SV: I've lost almost 10% of my body weight!

Before and After Photo

So the before photo was not at my most heaviest. Actually my most heaviest was several kgs heavier and a tonne of shame more to the point that I couldn't log my weight, let alone take a photo.

As an estimate:

OW 77kg (169.8 lbs), OBMI 28.3

CW 69.9kg (154.1 lbs), BMI 25.3

I still have a bit to go before I'm in a healthy BMI, but here are five things I'm most happy about:

1. My legs have slimmed down, A LOT
2. The flabby back I'm most self conscious of is all but gone.
3. I CAN WEAR A BRA WITHOUT IT HURTING AND DIGGING INTO ME
4. The sides of my stomach area have really hollowed out (and I actually like what I see in the mirror)
5. As of today I can fit in the first pair of Aus size 12 pants I couldn't fit into as I first started gaining this weight. It's been over a year since I've put them on.

Things I have learned so far:

• Linking your fitbit to MyFitnessPal so it gives you extra calories to eat as you take more steps is the biggest mistake. Normal walking isn't gonna give you the extra calories you need to eat more. Don't fool yourself like I did (I have given up so many times in the past due to reaching a stalemate for this very reason). Use the TDEE calculator and STICK TO THE CALORIES IT SAYS. Don't adjust your intake each day based on your activity.

• Keep an eye on your heart rate as you exercise. For me, I need to be over 97.5-136.5 BPM to be doing moderate exercise. Work out your heart rate needs here. Get your heart rate in that zone for 30 minutes or more to get a good workout.

• Maintenance weeks can help you lose weight. After 2 months of eating right I started going off track and started slowly gaining. I switched to maintenance calories for a week, and rather than a free-for-all I watched my macros and ate a lot of protein. After switching back to cutting I had a steep decline in weight before then settling back into a steady decline. I felt great for it too.

• Protein is a lot harder to eat than I thought. When I started paying attention to macros I was surprised at how little protein I ate (despite eating meat at lunch and dinner), and how many carbs I consumed. Wholly Dooley carbs are in everything. Changing my focus to getting my protein up has actually helped my weight loss.

• Having an accountability buddy (especially someone who knows about macros, calorie counting, exercise etc) is really helpful. I was scared of accepting my friends offer to be an accountability buddy in the past because I was worried about comparing myself to them, getting overwhelmed by them pushing me too hard, failing and feeling ashamed, and a billion other thoughts and feelings. I was scared. I took the plunge and accepted, and all the times I have given up in the past have been and gone thanks to them. I have never made it this far before.

• Write down your reasons for losing weight and look back over them for motivation. Doing this has helped me get the jumble of reasons out of my head, and easily accessible when I need them most.

• Write down your goals. No, not just your end goals. Each week I write down my process goals to do with step counts, calories, types of food I eat, self esteem goals, and anything else that may help in my journey of change. It's not just about losing weight, it's about forming new habits. Writing down your goals and doing little checkpoints to tick off throughout the week has helped me stay motivated. Focus on one a week to start with. I've now moved to two a week and one longer term goal (e.g. minimum of one month, such as exercising twice a week for 6 weeks etc).

• change your daily step goal to a weekly one, that way if you get less than you wanted to one day you can stay motivated to catch up by the end of the week.

• start small. If my accountability buddy tried to suggest exercise one month ago I would have resisted. I wasn't ready. She's been slowly giving me more information, which has helped me increase the "difficulty level" I've been working at with losing weight over time. No way would I have looked at macros, exercised, or worked on three process goals at once when I first started. If I had tried to I would have fallen off the wagon from the pressure.

• the biggest reason I have failed in the past is the fear than I will fail. Self fulfilling prophecies are a thing, and I constantly have to keep my inner fear thoughts in check as I go along. Focus on the reasons you are losing weight, and the small improvements that happen along the way (like the five I mentioned above).

This is a bigger post than I expected. I am not an expert, I'm still learning. Hopefully I have more learnings to offer in another couple of months time for you all. Stay strong, we can do this!

submitted by /u/BrushedYourTeethYet
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/ehem37/sv_ive_lost_almost_10_of_my_body_weight/