How to prioritize your health/ weight loss goals?

I can have the best intentions and aspirations to want to regularly exercise, but work and taking care of my family end up always becoming my default. I end up having all my energy given to work and family that by the end of the day, I'm depleted and just can't even consider exercise. In the morning, I feel too tired to exercise or if I sleep in a bit then it's time to get the kids fed and ready for school. And to be honest, I sometimes think maybe I use that as an excuse to not work out and I just don't get why I do this? It's like I'm fighting against myself and putting myself at the bottom. My brain can't compartmentalize work and I feel as though I have to get to work tasks no matter what (an internally driven pressure).

Any insight or tips? Every time I read these awesome success stories, or progress pics posts, people post about their diet and exercise programs as credit for their change. I know what needs to be done, I know it's very important, but I just can't do it. I wish I could be even partially as driven towards my fitness/ health goals as I am about work.

Thanks for reading.

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260-185 Progress is slowing, but I'm slowly realizing how far I've come

31M 5’10 SW: 260 CW: 185 GW: 165

progress pics: https://imgur.com/pwnLskE

So what can I say, I hit age 30 and suddenly became self-conscious that I looked old. I started this journey sometime in April 2021 with the goal of making sustainable changes to my habits, because I've attempted weight loss in the past just to regain the pounds back. It was always a conscious effort that required more willpower than I can ever hope to have. So my plan this time around was just to make this process an unconscious effort, where habits and routine would override motivation. I followed a lot of the advice presented by Dr. Jason Fung in his lectures which you can find on Youtube.

So what really worked for me was continually adding something new to the routine once I adapted to it. This started with avoiding drinking my calories and cutting fast food, processed food, and all my typical junk and snack foods, and of course sugar. I've learned my difficulties related to weight loss may be due to insulin resistance. I've done Keto in the past which worked but once I lost the weight I went back to eating how I used to. This time around I approached it more like a lifestyle choice. I gotta say to anyone else attempting it, the sugar withdrawal makes the first 3 weeks the hardest but you get used to it. Once 2 months into this routine I added 18:6 Intermittent fasting where I had 2 meals and 1 small snack per day from 9 am to 3 pm and fasted the rest of the day. This was also difficult to adapt to but broke through after 2 weeks of adjusting. You would be surprised what your body is really capable of if you give it the benefit of the doubt. Next with some newfound energy, I started walking 4km around my neighborhood at least 3 times a week and increased it to 5, I even attempted to run and jog a few times.

At this point, I'm losing roughly 10 pounds a month creating a positive echo chamber in my mind where I'm seeing the positive changes in my efforts, which make me want to continue. I did have cheat days once every month to celebrate my weight loss milestones but also to remind myself of the type of foods I used to eat and how shitty I felt afterward. Now with some confidence, I join a gym with Covid restrictions lifting and get into resistance training and weight lifting slowly building a routine off of fitness YouTubers. I now make it a habit to go a min of 3 or 2 times a week and it consists of 1.5 hours of resistance training and 45 mins of cardio. It took 2 months of going on a regular basis but I've actually become kinda addicted to going like I feel unwell when I don't go. Now the last thing I've incorporated that has been just as beneficial was CiCo where I'm averaging around 1500-1600 calories a day. I've become kinda lazy with my cooking and end up just eating the same things as I already know how many calories they are. Now I'm not perfect and have indulged and caved into peer pressure a few times but I always end up returning to my routine or what I like to call my system of accountability consisting of keto, fasting, and CiCo. My weight loss is now slowing down to around 2.5 pounds a month but the differences are just as noticeable. At this point, these habits are just ingrained in me now and I can't see myself going back, I definitely feel like a new person sometimes, which also seems to be the case when I see old friends and family that I haven't seen since the pandemic.

Motivation is nice and all, and it does get the ball rolling, but I found it's your habits and routines that really get you the consistent results that make you want to continue and provide a positive echo chamber. If anyone else is just starting out on their journey just start making one change at a time till it's a habit.

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I'm mourning my boobs

Like, WHERE DID THEY GO?

I've known my measurements for a decade because I'm a hobby seamstress. Even though my weight fluctuated between normal weight to overweight since I was a teenager, my bust measurement never really changed.

Also, this is not my first weight loss journey. I was also quite fit and did CICO when I was around 17 yrs old and around 22 yes old. But now at 27 is the first I'm really looking at macros and doing strength workout and it's showing... My legs are slimmer (which I like even though it's wildly confusing) and my boobs... I measured right now and I lost 7cm bust circumference since I started 5 months ago. Why did that happen when it's never happened before? Is this a result of strength training? I do like the leaner look and the workouts are fun, so I'm not gonna stop.

It's really irritating because it all sounds so shallow but I did kind of identify as the chick with the big boobs. Last week, I put on my favourite shirt with a really nice V neckline and my cleavage is gone. My overall figure changed from obvious hourglass to slim pear maybe? I always envied girls with smaller breasts because of some styles I thought would not work with my figure but right now, I'm mourning the change 🙈

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I have PCOS and my endocrinologist prescribed phentermine-topiramate combo for weight loss. New trainer is refusing to work with me.

My primary doctor referred me to an endocrinologist at the hospital's weight loss clinic. The endocrinologist specializes in PCOS patients as well.

Upon talking to her and reviewing my medical history, and my battle to lose weight for the past 5+ years while meal prepping, counting macros, intermittent fasting, working with a personal trainer etc, she recommended wegovi. Given the cost (~2k/month), she recommended we start instead with phentermine-topiramate. We went over the risks and clinical evidence for the medication.

I recently decided to switch personal trainers, and in contacting one that therapist recommended, she insisted that I do not take the medication. She said that she can help me lose weight without it. I asked her many times the types of PCOS that her clients had and what was their success rate, and she never replied. She keeps asking "do you think you can do it without the medication?" Well lady, I wouldn't be going to an endocrinologist if I didn't need help. It really upsets me when people, especially trainers, cannot understand that some of us have tried everything and have a good handle on our nutrition. Or when they say that they have trained PCOS patients but still insist on diet plans or modalities that are not really sustainable long-term. No one should be counting macros for the rest of their lives.

Anyways, sorry for the rant. I wanted to see if anyone had experience with PCOS and taking the medication. Thanks so much!

(Cross posted in r/PCOS)

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I am fascinated by the fact that deliberately eating more veggies is cutting down my cravings for chips and ramen.

My junk food "weakness" had always been chips, ramen, and fried foods more so than sugary stuff like candy/cake/ice cream. I mean, I DID like the latter, just not as pathologically or intensely as I do the salty/savory crap.

Given the many times I've tried and failed at weight loss, I decided recently to approach it differently by slowing down the changes I make. I decided to NOT restrict myself from bad stuff b/c in the past that would blow up in my face then I'd binge (I'm sure people can relate). This time, my new rule is - I can still eat the crap, but ONLY after I finish eating a HUGE bowl of veggies that gets slowly munched on throughout the day. So I'm not cutting anything out, I just make it a rule that I have to eat the right stuff first. I guess a good metaphor is how playtime is only allowed AFTER finishing homework. This is good b/c it makes sure I eat what I need, AND I have something to look forward to.

Two changes: 1. my esthetician whom I visit monthly commented that my skin looks better, and even my mom said my complexion looked brighter, and 2. I notice I'm craving crap less! The first change is not surprising, but the second really was a revelation. I still think about chips, but the intensity of that craving is a lot less.

I just find it interesting, and would love to hear your stories or theories about why this is. My theory is that unhealthy lifestyle = our body lacking trace minerals/micronutrients, and this is expressed as "cravings." But we don't recognize it so we keep running to junk foods. I think maybe the salt in chips is "similar" to the minerals we need and so we get tricked into eating that.

Also, https://www.reddit.com/r/leangains/comments/o4kwjj/i_lost_my_craving_to_binge_and_for_junk_food_why/

There's some great comments in this that I think also add to the picture, like how our gut microbiome adapts to foods we eat. So start eating Food X --> gut bacteria adapt to want Food X --> we eat more Food X. This is true whether X=good or bad food.

The highlight isn't that my craving got less after a long time of no exposure, it's the fact that even when I let myself eat junk, I want it less. I'm sure I'll still enjoy it, but that weird desperate craving is less! I don't think about it as much. It's weird but great. Would love to hear if you experiencer the same thing, or if you have other science theories.

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A stupid, and potentially very dangerous, mistake

I just wanted to share this with someone; I’m feeling like a huge idiot at the moment. I started my journey last month (I’ve made some good progress so far - 4kgs down!!) & tonight I found out I’ve been going about it in an extremely unsafe way.

I understood the importance of maintaining a caloric deficit & have been eating roughly 1,800 calories per day. Except, I’ve been eating 1,800 kj per day instead of kcal. I didn’t properly understand the difference between the the two & I had absolutely no idea how little nourishment I was putting into my body & how severely I misunderstood weight-loss guidelines.

I’m so grateful that my sister explained this error before I could do any serious damage to my body. Here’s to healthy weight loss, healthy bodies, & healthy minds.

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Preventing transfer addiction?

If you’re not aware of the term already, my understanding is that a transfer addiction is when someone who struggles with obesity and/or compulsive eating transitions from having a food/eating/sugar addiction to substance abuse, alcoholism, or other addictions in order to fill the void basically (not a medical professional, just what I’ve seen in articles).

I’m pretty worried about this for myself because although I’ve set a hard boundary for myself and don’t drink or do drugs because I know I am not capable of moderation, I’m still incredibly addiction prone. I do everything in excess from consuming social media and being on my phone to spending habits. Part of the reason why I struggle with weight loss is because I always relapse into excess food consumption (diagnosed binge eater in treatment).

I know it comes down to self discipline, but I don’t know how to replace the void of food. It’s all I know, it’s been literally my whole life. I’m constantly consumed by thoughts surrounding food and I want to be free of it, but I’m afraid if I break that dependence, I’ll end up picking up something else just as if not more dangerous to replace that lost dopamine fix.

Has anyone experienced this and gotten through it? If so, how?

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