Well, it's been roughly one year since I seriously started my attempt at weight loss. I have struggled with losing weight my entire life, but a year ago I actually started to focus on my diet, counting calories, etc. I have a lot to thank this subreddit for. I was 21 at the time, and before coming to this subreddit, I had no knowledge of CICO, what TDEE was, etc. I knew our bodies naturally burned calories, but I didn't really understand that weight loss is mostly about food intake and not about exercising, which is largely why I had failed in the past. I also didn't know how much calories I burned naturally until someone recommended a TDEE calculator. I thought since I did some exercising I'd lose weight, but since I did nothing for my diet, I obviously failed. Living in the United States, I really wish our, or at least my local school system focused more on the "science" of losing/maintaining a healthy weight. They may have touched on it here and there, but mostly they preached staying active, not really honing in on the diet part. So after reading posts on this subreddit, I finally understood that I needed a calorie deficit and the easiest and most efficient way to achieve this was through changing diet, and that exercise can only help so much. I was 265 last June, ~240 this time last year. I was 175-185 in January. Due to life and falling into depths of everyday alcohol abuse, I had gone back to 195-200 by July of this year. I have since went back to the basics I had learned a year ago and can proudly say I am 182.7 lbs as of this morning (5'10 M). Now, I am focusing on upping my protein to help get more toned.
I can't stress enough the importance of getting a food scale and counting all your calories. When this was recommended to me, I was very surprised at what I thought was one serving would end up being 2 or even more servings. This helped me adjust my diet further, so not only am I eating healthy foods, but I am not eating too much food. I highly suggest this to people who are just starting out!
I have learned some things I was doing wrong, initially, too. I lost weight way too fast from September 2019 to December 2019 through being extremely restrictive while working a highly active job that caused me to burn even more than my TDEE. Most days I would only eat between 1,100 and 1,400 calories. I was wondering why I was losing weight but not looking as healthy as I felt. I needed more protein, more calories, to lose in a slower but more healthy way. That is what I've incorporated since then, is aiming for 150-180g of protein a day while trying to get at least 1,700-1,800 calories, sometimes over that, and it has not caused me to gain any weight, in fact I am still losing. I think I was fearful before that if I didn't go to the absolute extreme, it would prove detrimental to my weight loss efforts, which couldn't be any more wrong. If anything, going to the extreme was more detrimental than aiming for a calorie goal that'd help my body in the long run.
I can't thank this subreddit enough for all the posts I have lurked through, gaining knowledge here and there from various redditors insights and advice on weight loss. You all have taught me many things I was oblivious to, and have helped change my life tremendously. If it weren't for stumbling upon this community, I know for a fact I would still be obese, with no hope of ever changing and bettering myself. I have gained a new lease on life and I have never felt better. I love how this community thrives on motivation, motivating others and in turn motivating yourself to be the best "you" you can be.
If you're new to this community and are feeling pessimistic, believe that there are some very knowledgeable people here when it comes to weight loss and if you are able to follow their advice, it WILL help you. Everybody is on the same journey here, and while we may be in different spots on that journey, we are on it together nonetheless. I hope that everyone has or will have an experience similar to the one I have had with this subreddit.
Thank you, r/loseit!
*edit to fix dates
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3lGV2as
