Weight Loss/Exercise Program(s)?
September 21, 2021 4:41 PM Subscribe
I need to lose 20lbs. I can’t seem to do it on my own. What do I need?
I’m a few years past having my kid and with the pandemic stress, I’m just weighing more than I ever have. I feel like I need something to follow because I’ve never tried to systematically lose weight before. Help?
Also, I don’t really eat poorly. No sodas or snacks. I’m assuming I should just eat less and exercise more. I just can’t seem to make the change.
Also also, I don’t think I’ll do well with anything gimmicky. A friend just became a weight loss coach and posts about her #RADIANT new food plans and life. I just cannot.
I’m a few years past having my kid and with the pandemic stress, I’m just weighing more than I ever have. I feel like I need something to follow because I’ve never tried to systematically lose weight before. Help?
Also, I don’t really eat poorly. No sodas or snacks. I’m assuming I should just eat less and exercise more. I just can’t seem to make the change.
Also also, I don’t think I’ll do well with anything gimmicky. A friend just became a weight loss coach and posts about her #RADIANT new food plans and life. I just cannot.
Also: I hate hardcore meal planning, but light meal planning I can totally do. It might help you too!
Breakfast is a smoothie with protein; lunch is a ploughman’s lunch, a salad, or a simple sandwich. Easy ways to feel full while eating things that are healthy, that you like, and that taste good, without a lot of prep rigamarole, are really helpful for keeping calories down.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 5:07 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Breakfast is a smoothie with protein; lunch is a ploughman’s lunch, a salad, or a simple sandwich. Easy ways to feel full while eating things that are healthy, that you like, and that taste good, without a lot of prep rigamarole, are really helpful for keeping calories down.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 5:07 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
We sound very similar in our weight goals, and I used Noom to lose about 10 pandemic pounds. There is absolutely nothing magical about it. It's just counting calories, exercising, and weighing yourself. It worked for me because I forced myself to comply and found that, while trite and annoying, it kept me mindful about what and how much I was eating.
Because I cook minimally processed, whole foods for my family, I was underestimating the number of calories I was eating as everything was, well, "wholesome". And it all tastes better with an extra drizzle of olive oil!
If you do decide to go with Noom, I recommend a food scale to help calibrate your sense of portion size. I certainly didn't weigh everything I ate, but it was helpful that I was very strict in the beginning and maintained the smaller portion sizes throughout my weight loss.
And for me the hardest part was losing the weight. I've managed to keep it off for 6 months now by eating everything I normally would in moderation (boring). Creating the caloric deficit to cause weight loss is unpleasant but maintenance just feels like normal life.
posted by defreckled at 5:10 PM on September 21, 2021 [8 favorites]
Because I cook minimally processed, whole foods for my family, I was underestimating the number of calories I was eating as everything was, well, "wholesome". And it all tastes better with an extra drizzle of olive oil!
If you do decide to go with Noom, I recommend a food scale to help calibrate your sense of portion size. I certainly didn't weigh everything I ate, but it was helpful that I was very strict in the beginning and maintained the smaller portion sizes throughout my weight loss.
And for me the hardest part was losing the weight. I've managed to keep it off for 6 months now by eating everything I normally would in moderation (boring). Creating the caloric deficit to cause weight loss is unpleasant but maintenance just feels like normal life.
posted by defreckled at 5:10 PM on September 21, 2021 [8 favorites]
I lost 30ish pounds on Weight Watchers many years ago and kept it off. I go back onto the program whenever my jeans get a little snug. I also eat pretty healthily, but like defreckled, I was underestimating my intake. (And it turns out I had no idea what portion sizes were supposed to be, so I also bought a scale.) I didn't have to plan anything or talk to anyone else -- just track what I was eating in the app. It's not glamorous but it really worked for me.
(In my experience, exercise is good for my health/mental state but losing weight was 99% what I ate.)
posted by Countess Sandwich at 5:27 PM on September 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
(In my experience, exercise is good for my health/mental state but losing weight was 99% what I ate.)
posted by Countess Sandwich at 5:27 PM on September 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
I started using MyNetDiary in the middle of July and I've lost 10 pounds, another 20 to go. I'm losing about 1 pound a week.
I don't do well with gimmicky either. You can choose your diet (Keto, paleo, and a several others). I chose calorie counting. I find the tracking easy. I weigh most of what I eat. (I bake so I have an electronic food scale.) I don't want to exclude entire categories of food from my diet. I like eating fruits, vegetables, legumes and I don't want to remove starchy foods. I can have everything including alcohol as long as I stay within my allotted calories.
I exercise 30 minutes nearly every day. I usually walk (in my neighborhood) or swim. I joined a gym. It's expensive but it has a pool, and most importantly, is only a 5 minute drive from my house. The gym requires me to reserve a lane in advance and last minute cancellations cost $10. This keeps me from crying off at the last minute. I add in some weights and classes a few times a week.
So far, so good.
posted by shoesietart at 5:38 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don't do well with gimmicky either. You can choose your diet (Keto, paleo, and a several others). I chose calorie counting. I find the tracking easy. I weigh most of what I eat. (I bake so I have an electronic food scale.) I don't want to exclude entire categories of food from my diet. I like eating fruits, vegetables, legumes and I don't want to remove starchy foods. I can have everything including alcohol as long as I stay within my allotted calories.
I exercise 30 minutes nearly every day. I usually walk (in my neighborhood) or swim. I joined a gym. It's expensive but it has a pool, and most importantly, is only a 5 minute drive from my house. The gym requires me to reserve a lane in advance and last minute cancellations cost $10. This keeps me from crying off at the last minute. I add in some weights and classes a few times a week.
So far, so good.
posted by shoesietart at 5:38 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
How is your mindset? Do you identify as an emotional eater? Have a lot of old hang ups regarding food? I realized I needed a sassy southern woman to tell me to fuck off and stop thinking like an asshole. Corinne Crabtree is her name and she has a free course and a podcast. I’ve gotten a lot out of just listening to the free podcasts. I realized how much diet mentality had fucked me up, but more so, how many false stories I was telling myself. YMMV.
Feel free to MeMail me if you have any questions. I’ve lost 40 lbs over the last year. Slow and steady. Consistency isn’t glamorous but it is what is working for me.
posted by Juniper Toast at 6:13 PM on September 21, 2021
Feel free to MeMail me if you have any questions. I’ve lost 40 lbs over the last year. Slow and steady. Consistency isn’t glamorous but it is what is working for me.
posted by Juniper Toast at 6:13 PM on September 21, 2021
Intermittent fasting-- I would look into it. Since you're new to it, I'd check out the 8:16 ratio: 8 hour eating window, 16 hour fasting window. There's a subreddit community around it and some discord groups. These are good places to start because they link introductory information, plus you can see people's progress and post your own and ask questions of the community members. Obviously take anything said with a grain of salt, if not directly from your medical provider. But it's really inspiring to see people who go through their personal transformations in sometimes as little as like 3-6 months. Think of it as a lifestyle improvement, not a diet-- you'll stick with your habits better. My doc recommended I do IF and I have been and it feels good and safe for me, plus I've lost weight. You gain more control over when you feel hungry, too. And 8 of those fasting hours you're sleeping anyway, so it's not bad at all. Get your 10k steps in daily - doesn't have to be hard cardio, just the steps. Think bird's eye view. Cut out refined foods. Go for Omega -3 rich foods. Dark leafy greens. Fun new exercise hobbies and groups.
posted by erattacorrige at 7:32 PM on September 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by erattacorrige at 7:32 PM on September 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
i don’t really know the answer .. my latest idea is to try to scare up a virtual walking buddy to walk and talk while getting vitamin d on a daily basis early in the morning.. thinking it might need to be buddies (accepting applications! lol.. if this is you, reader or op, please memail me ), though, as the daily thing is a high bar. but, yeah .. walking .. maybe not the biggest calorie burner but not gimmicky!
posted by elgee at 7:49 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by elgee at 7:49 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
You need to find a system that forces you to be cognizant of your caloric intake, which you probably significantly underestimate (everyone does). I still find old-school "points" Weight Watchers to work without excessive fuss, but you will have to put up with a period of weighing things and reading the backs of packages. I expect there are others you can use, but you'll still have to pay careful attention to what you're eating.
Then you need to join the closest, nicest possible gym, preferably one you can walk to--the easiest and best possible experience. Start with 30 minutes of moderate cardio 3x a week and work your way up to 5x. When you're feeling stronger, start increasing intensity to vigorous cardio. While cutting calories has much more effect on weight than ordinary-person exercise does, the exercise will yield health benefits regardless of whether or not you're losing weight and it's also a positive thing to work on, as opposed to the drearily negative weight loss. I find a recumbent bike to be the most straightforward way to get my heart rate up, but you can also walk on a treadmill or...ellipse on an elliptical if you like that better. If you have an Apple Watch, an app like Zones will let you make sure you're staying in the (approximate) appropriate heart-rate zone. Modern gym equipment will have heart rate sensors built in if you don't.
Get an app that tracks the moving average of your weight (e.g., Happy Scale for iOS) and weigh yourself on a decent scale at the same time daily, preferably first thing in the morning. Understand that weight can fluctuate a lot, especially for women. You just want to see the moving average slowly trend downwards.
If you end up running a 500-calorie deficit per day (so, net 30 points on the ancient WW system), you will lose about a pound a week, at least for a while. This very basic system helped me lose 20% of my body weight a number of years ago and still works for me when I need to take off a few pounds.
Don't let anyone talk to you about your weight except maybe your doctor if you want their advice. I'm serious. You don't need that craziness in your head. You just have a simple goal you're trying to reach. It's not a moral or spiritual question and it's not anyone's damn business but your own.
posted by praemunire at 8:40 PM on September 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
Then you need to join the closest, nicest possible gym, preferably one you can walk to--the easiest and best possible experience. Start with 30 minutes of moderate cardio 3x a week and work your way up to 5x. When you're feeling stronger, start increasing intensity to vigorous cardio. While cutting calories has much more effect on weight than ordinary-person exercise does, the exercise will yield health benefits regardless of whether or not you're losing weight and it's also a positive thing to work on, as opposed to the drearily negative weight loss. I find a recumbent bike to be the most straightforward way to get my heart rate up, but you can also walk on a treadmill or...ellipse on an elliptical if you like that better. If you have an Apple Watch, an app like Zones will let you make sure you're staying in the (approximate) appropriate heart-rate zone. Modern gym equipment will have heart rate sensors built in if you don't.
Get an app that tracks the moving average of your weight (e.g., Happy Scale for iOS) and weigh yourself on a decent scale at the same time daily, preferably first thing in the morning. Understand that weight can fluctuate a lot, especially for women. You just want to see the moving average slowly trend downwards.
If you end up running a 500-calorie deficit per day (so, net 30 points on the ancient WW system), you will lose about a pound a week, at least for a while. This very basic system helped me lose 20% of my body weight a number of years ago and still works for me when I need to take off a few pounds.
Don't let anyone talk to you about your weight except maybe your doctor if you want their advice. I'm serious. You don't need that craziness in your head. You just have a simple goal you're trying to reach. It's not a moral or spiritual question and it's not anyone's damn business but your own.
posted by praemunire at 8:40 PM on September 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
Well I’m kind of like you, My youngest is 5 and I’ve got 10-15 pounds to lose and just can’t do it. I lost 5 pounds in February but it came back on and I just can’t shift it. I am actually getting a mind/body/nutrition coach. (NOT a weight loss coach!!!!! And also not a bikini style transformation coach, which is so popular right now but is just too much for me) I start in October. She is more holistic and will help you find a way that works for you as part of your lifestyle, which is what I need. The reason I am choosing a coach is because I have had so many failures over the years and I now have chronic migraine and 2 kids with special needs, and I think if I don’t have someone literally texting me everyday telling me what to do and cheerleading me that I just won’t do it. I’ve been trying now for 3-4 years. I’m 40, my poor fitness and low energy and headaches makes it tough to enjoy my children and makes my energy levels so low… I don’t want to live like this, so I’m going to get this lady to hold my hand. So you’re not so extreme it sounds and I love the other posters ideas I wish you good luck and me mail me in 2 months if you want to know the name of my coach and if it worked out!
posted by pairofshades at 9:16 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by pairofshades at 9:16 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
So, the current thinking tends to be that exercise doesn't really do anything for weight loss, but as someone who typically eats a manageable amount, I find it's often the tipping point between holding steady/slowly increasing and losing slowly/maintaining. If you already eat pretty healthily a combination of slightly reducing your portions (never taking seconds? serving yourself the normal amount and then putting 25% back?) and working in some real exercise might be all you need.
I effing hate running but I had to do something during the pandemic, so I finally started. It truly was more effective on a lot of levels than anything I was doing at the gym in the beforetimes, and I've used a lot of what I learned in my running months now that I'm back at the gym post-vax.
Something like Couch to 5K or Zombies, Run! are pretty low-key in terms of hashtag gimmicks, but they have nice flexible structures and you don't have to sign up for much or go anywhere in particular or buy any equipment to get started.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:28 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I effing hate running but I had to do something during the pandemic, so I finally started. It truly was more effective on a lot of levels than anything I was doing at the gym in the beforetimes, and I've used a lot of what I learned in my running months now that I'm back at the gym post-vax.
Something like Couch to 5K or Zombies, Run! are pretty low-key in terms of hashtag gimmicks, but they have nice flexible structures and you don't have to sign up for much or go anywhere in particular or buy any equipment to get started.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:28 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I despise calorie counting and have a really great diet but needed to lose about 20-30 pounds. I’m down about 17ish in a few months, very sustainable one to two pounds a week, with very little friction, via a combination of intermittent fasting, only eating truly delicious carbs, and trying to get about half an hour of sweaty activity four times a week.
For intermittent fasting I ended up there because like you, my diet was already quite good. Tons of produce, variety, a preference for seafood and other lean proteins, very little soda or candy, no regular coffee or sugary cereals. But I would have to force myself to spread my meals out in a day, and I would snack late in the night - on good stuff like veggies, grain bowls, eggs, but still eating late. Now I eat in approximately an eight hour window, from lunch till a little after dinner, or a mid morning tea to early dinner, with occasional snacks in between, but only water or tea at other times. Sometimes I’m really hungry in the morning so I have something small with my green tea like some really perfect fruit or an egg but not often. It’s easy to adjust, easy to stick to, and I still eat yummy breakfast foods, just as the first course of a large lunch. It’s nice to brush my teeth a little after dinner and know I won’t be snacking after that.
After I took a good look at my “really great diet” I determined my two things I needed to change were I had too many low value carbs, and I had developed a bit of a sweet tooth. I’m never going to cut out carbs and sugar because what’s the point of living? But why did I need to eat crappy bread, or plain rice, or mediocre cookies?? So now I eat really lovely fantastic bread every couple of weeks when I get to the amazing French bakery, and I use grains like barley and wild rice in combination with plain rice so there is better texture and flavor, and I only have baked goods that are special or fresh. I eat a hamburger with a bun and hoagies on rolls but only if I really crave them. I eat fruit for dessert and as parts of meals even if I also have a sweet lined up - I crave and eat way less of the sweet like that. I’ve cut down on the honey I put in black tea and my tastebuds have adjusted (this happened to me in my late twenties, too, I just backslid I guess) so now anything deliberately sugary is way too sweet. Corn tortillas with eggs for breakfast if I want a toast-like thing, crushed nuts in place of breadcrumbs on baked things for awesome crunchiness, crispy vegetables instead of potato chips as a side with a picnic lunch.
For sweaty activity I bought a dumb little stationary bike, absolutely not a peloton. It’s super old school with just a knob to turn for resistance, cost about a hundred bucks, and can fold up into a closet. I’m really short and most stationary bikes can’t actually fit me right, but also I absolutely was not going to leave the house when I started. I watch two episodes of a sitcom on my bike, the back half of the second episode is cool down time, I use a separate timer app on my ipad to guide me through periods of warm up, increased resistance, pushing hard, dialing back, pushing hard again, glide down to stop, then do stretches for the rest of whatever episode is going. On nice days I also go for a lovely walk at a gorgeous park nearby but I’m in Seattle which is rife with beautiful parks so it’s easy for me to just do that. On days when I’m lugging laundry up two flights of stairs three times a day, or hauling ass around a huge mall for hours, or hiking half a mile from a parking spot and back, I count that as my sweaty activity and don’t bike. It really surprised me how easily I could tell I was improving or if I was too tired or something else was up, with just the feedback of how I felt from that small amount of biking. If I could do a higher resistance, or was too out of breath, or thirstier, or slept better that night… it all became much easier to notice.
Anyway, I’ve had some setbacks but everything I’ve been doing is simple to start up again or adjust as needed, and I’m still on track for losing visceral fat and gaining some muscle by the end of the year. I’m much less stressed on intermittent fasting and have no desire to increase the fasting periods although I have accidentally done so by just not being hungry until dinner a few times, with no ill effects. I like knowing that I can do other things while I’m hungry instead of stopping everything until I have something to eat. Better quality and fewer carbs will be harder in winter, but I’ll probably have less really lovely fruit and can do more whole grains without much problem. And having a frictionless way to do physical activity is invaluable. Basically, if I eat like that I maintain my current weight, and if I add the sweating a few times a week I lose one or two pounds. So I feel in control, and not like I’m doing some scheme, or engaging in a #lifestyle.
posted by Mizu at 10:03 PM on September 21, 2021 [9 favorites]
For intermittent fasting I ended up there because like you, my diet was already quite good. Tons of produce, variety, a preference for seafood and other lean proteins, very little soda or candy, no regular coffee or sugary cereals. But I would have to force myself to spread my meals out in a day, and I would snack late in the night - on good stuff like veggies, grain bowls, eggs, but still eating late. Now I eat in approximately an eight hour window, from lunch till a little after dinner, or a mid morning tea to early dinner, with occasional snacks in between, but only water or tea at other times. Sometimes I’m really hungry in the morning so I have something small with my green tea like some really perfect fruit or an egg but not often. It’s easy to adjust, easy to stick to, and I still eat yummy breakfast foods, just as the first course of a large lunch. It’s nice to brush my teeth a little after dinner and know I won’t be snacking after that.
After I took a good look at my “really great diet” I determined my two things I needed to change were I had too many low value carbs, and I had developed a bit of a sweet tooth. I’m never going to cut out carbs and sugar because what’s the point of living? But why did I need to eat crappy bread, or plain rice, or mediocre cookies?? So now I eat really lovely fantastic bread every couple of weeks when I get to the amazing French bakery, and I use grains like barley and wild rice in combination with plain rice so there is better texture and flavor, and I only have baked goods that are special or fresh. I eat a hamburger with a bun and hoagies on rolls but only if I really crave them. I eat fruit for dessert and as parts of meals even if I also have a sweet lined up - I crave and eat way less of the sweet like that. I’ve cut down on the honey I put in black tea and my tastebuds have adjusted (this happened to me in my late twenties, too, I just backslid I guess) so now anything deliberately sugary is way too sweet. Corn tortillas with eggs for breakfast if I want a toast-like thing, crushed nuts in place of breadcrumbs on baked things for awesome crunchiness, crispy vegetables instead of potato chips as a side with a picnic lunch.
For sweaty activity I bought a dumb little stationary bike, absolutely not a peloton. It’s super old school with just a knob to turn for resistance, cost about a hundred bucks, and can fold up into a closet. I’m really short and most stationary bikes can’t actually fit me right, but also I absolutely was not going to leave the house when I started. I watch two episodes of a sitcom on my bike, the back half of the second episode is cool down time, I use a separate timer app on my ipad to guide me through periods of warm up, increased resistance, pushing hard, dialing back, pushing hard again, glide down to stop, then do stretches for the rest of whatever episode is going. On nice days I also go for a lovely walk at a gorgeous park nearby but I’m in Seattle which is rife with beautiful parks so it’s easy for me to just do that. On days when I’m lugging laundry up two flights of stairs three times a day, or hauling ass around a huge mall for hours, or hiking half a mile from a parking spot and back, I count that as my sweaty activity and don’t bike. It really surprised me how easily I could tell I was improving or if I was too tired or something else was up, with just the feedback of how I felt from that small amount of biking. If I could do a higher resistance, or was too out of breath, or thirstier, or slept better that night… it all became much easier to notice.
Anyway, I’ve had some setbacks but everything I’ve been doing is simple to start up again or adjust as needed, and I’m still on track for losing visceral fat and gaining some muscle by the end of the year. I’m much less stressed on intermittent fasting and have no desire to increase the fasting periods although I have accidentally done so by just not being hungry until dinner a few times, with no ill effects. I like knowing that I can do other things while I’m hungry instead of stopping everything until I have something to eat. Better quality and fewer carbs will be harder in winter, but I’ll probably have less really lovely fruit and can do more whole grains without much problem. And having a frictionless way to do physical activity is invaluable. Basically, if I eat like that I maintain my current weight, and if I add the sweating a few times a week I lose one or two pounds. So I feel in control, and not like I’m doing some scheme, or engaging in a #lifestyle.
posted by Mizu at 10:03 PM on September 21, 2021 [9 favorites]
Unpopular opinion coming down the pike!! Mommastrong and the nutrition program Mommastrong Fuel are the only exercise/nutrition/lifestyle programs I have come across that aren't selling, in some form or another, the attendent idea that it's okay to low-key hate yourself.
The pounds may not fly off but I really could not recommend these two affordable, realistic programs more for living your healthiest life.
posted by athirstforsalt at 11:17 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
The pounds may not fly off but I really could not recommend these two affordable, realistic programs more for living your healthiest life.
posted by athirstforsalt at 11:17 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I lost 15 pounds in 2 months without changing my diet but restricting when I ate (ie, Intermittent Fasting).
I basically only ate during a six hour window. For me it was usually from 2 to 8. It was very difficult for the first 4 days but then I found it rather pleasant and not at all difficult to decline food outside that window.
Then, due to work and travel, I couldn't maintain that window and gained 4 pounds in 2 months. I went back to IF and lost that weight in 3 days.
I am now trying to lose another 15 pounds and have shortened my eating window to 4 hours and immediately feel much calmer and less filled with anxiety.
Also, I bought an air fryer in order to eat more vegetables. I can grill veggies in it in, literally, 4 minutes. Asparagus, green beans, brocollini, peppers, cauliflower, onion... just coat in oil and salt and pepper and you've got a healthy meal in minutes. I think this will help me lose the last 15 lbs.
Oh, and I use the free app, Zero, to track my fasting.
posted by dobbs at 4:18 AM on September 22, 2021
I basically only ate during a six hour window. For me it was usually from 2 to 8. It was very difficult for the first 4 days but then I found it rather pleasant and not at all difficult to decline food outside that window.
Then, due to work and travel, I couldn't maintain that window and gained 4 pounds in 2 months. I went back to IF and lost that weight in 3 days.
I am now trying to lose another 15 pounds and have shortened my eating window to 4 hours and immediately feel much calmer and less filled with anxiety.
Also, I bought an air fryer in order to eat more vegetables. I can grill veggies in it in, literally, 4 minutes. Asparagus, green beans, brocollini, peppers, cauliflower, onion... just coat in oil and salt and pepper and you've got a healthy meal in minutes. I think this will help me lose the last 15 lbs.
Oh, and I use the free app, Zero, to track my fasting.
posted by dobbs at 4:18 AM on September 22, 2021
Weight Watchers is the only weight loss plan that has ever consistently and long-term worked for me. I tried low-carb and I lose weight quickly, but I never hit the stage where I started to feel good – I just turned into a cranky bitch. And I love tacos, that’s all there is to it.
I can count calories, but it works for maintenance but doesn’t really seem to make me lose weight. WW has a formula figured out pretty well. It works because I can eat what I want, I just have to plan ahead. If I really want to eat chocolate cake every night, I can, I just need to plan the rest of my food and my exercise to accommodate it. It turns out I don’t, though - the other day in Target, that “it’s been a long week, maybe a Snickers bar would help” Snickers scanned at 12 (!) points (for perspective, my daily allotment is 30 + 42 weeklies + exercise) and my answer was “not today Satan”. But maybe this weekend, depending on what else we’re eating. It’s helping to reset sugar to a treat (it’d crept back up to dessert every night and some treats in the afternoon etc). I can eat more lightly during the week and eat more on the weekends, if I want. And it turns out that if I listen to my body, maybe 1 piece of Sunday dinner lasagne is enough, not two (which is probably wheres straight calorie counting fails on me, it's easy enough to go "oh, it's just a little bit more, it's fine.")
I can eat all the fruit and veg I can hold, it accommodates whatever else you do diet wise easily (I’m gluten free, damn immune systems).
They do push lowfat food, which I kind of hate (I eat a fair bit of fat and my numbers are great, my doctor loves me), but I move around enough (my weekly Fitpoints goal is 24 points, and I’m already at 28 this morning and my week starts on Monday) that I can eat full fat dairy, so that doesn’t bother me. I don’t do the meetings and the forums and the coaching because I just cannot with people right now (“how do I stop feeling like a feral cat during the apocalypse”, coming to the green soon near you), I just need encouragement to eat more fruits and vegetables and not eat a Snickers every afternoon ("I'm eating clean enough otherwise, why not?").
So you sound a lot like me - already eating pretty well, just want to trim down a bit - and WW always works for me, when I stick to it, for what it’s worth. If only I weren’t currently losing the same 15 pounds that I lost last year before I said “we’re coming up on the holidays, I don’t want to do all this tracking and crap, I can handle this on my own…”
posted by joycehealy at 5:09 AM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
I can count calories, but it works for maintenance but doesn’t really seem to make me lose weight. WW has a formula figured out pretty well. It works because I can eat what I want, I just have to plan ahead. If I really want to eat chocolate cake every night, I can, I just need to plan the rest of my food and my exercise to accommodate it. It turns out I don’t, though - the other day in Target, that “it’s been a long week, maybe a Snickers bar would help” Snickers scanned at 12 (!) points (for perspective, my daily allotment is 30 + 42 weeklies + exercise) and my answer was “not today Satan”. But maybe this weekend, depending on what else we’re eating. It’s helping to reset sugar to a treat (it’d crept back up to dessert every night and some treats in the afternoon etc). I can eat more lightly during the week and eat more on the weekends, if I want. And it turns out that if I listen to my body, maybe 1 piece of Sunday dinner lasagne is enough, not two (which is probably wheres straight calorie counting fails on me, it's easy enough to go "oh, it's just a little bit more, it's fine.")
I can eat all the fruit and veg I can hold, it accommodates whatever else you do diet wise easily (I’m gluten free, damn immune systems).
They do push lowfat food, which I kind of hate (I eat a fair bit of fat and my numbers are great, my doctor loves me), but I move around enough (my weekly Fitpoints goal is 24 points, and I’m already at 28 this morning and my week starts on Monday) that I can eat full fat dairy, so that doesn’t bother me. I don’t do the meetings and the forums and the coaching because I just cannot with people right now (“how do I stop feeling like a feral cat during the apocalypse”, coming to the green soon near you), I just need encouragement to eat more fruits and vegetables and not eat a Snickers every afternoon ("I'm eating clean enough otherwise, why not?").
So you sound a lot like me - already eating pretty well, just want to trim down a bit - and WW always works for me, when I stick to it, for what it’s worth. If only I weren’t currently losing the same 15 pounds that I lost last year before I said “we’re coming up on the holidays, I don’t want to do all this tracking and crap, I can handle this on my own…”
posted by joycehealy at 5:09 AM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
We sound very similar in our weight goals, and I used Noom to lose about 10 pandemic pounds. There is absolutely nothing magical about it. It's just counting calories, exercising, and weighing yourself. It worked for me because I forced myself to comply and found that, while trite and annoying, it kept me mindful about what and how much I was eating.
Another vote for Noom. I rolled my eyes every time I saw the TV commercials, but decided to give it a go after my colleague told me their sibling was on it and losing weight.
It has me rethinking my relationship with food entirely. I'm not restricting what I eat or going to bed hungry, but I have still lost 25 lbs since starting it in August. It's much better than WW or when I tried to go it my own with MFP.
The only exercise I have added in is to make sure I'm getting 10K steps a day, aided by one long walk early in the morning.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:45 AM on September 22, 2021
Another vote for Noom. I rolled my eyes every time I saw the TV commercials, but decided to give it a go after my colleague told me their sibling was on it and losing weight.
It has me rethinking my relationship with food entirely. I'm not restricting what I eat or going to bed hungry, but I have still lost 25 lbs since starting it in August. It's much better than WW or when I tried to go it my own with MFP.
The only exercise I have added in is to make sure I'm getting 10K steps a day, aided by one long walk early in the morning.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:45 AM on September 22, 2021
My mom is 80 years old, and last July I helped her buy a treadmill on Amazon for about $250 and my brother put it together for her in her bedroom. She's in excellent health for an 80 year old, but didn't do much exercise. I get a weekly weigh-in report from her (not that I WANT it, but I get it) and she's down from about 142 pounds last July to 127 now (she's under 5 feet now from shrinkage), so 15 pounds in a little over a year, and it's supposed to be impossible to lose weight when you get older. So get a treadmill! She uses a fitbit to track steps and does 30-50 minutes a day, minimum 10k steps a day. She's kind of obsessed but it's not a bad obsession.
posted by jabes at 6:50 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jabes at 6:50 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I had gained ~30 lbs during the pandemic from, I guess, pandemic stress/lifestyle changes and possibly some meds I was on. I liked some of the physical/appearance changes in my body with the extra weight (I had curves! I had boobs!), but I just didn't feel good and was tired a lot, got out of breath easily, and I knew it wasn't healthy long-term for me.
I eventually went off the meds and started being a bit more active after the initial lockdowns and then some, and hoped the weight would come off, but of course it didn't. I eat generally healthily, although I do have a sweet tooth and I enjoy some wine, mostly on the weekends. When I just tried to watch what I ate, I would be trending down during the week, but the weekends would kill any progress and then some, as I just wanted to enjoy myself.
What has finally started working, like some others, was intermittent fasting. My window is generally noon to 8. The first day or two I was incredibly hungry waiting until noon to eat, but after that it became pretty easy. The thing I love is that I do a lot less mindless snacking or eating-because-it's-lunchtime/dinnertime now. I'm much better at reading my body's cues, not needing to eat AS SOON as I feel SLIGHTLY hungry, not eating because it seems like I haven't in a while. I love lattes, and definitely was drinking too many of them. Now I save them (mostly) for the weekends, because by the time it's noon and I'm at work, I feel less like I NEED one, and I've just kind of broken that daily habit. And I appreciate those weekend ones more! I was drinking black coffee in the morning for while, now most mornings I will put a little cream and sugar in it, which is technically against the "rules" but I decided was ok for me.
I also started exercising in the morning. Like others have said, it won't necessarily help with weight loss, but for sure does with overall health. The other way it helps me, specifically the morning part, is that I feel great afterwards and it makes me less likely to snack unhealthily during the day, because I just FEEL healthier after exercising and I don't want to eat chocolate (as much). The key for exercising for me though is to go for consistency and not pushing myself. I'm swimming less than half, maybe less than a third of the distance I used to, and I'm ok with that! I will eventually, slowly, increase this distance, but I'm going to stick to my current distance for a while, and not pressure myself to increase it any time soon. But I'm swimming consistently. I am actually running a longer time/distance than I used to, but I'm doing run-walk intervals. I used to love couch to 5k (and still do, just not what I need right now), and was always pushing to get to the run-for-20-to-30-minutes-nonstop level. Now I run-walk for ~40 minutes, and I am keeping my run-walk interval timing for the foreseeable future (not going to run for 20 mins straight). But I'm running consistently. These are what works for me to keep me going for the long term, but you need to know (or figure out) yourself, to see what works for you to not give up.
On weekends I do indulge a little more, but I still mostly stick to the noon-12 schedule. I have my latte at noon. If there is a social occasion, I might have a drink or two after 8, but I still try to stop eating by 8 and have a healthier overall weekend.
Good luck!!
posted by sillysally at 7:54 AM on September 22, 2021
I eventually went off the meds and started being a bit more active after the initial lockdowns and then some, and hoped the weight would come off, but of course it didn't. I eat generally healthily, although I do have a sweet tooth and I enjoy some wine, mostly on the weekends. When I just tried to watch what I ate, I would be trending down during the week, but the weekends would kill any progress and then some, as I just wanted to enjoy myself.
What has finally started working, like some others, was intermittent fasting. My window is generally noon to 8. The first day or two I was incredibly hungry waiting until noon to eat, but after that it became pretty easy. The thing I love is that I do a lot less mindless snacking or eating-because-it's-lunchtime/dinnertime now. I'm much better at reading my body's cues, not needing to eat AS SOON as I feel SLIGHTLY hungry, not eating because it seems like I haven't in a while. I love lattes, and definitely was drinking too many of them. Now I save them (mostly) for the weekends, because by the time it's noon and I'm at work, I feel less like I NEED one, and I've just kind of broken that daily habit. And I appreciate those weekend ones more! I was drinking black coffee in the morning for while, now most mornings I will put a little cream and sugar in it, which is technically against the "rules" but I decided was ok for me.
I also started exercising in the morning. Like others have said, it won't necessarily help with weight loss, but for sure does with overall health. The other way it helps me, specifically the morning part, is that I feel great afterwards and it makes me less likely to snack unhealthily during the day, because I just FEEL healthier after exercising and I don't want to eat chocolate (as much). The key for exercising for me though is to go for consistency and not pushing myself. I'm swimming less than half, maybe less than a third of the distance I used to, and I'm ok with that! I will eventually, slowly, increase this distance, but I'm going to stick to my current distance for a while, and not pressure myself to increase it any time soon. But I'm swimming consistently. I am actually running a longer time/distance than I used to, but I'm doing run-walk intervals. I used to love couch to 5k (and still do, just not what I need right now), and was always pushing to get to the run-for-20-to-30-minutes-nonstop level. Now I run-walk for ~40 minutes, and I am keeping my run-walk interval timing for the foreseeable future (not going to run for 20 mins straight). But I'm running consistently. These are what works for me to keep me going for the long term, but you need to know (or figure out) yourself, to see what works for you to not give up.
On weekends I do indulge a little more, but I still mostly stick to the noon-12 schedule. I have my latte at noon. If there is a social occasion, I might have a drink or two after 8, but I still try to stop eating by 8 and have a healthier overall weekend.
Good luck!!
posted by sillysally at 7:54 AM on September 22, 2021
As a note, anything that tells you to eat 1200 calories or less is a starvation diet. You will lose weight that way, but you will be losing muscle and not fat. [Unpopular incoming] WW and similar are basically starvation diets.
My actual advice is to find a dietician and discuss your goals with a person who is qualified to help you develop a plan to safely lose weight.
posted by Medieval Maven at 9:06 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
My actual advice is to find a dietician and discuss your goals with a person who is qualified to help you develop a plan to safely lose weight.
posted by Medieval Maven at 9:06 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
WW and similar are basically starvation diets.
This is why, by the way, I suggested 30 points, which, in ancient WW, is ~1500 calories. I wouldn't go beneath that.
posted by praemunire at 9:10 AM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
This is why, by the way, I suggested 30 points, which, in ancient WW, is ~1500 calories. I wouldn't go beneath that.
posted by praemunire at 9:10 AM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Shrugs. I eat more than 1200 calories a day (I pop things into Lose It periodically to make sure I'm not going too low). Eat your weeklies, eat your fitpoints if you go WW.
But I will agree that if this thread says anything, it's one size doesn't fit all when it comes to weight loss and it's hard for us to know what's going to work best for you, so you're going to have to experiment or talk to a dietician, for sure.
posted by joycehealy at 10:29 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
But I will agree that if this thread says anything, it's one size doesn't fit all when it comes to weight loss and it's hard for us to know what's going to work best for you, so you're going to have to experiment or talk to a dietician, for sure.
posted by joycehealy at 10:29 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I had to lose weight to ease my acid reflux, so I did TOPS online. (You can do it in person, too.) TOPS is kind of dorky and is not glamorous or hip, but their advice is generally sound, although I do think the online TOPS leader sometimes says some weird stuff that isn't accurate. But it worked really well for me because it kept me accountable at a price that can easily fit most any budget. I lost 20 pounds 5 years ago and have kept it off with the help of my ongoing account with TOPS.
posted by SageTrail at 11:15 AM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by SageTrail at 11:15 AM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
I've lost over 20lbs over the past "pandemic" by doing things that seem along the lines of what you're interested in - no gimmicks, no hard-core restrictions or big shocks to my system. For me the entirety of the difference has come from establishing and maintaining a new habit. I'm a dad with a (now) 4 year old, and having a toddler / commuting definitely had stood in the way of managing my weight for a few years.
I exercise at least 30 minutes every single day, 7 days a week, and track it using my Apple Watch. That's probably the one gimmick if there is one - tracking exercise as my way to reinforce my habit and benefit from maintaining a pattern. I have not missed a day of exercise is 589 days. For me, the important accountability is mainly to myself and that habit, rather than to a WW group or other program. Doing 3 or 5 days a week would not work for me because I'd stretch those intervals into a broken habit.
My main form of exercise has been walking, and simply walking in my neighborhood starting from my house. I specifically don't want any reason or barrier between my and exercising - I don't have to drive anywhere in order to walk. Walking is widely regarded as a great form of basic exercise and its really worked for me in terms of aerobic fitness and weight loss. I walk routes radiating out from my house, and have added distance as I've gotten healthier. For the first many months of my habit I walked after putting my kiddo to bed, in the first available moment of the day when I could do my thing without shirking responsibility to my family. Evening / night time might not be the best time for everyone to go out alone, but finding a reserved time *daily* was crucial for me.
Good luck! You can do it!
posted by pkingdesign at 4:40 PM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
I exercise at least 30 minutes every single day, 7 days a week, and track it using my Apple Watch. That's probably the one gimmick if there is one - tracking exercise as my way to reinforce my habit and benefit from maintaining a pattern. I have not missed a day of exercise is 589 days. For me, the important accountability is mainly to myself and that habit, rather than to a WW group or other program. Doing 3 or 5 days a week would not work for me because I'd stretch those intervals into a broken habit.
My main form of exercise has been walking, and simply walking in my neighborhood starting from my house. I specifically don't want any reason or barrier between my and exercising - I don't have to drive anywhere in order to walk. Walking is widely regarded as a great form of basic exercise and its really worked for me in terms of aerobic fitness and weight loss. I walk routes radiating out from my house, and have added distance as I've gotten healthier. For the first many months of my habit I walked after putting my kiddo to bed, in the first available moment of the day when I could do my thing without shirking responsibility to my family. Evening / night time might not be the best time for everyone to go out alone, but finding a reserved time *daily* was crucial for me.
Good luck! You can do it!
posted by pkingdesign at 4:40 PM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Intermittent fasting (nb, if female 14 hours fasting and 10 hours eating is what was recommended) and religious calorie counting (separately or together) are the two things that have worked for me through my forties and fifties. I’m fasting right now and I have lost ~14 pounds by eating only an evening meal and occasional 36 hour fast over a very easy few months (and light walking or biking 2-3 times a week.)
[10 years ago I was doing 18/6 and weight lifting and lost 30 lbs over the same time period. Wound up the strongest and leanest I had ever been, but I had some oops-I-messed up-my-hormones months, with sleeplessness, aged looking skin, etc.]
posted by Calibandage at 6:09 PM on September 22, 2021
[10 years ago I was doing 18/6 and weight lifting and lost 30 lbs over the same time period. Wound up the strongest and leanest I had ever been, but I had some oops-I-messed up-my-hormones months, with sleeplessness, aged looking skin, etc.]
posted by Calibandage at 6:09 PM on September 22, 2021
Noom was bad for me, setting off a yo-yo dieting pattern. If you do it, pick a really moderate weight loss pace!
posted by slidell at 9:54 AM on September 23, 2021
posted by slidell at 9:54 AM on September 23, 2021
If you want something super simple, you'll probably scoff at this at first, but seriously: cut your meals in half. Just save half of everything for tomorrow.
The thing that's worked best for me is portion control. I get a weird enjoyment out of tracking calories (I weigh everything, it's ridiculous, but I find it fun), but the very first thing I did, before I started seriously tracking calories and nutrition, was just cut a bunch of my meals in half.
Turns out I am sufficiently sated by half a sandwich for lunch instead of a whole sandwich. (I am a tiny person.) Especially when getting takeout, eating half an order of pad thai or whatever is just (obviously) half the calories of eating the whole thing. And then I get to have pad thai tomorrow, too!
You don't have to change anything you eat, you don't have to actually track calories (although that can be fun!), you don't have to schedule anything - just cut all your meals in half, and eat the other half tomorrow.
If you find you're still hungry when you do this, give yourself half an hour, or an hour, after you finish eating, and if you're still hungry THEN, you can have half of your leftovers. You're still cutting out 25% of your calories.
The goal is to not be hungry all the time, but also eat fewer calories. The simple thing that helped me is to just cut back on quantity until you find the sweet spot of how much you actually need to eat to feel satisfied.
posted by kristi at 12:52 PM on September 25, 2021
The thing that's worked best for me is portion control. I get a weird enjoyment out of tracking calories (I weigh everything, it's ridiculous, but I find it fun), but the very first thing I did, before I started seriously tracking calories and nutrition, was just cut a bunch of my meals in half.
Turns out I am sufficiently sated by half a sandwich for lunch instead of a whole sandwich. (I am a tiny person.) Especially when getting takeout, eating half an order of pad thai or whatever is just (obviously) half the calories of eating the whole thing. And then I get to have pad thai tomorrow, too!
You don't have to change anything you eat, you don't have to actually track calories (although that can be fun!), you don't have to schedule anything - just cut all your meals in half, and eat the other half tomorrow.
If you find you're still hungry when you do this, give yourself half an hour, or an hour, after you finish eating, and if you're still hungry THEN, you can have half of your leftovers. You're still cutting out 25% of your calories.
The goal is to not be hungry all the time, but also eat fewer calories. The simple thing that helped me is to just cut back on quantity until you find the sweet spot of how much you actually need to eat to feel satisfied.
posted by kristi at 12:52 PM on September 25, 2021
There's unfortunately not a one-sized fits all solution for dieting. I *have* to do low carb in some form, it's just a requirement. If I eat WW style, it doesn't work for me. You might have to try a couple things to see what works out for you.
I use a combo of IF and slow-carb for now. IMO as someone who has been on a diet for the majority of her adult life, It's okay to eat less than 1200 calories if you're fasting for longer periods of time but I wouldn't do less than 1200 calories spaced over an 18 hour day.
Exercise is good for overall health/heart health but diet is at least 80% of the equation.
posted by getawaysticks at 12:31 PM on September 26, 2021
I use a combo of IF and slow-carb for now. IMO as someone who has been on a diet for the majority of her adult life, It's okay to eat less than 1200 calories if you're fasting for longer periods of time but I wouldn't do less than 1200 calories spaced over an 18 hour day.
Exercise is good for overall health/heart health but diet is at least 80% of the equation.
posted by getawaysticks at 12:31 PM on September 26, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
I got a peloton (financed, 0% interest) and I really love it. Worth every penny.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 5:04 PM on September 21, 2021 [3 favorites]