Monday, December 16, 2024

Post-weight loss calves/forearms and fat cells question

For context, I am 40, 5'11" 179lbs. Started at 500, so 321lbs lost. I have the expected huge amount of excess skin, having surgery for stomach/chest in January and presumably thighs/upper arms 3-6 months after.

For a week or two I've been kind of able to see my ribs in my chest, but still have a bunch of what seems like fat in my belly, but its all with the loose skin. I understand that when you lose weight you don't really lose the fat cells, they just expend their stores and are still there. So I assume thats what the belly fat is? Its likely coming off with the surgery at this point so I'm not too bothered cosmetically.

Anyway, the surgery will probably put me well into normal BMI range, so with hitting 179 + surgery + the ribs thing I decided its time to add calories back in, and along with that I noticed I still have chunky calf fat and to a lesser extent my forearms. The forearms are loose if I tug, but it doesn't hang like elsewhere, but my calves are chunky still. Whats the usual "fix" for that? Is it just lipo or something? I'm not sure I want to do MORE full blown surgery to address those, compared to my torso/thighs/arms which are just always in the way and awful. Or am I just going to always be stuck with fat calves and popeye arms?

And I don't want anyone to worry about me developing anorexia. I always planned to lose to a point, surgery, then put on muscle and also a neighbor girl growing up died from her issues so it was always very prevalent in my mind.

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Small Steps, Big Changes

Hello everyone! Today marks the 35th day of my weight loss journey, and I just want to share some of my thoughts :) I’ve lost 2 kg during this time, and yes, it might not seem like much, but for the first time, I feel like I can keep going! My eating habits are slowly changing, and that’s the most important thing for me.

What has changed: 1. I got rid of the “all-or-nothing” mindset. What does this mean? If I eat 5 donuts, it doesn’t mean I have to eat 10 more! I realized that, in the past, this was a form of self-punishment.

2. The “art of small steps.” Adding a little more veggies to dinner? Skipping one cookie? Getting off the tram one stop earlier and walking? Climbing one flight of stairs before taking the elevator? Over time, these small decisions accumulate and lead to results! 3. Loving my body here and now! Not when I lose weight, not when I build muscle—no, here and now. Because my body is what brought me to where I am today, and I’m grateful for it. 4. Gaining and losing weight is neutral. You’re either eating more calories than your body needs at the moment or less—and that’s it. There should be no shame, guilt, or feelings that you’re a weak, terrible person. 5. Patience. You didn’t gain all this weight in one day, and you won’t lose it in one day either. The most important thing is to develop the habits of someone who can maintain their weight long-term. In essence, you need to change internally, and the external will reflect that. 6. Avoid falling into the trap of excessive restriction or skipping meals to speed up the process. 

First, if your calorie deficit is too large, you’ll primarily lose muscle rather than fat. Second, your body isn’t stupid—being in a deficit is already a stress, and an extreme deficit is even worse. It’s not sustainable. In the first weeks of my journey, I fell into this trap myself. I ate 1,500 calories a day while my normal intake was 2,400, meaning I had a deficit of 900 calories. I couldn’t stick to it, and it led to binge eating. This went on for several weeks until I realized I needed to increase my daily calorie intake. As soon as I raised it to 1,800, my constant urge to overeat disappeared, as did the stress and self-blame from always feeling like I was failing.

7. Strength training. Yes, I fully agree with the saying that weight loss happens in the kitchen, not the gym. However, strength training helps set the tone for a healthier lifestyle. What do I mean by this? When you go to a workout and train well, you’re less likely to want to eat something unhealthy afterward because you don’t want to undo the progress you’ve made. 

I started working out 4 years ago. I gradually built this habit. Now, 4 years later, I can confidently say it’s my favorite hobby. I go to the gym 3 times a week. I no longer need to convince myself to go—it feels natural for me. But in the beginning, it wasn’t like that at all. I started with home workouts. I remember those first workouts—they were just 15 minutes long.

It was the same with walking. I started with 3,000–4,000 steps a day. At one point, my goal was simply to reach 5,000 steps a day. Now, 10,000 steps a day is my norm. If, for some reason, I can’t manage to walk that much, I start to feel physically unwell because I don’t get enough movement.

But the most important thing is to believe in yourself—to believe that you can achieve what you want and not expect too much from yourself. Gradually build the habits of the person you want to become, and trust that you can become that person.

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Sunday, December 15, 2024

★OFFICIAL WEEKLY★ Medication Mondays: Tales of Transformation – Discuss Your Weight Loss Drug Journeys!

In our weekly recurring thread, "Medication Mondays: Tales of Transformation," we invite users to openly share and discuss their experiences with weight loss medications. This dedicated space aims to foster a supportive community where individuals can exchange insights, challenges, and triumphs related to their weight loss journeys. Whether you're currently on a medication regimen, considering it, or have successfully navigated this path, this thread serves as a valuable resource for gaining diverse perspectives and guidance. From sharing dosage details to discussing lifestyle changes and potential side effects, participants can engage in constructive conversations that empower and inform. The collective wisdom shared in "Medication Mondays" not only builds a knowledge base but also creates a sense of camaraderie, fostering a community that understands the nuances of using weight loss medications.

This is not a space to seek out medications without appropriate prescriptions or discuss using the medications in a way that violates our "No Promoting or Encouraging Unhealthy Weight Loss Methods" rule.

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My strategy for the mental battle of weight loss

What if you could visualize what each step towards your weight loss goal will look like?

Why:

I've attempted to lose weight many times, successfully lost 10lbs, and then gained it all back. A burst of motivation can get you started, but the mental battle of long-term change is difficult. I've been overweight my entire adulthood, so it's hard for me to wrap my head around my goal weight. I'm going all in this time, I'm on tirzepatide and I don't want it to go to waste. So I spent some time brainstorming ideas of what to do differently. My actual weight loss strategies have always come from this sub, but I haven't found anyone come up with a mental one that has ever worked for me. After listening to some podcast episodes about personal change, I came up with an idea that has given me a lot of resilience, persistence, patience, and hope.

The Main Idea:

I've divided up my weight loss journey into increments at the 10, 7, 5, 3 lb marks (170, 167, 165, 163, 160, so on until 130). For each one, I've packaged a gift and handwritten note for my near-future self. The handwritten notes were very meaningful to write. I wrote congratulations, pep talks, motivation, encouragements, and reminders. Each one was different and tied to its gift, and it helped me visualize those milestones. The gifts include jewelry, clothes, makeup, skincare, fountain pen inks, shoes, and a cash fund for the finish line. Some of it is new, but I also included dresses, workout clothes, and jeans that used to fit me at that particular weight. I even wrapped up my most used perfume, I'll get her back in about a month🥰

How is it working?

This little project has helped me so much in the day-to-day of making it to the next increment. It used to feel so much space between me and my goal weight, but now I know what each step looks like in between. I had already figured out how to lose weight, but this has been the key in getting myself to do those things and follow through with the plan. It also stopped being "I need to get to __lbs by XYZ event" (desperate, external, timebound) and it became "I'm going to be __lbs when I open this, I can't wait to have it and appreciate this" (patient, internal).

My Recommendations:

I would say the most important part of this was writing the notes to myself. That exercise alone shifted how I was thinking about this journey. Instead of a "one day, some day" thing, it became something I'm doing right now. So don't skip the notes if you're going to try this. The increments can be adjusted to your goal. And make sure to put the gifts in a location where you can clearly see them everyday.

I'm not one to gatekeep a good idea (or even a mediocre one) so I wanted to share in the case that it helps someone else too! I can't thank Reddit enough for being my main champion through weight loss each time. I'm 2 months in, and I'm so excited to see where it takes me.

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Suddenly losing a ton of weight really fast?

I've been on a weight loss journey since April, I started at 393 and I'm currently 324. I was losing about 10lbs a month, one month I lost 14lbs. I've been making sure to count my calories and according to my calories I should be losing around 8lbs a month.

Anyway recently the month of November my weight plateaued and I was stuck 333lbs for the entire month. Then suddenly this past week I've been losing 1lb a day. I started December 1st at 329lbs, but today December 15th I'm 324lbs. I've been eating at a 1lb a week rate loss recently, but my weight is dropping super fast all of a sudden.

I feel fine, but I think I'm going to ask my doctor to check for any medical problems to make sure I don't have anything else going on. I'm happy about losing the weight, but I just want to know why my weight is suddenly dropping. I'm scared I could have undiagnosed cancer or some kind of extreme diabetes. Even though my blood tests two months ago came back normal all across the board, should I really be concerned?

What do y'all think?

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Saturday, December 14, 2024

how do you deal with anxiety during cheat days?

if any of this is against the rules i'm very sorry and ill delete it immediately!!

Starting this off by saying that I've been eating healthy, restricting and working out daily for like two months or so now, and while I've had slip ups (like ordering takeout or stuff like that), I've mostly been great, lost nearly 7 kgs.

I do have moments though where I wonder if I'm trying to hide an ED under the guise of Dieting because there is always this voice in my head telling me that if i eat even less, i'll lose more weight, and admittedly i have "indulged" myself in those thoughts a couple of times. it got to a point where i just kept restricting with no rhyme or reason and I came to the realisation that not only is that not helping me lose faster, it's also just making me much crankier and worse in general -- which like, obviously 😭 that's the one thing i keep reading people say online.

anyway, for the last two weeks i've been making sure to actually hit that 1200 consistently, sometimes even eating a little bit more because why the hell not, if i need it then i need it. this also got me back on track with weight loss and i've been slowly losing a few more kgs.

today, after a really long time, my friends and i are gonna drink at home and just generally have fun, which involves eating pizza and stuff and I mean, I'm excited for it!! but this voice in my head keeps nagging at me to count every drop of vodka or rum we put into my glass so that i don't overdo it especially since we'll probably be eating a lot too.

last time i hung out with them, they ordered pizza as well and it made me freak out so bad that i just. left. in the middle of us watching a movie. thankfully i'm a better place now and wouldn't do that, but i don't want to be thinking about counting my calories this much either, even if it does matter for weight loss or whatever -- i'm like 20 i don't want to lose good times with my lovely friends just to lose weight 😭

Again, im very sorry if this is the wrong sub for this -- I just wanted to know what other people do to deal with like, the intensity of these thoughts during cheat days!!

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What helped me lose weight the most

Hi guys so I’m almost at my goal weight if 170 pounds. I’m 21M and 6,3 so I think this is a healthy weight tbh.

Anyway what helped me the most was cutting out soda and junk food. I know this sounds cliche and it is. However as soon as I cut out soda I went down 20 pounds. When I cut out junk food I lost the rest of the weight. It’s honestly hard to over eat healthy food tbh. I only eat meat, vegetables and fruits now which help me to stay lean year round.

My biggest tips to sustain weight loss is don’t buy junk food. When I don’t have junk food in my house It’s easy to stay in a calorie deficit.

Also weightlifting and running really helped me stay in shape. The more muscle you build the easier it is to stay lean as your muscles causes you to burn more calories.

Being In shape is the best thing I’ve ever done tbh. I got no attention from women when I was overweight but now that I’m lean and muscular I get lots. People in general respect you more. They do nice things for you instead of disrespecting you. People invite you to parties and events and you make more friends because people actually want to hang out with you. Being in shape is the best and I hope everyone here can get to their goal weights.

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