Weight loss support thread

[A Skeleton]

As a side note, does anyone here know if homemade burgers (mince and onion is how I make mine) are any healthier than fast food (I.e. McDonalds burgers)?

Yes! A regular homemade burger has significantly less fat/calories/sodium/preservatives/????? than one from McDonalds. You could also try swapping out beef for turkey or a veggie burger (these ones are crazy good imo). I found tons of healthy burger options just by typing "healthy burger recipes" into google.

 

[The Joker]

I haven't been feeling well the past few days and wasn't counting calories too well. My fault there.

The area I'm having trouble with is my stomach and arms. I have PCOs so those are my problem areas. Right now I'm working two jobs so my exercise is limited to walking my dog and using arm weights.
Does anyone have any tips there?

I've been trying to lose weight for a while and was stuck around a certain weight for months so I cut out hot chocolate (2+ thermos sized cups a day before) and crisps (1 packet a day before) and I've been dropping 3kg every couple of days! I excersise for half an hour on an excersise bike every day and am planning to start walking my dog more often (another family member takes care of that most of the time). Never have I felt better about myself! I have managed to quit eating as much sugar and consume it in moderation with the phrase "Party food should be left for parties". Telling myself that really helped!

As a side note, does anyone here know if homemade burgers (mince and onion is how I make mine) are any healthier than fast food (I.e. McDonalds burgers)?

I tried switching to ground turkey and I was shocked at how much healthier it was plus it was easier to digest.

 

[Baby Pom]

I thought I would add this -
Do not obsessively weigh yourself.
Weigh yourself every week or two.
The number on the scale fluctuates a lot.
I weighed myself after eating my dinner and I'd apparently put on 8 pounds in the space of fifteen minutes, which is impossible.

EDIT:
I weighed myself six hours later and I have apparently lost 11 pounds since. Do not trust the scales, please. Obsessing over numbers is unhealthy.

 

[Bad Dog]

Well guys I went and did a thing. I got myself a monthly gym membership and my induction is in the morning. Nervous but excited.... felt like a short fat blob compared to everyone I saw in there though.. But it's progress and it'll stop me eating at the computer for hours when I get home from work if I go straight there. Gonna sign myself up for some cycle fit classes for later and saturday (fucking love cycling but Scotland never has decent weather for it) and I'm gonna try other classes with my bro and sis in law next week so i'm not going in alone and clueless amongst a bunch of already fit people.

Will try and update this in a month or two if I make any progress but as of right now my weight is 198.4, so this year I gained about 9lbs.

 

[Hummingbird]

I've now managed to get down to 149 lbs. I'm so happy and I've been managing to eat smaller portions.

 

[pickledance]

This won't mean much to most people but have a photo my first gym day, March 1st and today, the 25th. I'm proud my thighs shrank even if I'm still an honorary Salton Sister.

Spoiler: baby steps i guess.

 

[Bad Dog]

This won't mean much to most people but have a photo my first gym day, March 1st and today, the 25th. I'm proud my thighs shrank even if I'm still an honorary Salton Sister.

Spoiler: baby steps i guess.

View attachment 79509

Congrats! Keep up the good work, I'm proud of you.

 

[A Skeleton]

I've recently realized that even though I weigh a lot more than I would like to/have weighed in the past, I'm also almost definitely in the best shape I've ever been in and eating healthier than I ever have before. I try to remind myself this every time I feel insecure or like I'm not doing well enough.

 

[fire_fly]

I'm finding it really hard to eat properly right now. Like, as in not eating enough. Work has been so crazy lately... I've had three weeks straight of working six days, most of those hours spent tending to customers alone with no breaks. Most days, I just wind up trying to sneak in bites of a snack bar or sips of juice in the .005 seconds someone doesn't need my help. And then there are the days that I have so much to get done that I forget to eat. I just run around chugging water while I work.

I mean, yeah, I'm losing weight, but it's because I haven't had a full meal in like a month. Just a series of quickly-eaten snacks in between cups of coffee and liters of water. It's so unhealthy.

Does anyone have suggestions for protein bars or shakes that don't taste disgusting and don't contain so much sugar it might as well be candy? If I can find something that'll hold me over better while I'm pulling an 11-hour shift by myself, that would make my life much easier. I know @KatsuKitty mentioned Ensure shakes, I'll look at those, but if there's something else any of you guys have found, please share! I got one of those shaker things for Christmas, I might as well use it.

 

[Pepsi-Cola]

I'm finding it really hard to eat properly right now. Like, as in not eating enough. Work has been so crazy lately... I've had three weeks straight of working six days, most of those hours spent tending to customers alone with no breaks. Most days, I just wind up trying to sneak in bites of a snack bar or sips of juice in the .005 seconds someone doesn't need my help. And then there are the days that I have so much to get done that I forget to eat. I just run around chugging water while I work.

I mean, yeah, I'm losing weight, but it's because I haven't had a full meal in like a month. Just a series of quickly-eaten snacks in between cups of coffee and liters of water. It's so unhealthy.

Does anyone have suggestions for protein bars or shakes that don't taste disgusting and don't contain so much sugar it might as well be candy? If I can find something that'll hold me over better while I'm pulling an 11-hour shift by myself, that would make my life much easier. I know @KatsuKitty mentioned Ensure shakes, I'll look at those, but if there's something else any of you guys have found, please share! I got one of those shaker things for Christmas, I might as well use it.

Try almonds. They're actually recommended by doctors to people in your situation because even a small amount like say, a handful, can supply a fair amount of protein and make you feel relatively full.

 

[APerson]

I'm trying to maintain 50 lbs down, but I've climbed 10 lbs. I'd do what @KatsuKitty suggests, but I'm doing a relatively-enduring sport many days out of the week and have to eat dinner daily. Advice?

 

[Enjoy your spaghetti]

I'm finding it really hard to eat properly right now. Like, as in not eating enough...

Does anyone have suggestions for protein bars or shakes that don't taste disgusting and don't contain so much sugar it might as well be candy? If I can find something that'll hold me over better while I'm pulling an 11-hour shift by myself, that would make my life much easier. I know @KatsuKitty mentioned Ensure shakes, I'll look at those, but if there's something else any of you guys have found, please share! I got one of those shaker things for Christmas, I might as well use it.

I'm trying to maintain 50 lbs down, but I've climbed 10 lbs. I'd do what @KatsuKitty suggests, but I'm doing a relatively-enduring sport many days out of the week and have to eat dinner daily. Advice?

If I were either of you, I'd be all about protein shakes as a meal or a snack--especially if you've got a lot of physical activity in your life. They can be super stripped down or rich and full and at least tolerable either way. Add fruit, peanut butter, milk or cream, or even some veggies depending on your needs for protein or vitamins/minerals. Brands I like include Jay Robb (I'm partial to the vanilla or chocolate egg white shakes), Click (coffee flavors), and Vega One or Vega Sport. Those tend to be the ones that give me what I need at different times and can be good for recipes/experiments.

I've tried some shakes that were sold through different MLMs (Visalus, Shakeology, Arbonne) to support my friends, but in all honesty, the products were hella overpriced and underdelivered. Skip the hard sell and buy whatever you use at the store or from Amazon. If you must get an MLM shake, get it from eBay.

 

[fire_fly]

Brands I like include Jay Robb (I'm partial to the vanilla or chocolate egg white shakes), Click (coffee flavors), and Vega One or Sport. Those tend to be the ones that give me what I need at different times and can be good for recipes/experiments.

I'll definitely have to check those out. I've tried a couple of pre-made shakes just to see if I can even stomach them and so far only one has worked; they both actually tasted good, which surprised me, but one made me nauseous after I drank it. It was really weird.

But I figure if I can get used to protein shakes, that'll solve like 75% of my problems right there, cos I can just keep almond milk or extra water in each store I work in and bring pre-measured protein powder along with fruits and/or veggies, and then I'll be good.

 

[Yaks]

I just recovered enough from my motorbike accident to feel like I can try and work out/bring back some much needed muscle mass after almost two years of recovery, but I have absolutely no idea where to start.

 

[Bad Dog]

I just recovered enough from my motorbike accident to feel like I can try and work out/bring back some much needed muscle mass after almost two years of recovery, but I have absolutely no idea where to start.

I'd say start easy and don't overwork yourself so soon, especially after an accident like that. Work yourself up from there.

 

[Yaks]

I'd say start easy and don't overwork yourself so soon, especially after an accident like that. Work yourself up from there.

Yeah I was thinking about working on my back first, since that's the spot on my body in particular I can feel the weakest in compared to how I was before the accident. And just in general some light cardio to gently work myself into being able to exercise more rigorously, like pulling out my bicycle for short spins once the weather is a little warmer.

It's just really frustrating, because before the accident I used to do bike and running marathons for fun now and then, and now I get winded doing the dumbest things because of such a long recovery.

 

[Bad Dog]

Yeah I was thinking about working on my back first, since that's the spot on my body in particular I can feel the weakest in compared to how I was before the accident. And just in general some light cardio to gently work myself into being able to exercise more rigorously, like pulling out my bicycle for short spins once the weather is a little warmer.

It's just really frustrating, because before the accident I used to do bike and running marathons for fun now and then, and now I get winded doing the dumbest things because of such a long recovery.

That's really gotta suck, I'm sorry. But yeah, just take it light. Hopefully where you're at you have decent weather coming up so you could get your bike out, take some walks and do some jogging til you feel closer to how you were before. Best of luck. ♡

 

[fire_fly]

It's just really frustrating, because before the accident I used to do bike and running marathons for fun now and then, and now I get winded doing the dumbest things because of such a long recovery.

I know how you feel. I didn't have a motorbike accident, but last year when I got back to work after having my back surgery, it was... really tough. Not only was I not used to running around, my strength just wasn't there anymore. It's hard, realizing you can't do things you used to do effortlessly.

Do take it slow. Pushing yourself is just gonna set you back even further, take it from someone who pushed it too hard and is now facing consequences...

 

[Hummingbird]

I think I'm getting some muscle tone in my legs given all the walking I do. Yay!

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

I went to the doctor and was weighed again - I lost a little weight (like three quarters of a pound).

Now I need to start doing cardio, playing with my kettlebell (thanks, TK!) and find a sport to play now that it's spring.