Infinite tries to Lose Weight (SW: 345, CW: 324)

[Deleted]

I'm just getting started on my weight loss journey. I've gone back and forth, loss weight, regained weight, all that. A couple of days ago I weighed in at an absolutely brutal 387 pounds. I'm 36. I'm like...5'10. I don't want to die.

So I had to go to my parents, and all my friends and I had to have this super embarrassing conversation where I asked them not to lend me money. I told them I have an unhealthy relationship with food and I'll take any excuse to eat garbage. I need to set up healthier habits and one of those habits is having backup meals prepared at work so I don't immediately resort to ordering takeout the second I have an excuse. I have a full kitchen at work I can access. I'm the boss, so no one can really rush me unless there's an emergency. I have tons of advantages and I'm not using them because of this stupid addiction of mine. They all agreed to support me but for the first time in my life I feel kind of disgusted with myself. How could I have let this happen? How can this even be real? Up until this week I still thought of myself as one of the exceptions. One of those guys who looked chubby but hey, I still can walk to work. Hey, I can still do the physically taxing parts of my security job.

I lied to myself for so long and now I have to confront those lies. And I'm ashamed of that too. This is going to be hard, man. I'm going to try and update this thread daily to talk about how this is going and build a good weight loss habit. I NEED to do something, I'm slowly wrecking my own life.

[chrom]

Go on Nutrisystem. I've lost nearly 20 pounds so far on it.

Set realistic goals as well.

[Deleted]

It actually sounds like you have legit food addiction. Talking to a therapist would likely help a lot too.

[Big BosskMan]

First, kudos to you for recognizing this and taking steps to change your life.

As others said, realistic goals are key.

You didn't get this way overnight and sustainable weight loss happens over time.

Add a bit of physical activity each day, something you like.

Staying hydrated is important because oftentimes, at least for me, I'm not hungry but just thirsty. But I have a habit of eating instead of grabbing my water jug.

Try to get good sleep too.

You got this.

[Bo Rida]

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
If the philosphical approach doesn't work then just don't beat yourself up when you inevitably have an off day, it's slow but steady progress over a long time.

Also watch out for the hidden calories, don't want to go to all the effort to eat healthy and then drink all the calories. Things like fancy takeaway coffees can have more than a meal.

[Hurbster]

Giving up bread, potatoes and rice to go to a very low carb diet was one of the hardest things I have done. I'm 50 and diabetic so it had to be done. Good on you for realizing what you need to do at a relatively young age.

[chrom]

You can still have the food you like, you just need to have smaller portions of it

[zrowsdower]

Thought this was going to be about the Universe shrinking or something but, yeah, good luck with that.

[Deleted]

Mar 13, 2022 17:16:04 GMT -5 zrowsdower said:

Thought this was going to be about the Universe shrinking or something but, yeah, good luck with that.

I mean, on a small enough scale...

[Cranjis McBasketball]

If you want a weight loss book with advice you absolutely should not follow, check out Presto! How I Made 100lbs Magically Disappear by Penn Jillette.

It’s a fun read for anyone, but maybe it has something in it that’ll help you out.

[Matt]

I lost a lot cutting out soda and down on bread. I do eat out but not as much as I used to.

[J is Justice]

I recently lost a lot of weight.

I was surprised to discover how pointless exercise is for losing weight. It's pretty much just about what you eat. What I did was I ate pretty much the same stuff I already was eating but less of it, or healthier versions. And then I'd weigh myself every Sunday at the exact same time. If I hadn't lost anything, I'd reduce what I ate even more. Rinse and repeat. I didn't count calories or anything.

Also, what motivates me is having a cheat day. If I lose weight on that Sunday, then I just stuff my face. It's my reward.

[Limity (BLM)]

Mar 13, 2022 21:43:42 GMT -5 J is Justice said:

I recently lost a lot of weight.

I was surprised to discover how pointless exercise is for losing weight.

So much this. Last year I read a fascinating book that looked at exercise from an evolutionary and anthropological standpoint, and it also addressed our diets. Food is just so much more calorie dense than it ever was, that it's impossible just to run off the amount you eat.

It's not a diet but a change in your lifestyle. Hundreds of calories that add up from calorie dense snacks or foods over time can only really be eliminated over time. It's a long game, not a short one.

And congratulations to the OP on coming to this realization and taking steps to reverse it, especially those uncomfortable steps like talking to friends and family. Obesity is deadly, but you can come back from it.

[Mozenrath]

Keep in mind that if you do slip on the dieting/exercising that it doesn't make you a failure or mean it's a lost cause. If you don't let yourself get discouraged, this is going to be a lot more doable for you.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Mar 13, 2022 21:43:42 GMT -5 J is Justice said:

I recently lost a lot of weight.

I was surprised to discover how pointless exercise is for losing weight. It's pretty much just about what you eat. What I did was I ate pretty much the same stuff I already was eating but less of it, or healthier versions. And then I'd weigh myself every Sunday at the exact same time. If I hadn't lost anything, I'd reduce what I ate even more. Rinse and repeat. I didn't count calories or anything.

Also, what motivates me is having a cheat day. If I lose weight on that Sunday, then I just stuff my face. It's my reward.

You should not body build while attempting to lose weight. Lose weight, then start exercising. Your heart doesn't know the difference between muscle or fat.

[Raskovnik]

Best of luck, brother. I think the heaviest I ever got was about 350, but between cutting out soda and cutting down on fast food and stuff, combined with just walking to places within walking distance rather than using the bus or whatever, I was down to about 280 within a year, and I’ve since lost more and kept it off without particularly aiming for it just with those lifestyle changes. You got this, man.

[HMARK Center]

The first thing I'd suggest is to try not to shame yourself over your size. I get how hard that is; I can't claim that I've been at that weight, but at my heaviest it was very difficult not to constantly judge or feel disgust with myself, and all I can say is that feeling that way was not a help to me.

There's a lot of reasons why: when you're down on yourself it gets way too easy to feel despair, to give up or to take a bad day you've had and turn it into a larger bout of self-loathing or a driver of the urge to just give up. It takes real progress you make and turns it into a feeling of "it's not enough", that you're never going to be <insert ideal self-image here>, that it's pointless, might as well give up, all that negative reinforcement that usually leads to a brick wall.

It's why that no matter your size, it's important to work on valuing yourself and your body, and making peace with some ideas like "maybe I'll never be this particular size, and that's fine". By valuing yourself, you'll want to care for your body more: it creates a greater intrinsic motivation to take up some healthier habits, which when lived out create a positive feedback loop that involves some nice endorphin boosts (e.g. exercise, eating more whole foods, etc.). When you like yourself and appreciate your body, you want to treat it better; a lot of bad eating habits we fall into can stem from some negative impulses, like stress eating or using food to cope with a bad situation, but a more positive outlook on yourself creates that stronger, more sustainable motivation to treat yourself well.

One of the hardest things I've had to learn, and something I still struggle with even now, is focusing on putting my health first, and the scale second; if I'm cutting back on portions, getting some more veggies in, and doing my regular exercise, then I know I'm going to feel better, even if the scale does what it did this morning and stubbornly refuse to budge from where I was a couple weeks ago. A long time ago that scale not budging would've really hurt me, but today it's just an annoyance I've decided I'm still going to work through.

I put a few pounds back on during the worst of the pandemic, as many people did, so since the start of 2022 I've begun to focus harder on controlling portion sizes and working in 12,000 steps a day, combined with my usual routine of starting each morning off with two tall glasses of water. I still eat some garbage, for sure, not gonna sit here and lie and pretend I don't enjoy sweets and some fast foods, but I work to keep up some awareness of just how much I'm eating, even if I don't have a strict calorie count, and I bought a simple treadmill to help me hit my daily step goal more easily. Nice news is that since the start of the year I've probably dropped 8 pounds or something, but more importantly, again, I've felt better going about my day to day life, less likely to fall back into the couch-stuck habits that took hold in the middle of the pandemic. I know exercise isn't the key to losing weight, but I do know it helps me to be in that better mindset.

So yeah: don't get down on yourself. You're the size you are, sure, but that doesn't make you bad or deserving of scorn. Keep your focus on your health, figure out what habits you can easily integrate into your daily routine, and focus on how you feel. For me, I know I like plotting out which meal I eat in a given day is likely going to be my "bigger" one, while keeping the others to a smaller portion size, but what works for you may vary.

[chrom]

After you lose the first initial pounds, don't get discouraged when you see that you gained a few back the next week or so. That happens to everyone

[Starshine]

I'm going to give some general advice on this that I experienced first hand. Take whatever out of his you think applies to you.

In my experience step 1 for losing weight is looking at it more about a lifestyle adjustment rather than a physical change. Your weight may fluctuate just based on things beyond your control, so it's more important to look at this being a life long investment, rather than a road that has a clear end goal, because it's not something that ever really ends. But it also gets a lot easier to manage after starting it. That's important to remember, especially if you feel demoralized early on, or suffer a backtrack. It's hardest early on, but you can always get back on this road.

I also believe you should allow your self the freedom to still enjoy the foods you like, via still allowing yourself treats, but becoming strict on weekly portions. That way you can still treat yourself, while also eating healthier. It's also totally okay to take cheat days, or lazy days to recover and/or unwind. But again, you have to be strict in not letting this become more habitual than say roughly once a week. Make it something for you to look forward to while you put in the work the other days.

If your dealing with addictive substances (i.e. caffiene or something similar) look towards other things that offer that craving but are relatively healthier than what you're currently having. For example I weened off my craving for cola drinks by supplementing drinking coffee instead. Now, while I drink coffee regularly, I don't crave cola anymore, despite still drinking it, maybe once a month or two.

This is also a good opportunity to experiment with cooking. If you don't like the taste of vegetables, there's many recipes out there that cater to that. Healthy food doesn't have to taste bad to still be good.

Drink water throughout the day. This is just plain old good advice for anyone. Hydration will make just your life a whole lot easier.

Exercise is also important. You don't have to do a lot, walking is a very good jumping off point. You do that for about 30 minutes a day, or so, and you'll see significant changes. Once you start feeling stronger, you can start looking at other more challenging exercises to keep that going. After walking, I started running, and recently took up swimming. I'll probably start something else new in the not to distant future.

[Deleted]

So it was recommended by my doctor and my weight loss support buddies to start tracking my calories. Now, they said this week to just TRACK and not make any changes. Getting into the habit is the important part.

So I did that yesterday. And I ate really well during the day! Then I got home and I pigged out on pop and chips. Now, I kept tracking. That's the ONLY goal this week. Dudes it's WILD.

My Total Daily Energy Expenditure each day is 3211 calories a day. To lose two pounds a week, i need to eat 2377 calories a day. VERY reasonable goal. The average person only needs about 2000 - or so the dude at the walk in tells me. Now, my last meal of the day was pizza. I STILL would have been over. I would have been at 2455. BUT then I ate that pop and chips.


TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED THIRTY CALORIES.

Sweet evil jesus.

Okay, but you know what that means? That means if I didn't eat that junk food, or if I'd found a healthier low calorie alternative I could have made it! It's literally just the junk food and some small diet changes. This is actually something I can do. I just need to cook at home and find healthier snacks. This can be done! What a wake up call actually SEEING the numbers was though. Holy hell.