Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Thursday, 05 September 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 https://ift.tt/2Lsl5kp

3 years from Day1

Stats: 29F 174cm SW:89kg CW:65.5kg Initial GW:68kg Current GW: no-idea-but-superhero-body

Before and after: https://i.imgur.com/YZPBgKK.jpg 84.1 kg on the 20th of October 2016 (i have no SW pictures) vs. 65.5kg on 29th of August 2019

​

It recently occurred to me that I started my weight loss journey in the beginning of September of 2016. Being a long-time lurker, I decided to share with you guys some of the things that I have learned over the past 3 years, perhaps they will be of help to someone.

I'm going to try to keep this short:

Three years ago I was at my highest, 89kg. I have never been very slim, I had a history of gaining and losing (i was 83 kilos at 18 and back to 68kg at 22) but I gained about 20 kilos over the course of 4 years by over-eating. The over-eating was partially caused by mild anxiety and very mild depressive episodes, but the main reason was: I like food and I live for carbs.

I had previously attempted to diet, but with no success. Looking back, it wasn't the diet at fault, but the fact I had no knowledge on how to do that right, starved myself for a few days (weeks perhaps) and then got sick of it and went back to my previous habits.

What triggered me to actually do something was the fact that I was so close to 90 kg, and I knew that if I go over 90 I will get used to it and move on. Also, two of my best friends (both of them were over 120kg at their SW) had started losing, so this kinda motivated while also scaring me. It might sound petty, but I didn't want to end up being the fattest one. So one day I decided that starting that day I will join the gym. No starting Monday, no starting the 1st of the month. Starting today. And I did, started with treadmill and some light lifting.

Didn't change my diet for a while, but I went to the gym consistently 2 or 3 times a week for the first month and started seeing some improvement after a few weeks. In my case it was normal for some immediate progress since I spend 8 to 10 hours a day in front of the computer at work, don't do any sports, don't walk since my office is 300m away from the house, etc.

After seeing the first results on the scale (back then I used the scale as my primary means of measuring progress) I started doing some slight changes to my diet by trying to eat smaller portions (my main meal was and still is around 10.30 PM). Again, it worked.

Our (bf's and I) diet is mainly pasta based since he's usually the cook and he's Italian. At this point I have started counting calories with MFP and I noticed that pasta is A LOT of calories. So we ended up agreeing that we'd alternate pasta nights with steak and vegetables nights (I realize that I am so lucky to have had such a supportive person next to me throughout the whole process) . This also helped for a while, until I started feeling the weight loss was slowing down.

So I decided to go for a personal trainer at the gym for a few months. And this worked miracles. Having a professional look after you does wonders. Not only he gave me nutrition tips and taught me the basics of how macros work, but he also knew when to stop me if I was pushing myself too hard. I started paying more attention to macros, and kept around 1400 kcal/ day, with the occasional cheat day.

Starting June 2017 I plateaued at 75 kilos. I occasionally managed to go down to 73 but then went back to 75. Tried staying around 1200 kcal, it didn't do much. However I wasn't feeling bad about it. I was already feeling like my body wasn't a blob anymore, I was still seeing some changes even if they weren't showing on the scale. I kept on with my normal 3 times per week gym schedule, and saw improvements with cellulitis. I was ok with that. What I noticed was that I took breaks from the gym for long vacations (1 month long vacations) I gained little weight (1-2 kg) but the gym break was noticeable on my body.

March 2019: a friend suggested that I might want to try lifting heavy. So I tried out lifting slightly heavier. I immediately started losing again. I guess my body was used to my normal routine and just needed slight a push. I seem to be plateauing at 65-66kg now, but I am more than fine with it. I can finally see some of the abs that I have been working on for the last 3 years, the cellulitis is improving, my booty has a shape. I don't care about the numbers anymore, my goal right now is to build some more muscle. I want a superhero body.

I am still eating simple carbs. I occasionally eat junk food. I hate IF (it's just not for me, I get hangry). My main meal still is at 10.30 PM. But now I am keeping it under control.

(Nope, I didn't manage to keep this short)

I am going to sum up some of the things I have learned:

• Take it slow and give it time. Thanks to taking it slow I have very little loose skin for the 23 kilos lost, that can only be seen in certain positions.
• Make small, gradual adjustments. This way your brain will be tricked into thinking that it's not that a big of a deal. Making all the adjustment at the same time will overload your brain with negative thoughts and feelings.
• Educate yourself in order to make the adjustments. Learn a little about nutrition and macros, it will help you take better decisions. Also learn about various types of training, so you can choose the best fit for you. There are so many resources out there.
• Don't beat yourself up over the numbers, but be consistent with your schedule. I have seen 2 kg variations in the same day due to water retention and bloating. A number is just a number.
• Workouts: change your routine every once in a while. Your body will get accustomed to the same routines and might stop collaborating.Also, as a sidenote: you might not like working out. I still don't like the feeling of my muscles burning and the shortness of breath, but try to find something that you dislike less. Soon enough you will start enjoying the endorphins flowing in after a good workout and you will start pushing yourself so you can get that feeling.
• In my case, eating carbs before a workout does wonders on an energy level. I strongly suggest you try that out, they give me that little extra fuel I need. I have a snack consisting of a piece of toast with something or a banana or a yogurt and cereal 1 hour before I leave for the gym. I also have a protein shake after the workout, but that is mainly for helping muscle development, but it will also keep me quite full for the evening (so I'll eat less at dinner).
• Educating yourself will also prevent workout related injuries. Lifting heavier has caused me a slight injury - also related to a small defect in my knees that I didn't know about. Not a big deal, but again, taking things slow helped. I would have probably injured myself much worse if I would have jumped right into lifting even heavier.
• Your goals might change and that's ok. I started working out so I can jumpstart the weight loss. My goal was skinny. My goal has changed, I want to build some extra muscle now.
• Your body might have more than you thought imperfections when you reach (or are close to) your goal. That's also ok, I consider them "scars from battle". Work towards fixing whatever you can and accept whatever you can't. We're all perfect with our imperfections.
• This is for the ladies: there will most likely be significant loss in bra size. Don't worry about that. You might feel disproportionate for a while, but give your body time to adjust.
• Self-image: in my case my self-respect has increased so very much. I avoided having my picture taken before. I love it now. I feel stronger than ever, physically and emotionally, and I felt this inner-strength developing. I take better care of myself. Also my sex drive has sky rocketed since I feel much more desirable.
• Take progress photos. The differences you see in them will keep you motivated.
• Treat yourself when you have done really well. Buy that fancy shirt or dress when you have lost a size. For example, I am treating myself with a new tattoo next week (which also has the purpose of covering up a rough patch of very stubborn cellulitis).
• Last but not least, try to have fun with it and pat yourself on the back when you've done well.

​

P.S. I am so damn scared for posting this with the before and after, even if I should be proud.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/32ABkTz

Reached goal ... now what.

I’ve recently lost 15kg/33lbs and I’m struggling to keep motivation to remain here and feel a little uncomfortable in my skin.

I’m 178cm (around 5’10”), and was 83kg (183lbs) and now I’m down to 68kg/150lbs.

It took me 2 slow, gentle years to drop the weight through some healthier choices and a touch of Intermittent Fasting at a plateau. No mayor changes, just some small smarter choices.

I ran my first 10km in my life recently, and did it again a couple times. And I’m just kind of feeling indifferent now that’s I’ve reached my goal and did something hard like running that far (I’m not a runner!).

Have you lost your motivation before? How did you re-write your goals so that they fire you up still to be better? I was never unhappy with my body, but I guess I thought I’d feel a bit more proud or confident with 15kg down. Instead I just feel a bit ... awkward.

I’m pretty lanky (haha) and know that I should gain some muscle but find that progress harder to measure. I maintained my weight loss for 5ish months and purchased my reward jeans which are the same size and brand I wore when I was 22 and I’m nearly 33 - so that feels like. I want to remain here to keep fitting those expensive jeans! I thought I’d switch my goal down to 66kg/145lbs just to see if I could but my partner has told me I did look a little gaunt there for a bit and I’ve lost all my ass - so I don’t think I should refocus the weight target.

Thanks for the space to share! I’d appreciate your thoughts and any wisdom you have to share. :)

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/32A9s1B

Things are looking up

I am so happy I found this sub, I read posts on here all the time and it has been so encouraging.

I am pleased to say I have been tracking for almost 2 weeks and have already dropped 1.8kg, just another 13 more kg to go ^{^}

Honestly I never realised the calories I was eating till I started tracking everything, I realised I was in such denial about the amount of food I was eating.

I now even got a fitness tracker to encourage me to be more active and challenge myself by trying to get my pedometer higher each week.

Thank you everyone who posts here and giving me the support I need to continue with my weight loss and the help to modify my behaviour around food and exercise.

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A weight fluctuation got me so down.

Hi everyone. My first time posting here and I am new to weight loss in general.

I've been working very hard to lose 10 pounds over the period of about 3 months. The weight loss has been very slow because my bmi is about 21, but I am tall with a very small frame, same frame width as a petite woman, so i do have a bit of subcutaneous fat I want to loose. I have a boyish body type that doesnt take extra weight well. I dont get "thick" and curvy, I just get a pot belly. bfp started at 27, is now 26. My goal weight is 5 pounds lighter.

I was doing really well with my diet and exercise, being so strict, but I got invited to a cocktail party and must have drank about 2,000 calories of cocktails AND binged for 2 days after on snacks.

I gained 6 pounds in a week and was SO disheartened. I thought at first it was just water retention from the drinking, but it didnt go away and just increased every day. I was actually depressed about it and beating myself up about it. Like what's the point in 3 months of work for it all just to be undone because of a few snacks?

But I stepped on the scales today and I am back at my lowest weight. So the whole time I was just beating myself up for no reason. Also, before I weighed myself I was feeling fat, but obviously this was just psychological because I'm the same weight as I was when I felt skinny.

I am learning that this is a very up and down journey and I just wanted to share in case anyone else is going through the same thing.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2ZD0ByF

Accepting defeat.

PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE EASILY DISCOURAGED. I don't want to harm anyone with my negativity.

I'm using a throwaway account, because at least on the internet no one knows I'm fat. I'm posting this because I need to vent. I need to get my feelings out there.

I've been struggling with weight since I was 9 years old. I remember going to the doctor one time and seeing on the scale 145lbs. Then by time I was 11 years old I weighed 190lbs.

I steadily gained weight. Then when i was 16 I weighed in at 240lbs. At this point I deiced to do something about it ( this was probably the only time in my life where I had will power). I winded up going on Atkins. I got down to 180lbs.

Unfortunately I developed a bad case of acid reflux during this time. The only thing that didn't irritate my acid reflux was high carb foods. So I winded up regaining all the weight loss plus some. That was the first and last time I had a major weight loss in my life.

Since then I've been gaining weight. I've tried multiple times to lose weight. I would lose 10lbs and then slip back into my old habits.

On top of all of this. I was diagnosed with PCOS at 21. Then earlier this year I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and borderline high cholesterol. And I'm only 32.

You would think all of this would motivate me to lose weight. Everytime I tell myself I will get myself together but I fail each time.

I have now accepted that I have no willpower. I accept that I am going to remain this way. The fact I've been trying to lose weight since my teens and fail each time, tells me that I don't have it in me to change my habits and lose weight.

I've looked into weight loss surgery. But I unfortunately don't have insurance of the funds to get it done.

I have no willpower to lose weight and too broke to afford weight loss surgery.

So I have accepted defeat. I have to accept that I will most likely be fat for the rest of my life.

I am at my wits end. As much as I want to lose weight, I just can't handle the failure anymore. I'm tired of being happy when I lose 10lbs and then crying when I gain to back.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2ZPSFpN

How Do You Deal With Wanting To Lose It All Right Now?

I am doing really well these first 6 weeks with 24 pounds down. That said, I want to be in amazing shape, like I was before putting all of this weight on, RIGHT NOW. Heck, I want to be in shape like yesterday...

I was wondering if you girls and guys have any tips for dealing with this nagging desire to accomplish more, faster, all the time?

This drive for more is something that is both good and bad. It makes me dedicated and a little extreme. This is true for the gym, playing sports back when I was in college, work life and anything that is competitive. And I’m sure all of us on this sub want to be in perfect shape right now too! That being said, im worried of this derailing my weight loss. Right now, I have been at a caloric deficit resulting in a 3 LB rate of loss per week. Aggressive, yes, but I have a lot of weight to lose and I have been at 2K calories but just exercising a lot. I am concerned that my lack of patience will lead me to either increase this deficit, which would be unsustainable, or get discouraged when I eventually start to lose less than 3LB a week, which is inevitable. https://www.livestrong.com/article/457829-is-3-lbs-per-week-weight-loss-healthy/

In summation, I know if I stay on my current track that I will accomplish my goals, but I am concerned that this need for more, faster, will lead to me getting discouraged and falling off the weight loss/health wagon, so to speak. Any tips/advice is greatly welcomed

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