How to lose weight?

[kamuimac]

please read my post - including ALL of the sentence you highlighted. obviously 5kg dumbells few times a week are not going to do it. but it doesn't mean its impossible. it takes dedication, knowing how to maximize your workouts and years and years of consistency. or tossing around large blobs oh molten glass hanging from a long metal pipe and shaping them with another metal pipe - again for years.
.

i deliberately speak about 5 kg dumbels becauase if you ever took any fitness classes you know how exhausting is using those while exercising for 60 minutes even for trianed man

99,9% of women in gym dont use big weights. and yet 100% of them are scared of getting muscles

[Poppen]

eat less move more

it ain't rocket science

[hansalite]

eat less move more

it ain't rocket science

This, also you just gotta accept beeing hungry, thats the real hard part.

[Mamut]

Ok, let me tell you guys my story about losing weight. I got lazy and become fat, really fat. I tried to lose weight many times with some succes and then I everytime gained it back. At 188cm height my weight was 133 kg in my worst time.

Finally I realized that this is the time when I have to do something about it because if this time I fail again I just never will get in shape and I really wanted to feel better about myself. I was fully aware this wont be easy and this will take alot of work and time because I wasn't interested in losing weight fast only to gain it back again. Thats why instead thinkig about losing like 40 kg I set myself small steps to achieve. First step I set up at 123 kg so from obesity class II to obesity class I, when I reached it I set next step at 113 kg so halfway from obesity to overweight. And again I achieved it and my next goal was 105 kg to move from obesity to overweight. And you know what? I fuking did it.

Now Im at 101 kg and my goal is so see 99 kg for the first time in years. After that I wanna weight below 90 kg.
The most important thing for me was concentrating on those small steps. Never try to lose weight too fast. Never compare yurself to other people, just concentrate on your small steps and do it.

I wanted to run but I was too fat and it would destroy my knees so I went with bicycle. I have never used specialized diets. I cut sweets, fast foods from my diet and other trash food and was drinking alot of water. There were times when I stopped losing weight, or was losing it very slow but this time I never give up. And I feel amazing now. Its not easy, you have to put alot of work in it, but the results are worth it. And since 1 picture is worth more than words:

[Lorgran]

Ok, let me tell you guys my story about losing weight.

Interesting how similar our stories are, but of course not identical. I am also around 188ish cm, and at my biggest clocked in at 136. My goal was sub 100 kg on scale. Unfortunately I didn't record my weight until I already was down to 108 kg, but in that period I had a PT, focused a lot on eating food and not junk etc. I finally made it to 99.5 kg, first time in 15 years I was under 100kg. I wanted to set a new goal to be 90kg, but I didn't have the motivation. Being sub 100kg was a 15 year old goal. Easier to be motivated for.
I then started a new job and just focused on that, and 1.5 years later, I was back to 125kg.

Autumn last year I quit that job, and in january I decided to lose the weight again. In january-february I started walking, maybe once a week, sometimes once every 14 days. Just a 20-30 minute walk, nothing more. In march I started walking once a week, and playing frisbeegolf maybe once every 2 weeks.
Start of april I started jogging (but to be honest, mostly walking) the same 20-30 min route, and at the end of april I started jogging (and not walking at all) once every 2-3 days. So far I had used 4 months and my only success so far was that I am now able to jog 20 minutes without dying, and I lost maybe 2 kg, so basically nothing.
1st may I went, what I would call, all in. I was going to go out jogging every 2 days, no matter what... I also increased how long the route was. +5 minutes every 2ish weeks. This is to counteract the fact that I am running faster then when I started (I am now jogging 4.5-5 km in about 35 minutes)

I also changed the most important part. What I am eating.
No more candy, no more icecream, no chips (neither the snack or the fried version :P) etc. When I wanted some snack, I eat an orange or some watermelon. This is a trick that works well for me. If I want candy, I will eat something else and when I am done eating that I have forgot about the candy.
I eat watermelon, apples and/or oranges 3 times a day, for breakfast, lunch and late night snack. I have one dinner every day, and I eat basically whatever I want as long as it's something that can be called healthy-ish.
I also drink as much sugar-free soda as I want, as that removes any need for anything sweet. My poison is the sodastream version of Pepsi Max. I also only make 0.5L at the time. You know how it is. If you have 1.5L of soda next to you, you drink 1.5L... if you have 0.5L you drink 0.5L.
The day I am not jogging, I sometimes go out playing frisbeegolf, sometimes walk to the store, but most of the time I don't do anything.

My plan was to drop 1 kg per week, but it has gone a lot quicker then that. Here is my graph. I didn't record the first 5 days of may, but I started at 122kg. Today the weight was 109kg.



TLDR:
The trick to losing weight is change your diet and start moving. There's no magic cure that can do it for you :P

[Morae]

Like many people have pointed out. Eat less. Its simple as that.

While I'm still overweight, I'm not even nearly as much as many years ago when I weighed around 125kg at most.

I don't even care what I eat or do. I don't regularly do any physical activities. Then again I do not use public transports or drive a car. I walk everywhere, but thats simply personal preference rather than some attempt to lose health.
I eat pizza, drink energy drinks, etc. Yet I still lose weight slowly. Why? While I do eat these "unhealthy" foods and dont excercise, the amount I eat it small.

I didnt even intentinally start to lose weight. I did it simply because I thought I spend too much money on food so. Weight loss simply came along my money saving methods.

I just started looking at food store what I can be without. Drop something. Then live that way for a while and see, if you replace it with something. With that I basically cut my food expenses to half and I guess along with it huge cut into how much I eat. I basically got food enough for a day in my fridge. Generally speaking. During this pandemic I did store up more so I can stay at home, but other than that, dont even give yourself chances to stuff yourself.

As for how healthy this is, I dont care... at least not now. I never cared. Even the weightloss came as a byproduct. I guess it will be too late by the time I start caring, but who of us is going to live forever?

I dont know how useful actual excercise beyond normal life is. You go to gym, you probably get hungry and stuff yourself. Best result is probably that you excercise and then manage not to eat more. I used to joke with my friend about taking a jog to mcdonalds.

edit: I'm not actually sure, if have posted this earlier to this thread somewhere. Sry, if I have.

[Witchblade77]

i deliberately speak about 5 kg dumbels becauase if you ever took any fitness classes you know how exhausting is using those while exercising for 60 minutes even for trianed man

99,9% of women in gym dont use big weights. and yet 100% of them are scared of getting muscles

I know its freaking sad, because that fear comes entirely from misinformation being bandied around. (fitness classes I do take occasionally involve bodyweight though and they can STILL be exhausting :P lifting I do on my own, because I like to have a certain pace and order to it) though I wouldn't say 100% are scared. there are quite a few of us that are perfectly aware that we are not going to hulk out the moment we pick up a dumbell.

all I was saying that its not impossible, just that it requires a very specific kind of training and eating pattern and a lot of patience and dedication.

P.S. my personal goals do not involve a number on a scale, but rather a number of specific things I can perform. I'm training for a particular performance goal, so its primarily strength and endurance training. eating - I'm eating in maintenance as I'm not actualy trying to lose any weight, nor do i want to at the moment (though it would help for some of my goals, I just like the way I look right now too much so I'd rather develop extra strength before resorting to dropping body mass :P )

took my SO 2 years of dedicated training and eating in slight deficit to get to where he is right now, and now he is in maintenance. but because he took his time and was working towards lifelong habits - his maintenance calories AND his appearance as well as performance reflect it. 40 lbs over 2 years might not seem super impressive compared to same amount lost in 3 months (though its probably a bit more in terms of fat, as he has also built up quite a bit of muscle), but by god its easier for him to maintain. he's not yoyoing and his maintenance calories are around 3000 which means he is not even remotely starving to stay where he is. WORTH the patience.

as for the reason why. among other things with age come aches that we didn't used to get when younger. my joints are fine (unless I mess up when stretching, but that's me being a dum dum), but his were hurting him at higher weight. now - they don't.

[Aeriedk]

I don’t want to lift, because I don’t want muscle mass. And I think training endurance still builds muscle? Also, cardio is too much work for just losing half a meal’s worth of calories.

I used to weigh 95 lbs. Now I’m almost double that. I used to drink tea when I had cravings, but now there’s popcorn, chips and ice cream around. Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

My wife and I started losing weight about a year ago...roughly 1 month after my daughter was born. We stumbled upon myfitnesspal, an app developed by underarmor.

When I met my wife in 2012 she was 115 lbs and I was roughly 160...fast forward and I was almost 205 in July 2019...fast forward again and I'm now 140 lbs and I ran the walt disney world marathon in Jan. at 158.

All you really do is count your calories. You will find that a lot of foods that you think are low in calories aren't even though they are considered "healthy". Healthy foods can still have a lot of calories. We started eating a lot of eggs, switched from ground beef to ground turkey, added some steak to our diet and a lot more veggies. We cut going out more and when we did it was usually IHOP because once again, eggs are low in calories. I recommend egg whites and turkey sausage...eggs are sort of filling but the protein in the turkey sausage holds you over for awhile.

I understand that cardio feels like a lot of work, but it really isn't. Toss in 30 minutes of running, jogging, or even walking 3 times a week. I also started to walk during my lunch break at work. That was an extra 5 hours of walking a week.

Consider getting a food scale and weighing out portions in the beginning...it will help you understand what real portions are. I generally didn't cut anything out unless I couldn't control myself with it (I love ice cream and decided it was just better not to buy)

I also bought a smart scale that would sync up with my Garmin...this helped keep track of things. At first the weight lost number kept me motivated, but as I lost more weight (and started to lift) I noticed by body composition changed and I felt better about myself. I live in Florida so swimming is pretty big, but I always wear a shirt with my swim suit because I was embarrassed. Now I have no problem showing off my accomplishment.

I also have two young children that I now can keep up with.

If you're honest with yourself you will find new snacks. Try beef jerky (high protein, low calories). Falling off the wagon for a day isn't bad either...it happens, even allowing yourself a cheat day is OK too. Just keep up with it and results will come.

My weight goal was 138 but I honestly called it quits at 140..just didn't see the point to push for the last two pounds. Now I happily eat what I want, most of the time anyway. I still understand portions, calories, etc of the food I eat and I still continue to weigh myself. When the pounds creep back in I adjust things for a week or so and the weight comes right off.

OH I pretty much missed out on enjoying a lot of my favorite foods over the holidays, cookies, eggnog, etc., but it was worth it and now I look forward to this holiday season because I'll be able to enjoy all that stuff and feel good about myself.

I know this was a long stream of consciousness, but trust me...it works. Oh and my shirt size went from L (most of the time) and XL (some of the time) to S (most of the time) and M (some of the time).

Go for it!

Really all you do is just count your calories.

Ah one last thing. If you do decide to lift, go for high weight, low reps. Muscle mass comes from repetition, strength comes from higher weight. There is a big difference between strength and mass. I have 2 older brothers that have a whole lot more muscle mass than me, but trust me when I say I can whoop the shit out of them.

[Tic Tacs]

I don't think losing weight is a good idea unless you are completely obese and having a hard time walking stairs and so on, in that case you need to change your lifestyle by reduce calorie intake and doing what most people do - go out and walk, maybe adopt a dog if you are lazy, dog will keep you moving.

[Aeriedk]

I don't think losing weight is a good idea unless you are completely obese and having a hard time walking stairs and so on

I'm not sure I understand.

So unless your morbidly obese then you shouldn't try to lose weight? My Dad (I love him to death) is pretty heavily overweight, has diabetes and a handful of other health issues related to weight but doesn't have any trouble getting up stairs or living life. His Doctors constantly tell him that he should lose weight and I'm sure it would improve his quality of life.

What is your rationale for your argument? Why is it not a good idea?

[Revi]

I don't think losing weight is a good idea unless you are completely obese and having a hard time walking stairs and so on, in that case you need to change your lifestyle by reduce calorie intake and doing what most people do - go out and walk, maybe adopt a dog if you are lazy, dog will keep you moving.

What

Next to physical fitness, losing weight if you have too much of it like the vast majority of people do is the #1 best thing anyone can do to improve their general health both present and future, It's a very good idea.

[Aeriedk]

--Snip--

You are awesome. I love your profile pic and sig. Power to the polar bears!

[Shadowferal]

but anyways, some of the "advice" in this thread is terrifying. on a level of "get yourself a tapeworm and watch pounds drop" terrifying.

Have to agree.
I really hope some are consulting with a doctor.

Hmf..jogging in the heat and humidity I lose around 5-6lbs of water. Now I do know my limits and when I can push and when I need to stop.
And how to replace that weight. Because that's not the kinda weight I can afford to lose.

[Tic Tacs]

I'm not sure I understand.

So unless your morbidly obese then you shouldn't try to lose weight? My Dad (I love him to death) is pretty heavily overweight, has diabetes and a handful of other health issues related to weight but doesn't have any trouble getting up stairs or living life. His Doctors constantly tell him that he should lose weight and I'm sure it would improve his quality of life.

What is your rationale for your argument? Why is it not a good idea?

By obese I mean overweight to the point that daily physical activities like taking a shower, putting on cloth, walking, getting in/out of the car, personal hygiene become a struggle, otherwise, you should not lose weight unless you have other goals in mind like competing in marathon, bodybuilding and so on.

Health and weight are not directly related, example, someone who eats healthy meals every day and exercises in moderation but abuses legal drugs like alcohol, nicotine or prescription medications will end up in a far worse shape than someone who is a bit on a chubby side, same applies to stressful job, reckless behavior, sedentary lifestyle and so on.

[Alvito]

This, also you just gotta accept beeing hungry, thats the real hard part.

If your metabolism isn't out of wack you don't. Maybe at first for people extremwly over weight or people that eat a lot of sugar or bad carbs.

- - - Updated - - -

By obese I mean overweight to the point that daily physical activities like taking a shower, putting on cloth, walking, getting in/out of the car, personal hygiene become a struggle, otherwise, you should not lose weight unless you have other goals in mind like competing in marathon, bodybuilding and so on.

Health and weight are not directly related, example, someone who eats healthy meals every day and exercises in moderation but abuses legal drugs like alcohol, nicotine or prescription medications will end up in a far worse shape than someone who is a bit on a chubby side, same applies to stressful job, reckless behavior, sedentary lifestyle and so on.

if doctors are advising weight loss it certainly is connected. You also don't have to be crippled by fat to want or need to lose weight.

[Witchblade77]

By obese I mean overweight to the point that daily physical activities like taking a shower, putting on cloth, walking, getting in/out of the car, personal hygiene become a struggle, otherwise, you should not lose weight unless you have other goals in mind like competing in marathon, bodybuilding and so on.

Health and weight are not directly related, example, someone who eats healthy meals every day and exercises in moderation but abuses legal drugs like alcohol, nicotine or prescription medications will end up in a far worse shape than someone who is a bit on a chubby side, same applies to stressful job, reckless behavior, sedentary lifestyle and so on.

umm.... you are deliberately comparing unrelated conditions to claim that excess weight doesn't affect health while ignoring all the ways where weight DOES affect health. a person who eats healthy meals and exercises but doesn't abuse alcohol, etc? is going to be healthier then the person who DOES NOT eat healthy and doesn't exercises. heavier person is more likely to develop joint issues, if they are fat rather then extremely muscled - they are going to have more visceral fat in addition to subcutaneous fat and why is that important? because visceral fat is the fat on organs themselves and that impedes their proper function in multiple ways. https://www.health.harvard.edu/stayi...m-at-belly-fat

the older you get, the more adverse the effects are and the older you are, the more challenging it becomes to work up to healthier state. quality of life begins to suffer.

have you ever wondered why all the fat acceptance advocates tend to be under 30 and as soon as some of those start going into mid thirties and older, they suddenly change their lifestyle, start eating better, exercising more, losing weight? if you actualy listen to them, its not about the looks. its about their choices catching up to them.

P.S. there IS a major issue with a good number of doctors refusing to look deeper and resorting to "just lose weight" when faced with obese person and not every condition is related to obesity. and this bias IS a problem. but a good number of issues CAN be alleviated with a lifestyle change that just happens to result in weight loss along the way.

[kamuimac]

By obese I mean overweight to the point that daily physical activities like taking a shower, putting on cloth, walking, getting in/out of the car, personal hygiene become a struggle, otherwise, you should not lose weight unless you have other goals in mind like competing in marathon, bodybuilding and so on.

Health and weight are not directly related, example, someone who eats healthy meals every day and exercises in moderation but abuses legal drugs like alcohol, nicotine or prescription medications will end up in a far worse shape than someone who is a bit on a chubby side, same applies to stressful job, reckless behavior, sedentary lifestyle and so on.

thing is a lot of people are completly unaware of how bad their form is.

what you desribe is morbid obisety . you should start exercising much much sooner.

its scary how out of shape general population is.

[Tronski]

I don’t want to lift, because I don’t want muscle mass. And I think training endurance still builds muscle? Also, cardio is too much work for just losing half a meal’s worth of calories.

I used to weigh 95 lbs. Now I’m almost double that. I used to drink tea when I had cravings, but now there’s popcorn, chips and ice cream around. Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

It's probably already been said, but CBA reading through the whole thread.

Weight management isn't complicated magic. The majority of your body fat, or loss of it, comes from what you eat, and you should consider any and all exercise as means to maintain your body and your muscles. The more you exercise, the more you have to eat to compensate and to rebuild your muscles.

The real problem lies in how to manage your calorie intake. You enjoy eating, it feels good and comforting, and sometimes it's even just something to do. Overeating and snacking is a huge hurdle to overcome, but there are strategies to overcome them. There are no shortcuts, discipline and sacrifice will be your life.

Some approaches:

1: Count Calories. Eat whatever the fuck you want, but stay within your Calorie count. Let's say you're otherwise healthy, 1200-1500 Kcals a day (just a guess based on your "used to weight" do some google), a little more if you exercise. You can literally eat candy to fill your quota of the day, but you won't ever feel full and the sugar is gonna leave you craving more, so I'd advice against it. The point is that it doesn't matter. It's hard, but as long as you make some smart decisions you won't go hungry. No problem if you hit 2000 once in a while either. Setbacks will happen.

2: Avoid carbs, as much as possible or completely. Look at declarations. Anything with 5% carbs or less is a surefire way to feel full while losing weight. Stay clear of pasta, white bread(or bread at all), rice, stock up on vegetables instead. Experiment with cooking. Most vegetables can be really tasty, you can literally eat as much as you want, and it'll almost only be good for you anyway. You still have to count calories, but there's less chance of overeating.

3: Count grams of protein. There is this "golden rule" for those that work out that your muscles will have everything they need if you eat 1g/pound body weight/day / 1,5-2g/kg body weight/day. In your case, start by trying to eat 80-100g proteins a day. Boil 3 or 4 eggs for breakfast. It sounds easy enough, but you'll be so full it's hard to eat your daily quota. Chances are you'll lose your appetite as well. And to put it in perspective, 100g protein is ~400kcal, if 100 doesn't get you full, go for 150. even if you should want to stay within 1000kcal a day, you'll still have 400kcal of joy left. Minus vegetables. Always eat lots of vegetables. Broccoli is underrated. High protein diets usually lacks in fiber, so you'll have to eat some dark bread or loads of vegetables, or your stomach will disagree with you in many ways.

If nothing else, this is a place to start. Google, ask questions, find information and recipes.

Good luck!

[kamuimac]

umm.... you are deliberately comparing unrelated conditions to claim that excess weight doesn't affect health while ignoring all the ways where weight DOES affect health. a person who eats healthy meals and exercises but doesn't abuse alcohol, etc? is going to be healthier then the person who DOES NOT eat healthy and doesn't exercises. heavier person is more likely to develop joint issues, if they are fat rather then extremely muscled - they are going to have more visceral fat in addition to subcutaneous fat and why is that important? because visceral fat is the fat on organs themselves and that impedes their proper function in multiple ways. https://www.health.harvard.edu/stayi...m-at-belly-fat

the older you get, the more adverse the effects are and the older you are, the more challenging it becomes to work up to healthier state. quality of life begins to suffer.

have you ever wondered why all the fat acceptance advocates tend to be under 30 and as soon as some of those start going into mid thirties and older, they suddenly change their lifestyle, start eating better, exercising more, losing weight? if you actualy listen to them, its not about the looks. its about their choices catching up to them.

P.S. there IS a major issue with a good number of doctors refusing to look deeper and resorting to "just lose weight" when faced with obese person and not every condition is related to obesity. and this bias IS a problem. but a good number of issues CAN be alleviated with a lifestyle change that just happens to result in weight loss along the way.

agreed about age . 10000000% . i see the biggest shift in people. around 30 and 40 years .

usually the advocatees of "eat any junk you want" are 18-20 and have no idea how body changes with age.

[Tic Tacs]

umm.... you are deliberately comparing unrelated conditions to claim that excess weight doesn't affect health while ignoring all the ways where weight DOES affect health.

Everything affects your health... browsing social media affects your health, wiping in M+ affects your health, smoking weed after affects your health, drinking beer with your buddies affects your health, drinking and driving affects your health, 2014 fucked me up real good, we can't help ourselves... weight is the last thing anyone should worry about.