SephiraAllen Member

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about increasing your intensity if it's going to lead to spikes in your anxiety levels. Just look for ways to move a little more each day and take it as slow as you need to. High impact workouts aren't for everyone. I would also maybe look into doing TRX. It's very easy to do (and easy to modify…

Weight loss is weird. I've gone as much as 3 or 4 weeks with little to no movement on the scale (even when sticking to my goals) and then whoosh it all falls off at once. If you just started working out again, you'll likely be retaining some water weight which can hide any actual loss you have. Even normal weight…

As long as you are able to stay within your calorie goals, you can eat whatever you want. The whole point is to create a sustainable plan that you want to stick to for the long-term. If you deprive yourself of the things you want, it will make it that much harder to stay motivated. The only caveat to that is if there is a…

Losing weight is not a race, so as long as you are making steady progress, don't worry about how long it's taking you. You need to build sustainable healthier eating habits that will last you far into the future. Getting there as fast as possible, especially if you are depriving yourself unrealistically, only sets you up…

Weight loss is weird. Sometimes, even when you are doing everything perfectly, the weight sticks around for a bit - mostly due to water weight fluctuations that can hide the losses. I've gone entire months where the scale barely moved, then dropped 5+ pounds in a single week, whenever my body decided to readjust itself…

Generally speaking, in order to create an accurate computer model, you have to program it with real-life data (which unfortunately, takes time to gather). So at some point, once they have followed enough people for 5+ years, they can input those results and then use that data to create a program that could be used for…

You can be doing everything perfectly and still have weeks where you don't seem to lose anything. Often you may be down a pound or even two, but because of water weight fluctuations this is easily hidden, which is why several weeks later you might then seem to lose several pounds all at once. I've gone whole months without…

I really think that people need to fundamentally change the way they think about "diets" because no matter what methods we are using, if we think of any of it as "get there and done" (in terms of reaching an ideal weight), then we are bound to fail in the long term. I sometimes compare it to chronic medical condition - if…

Congratulations!!! :)

Caramel Macchiato is my favorite one, especially given that it's under 300 calories for the whole pint. My grocery store has been out for a couple weeks though and it makes me sad.

I have a food scale, but I don't use it very often - usually only for meats that aren't pre-portioned (which honestly, I don't eat that much of anyways). I just use measuring cups/spoons when needed or buy stuff that is already single serving size, easy to divide, or something that I can eat the whole package of and it…

Exercise is nice, but not necessary. I've lost 120 pounds since last April and (particular while losing the first 100) exercised very little in that time, other than whatever walking I do during the day.

I don't have enough spoons to cook and/or do meal prep. When I was cooking for myself, I ended up wasting a lot of food - just couldn't eat it all before it would go bad. Now I mostly eat frozen stuff (SmartMade and Smart Ones) and make a point of getting the ones that are lower in calories. The Smart Ones that I get are…

April 14 of last year I weighed 390 pounds, today, I'm at 274. I'm also 44 and though I'm not a huge exercise fan, I'm currently doing a challenge thingy at my gym so I've been going 2-3 times a week. It's definitely not been easy, but it's totally doable. Look into doing TRX if your gym has it. It's not super intensive (I…

In addition to what others have said, I seriously suggest taking a diet break for a week or two. Don't go nuts, but eat more (grab a burger or two). I've had similar issues where I was doing really well and then the scale just stuck and usually once I do a little "reset" things seem to get back on track. Keep in mind as…

If 7mph is too much (and honestly that pace would literally kill me), start slower. Find a pace you are comfortable at (even if it's only 2mph) and work up from there. Especially if you are out of shape, you don't want to start off too aggressive, as that will only discourage you and lead to you giving up. Same thing with…

Seconding Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart series (her other stuff is good too). Also, The Mistress of Dimmiga Berg by David Evans, or the Tairen Soul series by C.L. Wilson.

Thanks!! :) Soda was the first thing I quit, even before I started cutting the calories full-time. I'm not a fan of "diet" sodas, so I've been doing the water thing for over a year and most of the time it doesn't really bother me that much. If I'm really craving something else, I might take a small sip, but most of the…

I've been at this since April and, as of this week, I'll be down 100 pounds. Every 2-3 months there seems to be a period of time that I either gain a few pounds or, at the very least, stop losing, but usually (if the gain wasn't due to me having a bad week), I purposefully take a few days off and then things seem to start…

It really just depends on you and your ability to stick to a drastic cut or not. It's hard either way, but for some people it's easier for them to take baby-steps, rather than just cold turkey everything. I dropped straight to 1200 and it was rough, but my will to lose weight at a slightly faster rate won out. I have a lot…

I started on April 14th of this year and I am down almost 80 pounds (was 390 pounds to start). So you may not get the full 200 in a year, but you should be well on your way in that time. Definitely suggest talking to your doctor, so they can monitor your progress, particularly if you are going to drastically reduce your…

I've had mine for the last 6 months or so and thankfully they are coming off at the beginning of October. I only have them on the top front though, so it may make a difference if you have them on a larger number of teeth, but for me, it's mostly been a matter of just making sure things are cut into really small bites to…

When I first started this back in April (when I was considering wls), my doctor put me on less than 75g carbs a day and I was miserable. I mean, yeah, I was losing the weight, but trying to find foods to eat (that weren't just plain lean meat and veggies or protein shakes) was hard. I was not diabetic or had any other…

I've lost 78 pounds since I started in April. Every once in a while I gain a couple pounds back (especially if I have an off day or when it's that time of the month), but overall it's been a downward trend. I get frustrated a little, because according to my TDEE calculations, I should be able to eat more than I do (like…

I have been doing 1200 calories since April, don't always make it, but most of the time I'm on target. I have my goals set up as 160 for Breakfast, 470 for Lunch, 250 for Dinner and then two Snacks of 160 each. I generally eat whatever I want, just less of it, but also try to stick to lean meats and lower carb options. I…

Whatever is affecting your weight loss, it likely isn't your gallbladder. Had mine removed 20+ years ago and now that I am logging and weighing, and being careful about portion size, I'm losing steadily. And really, that is the only key to this - not taking any sort of pill or supplement - just log everything and watch…

I don't currently exercise, though I was swimming 3-4 times a week for a while. It wasn't really making any sort of a difference, and actually seemed to being slowing my weight loss rate down. Once I stopped going to the gym, it got better.

I had to do a psych assessment, and there was a questionnaire but I don't think it was that many questions (less than 100 as I recall).

In the end, I decided not to do the surgery, but when I was considering it, I had to do 4 months doctor supervised weight loss before my insurance would cover the surgery. I did all the other pre-op testing within that 4 month time period and they told me that as soon as I finished my 4th visit they could submit the…

If you are going out a lot, make sure you are looking for the healthier choices on the menu (or find restaurants that offer better choices). Ask for sauces and dressings on the side, so you can dip your food, rather than having it come slathered in them. Limit alcoholic drinks and/or do some extra exercise on those days to…