r/loseit • u/AutoModerator • 25d ago

★ Official Recurring ★ ★OFFICIAL WEEKLY★ Day 1 Monday: Start here! December 02, 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.

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!

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u/Dry_Wish_9759 New 25d ago

Today is my day one. I went to the gym for the first time in months (didn’t stay as long as I initially wanted to).

I documented everything that I hate today through MFP. 🙂

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u/JosephineSilverstein New 25d ago

Today is my day one. I went on a walk with my dog.

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u/CryptoThroway8205 New 25d ago edited 24d ago

I had a discussion with a good friend, he's 6' I think 210 which isn't too bad. I think he carries it well. I brought up trying to lose weight and then we started talking about the benefits and how he doesn't feel like he can lose weight because weight that's been on you for a while is harder to lose. I argued that it was easier than becoming rich but often was just as useful. That it wasn't about not eating good tasting food but rather not having as much dessert at home or counting calories. Then I brought up my younger brother who's been overweight his whole life but recently lost a lot of weight from over 200 to 175 by just eating at a caloric deficit. So it is possible for someone who's been overweight for a long time.

I think it's ok for my friend to not want to lose weight. I won't push it. We just like talking and we were able to talk amicably. He didn't want to discourage me from trying to lose weight but his argument was that it's not really worthwhile for him.

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u/depresseditch New 24d ago

Gained 30 lbs in just over six weeks!!

Today was my day 1 with the caveat I am on medication that really screws up my eating, so I am going to be patient with myself as I wean off the meds. To put it in context, I have been on this medication (Prednisone) just over six weeks and I have gained 30 lbs. It's a horrible medication but necessary to get my crohn's disease back into remission, which, at least the meds are doing.

I had an initial consultation with a personal trainer today. It was humbling. Since gaining the 30 lbs (on top of the 50 I already had to lose) I can barely exercise. I can't do a plank, I can't even lift my body weight (currently over 270 lbs), and I can barely get myself off the floor after lying down to do floor exercises.

Luckily my husband will be going to see the same personal trainer, so my hope is that he and I will go to the gym together in between sessions with the personal trainer.

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u/Powerful-Let-2677 New 22d ago

My noom subscription is about to expire and I'm trying to find a cheaper alternative. I really like the colour system for logging food. Not having bad foods and hitting the 'green' category really appeals to me and has been the most effective tracking strategy.

Just to eliminate apps I've tried before that I didn't have a much success with: My Fitness Pal, Weight Watchers, FatSecret, MyNetDiary.

Thanks in advance!

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u/NebulaImmediate6202 26F SW: 210lbs GW: 160lbs 18d ago

I cleaned my whole room yesterday. Bottles and cans piled up on the floor. I quit soda a week ago. I'm 205lbs Female. Not eating what I want really, REALLY, REALLY HURTS. Oh it hurts. Calorie counting makes me want to cry with shame every time it tells me I did something wrong. I'm crying while I write this

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u/lostnotyetfound11 M 6'0 | SW: 250 CW: 183 GW: 167 18d ago

Don't be so harsh on yourself, take small steps and don't go overboard with the entire calorie counting. You can still eat what you really want, but in smaller portions and less often, but it will be worth it. Trust the process, you got this.