From 288 to 169 seeing the pic really helps me to keep going

Congratulations. Your loss is similar to mine. I started at around 127 kg and am now down to 69. I have no idea what my goal weight is, but it is rather obvious that I am not there yet. Probably around 10 kg to go, give or take a kg or two. What is most remarkable to me, is that I recently shaved off another 200 kcal of my daily intake because my weight loss had stalled and I am actually a bit less hungry than a few weeks ago, so there seems to be no doubt that I'll get to the end goal eventually, most likely some time in the first half of 2023.
Keep up the good work. The more success stories there are, the more people will understand that weight loss is possible. For everybody.

Thank you for the encouragement. I am not sure I should enter any challenge or any group really, because I am not a wise example to follow. In order to still lose weight (and I have to), I have had to reduce my calorie intake to a ridiculously low number and I do not want to give anyone any ideas they should not have in the first place. To make things worse, I have to combine this with long walks (just 10 mins shy of four hours today) and that is not sustainable, because I have to work for a living, and not forget to sleep every now and then.
That said, I wish you a lot of success on your journey. Weight loss really is possible for everybody and it is very simple, just not very easy. All it takes is a tiny little bit of elementary knowledge, a larger bit (how big is a bit? ^_^) of self-discipline and a lot of time, depending on how far you have/want to go. You can do it, really.

Thank you for your understanding and encouragement. My problem is that I have no problems sharing my experience and what I know works for me and might well work for other people, but I want to avoid encouraging or even suggesting potentially dangerous behaviour to people, because if the treatment is more dangerous than the condition it treats, it is not advisable. That said, this is not what I am doing, but it is paramount to play it as safe as possible. Despite claims to the contrary, being overweight is not a healthy situation and the appearance of health is a temporary one. That is not a secret, it is nothing new. We learned that in med school forty years ago and it was rock-solid long-established science even then. The message has changed somewhat in order to cater to people who do not want to hear the truth, but not liking what is true, does not change reality.

It is too bad that you don't like freggies. I happen to love them. I am currently avoiding fruit, because of the calories. A 2 kg bag of berries or mangos or apples... bring it on. Go to the washroom. The bag will be gone by the time you come back. They are trigger foods for me. I love them, but then, I love most everything. My doctor giggled when I said that. I usually giggle myself when I say it.

And yes, there is something off, unfortunately: I have a slow thyroid. All that does, is making it harder to lose weight. Not impossible as is still often claimed. You just have to go a bit/lot lower on the intake scale, and a bit/lot higher on the output scale. Going lower on the input scale is, in principle, easy to do: it means less work and less time to prepare food, less storage space needed, less money to spend, less time needed to work for that money, less work and time to eat it... what's there not to love, except for the hunger? And that, of course, happens to be the real problem. Ouch!

As for exercise, I loathe exercise. I see it as a total waste of time, even with an exercise bike just behind the desk chair at my desk. However, I found a good compromise by combining my observations in nature, with learning a new language and taking longer walks to compensate for the lower efficiency by combining them. So I get three positive actions in one go. Which is not too shabby. Of course, because it takes so much time, I do not do it all the time, only if and when I can. Yesterday, for example, 18,821 steps in 3h50m. I saw a group of deer along the walk, and listened to almost four hours of Japanese. All great. I may even have spent an extra 200 calories on that. Also great.

Success with your breathing test. I hope you can find a solution. I used to be very short of breath myself. It turned out there was nothing wrong with anything... except my weight. While I still have some way to go, the shortness of breath is essentially gone, except for situations where you would actually expect it to be there. Not saying this will be the case for you, but you never know. Maybe, perhaps, it could/may/might possibly potentially be that way.

Success!

It is not all feast, unfortunately. Because I am so slow, it takes me hours. Hours I most often do not have. That said, I had my longest walk today I had in years. My mobile says I did 21.2 km. I have serious doubts about that, but regardless, it was quite a bit. The steps are more accurate and it was 31,172. That said, it took me 05h14m not including preparing and unwinding and I am beyond pooped. Needless to say, I am really slow in comparison to what people usually call "exercise". Nevertheless, it should shave a few grams of my energy stores and it'll arguably/hopefully be less than bad for my general condition ^_^.
I do not do strength training though. I find it boring beyond belief and very inconvenient because it does not allow me to do something else at the same time to take my mind of it.
However, I certainly also have reasons to be happy. This morning, I found that I had lost exactly 1 kg in comparison to September 24, which means I lost precisely 100 g a day.
Screening tools are not useful at an individual level, but since I am now below my normal weight according to the Broca index, and inching closer to my Broca ideal weight, I can't help but looking forward to get past it. After that, there is the BMI of 21, which is often used as an ideal-weight standard in Germany.
My excessive walking is partly to thank for that. This will not be possible very often, but when it is, I'll take it. I have to learn to adapt to the changing temperatures though. Today was really unpleasant but I kept going regardless. One does not have much choice when one is in the woods ^_^. It took me half an hour or so to return to a comfortable state tonight.
I hope your tests will lead to a solution. While it is not always the case, just knowing something can often be helpful and anyway, in my opinion, knowing is always better than not knowing. Ignorance is a condition to be corrected, not one to revel in.
Keep up the good work. The results on your photos speak for themselves. It's as if you changed from a caterpillar into a butterfly. It is just great.

Dianedoessmiles1 wrote: »

You have also changed from a caterpillar to a butterfly!!! You've done remarkable!! Brrr on the temps, but yeah I live in Maine (US on the Atlantic Ocean, as far as you can be for a state, so it gets quite cold. Like many northern areas). We'll hit our goals because we are determined. I d wish it weren't do difficult for you as it is. I enjoy walking, it hurts my feet so badly, but I enjoy it.

Thank you for your encouragement! The last time I saw my endocrinologist, he said I had done better than most people who had bariatric surgery. I am not sure he was really serious about that, but I took it as an encouragement. Anyway, however slow my weight loss is, I'll get to my goal weight, whatever that actually is.

I am planning on having a DXA scan or two relatively soon to help me determine how far I can and should go. After all, there is no need to overshoot the goal and get in trouble. Trouble comes eagerly enough on its own. No need to invite it. Since weight loss is essentially an attempt to deprive the body of the energy it needs to encourage it to consume its own stores, logic dictates there is going to be a price to be paid for it, but I'd rather keep that price as low as possible and make sure the benefits outweigh the costs.

Once I get to my goal I intend to publish a before-and-after as well because I think it can be encouraging for some people to see that a sixty year old can lose weight just like anyone else, despite what is sometimes falsely suggested.

I hope your breathing test went well. Keep up the good work!