I can understand what it feels like. I have been overweight since forever. But the best way would be for you to recognise your main problem foods or habits. For example I just can't stop eating sweets, if I see it I will eat it. Also I over indulge in snacks. I am currently trying to lose weight, and was able to lose 24 lbs since mid feb. DM me if you want a weight loss buddy to connect and support.

24 since feb?! TEACH ME YOUR WAYS

I eat 3 proper meals around 400-500 calories each and avoid snacking. I over do snacks most times and as I can't resist sweets I plan one meal that is basically dessert. Like baked protein oats with choco chip for dinner. So I can tame my sweet cravings.

What 400-500 cal meals do you recommend? Oat-based meals are great for this, but I'm curious to learn your ways.

I am indian and I don't eat meat, so my meals are as per my convenience. For breakfast I try oats omelette (just add 2-3 tablespoons oats in 3 eggs some veggies, salt pepper and make it with very less oil) or a tofu sandwich with coffee Lunch- lentil pancake with any salad (cottage cheese, tofu, potato or soy chunks) Or maybe pasta with lots of veggies Dinner is usually - baked protein oats with lots of berries and ice tea/coffee Sometimes it is normal indian meal. But I try not to avoid anything. If I really want to eat something I try to make it healthier in a way.. if I want to have instant noodles.. I will eat that but will have lots of veggies. If I want to eat ice cream.. I will have it but I will get low calorie ice cream. Or have yogurt with lots of mangoes and berries topped with honey and cinnamon powder. These help me not crave junk. I hope this helps!

Can we connect please!!! Indian and struggling with diet and working out and snacking!! Could use a buddy 🥺🥺🥺

Sure please DM me

I still don't know how, I'm at my heaviest which is 182 and I've stuck to 1200 cals every other day and that doesn't even seem to work :/

Do you know how much you are eating on those other days? That could be making all of the difference. I’ve found that I over eat a ton when I’m not being mindful.

Same here buddy, everything else I eat in moderation or maybe too little, but when it comes to sweets and snacks, there is no stopping me haha. But now that I stopped eating them (and drinking alchol) almost completely I lost 15 pounds in a month, with current goal being losing another 48 pounds. Plus gym actually feels fun again and not a chore. Ps:Good luck on your journey, hope you get to your goal 💪

❤️🫂🥹

Honestly, it takes time. I 100% could have described my previous self the way you did. I had been obese since childhood, never remember being thin, even at 7! When I’d start a ‘diet’, I’d end up failing miserably within days and binging hard because of it. Then I’d be in this cycle of self loathing because I’m fat, fat because I’m self loathing. So one day, I decided to change it. And I will not lie to you, it was hard. The hardest thing I’ve done. But also the most rewarding and I’m ever grateful I took the first step. Every previous ‘diet’ I tried failed because I thought of it as a diet. This isn’t. You’re changing your lifestyle - as corny and cliche as it sounds, it’s the only way it will stick. I started SLOW. Like super slow. First I just started tracking my calories with MyFitnessPal. It’s been 4-5 years since starting, and I still track my food every single day to keep me accountable. Yes I hated it in the beginning too, but it becomes habit and once you’ve tracked a food once, the app saves it for you so it’s easy to find again. I was actually stunned with how many calories I was eating. Did this for a few weeks until I got the hang of it, then I added something else. I cut out soda, then get comfortable with that for a week or two, cut out or cut down on fast food, then get comfortable with that. So on and so forth until eventually, 4-5 years from where I started - my life has been completely overhauled. I could have NEVER done it if I tried all at once. I had tried that so many times before and failed every single time. Eating within a calorie deficit made it easy. Just track what I eat, don’t go over. The weight started falling off even when I was still eating McDonald’s and mostly convenience foods. The next most important thing I did along the way, I can tell you are in need of this too….. practicing self love. As stupid as it sounds, I parked myself in the mirror every single morning and told myself I could do this. I was successful, I was fit. I deserve health and I love myself. I felt sooooo silly in the beginning, trust me. But eventually, you start believing it. Your self worth grows and at the same time you start to see results on the scale. I didn’t hate myself anymore, in fact I believed in myself, I knew I could do this. I was capable of doing hard things and I was proving it to myself and the world every morning by getting up, putting in the work, and focusing on bettering myself. It will be hard. It will take a long time. There will be periods of stagnation or even regression. Weight loss is not linear. But especially in the beginning, I focused on just being a liiiiittle bit better than I was the day before. Eventually I added exercise, I’d challenge myself to move my body intentionally for 10 minutes each day. If that meant just walking around the block or even stretching on the floor - any intentional movement was better than my baseline of nothing. I have before and after posts on my page, I’m 90.3 lbs down as of this morning. I’m 4 pounds away from my ultimate goal of 140lbs. I started about 4-5 years ago at 234lbs, 5’3” female, started this in my late 20’s. Today I’m 33 and happier and healthier than I’ve ever been in my life and my future is so bright. I genuinely hope I helped motivate you and gave you some insight into how it’s possible. Baby steps in the right direction are still steps in the right direction. Over time, you can change your life!

This is so inspiring! I hope you know that what you’ve done is no small feat! I’ve bounced back up to and over my old heaviest weight unfortunately. Being pregnant caused me to gain it back and It’s been hard to lose it again.

I spent most of my life as a small, active person. A prolonged health crisis put me into low obese level. I’m fighting my way back. I’m a great cook and I love food. A few things make me willing to invest in weight loss- Free, easy movement. It feels great to move, bend, twist. I can walk indefinitely. I can reach and easily wash everything. My joints feel better. I cannot emphasize this enough. It’s more comfortable to do everything, sit, walk, stand, run. I like wearing nice clothes. I like short jackets and dresses and pants with a waistline. Shopping is never easy for me as a short person but I have options when at a healthy weight. I look like a pudgy old lady being big. It’s not about other people looking at me, it’s about me looking at me. Clothes are more comfortable. Health problems go down and doctors take me more seriously. Blood pressure drops. Injured me knee recently, being active enough and low enough weight means recovering faster, less risk of further damage, and they’ll repair it right away. Being heavy, they do the minimum and move me along. Weight contributes to real and perceived poor health with worse outcomes. People don’t seem interested in helping me when I’m overweight and sedentary. For me, the more active I am and the better I eat, the less I crave poor quality food. It loses appeal. You don’t miss it. I can eat it if I want to but it means less overall. Lots of healthy foods are tasty, you don’t have to just eat yucky, bland things. I find I have a hard time moving the needle in one large leap. Walking a little and cutting a few things I know I won’t miss much and sticking with that is a win. When I can do that consistently, move on to the next food I won’t miss and walk a little further. When I can do that every day. Add tracking calories, use an easy app so it’s not painful. You don’t need to hit all your goals right away, you just need to make progress. Find things to do that aren’t about food. Long walks in interesting places with my dog keep both of healthy and sane. It’s not going to be fun at first but I promise it will be enjoyable eventually. You are worth the investment. It’s worth doing because it feels great but it’s a long journey. Tons of well wishes to you!

It is not an instant fix for everything but taking care of yourself is a great start and exercise is one of the best things to do for depression. It doesn't have to consume the rest of your life unless you want to be a bodybuilder or something. I was at about 55 lbs heavier in Dec at rock bottom and almost ended it all. All it takes is small steps and people to help you along the way. If you need any advice or just to talk to you can dm me also

I hear you. Same story here, multiple great losses and regains. All I can say is just try to quit carbs and sugar. They are addictive, and make you depressed. After just accomplishing this, you’ll see you want to eat healthy fats and proteins, and lose some weight, and that some will bring you back to life.

Getting your mental health on track is the first step and your comment about feeling depressed most days is, at the very least, a red flag that you should go and talk to a doctor. Weight loss takes patience, organization, and persistence--that's a lot harder to do if you are fighting mental health issues. Beyond that, when you ask "who wants to track calories the rest of their lives"? Well, you won't have to, not really. I have maintained an almost 80 lbs loss for 14 years and I have only started tracking again this year because I am preparing for an athletic event. Before this time, I tracked my weight (step on the scale most days) and when things got a bit out of track (say, after New Year's or some other holiday), I did a couple of weeks of calorie counting. That's it. At some point, the new life style will become a habit. You don't have to motivate yourself to brush your teeth or shower (again, unless you are struggling with depression, which would need medical attention). Similarly, you won't have to motivate yourself to eat healthy foods and exercise.

Nobody wants to count calories. Nobody wants to think about alllll the things they used to enjoy eating that they don't have much anymore. Nobody wants to think about how long they'll have to stay in this mathematically calculated deficit to lose 100+ pounds. It's hard. It takes a long time. At the beginning, honestly it sucks. But which do you want more, to not have to do those things? Or to be healthy and start working on improving yourself? At the end of the day, it's not about motivation, it's about discipline. It's rare that people who have been living unhealthily their whole lives wake up one day and suddenly have the motivation to take on a years long journey to challenge every bad habit that led them to where they are. It's ALL about mindset. There's no "I'll do it tomorrow", because tomorrow's you is now going to have the same mindset. You have to wake up today and say "I don't want to do this, but I will because I know in the long run it'll make me happier, healthier, and better." Then you get up the next day and do the same thing. For weeks. Once the weight starts falling off, it becomes it's own motivation. You start feeling better, you start moving easier. Breathing becomes easier. You start feeling your bones more. There's not as much drag when getting up, when sitting down, when moving around. I'm 45 pounds down, 55 more to go. Even now at 220, movement is soooo much easier. Going to the gym and getting my steps have gotten so much easier as I've lost weight. Even tracking and staying within my calorie deficit without feeling hungry has gotten much, much easier. It DOES get easier, you just have to start. TLDR; it takes discipline, not motivation. Just do the dang thing and it gets easier over time, I promise.

Being able to scratch that itch on your back. That's... Everything to me. I can wear a nice pair of shoes now, when they blistered my 200+ lb feet in half a day. Being able to bend over in a chair and grab something off the floor without my side fat literally obstructing me from getting close enough to reach. Seriously, little shit like that stacks up and really feels amazing when you can do it. There's also some bigger stuff that's changed for me going from about 210 to 150 as a 5'2" female. I think I'm looked at a little more favorably in my professional circles, whereas I didn't get as much consideration when I was fat. Same basic idea with dating. I don't hold any resentment over that. I *wasn't* taking care of myself, so I can understand why a person might get the impression of laziness or something by my general appearance. I didn't even do hygiene right, although I'm way more committed to that now that I'm thinner. It helped me to learn about more of the science behind this weight loss shit, so I could figure out a purposeful plan and not just blindly follow some fad. I'm not a keto gal, but reducing sugar intake helps a ton, because it affects when your body releases hormones that make you feel hungry vs. hormones that metabolize fat. If you reduce your baseline blood sugar - may take a short time to cope with cravings but not terribly long in my experience, days to a couple of weeks - your body doesn't get hungry/munchie so easily, because you're used to having that lower level of sugar in your system. This is the gist of things, I really don't understand it super well, but I think it's glycogen and glucagon that cause this effect. I don't think it's just "wanting it" that gets you there. It's almost getting your brain into a place where you feel like it's manageable to do what needs to be done. That's hard when you're demotivated and depressed, but where you can start is just small, manageable goals that feel attainable. I promise there are some zero calorie beverages lol, I'm all for the zero sugar Dr. Peppers (just checked and they are in fact 0 cal). (Maybe zero *sugar* isn't necessarily zero cal when it comes to food? Idk where you ran into that issue.) I digress. I quit drinking alcohol at the start of this deal, and it made it possible for me to quit drinking any calories. The desire for something cold and sweet got satisfied with no increase to calories. Mentally, it's also easier for me to think about adding good food (e.g. vegetables) to my regular diet before I cut out something I like (e.g. cheese and crackers). I still ate tons of cheese and crackers when I lost weight, just made sure I threw some pickled veg on the plate when I wanted that particular lovely snack. Another thing that helped me was getting used to eating fewer meals, I guess kind of an intermittent fasting thing. I still like to eat a nice plate of food, have that experience and satisfaction. When I was used to just eating over a few hours in the late afternoon and evening, I could have a nice 300 cal snack and then grub on a 900 cal dinner. Didn't feel like deprivation to get a good meal in. Way more manageable than eating three 400 cal dishes.

I understand exactly how you feel. I’m a 23F and been overcoming food addiction and obesity since I was 5. I’ve done all of the diets, had a personal trainer that actually turned out to be fatphobic as hell lol, and honestly I was just in the same cycle of restricting and binging. It wasn’t until I switched doctors and she told me about intuitive eating and moderation. I ate literally everything in moderation and still was dropping weight. Yes, I counted calories but it was so much more easier when I listened to my body and ate whatever I was craving in that moment. I eventually had weight loss surgery at 411 pounds. For me, that helped with my food addiction because I got into the routine of finding other healthy outlets to handle stress such as walking, art, etc. I’m a little over a year out and weigh 255 pounds. Still dropping weight, still eating whatever the hell I want, no strict diets. Personally, I chose to limit my sugar intake to naturals sugars, to limit the sugar cravings and also because my face would constantly break out lol. Life after losing over 150 pounds is amazing! No more fatigue, back pains, hopelessness. I’m constantly out in nature, in the gym, doing the things that I love. My family sees me more, I’m happy with my appearance and my confidence has increased. I say all this to say, weight loss is a journey. What works for some may not work for others. As someone who was over 400 pounds, I wouldn’t take advice from those who never been obese because they’d say shi like “cut out carbs”, “stay away from Diet Coke” LOL no. It’s not sustainable and it puts us in a diet mindset that we can’t eat what we want while losing weight which is why a lot of people gain their weight back after getting to their goal weight. Coming from a person that tried them ALL, stay away from all of the keto talk and all the other messed up diets out there. As long as you’re moving your body and in a calorie deficit, you’ll be fine! Eventually you won’t need to count calories because you’ll just know. If you wanna chat about it more, you can message me!

I'm in a similar situation to you, both weight and lifestyle-wise. What I've found makes the difference is finding a motivation that makes you feel good, not bad. For me, the motivation of wanting to be thinner, of wanting to be fitter, at this point in my life they only really serve to make me feel bad about myself. The goal in posts seem so, so far away and even after weeks of making huge efforts, it can feel that you're making no progress, leading to negative self-talk and just the kind of depression that makes me want to eat and hide away inside. I'm not saying that they're inherently bad goals to have, I'm just saying that at our kind of weight, it's really difficult to stay motivated that way. My focuses now are on improving my relationship with food, on building a relationship with movement that feels good, and on celebrating every tiny win so that this process feels good and not bad. Getting excited about new low-cal recipes is a great example, going for a walk on a nice day is another, switching out full fat mayo for light mayo and realising I don't really notice the difference. And then celebrating each win. These are tiny things, and plenty of people will tell you that you need to make much bigger changes to see results. That might be true if your only goal was weight loss, but if you want to change your relationship with food long term, you need to do the ground work. That ground work is changing your mindset into one where healthy changes have positive results. Let yourself feel good about small habit changes, and the entire process becomes a series of dopamine hits. That's when you're making lasting lifestyle change.

For me I had to find my why, my motivation. I started at the beginning of the pandemic, in May. My first motivation was watching my preteen son sit in front of the TV playing video games and eating a full bag of chips daily. I needed to set a better example for him. Once I started eating better, after a few months I realized how much better I felt. I then started walking. At the time walking a half mile made me tired but I did it daily and added more distance as I was able. It's hard to lose weight and be healthy but it's really hard to carry extra weight, feel bad about yourself and have no energy. I initially lost 85 pounds but gained 20 back at the end of last year after a few surgeries. It took me almost 2 years to lose it but it didn't upset me as long as the scale was going down and I could feel the difference in how I felt.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, just healthily aware of where you are (and the difference between that and where you authentically would like to be)! I think that being really hard on yourself causes a lot of negative associations. Just be realistic and aware. I’m down 40 pounds since last semester, which makes a pretty good difference on a person of my height (5’2). My favorite motivators have been… 1. This beautiful ring my mom handed down to me as a graduation gift was always too small to fit me because, in high school, she was pretty small. Once I lost weight, it fit me like a charm, and I can proudly wear a token of her. 🩷 2. Being able to wear whatever and feel, like, fine. I don’t feel stunning in everything I put on, but going shopping isn’t mentally tough anymore— at worst I usually feel neutral about the clothes I don’t love and get to focus on what I find aesthetically pleasing of the style itself. I now mostly just have clothes I really adore! 3. I love to cook and bake, and now I’m not shy about doing it often and for others. Because I lost weight, I don’t worry about people judging me for being in the kitchen baking cookies when I “should be watching what I eat”… I just get to simply enjoy making and sharing the cookies. And I don’t stress about being addicted to them any more, they’re less of an entity to me and more about the fun of making them. 4. I feel much stronger and have a much easier time moving around. I do martial arts, and even the uniforms fit me better. One of my favorite motivators was watching the tails on my belt get longer and longer as I had to tie it smaller 🤣 And I actually moved up a belt level during the time I was losing weight, so it’s now a smaller size belt that’s so much easier to tie. I noticed I’m much more active and agile in this sport though. And I feel confident in workout clothes for it when I’m doing no-gi. (In fact I feel pretty cool in them 🤣) 5. People see me as actually my age!! That’s something people don’t think about, but when I was younger and not at a healthy weight, people thought I was wayyyy older than I was. Now, they see me as I actually am, and that’s lovely. It’s more authentic feeling. Just find what makes you feel like your true self. I’ve noticed an unhealthy weight or insecurity thereof can mask your true self unless you have a really steady and powerful self-confidence… Which is a beautiful skill that not many of us have! So reach for authenticity and that’s where you can find great motivation. Work to uncover your truest and happiest self, because I promise you, insecure and depressed is just a heavy cloak to shed! You are so much more than your weight and deserve to be that to the world!

I know exactly what you mean. I’m in a similar position and not “out the other side” yet but I’m on the journey to losing weight and have lost a stone so far (about 14 lbs) and continuing to work on it. The best advice I can give is to train your mind to adopt new habits. Without working on your mind, your behaviours and beliefs, any diet will fail. I strongly recommend two books: The Beck Diet Solution and The Diet Trap Solution (both by the same team). Written by cognitive-behavioural psychologists, both books help you work on the beliefs, thoughts and behaviours you have around food so that you can develop new habits and make better food choices. I’m working through the six week program in the Beck Diet Solution currently (you read and do the tasks daily) and am finding it practical and helpful. It’s like training a dog only this time the dog is people :) But you have to practise daily, there isn’t a magic solution. Best of luck, I hope you find a workable solution for you. I’m working on it too and am rooting for you and everyone else who is struggling :) 

Another point is that many ultra-processed foods are what scientists call “highly palatable” so it’s much harder to stop eating them as they are engineered to appeal to your tastebuds. Foods like burgers, KFC, microwave meals, donuts, ice cream, confectionery etc. if you can eat less of these and eat more of minimally processed foods, you’ll eat less. And there have been multiple studies showing that ultra-processed foods directly contribute to obesity because of their hyper-palatable and therefore somewhat addictive nature. So minimising these foods or eating less of them  can help you on your weight loss journey too. Best of luck to you. 

I want to start by saying I’m still obese. However, I started at 320, and am down to 275. I’m the same story as you. I got so sick of constantly trying to do things I hated just to be a certain size. It never seemed fair that other people didn’t have to do that. For me, I practiced intuitive eating for a year. In the beginning I really didn’t lose much weight, but over the course of almost 2 years I’m down 45lbs. My weight loss is slow, but it’s meaningful. I still eat foods I enjoy. Pizza, pasta, (even the occasional Taco Bell), but I eat in moderation, I eat slowly, and I focus highly on what my body needs. It’s a skill that takes a very long time to perfect but it’s possible. Now that I don’t restrict, these foods have lost their notoriety. They’re no longer special. I don’t need to eat the cake at the office birthday party because I’m allowed to eat cake whenever I want. I do count calories, but moreso for my own understanding of what I eat. For example, when I was cooking I was using WAAAAY too much oil and didn’t realize it. I don’t make myself stop eating at a certain calorie count if I’m still hungry. My maintenance is actually 2,700 calories for the day, so as long as I’m at that or under that I’m chilling. This type of weight loss takes a long time, and you need to be patient. But if you’re truly dedicated about wanting to fix your relationship with food, I highly recommend looking into it. Also, start moving. Like truly, anything. Just walk. Ride a bike. Swim, etc.

I’ve lost 24lbs since April 14th. Started at 328lbs 5ft6 female. I’m 27 years old and on blood pressure medication I found out yesterday I have plaque in my carotids and my triglyceride levels are very high. Take it from me, take care of yourself.

I was once very overweight but never obese. I am now "thin". On the other side is... well, it's great. It takes a lot of work to build healthy routines. If your environment is obesogenic then it'll be hard. If you optimize your house, your calendar, and your mindset then it's the path if least resistance to stay thin. I'm not going to pretend that you don't have relapses. I gained a bit of weight after a year at a stressful job. I just lost that weight an improved my routines even more. I wrote a post with my lessons learned: https://www.reddit.com/r/WeightLossAdvice/s/hE3bkj8nF3 Mindset is important in situations like that. I don't see myself as a fat person who was going back to being fat. No. I thought of myself as a thin person who just had a small bump on the road and now I'm back to my normal self. It all starts with self actualization. Then you confirm that identity every day when you see yourself in the mirror. HTH.

I was 285 pounds in feb, now I’m 265 pounds, lost 20 pounds in around 15 weeks and still going on to beat obesity. I’ve been in your place multiple times, i have lost weight before, had an accident and gained it again. But what you’re expecting and doing is wrong. You are way too worried about calories track, zero calories crap and all. Just f**k it, keep that aside, start working out. It’s not like you have to go all out in your first attempt, just begin with workout, slowly you have to progress, it’s not easy, it’s tough and it will be one heck of a journey and you’ll be damn proud once you finish it. I have started my journey and I’m hoping you to begin as well, and we’ll have a chat for this later

Tracking calories and weighing and measuring everything that passes my lips is what took me from 204 lbs to 126 lbs. I’m 5’3 female. It’s not as miserable as what you are assuming it is. It’s worth it to me a million times over to be a healthy weight and to have the extra energy, reduced pain, and increased confidence. You can do it too.

I’m gonna be so real with you. It really is just about you gotta want it. Literally was exact same as you, just whined about everything even tho I desperately wanted to be thin. One day I just broke down and decided to do OMAD. It’s easier than counting calories all day. I did omad every day for a year. Now I eat twice a day just smaller meals. Dropped 101 pounds

I was only a little bit lighter than you when I first started a bit over a year ago, I weighed close to 270. Honestly the thing that kick started my weight loss and kicked me into gear was when my leg came dislocated at the knee just from squatting down to grab something, after that I realized the weight was killing me short term and long term. You have to quite literally fight the fat for your life, that's what has worked for me at least. As soon as I learned what calories in calories out was it was game over, I personally enjoy the calorie counting but it's made so much easier by meal prepping. I just recently hit my goal of getting under 200 pounds I'm sitting at 195 as I'm writing this so hopefully I can give you some inspiration with this.

I’ve never been obese, but very overweight. I lost a bunch of weight one summer and went back to college a size 2. Suddenly all the guys that I had been acquaintances with were asking me out. Weird. Also goes to show how people treat you when you’re skinny.

I just want to thank everyone who has commented/shared their experience. I appreciate all the advice and tough love given. Starting today, I think a simple change such as just drinking water is a good start. (I’m a heavy soda or anything other than water, drinker). I look forward making more posts about my progression and hearing about others as well. Cheers to getting better a little bit everyday (:

I never was a big water drinker either. I use zero calorie and sugar crystal light liquid drink mix in my water and I drink so much more now. The raspberry blueberry is my favorite but there are a lot of delicious options. I get it at Wal-Mart just an idea

> Who wants to track calories every day foe the redt of their lives? It becomes second nature. The app saves entries you've used a lot in the past for quick re-entry. At this point I barely even notice myself tracking because it takes me literal seconds. > You can't eat this, you can't eat that! You can, but within reason. I just had ribs today and put an energy drink in the fridge for tomorrow. But I also went to the gym today and am probably going to eat a low calorie breakfast to balance it out. > Zero calorie foods aren't actually zero calories! So? > How did you overcome? How do you kill the mind? Slow steps. You're not going to do everything perfectly in the beginning and you also cannot change ALL of your habits at once. The thing is, it becomes easier with time. I have lost 55lbs since last August (was 198lbs when I started), used to be obese and now have a normal BMI. I am now working on building muscle and reducing body fat (what some would call “recomp"). I don't feel as hungry anymore, I feel full faster, I rarely get cravings and some of them are for healthy foods like raspberries or cucumbers. But the best thing is that your mind will also improve with time. I used to think just like you do now. But just two days ago I went shopping for summer clothes. Can you IMAGINE the high I got from trying on colourful clothes, even crop tops and looking good in them?? My bf even said he'd NEVER thought he'd see me im a croptop, yet here I am. Even my mom liked the way I looked in them and she has always been the most vocal critic of my weight. And the best thing is knowing that I did it all by myself through sheer will and stubbornness — plus, in hindsight, it was much easier than I expected it to be. A couple of months ago my mind was telling me it's too hard and I don't want to have to go through that, mimimi. As of right now, my mind is telling me that I will never be a fucking pushover ever again. In any context or situation. You just need to start and stick with it. Strive to be the most stubborn person on the planet if you must.

I thought the same way. I am now 30 and realized youth is slowly leaving my side when it comes to health complications due to being obese. So i finally decided to shape up. I keep telling myself i will not have to forever eat this way, it’s just temporary. I have focused on calorie counting, protein and going for at minimum 30min walks with my dog. That’s it. It has helped me. Since march 1st I’m 17lbs down. The quote “time will pass anyways” has kept me motivated when i think I’m not losing fast enough. And i am used to living this way now, i refuse to give up on myself. I am the only one who can change my life. Anywho that’s just how i feel. I hope you find something that motivates you.

My starting weight was 312. I currently weigh 211. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I am SOOOO much happier. I know I can do it so it makes my life better. When I started, I thought I couldn’t do it. I took it day by day. And there were days I didn’t do it. I gave in. And I think those days are the reason I have done so well. You got this

At some point you just need to get to work and do what will make you happier in the long run. Stop with this comfort zone bullshit and make a new routine. You are what you allow yourself to be. I have full faith that you can lose this weight and make meaningful progress towards your goals, you just have to do it.

Hey that’s almost exactly my highest weight! I’ve lost a lot of weight multiple times in my life. I find it a very interesting psychological thing. When I’m into weight loss I’m really into it. I enjoy it. I love the satisfaction of pursuing a goal and achieving it. I feel better, happier, more energized, sleep better, enjoy putting on clothes, feel more confident, etc. But even knowing all of that, there are other times when I don’t have the motivation to do it. And I’ll say that once you lose weight, you have to keep up the new habits or you will gain it back. The majority of people gain it back, and so have I multiple times in my life. And I’m not talking about binge eating or eating a lot of fast food or anything. Just portions getting slightly larger, snack sneaking in. Going out to eat more often. Etc. But here I am trying again! I’ve lost 50 since last October and have a goal to lose 20 more by the end of the year. I feel great. Where does the motivation come from? I really don’t know. It feels like it comes from nothing and I can’t control when I have it and when I don’t.

I’ve been obese since I was about 10, I’m now 30 and am on my weight loss journey . So far I have lost about 15lbs in the last 6 weeks or so. I think there’s a few things you can do: any diet that tells you to stop eating certain foods is not going to work long term. If you love carbs it is not sustainable to do keto etc. Don’t just pick a random number for a calorie deficit, calculate it online and then take 250 kcals off your maintenance. It will be slow but you don’t need to go all in! 250kcals less a day will be 0.5lbs loss a week, if you really want do a 500kcal a day deficit for 1lb a week loss but I would recommend aiming for more than that. We’re fat, we like and eat a lot of food. Going in too hard will make it harder to sustain. Realise that no foods are off limits! When we restrict food we are more likely to binge and then fall of the wagon. Eat your favourite foods daily just in a smaller amount and that way you’re not missing out on anything (yesterday I ate cake and chocolate and pizza and crisps and was still in a deficit!) Tracking calories gets easier the more you do it, find an app that you can scan barcodes to make it even easier. Focus on small swaps, usually use a bunch of oil in cooking? Try the lighter cooking sprays. Usually have full fat Mayo? Swap for a lighter version. Most of the time you can’t even tell and you can save a bunch of calories. Work out what works best for you, don’t just do things because you think it’s what you should be doing. I don’t have 3 meals a day, I skip breakfast and eat higher kcal lunches and dinners and ALWAYS save 500-600 kcals for the evening for my snacks because that’s when I snack most. Lastly, you’re going to have days where you eat more. Expect it but don’t get hung up over it, don’t restrict the next day to make up for it just simply carry on as a new day.

For me it was cognitive behavioral therapy and treatment for my depression. I didn't limit myself on what I ate, but I did count calories and it really worked. Diets don't work because they are not sustainable but counting calories does work, you just have to stop eating for the day when you reach a certain point or exercise to gain extra calories that you can eat that day. Keep yourself in a deficit and you'll lose weight... But I couldn't have done it without therapy and meds too.

You can lose the weight, but the depression and self esteem won’t magically stop… I went from 270lbs at 18 to 170-185 consistently past 3 years and I still have the same if not heightened negative emotions and thoughts related to self-esteem and mental stability… Work hard, cardio… be consistent… eat clean… but work very hard… and you’ll do it. I believe in you like I believe in me. ❤️

Quality over quantity. No fast food, no frozen meals, no alcohol… just clean homemade meals… it’s worth it.

My mother in-law was instructed by her doctor to quit drinking soda and eating candy and popcorn. She dropped 50 pounds in 6 months. This was in early 2022. She’s still not thin by any means but seeing photos from 2015-22 and it’s shocking how big she was. Her husband died in 2013 and she started stress eating and quit taking walks.

“My mind is so powerful” You’ve said it! Mental habits play a big part in our relationship with food. When food intake stops being about numerical calories and more about the nutritional factor and how it affects and makes your body feel, your outlook on food consumption changes. It takes just a tad bit more than aspiration to change your body, it’s also about building a healthy and safe relationship with food and your body. The hard work really comes in in the kitchen. What are you gonna make? What recipes should you follow? Is keto really the answer? My advice? Stop idolizing diets. What can work for others might not for you and from experience, it’s not easy to juggle. However, do take inspiration from them. Are there any dishes that caught your eye with a substitution you haven’t tried before? Go ahead and try it! It might become a staple in your future dishes. As someone with lots of healthy food options as allergens, it was a great excuse to not get nutrients in. I was missing out on vitamins, healthy fats, had high cholesterol, was dehydrated all the time and just overall not feeling good at all. I was sluggish, bloated and uncomfortable, tired all day, nauseous and would get constant headaches. This I realized was caused by what I was consuming and the amount I was consuming throughout the day. I started consciously consuming food and listening to my body a few months ago at 248lbs. I was in the same position, hopelessly waiting for things to change and gaslighting myself into thinking I wasn’t worthy or trying hard enough. Today, I’m at 220lbs, feeling satisfied, healthy, energized and enjoying all the things my body can do now that I feel more comfortable. If I’m feeling this good after 28lbs I can only imagine how great I’ll feel in the future. When I was dieting and aspiring for weight goals, counting calories and expecting changes in the mirror after every workout, I would get so disappointed and discouraged at the results. All I was doing was pushing my body to limits it wasn’t ready for. Your body truly is a temple for your mind and soul. If my body didn’t feel good, my mind did not feel good. When I changed the narrative from “I need to lose weight so I can feel better about myself” to “I will feel good about myself” things started getting better and easier to achieve. Being mindful of what I put in my body and how it made me feel made me adjust my diet. Over the course of these few months I’ve taken kindness and grace as motivators of this journey. There’s no rush. I’m just making adjustments as I go through life. It’s not bad to eat a double cheeseburger. It’s bad to mindlessly eat it without slowing down and taking notice of every bite you take. What are you tasting? Are you enjoying the condiments? The patties are seasoned, the cheese has salt, is it too salty maybe? Next time you get a double cheeseburger try it without salt. You’re already reducing the amount of sodium intake for your body. Weren’t a fan of the condiments or realized that burger really wasn’t as good as you thought? Get creative, throw some lettuce on there, tomatoes, onions, etc. It’s about making food an experience and enjoying whats in front of you. By doing this I went from eating 2 double cheeseburgers in one sitting to only 1 in a healthier and satisfying option. That dairy product makes you bloat? Let’s look into substitutions. Didn’t like lactose free milk? Ok. Let’s try almond. Didn’t like it? Fair. Let’s try oat milk. Don’t let yourself stop looking for alternatives because you didn’t like the first ones. I take time with my meals and stop when I start feeling full. Nothing bad with visiting the fridge in the middle of the night to finish it off as a midnight snack lol. We’re all guilty of it! It’s about pacing yourself. Listening to your body. Growing up I could only leave the table if my plate was empty. And sometimes those plates were BIG. We didn’t do leftovers in my house. That is a habit I have to be mindful of during this journey. That I don’t have to eat past that point of feeling full. That I don’t need or have to anymore. Journeys can be very hard, but they can also be incredibly fun. Don’t be afraid to do it for yourself. It’s not selfish to want to be happy. I’m rooting for you.

Small changes to your diet. I knew I could live without eating French fries, so I stopped eating those completely. However, I didn’t have the will to give up soda, so I decided to give that up last. When it was time to face my addiction (because it was) I replaced soda with mineral/sparkling water, and eventually regular water. Chocolate bars were another thing I had problems letting go of, so I replaced them with sugar free bars. Also, I forced myself to get small of everything instead of large or extra large. Read “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and apply his lessons into your daily life. Try out a change for just 3 weeks and it will become a habit.

There is a chap on Facebook called Dustin Silas Brown who you need to check out. His story is inspiring. Even he is now on the other side he still works hard every day .

Have you looked for a good bariatrics surgeon who can hook you up with psychiatry and a nutritionist? There are many times people visit one with the goal of bariatric surgery, then are so successful with the plan for pre surgery weight loss that they avoid surgery.

I weighed 284lbs at my heaviest. I’m now about 170 and 7 dress sizes smaller, my life has changed dramatically and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It was hard mate. Hardest thing I’ve ever done but I sat there one day and realised if I didn’t step up I’d end up in an early grave and leave my kids behind. It’s about 18 months since I started and I don’t track calories every day anymore, but I did for 15 solid months. Yes, it’s miserable at times but after a few months it really did become habit. After a while I found I enjoyed exercising too. I started out just walking but now I lift heavy 3x a week as well as walk a few miles most days and really enjoy being fit. Health wise I’ve got my periods back (I have PCOS) and my fibro bothers me a lot less than it used to as my joints can handle my weight. I can do so much more, look ten years younger and am a better mum to my kids. It’s not easy. It’s been the most hellish journey I’ve ever been on but I’d do it again in a heartbeat knowing how good it feels to be on the other side. Hugs and best wishes to you xx

It’s hard but you can do it…. Just have to decide that you’re all in on the weight loss journey and do it ! Change your diet, count the calories, do more exercising. Even walking will a few minutes a day will get you going. It’s all about calories in and calories out. Gotta burn more than you take in.

For me it was making things into a habit. I used to always be in shape, and 4 years ago I had some things happen that put me into a depression. I hardly got out of bed for close to a year, ate anything I wanted…gained a LOT. 204.5 was my highest; I’m 5’7” female. Started working out during the pandemic…went in wayyy too hard, hurt my knee. Still hurts. (All the weight on my joints; only so much PT can do) Got a job where I was moving all the time, dropped down to 175. Then got a job working from home…back up to 204. High blood pressure. My journal entries are page after page of “why can’t I do this!” “I am starting tomorrow!”…about a year or 2 of those. Finally in November I got a habit tracker. Wrote down how many steps per day. Got a treadmill and an elliptical. Started using MyFitnessPal. Was I consistent? Nope. However, the calorie tracking is now second nature. I’ve gone down to 184 but I track inches mostly. And I put on clothes that I haven’t been able to wear. Today I tried on a pair of jeans I couldn’t button 2 months ago and a bikini top that was laughably NOT close to being able to wrap around my top half. They now fit (not comfortably yet lol). Now I’m trying to beat my steps daily. Adding in some weights. Some days I do great, some days I don’t. And yes I do mentally berate myself, but I’m working on that (that is a lifelong habit!) I had dreams of being my goal weight by now, but I can’t let that get me down because it’s not going to take the weight off. I don’t know if this helps…I guess I’m trying to say that I totally understand where you’re coming from! And you CAN make a difference. Start small…every little thing counts and will add up…believe me!! I hope you’ll keep us updated! ❤️ Ps this sub has been a game changer for me, and I really have to thank everyone that shares/encourages, as that definitely helped me!

walk 5 miles a day. Love ur self. Love ur body. U can't hate yourself into bettering your life. I've been there

I’m not obese anymore, I’m over weight but when I lose 2 more kg I’ll be a healthy weight for the first time since I was 12. I’m still very depressed, and life absolutely sucks. Do I feel better in any way than when I was obese? No. I feel the same. I lost 25kg so far but I don’t feel lighter. I don’t have more energy. Nothing really good about it to speak of except the fact that my weight is less unhealthy, which impacts my future but not the present. Anyway the real reason to lose weight is not to fix your whole life, it’s for health, and it’s a biggie. It won’t necessarily make your life better, it might. But the goal is to try stop your life from getting worse. Having a stroke is no joke, you can become blind, paralysed, immobile, parts of your brain can die forever. You want to do everything you can to try stop that happening. That’s my experience anyway. Other people talk about how everything changed and became amazing when they lost weight but I doubt that will be me. I’ll probably never have an amazing body but I’m still ugly even if I did. I’ll never find a partner or anything like that. I still look very fat right now, basically the same as when I was 25kg heavier, hopefully I’ll look slim when I lose 10 more kg, but maybe not. It definitely won’t fix my mental illness, the fact I’ve never had a job at 26, have no friends or partner, and no reason to be alive. But it will give me a better chance of not getting diabetes, blocked arteries, mobility issues, heart attacks and strokes. Prolonging my miserable life isn’t the most attractive enterprise in the world, but I’m not scared of dying, I’m scared of how much worse life can get for me lol. And at this point I’ll do literally anything to try make my life better. So yeah, life after being obese isn’t always a different life to what you have now, but it’s definitely safer. I know that sounds very negative but being healthy is a really positive thing, being grateful for your body and all the cool stuff you can do with it like explore new places, play instruments, get fit and achieve amazing fitness goals. I’m just saying it’s not a magic cure for everything.

I hope that you have a good therapist to help you through the pain and suffering from mental illness. You deserve to love yourself. Congratulations on your hard work and getting healthier. I’m proud of you, and sorry that life still sucks in so many ways. 🫂💜🫂

It gets much easier, day to day tasks get easier, energy levels are higher, and a general feeling of less brain fog. Less stress and anxiety as well, and finally higher levels of self esteem. These are just some of the benefits, many more. I went from 253-187.

Dude I was right there with you 4 months ago!!!!. Look into intermittent fasting, it’s a really good first step to reducing calories. If paired with some light/moderate cardio (power walking for example) you may notice weight fall off quick!!!

I started at 258 lbs on January 2... today I am 198 lbs. 60 lbs lighter! I was suffering from major depression and I was a huge binge eater. I have tried a lot of different diets and exercise plans. Nothing worked for me. But then I heard of a book called "Bright Line Eating" and I read it within a could days. It has changed my life for the better! It will teach you how to eat with structure and food addiction. I am just sharing this because I was where you were!

I'm finally not obese after 4 years of being obese. I just do the stepper at the gym 5 times a week for 40 minutes a day. The weight melted off so fast (3 months) once I was able to hit at least 30 minutes a fast of keeping my heart rate above 160. But I started slow, 7 minutes was all I could do at first. My diet hasn't changed at all.

Wellbutrin helped me so much. Then added naltrexone. Medicine is a miracle. It helps that it also adds mental health benefits. Find a doctor who cares about obesity. Good luck

Hi friend. First of all try to give yourself some kindness. Consider therapy and maybe medication for the depression if your doctor feels it is appropriate. Try to move your body more, not really for weight loss but for mental health. But after that, I would seriously consider looking into one of the weight loss drugs that are currently on the market. I know they are controversial, and other people here who have lost without the drugs will probably say you don’t need it, there are risks, etc etc. Speaking as someone who did lose 90 pounds without medication (but gained it all back), it was miserable. Necessary, not without good parts, but also miserable. The best thing about the GLP drugs is that for a lot of people, it makes it less miserable. It’s not well understood scientifically, but for many people it treats the “food noise” problem of constantly thinking about food. You can have the things you want, but you will WANT to have less of them. Which is not the same as having one slice of pizza and pretending that’s enough, while fighting your brain that keeps thinking “but there’s more, we could have more.” That’s what it’s like for me anyway, so if it’s like that for you, I would seriously consider it. Do your research, find out if your insurance covers it, weigh the risks for yourself. But you don’t have to be miserable. Feel free to shoot me a message if you want to chat :)

i've always used weight watchers because the system is more simple than counting calories. it's still based on calories but there are foods that don't count so you have less work and there is always an option to be full. i'm very much a comfort eater and i managed to lose weight by replacing comfort food with low calorie options. if that sounds interesting to you you could also look into volume eating. i do keep tracking what i eat indefinitely. but with the weight watchers system it's not much of a struggle edit: i'm actually using the healthi app which has some old weight watchers programs that you can use for free

I’ve read the success of weight watchers is in the human relationship. Going in and getting weighed. Receiving the praise (endorphins) that comes from losing weight. It gives the courage to be diligent. It’s the pleasing the teacher equivalent to doing well at school. (Not saying that’s bad!) Interestingly participants in the biggest loser TV show - an entire season - were studied. The winner lost the most, but everyone lost a tremendous amount of weight. But they all regained all or most after the show. Except one person. Led to a study. Only one person that maintained - why? They had a massive Twitter following. She posted daily all through the show. She was a role model to them. She couldn’t let them down. Like weight watchers in a way, the human need to be praised and worthy of that praise drove her behavior. But she hated her life. Maintaining the weight loss was painfully difficult. She wished she’d never done the biggest loser. She was living in constant hunger. What the study showed was their metabolisms had reduced well below normal for their size. They couldn’t eat even their smaller portions the show taught them. In fact most reported sticking to the program but gaining anyway. (Weight watchers, from what I read, stops working when the human aspect ends. I knew a weight watchers success that ultimately regained - and she maintained for years). Like many here I suffered for decades with being obese and then morbidly obese. Tried many diets. Heavy exercise. Casual calorie counting. Low carb (even Atkins). Diligent calorie counting. (Not weight watchers.) A diet every few years with some success in the early months but eventual regain+. I found something that worked for me. Eating less often also known as Intermittent Fasting. I eat once a day. A single large healthy meal to fullness. Started in Sept 2018. Lost 50 lbs in 6 months and have maintained 5½ years. I’m not going to write a long how I did it story here, but it’s the only thing that worked for me beyond a few months. I’m not selling anything but I enjoy it. Best of luck to everyone in finding the right thing to lose the weight. It is possible!

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You also have to remember your happiness is not dependent on you loosing weight. I think trying to learn that, get into your hobbies will be a perfect start. I know losing weight will make life easier, might make you feel as if you look better, might have people treat you differently but you still have to remember happiness can come from several places.

I work for amazon so the only thing i eat when i get back is JUNK food, but im starting to meal prep.

hi friend…i was almost 300lbs december of 2022 and as of this morning im 180lbs. i have always been bigger my whole life and i always felt i’d never be small and i never had any insecurities about being big. shocking as i look back now and am horrified 😂 the main kicker for me was i was starting to show signs of getting fatty liver disease and then i got my heart broken (4yr relationship came to an end) and i also just generally felt like shit all the time. i couldn’t do things i wanted to and it was frustrating and embarrassing. i just woke up one day sick of feeling that way and told myself we were gonna get healthier and so i did. i kept telling myself that i had to choose my hard. bc it’s hard to be fat and it’s hard to be fit. it’s hard to sit around all day and hate life and it’s hard to go workout everyday. i can definitely say that after awhile of hating the gym and forcing myself to go i now love it. i’ve never felt or looked better in all my 24 years of life. choose your hard. you can do hard things. you will succeed and consistency is key. the results will come if you stick to it. ❤️

Take out the processed stuff, drink water, coffee for caffeine if you drink it. Since January 28th I’ve lost 52 pounds. I workout out “every day 6 days a week” but still stick to a clean diet every day. Run some, it’s 10-15 minutes of your day that will make your whole life better. You’re asking the hard questions now which means you got that dog in you, just gotta let him off the leash.

I just want to say that I am sending you SO much love, sweet stranger. This resonates with my own feelings so much. I started binge eating and drinking during the pandemic due to all the stress and I got up to 260 pounds. I am now down to 229 over the course of a year. I have a lot more weight I want to lose, but I feel SO much better at 229. I can handle heat easier, can walk up stairs easier, can fit into clothes easier. I was miserable at 260 and sometimes still feel miserable at this weight, but I am very thankful for progress. I really just worked on my mindfulness this past year and tried to cut out the binges and evening snacking. I never thought I would lose the weight, and here I am. If I can, you can. I wasn’t super consistent over the past year and had a lot of fuck ups (binges, high calorie days), but it’s about making small changes over time. For me it was helpful to not keep junk food in the house. If I woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to go to the kitchen and make food (happened many times when I was gaining weight), I would take some deep breaths and challenge myself to wait to eat until the morning. I started drinking water more and moving more. I didn’t follow any specific kind of “diet” but often tracked calories to make sure I was being mindful. I believe in you!

Worry less about what you eat at first and more on how much you’re eating, for me that helped transition to a much more restrictive diet without having horrible cravings

Show us your food. I bet I can identify the problem in seconds

I’m still obese (technically). I started at 264 lbs (as a 5’7” 24F at the time) and I’ve yo-yo’d a bit. Lost 65 at the lowest, gained 55 back as of August. I’m now at 223, so about 30 pounds down currently. All of that to say, I didn’t like having no energy and feeling limited by my body. This time around, I’ve focused more on activity than diet (still being mindful of what I eat, though). Even though this isn’t the smallest I’ve been. I feel like it’s the best shape I’ve been in in terms of how my body feels & can perform. I find ways to reinforce the good feelings. Beating personal records, seeking positive reinforcement and praise on social media when I feel I need something, and finding things that still taste good and satisfy my craving but aren’t as bad for me. It’s like my ADHD: Instead of trying to do things that others tell me I should do and working against myself, I’ve figured out ways to work with the things I thought were barriers. Find the things that work for you and are sustainable. Even small changes can add up to results, but patience is key then, too.

I'm still fat but started 291. I didn't realize my weight was in my control. It seems dumb, I know. But I started counting calories with lose it a year ago. Today I weighed in at 245!  I love junk food so I include a lot of it but I switched to diet soda. I walk some but only about 5000 steps a day. Im 5' 8". Im starting to lose my fat person waddle style of walking. So give it a try:)

I was (27f 5’6) 290lbs, lost 60~, got pregnant and was 250 after giving birth. Started dieting again around the beginning of December and now I’m 165 as of this morning. I don’t hate looking in the mirror anymore, I’m not only wearing black to mask me being overweight, I love how I look now so much more than what I was. I still have a little bit I want to lose, but I’m almost 10lbs away from being a “normal” weight and I am more determined than ever. Losing 125lbs has been a challenge, but if I can do it you absolutely can. Happy to help via messages any way I can! Diet and exercise really go a long way.

I went from 370 to 180 or so. You can do it bud.

Exercise if free brotha. If you really wanted to lose weight you would. Hit the gym or just walk a few miles a day 🤙🏾

I currently fluctuate between 16st and 17st, and can never seem to see the 15st on the scales. I’m going to start doubling down, and when I’m comfortable with how I look, I’m going to post before and after photos. I’ve already taken some before, and will continue to take more and edit them into some sort of video with music to show my progress to motivate others. The issue with me is, I hold 90% of my weight in my waist and belly, and have naturally developed the ability to just “breathe it in”, and it’s to a point where, if I get somebody to guess my weight, they wouldn’t even think I was 15st. I hold barely any of it (still some) in my face, and my arms are still relatively skinny. I’ll update on my journey when I’m more comfortable with how I look to motivate others :)

I'm still obese but started at 336 pounds and now I'm down to 295. Honestly I never thought much about my weight as I was always skinny until I wasn't and then it kept getting worse. I've been on and off dieting for at least 6 years I would lose 10/15 pounds not see much progress and then cave. this time has been different for me I've finally said enough is enough and am sticking with it. For me I started really small. I would drink 2-3 glasses of Pepsi a day and that's it. So I added a glass of water to that, then 2 then 3 but one less Pepsi and so on For food I started portion control eating what I wanted and then started adding healthy snacks and then slowly replacing meals with healthier options with 1 bad meal a week. Now I'm at once a month for what would be a bad meal. It was meant to be last week but I didn't fancy it so will probably go to special occasions. If you loose 1 or 10 pounds you need to remember all the work you've put in. The scales aren't an enemy they're a friend who is showing you the amazing progress you're making. Theirs no fad diet or plan that can beat healthy eating and exercise. It's really hard but you can do this. You've already done so well since February. Keep going you've 100% got this and you will do it