NSV: I bought a jumper 'in a smaller size' to work towards but it actually fitted me!

I have been enjoying buying clothing from shops in the 'normal size section' I have not done that for years, I'd feel crippling anxiety looking through the plus sizes or I just bought stuff online because I just didn't enjoy clothes shopping anymore. I was a UK size 24 edging towards a 26 and miserable :( (269lb or 19 stone 3lb)

I don't think Primark is an American thing, but Europeans will know that Primark has some very dodgy sizes. Due to my size I wasn't able to shop at Primark, I could get away with the nightwear but that was literally it. I went in the other day to pick up this jumper I saw online and I really wanted it, I was going to buy a size 18-20 because I assumed 14-16 just wouldn't fit me, because it's Primark. Currently I am wearing clothing that are size 16 or 18 (my t-shirts are still size 24 but I don't see the point in wearing new tops, I just replace my jeans when they get too big). I couldn't find a size 18-20 so I thought I'd buy the 14-16 and just use it as a way to motivate me to lose weight (especially around christmas where people are stuffing their faces xD). I tried it on in front of my mum who I explained all this to, and she said 'you know that fits you right? It's not tight and it looks nice' my mum has always been very brutal when it comes to my weight, she would happily tell me if I looked awful in something and I'd do the same back if she asked for my opinion on her outfit.

I find body dysphoria a VERY real thing when losing weight, I am constantly buying clothes in shops that are too big... (all fitting rooms are closed because of covid) I look at these sizes that I never dreamed of wearing again and thinking 'there's no way I would fit in that..' but actually I can. I was wearing size 22 jeans for ages but I was actually a size 18, I assumed the gap in my jeans wasn't enough to warrant trying a size down... but I was wrong :)

How did I get here?

Restriction of calories using lose it! with no exercise for the first 6 months and I lost around 4 stone doing that. In august I decided to start using the couch to 5K NHS app which I would recommend to ANYONE. You may think you can't run, but I struggled jogging for a minute and now I am running 6K on the treadmill and working towards 10K. It looks daunting but it will definitely surprise you what you body can do if you give it the time and effort :)

I make all my meals from scratch batch cooked, frozen and thawed on the day. This has helped me avoid the takeaways because why would I was 30-45 minutes for a takeaway when I could microwave my meal in 3 minutes? Eating dinner is never far away :) I have slowly moved over to the slimming world method (I didn't join but my friend does it) because my body started slowing down with the weight loss, I assume my body got used to my reduction of calories and wasn't shifting the weight. This is still in working progress for me, but I'm eating a lot more veggies than I was and hopefully I can reach my 6 stone target before Christmas (2lb to go!)

I've been fat all my life and here I am, you CAN do this! I know you can :)

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A “by New Year’s Eve” goal rather than a “New Year’s Day” resolution.

I started my weightloss effort January 1, 2020. I weighed in at 169 lbs at 5’4”, the heaviest I had been in my 30 (F) years. I’m naturally quite active due to my farming lifestyle, but bad eating habits were stronger than the exercise.

I started adhering to a 1,200 calorie diet, exercising with purpose, and I gave up alcohol for the month of January. By March I was down to 149 lbs and I was so proud and I felt so much better.

Then life hit. I got very sick with influenza. Shortly after I recovered from that I became sick with what we believe was COVID (I was tested but the lab lost my sample—that’s a different rant!). My weight stayed about the same because I had little appetitive, but I lost a lot of muscle and core strength and the exhaustion was a real struggle. Then in early summer I had a hysterectomy, and to top it all of I had an allergic reaction to the Tramadol I was prescribed afterwards and became incredibly sick once again. I was on a weight lifting restriction for 6 weeks but I took much longer to regain strength. I had some hormone changes after the hysterectomy and started finding fat living in new places. I didn’t recognize my body anymore.

In early October I finally stepped on the scale. It probably took 2 weeks to get the courage to do so. 163. I had gained back more than half the weight I lost. I felt devastated... but motivated. I set a goal: to be at my best weight of 2020 again by December 31st, 149 lbs. I went back to running and watching my calories. I did have a wrist surgery in there (when I say 2020 was not my year it’s no joke!) but I kept to my calorie goals and stayed active. Today I weighed 150–I’m 1 lb away from goal with 3 weeks to go! I’m just going to keep on with my plan because I feel great and my ultimate goal is somewhere around 135.

My point is this—it would have been so easy to say I’ll start again with a New Year’s resolution and spent the holiday season snacking to my heart’s content. But I had time for a pre-New Year’s resolution and I feel so much better for implementing it. If you’re in the boat I was in a few months ago, dreading the scale and thinking that your New Year’s resolution will be to work on your health and weight loss—start now! You’ll never regret starting, you’ll only regret waiting.

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11 Healthy Gift Ideas for Your Holiday Wish List

The holidays are upon us, which means loved ones are probably starting to ask what’s on your gift wish list. Whether you’re a full-on foodie or you’d just like some help in the kitchen, consider asking for one of these 11 healthy holiday gift ideas. They’re perfect for putting together your Nutrisystem flex meals! Shopping for friends and family? These creative ideas are ideal for all of the home cooks in your life.

Here are 11 healthy gift ideas that are perfect for your healthy holiday wish list or any foodie in your life!:

1. Measuring Cups

If you don’t own a good set of measuring cups, you should add them to your healthy holiday wish list this year—especially since incorrectly estimating portion sizes is a quick way to sabotage your slim-down. Already own a set? Consider adding a second set to your list. That way you can leave them in your desk drawer at work and beat portion distortion wherever you are. Just make sure you ask for dishwasher-safe options so cleaning them is a breeze.

2. iPad Fridge Mount

No more dripping ingredients on your iPad while cooking. Play music, watch a movie or read through a recipe while you cook with this handy device that lets you mount your iPad directly on your fridge. Tools like this will help make your kitchen a pleasant place to spend time—so you’ll want to keep up on your healthy cooking habits.

3. Dehydrator

Although you can create dried fruits and veggies in your oven, it can tie it up for several hours and you will have to keep checking on your treats. Dehydrators are great ways to have some fun with your fruits and veggies. From dried strawberries, apples and pineapples, to healthy fruit roll ups and sun-dried tomatoes, you can create all kinds of snacks and add-ons. And the best part is, you can just load it up and let it go, just like you would a crock-pot. No babysitting needed.

5 Awesome Dehydrator Recipes to Add to Your Menu

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4. Herb Garden Starter Kit

There’s nothing better than having fresh herbs on hand—especially in the colder months. With an indoor herb garden, you’ll be able to help yourself to all your favorites whenever you’d like to spice things up.

5. Popcorn Maker

Skip the microwave in favor of a good old-fashioned popcorn maker. The little ones in your life will love watching the kernels pop, plus you’ll be able to top your treat with healthier extras you choose (think cinnamon, sugar-free chocolate syrup, hot sauce or black pepper).

How to Pump Up Your Popcorn 4 Ways

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6. A Good Blender

There’s no better way to squeeze fruits and veggies into your day than to pile produce into smoothies. Look for options powerful enough to crush ice and harder fruits like apples.

7. Julienne Peeler or Spiralizer

If you love pasta, than this one is a no-brainer. Both of these tools help you make delicious noodles out of your favorite veggies like zucchini, sweet potato, carrots and more. Some spiralizers even come with additional blades so you can create a variety of “noodles.”

8. A Self-Timing Slow Cooker

Whether you’re extremely busy or just feeling a little lazy, this convenient kitchen tool makes meal prep a breeze. Just toss a bunch of veggies and some chicken or veggie stock in the slow cooker in the morning along with some seasonings, and let it cook all day while you’re at work or running around. You’ll love the way your house smells when you return. The best part? You’ll have leftovers for days!

5 Awesome Dehydrator Recipes to Add to Your Menu

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9. A High-Quality Knife Set

Although perhaps a bit expensive, a good set of knives will last you a very long time, and will help you stay healthy, slicing, dicing and mincing your own foods. Tip: Before you buy a knife, always hold it in your hand—it should feel natural.

10. Cutting Boards

To prevent cross-contamination, you should have one cutting board for raw protein and one for produce and cooked foods. Request two different colors for yours so that you can distinguish between them. You can choose extremely affordable plastic cutting boards made of polyethylene plastic. Polyethylene plastic is non-porous, meaning potential bacteria can’t penetrate the surface. Just be sure your boards are dishwasher safe.

11. A Salad Spinner

To stay healthy and lose weight, you’ll want to add in all kinds of greens to your menu. The salad spinner makes cleaning greens like lettuce easy and quick. After washing lettuce from the garden, farmers market or grocery store, just place it in the salad spinner to quickly and efficiently dry the lettuce and serve up a fresh salad for lunch or dinner. This is a one of our favorite holiday gift ideas that most people don’t have in their kitchen!

Get back on track after the holiday season with a little help from Nutrisystem. Click here to learn more about our programs! >

10 Ways to Prepare for a Healthy and Happy Holiday Season

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The post 11 Healthy Gift Ideas for Your Holiday Wish List appeared first on The Leaf.

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[F/24/5'10, SW: ~216, CW: 200, GW: 165] One year ago today, I was admitted to the hospital. Since then, it's been a slow process to get into a good enough place to finally buckle down and start my weight loss journey in a healthy way now. This is what I did to get here.

So here's my story for anyone interested: One year ago today, I was hospitalized for about a week. For my lungs, not my weight, but the reason it came to this point was the same - I was not taking care of myself. It felt like I had not truly been present in my body for a long time (due to mental health issues and chronic pain it was not a great place to be), but finding myself in a hospital bed all of the sudden was a big wake up call.

Since then, I've been trying to slowly reconnect with myself and make change upon change to be able to get to a place where I can start really focusing on getting in better shape in a healthy way. Over the past year, I haven't lost a lot of weight yet, but I have turned my life around completely. I ended a very heavy relationship of 4yrs, quit my studies and moved back to Amsterdam to live with friends and take the time to focus on myself and pursue my dreams. I've started to take my health a lot more seriously and have seen my GP more in the past few months than in the past few years. I realized my ADHD was way more of an obstacle in my life than I thought and started medication, which has had a tremendous impact. I've started to move my body again and am rebuilding my relationship with exercising (I used to work out a lot but always hated it as I felt so bad in my body). I'm practicing A LOT of self-care and am starting to actually enjoy dressing up again. And of course, I've been making a lot of changes to my diet, 16:8 IF being the last addition.

During my hospitalization, they had to measure my weight - something I had avoided for years, as I struggled a lot with disordered eating and the scale was a big trigger. Last week, I bought my own scale, and I now happily stand on it every day. I feel like a completely different person, and I'm ready to take myself on.

I guess the point that I want to make with this post is this: When people say it takes time, that doesn't just go for the period that you're actively losing weight. It takes time to even get to the point where you can start. I used to get so angry at myself that I wasn't doing enough or that things weren't moving fast enough, and I felt so much shame that I just wanted to disappear, only making matters worse. It took being hospitalized to realize that the only way forward was to treat myself with the love and care that the doctors and nurses did. It might sound funny, but the way in which they took me seriously and treated my symptoms without focusing too much on how things got to this point or blaming me for it, really made me realize how I didn't give myself that grace.

One year ago, I wouldn't have thought I'd be proud of losing 16lbs in a year. Now I can see that I've lost so much more, and that I've already made the biggest steps.

Thanks for readying and for the support of this community. Any tips for people just starting out are also more than welcome!

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/37MIR5M

losing too much weight since going vegan and albeit super happy I'm not sure if it's healthy.

Hi all,

overall, I started the vegan diet to actually lose weight.

I have ADHD and barely have any impulse control so my eating habits were kind of...adventurous and all sort attempts to lose weight failed in the last 20 years. I got diagnosed with ADHD a couple months ago only and getting medication helped a lot to have more control over the things I do (and eat), but going vegan really helped me set some "framework" and not being "allowed" (by my own rules) to eat animal based stuff, it really helped to not only gain control over what I eat but also how much I eat and especially eat a lot more healthy to reach my nutrition goals (Cronometer).

I'm 40, male, 165cm and (currently) 88kg, I was at 94kg 3-4 weeks ago. I'm a dog owner and walk my dog 2-3hrs per day, I'm a fast walker and my dog is a 30kg Lab-mix that loves to try to pull me around the area to sniff stuff and chase critters so I guess that's burning more calories than casually strolling around the park with a dog that actually has leash manners.

I checked with google fit a bit in the beginning and with the routes I usually walk him I do walk around 10 km a day on average, less when it's really bad weather and raining, some more when it's nice outside. No sports at all otherwise, but I do plan to maybe hit the gym once Covid is over (I guess that will take some time though).

I use Cronometer (free version) to track food, calories, nutrition and I actively do try to reach the recommended amounts (not daily, but in regards to the weekly goal, so when I see I had not enough protein or iron during the week, I look up what stuff is having lots of protein or iron and then I gonna make some protein or iron heavy meal).

Clearly, I'm not reaching 100% on everything all the time, but I have good high average %s and quite frankly, I feel like even despite not reaching 100% I still eat A LOT more healthy than in the 20 years before where I mostly was relying on processed food, pizza, noodles with sauce and bags of chips.

Since I'm not really a skilled person in the kitchen (working on it and getting a bit better every day) my diet mostly is soups and salads currently, along with some "easy to make" vegetables like Broccoli, Zucchini, eggplant, spinach, Brussels Sprouts, lentils and rice....in the morning I eat some oatmeal with a banana and an apple, 1 tea-spoon of cocoa powder and some plant-milk like oat or almond mostly, I do supplement with B12 and D3 and do use yeast flakes to boost other B Vitamins a bit.

The thing is, I'm not hungry at all and actually am forcing myself to reach 1500 calories a day even, but at the same time I feel so alive and more "present"/ clear like ever before really. I have so much energy it almost kind of scares me.

Like today I was making soup with lentils, potatoes, carrots and Tofu. The whole pot (around 2 liters of broth + the ingredients) has around 1200 kcal according to Cronometer. I had 2 servings so far today which was like 1/5th of the whole pot and I'm basically stuffed. I think I will eat another serving in the evening and maybe make some oatmeal with banana and apple before I go to bed just so I can upp calories, but even with that, I will basically be just around 1000 kcal today....and I will eat that soup tomorrow and the day after as well...along with my oatmeal, so the calories will not be much higher in the following days, unless I manage to drop by the supermarket to maybe buy some cashews to snack them in the evening when watching TV.

As said, I'm not complaining, I'm feeling fantastic, I'm feeling active, full of energy and quite frankly I'm eating way more healthy than I ever did before, but now that I actually keep track of nutrition and kcal etc and see how "much" I actually consume I wonder if this actually is healthy.

I do plan to double check with my doc but with Covid being a thing I'm not sure if I want to go to a doctors office to discuss that kind of stuff in person. I plan to get my blood checked twice a year because of the vegan diet anyways, but yeah, with Covid currently, I rather not sit in a waiting room full of people in the doctors office.

Also, as said above, I do plan to actually start sports in some way. Maybe hit the gym, maybe start running...but the gym is closed due to Covid and I'm not sure if starting running at my current weight would be a good idea since I've had problems with my knees since I'm a teenager (despite the fact I was rather normal weight even back then).

I also am not someone that -until now- had put much thought into what I eat, weight loss etc other than "I want to lose weight" and getting discouraged within a week when it was not "working" because I was always hungry and I felt like shit because I thought it would work to just keep eating the same unhealthy trash just less of it and my body was just getting stuffed with carbs and sugar and even less actual nutrition (I think).

The only thing I heard is that you all the time should stay above 1500 kcal because everything else would be unhealthy. Maybe losing so much weight at the beginning even is normal and things will slow down eventually.

Anyways, would love to hear you guys experiences and maybe recommendations on how to proceed.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3n1Q4p2

I'm just really proud of myself today.

I started my weightloss journey at 330 lbs. For some background, I'm a 25 year old female and 5'10. I began my weight loss journey 3 years ago and I was doing really well until may of last year when I went on vacation and fell off the wagon. I maintained for quite some time but recently went through some rough things in life and turned to food to try and feel better. My lowest weight was 255 before may '19. I've really let myself go, but last night I decided it's time. I'm happy and in a really good mental space right now. Today was the first day I tracked my food and stayed under 2k calories in a VERY long time. I know it's just one day, but I know I'll wake up feeling good about it tomorrow and hopefully continue on a good path. I'm currently at 275ish. my goal is around 180/190. It seems so within reach. I know one day is worlds tiniest victory, but you gotta celebrate the small things. I hope I can find some good guidance here. Thanks for reading 😊

TLDR; I ate well for one day and I'm proud of it.

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My weight loss stopped after going to the gym. Worried.

21 year old male. 172cm tall.

Hi, I've been losing weight consistently for about a year now, I started at 100 kilograms last year, and as of today I weigh 74 kilograms, I have 7 more kilograms to lose, but ever since I started weight lifting at the gym 10 days ago, I see that I have stopped losing weight, it seems to not change anymore and I'm not eating more, I'm still in a calorie deficit, making sure to eat enough protein so I don't pass out at the gym. What could it be? And I know it's not the muscle because it's too early to build any muscle in just 10 days. Should I eat less? I'm worried. I have changed nothing from my diet again.

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