The optimal/fun equation of weight loss

I was reading this email newsletter about decision making as you approach a new project and it struck me how applicable it was to weight loss. For those who don't want to read, here's the gist:

If you are excited about the optimal approach, that’s awesome and definitely the best option. But more frequently, you find yourself (or your kids) deciding between box 1 (exciting, but not optimal) or box 3 (optimal, but not exciting). We opted for the excited/non-optimal approach. The alternative was hope we could convince her to like something she hadn’t show interest in prior.

He's talking about teaching his kid how to ride a bike, but the same applies for those of us working to lose weight.

It's easy to get caught up in figuring out the absolute best way to lose weight, build muscle, exercise, etc. But what's most important is what's sustainable for you, what you can commit to long-term once your starry-eyed beginning motivation wears out.

For me, this time around, that's losing weight at .5 lbs a week. Is it the most efficient, optimal way to get to my goal weight? No. But it is way more fun than any other way I've tried to lose weight, and I'm still sticking with it 3 months in. Choose what the method you're excited about, get started, and let the rest of the changes flow from there!

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Starting and haven’t seen any progress

18F// 5’6”// CW 156lbs // GW 130lbs

So i’ve struggled with my weight and body issues for the past 2 years while also struggling with a binge eating disorder. I’ve been worried about my weight for a while now because I don’t feel 100% confident like I used to than when I was 130lbs. My BMI is also in a higher range than it needs to be. And I also just miss wearing cute clothes that don’t fit me that well anymore :/ . Recently I decided things needed to change. Through quarantine I’ve been slowly improving my relationship with food and recently (mostly) defeated my BED (haven’t had a bad binge in about a month)!! My problem is that I’m struggling to see any improvements on the scale or in person.

I’ve been continuously counting calories and working out 4-5x a week and making sure I have a deficit of 500 cals a day. There’s been a couple slip ups where I eat at maintenance but not too many. However, I’m just not seeing anything happen with my numbers or body and it’s been about 2 -3 weeks which is really disappointing and demotivating :((

Do you guys have any advice for me to change something in my routine or plan? Or should I just stick through it because it might take a little while to see results when it’s a more shaping weight loss? Lmk your thoughts!!

Also btw this community is great and very encouraging I’m very glad I joined the sub :))

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my face is getting chubbier while I'm getting slimmer?

so basically what the title says? I've always had a round face with chubbier cheeks, they started slimming down when I was about 18-19, and now at 21 they're puffing back up? it's completely noticeable in the mirror, in photos, when I'm talking or looking down I can even feel the chub that definitely wasn't there a year or two ago.

and it's not from rapid weight loss, I've lost 25lbs over the course of a year. I don't THINK it's my diet, I'm a vegetarian and I cook 80% of the things I eat from scratch and stay very clean and healthy with food, MOST of the time I don't eat any kind of diary or eggs either. I chug water all day long, on average about 3-4 liters, usually more. the only thing I'm consuming that I would think is contributing to it is coffee, no sugar, but I've been chugging coffee consistently for like 5 years so I wouldn't think it's affecting me suddenly now. the only thing that's changed is that I've been completely slacking on actual exercise and just relying on weight loss/maintenance through diet, (I eat between 1,200-1,300 calories a day) since about April, but I'm starting back consistently now. I'd be surprised if exercise is affecting my face that much but I guess it's possible?

that's about all of the info I can think of that would be relevant and I'm at a loss? it's not like it's crazy amounts of chub, as in, I don't think it's any type of medical problem. it's just that my cheeks are chubbier now than they were 25lbs and two years ago and I'm kinda worried?

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I am not sure how to start my weight loss journey...

Hi guys! Can you give me some advice? I have been insecure about my body and my weight my whole life. The thing is: I am not obese, to be honest I think I have a pretty normal body. I am muscular but I have some extra fat here and there. I think if I could lose 10 kgs I would be satisfied. I have been struggling with my weight for such a long lime, I lose like 5 kgs all the time but they always crawl back again. I am running and cycling a lot, so I am pretty muscular and I would even say I am eating healthy, but still I cannot lose weight.

I don’t know where to start, I think I should change my eating routine completely.

I am a 20 year old female, and I have pretty broad shoulders and am naturally muscular, so I dont want to gain muscels I just want to lose fat and be more ripped.

What is your advice to lose 10kgs in a healthy way?

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Thursday, 30 July 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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Announcement: We Only Look Thin Podcast AMA!

The awesome hosts of the We Only Look Thin podcast, Catherine and Donald Wygal will be hosting an Ask Me Anything Event in r/loseit on Sunday, August 9th at 3:00PM Eastern Standard Time!

Catherine's Bio: Hi, I’m Catherine and I’m 50% of this weight loss gang. I work full time, am a full time mom, a full time wife, and a full time inspiration to all those around me.

I’ve struggled with food issues and my weight since I was 5 years old when I tricked my parents into leaving me at home alone so I could binge-drink a gallon of chocolate milk; it was 1980, so parents let kids stay at home alone back then. While in college, I let myself get up to 300 pounds and have zig-zagged up and down the scale dozens of times, until now, where after two years of incorporating slow, sustainable habits, I’ve settled in to my lowest weight since 5th grade.

THIS time, with the help of my super-inspirational husband, I plan on keeping the weight off. You see, I used to think of weight loss like a syrupy-sweet Hallmark Channel movie, all happy endings and sunsets. THIS time, I realize that permanent weight loss is a lot more like the Friday the 13th movie franchise. You watch the first Friday the 13th movie and you’re like, “Phew, he’s dead!”, and then the sequel comes out and you’re like, “Oh, damn… he’s not dead!” and then the third movie comes out and you’re like, “SERIOUSLY?!! How can he STILL be alive!?!?!”, and then the 4th movie comes out and you’re like, “Okay, this dude is never going to die so we just have to learn to run faster than him and not go camping.” Join us, won’t you?

Donald's Bio: I was born in the last month of the 1960’s, but that doesn’t make me a hippy. I’ve been happily married to my wife, Catherine, for 17 years. We’ve been married a total of 21 years, but 17 of them were happy. We, along with our daughter, live in southern California where we often say heart-felt hellos and good-byes to each other. Well, Catherine and I are heart-felt…. our daughter mostly rolls her eyes and winces at our very existence.

I’ve struggled with my weight and have been a yo-yo dieter for as long as I can remember. At some point in 2015, I had decided that I was going to give up and just let myself get as heavy as I was going to get. I was successful in this endeavor and I reached the heaviest weight of my life.

In March of 2016, I went to my doctor for a routine physical and I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which does NOT run in my family. I was devastated, and I had no interest in losing any weight. However, my doctor told me that if I didn’t do something, I’d very likely go blind or lose a leg or succumb to any number of complications from diabetes.

Thankfully, Catherine had already been seeking outside advice and had already started losing weight. She was able to help me adjust my attitude and my thinking and I began taking “baby steps” in the right direction. It took me two years, but I managed to lose a little over 100 pounds and my blood sugar numbers went back into the normal range.

Now, together, Catherine and I embark on the next phase; keeping the weight off forever! And being inspirational! And using exclamation marks! Join us, won’t you?

Mark your calendars, and get ready for a super-inspirational(-ational, -ational, -ational) AMA with two accomplished (weight-)losers who are in it for the long haul!

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Weight loss plateau, need to correct eating habits

TL;DR: I've got a weird pattern of skipping meals and binging like crazy, haven't lost weight with consistent IF for months, need some suggestions on food I can either prepare quickly on demand or prepare in advance if necessary.

Notes:

I'm a 24 year old male.

My apartment doesn't have an air conditioner, so using an oven is really not the best option for me. I do have an instant pot and a great set of nonstick pans, however.

No cholesterol or blood pressure issues, my bloodwork has always been 'great' according to my doctors, surprisingly.

I can eat meat and I'm not allergic to anything.

I'd prioritize taste over effectiveness and cost. Honestly feel like my goal right now is to eat 'normally' rather than to lose weight, just figuring it out is hard.

I've had luck feeding myself with egg sandwiches in the morning and pasta for a late lunch. Variety would be super helpful, as would vegetables..

Boring stuff:

Hello,

I was normally 165, lifted and worked out to 143, gained a bunch of weight over a year of antidepressants and job loss and whatnot to 181, and adopted intermittent fasting and a bunch of water to get down to 155. I'm trying to get below 150 before I start eating enough to maintain(even if that's overweight for my 5'6" height)

I've kept up the intermittent fasting for the past few months though and haven't really seen my weight change. Kind of worried that I'm either eating too much or too little depending on the day. I have the issue where since I'm working from home I'm always being pulled into meetings and the like, so I don't have a ton of time to eat properly, so I might skip meals entirely on some days depending on how timing works.

For example, some days I can get by with just a cereal bar. But other days, I'll end up eating half a large pizza and delaying my fasting windows.

​

I feel like I can maybe solve this through some meal prep, so I want to accomplish the following:

Prep meals that I can pick up and eat at my desk, either through advance meal prep or through quick meals that will allow me to keep losing weight.

Bring my metabolism back up to speed by eating more consistently to avoid binge eating/metabolism slowdown

Accommodate a cheat day so I can get takeout or do bubble tea or whatnot.

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