Unhealthy obsession with weight loss, fighting myself 24/7 mentally - encouragement appreciated :)

Hi everyone! I've been lurking here for a while now, and finally feel brave enough to post. Firstly, I want to thank this community as a whole for being so helpful, informative and motivating! I've taken a lot of advice to heart, even if it was posted for someone else.

My stats (just in case it matters): 26F / 159cm / SW 64,5kgs / CW 58kgs / GW 53kgs

I was in great shape and really happy with my body in my teen years (didn't ever binge, very active). At the age of 19, I weighed 50kgs and had visible abs. Then my dad died in a freak accident which basically turned my entire life upside down. I was completely alone in life after losing my only involved parent (who was also my best friend). I dropped out of university and basically turned to food and alcohol for comfort. Without realising it, I gained 24kgs. I didn't care much for the next 2 years. At 21, I lost most of this weight by essentially starving myself and exercising excessively. The weight stayed off for about two years, then started to creep back.

Last year, I reached an all-time low regarding body image / self-esteem. I met my amazing partner who is in the best shape of his life, and instead of inspiring me, this initially made me feel even more down and demotivated. I constantly felt like I needed to be in better shape in order to be with someone like him. Anyway, I finally asked him for help this year, and I did a very clean keto for the first time in April/May for 4 weeks. I should mention we were long distance and I was flying across the world every 4-6 weeks for 18 months, always staying with people as a guest, which made it a bit hard to eat whatever I wanted (for example, I felt it rude to turn down the dinner that was prepared because I personally thought it was unhealthy, so I always ate whatever was in front of me). In July of this year, I finally moved to his country and we got a house together. Being in control of my food in my own home is the best feeling, especially after a year and a half of travelling! This has contributed hugely to my current success, because I can prepare healthy meals and use my food scale for everything.

That brings us to the present. After the initial joy and celebration of me moving, I decided to buckle down at the beginning of September when I weighed 64,5kgs. We did keto again, but with little success. I dropped to 60,5kgs and then got stuck. This is when I discovered the magic of CICO through this subreddit (I honestly have no clue how I hadn't heard about it before). I'm now down to 58kgs, but struggling with obsessive behaviour, under-eating and extremely negative thoughts. I decided to stop keto today, and keep doing CICO with healthy carbs included.

Here's where I get to my point as stated in the title: the logical part of my brain knows it's stupid to eat 600-800 calories a day, and yet that's what I've been doing. Logically, my aim should be 1200, a little more when I run 5km+. For what it's worth, I eat nutrient-rich foods 95% of the time. Think eggs, nuts, leafy green veggies, fruit, chicken, fish. My BMI, body fat %, weight etc. tell me I'm in the normal range, but I look in the mirror and still see myself as disgustingly fat. I exercise to the point of almost throwing up / passing out, all the while telling myself that I'm a lazy piece of shit - but I'm literally busy running 5km for the 5th time this week, so that doesn't even make sense?!? I'm clearly not lazy, and I would never speak to someone else like that, so why do I do it to myself? I feel like I need to be punished for every piece of chocolate or slice of pizza, even when I'm still well under 1000 calories for the day and it's only one slice of pizza in 4 weeks. I'm losing weight, but it's just not fast enough according to the mean thoughts in my head. I literally don't think or talk about anything besides weight loss.

I'm just frustrated and I want to love myself and my body more. My partner is incredibly supportive but also voicing a lot of concern, and I get the feeling he's tired of constantly reassuring me so I'm scared to keep going on about it all the time. The only other thing that helps my negative thoughts is reading encouragement on this sub. (Again, thank you.)

I want to lose weight sustainably and be happy and healthy in the long term. Logically, I know I need to be patient and go easy on myself. Life isn't magically going to begin at my goal weight, life is already happening right now. I want to enjoy it. I want to be present with my partner and friends, and talk about anything besides calories, exercising and losing weight.

Does anyone have any tips on how to change this thought pattern? How can I help the logical side triumph? It's exhausting being at war with myself. :(

I'm really sorry this post is so long and sounds like I'm just rambling. If even one person made it to the end - thank you so, so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to read my story.

submitted by /u/allaboutthelove7
[link] [comments]

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

Over 250lbs lost with diet, exercise, and cutting out the negative self talk in my head. Here’s some tips and advice to help you on your weight loss journey!

Here are my progress pics if anyone is interested

​

Hey guys! I use to be severely morbidly obese. Back then I was depressed, socially anxious, and I thought about suicide all the time. That is until I started to learn more about the power of healthier eating, and most of all about the power of the human mind. Within a short time I went from 480lbs to 210lbs and my life has never been better. No matter how much weight you have to lose, you can do it too! Here are a few tips that have helped me in my journey.

▪️This is a lifestyle change and not a diet. If you want to live long and healthy than you want to eat foods that will promote your health and not decline your health. This means that the majority of what you eat should be unprocessed foods. Yes that means cooking and prep time but it’s so worth it! Processed foods undermine your ability to lose weight because a lot of them contain additives that actually make you crave more of the food. Processed foods are a vicious cycle. Stick with mostly foods Whole Foods to break the craving loop.

🔳 Processed foods also undermine your ability to lose weight because rather than nourishing and giving you energy, they deplete you of your energy. Who wants to cook or meal prep when they feel exhausted? No one! Eat the foods that put some pep in your step and not foods that drain you and you’ll not only have time to make the right types of food but you’ll even have time to exercise and enjoy life.

🔳 Get moving! Honestly exercise was a small part of my weight loss journey. It’s very easy to lose weight with food alone if you’re eating the right types of foods that are low in fat (if your not keto. Keto is pretty good for weight loss) low in sugar, sodium, additives, etc. But when you do get moving make it be something that you absolutely love! Don’t do something that you dread or else you won’t stick to it. I like to bike. I like to do qigong. Maybe you like to walk or run or swim. Just do whatever will keep you motivated in the long run.

🔳 sustainable weight loss mainly comes from eating healthier Whole Foods. But the other most important aspect is the mental. If you don’t have the right mindset than you won’t be successful at losing weight or at keeping it off. I use to be so hard on myself. The voice inside of my head was so harsh. I would tell myself that I couldn’t do such and such and that I would never lose weight. That it was too hard. You must change this negative self talk in your head! You really do create your own reality with your beliefs and your negative beliefs can turn into a bad self fulfilling prophecy. Realize that you can change the way you see yourself. Realize that your thoughts do not define you. Realize that you can be and do whatever you want as long as you believe in yourself and you have the will to change.

🔳 Mirror-work is powerful and it’s one of the greatest tools for personal transformation. Instead of looking at yourself in the mirror and being disgusted look at yourself in the mirror and envision the you that you want to be. See that beautiful body that you want. Know that it’s within you under the layer of fat that you’ve been hiding under. Tell yourself good things instead of bringing yourself down. Soon your positive mental state will begin to manifest a positive outer physical state. Yes our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves can change our physical appearance! It’s possible! Physical change really does start in the mind.

🔳 Most importantly don’t keep junk foods in the house. Know yourself. Know what triggers you. To this day I only keep Whole Foods in the house. Actual ingredients and not packaged foods. If there were Oreos and Doritos in my house I’d eat it. Period. I know myself. And once I start it’s hard for me to stop. So know yourself. If it’s not around then you can’t eat it. This doesn’t mean deprive yourself either. Healthy foods can be absolutely delicious and these days you can pretty much healthify any of your favorite junk foods with a bit of work. And that’s the key. Make yourself work for that treat. If you want something sweet than pull out the ingredients for it and make it yourself. Put some love and time into making it just as you’re putting love and time into caring for your body. If you want that healthier treat then ride your bike or walk to the store to get it. Build up your will power everyday. Show yourself that YOU CAN and you will gain the confidence to overcome anything and lose the weight.

I’d never thought I’d be where I am today. I’d never thought I’d be eating like how I am today. This is coming from someone who binge ate ridiculous amounts of food on a daily basis. I never thought I’d be able to give up the junk but I did. Once I realized how much better I felt inside and outside for letting it go, it was a no brainer and now this a permanent way of life for me. If I can do it you can do it too. I believe in you whole heartedly but you must believe in yourself.

submitted by /u/abhikaha
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2IU0yoe

I got “skinny shamed” and I’m shocked

I feel like this sub is full of stories from people being judged for being overweight in one domain or another, but a family member recently made me so fucking angry.

I’ve been on the weight loss journey on and off for years, and I’ve dealt with severe and debilitating EDs during this time. I’m so proud of my progress though, I’m so much stronger mentally and physically.

This family member gained 12 kilos over the summer, on top of not being very fit to begin with. They were complaining allllll through dinner about how much it sucks and how at their age it’s impossible to lose the weight, all the whole eating whatever the fuck they wanted.

My plate was healthy and I tracked what was on it, only to be literally laughed at and mocked because “you’re so skinny wtf are you doing”. They then went on to say how I have it so easy, it’s so lucky to be me bla bla. They “have a sweet tooth” and thus cannot physically control their cravings. They’re a “foodie” who just loves food more than I’ll ever know.

I admit I don’t have A LOT of weight to lose by any measure, but it took me a while to get there. I’m allowed to continue until I’m happy with my progress, it’s no ones fucking business.

I hate when people compare their progress to someone else’s. No one finds it easy to lose weight. Everyone likes to eat yummy food and everyone likes to eat dessert. We all get cravings, I’m not an alien, I struggle too but I consciously make the decision to eat healthier because evolution has given me the mental capacity to be able to make these decisions.

Sorry about my rant! I just needed to get this out there. If someone is on a fitness journey, it doesn’t matter if they have 1kilo to lose or 100, their journey is valid, just like yours is.

submitted by /u/neuroticbrunette
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2oP12p5

Does it matter what I eat?

Sooo I've restarted my weight loss journey in September and I just can't handle keto anymore. For some reason I don't get enough energy and to tired to stay awake for the day also finding a tasty recipe is a mission in itself. So I've switched to mainly carbs I guess which is really a plate of shwarma every 3 days which is around 1800 calories. And I can thrive on that, much more energy and it tastes really good. Also I'm at 271 lbs rn started at 333 lbs and my goal is 173 lbs. So my question is if it really matters what you eat when losing large amount of weight like I am. Like ik it would matter in cut and bulk cycles but rn I don't think keto or high protein would help me retain any more muscle than with my carb food lol. Also I my intermittent fasts happen for 72 hrs so I eat like 2 shwarma plates a week. And my workouts is a 6 day push pull leg split with 14000 steps every day or around 10km of walking.

submitted by /u/Silverbolt626
[link] [comments]

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

Plateau or failing?

So i started all over again on 9-9-19 after i went to the dr for my yearly checkup weigh in at 376 although i had on my work uniform(w/workboots) i figured i probably clocked in at 370 or so. while im relatively healthy, my blood pressure was a little high so my doc wanted to put me on medication for it. So i decided i was tired of it and made some changes. Cut out bread, sugar and starches completely and eating more lean protein. It was kinda like a lazy keto trying to keep it under 50 grams a day and it worked well. Ive gone from 376ish down to 344 since then. I feel a lot better but ive done this before and ill lose 30lbs of mostly water weight i assume and when the weight loss slows down i get discouraged and quit. Its happening again. The weight loss feels like its slowing down so i wonder if it just a plateau my body goes through and i need to just keep going or do i need a new approach.

submitted by /u/Tigga3346
[link] [comments]

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

Struggling

Hi there! I am new to reddit but follow along with discussions about weight loss. Recently I had gained back about 20 lbs of the 70 I lost last year and that really put me in the dumps. I became depressed and kept stress/emotional eating. 3 weeks ago I changed my diet and started going to the gym with my significant other. Now, he says strength training was the way to do it so I listened. However, at the last few weigh ins I had I was gaining weight despite sticking to my diet (intermittent fasting with a <1400 calorie/day) and exercising. My job is fast paced and I'm on my feet moving for a majority of my shift.

I've gotten even worse in depression hole because of the weight gain despite these efforts and am at the point of giving up completely as it seems I am destined to be a fat girl. I avoid mirrors and the scale like the plague now.

Any advice?

Side note: I'm a 24 female, 218 lbs, 5'5. However, DDD bra size which everyone says contributes about 30% of my weight ...

submitted by /u/pastatot95
[link] [comments]

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

My body seems hell-bent on eating up muscle before fat.

Stats: 33F, 156 cm, SW: 72 kg, CW: 62 kg, GW: 52 kg

(Imperial: 33F, 5’1.5”, SW: 159 lbs, CW: 137 lbs, GW: 115 lbs)

I’ve really upped my gym routine over the past month and half, working with a personal trainer 3x a week, getting in 10,000+ steps daily and attending fitness classes which means I’m usually at the gym 5-6x a week.

This means that I’m genuinely building muscle for the first time in my life and was feeling particularly proud that my triceps (a longtime complex of mine) were starting to shape up. I flex and touch them several times a day—that’s how I’m happy am I about them, LOL.

But yesterday I showed up for my session with my trainer and the first thing he mentioned was “What happened to your triceps!?” Well I noticed it too in the mirror that morning and was hoping it was just my imagination but it was true...my triceps hung ungainly like a curtain. “Were you doing cardio!?” He added.

I have to add, the last time he saw me was THREE DAYS AGO. And yes, I was doing cardio everyday like I have been doing the past 2.5 months. Also he literally tells me to do cardio before AND after our sessions. How else do you expect me to lose all this weight that I’m having trouble shifting despite a significant calorie deficit. My weight loss streak stopped completely the moment I went serious on lifting (2-3x a week) and fitness classes 5-6x a week but I’m losing inches on my waist so I’ve resigned to my fate.

So yesterday’s session turned into a 90% tricep-training fest and the underside of my arms are looking better this morning but STILL...of all the places that my body could think of to lose mass WHY target hard-earned muscle?? You’d think it’ll go for my face, neck, and back fat but NO....let’s eat up your muscle for shit and giggles yo.

And to think that yesterday morning, I was happy because it seemed that the scale was finally going on a downward trajectory.

Just ranting here, but any advice would be appreciated.

submitted by /u/cassis-oolong
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2BfzR9r