GAF I need to lose weight and I'm struggling

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Exercise is a ridiculously hard way to lose weight. Even if you could keep at it there's a good chance it won't even work for you, I know it never did for me. (I lost 130+ pounds in a period of a couple years. Only started to work when I moved away from exercise, and this weight loss paused whenever I got heavily into exercise again.) I didn't understand this at the time, but I get it now. To explain it in simple terms, heavy exercise puts your body in a state where everything you eat afterwards is converted solely to fat tissue, and since your system is already so dysregulated that might be impossible to surpass. Already slim people might not have this problem, but their bodies are very different than your body is.

The quickest and best approach for you is dramatically reducing your carbohydrate intake. Maybe start with under 40 grams a day (fiber doesn't count for that total), it will be rough for a couple days but gets much easier after that. (I'd personally try to go lower, but at your weight that's probably going to show dramatic weight loss anyway.) If you remove carbs in your diet you're naturally going to be hungry, so try to replace them with fat or protein. For example instead of a normal cheeseburger get rid of the bun and ketchup and make it a double, perhaps add some bacon on top of it. Skip the toast for breakfast and have an extra couple eggs, put a lot of butter on them, stuff like that. Bigger fat and meat portions, essentially. More veggies will make you feel better, and I definitely recommend that too, but nearly all of your weight loss is going to come down to swapping carbs out for fat and protein. You want to keep all of this as simple as you can, a complicated and time-consuming plan is less likely to succeed. Even if you ignore/forget everything else I'm saying, reduce your carbs. That will work.

Your goal is to reduce your elevated insulin levels. (Hormones are what regulate fat tissue, not some simple calories-in/calories-out grade school math equation.) Reducing carbs and increasing fats/protein will do that. That's the strategy.

Don't beat yourself up if you mess up occasionally. A few high carb days here and there won't undo your hard work. (The scale will say otherwise, temporarily but that's because carbs make the kidneys reabsorb more sodium and hence your body puts on massive water weight. Go back to low carb and you'll piss it all away.)

Couple that diet with some brief exercise, lots of water, and lots of sleep and you should see significant progress. Some kind of quick muscle building would be best. I personally am a big fan of kettlebell swings, I do 50+ reps three times a week as my primary exercise. Only takes a few minutes, you can do it even in a small apartment, great for correcting posture, it's an effective exercise and it won't strain you so much that you feel starving after. (Again, the food you eat will get turned into fat.) You'll see a difference in body shape fast. Walking is really healthy too, though I found personally when I went too heavy on that my weight loss stopped. Regardless, walking will make you simply feel better, and that's pretty damn important, so try to get in some extra motion.

Also try not to get too crazy about the scale, raw body weight is a really blunt measurement. During my weight loss I would sometimes gain scale weight while also shrinking in clothing sizes and getting visibly thinner. Muscle is dense. (This would always lead to awkward encounters with relatives during various holidays. "Wow, you've lost so much weight, how much did you lose?" "Uh, I put on an extra five pounds." Eventually I just told people I don't look at the scale, which basically became true.)

(The ideal would be measuring actual fat percentage, but I never found a reliable+cheap way to do that.)

Measuring waist and thigh size is an easy alternative, or just pay attention to how your clothes start getting looser. Eating low carbohydrate is actually a really easy thing to do for long periods of time (as long as you compensate with other foods, as mentioned -- never go low cal), you could do it for life and stay healthy that way, so as long as you're gradually losing weight you're good.

I'd expect pretty dramatic and immediate weight loss for you if you do this. None of this should actually be too hard, either. Our weight isn't some moral crusade where we need strength and courage to overcome the evils of sloth and greed. It's just science. If you have issues you need to correct your approach, use better science, none of this has any bearing on your moral worth as a human being.
 

Risible

Member
That is exactly what it's about. Without a calorie deficit there will be no weight loss.

So yeah, do that OP. What I recommend is intermittent fasting: eat from 12 o'clock midday to 8PM, fast for the other 16 hours. Drink lots of water. No calories in those 16 hours.

Yeah. I sent OP a PM, but basically I lost about 22lbs in the last two months doing nothing but cutting calories and eating sensibly, no exercise other than the normal stuff I get walking to classes at work or walking to sports fields on the weekends for my kids.
 
water, lots of water
cutdown on breads and sugar, dont stop completely,just less
walks, try at least 30-60mins, or a if you have a bike use that
buy some weights and lift em

Breads... ooooh breads. How nutritionists for years have lied about wheat and whole grain being healthy alternatives but all breads contain gluten and sugar. They WANT you to be addicted.. Drop flour and corn while you're at it. Embrace the world of fruits, eggs, potatoes, and veggies.

Also, steer clear of anything with high fructose corn syrup. They put that in things that were never meant to have... like ketchup and crackers. Avoid juice since it contains high amounts of sugar.

Look up Keto dieting, it should have plenty of info. Weight loss always starts in the kitchen and what you eat. Lifting and exercise helps speed it up a bit. Also take heart that it will be very gradual, especially at your size. It'll start fast but you will plateau a few times, just keep at it. There's no magic 90 day miracle, that's just people trying to sell you a product or idea that won't have long lasting effect, it's a lifestyle change that takes weeks, if not months to get down and stick with.

You can do this.
 

loudbill

Member
Play basketball. Or any sport for that matter. The reason i say basketball though is because you can play it alone.
Its fun to improve your game and learn new things. Plus its great exercise.
 

Iorv3th

Member
The quickest and best approach for you is dramatically reducing your carbohydrate intake. Maybe start with under 40 grams a day (fiber doesn't count for that total), it will be rough for a couple days but gets much easier after that. (I'd personally try to go lower, but at your weight that's probably going to show dramatic weight loss anyway.) If you remove carbs in your diet you're naturally going to be hungry, so try to replace them with fat or protein. For example instead of a normal cheeseburger get rid of the bun and ketchup and make it a double, perhaps add some bacon on top of it. Skip the toast for breakfast and have an extra couple eggs, put a lot of butter on them, stuff like that. Bigger fat and meat portions, essentially. More veggies will make you feel better, and I definitely recommend that too, but nearly all of your weight loss is going to come down to swapping carbs out for fat and protein. You want to keep all of this as simple as you can, a complicated and time-consuming plan is less likely to succeed. Even if you ignore/forget everything else I'm saying, reduce your carbs. That will work.

Your goal is to reduce your elevated insulin levels. (Hormones are what regulate fat tissue, not some simple calories-in/calories-out grade school math equation.) Reducing carbs and increasing fats/protein will do that. That's the strategy.

Don't beat yourself up if you mess up occasionally. A few high carb days here and there won't undo your hard work. (The scale will say otherwise, temporarily but that's because carbs make the kidneys reabsorb more sodium and hence your body puts on massive water weight. Go back to low carb and you'll piss it all away.)


40 is really really low. I know you said not counting fiber but that is going to be rough for him to do and if he's eating tons of grains etc for fiber it will cancel it out. A lot of the high fiber cereals are loaded with carbs. I would just try and measure the carbohydrates you eat now in a day. Just right down everything and try and reduce it. If you can get down to under 100 you are on a good path.

But meats and veggies are going to be your best bet. Try and cut out breads, pastas, and sweets. Have one or two days a week where you can eat slightly more but don't over do it.

Breads... ooooh breads. How nutritionists for years have lied about wheat and whole grain being healthy alternatives but all breads contain gluten and sugar. They WANT you to be addicted.. Drop flour and corn while you're at it. Embrace the world of fruits, eggs, potatoes, and veggies.

Gluten isn't bad for most people. Don't worry about cutting corn and flour. Just watch carb intake. Corn tortillas generally have fewer carbs than flour. Also should know that stuff like 'sugar free icecream' usually has more carbs than regular etc. So don't try and cheat with sugar free stuff. Just look at the carbs and serving size. Best thing about it is that you can still eat when you are hungry, just have to get used to doing it.
 

Aylinato

Member
GAF I need your help, I have nobody around me that can support me through what is for me, an incredibly hard challenge. I need to lose weight but i've been having an incredibly hard time doing it. I've been alone for about 2 years now as the games industry is hard to get into, so my career required that I moved away from my family and friends.

2 years ago I weighed 230 pounds but now I am around 320 pounds and I'm lost. Every day I say "this is the day" but by lunch time it's out the window and i've eaten 2 pastries and a hot dog. I want to get out of this, I feel awful both mentally and physically and most of all I feel lonely and isolated.

Give me whatever you can give me whether it's advice, weight loss tips, your personal experiences or just support. I want to break out of this cycle and If i'm honest I know exactly how to lose weight but it's a very much a psychological barrier that I need to overcome.

I've just thrown all of the junk that i've bought for myself in a bag and will be taking it to work tomorrow to leave in the kitchen. I want this and I definitely don't want to be sat in a doctor's office one day being told that my inability to lose weight has ended my life early.



Start walking, then keep it up, I know you can do it, you want to do it, just do it, don't say tomorrow, do it now, today, you can and you will. Get up, get out. Walk, then when you can walk, start adding more, you can do it, just start lifting weights, you can do it, today is the day, tomorrow will never come, but today is always here.
 

Stike

Member
Start counting calories. You need to consume under 2000, but also over 1800 per day. This is the window that will allow you to lose weight.

Drink water only, no other crap.

Avoid sugar and any food with high sugar contents, like white bread. Reduce meat consumption. Eat fruits and vegetables, rice and noodles are okay too, but take care of the calorie amounts.

You can lose weight this way without doing any sports. This would help too, but is not required. The eating habits are the primary source of your weight.
 

Iorv3th

Member
Start counting calories. You need to consume under 2000, but also over 1800 per day. This is the window that will allow you to lose weight.

Drink water only, no other crap.

Avoid sugar and any food with high sugar contents, like white bread. Reduce meat consumption. Eat fruits and vegetables, rice and noodles are okay too, but take care of the calorie amounts.

You can lose weight this way without doing any sports. This would help too, but is not required. The eating habits are the primary source of your weight.

They are loaded with carbs though ;). I don't count calories at all, just carbs and you end up cutting calories by cutting carbs, it's just easier to do it that way.
 

Goron2000

best junior ever
Here we go!
lFQYOtj.jpg


I got up early, I'm wearing my favourite shirt and I'm ready to take on the day.One day at a time.

Anyone have any suggestions for lunch? I don't have time to prepare anything today but I'd like to in the future.
 
Here we go!
lFQYOtj.jpg


I got up early, I'm wearing my favourite shirt and I'm ready to take on the day.One day at a time.

Anyone have any suggestions for lunch? I don't have time to prepare anything today but I'd like to in the future.

You need something more for your breakfast. 3 eggs won't cut it. You'll get very hungry without carbs. Best intake them in the morning. Bowl of oatmeal and some egg whites / eggs + some fruit are your best bet for a solid breakfast. Lunch can be steamed veggies and grilled chicken with salsa or mustard (0 calorie condiments).

It's not that hard to get to diet, it's just boring but you need to get through these first 2 weeks and then your body will start to become accustomed to it and it'll be easier.

Pre cook your meals and stick to eggs, oatmeal, steamed veggies(brocolli, carrots, asparagus) and lean meats. Simple.

When I had to cut fat I was literally eating grilled chicken or tuna with a side of steamed brocolli + carrots and maybe a carb in the form of sweet potatoe or red potatoes. That would be my meal pretty much lunch and dinner. Tasted so bland but I just put myself in the mindset that food wasn't supposed to taste good until I got where I wanted to be. Just used food to fuel myself up and repeat.
 

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
Some will complain about fruits but they are a lot better than pastries. Do I've quadrupled my fruit intake. The fiber is filling. Substitute a fruit for a pastry and that will start to help.

No sodas or most flavored drinks. No fruit juice. If you've gained 100 lbs, cutting sodas, or at least going to diet, would help. I would try and start by going half on sodas. Drink a cup of water every other soda or fruit drink. And try and switch to diet pronto. It's better to do it now and it helped me to switch to water only. The taste us so different, I could easily stop.

Stop eating terrible food that's bad for you. Ever eat stale fries? Wasting calories in food that doesn't taste good? If something doesn't taste great, why eat it? May save you 200+ calories to just skip it. I think it's a helpful step in training your body to refuse food and train your body to limit consumption.

I've had two experiences: the first weight loss, I did well to switch to diet soda, more water, limit terrible food and lost 20 lbs. But that was 7 years ago. I gained it all back and now I've lost 15 lbs, it's taking longer. But this time around, I'm eating healthier and trying to do a more pronounced change to my diet that will stick.

Good luck.
 

Soodes

Member
Myfitness pal is great make it a habit to log absolutely everything, even if you go over your calories and feel bad about it. Even if you're not on a diet at all. With MFP it's impossible to come up with excuses and try to deflect the truth, your weight is all about calories in and calories out.

I was just barely overweight but I was lying to myself about why I was getting chubbier and ignored the facts and had convenient excuses. Even though I understood I was doing it, it still took a long time until I was able to break out of it completely. Logging everything makes you realise the exact implications of different foods, and how 'basic' weight loss is. Before I made it too complicated thinking about different kinds of diets, nutritional values and doing everything perfectly. If you want to lose weight, it doesn't matter what you eat, as long as you eat less than what you burn, that's it, once you have that under control, it's easier to slowly improve your diet with better quality food.

My best advice is just, try not to make it more complicated than it needs to be, don't try to do everything absolutely perfectly at first and burn out. Log everything and slowly start to realise and take responsibility about what you eat and it's implications. There's too much information and misinformation out there so it can feel like too much sometimes.

If you start eating a lot of good foods it can actually feel quite hard to reach up to high calorie numbers in one day, everything in this image is pretty great for it :)

VuPrhZu.jpg
 

MrT

Member
OP, try heading over to the weight loss thread here - http://www.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=750965. You'll get loads of support and advice (and you don't have to post pics if you don't want to).

For me, the turning point was going vegetarian (I'm now vegan). When you realise how much more you can eat if it's veggies, you can have huge meals that won't leave you hungry. It's not as hard as you might think (and there's a great vegan thread here too if you want to find out more). I've lost about 4.5 stone from my heaviest point and still going. Definitely keep using MFP and be honest about what you're eating, and stop drinking calories (water/diet soda only, try not to drink alcohol). I also got a Fitbit which I wear 24/7 and find it helps a lot. I bought a bike and love getting out for a ride, and love the maps and data the Fitbit gives me. I also took up hill walking and have climbed a bunch or munros now, and they get easier every time. Once you've made a start and notice how much easier the exercise gets, you'll realise how great it feels and that will be your motivation to keep going.

Losing weight is simple, but it's definitely not easy. Feel free to pm if you have any questions.
 
People are going to throw all sorts of things here. Some will work and others won't. You need to change your state of mind first before anything else. Small steps. Don't set large unrealistic goals. Set 1 small goal a month. If you meet it early, then set another one. Reward yourself with something. Don't give up. Keep it simple.

At 320lbs I wouldn't join the gym. You will burn yourself out, and fall off the train. I would start by getting a Fitbit Charge HR which will tell you your calorie output over each 24 hours. Link it with Myfitnesspal and scan everything. Don't listen to people telling you what to eat. Figure that out yourself. It's the best and only way to learn what you are buying and putting in your body. It will also change the way your mind works when it comes to food. Eventually, the way you look at food will change. Drink at least 2ltrs of water everyday. Try to get 20grams of fiber each day.

As for exercise, start with walking. Walk everywhere. Summer is coming so the weather is nice, get yourself an ipod or smartphone, chuck some music or podcasts on there and leave the house. Fitbit will record it but you can use other apps like runkeeper so then you can compare what you used to do in a years time, and use that as a success story when you'll eventually start running.

If I were you, I'd join the gym when you reach 100bs loss. Which won't be that long. Change your food intake again to no less than 500cals deficit a day at this point.

Take photos each month. Some with clothes on, 1 with none on. As you see your body change, so will your attitude and confidence. Treat yourself to new clothes when they don't fit. Post it on facebook or Gaf if you want friends to comment on you looking good (assuming here you use facebook/have good friends etc). All of this will lead to confidence boosts and thus will make you power through.

I always record EVERYTHING. Walking, running, weights, swimming and what I eat. Every-fucking-day. It's crazy when you look back at what you used to eat or the speed/distance that I used to run compared to now.

Good luck.

EDIT - OP, I'm currently cutting with a similar amount of calories as you. I work in an office each day so the lunch meal has to be the easiest without eating loads of cals, so I get a load of Weighwatchers frozen meals from Iceland - £1.39 each and are around 300cals. That's work lunch sorted all week. I also have around 400ml milk total across 2 bowls of all bran (1 in morning 1 in evening - thats your fiber sorted) and my coffee, and then I have around 1000cals left for a large-ish dinner when I get home. I drink coffee during the day which is also a hunger suppressant, for me at least.

Again, you need to figure this out though to work out whats best for you.
 

oti

Banned
Here we go!
lFQYOtj.jpg


I got up early, I'm wearing my favourite shirt and I'm ready to take on the day.One day at a time.

Anyone have any suggestions for lunch? I don't have time to prepare anything today but I'd like to in the future.

I'm very proud of you.
 
Whatever you're drinking, ditch it and change to water. Also don't eat anything after 8pm. Doing these two things will help a lot. You don't need to do everything at once, just a little at a time.
 

entremet

Member
My experience is that habits are key.

Don't try to do too much at once and frustrate yourself.

If you've never exercised and try to hit the gym 5x per week you will be setting yourself up for failure.

Take it slow. Build habits slowly.

Start with a daily walk. Eliminate sweets. Start learning one or two staple meals that are healthy.

Eventually this starts compounding and you can start doing harder things.
 

Jindrax

Member
Well it's a mental thing. You gotta ask yourself. Who do you want to be.
And when you REALLY want to be healthy, you'll get it done.
The struggle is getting to that point.

How did I get to that point? Reading books, looking at my heroes, basically informing myself.
Eventually it just clicked. I couldn't go on like this if I wanted to be the person I wanted to be. So one morning I got up and spent a week getting everything in order.
Kcal intake, workout, apps, support group, and basically never looked back and just got it done.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
Track your intake. MyFitnessPal is a great app to get you started.

And be honest with yourself. You don't need to be eating at a 1000kcal deficit right away. Just don't skip out on entering your food because of the guilt that's associated with it. That's the hard part. Also, round up on all your portions in the app.

I find that by tracking your intake, you are consciously reminding yourself of the caloric value of the things you eat.
You'll feel different when you're going shopping because instead of what immediately appeals to you, you try to figure out how you can eat plenty of amazing tasting food without spiking the calorie counter. It becomes it's own meta-game and you'll genuinely feel better doing it.

And for example when I had a busy day and I notice i've only eaten 1000kcal when I check it in the evening, it doesn't feel bad to eat a bowl of chips or some other unhealthy snack. You earned that right by eating less somewhere else. Just remember to add it in the app and feel good about your day.

You can do this, my man.
 

jmdajr

Member
If you have other people you know that want to get on the same boat it helps. It's almost like having a sponsor.

'Dude I almost went 7-11 to get a 42oz slushie and a bag of donuts. HELP ME!"

Obviously GAF is always here to help. People fight this junk food addiction here everyday. We are wired to want that garbage.
 

inki

Member
I've always heard it said "You get in shape at the gym, you lose weight in the kitchen".
Portion control / calorie counting is what made me able to lose 40 lbs last year. I would highly suggest working with your Dr. a weight loss plan and you HAVE to stick to it. You can still have that combo meal, but that's 1200 of your daily 1800 calories.
 

Violet_0

Banned
if you need some ideas for breakfast, here's what I usually have in the morning
http://i.imgur.com/3pJ0cqh.jpg
1 sausage (280 cal), 1 slice of protein bread with butter (132 cal + some extra calories from the butter, 3.8g carbs), 100g cottage cheese (77 cal, 2g carbs), 1 pickle (negligible amount of calories/carbs), 500ml tea (~ 1g carbs) for a total of a little over 500 cal and roughly 7g carbs

I recommend eating lots of fresh cheese/any cheese and meat. Get pickles, cucumber and other vegetables for snacks, protein bread if you crave bread (I love protein bread)
for something sweet, put sliced strawberries or raspberries (or any berries, really) in a bowl and eat them with yogurt, heavy cream, soy or almond milk. A small amount of dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa) is also fine

for exercising, I've found push up bars and dumbbells to be effective
 

Goron2000

best junior ever
I've made it to lunchtime and already it's been a terrible day. Started out getting to work and discovering that my boss had brought in some super delicious looking donuts that I have avoided. And there's a lot of stress at work right now and some people have really rubbed me the wrong way, although I imagine most of my agitation is due to a lack of sugar. I'm staying strong and it may sound stupid but knowing that i'm coming back here to update no matter who actually cares is really motivating me.

Here's my lunch:
V2HSGMn.png


I'm pondering whether to stick to really low carbs or to allow complex carbs. Fresh food is great but it's also super expensive.
 
This is great advice everyone, thank you for your responses. I tried running for the first time in my life late last year and I LOVED it, every single minute. Unfortunately it only lasted about a month before my knees and shins were crippled presumably due to my weight.

I have MyFitnessPal and I like using it (scanning barcodes is surprisingly cathartic) I struggle to keep on top of it and update every day.

I would like to keep leaving updates on my progress but don't want to keep bumping this thread, is there a thread for anything like that?

Get the proper gear you need like ankle and knee braces, but I literally watched a man in my neighborhood run his weight off. Every Single Day, Rain, Sun, Snow. Dedicated.

Everyday I saw him running, after a few months, I swore he was 50 pounds lighter, because he was faster and more aggressive.

He still runs to this day. He started like 3-4 years ago. He looks nothing like when he started.

You can do this. Stay dedicated, stay focused.

Hard work, Win Easy
 

Goron2000

best junior ever
You are not the only one op. I am at a weight I thought I would never get to again. Just hard overall. Rollercoaster over the past 4 years gaining and losing and more gaining.

Keep pushing, Tron. We can do this!

And a big thank you to those that have shown me encouragement, it really helps.
 

Gutek

Member
I've made it to lunchtime and already it's been a terrible day. Started out getting to work and discovering that my boss had brought in some super delicious looking donuts that I have avoided. And there's a lot of stress at work right now and some people have really rubbed me the wrong way, although I imagine most of my agitation is due to a lack of sugar. I'm staying strong and it may sound stupid but knowing that i'm coming back here to update no matter who actually cares is really motivating me.

Here's my lunch:
V2HSGMn.png


I'm pondering whether to stick to really low carbs or to allow complex carbs. Fresh food is great but it's also super expensive.

You're doing well, don't worry about it. Complex carbs, keto, insulin - all that shit will just confuse you. Use some common sense and you'll be fine. If you find your nutrition is lacking in vitamins, fiber, whatever - you'll find out over time through MyFitnessPal and can adjust accordingly.
 
sign up to a gym



doesnt need to be all about eating less

I disagree with both points in all honesty. It is all about eating less and living in a calory deficit and less about practicing because at 150 kilograms he will have little success exercising in the gym.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
I've made it to lunchtime and already it's been a terrible day. Started out getting to work and discovering that my boss had brought in some super delicious looking donuts that I have avoided. And there's a lot of stress at work right now and some people have really rubbed me the wrong way, although I imagine most of my agitation is due to a lack of sugar. I'm staying strong and it may sound stupid but knowing that i'm coming back here to update no matter who actually cares is really motivating me.

Here's my lunch:
V2HSGMn.png


I'm pondering whether to stick to really low carbs or to allow complex carbs. Fresh food is great but it's also super expensive.

Just keep track of your calories, you're doing fine. Don't worry about complex carbs or stuff like that right now. You'll figure it out once you've clocked a few days what works and what doesn't.

You can already notice some things sticking out in your everyday diet, for example the 4 slices of cheese that's clocking in at 208 calories and a whopping 1280mg of sodium. Try to find something that replaces that particular bit of food with something lighter or a low-cal condiment like salsa or mustard and you've got a 200 cal deficit right there.

Once you figure out the right foods for you, you can still eat regular meals and feel completely satiated without racking up empty calories.

But really, you're doing fine. I'd post my food intakes for the day but the app I use is in dutch and therefore wouldn't make much sense here.
 

Paertan

Member
Don't drink any calories.
Water, Coffee, Tea and diet soda are ok.

Get a kitchen scale and start counting calories. Find what you eat that contains most amount of calories.

Try to get a lot of protein in your food. Protein keeps you from getting hungry better than carbs and fat. Different kind of carbs are better or worse at this. Sugar the worst.

So while LCHF is getting a lot of preach I would suggest trying not to get too much fat as well. So LCMFHP? Low Carb, Medium Fat, High Protein.
 

Maffis

Member
Get a food scale and weigh what you eat. You will probably notice that your portions are alot bigger than what you think.
 

Violet_0

Banned
you might want to try a low carbs diet first before attempting keto, it takes while for your body to adjust
also, generally avoid all "light" products
 

Idde

Member
I know you said you are an all or nothing type person, but in this case that isn't really helping. You went jogging, loved it, that's great! But your knees started hurting. You're cutting carbs! Great, but getting sooo low on carbs is freaking difficult for EVERYONE. It's mostly unsustainable. Especially when your body is used to them. You'll probably feel miserable in no time (and logically so).

Losing weight is all about changing your habits. All of the habits you've built up can NOT be changed too drastically, and at the same time. And that's ok, they've been ingrained over a large period of time, and it takes a large period of time to make new ones. All of the advice in this thread is solid, really solid. But I seriously doubt you'll be able to apply it. Not because I doubt YOU can do it, but because I doubt anyone can do it. There's no sustainable quick fixes to weight loss. It's a long process, which you need to give yourself time for.

What I suggest you start with is documenting everything you eat. Just write it down during the day, and be completely honest with yourself. Not to start hating yourself, but just to get a good image of what you're eating. Once you have that clear I suggest you start by cutting out all soda, and drinking water. Or switching to diet pop.

Do some research on what you're eating. If you normally eat three hot dogs at lunch, go for two. Try to get a proper view of your eating habits, and slowly but systematically alter them. If you normally eat 4000 calories a day, get down to 3000.

As for exercise, go walking EVERY day. No excuses. Don't come home and think: I've had a rough day, I deserve to sit on the couch. Yes you do, but it won't help. Don't think. Just get up and walk for fifteen minutes. You can spare 15 minutes a day, right? After that you can collapse onto your couch. If you've done this for a week, go walking for 20 minutes. Increase it every week. It's all about changing your habits.

Most important of all, if you screw up once, and you will, because everybody screws up once in a while, don't get mad and think you'll never make it. If you're American, a lot of food is created to seduce you into eating a much as possible. You've been living for a certain way for a long time. Those habits are hard to change, and on shitty days it's very easy to fall back on those habits. It's what you do after those shitty days that matters. Don't blame yourself for failures, you're in a tough situation, doing this by yourself is hard.

If you feel you need any help, feel free to send me a PM.

And whatever you do, good luck!
 
Walk into a gym close to your house and tell them you want to sign up with a personal trainer.

You need external face to face motivation from a professional. Good luck.
 
Snacking on things like nuts and fruit, combined with drinking water regularly will help you feel full without actually being full.
 

Stat Flow

He gonna cry in the car
MFP (LOG...EVERYTHING) + LCHF/Keto + Calorie Counting (eat at a deficit) + 16/8 Intermittent Fasting + Only.Drink.Water + Lifting (StrongLifts 5x5 or Starting Strength =Guaranteed Formula for success

These are a lot of different things but if you commit to them all, you won't have time to worry about junk. Research, read up, and just commit to it. If you aren't doing it, you don't really *want* to do it, meaning all the things that are required to get to where you want to be.

Once you get down to a much more comfortable weight/goal weight; Count calories, continue exercising.

Also,

reddit.com/r/keto
reddit.com/r/loseit
 

Nakazato

Member
MFP (LOG...EVERYTHING) + LCHF/Keto + Calorie Counting (eat at a deficit) + 16/8 Intermittent Fasting + Only.Drink.Water + Lifting (StrongLifts 5x5 or Starting Strength =Guaranteed Formula for success

These are a lot of different things but if you commit to them all, you won't have time to worry about junk. Research, read up, and just commit to it. If you aren't doing it, you don't really *want* to do it, meaning all the things that are required to get to where you want to be.

Once you get down to a much more comfortable weight/goal weight; Count calories, continue exercising.

Also,

reddit.com/r/keto
reddit.com/r/loseit
.

I've lost 8 pounds in 7 days on keto.
 

georly

Member
Here's what I did to lose 30 lbs last year. I could have lost more, but I called it quits after 30 (because I was happy with it):

Intermittent fasting: Set aside a 6-8 hour window each day - you're only allowed to eat during that window. Everything you consume outside of that window must be 0 calories (water, diet soda, etc). It's usually easier to do the 4 hours before bed and 4 hours after waking up, letting you eat from lunch through dinner. By going 16 hours w/out eating every day, I felt like my stomach shrank, so I'd get full on smaller meals.

No/low carbs: Don't buy anything that is full of carbs. Eat tons of meat, fruits, and veggies. There's a million different things out there that don't have carbs.

Stop buying anything unhealthy: My house is only stocked with fruits, vegetables, and low/no carb food. No processed anything. This leaves snack options as fruits/vegetables, because anything else requires time to cook.

Make tons of slow-cooker meals: no carbs, full of protein and veggies - freeze the leftovers for quick microwavable meals.

Relegate cheat days to time w/ friends/family and try to keep cheat meals within your 8 hour eating window.

In about 3~ months I had lost 30 lbs, easy. It's insane to see the weight just shed off so quickly.

I'm not a dr, i'm not a dietician, I'm just saying what worked for me.
 
I used to be close to 180 Wich was obese for my height. So I told myself it was time for a change. I signed up to a gym and worked out 40~50mins 3 times a week. It was working, but not fast enough so I tried dropping soda, which was very hard for me in the beginning, so I limited myself to 1 soda a week (until I completely could just drop it).once I did that the pounds came off quicker. I dropped down to 135lps. It was a long 2~3months but it was worth it.

If you can't drop soda try to substitute it for something else cause water does get old after awhile not going to lie.
 

Soodes

Member
Sure you can eat, but assume he goes to bed at 10 or 11pm your body needs time to digest and burn it off. I've done it and it makes a huge difference.

Your body can still do that while you're sleeping :p There's really no physical reason for doing it. If someone personally find they sleep better or that it has some other added benefit, that's great, but it's nothing that in itself is bad.
 

jmdajr

Member
I know you said you are an all or nothing type person, but in this case that isn't really helping. You went jogging, loved it, that's great! But your knees started hurting. You're cutting carbs! Great, but getting sooo low on carbs is freaking difficult for EVERYONE. It's mostly unsustainable. Especially when your body is used to them. You'll probably feel miserable in no time (and logically so).

Losing weight is all about changing your habits. All of the habits you've built up can NOT be changed too drastically, and at the same time. And that's ok, they've been ingrained over a large period of time, and it takes a large period of time to make new ones. All of the advice in this thread is solid, really solid. But I seriously doubt you'll be able to apply it. Not because I doubt YOU can do it, but because I doubt anyone can do it. There's no sustainable quick fixes to weight loss. It's a long process, which you need to give yourself time for.

What I suggest you start with is documenting everything you eat. Just write it down during the day, and be completely honest with yourself. Not to start hating yourself, but just to get a good image of what you're eating. Once you have that clear I suggest you start by cutting out all soda, and drinking water. Or switching to diet pop.

Do some research on what you're eating. If you normally eat three hot dogs at lunch, go for two. Try to get a proper view of your eating habits, and slowly but systematically alter them. If you normally eat 4000 calories a day, get down to 3000.

As for exercise, go walking EVERY day. No excuses. Don't come home and think: I've had a rough day, I deserve to sit on the couch. Yes you do, but it won't help. Don't think. Just get up and walk for fifteen minutes. You can spare 15 minutes a day, right? After that you can collapse onto your couch. If you've done this for a week, go walking for 20 minutes. Increase it every week. It's all about changing your habits.

Most important of all, if you screw up once, and you will, because everybody screws up once in a while, don't get mad and think you'll never make it. If you're American, a lot of food is created to seduce you into eating a much as possible. You've been living for a certain way for a long time. Those habits are hard to change, and on shitty days it's very easy to fall back on those habits. It's what you do after those shitty days that matters. Don't blame yourself for failures, you're in a tough situation, doing this by yourself is hard.

If you feel you need any help, feel free to send me a PM.

And whatever you do, good luck!

It's taken me like a decade or more to learn how to eat right. And add to the fact that I used to think all fat was bad! But I didn't know shit (stupid ass govnt. didn't help matters). Even now I learn things everyday. Whatever the case, we all have to start somewhere.

I agree that if you try to do all this at once, you will probably fail. Most people I know did. Eventually they end up doing weightloss surgery because they are desperate.
 

Quonny

Member
I've been on the SmartOnes train for a few weeks now. They're super simple, low calorie, microwavable meals that are surprisingly low in sodium (which is a big problem in frozen food).

In the morning I have oatmeal with a berry smoothie (with a fiber supplement thrown in the smoothie). For lunch I have one of those meals. I'm only at ~650 calories by the afternoon and I feel pretty full. Then I'll have half a Quest bar in the afternoon.

Dinner is harder because my wife is in good shape and can eat whatever she wants. It's usually hamburger or chicken, or maybe a pizza. This is where my will is tested.

The most important thing, imo, is a routine.
 
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