Slow Losers (on purpose)

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  • radbikerchick
    radbikerchick Posts: 39 Member
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    Barbell training is great! I haven’t done it recently but started to get into it a year or two ago for a while.

    Has anyone here been focusing on the quality of what they eat along with the slower approach? I have a bit over 20 lbs that I want to lose but I am at the point now of the lowest weight that I have historically gotten to before hitting a plateau or bouncing back. I feel like I could try shifting the focus to eating more fruits and vegetables or other changes that might enable eating less but also healthfully and feeling full. I exercise a decent amount and have felt myself getting stronger...

    Any tips for hammering out the last 10-20 lbs and getting into that mid healthy weight range? Assuming it may be a slow process but you want to sustain it?
  • pickeralriverkid2017
    pickeralriverkid2017 Posts: 12 Member
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    my goal is .25 a wk i choose this because i am happy too loose 10lbs in a year 40 days in i have callories left each day and have lost seven pounds i am real happy with this
  • anglilacs
    anglilacs Posts: 165 Member
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    I’d love some “slow loser” friends. Please feel free to add me. I share my food diary and try to track most days of the week.
  • cynhkr1300
    cynhkr1300 Posts: 14 Member
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    radbikerchick wrote: »

    Has anyone here been focusing on the quality of what they eat along with the slower approach?
    . . . .

    Any tips for hammering out the last 10-20 lbs and getting into that mid healthy weight range? Assuming it may be a slow process but you want to sustain it?

    Sure, quality is important when you're holding the total calories down, imo. There's not a lot of room in the calorie count for junk foods. I have a few things re diet quality I'm doing -- I don't drink soda any more (diet OR sugared kinds) and instead I use plain seltzer water with a squirt of either lemon or lime juice. I limit added sugars as much as possible. For convenience, I like Triscuits and Post Grape-Nuts cereal, and both of those products have just a few ingredients, all of which I can pronounce. (If you're a no-gluten girl those wouldn't work for you, though, since they have wheat.) And I've definitely increased my veggie and protein intake (with lower carbs), and I'm cooking a lot more from scratch, than before. Lots of free recipe sites and blogs out there, to help with that.

    No tips from me on hammering out the last 10-20 lbs since I've never been that close to mid healthy weight range yet - hehe. But maybe in a year or so . . .

  • MarylandRose
    MarylandRose Posts: 239 Member
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    I'm a slow loser - happily averaging less than a pound/month right now. I'm 5'3 and 138 and my goal for 2018 is to reach 130. My job is very sedentary but I work hard at the gym and I don't want to underfuel that work. I plan to be in maintenance (depends how much pasta I can pack in my face during my honeymoon this summer) by the end of the year so I'm hoping that the gradual loss will ease that transition.

    I'd love to add friends! Just know that my diary is closed because I have had great success (by my slow loss standards) not eating "clean" and still losing weight, but some folks have still felt the need to tell me that my Arby's curly fries (part of today's lunch, as a coincidental example) will RUIN.MY.LIFE. despite finishing my day under my calorie goal. I've lost 20 lbs in 16 months eating this way, diet sodas, wine, pizza, and all, and it has almost never felt like I'm missing out or giving anything up even as I make different choices than I used to.
  • emilyvictoria7
    emilyvictoria7 Posts: 102 Member
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    I'm taking it slow because I'm a typical yo-yo dieter (or was, I'd like to think I'm past that now). I knew that if I made big changes they just wouldn't last because I'm very habit driven. Even now, after taking my first 2 week diet break the last two weeks of December I'm struggling a month later to get back into the old habits of exercising regularly, eating at my deficit etc.

    From Dec 2016 to Jan 2018 (58ish weeks), I lost 60.5lbs. I lost a few more in the beginning, didn't lose too much around Christmas. It's been two weeks since I've been on the scale and I truly don't know if I've lost because I've had trouble saying no to the extra sweets.

    For me, slow weight loss is the healthiest option because it's not about dieting, it's about changing my perspective on my body, on food, on exercise. I also find that focusing on goals that are more than scale numbers have been helpful. I'm less worried about the next number I hit, more about getting stronger, eating more proteins/finding new recipes, etc. etc.

    So slow weight loss for the win!
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    edited February 2018
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    I started at 2 lbs. Per week but I could only sustain that to lose about 25 lbs. I started last week of June 2017 and so far have lost 38 lbs. I have 62 to go. I've lost the last 13 lbs about 1 lb per week. I have a busy life, demanding job with people. I cannot be low energy, cranky or hungry. So at 1 lb. Per week I can eat well and it doesn't feel like a diet and I can still lose albeit slowly. I also want this to stick so with the slower loss I can retain muscle, cement better eating habits and be ready for maintenance .
  • kdbulger
    kdbulger Posts: 396 Member
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    cynhkr1300 wrote: »
    4. I recently discovered barbell training. See www.startingstrength.com -- and I want to make sure I'm eating enough protein and calories to support my training schedule and getting stronger. Developing strength is the best way to retain muscle and bone, stay independent and vigorous, and avoid depressing places like nursing homes, as you age. Yes, women can train with barbells, and no, we don't grow big ugly muscles doing it because we don't have the male hormones that would cause bulking up. I expect training to help me adjust my body composition, to a greater percentage lean and smaller percentage fat - especially the belly fat.

    Be kind to yourselves, friends, and especially those of you who are breast-feeding! Thanks for your contributions to this thread - it's encouraging.

    I'm all about the strength training! A huge part of my motivation is to create a healthy, sustainable future for myself. I can't imagine falling into frailty. Our modern-day lives (especially those of us with office/sedentary jobs) are not going to equip us for our futures in the same way as our grandparents and great-grandparents who had to do far more by hand and be more active in their daily lives. Good for you for pursuing those gains goals!
  • kdbulger
    kdbulger Posts: 396 Member
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    nowine4me wrote: »
    It took me two full years to hit my goal at a measly .3 per week. But a year+ later I’m succeeding in maintenance. Keep doing what you’re doing!

    Very encouraging!! Thank you for sharing!
  • kdbulger
    kdbulger Posts: 396 Member
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    radbikerchick wrote: »

    Has anyone here been focusing on the quality of what they eat along with the slower approach? I have a bit over 20 lbs that I want to lose but I am at the point now of the lowest weight that I have historically gotten to before hitting a plateau or bouncing back. I feel like I could try shifting the focus to eating more fruits and vegetables or other changes that might enable eating less but also healthfully and feeling full. I exercise a decent amount and have felt myself getting stronger...

    I follow a program that is basically clean eating + appropriate portions. A bunch of things recently have led me to not follow it as closely as I did in the fall and I'm struggling as a result. With the program, I felt energetic, not hungry at all, and was making fantastic fitness gains. Currently I'm still hitting my calorie goals but I'm hungry/craving more often than I was. I need to get back on track!
  • jennabun101
    jennabun101 Posts: 54 Member
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    "Appropriate portions" That has been my biggest downfall in the past. Hand in a bag of chips, mindlessly eating as I watch TV. Now.. I count and measure everything. My husband shakes his head as I count out crackers, but it works for me. Holds me accountable for everything. I track my food even for meals/days I blow it.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    I have a goal of losing my final 20 lbs by the end of the year, and it has taken me several years to lose my initial 70. I'm short and in my 40s so I don't get a ton of calories on .5 lbs a week. That means I have to exercise a lot, and I've already reached my daily time limit. I do cardio almost daily for stress relief and strength train. My life is busy! I'm also not willing to cut more food. I'll be honest, I'm a woman who likes to eat and I'm hypoglycemic. I watch my portions and look for good calorie vs. volume bargains. So I'll take the slow road and use it as practice for maintenance.
  • curvygirl512
    curvygirl512 Posts: 423 Member
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    My goals include losing 1/2 # per week. If I wanted to lose one full pound per week, I would be limited to a calorie maximum below my BMR. I can't see that as being healthy. My mini loss goals are to lose 5% of my weight. My next mini goal weight is 175#, and I still have a few pounds to shed to reach that goal. The reason I chose 5% is that my doc tells me that for every 5-7% of your body weight you take off, you cut your risk of a cardiac event by 50%. I can see that as very healthy.
  • cynhkr1300
    cynhkr1300 Posts: 14 Member
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    jennabun101 wrote: »
    "Appropriate portions" That has been my biggest downfall in the past. Hand in a bag of chips, mindlessly eating as I watch TV. Now.. I count and measure everything. My husband shakes his head as I count out crackers, but it works for me. Holds me accountable for everything. I track my food even for meals/days I blow it.

    I had a coworker a while back, who lost 60+ lbs in a year, and the only program she did was just to write down everything she ate. Somehow just being more conscious of intake did the trick for her. Sounds like it may be the key for you, too. :D
  • radbikerchick
    radbikerchick Posts: 39 Member
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    kdbulger wrote: »

    I follow a program that is basically clean eating + appropriate portions. A bunch of things recently have led me to not follow it as closely as I did in the fall and I'm struggling as a result. With the program, I felt energetic, not hungry at all, and was making fantastic fitness gains. Currently I'm still hitting my calorie goals but I'm hungry/craving more often than I was. I need to get back on track!
    [/quote]

    I bet you could get back on it!

    Yesterday I tried an experimental day of splitting my lunch in two and mostly eating fruit and nuts for that meal. It went pretty well - and I wasn’t physically hungry at all! Then mostly vegetables in some soup for dinner... I am still having my carb-y breakfast but it is my favorite meal of the day so not messing with it at this point!

    Hope if I improve the diet I will make more fitness gains as well... what did you consider clean eating?

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