Weight loss going well, but worried about loose skin

Hi all

I'm 28, 171cm tall, male and weighed 115KG (almost a week in and I'm now 111KG). Covid has absolutely rekt me as I've become lazy and have really piled on the weight this year. I've always been heavy, but thankfully as a youngster I played lots of sports, it was mainly post university at 22/23 that I started to get lazy, with Covid over the past year or two compounding this further.

I've joined a gym and in less than a week alone I've lost around 4KG thanks to a jumping on the bike and doing around 10/15KM a day on that, cross trainer for about 20mins a day, some weights (mainly biceps and chest focussed, would definitely like some advice on what weight training to incorporate as I've never really done weights before in my life) and trying to get in around 10,000 steps a day walking around my local area (I'll start jogging soon, just don't want to ruin my knees just yet as I'm quite heavy at the moment). I've also got my fitness pal downloaded and am eating around 1500 calories of healthy food each day with intermittent fasting (I start eating around 2PM, which I've not found hard as I generally don't do breakfast anyway). I'm honestly enjoying it and am not feeling hungry at the end of the day. I limit myself to one 90-calorie Fibre one bar a day for my sugar rush, and treat myself to one Fanta zero/Coke Zero can every 3-4 days (will try and push this to every week). Cheat meals I'm going to try and do once a month, and even then I will limit to grilled food like Nandos.

I'm therefore hopeful I can lose about 20-25KG in 2-3 months, as I've got a lot of fat to loose, and the guides I'm following online have all lost about that much weight in 2-3 months, however I'm worried about loose skin. At the current rate I'm loosing around 3-4KG a week, however even if that goes to 2KG a week, I'll still be down 20KG in around 2 months, therefore, my questions are:

1. What should I be doing to avoid loose skin, in terms of exercises? I've read that building lean muscle helps, as well as tightening all of the hot spots of loose skin (like tummy, thighs, arms, man boob etc), however what exactly are these lean building/tightening exercises? I just don't want a flabby stomach pouch, and my chest to have loose skin, nor my arms etc. Others have said I should just go on long walks, like 10,000/20,000 steps a day and use the cross trainer?
2. Am I losing too much weight quickly? I'm honestly loving the gym right now and don't feel too tired burning 800 calories through the mix of exercises mentioned above (25% of the calories come from my morning walk, 25% from my bike ride and the other 50% a mix of weights, cross trainer and maybe some more walking). Therefore by my calculations, I should be on track to lose 10KG in a month, and maybe 20KG in two months?
3. For my height and weight (above) and as a 28YO male, is 1500 calories enough? I'm also burning a solid 800 calories a day according to my Apple Watch too, sometimes 1000
4. I've also read that I should be taking collagen supplements. Anything else? I take Wellman tablets too daily
5. I've seen others at the gym taking things like protein shakes? But I'm losing weight rather than bulking, so should I also be doing this?

Thanks all!

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Is it time for me to stop counting calories?

Background:

So I've been losing weight (and gaining, and losing again, rinse, repeat) for the past 5 years. I'm currently around 174 at 5'10, and in total I'm down about 110 pounds. I was down around 160--nearing my goal of 155--back at the beginning of May. I then completely lost control and binged my way back into the 170-180 pound range in a matter of weeks.

The past 4-5 days have gone well, and I dropped from 179 to 173 (water weight of course), but I just binged again. It doesn't help that my binges are upwards of 3,000 calories and unless I hit ~5,000, I don't even feel that bad physically. In another life, I was probably a competitive eater.

Where calories come into play is in my relationship with food. I track calories religiously, and I've been doing it for the past 5 years. Doing it has helped me to lose lots of weight, because being in a deficit basically guarantees weight loss.

Unfortunately, one of my biggest issues is this 'all or nothing' mentality surrounding food. If I have some bad cravings and mess up my deficit for the day, I have a habit of saying "screw it, might as well eat everything I've been wanting recently," and thousands of calories later, I'm hating myself for it.

Also, I tend to make 'deadlines' with my weight loss. I pick a certain date by which I'd like to be at my goal weight, and then calculate the daily deficit that is required to meet the deadline. As a result, there are some days where I feel okay, and some days where I feel seriously underfed. This weight loss strategy seems unnatural, and the result makes sense, because although I may be consuming the same amount of calories every day, my energy expenditure will not be the exact same on any two days.

Potential Plan:

I'm envisioning a lifestyle in which I can I throw out the calorie counting and the deadlines, and I choose what I eat based on quality and (visual) quantity of food. I can look at chicken, veggies, pasta, potatoes, fruit, or oatmeal, and know approximately what a serving is.

If I'm still hungry after a meal: rather than going on a binge because I've already reached my calorie limit for the day, maybe I'll have a little bit more dinner, or a banana, or a protein bar. Even if I shorten or eliminate my deficit for the day, at least I wouldn't be ruining multiple days of progress and wreaking havoc on my digestive system.

Concerns:

As amazing as intuitive/mindful eating sounds, it does give me a bit of anxiety. I'm a numbers guy, and I'd really like to get sort of lean (10-12% body fat), but I'm not sure that I would be able to do that without counting calories. I do lift weights 6 days/week, and I love running, so I'm going to start doing that again. Once I get warmed up, I'll eventually be putting in >40 miles/week because I enjoy longer distances.

These things obviously help with maintaining a deficit, but there's still no guarantee that it would work. Does anyone think I should maybe keep counting, but not have a large deficit (~1,000 calories)?

Other Observation:

I mentioned that I really want to get lean--but maybe that's a part of the problem? My weight loss has always been appearance driven. I was probably at 15-16% body fat when I was around ~160 pounds and I looked the best I've ever looked, but I'm having a hard time allowing myself to be happy about it until I have abs. I've definitely developed some serious body image issues throughout my weight loss journey, and I get the feeling that shifting away from a calorie-focused weight loss plan will help me to finally appreciate my progress and my body, all while continuing to improve. I could create new performance-based goals (lifting, running PR's) rather than fixating on the number on the scale (although, if I'm staying active and making good food choices, that number should naturally fall).

TL;DR: There's no TL;DR because the context is important, so if you managed to read it through, I appreciate you! I can't afford a counselor which is why I was hoping to bounce my thoughts off of some of you. I'm open to any advice, so you can be as brutally honest as you'd like. Thanks!

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About 50-days into my weight loss journey

So I started my journey in April, and I've been going strong the entire time.

My strategy was to start with exercising, and use that as a pillar to shift into a healthier lifestyle. That transitioned happened circa May 1st. From that point onward, I've been doing calorie counting and intermittent fasting. All to say, it has been much easier than I would've thought 2-months ago. I'm glad and I'm doing this, and I don't see myself stopping. I still eat the things I want. The key I've found for myself is moderation and balance.

I am about to reach a milestone of being down 20 pounds. Still a ways to go, but I just wanted to share the progress. Here's my progress in a line graph. As you can see, weight loss has a lot of ups and downs-- so don't get discouraged!

How is everyone else's journey going?

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For the women & menstruating people...

Track your cycle.

Trust me.

Without tracking, I wouldn't know that my weight can fluctuate by 4-6 lbs the week before I'm on. Seeing my weight go up by 6lbs would shatter me and send me into a spiral of guilt, but now I know that's its temporary, and by day 2 of my cycle, I'll be back to normal.

Without tracking, I also wouldn't know that I experience little to no cravings during my follicular phase (pre-ovulation), whereas it's an uphill battle in my luteal phase (post-ovulation). For two weeks, a calorie deficit feels almost easy, then the next I am hungry, tired and craving sweet things.

I did some googling and found out that, for some people, BMR/RMR can increase by 200-300 calories during the luteal phase. For those maintaining/not counting calories, you don't notice - it's an extra snack. But if you are already in a 500 cal deficit, this make it a 700-800 cal deficit - a lot harder to maintain.

So I did an experiment where instead of having a constant 1500 cal goal, I upped my target to 1800 in the luteal phase, and it feels so much better. I don't binge or feel like I'm depriving myself, and I've continued to lose fat. When it comes time to change back to 1500, I am motivated instead of burnt out from dealing with being a woman. I've done this the last three months, and I could continue until...whenever!

I'm gaining muscle at the same time as losing fat, so it's hard to judge if doing this has slowed down my fat loss significantly, or if my metabolism really goes up in the luteal phase, but I've decided it doesn't matter. This method is more sustainable for me, better for my mental health, has reduced cravings and binging and made weight loss easier (it's still hard, but you know). I'd rather keep to this, and take an extra 2 or 3 months to reach my goal, than go back to what I was doing before.

That's just my experience, but everyone's cycle is different. You might be the same as me, or you might find actually your cycle has very little impact, but it so much better to know about your body and what to expect than feel like a slave to your hormones.

Ty for reading and I hope that this helps somebody out there!

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Vice Vice Baby! 👋🏾

So, I’ve been on this body transformation journey for a while now. Started at 400 pounds last May. Got down to 298 around March, and since then it’s been a whirlwind lol. I’ve gained a good amount of weight from binge eating the last couple of months, 15 pounds to be exact. I’ll be 30 years old this September, and it’s really got me thinking about how I wanna spend my 30s and the years after. I wanna get married, have kids, excel in my job, get a new car, a motorcycle, travel, and genuinely just wanna be happy. And in order to do that, I have to stop quitting. I’ve quit a lot of things in my life. Sports, school, relationships, weight loss, but I refuse to go into my 30s with the same mindset. With that being said, yesterday was my last day using any sort of vice to make myself feel better or to fill any missing holes in my life. No alcohol, so sex, no masturbation, no fast food. Just clean eating, lifting, cardio, and self love till I hit my goal of 220-240. Wish me luck yall!

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Weight Loss update, 76.4pds lost since Jan!

S: M, SW: 318pds, CW: 241.6pds, GW: 200pds, H: 5' 10" Age: 31

This marks my 20th week of weight loss and it has been one hell of a journey so far. 76.4pds is a lot of weight no longer dragging me down. I wanted to post an update as I often lurk on this sub reddit reading your stories and following your journeys and felt I should add to the community.

I've been keeping track of my calories with the FatSecret app and I haven't been following any particular diet beyond CICO. I started at 1800 calories but when I hit 50lbs lost I dropped it to 1549 calories a day. I typically have a 2 egg omelet with onion, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, and 30g of mozzarella cheese for breakfast. For lunch I have 1 ham sandwich with light miracle whip, mustard, lettuce, munster cheese slice, and tomato with a banana on the side. (bread is toasted, and ham is grilled with cheese melted on top). For dinner I either have chicken breast and rice with homemade curry or a bowl filled with tuna, onion, radish, celery, a touch of lemon juice and just enough light miracle whip to keep it all together (plus loads of dill) and 3 hard boiled eggs cut up into it. For snack I have an orange usually between lunch and dinner.

I have kept myself from any unplanned binges or diet breaks and have only broken my diet for one week where a very dear friend who had moved away came to visit and the friend group had a couple very nice dinners with him during his stay. Only lost .2pds that week but hey I was expecting a weight gain that week so that's a win in my book.

I've also been going to the gym 5x a week consistently (never less than 4x). I currently do 4 days of cardio on the stationary bike for one hour. typically I am able to hit the mid 22 miles in that hour with my current record being 23.56 miles. (this is all on level 7 of hill plus mode which alternates between easy and hard settings on a one minute cycle) . Which considering I couldn't even do 12 miles in an hour when I started is pretty damn good. On the 5th gym day I do upper body resistance weight lifting. I know I don't lift often enough to see any serious strength gains its mostly to give my legs another chance to rest and help offset any muscle loss due to my weight loss. If I have any time left I use the rowing machine (typically 10 min).

my journey so far has been very hard, I'm not going to lie I am sore tired and hungry all of the time but it has been worth it. It is so much easier going up stairs, bending over, getting up and all other daily activity you can imagine even if I'm sore. My heart burn which before I started was a painfully daily event is entirely gone. On my rest days I do have a lot more energy and I can stand for so much longer without my back looking at me like a strict nun and letting its displeasure be known.

I've dropped 6 pant sizes and went from the last notch on my best to the first (going to need a new one soon), I can fit into all my older clothes which were most of my nice clothes which I gotta say its been good being able to fit into all of these button down shirts again rather than the polos.

My family has been very supportive, I even got my dad and mom on the weight loss train, my dad's lost just over 50pds and my mom is down 22pds (she was in the best shape of the 3 of us). My friends and coworkers have been encouraging and highly motivating. I can't express how much all of this has helped me stay motivated. Not to mention all of the passive encouragement I've received from lurking on this subreddit.

I'm not quite in the home stretch yet but I can see the finish line and I have been thinking about the end. Once I hit 200 pds I plan on reverse dieting my way to maintenance (while lowering but not eliminating my gym days) and then rest for a few weeks before switching over to and figuring out how to change to a muscle building fitness regime.

Thank you all for listening to my little rant, and for everyone who is still on their own fitness journey keep up the good work and please post about your journey and progress and gains below, the more we support each other the better we do.

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5lbs down 95 to go

I (F21) have been overweight most of my adult life, but most especially the last two years. I grew up being told that I was fat and then put onto weight loss plans (think SparkTeen if anyone remembers that). Looking back at pictures is heartbreaking because I very clearly just still had baby weight, and once I grew taller I had a very average body. I was not obese by any means but my family made me feel like I was. I was chubby at worst and completely dysphoric. My mom was fat and a lot of her insecurity and bad eating habits were passed along to me, but it was my dad and grandma who really drove it home for me. Since I believed I was already fat I stopped caring. I have depression and eating was my coping mechanism. I was incredibly insecure and I hated myself. Now a few years later, I truly am fat. I hate looking at old pictures and seeing myself in what is now my goal body. It sucks. At my heaviest I weighed 290lbs. I promised myself I would never surpass 300, so I got to work. Meal prepped lunches for the week, planned my dinner menu, pre-portioned my snacks, and didn't keep anything unhealthy in the house. I even started grocery shopping online to avoid temptation. AND IT'S WORKING. I have lost my first 5 pounds and it feels great. Sure that isn't much to lose in a month, but as I slowly work on adding more exercise to my routine I am hopeful that I will lose more next month. My goal weight is 180lbs. I am 284 right now. Lets goooo.

​

To any parents out there: don't tell your kids they are fat and insist they need to lose weight. You will probably just fuck them up even more lol.

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