r/loseit • u/AutoModerator • Nov 25 '24
★ Official Recurring ★ ★OFFICIAL WEEKLY★ Day 1 Monday: Start here! November 25, 2024
Is today is your Day 1?
Welcome to r/Loseit!
So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.
Why You’re Overweight
Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.
Before You Start
The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.
Tracking
Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends (unaffiliated) apps like MyFitnessPal, Loseit or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.
Creating Your Deficit
How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.
The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.
Exercise
...is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.
It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel *awesome* and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.
Crawl, Walk, Run
It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.
Acceptance
You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.
Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.
Additional resources
Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.
- Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!
- Lose It Compendium - Frame it out!
- FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!
Share your Day 1 story below!
Due to space limitations, this may be a sticky only occasionally. Please find it using the sidebar if needed.
Don't forget to comment and interact with other posters here, let's keep the good vibes going!
Daily Threads
- US Accountability Challenge: Stay accountable with friends from North America.
- EU Accountability Challenge: Stay accountable with friends from the EU.
- Daily Q&A Thread: Post your questions, receive answers.
- SV/NSV Feats of the Day: Share your scale victories and non-scale victories.
Weekly Threads
- Day 1 Monday: Introduce yourself and share your goals and strategies.
- Tantrum Tuesday: Share your complaints, vents and gripes.
- Weigh-In Wednesday: Share your weigh-in progress and graphs.
- Track with Me Thursday: Make new friends and find accountability buddies.
- Foodie Friday: Share your favorite recipes and meal pics.
- Century Club: For those who have lost or would like to lose 100lb+.
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u/cat_peaches 5lbs lost Nov 25 '24
Newbie :)
just downloaded the Simple App to try intermittent fasting to assist my weight loss journey. tracking my meals, movement, and weight has been super beneficial and I’m already down 5 lbs this month! however I think what I’m missing to stay motivated is support from a community of like minded individuals. hopefully this is the place for that! looking forward to learning and sharing on this subreddit :)
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u/bloody_bonnie New Nov 26 '24
Cool! Let me know how it goes with Simple. I haven't tried it yet, but was considering it.
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u/No-You-5064 New Nov 26 '24
Day One for me today. It is already super eye-opening logging my calories this one day. I thought I didn't eat much at all but now I see that I am eating enough to maintain the weight I am so I can see why I don't lose weight.
1
u/GiantTeddyGraham Nov 26 '24
All of y’all starting Thanksgiving week, try not to beat yourself up. It’s okay to enjoy Thursday, and to take it a step further, it’s okay to eat as much as you want. The key is to not let Thursday roll over into Friday/Saturday/Sunday, and then “oops I’ll start again after the holidays”. Even if you manage to eat 10K calories on Thursday (for most, that’s not physically possible) you’ll be up 2lbs of fat. You’ve got this!
1
u/1985MustangCobra New 28d ago
Hi, how do i loose weight without gaining muscle? i don't want to be buff i just want my stomach fat to go away. i also get short of breath very easily.
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u/bloody_bonnie New Nov 25 '24
Hi there. I suppose it's stupid to start a Day 1 thread the week of Thanksgiving. But I'm just feeling both motivated to make a change and desperate to get started. I feel like I'm constantly saying 'next week' or 'next month'. And now I'm staring down the barrel of winter holidays and I just don't want to gain 10 more pounds between now and January when I feel like I can finally "start". So...I'm trying to get started today. Or rather, I'm calling this "week 0" - to do my research and get started.
OK my back story. F / 39 / current weight 253lbs / target goal 200lbs
I've been overweight my entire life, and have had moderate success in weight loss and then gained it back over say the last 10 years. At my lowest weight I was around 180lbs right after my wedding about 13 years ago. In the past 5 years I've fluctuated between 250 (when I'm not doing anything to maintain health / weight) and 215 (when I'm "on a health kick"). So this just seems to be where I tend to settle. I've had borderline high blood pressure for a few years now - never high enough for medication, but always elevated enough for the doctor to comment on it.
I'm a mother with a kid in early elementary school. Not that it's an excuse, just that whatever I do needs to fit my lifestyle. I work full time and when I'm not working I'm mothering. I have small pockets of personal time - I can't spend hours at the gym. It's a luxury I don't have.
Things that have worked (or not worked) for me in the past:
- I'm very goal / milestone oriented. I completed Couch To 5K a few years back, I've completed professional certifications on Coursera. I like to have a specific big goal to aim for. Not a number on a scale, but a thing I can complete. I may need some flexibility in the timeline (completing a program in 9 weeks vs 6 weeks for example), but if I sign up for something I'm damn well going to finish it.
- I hate having to track every tiny little thing. I can start out strong for the first few weeks, but then I peter out.
- I've used a wide range of apps including: MyFitnessPal, FitBit, Noom, The Fabulous - I've liked them all and had some success with each. My preference is 1 app to rule them all, I hate having to track things in multiple different places.
- I was vegetarian for 12+ years. In the past 5 years I've added meat to my diet due to lack of iron. I typically eat poultry or ethically sourced sea food, with the occasional steak or beef burger (2-3 times a year).
- Of all the 'sports' I've tried, swimming is the only thing I've actually enjoyed. I like to lap swim, and when I'm "on a health kick" I try to swim 2-3 times a week. I managed to only gain 10lbs during my pregnancy by swimming. My pool membership is gathering dust this month, but I'd like to start back in.
I turn 40 next year. I want to do something drastic that will make lasting change. I want to give myself a fair shake in the next few decades, and the best way I can possibly do that is to lose weight now. The way I see it, buckling down and working hard to lose weight in the next year is a gift to myself for the next decade. I'm seeing my parents and in-laws suffer as they age, and I want to avoid things like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for by posting here. Just writing it all out seems to be helpful. I really want to make 2025 the year I give myself the gift of health. And I want to get a jump start instead of waiting another month.