I want to loose 20lb , not fast but want to see progress, I also don’t want to use Ozempic. Is it p?

sarajalali2024 · October 7

paperpudding · October 7

of course it is possible - presuming you are not already under weight

age_is_just_a_number · October 7

You can achieve anything you put your mind to.
You haven’t provided any data such as age, weight, height or gender, so I’ve put some general information below. This category has a post called ‘mist helpful posts’, go to that post and read the links. You’ll find lots of great information in them.

Congratulations on starting your healthy lifestyle journey!

Weight loss comes from being in a caloric deficit. Consuming fewer calories than you burn. General guidelines are to target losing between 0.5lbs to 2.0lbs per week and the less you have to lose, the lower the weekly target should be.

Long term goals regarding what to eat: I like Canada's Food Guide. It was refreshed about 10 years ago based on science and without food industry sponsorship.

In addition to caloric deficit weight loss is supported by:

Sleep —> that’s when the magic happens

And

Exercise —> which maintains and builds muscle. Choose activities that you enjoy.

My suggestions:

Track your food as accurately as possible, but don't let perfection be the enemy of done. In other words, do your best and get this to be a solid habit.
After two weeks of tracking, look at the data. Is there one small change you can make to reduce your calories IN? Common examples:
- you're eating out 5 days a week —> reduce that to 4 days a week
- you drink soda/pop/sugary drink —> swap this out for water
- you don't eat any fruits or vegetables —> start adding 1 or 2 servings per day
Make that one small change. Continue to track. After another two weeks or once your small change feels like it is no longer a change, then review your data and identify another small change.
Rinse and repeat.

Additional thoughts:

Focus on what you can control (calories IN and OUT).
Give yourself time. Slow and steady progress.

1 meal at a time - 1 day at a time - 1 pound at a time

We are here for you if you have questions along the way. You got this!

spiriteagle99 · October 8

Of course, it's possible. I lost 55 lbs. at a rate of about 1 pound a week and have kept that weight off for more than 10 years. I log my food and exercise every day and try to balance them so that I don't regain the weight I lost. 20 pounds isn't that much. Aim for .5 to 1 pound a week. Losing more slowly gives you time to learn habits that are sustainable over the long term. That is really the hard part. When I was young I would lose 20 pounds, gain 25, lose 20 pounds, gain 25, over and over. Losing the weight was easy, changing my habits so I could keep the weight off took many years and a lot of effort. Be smart and lose your weight in a way that is sustainable.

AnnPT77 · October 8

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48789621#Comment_48789621

I have a similar story to @spiriteagle99's: Lost around 50 pounds; averaged about a pound a week but went a little faster at first and really slowly at the end; have stayed at a healthy weight for 9+ years since.

Ozempic wasn't really a common thing back then, so I didn't take it. Since I didn't/don't have the issues that many users report it helps them with, I probably wouldn't even take it if my weight loss were happening now. But I don't have any criticism toward those who do take it: Different people benefit from different approaches. Whatever works, and is compatible with reasonable health, is fine in my view.

Plenty of people lost weight before the weight loss drugs were available. People lost weight before calorie counting was a practical way of doing it, too. (Yes, I'm old enough to have been adult back then. 😆) There are various paths that work. There are also some that often don't end well, and most extreme tactics fall into that category.

You can lose the weight if you commit to doing it, choose sensibly moderate tactics, and use persistent patience.

Best wishes!

cmriverside · October 8

What they said^

I would add that if 20 pounds would put you somewhere inside the "healthy BMI" category and you're female, then that 20 pounds will require some serious long term changes regardless of whether you get medical help or do it the old-fashioned way.

When I needed to lose weight I was nearly 75 pounds above a healthy weight. You've probably heard of people losing weight quickly and it was pretty fast and easy for me at first - BUT I had a lot of body fat for use as energy. That's what body fat is - stored energy. The last 20 pounds were not as easy. I had to be pretty disciplined over a period of about nine months to lose that last 20 pounds. I thought I had it figured out but that last 20 was a challenge, as it should be when there isn't much body fat to lose.

I logged everything, used a digital food scale to weigh all my food, prepared 19-20 out of 21 meals a week myself at home with my food scale. I almost completely eliminated alcohol and sweets, cut back to one serving of bread or wheat per day and one potato or other starchy vegetable like carrots or beans.

I walked five out of seven days for at least 45 minutes. If you find some moderate activity to do several times a week it will make it a lot easier.

If you're diligent and persistent you can lose the weight. Then the trick is to keep it off so try to develop good habits.

Jthanmyfitnesspal · October 8

Yes, I've done it many times! 😁

tomcustombuilder · October 11

Totally doable but a lot slower. Using those peptides is no free ride when you've lost the weight.

With or without those you still cant go back to your old eating habits. The peptides don't work well unless you eat reasonably clean so in essence when you come off, you've gotten used to healthier eating and drinking to some extent.

Theoldguy1 · October 15

Unless you have other issues, no responsible doctor will prescribe a weight loss drug if you're only 20 pounds overweight.

tomcustombuilder · October 16

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48798249#Comment_48798249

Most doctors are clueless on diet and fatloss. Once you understand these glp peptides you'll understand that they are amazing at dropping 20 lbs. low dose of just enough to curb appetite and reach your calorie goal and no more.

I want to loose 20lb , not fast but want to see progress, I also don’t want to use Ozempic. Is it p?

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