Third time on this journey. So tired.

5'2" F 36, SW 257 lb GW 125 lb CW 254 lb

Hello, this is my first post in this sub, although I've been lurking for a long time. I keep losing and regaining the same 30 pounds, and this is the third time I'm trying. Back to the beginning.

A bit about me, I've been fat all my life. I don't binge, but if unmonitored, I naturally overeat slightly, which led to me gradually gaining 5 to 10 pounds a year for 20 years. I have tried to lose weight pretty much my whole life, but I never succeeded because I kept trying to restrict and I didn't realize I needed to add healthy foods rather than deprive myself and feel hungry all the time.

Last year I found this sub, and it finally clicked that I was trying to get results by being cruel to myself, and that just wasn't something I could keep up with. I decided to try making one change at a time. At the time, I didn't eat too much junk food, but I did eat too much pasta and other high carb foods, which led to me being hungry all the time. And so I added in protein and vegetables, and that actually kicked off weight loss! From there it was more changes, like coming up with recipes I like that work. And I found that if I focused on protein and vegetables first, my calories naturally went down, and it wasn't hard to maintain a deficit. And also I found that if I just committed to logging everything accurately, I naturally held myself accountable.

Then life threw a curveball at me in the form of several stressful events - a chaotic move, depression, medication changes that made my hormones go haywire, chronic illness. And I stopped logging and weighing myself, thinking I just had to maintain until I could get my head back in the game, but I gained it all back because my hunger signals can't be trusted and I can't remember everything I eat without it being written down. And this happened twice.

And I am so damn tired and frustrated with myself that I let it get this bad again. Why didn't I catch it earlier? I'm trying to view the weight gain as a setback. 1) I never stopped trying to be conscious of what I ate, so I am still better off than I would have been 2) I learned things about myself that I can apply going forward. The next time something stressful happens I won't stop logging and weighing. I now know that those are things I must do for life.

Anyway, now I know what to do. The old habits fit like a glove. But I am STRUGGLING. I have PCOS, Hashimoto's, ADHD, depression, and I'm in constant pain from my chronic illness. It makes it hard to cook consistently. Every day feels like a battle. I know what choices I have to make, and I make them minute by minute.

It's just. Really disheartening seeing the number on the scale. I'm scared that I'm going to backslide again. That I'm going to gain even more. That something is going to happen and life will turn chaotic again and I'll lose control. I'm hanging on by a thread, barely. I really don't want to gain again.

This time last year, I was looking forward to seeing myself now in one-derland. Instead, I weigh more than ever, and watching the numbers go down doesn't hold the same satisfaction for me.

I have lost 3 pounds so far, and it just feels like, good job you utter failure, you managed to not fuck up.

It feels like I have such a long journey ahead of me, and I'll never see the end.

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Have I been losing weight too fast?

I am a 30M (height 5'6'' or 168cm) who's been overweight for quite some time. Due to more inconviences in life (bad sleep, bad mood, bad blood work) I've decided to turn things around about 7 weeks ago. I was 100kg (220lbs) back then. I started exercising more, especially cardio - I have already been running a little, I just ate more than I burned - and I cut sweets and sugary drinks out entirely, fast food and alcohol almost entirely as well. I have a sweet tooth but fruit ended up satisfying that better than I had thought. That doesn't mean I didn't cheat - on festivities I'd have a glass of beer or I'd have a kebab or a pizza with whatever topping I wanted every once in a while. I wasn't as strict on food whenever I was on holiday or on a work trip but I still stuck to exercising and try to keep everything in moderation.

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After a while I added intermittent fasting to my routine - usually opting for a 16:8 regimen. I only did that on work days and broke my fasting, whenever I felt like crap - which was a sign for me that I ate too little calories. That being said, I didn't track calories strictly but roughly calculated them by looking at the packages of the food I consumed - usually ending up between 1300-1500 calories. My TDEE is around 2000 calories with my current weight and exercise and the steps during work added another 700-1200 calories to that, at least according to my Apple Watch.

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Now I know that a deficit of 1500-1700 calories is quite big and usually not recommended but I didn't really starve, I just ate as much as I needed to be satisfied but not full and realized that I can work with way less calories than I used to eat - the amount of crap I ate now scares me. I managed to lose about 22lbs (10kg) in 7 weeks . Now this is usually considered unhealthy but I feel great - sleep has been better, running has improved by a metric ton and the amount of positive feedback is like a drug.

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Should I turn it down a notch or just keep going? Weight loss should be slowing down soon so I'm tempted to keep going. Thanks for reading through this :)

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Dealing with weight loss success as an older woman

Hey everyone, this isn't so much about how we lost weight as how we cope with success. I'd love to hear anyone's experiences especially from the perspective of an older person.

I am 68, 5'8, started at 223 pounds on 2/28/22, now 175. Briefly, my methods were moderate exercise, minimally processed food, and 12-step groups.

What are your experiences with:

1. Deciding on your goal weight. As a senior, do you now aspire to be a little heavier than what your goal weight may have been when you were younger, to provide padding from falls, to stay warm, for "emergency fuel" in the event of illness, or to just not have as much hanging skin?
2. How do you get support for continued efforts when your friend group may not have been as successful at weight loss as you? I've been in a couple of 12-step groups for overeating, and my cohort has not been as successful yet as I have. It's gotten to where I don't want to share about weight loss issues because I don't want to trigger anyone, but I miss getting the support.
3. How do you navigate public spaces as a more sexually attractive version of yourself? I haven't felt attractive since age 16 (yeah, that's sad). Now I do feel attractive, despite my age and loose skin. I don't want to date but I enjoy the feeling of being age-appropriately attractive. However sometimes I feel uncomfortable. I haven't figured out how to be at peace with it.
   
4. I'm giving myself permission to buy new clothes and discovering that I'm gravitating toward different styles than before - more athletic and/or more flowing and poetic. Any thoughts, older friends, on creating a new presentation of yourself to the world?
5. I've heard a lot on the forum about being derailed or unsupported in healthy eating. I've taken a very strong, possibly harsh approach: I mostly tell people I'm not a social eater, don't do potlucks, prefer to just meet for coffee, etc. I know it's not ideal socially but right now my health is more important. Any great advice on this one?
6. Any other issues you are navigating due to weight loss?

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I’ve been losing weight consistently for 5 months…! Tips and challenges for those just starting.

When I lost 10% of my body weight, I already did my top ten tips, but today marks 5 months of consistent weight loss! Woo hoo. Down over 13KG.

I thought I’d share some tips and reflections, both for advice for others and if anyone can give me advice on my challenges, that would be greatly appreciate.

Firstly, tips: • Don’t change too much too quickly - I now eat clean, go kick-boxing twice a week, and lift weights twice a week. Damn it’s like a 180 from the life I lived a year ago. I achieved this by changing things slowly. • CICO works. I promise. • Focus on diet before exercise. Lifting and cardio are great, but diet is most important for weight loss. • Find your deepest reasons. This is going to be hard, you need to really focus on why you want to do this.

Challenges: • I stopped tracking as it becomes tedious after a while. I’m losing weight, but more slowly. I’m always hungry now! Does it get harder the smaller you get? Any advice on this? Should I start tracking again?

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If I haven’t reached my protein goal in a day, but i’m already over my calories, should I eat a protein bar or something to fulfill the goal?

If I haven’t reached my protein goal in a day, but i’m already over my calories, should I eat a protein bar or something to fulfill the goal?

I’m trying to lose weight but not lose too much muscle mass, and try and get a bit stronger by lifting weights.

Basically the question in the title, I’ve gone over my caloric goal already, but I haven’t reached my protein goal yet. My main goal is weight loss but I do want to try and build a bit of muscle if possible.

It’s not like i’m that hungry rn or anything - maybe a bit peckish, I just had dinner literally like half an hour ago and am craving something sweet. I bought these protein bars to try out and I kind of want to eat one, but they’re like 200 cals and i’m already over budget.

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how to not overdo a calorie deficit?

i had an eating disorder in high school and then recovered and gained a lot of weight slowly, over the last ten years or so. i am in a great place mentally and i am wanting to start trying to lose weight slowly so i can feel healthier. i sort of over-corrected after recovering.

the problem i am facing is that i am tracking calories, which i think is necessary otherwise i really don't know what i'm eating, but i can't stop feeling guilty about having something "unnecessary" because if i didn't eat it, my calorie deficit would be bigger. but the problem with this is that i know logically that if the calorie deficit is too big, the weight loss is not as sustainable and your metabolism and your body don't work properly (as i have experienced first hand).

but i can't stop feeling guilty and motivated by the thought of a bigger calorie deficit and i feel like it's making this whole process a lot harder for me. like everything i eat is a step in the wrong direction.

how do i stop thinking like this? maybe this is not an answerable question but i am wondering if anyone has dealt with a similar issue and how you managed to shift your mindset?

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Staying fit in college

About 2 years ago is when I first started taking my weight loss seriously. I started at around 290lbs and today I am weighing in at around 190-195lbs at 6ft. The problem is, I’ve been stuck at my current weight for about a year now. I still have love handles and a bit of body fat that is noticeable that I just can’t seem to get rid of. I know that dieting is very important especially when getting down to a lower weight but I am currently a student in college and the only food I can eat is the dining hall food (not healthy) and I’m pretty much broke so buying my own food isn’t really an option. I was wondering if anybody else has faced a similar problem and if so, how did you overcome it?

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