Anyone ever lost a large amount of fat/weight?

[oregonbiguy]

I lost 80 pounds (250 to 170 pounds) over the course of a few years my sophomore year of high school through my senior year. You know it wasn't perfect. I did a lot of taebo for exercise or just walked around town. As far as food went I tried to keep portions down. I would sometimes indulge in ice cream or other junk but it was always far and in between. Unfortunately I really messed up after I started working and going to school. My first job was very demanding physically. I felt hungry all the time with that job and ate high calorie junk. Weight went up a little. Then I stopped that job, but continued to eat badly. 4 years after being at 170 I'm up to 270 and have been very disappointed in myself lately. I remember how good I looked and felt at 170 and want to get back there. It really is willpower and that is something I have been working on recently in addition to my diet.

 

[kallipolis]

Eat, less. Eliminate sugar, and sugary drinks. Reduce alcohol consumption. Eat more vegetables, and fresh fruit leading, to better health, better quality of life, and a longer life.

 

[Benvolio]

Yesterday, I officially stopped dieting and started maintaining my weight. I have reached my target weight of 150. I can't believe the number of additional calories I can eat now. WOW!

The rule number one of weight loss is: "It comes back on easier and more quickly than it went off." Set yourself a maximum weight and when you reach it start dieting again.
I also suggest that you sit down now and write a message to yourself, recording what worked for you and what you should do when you need to start losing again.

 

[hotatlboi]

Yes. I have only had success on a very low carbohydrate diet. Think no carbohydrate.You will feel much better and feel much better about yourself. Alas, the weight comes back more easily and quickly than it come off.

This is bad advice. Throwing out all carbs will make your body go into starvation mode which will increase your urges to later binge.

A much better strategy is to gradually reduce overall calories (not just carbs specifically) while increasing physical activity.

I agree that for fat people less carbs are better than a lot, but you still need some.

 

[Benvolio]

This is bad advice. Throwing out all carbs will make your body go into starvation mode which will increase your urges to later binge.

A much better strategy is to gradually reduce overall calories (not just carbs specifically) while increasing physical activity.

I agree that for fat people less carbs are better than a lot, but you still need some.

If that works, fine. But for many people reduction of calories does not work. Many studies show low carb diets to work best, and do to show starvation mode to be a problem. The problem with "low" carb diets is that people end up eating too many carbs and conclude that it does not work. For many people, eating some carbs stimulaters a physical demand or craving for more food. It is the result of carbs stimulating excess insulin production, which in turn creates a physical demand for more.
There are other reasons why very lo or no carb diet is best. It does no require a limitation of amount of food eaten, only carbs. This seems counter intuitive, but people actually eat less on a very lo carb diet, because it is carbs which induce people to eat more. Protein and fat have an opposite effect.
A calorie counting diet is really hard for those who cook for themselves. They must plan, buy, measure, count, and in the end get very little to eat. The must spend much of the time thinking about the food and then get little.
A low cal diet is slow, and for that reason, unforgiving. A slight slip off the diet sets it back for a week or so.
Dr. Atkins diet is still the best, and it works best if you try for no carbs.
The South Beach diet attempts to focus on foods which do not stimulate excess insulin, but in the end is less successful.

 

[palemale]

Mary complained to her new friend, Frannie, that she can't lose weight. Frannie braged that she once lost 180 lbs of ugly fat. When Mary asked how, Frannie replies, "I divorced my husband."

* * *

Frannie, upon returning home from the doctor, brags to her husband Bill that the doctor told her she has the body of a 25 year old. Bill, sneering, asked, "what did he say about the old, fat ass?" Frannie replied, "your name never came up."

 

[tarallucci]

Years ago I went from 85kg to 67kg by doing jogging 3 times a week and eating less/more vegetables. I began with sessions of half hour and then I managed to run for one hour straight, still eating a bit of everything including chocolate and food with plenty of dressing. Just smaller portions and 4 meals a day.

A few months ago I weighed 98kg, then I went down to 93 and now my weight is 95kg. I do some jogging occasionally because I don't want to trespass the 100kg limit

The general advice I can give is that you have to enjoy the physical activity, starting from a 15 minute walk. I've seen many people who wanted to lose weight being nervous and unenthusiastic during the process, expecting to lose wait as fast as possible. It doesn't have to be something boring, make your own shedule and don't give up to your favourite snack so that you are psychologically satisfied as well. This is how I got my results.

I think I am actually addicted to the physical exercise, when I go for some jogging I never want to stop. Same goes for when I ride my bike, I always want to go uphill and reach the top all in one take. So be careful not to exaggerate in the opposite direction

 

[Benvolio]

You are right, exercise is important. But it works better when you are young, and the very fat or the elderly need to be careful. Running can also do some harm.

 

[jdcnow]

I'm 6ft even. One thing that I wished I'd been told, and never was, back in 2009, when I went from around 300 down to the upper 190s is that, like it or not, you will get attention. You will become something of a local or micro-celebrity amongst the people who either know you, or are acquainted with you. Whether you particularly want that attention or not does not matter - you will get it.

I was not able to properly handle that attention. To be fair, this was a point in my life where I didn't have years of therapy under my belt, like I do now - so I wasn't aware of the magnitude of my unresolved problems with my sexuality, I wasn't aware of the magnitude of just how abusive, and how truly *not normal* my past really was, etc. I wasn't aware of just how truly fucked up the state of my psychiatric health is, like I am today. And so, I had no idea why I was internally freaking out over the attention I was getting. Plus, it didn't help matters that I came from an aggressively homophobic part of the world. I lost count of the number of times someone would ask me when I wanted to take on a girlfriend. I've never smiled so brightly while simultaneously wanting to just deck somebody so hard in my entire life.

Unwanted social attention focused squarely on my personal life + unresolved issues with my sexuality + the homophobic environment I lived in at the time + unresolved psychiatric damage from my past, and a whole host of mental health problems I didn't even know I had (depression, PTSD, etc.) + the body issues that come with losing a really significant amount of weight...

You mix all of those problems up in a recipe for disaster, and it basically pushed me to my April 2010 suicide attempt, due to my inability to deal with it all.

Thankfully, I'm in a MUCH better place in my life, where I can work on myself. And I'm in a much better position to be able to handle the attention I'll get when I lose the weight again.

 

[ndavies]

I lost around 100 lbs.

I'm 33 now, 205 lbs, healthy, medium to large'ish frame, still flabby here and there with extra skin but not as bad as Autin Power's Fat Bastard.

I had always been heavy. When I was in my mid 20's, fat like Violet Beauregarde when she turned into a blueberry, I had enough. I hated myself, hated how I looked, and knew I'd never meet a guy. My life had to change.

I went on a strict Atkins no/low carb diet. I went from over 300 to near 200 in around 8 months. I had immense energy and absolutely no health related issues...AT ALL. Let me repeat, I WAS (and still am) VERY HEALTHY. I regularly saw my primary Dr to ensure I was OK. He was happy and I was titillated. I did not exercise or do any more physical activity than I had been doing previouslly, but I was never sedentary even when I was heavy. My entire family is larger so possibly predisposed? That's a talk for a later time...

My willpower was and still is startling, shocking, mind-blowing, etc. Even now, I maintain a low carbohydrate diet. I had been hovering around 200'ish for years until about 4 years ago when I met my now husband. I let myself slip and went up to 220 over the course of a year. (He's a feeder haha) Fed up, I went back to low carb and did P90 for a month and a half. Dropped those 20 lbs and have been 205 +/- ever since. My schedule does not permit me to do P90 anymore, even though I wish I could. Please no lectures on "make the time" rhetoric. Live my life and you'll understand.

Yes, Atkins worked for me in a big way. No pun intended. Yes, low carb is now my lifestyle and I'm as healthy as I've ever been. I'm not an athlete and never will be. I'm not super fit or hot or tone, but I'm not 'fat' like I used to be. I'm happy. I'm married. I don't care what other people think. Yes I still could lose 20+ lbs and I'd be a lot better looking, but I have no motivation to do so. I'm not weak by any means. I've always been strong. My husband says my boney knees dig into his side at night and he can't stand to rest his head on my ribs, but not like there isn't a layer of fat still there. He'd rather I have some more fat on me because he wants me to be cuddly but I like not needing to shop in the 'big' section of the Big and Tall stores.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Benvolio]

In my experience, if i am not losing, i am gaining. So, essential, i diet all the time. It comes back on so quickly, it is there before you realize it.

 

[offthewall14420]

Exercise is great for your health but has little to do with weight loss. Your body simply lowers it's resting metabolism which burns a large majority of your calories. Everyone knows about the plateau.... it's much more complicated than energy out > energy in.

Vox.com Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight, explained with 60+ studies

 

[offthewall14420]

It's more effective to focus on what and how much you eat. It makes perfect sense. If your body expends a large amount of energy it will modify sedentary metabolism to prevent starvation.

 

[Benvolio]

It's more effective to focus on what and how much you eat. It makes perfect sense. If your body expends a large amount of energy it will modify sedentary metabolism to prevent starvation.

View attachment 1160603

The human physiology is not so simple. Many studies verify that a very low fat results in the most rapid weight loss, and is easier and more comfortable than conventional plans.

 

[88Jockstraps]

Thanks so much guys for your advice, replies, and stories.

The thing I need to learn is patience. I just need a ton of it. Because weight loss will test your patience as hell.

 

[IceColdLover]

Most I've ever lost was 100 lbs. I was overweight as a teen (I was 260 lbs at my heaviest), because of my poor diet and my father buying junk food all the time didn't help any. In 2006, I purposely starved myself because of low self-esteem and lost 30 lbs. When I got seriously ill in the summer of 2009, I could hardly eat at all and I lost 100 lbs because of that, dropping to 130-140 lbs. I was rail thin and skinny but not completely unhealthy. I was thin for a few years until I put on an extra 30 lbs in 2013 and then another 50 lbs between 2014 and 2015, reaching 230. That did not help with the fact I had a mesh implant in my stomach from a prior hernia repair and it stretched it to where I now have reflux in my esophagus a lot. I am currently at 184 lbs but still need to drop more weight or try to add muscle, which is difficult considering I could further damage my stomach if I lifted weights.

 

[RoadBike]

Being overweight is the single most obstacle to good health. Each of us can correct obesity, but it takes strong self-control.

I'm 5'9", and weigh about 185. When I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2005, I weighed 100 pounds more than I do now (unusual for a vegetarian to be extremely obese). I love to cook, and I love to eat! Everything that I make is gourmet vegetarian. I bought a bicycle and started to commute to work 15 miles per day. I got into doing 25 and 50 mile cycling events I dropped 60 pounds in 3 months. I felt like a new man! Type 2 diabetes is self-imposed from being overweight, eating poorly, and lack of exercise. In spite of all of the healthy natural foods that I was eating, I was sabotaging the process with starches and too much cheese. The things that need to go are sugar in every form, white potato, rice, bread, flour, and artificial sweetners. Since I was 10, portion control has been a concern, but as long as I exercised daily (running and the gym), I was fine. The shit hit the fan in my mid '40s

Arthritis got me a few years ago, and getting sufficient cardio has been a challenge. Not being able to ride my bike often because of my knee required stronger meds to keep the blood sugar under control. I retired this past year and no longer have prescription drug coverage. My 2 diabetes meds that used to be covered by insurance cost about $1,200 per month. My doctor hooked me up with several months of samples when I told her that I can't afford the meds, but I had to look for a long-range solution to the problem.

Then one day, I saw a show "Eat To Live" on PBS with Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Dr. Joel Fuhrman published several books related to health problems from being overweight:
Eat to Live
The End of Diabetes
Dr. Fuhrman's book revolves around the Nutritarian diet. Basically, it's vegan with no refined carbs. So, we are talking beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. That's it. I had to ask myself: "How much does it mean to you to have pizza or pancakes when you know it's bad for you?" Being vegetarian since the '80s made it fairly easy to make great tasting food without the bad stuff. I've been following the Nutritarian food plan for 4 weeks now. I've dropped at least 15 pounds. Once I reach my target weight of 160, the diabetes should be gone if I don't screw up with the food. I went to the lab on Saturday to have a blood sample taken. Can't wait to see the results. Weight loss feels great! I now feel so good that it motivates me to not cheat.

Being fit feels better than the best food tastes!

If anyone wants to chat about the subject, hit me up.

 

[DragoCronzo]

lost 30+ kgs when I was 17

 

[PrinceCory]

In my early 40's I lost 65 pounds in about 1 1/2 years. I did the low carb method using the Atkins diet as a guide. Most of the time I didn't get as low on the carbs as was recommended. I got to within about 25 pounds of my ideal weight. I think since then they have modified the range to a somewhat higher weight. The weight loss did get my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers back into the normal range without medication.

Over the years I have gained in all back plus another 20 pounds. I gain about 1 pound a year so it sneaks up on me slowly. I started last fall on cutting out carb snacks and added more fruits and veggies. I lost 15 pounds in about 2 months. Then the holiday's came I ate what ever I wanted too...and I have not been motivated enough to get back to a diet. I haven't found anyone serious about losing weight to diet with me because it is easier for me to stick to a diet if I'm in a competition for weight loss.

 

[93758]

I lost 50 pounds in 3 months. The main reason is due to a common side-effect of a medication I started taking. Not only have I kept it off, about 8 months later, I started losing even more (though at more reduced rate, & not as much) due to a common-side effect of another medication. My total weight loss is 72 pounds.