Really struggling right now. Taking a much needed break.

I lost 30 pounds. Gained 3 back (according to the scale.)

I was getting really tired of calorie counting. It was becoming stressful and really felt like my fitness pal was a prison cell. I wasn’t enjoying food or life so much counting everything like I have been doing for the last 3 months. My confidence was doing horrible too, despite the weight loss. I noticed calorie counting wasn’t helping that entire week so 4 days ago I stopped using the app.

I need a break from it.

I’m going to use mfp again in about a week but I’m really tired and I’m scared of gaining my weight back. I haven’t overeaten(I don’t think lol) but I still don’t know how much I’ve eaten.

I felt like I need a break because of how tiring numbers can be. I just want to be able to eat my food sometimes without it being a number. I feel like I’m struggling to stay on track right now. Maybe this break will help. I lost weight after taking breaks before so I’m probably gonna so it again. I’m 30 pounds away from my goal weight. I do admit, I already feel a bit better and yesterday I got a killer workout in. Today for the first time in weeks I’ve felt more confident with my body and I was happy.

I think I’m going to need to take breaks more often from counting because as much as it’s helped me lose weight, it’s really wrecked havoc in my life too.

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17 lbs down from january 2020! my story + what helped me + thoughts on goals/maintenance

firstly, thank you to everyone on this sub. i've learned so much from reading everyone's advice and hacks and personal journeys, and i want to contribute in my own way as well. here are my stats: i am 5'3", started at about 130-132 lbs, and am currently at 113. my goal weight was/is 110, but i'll be maintaining for the next few months for reasons i'll detail below.

my story

like most people, i put on weight throughout uni. the freshman 15 didn't happen to me in one year, but more so over the course of 4 years. at 130 lbs, i got a bit of a wakeup call when my doctor told me that if i kept putting on weight, i'd be more susceptible to developing diabetes based on my family history and other factors. i also just felt very unfit (couldn't run a mile without stopping) and i didn't feel comfortable in my clothes.

my new year's resolution was to drop the weight. i decided that i'd just stick to CICO to do so. i also increased my cardio by starting to run/walk about 3-4 times a week, and taking exercise classes with my friends. i ate about 1200-1500 calories a day. from january to march, this worked out pretty well and i lost about 10 lbs.

quarantine helped out with weight loss in the sense that i had a lot more free time to plan my meals and to exercise. at my peak, i could run 2 miles without stopping, which i was really proud of! when the summer heat started coming in, though, i started to exercise less.

this is where i started to get into dangerous territory. because i wasn't running anymore, i adjusted my calories accordingly. burning less meant that i'd have to eat less. i think i overestimated my food's calories too much. i dropped 7 lbs in two months from may to june, but i also lost my period. i felt perfectly fine otherwise, but i'd never missed a period before.

i dived into research and i figured that i had probably had exercise-induced or hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA). not having a period might seem convenient at first, but there are serious side effects like osteoporosis and infertility. most people with HA have probably heard of the book "no period, no what?", where the biggest takeaway is to eat more and move less. specifically, go "all-in" and eat 2500+ calories a day until three normal cycles occur.

i confess that i was/still am scared of this. i didn't want to undo all of the work i'd done. although most people with HA advise against this, i decided to shift into maintenance mode instead, eating about 1500-1600 calories everyday, and stopping all exercise. i also added more fats into every meal (mostly cheese, nuts, and ice cream!)

at the end of the day, i think i've still accomplished what i was striving towards, even if i'm not at the exact number i set out towards. i can't believe how well my clothes fit and overall how my frame and face look more healthy and not so puffy.

what helped me

• eating slowly and chewing more. this was huge for me. i grew up with lots of siblings and also as a uni student, i was just very accustomed to tearing through my food. even today, at every meal, i make a conscious effort to eat slowly and enjoyably, and to chew more instead of just swallowing right away to make room for more food.
• drinking water before and after every meal. this includes snacks. drinking water before helps with distinguishing hunger/thirst. and for some reason, drinking water after just helps signal to my brain that i am done with eating for now.
• not eating if i was not hungry and not eating if i was already full. it took me a while to break down the social constructs i had around food! i used to feel obligated to eat if others around me were eating. not anymore. instead, i usually drink water when i'm done and just keep the conversation going.
• learning that smaller cheats are better than big cheats. the other day i had a night out with friends and i think i ate 800 kcals worth of junk food in one go. i went to bed feeling physically bad. bloated, heavy, etc. whereas other days, where i'd have an extra cookie or ice cream, i might feel a bit worried that i went over my daily, but the next day i'd weigh in and the difference was negligible.
• looking at the overall trends. i use libra and weigh in every morning. i had to work on training my brain to stop focusing on the daily and instead focus on the trend weights, which are more realistic and indicative of how i'm doing.
• and lastly, getting back on the horse. i had more bad days than perfect days, but it was important for me to not get bogged down by yesterday's mistakes and focus on the work i was doing today.

thoughts on goals/maintenance

i'm writing this post because i got my period back. :) i think i'm going to stick to maintenance calories for the next few months, until my cycle proves that it's sorted itself out. (i acknowledge that me being afraid of weight gain is a cause for concern, and i am working on being okay with putting on weight for the sake of my period.) i'm not sure if i'll have to eat more to get my body back on track. if not, i might try to cut down to a hopefully more sustainable and moderate 1300-1400 a day to very slowly shed off the last few lbs once i've had two more periods. my goal of 110 lbs is a little arbitrary, but i'm the type of person that once they set a goal - wants to hit it, even if it takes longer than i'd thought.

in general, maintenance is pretty fun! i love having an extra biscuit with my coffee, or having an extra snack in the middle of the afternoon. it was mentally hard at first, but i learned to trust the process after seeing that the scale stayed consistent. i'm keeping the healthy habits i've learned in the weight loss stage while adding in a few more fun treats.

if you're still reading, thank you for making it this far. i hope this was helpful/encouraging in some way. i'd love to hear about other people's experiences with weight loss and their period if there's anyone out there that has a similar story. i'm also open to any advice about maintenance and keeping a healthy mindset!

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No matter how much I work out and eat healthy, the scale doesn't change. Help!

I’ve been working out 6-7 days a week doing cardio and some strength training. I’ve been at this pretty hard since 5/27 and I’ve only lost 4 pounds. It’s exhausting and very discouraging to track your eating and work out and see the scale not Change. I have 30 pounds I need to lose and I’m seriously at a loss as to why I am not seeing results. A couple people say I look a little different and I’m most likely building muscle but what does it take to actually lose this weight and see the numbers change?

I’ll also say I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid back in March and I’ve been on medicine since and my thyroid is now at the optimal level. I thought by this happening my weight loss would speed up but apparently not. :(

I’m eating more protein, and moderate carb intake.

Help :(

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Came across this youtube video about the science behind willpower and decision making that I though a lot of people here would find interesting

Here's the link!

Without a doubt the number one reason why long term weight loss has always been so hard for me is decision fatigue. That desire to mindlessly eat an entire bag of skinny pop while having a big glass of wine after work never really goes away completely. Every day I have to consciously make decisions: what I eat, how much I eat, what I can't eat. How many calories is this many grams? What if I eat this instead of this? What if I don't eat so I can order this when we go out later? What if I just make today a cheat day? What if I only eat one serving of popcorn, half this halo top, a single piece of pizza? Etc. (Then I'll think about how the rest is sitting in my kitchen and have to make the decision to resist eating it. If I don't have something I'm craving I'll think about going out and getting it- another decision I have to wrestle with)

Its exhausting. I've tried to reach my goal weight many, many times at this point. Tried many different approaches to CICO like OMAD, IF, meal prepping, etc. After ~4 or 5 months, the longest I've stuck to CICO, I'm tired. And eventually I decide the stress isn't worth it and I'll give up.

I'm sure there are some people who can relate.

The thing is people who are normal weight, have been a normal weight their whole life, don't have to make half the decisions about food we have to make regularly. The question doesn't even occur to them.

Disclaimer: I never studied psychology or sociology so I can't comment on how accurate the content is but sources are cited in the video

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I've lost 53lbs in 4 months and I feel better then ever about myself.

Early 20s/Male/Fairly Tall. SW: 357lbs. CW: 304lbs. GW: 240lbs.

I've been a chubby kid for as long as I could remember and being active, or trying to be, never worked. I had an abusive childhood and used food as a crutch forever. When I got older I made excuses because my mom was fat too that it just ran in the family and I would always be like that. I hate myself, I had/have low self esteem partly because of it and hated eating at restaurants because I always felt like people were looking at me and judging.

I started this year determined to be better. I wasn't at my worst, that was when I was wearing 4XLT shirts and bordering on size 48 pants, but I was still very obese. I joined a gym, started working out regularly and eating less. I maintain that I was eating pretty health at home, it's just I would eat too much and go out 1-2x a week. I have been drinking mostly (80+%) water for 4 years, no red meat, etc. I was also doing ok at the gym but wasn't really keeping notes about weight loss or sizing.

Then Covid hit. I continued going for a bit until I came down with flu-like symptoms right as Covid started spiking here in the US. I don't believe it was Covid but I have no way of knowing as it was impossible to get a test at the time. The thought of having it and the pain I was in sent me into a depression - something I'm very prone too. My eating dropped from 3000-3500 calories a day (est.) to literally just a bowl of applesauce, cup of noodles and tea twice a day. Once I recovered I noticed that I wasn't eating as much and thought my stomach and shrunk. So for about a week I was doing great... until it felt like the bottom opened up of my stomach and was turning back into an open pit. For the first time in my life I exuded self control and carried on. A few days later it stopped. Since then I've been eating less and less. I don't go back for seconds or, as I did often for pasta, thirds. I felt full eating about 2200 calories a day. That continued dropping, and dropping. Finally I started using a calorie counter and paying more attention to what I was putting in my body and how much. I began weighing and measuring portions. I've switched out a lot of carbs for more friendly options or cut them out entirely. I would go through a gallon or more of 1% milk in a week. I've stopped drinking it. I hated the taste of eggs and oatmeal. Now they're 90% of my first meal. Oh yeah, I dropped to eating two meals a day and doing intermittent fasting.

The result? The shirts I wore to the gym just 6 months ago that I felt like I may pop out of now fit me like a a 5X used to. My 5X sleeping shirts I wore for comfort to bed are so loose it feels more like a piece of cloth draped around. Pants? Size 40 and underwear I'm down from XL to L. I looked at myself in the mirror. I'm happier. I'm thinner. My face is slender. I have a FREAKING NECK I never knew about. I went from tettering on the Obese/Extreme Obesity line to flirting with the Overweight crowd.

I have just over 60lbs to go to my goal. I've set it where I think I won't look too taunt but I'll be just inside the 'overweight' category.

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The last stretch of weight loss is always the most frustrating, and I HATE IT

​

SUPER SORRY IF THIS GETS LONG

I'm near the end of my journey, I have about 15 lb (7 kg) to go. I'm 15, 5'5" (164 cm) and started this whole thing about a year and a half ago. My starting weight was 182 lb (82.5 kg). I was borderline obese, and I wanted to change it. Currently, I am 150 lb (67 kg). These last 15-20 pounds are proving to be the most difficult thing I've done during this whole journey. I lost all the weight through CICO and exercise exclusively. I hit a 3-month long plateau when quarantine started, but now it seems like I'm finally out of it, yet my weight is moving SO DAMN SLOW. I'm finding it hard to get motivated to exercise. Weirdest thing is, I'm finding it so hard to resist cravings. As I was losing weight before, I had virtually no cravings. Staying on track and not snacking was SO EASY, I was SO vigilant, to the point where I was eating 1,200 cal a day and below, which put me into an iron deficiency and anemia, where I would faint in my shower periodically. But its so hard now, I literally cant fight cravings now. And I'm so angry because its JUST 15 POUNDS MORE TO GO. Its SO little compared to what I've already done. I'm just really tired of it. I know I'm going to get through it, and I'm going to get rid of those 15-20 lb eventually. Its going to happen, but I don't want it to happen in 2 years, you know? Any and all advice is welcome, I know this isn't an unpopular opinion at all haha

TL;DR: I got 15-20 lb left to go, and weight loss is super slow and tedious, cravings are extremely hard to resist, and I'm unmovitaved in general. Its so little in the grand perspective, but it feels like hundreds of pounds :(

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8 Lightened-Up Cocktails for Your Summer Menu

You don’t have to turn down cool, summery cocktails when you’re trying to lose weight. With the right ingredients and proper portion sizes, you can indulge in delicious mixed drinks without sabotaging your healthy diet.

The truth is, we all know that alcohol isn’t always a dieter’s best friend. According to Health Economics, alcohol is a “high-calorie beverage that can interfere with metabolic function and cognitive processes.” It can also stimulate the appetite and lead to overeating.

Most alcoholic drinks are also fairly high in calories. “A 12-ounce can of regular beer contains approximately 145 calories; a 5-ounce glass of wine, approximately 135; and a 1.5-ounce serving of spirits, approximately 130,” says Health Economics. Throw in some sugar, muddled fruit, simple syrup, juice or pre-made drink mixes—or add seconds and thirds—and you’re looking at serious damage to your diet.

All of this aside, you can still enjoy alcohol and tasty summer cocktails on your Nutrisystem program. You can have the occasional glass of wine, beer and even a mixed drink while still making progress—if you do it right. As with anything, moderation is key! Stick to our recommended serving sizes and don’t go crazy with the unhealthy additions in your cocktails.

If you’re on your first week of Nutrisystem, wait until week two before adding in any alcohol. Never drink on an empty stomach and pair your beverage with a glass of water. Nutrisystem recommends a maximum of two servings of alcohol per week. Spread them out and try not to have them on the same day.

On Nutrisystem, one serving of alcohol is:

• Beer = 12 oz.
• Wine = ½ cup or 4 oz.
• Liquor = 1 shot or 1.5 oz.

If you add fruit or 100% fruit juice to your cocktails, this will count towards your daily SmartCarbs. Fresh herbs, lemon and lime juice, zero-calorie sweeteners, club soda, seltzer water and sparkling water are all considered Free Foods. Dairy products and protein powder are considered PowerFuels. Check out the Nutrisystem Grocery Guide if you’re not sure how to count a specific ingredient on your plan.

Brush up on your Nutrisystem knowledge! Before you pour yourself one of these healthy cocktails, check out the link below to learn more about alcohol on our program:

Alcohol on Nutrisystem: Everything You Need to Know

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Here are eight tasty cocktails for your healthy summer menu:

1. Sweet Summer Sangria

Nothing says summer like a fruity glass of sangria! The good news is that you don’t need sugar to make this classic cocktail. Simply start with three to four ounces of cold, dry white or rose wine in a glass. Next, add some fruit. We love crushed strawberries or blueberries (or both together). However, other fruits are also acceptable, such as oranges, pomegranate seeds, apples and pears! You could even make a tasty tropical sangria with pineapple, mango and sliced peaches.

Finally, add a squeeze of fresh lime or lemon, cold club soda and mint leaves. Try crushing the mint leaves to bring out their essential oils! You can also substitute red wine or a sparkling wine like prosecco. Whip up a pitcher of this skinny sangria and serve it up at your summer picnics and parties!

2. Simple Spritzer

Fill up a glass with a serving of your favorite white wine. Try to choose a dry option to save on calories and add your own sweetness with stevia. Top it with club soda and a wedge of lemon or lime for a fizzy mixed drink that’s diet-friendly.

3. Guilt-Free Mojito

Liquid stevia can take the place of the sugar that makes minty mojitos so sweet (and so calorie-heavy). You only need about one ounce of light rum to make this low-cal and low-carb trendy cocktail. Mix it with about a teaspoon of fresh lime juice, a teaspoon of zero calorie sweetener, a pile of mint leaves and diet club soda. To bring out the mint flavor, crush or “muddle” the leaves with a wooden spoon or a muddler if you have one.

How to Make a Healthier Ice Cream Sundae

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4. Summer Sparkling Champers

According to Medline Plus, a four-ounce glass of dry champagne is only about 85 calories, making it one of your best alcohol choices. Dry wines have less sugar—which is what makes them dry. You can go “mimosa” by adding just a splash of orange juice or toss in a few fresh berries, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or blackberries.

5. Guiltless Gin and Tonic

An iconic summer drink, you can keep the gin and tonic on your summer beverage list by simply substituting diet tonic in place of regular tonic. Add slices of lime, orange or cucumber with some fresh herbs like mint or rosemary.

6. Summertime Slushies

Hard seltzer is all the rage this summer. It’s low in calories and typically free of added sugars. The average hard seltzer is usually around 100 calories. Grab your blender and make a hard seltzer slushie with some ice and a can of your favorite flavor! You can even add in fresh or frozen fruit to complement your chosen seltzer.

Craving a refreshing, ice cold beer or a glass of wine? Whip up a beer slushie with your favorite light brew! Check out these 10 low calorie beers that actually taste good! > You can even make a wine slushie with dry red or white wine and a little ice. Add some stevia for more sweetness if desired.

4 Guilt-Free Summer Slushies

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7. Skinny Margaritas

Mix up a magnificent margarita that fits into your weight loss plan! Grab your blender and combine ice, lime juice and a shot of tequila. Nix the sugar-filled orange liqueur and garnish with a fresh orange or lime slice instead. Yum!

Check out this healthy recipe for a Jalapeno Lemon Margarita! > 

8. Protein-Packed Piña Colada

If you like piña coladas, you’ll love our delicious recipe for a Piña Colada Smoothie! It combines vanilla protein powder with pineapple juice, ice and coconut extract. Turn this mocktail into a cocktail with a single serving of white rum.

Looking for more diet-friendly drink recipes?

Check out this printable recipe book for some healthy mocktails! You’re sure to find your new summertime sip in this free recipe booklet. Whip up any of these Nutrisystem-approved recipes and add your favorite alcohol to turn it into an adult beverage. We even have recipes for a mojito and sangria! Stick to one serving to stay on track with your weight loss diet.

5 Ways to Lose Weight This Summer with Nutrisystem

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