smileyducky Member

Was looking into this too for when I eventually will focus more on toning up, the general consensus on the bodybuilding.com forums was a slow clean bulk of 250cal surplus for 4-6 months, then again 250 cal cut until they're as lean as they like. I think for most it was around 1-2 months

A good place to start is figuring out how many cals you eat normally, from there if there's any high cal offenders like too much oil or butters try and reduce them. I started and stopped many many times until I finally learned to take it slow. I reduced my calories by only a couple hundred in the beginning and upping my…

Welcome back, good on you for realizing you were backsliding!

You are not wrong, she is for trying to force her lifestyle upon you. It's fine to recommend your eating style to people, I do the same by recommending calorie counting if someone says they want to lose weight, but if they decline you drop it.

I eat the same thing everyday for a week so I pre log what I would like to eat before I go grocery shopping to see if it fits in my cals. Then I just log for the whole week because why not, I'm eating the same exact thing

It's not really worth it unless you want to hit very specific macros, and even then you can still do that on free by adjusting as much as you can and ignoring the "you've gone over your fat goal!" Warning it you set it to 40% but you really needed 43%. I tried it for one month and just cancelled my subscription the other…

Yupppp I do the same. 9 times out of ten when I'm super close to my mini weight milestones I end up having a moment of weakness and binge, thus postponing what would have been reaching a goal if I stayed strong one more day by 4-7 days (darn water weight)

That's awesome!! I'm a "serial starter" when it comes to running, I can't even count how many times I've quit then three months later start again the C25K program. I'm hoping this time I'll stick to it because I'm trying to see it as training and a fitness goal rather than a weight loss method

No problem! I also like pillsbury pre cut cookie dough pieces a lifesaver if I'm feeling junk food deprived. Each piece is 80 cals so it's easy to just bake two and have a 160 cal "guilty" pleasure. A pack has 24 pieces so can last you quite a while

If you're not finding fruit very satisfying maybe try a protein shake? I like optimum nutrition gold standard chocolate, its a bit pricey but taste is night and day compared to my old cheap grocery store protein powder. Half a scoop and half a cup of 1% milk tastes crazy good with 18g protein and 110 cals. If I more…

I tend to gain weight before my period, and many others gain during. It's only something that you notice once you start trying to lose weight lol! If you're still stalling after your period I would double check to make sure you're accurately counting your cals. If you don't have one already I would recommend a digital food…

Size 0 nowadays is nowhere near as small as it used to be, vanity sizing is out of control. I have a size 29inch waist and in most stores that puts me in a size SMALL for tops but if sizing was more accurate I would probably be more of a medium-large still. And you lost 100lbs, your friends and family are still getting…

Ugh same boat, lost weight and stayed dedicated for a year and plateaued since January, I keep losing then gaining the same 5lbs because I do still have more weight to lose but it's mainly vanity pounds. I had been feeling pretty burned out but I had some summer vacations to look good for so I kept trying to force myself…

Seconding extreme makeover weight loss edition, I find it's the most 'real' reality tv show about the highs and lows of losing weight

I lost 40lbs in a year on a mainly 1100-1300/day diet but it took me a month to slowly drop my calories to get used to it and to find low cal foods that keep you full (chicken, coffee, veg and avocados omg). I kept my calories lower since I did not exercise. If I did occasionally go to the gym I would allow myself to eat…

SAME HERE!! I've lost 40lbs, 10-15lbs to go and I've gone from a size XL to S-M on top and I'm still a size 8 in pants. I do see a small difference when I look at progress pictures though. I guess I don't have any advice, just letting you know you aren't alone. The fat will come off where it wants to on its own time I guess

Heyyy some of us are just starting out and half your body weight seems like a lot :(

While I did not read the full article, have not had a drug addiction and I have not sought an official diagnosis on whether or not I have binge eating disorder, I can definitely say I have binge tendencies. If I don't actively count my calories I become a human vacuum eating anything and everything even if it makes me…

Even at 5'6 the difference between 147 and 150 was very noticeable to me!

To be fair the healthy weight BMI is a huge spectrum. At my height 5'6 a healthy weight can be anywhere from 118lbs-154lbs. Obviously at 118 I'm going to look VERY thin and at 154 I still had quite a bit of body fat on me. Not sure what OP's height and frame is like but 120 could be very reasonable for her

Strength training always causes the scale to go up a few pounds for me, but goes away pretty quick. Probably because I alternate weights one day and cardio the next

As a beginner you're probably fine doing light cardio before smaller weights, it's when you try and do something like HIIT and then go try and squat half your body weight where you run into troubles. Basically whatever you exert yourself more on should be last

I lost 40lbs without exercise. It took me about a year because I wasn't as dedicated as I could have been, but that's life. You're not always perfect. Now that I'm in the home stretch (10-15lbs more until my goal weight) I'm adding in more exercise

I've always been a terrible runner so right now my first goal is to finish couch to 5K, if you haven't heard of it before it's a very popular running app for beginners that focuses on walking/jogging splits that gradually get more difficult until you can complete a 5K without stopping Editing to add that StrongLifts 5x5 is…

I retain water and bloat easily, and drinking 3L a day helps keep the water weight down. There's free apps available that help track your overall weight trend through the up and down fluctuations, Happy Scale for Apple and Libra for Android

I'm the same way, I weigh myself daily and I've noticed about 1-2 weeks before my period I slowly gain everyday to a total of 5+ extra pounds even when I count my calories accurately and exercise. It's very frustrating even though I know the reason behind it! Once my period starts I woosh like crazy and in two days I've…

Similar situation here, struggling to lose the last 15lbs! I'm currently trying to switch goals, as my initial motivation was to look good/feel more confident and like you I'm already there. Now I'm switching to more fitness oriented goals. I've also heard from others that now is the time to start planning for maintenance…

Yay stats twins!

If I get a strong or unexpected craving I have a few different methods for fighting it: 1) remind yourself why you're on this journey in the first place. 2) distract yourself by going on a walk, taking a bath, a short nap etc whatever 3) drink more water to see if you're just thirsty 4) set a cheat once a week. I tell…