healthy eating regimen! But these yummy cheesecake bites are just 50 calories each and made from healthful ingredients like Greek yogurt, dates and almonds. These non-chocolate sweet treats are also incredibly easy to make, and as the name says, require no baking. A single batch makes 20 servings, making it easy to whip up a bunch and be set for a while.

3. Skinny Mini Fruit Tarts >

Skinny Mini Fruit Tart Recipe

This sweet treat is a delicious way to fit in a little bit of extra fruit before your day is done. The simple crust of these fruit tarts is made using almond flour and whole wheat flour while the filling is a mixture of ricotta cheese, Greek yogurt, a bit of stevia and a handful of the fruit of your choice (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or kiwi work great). It’s a great alternative to a fruit pie or even traditional fruit tarts which tend to pack a lot of unnecessary sugar. It’s a non-chocolate masterpiece you won’t regret eating the next day!

4. Pecan Pie Fall Fudge >

pecan fudge

While we often think of pecan pie as a “fall treat,” it certainly doesn’t have to be Autumn for you to dive in to this delicious non-chocolate dessert. This pecan pie fudge is a healthier alternative to the sugar-laden traditional pecan pie. Not surprisingly, the first ingredient in this recipe is pecans, which are high in healthy unsaturated fat and can help lower “bad” cholesterol. After processed until smooth, the pecans are combined with coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, maple extract, ground cinnamon and stevia for a sweet indulgence that won’t completely derail your diet.

5. Gluten-Free Chewy Ginger Cookies >

gluten-free ginger cookies

Whether you are on a gluten-free diet or not, these simple and sweet cookies are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth. And if you like a soft and chewy cookie, this is definitely the non-chocolate treat for you. It combines the flavors of ginger, cinnamon, molasses and vanilla to make you feel like you splurged even though you really didn’t. With just 102 calories per serving, these sweet little cookies won’t be a setback to your healthy lifestyle.

6. Vanilla Berry Ricotta Mousse >

Vanilla Berry Ricotta Mousse Recipe

This flavorful mousse packs in nine grams of protein with creamy and delicious goodness. Super simple to make, all you need to do is combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Then, top your mouthwatering mousse with fresh berries (like raspberries, blackberries or blueberries) to get in a healthful dose of vitamins and antioxidants, too.

7. Peachy Honey Whipped Ricotta >

Peachy Honey Whipped Ricotta

Peaches, which are rich in vitamin C, are a sweet treat on their own. But this honey whipped dessert makes them even more indulgent by blending sweet honey with rich ricotta cheese, adding a smidge of some almond flavor, and topping it all with juicy grilled peaches. Plus, it packs in eight energizing grams of protein. Talk about a non-chocolate dessert that seriously satisfies!

8. Cake Batter Nice Cream >

cake batter

This dessert is truly one-of-a-kind. It incorporates not only the flavor of vanilla ice cream, but of birthday cake as well—all without the guilt. Our “Nice Cream” uses a frozen banana and almond milk as its base, allowing you to enjoy the indulgence of an ice cream-like treat, without the dairy. Some of our Vanilla FreshStart Shake, butter extract, vanilla extract and rainbow sprinkles add in the vanilla and cake flavors without punching up the calorie count. Need to replenish your FreshStart Shake stock? Click here to order more >

9. Berry Easy Bread Pudding Mug Cake >

Berry Easy Bread Pudding

Have you tried a mug cake yet? Mug cakes (which are just what they sound like…a cake whipped up in a mug) are incredibly simple to make, hence their popularity. Our recipe for bread pudding mug cake is made from whole wheat bread, egg whites, almond milk, fresh berries and some stevia and cinnamon for sweet flavor. It’s only a matter of mixing it up in the mug and microwaving it—simple and easy! What’s also great about it is the fact that it makes portion sizing easy. Instead of trying to limit yourself to one slice of an entire cake, you only cook what you eat. Want more mug cake recipes? Click here for four more >

10. Slow Cooker Pumpkin Rice Pudding >

pumpkin-rice-pudding

This recipe combines two all-time dessert flavor favorites—pumpkin and rice pudding. On the Nutrisystem program, this creamy pudding counts as just one SmartCarb and because it’s made with brown rice, it even gets in some whole grains. Made in a slow cooker, it’s a “set it and forget it” type of recipe that has the added bonus of making your whole house smell great!

11. Frozen Yogurt Bark >
frozen yogurt bark healthy snack recipes

At the base of our frozen yogurt bark recipe is a cup of nonfat Greek yogurt, an excellent source of calcium, potassium and protein. Mixed with vanilla extract and Truvia for some added sweetness and flavor, the yogurt is spread out on a baking sheet to freeze and topped with pistachios, dried cranberries and chocolate chips (totally optional so forego them if you’re really not craving chocolate). Pop it in the freezer for two hours and voila! You’ve got a delicious sweet treat that won’t wreak havoc on your healthy diet.

12. Easy Thumbprint Cookies >

thumbprint cookies

There’s a reason “Easy” is part of this non-chocolate cookie’s name. It truly is so simple that you’ll never go back to store-bought thumbprint cookies again. Combining a cup of oats with a mashed banana and some cinnamon, these delicious cookies are each topped with a small spoonful of sugar-free jelly. They are sweet and satisfying, making them a great dessert choice.

13. 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Raisin Cookies >
oatmeal raisin cookies

These simple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies combine bananas with rolled oats and raisins. That’s it! They are so easy to make that you can whip up a batch as soon as a craving strikes, and have them ready in no time. And with no added sugar, these are cookies you can actually feel good about eating. On the Nutrisystem plan, two cookies count as just one SmartCarb. Plus, you’ve got the goodness of potassium-rich bananas, fiber-laden raisins and hearty oats to fill you up and energize you.

14. Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing >

summer fruit salad

Fruit salad makes a healthy, nutritious and delicious dessert choice and this is one fruit salad that you’ll definitely love. In our version, fresh fruit is tossed in lemon juice and honey and sprinkled with some chopped basil for something truly unique and tasty.

15. Slow Cooker Recipe: Apple Cranberry Crumble >

non-chocolate recipes

This slow cooker recipe combines some fiber-filled Granny Smith apples with cranberries, cinnamon and maple syrup for a decadent-tasting dish that only has 155 calories per serving. As a slow cooker recipe, it’s so easy to make, it might just become your new go-to dessert.

The post 15 Non-Chocolate Desserts You’re Going to Love appeared first on The Leaf.



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Don't put too much trust into the scale!

A scale can be a beneficial tool throughout the process but it doesn't say everything about your health. I've been stuck at the same weigh in for 3 weeks but my body is still making positive changes because I'm still working out and making better food choices as well as practicing IF daily.

I don't have progress pics (but I should!). I've been told by coworkers and family they see the difference in my weight loss. So definitely take those pics to show yourself later. Also pay attention to how your clothes are fitting

Take measurements as well if you want to see more honest numbers than a scale reading. Always remember scales can't tell that much of a difference between fat and muscle. If you weight train you will see some weight gain or stagnation but DO NOT STOP because the fat will keep coming off, it's just slowly catching up.

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Help Needed - Can’t Seem To Lose Fat (22/M)

Hi r/loseit,

I need some help in the fat loss department. To give some context I’ll explain my weight loss journey so far:

In 2016, I weighed 120kgs. I was 19 at the time and extremely unhappy with myself. I made a decision one day to lose the weight, and with a combination of healthy eating, HIIT training and muscle lifting I was able to lose a significant amount of weight.

By mid 2017, I reached 89kgs and was extremely proud. I wanted to keep going with my journey and so began looking deeper into ways I could assist with my weight loss.

Since then I’ve been vegan, intermittent fasted, gone low-carb (high protein and fat), and now I’m on a whole food diet (clean foods only) and can’t seem to lose any fat.

In fact since 2017, I haven’t been able to lower than 91kgs. My muscles have gotten a lot bigger though.

When I went low carb I could see I was losing some fat (measured through a measuring tape), but then hit a plateau for 3 months and lost nothing. Very demotivating.

Since then I have moved to a whole food diet (so carbs are higher again but they’re clean), but my waist has increased in size and I appear to have more fat on my body!

I honestly don’t know what to do. I go to the gym 5 times a week (minimum 4) with 3 days dedicated to weights and 2 dedicated to HIIT training.

I have been stuck for so long and it’s so demotivating, so I am reaching out for help here - any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Friday, 23 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.

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Struggling to get back in the right mindset

I have lost around 97lbs since January 2018 but still have another 28lbs to go.

I have not lost or gained any weight since May of this year. I decided to take May off because of some plans I had and I felt I just needed a break but I haven't been able to get back into it since then.

On the one hand I am happy that I haven't gained any weight but on the other hand I'm beating myself up thinking of all the weight I COULD have lost since June.

My wedding is in March but I realistically need to lose the weight by Christmas so I can get dress alterations etc. I'm worried I haven't left myself enough time to lose 28lbs and I will feel fat and frumpy on my wedding day.

How do you get back into the mindset of weight loss after taking some time off?

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Could anyone help me?

Hi! Two months ago I decided to try and get a lot healthier. I have stopped drinking alcohol completely (I was having a bottle of wine pretty much every day which is 600 calories per bottle... bad I know). I have cut my daily food calorie intake by 400-500 calories. I’ve started exercising (walking EVERYWHERE, couch to 5k completed and running a couple of miles every few days, lifting tiny weights to tone arms). My Apple Watch is always over 550 on the active calories. I look quite a lot smaller when I do side by side picture and my face is much thinner. But the scales won’t budge! Lost about 6lbs initially from quitting the booze but then it just stopped. I don’t get it! Drinking plenty of water aswell. Any ideas? I’m happy to see changes in the mirror but the scale is confusing me... maybe weight loss just takes much longer than I thought?!

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