Asklemmy

I started living alone and grocery shopping for myself so I just stopped buying high calories food and sugary snacks. And count calories.

Calorie counting through MyFitnessPal. I am unable to accurately gauge how many calories I'm consuming just by eyeballing it, and this is especially difficult given my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is about 1350 calories. (I'm short.) The only way I've been able to manage my weight is by turning it into concrete understandable numbers.

I have a 3,312 day streak of calorie counting now. It's the one habit I've managed to keep up, and while my weight has gone up and down I've kept track of it all. At my starting point, I weighed 150lb (obese by BMI), and I'm currently down to 118 (high end of normal by BMI).

Being poor. Lost 20 kilos.

Keto. Cut out all carbs, less than 50g per day. Eat mainly veggies and fish and chicken, occasionally red meat. Don’t pig out on bacon and cheese either, go for walnuts and avocado and similar for unsaturated fats. No sugar at all. No beer. Only healthy fats. I lost 40 lbs in 6 months. Then switch to a low carb diet afterward and exercise more and watch your calorie intake to keep the weight off. Do NOT do keto for long term (over 1 year) unless your doctor says it’s okay.

Edit: here’s some good meal ideas

Breakfast: plain Greek yogurt with raspberries, or a hard boiled egg and some walnuts or almonds. If you have time at home, cook a few eggs and put them over a sautéed veggie hash

Lunch: Romaine lettuce wraps with turkey, avocado, and light cheddar cheese and light mayo. Chicken stuffed bell peppers is pretty amazing too. Or you can get cauliflower crusts and make a proper pizza with your favorite non-carb toppings(which most aren’t)

Dinner: cauliflower fried rice with your favorite protein. Baked salmon and Brussels. Philly cheese steak lettuce wraps. Spaghetti squash is a great replacement for lighter noodles. Spiralizing zucchini is great too

Snacks: have fresh almonds and walnuts around. Try tossing them in light olive oil and throw some spices on them! String cheese, hard boiled eggs, and avocados are awesome to have around if you feel snacky.

Keto and Intermittent Fasting during Covid while WFH and not going out to eat for 2 years.

I had always been thin, but from 2017-2020 I gained a lot of weight, and I was scheduled to start a new job the day that lockdowns went into place. So I WFH for a couple of years before I met any of my new coworkers face to face.

Once I realized I had some time, I ordered a 64 oz water bottle with times and volume on the side. I tried to drink 3 of those filled with water a day, only eating a small lunch at 12.

I never weighed myself - I only went by how my clothes fit. I still had jeans from when I was thin and that was my goal - to fit in them again. Once that was done, I would figure out how to proceed.

A year or so into it, I’d lost a couple of pants sizes. I was getting compliments - positive reinforcement. That’s when I became obsessed and doubled down and it got really unhealthy.

I just didn’t eat. Do not do this. It wasn’t intentional but it happened. My hair was falling out. I’ve since gained some of the weight back but I probably lost around 50 lbs and have kept 90% of it off. And I still try to drink a ton of water during the day and eat better.

TLDR I’m not proud of it and never intended to go that far, but I didn’t realize I was doing it so just be aware.

I moved to a city in the US where I can get around without a car. 95% of my trips I take via bike or public transit. I haven't actually lost much weight but I have gotten much leaner

Cico, exercise, good sleep, and a solid reason to lose

Exercise and diet. That allowed me to lose 15 kg.

For exercise: I bought Ring Fit Adventure for the Nintendo Switch at the start of 2020. That's the only thing that has motivated me to exercise. Now I even do some additional weight lifting and cardio exercises. This has helped me the most to lose weight.

For diet: I have gastrointestinal issues. Since 2022 I started a diet to alleviate those problems. This helped only a little for losing weight.

I replaced sugar with date sirop
I'm eating less transformed food and fast food
Lot of sport between 5 and 30 km of running + walk a day
No change in portions

I ate less.

Shocking, I know.

From 2013 to 2017 I lost 60 pounds and I've kept it off since.

I tried everything to lose that fat.

I've tried at different times: keto, calorie counting, intermittent fasting, low fat, low carb, Soylent, cutting alcohol, high fiber, if it fits your macros, power lifting, CrossFit, running, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, and Renaissance periodization.

What's actually worked consistently for losing and keeping it off? Simple. Intermittent fasting 20/4 with low carb during the week, free cheat weekends, and no alcohol ever. With that protocol I can control my weight to the pound, consistently, and I've held it there for over 5 years.

It's such a great feeling to be totally in control of it.

Not a method I'd ever recommend to anybody but depression did it. Just stopped eating, like, almost entirely, had no appetite whatsoever, would force myself to eat at least something around dinner time, around 50g of carbs (when dry) like pasta, rice or noodles. Drank tea during the day for some caffeine. Combined with some exercise - started walking then running about 5k every few days.

Things got a bit more normal after a while and just kind of went with watching calories. Mostly just kept an eye on carbs - no more than 100g per day, used less fat or oil in cooking, picked slightly (but not excessively) leaner cuts of meat, more veggie dishes, skimmed milk, no sugary drinks. Never was one for eating breakfast, my day would normally be some kind of lunch time thing like a couple of crumpets with some jam, an afternoon snack - usually rice cakes, japanese-style crackers, pickled stuff (gherkins, onions, sauerkraut) then dinner as I mentioned above. There was a few brands of ice cream that did low calorie versions I would buy for dessert, or I would have fat-free yoghurt and a couple of squares of chocolate.

I found this pretty easy to do during covid (started this all maybe mid 2020). It was easy to hide the fact you were eating strangely if people aren't aware. The bit that I found (and still find) hardest is the intention to start or cut portion sizes. I never intended to do it but I found that when I stopped eating because I had no appetite, it was like a kind of reset that allowed me to build up to a more appropriate diet. I can't say I think this is a good idea for a whole host of reasons but that is what happened to me.

I won't give a specific solution.

What works for you ultimately depends on you; be it intermittent fasting, OMAD, cutting sugar and/or salt, simply eating less, working out, a combination of the previously mentioned, etc. but what I feel allowed me to actually lose weight (~50 pounds so far) was accepting that -- whatever you end up doing -- it's not temporary. It's a lifestyle change. You're just going to regain that weight if you return to the habits that brought you there in the first place.

Mentally, I also approached it as "one step at a time". Weight fluctuates for all sorts of reasons be it water intake, you just ate, etc. I didn't get discouraged as I saw the number go up and down a few pounds here and there, but continued to view every few pounds as a milestone worth celebrating (not with a cheat day, mind you). The general trend kept going down, I was getting and remaining healthy, and that's all I really cared about.

Long COVID.

Lost my appetite, smell, & taste. Appetite came back in about a month, smell & taste were off for 6-8 months. Lost over 50lbs from just not wanting to eat.

I appreciate this doesn't work for everyone and might not be a long term solution, but I dropped 20kg by fasting on a 20:4 schedule.

I went from 110 to 75kg a few years ago by no longer snacking in the evening.

I eat something at 5-6, and then that's the last thing for the day.

That alone did it already.

Stopped drinking my calories (alcohol, juice, soda, etc.) and fell in love with running.

Naltrexone and then became vegan. It's AMAZING.

Edit; should clarify I am not taking naltrexone for weight loss, it's for an anxiety disorder, and it's a side effect. It made me loathe the taste of animal products and I have almost no appetite, but bitch is SKINNAY.

Started eating a shit tonne of rice.

Losing weight really isn't that hard. It's calories in verses calories out. If that doesn't work, congratulations you are breaking the laws of thermodynamics and physics is changed forever.

I just took out some higher calorie food and ate a lot more chicken and rice and the weight dropped off kinda scary fast seeing as I was eating 4 meals a day. Ended up adding extra calories with eggs and was more comfortable with sauces.

Another time I took up surfing. Fucking hell surfing is hard, running 10 miles is easier. Increased my food load and ate a crap load more protein and just changed shape in a few months, lost the fat around my tummy and my shoulders grew huge.

Still working on it. Goddamn antipsychotics make it really difficult, but I’m gonna do it.

Moved to a walkable city in a country with better food quality, and sold my car. It's a cheat code.

Also slowly regaining it, and need to cut down on snacking and drinking.

Eating less sugar, fat and carbs. More protein. Exercising frequently, if you don’t like the gym find something else. Swimming for example is great fun and very gentle on an overweight body.

Went vegan.

Lost 10kg, was pretty worried, got 8 back

Can't afford to eat much, cuz SSI, rent increase. Kept having conversations in head, like "I can buy laundry detergent OR have food to last the month." I've lost 20 lbs past few months , after discovering how tasty white rice can be, with just a tiny bit of sesame oil, salt and pepper.

2 hours of moderate exercise a day, ate less and replaced things like potato chips etc. with healthier things eg. nuts

I had a lot of anxiety that made me overeat.

I worked with my doctor to find the right medication that worked for me. I then had control over my impulses.

I also had more motivation, so I started tracking my food and workout 2-3 times a week.

I've lost 30lbs since the end of October.

By figuring out how I would eat to keep a healthy weight. Then I just started eating like this. Its slow, but you don't run into the problem of being "done" with losing weight and picking up weight again. You just have a better eating habit and can stick with it basically forever - and as a bonus you can even have things like Pizza while losing weight.

Lost 100 lbs by having a slimfast shake for breakfast and a Greek yogurt or banana for lunch. Anything I want for dinner.

Dance Dance Revolution. More specifically, an open source clone of it called StepMania. Very fun way to lose weight. You'll want to invest in some high quality metal dance pads if you really enjoy it though.

I'll focus on decision making with a threefold approach. If that sounds fancy, well that's because it is.

Firstly, large change comes from seemingly insignificant decisions. Actually, they just seem so small because they are made in the current moment. But decisions made in the moment are all anybody has and ever had, and so they are actually most meaningful.

Secondly, grow your capacity for decision making. Don't start with the oak, but with the seed. Start small, slow, and with low expectations. Keep in mind that these take place in the moment.

Examples:

• Pay attention to the moments in your day when you could have made a decision. Don't interfere, just observe.
• While going for a walk, decide to change your path. Take an unplanned turn. Try a U turn.
• See how long you can just sit somewhere. More challenging than it sounds.
• Swim one extra lane.
• Stop watching after one episode.
• And so on.

Thirdly, the same as point two, but focused on cultivating healthy eating patterns.

Examples:

• Observe your eating behavior without interfering and judgment. You're simply learning about how things are and have been.
• Throw away a handful of chips. It's alright to toss food given your circumstances.
• Switch out a chocolate bar with stracciatella quark. Chocolatey protein!
• Read up on nutrition while waiting for the train. What is glycogen? How does one properly store prepared food?
• Cook something nutritious and tasty by adding spices, cheese, cream, butter, salt, sugar. Can't be worse than a factory meal, right?
• Standing in the store in front of what you're craving, and pay attention to what you're feeling. Buy it.
• Standing in the store in front of what you're craving, and pay attention to what you're feeling. Say no.
• And so on and so forth.

Lastly, I'd like to say that weight loss is a personal journey, filled with unique challenges and discoveries. Beyond these practical steps, it's crucial to remain open to deeper insights about yourself. Whether it's addressing emotional eating, seeking social support, or trying out sport, the essence lies in making a series of informed decisions in the present moment. Each choice, no matter how small, propels you forward, shaping the future you envision for yourself.

Keto!

I stopped eating ice cream. Still not sure why that did it, I didn't think I was eating that much. 70lbs down.

Measured everything I ate and put it into a calorie counter app. Ate whatever I wanted, but if I wanted to eat (or drink) it, I had to measure it and put it in the app.

I tried not to go over the recommended calorie amount, and if I did, I did some exercise that the app would put me under the calorie amount for the day.

I had it set to the slowest weight loss amount (something like 0.5lbs per week?), but lost weight faster than that.

It helped me improve my diet, get a better understanding of what I was eating, helped me get better in tune with my "fullness", and got me drinking more water.

Overweight and obesity are extremely complex disorders, that combines genetic predisposition, changes in hormonal levels and horrible obesogenic environment that we have nowadays. There is no simple answer on how to lose weight as it depends on multiple factors too - your home and work environment, availability of stores with fresh products, your medical history, your goals in general. What is working well for one person, may not be ideal for others or even sometimes dangerous (depends on other comorbidities).

Most important part is not just to lose weight, but do it safely and maintain the weight loss. For that you need a whole lifestyle change, that is why it is so hard for many people. The major rule is: permanent dietary changes needed for a weight loss and regular exercises needed for maintaining the result.

My advise (if you are in the US) - find an obesity clinic with obesity board-certified physician, discuss all your concerns and develop a plan what will work specifically for you. It is pretty well covered by insurances and you will always have a specialist who can answer your questions and help to overcome any barriers in the future.

And remember we all are just internet strangers, take all our advices with healthy skepticism.

I follow a simple diet called "half". I eat a half portion of whatever I'd like. I don't eat any better or worse, just less of it. Did you know a frozen burrito has 300+ calories? Eat one, not two. Portion controls are essential, don't get a tub of ice cream, get a box of little ice creams, and then eat one instead of gobbling two or more. Giant bowl of pasta? Half now, half goes in the fridge for tomorrow, instead of packing my gut full.

I probably cheat enough that I'm getting 2/3 or 3/4 of my full calorie intake, but it's good enough that I've lost 30 lbs in a couple years, I'm not putting it back on, and it's required no real hardship.

Warning: expensive

Answer: grapes, pineapple, raspberries

Filling, low kcal, keeps you busy, especially grapes.

Intermittent Fasting - eating hours 10am-6pm

and

Early morning exercise - 25min bike ride or walk at 5:30am (everyday or every second day)

No real diet change, but already had healthy options for most meals.

• Dr. Ian Smith Fat Smash Diet (Except I kept the coffee in the first part)
• It don't happen overnight (Weigh in about once a week or so...)
• Stop all Fast Food (Seriously, when cheat days come along make your own with better ingredients)
• Pack lunches (& you will also save a ton of $$$)
• Large meal earlier in the day
• Exercise (I walk / hike allot now)
• Make good choices (It really comes down to this, there is tons of crap in the grocery store - don't take it home)

You can and will do it, but it will take time.

As someone else mentioned, Intermittent fasting helped for me as well. I eat from 12:00 - 20:00. I was never really obese, but my weight was definitely heading that way if I didn’t take action. Been on IM for a year now (with some cheat days here and there due to social obligations) and my weight dropped about 7 kg. That doesn’t sound like much, but I was only a little overweight and I’m still a lover of sweet foods and other unhealthy things :)
This in combination with adding 40 min walking to my commute and a weekly Pilates session (for all those important core muscles) seems to work for me. Oh and taking the stairs whenever possible. I work on the 7th floor and like to climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator with the rest of the lunch crowd.
Basically I managed to turn an upward trend into a downward one, and in the long run that’s what’s most important to me.

Cooking at home. 100%. For 3 months to start. Then give one day a week out for another 3 months. And meal plan and prep on Sundays.

I read labels and...

• Eat only trace amounts of saturated fat.
• No sugary drinks.
• Eat a lot of fiber.
• No breakfast, it isn't necessary.
• Walk or bike 1 hour every morning.
• Lift & run every work day during my lunch hour.

I've never been more fit.