Wednesday, June 30, 2021

I am finally confident enough to wear crop tops, bikinis and love myself.

I am a 23 years old young woman and I am 162cm (5'3) tall.

Before I started my weight loss journey, I weighed 87kg (191lbs) and was miserable. Nothing I wore looked good on me and everyone around me commented on how fat I looked. You know all those crap.

I really hated myself and hated to see myself in the mirror. I decided to change that in 2019. I know 2 years is a lot to achieve great things but I am still happy with my slow progress. I am now 66kg (145lbs) and I feel BEAUTIFUL!

First I started practicing intermittent fasting. With it I lost 10kg (22lbs) in 2 months. And then losing weight stopped for a whole year.

I decided to visit a dietitian because I was clearly doing something wrong. With her great help and walking/running everyday, takin pilates courses 3 days a week helped me recover my self confidence.

My goal weight is 54kg (119lbs) and I have never felt so close to achieving this goal. I never thought I could do it and yet here I am, not scared to go out anymore!

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Exercising Sore Muscles: Should You Work Out Anyway?

30 minutes of daily activity heats up your metabolism and keeps your body burning calories.1 That’s why Nutrisystem recommends regular exercise as an essential part of your weight loss plan. But when you’re just starting a new workout program or when you exert yourself more than usual, you might experience sore muscles—maybe enough to make you want to skip a day or two of activity.

The Cause of Sore Muscles

a woman using an icepack on her shoulder for sore muscles

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), there are two kinds of sore muscles that are correlated with physical activity. “Immediate muscle soreness quickly dissipates and is the pain you feel during, or immediately after, exercise. Delayed muscle soreness signals a natural adaptive process that the body initiates following intense exercise.”2

Delayed muscle soreness (DOMS) happens about a day or two after your workout and typically goes away after 72 hours, says ACE. This is a common experience for people who work out, both new and experienced exercisers alike.3

Researchers theorize that DOMS is caused by microscopic tears in the connective tissue around the muscle that happens during “eccentric exercise.” If you are trying a new type of exercise, exercising longer or more often, increasing your intensity or are a beginner just getting started with a workout routine, you may experience DOMS at some point during your fitness journey.4

Please note that there is a difference between common soreness and pain from injury or overuse. The pain you are experiencing should not prevent you from doing everyday activities or last more than 72 hours. You also should not experience pain during or immediately after your workout.5 Sharp or stabbing pains that continue to get worse in the coming days are an indication of injury and should be assessed by a healthcare provider. Speak to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about sore muscles.

10 Healthy Foods to Gain Muscle

Read More

Should You Exercise With Sore Muscles?

a woman stretching on a yoga mat

So, should you exercise when you have sore muscles? The answer varies. According to the National Kidney Foundation, exercise may actually help the soreness dissipate. “The best way to relieve muscle soreness is to perform some gentle exercises, like walking or light stretching. It may seem counter intuitive, but the more you move, the faster the discomfort will go away!” they explain.5

According to ACE Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Institute, performing “low-level” workout moves that are similar to the moves that caused the soreness may help DOMS. This enhances blood flow to the muscle while also helping to decrease pressure and fluid.6

“Whether or not you should work through this type of pain is a tricky answer. If you’re only experiencing low-level soreness, . . . it’s probably okay to do a lighter workout. Some physical activity might even help to ease the achiness,” says Cleveland Clinic. “If your DOMS is a bit more painful, it’s best to avoid strenuous exercise until you are no longer sore.”7

The University of Virginia mimics this advice, stating that “whether or not you should work out when you’re sore just depends on how sore you are.” Being a little stiff or sore is OK, but if your pain increases or you’re limping and unable to walk normally, you should decrease your intensity.8

How to Lose Body Fat While Retaining Lean Muscle Mass

Read More

Preventing Sore Muscles

a couple jogging together in the park

Ready for some good news? Repaired muscles adapt, so they are less prone to the tiny tears the next time you do the same exercise.4

According to ACE, the top method for preventing DOMS is “gradual progression and conservative increases in intensity, frequency and duration.”2

If you’re new to exercise, start with lighter weights. Over time, gradually increase the intensity and frequency of your workouts. If you are an experienced athlete but want to try something new, take extra precaution by also beginning gradually. Doing a warm up exercise before an intense workout may also help, as this increases blood flow and helps prepare muscles for exertion.2

Another, less conventional, method of potentially reducing post-exercise DOMS? Turmeric! The spice that makes mustard yellow, turmeric has been shown to reduce inflammation in our bodies, according to research in the journal Physical Activity and Nutrition. “In conclusion, although there are conflicting results regarding the effect of curcumin supplementation on DOMS, individuals who are new to exercising, resuming exercise, or looking for gradual improvements in their exercise programs may consider curcumin supplementation as a method of nutritional intervention to reduce post-exercise DOMS,” conclude the researchers.9

Turmeric is available as a root you grate yourself or as a powder in the spice section of the grocery store. You can add it to smoothies or try it in our delicious Garlic Ginger Chicken Bites recipe! >

“Allergic” to Exercise? 5 Fitness Tips You Won’t Hate

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Sore Muscle Relief

a man using a foam roller on sore leg muscles

“To date, a therapy that consistently relieves delayed muscle soreness has yet to be identified,” says ACE.2 According to the American College of Sports Medicine, you may be able to decrease the symptoms of DOMS with common treatments. However, there is very little evidence that these methods will quicken recovery.10

“If the primary goal is to reduce symptoms, then treatments such as ice pack application, massage, tender-point acupressure, and oral pain relief agents may be useful in easing pain,” they explain. However, “It is important to be aware that pain reduction does not represent recovery. Rather, these treatments may only be effective in reducing symptoms of pain, but underlying muscle damage and reduced function may persist.”10

*The information is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Speak to your doctor if you are experiencing sore muscles or pain and before starting a new exercise routine or diet.

Foam Rolling: Your Sore Muscle Solution

Read More

Sources:

  1. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000893.htm
  2. https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/42/what-causes-muscle-soreness-and-how-is-it-best-relieved/
  3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12617692/
  4. https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/6650/don-t-be-a-sore-loser-dealing-with-muscle-soreness/
  5. https://www.kidney.org/content/understanding-muscle-soreness-%E2%80%93-how-much-too-much
  6. https://ace-pt.org/exercise-routine/
  7. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-your-exercise-causing-good-or-bad-pain-how-to-tell/
  8. https://blog.uvahealth.com/2018/01/03/avoiding-post-workout-soreness-rhabdomyolysis/
  9. https://www.e-pan.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.20463/pan.2020.0020
  10. https://www.acsm.org/docs/default-source/files-for-resource-library/delayed-onset-muscle-soreness-(doms).pdf

The post Exercising Sore Muscles: Should You Work Out Anyway? appeared first on The Leaf.



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Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Wednesday, 30 June 2021? 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.

* Lose It Compendium - Frame it out!

* FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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I'm the lightest I've been in my adult life! And my weight loss journey

F22 5'7 sw96kg cw69kg gw60kg

This morning I weighed myself and I have hit the lightest weight since I was probably about 16. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Sorry for the long post - heres my story.

I was probably a normal weight (never skinny) until I hit maybe 10 and then I got chubby. This continued and by high school I was aware I was chubbier than most of my friends. The trend continued, and by graduation at 18 I was probably around 85-90kg. I took a gap year and during this time I hit my highest weight of 96 when I was 19. During this time I thought I was a bit big but I didn't think I was too bad. Its crazy how you can look back at photos from that time and think wtf was I thinking, how did I not realise how overweight I was (obese by bmi at my highest, approx size 18/20us).

I went on an overseas trip on my gap year and when I came back I had lost about 15kg in the 2 months overseas, I put this down mostly to walking around the entire day and having anxiety about eating alone in public so not eating much until dinner with friends. I was so happy to be about 80kg, the lightest I'd been for a while. But the habits came back when I was back at home, and I think I gained back about 10kg before I decided I needed to do something. I went on fad diets and there was definitely some yoyo-ing but I ended up losing probably about 5kg again. So from 19-21 I was stuck at about 83-85, always gaining and losing the same couple kgs.

1.5 years ago I moved out of home, and it was a struggle learning to cook portions of food for a single person (instead of the whole family) and feeling free to eat any bad stuff I wanted. But I also didn't have the temptations of the family home, and I was separated from my mom with whom I share some terrible eating habits, so I was able to start on a journey to rethink my (disordered) relationship with food. I also started going to the gym and that was fun but I was never consistent enough to see big results.

Before the start of a big covid lockdown I left my flat and went to stay with extended family. Apart from being very awkward, this family also had very different eating habits from me, and it wasn't as much food as I was used to. I was always hungry but I figured it was just a diet without me having to use any willpower lol. It was also healthy food so I was feeling good if hungry. By the end of this I think I lost at least 5-10kg in 6 weeks (not sure of starting weight so I have to guess) but after moving out again (lockdown eased and back to work) I was about 73kg. I managed to get down to 69.5 about one year ago but then my birthday hit and I gained back to 73-75 and maintained that weight.

Spending some time with my mother recently really made me realise how deep seated the bad habits/relationship we have with food are especially when we are together. So I gained ~4kg in a couple of months and decided I have had enough. I'm feeling motivated, doing CICO at a deficit and exercising and I'm 69kg today, down 5.5kg in 3 weeks.

I think I wasn't eating enough at the start of these couple of weeks, so I'm trying to get up to a regular deficit instead of just trying to eat as little as possible, I know that's very unhealthy.

It's pretty crazy seeing these numbers on the scale that I haven't seen in years and years, and it feels good to finally fall in the 'normal' range of bmi after so long in overweight or obese. It is a bit disheartening to think that I'm not really that much lighter than I was a year ago, but this is a journey and I know there'll always be ups and downs. I'm pretty new to this subreddit but I love reading other people's stories so I thought I'd share my own and my little victory today. Thanks for reading.

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Weight Loss Plateaus + No Results = Discouraging?

So my weight years ago back when I was still in shape was always 60-65kg. Then 6 years ago I started gaining weight up to 120kg. I tried going to a nutritionist professional, I went back to 90kg and April 2021 I was up to 135.6kg. Now I started counting calories and exercising and I'm back to 120kg.

Why am I telling you this? Well because I'm stuck at 120kg since a week. I am not seeing results, I even gained 0.3kg, but in the morning I lose that 0.3kg again, so on and so forth. I am consuming only 1600 Kcal and doing 1hr Spinning classes everyday, which supposedly are burning 800 Kcal every day in that hour. Yet my weight stays the same no matter what I eat, no matter how hard I exercise..

Have any of you gone through weight loss Plateaus? How long did it last for you please? I want to discuss this and hear some real stories, I don't want to give up just yet and if others are going through the same thing I am I don't want them to give up either!

Thank you!

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NSV: My boyfriend’s mom called me skinny.

This is my first NSV in a long time. The first time in months I’ve really been able to acknowledge my progress. It has been hard recently to keep going, and I’ve been stagnant in my weight loss for about 2 months. My boyfriend and I were at his parents’ house over the weekend and we were looking at their camping trailer. They were giving us the “grand tour” of the inside. There’s a full bed and a small table and bench seat that converts to a twin size (or smaller) bed. His mother was telling us about how their daughter and her husband had once tried to stay in it with them, and ended up sleeping in a hammock outside. We were making small talk saying how hard it would be to travel with more than 2 people in the trailer. She said, “Well, you two are skinny so you’d probably be able to sleep there.”

It was a passing comment to her and I’m sure no one else even registered what she said. But I have never in my life been called skinny. My boyfriend is thin and always has been. I’m choosing to accept the comment as a compliment, as I’ve lost 37 pounds. I still have more to go, but today I’m putting aside my occasional self-hate and constant self-doubt. NSV!

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Dear aunties of the middle eastern community..... just wait

Dear aunties/elders of the middle eastern community….

I do not want to come out of covid lockdown. Why you ask? I have finally started a weight loss journey and managed to stick to it for more than 8 months now. I have managed to lose 72lb without seeing a single person from the community or people I know except a few of my very close friends and family. They all have noticed my big weight drop and constantly drop complements. (keep them coming lol). I want to stay in lock down till all my extra weight is gone and I can exist my cocoon like an elegant butterfly.

I remember all your opinions and actions towards me. The way you walk around gatherings and events eyeing young single girls for a potential wife/girlfriend for you mediocre sons who only have a decent career going for them and nothing more. Their personalities being dry and pretentious, no sense of compassion or kindness towards women. Of course, I won’t blame them because they had mothers like you. You always skipped over me. Not that I wanted to be with your son, but asking is a complement.

Every time I would be standing with a group of my skinny petite friends, you never failed to complement and observe every one of them while your eyes skipped over me like a blank sheet of paper in a printing machine. Although personally I thought I was 2, 3 times prettier than all the girls there, in your eyes my size and weight labeled me as unworthy for your spoiled princes. I would stand awkward as you treated the girls with a motherly kindness and embrace them, say how beautiful they are, hold their hand, ask them about themselves, all while I was invisible. Because I was fat.

I won’t forget a specific auntie. The match maker. She always walked up to me and talked about a potential man who is looking for marriage. But it never failed for her to immediately ask; “so I saw you with your friend and she’s incredibly beautiful. Can you give me some information about her for this potential man?” As if she isn’t aware I am a single beautiful potential as well. But again, my weight labels me as invisible. And again, its not like I am even interested to get married. But it drives me crazy when I think about the idea that I wouldn’t be a good potential in your eyes.

So I don’t want lock down to end. I want to bloom into the gorgeous being I am. I will avoid your gatherings. I will avoid you. Until the day comes where I enter and all eyes lock on me. That is the time where I will waltz past you as the whispers start. “who is this girl?” “omg its OP, she has lost so much weight!” “shes so gorgeous.” I will side eye you all competing to come up to me. And this is when I will metaphorically spit in your face and ignore your existence while I glide away.

So dear aunties of the community,

I cant wait for that day.

Xoxo

- The girl that’s too fat for ur son

Still have a huge amount of weight to loss but this post right here makes me lock down on the discipline and motivation to get to my goal weight!

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