You are an IRONMAN.

Background

On the 5th of January in 2017 I weighed in at 185 kilograms (407 pounds).

I had always been obese, morbidly obese even. For what it's worth, I'm ~190 cm+ (6 ft+) tall, which definitely assisted in hiding my weight a bit. I still looked obese, but not as obese as I was.

I learned all the wrong habits from home when it comes to food consumption. I was an emotional eater, whatever the emotion, I'd eat. I would eat to celebrate, or to drown my sorrows.

My turnaround started during student exchange in the U.S., where I lost 25 kilograms (55 lbs) through eating at regular intervals and taking daily walks. The exchange period was two terms, winter & spring. For anyone unfamiliar with these, in practice that means 5 months.

Turning point

After the student exchange I was a Thesis short of graduation, and moved back home. I maintained that weight, meaning I didn't gain any of the 25 kilograms (55 lbs) back as I kept the walking in my daily routine. I'd walk the forest roads here in Finland, they're rather peaceful let me tell ye.

Once I graduated in December of 2017 I started looking for my own place, which changed just about everything. I was unsatisfied with where my life was at, I didn't know what I wanted from my personal life necessarily, but I knew where I was at wasn't it.

I started going to the gym with a colleague of mine, which played a major role in this, I would've never had the courage to go to a gym alone, despite the fact I had always wanted to. In addition, I started making small changes to what I was eating.

This I think to this day is crucial. Had I tried to turn my life around at once, I would've most likely failed. The end result was that I ended up losing 75 kilograms (165 kgs) more, putting me to 85 kilograms (187 pounds).

Events

Along the way I participated in some running events, until I discovered Ironman triathlons. They seemed nuts to me, as did running events at first.

That was the exact reason I wanted to finish one. Something inside me was curious whether or not someone like me could finish one of these, I had to know.

I succeeded at doing that, on 14th of August, 2021, I crossed that finish line. Due to COVID19 I had not ran a marathon prior, but that mattered little.

Takeaways

For anyone out there who's trying to lose some weight; try making small changes. If you're into working out great! If not, that's not a necessity, but keep in mind there are hundreds of ways of staying active. For me it was challenging myself with these events, which I fell in love with.

Also; gym's aren't that scary. The people who go there are just that, they're just people. Nothing more, nothing less.

What'll make or break your weight loss is consistency. One bad day won't ruin it, nor get you to your goal.

Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/fOUAYo1

I have some more pictures from along the way, but I figured I'd share these, despite the fact they were taken over 4 years apart.

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Repost from r/Fitness. Need help with weight loss.

The mods at r/Fitness redirected me here.

So it's finally happened. The thing I never wanted. I've hit 300lbs. I won't bore you with the details, but a series of medical issues have kept me sedentary for the better part of 3 years. I'm physically able to do things now with no issue. In fact, I went on a fairly long hike through roughish terrain the other day and was very happy that by the end of it, I felt fine. I never felt like stopping or got out of breath (except when you'd expect to, like going up steep inclines, and even then it wasn't "out of breath" and more like "started breathing harder".)

I have also now gotten a driving job that has me spend most of my time, well, driving. So I'm on my ass for most of the time and am working 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week. My driving takes me far from home for up to 2 weeks at a time. As a consequence, I eat a lot of drive through/fast casual.

So I'm looking for some help in what I can do to reverse this. I know I'm looking at a year+ of consistency, but I just don't know where to start. Any help or insight would be appreciated. I did look at the wiki, but I think I need some more specific recommendations to help me with my weight loss.

Here's a brief overview of my past habits.

• I've always been overweight, but this is the worst it's been. I've been consistently between 250-260lbs. A healthy weight would be around 230lbs.

• I did work out regular in the past. I lifted weights and was pretty good at it. Not strongman stuff, but moving heavy things has never been a problem for me. This might have contributed somewhat to my weight gain. A friend of my once politely said "I wear my weight well." I still have a lot of muscle on me, but I'm probably at the tipping point of "wearing my weight well".

• I really do hate aerobic exercises. At my best I could jog 3/4-1mile (I was basing it off Google maps, so I never got an exact length) without stopping. But that was a trial.

• I have standard American eating preferences, with the exception that I don't eat seafood and usually prefer raw vegetables.

A big thing that I could use help with is what I could eat on the road? Are there places I could go that offer healthy food? I can't really make prepared meals since I won't have a refrigerator, nor consistent access to an oven/stove. I don't always get a microwave at the places I stay. Stoping and getting food from grocery stores would be fine, but what could I eat that doesn't need cooking? Is the deli baked chicken a good option? I've had it, and it all seems pretty greasy to me.

Any workouts that I could do? I've been thinking about taking a sledgehammer with me and restarting doing Indian Mace exercises.

Any help would be thoroughly appreciated. I really am at a loss on what to do.

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How to track calories at an event?

At a wedding today and the food is buffet style, pulled pork nachos, spanish rice, salsa, and refried beans on the side. I got a small plate, but have no idea how to track how many calories this is. When I cook at home, I scan and track every ingredient, but I can't do that here. I am eating 1300-1500(my TDEE is 2100, 1600 for weight loss). What do you guys do when you are simply unable to track your food? I'm sure one off day won't hurt me and this is my first meal of the day, so I knew I'm nowhere near my calorie limit, but tracking it just feels better.

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6 Months in, 64lbs lost so far

(36M 5’6”) SW: 258.6lbs CW: 194.9lbs GW: 150lbs

Hey all, started my weight loss journey on 16th August 2021. While I had Covid I had a stroke at 34 years old and was also diagnosed with sleep apnea. I got very depressed and hit my heaviest ever weight of 258.4lbs. I was on blood pressure meds, prediabetic, high cholesterol and liver levels were bad too. I was getting bad back pain and was struggling to do normal things without puffing.

I made a decision to start my health journey in mid August, and just hit 64lbs lost so thought I would post my 6 month progress in the hopes it will encourage people, especially if you are feeling hopeless like I was. I have looked at progress posts here and at the Intermittent Fasting subreddit everyday the previous 6 months and been so motivated by them. Thank you all for the advice and encouragement I have found here daily!

I have been losing weight through intermittent fasting combined with calorie control/eating lots of veggies.

I have a long way to go to get to my goal weight but I’m enjoying the journey!

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10 months on 10 months off: postpartum weight loss

Hello lovely losers!

Pre pregnancy weight: 195 Day I had the baby: 267 Today: 195 Goal weight: 175

5’8’’ 33(f)

I don’t believe in “snapback” culture but damn if I’m not proud of myself for losing the weight I put on during pregnancy. If you’re familiar with recommendations during pregnancy you might notice that I gained nearly triple the recommended amount of weight to gain during a pregnancy.

This was my second baby so I had a bit more of an idea of what to expect. I’m also damn lucky I have had two uncomplicated and unmedicated births with breezy recovery. This last time I didn’t even tear so I was cleared for exercise at 2 weeks postpartum

How I did the damn thing:

• breastfeeding (doesn’t help everyone but I think I burn 300-500 calories a day making milk)

• exercise: started with low impact rowing, biking, and walking. I started running when my son was cleared to go in the jogger at six months. I exercise every single day for at least 20 minutes. Recently started training for a half marathon so now I’m running 8+ miles at once! The baby loves the fresh air, and I feel so much better physically and mentally.

-nutrition: I have to intuitively eat/eat enough or I feel like I might risk my milk supply. I always eat if I’m hungry even if it’s more than a typical day in case the baby is just growing. I eat a 80% grain free diet due to an annoying autoimmune disease but I think I intake about 1800kcal a day based on past counting.

If you’re struggling with postpartum body image please know you aren’t alone! I could barely look at myself that first week postpartum because I was so embarrassed about gaining 70lb. Now I feel like a badass who gained AND lost 70lb.

I took ten months to put it on and ten months to take off. Oh and grew, birthed and nourished a whole new human! How was I ever disappointed in myself?

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Nearing Weight Loss Target and Confused

I am 23 female 5ft6 and 137lbs.

My weight loss goal has always been 133lbs as this was my pre-pregnancy weight before my 2 children.

I am currently training 5 days a week with a combo of cardio and weight training.

Although I am nearing my weight loss target I still have more fat than I'd like on my hips and stomach area.

I was planning on moving to gaining muscle when I hit my target and hoping with some toning I will reach a happy point but wondering if I would be better continuing cutting further?

TIA

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Weight loss in 3-4 months?

I’m getting married in late June and unfortunately I currently weigh the most I ever have in my life.

I’m 36/F and my weight has always fluctuated between about 155-185lbs depending on my eating and exercising habits, etc. I did keto for a few years and maintained the lowest weight I ever have, but I stopped eating keto right around the beginning of the pandemic and somehow made my way up to 200lbs. I have gotten into some sedentary habits and am much less active than I used to be.

My upcoming wedding is inspiring me to make some changes I’ve wanted to make for a while. I don’t want to do anything too drastic after having the terrible experience of being “successful” on keto only to end up the highest weight I’ve ever been when I stopped. Basically my plan is to eat less frequently in smaller portions and get much more exercise. This past week I’ve been going for 5 mile walks most days. I have a broken arm so I can’t really get back into the gym right now.

Do you think it’s possible to lose about 25lbs before the end of June? What’s the most someone here has lost in a few months without going on a very restrictive diet?

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