GAF I need to lose weight and I'm struggling

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There is no excuse to be fat. Nowadays we have macro apps on my phones. We can literally track everything we eat with a scale and our smart phone. No more writing on a notebook to track what we eat.
I don't really agree with this. There are many aspects to people's lives that can cause them to gain weight and to struggle to lose that weight. I'm currently in a better place than I was two weeks ago mentally, that is helping me get through the initial stages of eating better and changing my habits. I've been miserable for 2 years and had no respect for myself or what happened to me. I had given up being a person and was on a spiral of self destruction which is a terrible place to be and is very much an excuse to be fat. Please don't judge people that are not ready or able to care for themselves, be their friend and help them feel like they are worth looking after and hopefully they will one day be ready to care about their health.
 
Woof, I've gained a little too much...

I'm @344.8 so 345lbs, goal is 200, September was suppose to be 250, might have to make it 275lbs now as milestone
So 70lbs, 4 months, 15-18lbs loss every month
 
Woof, I've gained a little too much...

I'm @344.8 so 345lbs, goal is 200, September was suppose to be 250, might have to make it 275lbs now as milestone
So 70lbs, 4 months, 15-18lbs loss every month

Nice job on weighing in.

Seems i've lost 7 pounds since I started which puts me at 329, which is a huge boost and the lack of food has not made me hungry. I just have to catch myself slipping when I say to myself that I should go raid the store for every pizza and chocolate in sight, which happens every few hours.
 
You guys are doing great. This thread will be fun to read back when you two are ripped fucking adonises in a year or so.
 
Riding on the coat tails of OP and others, I'm working to eat less, count calories and walk for 42 minutes every day. (Length of an episode of Supernatural)

So far:
lLw9okt.png


(Day 1 is a NO because I made this decision and chart at 11 PM that day)
 
Riding on the coat tails of OP and others, I'm working to eat less, count calories and walk for 42 minutes every day. (Length of an episode of Supernatural)

So far:
lLw9okt.png


(Day 1 is a NO because I made this decision and chart at 11 PM that day)

Are you watching Supernatural while you do this?
 
A lot of people are really cutting calories hard. Not sensible in my opinion, you want to lose weight eating as much as you can.

If you're on your first 6 months of weight loss and eating 1200 calories/day, when you hit a plateau and can't lose more, where the fuck do you go? 1000? 900? You've got to leave some room for problems rather than trying to lose weight as fast as possible.

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but if I eat less than 2100 calories, I'm STARVING when I go to bed.
 
Yup, every time I walk it's while catching up on an episode. After that I've got a bunch of Arrowverse stuff I'm way behind on.
I have a mini-elliptical type machine that I use 6 days a week while watching a show. Powered through Alphas and now am on to Banshee. Makes it a lot easier to find the motivation, especially if you restrict the show to while exercising and really want to find out what happens next. I still want to know what happens next in Alphas :-(
 
A lot of people are really cutting calories hard. Not sensible in my opinion, you want to lose weight eating as much as you can.

If you're on your first 6 months of weight loss and eating 1200 calories/day, when you hit a plateau and can't lose more, where the fuck do you go? 1000? 900? You've got to leave some room for problems rather than trying to lose weight as fast as possible.

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but if I eat less than 2100 calories, I'm STARVING when I go to bed.
Don't even know how some of the guys at that weight are living with 1700 calories a day. I put everything into myFitnessPal and it said I should be eating nearly 2800 a day to lose 2lbs a week. I cut that down to 2400 because I think that's a really good range for how much I burn in calories a day(500-800 just from walking). I'm nearly 6' 3" and at 336, so I don't want to cut too much in fear of starving my body. Lost 4lbs total since I started 2 weeks ago though!

Quick question: When it says that you shouldn't have less than 1500-1700 calories a day because you basically enter starvation mode. Does that mean you shouldn't eat less than 1500-1700 a day, or does it mean your net calories shouldn't be less than 1500-1700 a day(basically accounting for the calories you burn from working out)?
 
A lot of people are really cutting calories hard. Not sensible in my opinion, you want to lose weight eating as much as you can.

If you're on your first 6 months of weight loss and eating 1200 calories/day, when you hit a plateau and can't lose more, where the fuck do you go? 1000? 900? You've got to leave some room for problems rather than trying to lose weight as fast as possible.

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but if I eat less than 2100 calories, I'm STARVING when I go to bed.
I agree with this. I am at 1800 or so calories a day and struggle with that. I am at 169 lbs as well (down from 180), so my BMR is much lower than someone 300lbs+. I understand the temptation to try and lose quicker - losing 1/2 - 1 lb a week when you are trying to lose 100lb+ probably seems like barely making a dent - but I think controlled weight loss is more likely to stick.
 
I just got a food scale, so future entries on that calorie chart will hopefully be more accurate.

My breakfast stuff is theoretically 100% good because it's all stuff I can scan barcodes on.

Dinner is a tougher scenario because I haven't figured out how best to count the calories in meat from the grocery store. :(
 
Counting calories in meat is easy. You just enter it into myfitnesspal like literally everything else.

Quick question: When it says that you shouldn't have less than 1500-1700 calories a day because you basically enter starvation mode. Does that mean you shouldn't eat less than 1500-1700 a day, or does it mean your net calories shouldn't be less than 1500-1700 a day(basically accounting for the calories you burn from working out)?

I never put exercise into the calorie calculations. The data exercise calories is based on is pretty flawed in my opinion. Eating less than 1500 a day (depending on your size, sex, age and activity level) is a great way to cause metabolic damage. Where your catabolism will slow down to the point that it's extremely difficult to lose fat. This is where reverse dieting comes in.
 
I type "new York strip" and get a hundred different results with different calories/ounce and am never sure which one to use.
Since you have a food scale, just throw the new york strip you have on there and compare the weight to the closest one on myfitnesspal. I'd recommend rounding up to the nearest whole ounce since it's better to over estimate than to under estimate your intake
 
Great thread. I've lost nearly 40 pounds this year.

The things I have done is control my blood sugar(no refined carbs, less carbs), fast (skip breakfast lunch or both), no snacking and increased my walking.

I honestly believe that controlling blood sugar is the best way to lose weight. I weigh myself every morning and I basically lose weight every day, could be 1lb, could 01.lb but its every day except at weekends when I drink too much.
 
Good stuff OP and everyone else on the path to lose weight. I just got on a scale. I've always been a big dude @351 now I'm bothered. A few years ago after my divorce I made it down to 300. Best time of my life. So much clothes to wear. Suddenly I could ride roller coasters. And then I got a promotion at work. Got too busy and comfy. You guys are great motivation. And to the people with encouraging works and apps and who guide in the thread, thanks.
 
Great thread. I've lost nearly 40 pounds this year.

The things I have done is control my blood sugar(no refined carbs, less carbs), fast (skip breakfast lunch or both), no snacking and increased my walking.

I honestly believe that controlling blood sugar is the best way to lose weight. I weigh myself every morning and I basically lose weight every day, could be 1lb, could 01.lb but its every day except at weekends when I drink too much.

Can you talk a little more about this? What kind of foods did this eliminate?
 
Can you talk a little more about this? What kind of foods did this eliminate?

If you're referring to blood sugar, than it would be carbs. Carbs increase blood sugar and as a result the body produces insulin. When insulin is released in the body, the body stores fat instead of burning it. It's the basic idea behind low carb diets. Fats and fiber slow down spikes in blood sugar (and the insulin spike that follows) which is what you want, a slow and steady rise.There are other health benefits as well, such as increasing insulin sensitivity. There's nothing inherently wrong with carbs, but the amount we eat and the type we eat (simple sugars in sugary drinks, bread, pastries, etc) is no good for our bodies.
 
Try to give up almost everything with added sugars and refined carbs.

Problem is....most are addicted to them! It's meant to be so..and you have to fight it.


What this person said. I started cutting carbs in early March. And I've lost about 20 lbs. I was 290 when I started. Just cutting carbs. No exercize. However I do work a physical job in a kitchen. So that's helped. I'm 31 btw. Struggled with my weight for years. It finally clicked.

I reallay started feeling bad about eating refined sugars and grains. It's not that hard. You just can't get comfortable eating the same thing over and over. Learn to cook better and you will eat better.
 
I type "new York strip" and get a hundred different results with different calories/ounce and am never sure which one to use.

I have no idea what a new york strip is. Type the actual meat...

Edit: I just tried it, typed in new york strip and the first hit was new york strip steak.
 
If you're referring to blood sugar, than it would be carbs. Carbs increase blood sugar and as a result the body produces insulin. When insulin is released in the body, the body stores fat instead of burning it. It's the basic idea behind low carb diets. Fats and fiber slow down spikes in blood sugar (and the insulin spike that follows) which is what you want, a slow and steady rise.There are other health benefits as well, such as increasing insulin sensitivity. There's nothing inherently wrong with carbs, but the amount we eat and the type we eat (simple sugars in sugary drinks, bread, pastries, etc) is no good for our bodies.


Spot on man.

I can't believe how well it's worked for me. Ive taken on various bits of info from various sources to get to something that works for me. To boil it down though, when my blood sugar is high im storing fat, when its low and steady im burning it.
 
Keto worked for me. Not easy because it means removing a lot of delicious foods completely - basically anything carby, from breads and pastries to sweets. Even a lot of vegetables and fruits have to go.
But it works if you're determined enough. Exercise would help but strict keto alone should be effective.
Not going to lie though, I have a huge sweet tooth, as in if I have access to candy I will eat it until I can't anymore. I wound up having to replace that stuff with diet soda, which I'm sure isn't good for me, but it still keeps the weight off.
 
Quick question: When it says that you shouldn't have less than 1500-1700 calories a day because you basically enter starvation mode. Does that mean you shouldn't eat less than 1500-1700 a day, or does it mean your net calories shouldn't be less than 1500-1700 a day(basically accounting for the calories you burn from working out)?

Starvation mode is a myth that was popularized due to the Minnesota Starvation Experiment in which subjects were given 50% of their daily calorie intake for months. The result? Well, they lost weight until they had almost no weight left to lose and their bodies simply could not get the calories ANYWHERE.

Concisely put: starvation mode happens when you are, quite literally, wasting away. Not when you have a simple caloric deficit. Your body will make up for it with fat stores. That's what they're for. Do not worry about starvation mode.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/faq#wiki_how_can_i_avoid_starvation_mode.3F

Eating less than 1200-1500 calories per day isn't necessarily bad if you have extra fat (if you don't, it will start to break down your muscles for energy instead). It could be bad because it could put you off balance with your diet (being really hungry or lethargic the next day), affect your mood and psyche. But someone could eat 1200 calories per day while losing weight if they felt it was sustainable for them, without any other health implications. It's more about a sustainable lifestyle change than anything else.
 
Keto worked for me. Not easy because it means removing a lot of delicious foods completely - basically anything carby, from breads and pastries to sweets. Even a lot of vegetables and fruits have to go.
But it works if you're determined enough. Exercise would help but strict keto alone should be effective.
Not going to lie though, I have a huge sweet tooth, as in if I have access to candy I will eat it until I can't anymore. I wound up having to replace that stuff with diet soda, which I'm sure isn't good for me, but it still keeps the weight off.

Keto has great potential, but when I tried it I kept failing constantly. I can just not avoid carbs. Carbs are the fucking best.
 
Incredible amount of misinformation in this thread.

A lot of people are really cutting calories hard. Not sensible in my opinion, you want to lose weight eating as much as you can.

If you're on your first 6 months of weight loss and eating 1200 calories/day, when you hit a plateau and can't lose more, where the fuck do you go? 1000? 900? You've got to leave some room for problems rather than trying to lose weight as fast as possible.

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but if I eat less than 2100 calories, I'm STARVING when I go to bed.

How the fuck do you hit a 'plateau' at 1200? By the time you would ever do that, you would already be at your goal weight if not a skeleton.

Don't even know how some of the guys at that weight are living with 1700 calories a day. I put everything into myFitnessPal and it said I should be eating nearly 2800 a day to lose 2lbs a week. I cut that down to 2400 because I think that's a really good range for how much I burn in calories a day(500-800 just from walking). I'm nearly 6' 3" and at 336, so I don't want to cut too much in fear of starving my body. Lost 4lbs total since I started 2 weeks ago though!

Quick question: When it says that you shouldn't have less than 1500-1700 calories a day because you basically enter starvation mode. Does that mean you shouldn't eat less than 1500-1700 a day, or does it mean your net calories shouldn't be less than 1500-1700 a day(basically accounting for the calories you burn from working out)?

There's no such thing as starvation mode unless you're some extremely malnourished person on the brink of death.

If you water fast for a day and your TDEE is 2000, you will burn 2000.

If you're referring to blood sugar, than it would be carbs. Carbs increase blood sugar and as a result the body produces insulin. When insulin is released in the body, the body stores fat instead of burning it. It's the basic idea behind low carb diets. Fats and fiber slow down spikes in blood sugar (and the insulin spike that follows) which is what you want, a slow and steady rise.There are other health benefits as well, such as increasing insulin sensitivity. There's nothing inherently wrong with carbs, but the amount we eat and the type we eat (simple sugars in sugary drinks, bread, pastries, etc) is no good for our bodies.

The idea behind low carb diets is to stop yourself feeling hungry when the spike happens. It's about tricking yourself into feeling full. It's not about the mechanisms behind the body storing fat. If it stored fat, it would still need energy from somewhere.

Calorie counting at least for me is useless. If you eat more real food, avoid added sugar and refined carbs...it's hard for your weight to get out of control.

I believe the quality of food is way more important than the quantity.

But if you absolutely can't live without junk food, calorie counting might work.

Quality is important for making life easier for yourself and for being healthy overall, but calorie counting is still ultimately key (even if you're not actively counting), the quantity of calories consumed matters above everything else.

Eating a raft of vegetables and high quality foods will still put on fat if you're going over your limit.
 
There is no excuse to be fat. Nowadays we have macro apps on my phones. We can literally track everything we eat with a scale and our smart phone. No more writing on a notebook to track what we eat.
If you think being overweight is just about counting calories, you have a lot to learn about human psychology.
 
Quality is important for making life easier for yourself and for being healthy overall, but calorie counting is still ultimately key (even if you're not actively counting), the quantity of calories consumed matters above everything else.

Eating a raft of vegetables and high quality foods will still put on fat if you're going over your limit.

Exactly, calories is what it all boils down to in the end no matter what. Eating less refined food and overall better quality makes it harder to reach the calorie limit while still feeling like you're eating a lot. But that does not mean there's not a calorie limit.

You can gain weight eating anything, if you eat enough of it.

It's easiest to start out counting calories and don't think about the quality of the food too much, just the quantity. You quickly start to realise how certain kind of foods contains an unbalanced amount of calories compared to others and how fulfilling or not fulfilling they are. From there just slowly replace things in your diet.

I've gone through the process of realising this and improving my diet a lot last year, and now I'm trying to gain weight again while going to the gym. It now suddenly feels quite hard to eat an excess amount of calories.
 
If you think being overweight is just about counting calories, you have a lot to learn about human psychology.

It's exactly that simple, if you eat more than you burn, you become overweight, has nothing with psychology to do. What you're talking about is why someone overeats, which varies with every single person, and is up to each one to analyse and figure out.
 
I just got under 90kg for the first time in, maybe, 12 years. That's around 196,2lbs.
I'm feeling pretty great. My goal is 85kg, around 187lbs.
 
How the fuck do you hit a 'plateau' at 1200? By the time you would ever do that, you would already be at your goal weight if not a skeleton.

Of course you can hit a 'plateau' at 1200. You can hit a plateau at any deficit. My GF is going through it right now actually. It's basically just down to your body going NOPE and you can stay the same for a week or even put on when in a deficit. The amount of plateaus I wen't through a few years back was nuts and would be the only reason why I wanted to quit. The thing is, you keep at it or try something else, and you break through it.
 
Of course you can hit a 'plateau' at 1200. You can hit a plateau at any deficit. My GF is going through it right now actually. It's basically just down to your body going NOPE and you can stay the same for a week or even put on when in a deficit. The amount of plateaus I wen't through a few years back was nuts and would be the only reason why I wanted to quit. The thing is, you keep at it or try something else, and you break through it.

Absolute bullshit. The average person hitting a plateau of 1200 doesn't happen. If you're very small or very skinny, maybe but in those cases, you probably don't need to lose weight. Nobody's metabolism falls that far or fast.

And no, you can't put on weight on a deficit. Those two ideas are irreconcilable.
 
Of course you can hit a 'plateau' at 1200. You can hit a plateau at any deficit. My GF is going through it right now actually. It's basically just down to your body going NOPE and you can stay the same for a week or even put on when in a deficit. The amount of plateaus I wen't through a few years back was nuts and would be the only reason why I wanted to quit. The thing is, you keep at it or try something else, and you break through it.

Any possible plateau I can think about is if you have lost enough weight so you're passively burning less calories than you were before. But that would not happen at 1200.

But no, it's physically impossible to put on when in a deficit. Why someone would think they are could be because they're measuring what they're eating wrong, or possibly because they're not patient enough, if you weigh yourself every day your weight is going to fluctuate a lot, weigh yourself less often and you'll definitely see the change.
 
I've had to drop to 1,400kcal to lose weight... and I'm a five foot ten inch man (and this wasn't looking at my weight once a week and changing, this was after averaging my daily weight for three weeks). You'd be amazed at how fucked up some people's metabolisms get.

(I used to be able to bulk on 2,000kcal, now it takes 4,000kcal)

Sure, the absolute truth is that any deficit will lose you weight, but there's a lot that your body can do to reduce your RMR to stop you losing weight.
 
Quality is important for making life easier for yourself and for being healthy overall, but calorie counting is still ultimately key (even if you're not actively counting), the quantity of calories consumed matters above everything else.

Eating a raft of vegetables and high quality foods will still put on fat if you're going over your limit.

People should focus on what they eat due to behaviors.

Eat 2400 calories of cal dense foods and you'll still be very hungry. Eat meats, vegetables, fibers, and you'll be less hungry. Adding calories for nothing (basically junk or processed foods) makes it harder to adhere to calories.

You want to be calorie conscious when you're throwing salad dressing, cheese an whatever else all over your quality foods.

But I think the most important thing is to establish long-term behaviors.
 
My weight has been weird forever. I am 5'11" and 212 lbs right now. Looking at me you'd say I was in shape, and I am in better shape now than I have been in a long time. The odd thing is my weight has just been stuck at 212 for a year now.

Last year I worked out 5 days a week for 30 min a day doing P90X. I stayed around 212 with a bit of a spare tire.

This year we rejoined a gym and I am doing two biking classes a week, one insanity class, yoga, and then two days of lifting and cardio. So six days per week, about an hour each time. So I've essentially doubled my workouts, I've also been eating better overall, yet I am still at 212.

Not sure what the deal is. I feel like 195 would be a perfect spot for my body type, and would get rid of the spare tire I have, but I just can't seem to get past 212. I am going to try getting my salt intake down and water up just to make sure that isn't it as well.
 
Fat guy checking in. Started at 380 when i switched jobs last June. Currently 6'3" and 325 through dropping daily calories to 1500 and walking 45 minutes a day. Most of it came after the new year when my fiance and i wanted to lose weight together for our wedding in may 2017. I have a set of dumbbells i want to start using again. Any suggestions on beginner workouts?

The lowest I've ever been is 280 but would like to hit 250 by wedding time. Alot of my weight gain was from stress eating. Between a terrible relationship and a stressful job, it killed all the work i did.
 
My weight has been weird forever. I am 5'11" and 212 lbs right now. Looking at me you'd say I was in shape, and I am in better shape now than I have been in a long time. The odd thing is my weight has just been stuck at 212 for a year now.

Last year I worked out 5 days a week for 30 min a day doing P90X. I stayed around 212 with a bit of a spare tire.

This year we rejoined a gym and I am doing two biking classes a week, one insanity class, yoga, and then two days of lifting and cardio. So six days per week, about an hour each time. So I've essentially doubled my workouts, I've also been eating better overall, yet I am still at 212.

Not sure what the deal is. I feel like 195 would be a perfect spot for my body type, and would get rid of the spare tire I have, but I just can't seem to get past 212. I am going to try getting my salt intake down and water up just to make sure that isn't it as well.

If you haven't changed what you're eating it's not that weird, you're working out more than before so there's a chance you're excusing yourself in your head to eat more too. Exercise definitely helps for losing weight, but eating is still 80% of it.
 
Riding on the coat tails of OP and others, I'm working to eat less, count calories and walk for 42 minutes every day. (Length of an episode of Supernatural)

So far:
lLw9okt.png


(Day 1 is a NO because I made this decision and chart at 11 PM that day)

I was 342 when I started my big weight loss. Measure and track. Take lots of photos.
 
Incredible amount of misinformation in this thread.
How the fuck do you hit a 'plateau' at 1200? By the time you would ever do that, you would already be at your goal weight if not a skeleton.

Quite easily. If you've been eating that low for a long time and doing a bunch of cardio you will get metabolic damage. The lower calories you eat, the lower your metabolism is. Basic physiology.
 
Fat guy checking in. Started at 380 when i switched jobs last June. Currently 6'3" and 325 through dropping daily calories to 1500 and walking 45 minutes a day. Most of it came after the new year when my fiance and i wanted to lose weight together for our wedding in may 2017. I have a set of dumbbells i want to start using again. Any suggestions on beginner workouts?

The lowest I've ever been is 280 but would like to hit 250 by wedding time. Alot of my weight gain was from stress eating. Between a terrible relationship and a stressful job, it killed all the work i did.

Honestly I would suggest something like P90X. It'd use the dumbbells and you could go as hard or easy as your body lets you. Your fiancee might like it as well.

If you haven't changed what you're eating it's not that weird, you're working out more than before so there's a chance you're excusing yourself in your head to eat more too. Exercise definitely helps for losing weight, but eating is still 80% of it.

Well that's the thing. I track everything I eat, and am typically around 1800 calories a day. I eat pretty clean aside from a cheat meal or two on weekends.
 
Quite easily. If you've been eating that low for a long time and doing a bunch of cardio you will get metabolic damage. The lower calories you eat, the lower your metabolism is. Basic physiology.

No you don't... There might be small changes in metabolism, but not big enough to ever have to work around them in any way. The one real one is muscle loss though, if you lose muscle you'll passively burn less.
 
Quite easily. If you've been eating that low for a long time and doing a bunch of cardio you will get metabolic damage. The lower calories you eat, the lower your metabolism is. Basic physiology.

You know there's never been a piece of actual literature that directly supports 'metabolic damage'. So basic right?

There can be metabolic adaptation (due to diet/muscle loss) but never the extremes being discussed. It's simply with less mass you need less energy to sustain it. In some cases, you will also see that when people very quickly drop down to a new weight, they don't burn as much as someone who has always been at that weight but that only varies by about 200-300 calories. The idea that your metabolism can change to such an extreme where your body is getting more than enough energy from 1200 calories is madness.

What you're pretty much suggesting is just another spin on starvation mode.
 
Metabolism rates do work against you if you loses high amounts weight. It's why lots of people put on weight after working so hard to put it off.

Best advice is to make lifestyle changes. Eat healthy. Add fruit & vegetables to your diet.

If you are running, I think you have to run about 20 miles a week to keep off weight.

Also work on your mental side too.
 
I recently broke up with my gf and while I've been largely recovering since it happened a month and a half ago, I do have major dips here and there. How does this relate to weight? Well, for one, I somehow injured my shoulder close to a month ago when bench pressing. I've never had that happen to me before, so I've been letting it heal. It's improved but I can't risk going back to doing upper body exercises because it still hurts and doesn't feel entirely healed. So what can I do in the meantime? Run and lower body! But I've been so depressed about the breakup that I'm eating way more pizza than I normally would, which was already a lot, and I can see myself gaining weight. I don't want to go down this road anymore. I want to maintain the body I've been working hard to get. I am having an impossible time cutting out bread and carbs from my diet. Sugar isn't an issue because I only drink water.

I need to elevate my mood, not let my breakup bring me down, and control my diet, but it's so damn difficult at the moment. I already had a turkey bacon, egg and Swiss on a roll this morning! Someone help! :(
 
The idea behind low carb diets is to stop yourself feeling hungry when the spike happens. It's about tricking yourself into feeling full. It's not about the mechanisms behind the body storing fat. If it stored fat, it would still need energy from somewhere.

That isn't true. Insulin turns on fat storage.
 
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