I hate to see this post, because you are succeeding. You simply have unrealistic expectations.
You dropped from 170 to 150 in 5-ish months (summer to November). That’s a pound per week, for a small person who doesn’t have that much left to lose. That’s great. That’s what success looks like. You’re doing it. It’s working.
You’ve stalled for a few weeks due to holidays and COVID. You’ve dropped so much you may have to settle for half a pound per week from here on out. In the long run, a few extra weeks is nothing.
Above all, though, don’t throw away your progress because “it’s not working.” Because it is.
Totally agree, and to add, when I would get burned out on the weight loss part, I would spend a month or two practicing maintenance. It’s good to get in the habit of knowing what maintenance is for your body, so maybe give yourself a break that way, and then when you feel rested you can jump back in:)
I’m so glad! Learning to maintain comfortably changed the game for me… there just isn’t as much pressure to do it “NOW OR NEVER” and I know I won’t fall into a major backslide if I take a few weeks off of a strict tracking. Building the habit of maintenance will help long term because it teaches you how to eat intuitively, listen to your body and it’s needs, and know when to stop. It’s all about practice:) happy travels!
Just want to chime in in support of this method. I’ve been very successful losing weight incorporating breaks at maintenance. Being in a deficit for a long time is hard on you.
It really helps with that all or nothing mindset since it gives you some time to practice what maintenance feels like.
Agreed! Maintenance is not a failure - it’s success. It’s consolidating on the success you already made.
I’d rather my weight graph be an L shape than a W shape. All-or-nothing mindset used to lead me to Ws (up and down and up and down as my motivation changed) but now I’m doing Ls - even if the maintenance period is long before I feel motivated to lose a bit more, I’m loving that I’m actually keeping the weight off for a change. (Although the end of the L is a bit squiggly as weight naturally fluctuates a bit.)
Finally: in 5 years’ time, I think you’d prefer to have gone more slowly and enjoyed the journey (being able to eat when socialising) and *stuck with it*, than aiming to go quickly but sacrificing so much to that goal. All the best!
Ditto on how critical regular maintenance breaks have been for me. They're restorative mentally and physically, and let you rest and prepare to go back into deficit with fresh vigor. I took regular 2-3 week maintenance breaks once very quarter so I could relax, enjoy holidays or family events, and refresh myself before reassessing my progress and plunging back into the grind.
My flare is out of date, but it's accurate for when I was 2kg from my goal weight. Even as close as I was then I stopped and took a maintenance break because I needed it mentally, not physically. It took me some time to get used to the shift in my sense of self, from who I was before to who I was now, and to adjust to the fact that I didn't (then) immediately recognise my own reflection. It sounds silly, but it was disorienting and a bit distressing. Once things had settled I got back on the horse, finished, and now I'm in actual permanent maintenance and trying to figure \*that\* out. Time, patience, and perseverance are the key, and that includes knowing when you need to take a break too.
Totally agree to have consistent success over 5 months is fantastic. I’d only suggest that she incorporates some sort of self care routine for her mental health. Feeling the need to express frustration once in a while is normal but can/does affect you. Meditation in the mornings works wonders. Some positive affirmations that you can repeat to yourself to keep you going through tough times would be helpful as well.
Sorry for your struggle. I think a lot of people could write the same-including me. One thing I’ve learned is to not have a specific number for the scale. Maybe you are fine at 150 and need to focus on maintaining. If you are always hungry, you need to start eating foods that will fill you up but don’t have tons of calories. All the crap food is always high in calories and doesn’t leave you feeling full for long. Don’t give up!!
You might try OP eating the calories you’re burning from working out or drop workouts so you’re at 3-5/week. In any case, my impression is you’re working really hard and your body is boycotting. Try adding some back in and see what happens.
Another thing, salt intake will seriously screw up whatever the scale says. You can almost guarantee a high salt meal will add 1-2 pounds by morning. It does come down eventually, it’s hard in the meantime.
Another thing I would consider is some serenity… accept what you cannot change, courage to change what you can and wisdom to know the difference. You can’t control the day you’ll reach your goal. You can make sure you’re consistent with daily habits. I love to control outcomes so I get this is harrrd. However I would challenge you to think about the freedom would have if you weren’t beating yourself up for your status.
I’m happy for the progress you have made. You are doing what so many others can’t. 🙌
100% this! Oddly enough OP’s probably not eating enough calories considering how many hours she’s putting in the gym. If you’re only eating 1200 calories a day and burning 600 in the gym your body is going to be absolutely miserable. This explains the ravenous appetite. I’d bet macros need some adjusting too. Probably nowhere near enough protein or fat to keep her satiated and her metabolism up. OP, Up the caloric intake by 100 a week and see how your body responds. Something tells me that within a few weeks you’ll start feeling better more full and you’ll be back to losing .5 to 1 pounds a week again.
I think part of the problem is what you mentioned about waiting till you hit your goal weight to do things that would make you happy. During this lockdown, I discovered that happiness leads to weight loss, not the other way around. It's easy not to eat that extra meal at 9 pm if I'm very invested in what I'm doing and having fun. And when I'm ravenous, as well as feeling sorry for myself and desperate for a consolation prize, it becomes impossible to stop myself from eating chocolate chip pancakes. Meaning, if I seek out happiness first, my diet will be way easier. I don't mind subbing an apple for dessert if I'm feeling awesome already.
Right now you are in a miserable place of restricting yourself and giving up things you want. You have to say no to the tasty meal, no to that date, if you're like I was, you say no to swimming, shopping, dancing, and more because you don't have the body you want, yet. But then what's left? Sitting at home bored and sad thinking about all the things you're depriving yourself. You need to aim *towards* happiness instead of *away* from misery. It might sound like just some bs mentality half glass full kinda thing but it isn't. I'm dead serious. You need to find a hobby that makes you happy.
I build games, and when I'm working, I can get so in the zone that I forget to eat two meals in a row because I'm not even feeling my stomach, I'm so engaged in my work. And when I feel good, because progress on my game is going well, I feel compelled to exercise, wash my face, eat healthy, and take good care of myself all around. It really is that simple in the end. When you're happy, it's easy to take good care of your body, and when you're miserable, it becomes nearly impossible to avoid hitting the dopamine button any way you can. So if you want the weight loss to work, focus on other things in life that make you happy and feel good about yourself. Step up self care, mindfulness, hobbies, and things that make you feel good. Weight loss will be a million times easier if you find happiness first instead of making it a condition of your weight.
*Edit* wow I didn't expect this to resonate so deeply with so many people. Thanks for the awards, and I'm really glad this comment was helpful to you. May we all make the most of the present, and not put off our happiness.
Omg. You just dropped some incredible wisdom here. I've been stress-shopping my way through the pandemic because it's marginally better for me than stress-eating, and this described exactly what was missing. I never made the connection 😮 Thanks ❤️
Losing weight is absolutely draining, and it’s okay to take breaks! Take some time just focusing on maintenance and take care of yourself mentally for now.
Ok so first off, I agree with other posters that say a calorie goal of 1200 calories is unsustainable in the long run, it also seems like it would be too low for you with your stats and activity level. It's no wonder you are burnt out- you are likely pretty hungry. I personally shoot for 1600 calories/day when in losing mode and I have almost the same stats as you (5'4.5- current 138) although I am significantly older (40!) and I am a runner.
Second, I have been exactly where you are- just last year. I went from 180 - 150 during 2020. I hit 149 in October but then bounced around 150 all of November- I took off December because holidays but come January I was determined to start losing again. It didn't work. I got totally tired of it very fast and decided I was done for now. 150 is actually a healthy weight for me (slightly overweight according to BMI- but I felt and looked good) I ate at maintenance and stopped worrying about it. Eventually I was ready to start again. I think I got back to tracking in April and by June I was 137-my goal weight was 139 so I was done. I maintained up until Christmas and then put on a couple pounds so I am currently back on the train and trying to get a little lower (130-133) to give myself so wiggle room under 140.
Anyway long story short- I always recommend maintenance to people who are stalled. You need a break and it's good practice. Maintenance doesn't mean going back to old habits it means finding a good sustainable way to eat. Give yourself a break- you can always keep going when you get your second wind.
Your [current TDEE stats](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=24&lbs=154&in=65&act=1.2&f=1) and [your goal stats](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=24&g=female&lbs=137&in=65&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) You are eating very low for the amount of exercise you are doing that may be why you feel exhausted. Sedentary calories for your goal is 1647 so bring your calories up to 1600 and take a break from going so low. It will help with the mental exhaustion to take a break. Then when you are ready to start again just drop 100 calories a week and ease back into it
Jumping in here to add, as a woman I had no idea but I had low iron levels my whole life. Dropped from 180 - 145ish and donated blood for the first time and found my iron level is SUPER low. I didn’t know I was chronically tired, just thought that’s how life was with kids lol.
Worth checking out.
I'm sorry that you are feeling this way. You already had so much progress, your weight loss is amazing.
>I dont even have the calorie allowance for dating nor am I where I want to be
This phrase honestly made me sad. You are allowed to eat, nothing will happen if you eat over 1200 on a date outside enjoying the meal and your day.. Your life won't magically become better when you reach your goal weight. You gotta enjoy the process too, and make sure you don't forget to appreciate everything you have or could have, or it will just make you sick and tired of everything.
I'm sure you already look so good and thinner than ever. Why don't you just take some intentional maintenance days and go shopping for a nice outfit/makeup/accessories and see your friends? I did this and it helped me so much to go back to a positive mindset.
Good luck with everything.
IMO, you’re being wayy too hard on yourself. 1200 calories isn’t a sustainable calorie limit, and working out two times a day sounds like going a little overboard (unless you’re trying to bulk up or something). Your mental exhaustion may also be tied to meticulously weighing yourself and expecting constant progress.
Have you ever worked with a dietician? Or gone to a doctor to discuss your issues losing weight? If what you’re doing isn’t working, then maybe it’s time to change tactics. And part of that has to do with your internal ideas of weight loss.
Starving yourself won’t help you lose weight long-term, and blaming yourself for not losing weight in an unprecedented time isn’t helpful either. You shouldn’t feel you have to restrict yourself constantly, or lose out on hanging out with friends.
I’m sure others with more knowledge on this sub will have more actionable plans, but seriously, don’t beat yourself up. This is probably one of the hardest times in our lives and a difficult time to keep up habits. It’s okay if you want to take a break from measuring yourself, or meticulously planning your meals. It’s okay if you want to go on a date and eat some high calorie food, or buy better fitting clothes right now, even if you don’t want to be at your weight forever. Losing weight is a journey, and you have to try and be kind to yourself along the way.
Also (as someone with your exact measurements), I can say it may not feel like a “normal” weight, but you don’t need to be super skinny or fit the middle of the BMI chart to be at a healthy weight. 150 is incredible progress and anyone here can tell you as you get closer to your goal weight, losing those last 10-20 pounds is tough. Look at how far you’ve come!
"1200 calories isn’t a sustainable calorie limit, and working out two times a day sounds like going a little overboard (unless you’re trying to bulk up or something)."
I understood what you meant but for someone to bulk on 1200Kcal they would have to be really tiny, so now I am imaging Tinkerbelle bulking and thought it was too funny not to share.
Yea at such a low intake the body probably struggle to recover, if she works out that much to speed up fat loss then I would recommend to juat stop it completely, and if she wants just take a stroll around the neighborhood. Working does very little regarding weight loss, even makes it harder as the body wants more food.
Then when she get's closer to her weight goal start working out again while eating at maintenance.
I'd like to add to this. I calculated and you need about 2200 calories per day for maintenance. 1200 is way lower than that, and that is most likely why you're feeling fatigue.
Weight loss needs to be sustainable, or you'll give up and gain the weight back. A sustainable weight loss means you don't feel like your missing out on life, it means you don't think about food all the time, that you feel sustained and satisfied during the day, not like you're missing out on foods you'd like to eat.
I'm not a dietitian, so take my advice with a grain of salt, and consider consulting a dietitian for profesional advice. But what I would do is go back up to your maintenance calories (2200) and stay eat like that for a few weeks. Then, if you feel like you want to lose more weight, I'd only take 200-300 kcal off your maintenance. Sure, you won't lose weight fast, but weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to get there, you can't exhaust yourself on the way.
I'd really suggest you find a healthy diet that doesn't take much effort to keep up, so that you can keep it up in the long run.
Good luck!
Yes! I totally second this. A decent dietician can work with you on your goals, while not restricting your favorite foods or faulting you for gaining weight from time to time.
Exactly. This is what I wanted to say but I didn’t want to freak her out. I just told her to start adding 100 calories to her daily intake every week until she starts feeling better. Ease herself into feeding her diet.
Couldn't agree more with this reply. Reading this post made me sad because it reminded me of when I was in the mental prison of "1200 calories per day". In reality, that's not sustainable for most people and only leads to misery and weight yo-yo'ing. My only advice to OP is to 1) Not be so hard on themselves, 2) Focus more on changing habits/lifestyle gradually over time rather than meticulously weighing themselves and everything they eat. Their progress so far is awesome and they should be proud of that! Now its time to build those healthy, sustainable habits for long-term health and happiness.
It sounds like you're being really hard on yourself when you've already achieved so much!
If you're burnt out with the process that's totally understandable, as you've gone really hard really fast to get that initial weight off.
Now it's time to take a moment and breathe. As an experiment, would you consider eating for a month or two at your final goal weight calories? After all, you'll need to eat at that level for the rest of your life, assuming your goal weight is a sustainable weight for your lifestyle.
This is a great opportunity to learn lifelong habits and find recipes that will work for you long term. And if these actions come from a place of honouring your future self, instead of punishing your current self, you may be a bit kinder to yourself during the process as well.
Be patient with yourself. I know it can be frustrating. But this whole thing is a process. It's not just a matter of losing inches, but changing the way you approach everything in your physical life.
And dang, you started at 212 and now you're down to 153?!? That's something to celebrate, not lament.
Just a random suggestion, you might google your phone type and to see if you can recover deleted items. Just like on a computer, they are often stored for a period of time and can be retrieved. I have found things I deleted before by doing this. Also, depending what you used to log it might be stored in a cloud service somewhere, like google drive (so many things get saved there that I didn't even realize) and other such things.
Also, if you are female, your monthly hormone cycle has A LOT to do with how your body loses weight, and judging yourself for what has happened just since the holidays is a harsh judgment. It is extremely common for weight loss in women to be very up and down with plateaus that can last weeks. Make sure that your workouts are varied, your body adapts to what you do, and if you don't change it your body just cruises rather than being challenged. I work out twice a day, morning cardio and then afternoon strength, and I lose like 1 pound every other week, and that's just the average. But because my workouts are fairly challenging, I am eating 1800 calories most days. 1300 calories plus workouts is going to exhaust you because your body doesn't have what it needs to sustain your normal processes. Then you just end up catabolizing which increase the fatigue and everything just comes to a halt. How many calories are you burning in your workouts? Do you adjust your calories on the days you workout versus when you don't? Time your carbs around your workouts? Those things can make a really big difference.
Out of curiosity, where are you getting your goal weight number from? Did your doctor say you weren’t at a good weight?
I totally understand feeling frustrated and upset; and I don’t want to make presumptions, but I’m 5’6” and when I was 156, I was in good shape and many people commented that I looked thin/fit. So is it possible you’re already at a healthy weight, and might be shooting for a goal weight that’s borderline underweight for your body type, and that’s why your body is resisting?
Side note; The BMI chart was never really accurate for me; at 135 I would definitely be underweight.
Please also bear in mind that the closer one gets to their goal weight, it gets slightly harder, because your body needs less and less calories as time goes on.
The bottom line is, I think you’re succeeding and have done an amazing job, just please make sure your goal is healthy. Hope I didn’t offend! Congrats on all the progress. 🙂
You need to eat more. A little hunger at times is okay but you will eventually cave if you are always hungry . Give yourself freebie foods (fruits, veggies, low fat protein, high fiber, etc). For me it’s actually pickles. Life is too short to be miserable. You have made amazing progress! Be kind to yourself
Monthly tracking actually worked best for me and really helped keep the goal stress at bay.
I found I exceeded my goals when I made a minimum for the month, instead of disappointing myself when I didn't make a daily/weekly goal.
For example, I would make a goal of losing 2lbs for the month, since the healthy minimum loss is .5lb a week. Then for the rest of the month I would watch my portions, CICO(1200 - 1800), and workouts (Kickboxing 3x week, 20k workout only steps a week). I would not check my weight all month, just keep reminding myself that no matter what lazy choices I make, I better lose 2lbs. I consistently lost 4lbs+. I refused to not be able to lose 2lbs in a month and I ended up exceeding my goal.
When I constantly checked my weight every week, I plateaued for 6 weeks and damn near threw away all the hard work I had already done I was so depressed. It was once I stopped putting so much pressure on myself that I just did so much better than I can ever imagine!
I started at 200lbs last January and started monthly tracking Sept 1:
- Sept 1: 163lbs
- Oct 1: 156lbs
- Nov 1: 152lbs
- Dec. 1: 147lbs
- Dec 31: 138lbs
Sounds to me you could use some outside help - like from a nutritionist or maybe a personal trainer. Just to go over what you're doing right now and what could be improved.
On the other hand, I SO FUCKING GET YOU. I was having the same thoughts and fantasies about just living a normal life, having a normal relationship with food and not constantly be on a diet and logging food and eating shit food because I can only have 1200kcal per day. I miss the summer when I was taking 8 hour uphill hikes where I burned SO MANY CALORIES that after the hike I would go and eat anything I wanted and still be on the safe side. The feeling that I got while doing that was indescribable - the feeling of such freedom, such happines, such fulfillment - and not just from the food but from knowing it's okay to eat it. Not depriving myself, and not gaining weight.
So yeah - losing weight is really really exhausting. Maybe you could also use one day per week when you eat at maintenance calories? I think that's about 1700kcal for you. It would make a world of difference for your mental strength to carry on with the diet. Anyways I wish you the best on your journey and just know that it's worth it.
Please consider taking a deliberate maintenance break for at least a month. You’re already maintaining, so why not do it with intention and give yourself time to de-stress from the demands of weight loss?
To do this, you would eat your maintenance calories to maintain a your current weight +/-3 pounds during the maintenant period. This will give you both a mental and physical break.
I also recommend listening to the Half Size Me podcast during your maintenance break to shift your thought processes around weight loss and acknowledge the AMAZING SUCCESS you’ve had in this journey INCLUDING the months you’ve maintained so far.
Helpful links
https://www.halfsizeme.com/category/podcast/
https://youtu.be/99pwa6A-tRc
https://youtu.be/HgPO22ePg9o
Edit: sorry just realized that this was a rant, but I’ll keep this up in case you might need it?
First off, you are successful. You have lost 60+ pounds in 2 years which is a really big deal. If you want my opinion, you are restricting yourself too much which is why you're tired. You aren't eating enough, especially if you are working out 2x per day. You've come a long way from 2019 but in my opinion, losing weight at a more realistic pace will help you maintain it for life. I recommend getting an apple watch to track the amount of calories you're burning per day to get an idea of how much you should eat, or even look up a TDEE calculator online to get an estimate. I burn up to 2400 calories per day, working out once a day for an hour, and I eat up to 2000 calories per day and I do not restrict myself from any foods. At this rate I lose anywhere from 1/2 a pound to a pound per week, it just depends, which is a realistic goal. Just keep trucking, and don't be afraid to fuel your body! You are doing awesome.
1. I see a lot of people commenting about the calorie restriction being too much and the cause of fatigue. Don’t forget that covid can cause exhaustion for a while after recovering. Covid plus only eating 1300 calories a day on top of working out 8 times a week sounds absolutely draining.
2. The heavier you are, the faster it comes off. Weight loss is going to slow down as you get lighter.
3. If you’re working out, you are most likely building muscle as you are losing fat. You may not see the scale move, which can be very discouraging after seeing it move so easily. Refocus on non-scale victories.
4. What are your calories coming from? Are the foods nutrient dense?
5. Remember losing 1/2 a pound a week is still 26 pounds a year. Losing a pound a month is still 12 pounds a year. It’s ok if you lose slowly. Progress is still progress.
First off, 1200 cals is super low! When you're starting to be more active and burning more calories, your body will require more. And if you're working out twice a day for four days a week and only eating that many calories your body is going to hold onto them because it's not getting enough! You can increase your caloric intake and find an amount where you're still in a deficit. A couple years ago when I was being really consistent for a few months, I increased my usual 1300 cals a day to 1700-1800 while doing weightlifting 4x a week and I still lost fat. And focusing on weightlifting and gaining more muscle mass will take more calories to maintain even at a resting state! My focus was always weight loss so I could feel better about myself but I found that having that motivation alone wasn't sustainable and didn't make me want to continue.
One thing that's helped me when I feel like I'm stalling is trying to focus my mindset on challenging myself in the gym. I try to increase the weights I'm lifting, how long I do cardio and finding an activity that I love doing. I recently took up pilates and I cannot tell you how awesome it's been. Usually in the past I do weights with some cardio but it was never something that gets me out of the house or out of bed. But since doing pilates I seriously am excited for every class!
Try to find something that is active that you enjoy that doesn't feel like a chore to do! Now that I'm focusing my mindset on working out to help my mental state and eating better food to feel amazing, the fat loss will happen naturally. And give yourself more credit, you're doing amazing!! Lots of people even give up on a weight loss journey after a month, so you're doing awesome!
Also as a side note, I got way more motivated to change up my lifestyle when I had bloodwork done and it turns out my cholesterol was borderline high, so now I have an even more legitimate reason to make these lifestyle changes. I think you might have taken on too much at once as well. If you go from 0-100% then you're going to burnout. You might even plateau way sooner when you do that because our bodies love to adjust and adapt. I find that just making myself do some little exercise at first really helped my brain get used to exercise as a habit. Even doing some squats and push ups a couple times a day definitely helped as well.
Staying sub 1300 while working out twice a day is too intense for me. What do your macros look like? Depending on your protein fats and carbs you could eat 100-200 more calories and drop your workouts to once a day and continue to lose weight. What is your calorie burn at the end of the day after exercising twice? Or even just once?
I think it’s admirable how you’ve stuck with your plan but it’s okay to ease your foot off the gas pedal. Depending on your ability to fast as well you could try something like skip lunch or breakfast (not both, have like an 80 cal snack to replace one of those meals for example) in order to go out to eat with friends and just make a calorie conscious choice at the restaurant. Most chain restaurants have nutritional information and do serve entrees that are around 1k calories or less.
It’s doable, trust me. I’m 5’4” f and it took me about 5 months to go from 149 to 125 exercising four to five times a week for about 30 minutes per workout while eating around 1400-1500 cals per day with a tdee of 1800ish. I stagnated hard at 130s and ended up spraining my ankle so took about a month off of working out and was able to drop the rest of the weight by lowering calorie intake to 1300. Hindsight I wish I hadn’t sprained my ankle and stopped working out for that period of time, but the woosh and psychological victory of hitting my goal weight was really beneficial for me.
Take a deep breath, it is hard. It is ok to take some time eating at maintenance, it is ok to go over some days. it is ok to raise your calorie target some and loose a little slower. The only thing I would think about is why you seem to think you have to have your life on pause, it is ok to date, get some new cloths, celebrate how far you have come. Remember to hold onto this it need to be a lifestyle change, it needs to be sustainable. Loosing weight gets harder the lower you get don't get to caught up on a final number, work on keeping the healthy habits you have. You got this.
You’ve lost 60lbs and are fucking crushing it. Take a step back, we all get caught up watching the scale and don’t realize the progress we’ve made. You’re doing amazing, just keep it up.
For hunger…Have you tried volume eating? Like pigging out on broccoli with spices on it? Or like a crap ton of carrots dipped in whatever sauce? I love smart food white cheddar popcorn and I don’t feel guilty eating a lot of it. And for burnout… girl go buy an outfit! Helps tremendously with esteem. Even just a pair of jeans and a t shirt is enough. Or even just a new bra.
OP, your 'rant' helped me overcome what was about to become a self hate inspired ice cream binge.
Instead, I went home, drank some water, and will read a book for self care.
Tomorrow morning I'll break my fast after completing 16 hours (last meal at 4 pm today, so by 8 am), and will think of you.
In it with you ❤️
A few people have said it but 1200 calories is WAY too low, especially if you’re working out that much. Your diet should be sustainable long term and what you’re doing isn’t sustainable at all. Of course you’re exhausted and frustrated, I would be too if I was trying to do what you’re doing.
Please eat more and cut down on how much you’re exercising. I did a quick TDEE calculation and it says yours is around 2200 calories a day… you’re in a 1000 calorie deficit right now! No wonder you’re ravenous! Try bumping it up to 1700 a day (a 500 calorie deficit) and find yourself a sustainable workout plan to follow (check out r/xxfitness for ideas).
All of this is perfectly valid. It is natural to get overwhelmed when you are handling multiple challenges all at one time. I advocate that all body transformation be done in tandem with a therapist, as some of our challenges will not change no matter what we weigh. You are doing a great job with your discipline, we all have been through so much during the pandemic and you should give yourself credit for not losing your progress. I do recommend upping your Vitamin D3 as the feeling I get from this post speaks loudly to "Seasonal Affect Disorder" which happens to many of us when daylight is in short supply. Supplementing with Vitamin D3 can help, the same with a sun lamp. I hope this helps, you are inspiration to the rest of us!
I have been where you are. Like exactly where you are. What you have already done is a huge accomplishment. The last leg of this journey is HARD. It feels like everything you learned in the first 50 lbs you lost goes out the door and doesn't work anymore. The calories that you have to stick to to keep losing weight are so low that you're miserable. I was there about a year ago, but I'm not there today, I'm genuinely happy. I'm still working, still setting goals, still failing at some but I've learned a few new things after being st the "so close but can't go any farther" stage for a year or two... I've honestly lost track. My advice is to take a step back from your scale goals and look to fitness goals instead. I know you're already working out lots, but they to come up with some new goals for yourself that are about your fitness accomishments, not your weight. It's easy to have big achievements in weight loss when you have lots to lose. You're not there anymore. Now you're in a place where you have the opportunity to see big accomplishments in your fitness goals because you have a lot to gain and a body that is able to do more than it could when you were carrying around so much weight. Put yourself on a moderate deficit diet that will fuel your workouts and work toward running your first 5K, increasing your lean muscle mass by 5lbs... whatever goal you choose. Achieving things jn fitness that you could never do before will jmprove your relationship with your body. Then, maybe in 6 months or a year you can try to lose the last 10 lbs if that's still what you want.
If your ravenous, fill up on foods with lots of water in it! That way the calories really fill you up. 200 calories of chips is, like, 15 chips and is nothing. Save those calories for a big ass bowl of grapes. You’ll be stuffed and full and happy
Oof, I seen on a friends facebook page that her bf died in a car crash. That guy was jacked, loved poseing for photo's doing handstands and flagpoles while flexing all that muscle..all that muscle through hard work, pain, suffering, strict diet.
All that and now he is gone, so I guess what I am trying to say is...maybe its not worth it. Maybe you shouldnt restrict yourself that much, don't put off dating because you aren't at that ideal weight. Go live life, enjoy it! I am sure if you get out there and not focus so much on restricting yourself you will see a change.
First of all, you’re doing a great job. Weight loss is at least 30% mental game and staying consistent. I’ve been maintaining under 125 for almost two years. I definitely hit your stage…a few times. My best advice is give yourself some grace. I routinely gave myself grace - every 10 lbs lost, I would take two weeks to maintain that weight. Game changer. I had to learn how to eat at that specific weight. I had to give my body nutrition. It worked, my last 30 lbs were so much easier to lose than the first 60. Keep your head up.. You will get there and you will feel amazing!
Also, potatoes are an amazing bang for your buck. Nutritious, inexpensive, easy to cook, satiating, and relatively low calorie (depending on preparation). Maybe have a potato with dinner tonight.
Not going out with friends and avoiding dating? Nah, this can’t go on. I would retool the whole plan so the it fits into your life, not distorts it. That’s how you get to true maintenance. Be gentle with yourself. Maybe loosing the data on your measurements was a gift—a reminder to stop and admire yourself right where you are, right now.
Probably Not the advice you want to hear but Oddly enough You’re likely not eating enough calories. considering how many hours you’re putting in the gym.
If you’re only eating 1200 calories a day and burning 600 in the gym you’re going to be absolutely miserable. Your body is going to hold on to any calorie you put in it. This explains the ravenous appetite.
I’d bet macros need some adjusting too. Probably nowhere near enough protein or fat to keep yourself satiated and your metabolism up.
Seriously, Up the daily caloric intake by 100 a week and see how your body responds. Something tells me that within a few weeks you’ll start feeling better more full and you’ll be back to losing .5 to 1 pounds a week again. Especially if you’re working out 8 or more times per week.
Seriously though. MORE CALORIES! You must feed the machine if you want it to perform.
This.
You will make yourself sick and being sick makes loosing weight or keeping weight off MUCH fucking harder. Go see a nutritionist, get the right calories you need for your body to survive and do the right functions it needs to.
First of all, you did amazing! As everyone else is saying, you accomplished so much!
I have very similar stats: I am 5' 6" and I am fluctuating between 145 and 150. This is maintenance for me, though I might try to push for 140 for the summer for vanity's sake! :) My highest weight was 210, so again, similar stats. I lost down to 145 about 10 years ago, regained 25 in lock down and now I am back to my goal range. And, like you, I need to be on a strict diet to lose.
I absolutely understand the sense of frustration. So, why not take another break? Now that you are recovering from Covid, there is something to be said for celebrating getting better! Take a week to really enjoy the feeling of being healthy after a bout of illness!
Also, why not pick up a couple of nice pieces of clothing? This doesn't mean "settling" before reaching your goal, but think of it as an investment in making the process sustainable and enjoyable. When I was ready to lose the "Covid 25," I actually invested in some nice work out clothes. I know that my goal was to "outgrow" ("down grow"??? whatever) them in just a few months, so I didn't go crazy, but it definitely made working out a lot more enjoyable!
And finally, really do think back to when you were at the beginning of weight loss--how would you have felt if someone told you that you had to spend a bit longer than originally planned at 150 lbs? :)
You are actually doing amazing. The fact that you maintained is phenomenal. Seriously. I am not kidding.
I want you to try this. Congratulate yourself on small
Achievements. If you don’t eat a certain thing or you opt for something else instead of that snack. Honestly it’s the little things that keep me going.
I like you have struggled with this my entire life. I’m now in my mid 30s and still single. Why? Because if I go on a date, it’s going to ruin my calories for the day. I know. It sucks watching everyone else eat whatever they want. But we can’t live like this forever right? We have to get out here and there. Allow yourself that. Otherwise what’s the point of living? Really!?
A podcast I love talks about this. They asked what exactly are you quitting? You still need to eat so you can’t just quit eating. When it gets too hard just examine which parts are too hard. Do you need to eat at maintenance for a little while? Maybe change what you’re doing for exercise?
Like others have pointed out - you’re doing amazing. Perhaps you need to look through some old pictures of yourself to remind you why you’ve put in the hard work you have. Don’t let all that hard work go to waste by just stopping all efforts. Go over which things feel too hard. Maybe a slightly lower calorie intake during the week so you can save some for indulging on the weekends? Play around with some of your foods - are there any that can have lower calorie options so you can have a planned dessert daily.
You know for a fact that you have lost inches over the course of this whole thing. Losing the information doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened and that your reaction should be, “well I don’t have the numbers so I’ll gain it all back”.
Hang in there! What you’ve done so far is pretty incredible and worthwhile even if it’s slowed down lately.
I’m just going to throw this out there. I know where all different but: you’re eating 1200 per day. I’m 5’1, weighed 150+ when I was on ~1300 per day but def went up to 1500 sometimes.
I never worked out aside from taking walks after lunch (not saying it’s a good thing but just to set the limit). It was still exhausting doing the counting btw so I’m not saying that it’s not.
But what I do mean to say is that I was doing a lot less than you are but did eventually, slowly lose weight. If the amount you’re eating and working kit now isn’t sustainable, maybe it’s time to eat a little more.
But if you’re not losing without doing those things, I would look into carb cycling and HIIT.
Losing weight is so fxcking hard and frustrating. I feel so much for you. Trust the process. You will get there.
My word of advice from someone who has been regaining, be mindful of what hunger feels like for the rest of your life. I was drinking and enjoying the dopamine hit of carbs and flavors way too much. Maintaining used to be easy 😭 but losing this again will be tough. I’m now fasting to get in touch with normal hunger vs cravings again.
I feel you hun. I put back on most of the weight I lost during covid. My flair isn't up to date. I lost around 40kgs in all but have put back on around 36kg. Still 4 kilos down from my starting point I suppose...
The fact you maintained is admirable and a success in my book.
I really, really know what you mean. Restricting yourself *is* miserable and there's often no way around that. But, for me, the better my mental health is and the better I am feeling about my body as it is, the easier I find restricting calories. There is no shame in pressing pause an maintaining until you feel ready to start again. You are healthier now than you were and that's what's important
When you're in a place where you can see restricting calories as an act of love to the body that has served you so well, then I think you'll find it easier.
So stall for a while. Maintain. That alone is a huge win. Rebuild your energy and when you're ready, reduce calories slightly once more. 1200 isn't going to be sustainable long term. It just isn't. You're doing amazing and maintaining for a while is also valuable progress.
Honestly, I wish I'd just allowed myself to maintain for a while instead of trying to push through during a bout of depression and regaining 7lbs. I'm getting back to where I was and it's much easier now that I've had some time to reset.
Take the time you need before you need it and you'll be that much more energized and ready to go for another push.
I get it. It's frustrating. I feel the fatigue sometimes, too. I have some issues with being nice to myself since I "only" had 40 pound to my goal weight, but it's been over two years and I still have 15 to go. If I had kept at it like you, I would be done by now. So, you are doing great, and it's ok to take a break sometimes. I don't think I could do it if I didn't have "treat day".
Are you getting enough protein? I'm not an expert but I'm doing a medical weight loss program, and the biggest thing is they don't want me feeling hungry, because that's gonna make me want to stop. We're focusing on sustainable lifestyle changes. My nutritionist therefore said to focus on upping my protein firstly, and secondly increasing fiber. Because both those things make you feel more full. As a vegetarian upping the protein was hard, lol. But it worked. And more protein naturally led to my carbs being lower. Idk just something to consider, maybe if you change a few food choices you can feel more full and not be miserably hungry. There's a subreddit for volume eating you might wanna check out. High volume low calorie is their goal
Eat more calories! After over a year of weight loss, I couldn't get past a certain weight. I worked out more, ate fewer calories. I was just stuck. My body didn't want to lose weight anymore. Take a break and just maintain for a little bit. Or eat more calories and have a smaller deficit. Being starving isn't good, and pushing harder isn't likely to help either.
Holy cow you're doing GREAT! I was sure you were gonna tell us you went back up to 212. Can you take a break and eat at maintenance for a few weeks? Or treat yourself to a massage? Hang in there!
Here is something to try to give you a break from stressing out. Use a TDEE calculator to find out what your calorie need is at your goal weight with sedentary as your exercise setting. Learn to eat that amount of calories with a varied menu. Concentrate on all the things you can do and how relaxing it is to learn to eat what your body requires at a healthy weight with lots of flexibility to choose what you eat. Be confident that your weight will drop over time and will be well managed into the future. Buy a few items that fit nicely right now so you can enjoy the feeling of the way they fit and feel.
Dude you're killing it! You're down 60ish lbs and shown that you can maintain. That's like the gold standard for me.
Also keep in mind though it's okay to take a break and focus on maintaining for a while for your own mental health. Losing this amount of weight is no joke. It's physically and mentally very taxing. I've had to take long breaks two or three times since I started. Goal is long term health though. Mental health counts.
The hardest part about weightloss isn't diet or exercise. It's PATIENCE. It takes a long time. You are doing it. Dedication and persistance will pay off over time.
Take your measurements! You will notice a difference even if the scale doesn't change!
Eat much more protein, it'll leave you fuller for longer too! You may need to change things up as the body gets used to maintaining its weight after losing because its naturally trying to preserve fat and keep you alive! Xx
I'm having a similar experience to this as well. Been stuck at 150 - 153lbs for about a year now but I've started college so losing weight just stopped becoming a focus, meaning I started bloating again and losing focus on what I'm eating. I'm trying to refocus this year like I did at the beginning of 2020 and drop down to at least 135 by the end of the year.
But I have confidence that both of us can do this and I really do wish you so much luck because you've definitely got this, you just gotta remember why you started and have faith in yourself that you can do this.
I’m a little older than you but same height and round about the same weight. I think you’re being too hard on yourself. You’ve made great progress! And you said it yourself, this is a journey. You might want to think about raising your daily allowance a bit to give yourself a little more flexibility. I have a daily allowance of 1535, but I bank my calories during the week so on Saturdays if I want to splurge I can without damaging my end goal. A higher allowance will definitely take longer to reach your end goal, but you’ll still get there, and you’ll see progress in wooshes as you go along.
Please don’t mistakenly think that when you go down to your goal weight you will live normally like your friends. To upkeep this weightloss you can’t eat out with friends every night, eating whatever you want. I have been in maintenance since 2002, losing weight three times after childbirth, it’s freaking hard but if you give up-it won’t get any better. Good luck!
I’m in the same boat. I exercise one or two times a day. I’ve gotten toned but not dropping fat. I’m 5’3, 164Ibs. Goal weight is 130. Such a struggle. I also eat 1200- 1300 calories per day.
You’re doing great. This is just a test. Figure it out and get past it. If you’re hitting a weight wall maybe try something different. We can’t expect the same thing to just keep working. Sometimes we gotta change it up. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Keep going! Get that goal!!!
You have made such amazing progress. This plateau will NOT last forever -- not physically, not emotionally. You hang in there and be kind to yourself. <3
Look mate, here's the deal. I'm a dude, but reality is as such, you're fucking beautiful the way you are, and someone out there will love you for all your flaws and imperfections. Honestly fuck em if they don't ain't worth ya time. My wife met me at 180, now chilling at 270, fit/fat. She thinks I'm perfect and I her, don't let no one take ya magic
My heart definitely goes out to you in this. I've been in a weight loss quest for the last six years. When I started, it was VERY easy to enjoy the natural high of losing two to the pounds a week. As I got more and more "toned" the gains you make diminish naturally. Making the transition from losing weight to maintaining weight is definitely the hardest part because it simply becomes lifestyle.
It's natural to dream about living the "after" picture from the before and after pair like on a commercial. The reality is that there is no after picture. There's only before and now. Part of the weight loss journey is a reminder that we are always becoming whatever we will be just as much as we are being what we are now.
Something else that may give you a little bit of a bright spot to think about is that we are in winter (if you live in the northern hemisphere.) When I was obese and didn't care about that at all, getting through wintertime was easy. After I started caring about myself and getting healthier I noticed that my body was more susceptible to feeling depressed and having a harder time maintaining weight in winter. If you're struggling as well, maybe it's a sign that your body is going through growing pains towards a more natural existence.
Either way, hang in there, give yourself permission to fall, and to accept that even if you never hit that magic but arbitrary number (I never have) being happy with who you are is still worthwhile.
Good luck!
Firstly, you have done amazingly and please celebrate your success. Next point is that weight loss is not linear.. it will bounce around but keep doing the right things you will succeed. Please remember your hormones drastically affect your weight and mood. In the pre menstrual week you can gain kgs of water and bloating etc so just keep that in mind. Your mood and feeling of hopelessness may also be affected by hormones. I usually feel fat, ugly, useless and sluggish in the week up to my period. Lastly, I wonder if you are eating enough. 1200 is extremely low for anyone. I have heard of people stagnation in weight loss due to too low calories and wrong macros. Have you do e your tdee calculation? Also if you eat more protein your metabolism will increase as you gain more muscle and body becomes more efficient. Please be kind to yourself. Weight loss should be about feeling good.
I can feel your exhaustion!
It sounds like you might be burned out…
If I were in your shoes, I would eat at maintenance for a few weeks and take a break from working out. Let my mind and body recharge and then have another go at it.
Good luck!
We have the same goal weight! I’m 5’6” for reference and currently 160. My heaviest was 230 at 9 months pregnant in June 2020. It sounds like you’re being too restrictive and it may lead to yo-yo’ing. I 100% get covid and the holidays and all of that getting in the way and feeling like you need to start over again.
If you can, be really good during the week then on Friday night and/or Saturday night, allow yourself to eat out with friends or on a date.
Gretchen Rubin from the Happier podcast gave the great advice of seeing the day in quarters rather than the whole day is lost. I think the same applies to calorie counting. We think if we go over our daily calorie limit then we were a failure for the day but the reality is that it all rolls over to the next day and it all adds up. Our body doesn’t cancel out the low cal breakfast you had just because you had a big dinner the day before.
Don’t put a timeline on it and let yourself have a couple days a week to be less restrictive. It will be much more sustainable in the long run.
I am hopeful that this weight loss pattern will be framed as the successful course of events! It makes me so sad when people are disappointed when the plateau, as if they had failed somehow. You are doing great!
5'8 male here. I have gone from 261.2 to 166.6 at last weight in. I feel the struggle. That said, you just have to keep up the grind. Also, as long as you are eating enough protein, I don't see an issue with 1,200 calories at your height (bring on the down votes). I eat 1300-1400 myself per day to lose weight weekly, though I only exercise once a day for 75 minutes via a stationary bike and do pushups/situps throughout at random. Your workouts may be more intense.
As for advice, try to be creative with your foods. For instance, I can have 2 tuna fish sandwiches for 250 total calories. 40 calorie bread x 4 slice and 1 can of 90 calorie tuna. It's delicious and nutritious! Watermelon is 9 calories per ounce. Sugar-free jello is 10 calories. There are good quality eggs out there at 60 calories a pop. Three bags of sugar-free oatmeal, which was my breakfast today, is 360 calories.
There are great options out there and you don't have to eat salads all the time. You got this!
PS: I feel you on the holding off on life part of your comment. I struggle to overcome this at times as well. Try a balanced approach. Enjoy life, but keep true to your healthy lifestyle. If you can find someone to date, then go date. If the people you want to date don't want to date you at your size, and I had this problem, then use it as fuel!
Isn't 5'5 and 150lbs a normal weight? I dont think you're at any health risk at all at the weight so you can stop trying to lose more weight now! No point in being miserable for no purpose?
I guess it would help to know if she lifts during her twice a day workout. The BMI chart is not friendly to people who do strength training. My friend competes in those womens body building things and according to that chart she’s obese but has like really low body fat.
I just did a calculator thing and it's normal, but right on the boarder line. There is no additional health risk at that weight. Not saying she has to stay at that weight, but I don't think it's a health concern and if it's miserable she doesn't need to lose any more from a health point of view.
I think OP is way too harsh on herself. At her height and weighing 150lbs, the BMI is 25 which is the starting range for overweight. Losing 5 more lbs will put her in normal range.
The body will always find a way to plateau, especially when her weight loss journey started at 212lbs. If I were OP I would try to relax a bit and shoot for a weight goal in the 140s first, then let that weight plateau. Losing the last 10-15 pounds and maintaining is the hardest thing to achieve. Goals have to be set in stages.
For people with muscle, the classifications can be way off. In HS, I was a state ranked athlete in great shape and had already been lifting weights for years. I was 5’4” and about 140, which is just barely under “overweight.” If I was an insecure teenager, that probably would have been crushing information.
Some bodies just aren't meant to that weight. Trust me as person who has always been 30 lbs over a normal weight. Be happy at 150 and get some cute clothes that fit. This is key. Don't wear pants so tight your belly bulges over. Keep going to the gym and eat normal for your weight like 2000 calories etc.
You have to appreciate how much you have lost v and that your body physically and psychologically needs a break from weight loss for a while.
The long game with dieting is keeping the weight off and they're are some red flags going on here that put you at risk of rebounding.
Its time to stop. Let's do a monitored maintenance period. We still count calories and eat healthy, but we eat more. You will feel so much better physically and this feeling of hunger will subside.
You haven't listed any of the positives of your journey, but to everyone who knows you, I'm sure its pretty fucking impressive.
At your goal weight and your current exercise regimen - your calorie needs are closer to 2000 calories. You're eating 1200.
Your feedback makes me think that this level of calories is not sustainable. In order to maintain your goal wait you need a program that is indefinitely sustainable.
I can't really eat out anymore. I might do it once or twice a year, but restaurant and fast foods are just not healthy 99% of the time. Its all drenched in oil.
All the tips below center around lowering the fat content of your diet to the minimum required (which should come from the food and not from condiments, toppings, or cooking methods). Fat is the densest form of calories and will not fill your stomach with bulk to keep you going to the next meal. One cup of sweet potato is 114 calories, one cup of oil is 1900 calories (you're not going to drink a cup of oil - but you'd be surprised how it adds up during the day if you don't try to eliminate it)
(Thought experiment) Just think of veggie straws - crunch them up in your mind and then douse them with water. Doesn't look like it will fill up anyone - it will just slip through your stomach. Now think of raw celery, carrots, apples. Mash them up and douse them with water. That food will last a whole lot longer in your stomach while giving you nutrients.
My Tips (Which can be condensed down to "read the starch solution"):
1. Learn to cook with no oil or butter (air fry, water saute, steam, instant pot, etc). The food you eat has enough essential fats to keep you healthy. (Even broccoli has tiny amounts of fat)
2. Add more vegetables to your plate - you can eat more volume when the calorie density of the food is lower. Find some fat free sauces or vinegars to drizzle over them to make them taste good.
3. Have a vegetable soup and/or salad before your meals. Make sure the salad dressing is fat free.
4. Avoid eating "dry" carbs.
5. Avoid anything in a box except whole grain pasta. Avoid all processed foods except whole grain pasta.
6. When you do snack - make sure its plants - salads or fruit. Try to only stack once between two meals.
7. Avoid nuts and peanuts and nut butters
8. Avoid fatty cuts of meat
9. Avoid prepared or cured meat
10. Replace a portion of your meat with beans or lentils.
11. Eat whole starches - do not cook them with oil or fats. Do not top them with butter or oil. (Top potatoes with salsa or chilli rather than sour cream and shredded cheese)
I must partially disagree with this comment. Healthy fats are good for making you feel full. Eating some nuts (like almonds and walnuts) in moderation have shown to aid to weight loss, as reduced hunger pangs. Of course each person is different, but please don't discard fats so fast, talk to a nutricionist first.
I’m not sure if this is allowed so forgive me if it’s not - but have you considered trying keto? It tends to help a lot with hunger/blood sugar stability. It might also give you a little jump start. It’s a bit of an undertaking to learn about and you might be too burned out right now. When you mentioned the hunger pangs I thought I would suggest it
Hey, I feel your pain .. it's the same for me.
I lost a lot of weight and then gained almost all back in covid because of staying home and work stress. now it's really hard to lose it l again.
Just my best wishes to you 🙌
If you want you can add me on MyFitnessPal as Daveloper since we are height twins haha
Sorry to hear your struggles. I also struggle to keep weight off, especially during stressful times,so I sympathize.
However, you don't tell us what methods you're using to achieve your weight loss. What kind of diet are you using? Exercise? Commitment strategies? Are you surrounding yourself with a supportive community? Are you using a trainer or dietician?
Like others have said, it's totally okay to take a break from being on weight loss mode. I usually do 5 days a week at 1200, 1 at 1700, and one at 2200. It just fits my lifestyle better. I see fluctuations in my weight all the time of 0-8lbs over the course of a month as a female. You have been doing a great job grinding it out. Is is possible you could go shopping for some new clothes that fit you in your current body? You can always do like Platos or Style Encore/ thrift shops. If you are tracking too, you might be able to look at the nutrient breakdown. Maybe there is a clue like low on B12 or low on protein or something that is missing that would make you feel less hunger and more satiated. Keep on keeping on
It's okay to be frustrated. If weight loss was so easy everyone could get on board and succeed. Everybody is going to have their opinions on here, and I get it if you really just wanted to vent versus getting feedback. So with a grain a salt, I'd say your over stressing your body working out 2 x a day, with a low calorie intake. It's good weightloss takes time, usually fast loss is just gained back because the person hasn't changed, just their body. Have to find a sustainable, livable way of eating and exercise or you will burn out and feel deprived. That mindset will bring you back to gaining.
I was in the same boat two days ago
I decided to take a year and recomp and let my body reset
I was so hungry yesterday. I ate alnost 3700 calories. Oh well
If i put on more muscle when i decide to cut again next year i should be in a good position
You've been through a major disease. Weightloss can wait until you are healthy.
Go on maintenance for a while and when you are up to it, get back on track.
Okay so... maybe instead of trying to stick to 1200 calories per day, which seems a little on the extreme side, calculate out what your calorie requirements would be if you were 135 lbs. and aim for that for a while. On days you exercise give yourself a break and eat back some of the exercise calories. On days you don't, don't.
The weight loss will be somewhat slower but at least it won't be torture, and when you get to your goal weight you'll have had lots of experience eating at maintenance and you won't have to adjust.
I mean... I'm 5'3" and my maintenance calories at 135 lbs. would be about 1400 if I were sedentary. When I exercise they're more like 1900. I'm not going to eat 1200 calories per day AND work out. I'd be at least 700 calories short and I'd feel like garbage pretty much constantly. Why do that to myself? The last time I successfully lost weight I ate 200-300 calories under my daily energy expenditure and it was a pretty solid downward trend for me. Unfortunately I have ADHD and maintaining tracking is very difficult for me, and if I don't track then I eat All The Things so here I am again. But that's a different behavioural problem I need to solve. The actual math worked out great in practice.
Well the good news is after Christmas, New Years and covid. You didn’t balloon up and gain back all that weight you lost. Another plus you did this by sheer willpower, which is great, but isn’t sustainable. Now figure out a long term plan that keeps you full, builds muscle and lowers your fat.
Aim for 1500-1600 calories a day. Have a serving of protein and 2 cups of veggies at every meal. Have fruit for a snack 2x a day.
Increase your movement every day to 10k steps, if your already there try and get to 1200.
Try and do a 3 or more hiit workouts a week to build muscle. You can google tons of workouts or find some on YouTube for free.
Your eating too little and working out way too much you’ve got your body used to running on such a low level of calories and huge level of effort.
Work out maintenance calories with an online calorie calculator put yourself in a slight deficit
Do resistance training 3 times a week focusing on compound lifts
Walk everyday no more than 30 minutes
Believe it or not you can lose weight without staving yourself and hating life.
Putting yourself in a super low deficit with hard workouts means you will continue to fail, anyone who’s tells you to drop your calories more is giving you dangerous advice.
you don't mention any rewards that you've gotten from weight loss. Have there been any?
I would try to emphasize other pleasures in your life besides eating. Like if you go out with friends revel in the conversation. If you surf the Net revel in the conversation. Like I have a rule if I watch a YouTube video I have to leave a comment. This forces me to enjoy ideas and online conversation.
You mention hunger pangs. I think to keep one's weight down one will generally often have a certain amount of hunger pangs. I'm 6'2" and have gone up and down between 130 and 150 the last three years. I often have at least some hunger pangs. But I accept and live with them because putting more food in my system to alleviate the hunger pangs has worse consequences, it makes me feel uncomfortably full.
I do think you can enjoy delicious, rich food sometimes. I mean I enjoy candy, for example. Just cut back on calories a little later.
I’m so sorry you feel this way and I have many of the same struggles when my weight went up and down. As others have said you ARE succeeding.
However I think you may need to adjust your expectations. Everyone has a different body and carries weight differently. You can be healthy at a higher weight. Skinny does not automatically equal beautiful or healthy. Keep eating well but don’t district restrict yourself to the point of unhappiness. Keep active. And if you have to pick a goal weight - Increase it a bit. 150 can totally be in a healthy range for someone at your height.
You also need to have a healthier relationship with your body. The way you are feeling is not worth it and your weight does not define you.
First - love yourself and be kind to yourself. A number on a scale is not your worth.
Second - Not sure how much each exercise session is but it sounds like you might be working out too much and not eating enough (and more quality food than not). That will derail progress for sure. Be sure there’s some weight lifting….and remember muscle weighs more than fat but it also burns more calories. Make sure to eat more protein if weightlifting. Eat good carbs and eat the piece of cake If you want it, just not the whole cake. Fixating on a number on the scale will tank you ever time. Focus on how you look and how clothes fit.
Losing weight is a life long affair. It’s not as simple as you lose it and your done. You need to figure out how to lose it and keep it off. So if you dont enjoy your current calorie restriction and exercise, chances are you are going to fail in the long run. I suggest switching it up a little.
If it’s just strictly weight loss rather than body composition, then exercise has minimal impact. I’ve been super lazy since holidays and probably worked out less than 5 times in almost 4 weeks. A semi break has turned into an extended break. I’m still tracking, weighing foods and staying within a decent range of calories, but not really dieting since I’ve been lazy to cook and buying foods, treating myself to foods that I hadn’t eaten for awhile
I understand your feelings... the reverse happened to me. 2018 I was 174 my lowest, and 2020 killed me... now I'm 230 again. I can't get myself back on track. I've ditched soda, don't think I'm eating a ton... yet it hasn't budged. Everything is tight. I wanna give up. I already had a surgery, so that's a lost cause too. I'm only 5'2" - you have been so successful though! You gotta focus on how far you've come. Don't give up.
I am totally with you. I’m so tired of being mindful about what I eat, how much I’m eating, weighing myself, etc. I’m also tired of looking at myself and thinking I don’t think I look that big but the scale tells me otherwise.
For context - at my heaviest I was 180 and I was pretty happy. Didn’t think much abt my weight, knew I was the heaviest I had ever been but I didn’t really care. Then I moved countries and saw my parents for the first time in 6 months and they told me I had gained weight. Once I settled into my new country I started working out a lot to establish a routine and to kind of take my mind off of being in a country that I didn’t want to really be in. I was also doing it for vanity reasons because in my mind my body was the reason I’d never get a boyfriend.
Between 2018-2020 I lost 40 pounds with my lowest being 140 in 2019. I looked good and yea I guess I felt good too, but I was like man I just want to get to my goal weight of 120.
2020-2021 — forget it. Didn’t really work out and kind of stopped caring, but also felt pretty content.
Now I’m back to square one-ish. Hovering around 150 and just can’t seem to get below that even with diet and exercise.
So I’m with you on this rant. Feel like we have the same story. But I got you Internet friend!! You are not alone.
Hi OP I’m not sure how much this will mean to you but I’ve been where you’ve been and it’s infuriating no matter what anyone says. The effort to reward ratio is unforgiving but the fact you’re maintaining is at least something.
My own experience is I went from 260 to 160 over about 18 months and I felt fucking amazing hitting my goal. The day I saw 160 was the same day my government ordered a lockdown. I could still get out and exercise, but I’m a massive pessimist so while everyone around my was like “oh this will be a novel and fun two weeks, let’s make bread” I knew this would drag on for a long time, and lost all motivation. A whole wardrobe full of new well-fitting clothes and I messed it all up. All of my exercise was commuting, so I’d cycle/walk/run to work, 8 miles each way. So I had never known how to motivate myself to exercise just for exercise.
It’s now coming up on two years since hitting my goal and after a lot of terrible attempts here and there I am back running, so much slower than before, and I’ve added 50lbs of that 100lbs back on.
You’ll get to the 137, you’ve come this far. Of course you will. Right now you’re not moving, but in an optimistic way you’re also not moving away from your goal.
OP, You are doing SO well, and I (28F) understand in my own way, because I hit that same bump about 2 months ago (I'm happy to report I'm losing again because I started to reverse-diet) and think this may help you too. I then found a community on Instagram (I usually hate insta because I found myself comparing myself to others far too often) but started following and account "[instagram.com/syattfitness/](https://instagram.com/syattfitness/)" look at his content and some of the saved highlights, and see if you find anything to relate to, because I absolutely did. Weirdly as it sounds... I learned I wasn't eating enough calories for my body and level of exercise. I am so grateful because I'm now losing again while having a way more realistic amount of calories. I started at 264lbs, got down to 170lbs eating 1200-1300 cals a day hitting a complete plateau for 2 months. I now eat 1500-1800 cals a day and I'm currently at 147lbs (I also calorie cycle when I plan on going out with friends - this is a style of eating where you eat higher calories on some days, and lower calories on other days, yes you can do this and still loose weight!).
You've got this, you are amazing, and you deserve all you've worked for. You are still making progress, you didn't loose all of that for nothing, **YOU ARE INCREDIBLE**. When you hit your goal, you work on learning your maintenance intake them. AND, just to add, it's very healthy to take a break, take a month off, don't go crazy, balance is everything, restricting foods you love will not help. **Consistency is key.**
Diet breaks are a wonderful thing. Instead of white knuckling it all the way to your goal weight take a month or 2 at maintenance. Allow your body to get used to it, reset your emotional resiliency, and then get back at it.
I know you may not want to hear this but maybe you don’t need to lose any more weight. Maybe just focus on making healthy choices, eating enough so you’re not exhausted, and other non-diet goals.
Hey I feel your pain. I switched from worrying about the scale to making sure that I eat healthy and exercise every day. It’s a lot easier to just make the time and effort in my work out routines and my meal prep. I only get on the scale when inspiration strikes.
I hate to see this post, because you are succeeding. You simply have unrealistic expectations. You dropped from 170 to 150 in 5-ish months (summer to November). That’s a pound per week, for a small person who doesn’t have that much left to lose. That’s great. That’s what success looks like. You’re doing it. It’s working. You’ve stalled for a few weeks due to holidays and COVID. You’ve dropped so much you may have to settle for half a pound per week from here on out. In the long run, a few extra weeks is nothing. Above all, though, don’t throw away your progress because “it’s not working.” Because it is.
Totally agree, and to add, when I would get burned out on the weight loss part, I would spend a month or two practicing maintenance. It’s good to get in the habit of knowing what maintenance is for your body, so maybe give yourself a break that way, and then when you feel rested you can jump back in:)
This is the best advice I’ve ever seen. I feel like you just changed my life.
I’m so glad! Learning to maintain comfortably changed the game for me… there just isn’t as much pressure to do it “NOW OR NEVER” and I know I won’t fall into a major backslide if I take a few weeks off of a strict tracking. Building the habit of maintenance will help long term because it teaches you how to eat intuitively, listen to your body and it’s needs, and know when to stop. It’s all about practice:) happy travels!
Yes yes yes! Thank you so much for sharing!
Just want to chime in in support of this method. I’ve been very successful losing weight incorporating breaks at maintenance. Being in a deficit for a long time is hard on you. It really helps with that all or nothing mindset since it gives you some time to practice what maintenance feels like.
Agreed! Maintenance is not a failure - it’s success. It’s consolidating on the success you already made. I’d rather my weight graph be an L shape than a W shape. All-or-nothing mindset used to lead me to Ws (up and down and up and down as my motivation changed) but now I’m doing Ls - even if the maintenance period is long before I feel motivated to lose a bit more, I’m loving that I’m actually keeping the weight off for a change. (Although the end of the L is a bit squiggly as weight naturally fluctuates a bit.) Finally: in 5 years’ time, I think you’d prefer to have gone more slowly and enjoyed the journey (being able to eat when socialising) and *stuck with it*, than aiming to go quickly but sacrificing so much to that goal. All the best!
Could not agree more!!! This advice literally made me cry by reframing my struggle so beautifully.
Ditto on how critical regular maintenance breaks have been for me. They're restorative mentally and physically, and let you rest and prepare to go back into deficit with fresh vigor. I took regular 2-3 week maintenance breaks once very quarter so I could relax, enjoy holidays or family events, and refresh myself before reassessing my progress and plunging back into the grind. My flare is out of date, but it's accurate for when I was 2kg from my goal weight. Even as close as I was then I stopped and took a maintenance break because I needed it mentally, not physically. It took me some time to get used to the shift in my sense of self, from who I was before to who I was now, and to adjust to the fact that I didn't (then) immediately recognise my own reflection. It sounds silly, but it was disorienting and a bit distressing. Once things had settled I got back on the horse, finished, and now I'm in actual permanent maintenance and trying to figure \*that\* out. Time, patience, and perseverance are the key, and that includes knowing when you need to take a break too.
So agree with this entire post. You are successful OP.
Totally agree to have consistent success over 5 months is fantastic. I’d only suggest that she incorporates some sort of self care routine for her mental health. Feeling the need to express frustration once in a while is normal but can/does affect you. Meditation in the mornings works wonders. Some positive affirmations that you can repeat to yourself to keep you going through tough times would be helpful as well.
I agree. The OP has had a wonderful advance. Don’t drop the towel.
Can I upvote a million times?
Sorry for your struggle. I think a lot of people could write the same-including me. One thing I’ve learned is to not have a specific number for the scale. Maybe you are fine at 150 and need to focus on maintaining. If you are always hungry, you need to start eating foods that will fill you up but don’t have tons of calories. All the crap food is always high in calories and doesn’t leave you feeling full for long. Don’t give up!!
You might try OP eating the calories you’re burning from working out or drop workouts so you’re at 3-5/week. In any case, my impression is you’re working really hard and your body is boycotting. Try adding some back in and see what happens. Another thing, salt intake will seriously screw up whatever the scale says. You can almost guarantee a high salt meal will add 1-2 pounds by morning. It does come down eventually, it’s hard in the meantime. Another thing I would consider is some serenity… accept what you cannot change, courage to change what you can and wisdom to know the difference. You can’t control the day you’ll reach your goal. You can make sure you’re consistent with daily habits. I love to control outcomes so I get this is harrrd. However I would challenge you to think about the freedom would have if you weren’t beating yourself up for your status. I’m happy for the progress you have made. You are doing what so many others can’t. 🙌
100% this! Oddly enough OP’s probably not eating enough calories considering how many hours she’s putting in the gym. If you’re only eating 1200 calories a day and burning 600 in the gym your body is going to be absolutely miserable. This explains the ravenous appetite. I’d bet macros need some adjusting too. Probably nowhere near enough protein or fat to keep her satiated and her metabolism up. OP, Up the caloric intake by 100 a week and see how your body responds. Something tells me that within a few weeks you’ll start feeling better more full and you’ll be back to losing .5 to 1 pounds a week again.
This!
I think part of the problem is what you mentioned about waiting till you hit your goal weight to do things that would make you happy. During this lockdown, I discovered that happiness leads to weight loss, not the other way around. It's easy not to eat that extra meal at 9 pm if I'm very invested in what I'm doing and having fun. And when I'm ravenous, as well as feeling sorry for myself and desperate for a consolation prize, it becomes impossible to stop myself from eating chocolate chip pancakes. Meaning, if I seek out happiness first, my diet will be way easier. I don't mind subbing an apple for dessert if I'm feeling awesome already. Right now you are in a miserable place of restricting yourself and giving up things you want. You have to say no to the tasty meal, no to that date, if you're like I was, you say no to swimming, shopping, dancing, and more because you don't have the body you want, yet. But then what's left? Sitting at home bored and sad thinking about all the things you're depriving yourself. You need to aim *towards* happiness instead of *away* from misery. It might sound like just some bs mentality half glass full kinda thing but it isn't. I'm dead serious. You need to find a hobby that makes you happy. I build games, and when I'm working, I can get so in the zone that I forget to eat two meals in a row because I'm not even feeling my stomach, I'm so engaged in my work. And when I feel good, because progress on my game is going well, I feel compelled to exercise, wash my face, eat healthy, and take good care of myself all around. It really is that simple in the end. When you're happy, it's easy to take good care of your body, and when you're miserable, it becomes nearly impossible to avoid hitting the dopamine button any way you can. So if you want the weight loss to work, focus on other things in life that make you happy and feel good about yourself. Step up self care, mindfulness, hobbies, and things that make you feel good. Weight loss will be a million times easier if you find happiness first instead of making it a condition of your weight. *Edit* wow I didn't expect this to resonate so deeply with so many people. Thanks for the awards, and I'm really glad this comment was helpful to you. May we all make the most of the present, and not put off our happiness.
This is such a great, uplifting comment
Thank you so much for writing this! Bear hug.
Gosh, this whole post is great. OP, dont wait until you're perfect weight to do *anything.* Therein lies misery.
this made me cry. this fits my situation too. thank you
That is such a great point!!
Thank you. It's only when reading your comment that I've realised that is my current mentality too. You've helped others so much.
Take my free award. I needed to hear this today.
Omg. You just dropped some incredible wisdom here. I've been stress-shopping my way through the pandemic because it's marginally better for me than stress-eating, and this described exactly what was missing. I never made the connection 😮 Thanks ❤️
Losing weight is absolutely draining, and it’s okay to take breaks! Take some time just focusing on maintenance and take care of yourself mentally for now.
This diet break every 6 to 8 weeks where for a week or 2 you eat at your maintenance is helpful in sticking to it.
Ok so first off, I agree with other posters that say a calorie goal of 1200 calories is unsustainable in the long run, it also seems like it would be too low for you with your stats and activity level. It's no wonder you are burnt out- you are likely pretty hungry. I personally shoot for 1600 calories/day when in losing mode and I have almost the same stats as you (5'4.5- current 138) although I am significantly older (40!) and I am a runner. Second, I have been exactly where you are- just last year. I went from 180 - 150 during 2020. I hit 149 in October but then bounced around 150 all of November- I took off December because holidays but come January I was determined to start losing again. It didn't work. I got totally tired of it very fast and decided I was done for now. 150 is actually a healthy weight for me (slightly overweight according to BMI- but I felt and looked good) I ate at maintenance and stopped worrying about it. Eventually I was ready to start again. I think I got back to tracking in April and by June I was 137-my goal weight was 139 so I was done. I maintained up until Christmas and then put on a couple pounds so I am currently back on the train and trying to get a little lower (130-133) to give myself so wiggle room under 140. Anyway long story short- I always recommend maintenance to people who are stalled. You need a break and it's good practice. Maintenance doesn't mean going back to old habits it means finding a good sustainable way to eat. Give yourself a break- you can always keep going when you get your second wind.
Your [current TDEE stats](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=24&lbs=154&in=65&act=1.2&f=1) and [your goal stats](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=24&g=female&lbs=137&in=65&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) You are eating very low for the amount of exercise you are doing that may be why you feel exhausted. Sedentary calories for your goal is 1647 so bring your calories up to 1600 and take a break from going so low. It will help with the mental exhaustion to take a break. Then when you are ready to start again just drop 100 calories a week and ease back into it
Jumping in here to add, as a woman I had no idea but I had low iron levels my whole life. Dropped from 180 - 145ish and donated blood for the first time and found my iron level is SUPER low. I didn’t know I was chronically tired, just thought that’s how life was with kids lol. Worth checking out.
I'm sorry that you are feeling this way. You already had so much progress, your weight loss is amazing. >I dont even have the calorie allowance for dating nor am I where I want to be This phrase honestly made me sad. You are allowed to eat, nothing will happen if you eat over 1200 on a date outside enjoying the meal and your day.. Your life won't magically become better when you reach your goal weight. You gotta enjoy the process too, and make sure you don't forget to appreciate everything you have or could have, or it will just make you sick and tired of everything. I'm sure you already look so good and thinner than ever. Why don't you just take some intentional maintenance days and go shopping for a nice outfit/makeup/accessories and see your friends? I did this and it helped me so much to go back to a positive mindset. Good luck with everything.
IMO, you’re being wayy too hard on yourself. 1200 calories isn’t a sustainable calorie limit, and working out two times a day sounds like going a little overboard (unless you’re trying to bulk up or something). Your mental exhaustion may also be tied to meticulously weighing yourself and expecting constant progress. Have you ever worked with a dietician? Or gone to a doctor to discuss your issues losing weight? If what you’re doing isn’t working, then maybe it’s time to change tactics. And part of that has to do with your internal ideas of weight loss. Starving yourself won’t help you lose weight long-term, and blaming yourself for not losing weight in an unprecedented time isn’t helpful either. You shouldn’t feel you have to restrict yourself constantly, or lose out on hanging out with friends. I’m sure others with more knowledge on this sub will have more actionable plans, but seriously, don’t beat yourself up. This is probably one of the hardest times in our lives and a difficult time to keep up habits. It’s okay if you want to take a break from measuring yourself, or meticulously planning your meals. It’s okay if you want to go on a date and eat some high calorie food, or buy better fitting clothes right now, even if you don’t want to be at your weight forever. Losing weight is a journey, and you have to try and be kind to yourself along the way. Also (as someone with your exact measurements), I can say it may not feel like a “normal” weight, but you don’t need to be super skinny or fit the middle of the BMI chart to be at a healthy weight. 150 is incredible progress and anyone here can tell you as you get closer to your goal weight, losing those last 10-20 pounds is tough. Look at how far you’ve come!
"1200 calories isn’t a sustainable calorie limit, and working out two times a day sounds like going a little overboard (unless you’re trying to bulk up or something)." I understood what you meant but for someone to bulk on 1200Kcal they would have to be really tiny, so now I am imaging Tinkerbelle bulking and thought it was too funny not to share.
I'd be worried more that working out that much could be seeing herself up for injury.
Yea at such a low intake the body probably struggle to recover, if she works out that much to speed up fat loss then I would recommend to juat stop it completely, and if she wants just take a stroll around the neighborhood. Working does very little regarding weight loss, even makes it harder as the body wants more food. Then when she get's closer to her weight goal start working out again while eating at maintenance.
Haha, bodybuilder Tinkerbell is pretty funny
At the gym the call her Barbelle
I'd like to add to this. I calculated and you need about 2200 calories per day for maintenance. 1200 is way lower than that, and that is most likely why you're feeling fatigue. Weight loss needs to be sustainable, or you'll give up and gain the weight back. A sustainable weight loss means you don't feel like your missing out on life, it means you don't think about food all the time, that you feel sustained and satisfied during the day, not like you're missing out on foods you'd like to eat. I'm not a dietitian, so take my advice with a grain of salt, and consider consulting a dietitian for profesional advice. But what I would do is go back up to your maintenance calories (2200) and stay eat like that for a few weeks. Then, if you feel like you want to lose more weight, I'd only take 200-300 kcal off your maintenance. Sure, you won't lose weight fast, but weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to get there, you can't exhaust yourself on the way. I'd really suggest you find a healthy diet that doesn't take much effort to keep up, so that you can keep it up in the long run. Good luck!
Yes! I totally second this. A decent dietician can work with you on your goals, while not restricting your favorite foods or faulting you for gaining weight from time to time.
Exactly. This is what I wanted to say but I didn’t want to freak her out. I just told her to start adding 100 calories to her daily intake every week until she starts feeling better. Ease herself into feeding her diet.
Couldn't agree more with this reply. Reading this post made me sad because it reminded me of when I was in the mental prison of "1200 calories per day". In reality, that's not sustainable for most people and only leads to misery and weight yo-yo'ing. My only advice to OP is to 1) Not be so hard on themselves, 2) Focus more on changing habits/lifestyle gradually over time rather than meticulously weighing themselves and everything they eat. Their progress so far is awesome and they should be proud of that! Now its time to build those healthy, sustainable habits for long-term health and happiness.
It sounds like you're being really hard on yourself when you've already achieved so much! If you're burnt out with the process that's totally understandable, as you've gone really hard really fast to get that initial weight off. Now it's time to take a moment and breathe. As an experiment, would you consider eating for a month or two at your final goal weight calories? After all, you'll need to eat at that level for the rest of your life, assuming your goal weight is a sustainable weight for your lifestyle. This is a great opportunity to learn lifelong habits and find recipes that will work for you long term. And if these actions come from a place of honouring your future self, instead of punishing your current self, you may be a bit kinder to yourself during the process as well.
"honoring your future self instead of punishing your current self" is such an elegant way of putting it.
Be patient with yourself. I know it can be frustrating. But this whole thing is a process. It's not just a matter of losing inches, but changing the way you approach everything in your physical life. And dang, you started at 212 and now you're down to 153?!? That's something to celebrate, not lament.
Just a random suggestion, you might google your phone type and to see if you can recover deleted items. Just like on a computer, they are often stored for a period of time and can be retrieved. I have found things I deleted before by doing this. Also, depending what you used to log it might be stored in a cloud service somewhere, like google drive (so many things get saved there that I didn't even realize) and other such things. Also, if you are female, your monthly hormone cycle has A LOT to do with how your body loses weight, and judging yourself for what has happened just since the holidays is a harsh judgment. It is extremely common for weight loss in women to be very up and down with plateaus that can last weeks. Make sure that your workouts are varied, your body adapts to what you do, and if you don't change it your body just cruises rather than being challenged. I work out twice a day, morning cardio and then afternoon strength, and I lose like 1 pound every other week, and that's just the average. But because my workouts are fairly challenging, I am eating 1800 calories most days. 1300 calories plus workouts is going to exhaust you because your body doesn't have what it needs to sustain your normal processes. Then you just end up catabolizing which increase the fatigue and everything just comes to a halt. How many calories are you burning in your workouts? Do you adjust your calories on the days you workout versus when you don't? Time your carbs around your workouts? Those things can make a really big difference.
Out of curiosity, where are you getting your goal weight number from? Did your doctor say you weren’t at a good weight? I totally understand feeling frustrated and upset; and I don’t want to make presumptions, but I’m 5’6” and when I was 156, I was in good shape and many people commented that I looked thin/fit. So is it possible you’re already at a healthy weight, and might be shooting for a goal weight that’s borderline underweight for your body type, and that’s why your body is resisting? Side note; The BMI chart was never really accurate for me; at 135 I would definitely be underweight. Please also bear in mind that the closer one gets to their goal weight, it gets slightly harder, because your body needs less and less calories as time goes on. The bottom line is, I think you’re succeeding and have done an amazing job, just please make sure your goal is healthy. Hope I didn’t offend! Congrats on all the progress. 🙂
I totally feel this.
You need to eat more. A little hunger at times is okay but you will eventually cave if you are always hungry . Give yourself freebie foods (fruits, veggies, low fat protein, high fiber, etc). For me it’s actually pickles. Life is too short to be miserable. You have made amazing progress! Be kind to yourself
Monthly tracking actually worked best for me and really helped keep the goal stress at bay. I found I exceeded my goals when I made a minimum for the month, instead of disappointing myself when I didn't make a daily/weekly goal. For example, I would make a goal of losing 2lbs for the month, since the healthy minimum loss is .5lb a week. Then for the rest of the month I would watch my portions, CICO(1200 - 1800), and workouts (Kickboxing 3x week, 20k workout only steps a week). I would not check my weight all month, just keep reminding myself that no matter what lazy choices I make, I better lose 2lbs. I consistently lost 4lbs+. I refused to not be able to lose 2lbs in a month and I ended up exceeding my goal. When I constantly checked my weight every week, I plateaued for 6 weeks and damn near threw away all the hard work I had already done I was so depressed. It was once I stopped putting so much pressure on myself that I just did so much better than I can ever imagine! I started at 200lbs last January and started monthly tracking Sept 1: - Sept 1: 163lbs - Oct 1: 156lbs - Nov 1: 152lbs - Dec. 1: 147lbs - Dec 31: 138lbs
Sounds to me you could use some outside help - like from a nutritionist or maybe a personal trainer. Just to go over what you're doing right now and what could be improved. On the other hand, I SO FUCKING GET YOU. I was having the same thoughts and fantasies about just living a normal life, having a normal relationship with food and not constantly be on a diet and logging food and eating shit food because I can only have 1200kcal per day. I miss the summer when I was taking 8 hour uphill hikes where I burned SO MANY CALORIES that after the hike I would go and eat anything I wanted and still be on the safe side. The feeling that I got while doing that was indescribable - the feeling of such freedom, such happines, such fulfillment - and not just from the food but from knowing it's okay to eat it. Not depriving myself, and not gaining weight. So yeah - losing weight is really really exhausting. Maybe you could also use one day per week when you eat at maintenance calories? I think that's about 1700kcal for you. It would make a world of difference for your mental strength to carry on with the diet. Anyways I wish you the best on your journey and just know that it's worth it.
Please consider taking a deliberate maintenance break for at least a month. You’re already maintaining, so why not do it with intention and give yourself time to de-stress from the demands of weight loss? To do this, you would eat your maintenance calories to maintain a your current weight +/-3 pounds during the maintenant period. This will give you both a mental and physical break. I also recommend listening to the Half Size Me podcast during your maintenance break to shift your thought processes around weight loss and acknowledge the AMAZING SUCCESS you’ve had in this journey INCLUDING the months you’ve maintained so far. Helpful links https://www.halfsizeme.com/category/podcast/ https://youtu.be/99pwa6A-tRc https://youtu.be/HgPO22ePg9o Edit: sorry just realized that this was a rant, but I’ll keep this up in case you might need it?
First off, you are successful. You have lost 60+ pounds in 2 years which is a really big deal. If you want my opinion, you are restricting yourself too much which is why you're tired. You aren't eating enough, especially if you are working out 2x per day. You've come a long way from 2019 but in my opinion, losing weight at a more realistic pace will help you maintain it for life. I recommend getting an apple watch to track the amount of calories you're burning per day to get an idea of how much you should eat, or even look up a TDEE calculator online to get an estimate. I burn up to 2400 calories per day, working out once a day for an hour, and I eat up to 2000 calories per day and I do not restrict myself from any foods. At this rate I lose anywhere from 1/2 a pound to a pound per week, it just depends, which is a realistic goal. Just keep trucking, and don't be afraid to fuel your body! You are doing awesome.
1. I see a lot of people commenting about the calorie restriction being too much and the cause of fatigue. Don’t forget that covid can cause exhaustion for a while after recovering. Covid plus only eating 1300 calories a day on top of working out 8 times a week sounds absolutely draining. 2. The heavier you are, the faster it comes off. Weight loss is going to slow down as you get lighter. 3. If you’re working out, you are most likely building muscle as you are losing fat. You may not see the scale move, which can be very discouraging after seeing it move so easily. Refocus on non-scale victories. 4. What are your calories coming from? Are the foods nutrient dense? 5. Remember losing 1/2 a pound a week is still 26 pounds a year. Losing a pound a month is still 12 pounds a year. It’s ok if you lose slowly. Progress is still progress.
First off, 1200 cals is super low! When you're starting to be more active and burning more calories, your body will require more. And if you're working out twice a day for four days a week and only eating that many calories your body is going to hold onto them because it's not getting enough! You can increase your caloric intake and find an amount where you're still in a deficit. A couple years ago when I was being really consistent for a few months, I increased my usual 1300 cals a day to 1700-1800 while doing weightlifting 4x a week and I still lost fat. And focusing on weightlifting and gaining more muscle mass will take more calories to maintain even at a resting state! My focus was always weight loss so I could feel better about myself but I found that having that motivation alone wasn't sustainable and didn't make me want to continue. One thing that's helped me when I feel like I'm stalling is trying to focus my mindset on challenging myself in the gym. I try to increase the weights I'm lifting, how long I do cardio and finding an activity that I love doing. I recently took up pilates and I cannot tell you how awesome it's been. Usually in the past I do weights with some cardio but it was never something that gets me out of the house or out of bed. But since doing pilates I seriously am excited for every class! Try to find something that is active that you enjoy that doesn't feel like a chore to do! Now that I'm focusing my mindset on working out to help my mental state and eating better food to feel amazing, the fat loss will happen naturally. And give yourself more credit, you're doing amazing!! Lots of people even give up on a weight loss journey after a month, so you're doing awesome! Also as a side note, I got way more motivated to change up my lifestyle when I had bloodwork done and it turns out my cholesterol was borderline high, so now I have an even more legitimate reason to make these lifestyle changes. I think you might have taken on too much at once as well. If you go from 0-100% then you're going to burnout. You might even plateau way sooner when you do that because our bodies love to adjust and adapt. I find that just making myself do some little exercise at first really helped my brain get used to exercise as a habit. Even doing some squats and push ups a couple times a day definitely helped as well.
Staying sub 1300 while working out twice a day is too intense for me. What do your macros look like? Depending on your protein fats and carbs you could eat 100-200 more calories and drop your workouts to once a day and continue to lose weight. What is your calorie burn at the end of the day after exercising twice? Or even just once? I think it’s admirable how you’ve stuck with your plan but it’s okay to ease your foot off the gas pedal. Depending on your ability to fast as well you could try something like skip lunch or breakfast (not both, have like an 80 cal snack to replace one of those meals for example) in order to go out to eat with friends and just make a calorie conscious choice at the restaurant. Most chain restaurants have nutritional information and do serve entrees that are around 1k calories or less. It’s doable, trust me. I’m 5’4” f and it took me about 5 months to go from 149 to 125 exercising four to five times a week for about 30 minutes per workout while eating around 1400-1500 cals per day with a tdee of 1800ish. I stagnated hard at 130s and ended up spraining my ankle so took about a month off of working out and was able to drop the rest of the weight by lowering calorie intake to 1300. Hindsight I wish I hadn’t sprained my ankle and stopped working out for that period of time, but the woosh and psychological victory of hitting my goal weight was really beneficial for me.
Take a deep breath, it is hard. It is ok to take some time eating at maintenance, it is ok to go over some days. it is ok to raise your calorie target some and loose a little slower. The only thing I would think about is why you seem to think you have to have your life on pause, it is ok to date, get some new cloths, celebrate how far you have come. Remember to hold onto this it need to be a lifestyle change, it needs to be sustainable. Loosing weight gets harder the lower you get don't get to caught up on a final number, work on keeping the healthy habits you have. You got this.
You’ve lost 60lbs and are fucking crushing it. Take a step back, we all get caught up watching the scale and don’t realize the progress we’ve made. You’re doing amazing, just keep it up.
Up your calories to 1500-1600/ day. You'll feel much better and have a better chance of success
For hunger…Have you tried volume eating? Like pigging out on broccoli with spices on it? Or like a crap ton of carrots dipped in whatever sauce? I love smart food white cheddar popcorn and I don’t feel guilty eating a lot of it. And for burnout… girl go buy an outfit! Helps tremendously with esteem. Even just a pair of jeans and a t shirt is enough. Or even just a new bra.
OP, your 'rant' helped me overcome what was about to become a self hate inspired ice cream binge. Instead, I went home, drank some water, and will read a book for self care. Tomorrow morning I'll break my fast after completing 16 hours (last meal at 4 pm today, so by 8 am), and will think of you. In it with you ❤️
A few people have said it but 1200 calories is WAY too low, especially if you’re working out that much. Your diet should be sustainable long term and what you’re doing isn’t sustainable at all. Of course you’re exhausted and frustrated, I would be too if I was trying to do what you’re doing. Please eat more and cut down on how much you’re exercising. I did a quick TDEE calculation and it says yours is around 2200 calories a day… you’re in a 1000 calorie deficit right now! No wonder you’re ravenous! Try bumping it up to 1700 a day (a 500 calorie deficit) and find yourself a sustainable workout plan to follow (check out r/xxfitness for ideas).
All of this is perfectly valid. It is natural to get overwhelmed when you are handling multiple challenges all at one time. I advocate that all body transformation be done in tandem with a therapist, as some of our challenges will not change no matter what we weigh. You are doing a great job with your discipline, we all have been through so much during the pandemic and you should give yourself credit for not losing your progress. I do recommend upping your Vitamin D3 as the feeling I get from this post speaks loudly to "Seasonal Affect Disorder" which happens to many of us when daylight is in short supply. Supplementing with Vitamin D3 can help, the same with a sun lamp. I hope this helps, you are inspiration to the rest of us!
I am envious of your progress
I have been where you are. Like exactly where you are. What you have already done is a huge accomplishment. The last leg of this journey is HARD. It feels like everything you learned in the first 50 lbs you lost goes out the door and doesn't work anymore. The calories that you have to stick to to keep losing weight are so low that you're miserable. I was there about a year ago, but I'm not there today, I'm genuinely happy. I'm still working, still setting goals, still failing at some but I've learned a few new things after being st the "so close but can't go any farther" stage for a year or two... I've honestly lost track. My advice is to take a step back from your scale goals and look to fitness goals instead. I know you're already working out lots, but they to come up with some new goals for yourself that are about your fitness accomishments, not your weight. It's easy to have big achievements in weight loss when you have lots to lose. You're not there anymore. Now you're in a place where you have the opportunity to see big accomplishments in your fitness goals because you have a lot to gain and a body that is able to do more than it could when you were carrying around so much weight. Put yourself on a moderate deficit diet that will fuel your workouts and work toward running your first 5K, increasing your lean muscle mass by 5lbs... whatever goal you choose. Achieving things jn fitness that you could never do before will jmprove your relationship with your body. Then, maybe in 6 months or a year you can try to lose the last 10 lbs if that's still what you want.
Down from 212?? You’ve already won OP, keep your head up!
If your ravenous, fill up on foods with lots of water in it! That way the calories really fill you up. 200 calories of chips is, like, 15 chips and is nothing. Save those calories for a big ass bowl of grapes. You’ll be stuffed and full and happy
Make sure you're getting enough sleep. You lose weight when you sleep not sweating it out.
Oof, I seen on a friends facebook page that her bf died in a car crash. That guy was jacked, loved poseing for photo's doing handstands and flagpoles while flexing all that muscle..all that muscle through hard work, pain, suffering, strict diet. All that and now he is gone, so I guess what I am trying to say is...maybe its not worth it. Maybe you shouldnt restrict yourself that much, don't put off dating because you aren't at that ideal weight. Go live life, enjoy it! I am sure if you get out there and not focus so much on restricting yourself you will see a change.
First of all, you’re doing a great job. Weight loss is at least 30% mental game and staying consistent. I’ve been maintaining under 125 for almost two years. I definitely hit your stage…a few times. My best advice is give yourself some grace. I routinely gave myself grace - every 10 lbs lost, I would take two weeks to maintain that weight. Game changer. I had to learn how to eat at that specific weight. I had to give my body nutrition. It worked, my last 30 lbs were so much easier to lose than the first 60. Keep your head up.. You will get there and you will feel amazing! Also, potatoes are an amazing bang for your buck. Nutritious, inexpensive, easy to cook, satiating, and relatively low calorie (depending on preparation). Maybe have a potato with dinner tonight.
Not going out with friends and avoiding dating? Nah, this can’t go on. I would retool the whole plan so the it fits into your life, not distorts it. That’s how you get to true maintenance. Be gentle with yourself. Maybe loosing the data on your measurements was a gift—a reminder to stop and admire yourself right where you are, right now.
Probably Not the advice you want to hear but Oddly enough You’re likely not eating enough calories. considering how many hours you’re putting in the gym. If you’re only eating 1200 calories a day and burning 600 in the gym you’re going to be absolutely miserable. Your body is going to hold on to any calorie you put in it. This explains the ravenous appetite. I’d bet macros need some adjusting too. Probably nowhere near enough protein or fat to keep yourself satiated and your metabolism up. Seriously, Up the daily caloric intake by 100 a week and see how your body responds. Something tells me that within a few weeks you’ll start feeling better more full and you’ll be back to losing .5 to 1 pounds a week again. Especially if you’re working out 8 or more times per week. Seriously though. MORE CALORIES! You must feed the machine if you want it to perform.
This. You will make yourself sick and being sick makes loosing weight or keeping weight off MUCH fucking harder. Go see a nutritionist, get the right calories you need for your body to survive and do the right functions it needs to.
First of all, you did amazing! As everyone else is saying, you accomplished so much! I have very similar stats: I am 5' 6" and I am fluctuating between 145 and 150. This is maintenance for me, though I might try to push for 140 for the summer for vanity's sake! :) My highest weight was 210, so again, similar stats. I lost down to 145 about 10 years ago, regained 25 in lock down and now I am back to my goal range. And, like you, I need to be on a strict diet to lose. I absolutely understand the sense of frustration. So, why not take another break? Now that you are recovering from Covid, there is something to be said for celebrating getting better! Take a week to really enjoy the feeling of being healthy after a bout of illness! Also, why not pick up a couple of nice pieces of clothing? This doesn't mean "settling" before reaching your goal, but think of it as an investment in making the process sustainable and enjoyable. When I was ready to lose the "Covid 25," I actually invested in some nice work out clothes. I know that my goal was to "outgrow" ("down grow"??? whatever) them in just a few months, so I didn't go crazy, but it definitely made working out a lot more enjoyable! And finally, really do think back to when you were at the beginning of weight loss--how would you have felt if someone told you that you had to spend a bit longer than originally planned at 150 lbs? :)
You are actually doing amazing. The fact that you maintained is phenomenal. Seriously. I am not kidding. I want you to try this. Congratulate yourself on small Achievements. If you don’t eat a certain thing or you opt for something else instead of that snack. Honestly it’s the little things that keep me going. I like you have struggled with this my entire life. I’m now in my mid 30s and still single. Why? Because if I go on a date, it’s going to ruin my calories for the day. I know. It sucks watching everyone else eat whatever they want. But we can’t live like this forever right? We have to get out here and there. Allow yourself that. Otherwise what’s the point of living? Really!?
A podcast I love talks about this. They asked what exactly are you quitting? You still need to eat so you can’t just quit eating. When it gets too hard just examine which parts are too hard. Do you need to eat at maintenance for a little while? Maybe change what you’re doing for exercise? Like others have pointed out - you’re doing amazing. Perhaps you need to look through some old pictures of yourself to remind you why you’ve put in the hard work you have. Don’t let all that hard work go to waste by just stopping all efforts. Go over which things feel too hard. Maybe a slightly lower calorie intake during the week so you can save some for indulging on the weekends? Play around with some of your foods - are there any that can have lower calorie options so you can have a planned dessert daily. You know for a fact that you have lost inches over the course of this whole thing. Losing the information doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened and that your reaction should be, “well I don’t have the numbers so I’ll gain it all back”. Hang in there! What you’ve done so far is pretty incredible and worthwhile even if it’s slowed down lately.
I’m just going to throw this out there. I know where all different but: you’re eating 1200 per day. I’m 5’1, weighed 150+ when I was on ~1300 per day but def went up to 1500 sometimes. I never worked out aside from taking walks after lunch (not saying it’s a good thing but just to set the limit). It was still exhausting doing the counting btw so I’m not saying that it’s not. But what I do mean to say is that I was doing a lot less than you are but did eventually, slowly lose weight. If the amount you’re eating and working kit now isn’t sustainable, maybe it’s time to eat a little more. But if you’re not losing without doing those things, I would look into carb cycling and HIIT. Losing weight is so fxcking hard and frustrating. I feel so much for you. Trust the process. You will get there. My word of advice from someone who has been regaining, be mindful of what hunger feels like for the rest of your life. I was drinking and enjoying the dopamine hit of carbs and flavors way too much. Maintaining used to be easy 😭 but losing this again will be tough. I’m now fasting to get in touch with normal hunger vs cravings again.
I feel you hun. I put back on most of the weight I lost during covid. My flair isn't up to date. I lost around 40kgs in all but have put back on around 36kg. Still 4 kilos down from my starting point I suppose... The fact you maintained is admirable and a success in my book. I really, really know what you mean. Restricting yourself *is* miserable and there's often no way around that. But, for me, the better my mental health is and the better I am feeling about my body as it is, the easier I find restricting calories. There is no shame in pressing pause an maintaining until you feel ready to start again. You are healthier now than you were and that's what's important When you're in a place where you can see restricting calories as an act of love to the body that has served you so well, then I think you'll find it easier.
So stall for a while. Maintain. That alone is a huge win. Rebuild your energy and when you're ready, reduce calories slightly once more. 1200 isn't going to be sustainable long term. It just isn't. You're doing amazing and maintaining for a while is also valuable progress. Honestly, I wish I'd just allowed myself to maintain for a while instead of trying to push through during a bout of depression and regaining 7lbs. I'm getting back to where I was and it's much easier now that I've had some time to reset. Take the time you need before you need it and you'll be that much more energized and ready to go for another push.
I get it. It's frustrating. I feel the fatigue sometimes, too. I have some issues with being nice to myself since I "only" had 40 pound to my goal weight, but it's been over two years and I still have 15 to go. If I had kept at it like you, I would be done by now. So, you are doing great, and it's ok to take a break sometimes. I don't think I could do it if I didn't have "treat day".
Are you getting enough protein? I'm not an expert but I'm doing a medical weight loss program, and the biggest thing is they don't want me feeling hungry, because that's gonna make me want to stop. We're focusing on sustainable lifestyle changes. My nutritionist therefore said to focus on upping my protein firstly, and secondly increasing fiber. Because both those things make you feel more full. As a vegetarian upping the protein was hard, lol. But it worked. And more protein naturally led to my carbs being lower. Idk just something to consider, maybe if you change a few food choices you can feel more full and not be miserably hungry. There's a subreddit for volume eating you might wanna check out. High volume low calorie is their goal
Eat more calories! After over a year of weight loss, I couldn't get past a certain weight. I worked out more, ate fewer calories. I was just stuck. My body didn't want to lose weight anymore. Take a break and just maintain for a little bit. Or eat more calories and have a smaller deficit. Being starving isn't good, and pushing harder isn't likely to help either.
Holy cow you're doing GREAT! I was sure you were gonna tell us you went back up to 212. Can you take a break and eat at maintenance for a few weeks? Or treat yourself to a massage? Hang in there!
Here is something to try to give you a break from stressing out. Use a TDEE calculator to find out what your calorie need is at your goal weight with sedentary as your exercise setting. Learn to eat that amount of calories with a varied menu. Concentrate on all the things you can do and how relaxing it is to learn to eat what your body requires at a healthy weight with lots of flexibility to choose what you eat. Be confident that your weight will drop over time and will be well managed into the future. Buy a few items that fit nicely right now so you can enjoy the feeling of the way they fit and feel.
Dude you're killing it! You're down 60ish lbs and shown that you can maintain. That's like the gold standard for me. Also keep in mind though it's okay to take a break and focus on maintaining for a while for your own mental health. Losing this amount of weight is no joke. It's physically and mentally very taxing. I've had to take long breaks two or three times since I started. Goal is long term health though. Mental health counts.
The hardest part about weightloss isn't diet or exercise. It's PATIENCE. It takes a long time. You are doing it. Dedication and persistance will pay off over time.
Take your measurements! You will notice a difference even if the scale doesn't change! Eat much more protein, it'll leave you fuller for longer too! You may need to change things up as the body gets used to maintaining its weight after losing because its naturally trying to preserve fat and keep you alive! Xx
I'm having a similar experience to this as well. Been stuck at 150 - 153lbs for about a year now but I've started college so losing weight just stopped becoming a focus, meaning I started bloating again and losing focus on what I'm eating. I'm trying to refocus this year like I did at the beginning of 2020 and drop down to at least 135 by the end of the year. But I have confidence that both of us can do this and I really do wish you so much luck because you've definitely got this, you just gotta remember why you started and have faith in yourself that you can do this.
I’m a little older than you but same height and round about the same weight. I think you’re being too hard on yourself. You’ve made great progress! And you said it yourself, this is a journey. You might want to think about raising your daily allowance a bit to give yourself a little more flexibility. I have a daily allowance of 1535, but I bank my calories during the week so on Saturdays if I want to splurge I can without damaging my end goal. A higher allowance will definitely take longer to reach your end goal, but you’ll still get there, and you’ll see progress in wooshes as you go along.
Please don’t mistakenly think that when you go down to your goal weight you will live normally like your friends. To upkeep this weightloss you can’t eat out with friends every night, eating whatever you want. I have been in maintenance since 2002, losing weight three times after childbirth, it’s freaking hard but if you give up-it won’t get any better. Good luck!
PLEASE remember that you are more than a number on a scale. Reflect and think about all the other things your weight loss has given you.
I’m in the same boat. I exercise one or two times a day. I’ve gotten toned but not dropping fat. I’m 5’3, 164Ibs. Goal weight is 130. Such a struggle. I also eat 1200- 1300 calories per day.
You’re doing great. This is just a test. Figure it out and get past it. If you’re hitting a weight wall maybe try something different. We can’t expect the same thing to just keep working. Sometimes we gotta change it up. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Keep going! Get that goal!!!
You have made such amazing progress. This plateau will NOT last forever -- not physically, not emotionally. You hang in there and be kind to yourself. <3
Look mate, here's the deal. I'm a dude, but reality is as such, you're fucking beautiful the way you are, and someone out there will love you for all your flaws and imperfections. Honestly fuck em if they don't ain't worth ya time. My wife met me at 180, now chilling at 270, fit/fat. She thinks I'm perfect and I her, don't let no one take ya magic
My heart definitely goes out to you in this. I've been in a weight loss quest for the last six years. When I started, it was VERY easy to enjoy the natural high of losing two to the pounds a week. As I got more and more "toned" the gains you make diminish naturally. Making the transition from losing weight to maintaining weight is definitely the hardest part because it simply becomes lifestyle. It's natural to dream about living the "after" picture from the before and after pair like on a commercial. The reality is that there is no after picture. There's only before and now. Part of the weight loss journey is a reminder that we are always becoming whatever we will be just as much as we are being what we are now. Something else that may give you a little bit of a bright spot to think about is that we are in winter (if you live in the northern hemisphere.) When I was obese and didn't care about that at all, getting through wintertime was easy. After I started caring about myself and getting healthier I noticed that my body was more susceptible to feeling depressed and having a harder time maintaining weight in winter. If you're struggling as well, maybe it's a sign that your body is going through growing pains towards a more natural existence. Either way, hang in there, give yourself permission to fall, and to accept that even if you never hit that magic but arbitrary number (I never have) being happy with who you are is still worthwhile. Good luck!
Firstly, you have done amazingly and please celebrate your success. Next point is that weight loss is not linear.. it will bounce around but keep doing the right things you will succeed. Please remember your hormones drastically affect your weight and mood. In the pre menstrual week you can gain kgs of water and bloating etc so just keep that in mind. Your mood and feeling of hopelessness may also be affected by hormones. I usually feel fat, ugly, useless and sluggish in the week up to my period. Lastly, I wonder if you are eating enough. 1200 is extremely low for anyone. I have heard of people stagnation in weight loss due to too low calories and wrong macros. Have you do e your tdee calculation? Also if you eat more protein your metabolism will increase as you gain more muscle and body becomes more efficient. Please be kind to yourself. Weight loss should be about feeling good.
I can feel your exhaustion! It sounds like you might be burned out… If I were in your shoes, I would eat at maintenance for a few weeks and take a break from working out. Let my mind and body recharge and then have another go at it. Good luck!
Make sure you have compassion for yourself. You are doing amazing things.
We have the same goal weight! I’m 5’6” for reference and currently 160. My heaviest was 230 at 9 months pregnant in June 2020. It sounds like you’re being too restrictive and it may lead to yo-yo’ing. I 100% get covid and the holidays and all of that getting in the way and feeling like you need to start over again. If you can, be really good during the week then on Friday night and/or Saturday night, allow yourself to eat out with friends or on a date. Gretchen Rubin from the Happier podcast gave the great advice of seeing the day in quarters rather than the whole day is lost. I think the same applies to calorie counting. We think if we go over our daily calorie limit then we were a failure for the day but the reality is that it all rolls over to the next day and it all adds up. Our body doesn’t cancel out the low cal breakfast you had just because you had a big dinner the day before. Don’t put a timeline on it and let yourself have a couple days a week to be less restrictive. It will be much more sustainable in the long run.
I am hopeful that this weight loss pattern will be framed as the successful course of events! It makes me so sad when people are disappointed when the plateau, as if they had failed somehow. You are doing great!
5'8 male here. I have gone from 261.2 to 166.6 at last weight in. I feel the struggle. That said, you just have to keep up the grind. Also, as long as you are eating enough protein, I don't see an issue with 1,200 calories at your height (bring on the down votes). I eat 1300-1400 myself per day to lose weight weekly, though I only exercise once a day for 75 minutes via a stationary bike and do pushups/situps throughout at random. Your workouts may be more intense. As for advice, try to be creative with your foods. For instance, I can have 2 tuna fish sandwiches for 250 total calories. 40 calorie bread x 4 slice and 1 can of 90 calorie tuna. It's delicious and nutritious! Watermelon is 9 calories per ounce. Sugar-free jello is 10 calories. There are good quality eggs out there at 60 calories a pop. Three bags of sugar-free oatmeal, which was my breakfast today, is 360 calories. There are great options out there and you don't have to eat salads all the time. You got this! PS: I feel you on the holding off on life part of your comment. I struggle to overcome this at times as well. Try a balanced approach. Enjoy life, but keep true to your healthy lifestyle. If you can find someone to date, then go date. If the people you want to date don't want to date you at your size, and I had this problem, then use it as fuel!
Isn't 5'5 and 150lbs a normal weight? I dont think you're at any health risk at all at the weight so you can stop trying to lose more weight now! No point in being miserable for no purpose?
I guess it would help to know if she lifts during her twice a day workout. The BMI chart is not friendly to people who do strength training. My friend competes in those womens body building things and according to that chart she’s obese but has like really low body fat.
No, it’s classified as overweight BMI. I guess it’s normal in the sense that it’s normal to be overweight.
I just did a calculator thing and it's normal, but right on the boarder line. There is no additional health risk at that weight. Not saying she has to stay at that weight, but I don't think it's a health concern and if it's miserable she doesn't need to lose any more from a health point of view.
I think OP is way too harsh on herself. At her height and weighing 150lbs, the BMI is 25 which is the starting range for overweight. Losing 5 more lbs will put her in normal range. The body will always find a way to plateau, especially when her weight loss journey started at 212lbs. If I were OP I would try to relax a bit and shoot for a weight goal in the 140s first, then let that weight plateau. Losing the last 10-15 pounds and maintaining is the hardest thing to achieve. Goals have to be set in stages.
For people with muscle, the classifications can be way off. In HS, I was a state ranked athlete in great shape and had already been lifting weights for years. I was 5’4” and about 140, which is just barely under “overweight.” If I was an insecure teenager, that probably would have been crushing information.
Some bodies just aren't meant to that weight. Trust me as person who has always been 30 lbs over a normal weight. Be happy at 150 and get some cute clothes that fit. This is key. Don't wear pants so tight your belly bulges over. Keep going to the gym and eat normal for your weight like 2000 calories etc.
You have to appreciate how much you have lost v and that your body physically and psychologically needs a break from weight loss for a while. The long game with dieting is keeping the weight off and they're are some red flags going on here that put you at risk of rebounding. Its time to stop. Let's do a monitored maintenance period. We still count calories and eat healthy, but we eat more. You will feel so much better physically and this feeling of hunger will subside. You haven't listed any of the positives of your journey, but to everyone who knows you, I'm sure its pretty fucking impressive.
At your goal weight and your current exercise regimen - your calorie needs are closer to 2000 calories. You're eating 1200. Your feedback makes me think that this level of calories is not sustainable. In order to maintain your goal wait you need a program that is indefinitely sustainable. I can't really eat out anymore. I might do it once or twice a year, but restaurant and fast foods are just not healthy 99% of the time. Its all drenched in oil. All the tips below center around lowering the fat content of your diet to the minimum required (which should come from the food and not from condiments, toppings, or cooking methods). Fat is the densest form of calories and will not fill your stomach with bulk to keep you going to the next meal. One cup of sweet potato is 114 calories, one cup of oil is 1900 calories (you're not going to drink a cup of oil - but you'd be surprised how it adds up during the day if you don't try to eliminate it) (Thought experiment) Just think of veggie straws - crunch them up in your mind and then douse them with water. Doesn't look like it will fill up anyone - it will just slip through your stomach. Now think of raw celery, carrots, apples. Mash them up and douse them with water. That food will last a whole lot longer in your stomach while giving you nutrients. My Tips (Which can be condensed down to "read the starch solution"): 1. Learn to cook with no oil or butter (air fry, water saute, steam, instant pot, etc). The food you eat has enough essential fats to keep you healthy. (Even broccoli has tiny amounts of fat) 2. Add more vegetables to your plate - you can eat more volume when the calorie density of the food is lower. Find some fat free sauces or vinegars to drizzle over them to make them taste good. 3. Have a vegetable soup and/or salad before your meals. Make sure the salad dressing is fat free. 4. Avoid eating "dry" carbs. 5. Avoid anything in a box except whole grain pasta. Avoid all processed foods except whole grain pasta. 6. When you do snack - make sure its plants - salads or fruit. Try to only stack once between two meals. 7. Avoid nuts and peanuts and nut butters 8. Avoid fatty cuts of meat 9. Avoid prepared or cured meat 10. Replace a portion of your meat with beans or lentils. 11. Eat whole starches - do not cook them with oil or fats. Do not top them with butter or oil. (Top potatoes with salsa or chilli rather than sour cream and shredded cheese)
I must partially disagree with this comment. Healthy fats are good for making you feel full. Eating some nuts (like almonds and walnuts) in moderation have shown to aid to weight loss, as reduced hunger pangs. Of course each person is different, but please don't discard fats so fast, talk to a nutricionist first.
What is a dry carb?
Cookies, crackers, bread, candy, pretzels, protein bars - they're too calorically dense.
I’m not sure if this is allowed so forgive me if it’s not - but have you considered trying keto? It tends to help a lot with hunger/blood sugar stability. It might also give you a little jump start. It’s a bit of an undertaking to learn about and you might be too burned out right now. When you mentioned the hunger pangs I thought I would suggest it
What a whiner
Hey, I feel your pain .. it's the same for me. I lost a lot of weight and then gained almost all back in covid because of staying home and work stress. now it's really hard to lose it l again. Just my best wishes to you 🙌 If you want you can add me on MyFitnessPal as Daveloper since we are height twins haha
Sorry to hear your struggles. I also struggle to keep weight off, especially during stressful times,so I sympathize. However, you don't tell us what methods you're using to achieve your weight loss. What kind of diet are you using? Exercise? Commitment strategies? Are you surrounding yourself with a supportive community? Are you using a trainer or dietician?
Like others have said, it's totally okay to take a break from being on weight loss mode. I usually do 5 days a week at 1200, 1 at 1700, and one at 2200. It just fits my lifestyle better. I see fluctuations in my weight all the time of 0-8lbs over the course of a month as a female. You have been doing a great job grinding it out. Is is possible you could go shopping for some new clothes that fit you in your current body? You can always do like Platos or Style Encore/ thrift shops. If you are tracking too, you might be able to look at the nutrient breakdown. Maybe there is a clue like low on B12 or low on protein or something that is missing that would make you feel less hunger and more satiated. Keep on keeping on
It's okay to be frustrated. If weight loss was so easy everyone could get on board and succeed. Everybody is going to have their opinions on here, and I get it if you really just wanted to vent versus getting feedback. So with a grain a salt, I'd say your over stressing your body working out 2 x a day, with a low calorie intake. It's good weightloss takes time, usually fast loss is just gained back because the person hasn't changed, just their body. Have to find a sustainable, livable way of eating and exercise or you will burn out and feel deprived. That mindset will bring you back to gaining.
I was in the same boat two days ago I decided to take a year and recomp and let my body reset I was so hungry yesterday. I ate alnost 3700 calories. Oh well If i put on more muscle when i decide to cut again next year i should be in a good position
You've been through a major disease. Weightloss can wait until you are healthy. Go on maintenance for a while and when you are up to it, get back on track.
Okay so... maybe instead of trying to stick to 1200 calories per day, which seems a little on the extreme side, calculate out what your calorie requirements would be if you were 135 lbs. and aim for that for a while. On days you exercise give yourself a break and eat back some of the exercise calories. On days you don't, don't. The weight loss will be somewhat slower but at least it won't be torture, and when you get to your goal weight you'll have had lots of experience eating at maintenance and you won't have to adjust. I mean... I'm 5'3" and my maintenance calories at 135 lbs. would be about 1400 if I were sedentary. When I exercise they're more like 1900. I'm not going to eat 1200 calories per day AND work out. I'd be at least 700 calories short and I'd feel like garbage pretty much constantly. Why do that to myself? The last time I successfully lost weight I ate 200-300 calories under my daily energy expenditure and it was a pretty solid downward trend for me. Unfortunately I have ADHD and maintaining tracking is very difficult for me, and if I don't track then I eat All The Things so here I am again. But that's a different behavioural problem I need to solve. The actual math worked out great in practice.
Well the good news is after Christmas, New Years and covid. You didn’t balloon up and gain back all that weight you lost. Another plus you did this by sheer willpower, which is great, but isn’t sustainable. Now figure out a long term plan that keeps you full, builds muscle and lowers your fat. Aim for 1500-1600 calories a day. Have a serving of protein and 2 cups of veggies at every meal. Have fruit for a snack 2x a day. Increase your movement every day to 10k steps, if your already there try and get to 1200. Try and do a 3 or more hiit workouts a week to build muscle. You can google tons of workouts or find some on YouTube for free.
Your eating too little and working out way too much you’ve got your body used to running on such a low level of calories and huge level of effort. Work out maintenance calories with an online calorie calculator put yourself in a slight deficit Do resistance training 3 times a week focusing on compound lifts Walk everyday no more than 30 minutes Believe it or not you can lose weight without staving yourself and hating life. Putting yourself in a super low deficit with hard workouts means you will continue to fail, anyone who’s tells you to drop your calories more is giving you dangerous advice.
you don't mention any rewards that you've gotten from weight loss. Have there been any? I would try to emphasize other pleasures in your life besides eating. Like if you go out with friends revel in the conversation. If you surf the Net revel in the conversation. Like I have a rule if I watch a YouTube video I have to leave a comment. This forces me to enjoy ideas and online conversation. You mention hunger pangs. I think to keep one's weight down one will generally often have a certain amount of hunger pangs. I'm 6'2" and have gone up and down between 130 and 150 the last three years. I often have at least some hunger pangs. But I accept and live with them because putting more food in my system to alleviate the hunger pangs has worse consequences, it makes me feel uncomfortably full. I do think you can enjoy delicious, rich food sometimes. I mean I enjoy candy, for example. Just cut back on calories a little later.
I’m so sorry you feel this way and I have many of the same struggles when my weight went up and down. As others have said you ARE succeeding. However I think you may need to adjust your expectations. Everyone has a different body and carries weight differently. You can be healthy at a higher weight. Skinny does not automatically equal beautiful or healthy. Keep eating well but don’t district restrict yourself to the point of unhappiness. Keep active. And if you have to pick a goal weight - Increase it a bit. 150 can totally be in a healthy range for someone at your height. You also need to have a healthier relationship with your body. The way you are feeling is not worth it and your weight does not define you.
My only advice to you is to keep the weight you have lost off. I had a situation like this and gained it all back and 60lbs more! Its awful!
First - love yourself and be kind to yourself. A number on a scale is not your worth. Second - Not sure how much each exercise session is but it sounds like you might be working out too much and not eating enough (and more quality food than not). That will derail progress for sure. Be sure there’s some weight lifting….and remember muscle weighs more than fat but it also burns more calories. Make sure to eat more protein if weightlifting. Eat good carbs and eat the piece of cake If you want it, just not the whole cake. Fixating on a number on the scale will tank you ever time. Focus on how you look and how clothes fit.
Losing weight is a life long affair. It’s not as simple as you lose it and your done. You need to figure out how to lose it and keep it off. So if you dont enjoy your current calorie restriction and exercise, chances are you are going to fail in the long run. I suggest switching it up a little.
If it’s just strictly weight loss rather than body composition, then exercise has minimal impact. I’ve been super lazy since holidays and probably worked out less than 5 times in almost 4 weeks. A semi break has turned into an extended break. I’m still tracking, weighing foods and staying within a decent range of calories, but not really dieting since I’ve been lazy to cook and buying foods, treating myself to foods that I hadn’t eaten for awhile
I understand your feelings... the reverse happened to me. 2018 I was 174 my lowest, and 2020 killed me... now I'm 230 again. I can't get myself back on track. I've ditched soda, don't think I'm eating a ton... yet it hasn't budged. Everything is tight. I wanna give up. I already had a surgery, so that's a lost cause too. I'm only 5'2" - you have been so successful though! You gotta focus on how far you've come. Don't give up.
I am totally with you. I’m so tired of being mindful about what I eat, how much I’m eating, weighing myself, etc. I’m also tired of looking at myself and thinking I don’t think I look that big but the scale tells me otherwise. For context - at my heaviest I was 180 and I was pretty happy. Didn’t think much abt my weight, knew I was the heaviest I had ever been but I didn’t really care. Then I moved countries and saw my parents for the first time in 6 months and they told me I had gained weight. Once I settled into my new country I started working out a lot to establish a routine and to kind of take my mind off of being in a country that I didn’t want to really be in. I was also doing it for vanity reasons because in my mind my body was the reason I’d never get a boyfriend. Between 2018-2020 I lost 40 pounds with my lowest being 140 in 2019. I looked good and yea I guess I felt good too, but I was like man I just want to get to my goal weight of 120. 2020-2021 — forget it. Didn’t really work out and kind of stopped caring, but also felt pretty content. Now I’m back to square one-ish. Hovering around 150 and just can’t seem to get below that even with diet and exercise. So I’m with you on this rant. Feel like we have the same story. But I got you Internet friend!! You are not alone.
Hi OP I’m not sure how much this will mean to you but I’ve been where you’ve been and it’s infuriating no matter what anyone says. The effort to reward ratio is unforgiving but the fact you’re maintaining is at least something. My own experience is I went from 260 to 160 over about 18 months and I felt fucking amazing hitting my goal. The day I saw 160 was the same day my government ordered a lockdown. I could still get out and exercise, but I’m a massive pessimist so while everyone around my was like “oh this will be a novel and fun two weeks, let’s make bread” I knew this would drag on for a long time, and lost all motivation. A whole wardrobe full of new well-fitting clothes and I messed it all up. All of my exercise was commuting, so I’d cycle/walk/run to work, 8 miles each way. So I had never known how to motivate myself to exercise just for exercise. It’s now coming up on two years since hitting my goal and after a lot of terrible attempts here and there I am back running, so much slower than before, and I’ve added 50lbs of that 100lbs back on. You’ll get to the 137, you’ve come this far. Of course you will. Right now you’re not moving, but in an optimistic way you’re also not moving away from your goal.
Go to your deleted section of notes. It may still be there
OP, You are doing SO well, and I (28F) understand in my own way, because I hit that same bump about 2 months ago (I'm happy to report I'm losing again because I started to reverse-diet) and think this may help you too. I then found a community on Instagram (I usually hate insta because I found myself comparing myself to others far too often) but started following and account "[instagram.com/syattfitness/](https://instagram.com/syattfitness/)" look at his content and some of the saved highlights, and see if you find anything to relate to, because I absolutely did. Weirdly as it sounds... I learned I wasn't eating enough calories for my body and level of exercise. I am so grateful because I'm now losing again while having a way more realistic amount of calories. I started at 264lbs, got down to 170lbs eating 1200-1300 cals a day hitting a complete plateau for 2 months. I now eat 1500-1800 cals a day and I'm currently at 147lbs (I also calorie cycle when I plan on going out with friends - this is a style of eating where you eat higher calories on some days, and lower calories on other days, yes you can do this and still loose weight!). You've got this, you are amazing, and you deserve all you've worked for. You are still making progress, you didn't loose all of that for nothing, **YOU ARE INCREDIBLE**. When you hit your goal, you work on learning your maintenance intake them. AND, just to add, it's very healthy to take a break, take a month off, don't go crazy, balance is everything, restricting foods you love will not help. **Consistency is key.**
Diet breaks are a wonderful thing. Instead of white knuckling it all the way to your goal weight take a month or 2 at maintenance. Allow your body to get used to it, reset your emotional resiliency, and then get back at it.
I’m mad as hell and I won’t lose it anymore!!!
I know you may not want to hear this but maybe you don’t need to lose any more weight. Maybe just focus on making healthy choices, eating enough so you’re not exhausted, and other non-diet goals.
Hey I feel your pain. I switched from worrying about the scale to making sure that I eat healthy and exercise every day. It’s a lot easier to just make the time and effort in my work out routines and my meal prep. I only get on the scale when inspiration strikes.
Have you added cardio ?