Down 22 pounds in 2 months. Here's the routine. Feedback welcome

Have been doing intermittent fasting (noon to 8:00 p.m.) since July 2020 along with logging on MFP. I have lost 94 lbs. so far. Best thing every, and I have more energy than before. Keep up the good work, you are worth it!

CTB1234 wrote: »

Question, how did you decide on 1200 calories. I have three stone easy to loose and was going to start at 1200 calories, I also like fasting, Is there somewhere on the site that would recommend the best amount to eat in a day to lose two pound a week at least initially to get me on the right road? I have just joined today.

Hi newbie: Click on "My Home". Go to "Goals" and start plugging in your data. There should be a question on the top in red asking if you want them to figure it out. It should take you to your daily allowances of nutrients from there. Best of luck. This is a wonderful tool/guide in losing weight.

Congrats to you. Lots of hard work does pay off. What is your food diary look like on an average day for 4meals....? May be helpful to those of us who are eating too much also.....I eat healthy but snacks can be my problem at times.....myfitnesspal has me eating 1380 calories a day.....3 meals and snack.....I am thinking maybe that is too much, not sure.....Keep up the good work, comments on our questions are appreciated ....Take care and keep it up.

Great job!! Thanks for the information and the tips on fasting and avoiding late night eating!!! Keep up the great work!!

@Blakey1982
you are an encouragement to me and you have some good advice. new start today ... gonna track consistently and accurately. its a start

like what you've shared about fasting. gonna track that. I think my fast is usually about 11 to 13.

stay the course

That terrific stuff--keep it up! Here's a few notes from when I last made my weight loss goal. It was eight years ago and while many points are still valid, I've learned a lot. I'm trying to get back to it--pandemic induced inactivity has taken its toll!--so I've added some updates in italics.

1. Got a good doctor and listened to what he told me. It's about being healthy, not just losing weight. I am now over 60 and have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, so I have been prescribed Ozempic both for blood sugar and weight loss. It helps control my appetite for sure.

2. Took a good look at myself and overcame denial about being overweight. I had been about 20-30 lbs. overweight forever and had convinced myself that my body had changed, I go to the gym and sweat so I'm in shape kinda, I could never be that weight again, blah, blah, blah. Total crap and a reality-based mindset is crucial. I maintained my weight loss for a few years, then started inching back up, and when COVID hit, I really packed on the pounds and ended up more like 40-50 lbs. overweight--yikes!

3. Found healthy exercises that I really like to do and incorporated them into my busy life. I quit my gym, bought a nice bike, and commute on it to work most days. It's fun and I have to get to work anyway, so it doesn't detract from my leisure time and family life. I'm still teleworking so exercise is tough--need to work harder on this. I still bike for most of my transportation needs but I just don't go anywhere anymore haha!

4. Made positive food choices that I could live with permanently instead of denying myself with a restrictive diet. I'm omnivorous but eat a lot of vegetables because you can eat almost unlimited quantities and still lose weight. I used to eat a ton of meat and developed potentially fatal cardiovascular issues. It was a bit of a transition to focus on vegetables but now I really like it so I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything. Most days I eat homemade yogurt for breakfast with fruit, nuts, flax seed and cinnamon and have a crazy huge salad with a wide variety of vegetables for lunch, and I love it.My salad days are over haha, but I'm cooking and eating at home much more than I used to so controlling calories is somewhat easier. I still sometimes do the AM yogurt thing but making a salad at home with 15 different vegetables isn't feasible.

5. Stopped drinking calories--substituting water allowed me to make my calorie goals without feeling like I hadn't eaten enough. This includes booze, soda and even skim milk.

6. Got in touch with my hunger and learned to differentiate between physical and psychological food needs. Having a balanced diet supplemented with a daily multivitamin gave me the confidence to overcome occasional hunger pangs without resorting to boredom eating because I knew I wasn't really starving. I did a lot of boredom eating with COVID, and getting back to tracking my diet meticulously has helped stem this. I started logging food before I ate it and that has also helped me avoid making bad choices rather than regretting them.

7. Controlled late night snacking--I have a nice dinner, plan a healthy and filling snack like an apple or carrots and hummus, and close the kitchen for the night. I used to eat stuff like hunks of cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cakes/cookies/pie most nights after a full dinner and that's just not sustainable. I don't think of it as fasting, but I do now avoid eating anything after dinner.

8. Eliminated non-essential foods. For instance, I used to have oil and vinegar on salads and one day I dropped the oil and didn't miss it. Dressings can kill the dietary benefits of a salad so choose carefully--lemon juice is great too. Note: got some comments on this one--in my example I am referring to a big *kitten* salad, not a small garden vegetable one so I don't need the healthy fat of the olive oil for nutrient absorbtion. Nothing wrong with olive oil, just a question of how to allocate calories and I'd rather get fat cals from avocados, nuts, and eggs. I miss my big *kitten* salads!

9. Adopted delaying techniques to control binges. While I don't eat much bread and white potatoes and do my best to avoid deep fried foods and soda, I never say never to any food. I love dark chocolate, and in reasonable quantities it is a healthy food. The way I keep it reasonable when I'm craving it is by eating a piece and then telling myself I can have another in 30 minutes. I didn't deny myself anything, just delayed it which leads me to savor that piece all the more. And often I lose the craving or forget about it so I never have that second piece. Even if I do, I never have that tenth piece. Word--this works!

10. Ratcheted up strength training slowly and consistently. While my exercise routines are primarily aerobic, a balance with strength training is a good idea. I don't belong to a gym and don't have weights in my cozy NYC apartment, so what to do? I started a morning routine of simple calisthenics--pushups and a series of crunches, and added more every Monday. It takes me 10-15 minutes and really gets my metabolism going for the day. I log these as strength exercises so it doesn't give me a calorie burn (I list my lifestyle as sedentary so I try eat back my other exercise calories). Sigh, I need to get back to this! I've dropped ten pounds in six weeks and have been putting this step off until I had lost a bit more, but I need to better balance my aerobic activity. I'm off to drop and give ya 20!

Blakey1982 wrote: »

Whatsthemotive wrote: »

Man. That's fast weight loss.

I think the combination of several factors are working in my favour

1. Complete accountability for every calorie I am eating.
2. The elimination of late night snacking and the 12-18 hour fast. Which is really not that risky, having dinner at 6pm and then eating breakfast at 7am the next day is 13 hours, pretty standard.
3. The alcohol deduction. I was having alcohol 3-4 days a week. I believe this made my body hold weight longer and my late snacking and cravings the next day were terrible. That's the catch with alcohol, you may only drink three days but with hangovers and cravings 6 days in a week could be impeded.

I am feeling optimism about this new way of life. I think that is important too, not identifying this process as a diet. This is a new lifestyle and I am feeling like a younger, better version of myself.

I'm kinda in same boat. Lost 20+ since jan 28.
Every single thing I put in mouth is logged. Walking 4-5 times a week for about 20 mi/week.
Adding in some strength work now and jogging.
I dont drink, but carbs are my vice. Not eating 1/2 a large bag of peanut Speggtacular M&Ms should help....but I still really want them. They only come out this time of year!

Keep up the good work.