A year and a half ago, I never thought I would actually do it....

I have been obese since I was a kid. The last time I remember me being a normal weight was when I was 7 years old, since then I was always big. I heard it all, "you will grow into it" "your not that big". I tried losing weight so many times, in fact, I shared my original weight loss here back in 2011. Then I ballooned back up and even past my previous high, hitting my all time high weight of 302. I remember so vividly stepping on that scale, seeing that number and I felt like I was staring into the abyss. I felt hopeless, maybe I should just eat myself to death and live life like that, maybe it was time to just give in. I did not let that happen.

So how did I finally do it? I educated myself. I became obsessed about nutrition, how to eat and the best way to lose weight and build muscle. The most difficult part of the process was quitting the food addiction, and I still feel that dark shadow of the addiction looming over me. I think of it as a reminder of where I was, and in some way, I hope I never forget it. I am so used to beating myself up and hating my body (full honesty, I still have massive body image issues. I guess that's what a lifetime of obesity does to you) and hating my choices that lead me to my position. Now I am so proud of my accomplishments, I almost can't believe this is actually my body. I still get a little shocked when I look in the mirror, or even look down at my legs, THESE ARE NOT MY LEGS!

I wanted to share this achievement with all of you, hopefully it motivates those on their journey like me to keep fighting and keep pushing. I was obese all my life so the term "if I can do it" really applies here. Get obsessed with learning what your body needs. I would eat, drink and breath weight loss. I watched every video, read every study and relied on my progress pictures to keep motivated and not break down into a binge.

My starting weight: 302lb Current weight: 208lb

If you have any questions let me know. But if your asking how I did it, I followed CICO, moved more and started lifting (I traded a food addiction for a gym addiction). I still have roughly 15-20lbs to lose to get to my ultimate goal before I start to bulk up on muscle, all in time for my 30th birthday in 2 weeks. I feel like I have a 2nd chance at life, a healthy start to a new decade.

I refuse to give this up.

Thanks for listening.

Before and After

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What is your fitness routine?

Hello all! I’m about five pounds away from my weight loss goal (thanks to a lot of the wonderful advice I’ve gotten from this subreddit) and I’m very excited! Most of my weight loss has been due to CICO and making healthier food choices but now that I’m closer to my goal, I would like to start incorporating exercise into my routine (not only for weight loss but also for my longterm mental and physical health).

So my question is, what do you all do for fitness? Do you alternate between cardio and strength training? Do you have a sport/activity you really enjoy? How do you balance exercise with your other responsibilities? I appreciate any responses!

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My weight loss journey from 280+ pounds to 171.2 as of today :)

Hello! Starting off I’m 17 currently and started to lose weight around August of 2018. I started losing weight at 5’10 and around 282 pounds. Earlier in 2018 my dad left, this would soon be my driving factor to lose weight. He was the one that made me feel bad and stay in my room instead trying to better myself. So, back to August, I asked my mom to get me a bike. I had always liked biking when I was younger and I knew from a little research biking is pretty good for you.

I started with 10 miles the first day. Felt pretty good about it and my legs weren’t all that sore. So the next day, I did another 10 miles. After this I was hooked. I started riding a minimum of 50 miles a week. During this time I didn’t change my eating habits all that much. Winter came around and I stopped biking as much. Being in Florida, I was back to riding in February. I kept biking and biking and by June of 2019, I was 242 pounds. During this time, I couldn’t see much of my body physically changing. I knew the number on the scale was going down so I had to be doing something right.

During summer all I was doing was riding around my little town and racking up the miles. August of 2019 rolls around and I am now down to 210 pounds. About this time of year is when I started going to the gym and paying attention to how much I was eating and when I was eating. This is when the weight started shedding. By the end of September I was down to 190 pounds. I slowly started burning fat and building some muscle so by the end of the year I was 180. Sticking to it and now being the end of February, I am now 6’0 and sitting at 171.2. No special dieting. Just paying attention to how much I eat and when. Drinking lots of water. 3,000+ miles on the bike. Hopefully this gives some encouragement!

Before and after picture: https://imgur.com/gallery/Wut75sR

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LA Marathon Run with Run to the Finish Book Tour

I’ve run the LA Marathon several times and think it’s the most under-rated marathon in the United States. Why isn’t it grouped in with the other big city marathons like New York, Chicago or Boston?? We can talk about that another time. Today I have a bunch of links and tips if you’re running the ... Read More about LA Marathon Run with Run to the Finish Book Tour

The post LA Marathon Run with Run to the Finish Book Tour appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

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Starting again..

I am a 41F starting this whole losing weight thing again.. I know I feel so much better when I'm not 60+lbs overweight so I set a goal to start after some minor surgery recovery. The plan is to start exercising after March 17 when my Dr clears me at follow-up appt. Until then I am planning on changing my diet. But I need accountability. I've done WW a couple of times. It was successful until I got SO tired of constantly thinking about points and my body that I'd quit just shy of goal.

My plan is to try out a couch to 5k, I think adding an exercise routine is my best bet. I'm liking what I've heard about a keto diet but is that long term sustainable? Is it better to just portion control/calorie count? I want this to spill into my kids lives too- they deserve to know how to care and fuel their bodies in a healthier way than we are now.

So, I'd love to hear anything about keto, c25k, diet change in a big family (there are 6 of us), other apps that help with weight loss, other free resources to have some accountability?

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Why You Keep Failing At Weight Loss & What You Can Do To Finally Make It Happen

Listen, weight loss is hard. There's no doubt about that. But how hard is it exactly? Well, let's look at some statistics...

What The Science Says

Based on the research & scientific literature:

• 6 out of 7 overweight or obese individuals are able to successfully lose 10% of their body weight. That's great, right? Not quite...
• Within 3 years up to 85-95% of these people gain back all of the weight they originally lost. Yep, that's right. Only 5-15% of people who lose weight keep it off long-term. But there's more...
• One third to two thirds of these people gain back more weight than they originally lost. The conclusion? Diets are making people heavier (statistically speaking).

[Will post links to sources & references in comments]

Now, I don't post those stats here to scare you or shock you, although I understand if you are. I certainly was when I read them. I post them here to open your eyes to the harsh reality of weight loss.

The Real Problem Of Weight Loss

Most people think the problem with weight loss is losing the weight. Of course that can be quite challenging, but from the studies - most people can do it.

The real problem is with keeping the weight off after you lose it. That's because when most people finish losing weight, they go back to their old habits & patterns which results in... gaining back the weight & more in a lot of cases.

This the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting that so many people fall victim to. From my experience, both as a "dieter" myself & as a coach who now helps people lose weight, most people have tried losing weight in the past, had some success, but gained the weight back again.

Repeat this cycle a few times every couple of years & that's a lot of people's experience with "weight loss".

Fixing The Symptom Instead Of The Root Cause

The real issue here is that people are focused on the symptom: being overweight. They will diet by cutting back calories, start exercising more - & hey, they'll lose the weight. But only over the short-term until they gain it all back.

That's because they never address the root cause of being overweight or obese, and that is an unhealthy lifestyle & relationship with food. See, you can keep dieting & keep losing weight but if you never address the root cause - you'll always end up back where you started.

If you want permanent weight loss you need to make permanent changes to your diet & lifestyle.

Seems kind of obvious to most of us but as they say, common sense is rarely common practice. If you want to lose weight once & for all, you need to make a commitment to yourself to live your life by a higher standard.

How To Create Permanent Positive Change In Your Life

This is the real name of the game here folks. Yes, you will need to "diet" (cut back calories & exercise more). But if you want to maintain that body you worked so hard for, you need to slowly adopt a more overall healthy lifestyle.

This means:

• Developing healthy eating habits (eating for nutrition & for pleasure)
• Maintaining regular exercise that you enjoy doing
• Managing your stress, emotions & mental health
• Getting good quality sleep (min 7-8 hours per night)
• Nurturing your important relationships with friends & family

Some of that stuff may surprise you. But it's impossible to detach weight loss from other parts of your life. Everything is interwoven together.

"How you do one thing is how you do everything."

Taking on a more "holistic" perspective on your weight loss & health can really be a game changer for long-term success. Start looking at your life as one big puzzle & figure out the best way to put the pieces together.

What You Should Take Away From This

Rome wasn't built in a day & neither will your new slim body or healthy lifestyle. Change takes time and you need to be in this for the long haul. It's a marathon not a sprint so focus on small, positive changes you can stay consistent with everyday - that's the key to success.

I could drown on & on about consistency but it really is "the secret". Everything in life requires consistency. The best way to ensure you stay consistent is by taking things slow & enjoy the view every once in a while - you earned it.

I have so much more I want to tell you. I could honestly talk about this stuff FOR HOURS lol. But I don't want to take up too much of your time.

If you have questions, concerns or just need some support - my chat or inbox is always open & I'd love to help you along this journey.

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What do you think caused you to gain the weight? Lack of Education, understanding or desire?

Hi all,

I've been maintaining my weight loss for a year and half/two years and I'm starting to hear more about how people perceive weight loss so it's causing me to wonder what leads people to gain weight in the first place.

​

I was never taught about calories or the amount of fuel my body needs for a day. I genuinely thought that if I ate vegetables and fruit and exercised occasionally I wouldn't be fat. As a overweight adult I did some research and learned about calories and how to estimate how many my body needs in a day but I still didn't quite understand how exercise didn't play as large a role as I presumed. It was only after purchasing a heart rate monitor and doing MORE research that I realized exercise wasn't doing as much as i thought.

​

Then I went through a phase where I was struggling with depression and I just didn't care what I weighed so I sat around ate all of the foods and gained a ton of weight.

​

I want to make sure we don't have another generation of people coming up in the world overweight or obese when it's avoidable through education and understanding.

​

TL;DR: I never learned how weight gain/loss worked as a child so I got fat. What factors led to your weight gain?

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