The Adventure So Far

I thought my first post here would be a celebratory post when I reached my goal weight. But I needed to talk to myself, in front of witnesses, about how I want to proceed from here.

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Scale Victories:

5'8" and female

Highest Weight on Record: 297 pounds in Summer of 2016

When I decided I wanted to build a relationship with the gym: 275 pounds in February of 2019

When I accepted that calories really do matter: 260 pounds in August of 2019

Current weight: 220 pounds

Goal weight: 180 pounds

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Non-scale victories:

- My original non-scale goal was to be able to walk into a martial arts center, to learn Muay Thai, without any shame or concern about not being able to keep up. I made that goal in 2016. I've reached that goal. I can't fulfill that goal yet due to financial constraints, but I can do it whenever my wallet says it's okay. My body doesn't stop me from trying new things.

- I bought my favorite pair of pants I was 21. I grew out of them when I was 24. I'll be 29 soon. I've kept them all of this time, when I threw out other clothes that were too small, because I wanted to fit in those pants again. I was able to fit into them in March. On good days, they're loose. I make them look incredible.

- Exercise has empowered me. The gym is a place of power for me. I cried the day my gym closed for Covid 19. I'm proud of me for creating alternatives.

- I can run now. I dislocated my left knee when I was a kid, and I had to quit the basketball team. I've believed that running was an impossibility since then. I made excuses because I didn't want to hurt myself and being on crutches really sucks. But I've learned that my knee allows me to run with only the typical complaints. When we went into quarantine, I had to find a gym alternative. So, I started walking outside. I started running in April. I'm not very good at it. I still walk when the pain reaches a certain point, but I've learned a lot. I finally learned the B fist on Monday, and it changed everything. I'm proud of me for losing 11 pounds during quarantine. I could have quit.

- If someone that I'm attracted to doesn't show any interest in me, I don't blame it on my looks anymore. Everyone has a preference. Maybe I'm not that person's type. But I don't immediately blame my body anymore.

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Remaining Challenges:

I think I've plateaued. I've been 220 or 219 for a month now. I thought I knew what a plateau was like. There have been times that my weight paused. But it never lasted much more than a week or two, and then, I would lose several pounds all at once. This is different.

I've been counting calories for 302 days. I'm proud.

And I'm disappointed. I wanted to watch the pounds consistently drop all the way to the end. I'm having trouble breaking this plateau because it's getting harder to reduce my calorie count to stay ahead of my weight loss. It's especially hard to eat less on days when I run.

My stress level has increased during quarantine for many reasons. One of those reasons is that I've started the habit of weighing myself every day when I noticed that my weight stopped dropping, just hoping that maybe I was wrong. Maybe this isn't a plateau. Maybe today is the day I'll see a few pounds drop. And that habit isn't okay anymore. It's causing cyclical stress.

I need to stop weighing myself for a while.

I won't stop counting calories. I want to maintain my food awareness. I deserve good and healthy food. I deserve the rush of endorphins through rigorous and brilliantly painful exercise.

Calorie deficit is the focus again. I'm not going to allow the scale to demoralize me to the point of defeat, and the scale is going in my closet until further notice.

It's okay to take a break from the scale, Myself. It doesn't mean you're a quitter. You've been put on mandatory vacation. Keep counting and keep moving.

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What I've Learned From Losing The First 20lbs

I started my weight loss journey around a month ago. However, I've only really been eating on my diet and exercise for 3 weeks. I took a week break for my birthday and was binging/eating at maintenance for that week. I was so close to giving up, all I needed was a bad number on the scale. To my surprise not only did I not gain weight, but I also lost 5 more pounds that week! Here are some things I learned which could help you in your journey.

1. Weight gain is as hard as losing it: It may sound crazy but it's true. IN = OUT. What you've been putting your effort in for many days/weeks/months will not be undone by a small lapse of binging. Wait a day or two after a binge session and step back on the scale, it may go up a little bit, but you also have to account for the carb-loading which causes water retention and water weight. I know it's been reiterated a million times but DO NOT GIVE UP BECAUSE OF A SMALL LAPSE OF BINGING. To put it in perspective say if you binge for 3 days in a row... Say you eat 1000 over maintenance for each of those binges. That would only be less than a pound gained (+0.86 lbs). The magnitude of that weight gain can easily be masked by water weight fluctuations, hormones, and mass of food eaten.
2. Intermittent Fasting: I generally find that eating later in the day keeps me fuller, even if that means I'm staying up late. My sleep schedule is usually 4AM - 1PM. An average day sees me eating "brunch" at 2PM. It usually consists of mainly carbs but I make sure they contain a lot of fibre (e.g. 2 apples and salad). Then after lunch, the fibre keeps me full for a while in which I do some exercise ( THIS IS WHY I EAT MAINLY CARBS BEFORE EXERCISING, YOU WILL TIRE EASILY IF YOU DON'T) at 4 or 5PM. Then I walk/run, play sports, or whatever that burns calories until 8PM. At times, the fibre has still kept me full until now, but I'll still eat something so I can meet my minimum calorie requirement. This meal will consist of tons of proteins and fats (some sort of fish or red meat) with tons of veggies again. I am properly full until like 4AM, but that's time to sleep anyway.
3. Non-scale victories: Weight loss is a lot easier if you're not calling yourself a fat pig all day. I look in the mirror a lot more often and check my jawline often, to see its progress. You should be extremely happy even if it is a small change; that positivity will help you keep going. You will not change unless you love yourself enough to change. As a guy, it's probably one of the best feelings in the world to see your jawline develop more and more. Look for that one feature of your body to keep you motivated. Wearing clothes that haven't fit in a while is also a nice nostalgic feeling. Or buying new smaller clothes (even if they don't fit, it will give you motivation anyway) will also keep you motivated. I know quarantine does not allow a lot of occasions to dress up, but do it anyway and bask in your new-found attractiveness. JUST FIND THAT ONE THING THAT YOU CAN BENCHMARK YOUR PROGRESS!
4. Motivation runs out, habits and discipline don't: Use your honeymoon weight-loss period to develop good habits and discipline. Your willpower will most definitely run out over time (but might be replenished by an NSV or SV). You will get used to eating less/exercising more. Once you lose your willpower, don't give a second thought to cancel your good habits, even if it's just for a day. The more you think about not doing something, the more you'll want to do it. One checkpoint I noticed of developing discipline is that when you have plans, you'll plan around that exercise block you have or you will plan your remaining caloric budget if you're going to eat out. It probably takes around a month.

HOPE THIS HELPS!

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I did it.

Been a little while since my last post, and just like I and other people said, my progress slowed down as o got closer to my goal weight of 190 pounds. But nothing, not even quarantine, was going to stop me. 278 days and 110 pounds after I started my weight loss journey, I’ve finally made it to my goal.

I’m so incredibly happy. I never doubted that I would reach my target weight, but it’s so gratifying to have finally done it. I do still have a bit of pudge in the stomach area, so I think I’ll be shooting for a bit lower. I don’t have a definitive number yet, maybe around 180, but I know that I want a flat stomach.

It’s not impossible. It can be done. Never stop believing in yourself. Don’t let any setbacks keep you down. Keep pressing on and persevering, and I promise you that you can achieve your goals. I believe in you.

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Tips/advice for losing that last 5-10 pounds?

I'm a 18 y/o, 5'4" female and I started my weight loss in Sept. 2019 (SW: 141 lbs). From then until Mar. 2020, I lost ~2 lbs/month (141 to 130 lbs) from dieting. Since then, I lost 5 lbs (CW: 125 lbs). As for my lifestyle, I'm a college student with a part-time job, so I don't have much time for physical activity, but now that we are in quarantine and on summer vacation, I try to follow workout videos and exercise for 5 days/week (~45 mins/day).

I know that I have healthy BMI now, but I still want to lose more body fat (especially in my thighs and belly), tone my body, and reach my goal weight of 115-120 lbs. Some suggest intermittent fasting, but that is just my norm since I eat my first meal after 12pm and finish dinner by 7:30pm daily. I try not to eat anything between meals besides fruits or yogurt, and I don't drink anything besides milk and water.

Does anyone have any tips for how I can achieve my goal to lose that last 5-10 pounds? Will it be better for me to focus more on exercising or dieting, or should I pay equal attention to both? Should I be eating more of one type of food over another? Please tell me any tips/advice/experiences you've had; anything helps! Thank you so much!!

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Is this in the right subreddit?

So, I follow this for weight loss inspiration. I am overweight and am getting back on track, however, I wanted to just vent about my sister.

A few years ago, she was severely underweight and under the influence of heavy drugs. She had dark circles under her eyes and I could see almost all the bones in her body. She always said her goal was to be skinny.

During the past year, she got into one of the best relationships of her life. Now, she is sober, has meat on her bones, and all the curves. I’ve never seen her happier. (She even told me her thighs touch!)

I just wanted to express the happiness I have for my sister and her recovery to being a healthier version of herself. In a way, she is motivating me to be the better version of myself, and I am grateful.

Like I said, this may be the wrong subreddit, but she is my motivation for #loseit.

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I feel like I'm being too sensitive when it comes to weight talk (background + rant = long post ahead)

Just for context, I'm 19F 5'3 SW: 134lbs CW: 115lbs GW: 110lbs

I started my journey on February. Being asian and chinese, it's kind of frowned upon if you're not stick thin (idk if you've seen the tiktoks). Imo, asian girls are stereotyped to be petite and small framed, and I'm not going to lie and say I didn't want to be like the majority. Even if I was already at a healthy weight, all of my family and friends perceived me to be bigger than the rest. I guess you could say it kind of influenced me into losing this much weight now. I was always the butt of the fat jokes in my household, especially being between 2 brothers who have a crazy fast metabolism and always look thin.

So, yeah, for the past 19 years, I heard all kinds of "sumo wrestler" jokes from my dad, "no man would want to marry a fat person" comments from my mom. It caused my self-esteem to jump off a cliff and just die. Because of those, I became sensitive to my physical appearance, I became awkward and didn't know how to present myself, I wore clothes that didn't flatter my body, and even if I did wear clothes that showed my figure, I'd chicken out and wear drab clothing, this caused people to treat me as "one of the guys" (it didn't help that I didn't act all girly bc I didn't even feel like a girl at all anymore)

Anyway, enough boring stuff, fast forward to today. I started my weight loss journey (with my family knowing ofc), I skip dinner and cut out snacks, count calories and (secretly) exercise in my room, which brought me down by 19lbs. I admit, I started to feel great, I started to appreciate my body and was proud of my weight loss. Since I didn't have any weight loss buddies (online or irl), I felt like I needed to just share my milestone with someone and they would be happy for me too.

Unfortunately, the only available people atm is my family. I love them, I don't hold a grudge against them, but I'm not so open to them about my insecurities and other internal problems (no room for soft feelings in my household lol it's all about earning money). So I gathered up a lot of courage and excitedly told them over dinner one day that I'm (previously) 123lbs. They were surprised to say the least, they didn't think I'd actually lose weight. Then when I told them I had a goal of 110lbs, they laughed in my face, saying it's impossible. I admit, old me would've backed down and believed them, but new me found her strength in the mockery of my family and insisted that I will reach that weight just to prove them wrong (this was 2 months ago).

The fat jokes slowly subsided which made me feel all the better, but then a new era of jokes arose in our household - fucking weight loss jokes. I don't know how my dad does it, but even in times of success and triumph, he has this ability to just bring you down (I'm not even going to go into my internal hatred for my dad) and make you feel like complete shit.

At times, when my family feels like drinking soda, I'd opt for water. Or when my family eats snacks, I'd politely decline. Like I said, weight was a sensitive topic for me, so, as much as possible, I try to avoid talking about my own weight. It took me a lot of courage to even open up about my milestone.

Whenever I would decline a snack, sometimes, my dad would make side comments saying "did you know, I'm 53kgs (116lbs) right now, just really near your weight" (he's 70-75kgs) or "yeah, I don't feel like eating either, I'm on a DIET, I don't want to get FAT" or "eating this would make you fat, right (talking to me)?" Or even "what's your weight again? 52kg right? Wow, I'm 60kg and I don't need to lose weight like you" (60kg was my SW) or even once when I felt proud for not eating chips for a month and soda for 3 months, my dad made this mocking face and said "woahhh look who's being arrogant now" which made me feel ashamed for even saying that.

And it makes me SO. FUCKING. SICK. I just want to bang my fist against any hard surface till my hand hurts and tell him to fucking shut up. I know what y'all are thinking "why don't you just tell him that it's affecting you" yeah no, lol, it's not that easy to have a "heart-to-heart" in our household. It'll turn into a one-sided lecture coming from them about "not taking everything seriously" or "it's just a joke, don't be so sensitive". It just amazes me how, such a proud moment of my life, could be ruined by a single comment from my dad. The rest of my family stopped already and just ask about my progress. But my dad, oh boy, is such a special case. A proud moment could easily feel like an embarrassment because of him.

Idk, maybe I'm just being petty or too sensitive about all of this, but idk how many times I wanted to scream at him to just shut the fuck up. It makes me clam up about my progress entirely, I regret ever even sharing to them about my first milestone, it now turned into some running joke that makes me feel worse for even sharing.

Sorry this was long, I just needed to let out the anger. If you read until here, thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. I just needed to vent, even if it's a little.

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My First NSV and my Thoughts on Starting the Weightloss Process

M16 SW ~240lbs GW: 190lbs CW: 195lbs

Hey, I'm new to this sub and wanted to share my first NSV and my philosophy at the start of my weightloss, for other teenagers looking to loose some weight.

My NSV came when I was at the gym after losing about 15lbs. I ran into people at the gym constantly and lots of times I didn't talk to them bc I was shy about being big. This one time I was at the rowing machine and a tall muscular dude came over to me. I didn't recognize him, but he walked over as if he'd known me for a while. I started to panic, trying to remember his name or face but nothing came to mind. And then he started talking: "Hey man, you don't know me, but I used to see you around the gym and just wanted to say that you're going great, congratulations!" I said thanks really happily, then finished my rowing and ran to the bathroom and immediately texted my other weight-loss friend. A complete stranger recognized my progress, I almost couldn't believe it, and was ecstatic for the rest of the day.

My weight-loss started very chill. I had been going through a lot and decided to lose weight to feel better and have a goal. I started going to the gym again as I had many times before, but this time was different because I actually changed the way I ate.

I reduced my major dietary flaws by putting a no carbs past 6pm at home rule, and having a water bottle on me at all times. I knew if I did an actual diet I would quit after three days and go back to being unhealthy, so I didn't. At the start, I focused on having a sustainable weight loss rather than a fast one, and it payed off. I still went out to eat with my friends and had fun, just tried to avoid pizza and other ludicrous stuff. I still partied, but avoided soda and discovered I love Vodka Tonics. I Made it to 222lbs this way until I plateaud. After that started calorie counting to break it and again, it payd off.

So I have two messages:

If you notice a stranger at the gym progressing, tell them, it'll make their day.

Other teenagers: you don't need to do keto or anything like that to lose weight. Don't feel pressured. It pays off more to be chill at the start and get more strict when you need to or when you think you can. You'll be happier.

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