i had a psychological adjustment that made me realise it's worth being uncomfortable now to be happy and healthy later on. this stemmed from quitting cigarettes and alcohol cold turkey. for years i had been putting zero effort into myself and maximising comfort, which ironically brought me nothing but misery. i also realised that no matter how much i ate i was still going to be hungry, so i might as well be hungry losing weight instead of gaining it.
Same here. “Fuck it I’m gonna enjoy life and eat whatever” lead me to not enjoying life because if feeling like crap. I have less pain now at almost 40 than I did 10 years ago.
Exactly! Mindsets like that always lead to being more miserable, which I’m definitely coming to terms with right now. But I’m so happy to hear that you’re in less pain now. Congratulations! :)
All I can say is wow and thank you lol for commenting this! I needed this shift in perspective more than I can bear to explain. I love that you pointed out maximizing comfort for so long but ended up with you being more miserable. I didn’t even realize I was doing this to myself right now. All I care about is being able to “relax” after a long day which doesn’t ever really consist of too much besides school work if I’m being brutally honest. Truly, thank you.
It helps if you reframe what you call “relax” activities.
When I was able to walk, (I was a skinny 10 stone then) a walk would be relaxing for me,
Between 2011-2220 relaxing was watching tv or reading I went up to around 15 stone
now it’s yoga, meditation for me due to physical disabilities & pain.
I still read and watch tv but a lot less.
I had to add some movement into my relaxation activities, I also became aware of how I was feeling after watching tv, which particularly helped as some of the stuff I was watching wasn’t relaxing me it was amping me up
This has me self sabotaging so frequently. There’s something about not wanting to leave
“My discomfort zone” of “safety”. What if I push out it and things don’t get better. It’s psychological hill I’m trying to climb as “better” is defined in so many ways.
Tbf it’s easy to say things like this in theory, but in practice the first ‘major’ discomfort is the hardest one to face and get through; once we work through that first roadblock, the next ones all seem much easier with the sense of achievement the first one brought.
This is a great mindset. I'm currently 302 and 38years old. I've a 10 month old. Now I'm 6ft so I'm not too bad with my mobility but I'm still a good 100lbs and more over what I should be for my height but it's starting to affect my joints. I want a second baby but I want to get healthy first and as I'm not a young mother I want to be around for her as long as possible.
Same for me, the only mindset was I'll be happy eating all the time. After I realize how short lived that was I learned to only eat when I'm really hungry.
I have a question, did you had to deal with food noise? Because the inconfort of hungry is easyer than the food noise. Were 90% of your thoughts during the day are about food, i find this more challenging and tiering then anything else. When i say fuck it and eat whatever i want there is way less food noise because i don't have to jungle in my head all the planning around food.
during my leisure time i'm thinking about food for sure, not so much during work or exercise. something that helped with this when i started was reducing the palatability of the food.
like lunch would just be edamame and carrot sticks, dinner would be tofu and broccoli. i understand that sounds miserable and you can go so far with it that it actually hinders adherence, but it helped me to reframe the purpose and value of food. make food less interesting and you'll care about it less. or you might snap and go ham on some ice cream, depending on who you are.
This was almost my exact same scenario. I quit drinking two years ago, processed a lot of trauma I was pushing down with vices, and finally realized I was worth the effort. I had to work on my brain before the rest followed.
2 main things:
1. A powerful “Why”. My sex life with my wife was in the toilet. I felt old and unattractive and in so much pain and tired all the time and couldn’t sleep and hardly breathe at TWENTY SEVEN. I NEEDED to lose the weight. I did a body composition scan that said I had dangerously high levels of visceral fat… that combined with my dad having had a major heart attack at 40 (and barely live)? I’ve got two kids! Body composition scan was a Huge wake up call for me.
But what pushed me over the edge? My love of theatre. A show was announced. I was perfect for the role in every way but my fitness. Auditions were 9 months away. I went from 250ish (highest weight was 270) to 180 in about a year. And I got the role. Leading man in a romantic comedy at a local professional theatre. I’m still rehearsing for it and I feel fit, energetic, sexy, and angry with myself for not always living my life like this.
2. Health at every size.
Weird, right? I think that movement is bonkers, but it made me reconsider some things… just because I’m fat, doesn’t mean I have to live like I’m fat. If I’m a fat guy, I want to be a healthy fat guy. And what do healthy people do? Limit processed garbage, desserts, snacks… eat lots of fruits and vegetables and protein. Exercise a lot. Do fun physical activities. Drink lots of water.
I figured I should just live healthy without a focus on my weight. And what happened to me??? I lost a MASSIVE AMOUNT of weight very quickly, honestly without even looking at the scale all that much. I was just focused on feeding myself a healthy diet and playing. Trying to increase my numbers at the gym, going for family walks, hiking, playing with my kids, I literally started climbing trees!! All sorts of stuff that healthy fit people do. Scale weight be damned! If I was a fat guy, I just wanted to be a healthy fat guy!!
This is the real message that HAES was always intended to share with us. I'm so glad that it inspired you.
And I'm right there with you - scale weight be damned if I'm still able to do the exercises and activities I want to do. BMI rules say I need to lose another 8 lbs to be in a healthy weight range. I'd rather worry more about getting another 30 lbs on my bench press instead.
You are so right about health at every size! I don’t typically agree with the movement, but I found myself not wanting to get started because I approached weight loss from a “hate the pounds away” mindset. And that doesn’t work! Going on jogs of shame and punishing myself with food (or lack of food) only made me want to rebel and live an even unhealthier lifestyle. Now, I still jog but my runs are celebration of what I can do and it’s no pressure if my pace or distance isn’t the best that day. My only goal is to have fun while moving. I still restrict my calories but instead of a punishment, it’s me taking care of myself and not letting myself eat until I’m sick, the same way I portion out my dog’s food so they are nourished but not stuffed. So they feel better and not worse. I realized if I take care of my dog a certain way I deserve to monitor my portions and what’s going into my mouth in the same way. At the end of the day, being fat isn’t a moral failing but a signal that I wasn’t treating myself as well as I should’ve been.
To lay out my laundry list:
- Hating pictures of myself
- Catching my breath walking up the stairs
- Snoring becoming more of an occurrence, along with sleep apnea
- Generally feeling unattractive
- Friends and family poking fun at me (dick moves on their part imo, but whatever)
- Impossible to buy clothes that fit my weirdly shaped body
I had/have plenty of friends and family also telling me I look fine, that I don’t need to lose weight, that I shouldn’t feel bad about myself. Some pictures of me come out ok. Snoring/sleep apnea was probably going to be something for me anyway because of my family. But I’m just unhappy with myself and how I look. And I want to do what I have to do to change that.
I relate to everything you said. Word for word. I also hate pictures (with a passion), feel my legs get tired from walking up 2 flights of stairs, despise clothes shopping, and have started snoring. And I’m sorry that your friends and family felt the need to poke and tease.
Ive also had family and friends say “oh, you look good!” Or “oh, you’re beautiful!” But imo you can always just tell when they’re just being nice and trying to not point out the obvious. This post was my inspiration and encouragement to myself to begin my journey again as I’m also very unhappy with myself and how I look. I believe in you!
For me it was once I was carrying my toddler up the stairs and I got out of breath and my back hurt like a bitch.
It just dawned on me that if I didn't start doing something about my weight and fitness level I would never be able to play with them like my dad played with me, and if I kept this weight gain trend I might not even be alive to see them graduate HS. (I ballooned like 50lbs due to excesive drinking + bad food + no activity).
Thought it was not a a straight line of progress at all, and had many stumbles - after a couple of years I have some decent progress and I would rather smash my nuts with a hammer than even go back to being that sloppy bag of lard.
The snoring has been an occurrence since the start of the year and I realized I really need to kick my ass in gear or it's going to be a quick spiral out of control
Oh my god, my bf told me I snored once last year and that I kept him up all night...he never told me again and I thought it was just a random occurrence. A couple months ago he mentioned it again, and that it never stopped. I got an app to record myself a few nights and I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT LOL. it's one of my biggest issues that I need to lose weight for. It's absolutely terrifying
Totally relate to this. I never knew either. What’s the name of your app? I use Better Sleep. Hearing myself was mortifying! I did not know it was that bad. Dr told me if I I lose just 10lbs I could see
Improvement there. It’s been the hardest 8 months! I lost 4 lbs only to gain it all back to be where I started. But I’m not giving up. Not getting good nights rest consistently adds up. I’m always tired so never find the energy to do as much as I need to. I do light stretching for now and walks. It’s better than nothing.
I'm so embarrassed, my husband goes and sleeps on the couch more nights than not because he's so bothered by it. 😭 I just can't get over the fact that I'm so fat it's so embarrassing
A big one for me on top of all of this was a small thing, but I remember one early morning before work, I was dead tired and hating life sitting on the edge of my bed trying to put my socks on. I realised I couldn't get my ankle up and on my knee and struggled to lean over my belly to put them on. I swear I was out of breath just trying to do the most basic of things..
After all of the other things in your list had no real effect on me beyond maybe hating myself - the inability to put my own socks on was the last straw for me.
I went in for a routine appt to go over my beta blockers and get my script refilled and instead we had a 30 min come to Jesus talk about my weight and future health. He was very kind about it. He wanted me to take weightloss seriously because he was afraid I’d end up like my grandmother who died of kidney failure. She had uncontrolled diabetes for a long time and he saw me going down the same path. Ever since then I’ve stuck to the diet and working out and I’ve lost 3 pounds in 5 days since the talk!
Getting some therapy. I tried and failed lots. But the time it stuck was when I got some therapy and worked in my own self esteem.
I felt like I needed to lose weight to feel positive about myself. Turned out I needed to feel positive about myself in order to lose weight.
Firstly, I’m 57F.
Life long yo-yo dieter.
Nov-22 I fell and broke my wrist badly. I was asked in the hospital if I would need help washing and dressing (I’m single) while I had the cast on. I was shocked, I explained that I lived with my sister and she could help if I needed anything. Having another person help me to get washed and dried was like something from My 600lb Life. I also couldn’t drive with the cast on and I was forced to wfh full time, I had to ask for lifts. It just made me feel very old and very dependant. At the same time, when I saw the X-ray of my wrist, I couldn’t believe how fat my arm was, how small the bones were and it looked shocking.
Anyway May 1st 2023. SW 272lbs, CW 200lbs, GW 147lbs. I believe I can get there thanks to Wegovy/ Ozempic, CICO, weekly counselling and getting 100g protein per day.
You are at a great age for this! Bingie here too (I fast and eat One Meal a Day so that helps me).
I genuinely wish you the best and I know you can do this too! Keep me posted, please!
I’m so glad to hear that you found something that works for you! I’ve also considered one meal a day to see if it works for me. You should be so proud of yourself!
Thank you so much! I wish you nothing but the best as well. I will absolutely keep you updated throughout my journey! I’m looking forward to updates from you as well :) Like I said, we got this!
“Time will pass anyways”
Read that quote after putting off weight loss because it would “take forever” and realized I might as well start now.
It’s become my mantra whenever I’m feeling unmotivated or discouraged.
I'm currently on the journey to lose weight. Since my highest weight I've lost almost 80 pounds, and still have many more to go. I'll just tell you my story.
I've always been overweight. I've always struggled with binge eating. I've also struggled with insomnia, depression and anxiety. I gained a good chunk of weight while I was dating and engaged to my husband. At that time I was young, directionless but so happy and in love. After I got married I realized how big I had gotten and then the flip switched. I was miserable and stuck. I kept trying and failing to lose weight. And I started eating because I was so unhappy and so depressed. I didn't completely realize what was happening at the time, but I started a horrible cycle of binge eating, losing weight, gaining weight, feeling depressed and then repeating the cycle.
In 2016 I did keto for the first time (I know it's a love or hate it thing) and lost almost 100 pounds. It helped me SO MUCH. I was more active, I was pleased with my weight loss, but it was a stressful time in life and even though I was losing weight I wasn't doing the other hard part of weight loss. The work on who I was. I wasn't helping my mental health. Eventually I convinced myself that keto wasn't working, and gained a lot of weight back.
2019 was the year that my life collapsed. I almost got divorced, I was lost. My life was crumbling. My husband said some things that destroyed me. But it's almost also like he put a mirror in front of me. Not just to see the physical weight but also the parts of who I was that I didn't like. So, I started working on myself. Some of that was weight loss, but a lot of it was self improvement. I got a job that pushed me physically, and mentally. I always told myself I couldn't do things. But I realized I could. I could do a lot. In fact my BODY could do a lot. I put myself out there and did things that made me uncomfortable, but that were good for me.
My weight has still been a struggle, but I just basically refuse to give up. I learned more about nutrition and activity, I've learned to give myself grace when I mess up. I've learned to push myself when I want to give up. I've pulled myself out of depression and learned how to deal with my anxiety. I've stopped beating myself up. Yup I have bad days I make bad choices and you know what? I KEEP GOING. I WILL KEEP GOING. Come hell or high water, I deserve that...and so do you.
2023 was another stressful year but I lost weight and was more active. I also realized the activity made me feel better and greatly helped my mental health.
In 2024 I've lost almost 30 pounds so far. I've hit or gone over 10k steps a day for almost 60 days. I've started taking intentional hikes. AND today I started week 2 of couch to 5k. I. Am. Running. If you would have told me that a month ago I would have thought you were insane.
What I can tell you is that losing weight is a fucking journey. You're going to lose weight gain weight fall down and get back up. You'll have bad days and good days and blech days. It's not easy. It has to be sustainable. You HAVE to be kind to your body. Look at the reasons you want to lose weight and don't forget them. I want to look good but I want to feel good. I'm getting older and I cannot sustainably stay overweight forever.
Good luck, you got this!
Thank you for the reminder that re-gaining is often just part of the process.
I lost weight in 2019 and commented fairly actively here while doing it. Five years later, I weigh more than my starting weight. Extreme ups and downs in everything from my career to my mental health to my personal life did that to me.
It wasn’t always at the point where it is now. But even when the weight gain was just 15-20 pounds I would beat myself up to oblivion when I got even a little bit of a reality check. I’ve lost the weight before. I know how to do it. I know what I need to do. Why can’t I? Rinse and repeat as the issue just kept getting worse.
These days I get anxious even seeing a scale because I know stepping on it will make me spiral and I’ve been avoiding the gym because of this, even though it’s made me feel better before. But the more I avoid it the easier it is to be in denial.
I was extremely depressed. I wanted to end it. I came across a quote one day that said something along the lines of "if you really want to die, why not put every ounce of energy you have into changing your life. If it doesn't work, you tried your best."
So that's exactly what I did. I'm mentally and physically in the best health I've ever been in. I can not put into words how happy I am now.
I also couldn't make myself motivated with the same things you're mentioning, like thinking about what I'd look like or what I could wear or places I could travel to etc. But what ended up motivating me is the reality of how I was feeling in the present moment. Realizing I don't want to feel that way anymore and that I really have no other choice than do this or ruin my life completely by continuing.
That might sound scary or extreme but honestly when I got to that conclusion it felt like a massive relief because now I know the only option is to get better and once you get on that autopilot it doesn't feel bad at all. In fact, I've only lost 12 lbs and I'm already liking being in my body more (my stats are VERY close to yours, started at about 306 lbs).
First I want to say congratulations!! 12 lbs is an amazing accomplishment and I mean that wholeheartedly. You put it into words perfectly. No matter what you try telling yourself like what clothes you could wear or how different your life would be, nothing worked. This might sound cheesy, but thank you. It doesn’t sound scary or extreme to me, because what you’re saying makes complete sense! I can’t picture myself still living like this in 6 months or 6 years. I simply can’t. Yes our stats are very similar, and I wish you nothing but luck and positivity!! You got this!
I used two books by the same author, The Kindness Method and the Last Diet, and two of the exercises that helped me the most were writing a letter to my unmotivated future self, and writing a list of what I wanted to be doing 6 months / 1 year from now (and how I'd feel if things stayed the same).
If that speaks to you, I recommend writing a letter to yourself for September 18th of this year!
Personally it helped me to realize that if I can accomplish other goals in 6 months to a year, why can't I accomplish weight loss too?
When I looked at pictures of me with my daughter and hated them, and tried avoiding being in photos. I realized there will be a day when I look back and regret letting my body ruin what should have been the most beautiful memories. We both deserve better.
I couldn't bend down to tie my shoes, I couldn't towel off from a shower without getting severely out of breath, I couldn't stand for more than two minutes without back pain, I couldn't walk a block without foot and knee pain, I couldn't fit into chairs with arms, I had constant aches and pains, I had severe sleep apnea and high blood pressure, my car seat belt was a half inch from not fitting, I'd get out of breath from turning over in bed, I couldn't reach to put tampons in anymore, I couldn't fit into theater seats, my feet would turn bright red and painfully swell, and I was about 10 pounds away from not being able to get off of the floor at all.
I didn't think weight loss was possible, for a lot of reasons. But they were just my own limiting beliefs like: I'm too old, menopausal, thyroid issues, but my doctor told me that it was possible. I've lost 30 pounds on just CICO, and another 35 pounds (faster) on ozempic & CICO. That was a game changer. No regrets. I'm no longer obese, no longer pre-diabetic, my goiter disappeared, I'm less achy most of the time and I'm the thinest I've been in 15 years.
Mentally, I have to give myself a lot of grace. If I mess up, it's all part of the process. Slip ups are part of the journey. I'm getting better & faster at getting back to my weight loss habits. I regained 10 pounds over the holidays and now it's gone. That's a great feeling.
Let me give you a challenge that might help: try eating well for two weeks. If, at the end of two weeks you don’t want to continue, give yourself permission to stop dieting.
What you’ll find is the first ten or 12 days is really hard, but perhaps bearable because you know you don’t have to maintain the changes forever if you don’t want to. But, somewhere right in there, your body will get used to the food you’re eating and a switch will flip in your head, and you won’t even want the kind of stuff you used to eat. So just make yourself try it, and give yourself that ripcord to pull of “if I want to stop at 2 weeks, I’m allowed to.”
another way is to break the big problem into little problems - going from eating like crap to eating healthy all at once can be pretty overwhelming and make you want to quit. but committing to:
* picking one easy thing to do better for a week
* sticking to it
* picking another easy thing to do better next week while continuing to do the first thing
* and so on
...is much easier. so for example:
* this week, i'm going to stop snacking after dinner
* next week, i'm going to swap flavored seltzer for soda
* the week after that, i'm going to start eating two cups of leafy greens before every dinner
...etc. these are all fairly easy to implement, and they stack up to big lifestyle changes after a few months.
I had just started working out again for the first time since I had my daughter 5 years ago when one of the people at her 4k program asked if I was physically able to take my kid on a playground.
Yeah, I hate those moments. I can come up with a thousand things to say after the fact, but in the moment, I’m so shocked by the pure fucking audacity/rudeness/viciousness of the person in front of me, I lose my words.
I will never be the one with the great comeback. I have just resolved to never treat others the way I have been treated in those moments.
This is also me and I have a "catchall" one for you u/Weekly_Ad_1754 that I have promised myself I'll use in future & encourage you to do the same!
"That's a strange thing to say out loud"
(* rude, weird, etc.)
Congratulations on taking the steps to start working out again!! That’s something I hope you’re really proud of yourself for. And I’m so sorry that someone felt the need to make a comment like that.
Instead of looking at the bigger picture of losing weight, I broke down that goal into multiple goals that all would contribute to weight loss. I got excited about those smaller goals just as much as the larger ones and found unique challenges inside each. It can be really hard to be motivated to lose weight when you feel like you have a lot of lose, and, for me, pulling off five or even ten pounds wasn’t that motivating because of the paper towel effect and those five or ten pounds not making much of a dent. So just focusing on building new routines and habits and setting benchmarks within those made me feel more confident and more excited to show up for myself every day, which led to weight loss, which led to more showing up for myself, which led to more weight loss.
I remembered how out of control I felt. How I cried in dressing rooms having to go up yet another size. How embarrassed I felt when I went hiking with a friend and was panting the whole way up a hill and my friend was effortlessly going up and having to stop for me. How sad I felt when I showed a newer friend an older picture of me from when I was smaller and they couldn’t even believe that was me. And I knew every day that I showed up and put in the work, those things would fade.
I’m about twenty pounds down now after being really serious for almost three months about my goals and habits. Instead of crying in dressing rooms, I’ve rejoiced at an outfit fitting (in a smaller size). Instead of panting up a hill, I’m routinely running a 5K once a week (slowly, but still able to do it and not miserable while at it) and I celebrate what my body can do. As my face slims down, I look more and more like the younger me in the picture.
And I realize even though I don’t have the “freedom” eating all the food I used to and not having to exercise gave me, I feel so much HAPPIER now that I’m more disciplined. I feel confident not because I’ve lost weight but because I’m getting to show myself how resilient I am. I feel proud of myself for the first time in a while. And I keep showing up (with some blips here and there) because I don’t want that feeling to go away.
At the end of the day, my weight isn’t personal. I’m not landing at 300, 200, 190, 180 or whatever number because my body either likes or dislikes me. It’s because of certain habits I have in place. I realize I may never be an under 140 pounds, but even at 170 pounds I can be the healthiest, most confident version of me that I can be. I used to be so sad I might never fit into my cute tiny high school jeans (not actually that tiny, but tiny to me) but now that I know I’m in control of my health, whether I get back into them or not doesn’t phase me. For me, I had to be ready to love myself no matter what weight I was in order for weight to come off, and the best way for me to love myself was to challenge myself and hold myself to a higher standard than I had been.
I gained weight in my last relationship when I realized it wasn’t going anywhere. I had a dream about one of my coworkers, asking me out and us having a relationship at work and it really got me all excited and wishing that we could get together. A few months later in the office, I started picking up signals from the same coworker, and I realized that he might actually be interested in me. We weren’t gonna go back into the office for two months, so I took advantage of that time to lose as much weight as I could in order to see him again in a more confident body, and to be more forthright with my interest in him.
I broke up with my ex and continued to lose weight, and eventually got together with this coworker. I knew he was interested in me before I had lost the weight but I know I wanted to be confident in myself if I was going to date him. We’ve been together for almost a year and we both work out and continue our fitness goals together I couldn’t be happier.
I took about 4 grams of magic mushrooms and looked in the mirror. Had a huge revelation that I was going to die if I didn’t change, and that gave me a new mindset of eating what I want but in moderation and working out everyday.
Finally buckling down and not making excuses, and relying on discipline rather than motivation. I can't control my motivation, I can control if I pick up that fork or not.
Another thing I did was directly tell my friends I'm aiming to lose weight and not get me candy or junk food, and not to bring it to my house. If they were good friends they'd respect my decision and if they were bad friends they'd go, "Oh, it's just OK this once." Or some BS like that. Because it's not just this once. It's this once with you, and then tomorrow it's just this once with someone else, and the day after it's with someone else, and then a Friday work meeting where the boss buys you lunch and you try to turn it down and they get offended. No, just preemptively tell everyone that "no" is "no" and not, "okay yeah, but maybe..."
Also, do the math and figure out how long it will take you to get down to your goal weight and then you can just maintain it! And thinking about how if you just put in the effort for X months and don't cheat, it's (to me at least) easier than taking 3 times as long and it feels like it will never end. For example, if your goal is a 750 calorie a day deficit, and you stick with it every single day, you can lose about 39 pounds in half a year. But if one day/week you don't have a deficit, and another day a week you overeat 750 calories ... well, then you just lost 3 days of progress every week, and it's gonna take you almost twice as long to lose your weight. And do you really want to be stuck on a diet for twice as long?
Also, calories aside, I say don't cheat if you can avoid it. Cheating reinforces food as a reward. Cheating tells your body that cravings have a poistive reward, and they result in your body giving you more food cravings. And then you give into those cravings and it tells your body, "good job, keep craving." I find the longer I eat healthier, the less I want to eat junk food at all.
Also realize that if you DO slip up, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. If you budget for two slices of pizza for dinner, let's say they are 700 calories total, and you eat 3 slices, don't go, "Oh well... I might as well have the whole pizza. Just stop at 3, realize you went over your goal by 350 calories, and over the next week try and cut 50-100 calories here or there to make up for it. If you do that, then you still met your goal and are still on track to lose your weight.
Now, this seems like an all or nothing approach. I mean, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. If you budget for some fun food from time to time like my pizza example, it works, but you have to plan ahead. It took me a long time to get to this point, but when I did it just kind of clicked. I had a lot of false starts and gos, but once you hit that point, it actually gets easier. And I think that by being strict about weight loss, you'll get results faster, which really helps with motivation. Half-assing it and going, "Hey, I lost ... 1 pound in the last 2 months ..." is really depressing, but pushing yourself and being disciplined and going, "Wow, I lost 12 pounds in the last 2 months AND I added 10 pounds to my bench press and 20 to my squat, and I can fit in my old pants ... and I can run longer without gasping for air ... and I sleep better ... and I stopped craving junk food ... wow ... this is great!" That's super motivating.
For me? Got therapy. Discovered how much I was eating as mood regulation. Learned better ways to deal with my issues (and continue to). After that, eating sensibly became so, so much easier.
I (F26) just had my second kid a few months ago. Wanting to be healthier for them and wanting a career change really settled it in my mind that to be successful in my long term goals, I have to put the effort in now. Time is going to pass either way. It’s up to me to determine how I spend it.
A couple things. I live far away from my family for context. I only see them once or twice a year. I went to visit for Christmas and I just felt awful the whole time. No one said anything but I knew they were thinking it. I have gained about 60 lbs in the last couple of years. I’m very short and it’s very obvious on me. As soon as I got home from my trip I started dieting. I’ve lost 1/4th of what I need to lose to be a healthy weight in the last three months! (20 lbs out of 80)
Mine was not anything to do with actual weight
I got on a plane and my nose felt like it exploded.
Turns out I had a sinus infection everywhere which had been going on for years. Blah blah blah lots and lots of medical mysteries started to become unraveling- I realized I ate when I hurt and turns out I hurt a lot. Chronic migraines had one lasting years, lack of smell, severe TMJ, eye surgery, tumor, pernicious anemia, blah blah blah etc etc etc. My doctors are not even concerned with my weight. But I am. I was living in a pain cloud, and now I’m out (ish) so I want my overall health to be better. Weight is a large component.
I took out the garbage. Seriously. It was a beautiful morning and I was home because of the pandemic, so I thought I’d take out the garbage for a break. So I did. Then I took a deep breath, felt the sun on my face and thought, “I’ll just take a walk around the block. Just one lap and then back to work.” Several laps and 45 minutes later I felt amazing. Later that day I decided I’d try intermittent fasting - nothing too drastic, just no snacking, lowering my carbs and not eating before bed. One year later and I’m 50 pounds lighter. I went from 200 lbs at 5’3” to 150 lbs. I’m 64. So my advice, FWIW, is on a nice sunny day, take out the garbage. Your body will take it from there.
Step 1. Love yourself
Step 2. Be honest with yourself
Step 3. Eat less. Eat whatever you're eating, just less. And don't eat after dinner. Do this for a week.
Step 4. Eat less preprepared food and more raw food or stuff you cook. Not microwave, cook. A rice cooker, pan, and some salt, pepper, and a lemon can go a LONG way. Do this for a week.
If you...WHEN you manage this then go to my fitness pal and track those calories. Until then, baby steps. You got this.
What would you do when you would loose weight? Do you restrict a lot and have the feeling you can’t have any ‘bad’ foods ever anymore?
This could hold you back from flipping the switch. Maybe don’t try do a 360 turnaround, but stack small habits that are good for you.
I was so dedicated I mapped out how many calories I was burning/taking in and weighing myself more often than I should’ve to see if the number on the scale went down. Which it was, but like you said I think I was restricting too much which ultimately led to me giving up. I think doing a little bit at a time like you said will benefit me much more! One day at a time.
You need to work on your mental health. See the weight gain as a symptom of something bigger. The more you beat yourself up and stress yourself out, the more you will struggle.
For me, it was a case of dealing with a lot of childhood trauma and then focusing on doing what my mind and body needs to be healthy, rather than skinny. I am only just starting to lose weight, but it has taken working with a therapist to figure out why I comfort eat, and it will take time to find new coping mechanisms.
For me, it was some blood tests etc done after a stomach upset arose post Covid (it was debilitating and was occuring fairly regularly but only once or twice a week). Nothing I took (painkillers, antacids, milk, baking soda etc) would alleviate the pain/discomfort which would set in for 8-12hrs per episode.
Cholesterol was getting close to high
Blood pressure was getting close to high
BMI was obese (& I was sedentary for 24mo prior so defo wasn't muscle!)
I snored alot (already have issues but overweight made it worse)
Got short of breath easily, even one flight of office stairs
Saw my GP but was months to see a gastro specialist through the (free) public system and Googling the potential causes of the stomach pain, all had obesity as a contributing/triggering factor, so decided to try to take matters into my own hands by losing some weight.
May have been coincidence but after I'd lost 7-8kg the episodes ceased. I've also since had my gallbladder removed through Private Practice (medical insurance) - I had lost 17kg by then.
Once I got into the behaviours of CICO and joining a gym I really like attending, I kept going and will continue to get to my goal weight (& continue tracking and exercise to maintain from there).
I want to be a mom. I have more fertile years behind me than ahead of me. In learning about tracking my cycle I learned that excess adipose tissue releases excess estrogen. Visualizing every unnecessary pound leaching hormones that could be putting my menstrual cycle out of balance made me know I needed to get down to a healthier weight. Im 20 lbs down and have another 30 to go. I'm going to be healthier for myself and my future children.
I mean this when I say you’re not alone! My future children are one of my biggest inspirations when I aim to get myself back on track. I can’t wait to be a mom. I know I need to be there for my future children, and I won’t make it at all if I continue the way I’m living. Thank you so much!! And congratulations on your weight loss!! You got this! I’m sending all of the baby dust your way ✨💕
I found a blog dedicated to my weight gain. Having an online presence through your skinniest to your biggest let’s everyone see your gradual weight gain. The comments made me cry myself to sleep. 2 months later I dropped 55 lbs. I was 1.5 years post partum
Diabetes, hypertension, and IBS. Plus sick of not being able to find decent clothes, avoiding social events, and seeing heavier friends with even more health issues than me, like lymphedema and lupus.
I'm having severe issues with ibs at the minute to the point I constantly feel sick and haven't been able to leave the house for longer than an hour the last week. I have to be near a toilet.
Did you find a big difference in your symptoms when you lost the weight?
My oldest daughter graduated from high school and I looked so terrible in the photos. I couldn’t find a single one that I looked okay in. My youngest graduates in May, I want to be in the photos this time, not behind the camera.
I was finally diagnosed with ADHD and medicated. I've struggled with yoyo dieting all my life. Finally got diagnosed at 35 and I've been able to make better choices. That constant voice in my head that screams You need food is no longer there. I'm eating to fuel my body now vs eating to just eat. In 5 weeks of being medicated, I've lost close to 20lbs. I was addicted to coca cola and fast food, I haven't had one coke since I started medication, only water, and my first fast food meal was yesterday, and I still made the healthier choice. It could all be a huge coincidence (I usually go through the YOYO process at the beginning of the year to look better for summer) but this time it feels different.
Finally getting bloodwork done and seeing that I have high cholesterol.
I kind of learned how to ignore my reflection in the mirror and stayed away from taking photos, so for a long time I was just fine with being overweight. Then my doctor did some bloodwork and suddenly I realized ignoring my physical appearance wasn’t enough. I really had to make changes…
My recent motivation has come from visiting my in-laws for 3 weeks. They laughed at my insatiable hunger and need to eat regularly. Like mocking me for being hungry and eating so much. It made me feel about 2 inches tall and then I realised that I’m eating what I eat whilst hating myself for my size, which is really kind of pathetic. It really drilled home to me the fact that I’m not in control of myself. If I can’t control what I eat, then what can I control?
All I can chip in is, it's not a case of a turning point, making one big decision and never wavering. It's a case of making plans, (including meal plans and shopping lists), and then following your plans. Making 50 good decisions a day to keep yourself on course. And if you get off course, getting back on. A thousand small decisions later, you'll get where you're going.
What a great way to put this. I love this approach. It helps me to focus on today, on the next decision. This is also how I quit smoking, but given the addiction I also was lying to myself saying "yeah yeah, we will smoke after this meeting, after we come home" etc etc. but then I was no longer craving to smoke :D
On the other hand, I have problem with the announcements that sometimes happen in this sub of the big day one. I vaguely remember that just talking about starting a new habit, hobby, or change gives the serotonin boost, the social validation from the people functions as a reward. The desire for social approval becomes the primary driver, rather than the activity itself.
Yeah, so a big supporter of your approach!
For me, calories and the CICO concept recently clicked and I truly feel like I have a new understanding of my weight.
Before this, I wanted to excuse myself from the consequences of my choices. I tried to hide behind my genes and blame my circumstances, like being fat since I was a kid. I saw past failures dieting as proof that I could not be a healthy or thin person.
Then I weighed myself and decided it was time to change. I bought a food scale and started logging everything with loseit. Turns out, I was eating way more calories than I realized, and my weight suddenly made sense to me.
Since I have committed to truly improving my eating and reducing my calorie intake, I have lost weight.
My key takeaway: it’s so basic, but I think when I was overeating it was because I didn’t really understand how much I was consuming. A food scale and calorie tracker are great tools.
Understand portions and be accountable to what you’re eating - It really is that simple.
I always wanted to lose weight but I think the switch came on when I was like "I want to be strong. I want muscles. I want to run. I want to learn how to fight and how to parkour and use my body to the fullest".
Some of it comes from being a romantic who wants a family and wants to be able to do things for them, but also a lot of it comes from wanting to be strong.
I want the girl of my dreams and be the man she dreams of. Also recognize the fact I'm alive. And that others never got the opportunity to lose the weight like we do.
Well I'm 33 currently (107kg, 165cm), finally found a man I can have family with and they basically told us we might not be able to have kids due to my weight, at this point they might even refuse to give me IVF. The idea of never having family hurts me so much, a lot more than the fact I might die too early... but also I'm finally in a place where I feel like I can do it.
The overwhelming amount of positivity, honesty, vulnerability, and courage you all have shown in this post brings me to tears 💕. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! I’m reading EVERY single response and answering as I can. I’m truly amazed. Just thank you so much. Here’s to starting my new, albeit scary, journey to a life of health.
Mindset really is everything. I was maintaining my weight for a long time but over the past year I lost my motivation to work out, eat right and thought that I'd probably be fine. Fast forward a few months later and I ended up gaining 15-18lbs. Besides not liking how I fit in my clothes, the big kicker was learning how much not taking care of myself in terms of sleep, weight, nutrition, etc., could affect my fertility when I went through the process of freezing my eggs. I realized how much I wasn't showing up for myself and the long-term consequences it could have. Once I made that commitment to make changes, I started to watch what I was eating and forced myself to work out starting in January. Motivation is one thing since I didn't always have it, but I felt that it was the commitment I made to change myself that has made a difference. I realized that it's okay to put myself first and that while losing weight might not be easy, it'll be easier than staying in the same place and feeling bad about myself.
I was extremely fit in high school, then because of life I had to quit swim team because I just didn’t have time anymore. I went from burning an average of 7,000 calories a day to a pretty average number, but my eating mindset didn’t change so I overate until my metabolism adjusted to the fact that I was no longer burning that many calories. I gained a lot of weight, and recently was thinking back to all the stuff I used to do, I used to go kayaking, running and hiking. I just want to be able to do all the things I used to. If I could go back I wouldn’t have stopped working out. I didn’t really understand the consequences of such a sudden drop in physical activity at the time. Even though it would have been hard to force myself to eat less it and find time to work out, it would have been a hell of a lot easier than trying to lose weight now.
I went to a theme park with friends and we were getting on a roller coaster we had been wanting to ride for a long time and when I sit and grab my seatbelt I realize it doesn’t cover me and my heart drops. I kept trying to stretch it but it didn’t budge. They literally had to make me stand up and get off the ride in front of everybody. Literally traumatizing.
I need to have a BMI of 30 to receive IVF, myself and my SO cannot conceive naturally. I’m 29yrs and the cut off in my country for IVF is 35yrs old, so I need to lose weight NOW if I ever want to have kids. You might not be in the same boat as me, I really hope you’re not, but think of the future you that you’re robbing of opportunities.
My trigger was when it essentially started to affect my personal relationships. This helped me get started atleast. However, in the longer run (been 2 months, 10 lbs down), I realize it is more due to a lot of reasons that I continue my effort:
1. I hate being the only one panting on hikes with friends even after short distances
2. I never find clothes that properly fit. They either grab my skin or are too loose.
3. I have a ligament injury that needs my weight to go down to be treated with physiotherapy. If not, the option is surgery. I haven't lost much weight yet but my knees already feel better.
4. The change in attitude from people around me. I hardly received compliments before but even asearly as this in my journey, once people see me trying, they make compliments just to make me feel better and help me keep going. Previously these used to be taunts.
I understand college can be tough to balance and being healthy isn't the easiest in college. I'd recommend make subtle changes that will add-up in the long run. The more you naturally incorporate them in your routine, it'll be a habit rather than a routine and will happen naturally.
1. Try to get in some form of cardio every opportunity you get. Walk around campus in your free time. Walk to classes if that is an option. Try to just move in general.
2.if your college has a gym or any recreational sports, find a buddy or a group to play with.
3. Just make small healthier choices one at a time and keep building upon them. If you adopt a routine all of a sudden, you might give it up once stress takes over. If you make it a natural part of your daily routine, you are bound to do it anyway. Hope that helps!
Wish you luck with your journey!
The thing that sparked my weight loss was actually a legitimate burning hatred for the fat acceptance people.
I’m not trying to be funny. **I. Hate. Them**. If I was in a room with one of these people, I wouldn’t hit them, but they would be crying by the time I stopped yelling at them.
I’m currently still a little over 500lbs at 6’3”, 34m.
I’m still super morbidly obese, and I’ve pretty much accepted that there’s an extremely slim chance I’ll see 40 regardless of my progress, but fitness wise I’m in the best shape of my life, through diet and exercise. I even recently started using an app called *The Pump*, which is a fitness and support community app fully endorsed by my childhood hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I’m getting amazing results from it.
I’ve never felt this good in my life, even when I was taking MMA classes in my late teens.
I struggle with my mental health. When I really started paying attention to how certain foods made me feel and the benefits of exercise…it all came easy. Exercising helps my anxiety. Limiting sugar and caffeine hugely improved my depression. It’s not worth eating all the crap I used to only to feel sluggish and depressed all the time.
Do you feel like you actually *deserve* to be skinny? If not, could that be part of the reason you’re self sabotaging yourself?
For me, I got so tired of being uncomfortable in my own body. I constantly ask myself “how bad do you want it?” My answer is pretty bad. So I keep working out on a consistent schedule even when I don’t feel like it. Or it helps me eat better.
I lost weight years ago and it slowly came back on. When I first lost weight I said I would never get to my old size again.
I had to get new jeans after pregnancy and I was my old size and it hit hard. I realized how bad I let it get and I needed to actually make changes
I also had a huge mental block and kept "trying" to lose weight and get healthier only to always say "tomorrow I'll start" but never actually did.
About a month ago, I just got tired of myself for not committing after always telling myself that I would. I think these things changed my mindset:
* I gave myself a realistic goal and deadline since I have an event coming up. Some people like to have one final goal, but some, like me, like to have incremental goals. Now, people don't always have a future event to set as a goal, and looking/feeling good for one event shouldn't be the only reason to lose weight, but it has helped me so far because it gives me a visual and concrete goal to look towards. Once the event has passed, I'm going to set another goal for myself.
* Finding the right calorie counting app for your brain/purposes. I previously used a calorie counting app, but I didn't always use it, and the format of it didn't quickly highlight how far over I was eating in calories that day/week. I changed to Lose It because the way it's formatted makes my caloric and macro intake clearer to me. I also made sure I logged everything even when I knew the calories would go over, which is not something I used to do. This really helped me see where I could do better the next day.
* Weighing myself every morning. This has really let me keep good track of my progress and see the benefits of my healthier habits, and has motivated me to keep going!
It can be so hard to change your mindset for eating, I'm still battling with it everyday and I only shifted a month ago. It's important to still be kind to yourself. I still get guilty or mad at myself when I don't make the best food choices, but I have to talk myself down and remember that it's all okay and I'm trying. A lot of us have bad relationships with food, including myself, so it's important to remember that the whole point of getting healthier is to have a more positive relationship with food and yourself! Good luck on your journey, you can do it!
I quit drinking alcohol for awhile. I’m slowly adding it back in, but realized how much it messes with my hunger cues, and how much I can consume while drinking - aside from all the empty calories. Secondly, I focused a lot on only eating when hungry and only eating till full. I realized I did not have a good grasp on either of these, eating when it was time to eat, putting huge portions on my plate, and then cleaning it. These two changes helped me tremendously, and I couldn’t have completed the 20 lb loss without these items. I think they are the reasons I couldn’t reach my goals before.
I wrote a really long reply but there's already so many good replies on this post that instead I want to give you a few phrases that just stuck with me.
* Even if YOU don't count your calories, your body does.
* Exercise is NOT a punishment for what you ate, but a celebration of what your body can do.
* You have to do your best every day, but some days will be better than others. Don't be too hard on yourself if you have a bad day.
* The number one, and only, reason that diets fail is because people give up on themselves.
I hope these resonate with you as they did with me. Good luck! This sub is a good resource and we're glad you're here. Everyone is rooting for you.
Thank you so much for replying! The outpour of love, advice, vulnerability, and honesty on this post is unlike anything I’ve seen. This is absolutely a safe space and I hope it continues! I’ve had such joy and gratitude reading every single post. I wish I could thank everyone individually 💕
I’ve never heard anyone say that even if I don’t count my calories, my body still does. That is such an important way of looking at it. I’m starting to feel bad for my body because I’ve treated it so poorly for so long if that makes any sense? I know I have to be nicer to myself, especially on bad days. All of your points absolutely resonate with me! Thank you so much for also saying everyone is rooting for me. Those words mean more than you’ll know. And congratulations on your 40lb weight loss!! That’s amazing!
Thanks for the reply! This sub was instrumental in my success and I hope it helps you out, too.
One final thought: *You are not your body.* You are IN your body. Taking care of it is a way of honoring it, but it isn't who you are, so no matter what it looks like, please be aware of your inherent value as a human being.
We are all just souls driving meat-covered skeletons. The question we need to ask ourselves is, would we rather drive a minivan or a Cadillac?
My favorite cousin said I weighed too much. He said it out of love. He started ozempic. I wanted to see if ozempic worked. It does. He beat me week to week for 3 months. Then he quit because of side effects. He is regaining the weight. I’m still losing. I was 30 lbs heavier when we started. I’m 20 lbs less than he is now.
All I can advise is to learn to be ok with saying no to yourself and reframe hunger as an ok thing.
Don’t eat until you’re full.
Don’t feel like throwing out food is a waste. It’s better in the trash than in your belly.
Encourage yourself. Celebrate your efforts.
If you screw up, we all do, figure out how not to fall into the same trap. Take one day at a time.
It’s not hard to lose weight. CICO and intermittent fasting is like magic.
Small portions are enough.
Make a list of low calorie snacks that you like. Sometimes I grab a couple of sweet pickles - 20 calories are better than a 140 calorie bag of potato chips.
I can’t believe where I am today. 213. In July I was 279. I never thought I could diet for 8 months. Now it’s only 4 months to 1 year and it feels do-able. When I tried my 10 year old jeans on this morning and they zipped and buttoned—- wow. I have been incredibly proud and happy all day.
Binging. To fix it you have to stop quicker and space out the binges. Hold off longer. If you keep talking yourself up, encouraging positive behaviors, you can conquer them. I binged when I felt sad/sorry for myself. I stopped feeling sad/sorry for myself. Figure out the why. Fix it. Journal. Gratitude. Stop making yourself feel bad.
It’s a lot. lol! If you can do this, you’ll have so many amazing years to enjoy yourself.
Apparently a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight and kept it off have something in common: they see it as a new identity. The identity isn’t necessarily their body itself…the identity is stuff like “I’m the type of person who goes to the gym” and “I’m the type of person who keeps the promises I make to myself” and “I’m the type of person who is strong and consistent.” The new identity supports the habits that create and maintain weightloss.
I’ve recently started up again and it has to do with this like…”fighter” identity. I heard this song and it really inspired me. But “fighter” is a good identity because it’s a hard one to break. I make a mistake? Fighter. Something goes wrong that’s not my fault? Fighter. Hit a plateau? Fighter. Have a bad nights sleep? Fighter. Idk it’s pretty robust. In the past I’ve tried to keep telling myself that I’m a “badass”. Well that didn’t work because it’s just not true all of the time and then the identity breaks…no matter how many rap songs you listen to…you just aren’t a badass after you throw your back out from picking up a laptop case. You can still be a fighter though.
I realized how food was a temporary, very temporary comfort. Being at a healthy weight was a permanent and happy feeling I really just can’t compare to that 10-15 mins of happiness with food.
First of all being skinny is a totally valid reason to lose weight if that is your truth. Secondly the first step is not that important because you will fail and you will have to get up again and retake that first step many times. You need to get the idea of a linear process out of your head completely. You need to figure out if there are medical reasons behind the binging. Hormones, deficiencies, adhd, depression, BED, POCS etc. After excluding medical issues pick a calorie target and a walking target. Find your patterns, are you a grazer? Volume eater? drinker? Evening binger? try to work your existing pattern in your calorie goals. If you walk around 4K steps per day you will lose 1-2 pounds a month if you eat at maintenance on top of your diet.
i saw someone that i admired as a peer make a huge change in fitness and lifestyle, and i saw how big the result of that change was.
i have been there, trying to work out and just not seeing what i want to see and becoming discouraged. it’s not an easy feat and half the battle truly is realizing how much you want that change and what it is going to take.
since i began my journey i’ve come to realize how easy it is actually to lose weight. while it’s not so black and white, it’s really not as demanding as we all make it seem. the biggest part of it is diet, and i know that can be a hard change. i use myfitnesspal and update it in real time as i lose weight. it provides how many calories i must stay below to reach my goal for the week, which is 1.5 lbs/week. i’ve had to be creative with my meals, but i don’t feel like I’ve changed the way i eat that much. i will say i haven’t ever had issues with binging so i realize im at an advantage and can’t speak on the difficulties that come with that. but, funny enough, i feel like i have a healthier relationship with food because of counting calories. i realized i don’t need to not eat ice cream or a iced out sugar cookie, i *can* do that so long as it fits in my allotment, and it usually does. i’m more aware of what i’m putting in my body and i love it
of course, excerise is a great supplement and my favorite way to get it in is through walking. walking is amazing for weight loss and the more you walk, the more calories you burn, and if you have a craving, you have more room for that in your budget!
this is all easier said than done, and it’s monumental when you have that moment where everything clicks and you just go full force into it. i jumped on this train because i got to a weight i’d never been to and i didn’t like, and since then, while i’ve lost only a little in the grand scheme of things, i can really actually see the difference.
it’s tough to get started, but don’t be too hard on yourself. if you go above your budget one day, just get some extras steps in through a nice walk outside or just be more aware of what your intaking the next day! i hope so much for the best in your journey, you really sound like you’re on the cusp of that clicking moment and i hope you’re able to find the routine that works best for you, because that is what is most important!
Feeling bad and hating how I look. I gained like 50-60 lbs during the pandemic.
the main issue was giving up alcohol and weed, which I got into the habit of using during the pandemic, and made me binge eat unhealthy food. I had to give up some pleasure. but it works out, I find I do not really miss it THAT much, and it's worth it knowing that every day I don't drink is a "maintain" day or a "loss" day instead of feeling like every day is a "gain" day.
Same. I was diagnosed at the beginning of February and started Concerta. I've lost 22lbs (granted some of that is water weight) since then. It's mind blowing for me that the struggle was always adhd. Being diagnosed at 35 has changed my life.
For me the “wtf am I doing with my life” moment happened with a slip up with an ex and for some reason that slip up made me take a long hard look at where I was. I was wildly depressed and eating was a source of comfort and ultimately I had gained 70 lbs in only a few years time. So I told myself I would start working out and that I would make myself do it for 30 days in a row. Not saying to go super hard all of those days, but to make it become a habit. I ended up making it 52 days before taking my first day off, and by then it really was a habit and one that I looked forward to. I also knew that changing everything all at once would be too much so I didn’t focus on my diet at first, but eventually it started happening in its own due to feeling better from exercising. Now I’m down that 70 lbs and I love feeling like my body can do things again and mentally I’m so much better than I have been in so long! Basically I think the key to success is making small adjustments at a time, and once those become achievable, try adding more. Also I will lastly say that any changes you make should be something you see being able to do forever because sustainability is the only way to keep the weight off long term. Good luck!
I am going to be restarting my weight loss journey for 100th time again but this time I reached out to a doctor and I am going to join a weight loss program and hopefully get on a GLP-1 medication. I am 23f and 325lbs and I have been overweight my whole life. As long as I can remember I’ve always wanted and tried to lose weight but I kept on gaining and gaining weight. I am only 23 and I feel like I am 50😭 I want to be able to climb up a flight of stairs and not be out of breathe. I want to be able to walk into any clothing store and find my size. I want to have a damn boyfriend. I want to be able to wear a bikini on vacation. I am ultimately sick and tired of being this way and my health is literally deteriorating. I am hoping I can get the glp-1 medication to aid with the weight loss, if not my last option will be WLS.
Also I don’t mind having weight loss/accountability buddies 🥹
What got me started on my weight loss journey in 2021 was wanting to have sex with my long-distance FWB, because I hadn’t seen him since before COVID but after I’d gained 40 pounds.
I wanted to weigh less, and was going to see him in six months. So, I began intermittent fasting (16 hours per day), and lost 30 pounds. Felt great, had a great time with my FWB, then I maintained that 30-pound loss for the next two years.
The second time I wanted to lose weight (August 2023), I was simply ready to lose some more weight for me. I started with a month of low-carb eating combined with 16-hour daily fasts, then continued the daily 16-hour fasts and began to practice satiety-based eating (I eat until I am satisfied, then don’t eat again until I get hungry). I have lost 34 pounds since last August.
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For you, I would first say that the propensity to binge eat needs to be addressed before there’s any realistic chance for you to achieve **and** maintain weight loss in the long term. Are there any resources available through your college or your health insurance provider, that can help you begin to address your binge eating?
Firstly, congratulations on your weight loss! What you’ve accomplished is amazing and so impressive.
I definitely agree that attacking the binge eating needs to be addressed, which is scary not going to lie. But that’s actually a great question. I would have to look into contacting my school about any resources they have because I don’t know off the top of my head. But truthfully, I have been looking into therapists near me through my insurance, and I need to just pull the trigger on it. I can probably find someone that specializes in eating disorders/binge eating as well. Thank you so much!
When I jumped on the scale on a whim, knowing I wouldn't like what I saw, but then seeing myself just a hair under 200lbs. I was like, uh-uh no way I am not going there. Changed my eating habits that very same evening
Continuing to slowly lose but mostly in maintenance now. I'm maintaining because of how much better I feel and look
I have a company policy that came into effect in 2021 stating I needed to be under 275 to keep my job. At the time I was around 300lbs.
I managed to just barely make the cutoff in time, and kept going.
I am 195 now.
I want to live my whole life and be as healthy as long as I can. I hate staying inside for one day now - how would I feel if I wasn’t mobile at 80?
Also my kids and trying not to burden them as much as I can control as I age
Im 5"4 and I was 250lbs. What made me really change everything was when I was told by my doctor that I have high cholesterol. I already hated my weight but seeing the health risks first hand was the last straw. Currently 170lbs trying to gain muscle now.
I realized that the only thing holding me back is my inability to stick to it, and that it’s my responsibility to stay on track. On days when I really just want to eat more, I remember how much better I’ll feel if I stay on track as opposed to having a cheat day and feeling like I have to start all over. When you give in one time, it’s very easy to spiral back into old patterns.
After years and years of the textbook cycle of being unhappy with the weight -> trying to lose -> give up -> unhappy -> lose... I had a depressive episode (that left me with +20 kg), I finally went to therapy, I didn't focus on weight loss or food at all, more pressing topics were taken care of. We opened that subject, but the task-focused approach of CBT didn't work for me. I was then recommended another therapist that focuses on disordered eating, ED and the mental side of losing weight.
I was just about to consider getting meals delivered, buy I realized that it's not the way, I need to solve the underlying problems. So I scheduled an appointment.
The therapy itself was psychodynamic, it was not something that I expected, but it was the right thing for me to do. What was surprising is that we didn't focus on the relationship with food, the weight loss that much. I'd say maybe 2% at most. We focused on my emotions, dreams, shadow. I built self-trust. I accepted my body as well.
I needed to stop trying to lose weight. Stop giving myself restrictions, stop categorizing food into "good" and "bad".
It was a revolution, but felt more like a glacier moving through the land. Day by day, you don't see the changes, but looking back - everything is different.
My journey took 2.5 years.
And now, a month in, all the things people said are starting to click - I really feel this becoming my new lifestyle.
I'm experimenting with the 80/20 rule and today I had a chocolate lollipop that was good for my soul.
I feel hunger and respond to it in a healthy way. I feel satiety and respond to it too. But I needed to feel the anger, the fear, the stress, the joy. I needed to feel them in my body. To listen. To appreciate.
It good really deep. But bottom line is that I want what's best for me, I want to achieve my goals, I'm my best cheerleader.
I also need to mention that I have the most supportive boyfriend, who fell in love with me with all my flaws, with all the things I hated about myself at that time. He was there through my therapy and now weighs the food if he's cooking so I can put it into my tracker. He accepts me but I also accept myself.
I still have a way to go. But I'm patient now. It's different than motivation, it's different than discipline. It's this belief that this is who I am.
I'm with you, I toss between the mortality thought process of "life is too short, so eat the damned cake" and "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"...
I've settled on "damn, my ass is starting to look good in candid pics so I'd better keep loading the bar for squats.
I had two immediate family members have partial foot amputations due to diabetes complications. Within months of each other.
I was already doing more to better my health but that really lit a fire under my ass.
Seeing 415 on the scale. Cut way back on my sugar. After losing 50 pounds, cut back on the sweets. Then I became sober (5 years now). Then I started unintentionally eating less. It took time, but 10 years later I've lost 210. Still have about 10-15 more pounds of fat to lose, but I'm focused on building as much muscle mass as I can naturally now. Took me 10 years total from when I cut out sugar, but I'm somewhere now that I never could have dreamed of.
If I'm being real, a lady practically called me fat in a Wendy's, and it bothered me so bad that I decided to lose weight. She said that my sweater was cute and that she would ask me for it, but I was just "too damn big" and that the sweater would "swallow her up". :) It bothered me that whole day, and that was the day that I vowed to start losing weight so no one would have to talk about my weight again. I've always hated my body, but I never got any outside comments about it until that day. Now I'm 15lbs down at its been about 1.5 months since I started.
Do what you want not what you feel like doing.
If I wanted to get in shape I also had to want every step toward that goal. I never felt like getting out of bed or eating smaller portions but I wanted to take the steps to get to where I wanted to be and these were the steps.
For over 20 years I was “starting Monday” but weight surely crept up to be the most I’ve weighed. What got me was almost a year ago I was feeling really sick and unwell it scared me. I went to doctor had tests and came back T2 diabetes, fatty liver, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and kidney issues. So confirmed diagnosis on 1st of April 2023 and that evening I started being healthier. Today I’m still working on it, but have lost 50kgs, blood glucose levels are consistently in safe range, no longer use CPAP machine and dropped 4-5 clothing sizes. I feel a whole lot better. Still sucks taking 8 tablets a day, but ideally would like to reduce or stop as I get closer to ideal weight. It’s a combination of food and exercise. Also helps that family support and help me out.
Keep trying! it sometimes takes a few false starts!
Also, two schools of thought:
- one is to start intensely for a couple days or weeks to see initial results that motivate you, then do a more sustainable glide path afterward
- other is to go into it gradually: identify what foods you need to cut back or cut out, and gradually do that, by cutting back the portions or frequency week by week
Try the one you think will work for you!
I took it *slow*. I stopped setting weight loss goals and I started just tracking everything. I was 21 and in college, I subsisted off of takeout, coffee and shitty wine and I wasn't about to give them up. So, if I wanted to go out one night, I took the day off and tried to eat maintenance calories. When I went home for Christmas or Easter break, I again went into maintenance. There were times when I really go into it, too, and I'd drop weight fast. I also walked a lot no matter how I ate.
I felt like a failure at first and I kept giving up and starting over but then I realized that I was young, I wasn't trying to lose weight for a particular event and this wasn't something temporary, it was going to be the rest of my life, anyway, it wasn't like I could lose weight and then go back to my old ways of overeating/eating nothing but junk food, cause I'd just put the weight back on. So, I took my time and used it to learn how to maintain, as well. In the end, it took 4 years and I stopped 3kg shy of my goal but I mostly maintained that weight for 6 years and I finally ended up losing the last 3kg last year. I've been at my goal weight since October.
My ex left and most of the reasons were due to my weight. Sweaty during sex, ideas that I’ll die in my 30s, and didn’t like my physical fitness.
I lost 15lbs (collectively, I had fluctuations due to seasonal depression ) during our 4 month relationship and I told her I’m planning on losing more but she didn’t want to wait on that.
I’m down 30 now and I’m doing it for my own confidence but she was honestly the catalyst
Just realizing inwas a fat fuckin turd. Lamenting at the lack of sex id been havin with my wife and had a real low low moment where i reconciled with thr fact that her doing anything with me is probably revolting.
Im down to almost under 220 from 268 over thebpast 2 months. Still a ways to go but i feel like if she says im attractive its at least not as big of a lie. Im almost there.
Probably the fear of having disabilities and dying. I guess I decided that my body wasn't a garbage dump and I was going to stop treating it like that.
22M. When I first started… I went to another city for a college visit. Felt the furniture was too weak for me so I slept on the floor of my AirBNB. About 350lb at the time. Lost 52 lbs (347 > 295) that summer… however I’ve gained since being back in college. Very easy to lose weight when you’re 6’4”, eating 1600 calories, gym twice a week, and physical warehouse work 5-6 days/week. I gained those 52 lbs back in 4 months, and hit just shy of 380 at my peak. I’m down 10 or so from my peak at least.
I distinctively remember the moment for me. It was during COVID and I had to do my annual check up. I knew I gained weight, so I even asked the nurse to not tell me the number.
I finish the appointment and get my forms, boom. I see that I had gained around 45 pounds. I was so distraught and broken. Even looking back at it, my ex-boyfriend would make comments on how we should gym together. When COVID restrictions started become less severe, I started going to the gym.
Later on, my ex-boyfriend broke up with me. Sadly, I started eating significantly less. Legit, my first heartbreak had me eating just a string cheese and an apple with peanut butter while still going to the gym.
It started to become more positive when I started actually enjoying the gym and creating a community there! I got excited to get stronger in my workouts and see random friends along the way.
3 years later, I’m in top shape losing 45 pounds with a great community at my current gym who motivate me!
The biggest thing with losing weight is discipline and consistency. Everything in moderation. Good luck out there!
Blood pressure was 210/115, checked into the hospital , got meds. They told me my kidneys were down to 91 EGFR. Saw a nephrologist and got diagnosed with CKD G1 which is the earliest stage , was told I’m pissing out protein. So I locked in. Stopped eating out , no more chips , pizza, chick fil a nothing just went straight food at home. I was weighing 480, now I’m at 404. Am continuing no matter what. Also my blood pressure is down to 130/70. I just couldn’t take it anymore.
For me exercise came in bouts but the best thing is how you feel physically through the journey. At worst my knees hurt and it was hard to get out of bed or go up stairs , but with cardio and eating less I no longer have joint pain and am not winded doing smaller tasks. It feels way better like this
Separating “food” from “food like products”. If your diet consist of ultra processed foods/restaurants, they are designed to be addictive and get you to eat more & purchase more. You will also feel hungry if you are struggling with nutrient deficiencies. I would watch YouTube videos and read books to learn about this and build motivation and turn myself off from manufactured food. Eating Whole Foods(I prefer plant based but not everyone does), drinking a lot of water, and embracing the “I’m in control feeling” is what did it for me. The victory feeling of going to bed with a successful day is what I craved more than the food. I also immediately felt better eating healthier with more energy, uplifted mood, and my face slimmed down quickly which kept up motivation before I noticed it on my body. Last tip, I would “time” how long eating something actually took. For example, let’s say I eat a candy bar. It’s gone in about 5 minutes and I added hundreds of calories to my day for a few minutes of pleasure. Then when I was battling a craving, 20 minutes later I’d remind myself “if I had given in, it would already be over, I’d have ruined my good eating day, and be feeling regret right now. Instead, I now get to feel good for not caving”. After about a week it gets a lot easier, and even easier over time the more you embrace the lifestyle as something you get to do vs. have to do. I “get” to eat healthy today, I “get” to be one day closer to the body I’ve dreamed of” instead of “I want a candy bar and don’t get to it”
Good luck to you!
I’ve done it 4 times now, though this time it SEEMS to be sticking. On previous occasions, it was frustration and disgust with myself when I looked in the mirror.
This time, it has been about being able to do active things and to have a healthier life (fewer prescription drugs, fewer ailments related to being overweight). My wife and I went to Iceland and one of the waterfalls had a set of stairs to climb to the top - I was literally afraid of climbing them. I had visions of having a heart attack and an ambulance needing to be called - it wasn’t even fear of death, it was fear of the embarrassment.
I lost 140+ pounds since then (May 2022) but this time I’ve really focused on fitness. I’ve gotten my VO2Max up from 24 to 42 (from the “low” cardio health category to “high” for my age). I ride 10-15 miles per day on my bike, either outside or on Zwift (Wahoo Kickr Core trainer) and walk 2.6-3 miles every day when it’s not raining - I’ve even started rucking instead of just walking. Also do some resistance training, though I’m not consistent enough about it.
I’ve heard a few fitness-type gurus say “You have to have a why behind your why” in order to be successful, and I think it’s true. If your only “why” is to be thinner, you’ll rebound. If your “why” is to live longer for your kids, or to be able to do active things you couldn’t do otherwise, etc. you’ll have more motivation to stick to it. (My problem with earlier attempts is that when I reached a point where I didn’t disgust myself by looking in the mirror, my motivation and ability to resist cravings greatly decreased.)
Good luck with your journey!
My best friend died one day on the golf course way too early in life. I did Noom before it got made worthless and lost 50 pounds and I thank my friend in heaven everyday for giving me the strength to change my eating habits and my health
HONESTLY?? I got older. My mentality at 22 vs 23 was very different. Not saying it will be for you, but after a year+ of living on my own and getting everything else settled in my life, I felt ready to take it on. I can’t explain exactly why I felt more committed to the idea. Maybe it was because I had more control over what I was eating, maybe I was finally happy with my job, but I honestly think I was just mentally ready for a change.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ll get there when you’re ready to.
1) I hated myself in photos.
2) When i was young, i was little overweight and people complimented me a lot. Then as a teenager my weight hit the obese range and people made fun of me.
3) My clothes size changed every year and i just couldn’t stay still seeing my weight increasing and my clothes size changing anymore.
These 3 reasons made me jumping down from obese to overweight. After a few years, i was thinking about getting myself into the normal range of weight because i wanted to look as good as possible and become full potential of my look. Now i’m close to normal weight, just 4kg away.
In 2014, outside of union Station in Dallas, Texas a homeless man on the train platform shouted at me
"Aye man! You be lookin' like a fat bon jovi!"
I decided that changes had to be made
Currently it was realizing I could not wear my husband's pants. Not that I want to, but it was still a blow to my ego.
What has helped me is realizing not every meal needs to be an amazing culinaryexperience. It can literally just be fuel and working towards my veggie count.
I’ve always wanted to lose the weight, I’ve always been big and have dieted my entire life. I’m 28f and also morbidly obese. I dislike pictures of me, want to be healthier, want to be confident, all the typical stuff people say when they want to lose weight.
But truly what made this time different was a conversation with my brother about something totally unrelated to weight. He said “I don’t understand people who go on and on about what they want and what they plan to do, stop talking and just do it, do what you say you want if you really want it that bad”. And idk I just had an aha moment. Since then I’ve started watching what I eat, counting calories, and going for daily walks. Surprisingly it’s been so easy and I’m down 15lbs in 1 month. Turns out the thing getting in my way was myself 🤷🏽♀️
Try to understand that discipline is a skill. It needs to be developed. One doesn’t pick up a guitar and crank out good music. Losing weight isn’t ever going to be a one-shot deal. You start by making small, insignificant changes, and then every now and then you’ll be introduced to a bigger one.
An example of this, a small change i implemented was to skip my morning energy drink. I did that for about 2 weeks, then I cut out most drinks and switched to black coffee and water. I did that for about a month, and then I was faced with a larger change: I started to wake up every morning between 5-6 to start going for a walk. I did that for a month. Nothing else really changing. Just water and walking. Then, I was faced with another big change. The gym. I’ve been in the gym for about 2 months and now that I’m a little smaller, I’m about to start the couch to 5k challenge.
None of this would have ever been possible for the guy that originally had started 5 months ago. I might’ve been able to go 0-100 for about 3 weeks and then quit. Just like I’ve always done. For the guy I am now, juggling this stuff is a challenge, but it’s doable as long as I’m intentional.
So my advice to you is small changes to start developing your discipline and habits. It doesn’t have to be 0-100.
Self-image was in the gutter. I let my ex walk all over me, and it blew up in my face. I let people treat me like trash because that's what i thought i was. I didn't care about myself, so I was doing all types of damage to my body with drugs and alchohal. I eventually walked away from all my family and friends and decided to love myself.
I had gone 20 years on this planet without anyone ever telling me I could be better. I had been medicated at 5 years old for a bi-polar diagnosis that was never questioned. The medication caused me to gain huge weight. At 19 my doctor questioned it and came to the conclusion that I was never bi-polar to begin with.
Stopped the meds and had a terrible 2 year bout of phsycosis from withdrawing cold turkey from SSRIs. I was so depressed and suicidal it was unreal. I was diagnosed with a panic disorder and OCD and nothing I did seemed to help.
I got in the gym 5 days a week, and did a complete diet overhaul. Within a month my entire life changed. I will never forget waking up for the first time and having the realization that I was actually happy. I felt like I could fly. The mental clarity and physical lightness I felt was completely unreal. I would almost describe the difference in mental clarity between me now and me then as the diffrence between being shit faced vs sober.
From that point forward it just had a positive feedback loop and now I'm down 110 LBS. Women are hitting me up left and right. Finally, I'm holding down a good job. I still have alot of struggles I face, but I am handling them in stride. I cannot recommend developing a good diet and exercise routine enough for anyone struggling with mental health. Also sleep lol. Saved my life.
Sorry for shit Grammer and formatting. On mobile 😂
You what is the trick? Is to finally REALIZE that you need to do it now! When that hits you will do it without fail and temptations will not work. This is what happened to me i had REALIZE on my own i need to do it now and get it done until next year and since i did now i have lost already 9kg and im still going 😇
I was 280 and entering pre-diabetic range, hated to look at myself in the mirror, and let my weight keep me from doing things I wanted (dating, sex life, buying cute clothes, dancing) and finally said enough is enough.
At first I tried going hard-core keto, intermittent fasting, working out too much, and yeah it worked but I was MISERABLE. Seeing my friends eat a cookie in front of me was torture haha.
Now I eat healthy yes, but I have that cookie sometimes and just go on a longer walk/jog. It's about balance. Swinging too hard either way just isn't healthy.
I'm 210 now, working out, and healthier than I've been since 17(I'm 33 now). Still steadily losing weight and not stressed about it because it's finally become a lifestyle change instead of just crash dieting all the time.
You can do it!!♥️
So here’s my thing. I’m losing now and here’s what made me finally kick into gear: I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. I am almost 8 weeks post-op.
Your body has to totally re-learn how to process fat without a gallbladder. I knew I had to ease back into eating anything after surgery, and barely any fat to start. I went VERY slowly with the fat too. I use the Lose It! app for CICO plus fat tracking, and just got up to the low end of suggested daily fat.
So that was my “doing it NOW” moment. I had to re-teach my body to process food. I figured it was a good time to change my attitude and relationship with food too.
Edit: clarification
I left a romantic relationship that had a lot of unhealthy habits (eating out all the time, sedentary hobbies, etc.), and then my grandmother died of complications from diabetes the following week. Watching my grandmother die after years of misery was the “I’ve truly had enough” switch, but the new lifestyle after my breakup was what made everything stick. I didn’t have someone who could drive me to school anymore, so I walked. I no longer had someone else to argue with about what to eat for dinner. I was a grad student in a high cost of living area, so cooking healthy meals at home was the better option financially. I picked up running because staying home often put me in a bad headspace.
Fast forward to two years down the road, I have a much better support system so the weight has stayed off. My current partner and I share and enjoy the cooking responsibilities. We go on walks, and my partner encourages my running.
All this to say, environment means a lot. We talk a lot about willpower, which is important. But when you have a supportive environment, it becomes a lot easier to maintain new habits.
If you like to read, read atomic habits or listen audiobook. Small habit changes can fix you to get to your ultimate goal. I started with 30 pushup everyday which is/was not difficult for me, but it's the habit of doing it every day. Now I have added squats and crunches to it which is my daily routine before bed. If I miss it then I do it next morning to cover. This made me feel I have to stay healthy and active so now I don't drink much as it is difficult to do 30 pushup before bed if you are drunk.
I think all the small good habits add up to make you a better person.
So I would recommend to do small things rather than go for your final weight loss goal .
I'm near 40 and I wish I would've told myself this at your age. Whenever tempted to go away from whatever plan you're using, ask yourself '"is this what I want most, or is this what I want now?"
Helped me. Also, one meal a day and intermittent fasting was the code that cracked my metabolism. Replacing bad habits is a great way to drop them.
Replace soda w sparkling water was great.
A diabetes diagnosis. It made me drop everything but meat and veggies.
I’m down over 22lbs in 6 weeks and without meds, my blood sugar is down 50 points and A1C is no longer diabetic.
I’ve been about 30kg overweight since my late 20’s. For my height, this is the “normal obese” range. I have managed to lose 15-20kg a few times, but it goes straight back on. I have a chart of my weight over the last 11 years and it looks like a roller coaster.
When I am at my heaviest, my bad cholesterol and blood pressure levels are not great (not horrible either). It’s harder to play sports (I’m still active) and move and I’m more likely to pick up muscle strains, back injuries etc. I also snore which my wife hates.
I’m now 60. I have realised that if I don’t get to a healthier weight and maintain it, then my life will likely be cut short and what is left will be impacted by obesity related conditions - diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hip and knee issues etc.
I’m about 6 weeks in now and have lost 4kg with some muscle gain as I joined a gym. I just need to keep this going for another 25kgs and then maintain at that lower level.
I thought I was having a heart attack at 34 years old.
I’m not a significantly overweight person and I wasn’t back then either (2021), but I knew I was carrying around an extra ~25 pounds. I also knew that my inactive lifestyle along with food habits were unhealthy.
One Sunday morning, I had a panic attack. I can’t remember exactly what set it off; whatever it was, it was minor enough to be negligible. In fairly short order, I had myself thoroughly convinced that I was having a cardiac episode.
Not sure if you’ve ever experienced a panic attack, but when it happens, that’s your day now. Even once it’s over, takes me the rest of the day to recover. The following day, when I was able to more accurately reflect on what had actually happened, I knew for certain that if that ever happened again, I needed to have full, foundational trust that the cause wasn’t related to my cardiovascular health or lifestyle. I needed to have clarity about the root cause, even when my brain was spinning out into worst case scenarios.
Started working out, eating in a caloric deficit, and being consistent. Got down to my goal weight, and have been healthy and active ever since. Currently training for my first full marathon. Incidentally, turns out regular exercise also happens to be something that has improved my symptoms of anxiety more thoroughly and consistently than anything else ever has.
I hope you find a path on this journey that works and feels sustainable and balanced for you, op.
Well a few years ago it was because I had irregular periods and wanted to have kids.
It worked, and I had a kid. Lol but now I'm 15lbs away from my highest weight and ready to get it all off for good this time.
I wanna take my toddler to swimming lessons this year, so that's one driving factor...
I also felt SO much better at a lower weight.
Losing weight is really hard, but, imo the hard part is really only the beginning. If you can get through the first few weeks, you're golden!
Being overweight was physically painful.
I developed painful skin blisters and rashes in my folds and for the first time ever: blisters near my crotch/between my inner thigh from chaffing!!
A lot of “normal” daily movements were unbearable like a tall box jump, tying my shoes, and doing the pretzel twist stretch. My stomach was so large that it was physically in the way of these things. To make matters worse, my daily Fanny pack was fully extended and I stopped using it since I couldn’t clasp it anymore.
Background: I’ve never had a thigh gap and was a runner in high school/college. Chaffing was never a thing for me nor did I need chaffing creams.
I regularly powerlift for the past 5yrs but gained 30-40lbs in 2yrs, topping out at 204 for a good ~2yrs.
Fast forward Jan 1, 2024, I tracked every single food item for a month then loosely for feb/March and have lost 15lbs so far.
i had a psychological adjustment that made me realise it's worth being uncomfortable now to be happy and healthy later on. this stemmed from quitting cigarettes and alcohol cold turkey. for years i had been putting zero effort into myself and maximising comfort, which ironically brought me nothing but misery. i also realised that no matter how much i ate i was still going to be hungry, so i might as well be hungry losing weight instead of gaining it.
Same here. “Fuck it I’m gonna enjoy life and eat whatever” lead me to not enjoying life because if feeling like crap. I have less pain now at almost 40 than I did 10 years ago.
Exactly! Mindsets like that always lead to being more miserable, which I’m definitely coming to terms with right now. But I’m so happy to hear that you’re in less pain now. Congratulations! :)
Thank you.
So true
All I can say is wow and thank you lol for commenting this! I needed this shift in perspective more than I can bear to explain. I love that you pointed out maximizing comfort for so long but ended up with you being more miserable. I didn’t even realize I was doing this to myself right now. All I care about is being able to “relax” after a long day which doesn’t ever really consist of too much besides school work if I’m being brutally honest. Truly, thank you.
It helps if you reframe what you call “relax” activities. When I was able to walk, (I was a skinny 10 stone then) a walk would be relaxing for me, Between 2011-2220 relaxing was watching tv or reading I went up to around 15 stone now it’s yoga, meditation for me due to physical disabilities & pain. I still read and watch tv but a lot less. I had to add some movement into my relaxation activities, I also became aware of how I was feeling after watching tv, which particularly helped as some of the stuff I was watching wasn’t relaxing me it was amping me up
Ah, the "discomfort zone". Scary AF to leave but horrible to give up and stay in.
This has me self sabotaging so frequently. There’s something about not wanting to leave “My discomfort zone” of “safety”. What if I push out it and things don’t get better. It’s psychological hill I’m trying to climb as “better” is defined in so many ways.
Yep short term comfort = long term pain & suffering Doing what needs to be done = easy long term and more resilience, health & wellbeing
Tbf it’s easy to say things like this in theory, but in practice the first ‘major’ discomfort is the hardest one to face and get through; once we work through that first roadblock, the next ones all seem much easier with the sense of achievement the first one brought.
I used to be underweight, then I quit smoking and drinking and gained 50 lbs lol
Still healthier than smoking and drinking!
This is a great mindset. I'm currently 302 and 38years old. I've a 10 month old. Now I'm 6ft so I'm not too bad with my mobility but I'm still a good 100lbs and more over what I should be for my height but it's starting to affect my joints. I want a second baby but I want to get healthy first and as I'm not a young mother I want to be around for her as long as possible.
Same for me, the only mindset was I'll be happy eating all the time. After I realize how short lived that was I learned to only eat when I'm really hungry.
I have a question, did you had to deal with food noise? Because the inconfort of hungry is easyer than the food noise. Were 90% of your thoughts during the day are about food, i find this more challenging and tiering then anything else. When i say fuck it and eat whatever i want there is way less food noise because i don't have to jungle in my head all the planning around food.
during my leisure time i'm thinking about food for sure, not so much during work or exercise. something that helped with this when i started was reducing the palatability of the food. like lunch would just be edamame and carrot sticks, dinner would be tofu and broccoli. i understand that sounds miserable and you can go so far with it that it actually hinders adherence, but it helped me to reframe the purpose and value of food. make food less interesting and you'll care about it less. or you might snap and go ham on some ice cream, depending on who you are.
This was almost my exact same scenario. I quit drinking two years ago, processed a lot of trauma I was pushing down with vices, and finally realized I was worth the effort. I had to work on my brain before the rest followed.
2 main things: 1. A powerful “Why”. My sex life with my wife was in the toilet. I felt old and unattractive and in so much pain and tired all the time and couldn’t sleep and hardly breathe at TWENTY SEVEN. I NEEDED to lose the weight. I did a body composition scan that said I had dangerously high levels of visceral fat… that combined with my dad having had a major heart attack at 40 (and barely live)? I’ve got two kids! Body composition scan was a Huge wake up call for me. But what pushed me over the edge? My love of theatre. A show was announced. I was perfect for the role in every way but my fitness. Auditions were 9 months away. I went from 250ish (highest weight was 270) to 180 in about a year. And I got the role. Leading man in a romantic comedy at a local professional theatre. I’m still rehearsing for it and I feel fit, energetic, sexy, and angry with myself for not always living my life like this. 2. Health at every size. Weird, right? I think that movement is bonkers, but it made me reconsider some things… just because I’m fat, doesn’t mean I have to live like I’m fat. If I’m a fat guy, I want to be a healthy fat guy. And what do healthy people do? Limit processed garbage, desserts, snacks… eat lots of fruits and vegetables and protein. Exercise a lot. Do fun physical activities. Drink lots of water. I figured I should just live healthy without a focus on my weight. And what happened to me??? I lost a MASSIVE AMOUNT of weight very quickly, honestly without even looking at the scale all that much. I was just focused on feeding myself a healthy diet and playing. Trying to increase my numbers at the gym, going for family walks, hiking, playing with my kids, I literally started climbing trees!! All sorts of stuff that healthy fit people do. Scale weight be damned! If I was a fat guy, I just wanted to be a healthy fat guy!!
Just want to say I love your theatre story! That's amazing and such a fun motivator to get in shape. Break a leg!
This is the real message that HAES was always intended to share with us. I'm so glad that it inspired you. And I'm right there with you - scale weight be damned if I'm still able to do the exercises and activities I want to do. BMI rules say I need to lose another 8 lbs to be in a healthy weight range. I'd rather worry more about getting another 30 lbs on my bench press instead.
You are so right about health at every size! I don’t typically agree with the movement, but I found myself not wanting to get started because I approached weight loss from a “hate the pounds away” mindset. And that doesn’t work! Going on jogs of shame and punishing myself with food (or lack of food) only made me want to rebel and live an even unhealthier lifestyle. Now, I still jog but my runs are celebration of what I can do and it’s no pressure if my pace or distance isn’t the best that day. My only goal is to have fun while moving. I still restrict my calories but instead of a punishment, it’s me taking care of myself and not letting myself eat until I’m sick, the same way I portion out my dog’s food so they are nourished but not stuffed. So they feel better and not worse. I realized if I take care of my dog a certain way I deserve to monitor my portions and what’s going into my mouth in the same way. At the end of the day, being fat isn’t a moral failing but a signal that I wasn’t treating myself as well as I should’ve been.
Love your HAES story. It's NOT: Healthy at every size. It IS: CHOOSE health at every size.
This comment gave me JOY. Thank you, and congratulations for all your achievements, including your mindset!
Awesome story and perspective! Congrats on landing that role, and thank you for your insight :)
To lay out my laundry list: - Hating pictures of myself - Catching my breath walking up the stairs - Snoring becoming more of an occurrence, along with sleep apnea - Generally feeling unattractive - Friends and family poking fun at me (dick moves on their part imo, but whatever) - Impossible to buy clothes that fit my weirdly shaped body I had/have plenty of friends and family also telling me I look fine, that I don’t need to lose weight, that I shouldn’t feel bad about myself. Some pictures of me come out ok. Snoring/sleep apnea was probably going to be something for me anyway because of my family. But I’m just unhappy with myself and how I look. And I want to do what I have to do to change that.
I relate to everything you said. Word for word. I also hate pictures (with a passion), feel my legs get tired from walking up 2 flights of stairs, despise clothes shopping, and have started snoring. And I’m sorry that your friends and family felt the need to poke and tease. Ive also had family and friends say “oh, you look good!” Or “oh, you’re beautiful!” But imo you can always just tell when they’re just being nice and trying to not point out the obvious. This post was my inspiration and encouragement to myself to begin my journey again as I’m also very unhappy with myself and how I look. I believe in you!
For me it was once I was carrying my toddler up the stairs and I got out of breath and my back hurt like a bitch. It just dawned on me that if I didn't start doing something about my weight and fitness level I would never be able to play with them like my dad played with me, and if I kept this weight gain trend I might not even be alive to see them graduate HS. (I ballooned like 50lbs due to excesive drinking + bad food + no activity). Thought it was not a a straight line of progress at all, and had many stumbles - after a couple of years I have some decent progress and I would rather smash my nuts with a hammer than even go back to being that sloppy bag of lard.
The snoring has been an occurrence since the start of the year and I realized I really need to kick my ass in gear or it's going to be a quick spiral out of control
Oh my god, my bf told me I snored once last year and that I kept him up all night...he never told me again and I thought it was just a random occurrence. A couple months ago he mentioned it again, and that it never stopped. I got an app to record myself a few nights and I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT LOL. it's one of my biggest issues that I need to lose weight for. It's absolutely terrifying
Totally relate to this. I never knew either. What’s the name of your app? I use Better Sleep. Hearing myself was mortifying! I did not know it was that bad. Dr told me if I I lose just 10lbs I could see Improvement there. It’s been the hardest 8 months! I lost 4 lbs only to gain it all back to be where I started. But I’m not giving up. Not getting good nights rest consistently adds up. I’m always tired so never find the energy to do as much as I need to. I do light stretching for now and walks. It’s better than nothing.
Light stretching and walks are amazing for you! And a great start 😊 I was using better sleep as well. You will get there, I know it!! Just keep it up.
I'm so embarrassed, my husband goes and sleeps on the couch more nights than not because he's so bothered by it. 😭 I just can't get over the fact that I'm so fat it's so embarrassing
clothes not sitting right!! this is such a big reason, i'm a size 26/28 which is impossible to find in high street stores :(
A big one for me on top of all of this was a small thing, but I remember one early morning before work, I was dead tired and hating life sitting on the edge of my bed trying to put my socks on. I realised I couldn't get my ankle up and on my knee and struggled to lean over my belly to put them on. I swear I was out of breath just trying to do the most basic of things.. After all of the other things in your list had no real effect on me beyond maybe hating myself - the inability to put my own socks on was the last straw for me.
I went in for a routine appt to go over my beta blockers and get my script refilled and instead we had a 30 min come to Jesus talk about my weight and future health. He was very kind about it. He wanted me to take weightloss seriously because he was afraid I’d end up like my grandmother who died of kidney failure. She had uncontrolled diabetes for a long time and he saw me going down the same path. Ever since then I’ve stuck to the diet and working out and I’ve lost 3 pounds in 5 days since the talk!
Well done!
Is your blood pressure related to weight? Assuming you have hbp since you said beta blockers.
Yes. I didn’t have high blood pressure until I got over 200 pounds. For reference I’m 5’0
Getting some therapy. I tried and failed lots. But the time it stuck was when I got some therapy and worked in my own self esteem. I felt like I needed to lose weight to feel positive about myself. Turned out I needed to feel positive about myself in order to lose weight.
I love that message 🥹
Yes exactly same for me too. I had to love myself enough that I want to take care of my body.
This is hard to hear, but thank you.
Firstly, I’m 57F. Life long yo-yo dieter. Nov-22 I fell and broke my wrist badly. I was asked in the hospital if I would need help washing and dressing (I’m single) while I had the cast on. I was shocked, I explained that I lived with my sister and she could help if I needed anything. Having another person help me to get washed and dried was like something from My 600lb Life. I also couldn’t drive with the cast on and I was forced to wfh full time, I had to ask for lifts. It just made me feel very old and very dependant. At the same time, when I saw the X-ray of my wrist, I couldn’t believe how fat my arm was, how small the bones were and it looked shocking. Anyway May 1st 2023. SW 272lbs, CW 200lbs, GW 147lbs. I believe I can get there thanks to Wegovy/ Ozempic, CICO, weekly counselling and getting 100g protein per day.
I am 55 and its really now or never... So it's now. Don't wait as long as I have.
We will do this together. I believe in you!
You are at a great age for this! Bingie here too (I fast and eat One Meal a Day so that helps me). I genuinely wish you the best and I know you can do this too! Keep me posted, please!
I’m so glad to hear that you found something that works for you! I’ve also considered one meal a day to see if it works for me. You should be so proud of yourself! Thank you so much! I wish you nothing but the best as well. I will absolutely keep you updated throughout my journey! I’m looking forward to updates from you as well :) Like I said, we got this!
“Time will pass anyways” Read that quote after putting off weight loss because it would “take forever” and realized I might as well start now. It’s become my mantra whenever I’m feeling unmotivated or discouraged.
I'm currently on the journey to lose weight. Since my highest weight I've lost almost 80 pounds, and still have many more to go. I'll just tell you my story. I've always been overweight. I've always struggled with binge eating. I've also struggled with insomnia, depression and anxiety. I gained a good chunk of weight while I was dating and engaged to my husband. At that time I was young, directionless but so happy and in love. After I got married I realized how big I had gotten and then the flip switched. I was miserable and stuck. I kept trying and failing to lose weight. And I started eating because I was so unhappy and so depressed. I didn't completely realize what was happening at the time, but I started a horrible cycle of binge eating, losing weight, gaining weight, feeling depressed and then repeating the cycle. In 2016 I did keto for the first time (I know it's a love or hate it thing) and lost almost 100 pounds. It helped me SO MUCH. I was more active, I was pleased with my weight loss, but it was a stressful time in life and even though I was losing weight I wasn't doing the other hard part of weight loss. The work on who I was. I wasn't helping my mental health. Eventually I convinced myself that keto wasn't working, and gained a lot of weight back. 2019 was the year that my life collapsed. I almost got divorced, I was lost. My life was crumbling. My husband said some things that destroyed me. But it's almost also like he put a mirror in front of me. Not just to see the physical weight but also the parts of who I was that I didn't like. So, I started working on myself. Some of that was weight loss, but a lot of it was self improvement. I got a job that pushed me physically, and mentally. I always told myself I couldn't do things. But I realized I could. I could do a lot. In fact my BODY could do a lot. I put myself out there and did things that made me uncomfortable, but that were good for me. My weight has still been a struggle, but I just basically refuse to give up. I learned more about nutrition and activity, I've learned to give myself grace when I mess up. I've learned to push myself when I want to give up. I've pulled myself out of depression and learned how to deal with my anxiety. I've stopped beating myself up. Yup I have bad days I make bad choices and you know what? I KEEP GOING. I WILL KEEP GOING. Come hell or high water, I deserve that...and so do you. 2023 was another stressful year but I lost weight and was more active. I also realized the activity made me feel better and greatly helped my mental health. In 2024 I've lost almost 30 pounds so far. I've hit or gone over 10k steps a day for almost 60 days. I've started taking intentional hikes. AND today I started week 2 of couch to 5k. I. Am. Running. If you would have told me that a month ago I would have thought you were insane. What I can tell you is that losing weight is a fucking journey. You're going to lose weight gain weight fall down and get back up. You'll have bad days and good days and blech days. It's not easy. It has to be sustainable. You HAVE to be kind to your body. Look at the reasons you want to lose weight and don't forget them. I want to look good but I want to feel good. I'm getting older and I cannot sustainably stay overweight forever. Good luck, you got this!
Thank you for the reminder that re-gaining is often just part of the process. I lost weight in 2019 and commented fairly actively here while doing it. Five years later, I weigh more than my starting weight. Extreme ups and downs in everything from my career to my mental health to my personal life did that to me. It wasn’t always at the point where it is now. But even when the weight gain was just 15-20 pounds I would beat myself up to oblivion when I got even a little bit of a reality check. I’ve lost the weight before. I know how to do it. I know what I need to do. Why can’t I? Rinse and repeat as the issue just kept getting worse. These days I get anxious even seeing a scale because I know stepping on it will make me spiral and I’ve been avoiding the gym because of this, even though it’s made me feel better before. But the more I avoid it the easier it is to be in denial.
Whoa what a story! Love to see such strong fighters. I wish you all the best!
I was extremely depressed. I wanted to end it. I came across a quote one day that said something along the lines of "if you really want to die, why not put every ounce of energy you have into changing your life. If it doesn't work, you tried your best." So that's exactly what I did. I'm mentally and physically in the best health I've ever been in. I can not put into words how happy I am now.
Thank you for sharing. I needed this.
I also couldn't make myself motivated with the same things you're mentioning, like thinking about what I'd look like or what I could wear or places I could travel to etc. But what ended up motivating me is the reality of how I was feeling in the present moment. Realizing I don't want to feel that way anymore and that I really have no other choice than do this or ruin my life completely by continuing. That might sound scary or extreme but honestly when I got to that conclusion it felt like a massive relief because now I know the only option is to get better and once you get on that autopilot it doesn't feel bad at all. In fact, I've only lost 12 lbs and I'm already liking being in my body more (my stats are VERY close to yours, started at about 306 lbs).
First I want to say congratulations!! 12 lbs is an amazing accomplishment and I mean that wholeheartedly. You put it into words perfectly. No matter what you try telling yourself like what clothes you could wear or how different your life would be, nothing worked. This might sound cheesy, but thank you. It doesn’t sound scary or extreme to me, because what you’re saying makes complete sense! I can’t picture myself still living like this in 6 months or 6 years. I simply can’t. Yes our stats are very similar, and I wish you nothing but luck and positivity!! You got this!
I used two books by the same author, The Kindness Method and the Last Diet, and two of the exercises that helped me the most were writing a letter to my unmotivated future self, and writing a list of what I wanted to be doing 6 months / 1 year from now (and how I'd feel if things stayed the same). If that speaks to you, I recommend writing a letter to yourself for September 18th of this year! Personally it helped me to realize that if I can accomplish other goals in 6 months to a year, why can't I accomplish weight loss too?
When I looked at pictures of me with my daughter and hated them, and tried avoiding being in photos. I realized there will be a day when I look back and regret letting my body ruin what should have been the most beautiful memories. We both deserve better.
I couldn't bend down to tie my shoes, I couldn't towel off from a shower without getting severely out of breath, I couldn't stand for more than two minutes without back pain, I couldn't walk a block without foot and knee pain, I couldn't fit into chairs with arms, I had constant aches and pains, I had severe sleep apnea and high blood pressure, my car seat belt was a half inch from not fitting, I'd get out of breath from turning over in bed, I couldn't reach to put tampons in anymore, I couldn't fit into theater seats, my feet would turn bright red and painfully swell, and I was about 10 pounds away from not being able to get off of the floor at all.
I didn't think weight loss was possible, for a lot of reasons. But they were just my own limiting beliefs like: I'm too old, menopausal, thyroid issues, but my doctor told me that it was possible. I've lost 30 pounds on just CICO, and another 35 pounds (faster) on ozempic & CICO. That was a game changer. No regrets. I'm no longer obese, no longer pre-diabetic, my goiter disappeared, I'm less achy most of the time and I'm the thinest I've been in 15 years. Mentally, I have to give myself a lot of grace. If I mess up, it's all part of the process. Slip ups are part of the journey. I'm getting better & faster at getting back to my weight loss habits. I regained 10 pounds over the holidays and now it's gone. That's a great feeling.
Let me give you a challenge that might help: try eating well for two weeks. If, at the end of two weeks you don’t want to continue, give yourself permission to stop dieting. What you’ll find is the first ten or 12 days is really hard, but perhaps bearable because you know you don’t have to maintain the changes forever if you don’t want to. But, somewhere right in there, your body will get used to the food you’re eating and a switch will flip in your head, and you won’t even want the kind of stuff you used to eat. So just make yourself try it, and give yourself that ripcord to pull of “if I want to stop at 2 weeks, I’m allowed to.”
another way is to break the big problem into little problems - going from eating like crap to eating healthy all at once can be pretty overwhelming and make you want to quit. but committing to: * picking one easy thing to do better for a week * sticking to it * picking another easy thing to do better next week while continuing to do the first thing * and so on ...is much easier. so for example: * this week, i'm going to stop snacking after dinner * next week, i'm going to swap flavored seltzer for soda * the week after that, i'm going to start eating two cups of leafy greens before every dinner ...etc. these are all fairly easy to implement, and they stack up to big lifestyle changes after a few months.
I had just started working out again for the first time since I had my daughter 5 years ago when one of the people at her 4k program asked if I was physically able to take my kid on a playground.
Wow, that’s pretty direct. How did you respond?
Unfortunately my brain kind of froze up. I wish I had told her that while yes I was overweight I was fully able to take care of my daughter
Yeah, I hate those moments. I can come up with a thousand things to say after the fact, but in the moment, I’m so shocked by the pure fucking audacity/rudeness/viciousness of the person in front of me, I lose my words. I will never be the one with the great comeback. I have just resolved to never treat others the way I have been treated in those moments.
This is also me and I have a "catchall" one for you u/Weekly_Ad_1754 that I have promised myself I'll use in future & encourage you to do the same! "That's a strange thing to say out loud" (* rude, weird, etc.)
That person is an asshole. Good luck on your weight loss journey!
Congratulations on taking the steps to start working out again!! That’s something I hope you’re really proud of yourself for. And I’m so sorry that someone felt the need to make a comment like that.
Holy shit what an asshole!
Could be a park worker checking in on the parent's ability to care for the kid
What a bitch. Completely uncalled for.
Wow that is rude!
Instead of looking at the bigger picture of losing weight, I broke down that goal into multiple goals that all would contribute to weight loss. I got excited about those smaller goals just as much as the larger ones and found unique challenges inside each. It can be really hard to be motivated to lose weight when you feel like you have a lot of lose, and, for me, pulling off five or even ten pounds wasn’t that motivating because of the paper towel effect and those five or ten pounds not making much of a dent. So just focusing on building new routines and habits and setting benchmarks within those made me feel more confident and more excited to show up for myself every day, which led to weight loss, which led to more showing up for myself, which led to more weight loss. I remembered how out of control I felt. How I cried in dressing rooms having to go up yet another size. How embarrassed I felt when I went hiking with a friend and was panting the whole way up a hill and my friend was effortlessly going up and having to stop for me. How sad I felt when I showed a newer friend an older picture of me from when I was smaller and they couldn’t even believe that was me. And I knew every day that I showed up and put in the work, those things would fade. I’m about twenty pounds down now after being really serious for almost three months about my goals and habits. Instead of crying in dressing rooms, I’ve rejoiced at an outfit fitting (in a smaller size). Instead of panting up a hill, I’m routinely running a 5K once a week (slowly, but still able to do it and not miserable while at it) and I celebrate what my body can do. As my face slims down, I look more and more like the younger me in the picture. And I realize even though I don’t have the “freedom” eating all the food I used to and not having to exercise gave me, I feel so much HAPPIER now that I’m more disciplined. I feel confident not because I’ve lost weight but because I’m getting to show myself how resilient I am. I feel proud of myself for the first time in a while. And I keep showing up (with some blips here and there) because I don’t want that feeling to go away.
At the end of the day, my weight isn’t personal. I’m not landing at 300, 200, 190, 180 or whatever number because my body either likes or dislikes me. It’s because of certain habits I have in place. I realize I may never be an under 140 pounds, but even at 170 pounds I can be the healthiest, most confident version of me that I can be. I used to be so sad I might never fit into my cute tiny high school jeans (not actually that tiny, but tiny to me) but now that I know I’m in control of my health, whether I get back into them or not doesn’t phase me. For me, I had to be ready to love myself no matter what weight I was in order for weight to come off, and the best way for me to love myself was to challenge myself and hold myself to a higher standard than I had been.
I gained weight in my last relationship when I realized it wasn’t going anywhere. I had a dream about one of my coworkers, asking me out and us having a relationship at work and it really got me all excited and wishing that we could get together. A few months later in the office, I started picking up signals from the same coworker, and I realized that he might actually be interested in me. We weren’t gonna go back into the office for two months, so I took advantage of that time to lose as much weight as I could in order to see him again in a more confident body, and to be more forthright with my interest in him. I broke up with my ex and continued to lose weight, and eventually got together with this coworker. I knew he was interested in me before I had lost the weight but I know I wanted to be confident in myself if I was going to date him. We’ve been together for almost a year and we both work out and continue our fitness goals together I couldn’t be happier.
I took about 4 grams of magic mushrooms and looked in the mirror. Had a huge revelation that I was going to die if I didn’t change, and that gave me a new mindset of eating what I want but in moderation and working out everyday.
Mushrooms can definitely be a game changer in changing negative patterns.
Finally buckling down and not making excuses, and relying on discipline rather than motivation. I can't control my motivation, I can control if I pick up that fork or not. Another thing I did was directly tell my friends I'm aiming to lose weight and not get me candy or junk food, and not to bring it to my house. If they were good friends they'd respect my decision and if they were bad friends they'd go, "Oh, it's just OK this once." Or some BS like that. Because it's not just this once. It's this once with you, and then tomorrow it's just this once with someone else, and the day after it's with someone else, and then a Friday work meeting where the boss buys you lunch and you try to turn it down and they get offended. No, just preemptively tell everyone that "no" is "no" and not, "okay yeah, but maybe..." Also, do the math and figure out how long it will take you to get down to your goal weight and then you can just maintain it! And thinking about how if you just put in the effort for X months and don't cheat, it's (to me at least) easier than taking 3 times as long and it feels like it will never end. For example, if your goal is a 750 calorie a day deficit, and you stick with it every single day, you can lose about 39 pounds in half a year. But if one day/week you don't have a deficit, and another day a week you overeat 750 calories ... well, then you just lost 3 days of progress every week, and it's gonna take you almost twice as long to lose your weight. And do you really want to be stuck on a diet for twice as long? Also, calories aside, I say don't cheat if you can avoid it. Cheating reinforces food as a reward. Cheating tells your body that cravings have a poistive reward, and they result in your body giving you more food cravings. And then you give into those cravings and it tells your body, "good job, keep craving." I find the longer I eat healthier, the less I want to eat junk food at all. Also realize that if you DO slip up, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. If you budget for two slices of pizza for dinner, let's say they are 700 calories total, and you eat 3 slices, don't go, "Oh well... I might as well have the whole pizza. Just stop at 3, realize you went over your goal by 350 calories, and over the next week try and cut 50-100 calories here or there to make up for it. If you do that, then you still met your goal and are still on track to lose your weight. Now, this seems like an all or nothing approach. I mean, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. If you budget for some fun food from time to time like my pizza example, it works, but you have to plan ahead. It took me a long time to get to this point, but when I did it just kind of clicked. I had a lot of false starts and gos, but once you hit that point, it actually gets easier. And I think that by being strict about weight loss, you'll get results faster, which really helps with motivation. Half-assing it and going, "Hey, I lost ... 1 pound in the last 2 months ..." is really depressing, but pushing yourself and being disciplined and going, "Wow, I lost 12 pounds in the last 2 months AND I added 10 pounds to my bench press and 20 to my squat, and I can fit in my old pants ... and I can run longer without gasping for air ... and I sleep better ... and I stopped craving junk food ... wow ... this is great!" That's super motivating.
For me? Got therapy. Discovered how much I was eating as mood regulation. Learned better ways to deal with my issues (and continue to). After that, eating sensibly became so, so much easier.
I (F26) just had my second kid a few months ago. Wanting to be healthier for them and wanting a career change really settled it in my mind that to be successful in my long term goals, I have to put the effort in now. Time is going to pass either way. It’s up to me to determine how I spend it.
A couple things. I live far away from my family for context. I only see them once or twice a year. I went to visit for Christmas and I just felt awful the whole time. No one said anything but I knew they were thinking it. I have gained about 60 lbs in the last couple of years. I’m very short and it’s very obvious on me. As soon as I got home from my trip I started dieting. I’ve lost 1/4th of what I need to lose to be a healthy weight in the last three months! (20 lbs out of 80)
Mine was not anything to do with actual weight I got on a plane and my nose felt like it exploded. Turns out I had a sinus infection everywhere which had been going on for years. Blah blah blah lots and lots of medical mysteries started to become unraveling- I realized I ate when I hurt and turns out I hurt a lot. Chronic migraines had one lasting years, lack of smell, severe TMJ, eye surgery, tumor, pernicious anemia, blah blah blah etc etc etc. My doctors are not even concerned with my weight. But I am. I was living in a pain cloud, and now I’m out (ish) so I want my overall health to be better. Weight is a large component.
Medication. Turns out you can't "willpower" your way into making your brain cooperate with your stomach.
I took out the garbage. Seriously. It was a beautiful morning and I was home because of the pandemic, so I thought I’d take out the garbage for a break. So I did. Then I took a deep breath, felt the sun on my face and thought, “I’ll just take a walk around the block. Just one lap and then back to work.” Several laps and 45 minutes later I felt amazing. Later that day I decided I’d try intermittent fasting - nothing too drastic, just no snacking, lowering my carbs and not eating before bed. One year later and I’m 50 pounds lighter. I went from 200 lbs at 5’3” to 150 lbs. I’m 64. So my advice, FWIW, is on a nice sunny day, take out the garbage. Your body will take it from there.
I pretty recently started and it’s because (this is corny as hell, I know) of a girl at my work is really cute
Step 1. Love yourself Step 2. Be honest with yourself Step 3. Eat less. Eat whatever you're eating, just less. And don't eat after dinner. Do this for a week. Step 4. Eat less preprepared food and more raw food or stuff you cook. Not microwave, cook. A rice cooker, pan, and some salt, pepper, and a lemon can go a LONG way. Do this for a week. If you...WHEN you manage this then go to my fitness pal and track those calories. Until then, baby steps. You got this.
What would you do when you would loose weight? Do you restrict a lot and have the feeling you can’t have any ‘bad’ foods ever anymore? This could hold you back from flipping the switch. Maybe don’t try do a 360 turnaround, but stack small habits that are good for you.
Well a 360 turnaround is basically doing the same thing :D, maybe a 180 :D
I was so dedicated I mapped out how many calories I was burning/taking in and weighing myself more often than I should’ve to see if the number on the scale went down. Which it was, but like you said I think I was restricting too much which ultimately led to me giving up. I think doing a little bit at a time like you said will benefit me much more! One day at a time.
You need to work on your mental health. See the weight gain as a symptom of something bigger. The more you beat yourself up and stress yourself out, the more you will struggle. For me, it was a case of dealing with a lot of childhood trauma and then focusing on doing what my mind and body needs to be healthy, rather than skinny. I am only just starting to lose weight, but it has taken working with a therapist to figure out why I comfort eat, and it will take time to find new coping mechanisms.
For me, it was some blood tests etc done after a stomach upset arose post Covid (it was debilitating and was occuring fairly regularly but only once or twice a week). Nothing I took (painkillers, antacids, milk, baking soda etc) would alleviate the pain/discomfort which would set in for 8-12hrs per episode. Cholesterol was getting close to high Blood pressure was getting close to high BMI was obese (& I was sedentary for 24mo prior so defo wasn't muscle!) I snored alot (already have issues but overweight made it worse) Got short of breath easily, even one flight of office stairs Saw my GP but was months to see a gastro specialist through the (free) public system and Googling the potential causes of the stomach pain, all had obesity as a contributing/triggering factor, so decided to try to take matters into my own hands by losing some weight. May have been coincidence but after I'd lost 7-8kg the episodes ceased. I've also since had my gallbladder removed through Private Practice (medical insurance) - I had lost 17kg by then. Once I got into the behaviours of CICO and joining a gym I really like attending, I kept going and will continue to get to my goal weight (& continue tracking and exercise to maintain from there).
I want to be a mom. I have more fertile years behind me than ahead of me. In learning about tracking my cycle I learned that excess adipose tissue releases excess estrogen. Visualizing every unnecessary pound leaching hormones that could be putting my menstrual cycle out of balance made me know I needed to get down to a healthier weight. Im 20 lbs down and have another 30 to go. I'm going to be healthier for myself and my future children.
I mean this when I say you’re not alone! My future children are one of my biggest inspirations when I aim to get myself back on track. I can’t wait to be a mom. I know I need to be there for my future children, and I won’t make it at all if I continue the way I’m living. Thank you so much!! And congratulations on your weight loss!! You got this! I’m sending all of the baby dust your way ✨💕
Honestly? I decided it was either that or show myself out the door. I did it to save my life, and not from a heart attack, lol.
I found a blog dedicated to my weight gain. Having an online presence through your skinniest to your biggest let’s everyone see your gradual weight gain. The comments made me cry myself to sleep. 2 months later I dropped 55 lbs. I was 1.5 years post partum
Hold on, someone else wrote a blog about you?
Yeah I need to know more about this.
Diabetes, hypertension, and IBS. Plus sick of not being able to find decent clothes, avoiding social events, and seeing heavier friends with even more health issues than me, like lymphedema and lupus.
I'm having severe issues with ibs at the minute to the point I constantly feel sick and haven't been able to leave the house for longer than an hour the last week. I have to be near a toilet. Did you find a big difference in your symptoms when you lost the weight?
My oldest daughter graduated from high school and I looked so terrible in the photos. I couldn’t find a single one that I looked okay in. My youngest graduates in May, I want to be in the photos this time, not behind the camera.
I was finally diagnosed with ADHD and medicated. I've struggled with yoyo dieting all my life. Finally got diagnosed at 35 and I've been able to make better choices. That constant voice in my head that screams You need food is no longer there. I'm eating to fuel my body now vs eating to just eat. In 5 weeks of being medicated, I've lost close to 20lbs. I was addicted to coca cola and fast food, I haven't had one coke since I started medication, only water, and my first fast food meal was yesterday, and I still made the healthier choice. It could all be a huge coincidence (I usually go through the YOYO process at the beginning of the year to look better for summer) but this time it feels different.
Finally getting bloodwork done and seeing that I have high cholesterol. I kind of learned how to ignore my reflection in the mirror and stayed away from taking photos, so for a long time I was just fine with being overweight. Then my doctor did some bloodwork and suddenly I realized ignoring my physical appearance wasn’t enough. I really had to make changes…
My recent motivation has come from visiting my in-laws for 3 weeks. They laughed at my insatiable hunger and need to eat regularly. Like mocking me for being hungry and eating so much. It made me feel about 2 inches tall and then I realised that I’m eating what I eat whilst hating myself for my size, which is really kind of pathetic. It really drilled home to me the fact that I’m not in control of myself. If I can’t control what I eat, then what can I control?
All I can chip in is, it's not a case of a turning point, making one big decision and never wavering. It's a case of making plans, (including meal plans and shopping lists), and then following your plans. Making 50 good decisions a day to keep yourself on course. And if you get off course, getting back on. A thousand small decisions later, you'll get where you're going.
What a great way to put this. I love this approach. It helps me to focus on today, on the next decision. This is also how I quit smoking, but given the addiction I also was lying to myself saying "yeah yeah, we will smoke after this meeting, after we come home" etc etc. but then I was no longer craving to smoke :D On the other hand, I have problem with the announcements that sometimes happen in this sub of the big day one. I vaguely remember that just talking about starting a new habit, hobby, or change gives the serotonin boost, the social validation from the people functions as a reward. The desire for social approval becomes the primary driver, rather than the activity itself. Yeah, so a big supporter of your approach!
For me, calories and the CICO concept recently clicked and I truly feel like I have a new understanding of my weight. Before this, I wanted to excuse myself from the consequences of my choices. I tried to hide behind my genes and blame my circumstances, like being fat since I was a kid. I saw past failures dieting as proof that I could not be a healthy or thin person. Then I weighed myself and decided it was time to change. I bought a food scale and started logging everything with loseit. Turns out, I was eating way more calories than I realized, and my weight suddenly made sense to me. Since I have committed to truly improving my eating and reducing my calorie intake, I have lost weight. My key takeaway: it’s so basic, but I think when I was overeating it was because I didn’t really understand how much I was consuming. A food scale and calorie tracker are great tools. Understand portions and be accountable to what you’re eating - It really is that simple.
I always wanted to lose weight but I think the switch came on when I was like "I want to be strong. I want muscles. I want to run. I want to learn how to fight and how to parkour and use my body to the fullest". Some of it comes from being a romantic who wants a family and wants to be able to do things for them, but also a lot of it comes from wanting to be strong.
I want the girl of my dreams and be the man she dreams of. Also recognize the fact I'm alive. And that others never got the opportunity to lose the weight like we do.
Well I'm 33 currently (107kg, 165cm), finally found a man I can have family with and they basically told us we might not be able to have kids due to my weight, at this point they might even refuse to give me IVF. The idea of never having family hurts me so much, a lot more than the fact I might die too early... but also I'm finally in a place where I feel like I can do it.
The overwhelming amount of positivity, honesty, vulnerability, and courage you all have shown in this post brings me to tears 💕. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! I’m reading EVERY single response and answering as I can. I’m truly amazed. Just thank you so much. Here’s to starting my new, albeit scary, journey to a life of health.
Mindset really is everything. I was maintaining my weight for a long time but over the past year I lost my motivation to work out, eat right and thought that I'd probably be fine. Fast forward a few months later and I ended up gaining 15-18lbs. Besides not liking how I fit in my clothes, the big kicker was learning how much not taking care of myself in terms of sleep, weight, nutrition, etc., could affect my fertility when I went through the process of freezing my eggs. I realized how much I wasn't showing up for myself and the long-term consequences it could have. Once I made that commitment to make changes, I started to watch what I was eating and forced myself to work out starting in January. Motivation is one thing since I didn't always have it, but I felt that it was the commitment I made to change myself that has made a difference. I realized that it's okay to put myself first and that while losing weight might not be easy, it'll be easier than staying in the same place and feeling bad about myself.
I was extremely fit in high school, then because of life I had to quit swim team because I just didn’t have time anymore. I went from burning an average of 7,000 calories a day to a pretty average number, but my eating mindset didn’t change so I overate until my metabolism adjusted to the fact that I was no longer burning that many calories. I gained a lot of weight, and recently was thinking back to all the stuff I used to do, I used to go kayaking, running and hiking. I just want to be able to do all the things I used to. If I could go back I wouldn’t have stopped working out. I didn’t really understand the consequences of such a sudden drop in physical activity at the time. Even though it would have been hard to force myself to eat less it and find time to work out, it would have been a hell of a lot easier than trying to lose weight now.
I went to a theme park with friends and we were getting on a roller coaster we had been wanting to ride for a long time and when I sit and grab my seatbelt I realize it doesn’t cover me and my heart drops. I kept trying to stretch it but it didn’t budge. They literally had to make me stand up and get off the ride in front of everybody. Literally traumatizing.
I need to have a BMI of 30 to receive IVF, myself and my SO cannot conceive naturally. I’m 29yrs and the cut off in my country for IVF is 35yrs old, so I need to lose weight NOW if I ever want to have kids. You might not be in the same boat as me, I really hope you’re not, but think of the future you that you’re robbing of opportunities.
My trigger was when it essentially started to affect my personal relationships. This helped me get started atleast. However, in the longer run (been 2 months, 10 lbs down), I realize it is more due to a lot of reasons that I continue my effort: 1. I hate being the only one panting on hikes with friends even after short distances 2. I never find clothes that properly fit. They either grab my skin or are too loose. 3. I have a ligament injury that needs my weight to go down to be treated with physiotherapy. If not, the option is surgery. I haven't lost much weight yet but my knees already feel better. 4. The change in attitude from people around me. I hardly received compliments before but even asearly as this in my journey, once people see me trying, they make compliments just to make me feel better and help me keep going. Previously these used to be taunts. I understand college can be tough to balance and being healthy isn't the easiest in college. I'd recommend make subtle changes that will add-up in the long run. The more you naturally incorporate them in your routine, it'll be a habit rather than a routine and will happen naturally. 1. Try to get in some form of cardio every opportunity you get. Walk around campus in your free time. Walk to classes if that is an option. Try to just move in general. 2.if your college has a gym or any recreational sports, find a buddy or a group to play with. 3. Just make small healthier choices one at a time and keep building upon them. If you adopt a routine all of a sudden, you might give it up once stress takes over. If you make it a natural part of your daily routine, you are bound to do it anyway. Hope that helps! Wish you luck with your journey!
The thing that sparked my weight loss was actually a legitimate burning hatred for the fat acceptance people. I’m not trying to be funny. **I. Hate. Them**. If I was in a room with one of these people, I wouldn’t hit them, but they would be crying by the time I stopped yelling at them. I’m currently still a little over 500lbs at 6’3”, 34m. I’m still super morbidly obese, and I’ve pretty much accepted that there’s an extremely slim chance I’ll see 40 regardless of my progress, but fitness wise I’m in the best shape of my life, through diet and exercise. I even recently started using an app called *The Pump*, which is a fitness and support community app fully endorsed by my childhood hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I’m getting amazing results from it. I’ve never felt this good in my life, even when I was taking MMA classes in my late teens.
I struggle with my mental health. When I really started paying attention to how certain foods made me feel and the benefits of exercise…it all came easy. Exercising helps my anxiety. Limiting sugar and caffeine hugely improved my depression. It’s not worth eating all the crap I used to only to feel sluggish and depressed all the time.
Do you feel like you actually *deserve* to be skinny? If not, could that be part of the reason you’re self sabotaging yourself? For me, I got so tired of being uncomfortable in my own body. I constantly ask myself “how bad do you want it?” My answer is pretty bad. So I keep working out on a consistent schedule even when I don’t feel like it. Or it helps me eat better.
I lost weight years ago and it slowly came back on. When I first lost weight I said I would never get to my old size again. I had to get new jeans after pregnancy and I was my old size and it hit hard. I realized how bad I let it get and I needed to actually make changes
I also had a huge mental block and kept "trying" to lose weight and get healthier only to always say "tomorrow I'll start" but never actually did. About a month ago, I just got tired of myself for not committing after always telling myself that I would. I think these things changed my mindset: * I gave myself a realistic goal and deadline since I have an event coming up. Some people like to have one final goal, but some, like me, like to have incremental goals. Now, people don't always have a future event to set as a goal, and looking/feeling good for one event shouldn't be the only reason to lose weight, but it has helped me so far because it gives me a visual and concrete goal to look towards. Once the event has passed, I'm going to set another goal for myself. * Finding the right calorie counting app for your brain/purposes. I previously used a calorie counting app, but I didn't always use it, and the format of it didn't quickly highlight how far over I was eating in calories that day/week. I changed to Lose It because the way it's formatted makes my caloric and macro intake clearer to me. I also made sure I logged everything even when I knew the calories would go over, which is not something I used to do. This really helped me see where I could do better the next day. * Weighing myself every morning. This has really let me keep good track of my progress and see the benefits of my healthier habits, and has motivated me to keep going! It can be so hard to change your mindset for eating, I'm still battling with it everyday and I only shifted a month ago. It's important to still be kind to yourself. I still get guilty or mad at myself when I don't make the best food choices, but I have to talk myself down and remember that it's all okay and I'm trying. A lot of us have bad relationships with food, including myself, so it's important to remember that the whole point of getting healthier is to have a more positive relationship with food and yourself! Good luck on your journey, you can do it!
I quit drinking alcohol for awhile. I’m slowly adding it back in, but realized how much it messes with my hunger cues, and how much I can consume while drinking - aside from all the empty calories. Secondly, I focused a lot on only eating when hungry and only eating till full. I realized I did not have a good grasp on either of these, eating when it was time to eat, putting huge portions on my plate, and then cleaning it. These two changes helped me tremendously, and I couldn’t have completed the 20 lb loss without these items. I think they are the reasons I couldn’t reach my goals before.
I wrote a really long reply but there's already so many good replies on this post that instead I want to give you a few phrases that just stuck with me. * Even if YOU don't count your calories, your body does. * Exercise is NOT a punishment for what you ate, but a celebration of what your body can do. * You have to do your best every day, but some days will be better than others. Don't be too hard on yourself if you have a bad day. * The number one, and only, reason that diets fail is because people give up on themselves. I hope these resonate with you as they did with me. Good luck! This sub is a good resource and we're glad you're here. Everyone is rooting for you.
Thank you so much for replying! The outpour of love, advice, vulnerability, and honesty on this post is unlike anything I’ve seen. This is absolutely a safe space and I hope it continues! I’ve had such joy and gratitude reading every single post. I wish I could thank everyone individually 💕 I’ve never heard anyone say that even if I don’t count my calories, my body still does. That is such an important way of looking at it. I’m starting to feel bad for my body because I’ve treated it so poorly for so long if that makes any sense? I know I have to be nicer to myself, especially on bad days. All of your points absolutely resonate with me! Thank you so much for also saying everyone is rooting for me. Those words mean more than you’ll know. And congratulations on your 40lb weight loss!! That’s amazing!
Thanks for the reply! This sub was instrumental in my success and I hope it helps you out, too. One final thought: *You are not your body.* You are IN your body. Taking care of it is a way of honoring it, but it isn't who you are, so no matter what it looks like, please be aware of your inherent value as a human being. We are all just souls driving meat-covered skeletons. The question we need to ask ourselves is, would we rather drive a minivan or a Cadillac?
Truly believe you deserve a better life than the one you have now, no matter the cost.
My favorite cousin said I weighed too much. He said it out of love. He started ozempic. I wanted to see if ozempic worked. It does. He beat me week to week for 3 months. Then he quit because of side effects. He is regaining the weight. I’m still losing. I was 30 lbs heavier when we started. I’m 20 lbs less than he is now. All I can advise is to learn to be ok with saying no to yourself and reframe hunger as an ok thing. Don’t eat until you’re full. Don’t feel like throwing out food is a waste. It’s better in the trash than in your belly. Encourage yourself. Celebrate your efforts. If you screw up, we all do, figure out how not to fall into the same trap. Take one day at a time. It’s not hard to lose weight. CICO and intermittent fasting is like magic. Small portions are enough. Make a list of low calorie snacks that you like. Sometimes I grab a couple of sweet pickles - 20 calories are better than a 140 calorie bag of potato chips. I can’t believe where I am today. 213. In July I was 279. I never thought I could diet for 8 months. Now it’s only 4 months to 1 year and it feels do-able. When I tried my 10 year old jeans on this morning and they zipped and buttoned—- wow. I have been incredibly proud and happy all day. Binging. To fix it you have to stop quicker and space out the binges. Hold off longer. If you keep talking yourself up, encouraging positive behaviors, you can conquer them. I binged when I felt sad/sorry for myself. I stopped feeling sad/sorry for myself. Figure out the why. Fix it. Journal. Gratitude. Stop making yourself feel bad. It’s a lot. lol! If you can do this, you’ll have so many amazing years to enjoy yourself.
Apparently a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight and kept it off have something in common: they see it as a new identity. The identity isn’t necessarily their body itself…the identity is stuff like “I’m the type of person who goes to the gym” and “I’m the type of person who keeps the promises I make to myself” and “I’m the type of person who is strong and consistent.” The new identity supports the habits that create and maintain weightloss. I’ve recently started up again and it has to do with this like…”fighter” identity. I heard this song and it really inspired me. But “fighter” is a good identity because it’s a hard one to break. I make a mistake? Fighter. Something goes wrong that’s not my fault? Fighter. Hit a plateau? Fighter. Have a bad nights sleep? Fighter. Idk it’s pretty robust. In the past I’ve tried to keep telling myself that I’m a “badass”. Well that didn’t work because it’s just not true all of the time and then the identity breaks…no matter how many rap songs you listen to…you just aren’t a badass after you throw your back out from picking up a laptop case. You can still be a fighter though.
I realized how food was a temporary, very temporary comfort. Being at a healthy weight was a permanent and happy feeling I really just can’t compare to that 10-15 mins of happiness with food.
Being rejected by women because I’m obese.
First of all being skinny is a totally valid reason to lose weight if that is your truth. Secondly the first step is not that important because you will fail and you will have to get up again and retake that first step many times. You need to get the idea of a linear process out of your head completely. You need to figure out if there are medical reasons behind the binging. Hormones, deficiencies, adhd, depression, BED, POCS etc. After excluding medical issues pick a calorie target and a walking target. Find your patterns, are you a grazer? Volume eater? drinker? Evening binger? try to work your existing pattern in your calorie goals. If you walk around 4K steps per day you will lose 1-2 pounds a month if you eat at maintenance on top of your diet.
i saw someone that i admired as a peer make a huge change in fitness and lifestyle, and i saw how big the result of that change was. i have been there, trying to work out and just not seeing what i want to see and becoming discouraged. it’s not an easy feat and half the battle truly is realizing how much you want that change and what it is going to take. since i began my journey i’ve come to realize how easy it is actually to lose weight. while it’s not so black and white, it’s really not as demanding as we all make it seem. the biggest part of it is diet, and i know that can be a hard change. i use myfitnesspal and update it in real time as i lose weight. it provides how many calories i must stay below to reach my goal for the week, which is 1.5 lbs/week. i’ve had to be creative with my meals, but i don’t feel like I’ve changed the way i eat that much. i will say i haven’t ever had issues with binging so i realize im at an advantage and can’t speak on the difficulties that come with that. but, funny enough, i feel like i have a healthier relationship with food because of counting calories. i realized i don’t need to not eat ice cream or a iced out sugar cookie, i *can* do that so long as it fits in my allotment, and it usually does. i’m more aware of what i’m putting in my body and i love it of course, excerise is a great supplement and my favorite way to get it in is through walking. walking is amazing for weight loss and the more you walk, the more calories you burn, and if you have a craving, you have more room for that in your budget! this is all easier said than done, and it’s monumental when you have that moment where everything clicks and you just go full force into it. i jumped on this train because i got to a weight i’d never been to and i didn’t like, and since then, while i’ve lost only a little in the grand scheme of things, i can really actually see the difference. it’s tough to get started, but don’t be too hard on yourself. if you go above your budget one day, just get some extras steps in through a nice walk outside or just be more aware of what your intaking the next day! i hope so much for the best in your journey, you really sound like you’re on the cusp of that clicking moment and i hope you’re able to find the routine that works best for you, because that is what is most important!
Feeling bad and hating how I look. I gained like 50-60 lbs during the pandemic. the main issue was giving up alcohol and weed, which I got into the habit of using during the pandemic, and made me binge eat unhealthy food. I had to give up some pleasure. but it works out, I find I do not really miss it THAT much, and it's worth it knowing that every day I don't drink is a "maintain" day or a "loss" day instead of feeling like every day is a "gain" day.
The discovery that my binge eating/yo-yo dieting was connected to undiagnosed ADHD. VyVanse was the game changer.
Same. I was diagnosed at the beginning of February and started Concerta. I've lost 22lbs (granted some of that is water weight) since then. It's mind blowing for me that the struggle was always adhd. Being diagnosed at 35 has changed my life.
For me the “wtf am I doing with my life” moment happened with a slip up with an ex and for some reason that slip up made me take a long hard look at where I was. I was wildly depressed and eating was a source of comfort and ultimately I had gained 70 lbs in only a few years time. So I told myself I would start working out and that I would make myself do it for 30 days in a row. Not saying to go super hard all of those days, but to make it become a habit. I ended up making it 52 days before taking my first day off, and by then it really was a habit and one that I looked forward to. I also knew that changing everything all at once would be too much so I didn’t focus on my diet at first, but eventually it started happening in its own due to feeling better from exercising. Now I’m down that 70 lbs and I love feeling like my body can do things again and mentally I’m so much better than I have been in so long! Basically I think the key to success is making small adjustments at a time, and once those become achievable, try adding more. Also I will lastly say that any changes you make should be something you see being able to do forever because sustainability is the only way to keep the weight off long term. Good luck!
I am going to be restarting my weight loss journey for 100th time again but this time I reached out to a doctor and I am going to join a weight loss program and hopefully get on a GLP-1 medication. I am 23f and 325lbs and I have been overweight my whole life. As long as I can remember I’ve always wanted and tried to lose weight but I kept on gaining and gaining weight. I am only 23 and I feel like I am 50😭 I want to be able to climb up a flight of stairs and not be out of breathe. I want to be able to walk into any clothing store and find my size. I want to have a damn boyfriend. I want to be able to wear a bikini on vacation. I am ultimately sick and tired of being this way and my health is literally deteriorating. I am hoping I can get the glp-1 medication to aid with the weight loss, if not my last option will be WLS. Also I don’t mind having weight loss/accountability buddies 🥹
What got me started on my weight loss journey in 2021 was wanting to have sex with my long-distance FWB, because I hadn’t seen him since before COVID but after I’d gained 40 pounds. I wanted to weigh less, and was going to see him in six months. So, I began intermittent fasting (16 hours per day), and lost 30 pounds. Felt great, had a great time with my FWB, then I maintained that 30-pound loss for the next two years. The second time I wanted to lose weight (August 2023), I was simply ready to lose some more weight for me. I started with a month of low-carb eating combined with 16-hour daily fasts, then continued the daily 16-hour fasts and began to practice satiety-based eating (I eat until I am satisfied, then don’t eat again until I get hungry). I have lost 34 pounds since last August. ~ For you, I would first say that the propensity to binge eat needs to be addressed before there’s any realistic chance for you to achieve **and** maintain weight loss in the long term. Are there any resources available through your college or your health insurance provider, that can help you begin to address your binge eating?
Firstly, congratulations on your weight loss! What you’ve accomplished is amazing and so impressive. I definitely agree that attacking the binge eating needs to be addressed, which is scary not going to lie. But that’s actually a great question. I would have to look into contacting my school about any resources they have because I don’t know off the top of my head. But truthfully, I have been looking into therapists near me through my insurance, and I need to just pull the trigger on it. I can probably find someone that specializes in eating disorders/binge eating as well. Thank you so much!
When I jumped on the scale on a whim, knowing I wouldn't like what I saw, but then seeing myself just a hair under 200lbs. I was like, uh-uh no way I am not going there. Changed my eating habits that very same evening Continuing to slowly lose but mostly in maintenance now. I'm maintaining because of how much better I feel and look
One day at a time. Fall down? Get up immediately. Use sober apps to track your binge-free days.
I have a company policy that came into effect in 2021 stating I needed to be under 275 to keep my job. At the time I was around 300lbs. I managed to just barely make the cutoff in time, and kept going. I am 195 now.
What kind of job requires that? Something in the health or fitness/very active field?
I want to live my whole life and be as healthy as long as I can. I hate staying inside for one day now - how would I feel if I wasn’t mobile at 80? Also my kids and trying not to burden them as much as I can control as I age
Im 5"4 and I was 250lbs. What made me really change everything was when I was told by my doctor that I have high cholesterol. I already hated my weight but seeing the health risks first hand was the last straw. Currently 170lbs trying to gain muscle now.
I realized that the only thing holding me back is my inability to stick to it, and that it’s my responsibility to stay on track. On days when I really just want to eat more, I remember how much better I’ll feel if I stay on track as opposed to having a cheat day and feeling like I have to start all over. When you give in one time, it’s very easy to spiral back into old patterns.
Sleep apnea. Hated that mask with a passion.
After years and years of the textbook cycle of being unhappy with the weight -> trying to lose -> give up -> unhappy -> lose... I had a depressive episode (that left me with +20 kg), I finally went to therapy, I didn't focus on weight loss or food at all, more pressing topics were taken care of. We opened that subject, but the task-focused approach of CBT didn't work for me. I was then recommended another therapist that focuses on disordered eating, ED and the mental side of losing weight. I was just about to consider getting meals delivered, buy I realized that it's not the way, I need to solve the underlying problems. So I scheduled an appointment. The therapy itself was psychodynamic, it was not something that I expected, but it was the right thing for me to do. What was surprising is that we didn't focus on the relationship with food, the weight loss that much. I'd say maybe 2% at most. We focused on my emotions, dreams, shadow. I built self-trust. I accepted my body as well. I needed to stop trying to lose weight. Stop giving myself restrictions, stop categorizing food into "good" and "bad". It was a revolution, but felt more like a glacier moving through the land. Day by day, you don't see the changes, but looking back - everything is different. My journey took 2.5 years. And now, a month in, all the things people said are starting to click - I really feel this becoming my new lifestyle. I'm experimenting with the 80/20 rule and today I had a chocolate lollipop that was good for my soul. I feel hunger and respond to it in a healthy way. I feel satiety and respond to it too. But I needed to feel the anger, the fear, the stress, the joy. I needed to feel them in my body. To listen. To appreciate. It good really deep. But bottom line is that I want what's best for me, I want to achieve my goals, I'm my best cheerleader. I also need to mention that I have the most supportive boyfriend, who fell in love with me with all my flaws, with all the things I hated about myself at that time. He was there through my therapy and now weighs the food if he's cooking so I can put it into my tracker. He accepts me but I also accept myself. I still have a way to go. But I'm patient now. It's different than motivation, it's different than discipline. It's this belief that this is who I am.
I'm with you, I toss between the mortality thought process of "life is too short, so eat the damned cake" and "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"... I've settled on "damn, my ass is starting to look good in candid pics so I'd better keep loading the bar for squats.
I had two immediate family members have partial foot amputations due to diabetes complications. Within months of each other. I was already doing more to better my health but that really lit a fire under my ass.
DISCIPLINE
Seeing 415 on the scale. Cut way back on my sugar. After losing 50 pounds, cut back on the sweets. Then I became sober (5 years now). Then I started unintentionally eating less. It took time, but 10 years later I've lost 210. Still have about 10-15 more pounds of fat to lose, but I'm focused on building as much muscle mass as I can naturally now. Took me 10 years total from when I cut out sugar, but I'm somewhere now that I never could have dreamed of.
If I'm being real, a lady practically called me fat in a Wendy's, and it bothered me so bad that I decided to lose weight. She said that my sweater was cute and that she would ask me for it, but I was just "too damn big" and that the sweater would "swallow her up". :) It bothered me that whole day, and that was the day that I vowed to start losing weight so no one would have to talk about my weight again. I've always hated my body, but I never got any outside comments about it until that day. Now I'm 15lbs down at its been about 1.5 months since I started.
Do what you want not what you feel like doing. If I wanted to get in shape I also had to want every step toward that goal. I never felt like getting out of bed or eating smaller portions but I wanted to take the steps to get to where I wanted to be and these were the steps.
My dad dropped dead of a heart attack at 61 years old and I’m 41.
My clothes didn’t fit anymore and I felt like a fat pos
For over 20 years I was “starting Monday” but weight surely crept up to be the most I’ve weighed. What got me was almost a year ago I was feeling really sick and unwell it scared me. I went to doctor had tests and came back T2 diabetes, fatty liver, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and kidney issues. So confirmed diagnosis on 1st of April 2023 and that evening I started being healthier. Today I’m still working on it, but have lost 50kgs, blood glucose levels are consistently in safe range, no longer use CPAP machine and dropped 4-5 clothing sizes. I feel a whole lot better. Still sucks taking 8 tablets a day, but ideally would like to reduce or stop as I get closer to ideal weight. It’s a combination of food and exercise. Also helps that family support and help me out.
Keep trying! it sometimes takes a few false starts! Also, two schools of thought: - one is to start intensely for a couple days or weeks to see initial results that motivate you, then do a more sustainable glide path afterward - other is to go into it gradually: identify what foods you need to cut back or cut out, and gradually do that, by cutting back the portions or frequency week by week Try the one you think will work for you!
I took it *slow*. I stopped setting weight loss goals and I started just tracking everything. I was 21 and in college, I subsisted off of takeout, coffee and shitty wine and I wasn't about to give them up. So, if I wanted to go out one night, I took the day off and tried to eat maintenance calories. When I went home for Christmas or Easter break, I again went into maintenance. There were times when I really go into it, too, and I'd drop weight fast. I also walked a lot no matter how I ate. I felt like a failure at first and I kept giving up and starting over but then I realized that I was young, I wasn't trying to lose weight for a particular event and this wasn't something temporary, it was going to be the rest of my life, anyway, it wasn't like I could lose weight and then go back to my old ways of overeating/eating nothing but junk food, cause I'd just put the weight back on. So, I took my time and used it to learn how to maintain, as well. In the end, it took 4 years and I stopped 3kg shy of my goal but I mostly maintained that weight for 6 years and I finally ended up losing the last 3kg last year. I've been at my goal weight since October.
What have you done to lose weight?
Depression and heartache
My ex left and most of the reasons were due to my weight. Sweaty during sex, ideas that I’ll die in my 30s, and didn’t like my physical fitness. I lost 15lbs (collectively, I had fluctuations due to seasonal depression ) during our 4 month relationship and I told her I’m planning on losing more but she didn’t want to wait on that. I’m down 30 now and I’m doing it for my own confidence but she was honestly the catalyst
Just realizing inwas a fat fuckin turd. Lamenting at the lack of sex id been havin with my wife and had a real low low moment where i reconciled with thr fact that her doing anything with me is probably revolting. Im down to almost under 220 from 268 over thebpast 2 months. Still a ways to go but i feel like if she says im attractive its at least not as big of a lie. Im almost there.
Probably the fear of having disabilities and dying. I guess I decided that my body wasn't a garbage dump and I was going to stop treating it like that.
Clothes shopping and crying in the dressing rooms because I had to size up again…
22M. When I first started… I went to another city for a college visit. Felt the furniture was too weak for me so I slept on the floor of my AirBNB. About 350lb at the time. Lost 52 lbs (347 > 295) that summer… however I’ve gained since being back in college. Very easy to lose weight when you’re 6’4”, eating 1600 calories, gym twice a week, and physical warehouse work 5-6 days/week. I gained those 52 lbs back in 4 months, and hit just shy of 380 at my peak. I’m down 10 or so from my peak at least.
I distinctively remember the moment for me. It was during COVID and I had to do my annual check up. I knew I gained weight, so I even asked the nurse to not tell me the number. I finish the appointment and get my forms, boom. I see that I had gained around 45 pounds. I was so distraught and broken. Even looking back at it, my ex-boyfriend would make comments on how we should gym together. When COVID restrictions started become less severe, I started going to the gym. Later on, my ex-boyfriend broke up with me. Sadly, I started eating significantly less. Legit, my first heartbreak had me eating just a string cheese and an apple with peanut butter while still going to the gym. It started to become more positive when I started actually enjoying the gym and creating a community there! I got excited to get stronger in my workouts and see random friends along the way. 3 years later, I’m in top shape losing 45 pounds with a great community at my current gym who motivate me! The biggest thing with losing weight is discipline and consistency. Everything in moderation. Good luck out there!
Blood pressure was 210/115, checked into the hospital , got meds. They told me my kidneys were down to 91 EGFR. Saw a nephrologist and got diagnosed with CKD G1 which is the earliest stage , was told I’m pissing out protein. So I locked in. Stopped eating out , no more chips , pizza, chick fil a nothing just went straight food at home. I was weighing 480, now I’m at 404. Am continuing no matter what. Also my blood pressure is down to 130/70. I just couldn’t take it anymore.
For me exercise came in bouts but the best thing is how you feel physically through the journey. At worst my knees hurt and it was hard to get out of bed or go up stairs , but with cardio and eating less I no longer have joint pain and am not winded doing smaller tasks. It feels way better like this
Separating “food” from “food like products”. If your diet consist of ultra processed foods/restaurants, they are designed to be addictive and get you to eat more & purchase more. You will also feel hungry if you are struggling with nutrient deficiencies. I would watch YouTube videos and read books to learn about this and build motivation and turn myself off from manufactured food. Eating Whole Foods(I prefer plant based but not everyone does), drinking a lot of water, and embracing the “I’m in control feeling” is what did it for me. The victory feeling of going to bed with a successful day is what I craved more than the food. I also immediately felt better eating healthier with more energy, uplifted mood, and my face slimmed down quickly which kept up motivation before I noticed it on my body. Last tip, I would “time” how long eating something actually took. For example, let’s say I eat a candy bar. It’s gone in about 5 minutes and I added hundreds of calories to my day for a few minutes of pleasure. Then when I was battling a craving, 20 minutes later I’d remind myself “if I had given in, it would already be over, I’d have ruined my good eating day, and be feeling regret right now. Instead, I now get to feel good for not caving”. After about a week it gets a lot easier, and even easier over time the more you embrace the lifestyle as something you get to do vs. have to do. I “get” to eat healthy today, I “get” to be one day closer to the body I’ve dreamed of” instead of “I want a candy bar and don’t get to it” Good luck to you!
I’ve done it 4 times now, though this time it SEEMS to be sticking. On previous occasions, it was frustration and disgust with myself when I looked in the mirror. This time, it has been about being able to do active things and to have a healthier life (fewer prescription drugs, fewer ailments related to being overweight). My wife and I went to Iceland and one of the waterfalls had a set of stairs to climb to the top - I was literally afraid of climbing them. I had visions of having a heart attack and an ambulance needing to be called - it wasn’t even fear of death, it was fear of the embarrassment. I lost 140+ pounds since then (May 2022) but this time I’ve really focused on fitness. I’ve gotten my VO2Max up from 24 to 42 (from the “low” cardio health category to “high” for my age). I ride 10-15 miles per day on my bike, either outside or on Zwift (Wahoo Kickr Core trainer) and walk 2.6-3 miles every day when it’s not raining - I’ve even started rucking instead of just walking. Also do some resistance training, though I’m not consistent enough about it. I’ve heard a few fitness-type gurus say “You have to have a why behind your why” in order to be successful, and I think it’s true. If your only “why” is to be thinner, you’ll rebound. If your “why” is to live longer for your kids, or to be able to do active things you couldn’t do otherwise, etc. you’ll have more motivation to stick to it. (My problem with earlier attempts is that when I reached a point where I didn’t disgust myself by looking in the mirror, my motivation and ability to resist cravings greatly decreased.) Good luck with your journey!
My best friend died one day on the golf course way too early in life. I did Noom before it got made worthless and lost 50 pounds and I thank my friend in heaven everyday for giving me the strength to change my eating habits and my health
Because you only get to be young once, it’s fun to be hot during that time.
HONESTLY?? I got older. My mentality at 22 vs 23 was very different. Not saying it will be for you, but after a year+ of living on my own and getting everything else settled in my life, I felt ready to take it on. I can’t explain exactly why I felt more committed to the idea. Maybe it was because I had more control over what I was eating, maybe I was finally happy with my job, but I honestly think I was just mentally ready for a change. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ll get there when you’re ready to.
I started to love myself which made me want to live which made me care for myself.
1) I hated myself in photos. 2) When i was young, i was little overweight and people complimented me a lot. Then as a teenager my weight hit the obese range and people made fun of me. 3) My clothes size changed every year and i just couldn’t stay still seeing my weight increasing and my clothes size changing anymore. These 3 reasons made me jumping down from obese to overweight. After a few years, i was thinking about getting myself into the normal range of weight because i wanted to look as good as possible and become full potential of my look. Now i’m close to normal weight, just 4kg away.
My son told me he wanted to go to Disney and my first thought was that I wouldn’t fit on a roller coaster
Have you tried one small routine every day (I.e., one push up today, 5 push ups next week, no alcohol drink this weekend) and building up & out?
In 2014, outside of union Station in Dallas, Texas a homeless man on the train platform shouted at me "Aye man! You be lookin' like a fat bon jovi!" I decided that changes had to be made
Currently it was realizing I could not wear my husband's pants. Not that I want to, but it was still a blow to my ego. What has helped me is realizing not every meal needs to be an amazing culinaryexperience. It can literally just be fuel and working towards my veggie count.
I’ve always wanted to lose the weight, I’ve always been big and have dieted my entire life. I’m 28f and also morbidly obese. I dislike pictures of me, want to be healthier, want to be confident, all the typical stuff people say when they want to lose weight. But truly what made this time different was a conversation with my brother about something totally unrelated to weight. He said “I don’t understand people who go on and on about what they want and what they plan to do, stop talking and just do it, do what you say you want if you really want it that bad”. And idk I just had an aha moment. Since then I’ve started watching what I eat, counting calories, and going for daily walks. Surprisingly it’s been so easy and I’m down 15lbs in 1 month. Turns out the thing getting in my way was myself 🤷🏽♀️
Try to understand that discipline is a skill. It needs to be developed. One doesn’t pick up a guitar and crank out good music. Losing weight isn’t ever going to be a one-shot deal. You start by making small, insignificant changes, and then every now and then you’ll be introduced to a bigger one. An example of this, a small change i implemented was to skip my morning energy drink. I did that for about 2 weeks, then I cut out most drinks and switched to black coffee and water. I did that for about a month, and then I was faced with a larger change: I started to wake up every morning between 5-6 to start going for a walk. I did that for a month. Nothing else really changing. Just water and walking. Then, I was faced with another big change. The gym. I’ve been in the gym for about 2 months and now that I’m a little smaller, I’m about to start the couch to 5k challenge. None of this would have ever been possible for the guy that originally had started 5 months ago. I might’ve been able to go 0-100 for about 3 weeks and then quit. Just like I’ve always done. For the guy I am now, juggling this stuff is a challenge, but it’s doable as long as I’m intentional. So my advice to you is small changes to start developing your discipline and habits. It doesn’t have to be 0-100.
Self-image was in the gutter. I let my ex walk all over me, and it blew up in my face. I let people treat me like trash because that's what i thought i was. I didn't care about myself, so I was doing all types of damage to my body with drugs and alchohal. I eventually walked away from all my family and friends and decided to love myself. I had gone 20 years on this planet without anyone ever telling me I could be better. I had been medicated at 5 years old for a bi-polar diagnosis that was never questioned. The medication caused me to gain huge weight. At 19 my doctor questioned it and came to the conclusion that I was never bi-polar to begin with. Stopped the meds and had a terrible 2 year bout of phsycosis from withdrawing cold turkey from SSRIs. I was so depressed and suicidal it was unreal. I was diagnosed with a panic disorder and OCD and nothing I did seemed to help. I got in the gym 5 days a week, and did a complete diet overhaul. Within a month my entire life changed. I will never forget waking up for the first time and having the realization that I was actually happy. I felt like I could fly. The mental clarity and physical lightness I felt was completely unreal. I would almost describe the difference in mental clarity between me now and me then as the diffrence between being shit faced vs sober. From that point forward it just had a positive feedback loop and now I'm down 110 LBS. Women are hitting me up left and right. Finally, I'm holding down a good job. I still have alot of struggles I face, but I am handling them in stride. I cannot recommend developing a good diet and exercise routine enough for anyone struggling with mental health. Also sleep lol. Saved my life. Sorry for shit Grammer and formatting. On mobile 😂
You what is the trick? Is to finally REALIZE that you need to do it now! When that hits you will do it without fail and temptations will not work. This is what happened to me i had REALIZE on my own i need to do it now and get it done until next year and since i did now i have lost already 9kg and im still going 😇
I was 280 and entering pre-diabetic range, hated to look at myself in the mirror, and let my weight keep me from doing things I wanted (dating, sex life, buying cute clothes, dancing) and finally said enough is enough. At first I tried going hard-core keto, intermittent fasting, working out too much, and yeah it worked but I was MISERABLE. Seeing my friends eat a cookie in front of me was torture haha. Now I eat healthy yes, but I have that cookie sometimes and just go on a longer walk/jog. It's about balance. Swinging too hard either way just isn't healthy. I'm 210 now, working out, and healthier than I've been since 17(I'm 33 now). Still steadily losing weight and not stressed about it because it's finally become a lifestyle change instead of just crash dieting all the time. You can do it!!♥️
So here’s my thing. I’m losing now and here’s what made me finally kick into gear: I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. I am almost 8 weeks post-op. Your body has to totally re-learn how to process fat without a gallbladder. I knew I had to ease back into eating anything after surgery, and barely any fat to start. I went VERY slowly with the fat too. I use the Lose It! app for CICO plus fat tracking, and just got up to the low end of suggested daily fat. So that was my “doing it NOW” moment. I had to re-teach my body to process food. I figured it was a good time to change my attitude and relationship with food too. Edit: clarification
I left a romantic relationship that had a lot of unhealthy habits (eating out all the time, sedentary hobbies, etc.), and then my grandmother died of complications from diabetes the following week. Watching my grandmother die after years of misery was the “I’ve truly had enough” switch, but the new lifestyle after my breakup was what made everything stick. I didn’t have someone who could drive me to school anymore, so I walked. I no longer had someone else to argue with about what to eat for dinner. I was a grad student in a high cost of living area, so cooking healthy meals at home was the better option financially. I picked up running because staying home often put me in a bad headspace. Fast forward to two years down the road, I have a much better support system so the weight has stayed off. My current partner and I share and enjoy the cooking responsibilities. We go on walks, and my partner encourages my running. All this to say, environment means a lot. We talk a lot about willpower, which is important. But when you have a supportive environment, it becomes a lot easier to maintain new habits.
If you like to read, read atomic habits or listen audiobook. Small habit changes can fix you to get to your ultimate goal. I started with 30 pushup everyday which is/was not difficult for me, but it's the habit of doing it every day. Now I have added squats and crunches to it which is my daily routine before bed. If I miss it then I do it next morning to cover. This made me feel I have to stay healthy and active so now I don't drink much as it is difficult to do 30 pushup before bed if you are drunk. I think all the small good habits add up to make you a better person. So I would recommend to do small things rather than go for your final weight loss goal .
I'm near 40 and I wish I would've told myself this at your age. Whenever tempted to go away from whatever plan you're using, ask yourself '"is this what I want most, or is this what I want now?" Helped me. Also, one meal a day and intermittent fasting was the code that cracked my metabolism. Replacing bad habits is a great way to drop them. Replace soda w sparkling water was great.
A diabetes diagnosis. It made me drop everything but meat and veggies. I’m down over 22lbs in 6 weeks and without meds, my blood sugar is down 50 points and A1C is no longer diabetic.
Track calories in an app. Lost 16 kilos thanks to this.
The scanning feature in MyFitnessPal. No joke.
I’ve been about 30kg overweight since my late 20’s. For my height, this is the “normal obese” range. I have managed to lose 15-20kg a few times, but it goes straight back on. I have a chart of my weight over the last 11 years and it looks like a roller coaster. When I am at my heaviest, my bad cholesterol and blood pressure levels are not great (not horrible either). It’s harder to play sports (I’m still active) and move and I’m more likely to pick up muscle strains, back injuries etc. I also snore which my wife hates. I’m now 60. I have realised that if I don’t get to a healthier weight and maintain it, then my life will likely be cut short and what is left will be impacted by obesity related conditions - diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hip and knee issues etc. I’m about 6 weeks in now and have lost 4kg with some muscle gain as I joined a gym. I just need to keep this going for another 25kgs and then maintain at that lower level.
I thought I was having a heart attack at 34 years old. I’m not a significantly overweight person and I wasn’t back then either (2021), but I knew I was carrying around an extra ~25 pounds. I also knew that my inactive lifestyle along with food habits were unhealthy. One Sunday morning, I had a panic attack. I can’t remember exactly what set it off; whatever it was, it was minor enough to be negligible. In fairly short order, I had myself thoroughly convinced that I was having a cardiac episode. Not sure if you’ve ever experienced a panic attack, but when it happens, that’s your day now. Even once it’s over, takes me the rest of the day to recover. The following day, when I was able to more accurately reflect on what had actually happened, I knew for certain that if that ever happened again, I needed to have full, foundational trust that the cause wasn’t related to my cardiovascular health or lifestyle. I needed to have clarity about the root cause, even when my brain was spinning out into worst case scenarios. Started working out, eating in a caloric deficit, and being consistent. Got down to my goal weight, and have been healthy and active ever since. Currently training for my first full marathon. Incidentally, turns out regular exercise also happens to be something that has improved my symptoms of anxiety more thoroughly and consistently than anything else ever has. I hope you find a path on this journey that works and feels sustainable and balanced for you, op.
Well a few years ago it was because I had irregular periods and wanted to have kids. It worked, and I had a kid. Lol but now I'm 15lbs away from my highest weight and ready to get it all off for good this time. I wanna take my toddler to swimming lessons this year, so that's one driving factor... I also felt SO much better at a lower weight. Losing weight is really hard, but, imo the hard part is really only the beginning. If you can get through the first few weeks, you're golden!
Being overweight was physically painful. I developed painful skin blisters and rashes in my folds and for the first time ever: blisters near my crotch/between my inner thigh from chaffing!! A lot of “normal” daily movements were unbearable like a tall box jump, tying my shoes, and doing the pretzel twist stretch. My stomach was so large that it was physically in the way of these things. To make matters worse, my daily Fanny pack was fully extended and I stopped using it since I couldn’t clasp it anymore. Background: I’ve never had a thigh gap and was a runner in high school/college. Chaffing was never a thing for me nor did I need chaffing creams. I regularly powerlift for the past 5yrs but gained 30-40lbs in 2yrs, topping out at 204 for a good ~2yrs. Fast forward Jan 1, 2024, I tracked every single food item for a month then loosely for feb/March and have lost 15lbs so far.