A long term weight loss thread

[_Meep_]

Returning the follow! Hope you'll update more soon!

 

[DobbyForever]

Joining!

Krav Spartan weight: 115 lbs
Pre pregnancy: 135 lbs
Pregnancy weight: 155ish lbs. I don’t think I ever hit 160 but I don’t recall
Goal weight: 115 lbs

Pre pregnancy waist: 26 in
Post pregnancy: 36 in
Goal waist: 26-28 in

How’s everyone doing?! I was going to create a post to ask for tips about my belly, but I saw this one and decided to check in.

I hit a long plateau for a while, but I did keto for a while and it really helped. Quarantine started out rough but I think I got a handle on it. Got the peloton app and I have a cheap bike, but having a variety of teachers and music and lengths has super helped with my confidence/mindfulness.

I also stopped drinking. I’ll be 7 weeks sober on Sunday, and that’s def been helpful.

I’m happy with a lot of changes. My face is thinning out, my hourglass is back (though I think my hip bones aren’t as complimenting to that as they were before birth), and just overall not disgusted with myself. My ladies have also lost their charm and I’m back to queen of the itty bitty committee. Not ready to wear my old clothes because of this belly fat I can’t shake! I’d totally be happy with where I am now if not for this slab of fab on my thighs and belly. I feel close to beach ready but not there yet.

Weight 132.something
Waist 27.5 (I know it’s in my goal range but I kind of want the 26 back now)

 

[_Meep_]

I have lost just over 1 stone now and am 133 lbs. I would like to be 124 at most. Also struggling to shift the flabby belly and still feel really wobbly but I'm afraid to do too much physically as still in recovery from vitamin D deficiency/osteomalacia and really don't want to hurt myself!

 

[DobbyForever]

Congrats!!! Also glad you are recovering. Definitely health first before exercise.

 

[gigglebox]

woooooooooooooooweeeee I thought I'd just stop back in here and see what's up, It's been well over a year since I posted....whoops.

After some fluctuation of weight I am currently 161.8 as of this morning. Looks like my highest was 185 post baby so hey not too shabby. The weight loss journey continues though! I am excited to see the 150's again (it's been some time, old friend) but would REALLY like to see the 140's!

Right now I've just had a major overhaul of my diet. I have cut out sugar...kind of. Well let's say I don't eat as much as I used to. I rarely eat candy now. But I will not, I repeat will NOT give up sugar in my coffee!!! Although at one point I was able to do that so long as coffee was cold, so maybe I'll give that a try again. Other sugar I can't stay away from are the natural sugars in dried fruit. Dried peaches are my weakness. But it beats a pack of gummy bears, right?

How is it coming for the rest of you?

 

[gigglebox]

just reporting that I hit 158.8 the day before yesterday! Back to 159.6 (I think the scale said) this morning but hey, 150's! yay!!! now to continue the downward trend. Really gotta start incorporating some workouts into my routine but it's so hard. I keep myself too busy, I think....gotta make time.

 

[DobbyForever]

Woot 150’s! Honestly even if your workout is just 5, 10, 20m it’s still better than nothing. Maybe try think about it as part of your teeth brushing routine? Hit a quick 5x5x5 then brush your teeth. We used to do them as part of our krav warm ups. It was like 5 exercises with 5 in each set repeated for 5 minutes. We’d do 5 burpees, 5 mountain climbers, 5 crunches, 5 jumping jacks, and 5 push ups. I forget the order tbh. But something like that. Although I feel you even squeezing in 5m with kids is like haha ok sure eye roll.

I’ll update when I’m not on my period lol yay

 

[DobbyForever]

Ok I said I’d wait until AF was gone but I got this message today on mfp . DASH diet for my heart + walking every day is really working wonders on the scale/my overall mood

 

[Bevziibubble]

Following!

 

[DobbyForever]

I’m really excited not that I’m fully off of AF and have a more accurate weight. I didn’t think I’d ever get here and to be 5-10 lbs away from my pre-ex weight. I’m actually starting to think about how I can add more calories back into my meal plan or how to shift my meal plan to maintenance once I hit 115. I’d love it if I could get there before spring break (first week of April).

 

[gigglebox]

Hi friends! I’ve decided to bump this thread and continue with it if I can. I have been broody for another baby, hubby is not entirely on board, so I figure I will try to go full force with weight loss efforts to get my mind off ttc.

Since I last posted, I gained weight back. I’m not certain but I think I hit 172-ish then lost some again, settling around 168. That was with zero effort at doing anything. I started cutting calories and working out, was feeling pretty good and got to about 158 when an illness had me out for a week and I just fell back into old ways, and got back up to about 166ish. I finally starred eating less sugar but only lost 2lbs.

I started keto a week ago with intermittent fasting and have lost 3 lbs. i know 3 lbs in a week sounds good but I felt like it should have been more in the first week…? But I have also been having coffee with cream in the morning which I have been warned can slow progress.

i’ve also not been feeing the best but just ordered some powder to boost my electrolytes and I’m hoping that helps.

so in a nut shell, I’m currently 161.2 and on keto with IF. My ultimate goal is to be in the 130’s. I’d love to get there this year…22lbs seems doable, I hope!

 

[gigglebox]

so I woke up this morning and I'm up 2lbs from yesterday. I just had a melt down in my bathroom. I am so frustrated and have no idea what to do...it's been 8 days now. I have lost one pound. I don't feel great either. I don't feel deprived of the foods I used to eat, rather I struggle to eat enough on this diet. I have a hard time choking down enough veggies and making sure there's enough fat to balance it out. But I've felt like I've been doing really well as far as eating what I need to, so I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I did order some keto strips to test and see if I"m even in ketosis, or if anything I'm consuming is kicking me out of it without me realizing.

I was worried the coffee with cream in the morning was inhibiting my progress so I dropped that yesterday, and now am up 2lbs so.....................................wtf.

I just feel so sad about it. I want to be healthy and feel good and look good, and it's really tough watching my husband's fat melt away. He's making great progress and I'm eating the way he eats (but less), so I don't get it. He is doing a water fast right now, and I've done it before so considering doing it again to kick things off...but I already feel like such crap right now, I don't feel like a water fast is going to help that feeling.

I'm just in tears with frustration. I'm happy for him but feel like he's going to criticize my food choices if I "quit", and also internally judge me for being a fatass when he's losing it all so easily. (For the record he is not a mean person and this is likely all in my head, but it's getting the bet of me right now).

To compound things my toddler sleeps like crap and that has been exceptionally difficult for me the past few nights. He's been waking me up at 4am and I am not able to fall back asleep. Evidently sleep is pretty important to dieting, and I feel like it's sabotaged me before, but I don't know what to do.

Anyway I'm committed to doing keto for at least one more week as I told myself and hubby that I would give it an honest go.

 

[MrsKatie]

Oh @gigglebox I could have written this myself. I’m so sorry. It’s an awful feeling. I have 30lbs lingering from my last baby and it makes me feel just awful.

I started keto almost 3 weeks ago, and our whole family came down with this horrible virus (all tested negative for covid multiple times but I still suspect covid with how hideous the exhaustion has been- like when I had mono!). I quit keto for 2 days to make sure it wasn’t that and I only felt worse so I’m back on the wagon now. I will say I’m not doing dairy at all (I find it just backs me up and bloats me up) and am currently attempting a vegan version (I was vegan for years and years so that’s in my comfort zone) in sheer desperation to lose some of this tenacious stubborn-as-hell fat that just will not let go.

i was looking at old baby pics of my kids and found some of me in early 2016 when I was pregnant with baby 3… I was taking pics of my “belly” at the time and oh my gosh I’d KILL to look like that again!! I can’t even believe I’m so huge.

I am also turning 40 in May which brings with it its own slew of emotions. The gray hair that seems to multiply overnight doesn’t help…!

ANYWAY. I’m here with you. I don’t own a scale cause I’ll obsess, but I will say I also haven’t lost any weight yet either. A dear friend who did keto for a long long time said just take the first month to get used to it. Don’t count calories or worry about the scale. So I’m trying to use that timeline and not feel so down and discouraged.

huge hugs

 

[WinterBub]

Argh! I just lost a whole reply somehow. will try to recreate:

That's so frustrating, giggle. I'd be raging too. I wonder what happened. Honestly, I don't like the sound of you not feeling well on keto. If you were glowing and shedding pounds, I'd be all about it. But it isn't worth actually feeling unwell.

And the man thing is super frustrating. My OH is really kind and lovely, but just doesn't get it. He is like "it's just more calories out than in!" Which is true. But it seems like if he's in any kind of calorie deficit he sheds weigh like crazy. I need to eat way less, and exercise way more to get any result. I'm sure that your hubby doesn't judge you. i think your plan to give it another week is sound. If you find a way to feel well doing it, then rock on.

And I hope you find a way to get LO sleeping through. He's big enough that he can certainly do it!! Is he super into anything? I'd consider buying some toys and sticker charting/telling him he'll get one if he stays in bed all night. I get the feeling that you're not into bad cop sleep training, but maybe good cop tactics would work? Also- have your ever seen a Gro Clock? I have a friend who had great success with that.

AFM- if we're talking numbers: I was 173 yesterday. The past couple of years have been a rollercoaster. I was 160ish, then put on 8ish lb and have been all over the place with pregnancy and losses since. 160 is the upper end of healthy for my height. And I was upper 150s when I fell pregnant with my LO. So my goal #1 is 160. Ultimately would love to be 145ish. My plan is basically up protein, down carbs (and do semi-gluten free). Log calories/try to be around 1800 per day. And then from next week start some more exercise again: walk in the morning, and then elliptical when LO naps. I was doing that a few months ago and slowly losing. Would love to get into a groove where I lost at least a pound a week, but also don't feel super deprived etc.

 

[Flueky88]

Hi, gigs. I'll join with you.

I have never been big into the premise of keto or IF for people overall. I do know it can be successful for some people so I'm not dismissing it as entirely ineffective. I'm just a bit more old fashioned with weight loss.

Some tips I would give are:
1. Weigh weekly as there can be big variations from water/fluid retention.
2. Poor sleep can hinder weight loss goals.*I completely understand that sometimes we cannot improve sleep quantity/quality*
3. Whatever diet, stick with it a couple weeks to a month (unless it's causing harm).
4. Focus on nonscale victories throughout your journey. Sometimes the scales won't budge but do you notice clothes fitting better/different.

Also, I feel you on men typically losing like easier. DH was like that. He is struggling more but he is also not sleeping much right now.

I am hoping to reach my goal by end of year. It'll be 33 lbs so about 3 to 4 lbs/month. I think I can do it but if it takes longer. So be it. I am in it for the long haul, not a sprint, but a marathon

I did eat "bad" having that cheesecake this week but sometimes you need to splurge, imo. Going to get back to making better choices until S's birthday party rolls around lol. I haven't weighed since Monday but I don't want to see again until Monday.

 

[WinterBub]

Anyone have any good/healthy recipes? We had steak last night with a quinoa salad. Just arugula, a bit of feta, and cherry tomatoes (used balsamic dressing). Then added some quinoa and mixed it all together.

This is the kind of thing that I'm trying to do... Ie. Sub out something like mashed potatoes or pasta for that. It was filling and tasty, so was satisfying enough. I tend to do really poorly if I go extreme: I end up eating junk later because I'm still genuinely hungry

 

[gigglebox]

hi again MrsKatie! ugh, the gray hair, I definitely have my fair share of that! I was going to just let it grow out but I couldn't stand it any more, I felt like it was making me look SO old! I'm 35 but started going gray early. It's probably about 25% of my hair now, but the part that remains solid brown is all underneath so all my exposed hair looks to be 50/50 gray/brown. Glad to have someone on the keto wagon with me I am going to give it an honest go for another week at least. I did find that when I consciously made an effort yesterday to have more salt during the day, I felt better at night and didn't experience that heart pounding issue nearly as badly. I read that low salt can make that happen or make you feel weaker, so I'm think that *might* be my issue. Combined with electrolytes I think that will make me feel better. I am less concerned about dropping weight at this point that just feeling better in general.

and i've definitely had that epiphany too, looking back at an old photo of myself in highschool when I thought I was so fat -- hahahah!!! I'd kill for that body now!

Winter/Fluek I mentioned in the other thread but yeah, hubby is going to try and help me with ds3 and he's junk sleeping. I mean it's absurd at this point. And last night we had a fight over him sleeping in our bed. It's totally my fault, I definitely caved and lost the argument. Part of me is being so soft because since I had it in my head he'll be our last, I'm baby-ing him but just making everything harder for myself long term.

But yeah I have a strong feeling my sleeping schedule is actually impacting my life quite a bit, also beyond just weight loss efforts.

Winter you must be tall! 160 seems high, at least I think for my height the high end of normal is 145 so that's quite a difference. But that sounds totally attainable, especially if your goal is a pound a week. You can definitely do that!

I have no "healthy recipes" off the top of my head, but I will say I've found cauliflower to be a very worthy replacement for mashed potatoes. And yummmm feta with steak *drool*

Fluek I was going back and reading about our weight loss in this thread and wow, we were both killin' it at one point! I hope we can both get back there And honestly I"m not 100% sold on this keto thing, but we'll see. Nevertheless I've been also redcing calories and I'm really surprised to barely see the scale move whereas before just reducing calories seemed to be enough. I do know that eventually the body adjusts to the new calorie intake and the diet no longer works, and supposedly that doesn't happen with keto...? so who knows. But I've been doing a lot of research and have be reading that spiking your insulin multiple times a day is actually what makes people gain weight, less of what they eat and more of how often they eat it.

But I just think different things work for different people.

Unless you're a guy. Then everything works for you

 

[WinterBub]

That's great re: the help with DS3 and sleeping. Going to bed on time is something that I need to work on. If I stay up late, I end up snacking and feeling like death the next morning Despite knowing all that I find it hard to do, because I'm a real night owl. I'll be tired at like 4pm, but by 10pm I'm just getting fired up. What is your plan to sort out LO's bad habits?

And LOL at the photo comments. I thought I was fat at 160, and that's now my first goal to get back to I just checked, and my healthy weight range is 120-160. You got me nervous there! I feel like that seems true, because what I picture as my ideal weight for how I both look and feel is probably 140ish.

You're right about enjoying food, flueky. Although I had a bad day yesterday. We walked to a bakery and bought a King Cake. so good, but now the other half of it is here beckoning. Obviously that falls well foul of what I'm trying to do with sugar, what's PCOS friendly, and carbs. What were you doing when you were killing it, giggle/flueky? Seems like you have a good plan there that worked for you, giggle- maybe go back to that rather than keep persisting with keto?? And I think you have the right attitudes flueky. Any progress is good, and if you're doing it without going extreme, it should be lasting and sustainable long term.

 

[Flueky88]

Winter, I typically do best when I'm tracking everything on myfitnesspal. Technically, the best weight loss I had was in my early 20s. I did WW and worked out at the gym 5 days a week (2 to 3 days of strengthening) for typically an hour. I was on a maintenance plan when I met DH but I just kind of slipped out of it. Life changes wreck me.

In any case I find logging/tracking what I eat helps out a bunch. I mostly portion control and makes swaps when/where I can. I workout 4 to 5 times a week with 2 to 3 days of strengthening exercises and other days just walking and stretching. I walk before strengthening as well to warm my muscles up.

I like to try to eat carrots and/or celery in place of chips or fries. Sometimes I replace ground beef with ground turkey. Replace soir cream with greek yogurt. Mostly drink water and a cup of coffee in the mornings.. I try to eat fish once a week. Attempt to replace most sweets with fruits. Allow myself some chocolate each day if I want to prevent me going crazy later.

I signed up for beach body but have just been working on mastering the exercises my PT gave me before I graduated. She gave me some pointers on exercises to avoid and how to modify some if needed. I think I may start up a beach body program next month.

I stepped on the scales a bit early. Made me feel a bit down but I still have a few days and I enjoyed having that cheesecake as a treat. I do think next time I make one, I'll make it before we have company so we don't eat it all and less impact diet wise.

 

[Flueky88]

Here's some recipes I like that are tasty and filling. I like recipes around 400 to 500/meal.

One Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup

"Best Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe - How to Make Beef Enchilada Casserole" Best Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe - How to Make Beef Enchilada Casserole

DH also fixes a keto big Mac salad, yum! A buffalo chicken dish with quinoa and another buffalo chicken with spaghetti squash. I really love the spaghetti squash one.

He also fixes a ACV cucumber side that's good, if you like sour. He just slices cucumbers and soaks them in a mix of water, ACV, and black pepper. I like it as a side for sliders.


For breakfast we like eating everything bagel thins with a fried eggs, turkey bacon, and reduced fat cheese He also does homemade biscuits. I'll make omelets sometimes.


There was a WW recipe for a shredded chicken enchilada casserole with zucchini that was really good. Also they had a ground turkey meatloaf (was my favorite meatloaf ever). It's just either expensive or out of stock for ground turkey.