You don’t need to go crazy on protein to lose weight

I’ve been seeing protein being the center of so many weight loss trends saying it keeps you full for longer so you won’t want to eat as much and you should eat 100g of protein a day, etc., and personally this hasn’t been the case for me.

I’ve been trying to lose weight for 3 months now. The first two months my diet stayed pretty similar except I was counting calories and trying to stay close to my TDEE. This wasn’t difficult but the weight wasn’t moving quickly.

The whole last month I went vegetarian and I felt like weight was coming off so much easier. I was even counting calories less and still losing weight. I still drank alcohol, ate dairy, snacked on chips just with no meat or seafood.

My main take away is you really need up your veggie intake when not eating meat and this goes hand in hand with losing weight. Higher volume, less dense foods. Also roasting any vegetable with oil salt and pepper is absolutely delicious. I didn’t feel any down sides when working out in terms of feeling fatigued easier and I cooked at home more since restaurants don’t usually have great vegetarian options which also played a role in weight loss.

If you’re specifically trying to bulk and build muscle, extra protein will help, but it feels silly to claim you need to max out on protein to lose weight. Sometimes simple is best.

TLDR: you can lose weight without maxing on protein, an anecdote.

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Losing weight is mentally as challenging, as it is physically.

Losing weight is so weird. How waking up and looking at myself in the mirror is hard, not because Im fat, but because I don't recognize myself. My shoulders are smaller, my face is getting wrinkly, my legs are getting veiny and weird. My arms don't pudge in the same places. For someone who has less mass on their body and never been in a larger one, they think "Yay, isn't it fun?" "Aren't you happy?" "I love it when I lose 5-10 pounds."

Try losing 25 and still having 125 to go.

I can fully say yes and mean it, but at the same time it is really mentally challenging. Accepting my body for what it is now is hard, and having to do it quickly makes it harder. I'm doing a medically assisted weight loss program after trying to do it on my own for years and having zero success. I came into 2024 with the mindset that I would finally be successful and I have been. But not without the challenges no one told me about.

1 Getting used to your new body weekly. Dealing with weekly changes to your physique.

2 How self conscious you get when meeting new people. All I can think about is, "I know they are judging my body for being larger, but they don't know Im actively losing weight. How can I tell them I am trying to lose weight? Will they be my friend after the weight is gone? Can they overlook my weight right now?" Just some of the many anxious thoughts I get.

3 How frustrating it can get. Losing weight medically is a really great way to see results and stay encouraged, but sometimes you want to just take the fat suit off already and be the person you're working so hard to be. You still have to take the steps to see results. Sometimes, when you heal yourself you decide that your weight is no longer your story and you want to be done with that now, but it doesn't quite work like that. You have to go on the journey.

4 How triggering the doctors visits are. When I see any doctor for my body I just leave completely stressed out. You feel like an addict, and no one believes you can really ever be free from the addiction. And yes, I have switched providers, it's just the name of the game.

Weight loss is hard mentally, physically, and emotionally. People think losing weight is the best thing ever, and for sure it is good, but it comes with a lot of battles, both external and internal.

Context: 5 years of intense weekly therapy, chronic migraine illness that I treated with grass for 7 years, gained at least 50-70 pounds over the last 5 years, now I am sober and migraine free, graduated from therapy, trying to get my life back together.

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Mixed emotions about before pictures. Feelings of fear and shame.

I'm 20f at 5'8, starting weight was 170, current weight 152 Ibs. I'm currently on a deficit of 250 cal per day as I feel it's right to slow down since I want to focus on sustainability and honestly I feel my body currently is healthy, and the rest of the weight loss is for aesthetic purposes. I only seek to lose about 10 more pounds or so. I don't care about the speed just progression.

I went over to my mom's yesterday, and our Christmas photos are on the wall in a large canvas frame from last December. In it I have rounder face, significantly bigger arms, and look bigger. I felt embarrassment that I went about the world looking like that, and angry at myself.

Do any of you guys experience this? Is this "eating disorder thinking" because I'm so afraid to go back to that?

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Guidance on feeling full…

Hey!

First time positing here. I’m on a weight loss journey as I got myself booked in for gastric sleeve surgery and eventually thought to myself “… honestly you could really do this yourself” so here I am.

I’ve lost 12kg so far but still have around another 20kg to lose but I’ve been struggling with feeling full and not giving in to the temptation to snack.

I eat three meals per day, but I’m a vegetarian so meat it out of the question.

Does anyone have any advice on how to stop feeling hungry/snacking throughout the day?

I’m in a calorie deficit that I seem to be sticking to as per My Fitness Pal but I really just need to learn how to have meals that will naturally fill me up, without being too high in calories..

I’m also going to the gym for an hour between 3-5 days per week.

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Is it too much exercise or ED?

I’ve had the craziest carb cravings lately since trying to go into “maintenance” mode after losing ~30kg over 1 year.

I can’t tell if it’s because - I exercise a lot and my body needs more carbs? Or - is it a sign of eating disorder because I’m restricting my carb intake?

Exercise: I do strength and cardio training 5-6 times per week (1-1,5h) in addition to 10-15k steps per day (80% strength, 20% cardio intervals). Love this part - it brings me a lot of joy.

Diet: Due to previous insulin resistance issues and still having PCOS, I try to eat 100-120g carbs per day (normally 150g protein, 90g fat). Do I want to eat more carbs? Yes! I definitely don’t “allow” myself to eat ice cream and candy on a daily basis. But I do have treats every now and then and try to appreciate it and have a “healthy” approach to it. Or at least I thought I was.

I hit about 2000 - 2300 kcal per day on most days - my TDEE is 2350 according to calculations. BMR ~1500 kcal.

I don’t understand why I have such cravings almost every day? My weight has been stable so I shouldn’t be undereating for the amount of exercise I’m doing?

I eat 25g fiber per day, complex carbs and vegetables, good fats, lean protein… my diet feels very balanced and filling - it’s definitely not hunger. My insulin’s resistance is gone, blood sugar very good.

And yet - these cravings… just want to stuff my face in candy, ice cream, chocolate….

I’ve tried so hard to approach the weight loss without getting any disorders and yet…. I worry I have restricted too much. Any thoughts or ideas for how to get out of this?

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Gym shoes

Hey everybody,

This is my first post here. I’m on my weight loss journey, at the very very beginning lol. I’ve been overweight my entire life, with varying levels of activity. I had nine surgeries in one year back in 2017, and I’ve been on what I call a bender ever since. I actually lost a lot of weight right before those surgeries, about 85 pounds, but ever since the surgeries I’ve gained 180-ish pounds and I’m pretty much completely immobile. I’ve finally come to that conclusion and I’m not okay with it, at all. I used to be a backpacker, and now I get winded walking to my kitchen. I can barely climb stairs, I cannot walk for more than five minutes, and I have tears in my hips from my weight. On top of that, I have the several spine issues I was born with, but they’re definitely worse off with this weight. I’ve been lying to myself for eight years that my issues are just from what I was born with, but that’s not true. Yes, I’m disabled, but my weight isn’t helping me at all and it needs to change.

I weighed myself three days ago for the first time in 6 months. I thought I weighed 331. I now weigh 357. I’ve downloaded a walking app, signed up at my local Y, and have been walking for 15 minutes on the treadmill the last few days. It is excruciating honestly. It hurts so bad. But I’m going to keep this up because I’m only 30 and I want to live and actually go do things outside with my friends.

Anyway, back to why I posted this. I have very limited mobility with my spine, does anyone have any recommendations for easier walking shoes to put on than regular gym shoes? Like maybe from an accessibility shop or something? I CAN put shoes on but it’s just extremely hard and I’d like to make actually getting out of my house and to the gym as easy as possible right now until I can get past the mental hurdle.

Thanks for being here. I’ve been lurking this subreddit for a week and yall are so kind to each other.

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What are your tips for staying mentally locked into your routine?

I’m a 5’6” 24 year old female who’s been overweight or obese since I was a teenager. I started losing weight when I weighed 230lbs (2018) and went on my best streak of weight loss over 2 years to get down to 170lbs.

Over the past 4 years, I have regained some weight and yo-yo’d between 185-200lbs. I have experimented with all kinds of diet and workout regimes, found what worked for me and what didn’t. Learned I can stay away from binging if I allow myself some of my favorite sweets instead of going cold turkey, etc.

I’m still proud of myself for my initial weight loss, for not giving up, and generally improving my health and fitness despite my mistakes. But every single time I get to a weight where I start to feel confident, I start allowing myself to slip here and there and before I know it I am back up 5-10lbs. I am under 185lbs for the first time in 2 months, and this is generally when I start to have this problem.

I’m aware that this happens to me around this weight yet I can’t seem to break the cycle even after acknowledging that I’m going to start wanting to eat more. Eating clean and exercising makes me feel so good, why do I always allow myself to fall back into takeout/restaurant food/sweets?? Sometimes I don’t even crave the junk that I eat, some days I have a huge calorie deficit and I think “might as well, while I can (calorically) afford it”

What has helped you to break these habits?

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