3 things to keep you going

Motivation is EVERYTHING when losing the weight. So here are three things that will hopefully help you find it.

1. A motivation board. For me I got a dry erase board and some command strips and put it on my wall, then write down the day you started, start weight, current weight and goal weight. And have it someone you’re gonna see it everyday. I have to where it’s one of the first things I see everyday. It immediately gets me hyped, looking at everything I’ve done, each week erasing that current weight number an make it smaller. Closer to my goal.

2. But clothes now! Everyone is always saying they can’t wait to drop that weight so that can go buy new clothes and look all good. Well you need to be doing that now, buy clothes that are a little to tight and then a lot to tight,,Then every 2 weeks try them on. You’ll see as they start to fit better and better. Sometimes it hard for us to see the weight come off us. Looking in the mirror everyday praying we’ll see an ab that wasn’t there yesterday. Well nothing is going to show you that you’re actually dropping that weight like clothes that were to tight a month ago fitting just perfect now!

3. POST POST POST Don’t lie. When you said you were going on a diet, you’ve thought about when you’re gonna have that booty or those perfect abs and you can’t wait to post that before and after picture and make all those losers who didn’t date you in high school jaw drop. And that’s great, but don’t forget that even you’re posting on Twitter, Instagram or even here on reddit, let everyone know about this first 2 pounds, that first month in when you’re 10 pounds down. Just because you haven’t hit that goal weight doesn’t mean you haven’t done something. Be proud of what you have done. I see to many comment about people saying that they’ve only lost 5 pounds or 10 pounds, but everyone started somewhere and those 5 pounds lost are better then any weight you would have gained had you not started!

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[Daily Directory] Find your quests for the day here! - Friday, 01 March 2019

Welcome adventurer! Whether you're new on this quest or are towards the end of your journey there should be something below for you.

Daily journal.

• [Q&A] "I have a question."
• [Day 1] "I am starting my weight loss journey."
• [SV/NSV] "I have an accomplishment to share."
• [24hr Pledge] "Today I am going to..."

Interested in some side quests?

• [Motivation Monday] Share some motivation, get some motivation.
• [Tantrum Tuesday] Need to vent? People getting on your nerves?
• [Weigh-In Wednesday]
• [Track with Me Thursday] Did we just become best friends?!
• [Free Talk Friday] What's on your mind?

Community bulletin board!

• [Running with Loseit] Run with losers. Avoid arrows.
• [Maintenance Monday] Lost it? Work on keeping it.
• [Wecipe Wednesday] Swap and discuss recipies!

If you are new to the sub, click here for our posting guidelines

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I got made fun of at they gym and too scared to go back

So I’m an overweight teen I know this so I finally decided I wanted to change. I started cutting cals and am down 32 lbs in about 4 months. I finally worked up the courage to go to the gym and on my second day I was doing the chest press machine. The machine faces a mirror with other machines on each side and I look over and some kid about my age is recording me. I tried to ignore him but he literally sat there for 10 whole minutes just staring and laughing at me. Since then I haven’t gone back. I’m still cutting cals to lose weight but I’m not losing as much as I want. Any tips to get some confidence

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In July 2018, I was 290, out of shape, and on blood pressure medication...

...today I was told that I am March 2019 member of the month at my gym!

​

I have been overweight my entire life. I've played sports when I was younger but was always considered "hefty". Living in the South, my parents didn't have a good grasp on what it meant to have a healthy lifestyle: McDonalds for breakfast on the way to school, money for soda or extras in the cafeteria, HUGE portions at supper time.

I tried to get this under control several times in my life but failed. It all came to a head while my wife and I were caring for my father-in-law while I was about to dive head first into one of the biggest work projects yet. I had high blood pressure, I was the biggest I ever was, and I was MISERABLE. One day in July, I drove to the gym nearest my house and told the lady working that I didn't care to hear the speech, I'm ready to join. Being her first day, I must have been the easiest sign-up she's had!

​

Almost 8 months later, I'm at 233 and feel awesome. I've still got 30 pounds left, but I actually for once feel that I can complete this. I'm so excited. I'm also down several pant sizes and one (almost two!) shirt sizes. My old clothes feel super large. My workouts started with two days in the gym doing the elliptical for 20 minutes (that was all I could do). I started to add two more days with some very basic strength exercises that my trainer recommended. In December, I convinced a buddy who used to weight lift to join with me and we've been doing chest/back on Mondays, legs and abs on Wednesdays, and arms on Fridays, with Tuesdays and Thursdays devoted to one hour on the elliptical each.

​

My initial trainer who hadn't seen me for a few weeks caught me after a cardio session and asked how I was doing. Told her about my progress since July. The next day, I find an envelope in the locker area with my name on it letting me know about being March 2019 member of the month.

​

Sorry for the long post, I just had to share with you all. Keep pushing y'all, it's worth it!

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People don't recognize me anymore

It's absolutely amazing.

So I have no idea how much I've lost at this point, though I know for sure I went from a size 20W/2XL to a size 14W/L. I haven't been thinking about it much because I see my body everyday and it's all normal to me.

Today though, I went to my old college to pick up some docs that I need for my recent transfer. While I was there I stopped by a couple offices to say hi to some people I haven't seen since December.

And I got the same reaction from everyone: "I didn't even know it was you!"

I've been kind of low on motivation to exercise this week, but realizing that my progress has reached the point that people have to do double takes when they look at me has definitely gotten me a little high. Especially when they go in for a hug and I can feel them trying to subtly feel the new lack of fat, lol.

Keep it up, guys. The glow-up is so worth it.

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380 lb guy - just need some support and advice

Hi - I'm a 40 year old man who is 6'1" and I weigh 380 lbs. I have been overweight my whole life. I have a wonderful wife and daughter and I want to lose weight to be healthy for them - they mean everything to me. I've tried counting calories and I've tried weight watchers but my OCD (yep, got that too - been in treatment for it for a decade) causes me to "all or nothing" it and eventually I lose my motivation.

I feel like to have such a long journey ahead of me and it's incredibly daunting. I'm not even sure where to start.

Every day that I start eating healthy ends up with me eating junk by the end of the day and "starting over again" the following day. Every week begins with me going 'healthy food shopping" only to throw everything out a week later because I used GrubHub instead of cooking. think it's partially the perfectionism and ocd, partly to as a coping mechanism for depression and anxiety, and partly because I love food.

Sorry to blabber. I hope you are all doing well on your journeys!!! Any help or motivation would be very much appreciated.

Love and respect

Adam

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It starts today!

Hi.

I’m super nervous about posting in here, but I’ve been lurking for awhile and gaining inspiration, and I’ve been telling myself for the last ten years that “this is the year” I lose the weight...So I’ve decided I’m fed up, and 2019 IS.THE.YEAR.

I feel ready to make positive changes and actually stick to them, and honestly — I’m just so tired of feeling like crap. I want to have more energy, and sleep better, and stop living in a constant state of heartburn and indigestion. I want to be the healthy girl that I know is deep inside me somewhere. And I want to wear whatever cute clothes I want!

That said, I’ve just been trying to calculate my calorie needs and I’m running into a bit of confusion. When I put my stats into the calculator, it tells me I need 2048 calories to maintain my current weight, and my “Basal Metabolic Rate” is 1706.

I’m choosing the slow and steady route, so I’d like to aim for 1lb loss a week, at least for now. If I subtract 500 calories from 2048, that gives me 1548 a day.

This is where I’m confused! Everything I’ve read is saying that you shouldn’t eat below your Basal Metabolic Rate, because that’s the number your body needs to just survive (like, for organs to function)....but if I stick to that idea, my calorie deficit would only be 342 a day, meaning that I can’t even lose 1lb a week.

Is that right? Am I missing something here? Can I safely eat at 1548/day without sabotaging my body?

Any advice is appreciated.

For reference, my stats are: 34F / 248lbs / 5’4, and I have what I’d consider a sedentary office job, although I do live in the city car-less and walk everywhere.

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I can fit on a bus now! :)

Little background about me, I am currently at 250, male, 5'7 and 31 years old. Was at 270 to begin the year and very happy to drop those 20 pounds. For me, i feel like i wouldnt be comfortable with my weight untill I hit about 190, with my ultimate goal being 155 to feel like i have a rockin body.

Anyhow, I am a bus driver and one of the things we have to do after every shift is walk up and down the isle of the bus to make sure there are no kids left behind or nobody left a backpack or anything. For those of you who havent been on a bus in years, some of them are pretty narrow, resulting in heavy guys like me having to sort of snake back and forth through the seats, or you just slam your hips into the sides of the seats :( . Anyhow, my bus broke down about 6 weeks ago, so I had been driving a replacement in the meantime with a much wider isle. I liked this one because I could actually walk up and down it without slamming my thunder thighs and hips into the seats as i wattle down the isle. I had my original bus back today and guess what?!?

I completley forgot and I walked up and down the isle, then looked back and realized I actually fit down this isle. The narrower isle that I always was too big to walk comfortably down. My hips have actually shrunk :) I know it sounds like a wicked random stupid thing to be happy about, but this was like, the first noticeable change for the weight loss and just something that made me really happy and wanted to share. Its crazy the things we do as fat people that seem normal to us but are so happy to NOT be doing when we lose weight. Anyone else have an odd "taken for granted" moment like this?

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Determine Calories Out- My Experience with Fitbit

Hello!

I tried to link the post I made in Fitbit but I don’t think that’s allowed here so I’ll give y’all a synopsis and you can check it out there if you’d like.

I’ve always struggled/been worried about TDEE. I’ve used 100 different calculators and usually got pretty similar results but it all seemed so vague and I didn’t know how they would know activity based on such broad terms. I got a Fitbit and I liked the calories burned feature but never really believed it. Sometimes it had me burning 3000 calories! For reference, I’m female, 19 years old, 5’5, and 127 lbs (though I started at a higher weight).

I decided to do a one month “finding maintenance” experiment to determine how many calories I really need each day now that I’m pretty much ready to maintain my weight and stop losing. So for the past 28 days, I ate 1800 calories as a daily average.

Method: I tracked and weighed as much as humanly possible. Not all places have nutrition facts and sometimes I couldn’t weigh the whole portion or individual parts of a meal. Sometimes I snacked without weighing and had to guess after. I also didn’t count most spices, gum, and just recently found out my coffee order is 40 calories rather than 20 (not a huge bump, but they all add up). In any case, I’d like to think I was fairly accurate in counting but I’m still human. I would wager any inaccuracy would be me underreporting rather than over-reporting, which would make the final results of the accuracy of Fitbit in favor of the app, reducing the amount of overestimation.

Results: after 28 days of eating 1800 calories, I lost 3.6 lbs. I weighed myself daily at approx the same time and input the weight in Happy Scale. The 3.6 lb figure is a weighted average of the 28 days. This means that I was burning 450 calories more than I was eating each day, creating a TDEE of about 2250. My Fitbit Alta HR reported that I burned, on average, 2500 calories over the past 28 days. This means my Fitbit overestimate my calories burned by 10% which honestly is not very much. When I would “check” to see if I was really eating around what I thought was maintenance, I was estimating that it was 20% off.

Tl;dr: TDEE is hard to calculate. Fitbit HR Alta overestimated calories by 10%. You could potentially use this info to calculate a custom TDEE by multiplying your Fitbit calories burned by .9 and eating back that many calories each day.

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I'm (re)discovering myself

*this ended up being way longer than I thought. Tl/Dr at the bottom

OK so kind of an odd title but bear with me. I started losing weight in march 2018, dropped 15 fairly quickly and then took a loong break because life (work stress + terrible relationship = everything in my life kinda went to shit). I started accidentally losing weight again mid January because I got the flu and couldn't bear eating very much , so whilst not the best method to restart it did give me the hope that I hadn't just plateaued indefinitely at 167lbs.

Ive lost a fair bit since then (considering I'm only 5'3" and don't always limit to 1200 cals) and am feeling super motivated as my goal weight gets closer week by week. I was pretty consistently 155lbs most of my teenage years, which is still overweight at 5'3" but I just couldn't seem to get any lighter, and then I gained 30lbs in the last year of university by overeating to deal with family stress and uni stress. I am now back to my "original fat weight" and I'm noticing some things about myself that I forgot/have never seen before:

• I have collarbones!!! They're not super prominent but honestly I didn't see them at all for over a year and I forgot they existed. I'm excited to see how defined they will be the more weight I lose.
• I have cheekbones! I have actual bone structure in my face instead of being a round blob! Again, not super defined but it's definitely there so I can't wait to see just how chiseled they might be as I get closer to my goal.
• I literally have ribs? I sometimes hold my sides when I'm bored and although I have to squeeze a little hard since I still have a fair bit of fat to lose, I actually felt my ribs underneath it for the first time in a long time.
• I'm also seeing the return of my waist and its reminding me that I'm actually pretty close to an hourglass figure. Will definitely never be humble about my appearance when I hit my goal and that bodyshape really shines through.
• My resting heart rate, according to my fitbit, is now between the "good to very good" categories. When I was 18 and this weight it was always between "average and good" so this is very exciting news for me. I don't even really exercise, I just try my best to hit 10k steps every day and since I work an office job this means I usually walk for 35 minutes after work, get a bus home and walk a further 10 minutes to my front door instead of getting the train from the station 5 minutes from my office. I now really enjoy the walk and find it calming.
• I'm actually a decent cook. When I originally started losing weight in 2018, it was a side effect of meal prepping for the week to save money. I stopped meal prepping and stopped losing weight because I would just eat whatever. I no longer prep all my meals for the week but I now cook twice the amount of dinner and take half to work for lunch the next day. And guess what? I am no wizard in the kitchen but I am damn good at feeding myself delicious, simple and healthy meals throughout the week for an average of £20 a week (thank you, Aldi).
• I'm also actually a pretty likeable person. When I was at my heaviest I realise now that I was quite shy and not very outgoing because I thought, subconsciously, that nobody really wanted to hear from me because I was just that fat chick. Losing weight and being successful at being consistent with my lifestyle changes has reminded me that I've always been determined and enthusiastic about everything I want/like and that part of my personality is making its way back to my day to day life and being very well received. I no longer feel like I'm just taking up space and wasting people's time with my conversational attempts.
• I'm a catch and I don't need to settle for a man who's willing to put up with me because I no longer feel ugly. Before I gained weight I had confidence issues and thought that I would be lucky if a man showed me enough interest to go further than sleeping together a few times. I would worry about whether they liked me and fret that I had to prove to them I was worth spending time with. This mindset is almost definitely what led me to my very difficult relationship with my now ex boyfriend, the one I gained 30lbs in. It's amazing how now at the same weight I'm trying to decide if I even like them and making decisions based on whether I would want to see them again. Perspective, eh?

What have you (re)discovered about yourself? Be proud of it, no matter how small an accomplishment you may think it is! Losing weight is simple but not easy and it takes consistency, not perfection. Sometimes I eat too much because its a special occasion but that doesn't mean I'm a failure who should scrap it all in. Just do your best the next day. You're human and you should be proud of whatever success you've had so far, you're making a real effort to change your lifestyle and improve yourself and you're doing it all by yourself! You absolute champion!

Tl;dr: losing weight has physical payoff that I'm happy about but the real benefit is how it's changed the way I view myself and I hope its changing the way you view yourself if you haven't always been so kind to yourself.

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Exercise question - marching?!

Feel free to send me to a different sub if I shouldn't be posting here!

Recently I started doing the Walk At Home YouTube videos, as I found this was a simple way of getting some light exercise in while bubs was sleeping. I've now progressed into downloading my own workout play list, smacking the headphones on and power walking/marching at a fast tempo like a crazy person on my yoga mat or around my lounge room. I look like a weirdo , sure, but noone is there, I can dance to my hearts content and it really gets me working up a massive sweat!

So, my actual question - coupled with better eating, is this actually effective exercise? I figured since I'm sweating buckets and my heart rate is super elevated, it's got to be doing something?

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Gained a ton on antidepressants

Just sort of a venting post I guess.

In October my doctor added an antidepressant to my medications. I have high functioning autism and ocd and have been on meds for anxiety and the ocd for ever pretty much. The antidepressant made a huge difference in my mood and I really liked it but it also made me really tired. To fight the pretty much constant exhaustion I started sort of sugar bingeing.... not on purpose it’s just how it happened. Now I’m up 40 lbs and can’t kick this sugar habit. I went back to the doctor and they switched my pills around.

It’s been a week and I’m feeling back to normal already! Not craving tons of junk, not tired constantly and feeling mentally as good as before. I’m so happy and am going to get back to the weightlifting and calorie counting I was doing before October. I just can’t wait to get back to normal. I’m disappointed that I gained so much but I’m glad I at least figured out the issue and it’s on the way to being fixed.

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What is your strategy re cheat meals?

So I’ve been counting calories for three weeks now, heading into my fourth.

Already my roommate has remarked that my shape is different. I imagine it’s simply water weight being shed, but my stomach is noticeably smaller. I also have more energy.

I have always been really reluctant to follow a restrictive diet re food groups because a) I love to cook, and b) I like a bit of everything in moderation, and I felt like I’d be setting myself up to fail or overeat by cutting out carbs or sugar entirely.

So, I feel confortable with how I’m going so far, except I’m unsure of how to ‘do’ a cheat meal. Technically I haven’t had one yet. I’ve had one ‘not healthy’ meal of take out, but I made it fit into my count for the day. I’ve had a few scoops of halo top ice cream every now and then at night, because I crave sugar like crazy at night and I figure half a metric cup of halo top is fine, it fits into my count.

Whenever I consider giving myself one meal a week or fortnight where I don’t think about what it’s worth, I get a little anxious. What if the meal ends up destroying my weekly deficit? How often should I have a true cheat meal? How do you ‘cheat’ without going overboard?

I know I need a treat every now and then to sustain myself, because the thought of not doing so is too discouraging. How do you guys treat cheat meals? What do you do?

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I’m blown away by how much I was underestimating the calories in my meat servings.

So my husband and I have occasional “fun” money pay periods where we treat ourselves and the kids to things we’ve wanted for a while. I used my “fun” money to buy myself a food scale and a LoseIt premium membership to fine tune my tracking.

I had been using measuring cups for most things and kind of guessing about what to log for meat on LoseIt.

I weighed my chicken thigh tonight and nearly died when I realized I’ve been underestimating my calories by at least 100 calories. Not anymore.

The scale has been moving, but I’m glad I now have one more tool to keep track of the calories I’m taking in. I have a feeling that would’ve gotten extremely problematic later on.

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There's only a 300 cal difference in TDEE between my HW and GW

So I've been calorie counting a while and have always been aware of my TDEE and GW TDEE, but today I thought to look up just how much I was eating when I was at my highest weight, expecting it to blow my mind how high the number was and how much I would have had to have eaten.

My HW TDEE was only 300 calories higher than my GW TDEE! This stunned me. At 5' 5", assuming a sedentary lifestyle, I would maintain 170 at 1826 a day or maintain 115 at 1527 a day. That's FIFTY FIVE POUNDS of difference for the equivalent of a large chai latte every day. This really put into perspective for me 1) how small decisions every day REALLY add up and 2) just how easy it would be for me to spiral back up to my HW. Thankfully I don't have a sedentary lifestyle, so my GW TDEE will be more like 1900 - 2000, but I was also so surprised that at 5' 5" 1826 a day would put me well into the overweight category; clearly I'm not ready to graduate into intuitive eating.

Anyways I wanted to share incase this was as eye-opening for anyone else as it was for me!

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Does one have to keep eating less and less calories to lose weight?

For example, if I need 2500 Cals to lose weight, but I keep eating 2000, will I be able to eat the 2000 until the goal weight is reached? Or does the body get used to that certain number of calories midway and stop losing weight? Basically I'm asking if I eat a certain amount of calories 20 pounds earlier than I'm supposed to, will I lose weight faster and will it be okay for me to continue to do so until I reach a weight where 2000 is maintenance? I'm currently experiencing a plateau and wondering what the reason could be. I'm also wondering, is losing weight a second time harder than the first? Does my body being used to me eating a certain amount 4 months earlier ruin my chances of eating that same amount(still within a deficit) after regaining the weight?

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It's been 45 days since I started my streak on MFP but it feels like just yesterday. Also, exercise is super hard.

I'm not sure if I worded that title correctly or not, but it genuinely feels like just yesterday that I started calorie counting but I mean this in a good way. Whenever I've tried to lose weight before, I had always eventually caved in and failed but not this time, I'm going to do and a big part of that, I think, is because I'm keeping it on my mind all the time.

I also started exercising at the gym last week. I've only been twice so far, I'm planning to go to tomorrow also. Then I'm going to try to aim for 2 or 3 times a week to start off. It's surprisingly hard to physically do, it's very eye opening and slightly upsetting how unfit I am. My gym is on the third floor and I can't even do that without catching my breath at the top!

Anyway, sorry for ranting. This community is awesome and extremely helpful! If anyone wants to track on MyFitnessPal, my username there is the same as my reddit username.

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What flipped the switch for you?

I guess I’m feeling completely at a loss. Realistically there is nothing keeping me from reaching my goal weight or achieving what I want to achieve. Apart from I think laziness and the lack of will power to keep strong and adhere to a plan.

I’ve been told I need to lose weight for medical reasons (leg + heart issues), I feel in myself that I need to lose weight because I am so unhappy in how my body feels and how I hold myself, I want to start a family with my wife and I need to get my periods under control so that I can carry our child – so much of that relies on my diet, and I just feel so unhappy with myself.

I workout 5+ hours per week, this is solely in regards to my diet, weight really is lost in the kitchen.

Yet, even with all of that, I still cannot stick to anything. I last a day, a few days, even a week sometimes. And then I just fail. And I’m just wondering what flipped that switch for you? What made this important enough to you that you changed?

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I am backsliding a little and would love some advice.

26/F/5’8 SW: 199 CW: 179 GW: 145

I am starting backslide and would love some advice from people who’ve been through it.

First and foremost, what I have been doing on my weight loss journey is using my fitness pal to count calories and track macros. I’ve incorporated a healthy meal plan and allow myself probably average 1 out meal a week. I also have been going to the gym 4-5 times I week. I started on January 4th so I’m approaching 2 full months and I’m 20 pounds down.

My meal planning is excellent, I’ve encountered very little problems maintaining it and I love cooking so I’ve actually enjoyed coming up with meals to cook and new ideas.

My workouts on the other hand I’m really struggling to fit into my schedule in a way that works. My 4-5 times dwindled down to 3-4 which I was ok with. But last week I went 2. This week I’ve skipped again today and am looking at only 2 times again.

My schedule is a huge part of this issue. I work Sunday 9am - 6:30pm and Monday through Thursday 1pm - 9:30pm. I selected this schedule for 3 reasons: I make more hourly after 5pm, I am a night person, 9:30 is still early enough to go do something or to just go home, relax, and go to bed early. I’ve been working out after work which has worked great but it’s really starting to interfere with my social schedule. If I workout at 9:45, I’m not home until after 11 so I definitely can’t do anything with friends. This is an easy solution, workout before work. I’ve been on this schedule a long time and I am astounded how locked into my sleep schedule my brain is. I have set alarms to get up and go to the gym multiple times and my tried brain sleeps through it and gets up around it’s usual 10:30-11 no matter what time I went to bed. It’s like my subconscious knows I don’t HAVE to get up so I just don’t.

Has anyone else battled schedule/motivation issues, or had to overcome one particular thing to really maximize your time/workouts. And if so, please help me figure out how to do that!

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30 Day Accountability Challenge - February Wrap Up Post!

Hello loveliest losers,

I can't believe we're done with February! Let's talk about the month as a whole, shall we?

Weight by end of the month 268 - 265:

Started at 274.2, 274.8 trend weight.

This morning 265.6, 266.8 trend weight.

Delta of 8.6 lbs, 8 lbs off trend weight. I'm happy here.

Stay in calorie goal (net): I wasn't happy with the variability in my intake. Some days fine, other days oofta. As my journey progresses, this will need to get better. I also spent a portion of this month battling my tummy so I cut myself some slack.

Exercise 5 days a week: Right on par, not a struggle & very habitual at this point. I've been upping the intensity of my workouts & it feels fabulous. 20/28

Self-care journaling once a week & love journals once a month: I would like to be spending more time on both points of this goal but I did meet the minimum requirements. 4/4 weeks.

Self-care treat once a week: I'm pretty good at this. 4/4 weeks.

Practice drawing everyday: I did better in January but I still did a pretty decent job here. I am starting to see some improvements from where I started too! 21/28.

A general note for me moving forward is that I continue to decrease in mass, my deficit from intake will shrink with my TDEE. Currently exercise calories are just a bonus deficit & eventually they will driving more of my deficit/progress. You can't out run your fork so continuing to be more disciplined with my CI is imperative.

Sign up post for March! https://redd.it/av5kh0

How about all of you? Let's hear your tales of success & woe!

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Down a pants size!

And let me tell you, it has not been easy. I used to be one that got discouraged easily (to be fair, I did “give up” for like two weeks in December) and the fact that the scale hasn’t changed at all since November didn’t really help. In retrospect, this might have something to do with the fact that I’m building muscle at the same time that I’m losing fat.

Apparently, something changed, though. It all started with a trip to Walmart. I set off on mission to find two pairs of tights as my current work tights smelled horrible all the time. I needed one pair for working out and one pair for going out.

To my utter dismay, the largest size they had was only a Large for the work out tights. Begrudgingly, I picked up the large tights and the extra large going out tights and made my way to the dressing room, huffing and puffing the whole way.

Obviously, I tried on the extra large first. I was satisfied, although they were a little loose up top. I was worried they would slide around as I walked. Not quite figuring out what that meant yet, I tried on the large. And they fit like a glove. I did a couple lunges and squats to make sure they’d hold up, and they didn’t move one bit. Ditching the extra large tights, I grabbed a large pair of the same tights and made my way home.

So basically, this was a long, drawn out story of how the scale is a lie and how I’m super happy that I am no longer an extra large. Here’s to small victories.

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Winter weight loss...

A time when no one notices you have lost weight because you are wearing 4 layers of hoodies and haven’t bought new cloths yet since you’ll also need a new SUMMER wardrobe in 3 months...

Dis is my life right now. 50 pounds down and not a single comment. I was disappointed at first, but then I realized how fun it could be to show up to a gathering for the first time in shorts and a tank top and completely bamboozle my friends.

The drawback is my friends are probably just assholes and wont comment on my weight anyways 😆

Hope everyone’s winter progress is the most fruitful thing this season!!!!

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For the love of bread

I just wanted to post something that may resonate with some of you out there.

A little background: I (25F, 5’5) started losing around January 2017 at 264 lbs, not too long after discovering this sub. I am not at my goal yet, but I have lost over 100 lbs. Before I started, I was hopeless. I truly believed I was “too far gone,” and had no idea how to eat to lose weight. My late teens and early 20’s were chock-full of attempts at getting my weight in-check. I would go through bouts of eating nothing but salads and chicken breasts, which of course I failed at, and conversely it led to me gaining more weight.

Eventually I stumbled across this sub, and it taught me what a TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is and that weight loss is simple math, which was a whole lot easier for me to get than eating a random amount of salad for an extended time and hoping to lose x amount of pounds. Reading about everyday people’s success and seeing their progress finally allowed something to click in my head—they finally convinced me that if they could do it, I could too.

The amount of weight I wanted to lose was still daunting, but time was going to pass either way, and it was better spent working towards my goals than continuing to be unhappy with myself and doing nothing about it.

Early progress was f a s t. Water weight whooshed off. I couldn’t really see changes in my appearance, but the scale was showing me huge losses, and it felt real and wonderful. There were many scale and non-scale victories as well as slip-ups, but as my body transformed, my goals did too.

I am worlds apart from where I was two years ago—I love working out, I enjoy cooking now (something I never used to do), I don’t just eat out of boredom, and my self-assurance has improved tenfold. People call me “fit” now, which feels like a joke since I’m still technically overweight, but it’s true. I love being active, and built a lot of endurance over the last two years.

However, despite all of these great habits I formed, the love of bread is still there, and it probably always will be. I recently went on a ski trip with my best friends, that led us by our favorite bakery, which we seldom get to visit. We went HAM. We left the store with heavy bags of all kinds of breads and baked goods and indulged on the way up the mountain, at the cabin, and all the way home. This is no basic bread. This is family-recipe bread passed down generation after generation, being sold at a quaint brick & mortar that is always busy no matter what time you show up. We ate so much bread we felt bloated for days.

This is the sort of occasion that used to derail my progress to the point of no return. If I had a bad weekend, it turned into a bad week, which turned into a bad month, which turned into another bad year.

I typed all this up because I wanted any of you struggling with that sort of mindset to know that it does not have to be that way. If you overeat and regret it, there is nothing you should do but forgive yourself and move on. Weight loss does not mean always being perfect. Life doesn’t stop because you’re watching what you eat. There is room for celebration, for error, for indulgence. Weight loss is not linear, and it is not a race. If you slip-up, shake it off. You’ll probably see water weight gains on the scale, but don’t let it discourage you, this too shall pass.

I still want to lose about 40 lbs, which sounds like an awful lot, but something I didn’t realize at my highest weight was how good I would begin to feel and look along the way. The number on the scale means less to me now because I can feel my progress, and that motivates me everyday to strive to be better. I have full confidence that I will eventually arrive at my goal weight, but that number now comes second to health, fitness, and my general well-being.

Trust me, if I can do it, so can you. You. Got. This.

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[NSV] Climbing on a roof for volunteer work. (6'3"M,330->240lbs,pics)

So for the last 15 years or more I have spent all of my vacation time travelling the world doing humanitarian work, mostly disaster relief. I had a little crew of a few friends to call up and ask to join me and we would usually all go in a small group. I was higher up in an organization and usually a team lead or coordinator kind of role.

So one thing that was very well established was that I did not do roofs. Nope, not a chance. Not at 6'3" and 330lbs. The ladders and roofing projects in many foreign countries were sketchy and not a good idea for me and it was a running self deprecating fat guy joke thing I had going on whenever it came up.

My life has changed a lot over the last year or two and I have moved across the country and don't work with the same groups anymore, also less time to travel for those things. But most notably I am down to around 240lbs and ironically picked up rock climbing as a hobby, brought into it by my girlfriend who is an avid climber.

So Habitat for Humanity recently had a novel idea of recruiting volunteers from the climbing gym we go to for the roofing day of a nearby build. I was all for it and got a few of my gym friends to join as well. Felt great to send pictures back to my old group I used to work with. Me, of all people, on a roof on a volunteer project! One of my favorite NSV's to date.

Before and after. Building temporary shelters in Chile in 2010 (working on the floor of course) vs. last weeks Habitat Build (on the roof)!

Also hadn't had the opportunity to post a face gains photo recently so throwing that in here.

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18lbs lost just by cutting out sugar and carbs

Hello Reddit,

First time writer so I'll make it quick. I am a 29 year old female and I've been pretty thick my whole life. Right after high school started gaining weight and haven't stopped since. I recently decided to do myself a favor and cut out junk food and eat nothing but healthy meals. I never noticed how much I was actually hurting myself with cookies and milk almost everyday. For the last month and 2 weeks I've cut out sugar and carbs from my eating and I've lost 18lbs with minimal exercise. That is the best I've ever done, I've tried before but end up quitting a couple weeks in. Reading your posts everyday is helping me to continue my journey to a better lifestyle, and reminds me that giving up is not an option.

Just thought I would let you know, thank you!

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I made a graph to show my actual weight vs. how much I should weigh based on CICO

I wanted to see how accurate tracking calories is. So I made a graph: https://imgur.com/gallery/1uQq3TJ

Explanation to graph:
yellow line: estimated weight based on formula below and calories out is option 1.
blue line: estimated weight based on formula below and calories out estimated by option 2.
black line: Scale weight (usually weighed in the morning).
Red dots are weigh-ins. (decided to try to weigh myself every day a bit into the challenge to keep more accurate track. Light blue stipled line: a "trend-line" for my scale weight.

​

To predict my weight I used the formula:
Kg day 1 - ((calories out day 1 - calories in day 1) / 7700) = kg day 2 (estimate)
For example: 88.7kg - ((2348-1263)/7700) = 88.6kg
- assuming 1 kg of body fat = 7700 kcal (according to google)
and then I used the estimate of kg day 2 + tracked calories to estimate kg day 3... and so on.
Calories In: I used MyFitnessPal to track how much I ate. I have been trying to be accurate but it can never be 100% accurate.
Calories out: I used a fitness watch to track how much calories I used during the day. (garmin vivomove HR). The watch had a total amount of calories burned estimate (Option 1), but it is over-estimating my activity a bit it seems. So I tried another estimate (Option 2).
Option 2 is my basal metabolism (1550kcal) + "active calories burned" from the watch. This is closer, but maybe under-estimating my activity a bit. So I think the truth is somewehere in between.. as my actual weight is also somewhere in between on the graph :)

I just thought it was so interesting to see how weight loss is just basic maths. I am a huge geek and love statistics, so for me it actually helps to see the numbers. I have also tried to see for instance, how long until a certain weight if I keep the same activity level and eating habits and it is really encouraging to me. It also makes me less worried about the fluctuations on the scale. So I am sharing this in hopes of this maybe inspiring someone else :)

​

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I’ve always dismissed calorie counting/food diary concept, but now I’ve actually done it it’s worked instantly to change my eating habits & I cut down on unnecessary calories immediately

I’ve just never been a calorie counting person in general & also I figured “I can remember in my head what I’ve eaten today & how bad/good they are generally, what difference is writing it down going to make”.

But it makes a HUGE difference.

Immediately on the first day I was like “Ok so I can’t have this snack at the end of the day as I’ve reached maximum calories” & went to sleep feeling a little bit hungry, which I haven’t had the discipline to do & haven’t let myself feel this feeling in absolutely years.

Bear in mind at that time the only thing I would have eaten to fill that void would be junk food & it’s not even proper hunger, I just let myself get so used to feeding the slightest pang of hunger straight away.

I think I’m enjoying that feeling of hunger as it feels like I’m achieving something & I enjoy & appreciate what I do eat more. I drink a lot of water at that point too.

I’ve kept this up for a few days now which isn’t a huge deal, but is a huge first step for me & my way of thinking & physically feeling.

I downloaded the top app Nutrecheck, which I’m really liking. Only now I’ve realised I’m using the 1 week free trial & it’s going to cost £4 a week to carry on using it. Not keen on spending so much on an app, but the rest don’t seem that great from the reviews.

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Building a habit (94 Days)

So we have 94 days until June 1st today!

I wanted to talk to you guys about habits today. A friend of mine let me know the other day that it takes around 21 days to make a habit stick. I got to thinking about that and came to the idea that "I could do something I don't like for 21 days!"

I stretched it out to 4 weeks instead of 3 because I have always been a slow learner when it comes to healthy habits. So we have been at this for 8 days today. That means in 20 days the habits we are practicing now will not feel new, or uncomfortable at times. They will become routine and we will get ourselves down in the groove of doing it every day.

SO....

For the next 20 days I am going to work out consistently and start tracking my calories better. That means no skipped trips to the gym because the weather's bad or I am tired. Barring god-like events happening for the next 20 days I will be at the gym each day working out and making efforts to track my meals.

What habits are you going to build over the next 20 days?

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My February summary: a rough month, but I learned a lot.

Hey folks :) It's the last day of February and I wanna do a bit of summary for this month and share some experience that hopefully might help y'all.

I am 23/M and currently 227 lbs (103 kg). I started at 285 lbs (129 kg) last November and looking at it now I have really came a long way, physically and mentally. The first month was really easy to lose weight - I had all the determination in the world and I powered through the hunger and went to the gym every single day.

My problem was I was just starting and didn't know how my diet should be at all. I lost 30 lbs that month and NOTHING the followed month as my willpower began to fall apart and I couldn't take the continuous torture of hunger anymore.

I still went to the gym everyday but I was definitely eating at a calorie surplus that month. Thankfully I figured out my diet was more important than going to the gym at the beginning of this year and have started losing weight again.

​

February however, has been a rough month. My gym and the local kitchen that I get my healthy meals from are all closed to celebrate new year, so I kinda went on a junk food binge for 2 weeks. Fortunately I didn't gain any weight during that time. All the socializing with friends were fucking up my routine as well, and I've put a stop to that. Friends are important, but not as important as losing these dangling fat on my belly.

Diet wise I have realized that all junk food does is leave me bloated and guilty after consuming them. They really drag my performance at the gym too, if I ate something like a dish of pasta I am bloated for at least the next 3-4 hours and I will have a hard time doing cardios. Also it causes lots of skipped beats because my heart is trying to get blood to my stomach and provide energy for my exercises at the same time.

​

So for now I will stick to salads and my avocado toasts. It is one of the most significant changes in my lifestyle - I have began to fall in love with eating vegetables. If I said this to myself a year ago I would take it as a joke and laugh my ass off, me eating veggies - not in a million years. But here I am, chunking down a bowl of salad like the hog that I am.

The key is to get the right flavor out of your veggies. If the veggies tasted flavorful it's really easy to enjoy them, I was so hung up on the idea of eating veggies with nothing added to them because I don't want the extra calories, and nothing made me hate it more than that mind set.

And let me tell you - if you eat it right, you won't feel the hunger at all. Protein and fats take a long time to digest, fibers help a lot too, so you're gonna be more fulfilled than when you were eating highly processed foods.

​

Also, I have really bad sugar cravings. I love eating chocolates and gummy worms, both are calorie intense. My solution for now is to have lots of fruits stocked inside my house, whenever I get these cravings I just eat an apple, or some strawberries, or a banana. If this is something you're struggling with, hopefully this can help you.

I didn't intend to write such a long post but these are the things I have learned along the way. Remember guys, you can do anything you set you mind to :) let's get it!

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I feel like I’m working very hard for no reward!

I feel like I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do.

I’m completing 5-7 workout classes a week, (an hour of boxing w/conditioning 3x, and 50-60 minutes cycle 3x -sometimes +/-1 depending on my schedule).

I’ve seen a great increase in my stamina, strength, and endurance. Gone from not being able to hold a plank for more than 3 seconds to being able to do plank exercises. Couldn’t jump rope, now I can keep it going for about 2 minutes. Gone up in weights.

I eat pretty healthy. I have a mostly plant based diet (I don’t regularly eat meat, eggs -mild allergy, or dairy -lactose intolerance). I’m not a snacker. I measure and log everything and stay under 1200 calories. I don’t go out to eat anymore and try to stay away from processed or pre-prepared foods. I mostly buy whole foods and mostly vegetables (not a lot of fruit, rice, pasta, bread). I don’t feel deprived - I generally feel pretty full after a meal.

All of that being said, from the middle of January to now I’ve hardly seen my work reflected in my weight. My starting weight was 231 and I weighed in this morning at 224. I’m 5’1 so obviously this is very much over where I’d like to be weight-wise.

I guess I’m just trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. Should I exercise more? Am I a lost cause?!

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Do you ever have the feeling of wanting to be motivated but can't seem to actually be motivated?

I've been on this subreddit for a little over a year now, actually this is the reason I joined reddit. I went down to my pre-pregnancy weight but have seemed to plateau from there. I am at my halfway point for weight loss but I can't seem to be motivated. It started with the holidays, and I have gone back to tracking twice since then but I can't seem to actually motivate myself to get back on track. Like, my mindset can't go from the eating habits of an overweight BMI person to a normal BMI person, if that makes sense. I can't make that jump, or even want to make that jump but I know I'd feel better if I did. Have any of you been through this or have any tips to get that inner motivation going?

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Social Anxiety

So usually everytime i go out even just to get groceries i feel this panic deep down. This manifests itself with me feeling really unwell and constantly adjusting my clothes hair etc. At some point i dreaded simple things as bringing out the trash and basically locked myself into my room to a point where my family wouldnt see me for weeks since i only went out at night to get some food. Over my journey these last two years i have constantly made small improvements and set myself challenges every day. What i realized was that small steps still get you somewhere so i started making small goals aka be outside for 30 minutes every day etc.

Today was the very first time of my adult life that i felt real confidence and not totally out of place.I got so much stuff done I had been trying to delay as long as possible. I met an old high school friend who didnt recognize me and we had a good little talk about how life is going. I have no doubt my weight loss is the Main reason I finally get to join back into society after all this time and just wanted to share.

150kg (330lbs) to 98kg (216lbs) Progress Pics

First pic was a couple of months before my lowest point in life. I quit work a couple of weeks after the photo and basically locked myself up.

Second picture is from yesterday :)

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New study proposes monitoring calorie intake takes fifteen minutes a day-and is the greatest indicator of successful weight loss

I follow research in obesity and weight loss and found an interesting study today.

Link to study!

It tracks pretty well with my own experience in that calorie counting seems pretty daunting at first (study participants initially spent around 25 minutes a day on it) but that it gets easier once you get the hang of it. At the end of the study, it appears the participants that lost the most weight tracked all their food and it took them about fifteen minutes a day.

I probably spend less than fifteen minutes on a daily basis, but I tend to eat the same foods throughout the week. I count calories every day and I still weigh and measure my food, even nearly four years into maintaining. I know it's not for everybody and that counting calories drives some people crazy so they don't want to do it. Or they cook a lot in an improvisational way and don't want to have to measure every little dash of whatever they put in their recipes. And that's fine!

I think if you're struggling to lose weight though and you don't know why your efforts aren't working, accurate tracking is your best tool to find out why. Even if you're not tracking forever, just a few weeks of it can help you get a better sense of what you're eating and what your portion sizes really are.

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Losing weight without exercise?

For context: I have been struggling with my weight for most of my life, and an injury has basically prevented me from doing any sort of physical activity that would help me lose weight more efficiently. That’s been very hard to accept since I love being active and mostly because I felt like I would never be able to take the extra weight off.

About a month ago, I started eating approximately 1400 calories a day and I’m seeing the weight come off about 1.5 lbs a week.

I am wondering if anyone out there has had success with this kind of weight loss (mostly without exercise) and what your experience was/is. I’m definitely keeping at it, but I’m worried I’ll end up fairly flabby due to losing weight without much toning. Without being able to exercise, I’m not really sure what to do and don’t know anyone in a similar situation.

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Down 8lbs!

I have been the same weight since middle school, and now at 21 I finally decided I wanted to get in really good shape and lose some weight.

I was weighing in at 148lbs (5’4” 21yo) after I got back from NYC this Christmas and now after 2 months of hard, although possibly misguided gym work and CICO I’m down 8lbs.

I was super discouraged until this week because even though my fitness was improving I wasn’t seeing any changes until my weigh in this morning. My goal weight is 115 and I finally feel like I can make it there! Maybe not by this summer, but I love cardio and am so happy to be back at it!

Now if Chicago would just warm up already so I can be back outside and jogging again! 😂

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Can’t do anything right.

So I’m a 28 year old 5’5” female who weighs 272 pounds. According to the TDEE calculator I used my maintenance calories are in the area of 2700. Obviously my goal is to loose weight so I’m not eating at maintenance.

I’m usually somewhere in the area of 1400-1700, making sure I don’t over eat. I recently got back in the gym as well. By default I was told that I should be loosing weight based on my weight and how much I’m eating alone.

But I’m not. In fact the scale continues to go up. I’ve been fluctuating with the same 5 pounds for at least 2 months now. I want to cry I’m so discouraged. I have been trying but never seeing any results has me wanting to give up and just accept that I’m going to be fat the rest of my life. I don’t know what to do.

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Knowing Your Why/Maintaining Focus on the Goal

I am 5'4.5", 163 lbs. I'm aiming to lose approximately 18 pounds by October 18. I'm using MFP currently to track my calories and am aiming to stay between 1400-500 calories with light exercise a few days a week.

I know my why - feel more confident, be able to fit in my old jeans, and most importantly, prevent hereditary health issues. I go to therapy on a semi-regular basis and am currently in a much better place mentally than I was a year ago. Aside from some current stressors, I'm feeling okay.

We had a discussion about weight loss, my therapist and I, and he stated that if I am not willing to track my calories, I probably don't want this weight loss enough. I DO, though, but it is so hard to stay consistent with accurate tracking...Or is he right and am I in denial?

I know that motivation fades. Right now I am motivated, but a week from now i won't be. As I said, I know my why. Is that enough for me to stick to my goal?

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Wheatgrass Juice Put to the Test

In an editorial that accompanied a landmark study showing an extract of the spice turmeric could be used to fight ulcerative colitis, the authors congratulated the researchers on performing the largest study ever on complementary or alternative medicine approaches to treat inflammatory bowel disease. But that’s not saying much.

Two of the only other high quality trials tested aloe vera gel and wheat grass juice. No significant improvements in clinical remission rates or endoscopy findings on aloe vera were observed,. (And I would recommend against internal aloe use–see my aloe vera videos here). However the wheat grass findings were impressive, as I discuss in my video Wheatgrass Juice for Ulcerative Colitis. “The use of wheat grass…juice for treatment of various gastrointestinal and other conditions had been suggested by its proponents for more than 30 years, but was never clinically assessed in a controlled trial”…until now.

Wrote the researchers: “The use of wheat grass juice in the treatment of [ulcerative colitis] UC was brought to our attention by several patients with UC who attributed improvement to regular use of the extract.” So, in a pilot study, the researchers gave 100 cc of wheatgrass juice, which is between a third and a half cup, daily to ten patients for two weeks. “Eight patients described clinical improvement, one had no change, and one got worse.” Why had I never heard of this study? Because it was never published. They thought they were really onto something, so they wanted to do it right. Therefore, the “randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed to examine the effects of wheat grass juice in patients with active distal U[lcerative]C[olitis].”

The study found that treatment with wheatgrass juice was associated with reductions in overall disease activity and the severity of rectal bleeding. Ninety percent of the wheatgrass patients improved, and none got worse. The researchers concluded that wheatgrass juice appeared effective and safe as a single or added treatment of active lower ulcerative colitis.

No answer is available at present as to the site of wheatgrass juice action. Does the active substance get absorbed into the body and have some kind of general anti-inflammatory effect, or does it act locally right in the colon? How would you figure that out? Well, you could juice in the opposite direction (i.e. wheatgrass enemas).

A study like this raises so many questions. How would wheatgrass juice perform head-to-head against other treatments? Does it have any role in preventing attacks, or does it only work when you already have one? Should we be giving it to people with Crohn’s disease, too? What’s the best dose? It’s been over ten years since the publication of this study, yet nothing has been published since. How sad. Yes, no one’s going to make a million dollars selling wheat berries, but what about the wheatgrass juicer companies? I wish they’d pony up some research dollars.

Until then,  the researchers “believe that wheat grass juice offers a genuine therapeutic advantage in the disabling disease of UC.” That is, if you can stand the taste.

---

The turmeric video I mentioned is Striking with the Root: Turmeric Curcumin and Ulcerative Colitis.

I think the only other video  I’ve mentioned wheatgrass is How Much Broccoli Is Too Much? and that was really just for comic relief. This is one of the topics I get lots of questions about, but there just wasn’t any good science…until now! Please never hesitate to contact me with topics you’d like us to cover.

For more on ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease, see:

• Preventing Ulcerative Colitis with Diet
• Treating Ulcerative Colitis with Diet
• Titanium Dioxide and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Preventing Crohn’s Disease with Diet
• Bowel Wars: Hydrogen Sulfide vs. Butyrate
• Vitamin D for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Does Nutritional Yeast Trigger Crohn’s Disease?

In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my free videos here and watch my live, year-in-review presentations:

• 2012: Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death
• 2013: More Than an Apple a Day
• 2014: From Table to Able: Combating Disabling Diseases with Food
• 2015: Food as Medicine: Preventing and Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet
• 2016: How Not To Die: The Role of Diet in Preventing, Arresting, and Reversing Our Top 15 Killers

Almost halfway through pregnancy and haven't gained!

This is a different kind of victory. I'm obese. I was trying to lose weight before this pregnancy but it happened much faster than we expected. So I find myself 18 weeks pregnant, and I haven't gained a pound - yay! (Note: my doctors have asked me to limit my weight gain to no more than 10 pounds - and not gaining is also fine). This happened last pregnancy too - I came out of it 30 pounds lighter than I went in. Except this one has been harder - I've been sick a lot (first baby is in daycare, may god have mercy on my respiratory system) so I can't exercise as much so I've been really focused on not overeating.

Once baby comes I'm going to work hard on losing. I've decided even if it means breastfeeding doesn't work out, it's ok. (Note: I am not looking for opinions on that. Last time breastfeeding made me so damn hungry I gained everything back and my supply still tanked after a few months). I'm going to ride that momentum.

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Why weighing yourself frequently can really help

So far I have lost 40lbs on my weight loss journey. Last week I was on vacation. I didn’t eat my normal diet but I worked hard on not going overboard- I allowed myself a few indulgences like one drink or a small amount of desert. I also made sure I was really active. There were two days I walked over 17,000 steps, and on other days I would go for a run or swim laps. I was devastated when I came back and the next morning weighed myself to discover I have gained 4.2 lbs! How could I have gained 4.2lbs in one week!?! I was devastated but I got back on to my good diet and three days later I’ve lost 3.5 lbs. Now I’ve been ok with my diet, but it’s also been a stressful week back and I’m not working out or sleeping like I should be. I know my body and know that there no way I lost 3.5 lbs of fat in 3 days, which means that a lot of what I’m seeing is probably water weight. My point is- sometimes it can be really helpful to get back on the scale a couple of days later. Hope this helps someone

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Water Weight Reminder

I know I have struggled with the scale not moving over a week or two even, but, thanks to this sub, I finally understand how crazy water weight fluctuations can be and how aggrevated it can get you.

Just a friendly reminder that many things can cause water retention (salt, carbs) and that may make you think you didn't lose weight this week or that you even 'gained' weight. I weigh in every Thursday morning and last week I was 260lbs, which was the same weight as the week prior. I was confused but, had to remember it was just water weight since I stayed under my calories, however, I worked in doritoes and cheese balls into my allowance for several days in a row (sodium bombs) Even though I know about water weight, I was still frustrated, however, this morning I am down 2.5lbs and I guess the 'whoosh' I have seen discussed in here finally happened for me.

Long story short, if the scale didn't go down or even went up but you were still in a deficit and it has you discouraged and confused, think about what you ate over the last bunch of days. It was probably those chips, slice of pizza, soft pretezel you had and you are retaining some water. Don't beat yourself up, wait a few days, then hop on the scale again.

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Scale fluctuations

A friendly reminder to all of my lose-it community that the number on the scale fluctuates-- and can fluctuate a lot. This morning I stepped on the scale (having had a lot of water and some peanut butter before I went to bed last night). When I stepped on it this morning, it was up 3lbs from yesterday (which was already up 1.5 lbs. from two days ago). Well, I went to the bathroom-- relaxed, stepped on it again, and then it was down 4 lbs. So, yes, weighing yourself matters: it is important for me, at least, that I regularly weigh myself. But I am also reminded that scales are not precise-- not perfect by any means. So continue the journey -- with its ups and downs-- and much success to all of you.

​

​

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Thursday, 28 February 2019? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

Welcome to r/Loseit!

So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

Why you’re overweight

Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

Before You Start

The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

Tracking

Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

Creating Your Deficit

How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

Exercise

Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel awesome and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

Crawl, Walk, Run

It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

Acceptance

You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

Additional resources

Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

• Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!
• Loseit Compendium - Frame it out!
• FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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Daily Q&A Post for Thursday, 28 February 2019 - No question too small!

Got a question? We've got answers!

Do you have question but don't want to make a whole post? that's fine. Ask right here! What is on your mind? Everyone is welcome to ask questions or provide answers. No question is too minor or small.

TIPS:

• Include your stats if appropriate/relevant (or better yet, update your flair!)
• Check the FAQ and other resources in the sidebar!

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Weight and depression

TDLR: Trying to loose about 10kg with depression while taking it slow.

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So I am not sure this is post worthy but here we go. I am 5'3" with a starting weight of 71kg GW 57kg, CW 65kg. I am having to lose weight incredibly slowly as I am aiming for 1600 cal which will be about maintaince at GW. I am mostly sedintry however 3 days a week I spent 5-7 hours walking for walk.

I have lost the weight while yes calorie counting but my main aim has been first to eat more fruit was aiming for 3 portions. Once I was mostly doing that I aimed to eat more veg as well again looking for about 3 portions. At this point I tend to eat about 2-2.5 portions of fruit a day, on days I am working I get a min of 2-2.5 veg in the form of salad for lunch still working on eating that on days off. However at the moment my mental health has tanked completely. So I have decided that for this week I am just going to focus on my mental health as I do not have enough energy to count calaries. I am trying to get counselling but that is a way off at the moment. My most recent thing has been to try and increase my protein intake however that has on the whole been less sucessful. But at this point I am just so tired and completely rundown I am not sure what to do other than take a few days off to try and reset somewhat.

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I am currently trying to walk 8000 steps every day. The reason for the decrease is because that is achieveable for me. On days off I can normal walk about 7000 to 7500 steps so just trying to incrimentally change bits. Not really sure what to do. If anyone has suggestions for loosing weight with depression I am all ears. I struggle to leave the house if I am not going to work, I try and get out into my garden and potter outside if the weather is nice but its a struggle to get out even if I know that I will enjoy being out in the sun.

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Sorry for the ramble.

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SV/NSV Feats of the Day - Thursday, 28 February 2019: Today, I conquered!

The habit of persistence is the habit of victory!

Celebrating something great? Scale Victory, Non-Scale Victory, Progress, Milestones -- this is the place! Big or small, long or short, please post here and help us focus all of today's awesomeness into an inspiring and informative mega-dose of greatness! (Details are appreciated!! How are you losing your weight?)

• Did you just change your flair? pass a milestone? reach a goal?
• Did you log for an entire week? or year?
  
• Did you take the stairs? walk a mile? jog for 3? set a new personal record?
  
• Fit into your old pair of jeans? throw away your fat clothes? fit into your college outfit?

Post it here! This is the new, improved place for recording your acts of awesomeness!

Due to space limitations, this may be an announcement (sticky) only occasionally. Please find it daily and keep it the hottest thing on /r/loseit!

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On reddit your vote means, "I found this interesting!" Help us make this daily post the most read, most used, most interesting post on /r/loseit by reading, commenting, and participating often!

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63lbs lost so far! My story!

I don’t really know how to start this, but i’m a 19yr old female 5’9 and currently 242lbs. I used to weigh 305lbs. I live in the south, and around the summer time I really felt the effects of my weight. I couldn’t catch my breath, I’m on my feet all day because of my job so my feet felt terrible after every shift, and I was sweating even though I would barely do anything strenuous. I knew something had to change, but before it didn’t click like it did this time. In the past I would feel bad, binge eat, then feel better until I saw myself in a mirror again. I realized though, if I kept doing that I would die sooner or later. I guess the 300s were a real eye opener for me.

I started in August 2018 by drinking just water and walking to work (20 mins away walking). I’m not going to lie, it sucked majorly at first, but I got used to it and the water weight started falling off. Then I started to count my calories, soon after. I started eating at 2,000 a day to get used to moderation. At first I would take me slipping up as the end of the world, but then I realized if it’s not everyday it’s normal.

Then I did cardio about 20 minutes a day to start out, and oh boy that sucked as well. It really made me realize how out of shape I was. Soon the 20 minutes turned into 30 and 45. I also now am doing some muscle building exercises and my calories a day are down to 1,500 (I don’t plan on going any lower). my weight loss has slowed down a bit, which I expected. I am still working towards it though.

The point is though, it takes time. You can’t just dive into this all at once because you will get overwhelmed. I rather do it the smart way and lose weight slowly than have instant gratification and put my body in danger. What’s the point of losing weight if it’s unhealthy? I have also realized it’s ok to mess up. It really is. Of course I had days where I ate a whole box of Girl Scout cookies, or I just didn’t feel like exercising. It actually motivated me to look in this subreddit everyday. Never lose motivation, that’s a key in weight loss. I really have nobody to talk to this about, so thank you for reading!!

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[Daily Directory] Find your quests for the day here! - Thursday, 28 February 2019

Welcome adventurer! Whether you're new on this quest or are towards the end of your journey there should be something below for you.

Daily journal.

• [Q&A] "I have a question."
• [Day 1] "I am starting my weight loss journey."
• [SV/NSV] "I have an accomplishment to share."
• [24hr Pledge] "Today I am going to..."

Interested in some side quests?

• [Motivation Monday] Share some motivation, get some motivation.
• [Tantrum Tuesday] Need to vent? People getting on your nerves?
• [Weigh-In Wednesday]
• [Track with Me Thursday] Did we just become best friends?!
• [Free Talk Friday] What's on your mind?

Community bulletin board!

• [Running with Loseit] Run with losers. Avoid arrows.
• [Maintenance Monday] Lost it? Work on keeping it.
• [Wecipe Wednesday] Swap and discuss recipies!

If you are new to the sub, click here for our posting guidelines

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I fit into jeans!

Something amazing happened tonight. I was packing for a trip and trying on clothes. There are these jeans I have that I call my skinny jeans from Forever 21. I use them to determine my progress because the scale was driving me nuts. Two months ago I tried them. I was able to get them on but not button it. I have been going super hard at the gym and my diet. I tried them on tonight and was able to button them. I cried. I haven't been able to be comfortable in jeans for 2 years since all I wore was leggings. I'm so proud of myself. I can't believe I am finally seeing results and all the hard work has paid off.

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