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I wouldn't exactly call myself obese but I am definitely on the tubby side
And I've wanted to lose weight for years but every time I try there's just no budging
I know the majority of the reason for these failures is my diet
I mean I work out rather consistently, I try to get out mountain biking for an hour or two at least a couple times a week and I ride to work/school every day
But I always lose at portion control and healthy choices and chips

So please share your healthy living experiences, healthy recipes, weight loss tips, whatever you've got
Not just for me, but for anyone else that is struggling

i was a pretty big dude i used to weigh like 147kg and now im 90kg

i think most people need to realise that it takes time and that its forever ill never eat how i used to eat
4 years passed and i had lost 57kgs which seems like a long time but it isnt

i did it in small steps like for the first two years i just worked on changing my diet so that it was permanent
and it just fell off i would take the long way home and just walk and just get outside for the most part


if i learned anything its that people including me think it happens over night or there like i wanna lose 10kgs in like 3 months which is possible but if your like in the same mental jail like i was i would go 1 year


for example if you do 10kg per year 2 years pass thats 20kg and thats like a huge amount

I've lost 30 lbs over the past 12 months, and I'd attribute most of it to just changing what I eat. I cut out excess sugar (cookies, donuts, soda, etc...) and tried to avoid really fatty foods (deep fried stuff mostly). I still have hamburgers, bbq, and pizza every once in a while too; I just don't make it a regular thing. It's important to think of it not as a "diet" but as a lifestyle change. I started running 6 months ago, and I'm sure that's helped too.... but most of the weight loss came before then, when it was just eating right.

hollowhero wrote:I've lost 30 lbs over the past 12 months, and I'd attribute most of it to just changing what I eat. I cut out excess sugar (cookies, donuts, soda, etc...) and tried to avoid really fatty foods (deep fried stuff mostly). I still have hamburgers, bbq, and pizza every once in a while too; I just don't make it a regular thing. It's important to think of it not as a "diet" but as a lifestyle change. I started running 6 months ago, and I'm sure that's helped too.... but most of the weight loss came before then, when it was just eating right.

This. Eating better makes a big difference. You don't end up missing those foods after awhile ether, you just kind of slide into being ok with no junk.

I do need to do running tho. Or ride my bike more. Or both.

When i was getting married last year I had to lose a good bit of weight to fit into my suit. I took up swimming and only slightly cut down on crappy foods and take away. I used to swim about 3 times a week and did 50-70 lengths. The weight came off quite quickly! Unfortunately since then my gym membership has expired, so the weight has come back on. This highlights the fact that healthy eating and exercise combined are what's really needed to maintain any weight loss.

Exercising is really more for your overall health than just your weight specifically as far as I can tell. If you eat the same amount, but exercise more you'll lose weight, but as soon as you stop it'll come right back. To lose weight and keep it off you need to focus on eating healthier. As dumb as it might sound, I'd recommend counting calories.

I lost the most weight when I started planning out my daily meals based on calories and nutritional value. Tall, active people should eat somewhere around 2500 calories a day, but where I spend most of my day behind a desk I try to keep it somewhere between 1400-1700 calories. Doing this I've managed to lose about 25 lbs and maintain roughly the same weight for two years. I do exercise 3-4 times a week too, but it's not very extensive and it's become mostly a mood regulating thing for me.

I was a really big guy back in the day (over 300 pounds). I'm still big but got down to a relatively healthy weight.

The biggest thing I found is that any diet where you CAN'T eat specific things will fail. Period. I like weight watchers because you have a set amount of points, and you can use those points on whatever the hell you want. You might not be able to have a LOT of it, but you can have it. If you want bacon, you just count the points for your bacon.

My big thing was that I refused to give up beer. So on days where I knew I'd be drinking beer that night, I ate light and saved my points for beer. My wife and I both did it, but we didn't pay for it and we didn't go to meetings or anything. We just looked up free WW calculators online and figured out our points on our own each day.

It sounds shitty, but it teaches you portion control, and over time you just learn to get a sixth sense about how many calories are in a meal just by looking at it, and same deal with snack foods.

I lost about 90 pounds, and wife lost about 70. I went back up about 10 pounds and I've stabilized there. My wife never gained back a pound. It's been 5 years now since we lost all that weight, and we don't count our points anymore, we just know how much we should eat without thinking about it.

I've lost 24 lbs in the last 13 weeks but I'm gearing up for a bodybuilding show. I have a guy I use that would work with you. He's not free, but he does work with people via the internet, if you're interested. He gives you a diet and exercise plan.

Otherwise I'd highly recommend a personal trainer or at very least seeking help from a professional nutritionist. The reason for this is #1 accountability, people need this to succeed and most people will NOT hold themselves accountable. #2 Personalized approach to your program. Seeking the advice of a professional will enable them to give you a program based on your specific needs. It won't be just some random shit you read on the internet, but actually geared towards you as an individual.

The best blanket statements on weight loss I can offer are these

-calculate what you consume by using a free calorie counter (myfitnesspal is the easiest I've found), and then use that to determine if you should cut your calories or add, you need to be taking in at least 1400-1800 calories to loss weight unless of course your'e taking in something like 2500 calories, then you may only need to drop 500 calories a day until you plateau, then reduce again (never go under 1400 though)
-keep within your daily nutritional values or as close to them as possible
-keep your protein levels higher than your fats (this one is huge)
-drop items like soda, chips, corn and other items that have little to know nutritional value
-begin a resistance training program and do it at least 3x a week with 2 days dedicated to cardio if you have the energy.

Ok, there's more, but those are kind of basics.

Thanks guys all great tips. It's really great to hear from people who have been in the same situation.
I think I'll start with some calorie counting.
I need to cut more from my diet too. I had already cut a lot out but I wasn't seeing results and kind of gave up.
I clearly need to get out of the overnight mindset too.
I think calorie counting will help me cut stuff out too.

Jwar, I'd love to get a personal trainer because I know I have shitty disipline and feel like one would definitely keep me in line but being on a students budget makes that pretty much impossible

MrNovember wrote:Jwar, I'd love to get a personal trainer because I know I have shitty disipline and feel like one would definitely keep me in line but being on a students budget makes that pretty much impossible

Are you currently in college? At my college's gym, there's a program where you can hire a personal trainer pretty cheap (under $20 for an hour session) and they also give free nutrition advice and planning and stuff. Might see if they have something similar where you're at.

Well I'll tell you something else I just thought of that helps. If you count the number of times you chew (try to do check 21 times before swallowing). It takes 20 minutes for your brain to understand it's full, so this will help you lower your portion size.

jwar wrote:-drop items like soda, chips, corn and other items that have little to know nutritional value

I just want to comment that jwar's suggestions are all really good, but you need to be careful about trying to cut items out altogether. Jwar is in a different place, trying to drop weight for bodybuilding, which means that he's already got a shitload of willpower and discipline. Most people who I've spoken to that have weight problems have willpower problems, and if you try to completely cut out items that you like, you WILL cheat. And once you let yourself cheat, you fall right off the wagon. Willpower, just like everything else, is something you need to learn over time. I find it a lot more doable to simply cut down on these items, rather than trying to go without completely. Then after a while, cut them down more. Etc. Gradual changes have a much better chance of sticking. Most diets fail because people go in gung-ho, cold-turkey, and can't sustain it, then they just give up.

Totally agree Bigchief! I was more trying to give generalized information as opposed to specific. If you cut things too fast it will definitely increase your chance of just giving up and eating bad again. I've been through that before.

A side note. I was at one point 250 and fat as hell. Not even close to in shape. The saddest thing was I spent 2-3 hours a day in the gym and ate like crap. Sonic all the time. Lots of Sonic. For whatever reason, I just could not understand why I wasn't losing weight. I kept that weight on for almost 8 years before I finally went to a personal trainer (which at that point I'd gone through training school myself and knew everything! Yea right...). After 9 months of hard work, I was able to drop 70 lbs. I then decided I was skinny and spent 2 years bulking. Hahaha. 2 years!!!!! I added a crap ton of muscle, but did gain some fat back.

I am unlike a LOT of people in giving up things. It's weird. I stopped smoking cold turkey, stop drinking soda, stopped drinking (that took some rehab though) and other things.

My hardest thing to give up believe it or not was pizza. Fucking pizza! I still dream of you!!!!

I don't think I could ever quit pizza.

bigchiefbc wrote:I just want to comment that jwar's suggestions are all really good, but you need to be careful about trying to cut items out altogether. Jwar is in a different place, trying to drop weight for bodybuilding, which means that he's already got a shitload of willpower and discipline. Most people who I've spoken to that have weight problems have willpower problems, and if you try to completely cut out items that you like, you WILL cheat. And once you let yourself cheat, you fall right off the wagon. Willpower, just like everything else, is something you need to learn over time. I find it a lot more doable to simply cut down on these items, rather than trying to go without completely. Then after a while, cut them down more. Etc. Gradual changes have a much better chance of sticking. Most diets fail because people go in gung-ho, cold-turkey, and can't sustain it, then they just give up.

jwar wrote:Totally agree Bigchief! I was more trying to give generalized information as opposed to specific. If you cut things too fast it will definitely increase your chance of just giving up and eating bad again. I've been through that before.

That's literally what just happened to me. Cheating leading to quitting. I definitely have willpower problems
I've seen tips to avoid this. Like keeping a bowl full of mini chocolate bars, that way when you cheat they're smaller.
I've also heard that chocolate tends to be better for you than chips. Especially if you stick to dark chocolates
I think that's something else that I'll be trying

the_carl wrote:

MrNovember wrote:Jwar, I'd love to get a personal trainer because I know I have shitty disipline and feel like one would definitely keep me in line but being on a students budget makes that pretty much impossible

Are you currently in college? At my college's gym, there's a program where you can hire a personal trainer pretty cheap (under $20 for an hour session) and they also give free nutrition advice and planning and stuff. Might see if they have something similar where you're at.

I am, I'll have to look into that. I know the actual gym here is at a largely reduced price to students but I never thought about checking for a personal trainer.