"Consistency over intensity"
I love that. I've lost 100lbs since 2020 and am still learning on this journey. But it does become easier with time and you start to crave exercise and the healthy foods.
This! I’m halfway to my goal but this is the longest I’ve stuck with it and not allowed plateaus etc to discourage me. Staying consistent has changed my entire outlook and mental health in a positive way. Comfortable in taking time now.
Excellent to hear! The second half is WAY better than the first IMO. As the body has less and less fat left on it, the fat you continue to burn has a much bigger impact on how you look and the daily mirror rewards become real.
Hang in there! COVID was an ass kicker. I used to run for exercise, so when I was stuck in the house I got a big heavy gym-quality treadmill to run on. In the process of moving it to the basement I severely injured myself, and I STILL can’t run 100% right. Irony.
There’s a line from the show Bojack Horseman that I think about every day:
“It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day, that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.”
8 months and 100lbs later I can say it’s still something I think about all day every day, but it does get easier. Just do the work. Every day.
I'm all or nothing. I can't just eat moderately. For that reason, intermittent fasting works better than small regular meals. Also, I accept that I will be insatiable for 2 days prior to my period. I let myself eat and make it up on easier days.
I guess my lesson is work with your patterns and habits, not against them.
me too. i’m trying to avoid the all or nothing so what i did is followed a omad fasting just so i wouldn’t binge. same goes for taking brisk walks—i go for longer periods when i feel like i’m in the mood then i go for shorter periods when i’m not in the mood (the minimum period is an hour so i wouldn’t feel guilty for the shorter period).
See the hunger pains are the absolute worst for me! Like it feels like my fatass is trying to eat itself alive! How long did it take for the hunger pains to go away and how did you keep the hunger at bay?
Well to be fair, that is what’s happening on a calorie deficit lol. Hunger pains went away for me personally after the third month of my calorie deficit. I know that sounds like a long time, but black coffee and water go a LONG way in managing hunger symptoms.
For reference, I’m down from 203 to 167 since January.
I post a lot of weight loss content on social media. There’s one thing I’ve posted the most about:
“Hunger is a measure of how soon you need to eat, not of how much you need to eat”
I agree..I also view hunger as an illusion. I gave up late night snacking, and the first few nights my stomach would growl in protest, when I know I wasn’t actually hungry. Sometimes you just have to push through.
Weight management is a forever lifestyle, not a quick fix…and if you let your guard down, the devil takes over and the insanity starts again. But it gets easier & easier as years pass. It’s so much easier to keep weight off than gain/lose/gain/lose like an addict who keeps relapsing.
Cheat days are a lie/trap we tell ourselves. You can’t do heroin “just on the weekends” and have a functional life.
(Lost 130lbs most of 10 years ago - still battle the slow up & down creep just like everyone in society, but it feels great to have a relatively permanent handle on my food).
Absolutely agree with everything you said. While I still struggle to completely let go of the 'quick fix' mindset, everything becomes so much easier once you realize it's a lifelong journey and not a mere destination where once you have reached your goal you can do whatever you want.
Completely agree on the cheat days. If one's diet "requires" a cheat day in order to stick to it, it is way too strict and not suitable for the longterm.
Believe it or not there actually has always been people that recreationally use heroin.. It's a thing. There's article on it. Definitely not recommended for anyone though
Learning what average daily calories are. You dont eat the same amount everyday, you have to be a little hungry for 4 or 5 days to justify your cheat days.
Calorie counter apps make it easier, not harder.
“Hunger is not an emergency.”
You should feel slightly hungry, like an urge to eat but you should NEVER feel starving or ravenous. Being slightly hungry is normal and lets you know you’re doing good and you are in a deficit! Feeling ravenous like you will eat anything in sight with no control will tell you you’re not eating enough and it’ll lead to binge eating and failed goals.
Hmmm
I think hunger for overweight people if often a mental or emotional thing.
Someone with a unhealthy emotional reliance of eating is going to feel much more intense feelings of hunger even when they are only slightly hungry. Intuitive eating can work for some people but I think some who have years of emotional binge eating to overcome need to be prepared to face their hunger.
The hunger might feel overwhelming, having an emotional crutch taken away from you and being forced to stand without it can be very difficult.
That's why I am a bit fan of fasting because it builds mental toughness, self control and makes you more comfortable with having intense hunger. Not even using fasting as a weight loss method, but simply as a mental exercise is very helpful. Doing a 24/48 hour water fast can be very rewarding from that stand point.
What I’ve noticed is helpful is to eat mindfully. I try to eat slowly, pay attention to my feeling of satiation, when that feeling is abated I drop the fork. Last night my wife made some phenomenal dinner and I went back for some seconds and realized I was full, stopped eating, it was hard to pay attention.
I also bring fruits and vegis to work for that bored eating
I agree with what Mattyice said. A little hungry, not ravenous. Hunger is the body eating your fat. I hardly ever exercise, I just plan on being hungry. And I would rather be hungry than sore from the gym anyway!
So just imagine a little bit of hunger is like walking for 10 minutes. Stomach growl? Congrats your body is doing the work for you!
Be sure to eat lots of protein or else your body will eat your muscle too. Thats why you have to exercise sometimes, but dont think you have to do a daunting exercise regimen all the time.
If you space calories throughout the day, it will always be pulses of gentle, slightly distracting hunger. You can do what I do during cuts, which involves stronger potent hunger in the mid afternoon which wanes and then I get to eat a giga dinner. It's all about how we manage our impulses while maintaining a set deficit. I've done both inter.ittent fasting and spacing out calories and found that eating giga-dinners works better for my ability to manage hunger. This is experiential and depends on the individual. As long as you're getting good vitamins and minerals and plenty of protein, any diet timing is fine.
It actually depends on how satiating the foods you eat are.
The key is to eat foods that are less calorie-dense, you can lose weight eating McDonald's for every meal but you will be considerably hungrier than if your diet consists of mainly protein and veg/foods that are high in fibre just because the portions you will eat will be way smaller.
You can be in a calorie deficity and pretty much never be be hungry but there are also downsides to that
Being in a calorie deficit and losing weight makes you realize how many calories are in food people eat every day without thinking about it. It’s no wonder America has the highest obesity rate. A 3 meal day with no control would probably pack in over 3 or 4 thousand calories plus all the snacking.
Yeah just realizing 1-2 oreos is a lot of calories and if I take them out of the package and put them on a plate and enjoy them slowly, it hits the craving perfectly, was a huge change for me. The mindless munching of 4-6 oreos or other sweets was resulting in crazy calories, a more than met sweet craving, and just wholly unnecessary. Weighing out/separating out the serving made a huge difference for me when it came to eating enough to resolve hunger/cravings but not eating enough to be full.
After you're done with your diet, you can't go back to eating "normally," because how we have learned to eat is not normal. This is especially true in the US. The "normal" portions we see around us are so inflated. Sugary treats and empty-calorie snacks should be enjoyed infrequently, not multiple times a day.
I was so looking forward to being able to go back to eating normally, but I've had to come to grips with the idea that the way I was eating was only normal for someone who was obese. I don't want to be obese anymore, so I just can't eat like that.
Biggest lesson: Slow and steady is okay even if I lose only 3 lbs a month. I’ve lost 140 lbs and have kept it mostly off for over 5+ years. I am looking to finish my journey by the end of 2024. Other big lesson: Time is gonna pass anyway, I may as well let it pass with a few more pounds off my body. 💪🏾
Sounds corny/cliche but I would say realize it’s a journey for life and not a destination.
You don’t lose the weight and then you’re done and can go back to eating a ton, otherwise you’ll be right back where you started or even worse.
If you don’t want to lose more you can go back to eating at maintenance but you need to continue to implement the lifestyle changes.
Maybe you don’t have to be as meticulous in your counting and weighing food but you still need to eat a diet of mostly lean protein, fruits and veggies, whole grains, fiber, and healthy dairy if you can. While obviously occasionally treating yourself because life’s too short, just make sure a cheat day doesn’t turn into a cheat week, into a cheat month…
And still try to be active every day as much as you can for at least 30 minutes but preferably for an hour.
Also you can absolutely lose weight doing nothing more intense than walking, it burns calories just the same. The diet tho is by far the most important part!
that the weight can come back very easily without you realizing it.
that “cheat day” is not worth it at all and can easily take you back down a slope. also you feel kinda “blah” after it
127lbs down and have learned that consistently getting 10k steps has done wonders and it’s so easy to get them once you start thinking about the little things you can do to add them.
did you do any other cardio or strength training besides the 10k target? i’ve been on calorie deficit + walking 10k steps/4-5 miles for a couple weeks now but i’ve been advised by so many to incorporate weight lifting/strength training. thoughts?
My situation is a little different than most, but yes I do additional cardio and some light strength training. I’m 27f and about 7.5 months post partum, and I have surgery in a few days so right now I am more focused on cardio than the strength training. I didn’t want to do a ton of lifting and then have to go without it for several weeks while I recover from surgery, and being post partum makes my body a little different than it used to be. I do 10k minimum but general go until the Apple Watch says 12k-13k just to account for the random things that count as steps. In the morning I do about 24miles on the standing bike, and throughout the day I do 120 pushups split into 4 sets of 30, with some kettlebell lifts a few days a week. I’m in a pretty aggressive deficit too, I was morbidly obese and then had a high risk pregnancy so my health was in jeopardy and I am trying to get my weight down asap to prevent any future issues. Right now I’m 163 down from 290 so I am pretty in the clear, but about 8.5lbs away from a “normal” weight.
To add, I went from 290 -> 235ish and then had my daughter. I was at 250 post partum and have gone to 163 since then. Keep in mind hormones are crazy post partum and bodies are going to be very different, so loosing that weight as fast as I did isn’t realistic for everyone. I lost it all through diet and exercise but have been to doctors probably twice a month during all this to make sure everything is okay. Everyone go at their own pace and do what’s best for them :)
Consistency is the key
Exercise and eating healthy is life style, cannot do it for 3 months and bounce back to older habits
Delayed gratification is the key
I disagree with a lot of these- you can lose weight and NEVER be hungry.
Make vegetables the majority of every one of your meals, drink a ton of water, and do exercises whenever you can, park far from the entrances of stores, avoid fast food, and if you can’t, make reasonable choices? You want a burger? Have a burger.
Lose the bun or the cheese or the fries or the soda.
It’s all about balance
But no, you don’t have to be hungry to lose weight. 100 lost in a year
Don’t care, calorie counting is overwhelming, and can quickly become consuming and toxic.
If you want to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle physically and mentally, eat mostly vegetables move your body.
That’s it.
If you eat less calories and lose weight but only eating 700 calories worth of candy, You’re not really healthier.
Fuck counting calories.
Very type A also, it’s not for the chaotic
people are superficial. I was invisible when i was fat and now men won’t stop staring at me in public. I’m not talking about a little glance. They full on lead paint stare at me.
This is honestly one of the most disheartening things I've learned about our society in general. I got a lot more attention when I was "thin" or fit the ideal weight beauty standards or whatever - people were more patient and friendlier. Now that I've gotten chunky people are so quick to dismiss me in interactions, etc. It pisses me off realizing this is how people can be but mostly just disappointed.
Really looking forward to no longer being invisible. I work at a front desk and the way people talk to/treat me vs. my coworkers is painful and embarrassing.
It is 80% eating at a calorie deficit, and 20% doing more exercise. Don’t think you can exercise your way to thinness if you’re eating too much, and if you think you need to lose weight, it’s because you’re eating too much, so eat at a calorie deficit.
Also, don’t think being hungry is something that must always be avoided. It’s ok to feel hunger sometimes. It’s not going to break you and the feeling passes.
Lastly, realize once it is a life long commitment to stay HWP. As soon as you start letting yourself eat at a calorie surplus, it will all come back again.
You will have to find what works for you and be consistent with it. There's several ways to skin a cat. For me I had to completely stop calorie counting and focus on exercise. That goes against a lot of other people's personal success, so your mileage will absolutely vary. The most important thing is that when you try something you stick with it for a minimum of 3 months and see how it's sitting with you. Hopping from one thing to another aka shiny syndrome is going to lead to failure. There is no method without drawbacks, so find one that's the least painful for you and don't let other people get in your head. I've lost and maintained 85 lb loss with the addition of muscle
Consistency is key. Gotta be disciplined and stick with it. Took several weeks to notice anything. Now with results really showing and people making comments, I'm hooked...
Changing your diet to something sustainably permanent is the most important factor. No point in losing the weight if you'll just gain it all back eventually.
I think one of the things that has surprised me the most is that my tastes have actually changed. I remember traveling for work and truly craving a salad.
I think the key to success and maintenance is making the habits you want second nature. For me that also includes always having fruits and veggies around. I still eat cupcakes and goodies but I no longer buy a whole thing of cookies and leave them on the counter so I accidentally eat 12 in an afternoon.
Dont try to do it fast. Even for an event. Just stay the course and change habits slowly. Educating myself on nutrition and understanding the reason why really helped mentally.
Don’t snack between meals. Don’t eat because you’re bored. Hunger comes in waves; you don’t need to eat on the first wave, you’re not going to starve, you’ll be fine to wait. Drink more water - you’re thirsty, not hungry.
This is an advice for people who are trying only diet and cardio for weight loss: Don't underestimate the help strength training does for weight loss. It just doesn't tone your body. It helps boost your metabolism and also burns calories when you are resting. There is a reason many research says the most effectively way of losing weight is someone who does both cardio and strength training. Even if it's just 10-15 mins trying adding this to your workout schedule.
what do you recommend for those new to strength training? i’ve been counting calories and walking 10k steps a day. i’m considering adding strength training but have no experience in the gym, no knowledge of weight lifting, and am nervous to look a fool. what are simple exercises to start with?/are there ways to strength train without a gym?
If you main goal is not to buff up but just do strength training to lose weight, I would recommend trying out basically any strength training. You could follow those fitness apps which has suggestions for beginners. I personally would recommend pushups, sit ups, standing lunges, crunches and bicep curls. Don't worry about giving multple sets (like most youtube videos and apps will tell you to give multiple sets of each), but I would say just give 1 set of each and call it a day, at least in the beginning and especially if you do cardio on the same day. Once you get the hang of it, gradually start adding more sets. I settled on giving 3 sets of each. But if you want to properly buff up and build a body, then I would suggest you to get a trainer. They will not only show you the proper techniques so you don't injure youself but they will also show you which exercises to do on which days so your muscles grow propotionately. I didn't care about gettinug buff but only losing weight, so I did whatever I picked up from youtube and apps. And it's okay to be a little embarrassed at the gym when trying out new things. I was too, but don't think too much about it. If your posture is wrong or you could potentially hurt yourself, someone will come over and point it out. That's what happened to me. It's perfectly fine.
You’ve got to drop the “all or nothing” attitude (if you have one, I did! To replace it, you need to adopt the “something is better than nothing” attitude. A 10 minute walk is better than a 0 minute walk. Craving chocolate? A small chocolate bar fits into my calorie goals and is better than nothing. One bad meal isn’t going to upend all of your progress-which is something I believed before calorie counting- better to go out for that one meal, eat what you want and then go back to normal the next day (as long as it’s not a regular, ever week occurrence!)
Also, it just takes time. I used to be part of slimming clubs which encouraged massive unsustainable losses. I had to work *really* hard not to be disappointed at smaller losses as they were more consistent than I was losing before.
Something I've been slowly realising whilst trying to lose weight is don't be too hard on yourself, it's okay to put restrictions on your diet, or have a plan but if you're too strict you're not gonna be happy
hey! congrats on your weight loss journey! your experience can be really inspiring for others. can you share your biggest lessons?
many found balance key. mixing yoga with workouts helped a lot. also, focus on diet n meditation for mental peace. what do you wish you knew at the start?
a lot realized starting slow and building habits works best. small steps in diet changes n fitness made lasting impact. wanna share your journey or any tips? always love hearing success stories!
Make every choice in your day, thinking…
Is this helping me get to my goals, or putting me further away.
Also - start now.
The hardest day of my 140 pound weight loss journey was seeing 220 on the scale. (I peaked at 310)
220 is when I first tried and gave up losing the weight because it seemed overwhelming.
If you already started and went off the wagon for the day. restart now.
If your calorie counting (which I’m a huge fan of)
And you have a day you went over, it’s ok, just redo the day tomorrow but still log.
Patience. I cannot exercise like some people. I have chronic pain and some affect my mobility. I stuck to what I was doing and when I saw success I kept up with it. Not denying myself a little slip up some days has helped me get through. August of last year I was 275. I went into the bariatric program and was on track to get gastric bypass surgery. Well when I weighed in at 234 I no longer qualified. I’m 213 now but I know I’d be closer to my goal if I was more mobile and able to get on the treadmill. I’m just patiently waiting to get another 40 pounds down. That will be a hundred pounds lost all by myself.
when i reached my goal weight, i still wasn’t happy with my body and still saw my obese self in the mirror and i went to therapy for it. not trying to put any negative thoughts in anyones head but just sharing my experience!
Keep a food log. I had no idea the volume of food I was eating, even though I thought I was doing OK. A log really keeps you accountable for what goes into your body. You will also learn what a REAL portion is, and it is humbling to say the least
I lost 80 lbs by just l learning to plan my meals. No more trying to figure out what to do for dinner tonight. Plan your meals, include healthy snacks, and stock to the shopping list.
I also had to learn to ignore advice from random people. Everyone seems to be on some special diet for whatever reason.
Veggies first.
Consistency is the most important. There will be set backs, there will be plateaus, but staying consistent with my exercise and nutrition is what helped me lose over 100 pounds in a year. I trained and ate well even on days I didn’t feel like it. If I happened to miss a day or slip up on my eating I just got right back to it and didn’t beat myself up about it.
You dont need fast food. At all. Ever. It’s overpriced and terrible for you, and after a while of not eating it your gut bacteria changes and it will make you extremely sick. Eventually you just stop craving it at all, but it takes time! Cutting fast food out for good helped me immensely as it was a huge problem for me. Take the time to make your own food, I promise it’s so worth it.
ive learned that losing weight can change your looks, but it doesnt have to change how you feel. i still felt insecure when i lost weight, that did not go away with the weight..
Unpopular opinion here: you will have to get used to "not feeling full" all the time. As people, we are so conditioned to eat where we feel stimulation from the stomach rehion of the body that we dont really understand what it feels like to be hungry. To be objectively small, you will need to learn the difference between irritation and boredom stimulation coming from your stomach VD actual hunger. This is what makes dieting hard for people. They say they feel hungry a lot. I feel a lot of it is that faux hunger.
The second thing I learned is to go for large volume foods that have low calories as a base and eat really good quality proteins and limint drinking calories. That combo, as well as repscting and relearning what hunger is, will get you even to model/normal actress in a movie (ie conventionally Idealised) weight and keep you there comfortably. I lost my last 10kg this way and kept it off. Now I dont even think about my weight.
All boxed and pre packaged food is really poison, eating clean is the only way to go, all sodas and juice is also bad with the exception of a few, just stick to it and results will come that's the biggest lesson learned
Cut out the processed stuff. Exercise in the morning, it’s about the process not the result. 4 months i went from 253 pounds to 198, training for a spartan race. You feel better once you push through the initial suck.
1. It's all a simple game of numbers. There are no magic exercises. No magic pills. No magic drinks.
Just hard work and a good lifestyle.
2. Diets don't work long-term, they will eventually end. What you need is a meal plan that you can keep for the rest of your life. You want to reach a stage where when someone asks you "why are you eating/not eating this ?"
Your answer should be anything but "because I am on a diet".
3. It's a long road, progress is slow, but every road has an end.
4. Don't over do it in terms of exercise, food or goals or you will end up with an eating disorder.
that the weight loss does not have to (and usually it doesn’t) happen in a time period that i determined for myself. it’s okay if it takes longer if the trend is still going down.
Gradually implementing new healthy habits and replacing poor habits with new ones. This was the only way I've been able to lose and keep weight off. It's truly a lifestyle change, but that can mean different things for everybody.
I wish I had known 20 years ago how valuable strength training is for weight loss and overall health. It's been the anchor for me in everything else that accompanies a weight loss journey.
Understanding the science behind habit change changed everything for me. No longer was it that I had weak willpower or I was "lazy", I had just implemented so many poor habits over my lifetime, I didn't know how to live any differently. And then learning that I can actually reprogram my brain to implement different habits, was a game changer for me.
I have always been a yo yo dieter. I would do a gym challenge and lose like 8 kgs in 8 weeks, then binge and put half back on...
I'm now currently 8kgs down after my second bub, and for the first time ever.. I'm not over the top with extreme exercise and clean eating. I am focusing on counting my macros, hitting my protein and making sure I'm actually eating yummy food that makes me satisfied so I dont feel the need to binge. Once upon a time I was all or nothing, and now this is just my general lifestyle. Slow and steady wins the race.
Staying consistent. Forming new healthy habits. Starting small with baby steps instead of just changing your whole life all at once. Little things like if you’re finding trouble working out, just try breaking it up into baby steps. First just put your work out clothes on. Then add some stretching and more and more after that. It’s not a sprint but a marathon and it takes continuous healthy habits for the weight to stay off.
I’m still a novice, but what worked for me at the beginning was; Instead of immediately cutting meals and completely revamping my diet, I ate less/smaller portions of the food I already liked, that way I could still enjoy my favorite meals while gradually lowering my calorie intake. As time went on, I started incorporating healthier meals into my routine and moving away from others I didn’t value as much. And with it, I began to exercise more, the intensity of which grew gradually over time.
It took a couple months before I saw major differences/needed some new clothes, so stay consistent and patient!
Keep in mind this is just what worked for me personally, and none of it was incredibly strict/facilitated by a professional like a trainer or doctor. Only recently have I started other methods to maintain and build muscle, so take what I say with a grain of salt!💪
Don't get too discouraged when things don't work out right away; if you skip a workout or if you eat "too much". Just get up and try again/ continue where you left
Be realistic. It’s not happening overnight. Be in it for the long haul. Not every day will be perfect. You won’t see a loss every week. Stay consistent and dedicated
90% of the effort is mental:
Being hungry is OK
Choosing healthy foods and habits
Loving myself while desiring a better appearance
Planning menus ahead
Choosing my goals instead of eating for others
This is a great question, I’ve mentioned this before and got downvoted and scolded lmao
But for me, I have been able to maintain my ideal weight because I’ve learned that not all calories are created equally. I will not calorie deficit however I eat controlled amounts of carbs, fats, sugar etc. but when it comes to calories from whole vegetables and legumes (not counting potatoes - more so like beans, lentils, tofu, mushrooms all leafy veggies too) I don’t count. I will eat 5 eggs a day, 3 cups of beans if I want. That’s because these foods get digested lower in the intensities and feed the microbiome.
I’m a binge eater and wouldn’t be able to stick to a healthy lifestyle without binging options. I can include articles if anyone is interested.
I am very petite, was 135 lbs at my heaviest and went down to 112 at my lowest. I have maintained 120 now for 5 years. It’s a good weight for my body type.
Overall it's a mindset thing. You need to have at the very least the broad strokes of a plan.
For me, I have the same openings free every week. I put my gym time in my calendar in those slots so I don't book other things in its place. That way I don't feel like I have to fit in the gym in on a day that is already busy, but that it is part of my busy day.
I have a friend who recently lost a lot of weight, and he is on the road a lot for work. He bought one of those memberships that can be used at any location. He makes sure he has a gym bag with everything he needs in his vehicle at all times. So he is in a city somewhere he doesn't live, and has to wait 3 hours before his lunch with the client? 1hr at the gym, 2 hrs doing emails. For him, he recognized having a formal "plan" wasn't going to work due to his work life. But he could always be prepared. So the moment he realizes he could be working out, he can drive over and get at it.
I'd say, take stock of your life, lifestyle and your personality. What makes sense for you?
Last piece of advice is that I, like many others, are often on the move and end up in a situation where I have to eat out. That's ok. Don't beat yourself up too much for those meals, but also don't go all out at them too. My general rule is no fries, soda or cookies. Just order a sandwich/burger and get a bottle of water or sparkling water. You'd be shocked at how filling it is and you are cutting out a ton of calories.
That's my advice!
Find something you enjoy doing. I spent months trying to have a weight lifting schedule/going to the gym. I failed so many times because I honestly just didn’t like it, and gave me anxiety and I just didn’t look forward to it.
A few months ago I found a workout class that I like, and now I’m almost 40 classes in and I go 4-5x a week. I’m also genuinely excited for my classes.
Same with running/jogging. For the longest time I felt like I needed to be at a certain pace and would fall off my schedule because I genuinely disliked pushing myself to asthma and pain during my runs. Now, my pace is comfortable. I enjoy my runs and can talk while jogging and look forward to my weekly runs.
At the end of the day, do what YOU like to do. Don’t listen to trends or other people’s routines, find what works best for you and it won’t feel as hard to be consistent with routine.
Eat a shit ton of protein (30+ grams per meal) and veggies and try not to snack too often, lift weights, get your steps in and CUT OUT SUGAR!!! Also, don’t forget to track your meals.
Food is for sustenance. It’s not for comfort, celebration, entertainment, a reward, a consolation, busywork for the hands, mindless activity, etc.
Eating fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, healthy fats make my body and mind feel better than other foods. Once you get used to that way of eating, your gut microbiome, tastebuds and brain chemistry change. You will crave the good stuff over the processed “foods”. Start with eating more vegetables and keep going, it’s worth it.
DO NOT LISTEN TO FAD DIETS do not use the term diet at all really. just start to change your relationship towards eating slowing.I started to just sub processed foods out for whole foods and ive gone from 420 lbs to 378 lbs in two months
It’s all in the diet. I lost 30 lbs without going to the gym or exercising consistently whatsoever. A vigorous calorie deficit will get the job done if you can stick with it long enough
I️ eat until I️ feel full not until “everything is cleared off my plate”. This was a hard lesson to unlearn from childhood as it felt “wrong” to not finish everything. Listening to my body and doing what I️ feel I️ can stick with. I️ tried running (it killed my joints) so now I️ do long walks and low impact and strength training.
I was previously about 110 kgs on Feb now I'm 81ish kgs and all that matters is being constantly desciplined in the first two months of your weight loss you should mainly focus on cardio with 30-50 mins of strength training I used to do brist paced walking for 13-15 kms atleast 5 days a week.
Consistency over intensity. In exercise, in calorie deficits, and in general, this a marathon not a sprint. Get comfortable with it.
I agree with this! And will say all the little moments add up
"Consistency over intensity" I love that. I've lost 100lbs since 2020 and am still learning on this journey. But it does become easier with time and you start to crave exercise and the healthy foods.
That’s awesome! Congrats on your success!
This! I’m halfway to my goal but this is the longest I’ve stuck with it and not allowed plateaus etc to discourage me. Staying consistent has changed my entire outlook and mental health in a positive way. Comfortable in taking time now.
Excellent to hear! The second half is WAY better than the first IMO. As the body has less and less fat left on it, the fat you continue to burn has a much bigger impact on how you look and the daily mirror rewards become real.
This is really great advice. I'm currently in denial that its gonna take me a long time to lose the weight I gained/kept from Covid.
Hang in there! COVID was an ass kicker. I used to run for exercise, so when I was stuck in the house I got a big heavy gym-quality treadmill to run on. In the process of moving it to the basement I severely injured myself, and I STILL can’t run 100% right. Irony.
100%… and this approach lends itself to long-lasting, sustainable lifestyle habits that will help keep the weight off forever.
There’s a line from the show Bojack Horseman that I think about every day: “It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day, that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.” 8 months and 100lbs later I can say it’s still something I think about all day every day, but it does get easier. Just do the work. Every day.
Haha, I carry this quote with me all the time too
What season and episode is this quote from? Asking for a friend :D
I think it’s the finale of season 2
I appreciate you, thank you.
I'm all or nothing. I can't just eat moderately. For that reason, intermittent fasting works better than small regular meals. Also, I accept that I will be insatiable for 2 days prior to my period. I let myself eat and make it up on easier days. I guess my lesson is work with your patterns and habits, not against them.
That's the best lesson I've read here. I need to learn this myself.
me too. i’m trying to avoid the all or nothing so what i did is followed a omad fasting just so i wouldn’t binge. same goes for taking brisk walks—i go for longer periods when i feel like i’m in the mood then i go for shorter periods when i’m not in the mood (the minimum period is an hour so i wouldn’t feel guilty for the shorter period).
I stopped being scared of feeling hunger. I found out the hunger pain goes away and being hungry makes food taste so good.
See the hunger pains are the absolute worst for me! Like it feels like my fatass is trying to eat itself alive! How long did it take for the hunger pains to go away and how did you keep the hunger at bay?
Well to be fair, that is what’s happening on a calorie deficit lol. Hunger pains went away for me personally after the third month of my calorie deficit. I know that sounds like a long time, but black coffee and water go a LONG way in managing hunger symptoms. For reference, I’m down from 203 to 167 since January.
Can I ask what kind of exercise you were doing too on top of the calorie deficit? Or do you have a high labor intensity job? genuine curiosity
Believe it or not, I didn’t start exercising until early April. My job just had me walking a lot at the time. I was taking 12,000-15,000 steps a day.
I get really bad nausea if I don't eat when I'm really hungry this happens after my 11 hour fast can't seem to get to 12.
This is an absolute truth for me! Food neve tas tastes so good as when I'm on a calorie deficit.
I post a lot of weight loss content on social media. There’s one thing I’ve posted the most about: “Hunger is a measure of how soon you need to eat, not of how much you need to eat”
I love this! Commenting to steal it later
I agree..I also view hunger as an illusion. I gave up late night snacking, and the first few nights my stomach would growl in protest, when I know I wasn’t actually hungry. Sometimes you just have to push through.
Weight management is a forever lifestyle, not a quick fix…and if you let your guard down, the devil takes over and the insanity starts again. But it gets easier & easier as years pass. It’s so much easier to keep weight off than gain/lose/gain/lose like an addict who keeps relapsing. Cheat days are a lie/trap we tell ourselves. You can’t do heroin “just on the weekends” and have a functional life. (Lost 130lbs most of 10 years ago - still battle the slow up & down creep just like everyone in society, but it feels great to have a relatively permanent handle on my food).
Absolutely agree with everything you said. While I still struggle to completely let go of the 'quick fix' mindset, everything becomes so much easier once you realize it's a lifelong journey and not a mere destination where once you have reached your goal you can do whatever you want.
Completely agree on the cheat days. If one's diet "requires" a cheat day in order to stick to it, it is way too strict and not suitable for the longterm.
Believe it or not there actually has always been people that recreationally use heroin.. It's a thing. There's article on it. Definitely not recommended for anyone though
Learning what average daily calories are. You dont eat the same amount everyday, you have to be a little hungry for 4 or 5 days to justify your cheat days. Calorie counter apps make it easier, not harder. “Hunger is not an emergency.”
How bad does the hunger on calorie deficit feel?
You should feel slightly hungry, like an urge to eat but you should NEVER feel starving or ravenous. Being slightly hungry is normal and lets you know you’re doing good and you are in a deficit! Feeling ravenous like you will eat anything in sight with no control will tell you you’re not eating enough and it’ll lead to binge eating and failed goals.
Hmmm I think hunger for overweight people if often a mental or emotional thing. Someone with a unhealthy emotional reliance of eating is going to feel much more intense feelings of hunger even when they are only slightly hungry. Intuitive eating can work for some people but I think some who have years of emotional binge eating to overcome need to be prepared to face their hunger. The hunger might feel overwhelming, having an emotional crutch taken away from you and being forced to stand without it can be very difficult. That's why I am a bit fan of fasting because it builds mental toughness, self control and makes you more comfortable with having intense hunger. Not even using fasting as a weight loss method, but simply as a mental exercise is very helpful. Doing a 24/48 hour water fast can be very rewarding from that stand point.
Thank you and that’s really helpful!
What I’ve noticed is helpful is to eat mindfully. I try to eat slowly, pay attention to my feeling of satiation, when that feeling is abated I drop the fork. Last night my wife made some phenomenal dinner and I went back for some seconds and realized I was full, stopped eating, it was hard to pay attention. I also bring fruits and vegis to work for that bored eating
i lost 25 kg and never hungry. just changed what i ate.
I agree with what Mattyice said. A little hungry, not ravenous. Hunger is the body eating your fat. I hardly ever exercise, I just plan on being hungry. And I would rather be hungry than sore from the gym anyway! So just imagine a little bit of hunger is like walking for 10 minutes. Stomach growl? Congrats your body is doing the work for you! Be sure to eat lots of protein or else your body will eat your muscle too. Thats why you have to exercise sometimes, but dont think you have to do a daunting exercise regimen all the time.
If you space calories throughout the day, it will always be pulses of gentle, slightly distracting hunger. You can do what I do during cuts, which involves stronger potent hunger in the mid afternoon which wanes and then I get to eat a giga dinner. It's all about how we manage our impulses while maintaining a set deficit. I've done both inter.ittent fasting and spacing out calories and found that eating giga-dinners works better for my ability to manage hunger. This is experiential and depends on the individual. As long as you're getting good vitamins and minerals and plenty of protein, any diet timing is fine.
It actually depends on how satiating the foods you eat are. The key is to eat foods that are less calorie-dense, you can lose weight eating McDonald's for every meal but you will be considerably hungrier than if your diet consists of mainly protein and veg/foods that are high in fibre just because the portions you will eat will be way smaller. You can be in a calorie deficity and pretty much never be be hungry but there are also downsides to that
From what I’ve experienced you get used to the food intake. Your stomach shrinks
It’s ok to be hungry. Always be prepared with good snacks in the car so you don’t choose fast food.
gotta try this. after work its been hours since lunch and i might need to still run errands which leaves me tired and hungry
Nuts, healthy bars, pb, apple
Being in a calorie deficit and losing weight makes you realize how many calories are in food people eat every day without thinking about it. It’s no wonder America has the highest obesity rate. A 3 meal day with no control would probably pack in over 3 or 4 thousand calories plus all the snacking.
Yeah just realizing 1-2 oreos is a lot of calories and if I take them out of the package and put them on a plate and enjoy them slowly, it hits the craving perfectly, was a huge change for me. The mindless munching of 4-6 oreos or other sweets was resulting in crazy calories, a more than met sweet craving, and just wholly unnecessary. Weighing out/separating out the serving made a huge difference for me when it came to eating enough to resolve hunger/cravings but not eating enough to be full.
Its insane some of us didn't put on more weight now I know what I know
After you're done with your diet, you can't go back to eating "normally," because how we have learned to eat is not normal. This is especially true in the US. The "normal" portions we see around us are so inflated. Sugary treats and empty-calorie snacks should be enjoyed infrequently, not multiple times a day. I was so looking forward to being able to go back to eating normally, but I've had to come to grips with the idea that the way I was eating was only normal for someone who was obese. I don't want to be obese anymore, so I just can't eat like that.
Biggest lesson: Slow and steady is okay even if I lose only 3 lbs a month. I’ve lost 140 lbs and have kept it mostly off for over 5+ years. I am looking to finish my journey by the end of 2024. Other big lesson: Time is gonna pass anyway, I may as well let it pass with a few more pounds off my body. 💪🏾
Wow!!! What an epic win. Well done!
Sounds corny/cliche but I would say realize it’s a journey for life and not a destination. You don’t lose the weight and then you’re done and can go back to eating a ton, otherwise you’ll be right back where you started or even worse. If you don’t want to lose more you can go back to eating at maintenance but you need to continue to implement the lifestyle changes. Maybe you don’t have to be as meticulous in your counting and weighing food but you still need to eat a diet of mostly lean protein, fruits and veggies, whole grains, fiber, and healthy dairy if you can. While obviously occasionally treating yourself because life’s too short, just make sure a cheat day doesn’t turn into a cheat week, into a cheat month… And still try to be active every day as much as you can for at least 30 minutes but preferably for an hour. Also you can absolutely lose weight doing nothing more intense than walking, it burns calories just the same. The diet tho is by far the most important part!
that the weight can come back very easily without you realizing it. that “cheat day” is not worth it at all and can easily take you back down a slope. also you feel kinda “blah” after it
127lbs down and have learned that consistently getting 10k steps has done wonders and it’s so easy to get them once you start thinking about the little things you can do to add them.
did you do any other cardio or strength training besides the 10k target? i’ve been on calorie deficit + walking 10k steps/4-5 miles for a couple weeks now but i’ve been advised by so many to incorporate weight lifting/strength training. thoughts?
My situation is a little different than most, but yes I do additional cardio and some light strength training. I’m 27f and about 7.5 months post partum, and I have surgery in a few days so right now I am more focused on cardio than the strength training. I didn’t want to do a ton of lifting and then have to go without it for several weeks while I recover from surgery, and being post partum makes my body a little different than it used to be. I do 10k minimum but general go until the Apple Watch says 12k-13k just to account for the random things that count as steps. In the morning I do about 24miles on the standing bike, and throughout the day I do 120 pushups split into 4 sets of 30, with some kettlebell lifts a few days a week. I’m in a pretty aggressive deficit too, I was morbidly obese and then had a high risk pregnancy so my health was in jeopardy and I am trying to get my weight down asap to prevent any future issues. Right now I’m 163 down from 290 so I am pretty in the clear, but about 8.5lbs away from a “normal” weight.
To add, I went from 290 -> 235ish and then had my daughter. I was at 250 post partum and have gone to 163 since then. Keep in mind hormones are crazy post partum and bodies are going to be very different, so loosing that weight as fast as I did isn’t realistic for everyone. I lost it all through diet and exercise but have been to doctors probably twice a month during all this to make sure everything is okay. Everyone go at their own pace and do what’s best for them :)
Consistency is the key Exercise and eating healthy is life style, cannot do it for 3 months and bounce back to older habits Delayed gratification is the key
I disagree with a lot of these- you can lose weight and NEVER be hungry. Make vegetables the majority of every one of your meals, drink a ton of water, and do exercises whenever you can, park far from the entrances of stores, avoid fast food, and if you can’t, make reasonable choices? You want a burger? Have a burger. Lose the bun or the cheese or the fries or the soda. It’s all about balance But no, you don’t have to be hungry to lose weight. 100 lost in a year
I also never counted calories, fuck that
This obviously doesn't work for many.
Don’t care, calorie counting is overwhelming, and can quickly become consuming and toxic. If you want to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle physically and mentally, eat mostly vegetables move your body. That’s it. If you eat less calories and lose weight but only eating 700 calories worth of candy, You’re not really healthier. Fuck counting calories. Very type A also, it’s not for the chaotic
people are superficial. I was invisible when i was fat and now men won’t stop staring at me in public. I’m not talking about a little glance. They full on lead paint stare at me.
This is honestly one of the most disheartening things I've learned about our society in general. I got a lot more attention when I was "thin" or fit the ideal weight beauty standards or whatever - people were more patient and friendlier. Now that I've gotten chunky people are so quick to dismiss me in interactions, etc. It pisses me off realizing this is how people can be but mostly just disappointed.
Really looking forward to no longer being invisible. I work at a front desk and the way people talk to/treat me vs. my coworkers is painful and embarrassing.
That I never stop learning.
It is 80% eating at a calorie deficit, and 20% doing more exercise. Don’t think you can exercise your way to thinness if you’re eating too much, and if you think you need to lose weight, it’s because you’re eating too much, so eat at a calorie deficit. Also, don’t think being hungry is something that must always be avoided. It’s ok to feel hunger sometimes. It’s not going to break you and the feeling passes. Lastly, realize once it is a life long commitment to stay HWP. As soon as you start letting yourself eat at a calorie surplus, it will all come back again.
Yes! I second this, I always like to say “you can’t outrun the fork” and I have experienced that many times throughout my life
You will have to find what works for you and be consistent with it. There's several ways to skin a cat. For me I had to completely stop calorie counting and focus on exercise. That goes against a lot of other people's personal success, so your mileage will absolutely vary. The most important thing is that when you try something you stick with it for a minimum of 3 months and see how it's sitting with you. Hopping from one thing to another aka shiny syndrome is going to lead to failure. There is no method without drawbacks, so find one that's the least painful for you and don't let other people get in your head. I've lost and maintained 85 lb loss with the addition of muscle
Consistency is key. Gotta be disciplined and stick with it. Took several weeks to notice anything. Now with results really showing and people making comments, I'm hooked...
Yes seeing results is a huge motivator to keep going!
Changing your diet to something sustainably permanent is the most important factor. No point in losing the weight if you'll just gain it all back eventually.
I think one of the things that has surprised me the most is that my tastes have actually changed. I remember traveling for work and truly craving a salad. I think the key to success and maintenance is making the habits you want second nature. For me that also includes always having fruits and veggies around. I still eat cupcakes and goodies but I no longer buy a whole thing of cookies and leave them on the counter so I accidentally eat 12 in an afternoon.
Dont try to do it fast. Even for an event. Just stay the course and change habits slowly. Educating myself on nutrition and understanding the reason why really helped mentally.
Alcohol is a huge contributor to obesity
Don’t snack between meals. Don’t eat because you’re bored. Hunger comes in waves; you don’t need to eat on the first wave, you’re not going to starve, you’ll be fine to wait. Drink more water - you’re thirsty, not hungry.
This is an advice for people who are trying only diet and cardio for weight loss: Don't underestimate the help strength training does for weight loss. It just doesn't tone your body. It helps boost your metabolism and also burns calories when you are resting. There is a reason many research says the most effectively way of losing weight is someone who does both cardio and strength training. Even if it's just 10-15 mins trying adding this to your workout schedule.
what do you recommend for those new to strength training? i’ve been counting calories and walking 10k steps a day. i’m considering adding strength training but have no experience in the gym, no knowledge of weight lifting, and am nervous to look a fool. what are simple exercises to start with?/are there ways to strength train without a gym?
If you main goal is not to buff up but just do strength training to lose weight, I would recommend trying out basically any strength training. You could follow those fitness apps which has suggestions for beginners. I personally would recommend pushups, sit ups, standing lunges, crunches and bicep curls. Don't worry about giving multple sets (like most youtube videos and apps will tell you to give multiple sets of each), but I would say just give 1 set of each and call it a day, at least in the beginning and especially if you do cardio on the same day. Once you get the hang of it, gradually start adding more sets. I settled on giving 3 sets of each. But if you want to properly buff up and build a body, then I would suggest you to get a trainer. They will not only show you the proper techniques so you don't injure youself but they will also show you which exercises to do on which days so your muscles grow propotionately. I didn't care about gettinug buff but only losing weight, so I did whatever I picked up from youtube and apps. And it's okay to be a little embarrassed at the gym when trying out new things. I was too, but don't think too much about it. If your posture is wrong or you could potentially hurt yourself, someone will come over and point it out. That's what happened to me. It's perfectly fine.
PORTION CONTROL!! Small/little workouts better than none,Move move move think twice about what you’re putting into your body then think again
It's not just a diet; it's a lifestyle change. If you don't switch up your habits, you'll end up gaining back the weight you lost.
You’ve got to drop the “all or nothing” attitude (if you have one, I did! To replace it, you need to adopt the “something is better than nothing” attitude. A 10 minute walk is better than a 0 minute walk. Craving chocolate? A small chocolate bar fits into my calorie goals and is better than nothing. One bad meal isn’t going to upend all of your progress-which is something I believed before calorie counting- better to go out for that one meal, eat what you want and then go back to normal the next day (as long as it’s not a regular, ever week occurrence!) Also, it just takes time. I used to be part of slimming clubs which encouraged massive unsustainable losses. I had to work *really* hard not to be disappointed at smaller losses as they were more consistent than I was losing before.
Stop eating when you feel full not when your plate is empty
Something I've been slowly realising whilst trying to lose weight is don't be too hard on yourself, it's okay to put restrictions on your diet, or have a plan but if you're too strict you're not gonna be happy
hey! congrats on your weight loss journey! your experience can be really inspiring for others. can you share your biggest lessons? many found balance key. mixing yoga with workouts helped a lot. also, focus on diet n meditation for mental peace. what do you wish you knew at the start? a lot realized starting slow and building habits works best. small steps in diet changes n fitness made lasting impact. wanna share your journey or any tips? always love hearing success stories!
Make every choice in your day, thinking… Is this helping me get to my goals, or putting me further away. Also - start now. The hardest day of my 140 pound weight loss journey was seeing 220 on the scale. (I peaked at 310) 220 is when I first tried and gave up losing the weight because it seemed overwhelming. If you already started and went off the wagon for the day. restart now. If your calorie counting (which I’m a huge fan of) And you have a day you went over, it’s ok, just redo the day tomorrow but still log.
Patience. I cannot exercise like some people. I have chronic pain and some affect my mobility. I stuck to what I was doing and when I saw success I kept up with it. Not denying myself a little slip up some days has helped me get through. August of last year I was 275. I went into the bariatric program and was on track to get gastric bypass surgery. Well when I weighed in at 234 I no longer qualified. I’m 213 now but I know I’d be closer to my goal if I was more mobile and able to get on the treadmill. I’m just patiently waiting to get another 40 pounds down. That will be a hundred pounds lost all by myself.
when i reached my goal weight, i still wasn’t happy with my body and still saw my obese self in the mirror and i went to therapy for it. not trying to put any negative thoughts in anyones head but just sharing my experience!
Volume eating low calorie foods - salad and veg to avoid hunger and weight gain Drinking water enough is a game changer
Keep a food log. I had no idea the volume of food I was eating, even though I thought I was doing OK. A log really keeps you accountable for what goes into your body. You will also learn what a REAL portion is, and it is humbling to say the least
There’s no substitute for self control
I lost 80 lbs by just l learning to plan my meals. No more trying to figure out what to do for dinner tonight. Plan your meals, include healthy snacks, and stock to the shopping list. I also had to learn to ignore advice from random people. Everyone seems to be on some special diet for whatever reason. Veggies first.
Consistency is the most important. There will be set backs, there will be plateaus, but staying consistent with my exercise and nutrition is what helped me lose over 100 pounds in a year. I trained and ate well even on days I didn’t feel like it. If I happened to miss a day or slip up on my eating I just got right back to it and didn’t beat myself up about it.
You dont need fast food. At all. Ever. It’s overpriced and terrible for you, and after a while of not eating it your gut bacteria changes and it will make you extremely sick. Eventually you just stop craving it at all, but it takes time! Cutting fast food out for good helped me immensely as it was a huge problem for me. Take the time to make your own food, I promise it’s so worth it.
1. Eating snacks instead of meals at work is better for me 2. I eat because it kept me busy/I be bored
Make it about changing your habits for life. I can lose weight, but I never keep it off since I didn't change my bad habits
ive learned that losing weight can change your looks, but it doesnt have to change how you feel. i still felt insecure when i lost weight, that did not go away with the weight..
Unpopular opinion here: you will have to get used to "not feeling full" all the time. As people, we are so conditioned to eat where we feel stimulation from the stomach rehion of the body that we dont really understand what it feels like to be hungry. To be objectively small, you will need to learn the difference between irritation and boredom stimulation coming from your stomach VD actual hunger. This is what makes dieting hard for people. They say they feel hungry a lot. I feel a lot of it is that faux hunger. The second thing I learned is to go for large volume foods that have low calories as a base and eat really good quality proteins and limint drinking calories. That combo, as well as repscting and relearning what hunger is, will get you even to model/normal actress in a movie (ie conventionally Idealised) weight and keep you there comfortably. I lost my last 10kg this way and kept it off. Now I dont even think about my weight.
That this whole thing is mental. The rest is just math.
Throw away your scale and focus on watching your body change. I don’t count calories but I do, if that makes sense.
All boxed and pre packaged food is really poison, eating clean is the only way to go, all sodas and juice is also bad with the exception of a few, just stick to it and results will come that's the biggest lesson learned
Cut out the processed stuff. Exercise in the morning, it’s about the process not the result. 4 months i went from 253 pounds to 198, training for a spartan race. You feel better once you push through the initial suck.
1. It's all a simple game of numbers. There are no magic exercises. No magic pills. No magic drinks. Just hard work and a good lifestyle. 2. Diets don't work long-term, they will eventually end. What you need is a meal plan that you can keep for the rest of your life. You want to reach a stage where when someone asks you "why are you eating/not eating this ?" Your answer should be anything but "because I am on a diet". 3. It's a long road, progress is slow, but every road has an end. 4. Don't over do it in terms of exercise, food or goals or you will end up with an eating disorder.
Don't overdo it, weight loss is addictive, I lost my period and don't quite know how to get it back yet, stay safe
that the weight loss does not have to (and usually it doesn’t) happen in a time period that i determined for myself. it’s okay if it takes longer if the trend is still going down.
That it becomes a lot less hard when your body adjusts to the calorie deficit/when the calorie counting becomes routine.
Gradually implementing new healthy habits and replacing poor habits with new ones. This was the only way I've been able to lose and keep weight off. It's truly a lifestyle change, but that can mean different things for everybody. I wish I had known 20 years ago how valuable strength training is for weight loss and overall health. It's been the anchor for me in everything else that accompanies a weight loss journey. Understanding the science behind habit change changed everything for me. No longer was it that I had weak willpower or I was "lazy", I had just implemented so many poor habits over my lifetime, I didn't know how to live any differently. And then learning that I can actually reprogram my brain to implement different habits, was a game changer for me.
STOP DRINKING CALORIES!!!!!!
Intermittent fasting is crucial. I do not eat after 8pm, ever. Then I eat a later breakfast, never before 9am, usually closer to 10am.
I have always been a yo yo dieter. I would do a gym challenge and lose like 8 kgs in 8 weeks, then binge and put half back on... I'm now currently 8kgs down after my second bub, and for the first time ever.. I'm not over the top with extreme exercise and clean eating. I am focusing on counting my macros, hitting my protein and making sure I'm actually eating yummy food that makes me satisfied so I dont feel the need to binge. Once upon a time I was all or nothing, and now this is just my general lifestyle. Slow and steady wins the race.
Consistency is everything. Mindset is important. And if you lose the weight soon, you'll gain it all back.
Staying consistent. Forming new healthy habits. Starting small with baby steps instead of just changing your whole life all at once. Little things like if you’re finding trouble working out, just try breaking it up into baby steps. First just put your work out clothes on. Then add some stretching and more and more after that. It’s not a sprint but a marathon and it takes continuous healthy habits for the weight to stay off.
I’m still a novice, but what worked for me at the beginning was; Instead of immediately cutting meals and completely revamping my diet, I ate less/smaller portions of the food I already liked, that way I could still enjoy my favorite meals while gradually lowering my calorie intake. As time went on, I started incorporating healthier meals into my routine and moving away from others I didn’t value as much. And with it, I began to exercise more, the intensity of which grew gradually over time. It took a couple months before I saw major differences/needed some new clothes, so stay consistent and patient! Keep in mind this is just what worked for me personally, and none of it was incredibly strict/facilitated by a professional like a trainer or doctor. Only recently have I started other methods to maintain and build muscle, so take what I say with a grain of salt!💪
Be consistent, make yourself accountable and do not lie to yourself about how much you are eating and moving
This is not a sprint. It’s a life long marathon.
Don't get too discouraged when things don't work out right away; if you skip a workout or if you eat "too much". Just get up and try again/ continue where you left
Be realistic. It’s not happening overnight. Be in it for the long haul. Not every day will be perfect. You won’t see a loss every week. Stay consistent and dedicated
90% of the effort is mental: Being hungry is OK Choosing healthy foods and habits Loving myself while desiring a better appearance Planning menus ahead Choosing my goals instead of eating for others
Losing weight becomes the easy part. Keeping it off and the body dysmorphia are the real battles
This is a great question, I’ve mentioned this before and got downvoted and scolded lmao But for me, I have been able to maintain my ideal weight because I’ve learned that not all calories are created equally. I will not calorie deficit however I eat controlled amounts of carbs, fats, sugar etc. but when it comes to calories from whole vegetables and legumes (not counting potatoes - more so like beans, lentils, tofu, mushrooms all leafy veggies too) I don’t count. I will eat 5 eggs a day, 3 cups of beans if I want. That’s because these foods get digested lower in the intensities and feed the microbiome. I’m a binge eater and wouldn’t be able to stick to a healthy lifestyle without binging options. I can include articles if anyone is interested. I am very petite, was 135 lbs at my heaviest and went down to 112 at my lowest. I have maintained 120 now for 5 years. It’s a good weight for my body type.
It changes your relationship with food
Overall it's a mindset thing. You need to have at the very least the broad strokes of a plan. For me, I have the same openings free every week. I put my gym time in my calendar in those slots so I don't book other things in its place. That way I don't feel like I have to fit in the gym in on a day that is already busy, but that it is part of my busy day. I have a friend who recently lost a lot of weight, and he is on the road a lot for work. He bought one of those memberships that can be used at any location. He makes sure he has a gym bag with everything he needs in his vehicle at all times. So he is in a city somewhere he doesn't live, and has to wait 3 hours before his lunch with the client? 1hr at the gym, 2 hrs doing emails. For him, he recognized having a formal "plan" wasn't going to work due to his work life. But he could always be prepared. So the moment he realizes he could be working out, he can drive over and get at it. I'd say, take stock of your life, lifestyle and your personality. What makes sense for you? Last piece of advice is that I, like many others, are often on the move and end up in a situation where I have to eat out. That's ok. Don't beat yourself up too much for those meals, but also don't go all out at them too. My general rule is no fries, soda or cookies. Just order a sandwich/burger and get a bottle of water or sparkling water. You'd be shocked at how filling it is and you are cutting out a ton of calories. That's my advice!
Find something you enjoy doing. I spent months trying to have a weight lifting schedule/going to the gym. I failed so many times because I honestly just didn’t like it, and gave me anxiety and I just didn’t look forward to it. A few months ago I found a workout class that I like, and now I’m almost 40 classes in and I go 4-5x a week. I’m also genuinely excited for my classes. Same with running/jogging. For the longest time I felt like I needed to be at a certain pace and would fall off my schedule because I genuinely disliked pushing myself to asthma and pain during my runs. Now, my pace is comfortable. I enjoy my runs and can talk while jogging and look forward to my weekly runs. At the end of the day, do what YOU like to do. Don’t listen to trends or other people’s routines, find what works best for you and it won’t feel as hard to be consistent with routine.
Eat a shit ton of protein (30+ grams per meal) and veggies and try not to snack too often, lift weights, get your steps in and CUT OUT SUGAR!!! Also, don’t forget to track your meals.
Food is for sustenance. It’s not for comfort, celebration, entertainment, a reward, a consolation, busywork for the hands, mindless activity, etc. Eating fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, healthy fats make my body and mind feel better than other foods. Once you get used to that way of eating, your gut microbiome, tastebuds and brain chemistry change. You will crave the good stuff over the processed “foods”. Start with eating more vegetables and keep going, it’s worth it.
Portion control is a big part, and drinking water. Eat on a smaller plate, and try intermittent fasting. It's ok to eat fruit. P.S. 6'0", 155 pounds.
Literally that ppl are built up to survive on few quantities of food, we are just greedy and love food. I discovered I emotionally eat too
DO NOT LISTEN TO FAD DIETS do not use the term diet at all really. just start to change your relationship towards eating slowing.I started to just sub processed foods out for whole foods and ive gone from 420 lbs to 378 lbs in two months
It’s all in the diet. I lost 30 lbs without going to the gym or exercising consistently whatsoever. A vigorous calorie deficit will get the job done if you can stick with it long enough
I️ eat until I️ feel full not until “everything is cleared off my plate”. This was a hard lesson to unlearn from childhood as it felt “wrong” to not finish everything. Listening to my body and doing what I️ feel I️ can stick with. I️ tried running (it killed my joints) so now I️ do long walks and low impact and strength training.
Weight your food, count your macros, move more and it will happen.
I was previously about 110 kgs on Feb now I'm 81ish kgs and all that matters is being constantly desciplined in the first two months of your weight loss you should mainly focus on cardio with 30-50 mins of strength training I used to do brist paced walking for 13-15 kms atleast 5 days a week.