I joined the IE and “Anti-Diet” Movement for one year and I’m more confused than ever

i’m so confused right now about my weight journey. I got a “one year ago today” memory from my phone this morning of a picture of me, 40lbs down and looking great at the height of my weight loss journey. I’m looking at this picture as I sit here at a 50lb difference from that photo. Heavier than Ive ever been in my life.

Ive been on and off diets my whole adult life, and at the start of the pandemic I joined a weight loss program and lost about 40lbs in 6 months. I was in a groove, but it wasn’t easy and I started to get really sick of tracking. Around this time, all of my social media accounts started to become flooded with the whole “anti-diet” movement. Everyone seemed to be hooked on this revelation that dieting is toxic, not sustainable, and basically extremely harmful. People were pushing intuitive eating, fuelling your body with whatever it wants, “life is too short to skip the donut”, all that kind of stuff. I was seeing registered dieticians online saying how bad calorie counting is for your body. how toxic it is for your mind. So, being in a place where I felt I had a good grasp on portion sizes and healthy choices, and given that I was super sick of tracking, I decided to join the anti-diet movement. I didn’t just go in blind, I did my research. I read a bunch of books about intuitive eating, etc. I followed it for a year, and honestly it was liberating at first. I mean I’m sure we can all agree that not having to track a single thing would feel kind of freeing, right?

But here I am one year later, having gained back all the weight I lost plus more, the heaviest I’ve ever been. Any time I checked in with intuitive eating support groups or anti-diet pages, concerned about my weight going up and up and up, they would say “throw away your scale” or “trust the process” or “this is natural - your body is finding its set-point”.

That’s a lie. This isn’t natural. 250+ lbs doesn’t feel natural to me. I don’t fit into normal sized clothes, I don’t fit into all normal sized chairs, I get tired after a 20 min walk. None of that seems natural. I can’t imagine that my body’s “set-point” is over 250lbs. Somethings not right with that.

And it just keeps getting more confusing to me - I went out for dinner with a friend last night, and we sat on the patio of this little local Bistro that had super tiny plastic chairs. I shifted uncomfortably in my too-small chair terrified it was going to break underneath my weight, while simultaneously ordering the fries and the soda and dessert because my (thin) friend ordered all those treats and the anti-diet movement told me I deserve it just as much as she does. Again, something doesn’t feel right with this logic????

Can someone please tell me i’m not crazy? I started tracking again today and felt SO much relief. But then I opened TikTok and the first video I saw was someone making fun of a dieter for counting out their goldfish crackers, talking about how toxic and harmful that is. I feel like my brain is broken!!!!

And just to be clear - I didn’t just fly off the handle and binge eat for a year. I genuinely followed IE. Gained 50lbs. I can’t live at this weight, and I don’t know what to do

submitted by /u/windyafternoon
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2WJss0G

Maybe this time will be different

I joined this sub a year ago and it helped me so much. But then, no excuses, I stopped being so religious about tracking. Every once and a while, I'd try to start up again, only to create another excuse. The good thing is that throughout this time, I continued to train for a 5k. I weighed myself this morning, I am within 2 lbs of the last time I was tracking. I may not have been losing weight, but I am definitely gaining muscles and fit better into my clothes. I was feeling guilty because I received compliments on my weight loss even though I felt like I wasn't doing anything. I've decided to get back into it again, with some changes:

1. I was feeling depressed for a few months and found it hard to do something as simple as brush my teeth. Last month I decided to get an app to help me reform the brushing teeth habit. It worked, so I've decided to do the same thing for logging food. I've added it to my goals and will track every single day even if I go over.

2. My 5k is coming up. I know weight loss is 80% diet, but running is very important for me to keep on track. I am signing up for a second 5k so that I do not stop immediately after my race like I've been known to do.

3. Reach out when I need help. I tend to keep my struggles to myself. My friends have helped me realize that I can share my problems, even if it's just to have someone listen.

4. One bad day doesn't need to spiral. In my running, I don't quit when I have a slow day. But I was quitting when I had a bad food day. My weight loss is a goal just like my race goals. I'm still looking for a way to track this if anyone has a recommendation. Having something to remind me that there is an end goal would definitely help.

This isn't starting over. It's a continuation with a long pause. I am down 20lbs from where I was at my heaviest. I'm older, wiser, and hopefully learned enough from my previous mistakes.

submitted by /u/Lose70By30
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3gXoZm5

When to stop losing and start pursuing real muscle gain?

I’ve been working on a very gradual weight loss plan (i.e., 3 years and counting) and I’ve lost 45 pounds total. A couple of months ago, I started moving from a CICO deficit to a surplus, but it’s really tough to get a surplus with healthy food given the calories I’m burning (strength training for 90 minutes, 3 days a week, plus moderately active otherwise).

Since making the switch, I gained back about 5lbs, which I hope is mainly muscle, but is obviously some fat. Now that my pants are getting a wee bit tighter in the waist, I’m having second thoughts and doubting whether I should be trying to bulk at all.

I added a photo to Imgur (since I can’t figure out how to add a photo here), and I would greatly appreciate some advice. Ignoring the gynecomastia, which the doc says is a surgery thing if I want to address it (I do), should I still aim for a deficit and try to lose more fat? Or am I in the right ballpark to start a bulk/cut cycle?

https://imgur.com/a/y90Ayod

submitted by /u/DocHfuhruhurr
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3gTltc3

Went to the gym for the first time in a couple years. Was anxious at first but now I'm looking forward to going again!

Yesterday I signed up for gym (Planet Fitness) and scheduled a personal trainer session. I wasn't expecting much. From the reviews I saw, it was basically someone who just gives you a piece of paper with a routine for the machines and says good luck. I have bad social anxiety as well. It took a lot just to sign up. Having this low expectation didn't help. Almost blew it off. But I'm glad I didn't.

I went in and a woman about my age was my personal trainer for the day. Her build is similar to what I would like to work on for myself, so I was already interested in what she had to say.

I thought we were just going to go to some machines but she took me immediately to the free weights. I've never worked with free weights before because I didn't know how. I was super interested in learning how.

We went thru some arms, back, and ab exercises. She worked with me to find a good weight range to work with and how many reps. She said to make 2 more appointments with her so we can map out my other days. Then she said to do the same in a month so we can update the plan.

She was super nice and personable. I told her about my weight loss journey and she seemed truly interested. She was just as excited to see my progress as I am. She made the whole experience so much less scary than my anxiety had made it out to be. I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to going back!

submitted by /u/Cyllandra
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/38BzDKs

Talking about new body?

Female, 26, 5’10” / SW 248.8 lb. / CW 171.5 lb. / GW 160 lb.

Hello everyone! I’ve lost almost 80 pounds and a few pant sizes since last December. I feel phenomenal, I look better than I ever have, and my confidence is through the roof! It’s all I want to talk about, and I’m pretty sure people IRL don’t care anymore.

I try to be very mindful with how I talk about myself, because a lot of really beautiful people in my life are not currently interested in weight loss. My journey of self love began, and really solidified when I was overweight. I wasn’t even trying to lose weight at first (the initial 20 pounds just happened by itself). But, I just feel so much better about myself now, and want to scream it to the world. It makes me feel vain and conceited though.

Sorry if this is too much of a jumble of thoughts! Anyone else struggle with something like this? My new gym opens this week, so I’m hoping to meet some new people that want to talk weight loss.

submitted by /u/cheechiie
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3yD7VaP

I’m smaller than I was as a child and yet I suddenly feel fatter now [mini vent]

I grew up obese. I was looking at a picture of me when I was around 10 and I’m much much smaller now in my 20s than at that age. That just blows my mind. I hit my adult height at a young age so I was the tallest in my class (now I’m considered average) so it’s very easy to compare. I had no idea how large I was!

I’ve lost a lot of weight. I’ve also been getting skin tightening treatments in Korea which have worked! I have no loose skin (plus I lost weight extremely slow). I’m started to even see ab definition but I currently feel as if I am the heaviest I’ve ever been. My mind is definitely screwing with me.

If I lose 5 more lbs I’ll officially have a normal BMI. I’m struggling so much to get there. For whatever reason, my legs and butt want to retain fat and I’m running out of fat on my stomach. Honestly my body looks like a combination of two different bodies. I can fit a size small on top and on bottom I’m an XL. My goal is just to be a L on bottom. I think this is part of the reason I suddenly feel so massive and maybe why I’m struggling to lose more.

I don’t even feel like I’m eating much anymore. Honestly starting to feel sad about how little I eat. I’ve been going to a weight loss clinic in Korea and my weight hasn’t budged in two weigh ins. The doctor is asking me what I’m eating and I feel sad because I’ve been mainly eating salads and eggs. I literally live above a bakery and our apartment is filled with the scent of fresh bread every morning and I haven’t eaten it, not even once!

Most girls here are trying to get to 110. I’m a curvy Latina with large hip bones. Unless I shave off bone, 110 is impossible. My sister got to 120 and it didn’t look healthy on her so my ultimate goal is 125-130.

I just want to lose 5 more lbs in this month. Just 5! It’s getting harder and harder. I tested my muscle and I haven’t lost any muscle luckily. I’m slightly above average in muscle.

If I walk 15k steps a day I know I will lose weight. That’s what I did to get here but I’m so so tired. It’s getting harder to eat very little and workout so much for so long.

submitted by /u/Almostthere2040
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3jKb98t

Weight loss slowing down

Hi, I started out with a goal of losing 100 pounds. I've lost 32 of it and still losing. The problem is I'm losing MUCH more slowly now than I was in the beginning. I lost 13 pounds in the first two weeks, 9 in the second two weeks, 6 in the third two weeks, and only 4 in this last two weeks. 1,200 calories a day strictly.

The only thing that has changed is I ate more protein in the beginning. I've gotten a little freer with carbs, but haven't fudged on calories at all.

Could the higher carb ratio be affecting my rate of weight loss? Or does it just sound normal to slow down a bit after the first few weeks?

submitted by /u/winterwoods
[link] [comments]

from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3t6fplC