No longer obese! Here’s what I’ve learned

F(21) 5’1 SW: 198 CW:158 GW:115

I’ve started my weight loss journey since August 2019 and along the way I learned how to control my portions, how to love exercise, and that I don’t like to snack so I either eat OMAD or two meals per day. However things have been quite challenging since quarantine started.

First off I had to move back to my hometown where it is unsafe to walk outside, then I moved in with my boyfriend who eats like garbage and insists a 5’1 female should eat as much as a 6’0 male, finally between online college classes and going back to work I have been busy nonstop. Those are the challenges I had to face in addition to no longer being able to go to the gym. I’m sure many of you can relate to this struggle and I would like to offer some advice that has helped me through this journey.

1. CICO is king

It does not matter if you cannot workout as hard as you want to as long as you keep your diet in check. Weight loss is 70% diet anyway. Make sure that you are at enough of a deficit to make up for any lost fitness.

1. Eat better quality foods

Over this past month I was able to make some changes to my diet that is significant. For example instead of fries with chicken tenders I switched the fries for grilled asparagus. It may not be the healthiest meal but it is definitely better than it was before and keeps me full longer.

1. Don’t let perfect be the opposite of good

I know that for many of you the pain of not being able to go to the gym is real. For a while I have found that I have no motivation to do any workouts. If I do a calisthenics routine in my apartment my neighbors will yell at me because it makes too much noise. Additionally, like I said before, I cannot walk outside due to the unsafe neighborhood. It’s ok if your fitness level is not what you expect it to be during these times. I’ve learned to do yoga 3x a week and even though it’s not perfect it’s good enough.

1. Be kind to yourself

Due to these unprecedented times I have noticed that my weight loss has slowed significantly. I used to lose 1-2 lbs per week but now I’m losing .5-1 lbs per week. This is ok! Even though it’s not the levels I expect I have to remember that I’m still losing weight and I was never doing this as a quick fix. Weight loss can take a long time and that’s ok. Being healthy is the ultimate goal and it does not matter how long it takes to get there.

I hope you found this useful and let me know if you have any questions. I am not a professional or an expert in any way but hopefully my experience can be helpful.

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Where do the 1200 for women/1500 for men minimums come from?

Tldr: how do we know the 1200/1500 calories/day minimums and where were they determined?

Hi all,

I've been losing weight consistently since January of this year on 1200-1300 calories per day, with an occasional overage. I'm down almost 20lbs and really happy with my progress. I'm 33, 5'4", and a woman.

Sometimes I see people on other weight loss subs who have really dramatic transformations in very short periods of time, and it's often because they're dramatically undereating. The most recent example I can think of is an adult guy who lost a ton of weight in a month on 600 calories per day. :(

I'd love to be able to share some science with folks like that about why the minimum calorie intake for adults is 1200 for women and 1500 for men, but I can't find it online anywhere. It seems to be an accepted convention that everyone repeats, but how did the fitness and nutrition community arrive at those numbers?

Does anyone have a link or information about the studies where they were determined?

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Trying to stay positive! (But could use a little help) 25F 5’4

Sorry this post is more of a rant and just a way to express myself a little. I’ve never really posted about my journey other than replying to some comments here and there, but I’m a long time lurker and these subs have helped keep me motivated!

I’ve struggled with weight my whole life, the first time I tried to lose I was 8 years old going to weight watchers with my mom. I’ve done WW 3 times, a year of keto and IF supervised with a doctor (lost 8 pounds), and other fads that lasted 3-5 months before I got discouraged. At 18 I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and spent the next 5 years on and off prednisone, which caused me to be in a continuous cycle of gaining/losing the same 15 pounds.

I’m down over 50 pounds from my heaviest (7 years ago) and in the last 2 years am down 40 which I’m extremely proud of, especially since entering the 130s for the first time in 15 years. I’ve only started to really see and feel the difference in the last 10-15 pounds.

I’m working so hard through quarantine to continue losing weight. Averaging 20000 steps a day, added in yoga/weight training every other day and maintaining 1200 cal/day- though more days than usual I’m finding it hard to keep to 1200, but I still never go over 1450. I’m used to the fact that I average a loss of 2-3lbs a month which has been hard and slow. I know I can’t stop working at this even if my weight loss slows down because I’m happier with how I look than I’ve ever been and gaining back would destroy the confidence I’ve built recently.

I guess I just needed a place to vent- most of the time I try and keep my family motivated, my parents are both obese and have struggled with weight their entire lives as well. I see the relationship they have with food and it’s one of my greatest fears I end up having that for the rest of my life. They ask if I’m tired of calorie counting and I try to look at it as just being part of my life now, but the truth is some days I am just tired of it, and tired of feeling like I’m working so hard. I think about food and calories from the minute I wake up, and until I go to bed and I’m constantly telling myself not to snack and bargaining what I can/can’t eat, and it can be really exhausting. I’m trying not to make food based rewards anymore (no celebrating with a bowl of ice cream or going for a burger and fries), I didn’t even want to celebrate my birthday by going for dinner. I’m really happy for people who started January 2020 and have lost 20-30 pounds (aka people working hard and seeing quick encouraging results) but it also makes me feel defeated- like I’ve been fighting for this my whole life and even now the struggle continues daily and the progress is so slow.

Anyone have some word of wisdom? People who have made it to their goals? Anyone experiencing similar things?

Sorry this was so long- thanks to anyone that read to the end!

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Jealous rant

Preface:

I've been on my weight loss journey for a few years now, SW: 196, CW: 130. I'm SO close to my goal weight of 120! But these last few pounds are proving to be quite difficult. My methods are working, deficit + exercise, however it's quite a crawl now.

On to the rant:

My journey started out simple, only with myself to consider and no distractions. However, now living with two people on their own journeys, I'm finding myself getting discouraged and feeling indignant. The reason for this, is that their journeys are wildly different from mine, and hearing of their complications/success feels so unfair.

The first, is a male in a cut phase after bulking. I'm happy for his success, but hearing how he's "dropping 20 lbs in 2 months easily" is hard to hear when I get at most 2 lbs a month. Especially when I'm in a plateau.

The second, is a male trying to gain weight and build muscle mass. Hearing his struggle to even eat 3000 calories with my history of binge eating is shocking to me.

I hope they succeed in their goals, but its so hard for me not to be bitter. As a 25F on a 1200 calorie diet, it can be disheartening to watch them eat in one meal, my entire daily calorie allowance. Different TDEE and goals i know.. just sucks sometimes! Trying not to compare myself but since it's an unfair game (my thoughts go out to all the short ladies out there) its really hard.

Anyone have similar experiences to share?

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Sunday, 19 April 2020? 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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Torn between losing weight and over indulging

Lately I’ve been struggling really hard with weight loss. Since mid last year I had been actively losing, without much of a problem with binging or over indulging in food. Lately (ever since I’ve been self quarantined), I’ve found myself so unmotivated to lose weight to the point where I have been consuming way too much food. I’ve tried keeping myself busy with lots of different hobbies, but even with that and being occupied with work online, I can’t seem to grasp a sense of control. A part of me does want to still lose weight, but for some reason the other part of me just doesn’t want to stop. I do want to stop though, because I feel awful about myself and my body. I’m really afraid that I’ll just gain weight through this quarantine.

I don’t feel as though I’m over indulging because I’m hungry, or excessively eating at a deficit usually. I usually eat at a deficit of about 250 (obviously not consistent right now because of this) and it has worked really well for me in the past.

I just don’t really know what to do. I feel unmotivated, as well as not being in a good environment because of personal issues in my home life. I guess I’m just looking for some advice as I’m feeling a little low.

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NSV: Finally looking good in photos

I'm 22F, going to give my stats here and talk about my journey below this:

Height: 5'2ft

Starting Weight: 165lbs (May 2019)

Current Weight: 135lbs

So I started my weight loss journey in May 2019 after graduating university. At this point I weighed 165lbs and my BMI was a bit over 30, putting me in the obese category. Before starting university I was within the healthy weight category. However, by the time I graduated I gained over 30lbs. During this time I tried various diets and always gave up. I tried the keto diet for a while but eventually gave up and regained all the weight I lost. Throughout my four years I was always in a cycle of "eating healthy", and then with one little mistake I would give up and binge eat. This cycle would happen every week, where I would wait for Monday to "start my diet". With this I never lost any weight, instead I gained most of my weight with this.

Fast forward to May 2019 and I had a picture taken of me at a birthday party. I couldn't believe what I looked like. I always convinced myself that I just looked bad in pictures and that I just wasn't photogenic, and that I looked better in real life. But this picture I looked terrible, I was so upset with what my face looked like. The next day I decided that this time I would actually lose weight and I signed up at the gym. I was pretty bad at staying on tract in the beginning. But what helped me the most was that if I made a mistake I wouldn't give up and then binge eat. I slowly got to a point where I would no longer binge eat, and I stopped treating my self with food as rewards. I still ate junk food and didn't count calories. But I made sure that I ate less than what I burnt. This could be part of the reason why it took me a long time to lose the weight, but I'm happy with my progress :)

I also slowly developed some great habits. I now go on walks during my breaks and lunches at work, which is something I would never do before. I no longer binge eat or hog food. I drink about 2L of water a day now opposed to my 1L before. I also no longer drink my calories (I used to love Java Chip fraps from Starbucks, kinda miss these though).

The best part, now I like the way I look in photos. I no longer use the excuse that I'm just not photogenic, or that it was a bad photo. When I look at my old photos I can't believe that I ever looked like that, because this is my new norm and I plan on maintaining it and hopefully achieving my goal weight (120lbs) in a few months.

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