Lose weight starting TODAY!!

[StarBright]

One of my issues is when my husband and boys eat tempting things, I see what they’re eating and eat it even if it doesn’t fit into what I should be eating, such as waffles with maple syrup at 10 PM. Or at 9 am when my usual breakfast is oatmeal with fruit. Also they are not supportive so if I say something about being tempted by what they eat they just tell me I should be mentally stronger, etc. etc. I realize this is not very nice of them considering they’re enjoying the literal fruits of my financial independence lol. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be able to eat whatever they want but I guess I would prefer if they were encouraging to me instead of making fun of me when I am tempted.

I feel this. My husband and both my kids tend towards leanness and we have had to put effort into the kids gaining weight a couple of times.

I . . .do not have that problem and have spent my entire post pubescent life being careful about what I eat.   I cook a lot of robust meals for my family but can only eat a small portion of those same foods. I find I deal with portion creep. I tend to give myself at least as much as I give my kids, and I probably shouldn't.

I think I was down a pound and a half when I checked in a couple of months ago. I'm now down a solid two pounds. But gosh darn if it isn't a stupid amount of effort for almost no movement on the scale.

The nutrisystem was helpful in taking the burden off of my brain for a bit but I did not renew it for December. It was expensive and I only lost two pounds over three months.

Back to a more normal eating schedule and hoping that I don't gain.

[ixtap]

One of my issues is when my husband and boys eat tempting things, I see what they’re eating and eat it even if it doesn’t fit into what I should be eating, such as waffles with maple syrup at 10 PM. Or at 9 am when my usual breakfast is oatmeal with fruit. Also they are not supportive so if I say something about being tempted by what they eat they just tell me I should be mentally stronger, etc. etc. I realize this is not very nice of them considering they’re enjoying the literal fruits of my financial independence lol. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be able to eat whatever they want but I guess I would prefer if they were encouraging to me instead of making fun of me when I am tempted.

I feel this. My husband and both my kids tend towards leanness and we have had to put effort into the kids gaining weight a couple of times.

I . . .do not have that problem and have spent my entire post pubescent life being careful about what I eat.   I cook a lot of robust meals for my family but can only eat a small portion of those same foods. I find I deal with portion creep. I tend to give myself at least as much as I give my kids, and I probably shouldn't.

I think I was down a pound and a half when I checked in a couple of months ago. I'm now down a solid two pounds. But gosh darn if it isn't a stupid amount of effort for almost no movement on the scale.

The nutrisystem was helpful in taking the burden off of my brain for a bit but I did not renew it for December. It was expensive and I only lost two pounds over three months.

Back to a more normal eating schedule and hoping that I don't gain.

DH has very different dietary needs that I do. When we are both eating at the best for our bodies, he eats about twice as much as I do and he really feels that carbs help him fill up. He eats several servings at a time. My solution is two fold. I consider certain foods his foods. I ask for a certain portion if I want some. The other thing I do is to have something I can have on hand that he has to ask to have any (or they have dairy, so he can't have any, but that isn't how I choose). The reason he has to ask is because he might sit down and finish them off if he doesn't take that step. His snack looks tempting? I ask for a tiny amount and/or go grab one of my own.

[ixtap]

Nice to see such success!

My habits are dialed in, but my body just doesn't want to let go. My highest consumption day was still less than maintenance should be, but I have in fact been maintaining for about two weeks. Rather glad I won't have access to my scale for the next two weeks so that I don't have to see that.

I had 3/4 of a sugar cookie at the marina party last night, but that plus a few more carbs than usual for dinner left my blood sugar a little high this morning. Nothing crazy, still below the diabetic range, but after a week below 100 it was still disheartening. That was with a decent walk before the cookie and two small walks after dinner (walked to the boat parade and stood around before returning after the parade). A good reminder of how to make choices over the next two weeks of family and holiday meals.

Which also reminds me, for feeding both of us with different dietary needs, I cook a lot of meals that allow for the carbs on the side (again, I am low carb because it works for me and my diabetes, don't think everyone needs to be). I use a pound of ground turkey or sausage with 4 servings of pasta sauce and maybe add some other veg, like grated zucchini. He has this with pasta, I just sit down with a bowl of meaty sauce, maybe add some nutritional yeast (we don't keep Parm on hand since he can't take the dairy). This doesn't work with everything. I cannot fill up on his curry without the rice and cauliflower rice jambalaya was delicious, but again, not filling.

[Metalcat]

Nice to see such success!

My habits are dialed in, but my body just doesn't want to let go. My highest consumption day was still less than maintenance should be, but I have in fact been maintaining for about two weeks. Rather glad I won't have access to my scale for the next two weeks so that I don't have to see that.

Two weeks is nothing.

When I was losing weight from obese to very lean, I would often have periods of 4-8 weeks of no movement on the scale despite consistently eating the exact same way.

However, I recorded my weight diligently and seen over a longer time scale, my rate of loss was always consistent. Like clockwork actually, unless I actually ate more.

Weight loss is never linear.

I would call it "brewing a loss" when the scale would just stay put or rise slowly despite my eating being on point for loss.

Sometimes I lost at a steady pace, sometimes I lost in spurts and pauses, but the year-long data are absolutely clear that my average loss per month was actually steady, even if it never looked that way in the short term.

[ixtap]

Thanks, @Malcat, I try to remember, but it is better if I just don't look.

Home for the holidays. Day 1 was pretty good. I did have some cake, but the smallest piece going and while I got in my minimum steps and lots of airport stretching, I did not have enough energy to go the gym once we got to the hotel. I did get up and moving before breakfast this morning.

[EchoStache]

11/14 200.5. Began fasting until lunch every day
11/25 196.3 (-4.2)
11/28 193.6 (-6.9)

Holding steady right around 193.  I've committed to exercising 3x/week with Crossfit.  It's giving me the cardio I desperately need to improve my lungs, while incorporating a little bit of strength work.  I feel good that I'm moving.  I like learning the olympic lifts.  There's a surprisingly significant focus on stretching and mobility both before and after workouts which I desperately need.

I've learn that I am really bad at:
-Snatch
-Clean and jerk
-Overhead squat......was barely able to eek out ONE with the empty bar(45 lbs) with tremendous effort and comically high difficulty.
-Double unders....the most I've managed is 6 so far
-Pull ups.....barely capable of 5 reps in yesterdays workout.

I'm on a maintenance inhaler....Flovent.  Asthma has improved a little but but still using rescue inhaler multiple times daily.  Flovent can take weeks for full effect so I'm really hoping that medicating initially, combined with a big focus on cardio will get my lungs back to a healthy, highly capable place.

[Metalcat]

Thanks, @Malcat, I try to remember, but it is better if I just don't look.

Home for the holidays. Day 1 was pretty good. I did have some cake, but the smallest piece going and while I got in my minimum steps and lots of airport stretching, I did not have enough energy to go the gym once we got to the hotel. I did get up and moving before breakfast this morning.

Smart. Know your triggers and work around them.

For me, at my biggest was probably my most genuinely body-positive time of my life. I knew I wasn't healthy coming out of school, so my focus was on improving my health. I never actually had any weight loss goals, I just knew I would lose weight because you can't maintain obesity on a healthy lifestyle.

So I had no emotional valence around weighing myself. I wasn't encouraged or discouraged by the scale. For me it was just data.

I came at all of this from a place of extreme self-compassion and self-love, and I see those years as a kind of love letter to my body where I thanked it for getting me through school, and apologized to it for putting it through such hell.

Full disclosure, I actually had a healthier body image at my heaviest than I have since losing the weight. The scale holds more emotional valance for me now than it did back then.

I am actively working on getting back to that emotional relationship with my weight and body.

[ixtap]

Thanks, @Malcat, I try to remember, but it is better if I just don't look.

Home for the holidays. Day 1 was pretty good. I did have some cake, but the smallest piece going and while I got in my minimum steps and lots of airport stretching, I did not have enough energy to go the gym once we got to the hotel. I did get up and moving before breakfast this morning.

Smart. Know your triggers and work around them.

For me, at my biggest was probably my most genuinely body-positive time of my life. I knew I wasn't healthy coming out of school, so my focus was on improving my health. I never actually had any weight loss goals, I just knew I would lose weight because you can't maintain obesity on a healthy lifestyle.

So I had no emotional valence around weighing myself. I wasn't encouraged or discouraged by the scale. For me it was just data.

I came at all of this from a place of extreme self-compassion and self-love, and I see those years as a kind of love letter to my body where I thanked it for getting me through school, and apologized to it for putting it through such hell.

Full disclosure, I actually had a healthier body image at my heaviest than I have since losing the weight. The scale holds more emotional valance for me now than it did back then.

I am actively working on getting back to that emotional relationship with my weight and body.

If I don't look, I do the right things because they are the right things for my overall health: more veggies, fewer desserts, more exercise. If I look too often, I might eat too little and/or move too much trying to get the scale to move and that either leads to injury or burnout, then I am eating more McDonald's and ice cream while on near total rest trying to recover...

I never have any of the issues I hear other obese people, and even some thin people who are heavier than they were at 18. I put on my bathing suit and go play in the pool or on my paddle board. I am comfortable naked in front of my husband. I just hate finding clothes and it is hard to keep up with my younger, thinner husband when we go hiking. But mostly, what really keeps me on both the diet and exercise is controlling my blood sugars so that I don't experience diabetes complications. 111 this morning, even with travel, sleep interruptions and surrounded by Christmas baking. Not perfect, but quite alright :)

[EchoStache]

Monday weigh in:

11/14 200.5.
11/25 196.3 (-4.2)
11/28 193.6 (-6.9)
12/26 190.5 (-10)

[Fru-Gal]

Welp, I restarted Noom app, 2 week free trial. Not likely to pay for it (too expensive) but this will get me back on the food tracking bandwagon.

[soccerluvof4]

I will come along for the loss.

I actually started Dec 27th at 240 and my First goal is 215.] and then I will go from there.


12/27/22 Start - 240
12/31/22-  234.2

I am intermittent fasting so eat between Noon and 6pm

[Dave1442397]

I'm closing out the year at 143.5, which is one pound above where I was three weeks ago.

I'm happy with that. Three weeks ago I started eating seven days a week again, and had a few days over the holidays where I ate much more than usual (family get togethers, etc). I think I'll stick with two meals a day, eating between 7am and 12pm, and see how that goes for the next month or so. I'm finding that routine very easy to maintain.

[ixtap]

Welp, I restarted Noom app, 2 week free trial. Not likely to pay for it (too expensive) but this will get me back on the food tracking bandwagon.

Have you looked at MyFitnessPal?

[Fru-Gal]

Have you looked at MyFitnessPal?

Yes and will go back to it after I finish 2 weeks with Noom.

[Zamboni]

Good work, everyone, keep it up!

[LeftA]

I’m going to join! I lost a few pounds in 2022, starting in early fall. I’m already quite active and live an alcohol free life, so it’s all about what I eat. I was successful with the occasional fast and just eating less overall. My goal is to lose a few more pounds (3-5?) as I’m at the very top of a healthy BMI for my height.

[Vashy]

Joining here - I'm down 3kgs from my lockdown-related all-time high, but plenty left to go. I'm planning to reach "normal" (in BMI terms) weight by the end of the year. I've sprung for an Apple Watch with Fitness+ so I can track multiple factors (heart rate, overall activity). I like to have some data, but didn't love the Fitbit.

[Metalcat]

I'm up a few pounds thanks to a two month restaurant binge DH and I went on before we got stuck at home for pre-surgery isolation and then post-surgery recovery. We ate out every few days basically.

We spent half the year away where the food is generally bland and atrocious, and we are going back as soon as I recover enough to handle stairs, so we decided to go all out and binge eat our way through the wondrous array of ethnic restaurants around here.

Thankfully, with intermittent fasting, the impact was pretty modest, as in 3-4lbs. You can only overeat so much when you eat once a day.

I'm still mid-healthy range, but expect to gain more in recovery because I'll be stuck in bed for several weeks and won't be able to do intermittent fasting because of meds every few hours for upwards of 6 weeks before I can even start PT, and between pain and opioids, I'm not going to give a flying fuck about watching what I eat, lol.

I also have family cooking for me for the next month, so I have no control over the quality or calorie density of the food I'll be eating.
My family are all lean health nuts and scratch cook mostly vegetarian, but DH's family are also helping out and they're very obese and cook with a lot of ultra processed ingredients. I'll be high and hungry. I won't care if I get a salad or a corn dog.

So I expect I'll probably end up closer to the top end of healthy weight once all is said and done. Which is fine. Annoying, but whatevs, I'll have much bigger priorities than a bit of weight gain to worry about.

But yeah, expect me to be making an appearance in this thread in the future as I work to shave of yet another chunk of illness/meds-related gain.

As I said: annoying.

[regenaeb]

Joining this group for more accountability this year. I am doing a biggest loser challenge with hubby. He needs to lose 12.5 pounds by mid-April for his next military weigh in. I want to lose 7.5lbs by the same time. We have set up a prize for each other depending on which one wins. But we also decided to go Hell's Kitchen/Chef Ramsay style and add a punishment to the loser of the challenge. Honestly, I think each of us is more worried about the punishment then the prize. If both of us hits the weight loss, we set then whichever one loses more than their goal the most is the winner.

DH and I are very competitive people, this kind of motivation works really well for us. The trash talking has already started between us, which makes this fun.

Starting weight 137.5 pounds
1. First goal is to be at 130 pounds or less by 4/15/23.
2. Second goal is to be at 125 pounds by 7/15/23.
3. Third goal is to be at 120 pounds by 12/31/23.

The first goal is very obtainable for me, and I usually can hit this goal each spring when I start to lose weight. The second goal is usually where I get stuck. I have not been able to get to less than 125lbs in over 5 years. This is where the accountability comes in from this group posts.

[LeftA]

I’m super pleased to report that I lost another pound! I had hit a plateau, and with the holidays it has taken me forever to lose this pound. I haven’t been this low since sometime in 2008! At this point, I’m aiming to lose another 3-5 pounds. But, will bask in glow of my accomplishment, LOL.

@regenaeb , welcome!

[regenaeb]

Stepped on the scale this morning and I am down 1 lb. Happy to see the progress. Continuing to watch my sugar consumption and dealing with the headaches from sugar withdraw, but overall, a good weekend. Went skiing with my daughter on Saturday and walked 8 miles on Sunday. Back to strength training today to start the week off right.

Starting weight 137.5lbs
Today 136.5lbs
Goal 130lbs

[jrhampt]

I lost around 15 pandemic pounds in 2021 over a period of a few months.  I'd never had issues staying around a good comfortable weight before, which for me is about 140-145 lbs.  Prior to my pandemic diet, the last time I tried to lose more than a couple pounds of weight was over 20 years ago when I gained weight on the depo shot.  I've never been overweight technically, but once I get towards the higher end of healthy BMI range, my boobs swell up and I feel uncomfortably fluffy doing certain yoga poses, so I don't like to get above 155 (and again, it's only happened twice before in my entire life).  I exercise a lot and can usually eat whatever I want without worrying about it - the pandemic interrupted my usual exercise routine (although I was running every day, I wasn't doing much weight training since I wasn't using the gym), and then I got really exuberant about brunch and happy hour and restaurants in general and feasting with friends once we all got vaccinated pre-delta, so...I had to do some math and get serious about losing weight for a few months.

Well, between thanksgiving last year, a round of covid in December just before Christmas (I actually gained weight w Covid due to 0 physical activity for about 10 days plus being hungry with paxlovid for some reason), and then Christmas itself, I got up over 155 AGAIN and haven't been able to shake it off since New Years.  It's like my metabolism just stopped working for me...normally I can moderate for a couple of weeks, do a little IF, and then I'm good.  Not this time, so I figure maybe I restricted food too much and have started to consciously add more protein since I always exercise regularly.  It's just so unusual and so frustrating that my body has stopped working for me.

[Omy]

I have felt that in the past...but last year, I committed to counting every calorie for 3 months and keeping carbs under 100g per day. The weight came off at about a pound a week. It was so slow that I wouldn't have even noticed at first if I wasn't tracking it so closely.  I recommend this approach, because if you are vigilant about tracking, you'll have a journal that you and your doctor or dietitian can review if you really aren't metabolizing properly.

[StarBright]

I have felt that in the past...but last year, I committed to counting every calorie for 3 months and keeping carbs under 100g per day. The weight came off at about a pound a week. It was so slow that I wouldn't have even noticed at first if I wasn't tracking it so closely.  I recommend this approach, because if you are vigilant about tracking, you'll have a journal that you and your doctor or dietitian can review if you really aren't metabolizing properly.

I agree with this. I hate tracking and as an adult have leaned towards intuitive eating and stayed in a healthy BMI range. But a few years ago I had a doc who was on me to lose some weight before they would refer me to a rheumatologist. So I tracked pretty religiously for a while.  And then I still didn't lose weight, but they saw that I was eating a super healthy diet, so I got my referral.

Tracking for a little while will give you a baseline for what your body does and that can be helpful and interesting.

As I've hit my 40s I've gone up 10 pounds and started tracking again to see what I could do about it last year  My eating hasn't changed that much from a few years ago and I've really grappled with whether or not I want to track every bite that goes into mouth. But I'm making decisions from an informed position.

[regenaeb]

Starting weight 137.5lbs
Today 132.6lbs
Goal 130lbs

January was a great month for me and weight loss. I can't believe in 32 days I lost 5 lbs. I have kept added sugars out of my diet, no booze, eating clean and walking. I am a runner that runs half marathons. But after a tough fall running schedule, I took a break over the holidays. It is super cold out here in MA right now so no outdoor running, which is the running I love. I have been instead just walking this month. Goal each day is 10,000 steps but most days hit at least 15,000. I have also had at least 20,000 step days this month. The movement is probably the most helpful thing I am doing besides the good eating. I am turning 47 next week and find that sitting is the enemy of weight loss when you are over 45. If I sit most of the day and then just do a 30-45 min run on the treadmill I don't lose that much weight. Getting up every hour and walking around my house for at least 10 minutes and then walking on the treadmill at night after dinner at the gym keeps me moving and not sitting all the time. This is really the only thing I am doing different this time.

DH is struggling a little bit, so I don't feel right bragging to him about my weight loss for our competition between us this spring. I am hoping he can figure things out and start losing again or March is going to be a rough month in regards to his mood. His weigh in is 4/14 at work (he is military). This would be the first time he does not make weight in 33 years of service. He will not take it well I am afraid. His choice then is to do the physical fitness test, which I believe he can pass easily, but he doesn't think so.

[Fru-Gal]

So I’ve been tracking food on Noom for free since December 30. Only a few misses. When I go to my parents’ place I work hard and eat hard and forget to track food at all.

Weight is down about 5 lbs. So from here I’d like to lose about 10 lbs. I started very occasional jogging around Thanksgiving. My running is really improving and my VO2 max is in the top 5% for my age, according to my watch. I consider this a vanity metric, who knows how accurate it is, but at least I can see improvement since I know what my top VO2 max was about a year ago, and now I’m about to surpass it.

I feel like the running is going to burn off some pounds. But I’m avoiding what I did over the past few years, which was running very long (marathon training) and not lifting at all, while eating a ton and gaining weight and getting slower. So an emphasis on running 3-6 miles at a faster pace, I hope, will avoid that.

Lifting continues to be very good, many strength gains and consistency while being chill about it and not writing anything down.

[Fru-Gal]

Oh, one other thing, I am doing better about being conscious of what my snacking desires are. I like salty and crunchy, and recently was quite satisfied in the evening with a very large plate of celery and mushrooms that I generously salted. If I can grow my repertoire of low-calorie-density foods, that’s a good thing.

[regenaeb]

Starting weight 137.5lbs
Today 130.8lbs
Goal 130lbs by 4/14/23

Have lost over 6.5lbs since the new year. Only .8 left to hit my first goal. Starting back to running this week (training for a half marathon mid-April), this will stop the weight loss for a couple of weeks. I also hold onto water for the first 3 weeks I start running as my body is repairing the muscles I am working while running. But it will eventually give in and start losing again. Think I am going to stay off the scale for a couple weeks, it helps me mentally to stay focused on just my running in the beginning, not the scale.

[mm1970]

I have felt that in the past...but last year, I committed to counting every calorie for 3 months and keeping carbs under 100g per day. The weight came off at about a pound a week. It was so slow that I wouldn't have even noticed at first if I wasn't tracking it so closely.  I recommend this approach, because if you are vigilant about tracking, you'll have a journal that you and your doctor or dietitian can review if you really aren't metabolizing properly.

I agree with this. I hate tracking and as an adult have leaned towards intuitive eating and stayed in a healthy BMI range. But a few years ago I had a doc who was on me to lose some weight before they would refer me to a rheumatologist. So I tracked pretty religiously for a while.  And then I still didn't lose weight, but they saw that I was eating a super healthy diet, so I got my referral.

Tracking for a little while will give you a baseline for what your body does and that can be helpful and interesting.

As I've hit my 40s I've gone up 10 pounds and started tracking again to see what I could do about it last year  My eating hasn't changed that much from a few years ago and I've really grappled with whether or not I want to track every bite that goes into mouth. But I'm making decisions from an informed position.

I tracked religiously for a couple of months, twice, last year, only to lose 1 lb a MONTH.  Yup, I'm over it.

Instead, I've decided to give the intuitive thing a whirl, but I'm in a paid coaching group.  In two weeks I've learned:
1. Put the damn fork down between bites.
2.  Eat while not distracted, and enjoy the food (I am better at this when with others, usually I eat and work.).  Stop when satisfied.
3.  Plan a treat every day. 

The menopausal body might not lose much weight, but if I can avoid further weight gain, that'll be good.

[Vashy]

Joining here - I'm down 3kgs from my lockdown-related all-time high, but plenty left to go. I'm planning to reach "normal" (in BMI terms) weight by the end of the year. I've sprung for an Apple Watch with Fitness+ so I can track multiple factors (heart rate, overall activity). I like to have some data, but didn't love the Fitbit.

Now down a total of 9kgs (just under 20 pounds). Plenty more to go, but the changes are quite noticeable.

[Metalcat]

I'm up a few pounds thanks to a two month restaurant binge DH and I went on before we got stuck at home for pre-surgery isolation and then post-surgery recovery. We ate out every few days basically.

We spent half the year away where the food is generally bland and atrocious, and we are going back as soon as I recover enough to handle stairs, so we decided to go all out and binge eat our way through the wondrous array of ethnic restaurants around here.

Thankfully, with intermittent fasting, the impact was pretty modest, as in 3-4lbs. You can only overeat so much when you eat once a day.

I'm still mid-healthy range, but expect to gain more in recovery because I'll be stuck in bed for several weeks and won't be able to do intermittent fasting because of meds every few hours for upwards of 6 weeks before I can even start PT, and between pain and opioids, I'm not going to give a flying fuck about watching what I eat, lol.

I also have family cooking for me for the next month, so I have no control over the quality or calorie density of the food I'll be eating.
My family are all lean health nuts and scratch cook mostly vegetarian, but DH's family are also helping out and they're very obese and cook with a lot of ultra processed ingredients. I'll be high and hungry. I won't care if I get a salad or a corn dog.

So I expect I'll probably end up closer to the top end of healthy weight once all is said and done. Which is fine. Annoying, but whatevs, I'll have much bigger priorities than a bit of weight gain to worry about.

But yeah, expect me to be making an appearance in this thread in the future as I work to shave of yet another chunk of illness/meds-related gain.

As I said: annoying.

So, I haven't gained nearly as much as I expected.

I had to stop intermittent fasting because I was taking meds 6 times a day, plus I was high, and my lovely DH is a bit of a feeder. Add to that I was barely moving and that's why I figured that I would likely gain at least 15lbs. But I didn't, I'm only up 5lbs, but some of that is metal and some of it is swelling.

I'm still very sedentary since I'm nowhere near being able to walk without crutches and I can only stand for about 5 minutes, but I'm off the opioids and back to intermittent fasting, so I shouldn't gain any further.

I'm not doing one meal a day (OMAD) fasting though, I don't think that would be optimal for healing. I'm doing a 6-8hr eating window most days, with at least one 12hr eating day mixed in per week just to keep my metabolism up.

[StarBright]

I have felt that in the past...but last year, I committed to counting every calorie for 3 months and keeping carbs under 100g per day. The weight came off at about a pound a week. It was so slow that I wouldn't have even noticed at first if I wasn't tracking it so closely.  I recommend this approach, because if you are vigilant about tracking, you'll have a journal that you and your doctor or dietitian can review if you really aren't metabolizing properly.

I agree with this. I hate tracking and as an adult have leaned towards intuitive eating and stayed in a healthy BMI range. But a few years ago I had a doc who was on me to lose some weight before they would refer me to a rheumatologist. So I tracked pretty religiously for a while.  And then I still didn't lose weight, but they saw that I was eating a super healthy diet, so I got my referral.

Tracking for a little while will give you a baseline for what your body does and that can be helpful and interesting.

As I've hit my 40s I've gone up 10 pounds and started tracking again to see what I could do about it last year  My eating hasn't changed that much from a few years ago and I've really grappled with whether or not I want to track every bite that goes into mouth. But I'm making decisions from an informed position.

The menopausal body might not lose much weight, but if I can avoid further weight gain, that'll be good.

^ this is 100% where I am now. Just don't gain anymore so that I don't put myself in danger of yoyoing later.

My obgyn is also talking early menopause and that really seems to track for what is going on with me the last couple of years.

[jrhampt]

Well, I don't know if it's that my body has finally recovered from Covid or that I started taking metformin about 6 weeks ago or a bit of both, but my metabolism has started working again the way it's supposed to -- the math is making sense again.  I've lost about 8 pounds despite two weeks in Europe during which I was very physically active but absolutely no dieting took place, intermittent fasting ceased, and loads of pastry were consumed.  I've been back to my normal exercise routine and not eating between 8 and noon, reasonable calorie deficit, and I'm down 1-2 pounds a week exactly as should be happening.  I have no idea why it wasn't working for the 6 weeks between New Year's and mid-February.  I'll be in Europe again in a week, but I should be back down to target/normal weight by the end of April.  Maybe it's the metformin?  Covid is known to trigger diabetes, so could be some insulin resistance that happened afterward.

[EchoStache]

Monday weigh in:

11/14 200.5.
11/25 196.3 (-4.2)
11/28 193.6 (-6.9)
12/26 190.5 (-10)

03/25 199 lbs.......started tracking. 
3/30 194

I've started tracking 100%, let's see if that keeps things moving.   Shooting for ~2,000 calories a day, subject to change.

[LeftA]

Has anybody lost weight simply from a huge reduction in day to day stress?

I exercise a lot, eat moderately and don’t drink alcohol. But, my weight hasn’t changed at all in months. I’m at a normal BMI after dropping 7 pounds. I’m set to have a lot less stress in my life and wonder if it will help me drop weight, as I’ve read a lot of stress can impede weight loss…

[regenaeb]

Starting weight 137.5lbs
Today 128.6lbs
Goal 130lbs by 4/14/23
New goal less then 125lbs by 6/30/23

Hit my weight goal almost a month earlier, which has never happened for me, so I am extremely pleased. Now the past 2 weeks I have not lost anything, because I am back to training for my half marathon in a couple of weeks. I always hold onto water for the first couple of weeks of training while my muscles are recovering from the new workout routine. But it should drop sometime this week and be back to losing again. At least, I hope that is the case. My next goal is to be under 125lbs before we move at the end of June. Doesn't look like it should be a problem, but the closer we get to the move, the more stress I will feel, and I tend not to lose weight when I am super stressed, even with the increase in running I do for stress relief.

On another note, since I have beaten my goal of 130lbs by 4/14/23 and am down an additional 1.4lbs, I am doing well in my weight loss challenge with DH. He has also hit his goal weight and a couple of extra pounds. We are currently tied in this challenge. He has been traveling this week and will again next week, so that is an advantage to me since he normally struggles to lose weight while traveling for work. His schedule gets crazy, so he can't get to the gym when he wants. He also has to eat out at restaurants with work people and that is never good when trying to lose weight. Less than 2 weeks to go until we do our final weigh ins to see who the winner is, and which one is the loser that gets a punishment.

[Metalcat]

Well, I did end up gaining a bit more. I wasn't able to consistently do even a long eating window of intermittent fasting because apparently a broken femur dictates that you have to eat more. That wole healing thing. Plus I wasn't allowed to run a calorie deficit at all, so any days that I was over my pathetically low burn for the day, it would add up to gaining. It didn't help that I had family cooking for me for a few months and a lot of it was very calorie dense food.

Again, not a tonne, just two pounds a month on average, but now I have clearance to lose weight, so that's good.

I'm a little more mobile now too, which should help because I've literally been in bed 99% of the time for 4 straight months. I can feel that my metabolism is in the toilet again.

I'm doing some alternate day fasting to boost my metabolism. The theory is that the benefit isn't so much from the days not eating, it's from the days where I eat a tonne. Getting my body used to burning large amounts of food is supposed to rev up its ability to process and use that much food energy.

Who knows, but I do know that it objectively boosts my energy, allows me to increase my caloric intake above maintenance, and start losing weight. And I *really* need to get my daily calorie burn up, because right now my maintenance level is probably a pathetic 1200-1300 calories, which is just not okay.

Yesterday was my first full fading day, and it was very easy because my body was already adapted to doing this before surgery. But HOLY FUCK I forgot about the insomnia.

This is why I only do alternate day fasting when I actively need to repair metabolism that's in the toilet, because fuuuucking ketones are like coffee, and if I don't eat, I can't sleep. That's why I switched to eating in the evening, food would knock me out.

So we'll see how long I last doing this if the insomnia doesn't ease up. I'm aiming for only a few weeks, so we'll see.

My BMI is currently 23.5, and I would like to bring it back down to under 22. I'm fine with the weight I'm currently at, but I have to do this whole surgical process over again and I don't want to gain to over 25 with the second one.

I have 4 months, and I usually lose at a rate of about 2lbs/mo (same rate I tend to gain when my health is a disaster), so I can reasonably expect to be back to exactly where I started before the last surgery.

All in time to gain again and have to lose it again. FML, lol

[regenaeb]

Starting weight 137.5lbs
Today 126.6
Goal 130lbs by 4/14/23 - DONE!
New goal less then 125lbs by 6/30/23

Only 1.6 pounds to go to hit my next goal. I was surprised and happy to report I did not gain any weight over my vacation to Hawaii this month. I ran a half marathon while there, which of course helped, but stayed active while there, only ate 2 meals a day (it is expensive to eat out in Hawaii as most people are aware), with an afternoon snack (that we brought with us. I only had 1 single glass of wine/alcohol the entire trip. That was probably the key, kept my sugar content low and stayed away from the booze.

Started back to running outside since the weather is finally warming up here in New England, forgot how much I miss being outside each day. It is good for my soul.

[Josiecat22222]

@Metalcat, congratulations on the improved mobility!  I'm glad to hear you are healing well.  And it's impressive to only have gained 2lbs/mo while on near complete bedrest! I'm sure with the improved mobility you will see the results you are seeking.  Just saying hi and wishing you well from the US!!

[Serendip]

Haven't weighed myself just yet but will do so tomorrow morning.

 I am trying on summer clothing as part of a clean up and can tell that I'm at a lower weight than last year (which was a high weight point for me) b/c I have a pair of shorts that can be done up easily which I was going to give away before trying on.

 However, I still have some belly fat  and could lose up to 10lbs more. My mother has diabetes and my sister has major metabolic issues so for health purposes I might try to lose that last 8-10lbs this year (am also on a low-buy so having my clothes fit more comfortably and loosely is a big help to quell urges to purchase things)

[DeniseNJ]

I'm at 137.  Started out a year and a half ago at 173. It took about 6 months to get to maybe 145 and then it was a real struggle to get down to 140 but that's basically what I stay at without counting calories. I still do want to get down to 135, and that's only 2 pounds but it's hard to stay there.

When I started this I went hard at skin care since I didn't want my face to shrivel up--I'm 52. But I didn't pay much attention to my body, which wasn't in great shape before.  I always had belly fat, then I had two kids, and I've yo-yo dieted since I was 8 yrs old. Now I definitely have belly fat/skin that I don't see going anywhere without a tummy tuck. I basically look exactly the same as I did before only just smaller.  With no exercise I'm not in any better shape at all.  But I really hate to exercise. Alas.

I think that intermittent fasting might help my skin.  I've been learning about autophagy.  That and I'll start apply all my skin care and gadgets to my tummy to see how that goes.  Dermarolling and acid peels should help, which I do on my face.

Is anyone else suffering with lose flabby skin?  Any suggestions?

[Metalcat]

I've done IF for well over a year and haven't seen a lick of change in terms of loose skin.

I have a bit on my inner thighs from when I lost from obese to very lean, but I lost when I was in my early 30s, so I think age accounted for a lot of that.

I would say to do IF if you enjoy it and it makes your body feel better than not doing IF, but I wouldn't do it specifically for loose skin. I've personally never seen any before/after photos that actually show substantial loose skin improvements from IF.

It *could* happen, who knows.

I personally *love* IF and really dislikes having to go back to frequent eating after surgery. So no harm in trying it and seeing if you prefer it, and then maybe you will get lucky and see improvement.

I definitely see a change in my skin since starting IF, I seem to need to exfoliate an insane amount, it's doing something to my skin turnover process for sure. Every few days I need to exfoliate my whole body and just gobs and gobs of dead skin cells come off, it's kind of gross, and rather annoying. My skin does look and feel really nice though as long as I stay on top of it, but if I don't it literally feels rough after about 3 days.

So it's doing *something* to my skin turnover, but it's not removing excess skin, that's for sure. Granted, since I started I lost weight and then gained some from surgery, all of which makes loose skin worse. So perhaps it is doing something in that it hasn't gotten any worse.

Who knows.

[Just Joe]

Just following along. Down 12.1 lbs. Have alot to go. The downward trend is satisfying fast or slow.

My health insurance offered up a free scale with tracking app for free. I bit b/c our existing scale seemed to be out of calibration even after we calibrated it per the instructions.
DW and I were surprised to see HOW off our old scale was after we both had physicals. That number can't be right - could it? Well, it jives with the doctor's office numbers...

Using intermittent fasting. No food after 8PM most of the time and I don't eat breakfast. We do both drink coffee from home each morning. We are both eating salads from home 3-4 times per work week. Most dinners are at home.

I'm neither diabetic nor pre-diabetic (in the family though) and I can see a big improvement in my energy. Previously I was (I think) sugar crashing alot in the mornings or afternoon after lousy food. No more cereal for me. Closer to a dessert than a meal for me. That chapter of life has closed.

The rest of the time I'm eating reasonable quantities of reasonable foods. More veggies. Continuing my general avoidance of lunch with coworkers which seems to often involve drive-thru food and carbonated sweet drinks. I have had a salad out in front of coworkers and endured their silent judgments. ;)

Not any more active. Its summer. It is typically hot enough here and my heat tolerance low enough that just being active around the house is all I'm willing to do. More this winter. Did walk several miles the other day without much back/ankle/etc pain. Want to keep that up but reduce the distances. Less distance, more regularity.

[DeniseNJ]

Hi everyone.  I managed to maintain 140 for I guess a year or so.  But recently I did two weeks of binging and gained 5 pounds.  So how come you can gain 5 pounds in 2 weeks but it takes a month to lose it?  My binging was buying a 2 pound bag of pumpkin seeds and spreading them on everything.  I gorged on yogurt, granola, and pumpkin seeds.  I think that's all I ate for a whole week.  I'm out of the seeds now and back on my regular fruit/veg diet.

Everything at the produce store looks so good.  I make an enormous fruit salad that lasts almost a week.  I prep all the lettuce and toppings (carrot, radishes etc.), cut everything up and eat enormous salads.  I was putting my pumpkin seeds on both, but luckily I'm out of seeds.

Anyway, I'm not any more active.  If anything I'm less active, if it's possible.  I discovered binging old tv shows and watched all of Dr. Who lying in bed flat on my back with my phone propped up in this thing that keeps it held over my head.  It's like I'm bed-ridden.  As a result I'm sore and achy all over.  Some day when I actually am bed-ridden I'll look back at this time with regret that I actually had a functioning body and spent it lying in bed.  I gotta get out more.  In fact, my dh started walking the dogs so I don't even leave the house for days at a time.  So more than losing weight, my goal is to get out of this house daily.

[Just Joe]

On the binging - not idea. Went on a work trip and gained a few pounds too. Will take a week or two to remove.

When I travel alone, I eat normally and sometimes better than home. When I travel with coworkers meals are very social and inevitably high calorie.

I did eat a salad at one meal while everyone else ate high calorie pub food. That was tough!

The salad was amazing but not as amazing as those sandwiches they ate looked. ;)

[LeftA]

Has anybody lost weight simply from a huge reduction in day to day stress?

I exercise a lot, eat moderately and don’t drink alcohol. But, my weight hasn’t changed at all in months. I’m at a normal BMI after dropping 7 pounds. I’m set to have a lot less stress in my life and wonder if it will help me drop weight, as I’ve read a lot of stress can impede weight loss…

I have my answer. I lose weight with less stress! I made no changes to my diet or activity level, and after about 3 months of having less stress, I started losing again! I lost about 2 pounds in approximately 1 month. This was particularly remarkable as I had not fallen below this threshold weight in over 15 years. Then, I went on an extended vacation, where my eating schedule was very different due to cultural norms. It’s been 36 hours since I got off the plane and it looks like I only gained 1 pound. If this is accurate (I often need a couple of days after a long plane ride for my weight to settle), then I’m still at a low weight for me. I’d love to lose 3 pounds from where I am now, but will settle for what I was pre-trip.

@Just Joe , congratulations on the 12 pound loss!

@DeniseNJ , I totally agree that gaining is SO much easier than losing!

[Zamboni]

Hi everyone, happy to hear that so many of you have kept at it despite some ups and downs.

My BMI finally got high enough by the end of 2021 that insurance covered going to a weight loss doctor. He gave me a choice of 3 diets (keto, restricted calorie, and 2x meal replacement shakes) and I chose keto. I've tried all three of those over my life and felt the best restricting carbs. I also have a problem of not eating much protein if left to my own devices, so keto cures that. I track with LoseIt, which I really like. It is cheaper than My Fitness Pal and seems to do the same things.

Anyway, long story short, despite my lack of exercise I went from mid-250's to below 200 last year, and I've maintained 190-200 since then. I gave myself a break and ignored keto rules for about a month, but now I'm back on the wagon. Mostly this is because carbs seem to cause a lot of inflammation for me, which makes things like my feet hurt badly. Simply removing carbs eliminates that. I don't know if it's the carbs or gluten or something else, but I like feeling better.

In April I started skiing again (right at the end of the season, Ha!) My life with a ski bum parent means I'm still a very good skier, but my fitness wasn't great, obviously. But right after that I was in a serious car wreck (hit by an impaired driver, boo!) That totally derailed me with injury. So now it's August, injuries are mostly rehabbed at least to the point I can exercise normally, and I'm gonna try to get in better ski shape for the upcoming winter. Making my goal to sustain my weight below 190 for the first time in years.

[Just Joe]

Hi everyone, happy to hear that so many of you have kept at it despite some ups and downs.

My BMI finally got high enough by the end of 2021 that insurance covered going to a weight loss doctor. He gave me a choice of 3 diets (keto, restricted calorie, and 2x meal replacement shakes) and I chose keto. I've tried all three of those over my life and felt the best restricting carbs. I also have a problem of not eating much protein if left to my own devices, so keto cures that. I track with LoseIt, which I really like. It is cheaper than My Fitness Pal and seems to do the same things.

Anyway, long story short, despite my lack of exercise I went from mid-250's to below 200 last year, and I've maintained 190-200 since then. I gave myself a break and ignored keto rules for about a month, but now I'm back on the wagon. Mostly this is because carbs seem to cause a lot of inflammation for me, which makes things like my feet hurt badly. Simply removing carbs eliminates that. I don't know if it's the carbs or gluten or something else, but I like feeling better.

In April I started skiing again (right at the end of the season, Ha!) My life with a ski bum parent means I'm still a very good skier, but my fitness wasn't great, obviously. But right after that I was in a serious car wreck (hit by an impaired driver, boo!) That totally derailed me with injury. So now it's August, injuries are mostly rehabbed at least to the point I can exercise normally, and I'm gonna try to get in better ski shape for the upcoming winter. Making my goal to sustain my weight below 190 for the first time in years.

Congrats on the weight loss and recovery from the car accident.

I too may have the carbs = inflammation issues. Just starting to explore that idea. I cut out my worst vice (ice cream) and made it a monthly treat. Noticed that my achy Achilles heel tendon problem disappeared. That has been a long term problem. Wondering if it is a basic dairy problem as much as anything else. I have reduced my milk intake over the past year as well, but not eliminated it. 

[RetireOrDieTrying]

My journey started with losing 80 lb. in the last 5 months through simple calorie deficit. Critically, though, I didn't start with a number in mind - I wanted to change my habits, and fitness would simply follow, and stick.

I'm now working my calories back up to maintenance level with trial-and-error. So far it's more error, as I've continued to lose, just at a lower rate. I don't really want to lose much more, to be honest. I'm starting to look rather beanpole-ish.

As hoped/expected, the habits are taking hold. I routinely choose much better foods. I avoid processed as much as possible. The real interesting thing, though, is that my tastes themselves have changed, and my body's reaction to things I used to consume en masse.

Now, eating anything with heavy sugar makes me feel terrible. Three weeks ago I was having dinner with family, and they'd purchased an Amish peanut butter pie. Loads of sugar and whipped cream. They finally coaxed me into having a very, VERY small piece. Right away, it hit my stomach like a ton of bricks, and I just felt... yucky. THAT was quite the eye-opener, as I used to have a huge sugar habit (18-24 Dr. Peppers a day, plus snack cakes). I now geniunely don't enjoy sugary... well, anything.

It's the same story with heavily fried foods. I used to LOVE fried potatoes, fried fish, fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, cream gravy, etc. Now, having even a little of them just makes me feel like I swallowed lead.

It'll be interesting to see, over time, how these observations hold.

[ixtap]

I am kind of jealous people who are put off the junk food after a few months of healthy eating. That has never happened to me.