6 ms·

Sure. For context, I started about 150-160 lb overweight, meaning that many lbs away from having a BMI in the normal range. I was very obese, BMI in the 40's, I

Sure. For context, I started about 150-160 lb overweight, meaning that many lbs away from having a BMI in the normal range. I was very obese, BMI in the 40's, I think. I started out by just restricting my calories in my diet (1100-1300 cal each day roughly [1], but I still saw some decent wt loss with up to 1600-1700 cals). My core weight loss diet has changed *a lot* but has generally been a mix of whole grains, fruit, veggies, dairy, and a serving of poultry. Hard to explain in one post, but I can try to be more specific if you'd like. 3-5 meals a day, no I.F., just ate less and I felt less hungry overall. The cravings have come and gone at different periods, though, never totally gone. For the first ~70 lbs, I was able to lose 10 lbs in 1-2 weeks by staying on the diet religiously each day. I mainly ate the same exact meal plan every day. (I spent a lot of my day thinking about all the great food I missed.) After that week or two, I would "take a break" and get takeout or other nonsense each day for some weeks following that. Perhaps lucky on my part, I wouldn't generally see much weight come back, maybe only 2 or 3 lbs. In summary, my cycle was diet 1-2wks, break for a while until I convinced myself to get back on the wagon, and repeat. It always helped to see that the first few days of dieting were the ones where I lost the most weight, before it slowed down. To answer the exercise part, literally all I did was take 1-2 walks a day of 30 min each. Not a brisk walk, just walking around the town or our trails. Occasionally I felt like trying to jog or run, or do some lifting, but never got consistent with it. Sometimes I paced around my apartment thinking about how to solve work problems, but that was about it. Since I lost that first 70 lb, the rate of weight loss has gradually slowed. These days I sometimes lift weights or do cardio to help see a little more loss each day. If I'm consistent, my weight loss is like 3-4 lbs/week, but I haven't done it lately. Gotta get back on my diet soon. [1] sidenote, that includes fiber calories which I think technically are not supposed to be included. I'm no nutritionist, even though I came up with a lot of this diet myself using some Internet research and Cronometer.

Teknoman117 4y ago
I'm basically doing the same thing right now. Started at 420 in November, need to be at ~220 (I'm a bulky 6'4 dude), so, 200 pounds to get rid of. The most I ever lost in recent years was when I went on Kaiser's medically monitored weight-loss program (a soft prerequisite to be eligible for bariatric surgery through them). Liquid diet, 860 calories a day, frequent blood work, etc. I lost 50 lbs in 3 months. Gained it all back over the following year. Fearing all the side effects, I never ended up doing the bariatric surgery. This time around I'm not "cheating" my way through it. Keeping track of everything religiously has kept me honest about what I'm eating, and I've been taking a 3+ mile walk most days. Been trying to keep a pace that makes me sweaty even in the cool weather of my area. I'm back down to the weight I was after the Kaiser thing (50 lbs lost), but I'm not craving all the things I did then. Diet has basically been whole grains, lots of veggies, turkey, fruit, nuts, oats, and the occasional fish. Overnight oats is my go-to breakfast - steel cut oats, chia seeds, soy milk, fruit, nuts. I've been making a bunch of things from the Forks over Knives vegan diet. I can't bring myself to go full vegan, I love fish too much. Either way, mostly keeping it under 1700 calories a day. I recently joined my friends' gym group and plan to go regularly. Been keeping up with them for the last two weeks so we'll see where that goes. Maybe try to get some muscles to fill in some of the loose skin I'll have.
- busymom0 4y ago
  > I'm back down to the weight I was after the Kaiser thing (50 lbs lost) Congrats!!! Wishing you more success! Not sure if this will help but I recently purchased an Apple Watch and the Activity rings and notifications for activity, breathing etc has helped me get myself sorted.
- oneepic 4y ago
  Congrats on that weight loss. One aspect of the walking as a heavier individual is the stress on the legs/ankles/feet -- I found this out the hard way once I tried getting into jogging/running and ended up giving myself plantar fasciitis (tldr foot issue) a year ago. Still recovering. I kinda wish I biked for cardio instead of doing the walks, but it's not the end of the world.
xorfish 4y ago
Taking a break every few weeks is a really good idea, it is also how most bodybuilders go about achieving ~5% body fat. I'd also recommend measuring weight loss as percentage of body weight.

Teknoman117 4y ago

I'm basically doing the same thing right now. Started at 420 in November, need to be at ~220 (I'm a bulky 6'4 dude), so, 200 pounds to get rid of. The most I ever lost in recent years was when I went on Kaiser's medically monitored weight-loss program (a soft prerequisite to be eligible for bariatric surgery through them). Liquid diet, 860 calories a day, frequent blood work, etc. I lost 50 lbs in 3 months. Gained it all back over the following year. Fearing all the side effects, I never ended up doing the bariatric surgery. This time around I'm not "cheating" my way through it. Keeping track of everything religiously has kept me honest about what I'm eating, and I've been taking a 3+ mile walk most days. Been trying to keep a pace that makes me sweaty even in the cool weather of my area. I'm back down to the weight I was after the Kaiser thing (50 lbs lost), but I'm not craving all the things I did then. Diet has basically been whole grains, lots of veggies, turkey, fruit, nuts, oats, and the occasional fish. Overnight oats is my go-to breakfast - steel cut oats, chia seeds, soy milk, fruit, nuts. I've been making a bunch of things from the Forks over Knives vegan diet. I can't bring myself to go full vegan, I love fish too much. Either way, mostly keeping it under 1700 calories a day. I recently joined my friends' gym group and plan to go regularly. Been keeping up with them for the last two weeks so we'll see where that goes. Maybe try to get some muscles to fill in some of the loose skin I'll have.

busymom0 4y ago
> I'm back down to the weight I was after the Kaiser thing (50 lbs lost) Congrats!!! Wishing you more success! Not sure if this will help but I recently purchased an Apple Watch and the Activity rings and notifications for activity, breathing etc has helped me get myself sorted.
oneepic 4y ago
Congrats on that weight loss. One aspect of the walking as a heavier individual is the stress on the legs/ankles/feet -- I found this out the hard way once I tried getting into jogging/running and ended up giving myself plantar fasciitis (tldr foot issue) a year ago. Still recovering. I kinda wish I biked for cardio instead of doing the walks, but it's not the end of the world.

xorfish 4y ago

Taking a break every few weeks is a really good idea, it is also how most bodybuilders go about achieving ~5% body fat. I'd also recommend measuring weight loss as percentage of body weight.