Always in the "During" Phase

I'M TIRED OF BEING HOPELESS I'M TRIED OF FEELING WORTHLESS I'M TIRED OF BEING BOUND TO THIS ONE WORD: Fat

I wrote this loud exclamation in the place that you can find to unlock all my deepest secrets...and a to do list reminding me to call my Mema. This is of course my notes app. I was cleaning through it when I found this along with other reasons as to "Why" I wanted to lose weight when I read over the words I wrote again I imagined the frustration I had and it all came rushing at me once again.

I dream of being the "after" person. What do I mean by that? What I mean is I want to be the slim girl in the after photo in those Before and After pics that I see scattered all over this subreddit. But I want to more then the picture. I imagine myself talking to some friends who knew me when I was at my biggest asking me how I lost the weight and just replying with what I always say even now, "weight loss is simple but not easy." I would want dress nicely and not feel like certain things are bulging out.

This isn't all about appearance though. I also want to be in the phase were I'm just maintaining my weight and where I'm one of those girls who runs early in the morning and knows when to stop eating. I want to not have to even use this subreddit anymore (haha). I just don't want to be associated with the problem that has been grappling my mind ever since I gained a little weight in 5th grade.

I don't like living in this during phase where I have lost a little weight but I'm still here: fat.

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Advice for the cycle of binge eating?

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice on how to prevent binge eating in the long term. For some context, I’m 24 F 5’5 and currently 138 lbs. I started at 142 and I have a goal of 126-128 lbs.

I used to weigh 118 on a vegetarian diet (I was doing this the wrong way and lost a significant amount of muscle). I’ve reincorporated meat back into my diet and feel a lot better and have been trying to make better food choices and start exercising again. I’m eating about 1500 calories a day for weight loss and I workout 6 days a week with a mixture of strength training and HIIT.

I’ve been in a cycle of losing then gaining and losing weight again my entire life. I’ll do well for a few months then binge eat during stressful times. I gained a lot of weight because I just finished grad school and was binging on sweets (I have a huge sweet tooth!). I’ve been trying to have sweets within my calorie limit everyday so I don’t binge and having them in moderation seems to helping.

Do any of you have advice on how to prevent binges in the long term? Thank you!

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I started rewarding myself with exercise & went for a long hike!

I've been depressed lately -- hard to get out of bed, hard to socialize, hard hard hard. I'm also down 22 pounds since May (SW: 217, CW: 195, GW: 140) ~ weird, because usually when my mental health is trash, so is what I'm putting in my body, but I've actually committed to lifestyle changes for the first time ever. So much is out of my control right now and I'm pretty pandemic- and climate-anxious and just down as hell, so eating healthy, tracking calories, and getting in some form of exercise daily all feel so manageable in comparison. I can do those! Maybe those are the only things I can do right now!

Since May I've been gradually upping my exercise: walking, running, a little strength training at the gym, dance workout videos, yoga videos. For the first time in my life, exercise feels untethered from weight loss -- finally internalized that I don't need to exercise to lose weight, but I love feeling myself grow stronger. Things I never thought I could do several months ago (5k runs!) are routine now and so much easier than they used to be. So when a couple plans got cancelled earlier this week because vaccinated friends tested positive for COVID and my brain did the bad virus spiral again, I decided to plan a hike for the coming Saturday, today.

This plan got me through the week like nothing else. I was counting down the days. I decided to hike the full stretch of trails near my house, out and back, 16 miles. Unlike my other forms of rewarding myself (eating food, buying shit I don't need online), this had no adverse effects on some other part of my life. I was just really excited about something that's good for me!

I woke up a little before 5 this morning, grabbed my backpack and went. I saw the sunrise on trails I had all to myself! I hiked through all sorts of terrain for five hours, longer than I've ever gone before. Around mile 12 my body was definitely like "okaY that's enough" and I feel sore and exhausted for sure now, but the experience was pretty incredible. Hiking euphoria is the real deal. When I got back I took a hot shower and made myself the kind of breakfast I haven't had in a long time: syrupy pancakes, bacon and eggs, coffee, large portions of all of the above. It was nice, but I was too distracted by looking at pictures I'd taken during my hike to finish it all. Also pretty eye-opening that I used to eat that kind of meal all the time on weekend mornings before (1000 calories!).

So, anyway. Hiking is the shit, weight loss has empowered me to be accountable to myself and spend quality time with myself, I'm grateful for what my body is capable of doing and the ways it can change. Here's a cute view from this morning, too. I love this sub <3

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In defense of weighing yourself daily

I feel like writing this because I keep encountering this mindset on very popular weight loss YouTube channels and subs - that you should only weigh yourself once a week or once a month or even rarely. I encountered it twice this morning. This is contrary to what has been helpful for me. I have found weighing myself every day to be useful and actually motivating for me. So I want to state the case for weighing yourself every day and my experiences in case it might be useful for someone else.

Proponents of weekly/monthly weigh-ins often have this argument - there are aberrations/fluctuations in your weight that can cause it to increase or not move consistently for a period of days and some people find that checking on their weight every day and experiencing these fluctuations actually hurts their motivation because they don't see the results. Having longer periods of time between weighing increases the likelihood that you will see decreases in your weight because over a longer period of time with more opportunity for weight loss, the fluctuations will matter less. It also gives people something to look forward to, if they have a set day of the week/month that they weigh in. It can help motivation to be able to look forward to a day where you get to see your progress on the scale. These are good arguments and they work well for some people.

For me personally, daily weighing actually has the same motivating power that people argue weekly/monthly weighing does. You get to see the progress more immediately, which in many cases has kept me motivated to maintain my calorie deficit on days that I otherwise was not feeling like dieting. If I see a new lowest weight on the scale, I'm even more motivated that day to strictly maintain my calorie deficit to see if I can get it even lower the next day. The consequences of your actions are more immediately obvious. If I have a cheat day, I can see that on the scale the next day, too. (Most of that weight is probably sodium-related, it's actually hard to eat enough calories in one day to gain enough fat to see an actual fat gain on the scale, when your scale only moves in .2 lb increments). But still, the consequences of a bad decision keep it fresh in my mind that I can just as easily gain weight like I did for many years if I don't eat at or below my TDEE. This has saved me many times from having a whole week of bad choices, if I know I have to reckon with it on the scale every morning.

I'm the type of person that would put off changing my behavior if I knew that I wouldn't have to reckon with the scale until Sunday or the 31st of the month. I would tell myself, I have a little time to get back on the wagon. I would justify treats and overeating that way. If I decided that I was only going to weigh in every three months, I would put off actually dieting until the weigh-in date was much closer and I would be satisfied with any little weight loss. In reality, if I was weighing in more frequently, I would put in more overall effort to see weight loss at every weigh-in and probably lose more over the same three month period. This is why I find weighing in daily so helpful. The benefits summarized are really that you can see much more quickly how your actions affect your weight and adjust if necessary and if you're motivated to stick to your diet by an impending weigh-in, having less time between weigh-ins means less potential time to fall off the wagon and not have to reckon with the scale.

To address the fluctuations that daily weigh-in naysayers are concerned about: This is maybe something more relevant to people who are just beginning their weight loss who aren't used to weighing themselves regularly and aren't accustomed to the fluctuations you see if you weigh yourself regularly. I've been dieting for over a year now and have lost 46 pounds. I have weighed myself nearly every day. I have come to realize the fluctuations/things outside of actual body fat content that affect my weight and recognize when those things are behind some inexplicable weight gain/plateau. And it doesn't affect my motivation because I know that my fat loss is not being affected because I'm still maintaining a calorie deficit and I will pee out this giant sodium-related water retention that resulted from consuming Wendy's chili in a couple days and that lo and behold my calorie deficit will in fact yield fat loss even if my actual body weight was up for a couple days. There is some fluctuation like this affecting my weight only a few days per month. Most days I see the immediate results of my deficit, which is motivating.

For me personally, there are three main factors that will cause a weight fluctuation: 1. My menstrual cycle (since I'm a lady). Usually causes a 2-4 pound water weight/bloating gain right before my period begins that I will gradually pee out over the course of my period. 2. Bowel changes/irregularities. Constipation can make it seem like you're gaining weight/plateaued, but then you have a bowel movement and realize you've actually lost weight. 3. Sodium-related water retention. Some foods like canned soups and fast food are sodium bombs that can cause 2+ pounds of weight gain. You'll pee out the water in a couple days and realize that if you maintained your calorie deficit, you still will have lost weight. Once you realize what these things are and recognize when they're happening, you don't sweat a little fluctuation on the scale. It's often easy to connect the dots. "Oh, I'm up a pound today, but I covered my food in soy sauce yesterday, that's probably why." I have a calendar that I only use for writing down my weight every day. It's actually fascinating that I can look back and tell when all my periods over the last year were because of the 4-5 days of minor weight gain that don't fit the general downward trendline. I say all this to illustrate that it's easy to recognize when something outside of your body fat is affecting the number on the scale.

If you are going to weigh yourself daily, do it in a consistent fashion. In the morning after using the bathroom but before eating/drinking anything is best. I do it right before I step into the shower in the morning. This will help with things that might cause you to see fluctuations aside from physiological things like water retention.

I hope this is helpful for someone. It seems like all the advice out there in the online weight loss world is arguing for the other side and I thought it would be helpful to say that there are pros/cons to both daily and less frequent weighing and that I've had success doing the opposite of what all the advice seems to be saying. Consistent weight loss is really more about sticking to it for a long period of time. And you have to find what works best for you to be able to stick to it for a long period of time, and what works for you might not be the blanket advice that works for most people. I've found that there are not hard and fast rules for weight loss other than the fact that achieving a calorie deficit through some means seems to be the only thing necessary. It's whatever works that you can stick with.

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Does confidence come with weight loss?

I’m not very happy with my weight and the way I look, especially in the clothes I like. I’m pretty short, and I’ve got some extra weight on me. I’d say I’m overall a pretty confident person, but the only thing I’m not confident about is certain parts of my body. Ive started working on my body, but I’m no where near my goals. I’m super into fashion and love dressing up, but I’m not confident in the clothes I want to wear. I feel like once I lose weight and have the body I’m happy with, I’ll be able to confidently dress in the clothes I like. For those of you who lost the weight, were you able to then confidently wear the things you wanted to wear?

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How I lost 40lbs eating anything I want and my step by step guide of how I did it

TLDR below.

Who: 29 year old male 6 feet. Grew up skinny as a child but in my 20s got up to 220 lbs.

What: Lost 40lbs in 5.5 months eating anything I want.

How: Staying under 1500 calories daily (this total was adjusted. I started at 1700 and slowly moved down as I lost weight)

Starting weight: 212lbs (BMI 29.6 --> .4 away from "Obesity")Finishing weight: 171lbs (And still going probably)

Secret: Greek Yogurt and Water

---

Prelude:

To start I know nothing about weight loss. When I was 23 or so I did the Tim Ferriss slow carb diet and had great success (lost 15 months in one month while also doing 30,000 steps a day as a landscaper).

I know this isn't healthy and the restriction of that type of diet is so dreadful... ALWAYS eating eggs and chicken is brutal. The mental aspect of losing weight is greatly underrated.

Since I don't know what I'm doing, take this post as a grain of salt since I don't know the potential health issues with this diet. But I didn't care because I knew my weight was holding my self-esteem back.

---

Story:

February 2021: Almost 1 year into Covid and I'm at 212lbs and not feeling good about it. I turned 29 which I think was a bit of a mental shock. I can't get away doing dumb shit with eating habits and still "being healthy". I'm not a kid anymore, 30 is around the corner.

I REALLY didn't want to do a restrictive diet. That scared me cuz I've usually failed at it because sometimes you just fucking crave a cookie or Popeyes. PLUS I would ALWAYS be hungry.

So I found a post on either Reddit/YouTube talking about how weight loss is strictly about calorie deficit. I bought in. If I could not be hungry while dieting, and eat what I want, I think I can do this....

---

Step by step: (Step 5 is the only mandatory step)

Step 1: Buy a food scale. They're not expensive.

Step 2: Download MyFitnessApp (I'm not associated --> extremely good for tracking calories). AND TRACK THE CALORIES OF EVERYTHING YOU EAT. In the app you can scan barcodes of food that will give you the exact calorie count. ALWAYS be conservative with your estimations. If you're not sure if a banana is 80 calories or 100 calories, then mark it as 100 calories.

Step 3: In the app, add your goal weight and how much you want to lose per week. Choose "Sedentary" lifestyle (even if you're not). I chose 1.5lbs a week. (I've read 2lbs a week should be max.)

Step 4: Load up on 0% Greek Yogurt. This is the magic pill for me (see pics below - lol). Greek Yogurt is low in calories and high in protein. This shit will fill you up without hurting your calorie count. Also, drink a shit ton of water. I am doing about 2-3L per day (I would look up what is a safe amount for your gender/weight).

Step 5: Eat whatever the fuck you want but stay under your daily calorie count. I ate cookies, Subway, A&W, Popeyes throughout the 5 months. I unfortunately couldn't eat at other restaurants because not all of them give calorie information. Remember to be conservative in calorie estimation

Step 6: Track your weight in the morning after you pee. Some people say do this once a week. I did it daily. I don't know why but I needed to remind myself of my goal (the action of stepping on the scale). Weight loss isn't linear in my experience. It acts more like a dropping chart on the stock market. 3lbs down and 1lb up is still 2lbs down --> Your brain may try telling you otherwise

Conclusion: I can't tell you how good it feels to be back into a normal BMI (23). Clothes not fitting is such a good feeling. I bought a belt in 2015 that I still use. I started at hole 3, then got fat and ended up at hole 1 (barely fitting), and now the belt is too big for me. It's so fun putting the belt on to what I was at my worst and seeing how huge it is. Overall, I just feel better about myself and very proud of what I've done. Next step is to bulk up a bit (now I can't get away with fat guy arms making me look muscular hah!)

---

Tips:

- Protein shakes helped me a lot. Every morning I had a scoop of protein (35g), handful of spinach, 220g of frozen berries, a banana, and 250g of 0% greek yogurt. Filled me up quite a bit and only ~500 calories. Added some iron and omega 3 supplements and this checked several nutrition boxes

- I tried eating things high in protein as my understanding (I could be wrong) is that this is what fills you up

- Buy into this being the most important thing you do. Put priority in this over other things in your life. ---> Take this with a grain of salt, everyone's life situation is different. But I turned down "drinking with the buddies" (for example) in order to focus on this. The calorie intake takes precedent.

- MyFitnessApp has an ability to look up food calorie count that don't come with a calorie chart. For example a chicken breast from the market.

- DON'T TELL ANYBODY ABOUT YOUR GOAL. Dopamine release occurs in ANTICIPATION of a goal. When you tell people about your goal it makes the brain think the goal is being reached which actually decreases this release, making motivation/action more difficult. (Yes I'm a psychology master's student)

- No seriously eat what you want. If you have 200 calories to go today and you feel like a 200 calorie cookie, eat the fucking cookie. For me, being too strict made me less eager to get this done.

- Don't adjust your goal. I always had my eye set on 170lbs. Guys my height at 160lbs look too skinny to me so I was happy with 170. That's 40lbs which 99% of people will never accomplish. I didn't care. I was going to do it cuz I knew it would feel amazing. My eyes were set at 170. When I got to 175 I got a little lazy with it so I had to have a check with myself. 175 isn't good enough for me, 170 is the goal.

- If you do cardio/workout. That counts as extra calories for the day. Sometimes I wanted food that was above my calorie daily count. For example I had 100 calories left in the day and I wanted to eat a 200 calorie cookie. So I would get on the treadmill/bike and do a 100 calorie workout. (Remember: These calculations are ESTIMATIONS --> ALWAYS be conservative.)

- Coke Zero (while not good for you) has 0 calories. It was nice having that kick beyond water every once in a while.

- Greek Yogurt: As I said this is the magic pill for me. What most people say is "Doesn't it taste bad". Ummmm no it tastes like fucking victory. Yes it tastes bad but honestly I don't mind because I know it's helping GREATLY. It's like the old Buckley's commercials --> It tastes awful and it works. I'd rather be full and eat greek yogurt than hungry.

---

My progress chart: https://imgur.com/K98nDZ5

5.5 months of Greek Yogurt: https://imgur.com/86GiFn8

TLDR: I ate anything I wanted and stayed under my daily calorie goal and lost 40lbs in 5.5 months.

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Can’t get below 145

I’m 23, Male, 5’6 SW: 163 CW: 145

I’ve been at it since may, my daily eating goal is at 1500. I rarely ever go ever and am fairly accurate.

For exercise I run using a C25K program, and I lift small weights like twice a week. Haven’t fully committed to weight lifting as yet.

For some reason My weight loss significantly slowed to the point where I’ve been at 145 for about a week now.

I’ve looked around and seen that sometimes plateau’ing happens. However Im interested in how to get over this. I haven’t used the tape measuring method unfortunately so I’m not sure if I’m losing weight in size either.

Seeking advice, thanks

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