How do you deal with being overweight?

barabaradem

TL;DR - Struggling with weight maintenance, seeking advice on sustainable strategies.

I've been working on weight management for many years. I'm a 37-year-old male, 6'2" tall, and I currently weigh around 200 lbs, having previously weighed between 240-260 lbs. My BMI is approximately 25.8, placing me in the overweight category.
My doctor has discussed my BMI and weight management options, including lifestyle changes and medications. I've been on liraglutide (Saxenda) at 1.2 mg daily since 2020, after previously stopping other GLP-1s in 2019 due to insurance issues. I'm more interested in sustainable approaches rather than quick fixes, focusing on maintaining the progress I've made.
Living in Quebec, I face unique challenges with my schedule and lifestyle. I use MyFitnessPal to track my intake, which has been helpful for consistency. However, I sometimes struggle with late-night snacking and fitting in my home workout routines effectively.
Despite my efforts and the tools I use, I sometimes revert to previous patterns. Given my type 2 diabetes, I'm particularly focused on managing blood sugar levels alongside weight maintenance. I'm interested in effective strategies that work well with home exercise routines and don't require extensive meal preparation.
My approach typically includes plenty of protein, fruits, and vegetables, and I try to maintain healthy eating habits overall. I value consistency and find that logging my food and staying connected with supportive communities helps me stay on track.
Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated. I'm particularly looking for practical strategies that support long-term maintenance and fit well with home-based fitness routines.
Thanks in advance!

GiselleBros

Weight struggles are common and don't define your worth, though I understand how hard it can feel. It's not a moral failing but rather a complex interaction of genetics, metabolism, environment, and psychology.

Here's what works for me: I track my food in MyFitnessPal and adjust the next day if I go over my calories. I walk 30 minutes three times a week and do strength training twice weekly. I find short walks after shifts helpful when my schedule is unpredictable.

Since you mentioned metabolic factors, it might help to discuss testing for thyroid or insulin resistance with your doctor while trying lifestyle approaches.

I've lost weight before with this plan, but maintaining it has always been my challenge. Finding an accountability buddy helped — someone to check in with periodically via text or social media. Consider programs like Noom for extra support, though make sure they fit your values first.

Good luck! You've got this.

springlering62

first of all, weigh food accurately and log honestly. It takes a while to get the hang of it, so don’t beat yourself up if you make mistakes.

Make it a habit. I still weigh and log during maintenance.

Don’t get the mindset of “free foods”, aka a bite here, a cracker there, a handful of pretzels that “don’t count”. Everything does.

Create the habit of exercise. Movement is lubrication for the joints, and a boost for the soul. Even if “all” you’re doing is walking, that’s wonderful. But see if it leads somewhere else.

Read an article this morning in BBC Science News that a study shows that people are more likely to stick to exercise they enjoy. Well….duh! I hate spin. Utterly hate it. So I quit after about six months. Life too short to be puffing away on a stationary bike with music pumping and being yelled at. Strangely, I feel the exact opposite about cardio weights class. Love it.

Your initial job-besides the obvious one of losing the weight- is to create habits that will stick. Find alternative foods, meals, tweaked recipes that you enjoy and won’t be punishment to eat when you transfer to maintenance.

My day is not complete without a bowl of cottage cheese, frozen blueberries, sweet blueberry balsamic, and a spoonful of Grapenuts. Vast difference from my day not being complete without a sack of M&Ms. That would just be gross now. I am very grateful I retrained my tastebuds.

I’m 23.5 bmi at 5’7”. That’s high end of “normal” BMI. But I carry a lot of muscle and look much smaller. Don’t be wedded to the BMi chart. You’re also quite tall. I thought I needed to set a goal of my mid 1980’s wedding day weight. I looked ill and frail when I neared that weight. I’m much happier, and look waaaaaay better 20 pounds higher.

Instead of relying on an arbitrary chart, how do you feel? How do you look? Are you happy? Are your health markers improved to an acceptable place?

A lot of doctors know very little about weight loss or healthy weights. They stick like glue to charts that date back, literally, half a century or more. Ever been to a display of vintage fashion? Even folks in the 60’s were tiny compared to our heavy eating, processed and/or hormone injected foods, more muscular (that’s a great thing!) , still evolving taller physiques. Yet, we’re clinging to a BMI chart from those eras.

And as I always say here, best advice I ever got off MFP, was, when reaching maintenance, always treat it like you have ten more pounds to lose.

springlering62

Simplified history of BMI charts:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-02/the-problem-with-the-body-mass-index-bmi/100728416

and btw, rereading that, I really like the concept of “I re-trained my tastebuds”.

That’s exactly what I did and what made a major difference in my weight and health. I made a sincere effort to stop my multi-pound a day candy, pie, ice cream, cake, doughnut habit.

I focused on fruits instead. Sweet balsamic vinegars were a game change. A powerful hit of sweet and tart for very little quantity and low calories. You have to look for it, though. I get mine from a gourmet olive oil shop, and buy a dozen wine bottle sized bottles of it at a time. That’s a years supply, maybe 18 months for me. I use it as salad dressing, on fruit, in or as a topping for homemade ice creams. It’s really versatile.

I make my own ice creams now, mostly sweetened with lots of fruit, or maybe a frozen banana. If I use sugars at all, it’s a teaspoon per serving or less. Scraping a vanilla bean into the mix gives it the impression of sweetness for zero calories.

Also, cinnamon (especially Vietnamese) fools the tastebuds into thinking things are sweet. If I froth skim milk for coffee or tea, I sprinkle it with cinnamon for a treat. (Too much cinnamon can be hazardous if you’re on blood thinners or some other medications. Google for more info, or talk to your doctor and dietician. I don’t use anywhere near that much cinnamon, though. A little Vietnamese cinnamon is super strong and goes a lot further than the other variety. )

spiriteagle99

I have been maintaining a 50+ pound weight loss for over 10 years. I still log what I eat, though I don't weigh or measure it any more. It keeps me mindful, so one beer doesn't become two or three and I don't buy the donut I've been eyeing at the grocery store. The main thing that helps me is staying active. I enjoy walking and running and biking, so I do that consistently. I have a large dog who gets 3 miles a day, and I run, split over a morning and evening walk. I have read that for diabetics, exercise after a meal helps lower blood sugar. Look for foods that you enjoy that have little sugar for snacks. i.e. bread and cheese, hard boiled eggs, a handful of nuts, etc.

AnnPT77

You mention both being overweight and weight maintenance, so I'm not clear about your current status, but will try to respond to some specific points. (Brace yourself for a TL;DR reply, too, because I'm like that. 🙄😬)

You say "My BMI is approximately 25.8, placing me in the overweight category. My doctor has discussed my BMI and weight management options, including lifestyle changes and medications."

You don't have to answer here, but that makes me wonder about what your doctor said. Depending on other details of body composition, it's not unusual for a man to be slightly into the overweight BMI range - where you are - but still be at a healthy body weight. That would be in cases where perhaps they're maybe a bit wider skeletal build - broad shoulders and that sort of thing - and/or even a little bit more muscular than average.

I understand that you're T2D, which would still make some "weight-loss-like" lifestyle strategies sensible even if body fat is in a reasonable range.

You also say "I sometimes struggle with late-night snacking and fitting in my home workout routines effectively." A couple of things about that:

How is your sleep? Stress level? Sub-ideal sleep quality/quantity can increase appetite or cravings, particularly late in the day. When we reach evening, we're more distant from that last sleep. Fatigue has accumulated. A fatigued body may seek energy, and food is energy . . . sweets in particular are quick energy. Voilà, cravings!

If sleep can be improved, that might help. High stress can also contribute to fatigue. If that's a factor, consider other stress management techniques: Mild exercise, meditation or prayer, journaling, warm baths or showers (aromatherapy?), calming music, a creative hobby outlet, etc.

You haven't mentioned what your current home workouts are - what type, how much, etc. I do understand that you're having trouble fitting them in. (Fatigue can contribute to that, too, BTW. Overdoing any workouts - duration, frequency or intensity - relative to current fitness level will also contribute to fatigue, so gradual increases tend to be a good plan, when increases are feasible.)

Making sure that workouts include a strength component - bodyweight exercise, resistance bands, weights, or whatever - can lead to long-term body composition changes that may be helpful to health. I'm not dissing cardiovascular or other exercise when I say that, though! Balance is the idea.

I'm in long-term maintenance now post-loss (9+ years so far), and I'm not a meal prepper. My personal strategy for meals when things get busy has been to find some quick meal patterns that are filling and nutritious for me, that rely on staples I can keep around on a shelf or in the freezer for use on short notice.

Because I follow a niche eating style - I'm long-term vegetarian - I'm sure my specific meals wouldn't suit you. One common pattern you might be able to use, described at a high level, is large portion of frozen veggies + calorie efficient protein + calorie efficient commercial sauce or seasoning. For me, an example would be stir-fry veggie mix, cubed-up tofu, miso and kim chi. Translated into omnivore terms, maybe that could be something like frozen cauliflower plus canned chicken or tuna plus a combo of plain Greek yogurt with prepared mustard and dill . . . but I don't know what you like. Another pattern is an Ezekiel (whole grain) tortilla wrapped around protein and some veggies, maybe with more veggies on the side.

Another thing your post brings to mind is the sometimes-underappreciated contribution of NEAT - non-exercise activity thermogenesis, a.k.a. daily life movement. That can be increased by intention, without requiring a lot of extra time in the day, and potentially add up to a surprising total calorie expenditure. Some research suggests that long-term obese people tend to have habitually lower NEAT than long-term healthy-weight people, and that those habits can persist after the person has lost weight. (I'm sure you've recognized how powerful habits are in general!)

If that's something you might be interested in exploring, there's a thread here where many MFP-ers share ways they intentionally increase NEAT. Not all the ideas would apply for everyone, but maybe some would.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss

It sounds like your eating patterns are good, and you have some great habits that have brought you to a healthier place than you were formerly in. That's wonderful. I'm wishing you continuing good progress, and betting you can achieve it, since you've come so far already!

briscogun

"I'm particularly looking for practical strategies that support long-term maintenance and fit well with home-based fitness routines."

I think we are all looking for that at one point or another!

So the problem is, what is "practical" for one person may not be for another. You have to find what is practical for you, usually through trial and error.

For me, I follow a fairly boring but predictable diet: I have the same thing for breakfast pretty much every day (2 eggs and a coffee), I will have a sandwich and some fruit generally for lunch (I will mix this up a few times a week by changing the type of sandwich), and then will eat whatever the family dinner is (sometimes in moderation if its pushing my calories count but there's very little I consider off limits). I will cook dinner myself a few times a week as well so that helps me keep the calories in check but my wife does a good job of not making calorie bombs for dinner. I try to keep healthy snacks in the house if I need to munch on something (fruit, veggies, crackers, etc). I've been very interested in keeping my diet as free of additives and HFCS and stuff like that lately so the fresher the food the better.

As far as workouts go, I do them at home in the mornings before work. I get up early (like 5:30) and use my basement. I have a few dumbbells, a used exercise bench I got at Play It Again for like $30, an over-the-doorway pullup bar, and a treadmill we got off Craigslist for $75. I do mostly bodyweight exercises but will supplement with the dumbbells as needed. You can do entire workouts with only your bodyweight. Usually when I'm done I use the treadmill to get in a quick cardio/cool down and that's it. Maybe 30 minutes a day?

Maybe a practical plan for you is meal planning on a Sunday for the entire week? Or having a 12-week workout program you can follow? You just have to try things that seem like they fit your lifestyle and goals and personality and implement them to see if they work.

If you are consistent and committed, you will generally be successful regardless. Good luck!

Jthanmyfitnesspal

You sound like a deep expert in yourself, meaning you know your habits, needs, and goals. I just want to reflect on that. It's not very common!

You are also already (IMHO) at a reasonable weight for your height based on your BMI (very similar to mine, but I'm significantly shorter). If you do some regular weight-bearing exercise, you perhaps are at a fine BF%. In general, if you're active, don't smoke, drink sparingly, etc., I don't think a BMI of 25.8 is not much of a health risk, although it's labeled as being high. I recognize that you have diabetes, which is a burden. But we are currently in a time where this issue is better understood than ever, so I hope you have good care for it. As you are probably aware, you need to take in all the relevant factors to assess overall health and many factors are psychological rather than physiological.

So I wind up with this wisdom: we all need to pick goals that are meaningful to us to motivate our actions. It's hard to diet just for the sake of dieting. Exercise is much more fun and sustainable when it's with a group of people and being social has it's own rewards. Having a joyful sociable life is a really great place to put all of our efforts!

Best of luck.

rudyzenreviews

Being overweight can feel overwhelming, but breaking it into small, doable steps makes it easier. Start with one habit—like swapping soda for water or adding a daily walk—and build from there. Focus on whole foods: lean protein, veggies, fruits, and healthy fats help keep you full without piling on calories. Move in ways you actually enjoy (dancing, walking, swimming, biking) so it doesn’t feel like punishment. Track progress, not perfection—celebrate small wins like better energy or looser clothes. And don’t go it alone; support from friends, groups, or a coach makes sticking to it way easier.

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