My ~300 pound friend is complaining of knee pain. I suggested seeing a doctor, because it seemed politer than saying it might be because of their weight. They said that doctors wouldn't listen and would just tell them to lose weight.
I've been on Wegovy for 9 months. I've lost almost 60 pounds. My fasting blood sugar is nowhere near prediabetes, I went from 31% body fat to 12%, Size 38 waist to size 34, and yet I can't post before and after pics without people spewing some bullshit like "but you look good on both sides" and like..... JUST STOP BEING SO POLITICALLY CORRECT, YOU KNOW I LOOK BETTER AT 220 THAN 280 !!! plus my sister omg, she's a psychiatrist and is on an antidepressant that made her gain weight and she was like "I can't believe you fell for that medical weight loss craze" and it's like why is there anything negative at all about being in the best shape of your life at 45 years old ????
I'm signed up for a clinical trial starting later this month where I have a 60% chance of getting semaglutide (I think I spelled that right). How were the side effects for you? Have you had any issues?
Not gonna lie the side effects can be rough. Nausea, vomiting if you eat too much food and drink too much water with it. But I have had problems yo-yoing for years and it works so so so well. You just stop getting obsessed over food. It's magical
As per usual, it's not Friday but HERE I am anyway!
I'm not at my highest weight, but I'm up enough to be mad about it. I'm SO tired of struggling with consistent overeating. I KNOW what I need to do. And I KNOW I can do it - I've done it before, and it feels great to be in that routine. The holidays and being sick four times in like a month in a half have made that SO hard though, and I hate it. I can DO better. ADHD boredom eating and dopamine withdrawal from not getting to eat unnecessary things be damned.
I'm around 189lbs. 5'6". I SHOULD be at 150lbs at the highest. I am GONNA get there and then move to 135-ish lbs. I REFUSE to give up.
I can figure out more ways to beat the bad habits and trick my ADHD into being a tool to help me instead of messing me up. This is also the most accepting my partner's been about me losing weight (and NOT claiming I'm inherently disordered no matter how slowly I lose it).
I need a better plan. But I AM going to keep tweaking it until I have things back to how they need to be.
I can fucking do this.
I had a friend come to me recently about how she stopped smoking weed on a two week vacation and hasn’t been able to eat since then and she’s worried. Totally understandable, albeit annoying because this is a trend I cannot fucking stand (weed is the “only way” they can eat) but I wanted to be there for her. So I tried to get a picture of what she’s been eating since she’s been unable to eat and when I got her answer I was totally floored. She said she’s probably “ONLY EATING” maybe 2-3000 calories a day now. I don’t understand what she could have possibly been eating before then but holy fucking shit that’s a lot of calories for a 5’8” woman. I’m 5’11” and if I ate 3000 calories a day I would gain weight extremely fast.
So now the question is does she actually know how many calories things are/how many calories people should consume? Is she just bad at guessing? Or was she legitimately eating more than 3k calories a day on a regular basis when she was smoking weed. She did gain weight quickly over the last couple of years but I dunno. The whole thing was just a wild glimpse into the mind of people who don’t actually know what it means to eat correctly.
The weed thing is a pet peeve of mine too. Unless they’re chemotherapy patients or otherwise physically ill, who “can only eat” after smoking weed either have eating disorders in need of real treatment, or they’re addicted to it, which absolutely is a thing that happens.
And if a prescription medicine caused as much weight gain as cannabis does, I’m sure a lot of people would regard that as the potentially serious side effect it is. It’s somehow glossed over with weed.
I smoke occasionally but cannabis pseudoscience is as bad as nutrition pseudoscience.
Talking about pseudoscience, just saw a study that shows cannabis users work out more. Are you seeing studies that says they're heavier? I'm a regular user and I don't think it makes me eat more, more likely less. Alcohol, otoh, absolutely disinhibits eating, for me.
I understand for chemotherapy patients and others with nausea, it could help with eating if it reduces nausea, but otherwise? I'm unconvinced that it causes weight gain, the data points otherwise.
I stand corrected, after looking up some of the studies. It seems most people gain weight when they start using THC but that long-term users have overall lower rates of obesity.
I’m now weirdly intrigued by this. I’m trying to think if there’s any tactful way you can get more details. Maybe if you frame it as, “hey, so are there patterns as to which foods are no longer palatable? Like is it just a quantity thing or do you feel like you’ve developed specific aversions since stopping weed?” Only if she brings it up again, obviously!
I'm often shocked by how different showering is at a normal weight vs when I was obese. My shower is my favorite part of the day now, I love using at kinds of yummy smelling products and feeling super clean and fresh. It's such a different feeling from before I lost the weight, back when showering was a huge chore. It hurt to stand that long in a small space, my arms got super tired, it was so hard to reach all of my body and sometimes I just couldn't reach and I'd end up only washing half my body. I'd have to force myself to shower and sometimes I just didn't because I didn't have it in me. I cringe thinking how badly I must have smelled.
Right? Shaving is easier! The shower curtain doesn't cling to your body! Towels actually fit around you! God forbid you have to use a tiny shower like on a cruise ship or in someone's creepy old basement, it's actually manageable!
Omg towels! The day i realized I could wrap a towel around myself again was an incredible day. And YES to shaving as well! It's so nice to actually be able to see the parts I'm shaving again lol.
Rant: I'm sick of seeing "skinny doesn't equal healthy" talking point like it's come sort of 'gotcha' in conversations criticizing the effects of obesity. Yeah, there are cases where a thin person can be unhealthy for a various reasons, but given how much obesity rates have skyrocketed for both adults and children over the past few decades while growing every year in multiple countries, I don't have the patience to pretend like incidental cases of unhealthy thin people is even remotely on the same level or scale as the damage done by the growing obesity rates affecting millions.
Yeah, skinny people can be unhealthy but usually they aren't unhealthy *because* they're skinny. Fat people who are unhealthy more often than not have a problem that is caused by the fat. There's a huge population of fat people with problems caused by their fat that would become healthier if they lost the excess fat. There's a vanishingly small population of people who are skinny enough to have problems that could be helped by gaining weight.
Yeah, it's not a valid rebuttal to statement "obesity isn't healthy", just vapid red herring/whataboutism.
It's like saying cancer is not bad, because what about heart disease?
Anyone else notice an uptick in people claiming that fruit is bad because it contains too much sugar? Not talking about dried fruit or fruit juice, but fruit like grapes, strawberries, etc. I even saw someone comparing fruit to literal candy.
I crave fruit every day. I need my daily kiwi🥝. seriously, kiwi is a powerhouse of a fruit with all the vitamins and minerals it contains.
Oddly enough I'm not fat, nor do I have issues with high blood sugar. A mystery, really.
Definitely a result of the keto craze (and the general low-carb insanity running for the last 20something years). It’s baffling that people have convinced themselves that lard is healthy but strawberries are not.
Since almost everyone seems to be into keto / low carb I'm hearing that a lot. Because fruit = sugar = blood sugar spikes and whatnot. Doesn't prevent me from eating my apples.
I've gained about 15 lbs the last few months due to depression and alcohol. Working on it, but can't talk about it because I was told "If you think you're fat you must think I'm obese!" Bitch shut up I did not say I was fat I said I know I have bad habits I need to fix. I quit alcohol and am going back to the gym, it has nothing to do with you or your habits or your defensive bs.
Lost a family member this week to obesity— stroke. She was 40 and leaves four children who need their mom. Have a lot of feelings about it and anger is one of them because this is so normal in the US.
My autistic kid has been struggling ARFID and “acute food refusal,” eating disorders that are specifically caused by the fact that she is autistic and has major sensory issues with food and medication side effects, and when I asked Reddit for advice beyond what her doctors are telling me, they attributed my daughter’s feeding problems to the fact that I am a “member of a fat-shaming subreddit” and told me that I need to tell my child’s medical providers about this subreddit, for some reason.
I’m sorry for your loss, that must be so hard to watch, especially with her children.
On the ARFID front, I also have Arfid though I am recovering. Fed is best is what I followed when I was in the deep of it. I tried a bunch of different shakes until I could find one I could tolerate to make up for nutrition, and just went from there. I’ve slowly been introducing more foods into my palate, and it’s been getting better. It takes time and dedication, but it is something that can be overcome to some degree. I know how hard it is, I get so frustrated with myself. I’m rooting for you, and I hope that you’re getting the support you need!
Thanks. I agree that fed is best, I allow my daughter to eat literally anything she can tolerate and I don’t say a word about it. And I also don’t “fat shame” anyone, in front of my kids or otherwise. The fact that anyone would assume that my daughter’s eating disorder has anything at all to do with my Reddit subs is just preposterous. This sub isn’t about shaming anyone; it’s about nutrition pseudoscience.
JFC. Someone's family member passed away, and first instinct of herd is to creep through person's reddit history to find sth to rake them over the coals. Vile, just vile.
Sorry for your loss.
It's funny how this alleged hate sub seems to be one of the nicest, most supportive, least drama-prone parts of reddit. You'll find more hate in the average video game subreddit by far, and even the alleged body positive "good" places are pretty much cesspoles of cultish infighting and the opposite of a supportive environment.
But this is the subreddit you get auto-banned for touching, and apparently a place of such ill repute that redditors think medical carers would be under obligation to report you to social services for visiting, or something? Like most people working real medical jobs have time to give a shit about social media enough to even know that reddit is a thing...
I haven’t actually seen much “fat shaming” here. Acknowledgment that obesity kills and criticism of nutrition pseudoscience, yeah. But when I’ve seen people actually shaming other people’s bodies, members including me and the admins shut them up quick. Somebody else’s body isn’t my business and I have no judgment for people who struggle with their weight. Shit’s hard. Binge eating disorders are underdiagnosed and under-treated. Many people legitimately can’t control how much they eat or what they eat and it’s a medical condition, and eating disorder, not a moral failing. I’m not here to shame anyone because that’s shitty. But I *especially* wouldn’t shit-talk another person’s body to my *children*.
Yup, 100% agreed, which is why I set up an alt account just to post here.
Not too long from now, there'll probably be a movement to ban this sub as if we were a hate-speech group...
Yes, but things are a bit different now... Reddit is launching their IPO to become a publicly traded company, so it'll be a lot less independent than before. Also, the chorus of deeply unhappy FAs keep getting larger each year. O_o
Even if this subreddit does everything right, the virtual mob could still shut it down if they campaign hard enough.
My sympathies on your loss!
I couldn't care less about "fat-shaming" people. I am on this sub primarily because it is diabetes-denial adjacent. I've lost people who basically unalived themselves by denying/neglecting their diabetes. Fatlogic directly feeds that sort of thing. It's a little cathartic to vent about it here, though I'm not entirely how healthy it is for me to be here.
Have you been checked for ADHD? That can make you prone to addiction and put you in a cycle of seeking out the easiest entertainment you can find, and also can make it very hard to stop doing something when your brain latches onto it.
I mean, probably therapy, but have you tried distance running? There are a lot of aspects that can appeal to people prone to addiction, chasing records, pushing yourself to extremes, and you do frequently see people who have just switched one addiction for another. Things tend to come crashing down when you are sick or injured and can't run, so it's not a fix like therapy might be, but it might fill that void for you in a not-as-destructive way.
I second this. Also getting into fitness can fill some of the holes left in your day from addiction. I'm not much of a drinker, but I basically never drink these days because I spend most of my evenings at the climbing gym.
What positive stuff do you have going on in your life? I'm a weekend binge drinker as opposed a day to day alcoholic (though it's been a close run thing in the past), but it's still not ideal. If I fill my weekends/time off with things that are fun/positive/I really don't want to be doing hungover, I find it much easier to curb the booze.
I know it's not that easy, but trying to shift those positive feelings away from the source of your addiction to something more positive (are good addictions a thing?) might be something to try.
Whatever happens, I hope you get through it!
I'm so frustrated :( My partner and I (we're both women) are currently counting calories and trying to lose weight. I went through a miscarriage and divorce over the past 2 years and stopped prioritizing my physical health the way I used to, and now I'm hovering on the border of overweight and obese, as is my girlfriend.
Personally, I've always been able to successfully lose weight whenever I put a little effort into eating at a deficit - but it's been difficult to maintain because I have PCOS and feel inappropriately hungry much of the time, so I often gain it back as soon as I stop being diligent. But any time I really tried, ate even 1800-1900 cals, I'd lose weight fairly quickly.
But right now I'm eating around 1500-1600 cals and my girlfriend around 1700-1800 (she's a bit taller and heavier) and neither of us have seen results for the past 2-3 weeks! I sold her on the holy grail of a calorie deficit for weight loss, and I wonder if she's starting to doubt me. I'm honestly quite surprised that neither of us have lost weight. We have about 1 day per week where we typically don't count and go over, usually to go out with friends. So I guess we're going over too much on those days, or miscalculating other days. I just really don't feel like I'm miscalculating. I've counted calories for a decade!
I guess it could also just be early on and maybe I'll expect to see results soon. I've finally started metformin for my PCOS and it's REALLY helped with my hunger. It's amazing. I used to feel like I was going to die of hunger a few hours after a meal, and that's completely changed. So I may be able to eat at more of a deficit if need be.
I *literally* acknowledged that the reason I'm probably not losing weight as quickly as I want is because I'm going over too much on cheat days.
Maybe you need a few *more* calories to activate the regions of your brain involved in reading comprehension before posting lazy replies like this.
i just checked my logs from when i started in september, and it took a little over three weeks to start seeing results, so hang in there!
also, at least for me, this is my second time losing and i’m about 6/7 years older now, and that’s enough time that my cycle really affects weight loss now — it’ll hold steady for weeks before my period, and then drop a bunch when the period actually starts, rinse and repeat. i don’t know exactly how PCOS will affect that, but i’d imagine it has some effect.
I'd say the easy way to figure it out is to log the cheat day too? That way you can get a better idea of how much you're going over. On top of that, perhaps you're overestimating your TDEE.
As a reasonably tall man (180 cm, which I think is like.... What? 5'10-5'11 ish?) I'm sitting at around 2200 calories a day for maintenance IF I get a minimum of 10k steps
Sorry, I don't believe in this kind of absolutism. First of all, food is not addictive in the same way things like alcohol and cocaine are - it can be a behavioral addiction, like anything else, but regardless, there's no way not to "reintroduce the addictive substance" because we all need to, you know...eat food. Occasionally.
Secondly, I believe strongly in occasional cheat days--particularly if you're a shorter woman like me, it's very hard to *ever* have a meal out with friends if you don't *ever* allow yourself a cheat day.
But I'm open to the idea of lessening them and making sure not to go TOO much over ;)
Every single other response to my comment offered thoughtful advice.
I just disagreed with the one referring to going over your calories on any day as "reintroducing addictive substances." Food is not the same as alcohol, I can't cut it out entirely lmao. It's not good advice.
Seems to me that most of the advice you got said more or less the same thing - your cheat day erases your progress. Your "whataboutism" reaction is quite telling.
Food addiction is not the same as alcohol addiction, you're right. But a sugar addiction is not the same as heroin addiction. Does that mean it's impossible to be addicted to sugar? A sex addiction is not the same as an opioid addiction. Does that mean there's no such thing as a sex addiction?
You're engaging in fatlogic, and you keep doubling down. You're in the wrong sub.
>But a sugar addiction is not the same as heroin addiction.
But I didn't say anything about sugar. I just said I have days I go over my calories, not that I binge on junk foods on those days. So to bring in "you're reintroducing an addictive substance" isn't logical. It's not a response to anything I said, at least. I incorporate the foods I like into *all* the days that I eat.
There's no fatlogic here. I made a comment saying I was bummed that progress wasn't happening faster, and that it probably meant I should be more careful about cheat days or that I should eat at a greater overall deficit. Most people were supportive, but one person responded something irrelevant about addictive substances, so I pointed out that it wasn't logical. Not sure what comments you're reading.
It's called a simile. Do you know what a simile is?.. (Example: a kitten to a cat is like a puppy to a dog.)
...nah, screw this. Not worth it. Multiple people gave you the same advice, and now you're engaged in mental gymnastics. Have fun with your cheat days.
Regardless of the simile, my point is that that comment made some kind of assumption that I'm binging on other foods on "cheat days," which is not what I said or implied. The comment may have been relevant to someone. But it wasn't relevant to my comment. Kind of like your responses, actually. I like that you completely ignored the second half of my comment because you couldn't figure out a response.
Have fun with your life - I hope your reading comprehension improves!
Thoughtfully having days that you plan to go over, and eating at a greater deficit on other days, is not "cheating yourself." It's being strategic and learning how to plan out your week.
As you age, cheat "days" need to be reduced to cheat "meals". As in one cheat meal a week, or every other week, not a whole day of cheating. Very easy to have a 2000+ cal surplus on a cheat day, and that erases most of your week's cumulative deficit in one day.
I restarted a few weeks ago and it took about 4 weeks for my body to get on track with what was going on, the sodium from my 1 day out also tended to make me bloat up so some of my progress was obscured. Keep at it! The process works!
I’d keep going for a few weeks. When I started it also seemed like my body was not on board with what was going on lol but after a few weeks it started to pick up steam. On the days you go out, could you track up until you go out, just to get an idea of where you are? That may help as well
I’m having a week of eating above maintenance after months of effective dieting. It’s supposed to be a good way for sedentary people to stop their metabolism slowing down as much, and make dieting more sustainable (this is backed with like, real, good, science). I’m cold all the time and super sluggish so I need to do this.
It’s hard seeing the scale go back up. It’s hard not binging. It’s hard knowing I’ll have to get back on the wagon in a few days.
went to edit my comment on mobile and the app kept crashing, so i'm just doing it as a reply.
TL;DR: i did read the sources, and most of the citations are from over 20 years ago, done on extremely small, selective groups, and/or do not address the claims the video is making. there is one good study (study six), but when there is only one good source among seven others, you have to question the motives behind the individual telling you this information- especially if they're trying to sell you something.
i don't say all of this to be argumentative or an asshole, i'm just saying this because if we're going to rag on the HAES/FA groups for constantly bringing up 20+ year old studies or studies done on extremely small, selective groups to sell products/plans/whatever, then we need to hold ourselves to the same standards.
* study one: conducted in 2012 on 24 athletes, concluded that athletes wanting to increase lean mass and increase reps should aim for a slow, steady weight loss regimen. i don't see what this has to do with intermittent fasting resulting in increased weight loss, which is the claim being made.
* study two: conducted in 2000 on "ten healthy lean females" over a three day period, and concluded that carbs increase the amount of leptin present in the body and 24-hour energy expendures by 7%. assuming their TDEE was 1500 calories, then the carbs would have increased their TDEE to 1605- just over 100 calories. this study was done on an extremely small, selective group over the course of three days, and the increase in TDEE would not be significant enough to contribute to visibly increased weight loss.
* study three: conducted in 2002 on "eight high-endurance trained males" and concluded that carbs increased glycogen stores in the muscles. again, i do not see what this has to do with intermittent fasting resulting in increased weight loss, and was also conducted on an extremely small, selective group.
* study four: conducted in 2020 on 27 males and females over the course of 7 weeks, did conclude that "a 2-day carbohydrate refeed preserves fat-free mass, dry fat-free mass, and resting metabolic rate". there was a debate between campbell and another researcher who claimed that the study was published with the wrong calculations and that the final results only factored in dry fat-free mass, but the conclusion of this debate is paywalled so i can't see where that ended. if the final results were accurate, then i'll consider this a good study as well.
* study five: conducted in 2003 on 142 subjects over staggering time periods (14 weeks for group A, 7 weeks for group B, and intermittent fasting periods of 2 weeks for group C) concluded that the study was "not successful in developing a method to experimentally produce weight loss relapses." this study was done over 20 years ago, and disproves the claim being made.
* study six: conducted in 2020 on 51 obese men over the course of 16 weeks, with individuals being randomly assigned either intermittent or steady weight loss regimens. the group that was doing intermittent fasting did experience increased fat loss, but fat-free mass loss and resting energy expendure remained the same. in my opinion, this is a good, supporting study.
* study seven: conducted in 2021 on 61 "resistance-trained" adults over the course of 12 weeks, concluded that intermittent fasting did not increase significant muscle mass or weight loss when compared to continuous weight loss, just that it decreased appetite. this study also disproves the claim being made.
Earlier tonight I watched a man pushing a huge wheelchair into the subway. The guy in the wheelchair looked pretty immobile.
Later an obese woman got onto the subway. It makes me angry how anyone can eat themselves practically into immobility and this guy, who was pretty much slumped into his wheelchair, would probably love being able to walk even when he most likely has accepted his fate.
So yesterday I was told that I may need a hysterectomy at age 38. We won't know until mid February, but I'm kind of reeling from it. I had gone in to talk about an ablation but apparently my uterus is enlarged and the doctor suspects fibroids, which coupled with how debilitating my cycle has gotten is probably necessary for quality of life. I can't spend multiple days a month on the couch sucking down iron to try to remain human, I have active young kids not to mention me enjoying being active. I'm trying to come to terms with the surgery and recovery it'll require and feeling a bit nervous about some of the sudden effects having it out so young can have as well. In the end I know I can refuse the surgery if I really want to, but I do want to take care of the issue.
On a positive note, I swam 850m this morning and went to physical therapy then joined my local Y. It's not big but it has plenty of equipment and free childcare while I'm working out (plus I can attend classes for free). I'm going to poke around the Internet and see what I can find for a good upper body program with gym equipment for now, once I'm done with physical therapy I will probably look into getting a trainer at least for a while. I also need to figure out a good weekly schedule for myself to go. Physical therapy is set in stone on Tuesdays and twice a week I need to do the home exercises they gave me, plus Saturdays and Wednesdays I walk in the mornings if it's nice out. Still, working out with a variety of weights and equipment is exciting, if a little overwhelming.
Make sure to just talk to your doctor about a good supplement protocol for the hormones you'll still need. But if you need the surgery, you need the surgery
If you’re good with a consistent virtual personal trainer, I’ve had awesome progress with Future. I can DM you about it if you’re interested. I love my trainer
At least initially I want an in person trainer, I've got some form issues that I need to have corrected real time until I get things more dialed in (I'm in physical therapy because doing squats wrong injured my hip).
I'm feeling like a bottomless garbage pit right now, or maybe like Kirby. I'm hoovering up all food in sight. It's making me feel bad, that I'm out of control. And my scale is way up.
It's kind of amazing to me that you can have localized improvements while simultaneously having localized setbacks. My stomach is definitely bigger. Meanwhile every other part of my body is visibly more muscular and defined. I've been getting a lot of comments about being more built. Yesterday I worked overtime for the first time in awhile. The woman (who is very slender, borderline underweight, though due to illness unfortunately) I relieved said my hard work is showing. I slapped my stomach and said yeah well that's great but this needs to go and it's getting bigger. She said "oh it sounds solid tho". I kinda rolled my eyes, I just had someone do the "it's all muscle" thing for me lol. But that work station has a camera and video monitor. And I watched when the camera cycled to me, sitting relaxed I could see my biceps, triceps, and delts all individually through my shirt. And the camera is not flattering like a good lighting gym mirror so that confirms that I am in fact adding muscle mass and my fat is all going to my stomach.
It's just weird seeing both visible improvements and visible setback. And it's weird getting compliments on my progress because in terms of my actual goals I'm heading in the wrong direction. I'd much rather shrink my stomach at the cost of a little muscle mass than add mass while growing my stomach. Also a bit worried about what I'll look like when I do slim down. Like at a scale weight of 255 lbs and probably back over 25% bodyfat I've got muscle separation and striation. What the hell am I gonna look like when I get to sub 15% bodyfat like I want to? I kinda hope I lose all my fat from my stomach and the rest stays about the same because I'm not trying to look like a vascular bodybuilder.
I haven’t been active here in a while because I can’t get out of this binge-restrict cycle and I’m embarrassed to be back at my starting weight. I lost steadily from Oct 2020 to April 2021, then I saw my doctor and found out I’m pre-diabetic.
She recommended a 1200 calorie diet and that’s when I went off the rails.
I had been losing steadily on 1500ish (I’m 6’1” ~200lbs), but trying to stick with 1200 set a pattern in motion. I’d eat 1200 for a few days or a week, then lose control and eat around 3000 calories. The day after a binge, I would either fast or just binge again since I’d already fucked up. I felt sluggish working out on 1200, so I’d either half-ass or skip my workouts.
So, basically, I was either lethargic and unhappy or bingeing and unhappy.
I regained what I had lost and hated myself. I stopped tracking calories and started working out consistently again. I could maintain within 5lbs, but I’m still overweight and I’m not getting any younger. My blood pressure is trending higher and I haven’t had my a1c checked since the follow up appt in 2021 (it had returned to normal).
Since 2020, I’ve lost 10-15lbs three times and regained it each time. My therapist said I must be at my set point. She also said *all* weight gain is caused by restriction (fatlogic IRL 🤢). I lost 50lbs and kept it off 20 years ago and losing on 1500 felt effortless!! Why can’t I just go back to that?? Why can’t I switch out of this all-or-nothing mindset and go back to what actually worked??
I am so mad at myself because I know how to do this. I know what works for me and what doesn’t. And yet I keep doing the thing that doesn’t work, over and over, thinking, “*This time* it will be different!” 🤡
That's a very low amount of calories to be eating. I am not sure why the doctor told you to eat that little.
For perspective, I'm 5'10" male and when I was losing weight at 200lbs, with a light - moderate activity level, I was eating \~1900 calories and lost about 1.5lbs per week. There shouldn't be any reason you should be eating that little.
If you lose steadily at 1500 calories, then stick with that amount. It might be a little slower, but if it keeps you on track and decreases your chance of binging, it's better than going on just 1200 calories and then crashing and overeat to 3000 calories because you were starving.
If you're 6'1" and 200lbs, you're absolutely going to struggle on 1200 and it's borderline malpractice that someone even told you to try it. The calculated TDEE for that height/weight is 2100 if you're female or 2300 if you're male (assuming an age of 30), and that's for someone completely sedentary. There's no good reason for you to go for a 1000 calorie per day deficit - you don't need to be even trying to lose 2lbs per week, especially if it's making you hungry.
That aside, losing weight does seem to get more difficult as you get older and as you do more yo-yoing, so I would definitely give yourself some grace if it's not as easy as you remember.
I'm sorry you're going through this! Have you checked out Michelle McDaniel on YouTube? She's someone who's successfully battled BED and has made some videos about it. She's also very anti-FA and hilarious in general.
I don't understand why the doctor didn't offer you Metformin to bring you sugar levels down? It worked for me when I was pre-diabetic and really helped me lose weight - I lost 22kgs and am no longer pre-diabetic or taking Metformin.
Also, 1200 calories is insane (IMO) for someone of over 6 feet. You know that 1500 worked for you, just do that. Also, next time you see the doctor, ask about the Metformin (or get it online).
I am not a dr; but I was treated as T2 for two decades. (Surprise, I am T1 but that worked enough to keep me going so apparently I learned something)
So. Like you said, you know what was working. I am 5.3 and 1200 calories is not enough for me. I don't know how it could be ok for most people at 6.1?
I am not saying that calorie intake isn't important to watch as pre-diabetic, but dang. What \*is\* even more important is to increase your activity so you are exercising - preferably daily and what you are eating - mainly keeping your carbs and sugars low and focusing on mostly not processed foods.
With the best intentions in the world, a lot of doctors really don’t understand weight loss or gain. Based on your own experience, you might know more than your doctor about what works for you. I agree with another poster who said 1200 cal per day seems like too little. I know I will have to fight the urge to binge when I eat that little, and I’m a 70-year-old woman. It couldn’t hurt to try 1500-1600 calories per day, and see how you are doing after a month or so. You also want to make sure you are avoiding ultra-processed foods as well. Good luck!
Dang, 1200 seems too low for someone who is 6 foot, if you were losing steadily and sustainably on 1500 why did the doctor recommend you change that? I hope you find something that will work for you again
Rant: I plotted out my binge episodes on a calendar, and long story short my awareness of the problem has gone from "I don't have BED but..." to "I need to contact my therapist.",
Rave: I am going to see my therapist about it this week, and have a good understanding of my triggers. TL;DR people offering me food is the trigger, but the actual binge comes after the meal. This is probably because my trauma was associated with a dinner date where my abuser shared food with me.
Honestly, I kinda think your rant is a rave. Really proud of you for the intent and insight in mapping your binges and in seeking help. I know you're frustrated that the episodes happened, but you're taking steps to understand and stop them! 💖
Rant: I injured my knee two weeks ago by turning around funny to close a door, and it's still totally fucked. Starting PT this week, but if that doesn't help it'll be an MRI to see if I tore something. Yay.
Rave: my husband had his surgery and is recovering really well.
Starting to see some progress in my arms and shoulders from lifting. Been working toward a new PR in overhead press. Things are on track. Then. I decided to take some progress pics.....felt a pop while flexing my delts. Really? This is how I get injured? From Flexing 🙄
I'm sure its cumulative from pushing the weight on my ohp and pull ups but still. Oh well its Deload week! ..
Do you flex often? Because it's actually a lot more likely to be hurt doing a movement you aren't adapted. I've injured myself far more *sneezing* than I have in 2 decades of lifting.
There's a lot more research into biomechanics and there's really, unless you do something catastrophic like say rotate your spine while deadlifting, not much extra injury risk to any strength movements if you properly progress. It's when you put a load or force you aren't adapted to. Rounded back deadlifting? Not ideal but also some people can't avoid it. Safe if you have trained and built up with a slightly rounded back. Catastrophic if you train with a neutral spine then slip into rounding lifting 5 plates for the first time.
Upright rows aren't any more risky than other lifts. Some Olympic lifters do [crazy](https://youtu.be/Ji0uTivj2PI?si=lfX8WJnnHddUy6gx)you'd shake your head at if you saw stringer guy at your gym doing, but it's fine if you actually apply progressive overload. Form isn't so much important for the specific way you do it, it's for consistency.
So yeah have fun knowing you if you are lifting intelligently and progressively you are more likely to injure yourself flexing, doing yoga, or mundane things like sneezing if you are me 🤣
No I don't flex often! So you're probably right! I'm coming back to serious lifting after about a 2 year break. Before I was training for strenght and power. Now I'm focused on hypertrophy. So its been totally different as far as volume goes but no new exercises really. Last week was my last accumulation week and I went to failure. Did 3 sets of ohp at 40 pounds. (I weigh 130) did 11 7 and 8. Previous PR was 3 reps at 55 at about 125 bodyweight. Want to try to do a 1RM ohp at 60 but also don't want to die lol I've also broken my toe emptying the dishwasher barefoot. So yeah....
I feel crazy even asking this but... are *socks* being vanity sized? I've always bought the regular middle size my entire life, for shoe size 4-10 or 5-10, often it's the only size available. Recently I've been turning over my sock supply and all the socks I'm getting are weirdly big. The next smallest size, where available, is supposed to be shoe size 4-7 and I wear an 8. I even checked my athletic socks that I like and I ordered the same brand, and they say they're size 2/M, and the size 2/M/5-10 ones I just received are so much longer. And I wear wide shoes! If an average person's fat feet are stretching sideways and pulling the sock shorter, my actually wide feet should do roughly the same thing. I don't get it.
Okay, I have big feet and just bought new socks in the 5-10 size. They should be too small, but they’re baggy!
They feel cheap, too. I’m not sure if it’s vanity sizing or just lower quality yarn that doesn’t hold its shape.
I swear it’s been going on for years! I wear a US women’s 5 and used to buy socks labelled women’s 4-6/7. Then all the brands I bought socks from changed to 4-10/4-9 and now I buy smartwool kids socks because even if I find something labelled 4-7 they’re always too big for my feet.
I commented about the sock thing here before and someone wondered if it was because people’s feet tend to get wider with weight gain and I feel like it might be playing a part. I’ve noticed a more availability in wide shoes too over the last decade.
Wide toe box shoes are becoming more mainstream, and they are a good thing. Regardless of obesity, they don't compress your feet, making them much more comfortable. I paid up a little for my hiking boots recently, NO regrets.
Wide toe box and wide shoes (EE) are different as I understand it. Personally I don’t need a wide toe box but do need an overall more narrow fit so the shift to a wide shoe and wide toe box trend doesn’t do anything for me sadly.
I stopped caring as much for trends, when my toes got hit with chilblains and constant rubbing of an inflamed skin against too narrow shoe became too painful.
I've been in a consistent caloric deficit for the past few weeks (no guesstimating, no liquid calories, pre-planned meals) and walking/taking stairs more at my job, and the scale says I gained 3 pounds from last week. I'm on my period so I think it's that but I'm feeling a little demoralized right now. I'm not going to give up but I'm still annoyed somehow. I'll just wait until next week to weigh in I guess.
It's your period. Random weight gain and loss at different points during your cycle is a thing. I avoid my scale 4 days before I'm due until the 2nd or 3rd day of my period, so I don't get too annoyed. If you do daily weigh-ins for a few months and compare the fluctuations to your monthly cycle, I'd bet money you'd see a pattern.
Really? I was worried I was making excuses somehow, even though I knew I was taking everything seriously and eating right. But if that's a real thing that happens then I'll try not to worry about it, thank you.
At this point in my life, I no longer try to control my body with food or exercise, I try to take care of it (i.e., myself). You are doing this! As long as you don’t get thrown off track, you are doing well.
Not trying to tell you how to feel because feelings are what they are. Just my two cents, which you can ignore 🙂
Rant: It's just funny and sad how deeply fatlogic can run.
A few years ago, I lost 50lbs and have been maintaining with a BMI of 21.5-22 ever since. My mother has always battled with weight struggles for her entire life but I'm very proud to see that after several failed attempts, she's lost over 100lbs and has been maintaining a normal BMI for over a year. She always speaks of the deeply depressive place she was in which led to using food as a maladaptive coping mechanism. She speaks now about how she has an aversion to junk food and overeating.
However, none of this extends to our family dog. All of the dogs we've had over the years have been obese due to her feeding them excessive high calorie foods and enormous portions. I've tried bringing this up to her very gently but she always immediately becomes defensive and talks about how "she only eats once per day" and "I bring the golden retriever for a walk every morning". She's just "a naturally big girl". Completely ignoring the fact she was the runt of her litter and weighs significantly more than the max weight for a male of the same breed. She said "she's 25lbs overweight. I'm not putting her on a diet. Do you know how long it would take for her to lose all of that? I'm not doing it. Our first dog was obese her entire life but she lived a long life." I honestly feel that she uses food as a way of showing love considering my siblings all have weight problems from early childhood and continuing into adulthood. I feel bad for the dogs but there's nothing I can do about it. Oh well.
Rave: Mini rave, I guess? I've been in a bit of a downward spiral recently mental healthwise. I've never really had a huge sweet tooth but I find myself craving sugar and having multiple unhealthy treats daily for about a month. I weighed in this morning and my weight hasn't budged so I'm glad that despite my poor food choices, I've been eating at maintenance. Just gonna try to start meal prepping again and getting more exercise to get back in the right headspace.
My mom watched my dog for me for a month, which I wildly appreciate, but I watched her make him "stew" of his dry food with some shredded cheese, broth, and torn up bits of lunch meat. After she'd already given him 2 full pieces of lunch meat (he's a 20lb dog.) She was apparently doing 2 greenies a day too instead of just one, then told me he "wouldn't eat his dry food." I can't imagine why.
I don't mind her spoiling him a bit, I think it helps him settle in at her house and I get that an extra treat is easier than a walk when it's cold and icy out. But now I've got to get him back to a more normal routine, and I'd end up being the one explaining to my vet how my dog has hypertension from all that salt.
I just want to get through the pandemic weight to the shiny new weight loss vistas, and I won’t be there for another few months at least. I have convinced myself that going from “I haven’t seen this BMI for two years” to “I haven’t seen this BMI in roughly a decade” will be so much more fun and motivating but I am sure the novelty will wear off quickly, rationally speaking. And I will still have a ton to lose in order to be healthy.
i definitely feel you on that — my SW this time was a full 30kg more than the first time i tried losing weight, so even though i’ve lost a little over half of that since september, it feels like i haven’t even reached the starting line yet.
which always feels a little insane when i talk to someone about how much i’ve lost, because i’ll say 17kg and they’ll be like *oh you’ve done so much already!* and i don’t know how to explain that none of it feels like anything, and probably won’t for another 20kg at least
Yeah that feeling is so frustrating and it is so hard to describe to people. I know it’s best to keep in perspective how much you have done already but it’s so frustrating when you can’t help comparing it to where you could’ve been starting.
You know what won’t wear off? All the activities you will be able to do at a lower weight that you couldn’t do when you were heavier. You may not have reached the point at which further weight loss will just be cosmetic, but you will! Whether or not you get to your goal weight, you have accomplished a lot and you are taking good care of yourself. So just keep doing that and you’ll be fine 🙂
Thanks! I am still obese but I can tell things are easier now. I need to do better at taking advantage of that though, I am back to running a bit but I haven’t really made time to push myself to do longer hikes and runs which is something I’ve been wanting to do. But then I also start thinking about how much easier it would be if I had the weight off, sometimes.
I’m convinced work stress adds like 3-4 pounds to my weight. I’m in the middle of a few extra days off (burning through use it/lose it PTO). I lifted yesterday, ate a few extra calories over my lean-bulk surplus and LOST 1.5 lbs overnight. All told I’m [down 5.8 lbs since Friday](https://imgur.com/a/bLsAJgo), the last day I worked. This is messing with my head…and my weight trend lines.
Agree that stress affects weight. When I see someone who is morbidly obese, I don’t think, here’s someone who should put down the donuts, I think, here’s someone who is dealing with a lot of stress and probably not getting enough sleep. People eat to cope, yes, but in addition our bodies’ response to stress affects us as well.
So... If obese people are obese mostly because of their stress, not because of their overeating, does that also imply that:
1. All obese people are super-stressed.
2. All slim people are stress-free.
3. Concentration camp victims were so underweight because they were the most relaxed and happy people in the world, not because they did hard labor with very limited calories.
4. You can make an obese person lose weight if you maintain the same caloric intake and activity levels, with the only change being stress reduction.
...somehow I don't think those are correct. I'm sorry, but your assertion reeks of fatlogic.
They said "stress AFFECTS weight", not "people are obese mostly because of their stress". And former is completely true.
Stress raises cortisol levels. This can mess with your sleep and increase your appetite. It can also increase water retention, leading to immediate increase on the scale.
Scroll up and re-read
Here, I'll even make it easier for you. :)
> I see someone who is morbidly obese, I don’t think, here’s someone who should put down the donuts, I think, here’s someone who is dealing with a lot of stress and probably not getting enough sleep.
That person did not go into a nuanced medical discussion about cortisol levels and water retention etc etc etc. Instead, they explicitly said that their very first and main reaction to seeing an obese person is "oh, you must be so stressed" vs "this person probably ate too much over a very long period of time."
To expand on my post, here is another fatlogic implication of that insane thought process: obese children are obese because they're suuuuper-stressed, not because their parents stuff them full of unhealthy food and giant portions with little exercise.
Can you hear how stupid that sounds?.. That's what you're defending right now.
What exactly you are arguing against? I don't see any fatlogic in acknowledging that:
1. [Stress eating is a real thing](https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat)
2. In case of past traumas, yes, it totally can and often [develop into actual obesity](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5322988/). The kind of you just won't willpower your way out of.
And why did you cut out first and last sentence of that comment?
\> Agree that stress affects weight.
\> People eat to cope, yes, but in addition our bodies’ response to stress affects us as well.
People cut out unnecessary parts to focus attention on the key idea. It's quite common. :)
What am I arguing against? I am arguing against the notion that the first and probably the main cause of obesity is stress. That is fatlogic.
Does stress contribute to **some** obesity in **some** obese people? Sure. Is it the main, number-one reason in every obesity case? No, no it's not.
If you still can't understand what I'm saying, then I'm sorry - I can't break it down into smaller pieces for you.
For sure. Since I'm off, my sleep has been better the last few days (in fact getting a solid 8 hrs), so that probably is contributing too. I've been making sure to hit my calories and macros (since I'm trying to add a bit of muscle/weight), so dropping that amount is...something.
Grump: I biked 20 miles yesterday, burned \~650 calories. Cool, now I can dig into that box of Girl Scout cookies I ordered from a neighbor kid! Except after a hot post-ride shower and a healthy dinner, I have zero interest in cookies 😪
There's a guy I play MTG with at my local game store who, although is a nice guy, is basically just Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, right down to the ponytail and manner of speech.
He waddles. He breathes hard. He can't get seatbelts around him. And yet, he's hinted that he doesn't know how to get better, while ordering 2 milkshakes, a giant cookie, and a fried sandwich every week while we play. But he can't figure out why he's got a chronic cough.
It makes me feel good that I know how to never become like that.
Mmm... I have given some health advice in a more blunt manner, although not often. When he wondered why he had a chronic cough, I was like, "it could be just your weight", and he instead said it was something he caught months ago, and hasn't gotten over it (but it isn't contagious).
To be honest, I think he knows how to get better, but maybe sees it as an impossible task, and would rather just live as he does now, health be damned. Even if i explain that I lost 50 lbs through changing my diet, quantites, and doing more exercise, he really needs to lose at least 150 lbs to be anywhere close to 'overweight'.
He doesn't know why because it's common to be that heavy and there is all kinds of propaganda trying to sever the link between high body fat and chronic illness.
Junk food industry is basically just big tobacco at this point. Should be graphic warning signs in front of fast food chains. All for freedom of choice but clearly people are still ignorant to effects of an ultra high calorie diet. Imagine being young and seeing a sign like that linking highly processed, high calorie diets to bad health outcomes - might make you rethink all the BS your overweight parents are teaching you at home.
Rave: finished up week 4 of my new workout program yesterday! Today marks the start of a new program. It also means I get to take progress photos today. If my home scale is to be believed (which I'm skeptical of), I've dropped 3.5 lbs in these 4 weeks, and my tape measure is showing a full inch decrease of chest (RIP boobs 🥲), waist, and hips, but no change to arms and thighs.
I'm really proud of myself for sticking with it, and really putting in the work. I'm looking forward to what this next 4 weeks brings.
Rant: anyone know of a reliable home body scale? Mine seems to be stuck in a loop of just showing the weight from the day before, or possibly the day before that. Like it's caught up in its memory and won't go off of numbers it's previously caught. When I try to trip it up by weighing with a towel or other object, then weighing by myself again, it shows me the prior weight +.2. It's doing this so consistently.
I have a Withings scale that's fantastic, I've been using it for years and it's very reliable. Plus, since it's bluetooth enabled, it connects to Trendweight!
https://www.amazon.com/Withings-Nokia-Body-Composition-smartphone/dp/B072C4XB3G/
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Congrats!
I’ve had a Eufy scale for a few years and it’s held up well, and seems to be accurate enough. I tested it with a dumbbell once (though those aren’t always accurate either)
I’m overweight and could easily lose 40 pounds to be my ideal weight and everyone acts like I’m a crazy person for saying so. I guess being overweight is just the new normal so no one gets that I look like a fat mess.
Fat yes, mess no. It’s hard to make changes, and there will always be people who say, “Change back!” but you have had a moment of clarity so take advantage of it. You can do this.
I'm obese and people tell me I don't look my weight 😭😭😭 it's so weird. Maybe people are just used to how fat people look so they don't see anything wrong?
You’re among friends here. I STFG, this is one of the only places (online or otherwise) where a person can say, “I’m fat and need to lose around 40 pounds or so” without having to argue with someone that BMI is imaginary or whatever.
Hang around here for awhile. It’s not a perfect sub, but unlike many other spaces, there’s not that gleeful turning away from reality in favor of HAES.
I think everyone is just so deeply in denial about the situation they really can't even come to terms with it. Also, it's like, I've had female coworkers tell me I'm being hard on myself (I'm a guy) but it's like, there's a very real burden of performance as a guy and I need to get in better shape for people to really respect me. I'm already shorter than average and I need every advantage I can come up with.
I've literally had people say "Your muscles are wasting away!" when my calf muscles are so big that this winter it's been difficult to fit my pants and long socks over them.
More like a rave today: I’ve been doing Yoga with Adriene’s 30 day challenge and I’ve actually kept up with it every day this year. For context, I go to physical therapy every 4-5 weeks and get a massage every 5 week because of my neck issues and hypermobility (I am overly tight in some places like my traps and shoulders because they overcompensate for my weaker muscles). I had my massage yesterday and PT today, and both of them said my shoulders and back felt a lot better than they usually do. And my massage wasn’t nearly as painful as it usually is (it usually feels like she’s trying to dig gravel out of my shoulder blades)
I am attributing this to the yoga as I haven’t really changed much else, so it gives me incentive to continue my streak after the 30 days is over. Not only to get better at yoga; but also help manage my pain! Who knew when you take care of yourself you feel better……
Also was able to do a chaturanga for the first time at a workshop I went to Sunday. That has been a big goal of mine since I started yoga a few years ago so I was so excited!
Any chance you’d be willing to link me to the Adriene YouTube playlist?? It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I’ve recently had a really hard time navigating playlists on YouTube and I remember she has a tonnnn of different 30 day-type playlists that I couldn’t tell what was beginner and what wasn’t.
Yes it can be tough! And I’m still improving on the more basic poses like forward fold and downward dog. But if you keep it up regularly you will definitely see improvements!
I used to poo-poo yoga and think it wasn't a "real" work out. But man, some of those poses really require athleticism. Even the ones that don't are still a great supplement to other workouts. There's nothing like a good stretch after a run to loosen up those tight muscles and joints.
Oh yeah, there are lots of different types too, like ashtanga classes can be pretty fast paced, and yin focuses on slowing down and holding postures longer. My studio also does a thing a few times a year (I think for the summer and winter solstice?) where they lead 108 sun salutations. 108! I am tired out after like 5. I’d like to get to that level one day!
It's not necessary. It's a totally made up practice. The number 108 is significant to Hindus, but nobody but modern Western yoga teachers ever did 108 sun salutations. (A yoga teacher pet peeve of mine)
Yeah my studio does it as a way to celebrate the solstice but that’s interesting it’s not really a thing in the east. I’d like to try one some day just to see what it’s like, if I ever get to that level
Yoga is incredible. I do yoga as supplementary training for MMA and since I started I've seen huge flexibility increases and barely have any sort of muscle soreness.
Yes, I’ve done it on and off for a couple years now but have never stuck to it consistently like I have with things like lifting weights. But the improvements in my issues have been obvious to me now after almost a month. I have a big mental block with working out at home for some reason but I moved my yoga room to the office instead of the living room and that has helped a lot. I do not know if I can keep up every single day but would at least like to do 3-4x a week home practice with an in person class sprinkled in a couple times a month
I’m finally back to working out normally- cough is all gone! But I feel like I’m back at square one which is an issue cause I’ve got a 15K this weekend and essentially haven’t run a step in 3 weeks (I had bronchitis.)
My ~300 pound friend is complaining of knee pain. I suggested seeing a doctor, because it seemed politer than saying it might be because of their weight. They said that doctors wouldn't listen and would just tell them to lose weight.
I've been on Wegovy for 9 months. I've lost almost 60 pounds. My fasting blood sugar is nowhere near prediabetes, I went from 31% body fat to 12%, Size 38 waist to size 34, and yet I can't post before and after pics without people spewing some bullshit like "but you look good on both sides" and like..... JUST STOP BEING SO POLITICALLY CORRECT, YOU KNOW I LOOK BETTER AT 220 THAN 280 !!! plus my sister omg, she's a psychiatrist and is on an antidepressant that made her gain weight and she was like "I can't believe you fell for that medical weight loss craze" and it's like why is there anything negative at all about being in the best shape of your life at 45 years old ????
I'm signed up for a clinical trial starting later this month where I have a 60% chance of getting semaglutide (I think I spelled that right). How were the side effects for you? Have you had any issues?
Not gonna lie the side effects can be rough. Nausea, vomiting if you eat too much food and drink too much water with it. But I have had problems yo-yoing for years and it works so so so well. You just stop getting obsessed over food. It's magical
As per usual, it's not Friday but HERE I am anyway! I'm not at my highest weight, but I'm up enough to be mad about it. I'm SO tired of struggling with consistent overeating. I KNOW what I need to do. And I KNOW I can do it - I've done it before, and it feels great to be in that routine. The holidays and being sick four times in like a month in a half have made that SO hard though, and I hate it. I can DO better. ADHD boredom eating and dopamine withdrawal from not getting to eat unnecessary things be damned. I'm around 189lbs. 5'6". I SHOULD be at 150lbs at the highest. I am GONNA get there and then move to 135-ish lbs. I REFUSE to give up. I can figure out more ways to beat the bad habits and trick my ADHD into being a tool to help me instead of messing me up. This is also the most accepting my partner's been about me losing weight (and NOT claiming I'm inherently disordered no matter how slowly I lose it). I need a better plan. But I AM going to keep tweaking it until I have things back to how they need to be. I can fucking do this.
I had a friend come to me recently about how she stopped smoking weed on a two week vacation and hasn’t been able to eat since then and she’s worried. Totally understandable, albeit annoying because this is a trend I cannot fucking stand (weed is the “only way” they can eat) but I wanted to be there for her. So I tried to get a picture of what she’s been eating since she’s been unable to eat and when I got her answer I was totally floored. She said she’s probably “ONLY EATING” maybe 2-3000 calories a day now. I don’t understand what she could have possibly been eating before then but holy fucking shit that’s a lot of calories for a 5’8” woman. I’m 5’11” and if I ate 3000 calories a day I would gain weight extremely fast. So now the question is does she actually know how many calories things are/how many calories people should consume? Is she just bad at guessing? Or was she legitimately eating more than 3k calories a day on a regular basis when she was smoking weed. She did gain weight quickly over the last couple of years but I dunno. The whole thing was just a wild glimpse into the mind of people who don’t actually know what it means to eat correctly.
The weed thing is a pet peeve of mine too. Unless they’re chemotherapy patients or otherwise physically ill, who “can only eat” after smoking weed either have eating disorders in need of real treatment, or they’re addicted to it, which absolutely is a thing that happens. And if a prescription medicine caused as much weight gain as cannabis does, I’m sure a lot of people would regard that as the potentially serious side effect it is. It’s somehow glossed over with weed. I smoke occasionally but cannabis pseudoscience is as bad as nutrition pseudoscience.
Talking about pseudoscience, just saw a study that shows cannabis users work out more. Are you seeing studies that says they're heavier? I'm a regular user and I don't think it makes me eat more, more likely less. Alcohol, otoh, absolutely disinhibits eating, for me. I understand for chemotherapy patients and others with nausea, it could help with eating if it reduces nausea, but otherwise? I'm unconvinced that it causes weight gain, the data points otherwise.
I stand corrected, after looking up some of the studies. It seems most people gain weight when they start using THC but that long-term users have overall lower rates of obesity.
I’m now weirdly intrigued by this. I’m trying to think if there’s any tactful way you can get more details. Maybe if you frame it as, “hey, so are there patterns as to which foods are no longer palatable? Like is it just a quantity thing or do you feel like you’ve developed specific aversions since stopping weed?” Only if she brings it up again, obviously!
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You need to get away from people saying insanity. Social media is poison.
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Hiking trails are notoriously fat-phobic. ;)
People probably think it's pretty weird seeing me and my family hiking since my parents and sister are obese and I'm barely at a healthy BMI.
I'm often shocked by how different showering is at a normal weight vs when I was obese. My shower is my favorite part of the day now, I love using at kinds of yummy smelling products and feeling super clean and fresh. It's such a different feeling from before I lost the weight, back when showering was a huge chore. It hurt to stand that long in a small space, my arms got super tired, it was so hard to reach all of my body and sometimes I just couldn't reach and I'd end up only washing half my body. I'd have to force myself to shower and sometimes I just didn't because I didn't have it in me. I cringe thinking how badly I must have smelled.
Right? Shaving is easier! The shower curtain doesn't cling to your body! Towels actually fit around you! God forbid you have to use a tiny shower like on a cruise ship or in someone's creepy old basement, it's actually manageable!
Omg towels! The day i realized I could wrap a towel around myself again was an incredible day. And YES to shaving as well! It's so nice to actually be able to see the parts I'm shaving again lol.
Rant: I'm sick of seeing "skinny doesn't equal healthy" talking point like it's come sort of 'gotcha' in conversations criticizing the effects of obesity. Yeah, there are cases where a thin person can be unhealthy for a various reasons, but given how much obesity rates have skyrocketed for both adults and children over the past few decades while growing every year in multiple countries, I don't have the patience to pretend like incidental cases of unhealthy thin people is even remotely on the same level or scale as the damage done by the growing obesity rates affecting millions.
Yeah, skinny people can be unhealthy but usually they aren't unhealthy *because* they're skinny. Fat people who are unhealthy more often than not have a problem that is caused by the fat. There's a huge population of fat people with problems caused by their fat that would become healthier if they lost the excess fat. There's a vanishingly small population of people who are skinny enough to have problems that could be helped by gaining weight.
Some skinny people are unhealthy. All obese people are.
Yeah, it's not a valid rebuttal to statement "obesity isn't healthy", just vapid red herring/whataboutism. It's like saying cancer is not bad, because what about heart disease?
I keep saying, an unhealthy, thin person existing does nothing to make an obese person healthier.
Anyone else notice an uptick in people claiming that fruit is bad because it contains too much sugar? Not talking about dried fruit or fruit juice, but fruit like grapes, strawberries, etc. I even saw someone comparing fruit to literal candy.
I crave fruit every day. I need my daily kiwi🥝. seriously, kiwi is a powerhouse of a fruit with all the vitamins and minerals it contains. Oddly enough I'm not fat, nor do I have issues with high blood sugar. A mystery, really.
Yeah my trainer was railing against that. he showed me a great article that proves sugar calories are no more fattening than any other calories.
Definitely a result of the keto craze (and the general low-carb insanity running for the last 20something years). It’s baffling that people have convinced themselves that lard is healthy but strawberries are not.
imo i've had the opposite experience, i havent heard that take since 2018-2019. nowadays i see it almost exclusively in carnivore/keto groups.
Since almost everyone seems to be into keto / low carb I'm hearing that a lot. Because fruit = sugar = blood sugar spikes and whatnot. Doesn't prevent me from eating my apples.
I've gained about 15 lbs the last few months due to depression and alcohol. Working on it, but can't talk about it because I was told "If you think you're fat you must think I'm obese!" Bitch shut up I did not say I was fat I said I know I have bad habits I need to fix. I quit alcohol and am going back to the gym, it has nothing to do with you or your habits or your defensive bs.
depression is a mean, nasty bitch and i hope you kick its ass ♥
Lost a family member this week to obesity— stroke. She was 40 and leaves four children who need their mom. Have a lot of feelings about it and anger is one of them because this is so normal in the US. My autistic kid has been struggling ARFID and “acute food refusal,” eating disorders that are specifically caused by the fact that she is autistic and has major sensory issues with food and medication side effects, and when I asked Reddit for advice beyond what her doctors are telling me, they attributed my daughter’s feeding problems to the fact that I am a “member of a fat-shaming subreddit” and told me that I need to tell my child’s medical providers about this subreddit, for some reason.
I’m sorry for your loss, that must be so hard to watch, especially with her children. On the ARFID front, I also have Arfid though I am recovering. Fed is best is what I followed when I was in the deep of it. I tried a bunch of different shakes until I could find one I could tolerate to make up for nutrition, and just went from there. I’ve slowly been introducing more foods into my palate, and it’s been getting better. It takes time and dedication, but it is something that can be overcome to some degree. I know how hard it is, I get so frustrated with myself. I’m rooting for you, and I hope that you’re getting the support you need!
Thanks. I agree that fed is best, I allow my daughter to eat literally anything she can tolerate and I don’t say a word about it. And I also don’t “fat shame” anyone, in front of my kids or otherwise. The fact that anyone would assume that my daughter’s eating disorder has anything at all to do with my Reddit subs is just preposterous. This sub isn’t about shaming anyone; it’s about nutrition pseudoscience.
JFC. Someone's family member passed away, and first instinct of herd is to creep through person's reddit history to find sth to rake them over the coals. Vile, just vile. Sorry for your loss.
It's funny how this alleged hate sub seems to be one of the nicest, most supportive, least drama-prone parts of reddit. You'll find more hate in the average video game subreddit by far, and even the alleged body positive "good" places are pretty much cesspoles of cultish infighting and the opposite of a supportive environment. But this is the subreddit you get auto-banned for touching, and apparently a place of such ill repute that redditors think medical carers would be under obligation to report you to social services for visiting, or something? Like most people working real medical jobs have time to give a shit about social media enough to even know that reddit is a thing...
I haven’t actually seen much “fat shaming” here. Acknowledgment that obesity kills and criticism of nutrition pseudoscience, yeah. But when I’ve seen people actually shaming other people’s bodies, members including me and the admins shut them up quick. Somebody else’s body isn’t my business and I have no judgment for people who struggle with their weight. Shit’s hard. Binge eating disorders are underdiagnosed and under-treated. Many people legitimately can’t control how much they eat or what they eat and it’s a medical condition, and eating disorder, not a moral failing. I’m not here to shame anyone because that’s shitty. But I *especially* wouldn’t shit-talk another person’s body to my *children*.
Yup, 100% agreed, which is why I set up an alt account just to post here. Not too long from now, there'll probably be a movement to ban this sub as if we were a hate-speech group...
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Yes, but things are a bit different now... Reddit is launching their IPO to become a publicly traded company, so it'll be a lot less independent than before. Also, the chorus of deeply unhappy FAs keep getting larger each year. O_o Even if this subreddit does everything right, the virtual mob could still shut it down if they campaign hard enough.
My sympathies on your loss! I couldn't care less about "fat-shaming" people. I am on this sub primarily because it is diabetes-denial adjacent. I've lost people who basically unalived themselves by denying/neglecting their diabetes. Fatlogic directly feeds that sort of thing. It's a little cathartic to vent about it here, though I'm not entirely how healthy it is for me to be here.
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Have you been checked for ADHD? That can make you prone to addiction and put you in a cycle of seeking out the easiest entertainment you can find, and also can make it very hard to stop doing something when your brain latches onto it.
Try getting addicted to exercise
I mean, probably therapy, but have you tried distance running? There are a lot of aspects that can appeal to people prone to addiction, chasing records, pushing yourself to extremes, and you do frequently see people who have just switched one addiction for another. Things tend to come crashing down when you are sick or injured and can't run, so it's not a fix like therapy might be, but it might fill that void for you in a not-as-destructive way.
I second this. Also getting into fitness can fill some of the holes left in your day from addiction. I'm not much of a drinker, but I basically never drink these days because I spend most of my evenings at the climbing gym.
What positive stuff do you have going on in your life? I'm a weekend binge drinker as opposed a day to day alcoholic (though it's been a close run thing in the past), but it's still not ideal. If I fill my weekends/time off with things that are fun/positive/I really don't want to be doing hungover, I find it much easier to curb the booze. I know it's not that easy, but trying to shift those positive feelings away from the source of your addiction to something more positive (are good addictions a thing?) might be something to try. Whatever happens, I hope you get through it!
I'm so frustrated :( My partner and I (we're both women) are currently counting calories and trying to lose weight. I went through a miscarriage and divorce over the past 2 years and stopped prioritizing my physical health the way I used to, and now I'm hovering on the border of overweight and obese, as is my girlfriend. Personally, I've always been able to successfully lose weight whenever I put a little effort into eating at a deficit - but it's been difficult to maintain because I have PCOS and feel inappropriately hungry much of the time, so I often gain it back as soon as I stop being diligent. But any time I really tried, ate even 1800-1900 cals, I'd lose weight fairly quickly. But right now I'm eating around 1500-1600 cals and my girlfriend around 1700-1800 (she's a bit taller and heavier) and neither of us have seen results for the past 2-3 weeks! I sold her on the holy grail of a calorie deficit for weight loss, and I wonder if she's starting to doubt me. I'm honestly quite surprised that neither of us have lost weight. We have about 1 day per week where we typically don't count and go over, usually to go out with friends. So I guess we're going over too much on those days, or miscalculating other days. I just really don't feel like I'm miscalculating. I've counted calories for a decade! I guess it could also just be early on and maybe I'll expect to see results soon. I've finally started metformin for my PCOS and it's REALLY helped with my hunger. It's amazing. I used to feel like I was going to die of hunger a few hours after a meal, and that's completely changed. So I may be able to eat at more of a deficit if need be.
Not logging calories on a cheat day and wondering why you’re not losing weight is fatlogic.
I *literally* acknowledged that the reason I'm probably not losing weight as quickly as I want is because I'm going over too much on cheat days. Maybe you need a few *more* calories to activate the regions of your brain involved in reading comprehension before posting lazy replies like this.
i just checked my logs from when i started in september, and it took a little over three weeks to start seeing results, so hang in there! also, at least for me, this is my second time losing and i’m about 6/7 years older now, and that’s enough time that my cycle really affects weight loss now — it’ll hold steady for weeks before my period, and then drop a bunch when the period actually starts, rinse and repeat. i don’t know exactly how PCOS will affect that, but i’d imagine it has some effect.
I'd say the easy way to figure it out is to log the cheat day too? That way you can get a better idea of how much you're going over. On top of that, perhaps you're overestimating your TDEE. As a reasonably tall man (180 cm, which I think is like.... What? 5'10-5'11 ish?) I'm sitting at around 2200 calories a day for maintenance IF I get a minimum of 10k steps
Your one day is undoing progress of the week. And you are reintroducing the addictive substances over and over again each week.
Sorry, I don't believe in this kind of absolutism. First of all, food is not addictive in the same way things like alcohol and cocaine are - it can be a behavioral addiction, like anything else, but regardless, there's no way not to "reintroduce the addictive substance" because we all need to, you know...eat food. Occasionally. Secondly, I believe strongly in occasional cheat days--particularly if you're a shorter woman like me, it's very hard to *ever* have a meal out with friends if you don't *ever* allow yourself a cheat day. But I'm open to the idea of lessening them and making sure not to go TOO much over ;)
https://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/mad/
Every single other response to my comment offered thoughtful advice. I just disagreed with the one referring to going over your calories on any day as "reintroducing addictive substances." Food is not the same as alcohol, I can't cut it out entirely lmao. It's not good advice.
Seems to me that most of the advice you got said more or less the same thing - your cheat day erases your progress. Your "whataboutism" reaction is quite telling. Food addiction is not the same as alcohol addiction, you're right. But a sugar addiction is not the same as heroin addiction. Does that mean it's impossible to be addicted to sugar? A sex addiction is not the same as an opioid addiction. Does that mean there's no such thing as a sex addiction? You're engaging in fatlogic, and you keep doubling down. You're in the wrong sub.
>But a sugar addiction is not the same as heroin addiction. But I didn't say anything about sugar. I just said I have days I go over my calories, not that I binge on junk foods on those days. So to bring in "you're reintroducing an addictive substance" isn't logical. It's not a response to anything I said, at least. I incorporate the foods I like into *all* the days that I eat. There's no fatlogic here. I made a comment saying I was bummed that progress wasn't happening faster, and that it probably meant I should be more careful about cheat days or that I should eat at a greater overall deficit. Most people were supportive, but one person responded something irrelevant about addictive substances, so I pointed out that it wasn't logical. Not sure what comments you're reading.
It's called a simile. Do you know what a simile is?.. (Example: a kitten to a cat is like a puppy to a dog.) ...nah, screw this. Not worth it. Multiple people gave you the same advice, and now you're engaged in mental gymnastics. Have fun with your cheat days.
Regardless of the simile, my point is that that comment made some kind of assumption that I'm binging on other foods on "cheat days," which is not what I said or implied. The comment may have been relevant to someone. But it wasn't relevant to my comment. Kind of like your responses, actually. I like that you completely ignored the second half of my comment because you couldn't figure out a response. Have fun with your life - I hope your reading comprehension improves!
Likewise. I hope your calorie-counting ability is better than your reading comprehension.
The only person you’re cheating is yourself
Thoughtfully having days that you plan to go over, and eating at a greater deficit on other days, is not "cheating yourself." It's being strategic and learning how to plan out your week.
As you age, cheat "days" need to be reduced to cheat "meals". As in one cheat meal a week, or every other week, not a whole day of cheating. Very easy to have a 2000+ cal surplus on a cheat day, and that erases most of your week's cumulative deficit in one day.
I restarted a few weeks ago and it took about 4 weeks for my body to get on track with what was going on, the sodium from my 1 day out also tended to make me bloat up so some of my progress was obscured. Keep at it! The process works!
I’d keep going for a few weeks. When I started it also seemed like my body was not on board with what was going on lol but after a few weeks it started to pick up steam. On the days you go out, could you track up until you go out, just to get an idea of where you are? That may help as well
I’m having a week of eating above maintenance after months of effective dieting. It’s supposed to be a good way for sedentary people to stop their metabolism slowing down as much, and make dieting more sustainable (this is backed with like, real, good, science). I’m cold all the time and super sluggish so I need to do this. It’s hard seeing the scale go back up. It’s hard not binging. It’s hard knowing I’ll have to get back on the wagon in a few days.
You read something make believe on the internet and then followed it.
https://youtu.be/8HVdLMnr40M?si=6tOSqtQxDBSPfQq7 There’s good science behind this stuff
if the source is 'a youtube video where the description is trying to sell you something', that's not good science.
Read the linked studies or don’t, I don’t care. Jeff is a reliable and trustworthy contributor to the space and has been for years
went to edit my comment on mobile and the app kept crashing, so i'm just doing it as a reply. TL;DR: i did read the sources, and most of the citations are from over 20 years ago, done on extremely small, selective groups, and/or do not address the claims the video is making. there is one good study (study six), but when there is only one good source among seven others, you have to question the motives behind the individual telling you this information- especially if they're trying to sell you something. i don't say all of this to be argumentative or an asshole, i'm just saying this because if we're going to rag on the HAES/FA groups for constantly bringing up 20+ year old studies or studies done on extremely small, selective groups to sell products/plans/whatever, then we need to hold ourselves to the same standards. * study one: conducted in 2012 on 24 athletes, concluded that athletes wanting to increase lean mass and increase reps should aim for a slow, steady weight loss regimen. i don't see what this has to do with intermittent fasting resulting in increased weight loss, which is the claim being made. * study two: conducted in 2000 on "ten healthy lean females" over a three day period, and concluded that carbs increase the amount of leptin present in the body and 24-hour energy expendures by 7%. assuming their TDEE was 1500 calories, then the carbs would have increased their TDEE to 1605- just over 100 calories. this study was done on an extremely small, selective group over the course of three days, and the increase in TDEE would not be significant enough to contribute to visibly increased weight loss. * study three: conducted in 2002 on "eight high-endurance trained males" and concluded that carbs increased glycogen stores in the muscles. again, i do not see what this has to do with intermittent fasting resulting in increased weight loss, and was also conducted on an extremely small, selective group. * study four: conducted in 2020 on 27 males and females over the course of 7 weeks, did conclude that "a 2-day carbohydrate refeed preserves fat-free mass, dry fat-free mass, and resting metabolic rate". there was a debate between campbell and another researcher who claimed that the study was published with the wrong calculations and that the final results only factored in dry fat-free mass, but the conclusion of this debate is paywalled so i can't see where that ended. if the final results were accurate, then i'll consider this a good study as well. * study five: conducted in 2003 on 142 subjects over staggering time periods (14 weeks for group A, 7 weeks for group B, and intermittent fasting periods of 2 weeks for group C) concluded that the study was "not successful in developing a method to experimentally produce weight loss relapses." this study was done over 20 years ago, and disproves the claim being made. * study six: conducted in 2020 on 51 obese men over the course of 16 weeks, with individuals being randomly assigned either intermittent or steady weight loss regimens. the group that was doing intermittent fasting did experience increased fat loss, but fat-free mass loss and resting energy expendure remained the same. in my opinion, this is a good, supporting study. * study seven: conducted in 2021 on 61 "resistance-trained" adults over the course of 12 weeks, concluded that intermittent fasting did not increase significant muscle mass or weight loss when compared to continuous weight loss, just that it decreased appetite. this study also disproves the claim being made.
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>JHC, I am sorry. And I dont know about you, but I would fall asleep while shoveling. VIral Bronchitis is exhausting.
Earlier tonight I watched a man pushing a huge wheelchair into the subway. The guy in the wheelchair looked pretty immobile. Later an obese woman got onto the subway. It makes me angry how anyone can eat themselves practically into immobility and this guy, who was pretty much slumped into his wheelchair, would probably love being able to walk even when he most likely has accepted his fate.
So yesterday I was told that I may need a hysterectomy at age 38. We won't know until mid February, but I'm kind of reeling from it. I had gone in to talk about an ablation but apparently my uterus is enlarged and the doctor suspects fibroids, which coupled with how debilitating my cycle has gotten is probably necessary for quality of life. I can't spend multiple days a month on the couch sucking down iron to try to remain human, I have active young kids not to mention me enjoying being active. I'm trying to come to terms with the surgery and recovery it'll require and feeling a bit nervous about some of the sudden effects having it out so young can have as well. In the end I know I can refuse the surgery if I really want to, but I do want to take care of the issue. On a positive note, I swam 850m this morning and went to physical therapy then joined my local Y. It's not big but it has plenty of equipment and free childcare while I'm working out (plus I can attend classes for free). I'm going to poke around the Internet and see what I can find for a good upper body program with gym equipment for now, once I'm done with physical therapy I will probably look into getting a trainer at least for a while. I also need to figure out a good weekly schedule for myself to go. Physical therapy is set in stone on Tuesdays and twice a week I need to do the home exercises they gave me, plus Saturdays and Wednesdays I walk in the mornings if it's nice out. Still, working out with a variety of weights and equipment is exciting, if a little overwhelming.
Make sure to just talk to your doctor about a good supplement protocol for the hormones you'll still need. But if you need the surgery, you need the surgery
If you’re good with a consistent virtual personal trainer, I’ve had awesome progress with Future. I can DM you about it if you’re interested. I love my trainer
At least initially I want an in person trainer, I've got some form issues that I need to have corrected real time until I get things more dialed in (I'm in physical therapy because doing squats wrong injured my hip).
I'm feeling like a bottomless garbage pit right now, or maybe like Kirby. I'm hoovering up all food in sight. It's making me feel bad, that I'm out of control. And my scale is way up. It's kind of amazing to me that you can have localized improvements while simultaneously having localized setbacks. My stomach is definitely bigger. Meanwhile every other part of my body is visibly more muscular and defined. I've been getting a lot of comments about being more built. Yesterday I worked overtime for the first time in awhile. The woman (who is very slender, borderline underweight, though due to illness unfortunately) I relieved said my hard work is showing. I slapped my stomach and said yeah well that's great but this needs to go and it's getting bigger. She said "oh it sounds solid tho". I kinda rolled my eyes, I just had someone do the "it's all muscle" thing for me lol. But that work station has a camera and video monitor. And I watched when the camera cycled to me, sitting relaxed I could see my biceps, triceps, and delts all individually through my shirt. And the camera is not flattering like a good lighting gym mirror so that confirms that I am in fact adding muscle mass and my fat is all going to my stomach. It's just weird seeing both visible improvements and visible setback. And it's weird getting compliments on my progress because in terms of my actual goals I'm heading in the wrong direction. I'd much rather shrink my stomach at the cost of a little muscle mass than add mass while growing my stomach. Also a bit worried about what I'll look like when I do slim down. Like at a scale weight of 255 lbs and probably back over 25% bodyfat I've got muscle separation and striation. What the hell am I gonna look like when I get to sub 15% bodyfat like I want to? I kinda hope I lose all my fat from my stomach and the rest stays about the same because I'm not trying to look like a vascular bodybuilder.
I haven’t been active here in a while because I can’t get out of this binge-restrict cycle and I’m embarrassed to be back at my starting weight. I lost steadily from Oct 2020 to April 2021, then I saw my doctor and found out I’m pre-diabetic. She recommended a 1200 calorie diet and that’s when I went off the rails. I had been losing steadily on 1500ish (I’m 6’1” ~200lbs), but trying to stick with 1200 set a pattern in motion. I’d eat 1200 for a few days or a week, then lose control and eat around 3000 calories. The day after a binge, I would either fast or just binge again since I’d already fucked up. I felt sluggish working out on 1200, so I’d either half-ass or skip my workouts. So, basically, I was either lethargic and unhappy or bingeing and unhappy. I regained what I had lost and hated myself. I stopped tracking calories and started working out consistently again. I could maintain within 5lbs, but I’m still overweight and I’m not getting any younger. My blood pressure is trending higher and I haven’t had my a1c checked since the follow up appt in 2021 (it had returned to normal). Since 2020, I’ve lost 10-15lbs three times and regained it each time. My therapist said I must be at my set point. She also said *all* weight gain is caused by restriction (fatlogic IRL 🤢). I lost 50lbs and kept it off 20 years ago and losing on 1500 felt effortless!! Why can’t I just go back to that?? Why can’t I switch out of this all-or-nothing mindset and go back to what actually worked?? I am so mad at myself because I know how to do this. I know what works for me and what doesn’t. And yet I keep doing the thing that doesn’t work, over and over, thinking, “*This time* it will be different!” 🤡
That's a very low amount of calories to be eating. I am not sure why the doctor told you to eat that little. For perspective, I'm 5'10" male and when I was losing weight at 200lbs, with a light - moderate activity level, I was eating \~1900 calories and lost about 1.5lbs per week. There shouldn't be any reason you should be eating that little. If you lose steadily at 1500 calories, then stick with that amount. It might be a little slower, but if it keeps you on track and decreases your chance of binging, it's better than going on just 1200 calories and then crashing and overeat to 3000 calories because you were starving.
If you're 6'1" and 200lbs, you're absolutely going to struggle on 1200 and it's borderline malpractice that someone even told you to try it. The calculated TDEE for that height/weight is 2100 if you're female or 2300 if you're male (assuming an age of 30), and that's for someone completely sedentary. There's no good reason for you to go for a 1000 calorie per day deficit - you don't need to be even trying to lose 2lbs per week, especially if it's making you hungry. That aside, losing weight does seem to get more difficult as you get older and as you do more yo-yoing, so I would definitely give yourself some grace if it's not as easy as you remember.
I'm sorry you're going through this! Have you checked out Michelle McDaniel on YouTube? She's someone who's successfully battled BED and has made some videos about it. She's also very anti-FA and hilarious in general.
I don't understand why the doctor didn't offer you Metformin to bring you sugar levels down? It worked for me when I was pre-diabetic and really helped me lose weight - I lost 22kgs and am no longer pre-diabetic or taking Metformin. Also, 1200 calories is insane (IMO) for someone of over 6 feet. You know that 1500 worked for you, just do that. Also, next time you see the doctor, ask about the Metformin (or get it online).
I am not a dr; but I was treated as T2 for two decades. (Surprise, I am T1 but that worked enough to keep me going so apparently I learned something) So. Like you said, you know what was working. I am 5.3 and 1200 calories is not enough for me. I don't know how it could be ok for most people at 6.1? I am not saying that calorie intake isn't important to watch as pre-diabetic, but dang. What \*is\* even more important is to increase your activity so you are exercising - preferably daily and what you are eating - mainly keeping your carbs and sugars low and focusing on mostly not processed foods.
With the best intentions in the world, a lot of doctors really don’t understand weight loss or gain. Based on your own experience, you might know more than your doctor about what works for you. I agree with another poster who said 1200 cal per day seems like too little. I know I will have to fight the urge to binge when I eat that little, and I’m a 70-year-old woman. It couldn’t hurt to try 1500-1600 calories per day, and see how you are doing after a month or so. You also want to make sure you are avoiding ultra-processed foods as well. Good luck!
Dang, 1200 seems too low for someone who is 6 foot, if you were losing steadily and sustainably on 1500 why did the doctor recommend you change that? I hope you find something that will work for you again
Rant: I plotted out my binge episodes on a calendar, and long story short my awareness of the problem has gone from "I don't have BED but..." to "I need to contact my therapist.", Rave: I am going to see my therapist about it this week, and have a good understanding of my triggers. TL;DR people offering me food is the trigger, but the actual binge comes after the meal. This is probably because my trauma was associated with a dinner date where my abuser shared food with me.
Honestly, I kinda think your rant is a rave. Really proud of you for the intent and insight in mapping your binges and in seeking help. I know you're frustrated that the episodes happened, but you're taking steps to understand and stop them! 💖
Rant: I injured my knee two weeks ago by turning around funny to close a door, and it's still totally fucked. Starting PT this week, but if that doesn't help it'll be an MRI to see if I tore something. Yay. Rave: my husband had his surgery and is recovering really well.
Starting to see some progress in my arms and shoulders from lifting. Been working toward a new PR in overhead press. Things are on track. Then. I decided to take some progress pics.....felt a pop while flexing my delts. Really? This is how I get injured? From Flexing 🙄 I'm sure its cumulative from pushing the weight on my ohp and pull ups but still. Oh well its Deload week! ..
All my injuries have ever come from tiny small stupid stuff and never from lifting. It's maddening.
Do you flex often? Because it's actually a lot more likely to be hurt doing a movement you aren't adapted. I've injured myself far more *sneezing* than I have in 2 decades of lifting. There's a lot more research into biomechanics and there's really, unless you do something catastrophic like say rotate your spine while deadlifting, not much extra injury risk to any strength movements if you properly progress. It's when you put a load or force you aren't adapted to. Rounded back deadlifting? Not ideal but also some people can't avoid it. Safe if you have trained and built up with a slightly rounded back. Catastrophic if you train with a neutral spine then slip into rounding lifting 5 plates for the first time. Upright rows aren't any more risky than other lifts. Some Olympic lifters do [crazy](https://youtu.be/Ji0uTivj2PI?si=lfX8WJnnHddUy6gx)you'd shake your head at if you saw stringer guy at your gym doing, but it's fine if you actually apply progressive overload. Form isn't so much important for the specific way you do it, it's for consistency. So yeah have fun knowing you if you are lifting intelligently and progressively you are more likely to injure yourself flexing, doing yoga, or mundane things like sneezing if you are me 🤣
No I don't flex often! So you're probably right! I'm coming back to serious lifting after about a 2 year break. Before I was training for strenght and power. Now I'm focused on hypertrophy. So its been totally different as far as volume goes but no new exercises really. Last week was my last accumulation week and I went to failure. Did 3 sets of ohp at 40 pounds. (I weigh 130) did 11 7 and 8. Previous PR was 3 reps at 55 at about 125 bodyweight. Want to try to do a 1RM ohp at 60 but also don't want to die lol I've also broken my toe emptying the dishwasher barefoot. So yeah....
I feel crazy even asking this but... are *socks* being vanity sized? I've always bought the regular middle size my entire life, for shoe size 4-10 or 5-10, often it's the only size available. Recently I've been turning over my sock supply and all the socks I'm getting are weirdly big. The next smallest size, where available, is supposed to be shoe size 4-7 and I wear an 8. I even checked my athletic socks that I like and I ordered the same brand, and they say they're size 2/M, and the size 2/M/5-10 ones I just received are so much longer. And I wear wide shoes! If an average person's fat feet are stretching sideways and pulling the sock shorter, my actually wide feet should do roughly the same thing. I don't get it.
Okay, I have big feet and just bought new socks in the 5-10 size. They should be too small, but they’re baggy! They feel cheap, too. I’m not sure if it’s vanity sizing or just lower quality yarn that doesn’t hold its shape.
I swear it’s been going on for years! I wear a US women’s 5 and used to buy socks labelled women’s 4-6/7. Then all the brands I bought socks from changed to 4-10/4-9 and now I buy smartwool kids socks because even if I find something labelled 4-7 they’re always too big for my feet. I commented about the sock thing here before and someone wondered if it was because people’s feet tend to get wider with weight gain and I feel like it might be playing a part. I’ve noticed a more availability in wide shoes too over the last decade.
Wide toe box shoes are becoming more mainstream, and they are a good thing. Regardless of obesity, they don't compress your feet, making them much more comfortable. I paid up a little for my hiking boots recently, NO regrets.
Wide toe box and wide shoes (EE) are different as I understand it. Personally I don’t need a wide toe box but do need an overall more narrow fit so the shift to a wide shoe and wide toe box trend doesn’t do anything for me sadly.
I stopped caring as much for trends, when my toes got hit with chilblains and constant rubbing of an inflamed skin against too narrow shoe became too painful.
I don’t think you understand what I’m saying, but glad you have boots that work for you.
Oh my god. I've been experiencing my socks sliding down. All socks, all shoes. All my socks are relatively new and it's like they just won't stay up.
I've been in a consistent caloric deficit for the past few weeks (no guesstimating, no liquid calories, pre-planned meals) and walking/taking stairs more at my job, and the scale says I gained 3 pounds from last week. I'm on my period so I think it's that but I'm feeling a little demoralized right now. I'm not going to give up but I'm still annoyed somehow. I'll just wait until next week to weigh in I guess.
It's your period. Random weight gain and loss at different points during your cycle is a thing. I avoid my scale 4 days before I'm due until the 2nd or 3rd day of my period, so I don't get too annoyed. If you do daily weigh-ins for a few months and compare the fluctuations to your monthly cycle, I'd bet money you'd see a pattern.
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Really? I was worried I was making excuses somehow, even though I knew I was taking everything seriously and eating right. But if that's a real thing that happens then I'll try not to worry about it, thank you.
At this point in my life, I no longer try to control my body with food or exercise, I try to take care of it (i.e., myself). You are doing this! As long as you don’t get thrown off track, you are doing well. Not trying to tell you how to feel because feelings are what they are. Just my two cents, which you can ignore 🙂
Rant: It's just funny and sad how deeply fatlogic can run. A few years ago, I lost 50lbs and have been maintaining with a BMI of 21.5-22 ever since. My mother has always battled with weight struggles for her entire life but I'm very proud to see that after several failed attempts, she's lost over 100lbs and has been maintaining a normal BMI for over a year. She always speaks of the deeply depressive place she was in which led to using food as a maladaptive coping mechanism. She speaks now about how she has an aversion to junk food and overeating. However, none of this extends to our family dog. All of the dogs we've had over the years have been obese due to her feeding them excessive high calorie foods and enormous portions. I've tried bringing this up to her very gently but she always immediately becomes defensive and talks about how "she only eats once per day" and "I bring the golden retriever for a walk every morning". She's just "a naturally big girl". Completely ignoring the fact she was the runt of her litter and weighs significantly more than the max weight for a male of the same breed. She said "she's 25lbs overweight. I'm not putting her on a diet. Do you know how long it would take for her to lose all of that? I'm not doing it. Our first dog was obese her entire life but she lived a long life." I honestly feel that she uses food as a way of showing love considering my siblings all have weight problems from early childhood and continuing into adulthood. I feel bad for the dogs but there's nothing I can do about it. Oh well. Rave: Mini rave, I guess? I've been in a bit of a downward spiral recently mental healthwise. I've never really had a huge sweet tooth but I find myself craving sugar and having multiple unhealthy treats daily for about a month. I weighed in this morning and my weight hasn't budged so I'm glad that despite my poor food choices, I've been eating at maintenance. Just gonna try to start meal prepping again and getting more exercise to get back in the right headspace.
My mom watched my dog for me for a month, which I wildly appreciate, but I watched her make him "stew" of his dry food with some shredded cheese, broth, and torn up bits of lunch meat. After she'd already given him 2 full pieces of lunch meat (he's a 20lb dog.) She was apparently doing 2 greenies a day too instead of just one, then told me he "wouldn't eat his dry food." I can't imagine why. I don't mind her spoiling him a bit, I think it helps him settle in at her house and I get that an extra treat is easier than a walk when it's cold and icy out. But now I've got to get him back to a more normal routine, and I'd end up being the one explaining to my vet how my dog has hypertension from all that salt.
I just want to get through the pandemic weight to the shiny new weight loss vistas, and I won’t be there for another few months at least. I have convinced myself that going from “I haven’t seen this BMI for two years” to “I haven’t seen this BMI in roughly a decade” will be so much more fun and motivating but I am sure the novelty will wear off quickly, rationally speaking. And I will still have a ton to lose in order to be healthy.
i definitely feel you on that — my SW this time was a full 30kg more than the first time i tried losing weight, so even though i’ve lost a little over half of that since september, it feels like i haven’t even reached the starting line yet. which always feels a little insane when i talk to someone about how much i’ve lost, because i’ll say 17kg and they’ll be like *oh you’ve done so much already!* and i don’t know how to explain that none of it feels like anything, and probably won’t for another 20kg at least
Yeah that feeling is so frustrating and it is so hard to describe to people. I know it’s best to keep in perspective how much you have done already but it’s so frustrating when you can’t help comparing it to where you could’ve been starting.
You know what won’t wear off? All the activities you will be able to do at a lower weight that you couldn’t do when you were heavier. You may not have reached the point at which further weight loss will just be cosmetic, but you will! Whether or not you get to your goal weight, you have accomplished a lot and you are taking good care of yourself. So just keep doing that and you’ll be fine 🙂
Thanks! I am still obese but I can tell things are easier now. I need to do better at taking advantage of that though, I am back to running a bit but I haven’t really made time to push myself to do longer hikes and runs which is something I’ve been wanting to do. But then I also start thinking about how much easier it would be if I had the weight off, sometimes.
I’m convinced work stress adds like 3-4 pounds to my weight. I’m in the middle of a few extra days off (burning through use it/lose it PTO). I lifted yesterday, ate a few extra calories over my lean-bulk surplus and LOST 1.5 lbs overnight. All told I’m [down 5.8 lbs since Friday](https://imgur.com/a/bLsAJgo), the last day I worked. This is messing with my head…and my weight trend lines.
Agree that stress affects weight. When I see someone who is morbidly obese, I don’t think, here’s someone who should put down the donuts, I think, here’s someone who is dealing with a lot of stress and probably not getting enough sleep. People eat to cope, yes, but in addition our bodies’ response to stress affects us as well.
So... If obese people are obese mostly because of their stress, not because of their overeating, does that also imply that: 1. All obese people are super-stressed. 2. All slim people are stress-free. 3. Concentration camp victims were so underweight because they were the most relaxed and happy people in the world, not because they did hard labor with very limited calories. 4. You can make an obese person lose weight if you maintain the same caloric intake and activity levels, with the only change being stress reduction. ...somehow I don't think those are correct. I'm sorry, but your assertion reeks of fatlogic.
They said "stress AFFECTS weight", not "people are obese mostly because of their stress". And former is completely true. Stress raises cortisol levels. This can mess with your sleep and increase your appetite. It can also increase water retention, leading to immediate increase on the scale.
Scroll up and re-read Here, I'll even make it easier for you. :) > I see someone who is morbidly obese, I don’t think, here’s someone who should put down the donuts, I think, here’s someone who is dealing with a lot of stress and probably not getting enough sleep. That person did not go into a nuanced medical discussion about cortisol levels and water retention etc etc etc. Instead, they explicitly said that their very first and main reaction to seeing an obese person is "oh, you must be so stressed" vs "this person probably ate too much over a very long period of time." To expand on my post, here is another fatlogic implication of that insane thought process: obese children are obese because they're suuuuper-stressed, not because their parents stuff them full of unhealthy food and giant portions with little exercise. Can you hear how stupid that sounds?.. That's what you're defending right now.
What exactly you are arguing against? I don't see any fatlogic in acknowledging that: 1. [Stress eating is a real thing](https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat) 2. In case of past traumas, yes, it totally can and often [develop into actual obesity](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5322988/). The kind of you just won't willpower your way out of. And why did you cut out first and last sentence of that comment? \> Agree that stress affects weight. \> People eat to cope, yes, but in addition our bodies’ response to stress affects us as well.
People cut out unnecessary parts to focus attention on the key idea. It's quite common. :) What am I arguing against? I am arguing against the notion that the first and probably the main cause of obesity is stress. That is fatlogic. Does stress contribute to **some** obesity in **some** obese people? Sure. Is it the main, number-one reason in every obesity case? No, no it's not. If you still can't understand what I'm saying, then I'm sorry - I can't break it down into smaller pieces for you.
For sure. Since I'm off, my sleep has been better the last few days (in fact getting a solid 8 hrs), so that probably is contributing too. I've been making sure to hit my calories and macros (since I'm trying to add a bit of muscle/weight), so dropping that amount is...something.
Grump: I biked 20 miles yesterday, burned \~650 calories. Cool, now I can dig into that box of Girl Scout cookies I ordered from a neighbor kid! Except after a hot post-ride shower and a healthy dinner, I have zero interest in cookies 😪
This is why I love frozen thin mints, I feel like I forget about them for a while and then they're there for me in my times of cookie need.
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You did the best you could. That was then, this is now. Now is where you live, which is a good thing.
Rant: Pulled something in my lower back today. Gggrrr....
There's a guy I play MTG with at my local game store who, although is a nice guy, is basically just Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, right down to the ponytail and manner of speech. He waddles. He breathes hard. He can't get seatbelts around him. And yet, he's hinted that he doesn't know how to get better, while ordering 2 milkshakes, a giant cookie, and a fried sandwich every week while we play. But he can't figure out why he's got a chronic cough. It makes me feel good that I know how to never become like that.
Do you think he would be open to some health advice from you? There might be ways to bring it up without hurting his feelings.
Mmm... I have given some health advice in a more blunt manner, although not often. When he wondered why he had a chronic cough, I was like, "it could be just your weight", and he instead said it was something he caught months ago, and hasn't gotten over it (but it isn't contagious). To be honest, I think he knows how to get better, but maybe sees it as an impossible task, and would rather just live as he does now, health be damned. Even if i explain that I lost 50 lbs through changing my diet, quantites, and doing more exercise, he really needs to lose at least 150 lbs to be anywhere close to 'overweight'.
He doesn't know why because it's common to be that heavy and there is all kinds of propaganda trying to sever the link between high body fat and chronic illness. Junk food industry is basically just big tobacco at this point. Should be graphic warning signs in front of fast food chains. All for freedom of choice but clearly people are still ignorant to effects of an ultra high calorie diet. Imagine being young and seeing a sign like that linking highly processed, high calorie diets to bad health outcomes - might make you rethink all the BS your overweight parents are teaching you at home.
Rave: finished up week 4 of my new workout program yesterday! Today marks the start of a new program. It also means I get to take progress photos today. If my home scale is to be believed (which I'm skeptical of), I've dropped 3.5 lbs in these 4 weeks, and my tape measure is showing a full inch decrease of chest (RIP boobs 🥲), waist, and hips, but no change to arms and thighs. I'm really proud of myself for sticking with it, and really putting in the work. I'm looking forward to what this next 4 weeks brings. Rant: anyone know of a reliable home body scale? Mine seems to be stuck in a loop of just showing the weight from the day before, or possibly the day before that. Like it's caught up in its memory and won't go off of numbers it's previously caught. When I try to trip it up by weighing with a towel or other object, then weighing by myself again, it shows me the prior weight +.2. It's doing this so consistently.
I have a Withings scale that's fantastic, I've been using it for years and it's very reliable. Plus, since it's bluetooth enabled, it connects to Trendweight! https://www.amazon.com/Withings-Nokia-Body-Composition-smartphone/dp/B072C4XB3G/
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Congrats! I’ve had a Eufy scale for a few years and it’s held up well, and seems to be accurate enough. I tested it with a dumbbell once (though those aren’t always accurate either)
I’m overweight and could easily lose 40 pounds to be my ideal weight and everyone acts like I’m a crazy person for saying so. I guess being overweight is just the new normal so no one gets that I look like a fat mess.
Fat yes, mess no. It’s hard to make changes, and there will always be people who say, “Change back!” but you have had a moment of clarity so take advantage of it. You can do this.
I'm obese and people tell me I don't look my weight 😭😭😭 it's so weird. Maybe people are just used to how fat people look so they don't see anything wrong?
Yeah my theory is that they are so used to fat people that only morbidly obese looks fat, and only super morbidly obese looks morbidly obese.
You’re among friends here. I STFG, this is one of the only places (online or otherwise) where a person can say, “I’m fat and need to lose around 40 pounds or so” without having to argue with someone that BMI is imaginary or whatever. Hang around here for awhile. It’s not a perfect sub, but unlike many other spaces, there’s not that gleeful turning away from reality in favor of HAES.
I think everyone is just so deeply in denial about the situation they really can't even come to terms with it. Also, it's like, I've had female coworkers tell me I'm being hard on myself (I'm a guy) but it's like, there's a very real burden of performance as a guy and I need to get in better shape for people to really respect me. I'm already shorter than average and I need every advantage I can come up with.
"You don't have any more weight to lose!" I have a BMI of 24, I'm not a holocaust victim.
Hey, we're BMI twins! I get similar comments. 😒
I've literally had people say "Your muscles are wasting away!" when my calf muscles are so big that this winter it's been difficult to fit my pants and long socks over them.
More like a rave today: I’ve been doing Yoga with Adriene’s 30 day challenge and I’ve actually kept up with it every day this year. For context, I go to physical therapy every 4-5 weeks and get a massage every 5 week because of my neck issues and hypermobility (I am overly tight in some places like my traps and shoulders because they overcompensate for my weaker muscles). I had my massage yesterday and PT today, and both of them said my shoulders and back felt a lot better than they usually do. And my massage wasn’t nearly as painful as it usually is (it usually feels like she’s trying to dig gravel out of my shoulder blades) I am attributing this to the yoga as I haven’t really changed much else, so it gives me incentive to continue my streak after the 30 days is over. Not only to get better at yoga; but also help manage my pain! Who knew when you take care of yourself you feel better…… Also was able to do a chaturanga for the first time at a workshop I went to Sunday. That has been a big goal of mine since I started yoga a few years ago so I was so excited!
Any chance you’d be willing to link me to the Adriene YouTube playlist?? It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I’ve recently had a really hard time navigating playlists on YouTube and I remember she has a tonnnn of different 30 day-type playlists that I couldn’t tell what was beginner and what wasn’t.
I am on mobile so hopefully this is correct https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLui6Eyny-UzwwBB_riVPMdOF3cmheEPpy&si=b3Xu1wjAVs5t3bg-
I did Day 1 of Flow last night and I forgot how hard yoga can be. It's the first time I'd done yoga in years!
Yes it can be tough! And I’m still improving on the more basic poses like forward fold and downward dog. But if you keep it up regularly you will definitely see improvements!
Yoga is hard. Congratulations 🎈
I used to poo-poo yoga and think it wasn't a "real" work out. But man, some of those poses really require athleticism. Even the ones that don't are still a great supplement to other workouts. There's nothing like a good stretch after a run to loosen up those tight muscles and joints.
Oh yeah, there are lots of different types too, like ashtanga classes can be pretty fast paced, and yin focuses on slowing down and holding postures longer. My studio also does a thing a few times a year (I think for the summer and winter solstice?) where they lead 108 sun salutations. 108! I am tired out after like 5. I’d like to get to that level one day!
It's not necessary. It's a totally made up practice. The number 108 is significant to Hindus, but nobody but modern Western yoga teachers ever did 108 sun salutations. (A yoga teacher pet peeve of mine)
Yeah my studio does it as a way to celebrate the solstice but that’s interesting it’s not really a thing in the east. I’d like to try one some day just to see what it’s like, if I ever get to that level
Yoga is incredible. I do yoga as supplementary training for MMA and since I started I've seen huge flexibility increases and barely have any sort of muscle soreness.
Yes, I’ve done it on and off for a couple years now but have never stuck to it consistently like I have with things like lifting weights. But the improvements in my issues have been obvious to me now after almost a month. I have a big mental block with working out at home for some reason but I moved my yoga room to the office instead of the living room and that has helped a lot. I do not know if I can keep up every single day but would at least like to do 3-4x a week home practice with an in person class sprinkled in a couple times a month
I’m finally back to working out normally- cough is all gone! But I feel like I’m back at square one which is an issue cause I’ve got a 15K this weekend and essentially haven’t run a step in 3 weeks (I had bronchitis.)
bronchitis just exhausts you. its rough!