Closing in on Onederland, halfway to my goal! How do you stay motivated?

Longtime lurker, first-time poster. I have been overweight almost my entire adult life. Once I graduated high school I didn't do sports anymore, (I used to be a dancer and gymnast, then a competitive swimmer.) I purchased my first car and stopped walking/riding public transit and this is when it got really bad really quickly. I've always had a sweet-tooth and late night snacking on entire bags of chocolate became the norm for me. I realize now looking back that I was struggling with a binge-eating disorder for probably close to 20 years.

When I got pregnant and had my daughter, things improved for a period of time. I was breastfeeding exclusively at this time, with no formula supplementation. I was lucky that my milk came in strong and consistent, I know that many mothers struggle with this. I could not keep weight on me to save my life, no matter WHAT I ate. This was the first time that I went below 200lbs in more than 6 years. All the baby weight came off, and then some. But once the breastfeeding was over, my eating habits stayed the same and I went right back up to my pre-pregnancy weight.

About 5 years went by, my kid started elementary school and I started working again and had more time for myself than ever before. I decided to recommit to my weight loss, and I started by quitting all processed sugar. Candy, juices, soda pop, EVERYTHING. I dropped 40 lbs over the next 6 months but it wasn't sustainable to cut it out forever, and as soon as I allowed myself even a little I went right back to my old habits and weight because I had not done the work necessary to change these habits.

Cue a global pandemic, being a front-line essential worker and all the doordash takeout. By March of 2024 it was starting to take a physical toll in a way that I had never experienced before: My joints hurt constantly, especially my back and hips. I was snoring so badly at night it was interrupting my sleep and my spouses. I had heartburn on the regular, even when I tried to cut out most acidic foods such as tomato sauce etc. Most embarrassing of all, I was starting to have difficulty wiping myself after using the restroom. I almost couldn't reach anymore. I've always had short little T-rex arms but this was a new low. I bit the bullet, bought a scale, and stepped on for the first time in years. I was 256lbs... 20lbs HEAVIER than when I was 9 MONTHS pregnant with my kiddo. This was it. I needed to do something but I didn't know what to do.

I made an appointment with my PCP and just broke down in the office. I detailed my years of struggles, my pain, my absolutely out of control eating. I described how one day for lunch I bought a full sized pizza, finished it in about 15 minutes, then went next door to get a bacon sandwich and a full fat venti mocha from Starbucks. When I say out of control, I meant it.

She listened. We did some tests, and she sent me to see a specialist or two. They started treating me for binge-eating disorder and ADHD. Over the next 6 months, my desire to binge just slowly withered away. By Jan 2025 I was 230lbs. For the first time in almost 20 years I felt hope. I really got committed in January, and now as of this morning, I am approximately 205lbs. I've lost 25lbs in about 2.75 months. That's incredible!

I'm currently about 1/2 way to my goal, and I have never managed to maintain this level of commitment for this long. I'm terrified my motivation will slip like so many times before and I'll just go right back to where I was.

How do you guys stay motivated for a weight loss journey that is going to take literal YEARS of dedication to get to where you need to be? I'm not used to this and I need all the inspiration and motivation I can get to keep going to the finish line.

Thank you if you read my essay, cheers!

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Is my deficit too high? Getting multiple BMRS / TDEEs from different sources

Is my deficit too high?

Female / 27 / 5ft 8, 281lbs

I started my weight loss journey weighing in at 303lbs. I have gotten down to 281lbs (10lbs if that has been the past two months since I’ve started taking calorie counting and exercise seriously)

Working of sedentary levels for accuracy. But I do exercise (walking) about 4 times a week for 20-30 mins a time.

Is 2100 calories too much?

From what I remember, people losing weight tend to eat around 1500 a day?

My BMR is also coming in at around 1948. Should I eat below this?

Some calorie counters are saying I should be eating 1600. Some are saying 2100

I’m not looking for ultra fast weightloss. I have been obese pretty much my entire life. I want this to be sustainable and a real life style change.

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Uneven weightloss?? HELP

I have struggled with binge eating my whole life, so I've been really obese my whole 30 years of life. Recently I decided to give it "one last try" My HW was 280..I'm now 220. My problem is that I look so "buff" for a girl. My shoulders, back, and stomach are very wide/big (smaller breasts as well) and I have a smaller bottom half. My problem is that since weight loss I have been just slimming down in my lower half mostly and while I have lost some inches in my waist, I still look like a linebacker!! I'm tired of it and even though I'm doing lower body exercises to hopefully keep whatever booty and thighs I have, it seems like my body gets more and more disproportionate as I lose weight. I just want to look normal and feminine:(

Any tips/advice as I lose more weight??

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Did any of you gain muscle / tone from using the treadmill alone?

Did any of you gain muscle in the abs, your legs, or the glutes from 12-3-30 (Treadmill: at least 12 incline, 3 mph, at least 30 minutes) or just simply running? I know that you're supposed to do resistance training to gain muscle, but I was wondering if it's possible to just get toned using the treadmill at first, then build muscle with resistance training from there.

As of right now I'm very slim, but I'm kind of at the skinny fat phase after I've lost a lot of weight. I run cross country, and it contributed a lot to my weight loss, but what if it can make you toned / a little bit muscular as well? I've looked at cross country runners, and while they're not that muscular, they have definition. Will exercising on the treadmill and running cross country more eventually get me to this kind of figure?

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Need guidance as a 250ib woman.

This is my first ever post on reddit, don’t know how I landed here but I’ve been tracking loseit’s community posts for a week and reading about everyone else’s weight loss journey, truly getting inspired and I finally gained the courage to ask for a personalised help.

I weight 250ibs, 23F, 5’6. I’ve been overweight all my life. I’ve had a sedentary lifestyle most of the time. I’m a student currently and ugc creator which makes me sit in front of laptop/phone most of the times.

As a child I used to be the heaviest in my class. When I finished my high school I weighed 220ibs. I’ve been embarrassed all my life because of my weight. I tried dieting since I was a kid, and the yo yo effect got me every damn time. The moment I lost 15ibs, I’d gain that back + 20ibs more every year. It was a cycle.

The BMI rate at my current weight makes me really anxious. I’m afraid because it can put me into so many health issues that I can never recover from. I want a change.

My goal is to lose 90ibs to step into my normal BMI.

I’m a vegetarian (not vegan) so any advice would mean so much to me!

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1 year and finally at goal. Story and AMA.

Long post warning.

M32, 5,10'. started 28 of March, 2024, at 208 pounds, I am now down to 154 pounds. 54 pounds lost. Been lurking on this sub pretty much since I started and have gained a lot of inspiration, so I thought I would post here in case it might help someone just a little bit.

A year ago I was discussing something related to fitness with a co worker, I seem to remember it being the shape of my water bottle, as it reminded him of the ones people usually have in his gym (riveting conversation, I know) told him I did use to lift but that was many years ago. After the conversation I started thinking back to those days and for whatever reason, when I got home I went to check my weight so I could figure out my BMI. I was offended. BMI told me I was obese. (30.1 so only just, but still)

I will preface this next part by saying I'm normally a pretty smart person. When my BMI had sunk in, I decided that I was gonna show the BMI chart and scales that I was definitely not obese..... By losing weight...... Not quite sure whatever backwards logic I used in that moment, but hey, it worked.

I had lost weight before, but then obviously regained it (thanks Slimming world) and I knew i didnt want to go back to that, so i decided to calorie count. Took me a few days to find an app that i wanted to use for it, then i started eating 1650 calories per day and weighing myself twice a week, and oh boy was i hungry. After three weeks of this, my girlfriend convinced me it would be better to eat a little more, so I changed my calorie goal to 1800 and kept steadily losing on that, up until the end of November. Losses were becoming slower, so I lowered calories to 1600. This went pretty well.

For many people, including myself, the Christmas period can be difficult to navigate. I had decided that from around 21st of December until the 2nd of January, I was not gonna count calories, and if some snacks crept in before that, that was fine as well. I gained 16 pounds over that period. Quite a big gain (there were a couple other gains throughout the 1 year as well), do I regret it? No, I enjoyed myself and you gotta do that sometimes.

After xmas, I went straight back to 1600 calories and here we are, at my goal weight. That's the story, but i will rant some more with tips and stuff i realised along the way.

1. It wasn't until around September where i started concerning myself with the split of macros. Before that I just tried eating somewhat healthy. Since then I make it a priority to get 160g of protein per day (Thank you protein powder). Not really concerned with carbs and fat as long as I get at least a little of both.

2. For the vast majority of this weight loss, i did not exercise. Sometimes i would cycle to work as i always have, sometimes i would go for a little walk, mostly to enjoy the weather or get some peace and quiet from the kids 😂 only in the last month, month and a half, have i started running. I bravely signed up to a half marathon that my parents were gonna run in, so now I'm gonna train for that and run it with them.

3. To help me stick with a healthy deficit, I have started referring to some things as Anchors. These are things that I have to do, no matter what happens in a day, to help keep myself on track. It might sound a little silly, but i have found that it helped me on not so great days, to be able to say, at least i did that. For me, this was eating... An apple per day. Ground-breaking stuff, I know.

4. There were times where I had to get tough with myself, be honest with yourself and realise where you are going wrong. The phrase "suck it up, buttercup" has been used a couple times when i was hungry but out of calories for the day. Worked well for me at least.

Lastly I want to mention plans for the future. Last time I lost weight I didn't have a plan for maintenance, which is why I then regained the weight, at least I think so. This time I have a plan. There is the aforementioned half marathon I want to complete, but I'm also going to be starting in the gym, I have a workout plan ready to go and am feeling more motivated and disciplined than ever. That glorified but ultimately kinda pointless 6 pack will be mine!

So you might ask why I havent started the gym already? Well, I'm lazy, like very lazy, and the gym is a whole 10 minutes by car away. My girlfriend and I are however in the process of buying a house that is a 2 minute walk away from said gym. So when we are moved in, or if i get too annoyed at the long buying process, i will be joining and are looking to pack on some muscle. Who knows, maybe I will do another post in a years time, reporting on my maintaining and muscle building process.

Despite the fact that a lot of people on here doesn't seem to like using food as a reward (understandable really) I will be rewarding myself with a Dominos, a couple beers and a bounty next Friday, on the exact 1 year anniversary of starting my weight loss.

Just because I forgot to mention it, and don't see where i can sort of fit it in: i still drank alcohol, started at one night every 2 weeks, then every 3 weeks, then became more of a special occasions kinda thing. I like drinking, but it does slow down the weight loss, take from that what you will.

Long story over, AMA.

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Do I need to stop losing?

Hey everyone! First off, big thanks to this sub, posts have been a huge motivation over the past few months. I (24M) am currently 6’3, 203lbs down from my start weight of 245lbs. My original goal weight was 190lbs to get into the normal BMI range. However, I recently got a DEXA scan after a month-long weight loss stall, and I came back at 12% body fat. If accurate, I’m happy with it, but the mirror test makes me think I’m higher since I don’t have visible abs. My BMI still says I’m overweight, but I don’t want to overdo the weight loss just to hit a number. Right now, I’m eating between 2000-2400 calories/day, lifting 5x a week, and doing some cardio and yoga when I feel up for it, but the scale hasn’t for the past month moved. I guess my question is whether I should keep cutting, drop calories, or switch to maintenance/ focus on muscle gain? Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated!

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