Weight loss support thread

[DustBuns]

First time I've seen a number on the scale under 190 in about 4 years, feeling good, but also getting a bit tired of watching all my calories. I'll get the drive back again.

Now 185, which was my first target weight since last May, even though I only got really serious about losing the weight in the last 4-5 months. Lost a good 25-30 lbs so far. WAGMI boys.

 

[Kiwisee]

Carbs aren't bad by themselves. I'd recommend to eat a balanced diet and cut out the sugars. They are the real culprit.
And stick to carbs that come from wholefoods. They mostly get digest differently (slower) and lead to a different insulin response.


Try replacing it with something. Quitting something and leaving a vacuum increases the chance of you just falling back into the habit. Maybe non or lightly sweetend tee?

I ended up losing 10 pounds by mostly having a diet of chicken and rice, while cutting down on snacking.

Rather than going full keto as I originally planned, I upped my protein intake instead to feel more full.

I still sometimes have sugary treats like chocolate, though. One thing I've been noticing that works for me is that I won't eat a whole bar in one day, I'll eat up to three squares of a bar and put the rest away for another day. I find it helps keep cravings at bay.

 

[A Cat in a Minefield]

I ended up losing 10 pounds by mostly having a diet of chicken and rice, while cutting down on snacking.

Rather than going full keto as I originally planned, I upped my protein intake instead to feel more full.

I still sometimes have sugary treats like chocolate, though. One thing I've been noticing that works for me is that I won't eat a whole bar in one day, I'll eat up to three squares of a bar and put the rest away for another day. I find it helps keep cravings at bay.

If you manage to nof eat thd whole thing, mor power to you.
I can't do that. If I have something at my place, I eat it all at one. If you don't buy it, you'll not eat it. If you mmanageto resist long enough, the cravings will end.

 

[Cum Laudely]

I've done 3 DEXA scans and my last one in September last year I was 270lbs (122.47kg) and still am. I been in a plateau for months which fine because I think I put on more muscle despite the plateau. If I get down to 250lbs (113.398kg) I'll do another scan. The notes on my last scan say

"To reach a body fat of 19% I would need to lose 18lbs of fat, assuming no change in lean mass."

"At an FMI of 6kg/m^2, current SMM% would be 45.6%"

My only vice that remains is blended coffee drinks. I can't stay away from them other than that I'm doing good everywhere else. Once I'm able to see my abs I'll be set. I also need to get around to finally getting kettlebells.

 

[TardiX]

Why is weight loss just so goddamn boring? I'm at that weird in-between where I'm not at goal and it's not enough to make anyone (even myself) go "WOW" but I've been successful.

I'm not looking to spice up my exercise or meals or anything. Just wish the process wasn't so slow and mundane.

Spoiler: Smoking

So what im skinny now, so what im nicotine free now, am I happy? I dont feel happier.

Everyone says it gets easier eventually and at least you'll be fitter and better looking by the time that it does.

Hope you both have been doing well with quitting. I quit smoking in 2021 to get pregnant and I haven't touched a cig since. But god do I want to.

It does get easier I suppose. But I feel like the craving never really went away. Some people say after quitting they are now repulsed by it. Not me. I still like the smell even.

Sorry if this wasn't particularly encouraging.

 

[thejackal2]

Doing a 48 or 72 hour water and black coffee fast. Jumped up above 20% body fat and freaked out. I'm on hour 36, it's going alright. Already can tell my face has lost some puffiness.

 

[FraudFrog]

Doing a 48 or 72 hour water and black coffee fast. Jumped up above 20% body fat and freaked out. I'm on hour 36, it's going alright. Already can tell my face has lost some puffiness.

Add some bone broth in there, your body needs the protein, but it will still burn the fat.

Are you jumping straight into a 48-72 hour fast or have you worked and got your body used to tackling it with smaller fasts?

 

[thejackal2]

Add some bone broth in there, your body needs the protein, but it will still burn the fat.

Are you jumping straight into a 48-72 hour fast or have you worked and got your body used to tackling it with smaller fasts?

I have been microfasting 16/8 for years. It's what initially allowed me to get down to around 12-15% body fat, so it's not that difficult for me. The only thing that really gets me is the boredom as I can't drink booze either and we're headed into the weekend. I've already made it halfway tho all I gotta do it get through tonight's sleep and then I'll eat tmr night. I have a beach vacation coming up and seeing that number on my scan and the scale pissed me off enough to get this shit turned around.

 

[Mutley]

Had a weigh in yesterday and have managed to loose 13lbs in Jan and now down to 242lb.
I am expecting this to slow down now and have kind of attributed the cutting out of sugars and junk food to have been a big help..but will see how Feb goes!

 

[thejackal2]

Not quite gonna make it 72 hours going to eat some soup and chicken breast in a couple hours. Starting to feel a bit "off" today although I did get a workout in. I dropped exactly 3 lbs over about 65 hours. It's amazing how CICO and TDEE works. My TDEE on a good day with workout and 10k steps is about 3000-3100 calories so that tracks with the 3 lb drop.

Not bad. I'll take 3 lbs in 3 days.

 

[Parasaurolophus walkeri]

Hello. Suppose I could drop in to share my own stuff
Starting off here with a BMI of 29.6. I was at a healthier weight before COVID took off, so I want to at least get back my pre-pandemic size. Most of all, I want to make lasting changes and avoid the diabetes that plagues my family tree, so may as well have some accountability for it too.

Physical activity-wise, I would say moderate. Recently got a Fitbit, seem to average about 6000-7000 steps a day. I've also been going to the gym 2-3 times a week for a little bit now for general fitness. On weekends, I usually stay in to do schoolwork.

Diet is my greatest hurdle. I'm prone to snacking and unchecked eating, even if I'm not hungry. Don't like soda but I don't go a day without coffee or tea. Have switched to eating more protein and less carbs but the sugar fiend in me craves sweets.

Current checklist is drinking more water, being mindful of my body signals, and cutting out most snacking.
Cheers to a better life. We got this.

 

[DenseDeerFather]

Snip

So while writing all my post there, I was in the process for wls. As it turns out, I have PCOS, so my doctor and I decided that surgery would be beneficial.

Since then, I've dropped down to 300 pounds (with the unintended help of psychiatric meds) before surgery which I had the other day. Currently doing liquid diet and it's going well.. In the meantime, I have continued with the gym but that's currently on standby now until I get clearance to go again.

Until then, it's daily walks multiple times a day. I'm in high spirits since my diet beforehand was already high protein, low calorie, low carb.

And this is probably stupid but I've taken to reading death fat threads as an extra motivator. Not so much because I think I'm better than them but more so as a cautionary tale for myself to hold me accountable.

You know, same journey but different paths.

 

[FraudFrog]

Well I went back to vaping after quitting for 3 weeks. Some stress and generally feeding down pushed me to say fuck it.

I’m 116 as of today, this isn’t healthy and I need to eat more. I think I can say I dieted myself into an eating disorder.

I need to speak with a counselor and clear up what’s bugging me. I need to talk to someone, and I don’t want to dump it all on my work friends.

 

[DrearyDoomguy]

Diet is my greatest hurdle. I'm prone to snacking and unchecked eating, even if I'm not hungry. Don't like soda but I don't go a day without coffee or tea. Have switched to eating more protein and less carbs but the sugar fiend in me craves sweets.

The generally recommended first step is to contain all junk food to a single day of the week with no limits on that specific day. It's a good pressure release valve and even if you overindulge badly on that day, the other six days are almost guaranteed to compensate for it. There's a limit to how much bad food you can have in 24 hours without getting sick to your stomach.

 

[Crashman11]

i edited out the grayscale in gimp, so this image prints better, its good to have clipped up somewhere to reference whenever, and do some of the exercises, some of them are pretty fun.

 

[Overly Serious]

I've been overweight for some time. In December I pretty much dropped most refined sugar. I.e. no cakes, pastries, chocolate bars, etc. This certainly helped me feel better and have fewer food cravings but I didn't really lose much weight I suspect due to compensating with fattier foods and cheese. This past couple of weeks I've begun doing 16/8 intermittent fasting daily. I've been able to stick to this okay so far and I've lost about a kg. Though I only really count it as lost if it brings down my long term average so working on that. However, there's been a small downward trend since I started intermittent fasting and I want to keep it up for the next six months and hope to lose about 10kg. If I can lose 6kg I'll be the lowest weight I've been in around four years. The lockdowns were a large negative impact on my weight which I haven't recovered from, yet.

 

[DrearyDoomguy]

I've been overweight for some time. In December I pretty much dropped most refined sugar. I.e. no cakes, pastries, chocolate bars, etc. This certainly helped me feel better and have fewer food cravings but I didn't really lose much weight I suspect due to compensating with fattier foods and cheese. This past couple of weeks I've begun doing 16/8 intermittent fasting daily. I've been able to stick to this okay so far and I've lost about a kg. Though I only really count it as lost if it brings down my long term average so working on that. However, there's been a small downward trend since I started intermittent fasting and I want to keep it up for the next six months and hope to lose about 10kg. If I can lose 6kg I'll be the lowest weight I've been in around four years. The lockdowns were a large negative impact on my weight which I haven't recovered from, yet.

I can't speak to the benefits of fasting but a sustainable, consistent routine with a modest calorie deficit has always worked best in my experience. You'll have to take the time to plot out calories and macros then calculate a good routine, but the end result is much easier to stick to than periodically not eating for extended periods of time. You'll be much less psychologically prone to rebounding and binge eating.

 

[Overly Serious]

I can't speak to the benefits of fasting but a sustainable, consistent routine with a modest calorie deficit has always worked best in my experience. You'll have to take the time to plot out calories and macros then calculate a good routine, but the end result is much easier to stick to than periodically not eating for extended periods of time. You'll be much less psychologically prone to rebounding and binge eating.

Thank you. At the moment as much as anything I'm trying to get my body used to the new eating pattern. I did feel that intermittent fasting of some sort looked positive to me as one of the problems I've had is that I graze and am never truly empty. A continuous state of slight satiety left me never really feeling as energised as I should. I knew some periods of hunger would help me be less lethargic. I went through the three main types of intermittent fasting and I felt the 16/8 would be the most sustainable for me and that was the biggest criteria for the reasons you said. So I eat only between 12 noon and 8pm. Nothing but water outside those times.

I am finding that this doesn't produce a diet-panic so far, no massive counter-reaction of wild hunger. Touch wood that continues. I've not yet started seriously monitoring calories, I guess that's next. But what I have done is start introducing a lot more salad. Well, more just munching raw lettuce and carrots from the fridge. I don't know why it makes so much difference but eating regular lettuce makes me feel much better somehow. Maybe I'm part rabbit.

I heard you need to keep a positive habit going for six months to make it stick and keep a negative habit out for 24 months to keep it gone. I don't know how true that is or how much crap it is. But it does feel like there's some truth to it whatever the timespans actually are. If I can build up my weights and cardio a little over the next six months to make them a real habit I think I'll be in a good place. I have another 21 months of not eating refined sugar before that one is gone, though.

For anyone else reading and who has habitually eaten too much sugar (fuck those industry paid government policies that told us for years it was fat that was the terrible addiction), the first few days without it can be really hard but the wild pangs go away quite quickly after that. Sugar is like getting knocked from the side when you're riding a bike. You go veering off one way and then overcompensate and come veering back the other and you swing wildly from side to side with it. Give it up for a few days and okay the desire for something like that might not go completely away but you're no longer caught in these wild swings and it's an ordinary desire not a desperate course correction your body is trying to make to right itself.

Anyway, wish me success! I'm also watching the UK show Gladiators for inspiration! There's a guy on the last one who is fifty-seven years old. FIFTY-SEVEN! Just to make it on there is pretty cool but at that age, wow. Means I can get back some of the fitness I've lost.

 

[Outer Space Traveller]

I had a bout with sugar intake, and I don't know necessarily how to put it. Perhaps it was something internal and it was craving on my part that I wanted. I went to the gym every day of the week for cardio & muscular exercise, and when I saw - I ganed 2 Kilograms (I'm weighting 128 KGs, 55 KGs of fat and 42 KGs of muscle. Anything else may be water and such).

It's a constant struggle. But I am taking precautions and I need to take care with my diet. Perhaps see what's best for me, as I already go to a nutritionist every Friday, and make sure to eat a salad at every meal (lettuce, cherry sized tomatoes, chopped carrots, eggs, broccoli), and a protein.
It sucks because I have anxiety and food has always been a particular thing I liked to eat during these periods of anxiety. I hope to however else is struggling, to keep on the weight loss!

 

[DrearyDoomguy]

Sugar is like getting knocked from the side when you're riding a bike. You go veering off one way and then overcompensate and come veering back the other and you swing wildly from side to side with it.

There's actually a known cause and term for this phenomenon. It's called the insulin roller coaster. The body has a specific amount of glucose it wants in the bloodstream at all times, and uses insulin to regulate that by encouraging fat cells to consume glucose when too much is present. This mechanism not terribly precise and when you eat too much sugar at once it severely overcorrects and clears your bloodstream of sugar. That's why you tend to feel satiated for much shorted periods of time when eating carb-heavy meals, and feel compelled to eat more afterwards.
Eventually this kind of abuse causes your fat cells to resist insulin, which in turn overworks your pancreas to the point that it wears out. Once that happens you are a type II diabetic.