what I wish I did while losing 130 pounds

I started in this sub years ago when I was 26, 300 lbs, and had just been diagnosed with being pre-diabetic. Food had been my comfort my entire life through an abusive childhood from my mother and bullying at school. I had never been taught moderation and loved that food actually made me feel happy. I started off by restricting myself to a 1200cal diet and didn't eat anything I didn't consider "good".

The weight fell off and in months I made my first ever post here about finally being under 250. I had never felt better in my life and even got a new job that required me to be physically active. But I restricted even more and some (most) days ate only 900 calories worth of food. I survived off of nothing but salads and low carb shakes. Weight came flying off so I added intense cardio (no strength training whatsoever).

I had done it, I got "skinny" but I was still miserable and was obsessed with the number on the scale and eating only "good" food. There was one day at work where I treated myself to a few cookies and one of the nastier coworkers (a horrid girl that actually got fired for taunting other employees) made a comment along the lines of "Look at you eat! You're going to be a big girl again soon" her comment made me panic and I actually spent my entire lunch that day walking laps around the area, crying because all I could do was panic at being fat again. Doesn't help that I got into a toxic relationship with the first man that gave me attention and used my fear to his advantage.

Yep, I had managed to develop an ED and was in a horrible mental state. It wasn't until I broke up with the garbage ex, that I decided to get help for my mental heath and even saw a dietician. It was the best thing I did. I got my eating habits to a much safer and attainable place and never felt better. Being kind to myself actually worked. Yeah, I gained a little bit of weight back (about ten pounds) but it was okay with me and I started some better habits.

My life today is far different than I thought it would be. I fell in love with exercise as a way to become stronger both mentally and physically. Now I run 5k and 10k races for fun and even plan on training for a half marathon once I hit my strength goals! I love traveling and trying new foods, all in moderation. I am with an person that loves to eat fancy Italian food with my amazing partner as we sample different oddities we found on an adventure, and I also like to lift weights at the gym or go for a ten mile run around my city!

Food isn't the problem. It's moderation and knowing your limits. If you want to treat yourself, allow yourself to have some pizza with your friends or eat the head off the chocolate bunny in your Easter basket.

My advice:

• Be kind to yourself and be your biggest cheerleader

• Don't hesitate to tell people to f-off if they are being rude/ judgemental. Toxic people will be horrid no matter what size you are so give them the attention they deserve: none at all

• accept that bodies change and its up to you to take care of yourself. Maybe you'll have a child, get injured, or struggle with your mental health, remember that you have the resilience to live your life as you please and want to be healthy, not miserable.

• food isn't the devil and you can eat what you want in moderation. That whopper you ate after a long shift at work doesn't mean you failed. Just be conscious of what you do and balance your habits out.

• exercise can be your friend for more than just weight loss. It gives you an amazing type of energy boost and gaining muscle is one of the best things you can do for yourself

• accept that you will fail occasionally and its okay. So you ate like garbage for months and saw the number on the scale change? Time for you to get yourself back on track and check on yourself

• you don't have to do it alone. Talk to your doctor or a professional about your concerns. The right physician can help you achieve your goals.

Thanks for coming to my text wall. I'm going to make myself some whole grain pasta with turkey meatballs (my favorite), take my dog for a long walk to prepare myself for my long run, and maybe enjoy that half a halotop ice cream in my fridge later on. I am living my best life right now.

If you want to lose 5 pounds or 500 just know that you got this through all the ups and downs. And gosh darn it, I'm rooting for you!

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Any app recommendations?

Hi all! I have finally committed to losing weight - over the past 2 years I have gained 100 pounds, but something has changed in my mindset now and I feel really positive.

I know myself though and I can lose motivation so quickly. I need something that can track my progress in weight loss & exercise/movement and keep me accountable.

Does anyone have any apps they recommend or maybe wish they’d have known about at the beginning of their journey?

Free is a bonus, I can afford a small payment if it’s once off but really cant afford any apps you have to pay monthly for unless it’s really low.

Any advice for a newbie is welcome too! Thanks so much in advance everyone :)

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2 weeks into maintenance! Calorie advice?

Hi folks, hoping to get some clarity and advice on maintenence calories!

About me: - 39, female, - Met my goal weight of under 170 lbs on 4/7/22 - 50 lb weight loss since 4/13/21 - Workout 6x per week (4 days on, 1 day off) rotating between running, walking, stationary bike and kettlebell workouts, approximately 30-60 minutes a day

I had been eating 1650 calories a day, and since hitting my goal, increased it to 1750 for the last two weeks, and kept my workout frequency the same. I figured I would still be expecting some weight loss at this rate as according to TDEE my maintenance calories should be around 2400 at a "moderate exercise" level, and therefore would be slowly adjusting it up every two weeks until I got to a sweet spot where I was no longer losing.

To my dismay, after two weeks, I'm up 3 pounds already - my lowest was 169.2, and this morning is 172.4. I always weigh myself consistently in the morning before eating.

Is it typical at the beginning of maintaining to get a weight gain surge? Obviously 1,400 extra calories over two weeks isn't = to 3 lbs of weight, but I'm wondering if somehow increasing my calories slowed my metabolism down since my body is now getting an increase?

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Feeling guilty after a cheat day (TW brief mention of ED)

it's probably just me being guilty it's taking me months to get past the 10 pound weight loss (technically 5 pound since i keep losing and gaining 5 pounds)

today i decided fuck it, i will let myself be fat for a day. i will order pizza and then tomorrow i will continue doing good. and i fully intend to do that, it's a friday and tomorrow i have plenty have better options to have. it isnt the end of the world.

no. i cant even have that. the one time i decide "i might as well let myself enjoy it and then move forward instead of fucking up for a week" i see a video of miku and am reminded of what i could be but keep deciding not to. i feel like such a failure. miku is what i would want to look like but at this rate i'll never ever get there because i keep eating shitty food.

for a brief period of time (like 1 month at the very most) i used to throw up whenever i felt guilty about what i ate but it went from relieving to just a pain in the ass so i stopped. idk i just regret ordering the pizza and wish i would have just had something else. it wasnt even that good. i think what i need to do is throw out the rest and make sure i will stay accountable. that way i wont be tempted and i can once again try to stay on track. im tired of feeling like im getting something done only to eat a lot one day and then be reminded of where i could be if i stopped fucking around. :(

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How I stay full on a cut - eating the most filling food I can while losing weight.

Vegetables are one of the most filling foods you can eat (along with fruits, whole grains and lean proteins). They are generally bulky, fibrous foods (think more along the lines of broccoli, bok choy, peppers etc and not as much corn or potatoes) that have relatively low caloric density, especially when compared to an equivalent amount of calories from junk food. To eat 100 calories of broccoli you’d have to eat 300 grams of it or ~4 cups worth. Whereas 100 calories from something like potato chips would only take about 8-10 chips - an amount you could eat without even noticing.

Think about it - there are some days you could probably eat an entire bag of chips and then ask “what’s for supper?” But eat 4+ cups of broccoli? Especially if that’s in addition to the rest of your meal? You’ve got your work cut out for you there.

Now to be clear, I don’t know many people who look at a plate of raw broccoli and go mmm can’t wait to chew on that for 5 minutes before swallowing. I like veggies but after 2-3 bites of raw broccoli or cauliflower I’m ready to gag. Cook veggies so they taste better. And if they taste better, you’re most likely to eat them… Which is the whole idea.

So if veggies have low caloric density and are very filling for those calories, they are an ideal food to bulk up your meals. And if you cook them in ways that don’t add a lot of extra calories (ie steaming, grilling or roasting with only a light coating of oil) then you can add almost an unlimited amount of them to your meals, even if you’re eating at a calorie deficit, without it affecting your weight loss.

The best place to start is to start adding them to the meals you’re most hungry for or the ones you’re usually still hungry after. Personally I'm not that hungry at breakfast and I’m busy enough during the day after lunch so adding them there isn’t needed. But suppertime? I’m ready to feast. So try this.

Eat whatever food you were going to normally eat at that meal, even if it’s a burger or a bunch of pizza, but add in 1-2 fist sized servings of veggies - again sticking to veggies that have been steamed/grilled/roasted.

For example, grilled asparagus = good. French fry = bad.

How many veggies to add depends on how hungry you are after that meal but once you do this a couple of times you should have a baseline amount.

Still pretty hungry? Add more veggies next time. Feel pretty content? Probably the right amount. Can’t even finish your food? What a nice problem to have but you can probably scale down a bit.

Next time you’re trying to lose weight, try that out for a week or two and see if it helps.

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new things to try for weight loss? kind of stagnating for my last 10-15 pounds

Im 17M 6'3 and I've been fat basically for the last 5-6 years. in the past 2 years ive been on and off again dieting but in the 5-6 months i spent actually dieting in that time ive lost 65 pounds. now im 182ish from 245 SW. I'd like to get down to 170 ish. The only issue is that now that I've gotten this low ive spent the last couple weeks at around 185. I work a physical job 40 hours a week and hit the gym 5x a week so I make sure to eat enough to not starve myself. I eat around 2000-2500 cals a day of oatmeal, chicken, steak, rice, beans, etc. I am guessing I've hit another plateau. Is the best advice to just keep doing what I'm doing until I break past it or should I up/lower my calories, add some different foods, anything i might be doing thats holding me back that I might not consider? Im really ready to be over with this stuff haha

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How to get from 187 to 160 while not losing muscle?

Ive been trying for some time now and im struggling. Im a 5'10 16 year old male at 21% body fat. I want to get to 160 but i also dont want to lose muscle. So i usually have 2 protein shakes per day that gets me 500 calories. And dont do cardio I just weight lift 3-4 times per week. Is this hurting my weight loss? From what ive read its all about calories in vs calories out so should i stop with the protein shakes?

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