Weight loss support thread

Good luck with your weight loss Zaphora. Do it for yourself not for anyone else or what they say about you. From what I've seen of you, you look great :3

I've been on a weight loss process myself (no set routine as such and no set diet) for 2ish years now I was over 20 Stone (280 pounds) when I started I lost 3stone (42pounds) very quickly in the first few months from just doing a little swimming 3 times a week and watching what I eat and just eating less crap over all. I'm now down to around 15 stone (210 pounds) you will hit a plateau that you will feel like you can't shift but keep at it and you will by pass it even if it's slow going don't lose hope :3

 

That's great! Keep it up however please don't ever starve yourself, I'm sticking to around 1,500 - 2000 calories a day. (Somedays I go over but usually only on days when I go out to do things)

 

Okay good! Yeah changing your diet and just eating a little less in general will help c:

 

I really really really really really really felt the need to jump in here the second I saw the thread title. Anyone reading, I beg you to hear me out for a moment even if you think I sound absolutely insane, because I'm aware the claim may seem a bit crazy, but it's knowledge that, once you have it, seems so obvious and simple, and it will save you countless hours of time and frustration. My dragon-loving friends outside the US/North America are likely to be a little more friendly to this concept, because it's westernization of diet and misinformation by misguided authorities and cruel companies that leads us down the wrong path.

Quick information about me if you want to know below, or skip to gold text...

I work as a health and nutrition adviser and, I beg your forgiveness if I sound like I'm bragging when I say, I've been given countless compliments on my reasonable wealth of knowledge and advice by people of general knowledge, medical doctors and nutrition experts, and everyone in between. Full disclosure, I'm a GNC associate at a franchise store, so yes I work in a sales environment for a job. Yet I'm a person that's praised often for complete honesty that involves often telling people to flat out not buy something, or get a $12 alternative to a full-of-marketing-bullshit $240 product, and for always attempting to offer a free solution first through information and recommendations about informational sources and diet. My boss is a phenomenal man who fully supports my honesty and methodology with customers, so I'm able to work 100% ethically while learning from customers, admitting when I don't know something or could be wrong, and flat out making moves that would get me fired on the spot if someone important from corporate were around. I don't give a fuck what the company at larges or someone at some office thinks; not only is honesty a good policy for sales because people come back anyway, it's the best path to gaining customer trust and loyalty, and a necessary trait in being a good person in life. Dr. Jason Fung, MD, is a good resource for what I'm going to talk about. Please give it a chance. He wrote an excellent and easy-to-read book called The Obesity Code that is one of many excellent sources. Learning everything is impossible in two minutes but here's a link to a quick video to start yourself off. Please try giving it a chance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d7KkyXnyB4

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Calories don't matter! Please give this thought a chance.
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Now, I'm not saying you're wrong, or you don't know anything, or that you should just give up because you have no control. The solution is actually easier than you think, and pardon me for sounding preachy.

Calories don't matter because our bodies respond to hormones, not calories. Technically, yes, calories matter in that if you start just eating five thousand a day it'll be a problem. But your metabolic rate actually shifts by colossal amounts when you start eating more food; we can adapt to a higher amount of calories. The issue is that our body's hormones are usually set in a very poor direction by the food we're eating.

In short, you want to eat food, not food-like items.

The heavy processing of most of our man-made and packaged food items leads to things like damage to the microflora of our gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, and what's most important if you had to choose one thing, is the effect it's likely having on your insulin if you've got a bit of an excess body fat problem. This is why we can end up feeling hopeless about a weight loss effort; society tells us we're lacking in willpower and that it's all our fault. It really isn't! The data shows we've been doing all the things we're told are good for us better than ever; low-fat, high carbohydrate diets, counting calories, exercising more.

But the difference all that makes is either nonexistent or worsens our health!

The reality is that the typical western diet these days is so high in fast-digested, low quality carbohydrates like all the food made of white flour, sugar, and corn syrup - about 43% of federal food subsidies go to corn and wheat to make food additives like high fructose corn syrup - that our insulin is spiking higher than ever for more of our day. We eat more often, we eat poor quality food that neither satiates us or gives adequate healthy macro/micronutrients, and we put half of our overall effort into 5% of the battle with things like exercise.

Foods high in fiber, like veggies, nuts, and fruits, slow down the movement of food in our bodies, balancing out the sugar content. This is why a a cup of raspberries is generally A-OK but that orange juice is actually goddamn horrible for you. The sugars are nearly instantly absorbed in the juice since there's no fiber and it's a liquid, leading to a monstrous insulin spike and no lasting energy for us. We're left tired and suffering malnutrition.

Our bodies build resistance to insulin - and another important hormone called Leptin I'm just going to mention by name for now - and the ultimate result can often be obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. It's just like caffeine - too much over a period of time means we need more to do the same thing - insulin just takes years or decades to get really bad. High insulin resistance because it's constantly being stimulated means we now need more insulin from our pancreas to do the same job in our bodies regulating blood sugar, and when it's higher it leads to more resistance, and it never ends as it's a self-reinforcing cycle.

We can fix this though!

Start by cutting out all the refined sugars and poor carbohydrates, like juices, crackers, bread, pasta, etc, especially the non whole-grain (this is different from whole wheat by a lot!) versions. It's fine if you need time to do it, but you're actually going to have an easier time in the long run going cold turkey, because you'll be more likely to get over your cravings quickly. The healthy fiber from real food, and the optional supplementation of extra fiber and probiotics, will change your cravings because the species of bacteria that take part in digestion will shift from unhealthy sugar-cravers to beneficial veggie-lovers. I take extra inulin fiber and 50 billion CFU a day of probiotics just for maintenance, but you NEVER need to spend a dime on supplements. It's all possible just with your groceries, and please make an effort to have a strong foundation before thinking about pills. The only exceptions to consider up front are maybe a good enteric-coated or pre-emulsified omega-3 supplement, maybe a good (time-released is better) multivitamin, and some extra Vitamin D at around 2000IU daily for most people. Meal replacement shakes aren't actually all that good for weight loss, and most products in the industry are just expensive liquid versions of the same crap you want to avoid.

Once you're getting used to eating real food instead of processed junk, you can work on timing of your food. We've been told lies like how important breakfast is, or that we want to eat snacks throughout the day to stimulate metabolism. The reality of it is that we're built to handle periods of fasting! We didn't have pantries when we were hunter-gatherers, and there's no way our entire genome has changed from this in a mere few generations. Our bodies have fat storage as a mechanism to handle periods of famine like during winter with less plant flora, and times when our hunts for meat weren't fruitful. (I'm ignoring a conversation about veganism and all that for now. It's a different topic entirely.) We used to go without food for periods of time, FASTING when it was lacking, and FEAST when a hunt was successful or we celebrated.

We should ideally do the same in real life. You might have heard of this by the term Intermittent Fasting, and it's really smart stuff. Dr Rhonda Patrick and Dr Satchin Panda are amazing resources for this sort of topic. So are Dr Peter Attia, Dr Jason Fung, and others I can list if requested. Something like water only for 16 hours a day, from say 8PM to noon the next day, with an 8 hour window of eating, leads to massively healthier whole-body hormone control and GI tract function. Without hitting a treadmill for even a second or having to count a single calorie, all this alone will do nearly everything you need to reach your goals.

I need to move on with my day for now, I still haven't done my weight training (and I'd be glad to talk about why I love doing resistance training despite saying exercise isn't THAT important) and this is already pretty long. But again, please give this a chance. I know it's not what sounds right based on what we hear a lot of, but it's the truth and it's deceptively simple once you understand it. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!

 

It sounds like you're SERIOUSLY on the right track. You're doing really well already Zaph! Have at those eggs, they're fantastic. The whole thing about dietary fat and cholesterol is by and large BS, eggs are actually EXCELLENT. I'll find some time to chat once I get done lifting for the night! Congratulations on your successes so far!

 

Keep in mind that ultimately, you want to watch the inches and the pants sizes, not the pounds. Excess water drops pretty fast in the first days of fasting periods, and it can be disheartening because the weight will drop slower after a little while, but don't worry! The body fat comes off easier and easier as time goes on. I actually began a new extended fast attempt today at noon; my longest ever was 47 hours, I believe, and this time I want to push into at least three days. Regardless, success on any level is exciting! Keep at it.

 

Gotta try this out!

I suddenly started to rapidly gain 45lbs in a 6 month period and want to get back down hrm

 

The lengths some people go

Keep it fucking simple. Go ahead and read a million articles inflating the merits of whatever minor influential factor you want, but at the end of the day, no one is exempt from the laws of thermodynamics.

Biggest issue with "western" diets are mostly sugars, salt, and fried foods. Carbs are a healthy, necessary source of energy and it's fine to load up as long as you're active. Hop on the low-carb keto fad without knowing what you're doing and have fun sabotaging the bit of lean muscle you've got. Just keep it simple. I've had clients lose upwards of 100lbs in three months just cutting sugary sodas, sweets, and fast food alone. My most successful client lost over 25% of their body weight in just two months combining a simple diet plan with 2-3 hours/wk laying back on a recumbent bike playing games on his phone.

No need to starve or even reduce overall quantity of food consumed, just make healthier choices. Grilled chicken over fried, lean steak filets instead of greasy burgers, brown rice instead of fried, etc. Open up that spice rack and learn how to season. Cumin is a healthy salt alternative and goes great on potatoes, beef, soup, whatever. Hot sauce makes for a great 0 calorie salad dressing, popcorn topping, etc. Spend an hour or two doing meal prep on the weekend and you'll have good eats all week for half the calories and cost of fast food. Hell, get Soylent powder and blend it with bananas, berries, honey, peanut butter, you choose...there's a quick, flavorful, sweet, energy/nutrient-dense breakfast or snack for half the cost of a McGriddle. Lemon/lime/fruit-infused water is refreshing af, or just tea and honey. If you can't give up your 2-liter-a-day habit, cut that Mtn Lightning and Dr. Topper with carbonated soda water, it doesn't taste any different. This last tip alone will drop you 2lbs+ a week.

Trust, you can still have a combo meal/pizza/junk food a few times a week, just not every meal like a lot of people are used to.

Sadly, the majority of people struggling with weight are well aware they eat like shit, but have addictive personalities and rely on food as a maladaptive coping mechanism for some unresolved psychological issues. Most would be better off seeking counseling instead of nutritional advice.

Good luck. Don't @ me.