Weight loss support thread

[SilverSteele]

Last year i went crazy and lost 40kgs in 6 months, the first 20 were super easy because i was morbidly obese. Anyway, its now 12 months later and ive stacked back on 12kg, so the new diet started today. Back to the gym and making healthier choices, rather than getting drunk and ordering takeout 4 nights a week. Nice to come across this thread.

 

[The Joker]

Last year i went crazy and lost 40kgs in 6 months, the first 20 were super easy because i was morbidly obese. Anyway, its now 12 months later and ive stacked back on 12kg, so the new diet started today. Back to the gym and making healthier choices, rather than getting drunk and ordering takeout 4 nights a week. Nice to come across this thread.

Weight fluctuates! It's okay to forgive yourself and notice where you may have gone too hard.
Right now you are doing perfect by making these changes rather than all or nothing!
Are you taking vitamin b-12 as well?

 

[Fialovy]

I have had a few bad days this week. I ended up binging on five servings of grapes as well as caving in and getting one of those chicken pot pies my grocery store makes that I haven't had in a couple weeks (I probably should have also waited to grill burgers for another day too, I just haven't had red meat in almost a month), which I suppose isn't bad compared to what I used to binge on, but still. The next day I also had a chorizo sausage mixed with egg and a cup of plain greek yogurt and pineapple and then for a linner, I had two more chorizo sausages with some whole grain bread as a bun because I was afraid it would go bad, but I didn't have anything else after that except a serving of cantaloupe.

Those were my two worst days and yeah, I felt like crap afterwards until I ate more veg and less fruit the next day after those two days. I just thought I would share since I know it is important to be honest.

edit: Calculated my calorie counts and even on my bad days, it is still better than my really bad days I used to have

edit2: Had a lot better today and I already feel a million percent better

 

[Kevin Grumbles]

Any one have loose skin tips? I basically lost 20kgs of fat in a year, I rushed so now I am cursed with loose skin. I take collagen daily, but I am not seeing a lot of results.

Standing upright you can't really tell, but the second I bend over it's like there is a plastic bag of water strapped to my mid section.

I just want to be able to see my abs, you can see a faint outline through the skin, but it's still too loose to show any of my muscle I've worked so hard to achieve.

I was suggested to try skin lotion with elastin in it. I used a bit when I lost my first huge chunk of weight and it did alright. Not massively noticeable in the midsection (I didn't use it for long enough, or could have started before I was losing weight) but it cleared up the "batwinging" in the tricep area and the loose skin "bag of water", as you put it, didn't hang as low when doing push-ups. It's generally marked for pregnant women to reduce the effects that comes with growing another person inside of you. Also as a bit of a warning that, at least in the case of the one I'd purchased, it smells pretty awful.

I'll likely give it a go again as I'm working to lose what I put back on, as it didn't cost much for a bottle and I DID see some effects from short term use.

 

[PFM]

Any suggestions for a food tracking app? Years ago I used MyFitnessPal to track calories and macronutrients etc but the app is privacy hell. Any alternatives that aren't complete data mining operations?

The database was huge and made it very easy and quick. Just search or barcode scan a food product and quickly ad it to your food diary.

 

[The I Scream Man]

The problem with MyFitnessPal is that its scanning and food lookup procedures are often just wrong, I ended up doing my own calorie counting and food tracking and its honestly less of a headache than trying to make the app find the correct food item

I'd scan a barcode and 6 different entries would come up, each with different calorie counts but otherwise identical

 

[jumbomilkers]

I really like Cronometer. It has the best micronutrient tracking of any of the apps I've used. It doesn't have every processed food in its database already so you may have to manually input some things, but once you do it'll be easy to add it again in the future. Or just stop eating shit with barcodes on it as much as possible.

Any suggestions for a food tracking app? Years ago I used MyFitnessPal to track calories and macronutrients etc but the app is privacy hell. Any alternatives that aren't complete data mining operations?

The database was huge and made it very easy and quick. Just search or barcode scan a food product and quickly ad it to your food diary.

 

[pen burger]

Any suggestions for a food tracking app? Years ago I used MyFitnessPal to track calories and macronutrients etc but the app is privacy hell. Any alternatives that aren't complete data mining operations?

The database was huge and made it very easy and quick. Just search or barcode scan a food product and quickly ad it to your food diary.

I like MFP for what it does. UI kinda sucks and all the extra shit is bad but it's great for tracking cals/macros.

I wasn't aware of any specifically bad privacy issues w/ it. What am I missing?

 

[Least Concern]

Anyone have any experience with a Couch-to-5K program? I downloaded the C25K app and want to give it a try, but I'm not in a good position time-wise to start it yet. I have been doing some long walks since the weather warmed up, so I'm not starting entirely from "the couch," but I don't think I've run anywhere in years.

 

[Shidoen]

DO THE PUSHUPS, DO IT DO IT, BECOME A BEAST, EAT THE MEAT, AND FEAST ON YOUR VICTORIES.

 

[Derka Derka]

Anyone doing carnivore?

 

[Mega Man II Intro - GB]

Anyone doing carnivore?

Too expensive. But I got 50 pounds of meat working its way into the freezer to last me all summer. Gambling a lot on those rolling blackouts not being a thing.

Consistency with exercise is the absolute killer of my progress. I always find excuses to take a break and the days off turn into weeks off. Anyone have suggestions for this? Keeping a list of my workouts and having blank spots definitely makes me feel guilty but it doesn't drive motivation.

 

[Derka Derka]

Too expensive. But I got 50 pounds of meat working its way into the freezer to last me all summer. Gambling a lot on those rolling blackouts not being a thing.

Consistency with exercise is the absolute killer of my progress. I always find excuses to take a break and the days off turn into weeks off. Anyone have suggestions for this? Keeping a list of my workouts and having blank spots definitely makes me feel guilty but it doesn't drive motivation.

If you maintain your foundation with 80/20 ground beef + eggs + bacon + home made bone broth the cost is not that high.

It's nice to eat a steak, but I only eat it when I can get it at a really good discount.
Often those sort of prices are when you buy the whole loin (and not pre-packaged steaks)

After a while, you actually reduce the volume of food you are eating, as the fatty food is satiating.
And I don't buy any more junk food or snacks.

 

[AveraDiane]

I teetered off earlier in the year thanks to holiday binging. But I managed to bring myself back to under 200 pounds (I'm now 195) because I have been focusing more on a calorie deficit rather than a specific diet.

I might cancel my personal trainer sessions at the gym because my trainer is leaving for another gym this week and I need to save money again. They say they'll give me a cheaper package but I'll see after tomorrow.

 

[Fialovy]

Finally got weighed when I went to the doctors office and I lost six pounds in three weeks. I don’t know what I was afraid of because I am doing the right stuff

 

[EnemyStand]

Finally got weighed when I went to the doctors office and I lost six pounds in three weeks. I don’t know what I was afraid of because I am doing the right stuff

I always get nervous before a weigh-in too, no matter if I backslid a bit before bouncing back or was so autistic in following my program my aspie friend calls to tell me to cool it.

 

[Fialovy]

I always get nervous before a weigh-in too, no matter if I backslid a bit before bouncing back or was so autistic in following my program my aspie friend calls to tell me to cool it.

yeah, I will confess I don't have my own scale at my house because I tend to get obsessed with it, but do you think a 2 pound average is decent? I have always heard 1-2 pounds a week average is the most sustainable rate you can go, but in the back of my mind I wonder if I could do better or not.

 

[EnemyStand]

yeah, I will confess I don't have my own scale at my house because I tend to get obsessed with it, but do you think a 2 pound average is decent? I have always heard 1-2 pounds a week average is the most sustainable rate you can go, but in the back of my mind I wonder if I could do better or not.

1-2 pounds is what most people are going to shoot for. It's a fine goal, and it's not hard to do. You could definitely do better with a bit more work (larger deficit, more PT, paying more attention to macros and micros) but my philosophy is as long as you're going down (or up properly if you're trying to get jacked), you're doing a good job.

EDIT: I'd invest in a scale to track your progress, though. Maybe have your husband hide it until it's time to weigh in each week?

 

[Fialovy]

1-2 pounds is what most people are going to shoot for. It's a fine goal, and it's not hard to do. You could definitely do better with a bit more work (larger deficit, more PT, paying more attention to macros and micros) but my philosophy is as long as you're going down (or up properly if you're trying to get jacked), you're doing a good job.

EDIT: I'd invest in a scale to track your progress, though. Maybe have your husband hide it until it's time to weigh in each week?

Yeah, I know I need a scale eventually, until then I will use the one at my parent's house whenever I visit them every week or so (they live like less than ten minutes away). I also probably need a food scale eventually since it is a lot easier than measuring cups since they get dirty easily especially if I am measuring wetter stuff like yogurt and I constantly have to wash them plus it is easier to fudge with measuring cups/spoons than it is a scale plus I noticed my two measuring cup sets I have, have slightly different volumes, not by much, but the difference is still there. I will have to make room on the counter though.

I did ride my bike yesterday for the first time this summer since there is a bike trail super close to my house and it was really hard to get back into it, but it was definitely worth it, but man, I am not used to using those muscles. Hopefully that will speed my progress up a bit though if I do it regularly.

 

[pen burger]

1-2 pounds is what most people are going to shoot for. It's a fine goal, and it's not hard to do.

This is an ideal goal for a lot of reasons:

1. it's sustainable, you can do it steadily all the way til your goal weight no matter how much you have to lose.
2. its easier on your body, the slight change doesn't shock you in any way, you maintain/build lean mass.
3. The idea that it takes longer is actually the best part. You're becoming accustomed to the change in life it takes to maintain a healthier weight rather than some crash or gimmick diet that you will invariably tire of and go back to your old ways, undoing the progress you made and maybe even ending up worse off.

Definitely get a weight scale and a food scale and track everything. Soon enough it'll be a very controlled and relatively simple process.