Back to square one

SW: 95KG CW: 108KG GW: 75KG

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I used to really enjoy exercising when I first became committed to my weight loss journey, gym 3x a week, and walks every other day - I'd count my calories, and stick to healthy choices.

Then lockdown hit. Went from 95 to 108kg, and just gave up.

I've tried to get back into it, but it just feels pointless, I always lose some weight and then just gain it all back.

I'm sick of living like this, the constant pains, clothes fitting and then becoming too tight, the self-hatred. I don't remember ever being a healthy weight. I've always been either overweight or obese.

I want to change, I truly do - Any tips?

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Advice for calories and TDEE?

Hi! Can someone give me their opinion on my calories?

Hi, I calculated with TDEE and my maintenance is 2,715. I have been eating 1,700 a day for three weeks and haven’t seen the scale move at all. I fluctuate between 323 and 326 lbs. Just wondering what someone else’s opinion is until I can see my doctor next month to talk about weight loss. I plan on getting blood work done.

For reference I have been tracking everything in MFP diligently. I just bought a food scale to get even more precise. I feel very confident about what I’ve been eating, and I have been trying to take a brisk walk twice a week that I am working to do more often. I have a mostly sedentary job.

I worry that I have an underlying hormone or health issue that might be affecting potential weight loss, but I’m trying to remember it’s only been three weeks and be kind to myself. I physically feel a lot better since I have been more mindful about eating, and feel less puffy, which is great. I just want to see the scale move so I know I’m on track. What do you think? Any thoughts or questions welcome.

Thank you!

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What did you do to get your period back?

I'm 5'5 and 64 kg today, I've lost 15 kg in 15 weeks eating 1200 kcal for about six weeks but then bumping it up to what I thought was maintenance (checked the TDEE), 1600 kcal, but kept dropping some weight after that. I haven't excluded any macros and eat the standard that MFP recommends, but I've been low on gluten and dairy since it gives me acne. My period is gone and I need it again because me and my partner are trying to get pregnant with IVF. We thought we'd have to wait until the end of the year, but we got someone else's spot and now we're just waiting for my period to get started before the next big step.

I've been on some different birth control trying to stop a constant bleeding (endometriosis), which worked, and now I've been on some pills where the doctors are trying to get my period back, which I'm afraid won't work and it's stressing me out.

I've been eating 1600 kcal per day for almost two months, and been going to bodypump classes four times a week because I wanted to be fit if I would get pregnant. It has really given results. I have also been walking 10.000 steps each day. Now, I'm proud over my weight loss, but my hormones are a mess because of pills, diet and too much workout and I feel like an idiot. I only have myself and my stupid, vain ass to blame. I'm bitter and ashamed.

This week, I decided to stop going to stop with the workouts and thought I'd up my kcal to 2000 or more until I get my period. I've been on a binge frenzy two days this week, thinking a lot about what maintenance kcal I should stay on after getting my period and how long it might take before it comes again. I know it can take months. I want to eat enough to get my period back but at the same time it's hard because of the work I've done so far losing the weight.

Have any of you lost your period, and did you actively do something to get it back? Did you just stay at some sort of maintenance after losing weight and eventually it started again? Or did you increase the kcal intake per day?

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How I Eat Healthy in a Buffet-Style Dining Hall

I've lost almost 20 lbs so far, eating nearly every meal in my college's all you can eat dining hall. Our food service provider is a small company so I don't have accurate calorie counts for anything, but with estimates and a few simple rules I've been eating pretty normally but still losing at a fast rate. By my loseit log, I'm eating 1400 calories most days. I put off weight loss until spring senior year because I had no idea how to do it while on a full meal plan, but it's been easier than I expected.

Here's my non dining hall meal options:

• Breakfast - either I sleep through it or I eat low-fat Greek yogurt in my room with an ounce of almonds (always weigh your nuts). Occasionally I make two "fried" eggs in my microwave and put them on two slices of low calorie bread with some hot sauce.
• Morning/afternoon snack/coffee - I get a cup of coffee daily with a splash of cream and a packet of sugar. If there's fresh strawberries at our cafe I buy them, too. Switching from lattes to regular coffee has saved me so much money.
• Cafe lunch - If I don't make it to the dining hall or if my lunch is early and my dinner is late, I grab a package of sushi from our cafe. It's usually marked as 300 calories or so, and I get a hot tea to go with it. I used to get wraps from here until I discovered that my favorite wrap was 900 calories.
• Frozen meals - I eat a healthy choice brand frozen meal if I feel hungry late at night. They have salt and some preservatives but they really helped me kick my midnight vending machine/popcorn/dominos/doordash habit. My overspending on delivery was a big problem for me, and keeping prepared meals around is saving me a ton of money.

Here's my strategy for my 2 dining hall meals per day:

• I look up the day's options on the online menu before going and plan what entree I will get. This helps me avoid the "nothing looks good, I'll get pizza" trap.
• I get an entree with one serving of protein and one serving of carbohydrates. This is usually a small bowl of rice and stir-fry, a grain and legumes from the vegan station, chicken breast and quinoa from the grill and the salad bar, or a hamburger. I only eat one serving of carbs per meal, so if, say, the vegan station is serving both couscous and pita, I only get one of those. I don't get fries.
• I log my entrees by looking up Sodexo/Aramark listings that are similar ingredients and eyeballing my carbs (trying to err on the side of overestimating). I know it's a different recipe and that serving sizes vary, but my estimates have been close enough on average. If I get a burger I track condiments.
• After getting my entree, I get a big plate and go to the salad bar for veggies. I get 1-2 cups of veggies per meal, including 1 cup of leafy greens per day. I don't get cheese, croutons, or dressing - my side salad is usually a pile of spinach with a drizzle of balsamic (no olive oil). I love crunchy snacking veggies, so cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli are common. I log my veg to keep track of how many servings I've had, but besides carrots and tomatoes the calories are negligible.
• Sometimes I have roasted veg from one of the hot stations. This counts towards the veg per meal. I log this for the oil.
• I used to have a bad habit of going back and getting dessert every meal. Now I finish my savory food and go back and get a piece of fresh fruit. I always log my fruit.

This pattern tends to leave me with an extra 100-200 calories at the end of the day. I either measure out nuts or eat a 100 calorie skinny cow ice cream sandwich. I also rotate my fruit and veg to get a variety of nutrients and flavors. I aim to eat legumes a few times a week and get sushi at least twice a week for the health benefits of fish. I limit red meat to 2x per week. These goals come from reading about the health benefits of the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet and trying to incorporate some aspects of those eating patterns into my week. I also try to make half of my grains whole grains.

This pattern gets me a good variety of flavors and textures as well as a good volume of food, while also not doing anything particularly "weird" in the dining hall. I do CICO but by focusing on eating a wide variety of nutritious food, I find it much easier to sustain and I'm sure eating like this is good for my overall health.

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I lost 25lbs in two weeks! You'll never believe my secret!

Spoiler: The secret is to gain 30lbs during pregnancy and then deliver a full-term 9lb baby.

Nine months ago, I set a goal for myself: Lose 40 pounds before I turned 40 years old (the end of the 2021). I was on a great start and was excited to lose the weight before Christmas.

I haven't posted anything in 9 months, and I am currently exactly where I was 9 months ago.

You see, almost immediately after setting the goal for myself and starting to lose some weight, I got pregnant! When I first found out, I gave up on my diet and gained 10lbs in a month. After the first trimester, I realized I needed to lock it down. Someone who weighs 240lbs doesn't need to gain that much weight during pregnancy, and certainly not all at the start. I ended up gaining about 30lbs during the pregnancy.

A few weeks ago, I had my baby. Two weeks after delivery, I weighed myself and realized I lost 25lbs from the baby, placenta, and extra fluids that come with pregnancy.

So, I'm back to where I was 9 months ago, with 5 extra pounds. I won't hit 40 before 40 (oh my gosh I'm 40 with a newborn), but I still have the 40lbs goal in my mind.

I'm not being as aggressive with my goal right now. I mean, I have a newborn and recovery alone takes some work. While I'm not being aggressive, I am tracking my calories. This does double duty because it's an accurate food log. When my newborn has a negative reaction to breastmilk, I can go back the past few days to see what aspect of my diet may be an irritant.

I have my calorie counting app set for 1lb of weight loss a week. That puts me hitting 200lbs in February of next year. Here's to the same goal, a new timeline, and hopefully no more big surprises!

40F SW: 245

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Finding the right balance of “be kind to yourself/give yourself some grace” and “just do the work/suck it up.”

I am 30 years old, a SAHM to a beautifully adventurous almost 18-month-old, and a part-time graduate student working on an online Master’s degree.

Currently I weight 205 lbs. (~93kg). Pre-pregnancy and pre-pandemic (both happened at the same time), I was down to 155 lbs. (~70kg). I am 5’7 and I felt great at 155 lbs. It felt like the right weight for me. At that time I was working part-time, teaching yoga classes after work, and doing 6AM CrossFit classes and then running or lifting on the weekends. I rarely ate out and was able to meal plan and cook 90% of my food.

When the pandemic hit I was in my early first trimester of pregnancy and was traveling with my husband for his cancer treatments (he is doing great now!). We were a sight to behold; my husband tired/sick/exhausted from the surgeries and radiation and me with constant morning sickness. We can laugh about this now.

Needless to say, my 6-7 day a week exercise regimen went out the window when everything closed down and I did not have the gusto to workout at home. The kitchen, which had been my happy place and my refuge, turned into a place I didn’t want to even go into. All the kitchen and food smells just made me sick and vomit. Extreme insomnia stepped in the moment the morning sickness subsided. I ate more because I was awake more. All of this resulted in me being around 215 lbs. (~97.5kg) when I delivered my daughter.

I survived PPD (any of you going through this/have gone through this, I have so much empathy and love for you) and I feel that I have finally escaped its grasp. Sometimes I still face anxiety and OCD but am closer to feeling like my “old self.”

Over the last year I have fallen into a weight loss loop. I will “buckle down” and try to lose weight. But I quickly fall into an unhealthy pattern of eating. Sometimes I do lose a few pounds and then this dark and illogical part of my brain is like “hey, you should try skipping this meal” or “you know what is a good idea? – working out at midnight.” Basically, behaviors that are not healthy or sustainable. Calorie counting is helpful when I feel like I am in a good mental place. However, it becomes almost obsessive when I feel myself slipping (due to stress or lack of sleep).

For those of you that struggle with finding a balance between extremes, how do you do it? Do you have any tips?

I know I can lose weight but it feels like my brain is trudging though a swamp and I can’t access the resources that I have. I feel like if I could just get over this mental hump then I could have a better chance of losing weight in a manner that is healthy and sustainable.

My brain just feels so foggy trying to prioritize being a good Mom and wife, doing my course work, and cleaning/cooking/house stuff. I feel tired and unable to keep up with it all. I am not complaining or feeling pity for myself, just noting that my mental fatigue seems to evoke physical fatigue. There are days when I can feel all the weight that I have gained and I feel ashamed for 1) not being able to stop it from happening and then right into 2) feeling shame for allowing myself to think my weight amounts to self worth, happiness, or that I have been influenced by social norms/expectations.

How do you give yourself grace and self-love without overindulging? How do you suck it up and do the "hard stuff" without going overboard? These are genuine questions.

I’d be lying if I said that I don’t miss the aesthetics of my 155lb self. But more than aesthetics, it was just the way my body felt that makes me want to lose weight. I am okay if I never get back to that number, I just want to feel “healthy” again. That was the first time in my life that I felt "healthy." I want to be able to be active and playful for my daughter in ways that I don’t feel like I can be if I stay at this weight.

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24 y/o Female, 5”3 and 133 lbs, but 38% body fat

Hello! I have been on a weight loss journey for the better part of 3 years now and have yet to achieve my “dream body.”

For a year, I did keto on and off and got down to about 118 lbs around this time last year but never got that flat stomach slim legs that I wanted. I never had enough energy to do strength training so I just ran sometimes. Regardless, I ended up “skinny fat”, lol are we surprised?

Well now, I’m usually about 133 lbs and have 38% bf and need advice. I’ve been strength training for a couple weeks and I’m being told to raise my calorie intake to 1700 daily but I’ve since gained a pound (now I’m 134.2). Is that normal? How should I go about my caloric intake and still lose weight?

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