This is SO TRUE. Former personal trainer here; the amount of people I would meet who force themselves to run when they hate it and then can't stick with it was mind boggling. If you like running, great. But you can also take classes, lift weights, play sports. If you enjoy it, you'll want to stick to it.
Calories in and calories out. Don't track how many calories you burned, most trackers are really inaccurate or only measure cardio activities. It gives people a false sense of being able to either eat more or thinking you deserve a treat. Have a treat because you want one, you're not a dog and don't earn it.
80/20 Rule. Strive to be consistent and compliant 80% of the time.
Finding something you like doing is important. I finally found it for my boyfriend and me, kickboxing!
Unfortunately I injured myself at our second session but I'm healed now and back at it!
I think its the most important not to weight loss but consistent exercising for years.
When exercise is fun or at least tolerable then it just becomes background. Its not something you force. And exercise is something you should do for as long as you can.
It also like, doesn't have to involve traditional gym activities. Just DO something. Could be a rec league or soccer. Or climbing at the gym. Or hiking. Or kickiboxing for you. You just gotta find your thing.
I'm fat as fuck at the moment but I've lost weight a few times. One of the biggest stresses with trying to get my wife into eating better was she saw calories burned as extra calories to use for treats.
Taking another crack after our twins are born, but it's kinda frustrating. I know how, but doing it with another person is so, so difficult.
Also stop telling people what you’re doing. Studies have shown sharing goals gives a dopamine hit similar to achieving them and makes you less likely to achieve it.
Summary article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/neuroscience-in-everyday-life/201801/why-sharing-your-goals-makes-them-less-achievable?amp
This was also some advice I heard last night about trying to write a book. The author compared the writing process to having a balloon. When you talk about the project, you are letting out the pressure verbally instead of onto the page.
Yes! DONT OVERCOMPLICATE IT PEOPLE! if you wanna lose weight start looking at what you eat and try to eat less. Over time start learning about calories and macros and overtime start tracking that as well. Go to the gym at least 2 or 3 times a week. Start lifting stuff. Overtime start learning what works what and what you enjoy. The most important thing is to just keep trying.
Your gonna fail and miss workouts and eat shitty meals but if you just keep trying you will see results which will
In turn motivate you even more.
Not to mention the gym really doesn't make a difference if you're only trying to lose weight. You might get an extra cookie for that hour if it's a small cookie. Calories are all that matter for weight loss. Finding your calorie expenditure is the hard part and tracking and sticking to less calories than that is also difficult. Macro factor app is great because it finds that number for you so long as you weight yourself and your food daily.
This is exactly right. For some people, certain types of exercise can actually make it difficult to lose weight. When I used to lift a lot I would get uncontrollably hungry and ended up gaining muscle and fat. I had switch to more cardio if I actually wanted to lose weight, but then I've heard the opposite can be true for some people.
Also, pay close attention to what you feel like after you eat something. Some healthy snacks have more sugar than you would expect and will cause blood sugar spikes that make you hungry and then tired. Apples and baby carrots were big surprises for me.
The follow-up point that people often miss is: all calories count.
A lot of people unconsciously "cheat" and don't see the results they want because they figure that the one little handful of peanuts was basically nothing, or that a little ranch on the side to dip things in isn't going to move the needle.
But it does.
For example, that one little ranch cup from McDonald's? 200 calories. Yes, the pre-sealed one that you got with your nuggets. Just that little cup of sauce is more than an entire can of Coke.
This is so true, when I started calories counting, I was counting just the 'main stuff'. For example, I have eggs for breakfast, I would count just that. Not the olive oil which has like 130 calories per tbsp. Or grabbing a handfull of some trail mix, nuts and stuff. Yeah, it's healthy, but is pretty high in calories.
When you add up few of those invisible calories, that can easily add up to 400, 500 calories a day you don't see.
To be clear, I am just taking about calories in / calories out, not getting into what is healthy and what is not in nutritonal sense. Point being, you can lose weight by eathing McDonalds and drinking Coke and you can gain weight by eating avocados and nuts.
All things being equal, eating just 100 calories less a day can equal to 100\*365=36,500 calories a year. With a pound of fat being around 3,500 calories, that 100 calorie difference can be around a 10lbs difference in weight after 1 year.
We like stuff in restaurants because they are fat or/and contains sugar which is a lot of calories!
(Commercial made stuff at grocery are likely to be similar,.or slightly better)
And ironically, those "healthy" premade food are likely to be as bad or worst that regular premade food.
And dressings on a super healthy salad are usually a ton of calories and very generously applied. If a dressing cup is 2-3 oz, that’s 275-400 calories of Ranch. Add a breadstick or two and you’re at 600+ calories without even starting your meal or having a drink.
I was in my 30s by the time I realized how many salad dressings are insanely high in sugar and calories.
People think they are being healthy cause they're eating a salad but they drown it in sugar sauce full of empty calories.
I just use a tiny bit of oil and vinegar now. At restaurants I have to order it on the side.
This is the truth and it hurts.
As a parent, the worst I've ever seen my weight impacted was when my kids moved to solid foods. Because they're kids and they never finish anything, so that last nugget, meatball, or bite of mac and cheese ends up in my mouth before the dish ends up in the sink. It seems like so little it shouldn't have an impact, but it does.
TL;DR - we have a compost bin now so it's easier to not feel bad about wasting food.
Not enough people talk about this!!! I had the exact same issue. I really had to work thru it bc I hate wasting food but I couldnt keep eating it. Put the dog bowl closer, he's not upset at all! 😂
You don't have to strictly count calories on a weight journey. But you should be in the habit of looking at the nutrition facts and calories for foods you eat, even if you aren't logging them.
When you're consciously aware of how much that little bit of ranch or whatever adds, it becomes another tool to help you stay committed.
Damn. I've been cutting out most famously bad stuff over the years, but as I got older, every now and again, I'd treat myself with a dip sauce. Had no fucking idea that shit was this toxic.
Thanks for telling the world buddy!
There are some sauces that are low calories.
Sriracha, for example. Or mustard.
It's mayo based sauces, or sugar sauces like sweet and sour, that tend to be the highest calorie.
One dip sauce every so often ain’t gonna kill you, not worth stressing over unless you’re actively trying to lose weight. Food is supposed to be enjoyable, too!
I think the point is awareness. As long as you know the caloric impact of those sauces, you can figure out how to figure it into your daily caloric intake.
Another way to put it. Can't out exercise a bad diet. Further more, think of your metabolism as a camp fire. Small meals are the kindling big huge meals are logs. Will the fire eat the logs? Yes eventually. Will the fire blaze real hot temporarily with kindling? How about fuel sticks?
> Can't out exercise a bad diet.
Learning this now. I love cardio, but my drinking has increased over the winter which in turn made me snack. Despite the exercise I've put on 15 pounds in the last six months. Working on decreasing my intake now that the weather is better and I can be outside more often.
I quit drinking (for the most part) 2 months ago, and it's crazy how easy it's been to get in better shape from that alone. Less drinking = less snacking. I'm sure I've saved myself a good 500+ calories a day.
My issue was having too much beer in the fridge, where I would grab one with dinner which turned into three-ish throughout the evening. It was never a case of getting drunk nightly, it was more three beers over a space never hit me but was about 600-800 calories depending on the beer.
So my beer fridge is empty, and I'm making a rule to not have beer unless I'm out with friends. The empty fridge alone will cut the drinking back significantly.
I know what people mean when they say you can't exercise out of a bad diet and it's obviously 100% valid and a lot of people need to hear it.
BUT as someone who loves cooking and food, getting into some good cardio (I'm talking running a nice 25 miles a week) makes a huge difference in what I can treat myself with. So an extra 400 calories when im making a nice meal (which is a lot) just isn't as detrimental.
>Small meals are the kindling big huge meals are logs. Will the fire eat the logs? Yes eventually. Will the fire blaze real hot temporarily with kindling? How about fuel sticks?
Wait... Aren't you supposed to just eat your main three big meals or less, and skip all kinds of snacks in between?
Man, I find it dead on easy to stick with a healthy and nutritious diet. I’ve been eating clean for years now, and my god when I eat out at a bar and grill or go on vacation can I notice the impact a poor diet has on you.
My stomach feels off, my energy levels are bad, sometimes I’ll feel straight up sick. It’s hard to break out of an unhealthy diet, but once you have it’s pretty tough to go back. Your body gets used to feeling good and you just feel like shit when you eat poor
It basically refers to eating foods in their most natural state. Avoiding foods that are heavily processed, have preservatives, added sugars, artificial ingredients and unhealthy fats. You want to balance meals from different food groups that include multiple nutrients. Avoiding 'empty calorie' foods/drinks that provide no nutritional benefit and add nothing to improve your overall body function (alcohol, sodas, energy drinks, candy, chips, fast food, etc).
It’s easy to eat healthy and nutritious, for most people the hard part is the overeating. I also eat healthy foods no problem, I eat a lot if I don’t keep it in check is the problem
The only people who don’t have to try when it comes to NOT overeating are those who grew up skinny as a twig and have to be reminded to eat lol. My brother’s like that, he finds it hard to gain mass at the gym (caloric surplus) whereas I’m the opposite. Very easy for me to gain but so hard to stay at a caloric deficit
I know this is the exception to the rule, and I would say that for 99.9% of people this is true, but I do feel like I did outrun a bad diet.
At my heaveist I was about 240lbs, and decided to start running. Turns out, I really liked running and could do long distance pretty well despite my weight. Started doing 5-7 miles a day with a long run on the weekend. If anything, I still ate just as much maybe even more then I did before, but I ended up losing 50lbs over a year.
Both are important *generally.* But this question isn’t about general health, it’s about weight loss, and for weight loss it’s the kitchen where you make your progress, not the gym
It seriously only comes down to calories. It's super easy (on paper) to lose weight:
1. Google "TDEE calculator" and calculate your TDEE. (This is how many calories you burn just going about your daily life)
2. Take that number and subtract 500 from it. That's how many calories you should be eating daily.
3. Download an app like myfitnesspal or chronometer to track your calories (the apps make it super easy, takes like 30 secs per meal to log calories).
After doing this for 3-4 months, re-calculate your TDEE and make adjustments as needed.
That's literally all it took. There was one guy who proved this by eating nothing but Twinkies and necessary vitamins for 30 days. He lost weight.
Want to gain weight? Take your TDEE and add 500 to it. Don't forget to re-calculate every few months because as you lose/gain weight, your TDEE changes.
Correct, it sure doesn't. But this comment was aimed at people who have absolutely no experience with this stuff. 500 is a safe, round, even number to use and it's an excellent starting point for people.
Exactly. For weight loss, what you eat and how much of it is far more important than how much or what kind of exercise you do. I went from morbidly obese to normal on the BMI scale by overhauling my diet alone. I got rid of snack food, started buying products without added sugar, stopped drinking sugar sweetened beverages, and started eating a lot of vegetables with my dinner. That's it. But to a lot of people the thought of giving up their snack food and decadent sugary desserts is terrifying so they try to exercise all the excess calories off. It's denial which leads to failure since you cannot exercise off thousands of extra calories without doing hard labor all day long or something equally brutal like that. Even then you should still cut back on junk food because it is very unhealthy for your body. A lot of people are stuck in a blood sugar yo yo cycle which keeps them addicted to the snacks. Those cravings go away after a while when you overhaul your diet and start eating healthy. Some of the sugary food I used to love when I was addicted to unhealthy food are way too sweet for me now. I have maintained my weight loss for about a decade and even managed to maintain it after a serious accident at work left me bedridden for a while with reduced mobility and severe depression. Because I attacked the problem at the source: the food I eat and how much of it I eat. I am now able to have sugary foods when I want but I just do not crave them at all anymore and when I have the ocassional treat I don't feel the urge to keep having more or keep it stocked in my house like I used to when I was addicted to unhealthy food. Frequent strong cravings are caused by your addiction to the unhealthy amounts of simple carbs.
But exercising on top makes it so much easier. Eating without exercise is all of the work and none of the fun. Exercise gives you the endorphin rush and other psychological benefits. Not to mention tons of longevity benefits.
Calories are the final arbiter and anyone who says differently is a fool. You can't measure your metabolism so don't even bother considering it.
If you want to straight up lose weight, you will need to reduce in a way that feels unpleasant.
As you lose weight, your maintenance calories will continue to drop as your body decreases in size.
Especially as you get older. I used to be able to drink on the weekends, work out during the week, and be pretty shredded. On the other side of 30 that just stops. If I want the body I used to have, I have to quit drinking altogether. It's one hell of a choice.
You get in shape in the gym. You lose weight in the kitchen.
To that end, my advice is first go for the low-hanging fruit. Eliminate all sweetened beverages. Then start looking at other carbs that can be swapped out for protein.
ooo nice one. I'll try this - I've tried to increase protein (very very loose guideline: chicken at lunch and dinner haha) for the past 2 weeks - yes I know its only 2 weeks .. but it seems like nothing has budged and I've only either stayed the same or got worse.
No chips. Chocolate is only intentionally allocated as a snack in part of 3 meals (mains no sides, coffee with milk no sugar) 2 snacks - and not every day.
Aaaahhh.
If you're trying to lose weight, the only really important metric is calories in vs calories out.
Swapping in protein is great for building muscle and just generally being healthier, but regardless of whether you eat 2500 calories of protein or 2500 calories of chocolate, if you're only burning 2000 calories a day you're still going to gain weight.
You have to monitor actual caloric intake.
Sorta, but your metabolism works much faster the more muscles you have. So building muscle in a way, helps you lose weight. And a 160lb dude with 22% fat looks way bigger than one with 12% fat. Calories in vs calories out is 100% the most important, but building muscle will help you lose fat faster.
I think your individual points for the most part, but disagree with the idea of gaining muscle as a weight-loss tactic.
Muscle can increase your TDEE, but it takes a pretty significant amount of muscle to realize that benefit to any major extent — and given that muscles generally require a caloric surplus to grow in all but the fattest of people, most will be better suited to cutting calories, dropping weight, then working to bulk up if leaning out and getting healthier is the objective.
The simplest thing to do when it comes to losing weight is to figure out what your total daily energy expenditure is in calories (plenty of TDEE calculators online) and just make sure you're eating less than that (which also means you'll need to be counting calories for the normal things you eat as well).
Just adding more protein and dropping/limiting a few specific snacks likely won't give you any sort of noticeable weight loss in 2 weeks, especially not knowing what your normal caloric intake is and how making those changes affect that. Depending on how you're preparing meals, you might even end up adding in calories with sauce/cheese/etc. The few times I've had to drop significant weight, I ended up cutting pretty much all snacking since that's where I'd lose sight of what I was eating from a calorie count perspective, *especially* later at night. Cutting all alcohol and any other calorie-dense drinks was also a big piece of it, along with pretty much all sweets.
This is what did it for me, cut out soda and other sugary drinks, then cut down on sugary baked goods and eating out. Cut down on weight by at least 20lbs.
As far as gym goes, figure out a routine that works best for you and stick to it. It’s easy to get complacent or not push yourself, don’t fall into that trap
Small goals, then big goals. Also just never give up! Miss a day? That’s ok. Don’t give up, just start again tomorrow. Don’t feel like going all out at the gym? That’s ok! Just go and walk the treadmill or ride a bike. Just. Don’t. Give. Up. Don’t say, “oh well I missed a day, I failed.” You didn’t fail. You just missed a day. Tomorrow is a new day to start again!
I'm going to piggy back on your sentiment. Tiny goals are okay.
I had MAJOR gym anxiety when I decided to start going. If I went and only stayed 10 minutes, that was a win. It was less about the "gains" and more about starting the habit and gaining comfort with the setting.
I fell out of it for a while, life got busy. It's hard to rebuild the habit but now one of my micro goals is to at least do weighted walks around the house if I'm not going to go to the gym.
Yes this is a better worded way of where I was trying to go, it’s definitely tough out there but just the effort to keep at it, no matter how small. Well said sir/ma’am, thank you.
As almost everyone else is saying.
The easiest way to drop calories is to not eat them in the first place, they're much harder to get rid of through exercise after you've consumed them.
Cut down the calories through better diet then go to the gym to speed up the process.
Recently went down from 250lbs to 175lbs. Consistency and willpower win the day. There's no real life hack. I go out and walk 16,000 steps every day and count calories. I stopped eating out except stuff like Subway and chinese food because it's easier to fit in vegetables. I'm not saying you have to do what I do, but you will have to figure out your exercise and healthy eating substitutes and do it every day.
To quote the show Bojack Horseman, "It gets easier, but you have to do it every day."
Diet ---> weight, exercise ---> body composition and overall health. You're not going to lose significant weight going to the gym unless you also change your way of eating. Reducing your intake of sugar and alcohol is a good place to start.
If you want to lose weight, start walking right after you get out of bed for 30-40 minutes. No shit. I have worked out five times a week for the past 17 years and the thing that has helped me "lose weight" the most is fasted morning walks. I drink 16 oz of water and go brisk. I think the trick is to keep it very light and do it consistently. Everyday for months.
Let all other activities follow that. Once you are steady walking, add in some diet goals. For example - no soda for a week and build on that until you have a consistently healthy diet. By that I mean you eat clean 85% of the time.
Then start lifting weights and go as heavy as you can and make sure you are working all major muscle groups at least once a week. Avoid mirror muscle workouts like curls. Do dumbbell rows instead. You want compound muscle movements.
I have a lot more tips but those are the general ideas. You will lose weight as soon as you start walking without making any other changes. Trust me.
I’ve mostly been using my Peleton for cardio but I’ve been told that walking is really much better. I think your comment just sold me on trying to make time to do this once a day
Keep the Peleton as part of your routine and add walking in addition.
High heart rate activities are fantastic for cardiovascular health. Walking isn't going to raise your heart rate in the same way.
Stack walking onto whatever workout you do for the day. Fire on a podcast. It's low impact and can be done every day.
First, people drastically overestimate how many calories exercise actually burns. If you want to lose weight then do so by consuming fewer calories. Exercise for the many other benefits.
Second, track your calories. People also drastically underestimate how many calories they're consuming - especially when they're eating "healthy". A common pitfall for those looking to lose weight is rewarding themselves for burning less calories then they think with more calories then they think.
Third, keep tracking your calories. Another common pitfall is hitting your weight goal, going back to what made you overweight to begin with, and then becoming overweight again. Don't think of it as dieting. Think of it as a lifestyle change.
Exercise increases the amount of calories you burn over the long haul. I've lost more weight doing light, fasted, morning walks than any other time in my life. I know the research doesn't necessarily support the fasted aspect (as in they say it doesn't increase the benefit) but to me it works really well.
I say this frequently- consistency is paramount. Stack days on days. Always do something. For me, I found podcasts I like and I only listen to them when I workout. I look forward to those, not always exercising…but I keep stacking days.
That’s a really smart method, the podcast thing. I may have to try that to encourage myself to work out more, trick my brain into looking forward to each workout. Sometimes just listening to my same favorite songs each time I workout gets old.
The big 4 are (in order) proper Rest, Hydration, Diet, and Exercise. And you'll want to exercise discipline and will power towards each of those. So many ppl start strong, but never stick with it.
Start small by cutting out things like soda/sweets, and invest in a protein-rich/calorie smart diet. Try to establish a consistent workout routine at least 3-4 times a week, for a minimum of 20 minutes. Try to work up to an hour for your workout sessions. Focus on getting the technique of your exercises down pat, and not sacrificing technique for ego lifting (stacking on too much to be able to properly perform the exercise). Use a weight where you can do at least 3 sets of 8-12 reps each. Also, focus on one muscle group per workout. I see too many doing a leg exercise, then an arm, then an ab, etc. Go in each workout with a specific goal for that day. Otherwise your muscles aren't getting worked like they should, and you'll see minimum gains
And again, consistency is the key. It's supposed to be hard, you're supposed to sweat, and you're supposed to be sore afterwards (SORE, not in pain).
So I've been going to the gym for more than a year now. Because I was told it's ideal to give your muscles a day to rest I go to the gym every other day (or at least I try to). Thing is, if I don't work out every muscle group every other day then I'm not optimising gains either, right? Or is this bogus advice?
Consume fewer calories than you burn. It is as simple as that. Getting there is the hard part. It takes a lot of logging food and weighing yourself, and most importantly HONESTY. If you are not following your plan you are only cheating/lying to yourself as YOU are the only person your progress will affect.
Losing weight is a math problem. You need to consume fewer calories than your body burns a day. That's it.
A pound of bodyfat is ~3,500 calories. That means if you maintain a 500 calorie deficit every day, you *will* lose a pound every week. 1,000 calorie deficit = 2 pounds lost per week. etc. Weight loss isn't about perfection, it's about consistency over the long run. And to be consistent you need to lose weight at a maintainable pace. Aim to lose no more than 1% of your total weight per week. 1 pound per week loss is very maintainable for most people. Here's how to do it:
1: Use a Total Daily Energy Expenditure calculator [such as this](https://tdeecalculator.net/) to estimate how many calories your body uses every day to keep you alive. Subtract that number by 500. That's a rough estimate of your daily calorie budget.
2: Aim to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight every day. Introduce slight adjustments to your diet over time to achieve this goal. Protein will make you feel full, takes more energy (calories) for your body to utilize as energy, and will help you maintain muscle.
As you introduce changes to your diet, also consider low-density calorie foods. It's really easy to consume 1,000 calories worth of potato chips. 1,000 calories worth of broccoli...good luck.
Don't worry about carbs and fat. Meet your protein goal, stay under your calorie goal, and the carbs and fat you consume will be adequate. No need to eliminate carbs or entire food groups. You can eat the foods you enjoy on a fat loss diet.
3: Take brisk walks, or some other form of low-impact cardio. Simply walking at a brisk pace burns a shocking amount of calories, far more than you will burn by beating yourself up in the gym. For me, 10k steps burns about 500 calories, and can be achieved by simply moving around throughout the day and going on a 15-minute walks a couple of times a day. So when I need to lose weight, I eat maintenance calories and get my 10k steps in. That's all it takes for me to lose a pound a week.
4: As you're getting started, weigh yourself consistently, ideally at the same time. Do it every day or once a week. Log your results and adjust accordingly after ~2 weeks. Example: If you're aiming to lose 1 pound a week, but you're only losing 0.5, then you'll need to reduce your daily calories by 250/day. Or you can keep your calories consistent and burn 250 calories more every day by moving more. Make sure you're not losing weight too fast.
And keep in mind that the scale lies sometimes. Your weight fluctuates wildly for reasons other than the amount of fat you carry. If you eat more carbs than usual one day, your weight will likely shoot up temporarily because of extra water weight. But that's ok, you'll piss it away over the next few days. Don't get discouraged if you take a cheat day. No need to be perfect, just stay consistent.
My body eventually adjusted to intermittent fasting and I ended up taking in more calories. I'm back on three or four meals a day now. I try to get 30 minutes of light exercise immediately upon waking and then have 30 grams of protein.
Intermittend fasting won't lose you any weight. You can easily gain weight doing that. As I do. It's about calories consumed and calories burned. Do you mean skipping a meal?
Skipping meals is the whole idea behind intermittent fasting, or its more extreme cousin OMAD (One Meal A Day).
You can only eat so much in one sitting, so if you limit the amount of time you have to have those sittings, you'll limit the overall number of calories you consume.
I think it helps people lower calorie intake because it's easy to keep track of not eating at all. As long as you don't overcompensate in the window you do eat obv.. Also your body does actually start buring some fat easier once all the "fast" energy is consumed which takes like 12 hours since eating, normally. So it helps to get to that stage.
My advice for losing weight would be you don’t actually need to go to a gym to accomplish that goal. Use an online TDEE calculator to determine your daily caloric intake to maintain your current weight, then start counting your calories you eat every day and target 300+ below that maintenance number to lose weight. You can adjust that 300+ based on how aggressive you want to be. You can mix cardio into this if you want.
Also, I’ve seen mentioned “abs are made in the kitchen” and that’s simply a stupid saying. Abs are a muscle and need work like other muscles to grow. They’re revealed in the kitchen, not made.
Nutrition > Gym for losing weight.
Think of your body as made of clay.
Gym is what you do to improve the overall definition and detail of the clay sculpture.
But the amount of clay? That's your nutrition.
Have lost 50 pounds since the beginning of December (6’2” - down from 254 lbs to 204 lbs). This has been 90% because of counting calories, and nothing else. I still am active (walking when I golf, walking the dog, etc) and have recently been doing much more pushups and going to the gym.
All of my friends who ask what I did think the calories won’t work for them, but it’s science and consistency.
Doctor here, I counsel people about weight loss on a daily basis. It’s about 90% diet, working out gets you in shape but doesn’t massively change your weight.
I think the single most effective piece of advice to start a weight loss journey for most people is stop consuming calories before bed. I’ll do food recalls with people and they tell me all the healthy choices they made throughout the day then top it off with 1000 calories of ice cream and cookies before bed. I was shocked learning how many people actually eat snacks while they’re lying in bed getting ready to sleep!
My typical advice is stop consuming calories 4 hours before bedtime. From there you would benefit from educating yourself as much as possible about healthy nutrition (focus on appropriate macronutrient ratios) After that start keeping a food journal of exactly what you eat and be very honest with portion sizes to accurately count calories. Many apps are great for this my personal favorite is Loseit but it’s been a few years since I checked in on new ones.
There’s so much more to it but that’s my basic roadmap for most people to start their weight loss journey.
Be gentle with yourself because intentional weight loss is approximately 97% ineffective in the long-term. Moving your body for joy and pleasure will increase your overall "health" more than a few lbs will.
Compliance is king.
*Everyone* knows reducing calorie intake will result in weight loss, but nobody is going to eat foods they don't like long-term. Adhering to a caloric deficit is tough. Find a diet with foods you *like* or can at least tolerate.
Same goes for exercise. There's a reason something like 90% of gym goers stop in the first month. If you want to increase your activity levels and exercise, choose something you like.
1. Stop searching for the secret to losing weight.
2. Stop chasing HIIT or the 'fat burning zone'.
3. Clean up your diet, get active.
4. Stretching counts, it burns calories and you should all be doing it.
5. Take the stairs, walk places, cycle.
6. Be consistent.
7. Be consistent.
8. *Be consistent.*
9. Give it 6-12 months.
10. ***Be. Consistent.***
11. Profit.
I followed this diet to lose weight.
Breakfast 8am
8oz of eggs whites with( hot sauce) low carb tortilla
Breakfast 2 10am
1 scoop of whey protein (with water or almond milk)
Lunch 12pm
3oz brown rice, 2oz broccoli/greens, 8oz of protein (turkey, chicken, salmon)
Lunch 2 2pm
2x Hardboiled egg or 1 scoop of whey protein
Dinner 4pm
2x Hardboiled egg or 1 scoop of whey protein
Dinner 2 6pm
3oz brown rice, 2oz broccoli/greens, 8oz of protein (turkey, chicken, salmon)
Was able to be in a caloric deficit while hitting my protein goal. Like (1800 cal and 200g protein for me)
I coupled this diet with an exercise regimen:
Wake up: Cardio or HIIT Class 7am
Cardio:
15min Treadmill on 12%incline 3speed
15min stair master on speed 7 or 8
Evening Lift around 5pm:
Bro split:
Monday & Thursday: Chest & Tri
Tuesday & Friday: Back & Bi
Wednesday & Saturday: Legs & Shoulders.
This worked for me, I lost around 20lbs in 6 weeks. Very aggressive but I needed to lose some weight for a wedding trip 😅
I’m no nutritionist or trainer, I’m just listing what worked for me.
I used MyNetDiary app to keep track of meals, calories, and protein intake daily
TLDR: be in a caloric defit and prioritize protein to lose weight and build lean muscle. Diet and nutrition is important. HIIT in the morning.
1. It's WAY harder to lose weight by trying to out-exercise your calorie surplus than just by eating less. Seriously, the gym isn't going to lose you any weight. It will simply help you lose weight \*faster\*.
2. If you're going to start a strength training program for the first time, get a trainer for a few visits just to show you proper technique. IT's pretty useless if you're not doing it correctly.
Calorie deficit. No other answer. You want to be 20 pounds lighter? You have to eat like you’re 20 pounds lighter. No amount of workouts will change that.
The gym is great, but if you work out harder than you ever have and keep a terrible diet, your progress will be slow if existent at all.
I saw the most weight loss when I was in a caloric deficit. I did mine to a pretty extreme measure and dropped 25 pounds in 2 months. Then I got really sick, lost my gym schedule, and have been trying to force my depression brain back into it.
Just be aware that going to the gym won't actually do much for losing weight.
Some 80% of your daily calorie needs are used for just existing. Breathing, your heart beating, thinking and so on. That's called your base metabolism.
Yes, exercising is healthy, but its contribution to losing weight is quite small. Try looking up how many calories you burn by running a mile.
Go to the gym to get in shape, absolutely, but the real key to losing weight is to eat a little less than you need each day.
Like a lot of others said it’s all about watching what you eat. I lost 60lbs in a deficit over a year but my diet during it was just eat whatever I want just stay below whatever the number was. It showed when I was done and it took another year of body recomp to turn that around.
Exercise makes you healthier in many ways, but unless you’re an elite athlete training hours a day, you’ll never outwork a bad diet. Focus on reducing calories with a high protein diet. This will reduce muscle mass loss whilst losing weight. Hope this helps!
It’s math. Eat less calories than you burn. Eat salads and protein, cut carbs and sugar, do cardio. If you stick with it, even without pushing too hard too fast, you WILL lose weight.
If you do this and aren’t losing weight, you’re lying to yourself about how many calories you’re consuming.
C.I.C.O.
Calories in, Calories out. If you are eating less than you are taking in you will lose weight. Exercise helps all around, but unless you are burning 2000 calories of exercise a day, changing your eating habits is by far the best step to take if you want to lose weight.
Also, it takes 30 days to delete or create a new routine. Most books and websites i read said you want to average about a pound a week. Thats 3500 less calories a week than you bring in. Start small, build your routines. Your life will just be better overall.
Forget about all the supplements, fat burners, detox stuff, different "fun" exercises etc. **Eat less than you burn** is the only thing you need to know. You would be surprised how with how little of food you can survive with and how many calories even a small portion of any kind of food is. Even high protein diets will make you gain weight if you eat too much. You need to eat less than you burn. You do not eat sugar, you do not eat snacks between meals, you do not miss a meal time, and you add protein to your meals. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. That's all you will get. You will constantly feel hungry for a while, you will want to break your diet, you will feel tired while exercising but if you keep going you will lose weight.
Weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. You cannot and I repeat cannot out-train a bad diet. It doesn’t matter if you do 3 hours of cardio a day until you can’t feel your legs. It means nothing if you’re eating like shit.
I also lost a hell of a lot of weight being vegetarian for 2 and a half years. It wasn’t sustainable for me in the long run, however cutting out meat certainly made a massive unexpected difference to my clothes size.
Oh so many people are gunna hate this XD it’s basic math, calories going in need to be less than those used per day.
It’s literally that simple. You aren’t special, you don’t break the laws of thermodynamics, you aren’t the first human ever who can eat in a caloric deficit and not lose weight if you did we could end global starvation by studying you.
Remove the gym from your mind as a “I’ll lose weight by doing cardio or lifting” 1) lifting burns fucking nothing especially with the weights and intensity you’d be doing if you’re new enough to need to look here for advice 2) do you realise how easy it is to undo like an hour of cardio? 2 slices of bread and you’ve completely undone it.
The actual answer for weight loss is literally just diet, weigh your food, track the calories and be consistent. Don’t try and estimate it, that’s how people make zero progress for months at a time.
Only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you expend. You will never work out enough to make up for your diet unless you’re some professional athlete who needs a high caloric intake.
Fast. I went from 330 to 210 over the course of a year and a half just fasting and doing daily cardio. For the first 6 months I didn’t even have that good of a diet, I just ate whatever I wanted, under 2.5k calories within an 6 hour period of the day. Then I wouldn’t eat for 18 hours. Drink lots of water.
When it comes to the gym, you aren’t gonna lose weight if you want to start lifting. I could probably cut down to below the 200s in a few months now if I wanted to, but my goals now align with building strength.
I’m not a gym-goer, but I went from 345 pounds to 168 pounds, so I feel like I have some insight on weight loss.
I’m not a gym-goer because my cardiologist will not allow it.
And the fact that I can’t go to the gym is the reason I know that you don’t lose weight in the gym - you lose it in the kitchen.
The best workout is the one you will actually do. Also if you have a specific goal, write it down and put a deadline on it.
This is SO TRUE. Former personal trainer here; the amount of people I would meet who force themselves to run when they hate it and then can't stick with it was mind boggling. If you like running, great. But you can also take classes, lift weights, play sports. If you enjoy it, you'll want to stick to it. Calories in and calories out. Don't track how many calories you burned, most trackers are really inaccurate or only measure cardio activities. It gives people a false sense of being able to either eat more or thinking you deserve a treat. Have a treat because you want one, you're not a dog and don't earn it. 80/20 Rule. Strive to be consistent and compliant 80% of the time.
Finding something you like doing is important. I finally found it for my boyfriend and me, kickboxing! Unfortunately I injured myself at our second session but I'm healed now and back at it!
I think its the most important not to weight loss but consistent exercising for years. When exercise is fun or at least tolerable then it just becomes background. Its not something you force. And exercise is something you should do for as long as you can. It also like, doesn't have to involve traditional gym activities. Just DO something. Could be a rec league or soccer. Or climbing at the gym. Or hiking. Or kickiboxing for you. You just gotta find your thing.
Excellent advice!! I am going to apply the 80/20 rule.
80% of the time I complete 20% of my goals!
I'm fat as fuck at the moment but I've lost weight a few times. One of the biggest stresses with trying to get my wife into eating better was she saw calories burned as extra calories to use for treats. Taking another crack after our twins are born, but it's kinda frustrating. I know how, but doing it with another person is so, so difficult.
Also stop telling people what you’re doing. Studies have shown sharing goals gives a dopamine hit similar to achieving them and makes you less likely to achieve it. Summary article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/neuroscience-in-everyday-life/201801/why-sharing-your-goals-makes-them-less-achievable?amp
This was also some advice I heard last night about trying to write a book. The author compared the writing process to having a balloon. When you talk about the project, you are letting out the pressure verbally instead of onto the page.
Yes! DONT OVERCOMPLICATE IT PEOPLE! if you wanna lose weight start looking at what you eat and try to eat less. Over time start learning about calories and macros and overtime start tracking that as well. Go to the gym at least 2 or 3 times a week. Start lifting stuff. Overtime start learning what works what and what you enjoy. The most important thing is to just keep trying. Your gonna fail and miss workouts and eat shitty meals but if you just keep trying you will see results which will In turn motivate you even more.
And, you can't outrun a bad diet!
And drink lots of water!
So true I can't get myself to go to the gym but I can put a bike pedal under my desk and use it throughout the day.
Not to mention the gym really doesn't make a difference if you're only trying to lose weight. You might get an extra cookie for that hour if it's a small cookie. Calories are all that matter for weight loss. Finding your calorie expenditure is the hard part and tracking and sticking to less calories than that is also difficult. Macro factor app is great because it finds that number for you so long as you weight yourself and your food daily.
Going to the gym isn't just about burning calories. Building muscle can raise your metabolic rate.
“Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.”
Eat right to be skinny, exercise to be fit.
This is exactly right. For some people, certain types of exercise can actually make it difficult to lose weight. When I used to lift a lot I would get uncontrollably hungry and ended up gaining muscle and fat. I had switch to more cardio if I actually wanted to lose weight, but then I've heard the opposite can be true for some people. Also, pay close attention to what you feel like after you eat something. Some healthy snacks have more sugar than you would expect and will cause blood sugar spikes that make you hungry and then tired. Apples and baby carrots were big surprises for me.
fuck this might be why i always feel low energy after the baby carrots
The follow-up point that people often miss is: all calories count. A lot of people unconsciously "cheat" and don't see the results they want because they figure that the one little handful of peanuts was basically nothing, or that a little ranch on the side to dip things in isn't going to move the needle. But it does. For example, that one little ranch cup from McDonald's? 200 calories. Yes, the pre-sealed one that you got with your nuggets. Just that little cup of sauce is more than an entire can of Coke.
This is so true, when I started calories counting, I was counting just the 'main stuff'. For example, I have eggs for breakfast, I would count just that. Not the olive oil which has like 130 calories per tbsp. Or grabbing a handfull of some trail mix, nuts and stuff. Yeah, it's healthy, but is pretty high in calories. When you add up few of those invisible calories, that can easily add up to 400, 500 calories a day you don't see. To be clear, I am just taking about calories in / calories out, not getting into what is healthy and what is not in nutritonal sense. Point being, you can lose weight by eathing McDonalds and drinking Coke and you can gain weight by eating avocados and nuts.
All things being equal, eating just 100 calories less a day can equal to 100\*365=36,500 calories a year. With a pound of fat being around 3,500 calories, that 100 calorie difference can be around a 10lbs difference in weight after 1 year.
I would’ve never guessed that a sauce cup from McDonald’s could that have many calories in it…damn
We like stuff in restaurants because they are fat or/and contains sugar which is a lot of calories! (Commercial made stuff at grocery are likely to be similar,.or slightly better) And ironically, those "healthy" premade food are likely to be as bad or worst that regular premade food.
sauces are often very fatty or sugary
And dressings on a super healthy salad are usually a ton of calories and very generously applied. If a dressing cup is 2-3 oz, that’s 275-400 calories of Ranch. Add a breadstick or two and you’re at 600+ calories without even starting your meal or having a drink.
I was in my 30s by the time I realized how many salad dressings are insanely high in sugar and calories. People think they are being healthy cause they're eating a salad but they drown it in sugar sauce full of empty calories. I just use a tiny bit of oil and vinegar now. At restaurants I have to order it on the side.
And 1/3c of roast nuts is 350 calories.
This is the truth and it hurts. As a parent, the worst I've ever seen my weight impacted was when my kids moved to solid foods. Because they're kids and they never finish anything, so that last nugget, meatball, or bite of mac and cheese ends up in my mouth before the dish ends up in the sink. It seems like so little it shouldn't have an impact, but it does. TL;DR - we have a compost bin now so it's easier to not feel bad about wasting food.
Not enough people talk about this!!! I had the exact same issue. I really had to work thru it bc I hate wasting food but I couldnt keep eating it. Put the dog bowl closer, he's not upset at all! 😂
You don't have to strictly count calories on a weight journey. But you should be in the habit of looking at the nutrition facts and calories for foods you eat, even if you aren't logging them. When you're consciously aware of how much that little bit of ranch or whatever adds, it becomes another tool to help you stay committed.
Damn. I've been cutting out most famously bad stuff over the years, but as I got older, every now and again, I'd treat myself with a dip sauce. Had no fucking idea that shit was this toxic. Thanks for telling the world buddy!
There are some sauces that are low calories. Sriracha, for example. Or mustard. It's mayo based sauces, or sugar sauces like sweet and sour, that tend to be the highest calorie.
I do love me some siracha and mustard, so then life immediately got a little bit better!
One dip sauce every so often ain’t gonna kill you, not worth stressing over unless you’re actively trying to lose weight. Food is supposed to be enjoyable, too!
I think the point is awareness. As long as you know the caloric impact of those sauces, you can figure out how to figure it into your daily caloric intake.
Made in the gym - exposed in the kitchen.
this is the actual answer
I would elaborate and say that abs are made in the gym but revealed in the kitchen, to be more accurate
Another way to put it. Can't out exercise a bad diet. Further more, think of your metabolism as a camp fire. Small meals are the kindling big huge meals are logs. Will the fire eat the logs? Yes eventually. Will the fire blaze real hot temporarily with kindling? How about fuel sticks?
> Can't out exercise a bad diet. Learning this now. I love cardio, but my drinking has increased over the winter which in turn made me snack. Despite the exercise I've put on 15 pounds in the last six months. Working on decreasing my intake now that the weather is better and I can be outside more often.
I quit drinking (for the most part) 2 months ago, and it's crazy how easy it's been to get in better shape from that alone. Less drinking = less snacking. I'm sure I've saved myself a good 500+ calories a day.
My issue was having too much beer in the fridge, where I would grab one with dinner which turned into three-ish throughout the evening. It was never a case of getting drunk nightly, it was more three beers over a space never hit me but was about 600-800 calories depending on the beer. So my beer fridge is empty, and I'm making a rule to not have beer unless I'm out with friends. The empty fridge alone will cut the drinking back significantly.
Hell yea! Go get it. Good luck. What was done can be undone. It's a marathon not a sprint!
You can its just not fun. Keep in mind Olympic swimmers eat 12,000 calories a day.
Unless exercising is your job, it's not practical at all
I know what people mean when they say you can't exercise out of a bad diet and it's obviously 100% valid and a lot of people need to hear it. BUT as someone who loves cooking and food, getting into some good cardio (I'm talking running a nice 25 miles a week) makes a huge difference in what I can treat myself with. So an extra 400 calories when im making a nice meal (which is a lot) just isn't as detrimental.
"You can't out run your fork." That's how I always heard it put.
>Small meals are the kindling big huge meals are logs. Will the fire eat the logs? Yes eventually. Will the fire blaze real hot temporarily with kindling? How about fuel sticks? Wait... Aren't you supposed to just eat your main three big meals or less, and skip all kinds of snacks in between?
Another way I've heard it is "abs are made in the gym, and revealed in the kitchen". Same idea.
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It’s also harder to keep a proper diet than working out
Man, I find it dead on easy to stick with a healthy and nutritious diet. I’ve been eating clean for years now, and my god when I eat out at a bar and grill or go on vacation can I notice the impact a poor diet has on you. My stomach feels off, my energy levels are bad, sometimes I’ll feel straight up sick. It’s hard to break out of an unhealthy diet, but once you have it’s pretty tough to go back. Your body gets used to feeling good and you just feel like shit when you eat poor
What exactly do you mean by eating clean?
5 second rule
It basically refers to eating foods in their most natural state. Avoiding foods that are heavily processed, have preservatives, added sugars, artificial ingredients and unhealthy fats. You want to balance meals from different food groups that include multiple nutrients. Avoiding 'empty calorie' foods/drinks that provide no nutritional benefit and add nothing to improve your overall body function (alcohol, sodas, energy drinks, candy, chips, fast food, etc).
It’s easy to eat healthy and nutritious, for most people the hard part is the overeating. I also eat healthy foods no problem, I eat a lot if I don’t keep it in check is the problem The only people who don’t have to try when it comes to NOT overeating are those who grew up skinny as a twig and have to be reminded to eat lol. My brother’s like that, he finds it hard to gain mass at the gym (caloric surplus) whereas I’m the opposite. Very easy for me to gain but so hard to stay at a caloric deficit
Both are important but you can't out exercise your diet. Do an hour on the treadmill and then eat a snickers and you're back to even
I know this is the exception to the rule, and I would say that for 99.9% of people this is true, but I do feel like I did outrun a bad diet. At my heaveist I was about 240lbs, and decided to start running. Turns out, I really liked running and could do long distance pretty well despite my weight. Started doing 5-7 miles a day with a long run on the weekend. If anything, I still ate just as much maybe even more then I did before, but I ended up losing 50lbs over a year.
\*a normal amount of running won't outrun a bad diet. *That* amount of consistent running will, lol. You ran fast enough.
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Both are important *generally.* But this question isn’t about general health, it’s about weight loss, and for weight loss it’s the kitchen where you make your progress, not the gym
It seriously only comes down to calories. It's super easy (on paper) to lose weight: 1. Google "TDEE calculator" and calculate your TDEE. (This is how many calories you burn just going about your daily life) 2. Take that number and subtract 500 from it. That's how many calories you should be eating daily. 3. Download an app like myfitnesspal or chronometer to track your calories (the apps make it super easy, takes like 30 secs per meal to log calories). After doing this for 3-4 months, re-calculate your TDEE and make adjustments as needed. That's literally all it took. There was one guy who proved this by eating nothing but Twinkies and necessary vitamins for 30 days. He lost weight. Want to gain weight? Take your TDEE and add 500 to it. Don't forget to re-calculate every few months because as you lose/gain weight, your TDEE changes.
It doesn’t have to be 500.
Correct, it sure doesn't. But this comment was aimed at people who have absolutely no experience with this stuff. 500 is a safe, round, even number to use and it's an excellent starting point for people.
Exactly. For weight loss, what you eat and how much of it is far more important than how much or what kind of exercise you do. I went from morbidly obese to normal on the BMI scale by overhauling my diet alone. I got rid of snack food, started buying products without added sugar, stopped drinking sugar sweetened beverages, and started eating a lot of vegetables with my dinner. That's it. But to a lot of people the thought of giving up their snack food and decadent sugary desserts is terrifying so they try to exercise all the excess calories off. It's denial which leads to failure since you cannot exercise off thousands of extra calories without doing hard labor all day long or something equally brutal like that. Even then you should still cut back on junk food because it is very unhealthy for your body. A lot of people are stuck in a blood sugar yo yo cycle which keeps them addicted to the snacks. Those cravings go away after a while when you overhaul your diet and start eating healthy. Some of the sugary food I used to love when I was addicted to unhealthy food are way too sweet for me now. I have maintained my weight loss for about a decade and even managed to maintain it after a serious accident at work left me bedridden for a while with reduced mobility and severe depression. Because I attacked the problem at the source: the food I eat and how much of it I eat. I am now able to have sugary foods when I want but I just do not crave them at all anymore and when I have the ocassional treat I don't feel the urge to keep having more or keep it stocked in my house like I used to when I was addicted to unhealthy food. Frequent strong cravings are caused by your addiction to the unhealthy amounts of simple carbs.
But exercising on top makes it so much easier. Eating without exercise is all of the work and none of the fun. Exercise gives you the endorphin rush and other psychological benefits. Not to mention tons of longevity benefits.
On the flip side, being chubby and exercising frequently is healthier than being skinny and sedentary
Calories are the final arbiter and anyone who says differently is a fool. You can't measure your metabolism so don't even bother considering it. If you want to straight up lose weight, you will need to reduce in a way that feels unpleasant. As you lose weight, your maintenance calories will continue to drop as your body decreases in size.
Stop drinking your calories
Especially as you get older. I used to be able to drink on the weekends, work out during the week, and be pretty shredded. On the other side of 30 that just stops. If I want the body I used to have, I have to quit drinking altogether. It's one hell of a choice.
This! You ain’t really trying to lose weight if you’re still drinking alcohol.
Totally. Alcohol messes your metabolism up as well.
You get in shape in the gym. You lose weight in the kitchen. To that end, my advice is first go for the low-hanging fruit. Eliminate all sweetened beverages. Then start looking at other carbs that can be swapped out for protein.
I count calories when cutting, you quickly learn that that 300 cal donut at 9AM means you are probably going to bed hungry.
ooo nice one. I'll try this - I've tried to increase protein (very very loose guideline: chicken at lunch and dinner haha) for the past 2 weeks - yes I know its only 2 weeks .. but it seems like nothing has budged and I've only either stayed the same or got worse. No chips. Chocolate is only intentionally allocated as a snack in part of 3 meals (mains no sides, coffee with milk no sugar) 2 snacks - and not every day. Aaaahhh.
If you're trying to lose weight, the only really important metric is calories in vs calories out. Swapping in protein is great for building muscle and just generally being healthier, but regardless of whether you eat 2500 calories of protein or 2500 calories of chocolate, if you're only burning 2000 calories a day you're still going to gain weight. You have to monitor actual caloric intake.
Sorta, but your metabolism works much faster the more muscles you have. So building muscle in a way, helps you lose weight. And a 160lb dude with 22% fat looks way bigger than one with 12% fat. Calories in vs calories out is 100% the most important, but building muscle will help you lose fat faster.
I think your individual points for the most part, but disagree with the idea of gaining muscle as a weight-loss tactic. Muscle can increase your TDEE, but it takes a pretty significant amount of muscle to realize that benefit to any major extent — and given that muscles generally require a caloric surplus to grow in all but the fattest of people, most will be better suited to cutting calories, dropping weight, then working to bulk up if leaning out and getting healthier is the objective.
It’s still CICO - your muscles, passively, are just more CO :)
The simplest thing to do when it comes to losing weight is to figure out what your total daily energy expenditure is in calories (plenty of TDEE calculators online) and just make sure you're eating less than that (which also means you'll need to be counting calories for the normal things you eat as well). Just adding more protein and dropping/limiting a few specific snacks likely won't give you any sort of noticeable weight loss in 2 weeks, especially not knowing what your normal caloric intake is and how making those changes affect that. Depending on how you're preparing meals, you might even end up adding in calories with sauce/cheese/etc. The few times I've had to drop significant weight, I ended up cutting pretty much all snacking since that's where I'd lose sight of what I was eating from a calorie count perspective, *especially* later at night. Cutting all alcohol and any other calorie-dense drinks was also a big piece of it, along with pretty much all sweets.
Low hanging fruit is the first step for sure. Most people can drop 20 pounds by just eliminating fast food or sugary drinks.
This is what did it for me, cut out soda and other sugary drinks, then cut down on sugary baked goods and eating out. Cut down on weight by at least 20lbs. As far as gym goes, figure out a routine that works best for you and stick to it. It’s easy to get complacent or not push yourself, don’t fall into that trap
Patience. There are no magic pills or instant fixes. Your willpower will be tested, remember the goal and be strong. And have a plan!
*cough cough* Ozempic *cough cough* nope no magic pills
Well, I should have been more specific. No magic pills that are definitely being used off label and have many negative side effects
Educate yourself on the psychological aspects of eating and exercise.
Treat workouts as appointments you can't miss.
Rub protein powder all over yourself and say the word “gains” more often
It’s true, you can lose more than 100 lbs in a week doing this, depending on how much your SO weighs
"Beefcake!"
It's actually spelled gainz...
Why doesn’t this have more upvotes? Also, where does pre-workout powder fit in, in regards to ratio with to the protein powder?
Eat less, move more. It's simple, but it's not easy.
I like "It's not complicated but it's not easy."
takes a lot of discipline, trial and error until you start seeing changes
Small goals, then big goals. Also just never give up! Miss a day? That’s ok. Don’t give up, just start again tomorrow. Don’t feel like going all out at the gym? That’s ok! Just go and walk the treadmill or ride a bike. Just. Don’t. Give. Up. Don’t say, “oh well I missed a day, I failed.” You didn’t fail. You just missed a day. Tomorrow is a new day to start again!
I'm going to piggy back on your sentiment. Tiny goals are okay. I had MAJOR gym anxiety when I decided to start going. If I went and only stayed 10 minutes, that was a win. It was less about the "gains" and more about starting the habit and gaining comfort with the setting. I fell out of it for a while, life got busy. It's hard to rebuild the habit but now one of my micro goals is to at least do weighted walks around the house if I'm not going to go to the gym.
Yes this is a better worded way of where I was trying to go, it’s definitely tough out there but just the effort to keep at it, no matter how small. Well said sir/ma’am, thank you.
Sleep well. That's an important thing I feel a lot of people overlook.
Revenge bedtime procrastination is an epidemic
As almost everyone else is saying. The easiest way to drop calories is to not eat them in the first place, they're much harder to get rid of through exercise after you've consumed them. Cut down the calories through better diet then go to the gym to speed up the process.
Recently went down from 250lbs to 175lbs. Consistency and willpower win the day. There's no real life hack. I go out and walk 16,000 steps every day and count calories. I stopped eating out except stuff like Subway and chinese food because it's easier to fit in vegetables. I'm not saying you have to do what I do, but you will have to figure out your exercise and healthy eating substitutes and do it every day. To quote the show Bojack Horseman, "It gets easier, but you have to do it every day."
Diet ---> weight, exercise ---> body composition and overall health. You're not going to lose significant weight going to the gym unless you also change your way of eating. Reducing your intake of sugar and alcohol is a good place to start.
Consistency is key
If you want to lose weight, start walking right after you get out of bed for 30-40 minutes. No shit. I have worked out five times a week for the past 17 years and the thing that has helped me "lose weight" the most is fasted morning walks. I drink 16 oz of water and go brisk. I think the trick is to keep it very light and do it consistently. Everyday for months. Let all other activities follow that. Once you are steady walking, add in some diet goals. For example - no soda for a week and build on that until you have a consistently healthy diet. By that I mean you eat clean 85% of the time. Then start lifting weights and go as heavy as you can and make sure you are working all major muscle groups at least once a week. Avoid mirror muscle workouts like curls. Do dumbbell rows instead. You want compound muscle movements. I have a lot more tips but those are the general ideas. You will lose weight as soon as you start walking without making any other changes. Trust me.
I’ve mostly been using my Peleton for cardio but I’ve been told that walking is really much better. I think your comment just sold me on trying to make time to do this once a day
Keep the Peleton as part of your routine and add walking in addition. High heart rate activities are fantastic for cardiovascular health. Walking isn't going to raise your heart rate in the same way. Stack walking onto whatever workout you do for the day. Fire on a podcast. It's low impact and can be done every day.
"Eat less food"
ITS YOUR FOOD! YOUR FOOD TURNS INTO YOU! IF YOU EAT MORE YOU BECOME MORE! IF YOU EAT LESS YOU BECOME LESS! Also go for a walk and drink water.
fork put-downs and table push-aways
So eat in bed using my hands?
Unfortunately, there are no short cuts—it's 70% nutrition and 30% exercise. It would be best to accept that as soon as possible.
More like 80 20 or higher. You can exercise two hours a day but if you eat 4k calories a day - it won't matter much visually.
Take a full week off every 2-3 months (this is for the gym in general, not weight loss specifically).
First, people drastically overestimate how many calories exercise actually burns. If you want to lose weight then do so by consuming fewer calories. Exercise for the many other benefits. Second, track your calories. People also drastically underestimate how many calories they're consuming - especially when they're eating "healthy". A common pitfall for those looking to lose weight is rewarding themselves for burning less calories then they think with more calories then they think. Third, keep tracking your calories. Another common pitfall is hitting your weight goal, going back to what made you overweight to begin with, and then becoming overweight again. Don't think of it as dieting. Think of it as a lifestyle change.
Exercise increases the amount of calories you burn over the long haul. I've lost more weight doing light, fasted, morning walks than any other time in my life. I know the research doesn't necessarily support the fasted aspect (as in they say it doesn't increase the benefit) but to me it works really well.
I say this frequently- consistency is paramount. Stack days on days. Always do something. For me, I found podcasts I like and I only listen to them when I workout. I look forward to those, not always exercising…but I keep stacking days.
That’s a really smart method, the podcast thing. I may have to try that to encourage myself to work out more, trick my brain into looking forward to each workout. Sometimes just listening to my same favorite songs each time I workout gets old.
Calories in calories out
The big 4 are (in order) proper Rest, Hydration, Diet, and Exercise. And you'll want to exercise discipline and will power towards each of those. So many ppl start strong, but never stick with it. Start small by cutting out things like soda/sweets, and invest in a protein-rich/calorie smart diet. Try to establish a consistent workout routine at least 3-4 times a week, for a minimum of 20 minutes. Try to work up to an hour for your workout sessions. Focus on getting the technique of your exercises down pat, and not sacrificing technique for ego lifting (stacking on too much to be able to properly perform the exercise). Use a weight where you can do at least 3 sets of 8-12 reps each. Also, focus on one muscle group per workout. I see too many doing a leg exercise, then an arm, then an ab, etc. Go in each workout with a specific goal for that day. Otherwise your muscles aren't getting worked like they should, and you'll see minimum gains And again, consistency is the key. It's supposed to be hard, you're supposed to sweat, and you're supposed to be sore afterwards (SORE, not in pain).
So I've been going to the gym for more than a year now. Because I was told it's ideal to give your muscles a day to rest I go to the gym every other day (or at least I try to). Thing is, if I don't work out every muscle group every other day then I'm not optimising gains either, right? Or is this bogus advice?
Be consistent about your workout routine. Know when to stop pushing your body too hard. Stay hydrated and eat a balance diet.
Avoid grocery shopping on an empty stomach to prevent impulse buys.
You can’t out work a bad diet.
Consume fewer calories than you burn. It is as simple as that. Getting there is the hard part. It takes a lot of logging food and weighing yourself, and most importantly HONESTY. If you are not following your plan you are only cheating/lying to yourself as YOU are the only person your progress will affect.
Practice getting comfortable with being hungry. It's ok, it's a good thing. Stop snacking every 30 minutes
Losing weight is a math problem. You need to consume fewer calories than your body burns a day. That's it. A pound of bodyfat is ~3,500 calories. That means if you maintain a 500 calorie deficit every day, you *will* lose a pound every week. 1,000 calorie deficit = 2 pounds lost per week. etc. Weight loss isn't about perfection, it's about consistency over the long run. And to be consistent you need to lose weight at a maintainable pace. Aim to lose no more than 1% of your total weight per week. 1 pound per week loss is very maintainable for most people. Here's how to do it: 1: Use a Total Daily Energy Expenditure calculator [such as this](https://tdeecalculator.net/) to estimate how many calories your body uses every day to keep you alive. Subtract that number by 500. That's a rough estimate of your daily calorie budget. 2: Aim to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight every day. Introduce slight adjustments to your diet over time to achieve this goal. Protein will make you feel full, takes more energy (calories) for your body to utilize as energy, and will help you maintain muscle. As you introduce changes to your diet, also consider low-density calorie foods. It's really easy to consume 1,000 calories worth of potato chips. 1,000 calories worth of broccoli...good luck. Don't worry about carbs and fat. Meet your protein goal, stay under your calorie goal, and the carbs and fat you consume will be adequate. No need to eliminate carbs or entire food groups. You can eat the foods you enjoy on a fat loss diet. 3: Take brisk walks, or some other form of low-impact cardio. Simply walking at a brisk pace burns a shocking amount of calories, far more than you will burn by beating yourself up in the gym. For me, 10k steps burns about 500 calories, and can be achieved by simply moving around throughout the day and going on a 15-minute walks a couple of times a day. So when I need to lose weight, I eat maintenance calories and get my 10k steps in. That's all it takes for me to lose a pound a week. 4: As you're getting started, weigh yourself consistently, ideally at the same time. Do it every day or once a week. Log your results and adjust accordingly after ~2 weeks. Example: If you're aiming to lose 1 pound a week, but you're only losing 0.5, then you'll need to reduce your daily calories by 250/day. Or you can keep your calories consistent and burn 250 calories more every day by moving more. Make sure you're not losing weight too fast. And keep in mind that the scale lies sometimes. Your weight fluctuates wildly for reasons other than the amount of fat you carry. If you eat more carbs than usual one day, your weight will likely shoot up temporarily because of extra water weight. But that's ok, you'll piss it away over the next few days. Don't get discouraged if you take a cheat day. No need to be perfect, just stay consistent.
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My body eventually adjusted to intermittent fasting and I ended up taking in more calories. I'm back on three or four meals a day now. I try to get 30 minutes of light exercise immediately upon waking and then have 30 grams of protein.
Intermittend fasting won't lose you any weight. You can easily gain weight doing that. As I do. It's about calories consumed and calories burned. Do you mean skipping a meal?
Skipping meals is the whole idea behind intermittent fasting, or its more extreme cousin OMAD (One Meal A Day). You can only eat so much in one sitting, so if you limit the amount of time you have to have those sittings, you'll limit the overall number of calories you consume.
I think it helps people lower calorie intake because it's easy to keep track of not eating at all. As long as you don't overcompensate in the window you do eat obv.. Also your body does actually start buring some fat easier once all the "fast" energy is consumed which takes like 12 hours since eating, normally. So it helps to get to that stage.
My advice for losing weight would be you don’t actually need to go to a gym to accomplish that goal. Use an online TDEE calculator to determine your daily caloric intake to maintain your current weight, then start counting your calories you eat every day and target 300+ below that maintenance number to lose weight. You can adjust that 300+ based on how aggressive you want to be. You can mix cardio into this if you want. Also, I’ve seen mentioned “abs are made in the kitchen” and that’s simply a stupid saying. Abs are a muscle and need work like other muscles to grow. They’re revealed in the kitchen, not made.
Track your Calories in. You don’t even have to do intense workouts either. A simple 10-15 min walk after a meal is very beneficial.
Eat less, very simple
Eat less = lose weight. The gym is a great place to get in shape, but weight loss starts with eating less.
Nutrition > Gym for losing weight. Think of your body as made of clay. Gym is what you do to improve the overall definition and detail of the clay sculpture. But the amount of clay? That's your nutrition.
Have lost 50 pounds since the beginning of December (6’2” - down from 254 lbs to 204 lbs). This has been 90% because of counting calories, and nothing else. I still am active (walking when I golf, walking the dog, etc) and have recently been doing much more pushups and going to the gym. All of my friends who ask what I did think the calories won’t work for them, but it’s science and consistency.
Forget exercise for weight loss. Eat less calories Its the only way to lose weight. If you cant swap to high protein foods
consume fewer calories. pay particular attention to use of oils. that extra dash of olive oil will take jogging a mile or two to burn off
# Nobody cares if you're fat and at the gym. Nobody cares if you're obese and at the gym. Just keep showing up, and doing your best.
Don’t drink your calories
Don’t eat a box of oreos during a week you expect to lose weight i just did this and feeling miserable
Doctor here, I counsel people about weight loss on a daily basis. It’s about 90% diet, working out gets you in shape but doesn’t massively change your weight. I think the single most effective piece of advice to start a weight loss journey for most people is stop consuming calories before bed. I’ll do food recalls with people and they tell me all the healthy choices they made throughout the day then top it off with 1000 calories of ice cream and cookies before bed. I was shocked learning how many people actually eat snacks while they’re lying in bed getting ready to sleep! My typical advice is stop consuming calories 4 hours before bedtime. From there you would benefit from educating yourself as much as possible about healthy nutrition (focus on appropriate macronutrient ratios) After that start keeping a food journal of exactly what you eat and be very honest with portion sizes to accurately count calories. Many apps are great for this my personal favorite is Loseit but it’s been a few years since I checked in on new ones. There’s so much more to it but that’s my basic roadmap for most people to start their weight loss journey.
Stop eating. The gym is for getting stronger. If you want to lose weight, curb your appetite.
Eat less food do more Exercise
Be gentle with yourself because intentional weight loss is approximately 97% ineffective in the long-term. Moving your body for joy and pleasure will increase your overall "health" more than a few lbs will.
eat small quantity
Compliance is king. *Everyone* knows reducing calorie intake will result in weight loss, but nobody is going to eat foods they don't like long-term. Adhering to a caloric deficit is tough. Find a diet with foods you *like* or can at least tolerate. Same goes for exercise. There's a reason something like 90% of gym goers stop in the first month. If you want to increase your activity levels and exercise, choose something you like.
Calories in, calories out. I dropped 7.5 lbs last week, just to win a bet. It was supposed to only be 5, but I'm a bit of an overachiever.
Losing weight? Track your calories! If you're wondering if food or drink X count, yes, they do.
Consistency
1. Stop searching for the secret to losing weight. 2. Stop chasing HIIT or the 'fat burning zone'. 3. Clean up your diet, get active. 4. Stretching counts, it burns calories and you should all be doing it. 5. Take the stairs, walk places, cycle. 6. Be consistent. 7. Be consistent. 8. *Be consistent.* 9. Give it 6-12 months. 10. ***Be. Consistent.*** 11. Profit.
I followed this diet to lose weight. Breakfast 8am 8oz of eggs whites with( hot sauce) low carb tortilla Breakfast 2 10am 1 scoop of whey protein (with water or almond milk) Lunch 12pm 3oz brown rice, 2oz broccoli/greens, 8oz of protein (turkey, chicken, salmon) Lunch 2 2pm 2x Hardboiled egg or 1 scoop of whey protein Dinner 4pm 2x Hardboiled egg or 1 scoop of whey protein Dinner 2 6pm 3oz brown rice, 2oz broccoli/greens, 8oz of protein (turkey, chicken, salmon) Was able to be in a caloric deficit while hitting my protein goal. Like (1800 cal and 200g protein for me) I coupled this diet with an exercise regimen: Wake up: Cardio or HIIT Class 7am Cardio: 15min Treadmill on 12%incline 3speed 15min stair master on speed 7 or 8 Evening Lift around 5pm: Bro split: Monday & Thursday: Chest & Tri Tuesday & Friday: Back & Bi Wednesday & Saturday: Legs & Shoulders. This worked for me, I lost around 20lbs in 6 weeks. Very aggressive but I needed to lose some weight for a wedding trip 😅 I’m no nutritionist or trainer, I’m just listing what worked for me. I used MyNetDiary app to keep track of meals, calories, and protein intake daily TLDR: be in a caloric defit and prioritize protein to lose weight and build lean muscle. Diet and nutrition is important. HIIT in the morning.
1. It's WAY harder to lose weight by trying to out-exercise your calorie surplus than just by eating less. Seriously, the gym isn't going to lose you any weight. It will simply help you lose weight \*faster\*. 2. If you're going to start a strength training program for the first time, get a trainer for a few visits just to show you proper technique. IT's pretty useless if you're not doing it correctly.
Calorie deficit. No other answer. You want to be 20 pounds lighter? You have to eat like you’re 20 pounds lighter. No amount of workouts will change that.
You get skinny at the dining table. You get strong at the gym.
stop eating
DIET
The gym is great, but if you work out harder than you ever have and keep a terrible diet, your progress will be slow if existent at all. I saw the most weight loss when I was in a caloric deficit. I did mine to a pretty extreme measure and dropped 25 pounds in 2 months. Then I got really sick, lost my gym schedule, and have been trying to force my depression brain back into it.
Just be aware that going to the gym won't actually do much for losing weight. Some 80% of your daily calorie needs are used for just existing. Breathing, your heart beating, thinking and so on. That's called your base metabolism. Yes, exercising is healthy, but its contribution to losing weight is quite small. Try looking up how many calories you burn by running a mile. Go to the gym to get in shape, absolutely, but the real key to losing weight is to eat a little less than you need each day.
Stop over eating.
Like a lot of others said it’s all about watching what you eat. I lost 60lbs in a deficit over a year but my diet during it was just eat whatever I want just stay below whatever the number was. It showed when I was done and it took another year of body recomp to turn that around.
Stop thinking you need to eat all the time.
You lose weight in the kitchen, not the gym.
Exercise makes you healthier in many ways, but unless you’re an elite athlete training hours a day, you’ll never outwork a bad diet. Focus on reducing calories with a high protein diet. This will reduce muscle mass loss whilst losing weight. Hope this helps!
Burn more calories than you take in.
You won't lose much weight from working out. You might lose some. Most weight loss happens from eating fewer calories rather than burning them.
Eat less
It’s math. Eat less calories than you burn. Eat salads and protein, cut carbs and sugar, do cardio. If you stick with it, even without pushing too hard too fast, you WILL lose weight. If you do this and aren’t losing weight, you’re lying to yourself about how many calories you’re consuming.
C.I.C.O. Calories in, Calories out. If you are eating less than you are taking in you will lose weight. Exercise helps all around, but unless you are burning 2000 calories of exercise a day, changing your eating habits is by far the best step to take if you want to lose weight. Also, it takes 30 days to delete or create a new routine. Most books and websites i read said you want to average about a pound a week. Thats 3500 less calories a week than you bring in. Start small, build your routines. Your life will just be better overall.
Calories in vs Calories out is the only thing that matters when losing weight. The only bad workout is a workout that didn't happen
Can't out train a bad diet
Forget about all the supplements, fat burners, detox stuff, different "fun" exercises etc. **Eat less than you burn** is the only thing you need to know. You would be surprised how with how little of food you can survive with and how many calories even a small portion of any kind of food is. Even high protein diets will make you gain weight if you eat too much. You need to eat less than you burn. You do not eat sugar, you do not eat snacks between meals, you do not miss a meal time, and you add protein to your meals. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. That's all you will get. You will constantly feel hungry for a while, you will want to break your diet, you will feel tired while exercising but if you keep going you will lose weight.
Weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. You cannot and I repeat cannot out-train a bad diet. It doesn’t matter if you do 3 hours of cardio a day until you can’t feel your legs. It means nothing if you’re eating like shit. I also lost a hell of a lot of weight being vegetarian for 2 and a half years. It wasn’t sustainable for me in the long run, however cutting out meat certainly made a massive unexpected difference to my clothes size.
It has nothing to do with the gym. It’s about the kitchen
Fasting makes calories in and calories out easy.
Oh so many people are gunna hate this XD it’s basic math, calories going in need to be less than those used per day. It’s literally that simple. You aren’t special, you don’t break the laws of thermodynamics, you aren’t the first human ever who can eat in a caloric deficit and not lose weight if you did we could end global starvation by studying you. Remove the gym from your mind as a “I’ll lose weight by doing cardio or lifting” 1) lifting burns fucking nothing especially with the weights and intensity you’d be doing if you’re new enough to need to look here for advice 2) do you realise how easy it is to undo like an hour of cardio? 2 slices of bread and you’ve completely undone it. The actual answer for weight loss is literally just diet, weigh your food, track the calories and be consistent. Don’t try and estimate it, that’s how people make zero progress for months at a time.
Eat less, move more.
Going to the gym and losing weights are almost entirely different concepts. That's my advice.
Only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you expend. You will never work out enough to make up for your diet unless you’re some professional athlete who needs a high caloric intake.
If you are in a calorie deficit and you will lose weight.
Diet.
Fast. I went from 330 to 210 over the course of a year and a half just fasting and doing daily cardio. For the first 6 months I didn’t even have that good of a diet, I just ate whatever I wanted, under 2.5k calories within an 6 hour period of the day. Then I wouldn’t eat for 18 hours. Drink lots of water. When it comes to the gym, you aren’t gonna lose weight if you want to start lifting. I could probably cut down to below the 200s in a few months now if I wanted to, but my goals now align with building strength.
Eat less. A Norwegian professor states that 90% of weight loss is eating less, and 10% is exercise.
Eat less. Work out regularly. Rinse and repeat.
Consume less calories than you burn
It's really hard. Eat less and drink plenty of water. Double up on cardio time. Keep lifting but go for higher reps. Do not eat anything after 7pm.
You need to be on the ELF diet for best success. Eat. Less. Food. But the gym is great for lots of other things.
I’m not a gym-goer, but I went from 345 pounds to 168 pounds, so I feel like I have some insight on weight loss. I’m not a gym-goer because my cardiologist will not allow it. And the fact that I can’t go to the gym is the reason I know that you don’t lose weight in the gym - you lose it in the kitchen.
Eat clean. That doesn’t mean go hungry. If you eat clean, you won’t be starving, and you’ll lose weight.
Eating less. Lost 20 lbs but wanted to die every single day from hunger.
Eat less. Unpopular, but true. If calories in exceed calories burned, you cannot lose weight. No matter how much you gym.