i never took a "before" picture because i didnt think there would be an "after"

over the last few years, i have tried to lose the weight. i would take a "before" picture and it would just be on my phone sitting there. i knew in the back of my mind that in a few weeks, i would go right back to eating 4k calories a day. this time though, i said no to the "before" picture. not to make some point to myself, but just because i had given up. i didnt want to be disappointed again when i see that im even bigger than the before picture and i knew that i wasnt going to make the progress i hoped for.

the biggest hurdle i faced was after that initial weight loss of 5-10 pounds, i would be disappointed that the weight didnt keep falling off as easy. i would go maybe 3-4 more pounds after that initial weight drop before giving up. but then i started working more and i just kind of stopped eating as much out of necessity. slowly my appetite started to decrease and return to a healthy level, and then one day it happened. the button on my jeans closed. it was the first time in 4 years that i was able to button my jeans. i hopped on the scale and i was down 25 pounds. after that moment ive been hooked. i check my weight every day and every little millimeter that scale goes in the right direction is an accomplishment.

20 pounds ago was so long ago and i still have a long way to go, but now that im down 85 pounds i know i will never go back. im so close to being able to come back here and show you all my "after" picture for the first time. i honestly didnt think it was something i could do. i thought i would just be that fat dude. now i can run more, i have more energy, a healthy appetite, and i think im getting the attention of some ladies! the most surprising thing out of all of this is thinking back at the sheer amount of food i was eating to fill myself up. an entire XL pizza in one sitting every night no exceptions. now i could barely do half and im stuffed for the day. your appetite really DOES change if you just give it time. i know how hard it is to feel hungry but i promise it goes away over time.

thanks for reading guys. i hope this thread doesnt get deleted haha

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I kinda cried today thinking about the old me.

My freshman year was 50lbs overweight, messed up teeth & and in a poor mental state. I used to hate going to school got into 3 fights (fist) all of who were my former friends, got terrible grades & got picked on... honestly, I thought life couldn't be any worst. After freshman year I saw my GPA & ranking, I got my shit together immediately started studying almost doubled my GPA from my previous year, but I was still fat & depressed. So that summer I looked in the mirror and was unhappy with myself who hit an all-time high of 205 pounds, that summer I made a plan to run 3 miles a day at my local park, which was horrible because I had the worst shin splints and could barely walk but I kept pushing, did Epsom salt baths 2x a day * finally found these shin sleeves that prevented them and made the pain 95% more tolerable. Soon I was on a daily workout regimen where I wasn't sore by the end of the day, finally, the summer ended, and I dropped 30 pounds, PS: also I had a very strict diet of 1400 calories a day + (500 burned in the workout). However, the junior year began I felt great about my life, the first day of school I got like 15+ compliments, girls started to be more friendly but that summer just set off a chain reaction, next thing u know I'm at the gym running 5 miles a day + doing weights for 30 minutes. dropping an additional 30 pounds, I finally saw my jawline become sharp, but the cherry on top was my mom who finally got me braces because she was so proud of my weight loss. by the time the first semester of my junior year ended I was a whole different person. I was 70 lbs down, braces, fixed my hair & I actually had girls flirting with me & somehow lost my virginity (lmao). Then covid hit, then it was just me hanging with myself and playing video games, but honestly, it was pretty chill, but it went by too fast next thing you know I was taking my SATS and applying for college, now a few weeks from graduation and my high school journey is ending and I'm here thinking about how much my life has changed since the beginning of high school to now, and it just makes me so proud of who I became. To whoever is reading this, sometimes to better yourself you need to separate yourself. I know it might be a little lonely at first but once you see that progress it changes your outlook on life. (lmaoo ik im just a teenager). Also, i kinda shed a tear while typing this :)

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More than 25 lbs down in ~100 days! (from 97.5kg to 85.1 kg). I still have 18 lbs left, it'll probably be slower, but I'm cautiously optimistic. This is how I'm working on it:

1. A Fitbit watch. Measured 10,000 steps a day, every day. Upped it recently to 11,000 steps. Or use another brand, doesn't have to be Fitbit. They're all the same and there are cheaper options I guess. Definitely don't buy the ones that are also smartwatches and will spam you with unimportant notifications from social media apps IMHO. Keep these to your phone only.
2. Measured at least 22 mins a day / 150 mins a week of heart-rate elevating activity with the aforementioned watch too.
3. Tried to have as many "active hours" a day. The goal is 14 hours, but I try to do at least 10. An active hour as per the watch is one in which you made at least 250 steps. You walk around the house and clean stuff to move, so it also helped me keep things neater around the house.
4. Bought a treadmill and using it for the above purposes. Going to the gym isn't for me. I didn't like it too much. I either walk outside or run on the treadmill. The thing takes up half the bedroom, but it's useful and I can exercise without a lot of preparation. It's just a matter of wearing my running shoes and I can start.
5. I use an app to count calories, called LoseIt. It syncs with the Fitbit but it's an optional feature. You probably don't need to pay the premium fee to have the sync. Trying to stay below 1450 calories a day, but in reality I usually do 1500-1600 cal. I've had a few bad days of 1800-2200 cal too, but I try to go back on track right after.
6. Bought a cheap $10 kitchen scale at Kmart to weigh every single ingredient of every meal I make, for the purpose of more calorie counting. This allows for easier and more accurate portioning where food packaging makes it unclear.
7. I'm taking 3ml of Saxenda, a weight loss drug. This isn't cheap at all, but my insurance covers it. Saxenda helps you stay below the 1450 cal limit by reducing appetite. It also slows digestion, so there are some side effects in the beginning, such as mild constipation. Despite being afraid of needles, injecting is no big deal, the needle is so tiny and short you barely feel it going in.

I know a lot of people are anti weight loss drugs, but the reality is that losing weight is hard and I needed any help I can get. It's NOT a shortcut and does not replace significant changes to my lifestyle, but it's that little push I needed. Before the meds, I had a hard time staying below 1800 calories a day without fantasizing about more food all the time. If you find that you break your own rules regularly, it's worth considering. I'm not a doctor or anything, so just discuss this with a GP maybe.

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Starting.

(24F, 5'4, ~320lbs I suppose) Started my exercise and weight loss journey today (5/16/21)

I've been overweight pretty much my entire life and I'm just so tired of it. I'm tired of letting stress and boredom drive my eating habits, I'm tired of making excuses for myself, I'm tired of my sedentary lifestyle. I want to make changes for the better. My mental health is poor but I'm unable to go to a professional or get medicated so I'm hoping I can at least control this, and hopefully it'll help in a general sense.

I'm afraid that if I aim too high in the beginning that I'll just frustrate and disappoint myself, so I'm just aiming for a few small milestones at a time. Go down a few sizes, have my clothes fit better, note the changes to my double chin and my chubby cheeks. I don't mind counting calories but I don't want to be glued to the scale, so I'd rather focus on how weight loss and improving cardio health will affect my life more practically, if that makes sense. I don't know if I'll ever be a size 4 but I can at least treat myself to better habits.

I started a weight loss journey a few months ago and was able to keep at it for about 7 or 8 weeks but got lazy and had depressive episodes. The pandemic certainly isn't helping but this is the new normal and I can't keep using that as an excuse. I don't have any motivation other than "I don't want to live like this". I'm wasting my youth feeling insecure and disgusted at my body and my habits, feeling sluggish and tired all the time, etc.

I want to get my mom to do more exercise with me. She's 57 and a workaholic that has already had a small heart attack that she apparently didn't even notice (was pointed out to her by her doctor months after the fact). I love her very much and I don't want to lose her anytime soon but she doesn't take care of herself and is always too tired from work (we are part of a small business) to exercise. She was doing ok with eating healthy but my father just came back from overseas and is already feeding her more food than he needs to (he eats SO much and barely gains weight despite not exercising either, but he is a social eater and wants to eat with her, and she gains weight easily). I've already warned her not to fall into step with his eating habits as they are not good for her.

Do you all have any advice on how I can get her to exercise more? Her legs are weak and quite skinny/low muscle, how could we build up her strength in a low impact way? And what would be a good low impact exercise for the both of us? We plan to go on long walks together soon.

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I used to be juuuust under 200 pounds as a 16 year old, I have a few things to say as a success story for anyone that wants to listen, or ask questions in the comments!

As a preference, I'm only 19 now so not much experience in life but I've seen Evey way a body can be just on mine, fat skinny, fit and broken (sports injurys) have all been different stages of myself.

it took me about 2 months to lose 40 pounds, I dropped straight to an unhealthy weight because I've always been go big or go home, and I never worked out to actually have any musscle under the fat, I had alot of silly ideas and myths about weight loss stuck in my head and I was convinced if I just wasn't fat I'd look amazing, so I kept loseing weight until I finally realised the musscle just didn't exist and I was being an idiot, started working out and gained 20 pounds of Musscle, i have a few tips for people who were like me, fat and didn't know what I didn't know I was so lost.

Some pictures of then and now: http://imgur.com/a/PcFUDhY

1) people say it's a marathon, it isn't, get the job done and move on, if it takes longer then a year you are doing things wrong and need to re evaluate, your changing things for the better and letting peices fall into place it doesn't take as long as you think and telling people it does just demotivates what little motivation they have

2) you actually get to eat more food as a fit person because musscle burns alot of calories just existing, so a love of food isn't a reason to keep yourself down

3) it does require willpower, idk how I managed this part, because mine is shit, you just gotta want something more then anything and work for it

4) body positivity isn't wrong, being a different size or shape won't change your mind or your happiness, that's all on you

5) loseing weight is easyer then gaining weight, sounds odd but true, don't let yourself get too low or else You've just made the uphill battle alot steeper

6) going to the gym for no reason is hard, finding a physical activity you love isn't! I fell in love with martial arts and NEEDED to be better then other people, that ment working out and suddenly willpower wasn't a factor because I NEEDED it and boom, I was in the gym 5 days a week before I knew it, but I started with body weight workouts so that's not an excuse ither

7) at the end of the day, nobody wants you to be better, idk why, but people hate watching someone improve themselves, is guess it reminded them they aren't and it drives them crazy, that's why there's so much bullshit out there on the topic, you have to fight for yourself and against everyone, get in your own lane and don't stop till you are ahead of everyone else, judge yourself against everyone and no one, the balence is up to you to find

8) at the end of the day, you have to face yourself, if you fail, it's nobody's fault but yours as Soo Nas you say this is who I am, things get alot easyer, because if you don't want it to be who you are, then it's up to you to change

9) be better then you were last week, if you were sitting alone In a room with 2 yous, one from last week, you now and one from next week, ask yourself, is the one from last week proud of me now? And how can I make the me from next week proud of me, improve every week, even if it's the tinyist amount, you've improved, be proud, and work for next week

If you have any questing about weight loss, gain, or. Musscle building I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities and I won't add fluff,. If I don't know I'll tell you that, this world is made of love and peace everyone, good luck

Sorry if this is hard to read, I type very fast, on a mobile phone and have a nasty learning disability, spelling ain't my strong suit! Love you all!

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No longer beating myself. (Small Win)

I have struggled with weight for a while now. But not only that, self care in general has always been a challenge for me, stemming from challenges with self confidence and mental illness.

Recently I hit an all time high weight. 254 lbs. I am 5’8”, and for reference, I wrested at 152 Lbs in high school. The weight has impacted my day to day comfort for a while now. Driving 45 minutes each way on my commute can hurt, knees get sore, back does too etc. For me these are catalysts for self deprecation, negativity and yo yo efforts where one week I’ll be focused and stick to an improvement plan, and other weeks I’ll struggle and beat myself up over it.

A little over three weeks ago I found a pod cast episode that hit me like a ton of bricks. It had nothing to do with weight loss, the host was talking about self abuse. He pointed out that often we treat ourselves in ways that we would never treat another person we care about, because we would never be that mean to someone we value. I reflected on this concept and recognized that this was one of my faults, and part of the yo yo cycle I have been struggling with. (Not sure if I’m allowed to share the name of the podcast here so I won’t, but PM me and I’ll let you know which one if you want.)

I would get on a positive trend, then have one setback and beat myself up out of frustration and this leads to further setbacks. I committed to change this and from that point on, my focus has been different. I’ve embraced that my efforts don’t have to be perfect, as long as I’m continually and consistently making efforts towards my improvement, I’m already doing better than I have been.

This has led to the best three week stretch I have had in a long time. I have been consistent in exercising, eating healthier and building better habits. I have had days where it hasn’t been perfect, but instead of doing what I used to do, beat myself up... I’ve taken the approach of encouraging myself the way I would my kids, or my wife when they are facing a challenge. On those days where I misstep, (a fast food lunch for example.) I have been able to just come home, get in shorts and workout without blaming myself.

It seems so simple, and I’m calling it a small win. I think it may prove to be bigger in the long run though because I think I’m doing a better job of working the muscle between my ears for a change.

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what are some tips to break my habit of eating takeout frequently?

23F, 5’7”, CW: 190, GW: 160

Hello, i need some help and encouragement for my ongoing weight loss but healthy body image journey.

When I was 13, I weighed at my highest 170 lbs, lost the weight, and went down to 147 - 155 lbs from high school till college until my senior year of college where life started kicking me in the ass. During that time, I also decided to lower my meal plan and cook at home more, but stress and depression (and alcohol) led me to eat out a lot. Since I left 2 years ago I never really kicked the habit for myself, and it really taken over my life a d i gained back all that weight and then some. While I do think I fantasize being at the clothing size I was as a young woman, I do understand that as we grow older our bodies are still changing.

I want to go 21 days without ordering takeout and eating food not cooked by myself (other than my birthday stuff I planned with friends). What are some tips in order to stay on track? I am not a terrible cook (i actually like cooking).

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