Newbie

Hi,

I know it may not feel like it, but you are lucky. 21 lbs in 5 months is a reasonable goal. I am still 34 lbs from my goal, but have come from a lot further away.

As I like to say, we all have our own ways to be motivated. We all have our own way to find commitment. Ultimately, any advice you get you will need to find what works for you. I'm not a fad dieter. Basic balanced diet and watching/logging calories has been working for me for the last 50 lbs in the past 6 months (after losing more than that over the prior year). I find it's easier when you plan ahead as much as possible. You can never plan for everything, but the more you prepare the better. I already know what my dinner will be, programmed it in along with my breakfast and lunch. Now I know if I want a little snack I have some calories left. Also, sometimes we go to lunch out from the office. It makes it easier to choose what I can have when the rest of the day is planned out.

I also pre-measure snacks in portions. I keep them at my desk. If I need to curb some hunger, I know how many calories are in each bag. My portions tend to be smaller than some suggested, and larger for others. I balance based on calories. I also try to prepare as much of the food I eat myself.

I set my calories to losing an average of 1.5 lbs a week. After a few weeks, I went to the bare minimum (1200 calories for a man my build) for 3 months. It was hard, but now that the period is over, I find it much easier to do the 1.5 lbs/week diet than before. I don't suggest going bare minimum for 3 months like me (I was participating in a biggest loser competition, which I won), but doing it for at least a week or 2 if you are struggling with whatever line you set may help. Warning - after I stopped even at the higher diet level I hit a plateau for a month, and just recently started losing again. Not saying it would hit you after only a week or two of being strict, but something to remember if you plateau. Plateau's happen, even if you are consistent sometimes.

As for excersize.... I'm sure others could help you there if you are interested. I was so heavy it was nearly impossible to excersize until about last January, and I self-admittedly do not do enough, so I will not offer advice to that end.

Best of luck to you. Feel free to message me direct if you have any questions, want some recipes, or just need to chat.

John

The main thing that has been working for me is focusing building muscle, and that has helped me in burning fat. The number on the scale is going down slowly, but my clothes are becoming more loose fitting very quickly

This content has been removed.