Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anyone else feel that even at 50 pounds plus overweight, you have been holding back? I know I have portion control problems and a fondness for fast food, but I feel like visually it appears that I must have REALLY been enjoying myself with gallons of ice cream and a spoon on the sofa, and that is just not the case. I am not blaming hormones or a sluggish metabolism, but I do feel like the desire to overeat must have some biological roots. I know I could EASILY be so much bigger with very little effort and that is just frightening. I am aware we aren’t all the same and life isn’t fair. I am losing weight and exercising-maybe I underestimate how restrictive normal weight women have to be with their daily intake?

I eat healthy foods. I don't gorge on ice cream and cake and stuff like that. But portion control doesn't even happen. It does now because I'm dieting. But before that, I ate for pleasure, stuff tastes good! I want to keep feeling good! So for me, it's behavior.

Having said all of that, for people who have to lose a significant amount of weight, once they attain their goal, they have to eat about 300 fewer calories a day than a person of the same weight who has never had a weight problem. So yeah, we will always be eating less than our normal-weight friends and family. And that sucks.

Exactly! See Biggest Loser study

Anonymous wrote:
Anyone else feel that even at 50 pounds plus overweight, you have been holding back? I know I have portion control problems and a fondness for fast food, but I feel like visually it appears that I must have REALLY been enjoying myself with gallons of ice cream and a spoon on the sofa, and that is just not the case. I am not blaming hormones or a sluggish metabolism, but I do feel like the desire to overeat must have some biological roots. I know I could EASILY be so much bigger with very little effort and that is just frightening. I am aware we aren’t all the same and life isn’t fair. I am losing weight and exercising-maybe I underestimate how restrictive normal weight women have to be with their daily intake?

I eat healthy foods. I don't gorge on ice cream and cake and stuff like that. But portion control doesn't even happen. It does now because I'm dieting. But before that, I ate for pleasure, stuff tastes good! I want to keep feeling good! So for me, it's behavior.

Having said all of that, for people who have to lose a significant amount of weight, once they attain their goal, they have to eat about 300 fewer calories a day than a person of the same weight who has never had a weight problem. So yeah, we will always be eating less than our normal-weight friends and family. And that sucks.

Anyone else feel that even at 50 pounds plus overweight, you have been holding back? I know I have portion control problems and a fondness for fast food, but I feel like visually it appears that I must have REALLY been enjoying myself with gallons of ice cream and a spoon on the sofa, and that is just not the case. I am not blaming hormones or a sluggish metabolism, but I do feel like the desire to overeat must have some biological roots. I know I could EASILY be so much bigger with very little effort and that is just frightening. I am aware we aren’t all the same and life isn’t fair. I am losing weight and exercising-maybe I underestimate how restrictive normal weight women have to be with their daily intake?

Hi all! I need to lose 70 (and want to lose 90), so this is the place for me. I have PCOS, so I'm trying to stick with low carb (I have a plan from my Dr with a 50g/day target) and intermittent fasting. Low carb is stupid and I hate it, but it's crucial for PCOS, and it works when I stick to it.

I've actually been doing IF for a while. It's not a magic solution, but it makes sticking to my calorie goal easier, and it has had a huge psychological benefit.

I gained 5 lbs or so at the beginning quarantine because I was eating way too much trash food. I've lost that now, so now I'm working on making healthier habits stick.

I've always been the type of person who would choose a book over physical activity, so I'm also working on creating exercise habits. My daughter and I enjoy hiking, and I had started going to the gym regularly before covid. I definitely need to do more!

Anonymous wrote:What is IF?

Intermittent fasting

What is IF?

Hi all- I’ll call myself Pam. I’m currently in the 218 range and have been doing IF for the last several days. I play a lot of tennis so I’m out in the heat for 2-4 hours a day running around. IF is challenging because to get the 16 hour fast and eat a little something before tennis, I have to eat a very early dinner. It’s working though! Trying to go low carb as well. I have PCOS and high BP. I’m only 5ft3 and my BMI scares me especially bc of Covid. Not sure why it took me this long to kick into gear but happy to be here.

Anonymous wrote:ST here checking in. I have not seriously tried to diet really ever but I have this issue where I will diet a bit, lose 10 lbs easily and then it just stalls. And it feels really frustrating because it seems like either I can eat anything under the sun and weight 260 or I can diet really hard and hover at 250, going up and down the same pound. I really don't get it. Trying to push past the plateau this time. Doing IF and not eating between 8pm and 3pm the next day. Or 10pm to 5pm. Basically a 5-6 hour window. Hopefully this helps me push past. I definitely feel relieved when I don't have to decide whether to eat all day. I like the smaller window.

That sounds like a really frustrating cycle. It sounds like you’ve never really stuck to cutting your calories. I wonder if Volumetrics would help?

ST here checking in. I have not seriously tried to diet really ever but I have this issue where I will diet a bit, lose 10 lbs easily and then it just stalls. And it feels really frustrating because it seems like either I can eat anything under the sun and weight 260 or I can diet really hard and hover at 250, going up and down the same pound. I really don't get it. Trying to push past the plateau this time. Doing IF and not eating between 8pm and 3pm the next day. Or 10pm to 5pm. Basically a 5-6 hour window. Hopefully this helps me push past. I definitely feel relieved when I don't have to decide whether to eat all day. I like the smaller window.

At the beginning of quarantine I lost weight because I wasn't hungry and we ordered groceries so I didn't buy problem foods. I also started having a greens supplement everyday. We also weren't having any wine or beer like we normally would when eating out. I was freaked out and trying to be healthy. I was happy about the weight loss but then things got stressful with family and friends getting Covid and some dying. I put a couple pounds back on. After coming out of the stress/grief fog I committed myself to exercising everyday. To just doing something everyday to sweat and be active. I am focusing on long-term weight loss. Smaller portions, avoiding sweets, and really eating for health--lots of fruit and veggies. I've lost around 15 pounds (I couldn't remember where I started). My focus is on the positive. I am taking action to be healthy. My clothes are fitting better, my joints feel better, fewer aches, less stiff, and I am being nice to myself. My self talk is supportive instead of telling myself how bad I look. I am really hgappy to hear other's are working to improve their health too. We'll get there by taking it day by day. Good luck everyone and thanks for sharing.

I was 200 about 4 years ago. Lost 70 lbs in about a year and a half. Worked out like crazy and counted every calorie I put in my mouth. Then I had a major depressive episode and gained it all back. I’m feeling much better now and want to lose the weight again. I think I restricted myself way too much last time because I wanted to see fast results. I’m going to concentrate on being healthy and eating healthy this time.

I ate perfectly all week. Exercised at least an hour a day. And still gained three pounds last week. I feel thinner though. I should have done "before" measurements to see the progress...

OP here and the weekend was a bit of an eating disaster for me. Takeout twice. Which reminded me of how much harder it will be to eat well as things continue to open up more. We aren’t quite ready for restaurants but will be soon enough. Still, I got plenty of exercise and resisted the leftovers at lunch time. Skipped the scale this morning and will check on the damage tomorrow morning. Hahaha!

I’m partway through this journey too. I’m down almost 35 pounds-but would love to lose another 15 at least.

I’ve always struggled with my weight. About ten years ago I hit a high of 215, made a really concerted effort and lost 30 pounds. Then life, and kids happened and it slowly crept back up. Then I got divorced and my dad went through a terminal illness and my weight crept even higher-until I weighed in at 208. I started using Lose It to count calories and lost 25 pounds by summer. Took a break from it and successfully maintained for a while, but then hit the holidays and gained back about 5 pounds.
I recommitted to calorie counting and got down to 174-but I’ve been stuck there since late April. It’s been so hard to stay motivated with kid stress, job stress, etc. I’ve been eating so much crap lately. Plus it’s hot so I don’t want to go outside and exercise. Excuses, excuses. I really need to get back to it!

I’m in. Started IF just about a month ago. It’s been the most sustainable thing I’ve ever done. I started at 235, and I basically gained 100 pounds over the past ten years through emotional eating, night snacking, sugar craving. A friend turned me on to IF and in 5 weeks I’ve lost 6 pounds. But more importantly all of those cravings are 90 percent gone. And for the last ten percent of cravings I just say “you can have it tomorrow”. So much better than saying “you can never have it again”. Some days I watch what I eat, some days I don’t care. I took my kids for a milkshake and burgers and I had one too. And I’ve still been losing weight. I DO count calories- the IF helps me stay within my calories goal.